The Etiquette of the Army - Newcomers - Guest-nights - The Colonel's Wife - Institutions o be the wife of an officer in the British Army is to be assured of a sound social position. Whatever a woman's position before she marries an officer, she takes his position on marriage, and rises as he rises up the roll of promotion. Of course, different regiments are of different rank or seniority - the wife of a captain of the Horse Guards ranks higher than the life partner of a surgeon-major of the Royal Army Medical Corps - but this is largely due to the original social position of the respective wives. As the Household Cavalry never goes into garrison, being stationed in London or at Windsor, it and its social position may be considered as quite distinct from that of the rest of the Army.

The Etiquette of the Army

Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry are officially of equal rank; all the wives are of equal status. In the big garrisons, like Aldershot, Colchester, and the Curragh, where there are regiments of horse, foot, and guns, the officers and their wives mix together equally - apart from personal dislikes.

The etiquette of the Army is rigid - more rigid than that in any other division of society. It is as strictly adhered to among the wives as among the officers, and the person who dares to go against it will be made to repent the act.

New-Comers

Each regiment always welcomes a newcomer in the heartiest manner, and, if he has a wife, the welcome is readily extended to her. They are at once accepted as part and parcel of the regiment, and everything is done to make them feel at home. If the new officer is married, the rest of the officers and their wives will call at once, ready with all kinds of helpful information about the garrison. Invitations will cordially be given to them to join all the entertainments and amusements arranged by the regiment. Not only do the officers' wives of the regiment to which the new-comer is attached call upon them, but the officers' wives of all the other regiments of the garrison, and many of the people of the neighbourhood.

No married officer lives in barracks, and the Government allows him an almost negligible sum for board, as his wife is not officially recognised. The allowance for stabling and forage for his horses is also quite inadequate. He rents a house - generally a small one - as near the regiment's lines as possible, or, if the regiment has only a short time to stay in the station, takes lodgings. A regiment of any branch of the Army seldom stays longer than three years in a home station.

Guest-Nights

The regimental mess is at the officer's service, though his meals there will cost him a little more than if he lived in barracks; and his wife will often be invited on guest-nights - a weekly function in large garrisons.

Staff officers - those who are not attached to any particular regiment - have not a regimental mess of their own, as they have not a regiment. They, and the general officer commanding the district, are made honorary members of one or more regimental messes, and their wives share this privilege. An honorary member of a mess is entitled to use it in the same way as he would if it were his own. In place of subscriptions, he pays a slightly bigger sum for all the meals he may have there.

The general and his wife are the leaders of garrison and local society. They entertain largely, and the presence of any individual at the general's parties or dinner-table is usually a mark of his fitness for any other society. The general and his wife make their own friends in the garrison. They are not bound down only to those of high rank. A lieutenant's wife may be the chosen friend of the general's wife, though their husbands can only converse with each other over a very big chasm of rank.

Amusements

Even in a one-regiment station there is always plenty of amusement at hand for officers and their wives. A polo club, a pack of fox or stag hounds, a regimental coach - now becoming a matter of the past - a sports club, annual dinners, balls, and races contribute as largely to the amusement of the ladies of the garrison as they do to the husbands. Local hunts extend cordial invitations to all Army people. The Irish o

stations are, of course, those coveted by ardent followers of the hounds. .

The wife of the senior officer of the regiment acts as hostess for all regimental functions, and the general's wife does this duty when the entertainment is a garrison affair. If by any chance Royalty is entertained, the wives of field officers - lieutenant-colonels and majors - accompany their husbands, and on some occasions the wives of junior officers are invited as well.

Invitations

Invitations in plenty (more than it is possible to accept) will shower in for all the officers' wives from the people of the neighbourhood, though naturally this means a good deal of entertaining in return.

The officers of the specialised branches of the Army - known as departmental officers-are not able to ensure for their wives such a good position or such an amount of entertainment. The Royal Army Medical Corps, the Army Service Corps, the Army Ordnance Corps, and the Pay Department usually serve in small detachments in the various stations at home and abroad. The officers' time at the station is often short and very uncertain, and their wives, as they are not connected with any special regiment, are apt to be overlooked.

In most cases an officer on the active list ranks higher than one of the same rank who has retired. A retired officer is no longer colonel of the "Dashing Blues," nor is his wife the "colonel's lady," and their residence in a fresh district often separates them from all old associations. But though, in the strict sense of the word, they are now "civilians," their entry into society is still assured by their former Army rank.

Active service - a time when officers' wives show they can be as brave as their husbands - generally means a stoppage of almost all entertainments. Apart from the fact that no woman can enjoy a dance when she never knows what news may come, there is often need for cutting down expenses. But the officer's wife at such times commands respect, and friends will become even more faithful.

If an officer in receipt of a pension dies, his wife receives a small part of it - a Lieut.-colonel's wife is entitled to 90, a subaltern's to £40.

But every regiment has to serve its time of foreign service. India, Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Africa, Egypt must always have their garrison of British troops. Foreign stations differ from England in only a few respects as regards customs, hospitality, and social position.

Indian life is really as delightful as it is said to be, though fever, heat, and the solitariness of some cantonments are apt to be disadvantages. Though there is a very strict line drawn between the civil and the military population, the wife of an officer will find she can have as many friends as she had at home.

As soon as she arrives at the cantonment, taking over her bungalow, very probably furniture as well, from the last tenants, she may expect a large number of callers. Almost every day, especially in the hill stations, festivities of some land are arranged, and she will find no lack of gaiety.

The Colonel's Wife

Some small cantonments are often made up almost entirely of Army men and their families. In these the colonel's wife sets the manners and customs and amusements. She is consulted before any entertainment is got up, and her presence is considered sufficient chaperon for all the unmarried ladies who may be invited.

A regiment only stays in India for a definite period, being quartered at a variety of stations. Excellent leave is allowed, and delightful holidays can be had among the hills.