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the lecture, wineglass in hand. Later on, when
he had gained a certain amount of popularity amongst his comrades, he
used to be let out of the barrack-room windows when he could not get
leave of absence, by means of blankets knotted together, in order to
attend and speak at temperance meetings in Kildare. But the difficulty
was not so much in getting out of barracks as in getting in again; and
sometimes this last was not accomplished without paying the penalty
of arrest. The men of his troop gave him the nickname of "Leaves,"
because of his predilection for tea and books; his soldier's knapsack
contained a Greek lexicon, an Arabic vocabulary, and a Euclid, the
beginnings of the library which at last numbered over 7000 volumes. Mr
Bradlaugh remained a total abstainer for several years--until 1861. At
that time he was in bad health, and was told by his physician that he
was drinking too much tea; he drank tea in those days for breakfast,
dinner, and tea, and whenever he felt thirsty in between. From that
time until 1886 he took milk regularly for breakfast, and in 1886 he
varied this regimen by adding a little coffee to his milk, with a
little claret or hock for dinner or supper, and a cup of tea after
dinner and at teatime. It has been said that he had a "passion for
tea," but that is a mere absurdity. If he had been out, he would ask
on coming in for a cup of tea, as another man would ask for a glass of
beer or a brandy and soda, but he would take it as weak as you liked to
give it him.

The stories of the energetic comment of the 300 dragoons upon the
sermon of the Rev. Mr Halpin at Rathmines Church, and the assertion of
a right of way by "Private Charles Bradlaugh, C. 52, VII D. G.," have
both been graphically told by Mr Headingley[7] and by Mrs Besant.[8]

[Footnote 7: Biography of Charles Bradlaugh.]

[Footnote 8: Review of Reviews, March 1891.]

 "On Sundays," relates Mr Headingley, "when it was fine, the regiment
 was marched to Rathmines Church, and here, on one occasion--it was
 Whit-Sunday--the Rev. Mr Halpin preached a sermon which he described
 as being beyond the understandings of the military portion of his
 congregation. This somewhat irritated the Dragoon Guards, and
 Bradlaugh, to their great delight, wrote a letter to the preacher, not
 only showing that he fully understood his sermon, but calling him to
 account for the inaccuracy of his facts and the illogical nature of
 his opinions.

 "It was anticipated that an unpleasant answer might be made to this
 letter, and on the following Sunday the Dragoons determined to be
 fully prepared for the emergency. Accordingly, they listened carefully
 to the sermon. The Rev. Mr Halpin did not fail to allude to the letter
 he had received, but at the first sentence that was impertinent and
 contemptuous in its tone three hundred dragoons unhooked their swords
 as one man, and let the heavy weapons crash on the ground. Never had
 there been such a noise in a church, or a preacher so effectively
 silenced.

 "An inquiry was immediately ordered to be held, Bradlaugh was
 summoned to appear, and serious consequences would have ensued; but,
 fortunately, the Duke of Cambridge came to Dublin on the next day, the
 review which was held in honour of his presence diverted attention,
 and so the matter dropped."

I give the right-of-way incident in Mrs Besant's words. While the
regiment was at Ballincollig, she says--

 "A curiously characteristic act made him the hero of the Inniscarra
 peasantry. A landowner had put up a gate across a right-of-way,
 closing it against soldiers and peasants, while letting the gentry
 pass through it. 'Leaves' looked up the question, and found the
 right-of-way was real; so he took with him some soldiers and some
 peasants, pulled down the gate, broke it up, and wrote on one of the
 bars, 'Pulled up by Charles Bradlaugh, C. 52, VII D. G.' The landowner
 did not prosecute, and the gate did not reappear."

The landlord did not prosecute, because when he made his complaint
to the officer commanding the regiment, the latter suggested that he
should make quite certain that he had the law on his side, for Private
Bradlaugh generally knew what he was about. The peasants, whose rights
had been so boldly defended, did not confine their gratitude to words,
but henceforth they kept their friend supplied with fresh butter,
new-laid eggs, and such homely delicacies as they thought a private in
a cavalry regiment would be likely to appreciate.

After speaking of the difficulties into which my father might have got
over the Rathmines affair, Mrs Besant[9] tells of another occasion in
which his position

 "was even more critical. He was orderly room clerk, and a newly
 arrived young officer came into the room where he was sitting at work,
 and addressed to him some discourteous order. Private Bradlaugh took
 no notice. The order was repeated with an oath. Still no movement.
 Then it came again with some foul words added. The young soldier rose,
 drew himself to his full height, and, walking up to the officer, bade
 him leave the room, or he would throw him out. The officer went, but
 in a few minutes the grounding of muskets was heard outside, the door
 opened, and the Colonel walked in, accompanied by the officer. It was
 clear that the private soldier had committed an act for which he might
 be court-martialled, and as he said once, 'I felt myself in a tight
 place.' The officer made his accusation, and Private Bradlaugh was
 bidden to explain. He asked that the officer should state the exact
 words in which he had addressed him, and the officer who had, after
 all, a touch of honour in him, gave the offensive sentence word for
 word. Then Private Bradlaugh said, addressing his Colonel, that the
 officer's memory must surely be at fault in the whole matter, as he
 could not have used language so unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.
 The Colonel turned to the officer with the dry remark, 'I think
 Private Bradlaugh is right; there _must_ be some mistake,' and he left
 the room."

[Footnote 9: See Character Sketch _Charles Bradlaugh_.--Review of
Reviews, March 1891.]

Many are the stories that might be told of these his soldier's days.
One incident that I have often heard him give, and which may well come
in here, is referred to in Mr Robertson's interesting _Memoir_ appended
to my father's last book, "Labour and Law." This was an experience
gained at Donnybrook Fair, the regiment being then quartered near "that
historic village." "When Fair time came near the peasantry circulated
a well-planned taunt to the effect that the men of the Seventh would
be afraid to present themselves on the great day. The Seventh acted
accordingly. Sixteen picked men got a day's leave--and shillelaghs. 'I
was the shortest of the sixteen,'" said Mr Bradlaugh, as he related the
episode, not without some humorous qualms, and _he_ stood 6 feet 1-1/2
inches. "The sixteen just 'fought through,' and their arms and legs
were blac

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