The shoulders
should be square, and the body should be erect upon the hips.
Attention! So!"
"Very well. Haynes, you are trying to stand too upright. You must
not bend backward. All, incline your bodies a little forward.
Frank Ingalls is standing correctly."
"I don't think that's very soldierly," said John Haynes, who felt
mortified at being corrected, having flattered himself that he
was right and the rest were wrong.
"A soldier shouldn't be round-shouldered, or have a slouching
gait," said the instructor quietly; "but you will find when you
come to march that the opposite extreme is attended with great
inconvenience and discomfort. Until then you must depend upon my
assurance."
Mr. Morton ran his eye along the line, and observed that most of
the boys were troubled about their arms. Some allowed them to
hang in stiff rigidity by their sides. One, even, had his clasped
behind his back., Others let theirs dangle loosely, swinging now
hither, now thither.
He commented upon these errors, and added, "Let your arms hang
naturally, with the elbows near the body, the palm of the hand a
little turned to the front, the little finger behind the seam of
the pantaloons.
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