soldiers. The corner in the canteen where they foregather
is not crowded, and I have seen them from that unsplendid isolation
looking wistfully at the fresh, clean, merry-voiced troopers buying
"luxuries" at the bar,--men who are keen soldiers, anxious to excel,
and who do not "nurse the canteen."

But bad officers may ruin the best men, and the popularity of the Army
with the classes from which its ranks are drawn depends very largely
upon the behaviour of our subalterns and captains. No one likes to be
neglected, and the great mistake made by so many officers, but never
by Baden-Powell, is their apparent indifference to the soldier's
welfare "out of hours." In a cavalry regiment, for instance, for the
greater part of the year the men have practically nothing to do from
dinner-time till the bugle rings for evening stables. Will you believe
it, that the commonest way of spending the afternoon in cavalry
regiments is by going to bed? Immediately after dinner is over, down
go the beds with a clatter, the strap that holds the mattress
doubled-up is unbuckled, and under the thick sheets and the dark
blankets, minus his boots, the trooper smokes his pipe until he falls
asleep. Their officer is with them in the morning, to see that they
brush the scurf out of their horses' manes and put the burnisher over
the backs of the buckles; he puts his nose into their room at
dinner-time to ask if there are any complaints, and withdraws it
almost before it is recognised by the men, as if the odour of the
Irish stew disagreed with him. After that, unless he walks through
the stables in the evening, his men do not see him. Now, how can an
officer who soldiers in this dull, stupid fashion ever gain the
affection of his men? And, more important question, how can men with
such an officer ever grow enthusiastic about soldiering, or even
content with their lot?

Baden-Powell devoted himself to the men in his troop, and, when he was
adjutant, to the whole regiment. He would get them out of their rooms
in the afternoon for sports of some kind, he would encourage them to
take up flag-wagging or scouting, and he would work like a slave to
provide them with an alternative for public-house and canteen. There
is a story about him, which shows how popular he is with the men, and,
also, that it is possible for soldiers to take an intelligent interest
in practical soldiering. Baden-Powell was delivering a course of
lectures, I think on scouting, and