WAYS AND MEANS 



ears ; on the hands, old loose dog-skin gloves, 

 under warm mitts that hang about the neck 

 by a string when pulled ofif. The bare 

 hand cannot endure a rifle-barrel in severe 

 cold. A summer hat ought to shed the 

 rain and be accommodating to the pack- 

 strap. 



The pack's contents are now fairly well 

 disclosed : — the jealously-guarded dry 

 change, perhaps an extra pair of socks, wash- 

 ing and shaving-tackle. At the risk of being 

 classed with sybarites, I plead for a small 

 rubber sponge to aid precarious toilets by 

 the edge of stream or lake. Handker- 

 chiefs are another blameless luxury; illu- 

 sions of dressiness and refinement are 

 cheaply induced by breaking out a clean 

 one every now and again. A large ban- 

 danna will not be amiss, — shielding the 

 neck from flies by day, and one's ears from 

 the rugosities of boots by night. 



But here acknowledgement must be 

 made that age and the growing love of ease 

 have sapped a disposition long content 

 with impromptus : I carry a pillow, — only 

 a little one of a few ounces. More de- 

 plorable still, a down-quilt has to be con- 

 fessed; but reason and sense excuse what 

 gives you three times the warmth of the 

 237 



