THE MARCH TO THE RENDEZVOUS ii3 



Leaning over the gate of one of the rich grass 

 fields is a man who, " by the cut of his jib," as the 

 sailor would say, we judge to be the farmer. In 

 any case there can be no harm in giving him, who- 

 ever he is, a cheery " Good-morning." If he 

 responds in any way to this, we can add some 

 remark about the weather, and may perhaps ven- 

 ture to say, " Fine beasts those." This latter is 

 dangerous if we have no knowledge, as they may 

 be wretched brutes ; it is, however, worth any 

 soldier's while to try and acquire some knowledge 

 of stock, and of farming generally. Whether or 

 not we possess sufficient technical knowledge not 

 to absolutely give ourselves away when trying 

 to talk farming, it is well to remember that 

 civility and geniality are appreciated by all, and 

 surely they are due to the man whose crops we 

 may shortly ride over, and whose fences we may 

 break ? 



How much our good friends do appreciate such 

 treatment one personal experience will show. We 

 used to call on those good fellows, the East Kent 

 farmers, to ask permission for the Shorncliffe Drag 

 hounds to run over their land, and on several 

 occasions the reply we received was — 



" We don't mind when you come or where you 



go, so long as you treat us friendly likeT The 



last two words put the whole thing in a nutshell, 



and good indeed would it be for "the cause " if all 



who hunted bore them in mind. 



We leave the vale and gain the top of a hill, 



I 



