174 PINK AND SCARLET 



superior to fatigue, hunger, and general irritability 

 when annoyed, and in such a state we are easily 

 annoyed by our inferiors and superiors at the end of 

 a long, trying, and perhaps "jumpy" march in the 

 Real. 



Talking of trying marches, we never know what 

 a horse can do until we give him a really hard day. 

 The excitable, high-stepping, prancing animal of the 

 early morning may require kicking along long 

 before the afternoon, while the slug of the early 

 hours may trot gaily home with his action brisker, 

 and as true as ever, long after dark in the evening. 



It is the same with men ; you do not really know 

 what they are made of until you see them on active 

 service, or under conditions akin to it. Then you 

 may find that hunger, fatigue, discomfort, etc., make 

 your vivacious, " such good company " chap of peace 

 and plenty utterly coil up, while the man you looked 

 upon as dull and unattractive may prove himself a 

 veritable tower of strength. 



One thing is certain, and that is, that when the 

 ordeal does come, the youth who has gone through 

 the same sort of experience for the sake of his sport, 

 will have an enormous pull over the one who has 

 not. 



Does not the " sport of kings " score another 

 notch here ? 



We are nearing home now, and even if we did not 

 know it ourselves, the pricked ears and the quickened 

 stride of our horse should tell us so. There are the 

 lights. How pleasant it is to see them after a long 



