212 PINK AND SCARLET 



was "want of physical training of the officers," and 

 he adds also, " want of courage." The latter is a 

 failing not usually found in French Officers ; it is, 

 however, one of the natural outcomes of the former. 



Man is by nature an active animal, and at his 

 best when the powers of activity given him are in 

 full swing and fully and healthily occupied. When 

 this is not the case he declines mentally and 

 physically. 



Hunting will not only occupy all his own powers 

 most healthfully, but it will at the same time teach 

 him a great deal about the physical powers of other 

 men and of horses. It will inure him to fatigue, to 

 dangers, and to diffiailties, will accustom him to face 

 cheerfully long hours without food, long rides on wet 

 and cold days and nights, and will teach him to find 

 his way in a strange country both by day and by 

 night ; while it need hardly be said that without a 

 due quota of physical courage, i. e. of nerve, no man 

 will really relish riding to hounds. 



Men's heads, like those of horses, should improve 

 with the experience of age, but alas ! like the horses' 

 legs, their nerves usually begin to show signs of 

 wear all too soon. It is then that, again like the 

 horse, they begin to lose " dash," simply because 

 they "know too much." Therefore, let the soldier 

 do his utmost to get his experience, both in the 

 Image and the Real, while (at any rate comparatively) 

 young. 



Now many young soldiers are not — and more's the 

 pity — too well blessed with this world's goods, and it 



