His despatches are admirable examples of what such documents should be, never saying a word too much, and yet leaving his meaning clear-cut and unmistakable.

For such work he finds a model in the despatch of Captain Walton, who, under Admiral Byng, destroyed the entire Spanish fleet off Passaro: "Sir,--We have taken or destroyed all the Spanish ships on this coast; number as per margin .-- Respectfully yours, G.Walton, _Captain_." Says Baden-Powell, "There is no superfluous verbosity there." But do not let us lose sight altogether of Baden-Powell as the whimsical humourist.

There are two stories in the regiment which reveal him in this light very nicely.

He was once walking with a friend on the esplanade of some English seaside place, and the day was piping hot.

Suddenly, without explanation of any kind, B.-P.