New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-15

pluck, like his sense of hunor. was always TO
the fore. He afraid of nothing ana ms
courage not physical only; the headmaster
of his first school has said that he would nave
been glad to keep the boy without fee OF any
kind because by sheer force of character the
little fellow had raised the entire moral tone
of the school. He was anything but a prig; ola
Charterhouse pupils recall by the hour nova
days Bathing -Towes' fun and mischel anu
wit He was an athlete and a comedian rouhu
whom there always knot OF grlnhhs p"SS
oh old 'Bathing-ToweI!' a comrade OF tha' lai
off time will say. George! what funny oeesar
he was! Remember him? l should THINK uiu
Stories about him? Well, don't remember any
inst now but dear old Bathing Towel! = and
here the former Carthusian goes on into roar :
ing laughter b. P. something other imam d
funny beggar however: he studied as energet-
icalIv as he played and liked above all Things
the mastering a difficult subject.
How did the boy happen to go into the army
He had made plans for oxford, had passed MS
examination and ready for work Wheh ati
orr,, examination came on and. Just for tun'
the freakish lad resolved to try his metIie a'
that He passed second out of seven huhuieu
and eighteen candidates and for his orilhd"'
work was rewarded by a commission antedated
two years Before this examination he had SHOWN
no particular leaning toward the military hfe'
I,,+ this success fixed his fate. He began TO
gee the world and became in his early twentles
a dashing Hussar a bold sportsman FSeh
soldier. and one of the most popular men III
India His gift for acting not only nlaue nun
beloved by theatrical amateurs-it proughl MN
a letter from a London manager, who sought 10
tempt him to the professional stage by an oliei
of f1O a week. 1t is remembered that one oL MS
most successful performances in India was MS
pr+b in "The Pirates of Penzance." But he
10 nlaVed.
diversified his exacting military duties Win
writing and sketching contributing to LONDON
journals. and bringing out more than one book
One of the results of his prowess as hunter
was the standard book pig sticking whlch
is famous in India
Many hours of his life there he spent in prac-
Using scouting until he became very sherlock
Holmes in inductve reasoning. indeed INC
name bestowed upon him by Burnham, the
American scout, is Sherlock Holmes. Inc
scouting manual prepared for the use oh 'lle
army by Baden-Powell is as fascinating as d
novel and to the last degree practical. 1t shows
in many notes OF his experiences now
greatly he enjoys a work which demands at
orce bravery and brains and the life in the
OMEN which is to him that best worth living.
II was his skill as a scout that led the Mataoele
during his service with Sir Frederick CARING
ton in 1896, to christen him The WON mat
Never Sleeps" An officer who knows him Wen
saws that the man is tireless. He yearns for
the most risky and the most solitary work. ne
can go for days without food. and never com
plains Of broken nights. He believes that the
best Of beds is the veldt tempered with Olan-
ket and a saddle OF his earlier adventures IN
South Africa Mr.. Begbie tells many entertaining
stories and in these "Bathing-Towels' quick
intellect is as apparent his iron nerve
He is as good a regimental officer as ne Is
scout they say. He is rigid disciplnarlan'
but his kindness is great as his sense or
duty and it is to him that the men go with
their private cares and troubles. A party or
sergeants in his old regiment were once asked
by a civilian whether the men liked B. P. There
was silence for a minute or two and at last
one of the sergeants replied, hesitatingly: Well
70; I shouldn't sey they like him. Then. in
burst, why, they worship him. He has been
called the beau ideal of regimental officer.
ITO reach that IDEAL says our author, there
are five great essentials-keenness, courage.
"Reminiscences, self-abnegaton, humor"-and
these qualities as he shows us by means of il
Illustrative anecdote. the most popular and ad-
n.ired of English soldiers undoubtedly possesses.
The book is frankly one of hero worship, and is
not the worse for that, perhaps.