New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-03

reached the rank Of Captain. Captain
he remained till near forty years Of age.
1t was then required Of him that he
should either qualify for promotion to
field officer by examination or retire.
he had never taken his profession very
seriously: a good and competent subal-
tern, but not overzealous, and with little
taste for that scientific study OF war
without which no man now rises high.
In the days when an officer was ad-
vanced in rank by seniority. tempered by
favoritism, he would have become Major
and Lieutenant Colonel by mere LAPSE Of
time. and what favors he needed would
have been shown him, for he had the
social influences which insure II. But
examinations are Of a rigid impartiality
which takes no note Of personal claims
or Of popularity, and he failed 10 pass.
He told me of his retirement with the
humorous cynicism characteristic Of
him:
Il am no longer in Her Majesty's ser
vice. / have been twenty years in the
army. IN which. If not on which, have
spent a small fortune. They have COM
puted my exact money value and the
compensation to which am'entitled. 1t
amounts TO just over 600 a year. On
that sum I am 10 spend an inglorious
middle age"
In truth. I suppose ne was not sorry
n DO frDa frcr mil to- lttfr~ ~ in
time Of peace is apt 10 be irksome. The
conditions Of service in a Household
regiment are not very exacting, and
there are three or four months leave
yearly. But soldiership in war is one
thing and soldiership in barracks in
London or Windsor is another thing. I
knew an officer. like Finch a Captain,
who sent IN his papers voluntarily. 1
asked him why.
IF you had been doing exactly the
same thing each da. and each hour of
each day for twenty years YOU would
not ask me why"
Wynne Finch, for the same OF other
reasons, rejoiced in his release, though
IL did not come in the way he would
have liked. He took IL with that cheer
ful philosophy which, carried him through
life. If you had told him he was
philosopher he would have been very
much surprised. but he was. He be-
longed to the school Of Aristippus VINO
held that happiness is simply the result
or a continuous series Of pleasurable
sensations: and put his theory TO the
test by a long intimacy with the too
famous Lais al Corinth. Aristippus
founded a school Wynne Finch was
content with belonging TO one. May
fair Is a school ready made in which
there are numerous practitioners Of the
art Of agreeable living. No one Of them
was a more finished expert than Wynne
Finch. He had an ascendancy due
largely 70 personal charm and 10 an
aIertness Of mind not common among
devotees OF this kind. His talk had I'M
expected turns. We were discussing
one might've meaning a group Of men
AZ a club-what was the best wine. Nat
urauy there We're differences Of opinion
Claret. burgundy, port. had each its
champion. DR.. Johnson, dining with
Boswell al Sir Joshua Reynolds, was
guoted-claret for boys. port for men,
brandy for heroes And Burke was
quoted:
Then let me have claret; love to be
boy: to have the careless gayety Of
boyish days"
one man who was supposed to have
qualified himself as a judge pronounced
for champagne. Said Wynne Finch:
Champagne is not the best wine, but
II is the best drink"
And we let it go at that.
Wynne Finch had IN him something
Ike champagne. He had the sparkle,
the brilliancv. the exhilaration. the
power OF putting people on good terms
with themselves. Il is the wine Of So
cietv. and it was in society that Finch
shone: in many kinds Of society. He
did what society expects Of those whom
II accepts and likes. He was at home
alike in drawing rooms, on the moors,
I'm the hunting field or on a yacht. He
knew everybody and all about every
body. and to everybody, or to everybody
whom he liked, he was delightful. IN
this practical, hard age Of business he
may be thought TO have made not quite
the best use Of his rare gifts. But let
us for once regret the unitarian stand
ard. and say Of him that he ADDED
,arfurne 10 the world in which ne chose
to live. and was ever good frleno'
welcome guest, a man Of courage easily
angered and easily appeased. of infinite
resource. and with a true English sub
-. - character. G. ". s.