's need of food
Must come before the claims of golf;
We hear of parties going round,
Aided by local War-Committees,
To violate our sacred ground
By planting veg. along our "pretties."

If there be truth in that report,
Then have we reached the limit, viz.:--
The ruin of that manly sport
Which made our country what it is;
The ravages we soon restore
By conies wrought or hoofs of mutton,
But centuries must pass before
A turnip-patch is fit to putt on.

What! Shall we sacrifice the scenes
On which our higher natures thrive
Just to provide the vulgar means
To keep our lower selves alive?
Better to starve (or, better still,
Up hands and kiss the Hun peace-makers)
Than suffer PROTHERO to till
The British golfer's holy acres.

O.S.

* * * * *

PERSONAL PARS FROM THE WESTERN FRONT.

(_With acknowledgments to some of our chatty contemporaries_.)

HAPPY C.-IN-C.--I saw the Commander-in-Chief to-day passing through the
little village of X in an open car. He was very quietly dressed in khaki,
with touches of scarlet on the hat and by the collar. I waved my hand to
him and he returned the salute. It is small acts like this which endear him
to all. I noticed that the Field-Marshal was not carrying his baton.
Doubtless he did not wish to spoil its pristine freshness with the mud of
the roads.

* * * * *

OF COURSE.--A friend in the Guards tells me that the new food restrictions
do not affect the men in the trenches very seriously. Our brave soldiers
are so inured to hardships by now that they willingly forgo seven-course
dinners.

* * * * *

NOT STARVING.--While on the subject of food, the picture published on page
6 of to-day's issue refutes the idea that the Hun is starving. It
represents the KAISER looking at some pigs. The KAISER can be distinguished
by a x.

* * * * *

FASHIONS FOR MEN.--Now that mid-winter is with us it is quite a common
event to meet fur-clad denizens of the firing line. Some of the new
season's coats are the last word in chic, one which I noticed yesterday
made of black goat, having pockets of seal coney with collar and cuffs of
civet. The wearer's feet were encased in the latest style of gum boots,
reaching to the thigh and fastening with a buckle. These are being worn
loose round the ankle. A green