his cap knocked
off by some well-intentioned N.C.O. or private trying to salute with
the hand next to him in a crowd. Their contortions were painful to
see. Had the War Office been guilty of such _betises_ when dealing
with the things that really mattered during the struggle, they would
have lost us the war. The reform was so inconvenient to all concerned
that it may have helped to produce those untoward post-war conditions
under which the men, if not belonging to the Guards, virtually
abandoned the practice of saluting officers altogether in the streets
of London.

Then, how about those red tabs? The expression "red tabs" is, however,
employed rather as a shibboleth; staff-officers must be distinguished
somehow when they are not wearing armlets, and were the tabs less
conspicuous there would be no special harm in them. It is the red band
round the cap that is so utterly inappropriate when imposed upon
service dress. It ought to have been abolished within six months of
the beginning of the war. General-officers and staff-officers who came
under fire had to adopt a khaki valance to conceal their cap-band;
they were to be seen going about in this get-up in the Metropolis when
over on duty or on leave, and yet no steps were taken officially to
assimilate their headgear to that of the ordinary officer. But for the
red band and its distinctive effect, it is open to question whether
officers performing every kind of special duty would have been so
perpetually clamouring to be allowed to wear the red tabs. The
practice of glorifying the staff-officer in his dress as compared
with regimental officers is to be deprecated, although his turn-out
should of course be, like Caesar's wife, above suspicion--to which I
remember an exception when making first acquaintance with a staff I
had come to join.

On reporting myself at headquarters at Devonport in the morning after
arriving to take up an appointment a good many years ago, I learnt
that there was to be no end of a pageant that afternoon. The British
Association, or some such body, had descended upon Plymouth for a
palaver. There was to be a review in Saltram Park on the farther side
of the Three Towns so as to make sport for the visitors. The general
was very keen on mustering as many cocked hats around him for the
performance as could be got together, and he pressed me to borrow a
horse somehow and to put in an appearance, proposing that I should
ride out with him and the A.D