r airman chosen was Captain Hoidge, M.C. and Bar--"George" (p. 051)
of Toronto. Hoidge had also brought down a lot of Germans. His face
was wonderfully fitted for a man-bird. His eyes were bird's eyes. A
good lad was Hoidge, and I became very fond of him afterwards. I
arranged with Maurice Baring and Major Bloomfield that Hoidge was to
come to Cassel one morning at 11 a.m. to sit to me. The morning
arrived and 11 o'clock and no Hoidge. Eleven-thirty, 12--no Hoidge.
About 12:30 he strolled into the yard and I heard him asking for me in
a slow voice. I was raging with anger by this time. He came upstairs
and I told him there was no use doing anything before lunch, and that
we had better go down and get some food. We ate silently. I could see
he was rather depressed. About halfway through our meal, he said: "I'm
lucky to be here with you this morning!" "Why?" said I. "Oh," he said,
"I made a damned fool of myself this morning. Let an old Boche get on
my tail. Damned fool I was--with my experience. Never saw the
blighter. I was following an old two-seater at the time. He put a
bullet through the box by my head, and cut two of my stays. If old B.
hadn't happened to come up and chased him off I was for it. Damned
fool! But the morning wasn't wasted, afterwards I got two
two-seaters." I said: "Do you realise you have killed four men this
morning?" "No," he said, "but I winged two damned nice birds." Then we
went upstairs and he sat like a lamb.

[Illustration: XX. _Lieut. A. P. F. Rhys Davids, D.S.O., M.C._]

One evening, during the King's stay at Cassel, I was working in my
room about 7 o'clock, when a little scrap of paper was brought me on
which was written, "I am dining downstairs.--M. B." I went downstairs
and there was Maurice Baring, and, with luck for me, alone. We had a
great dinner. He was in his best form; for after dinner we went up to
my room and sat by the open window and talked and talked. Suddenly (p. 052)
Maurice stopped, and said: "What's that noise?" "What noise?" said I.
So we looked down into the courtyard--only about ten feet--and there
was "Boom," who had been dining with the King, and Philip Sassoon.
"What the devil are you two doing?" said "Boom." "We've both been
shouting ourselves hoarse for ten minutes. It's the last damned time
you dine with Orpen, Maurice!" It's true we never heard them--but then
Maurice was talking.

One morning, when the wind was very fresh, I got a telephone message
fr