Then a large man, tall and heavy and wearing an ordinary soldier's overcoat, but with the laurel band around his hat that showed him to be a general, came out of the woods behind the little knoll and walked rapidly toward the group of officers. Every hand went up in salute. Then they knew it was Joffre. He went to the muddy knoll, and stood there watching keenly while the soldiers marched past, the bugles blowing and the bands playing. In spite of their muddy uniforms and the hard fight they had just gone through, the French say that these soldiers looked spic and span as they passed their general. Their rifles went up in salute as straight and accurately as if they had just come from quarters and were marching over a level parade ground, instead of over fields filled with shell holes and slippery with mud--or perhaps something worse. Joffre is a silent man, they say. This does not interfere in the least with the adoration of the French, who are usually great talkers. They believe in him to the utmost, and they will follow him to the limit of endurance. So long as Joffre is at the head of the French army, the spirit of victory will remain. Since Joffre has become famous, of course much is known about him. He was born in the Midi, as they call the southern part of France. Trained as a soldier, he saw service in the East, where he did that which he set out to do. There is no particular incident that points to the discovery of his genius, although he must have done unusual things to get to the top. He is known to have been a modest, quiet, home-loving sort of man, spending much time with his family at Auteil, and showing while there that he was very fond of fishing. Fishing is a good recreation for the man who wants to think, and the French believe that while Joffre was doing that he must have been evolving plans for settling with the hated Germans. He likes to fish yet, and when he can get away from the war zone, he hunts a small stream and spends his leisure hours along it.