Whatever may be my private opinion of the Japanese horse and his rider, I am sure that, had a real occasion presented itself, there would have been no lack of daring. The Japanese cavalrymen are very skilful swordsmen; but they are wise enough to recognise that the rifle or even the carbine is a more reliable weapon than the lance or the sabre. As to the Russian use of the lance. The circumstantial report of a French correspondent describing the annihilation of a Japanese squadron by the lances of Cossacks was a pure invention. No incident of the kind has happened. Only two Russian European regiments carry the lance, except on parade, and even they appear to have left it carefully at home, for not a single lance has been seen save in a General Officer’s escort. As a matter of fact the only regiment that ever carries the lance in Asia is the Cossack regiment in Turkistan. However deeply regretted by Lancer and Hussar, this picturesque weapon may be relegated to the museum of military antiquities, and take its place by the side of the jingal and the halberd. Chapter XLV CHILDREN AND THE WAR. Children are the true hero-worshippers, and it is their nature to set up their high altar on the gory battlefield--the gorier the better. If you want to fathom the depth of “original sin” in the hearts of little cherubs who adorn the hearths of peace-loving citizens, you must become a General and win a great victory. Then your mail-bag will come with the seams burst, and the bulk of your letters will be in large, sprawling characters, that bespeak much travail of soul and inking of rosy fingers. You will have little worshippers and sweethearts in every land, and proud parents will discover their innocent babes setting forth in cold ink sentiments that might bring a blush to the cheek of Catherine of Russia and fill the breast of Torquemada with envy. And you will have to pay the penalty. A widow’s importunity is not greater than that of the child whose mission is to write letters to the famous soldier. You will have to employ a special staff of corresponding clerks; to keep a stock of signed photographs on hand, and to beg your friends to save all their old postage stamps, for the worshippers have albums and no scruples. Lord Roberts, when in Bloemfontein, showed me some of his children’s correspondence. One letter I remember. It would have driven Dr. Watts to a new verse, for it embodied all the terrors of the Spanish Inquisition. This is how it ran:--“Dear Lord Roberts, I am glad you have caught Cronje. Mind you keep him fast, and don’t let him escape. Give him to eat everything he does not like, and then he will die. Yours affectionately. P.S.--Please send me your photograph and some stamps.”