On one occasion the Royal Prince and his attendants rode directly upon the mouths of a battery of cannon. Now the whole idea of the _Sham_ is that everybody is to conduct himself precisely _as if_ the doings were real. Any head-brave who forgets this is disorderly and liable to punishment. What would have been the fate of the Royal party had the cannon which they rode directly upon, been charged with balls as well as powder! It is not to be found, however, that the Great Brave in his Report referred to this extraordinary exploit of the Royal Prince. With an enemy, real, deadly, strong, advancing into the country, then indeed the braves would have work which would stir all their wits and nerve all their strength. Marches in rain and mud; toilsome nights; work in the ditches; cold and biting winds; wakeful and wearisome watchings; all endured manfully, and hardly noticed _because it is real_. Even a pauper disdains make-believe toil, and takes the pittance tendered for it as an insult. To the common man all this labour and exposure is very hard and very real--all the more so, because it is mere noise and smoke. No wonder that he is careless and indifferent; no wonder that he curses the nonsense which wearies him without giving him any satisfaction. Show him true, honest need; where the enemy of his tribe lurks, and he is alert, active; calls up all his intelligence, looks to his arms, looks about him, and feels no fatigue. But this--he loses discipline, and is really demoralised by a _Sham_. Still the Barbarians greatly admire all this noise and blustering; and the Head-Braves fancy that the bands are improved in order and in knowledge of arms; that they would really understand how to meet a genuine enemy more skilfully, by having _made-believe_ to fight a friend. All human experience shows the opposite of this to be true; for the _sham_ is certain to _entail_ some of its mischief and injure the very qualities which it is supposed to improve. In the nature of things this affair cannot be good. The object is a sham--everything, therefore, about it is sham. The fight is a sham, and the fighter is a sham-brave, and, therefore, worthless. Who doubts that he is injured by this pitiful work?