More than once he astonished his Staff, at a critical moment, by announcing that he would go for a walk. Picking up his old riding-crop, he would stroll forth with one of the A.D.C.’s and walk for an hour through the country lanes, stopping to admire the view, or to criticize a horse, or to look at the crops. But on his return he would go straight to his maps again, and then like a flash he would announce his decision. “I will do this and that!” And they would realize that whilst he had strolled and chatted his mind had been wrestling with the military problem that had obsessed them all. Dinner is a pleasant meal at the Commander-in-Chief’s. Often there is a distinguished visitor from London present, a member of the Cabinet who has come out to get a glimpse for himself of conditions at the front, a leading scientific authority despatched on some mission or other, distinguished ecclesiastics like the Bishop of London or the Archbishop of Westminster. For many months the Prince of Wales, as A.D.C. to the Commander-in-Chief, dined nightly at Sir John’s table, a very charming, extremely natural young officer, who was simply addressed as “Prince,” and who was best pleased when no notice whatsoever was taken of his exalted rank. There is never any formality about precedence at the Commander-in-Chief’s, save that the guest of the evening sits on the right of the Field-Marshal. [Illustration: UNDER THE EYE OF “THE CHIEF.” TROOPS MARCHING PAST SIR JOHN FRENCH AT THE FRONT.] Sir John French presides at his dinner-table with delightful urbanity. Books and battlefields have been the study of his life. He has, I believe, read all the histories of the campaigns of the world’s great Generals, from Julius Cæsar’s _Commentaries_ down to Ropes’s _History of the American Civil War_, and the text-books on the Franco-Prussian War, especially the German. But he does not believe in reading alone. He is fond of quoting a saying of Lord Wolseley’s: “A soldier ought to read little and think much.” In accordance with this maxim, Sir John French has not only read but assimilated, and he has done a great deal of both. But the military authors have not alone engaged his attention. He is a profound admirer of Dickens, and he can find suitable quotations and similes from Dickens for the most varied situations of life. He is not a great talker. He only speaks when he has something to say. But that is always to the point, and often refreshingly original.