BADEN-POWELL by E. E. REYNOLDS

THERE was not much time for enjoying home on B.-P.'s return in 1935, for the Rover Scouts were holding a World Moot on Ingarö Island in the Stockholm archipelago, and so he set off to Sweden to greet these young men of many nations and to encourage them to further endeavour.

More and more he was feeling the urgency of the times; his messages constantly stressed the need for greater understanding and goodwill amongst peoples, and each Moot or Jamboree marked for him a further achievement in the race against time and jealousy. So he wrote of this Moot:

In these woods on Ingarö Island are collected some 3,000 Rover Scouts (that is Boy Scouts of over 17) coming from 26 different nations. They are camping together with the one main idea of making personal friendships with one another, so that the brotherhood of Scouts shall be something more than a mere name. By making personal contacts with their peers of other countries they may get to know something of their character, their national conditions and problems, and thus to develop a closer understanding and sympathy with them

These young men have been brought to realize that within the next few years they will be among the men of affairs responsible for the fortunes of their respective countries. They see how at present the world is torn by unrest due to apprehension and uncertainty as regards the future, and to national fear and suspicion of rival countries; that all this leads to selfish individual effort on the part of each nation to protect its own interests as far as it can, whether in commerce, or industry, or by armament.

So this gathering at Ingarö, though it may appear to the ordinary onlooker to be a mere joy camp of a cheery lot of red-blooded youths, has in fact a serious side to it and one which is fully and inwardly realized by the lads themselves. Like their generation generally, they know that they are up against two great specific dangers --- the danger of unemployment and the danger of War.

One incident was symbolic of his own career: a former Commandant of the Scandinavian Corps which had fought for the Boers against Britain in the South African War in 1900 presented him with the medal commemorating their action.

Later in the year the call of South Africa came --- a very difficult one to resist; a Jamboree was to be held at East London, but, more urgent still, the racial problem was acute and B.-P. felt he must do all he could to prevent separations and disagreements. He wrote apologetically:

I notice that one correspondent has remarked that 'during one of his brief visits to the United Kingdom' the Chief Scout did so and so.

Yes; it does look rather that way, and I must apologize for my frequent absence from the Old Country --- but there are reasons. For one thing, the Old Country is not the only country in the world, and I am supposed to be World Chief Scout. The world is rather large in size, and it takes time to get from end to end of it.

Then, don't forget it, I have in all probability but a short time longer to live, and naturally I have to hurry if I am to get my share of the job done in time. So there you are!

I plead guilty to running away from my work in the United Kingdom, but Britain is, after all, only one of the many centres of Scouting in the world to which I owe allegiance. At the same time, these all look to her for guidance and example, as the mother of the family. So in pleading guilty to running away from my duties here and lumping the work on to your shoulders, I earnestly hope you will bear this in mind, and 'keep the home fires burning' with added brightness so that progress here will inspire similar development abroad. it is a burden which your shoulders are strong enough to bear. Your hearts are in the work, and I know that you will carry it out with zest and with success while I am away.

So there you are! I ask your forgiveness and your help.

When he sailed from England, he left behind him a Deputy Chief Scout---Lord Somers --- who had shown as Governor of Victoria, and later as Acting Governor-General of Australia, a practical interest in Scouting. In South Africa the colour difficulties are far from simple; it is not a clear-cut black and white division, for there are in addition to the native black races, the 'coloureds' or those of mixed breeds which number three-quarters of a million, and a fourth group of Indians of whom the majority are in Natal.

His mission was successful. After a meeting in Durban in February 1936, which lasted two and a half days, the Council of the South African Boy Scouts Association agreed to the formation of three parallel organizations: Pathfinder Boy Scouts for the natives; Indian Boy Scouts; and Coloured Boy Scouts. These would be self-governing within a Federation, and so ensure that the general principles of Scouting would be carried out, and prevent any misleading perversion of the accepted methods; 'each section shall pursue its separate path along its own racial lines'. This was in keeping with the view of policy stated by Lord Lugard and accepted by the Council as a guiding principle.

Here then, is the true conception of the interrelation of Colour; complete uniformity in ideals, absolute equality in the paths of knowledge and culture, equal opportunity for those who strive, equal admiration for those who achieve; in matters social and racial a separate path, each pursuing his own race purity and race pride, equality in things spiritual, agreed divergence in the physical and material.

B.-P. unfortunately went down with malaria, and was thus hindered from doing all he would liked to have done, but he was able to tour some of the well-remembered places, and his eye for scenery was certainly undimmed, as this note on the Victoria Falls testifies.

Livingstone and Cotton Oswell saw this same phenomenon eighty years ago, and heard the roar when they were yet ten miles from it. 'Moos-i-tunya' the natives called it, 'The smoke that sounds'. Both explorers were sick with fever, and had to be carried away south again without seeing the wonder of the Falls themselves. That joy was postponed till a couple of years later.

But for us to-day it is open to all to see. Too much so to my mind. Thirty years ago I came here to stay in the few huts which formed the lodging for travellers, and to wander through the tangled bush where still the hippos, buck and baboons abounded, and suddenly to find oneself faced with a wall of falling water over a mile long and hurling itself with deafening roar into the dark misty depths of a great chasm 370 feet down under one's feet.

To-day man has done his best to mar the majesty and mystery of it all by erecting a most up-to-date hotel (whose luxury I am none the less enjoying!), laying down paths, an putting up sign-posts at every turn, and running trolleys to the various viewpoints, and so on. Still, in spite of all these artificial tinkerings. the natural grandeur of the Falls is too powerful to be really affected.

To see them at closer range as I did last night under the light of the full moon, is an experience that is far, far above any emotion that can be evoked by man's effort even in a Cathedral service, however impressive.

He sent this message to the Scouts at the end of his visit.

On leaving South Africa (and I hate going away!) I want you to keep two points in mind and to carry them out as well as you can.

The first point is to make friends with Scouts in other places just as those of you did who were at the East London Jamboree. And I want you to keep up those friendships when you grow up because at present there are too many quarrels and jealousies between the people in South Africa, and therefore the country does not get along so well as it should. But if you, when men, play together like a team, to make the country great and prosperous you will do a big national service. It will be a game. So play in your place, play fair, and play flat out for your country and not only for yourself --- your country will then win through to Success.

The second point I want of you is to go m for more Camping and Hiking. By so doing you will make yourselves healthy and strong, and also you will be doing things for yourselves, such as carrying your kit, making your shelters, cutting your firewood, cooking your grub, and all the other little chores about the camp. In this way you won't be like some South African boys who are helpless without a native boy to do such things for them, they 'Pass the Buck' and 'Leave it to George' as your American cousins would say.

Life in the bush brings you in touch with the wonders and beauties of Nature, the birds and the animals, the plants and the views, so that you become their comrade as being put there by God the Creator.

The chief event during B.-P.'s few months in England during 1936, was the marriage of his younger daughter, Betty, in September; soon afterwards she left with her husband for Rhodesia where her brother, Peter, was already settled. Thus there was now a strong family bond added to the memory of old days in Matabeleland. Later in the year B.-P. with Lady Baden-Powell and their elder daughter, Heather, sailed for India. The Scouts of that country were going to hold their first All-India Jamboree at Delhi; the significance of such an event could hardly be exaggerated and B.-P. was eager to be present to show his approval of this demonstration of unity within the Movement.

On that occasion 4,000 Scouts from all parts of the country marched past the Viceroy and their Chief. B.-P. in speaking to the boys urged them to carry the brotherhood of the Movement with them into manhood, so that they might see India united and taking her rightful place among the nations of the world.

His report brought out the importance of this Indian Jamboree.

The Scouters played up well; the Scouts, full of enthusiasm, showed themselves smartly turned out, efficient and disciplined. The usual differences between provinces, races, religious castes and classes were forgotten in the general spirit of brotherhood which pervaded the camp. All co-operated to show the public what Scouting means, rather than to prove one lot as superior to another.

Wild Baluchis met quieter Bengalis, the Nagas (sons of the headhunters of Assam) chummed with the boys of Bombay, the Pathans of the Punjab with the Burmese. it was a wonderfully mixed pudding, but full of plums.

A cavalcade of national characteristics in national dress, and the camp fires brought out many interesting and distinctive features of the different races represented. In particular the drums fascinated me. No contingent had drums alike, and all seemed equally moved and inspired, though in different ways, by their drum music. It was a fascinating study.

However, this is a digression; what I want to say is, that the Jamboree was an undoubted success from every point of view.

Then I paid casual visits here and there in Northern India to Scout District gatherings, such as those at Peshawar, Lahore and Jaipur, and also to outlying rural Troops in Muttra, Nowshera, etc., and others in most unexpected places on the frontier, like the Khyber Pass, Kulu, Swat Valley, etc.

As he began his soldiering in India, so he ended it there, for his regiment, the 13/18th Hussars, was stationed at Risalpur, and he spent his eightieth birthday with them. Once more he wore his Hussar uniform at a Ceremonial Parade at which he presented new drum banners. 'I felt forty years younger on the spot,' he wrote. 'It was for me my last mounted parade.'

On the homeward voyage the Chiefs inspected Scouts and Guides at ports of call; every voyage they took, indeed, was an occasion for such meetings. An account of one at Malta will give some idea of what B.-P.'s coming meant to these young followers.

'The Maloja is stopping here!' Again and again this message was passed round Malta, until every Scout and Guide knew that the Maloja, with the Chief Scout and Chief Guide on board, was going to stop there after all. On Tuesday morning, April 6th, the first intimation of such a happen was received at 10 a.m. Then telephones began to buzz, people talked of it in the streets, and by noon the whole island knew. At 7 p.m. the Island Commissioner broadcast his final instructions for the following day. Everyone was eager to help, and the school children were given the whole afternoon off. The Deep Sea Scouts obtained shore leave straight away for the following day. A large contingent of Scouts travelled over from Gozo and all were on their toes. The idea of meeting and seeing the Chiefs again thrilled these Scouts afresh.

As the ship slowly steamed into the Grand Harbour an order for three cheers was given, but the Scouts lining the breakwater, the lower barracca, and fish market, etc., were not content and gave six ringing cheers which were heard almost all over the island. Hoarse with shouting and tingling with pride, the Scouts presented a very smart and uniform picture while the Chief inspected them. He looked very well and spoke in his usual strong voice, complimenting them on their turnout and efficiency, and added, The whole show was very well-managed, considering they only had twenty-four hours notice of my coming'.

Descriptions of such scenes could be repeated a thousand times.

A heavy programme faced B.-P. on his return to England. He attended the St. George's Day Service for Scouts at Windsor. Then followed the Coronation when the Scouts won praise for the way in which they organized the sale of the Programme, and the Rover Scouts for the work they did in helping to control the crowds. But he was quick to notice deficiencies and did not scruple to record the lack of smartness shown by some Scouts.

Floppy hat-brims, odd extra clothing worn outside the Scout shirt (instead of extra underclothing beneath it), general 'sloppiness' and even smoking were observed in some quarters, and naturally detracted from the general effect of smartness and efficiency.

These isolated cases did not reflect very well on the Scouters concerned, for one saw only too plainly, through the boy, the habits of the Scoutmaster.

Poor Scoutmaster! It is rough on him. But there it is. Where he leads, his boys follow.

In the Coronation year he received the Order of Merit and so became one of a small band of distinguished men; the fact that Wolseley, Roberts and Haldane --- three of his mentors --- had previously received this rare distinction, must have pleased him. The French President conferred on him the Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honour.

Then came from America the award of the Wateler Peace Prize for 1937---a fitting recognition of the work done by the Scout and Guide Movements to promote goodwill amongst the peoples.

He still used his pen steadily and one of his articles occasioned the following letter written to one of the small girls of Lucknow days --- now an ageing lady.

9 June '37

MY DEAR MARY,

Yes, it was an amusing incident where the Press reported that I had signed Princess Elizabeth's book at Windsor: in reality she asked me whether it was I who wrote every Saturday in the Daily Mail as she had kept my story about pigsticking, and to prove her words she produced a cutting of the Daily Mail which she had in her dress! That was what we were examining together when the Press snapshotted us.

Yrs

CHARLIE B.-P.

There was one slight setback to all this. On his return from India, B.-P. had made some remarks to the reporters which, torn out of their context, gave offence to some Indians and there was a movement for separation. B.-P. wrote the following letter to the Chief Scout Commissioner of India, Nawab Sir Muhammed Ahmad Said Khan, K.C.S.I., K.C.I.E.

24th June, 1937

MY DEAR NAWAB,

I have seen some far-fetched statements urged against me in certain Indian newspapers which have evidently been accepted by many people as true, without having heard the other side of the case.

It happened in this way:--- That when explaining the aims and methods of the Scout training to a meeting of Press men, I pointed out that in view of the impossibility of seeing into the future in these very difficult times for the world, education of the oncoming generation in character, health and unity was essential to form a strong nation and as the best insurance against disaster. I said that this was as necessary m India as it was in England or in Africa and in other countries that I have visited. In India this statement was seized upon and made to imply that I was deliberately insulting India and accusing her people of want of character. Nothing was further from my intention and I am exceedingly sorry that anyone should have found in my remark a meaning which I never intended, and should have felt hurt by it. I have spent over ten years in India among the happiest in my life, and have a great admiration and affection for the country. Was it likely that I should come out and visit the Scouts in my 80th year except with the motive of goodwill and admiration for the country?

In the course of my description of our methods of training in the Scout Movement I told how the key-note of our training in character was development of the sense of Honour. Incidentally I added that in India in trying to describe this virtue to the boys we had encountered a little difficulty in the fact that we could find no word in Hindustani that actually stood for Honour in its best sense. This again was understood as meaning that I did not consider Indians to have a sense of honour, which is far from my belief. But on this interpretation of my remark, certain speakers have been urging Indian Scouts to break the Promise they had made 'on their Honour' and to leave the Movement in spite of its valuable education for them and its effect in putting Indians on an equal footing of brotherhood with the youth of- other nations of the world.

To me it was unbelievable that my remarks could be understood in this light when I have been working for over twenty years in trying to give young India the joy and good comradeship of Scouting, independent of all political, religious or military aims, for no other object than their own good. I am extremely sorry that this should have given any anxiety to those good men, the Scouters, who have worked so hard and successfully, in building a strong and sensible citizenhood for India.

Yours sincerely,

BADEN-POWELL.

That, and the public explanations, did much to allay ill-feeling, but harm had been done.

In August the World Jamboree was held in Holland at Vogelenzang, when 28,000 Scouts of thirty-one nations camped together. Once more the youth of the world gave a message of hope, but it could be but a faint beam in a darkening sky. At the conclusion B.-P. gave his last Jamboree message; all there must have realized that the sands of his life were running out, and his final, 'Now good-bye. God bless you all' was charged with a deep emotion of affection which made itself felt throughout the vast assembly.

The Emblem of our Jamboree is the Jacobstaff. This was the instrument by which the navigators in old days found their way across the seas. Let it also for us to-day be an instrument of guidance in our life. It is the Cross which for all who are Christians points the way; but it is also a cross with many arms; these are held out to embrace all creeds. Those eight arms, together with the head and foot of the emblem, remind us of our ten Scout Laws.

Go forth with this emblem to spread the spirit of goodwill. .

Now the time has come for me to say good-bye. I want you to lead happy lives. You know that many of us will never meet again in this world. I am in my eighty-first year and am nearing the end of my life. Most of you are at the beginning and I want your lives to be happy and successful. You can make them so by doing your best to carry out the Scout Law all your days, whatever your station and wherever you are. I want you all to preserve this badge of the Jamboree which is on your uniform. I suggest that you keep it and treasure it and try to remember for what it stands. It will be a reminder of the happy times you have had here in camp; it will remind you to take the ten points of your Scout Law as your guide in life; and it will remind you of-the many friends to whom you have held out the hand of friendship and so helped through goodwill to bring about God's reign of peace among Men.

Now good-bye. God bless you all.

A Scouter who was present records his impressions in these words:

A poignant memory is August 1937 when he made that moving speech that closed the wonderful Jamboree in Holland, the finest show Scouting has yet had, in my opinion. That speech certainly got home to everyone. It was so inspiring, yet so pathetic, as if he didn't think he'd ever see another Jamboree and he was passing the torch on to someone else. I was standing in the Press enclosure with the late Bishop of Jarrow. Never have I seen a man so moved as Dr. Gordon on that afternoon. When B.-P. finished he turned round to me and said: 'I wonder if he'll ever realize what he's done for the youth of the world. These thirty odd thousand boys here --- here is peace on earth.'

In September the two Chiefs camped at Gilwell Park for the annual reunion of the trained Scouters: it was an event which he never missed unless out of the country or ill. There was an unusual note of strong criticism in his speech: far harsher than the few remarks which had cause such trouble in India!

With modern developments one form of education is now pervading the whole world.

This form of education comes out of Hollywood. The cinema is the common instructor for every country from China to Peru, for young and old alike. All receive through it the same lesson. Without the trouble of learning the lesson is hurled at them on the screen. It teaches, and the new generation are fully imbibing the love of sensation, notoriety, noise, and speed --- through mass suggestion.

Ably seconded by some sections of the Press, this training is drowning that of the schools, and our young people, like those of other countries, are becoming imbued with the herd instinct.

Hundreds of thousands of men and boys shriek together while hired men play football for them.

Hitler knows full well the power of huge pageants for hypnotizing his people.

Mass-suggestion is robbing men and women of their individual self-control and the power of initiative. They do not think, they just rush with the rest. And so it is with nations, preparing themselves in readiness to fight --- for no reason --- like women painting their finger nails, for no reason, but because everyone else is doing it.

It is a mad world.

In October he was present on board R.S.S. Discovery, Captain Scott's old ship, to meet the Duke of Kent when the ship was handed over to the Boy Scouts Association. This was followed soon afterwards by a pleasing ceremony when at a gathering of Scouters and Guiders a Silver Wedding Present was made to the Chiefs. Soon after he sailed once more for South Africa; he had hoped to see how the various Scout organizations were settling down in the Federation, but his strength failed him and instead he went to Kenya and rested for the winter at Nyeri; the country so suited him that they decided to build a cottage which was named 'Paxtu' as an offshoot as it were of Pax Hill, Bentley. There was, however, one outstanding incident when Peter Baden-Powell, his wife, and son, Robert, came down to meet the boat at Beira.

The Chief Guide had already stayed with them in their charming home at Inyanga, but this was my direct sight of what she had described to me as the finest baby in the world.

When I asked the little imp if this description was true he, with a self-conscious grin, rammed his fist down my mouth, as if to say, 'Oh, go on!'

Even now he felt he must apologize for being unable to do much for the Movement, and he wrote to his Scouters:

I feel most thoroughly ashamed of myself for evading my share in our game. I feel like a footballer who has had to fall out owing to a 'stitch' in his side, leaving the rest of the team to carry on with extra hard work owing to his defection. But I hope to recover my second wind before long. I have been more than fortunate in falling into the hands of two exceptionally competent doctors here, and in a place which could not be improved upon as a rest cure by any spot in the whole world. My 'stitch' has been diagnosed as the result of long over-running my powers, and cannot therefore be cured in a day; so, I have to go slow for some time yet.

My shame and regret is the greater because of the host of kind messages I have received from brother Scouts to which I have no chance of replying beyond saying here, with wholehearted gratitude, THANK YOU.

It is no hardship to live this peaceful verandah life in this sunny flower garden, with its glorious outlook across forty miles of forest to the snowy peak of Mount Kenya; but my enjoyment of it is tempered by the fact that I came here to Africa to see how Scouting is panning out, especially among the natives; and also, being in the heart of the big game country, I had intended, when not actually busy with my rod among the trout, to do some wonderful stalking of elephants and rhino with my camera. And what has been the result!

Here I am reduced to stalking and swatting flies on the rare occasions when they visit my bed. No doubt a grand sport in its way, but ---!

When the doctor asked me my history of the past twelve months and heard the recapitulation of my programme in India, the Coronation, the World Jamboree, our Silver Wedding, and the Scout rallies en route to Africa, he remarked something to the effect that if I was eighty-one and had not learnt sense by now, I deserved all the ills that fell upon me.

I had to acknowledge, and he was to some extent mollified, that last year marked a climax, a consummation of all that I had hoped for in the Scout Movement and the happy outcome of twenty-five years of married life, with grandchildren in being; thus, though I had lived two lives --- one as a soldier, the second in Scoutdom --- I was now beginning my third volume, the nature of whose contents would largely depend on the condition in which the doctors turned me out! !

During 1937 an appeal had been launched for a Boy Scout Fund to safeguard the Movement. This was well in hand when B.-P. returned in May 1938, but he was a sick man. A traveller on the same boat has said what a deep impression was made on him by the gatherings of Scouts and Guides who assembled on the quaysides to pay tribute to their Chief. they had been warned that he was too ill to see them, but they were content to see the boat which was taking him back to England.

In August he accompanied some Scouters and Guiders on a cruise to Iceland, but he was unable to land, and later he and Lady Baden-Powell left England for the last time to set up a winter home in Kenya. His days were pleasantly occupied---sketching, reading, going out on expeditions to see the wild animals, gardening, and of course letter writing. B.-P. was an industrious correspondent; his friendship once given was not allowed to rust.

Thus a note to Mr. Cyril Maude describes the 'shack.'

Paxtu, Nyeri, Kenya Colony
10 Jan. '39

MY VERY DEAR CYRIL & B,

We've often been thinking of you and your sweet Home and wondering how you have fared during the awful winter they have been having in England (though of course you will deny that any of it was felt in Devon!)

All the same, we sit here in incessant sunshine (with showers to water our garden) and never since we came, four months ago, have we failed to have brilliant sunshine for our breakfast in the verandah. I enclose a photo of the shack we had built for us and we find it in every way excellent. Sitting-room in centre with the whole front open, with folding glass doors. On each side of it a bedroom with dressing-room, bath, cloak-room, etc., and servants' pantry at the back, with a covered way to the hotel 200 yards away, whence come all our meals. We have hot and cold water laid on, with electric light and heating, a delightful garden (much grown up since the photo) and a glorious view across the forest and plain up to Mount Kenya with its snowy top.

We love the place: Heather is coming out to join us by air, for her Easter holiday, and Betty is joining us this month, also by air from N. Rhodesia with her husband and baby, so we shall have quite a family gathering!

I only wish you two would fly out and join us! Best love from both,

Yours ever,

B.-P.

We are both very fit, but I am not able to do any active work at present, so we don't propose to go home this year. I find the Scouts are going ahead far better without me!

But in addition he wrote many letters to Scouters all over the world; no letter or report must go unacknowledged. Here is a typical letter to an old supporter in Quebec.

Paxtu, Nyeri, Kenya Colony
12th April, 1940

MY DEAR COLONEL,

Your letter of the 22nd February came as a delightful surprise, a charming birthday gift to us, conveying, as it did, a full and interesting account of our long and happy connection, through the S.A.C. and Scouting, with you and Canada; and then bringing us the continued good wishes of our brother Scouts in Quebec.

Such a message, coming to us, as it does, in this out-of-the-way corner of the Empire, is of greater value than if we were sitting in Headquarters at home. So we are doubly grateful and appreciative of it.

It has been most gratifying to see that throughout Canada this spirit of keenness and comradeship is so much alive to-day, and that now we have over one hundred thousand Canadian Scouts.

I have watched all through, with great interest and content, the closer attachment that the Catholic Scouts of Quebec have shown to the parent Movement. If you have the opportunity, please give my cordial and respectful greetings to the Cardinal.

Thank you again so much for so kindly thinking of us, and for reviving so many happy memories in one's mind.

I hope that you are keeping fit and well. At any rate it is great to see that your interest in Scouting is just as vivid and strong as ever.

Good luck to you! Bless you!

Yours over,

BADEN-POWELL

This loyalty of B.-P. to his friends and fellow-workers is well expressed .in the following note from an officer who had served under him in India:

His friends of course must have been as the sands of the sea. In his last letter to me written from Kenya early in 1940 he apologizes for its brevity but says he has over 80 letters besides hundreds of cards that require answers, yet he gives me all the news of his family and of several mutual friends out there. I do not know if I was especially favoured, or if so why, but I always marvelled that, among his world-wide activities, he could find the time for private letters; but one of the characteristics of B.-P. was that among his multitude of young friends he never forgot his old ones.

Sometimes there were expeditions to observe the habits of animals, for B.-P. had planned to paint a series of pictures showing the wild beasts in their natural surroundings. One interesting encounter is recorded by him.

An hour later we had chosen a spot for our usual picnic lunch. It was high up, at 8,000 feet, on a spur of the Aberdare Range overlooking a vast panorama of hill and dale.

Sunshine and cloud shadows rang a continual change of light and colour across the scene.

Presently the empty solitude was broken by the figure of a man, striding over the down, and a white man at that, with his terrier. Soon it was evident that we were his objective, a fine typical specimen of a settler, in shirt and shorts, eyes and teeth shining bright through the tan of his face.

'Can I be any help to you?'

We hastily explained that he could help in disposing of our food and drink with us, but otherwise we were not, as he had supposed, held up by a car mishap.

We found that he lived close by, and that the crop of pyrethrum which we were admiring was his. Altitude and plentiful rain were necessary to it, and it got these all right up here.

'You are well away from wild animals here, I suppose, though you have forests in your valleys,'

'M'yes. Elephants only come occasionally; but there are buffalo and leopards down there --- plenty of them. By the way, aren't you B.-P.? My name's Gibbs. I was brought up at Gilwell, where my grandfather lived.'

So in a few moments, up on that hill-top away in Africa, we realized that the world is not so very large after all; and, with anecdotes of his childhood in the old place with its ghostly passages and its charming gardens, we were 'Back at Gilwell ' happy land'.

Amongst other occupations he produced three books for boys, mainly about animals, Birds and Beasts in Africa (1938), Paddle Your Own Canoe (1939), and More Sketches of Kenya (1940). These contained many of his sketches of men and beasts in colour and in line, and there is a pleasant vein of happiness running through the pages as he talks of his pet hydrax, or the antics of the birds as he watches from his verandah, or of beasts farther afield.

Some notes of one expedition give a delightful picture of the good days which he was able to enjoy from time to time. The writer of this account had taken the party, consisting of B.-P., Lady Baden-Powell and her niece Miss Davidson, to a camp of his 54 miles from Nyeri to see buffalo, as B.-P. was intent on making a picture of the beast.

As we lunched in the shade of a big candelabra euphorbia, up against which tents were being pitched, B.-P.'s eagle eye spotted that the boys were putting in the pegs on the lee side first, and then my new staff further distinguished themselves by so mixing the poles that the ridge pole of their verandah projected naked for about a foot, while that of my smaller tent was wrinkled all along the top. Of course it would happen when he was with me, and I was properly roasted about it.

After a rest, and then some tea, we sallied forth in the car to see the sights....

As we topped the next rise there were two big rhino staring at us close on our left, looking enormous against the sky as they stood on slightly higher ground. Not being quite sure of their intentions (who is where rhino are concerned?), we kept the car moving slowly until they trotted off and vanished into a big patch of thornbush.

A furlong on we crossed the lip of the rise, and B.-P. exclaimed in delighted tones, 'And I thought I was never going to see the veldt again!'

Neither that day nor the next did they have any luck, though they saw many antelope and other animals. Then on the third day:

Back to camp where two local men arrived to say that they had found a big herd of buffalo on the far side of the Rupengazi, so in the afternoon we drove down to a drift where we hoped they might recross for the evening feed. We lay on a shady knoll and nothing happened while B.-P. sketched a curiously twisted tree which afterwards formed part of his buffalo picture, and I watched astonished at the sureness and speed of his work. I think one of the most amazing things about him was the firmness of his drawing at over eighty years of age.

I felt gloomy that night for the next day was our last, but that very great man spotted it out of his kindliness and was very cheerful, talking of all the animals they had seen and how much they had enjoyed the trip, trying to mitigate my disappointment over those most retiring buffalo.

Then the next day they were rewarded by the sight of a herd of some 200 buffalo.

The coming of war, though expected, was nevertheless a hard blow. His thoughts must have gone back to those Jamborees when boys of so many nationalities had come together and made friendships. But he had seen too much of life and had drawn so much wisdom from it, that he did not despair of his work being utterly frustrated. So he could write to his Scouters:

I have been pruning roses in my garden here in Kenya. Not a very high-class job of service in war-time! I am not proud of it, but it is all that I am allowed of out-door exercise, by my doctor. At any rate, pruning has its moral for us Scouters. I had cut some of the plants to, such an extent that I feared I had overdone it and possibly had killed them, but not a bit of it. With our alternate sunshine and rain, they are all sending out fine, strong shoots and are coming to bloom better than ever, thanks to the operation.

So it will be in our Scout rose garden. The war has pruned our Movement by taking away the Scouters and Rovers, and has scattered many of the Scouts as evacuees in various parts of the kingdom. In other countries the pruning has been even more drastic. In many cases the Nazis have pruned the local bushes down to the very ground, and have tried to replace them with other plants, such as Hitler Youth and the Balilla. But the roots are still there!

When the Spring-time of peace returns, in God's good time, the plants will put out their new shoots in greater strength and profusion than ever, and, vitalized by the test they have gone through, they will very materially help to restore the glory of their respective national gardens.

Though the war may have killed very many of our dear comrades. and companions, it has not killed all, and it has not killed the spirit. You Scouters and Scouts who still live will carry on that same spirit, and will now develop it with all the greater force when you realize that you are taking up the torch which was dropped by those who have been struck down.

Few of those comrades of ours could have foreseen that within a short time they would be fighting and giving their lives for their country, but we do know that through 'Being Prepared' as Scouts they were the better able to face their fate with courage and good cheer. As your tribute to their memory it is open to you to make goodwill and friendship for brother Scouts abroad your aim more directly than ever before.

As the months passed so his strength began to ebb.

Many kind friends have written to me in the terms of Longfellow's brawny blacksmith, 'Under the spreading chestnut tree', with his slogan --

Something attempted, something done
Has earned a night's repose.

That's all very well. The repose will come before very long. But in the meantime he doesn't mention the waking interval between the end of the work and the oncoming sleep.

So here I lie idle, watching others doing my work, without lifting a finger to help them.

The great consolation, however, is that they are young, keen and energetic, devoted to the welfare of the Movement, far better able than I to steer it through present difficulties, and having a wide outlook which enables them to recognize and grasp the opportunities which will come, for making the Movement of yet greater national and international value in the organization of peace after the war.

With great content I leave it all in their hands; and to them I whisper

'God bless you and prosper your efforts'.

In 'the waking interval' many pictures must have passed through his memory: Charterhouse and the butcher boys of Smithfield; Lucknow and the North-West Frontier; holidays in Kashmir; pigsticking achievements; his first landing in Natal half a century past; Malta; spying adventures in the Balkans; Swaziland and Dinuzulu; pioneering in Ashanti; Scouting in the Matoppos; Mafeking and the S.A.C. Then the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides --- the long procession of boys and girls, men and women, who had found health and happiness in camp, on the mountains and in journeying to other lands; boys and girls of many colours and creeds; others in strange places --- lying in bed crippled yet happy in being Scouts and Guides; in the Welikada prison in Ceylon; in Borstal Institutions in England; in Leper Colonies; in Indian villages bringing a message of cleanliness and health; in far away Alaska and in the islands of the Pacific.

Few men have had less need for regret; he had founded well and truly --- and his work lives after him.

He died on 8th January 1941 and they buried him at Nyeri in view of Mount Kenya. It was fitting that those who bore him to his last rest in the land he loved so much were Soldiers and Scouts, White and Black.

The following messages were found amongst B-P.'s papers after his death.

Dear Scouts,---If you have ever seen the play 'Peter Pan' you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of goodbye.

Remember, it is the last you will ever hear from me, so think it over.

I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too.

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so can enjoy life when you are a man.

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. 'Be Prepared' in this way, to live happy and to die happy --- stick to your Scout promise always --- even after you have ceased to be a boy --- and God help you to do it.

Your Friend,

BADEN-POWELL

My Dear Guides, --- This is just a farewell note to you, the last that you will have from me. It is just to remind you when I have passed on that your business in life is to be happy and to make others happy. That sounds comfortable and easy, doesn't it? You begin making other people happy by doing good turns to them. You need not worry about making yourselves happy, as you will very soon find that that comes by itself; when you make other people happy, it makes you happy too. Later on, when you have a home of your own by making it a bright and cheery one you will make your husband a happy man. If all homes were bright and cheery, there would be fewer public houses and the men would not want to go out to them but would stay at home. It may mean hard work for you, but will bring its own reward then, if you keep your children healthy and clean and busy they will be happy. Happy children love their parents. There is nothing can give you greater joy than a loving child. I am sure God means us to be happy in this life. He has given us a world to live in that is full of beauties and wonders and He has given us not only eyes to see them but minds to understand them if we only have the sense to look at them in that light. We can enjoy bright sunshine and glorious views. We can see beauty in the flowers. We can watch with wonder how the seed produces the young plant which grows to a flower which in its turn will replace other flowers as they die off. For, though plants, like people, die, their race does not die away but new ones are born and grow up to carry on the Creator's plan. So, do you see, you women are the chosen servants of God in two ways: first to carry on the race, to bring children into the world to replace the men and women who pass away; secondly, to bring happiness into the world by making happy homes and by being yourselves good, cheery comrades for your husbands and children. That is where you as Guides especially come in. By being a 'comrade', that is, by taking an interest in your husband's work and aspirations, you can help him with your sympathy and suggestions and so be a guide to him. Also, in bringing up your children by strengthening and training their minds and characters as well as their bodies and health, you win be giving them to the better use and enjoyment of life. By giving out love and happiness in this way, you will gain for yourselves the return love of husband and children, and there is nothing better in this world. You will find that Heaven is not the kind of happiness somewhere up in the skies after you are dead but right here and now in this world in your own home. So guide others to happiness and you will bring happiness to yourselves and by doing this you will be doing what God wants of you.

God be with you.

BADEN-POWELL

My life has been an intensely happy one, not only in my own home circle but also in the world outside it.

I would like, before I go home, to say how grateful I am to hundreds, aye thousands, for kindnesses they have rendered to me. I have been deeply touched from time to time by that jolly goodwill which I have met with from brother Scouts and from fellow subjects of all stations in life throughout the Empire. Nor has this goodwill been confined merely to fellow countrymen, for men of other nationalities have given me their friendliness in the same way.

It has been due not to anything that I have done for them, since in a great number of cases they have been entire strangers to me, but it has been the expression on their part of the kindliness that lay in their character. It has helped very largely to making my life the happy one it has been and for that reason I do hope that that same kindly spirit will be inculcated and developed still more widely in the next generation so that more lives will be made the happier and the practice, not merely the precept, of the Christian ideal of peace and goodwill among men may become general.

Looking back on a life of over eighty years, I realize how short life is and how little worth while are anger and political warfare. The most worth-while thing is to try and put a bit of happiness into the lives of others.