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Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10636, 21 April 1900, Page 7

But the present war, though abounding in instances of stubborn heroism and endur- ,, a (j or ds evidence of how modern inventions have wrought their customary prosaic influence on tbe art of war. The sketches of engage"** lllß ** nt h* l " 6 by artists at the front are far from satisfying tho aesthetic »nd romantic instincts of the public. The long distance between man and man, force and force, the smokeless powder, the unobtrusive uniforms, all these are a sore trial to the lover of tho old order which has changed. Hector had his glittering helmet that frightened the babe Astyanax as it flashed ia the sunlight; the mediaeval knight* were gay with blazoned armour; even the Napoleonic wars were not without their pomp and circumstance, their scarlet and brocade, gold lace and jewelled swords. But now the "drabneas' of the modern era of machine*, of these days when, sings the pessimistic poet, "Things are in the gjrjdk) and ride mankind"—has taken, or is taking, all the sunrise hues from war, as ft "fades into the light of common day." The scarlet uniform which is hallowed by ■o many traditions, and has won so many female heaits, bun given way to serviceable "khaki." Kven the officers dress like the men, to baffle the rifles of the sharp-shooters. Unseen bullets caive their relentless path through brain or limb; but no white cloud of smoke rises to afford picturesque background to the scarlet lines. No; the "uglification" of modern life has extended to the iphero of war; and the element of picturesqnenem has passed for ever from the battleileld. Nevertheless, the "depoetising" of war may be less real than it seems. The »onl of poetry does not exist in mere external trappings. The beauty that appeals to the eye baa, after all, but transitory value. But of the beauty that appeals to the mind—and herein lies the truer poetry —there can be no lack, so long as heroism and self-sacrifice remain the characteristics of the British soldier.