If it seems something of an impertinence to write about the life of a man who is still alive and apparently determined to be so for many years of energy and activity; it appears to be almost in the nature of a sacrilege to draw aside the veil which ought to shroud the privacy of his family life. Most English folk; whether they show it or not; are deeply in love with the sentiment expressed in Browning's lines;—
"A peep through my window if some should prefer;
But; please you; no foot over threshold of mine"—
but in the case of the Baden-Powell family many feet have already crossed the threshold; and many hands have drawn aside the curtain.' -an excerpt from the novel