Day nine, and so much time has passed
Prime grounds for the historian's game
Wars and battles -- the headgear worn
It's not like things ever stay the same!

In retrospect I'm really unhappy with this one. I feel as if it lost its way somewhere and just doesn't work. This is a shame because the flat cap is my favorite of the hats, so I'll probably revisit it again once I have a better idea to go with it.

The books I'm carrying are:
Cuba's Fight for Freedom and the War with Spain, by Henry Houghton Beck, 1898,
The Footprints of Time, by Charles Bancroft, 1875, and
War in South Africa and the Dark Continent, by William Harding, 1899.

That last volume opens with my favorite comment on history:
"With all due respect to the past, one enters upon a review of ancient history with a feeling of trepidation. We are all entitled to put our hands in the same old store of musty facts and we can only pull out somewhat dry historical chestnuts. But, even when preparing to peruse a bright and entertaining history it is necessary to glance backward, to form the present day. With this fact in view let me sketch as briefly as possible the history of South Africa."

Unlike the other hats on this site, I occassionaly wear this one out and about.