privates and I had just finished
luncheon, and were having a delightful smoke, when a certain general
was announced, and the men seized with panic, fled up the steps to my
bedroom and bolting through my window hurried back to their lines.

The landlady was quite well to do, and was a woman well thought of in
the village. She both paid calls upon her neighbours and received
callers in her rooms. Sometimes I used to be invited in to join these
social gatherings and frequently she would bring me in a nice bowl of
soup for dinner. Philo, too, made himself quite at home, and carefully
inspected all visitors on their admission to the mansion. In front of
the house, there was a pleasant view of the valley through which the
road passed up towards Mont des Cats. Our Headquarters were down in
the village in a large building which was part of the convent. General
Currie and his staff lived in a charming chateau in pleasant grounds,
on the hillside. The chateau, although a modern one, was reputed (p. 113)
to be haunted, which gave it a more or less romantic interest in the
eyes of our men, though as far as I could hear no apparitions disturbed
the slumbers of the G.S.O. or the A.A. & Q.M.G.

The road past my house, which was a favourite walk of mine, went over
the hill, and at the top a large windmill in a field commanded a fine
view of the country for several miles. My garden was very pleasant,
and in it was a summer house at the end of a moss-grown walk. One
plant which gave me great delight was a large bush of rosemary. The
smell of it always carried my mind back to peaceful times. It was like
the odour of the middle ages, with that elusive suggestion of incense
which reminded me of Gothic fanes and picturesque processions. Many
elm trees fringed the fields, and made a welcome shade along the sides
of the road. A little stream ran through the village and added its
touch of beauty to the landscape. We were only a mile and a half from
Bailleul, so we could easily get up to the town either for a concert
or for dinner at the hotel. The Camp Commandant allotted me the school
house, which I fitted up as a chapel. It was very small, and not
particularly clean, but it served its purpose very well.

My only objection to St. Jans Cappel was that it was situated such a
long way from our men, for we still held the same front line near
Ploegsteert. It was now a ride of twelve miles to Hill 63 whither I
frequently had to go to take burial