he
bodies of some of his friends whom I had met on my last visit. I was
thankful to have been able to have him buried in a place which is
known and can be visited, but I would say to the many parents whose
sons lie now in unknown graves, that, after all, the grave seems to be
a small and minor thing in view of the glorious victory and triumphant
life which is all that really matters. If I had not been successful in
my quest, I should not have vexed my soul with anxious thought as to
what had become of that which is merely the earthly house of the
immortal spirit which goes forth into the eternal. Let those whose
dear ones lie in unrecorded graves remember that the strong, glad
spirits--like Valiant for Truth in "Pilgrim's Progress"--have passed
through the turbulent waters of the river of death, and "all the
trumpets have sounded for them on the other side."

In June of the following year, when the Germans had retired after our
victory at Vimy Ridge, I paid one more visit to Regina Trench. The
early summer had clothed the waste land in fresh and living green.
Larks were singing gaily in the sunny sky. No sound of shell or gun
disturbed the whisper of the breeze as it passed over the
sweet-smelling fields. Even the trenches were filling up and Mother
Nature was trying to hide the cruel wounds which the war had made upon
her loving breast. One could hardly recall the visions of gloom and
darkness which had once shrouded that scene of battle. In the healing
process of time all mortal agonies, thank God, will be finally
obliterated.

CHAPTER XV. (p. 159)

A TIME OF PREPARATION.

_Christmas, 1916, to April, 1917._

It was certain now that all serious fighting was at an end till next
spring, so everyone settled down to his work with a sense of relief
and tried to make the best of things. A few days after my return from
Albert I went to England.

On my return to France, I heard with some regret that our Divisional
Headquarters were going to move, and that the Corps would make
Camblain l'Abbe their headquarters. On December 20th we moved back to
the town of Bruay, where we were to stay till after the New Year.
Bruay in comparison with Camblain l'Abbe is a large and thriving town,
all the inhabitants being more or less connected with the mines in the
neighbourhood. Our Headquarters were in the administration building of
the Mining Company, in a square, and I