t." A mighty chorus of voices joined in the
well-known strains. After the Benediction, I went down to the door and
shook hands with as many of the men as I could and wished them a happy
New Year. No one who was at that service will ever forget it. As we
found out, the trail before us was longer than we had expected, and
the next New Year's Eve found many of us, though, alas, not all, in
that theatre once more, still awaiting the issue of the conflict.

In January, I paid a flying visit to the Canadian Cavalry Headquarters
at Tully near Abbeville, and saw many old friends. On my return, I had
a curious experience which throws a light upon railway travelling at
the Front. A friend had motored me to Abbeville that afternoon, just
in time to catch a leave-train full of men returning from England. I
only wanted to go as far as St. Pol, about thirty miles off, where I
hoped to get a car for Bruay. I got into a carriage with four
officers, one of whom was a chaplain who had just been decorated with
the D.S.O. I had crossed the Channel with him once before, so was glad
to renew our acquaintance. The train left Abbeville about four
o'clock. We found ourselves in a second-class compartment. The windows
were broken, the floor was dirty, and there was no lamp to lighten our
darkness. By pulling down the curtains we tried to keep out the cold
wind, but the draught was very unpleasant, and we had to trust to the
accumulated warmth of our bodies to keep from freezing.

Instead of going directly to St. Pol, for some reason or other, (p. 161)
the train started off to the South. We travelled on and on at a
snail's pace, and had frequent and lengthy stops. When the light died
away, we should have been in complete darkness if one of the officers
had not brought a candle with him. Hour after hour passed by and we
began to get hungry. Somebody had some sandwiches and a piece of cake,
and this was shared by all the company. It served to stimulate rather
than soothe the appetite. About midnight to our astonishment we found
we had got to Canaples, where I had stayed when we were going to the
Somme. Someone said there had been a railway accident and we had to
travel by branch lines. In spite of the cold, we tried to sleep. I sat
between my parson friend, who was inclined to be stout, and another
officer who was remarkably angular. When I leaned upon my corpulent
friend, his frequent fits of coughing made my head bounce as though it
were rest