l
the rest of the building. In the hall upstairs we had a large model of
Vimy Ridge, which all the officers and men of the battalions visited
in turn, in order to study the character of the land over which they
had to charge. In the garden were numerous huts, and in a large
building in a street to the right of the Chateau was a billet which
held a great number of men. It was almost entirely filled up with
tiers upon tiers of wooden shelves, on which the men made their beds.
They were reached by wooden stairs. Nearly fifteen hundred men were
crowded into the building. On the ground floor beside the door, there
was a high platform which commanded a view of the whole interior. On
this, one of the bands lived and gave us music in the evening. Every
night after dinner, I used to go to the cinema, as we called the
place, and have either a service or a talk with the men on general
subjects. At such times outsiders would crowd in, and we have had very
hearty singing when the band struck up a hymn. I always tried to have
some piece of good news to announce, and would get the latest reports
from the signallers to read aloud. The men were in splendid spirits,
and we were all buoyed up with the hope that we were going to end the
war. I used to speak about the war outlook, and would tell the men
that there were only two issues before us: Victory or Slavery. When I
asked them one night "Which shall it be, Boys?" a loud shout of
"Victory!" went up.

News was not always plentiful, and it was a little hard at times to
find anything particularly interesting to say, and so, one night I
determined to make a variation. I told the men that on the next
evening, if they would bring in questions to me on any subject which
had been troubling them, I should be very glad to try to give an (p. 163)
answer. I thought that an entertainment of that kind might be both
attractive and helpful. On the next evening, therefore, I ascended the
platform as usual and found the place crowded with men. I had my
acetylene lamp with me to furnish light for reading any questions that
might be sent up. I called the meeting to order, and then asked if any
men had any questions to ask. To my great delight, someone at the back
held an envelope above the crowd, and it was passed up to me. I tore
it open, and, holding my lamp in one hand, without first looking over
the letter, I read it aloud to the men, who were hushed in the silence
of anticipation. I give it just a