which grew more and more interesting as the evening
advanced, was brought to a sudden conclusion by the entrance of a
Lieutenant, who announced that nine o'clock had struck; in a moment
the room was emptied, lights were out and we were all wending our ways
homeward.

The first impressions of a soldier at the front are invariably the
most vivid. A week after we had settled down to routine work we had
occasion to visit one of the advanced dressing stations in our area.
Leaving our little town by motor we crossed the canal by the
lift-bridge after waiting to allow three Dutch barges to pass through.
These lift bridges are hinged about one third of the way from one end
and are raised by means of stout cables hitched to the other end and
passing back to towers. They are so balanced that little effort is
required to raise or lower them.

Turning to the left we struck into a pave road which led for some
distance along the canal bank. Pave is not a bad road when kept in
good repair as this one was, and when you get used to the vibration of
the car bouncing from one cobble stone to another; when, however, it
is not kept in repair, depressions form which rapidly increase as cart
and motor wheels fall into them and hammer them deeper and deeper.

A little grey tug boat, painted the regulation battleship grey,
slipped quietly along through the canal towing several barges loaded
with road metal and lumber.

A buzz like a huge bee approaching us across the fields attracted our
attention, and we looked up to see an aeroplane, like a gigantic
dragon fly bearing directly down upon us. A hundred yards away it left
the ground and passed over our heads climbing steadily in a great
spiral into the sky. Another aeroplane, and another followed till
there were five circling above us, getting smaller and smaller as they
soared into the heaven, looking like herons in flight among the
clouds. They then made off towards different parts of the German lines
to their daily task of reconnaissance.

The women, old men and children, were busy on the farms ploughing,
harrowing and putting in the seed. Though the men were away there was
no dearth of labour on the farms and everything was going on as it
should. The silly-looking, heavily-built, three-wheeled carts, empty
or loaded with manure, bumped along behind the broad-backed Flemish
horses, guided solely by a frail looking piece of string. The driver,
seated crosswise on a projecting tongue of w