ttack on Gaza, whither the Turks had now
retreated. It was a beautiful trek. If there were not "roses, roses, all
the way," the green fields and the almond blossom made very acceptable
substitutes. But for the cactus and prickly pear which lined the lanes we
might have been riding leisurely over an English countryside. We saw as
many trees during this nine or ten miles' ride as during the whole of our
time in Egypt. There were few palms. The sycamore, which grows to greater
perfection in Palestine than I have seen elsewhere, was in the majority and
cast a beneficent shade on us. There were limes, too, and a tree which
looked something like a laburnum, together with the almond tree now covered
with its delicately-tinted bloom.

The utter tranquillity of the place made one wonder if the grim business
upon which we were engaged was indeed real, for here there was none of the
dust and bustle of the previous day. The clear freshness of the morning
made us feel glad to be alive, and there was, moreover, no disillusionment
in the shape of dirty mud houses, nor anything to spoil our enjoyment. It
was just Nature at her very best, and in her spring dress she is very
pleasant indeed in Palestine.

As I have said, it was probably by contrast with the desert that this
lovely country appealed so strongly to us. Even the morning pipe had a
different flavour. For a few brief hours we could forget that our ultimate
mission was to kill as many Turks as possible and could plod along on our
horses as though all Time were our own, wanting nothing to our infinite
content. An agreeable aroma hangs over the memory of that day though it was
absolutely uneventful in itself. We arrived at our destination in a state
of peace with all the world, which is a most inappropriate condition to be
in for a soldier--even amateurs like ourselves. However, it was only
temporary. At Belah we learnt something of the order of battle in so far as
it affected ourselves. While the infantry were making a frontal attack on
the positions defending Gaza, we--that is, the mounted divisions--were to
strike out east and north with the double object of holding up Turkish
reinforcements from Beersheba and Hereira (S.E. of Gaza), Huj (E. of Gaza),
and cutting off the retreat of the main body should the town be taken. What
to do should the attack fail we were not informed. Presumably we were to
trust to what Mr. Kipling aptly calls "the standing-luck of the British
Army" to