was only too
apparent. Those who were so terribly wounded as to be beyond helping
themselves received neither stretcher nor ambulance. They had to hobble,
limp and drag themselves along as best they could, profiting from the
helping hand extended by a comrade. Those who were absolutely unable to
walk had to be carried by their chums, and it was pathetic to observe
the tender care, solicitude and effort which were displayed so as to
spare the luckless ones the slightest jolt or pain while being carried
in uncomfortable positions and attitudes over the thickly dust-strewn
and uneven road. The fortitude of the badly battered was wonderful. They
forgot their sufferings, and were even bandying jest and joke. Their
cheeriness under the most terrible conditions was soul-moving. No one
can testify more truthfully to the Tapley cheeriness of the British
soldier under the most adverse conditions than the little knot of
civilian prisoners at Sennelager when brought face to face for the first
time with the fearful toll of war.

The unhappy plight of our heroic fighting men, as we watched them march
towards what was called the "field," which was nearly a mile beyond our
barracks, provoked an immediate council of war among ourselves. It was
only too apparent that we must exert ourselves on their behalf.
Unfortunately, however, we were not in a position to extend them
pronounced assistance: our captors saw to that. But we divided up into
small parties and succeeded in giving all the aid that was in our power.

The soldiers were accommodated in tents. We had observed the raising of
a canvas town upon the "field," and had been vaguely wondering for what
it was required. Were German recruits coming to Sennelager to undergo
their training, or were we to be transferred from the barracks to tents?
At first we thought the latter the more probable, but as we reflected
upon the size of canvas-town we concluded that provision was being made
for something of far greater importance.

The Belgian prisoners were sent into the stables. These, however, were
scrupulously clean and empty of all the incidentals generally associated
with such buildings, because the civilian prisoners had been compelled
to scour them out a few days before. Consequently the Belgians had no
room for protest against the character of their quarters, except perhaps
upon the ground of being somewhat over-crowded. A number of the French
soldiers were also distributed among th