has given to everyone a chance to "get out of himself," as I
might say. Of course, the other side of the picture is bound to
occur to the imagination. But there! I have never been one to
take the more melancholy point of view when there's a silver
lining in the cloud.

Certainly, speaking for myself, I can say that I have never in
all my life experienced such a wild exhilaration as on the
commencement of a big stunt, like the last April one for example.
The excitement for the last half-hour or so before it is like
nothing on earth. The only thing that compares with it are the
few minutes before the start of a big school match. Well,
cheer-oh!

This was our son's last letter. A few days later came a field postcard
from him, bearing date July 30, the day before the battle in which he
was killed. After that, silence--a silence that will remain unbroken
this side of the grave.

PART III

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE

_The day's high work is over and done,
And these no more will need the sun:
Blow, you bugles of England, blow!_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_That her Name like a sun among stars might glow
Till the dusk of time with honour and worth:
That, stung by the lust and the pain of battle,
The One Race ever might starkly spread
And the One Flag eagle it overhead!
In a rapture of wrath and faith and pride,
Thus they felt it and thus they died._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_Blow, you bugles of England, blow!_

W. E. HENLEY: "THE LAST POST."

The circumstances in which Lieutenant H. P. M. Jones met his death are
described in the following letters sent to me by Major Haslam, his
commanding officer, and Corporal Jenkins, the N.C.O. in his Tank:

_August 2nd, 1917._

Your son went into action with his Tank, together with the
remainder of the company, in the early morning of July 31st. He
was killed by a bullet whilst advancing. From the evidence of his
crew I gather he was unconscious for a short time, then died
peacefully. I knew your son before he joined the Tanks. We were
both in the 2nd Cavalry Brigade together. I was delighted when he
joined my company. No officer of mine was more popular. He was
efficient, very keen, and a most gallant gentleman. His crew
loved him a