lian flag.

[Footnote 1: "You speak the language of Dante."]

That night our transport arrived, and our departure was fixed for the
following morning. The 12th of December was a day that I shall vividly
remember for the rest of my life. We left Ferrara about 1 p.m. after
one of the most enthusiastic demonstrations I have ever seen. That
morning the town had been placarded far and wide with the following
poster:--

_Comitato di Preparazione Civile._[1]

CITTADINI,

Stamane alle ore undici e trenta (11.30) gli Artiglieri inglesi
muoveranno dal Quartiere Palestro diretti alia Stazione Ferroviaria.
Essi partono verso il fronte, per difendere cogli eroici soldati
d'Italia e di Francia il conteso e sacro suolo della patria, per
combattere la barbaria tedesca, che tenta invano di avanzare contro il
baluardo offerto dai petti dei soldati di tre nazioni.

CITTADINI,

Vi invitiamo ad accorrere ed a portare il vostro saluto ai fedeli e
valorosi Alleati. Essi debbono sentire che i vostri cuori palpitano, con
loro, di speranza e di fede.

FERRARA. 11-12 dicembre 1917,
IL PRESIDENTE AVOGLI.

[Footnote 1: _Committee of Civilian Preparation._

FELLOW CITIZENS,

This morning at 11.30 a.m. the British Gunners will march out from the
Palestro Barracks to the Railway Station. They are leaving for the
Front, to defend alongside of the heroic soldiers of Italy and France
the disputed and sacred soil of our country, and to combat the German
barbarians, who strive in vain to advance against the rampart which is
formed by the breasts of the soldiers of three nations.

FELLOW CITIZENS,

We invite you to be present and to salute our brave and faithful Allies.
They should be made to feel that your hearts, in unison with theirs,
throb with hope and faith.]

By eleven o'clock a large crowd was already gathering outside the
Barracks. At half-past we marched out into the street. In front of us
went the municipal brass band, gay with cocks' feathers, and
school-children carrying four banners on long flagstaffs. There was
tumultuous cheering and clapping from a dense crowd. Flowers were
showered upon us, and a very handsome girl gave me a bouquet of red
roses. The band played impossible march music, so that we weren't able
to keep much of a step.

But the enthusiasm was intense. Spectators thronged all the windows
overlooking our route, and the cheering crowd stretched thick and
unbroken along both sides of the street all the way.