the large
buildings, part of which had already been destroyed by shells, they
utilised the vast basements of the factory. There were the stores, and
there they had their kitchens, where they worked day and night to
supply their comrades in the trenches with the hot abundant food which
twice a day made them forget for a few minutes the hardships of the
cold, the rain, and the mud.

Our column halted under the bleak wall. At the wide gateway a sentinel
was on duty, standing motionless, muffled in a heavy grey cloak; and
through it our cooks passed, disappearing into the darkness, under the
guidance of the _liaison_ orderly of the preceding detachment. Whilst
waiting for his return from the journey through the labyrinth our
Chasseurs had a short rest before beginning the most difficult part of
their journey--the last stage on the way to the trenches we were to
occupy.

I took the opportunity of talking with an infantry captain who was
there, walking up and down with his face buried in a thick muffler and
his hands in the pockets of his heavy overcoat, on the sleeves of
which three small pieces of gold lace were just discernible.

"_Eh bien, mon Capitaine!_ Anything new?"

"Oh! nothing, except my opinion that you will not be disturbed either
to-day or to-morrow. Since yesterday evening they have not fired one
shot, and they were singing hymns till midnight. You may be pretty
sure they'll redouble their _Oremus_ this Christmas night, so you may
sleep soundly."

"Unless all this is merely a feint, and to-night ..."

"Yes, you're right, unless to-night ..."

The column started, and, guided by the _liaison_ orderly, we followed
the high-road for some hundred yards. The shells had transformed it
into a series of gorges, peaks, ravines, and hills. We had to jump
over big branches cut from the trees by the projectiles. It was a road
that would not be a cheerful one on moonless nights. Fortunately for
us, that particular night was extremely bright. Everything around us
could be distinguished; we could even divine about fifteen hundred
yards to our right the "solitary tree," the famous tree, standing
alone in the middle of the vast bare plain, which marked the centre of
our sector of trenches, and where I knew I should find the "dug-out"
belonging to the officers of our regiment. I was very much tempted to
jump the ditch at the side of the road and cut across the fields to
the final point of our march. It would have taken