e
for the active men of the Brigade, whilst the other works with the Field
Ambulance. (Each Brigade consists of from three to five thousand men and
has a Field Ambulance attached to it.)

(1) As occasion offers church parades are held, to which the
attendance is compulsory. But many a time the padre will
arrange voluntary services of the most informal character;
in barns, in a wood, sometimes in the reserve trenches. The
chaplain, by order, has no right in the firing trenches
except on urgent duties: such as ministering to the men, or
conducting funerals.

(2) Men who are communicants greatly value the Means of Grace,
and possibly the great sacrament of the Lord's Supper is
never administered under more remarkable circumstances than
at the Front. At times the setting of the service is of the
very crudest form, but none the less it is highly prized. I
know full well the objection that is felt by some clergy to
Evening Communion, but in the British Expeditionary Force at
times it is absolutely necessary, unless the Church is
prepared to practically excommunicate men for a longer or
shorter period. I may add that personally I have no
sympathy with limiting the Means of Grace instituted by our
Blessed Redeemer to any particular hour of the day, and
certainly the Divine Institution was made after the Last
Supper, or during that meal.

(3) One of the saddest features of the padre's round of duty is
the burial of the dead. Funerals often take place in the
firing line, or immediately behind it, when, of course, the
ceremony is of the very briefest duration. At others the
remains of the brave dead are interred in the nearest
cemetery, but in either case, as far as possible, a cross is
placed on the grave recording the name, number and regiment
of the interred. The visitation of the dying, especially
during a 'push,' entails a great deal of time on the part
of the chaplain. If the dying man is conscious and realizes
his position, there will be the last messages for the loved
ones at home; the disposition of property; the setting right
of some existent wrong; for as the moment of dissolution
approaches, men's minds are usually keenly alive to the
urgency of the position.

(4) One of the most harrowing duties is ministerin