ved him, sir, as a brother.' The funeral,
which was attended by Prince Arthur of Connaught and several Generals,
took place under heavy fire. So continuous indeed was the roar of the
shells, that an officer, writing to the papers some time after, related
that it was impossible to distinguish the chaplain's voice. The service
was therefore necessarily brief, and at its conclusion the crowd of
officers quickly dispersed.

An order had been issued for a withdrawal from the Front, and the Menin
road into Ypres was blocked with troops and transport.

A short time previous to this I had the misfortune to be somewhat
seriously injured, for my horse--frightened or struck by a shell which
burst near by, I have never been able to determine which,--fell heavily
on me, severely crushing my left leg. I had been taken in a Staff car to
the 6th casualty clearing station and attended to, but the injured limb
grew steadily worse. In the course of the afternoon, to my great joy,
the 23rd Field Ambulance passed me on its way from Hooge, and I was
promptly placed on an ambulance wagon, on which I trekked through Ypres;
until we reached Dickebusch, some three miles on the south of the city.

As we halted for a time at the square at Ypres, a young officer, seeing
me in the ambulance, came up with a cheery 'Hallo, padre! what's up?
Last time I saw you was in your pulpit at St. John's, Boscombe; life's a
funny game, isn't it?'

Such interviews are of frequent occurrence at the Front, where lives
momentarily touch, and then, possibly, for ever separate.

Lying on a stone floor of a deserted cottage in Dickebusch that night, I
passed one of the most painful, wretched and sleepless nights of my
life. My brother officers were all snoring comfortably, when suddenly a
knock at the door placed me on the alert. My first thought was that the
Germans had got through, accordingly I made no reply; presently a gruff
voice said, 'An orderly, sir,' and I cried out, 'Come in.' He had
brought a dispatch to say that the whole German line had been forced
back, and that the Ambulance was immediately to take up its old position
on the farther side of Hooge.

In a very short time an early breakfast was quickly disposed of and the
column was ready to move off.

The O.C., finding me utterly incapacitated by reason of my injuries,
decided that I must go into hospital, for wounded men are not much use
in a life where a man's fullest powers are daily called for.