e Mess that
the missing party had been passed through the prison at Ypres, on
their way to a C.C.S. Now, our Battery Commander, after great trouble,
had lately gained possession of an improved type of periscope, which
he had been persuaded to lend the F.O.O. on that day, and, on receipt
of this news, his first thought was for the safety of his precious
instrument. The fact that two valuable casualties had resulted did not
seem to weigh with him in the least compared with its loss, and he was
not to be consoled until it was ascertained that the periscope was in
safe keeping. Only then could he be persuaded to make enquiries as to
the nature of their wounds and express his sorrow at their misfortune.

The Infantry found the trenches in an appalling state, and forthwith
proceeded to repair them, but the enemy would not allow this to go on
long, and, after a few days' work had been spent on them, a couple of
hours' bombardment would suffice to demolish anything that had been
done. As it was a case of labour lost, all attempts at building on a
large scale were soon abandoned.

Many interesting excursions were made in and around the town. There
was a certain amount of splendour about the ruined place. The high
battered remains of the Cloth Hall Tower stood up in proud defiance in
the centre of the stricken city, while the ancient ramparts
surrounding it gloried in their battle scars and showed a dauntless
front to the enemy.

A good deal of annoyance was caused in getting about from place to
place through the uncongenial presence of a couple of hostile high
velocity guns which were commonly known as "Quick Dick" and "Silent
Sue," his consort. They were so named on account of the rapidity with
which the shells arrived, and there was little or no warning of their
coming. Their chief object was to harass the neighbourhood, for (p. 026)
they appeared to have no definite target but just dropped a shell
here and there, trapping the unwary and doing considerable damage, as
well as effectively raising a certain amount of "wind"!

As conditions suited the enemy admirably, many raids were made by him,
and, on one occasion, he launched four simultaneously, one on each
sector of the Salient, after a sharp and heavy bombardment. He
attacked us between Wieltje and Potijge, but was unsuccessful in his
endeavour to obtain an identification. The attempt was frustrated, and
the only result was that he left a number of prisoners in our h