dressed by General Smith Dorrien,[7] and even
by Sir J. French, they showed their approbation in the manner above
set forth--somewhat to my confusion.

[Footnote 7: Commanding of course the 2nd Corps (composed of
the 3rd and 5th Divisions).]

_Aug. 21st._

Next day we moved off early. I already found myself overburdened with
kit--although I had not even as much as the regulation 150 lb.--and I
left a camp-bed and a thick waistcoat and various odds and ends behind
in Madame W----'s cupboard, under the firm belief that I might at some
future period send for it if I wanted it. Alas! the Germans have now
been at Ors for close on three years.

A hot march of about fifteen miles brought us to Gommignies.
Stragglers, I regret to say, were already many--all of them
reservists, who had not carried a pack for years. They had every
intention of keeping up, of course, but simply could not. I talked to
several of them and urged them along, but the answer was always the
same--"Oh, I'll get along all right, sir, after a bit of rest; but I
ain't accustomed to carrying a big weight like this on a hot day," and
their scarlet streaming faces certainly bore out their views. To do
them justice, they practically all did turn up. I was afraid that, in
spite of great care and the numerous orders I had issued about the
fitting and greasing of new boots, it was the boots which were at
fault; but it was not so, except in a very few cases.

Our billeting parties had, of course, been sent ahead and started on
their work. It was naturally quite new work to them, and it took a lot
of time at first--two and three hours--before the men were settled.
Nowadays it takes half an hour, or at most an hour, as everybody knows
his job, and also takes what is given him at once, squash or no
squash. After a little campaigning men very quickly find out that it
is better to shake down at once, even in uncomfortable billets, than
to hang about and try to get better ones. Here we got first touch,
though very indirectly, with the enemy, in the shape of a French
patrol of _Chasseurs a Cheval_ (in extraordinarily _voyant_
light-blue tunics and shakos), who had come in from somewhere north
after having seen some "Uhlans" and hunted them off. I sent the news,
such as it was, on to the Division.

And here I must lay stress on the fact that throughout the campaign we
did not know in the least what was happening elsewhere. Beyond the
fact that th