e had been a sailor for many years, and after he left the
sea he became chief game warden of Massachusetts. In time of stress he was
a tower of strength and could be counted upon to set his men an example of
cool and judicious daring. The first sergeant, Armstrong, was an old
regular army man, and his knowledge of drill and routine was invaluable to
us. He thoroughly understood his profession, and was remarkably successful
in training raw men. Sergeants Grumbling, Kubelis, and Bauer were all of
them excellent men, and could be relied upon to perform their duty with
conscientious thoroughness under the most trying conditions.

One afternoon I went in to Luxemburg with Colonel Collins, the battalion
commander. The town looks thoroughly mediaeval as you approach. It might
well have been over its castle wall that Kingsley's knight spurred his
horse on his last leap; as a matter of fact the village of Altenahr, where
the poet laid the scene, is not so many miles away. The town is built
along the ragged cliffs lining a deep, rocky canyon spanned by old stone
bridges. The massive entrance-gates open upon passages tunnelled through
the hills, and although the modern part of the town boasts broad streets
and squares, there are many narrow passageways winding around the ancient
quarter.

I went into a large bookstore to replenish my library, and was struck by
the supply of post-cards of Marshal Foch and Kitchener and the King and
Queen of Belgium. All had been printed in Leipzig, and when I asked the
bookseller how that could be, he replied that he got them from the German
commercial travellers. He said that he had himself been surprised at the
samples shown him, but the salesman had remarked that he thought such
post-cards would have a good sale in Luxemburg, and if such were the case
"business was business," and he was prepared to supply them. There was
even one of King Albert standing with drawn sword, saying: "You shall not
violate the sacred soil of my country." A publication that also interested
me was a weekly paper brought out in Hamburg and written in English. It
was filled with jokes, beneath which were German notes explaining any
difficult or idiomatic words and phrases. With all their hatred of England
the Huns still continued to learn English.

Thanksgiving Day came along, and we set to work to provide some sort of a
special feast for the men. It was most difficult to do so, for the
exchange had not as yet been regu