ne on the plea that
he "really _must_ see how his lads worked through the woodlands"; both
had made the supreme sacrifice in France before the leaves were off
the trees. How many are alive and unmaimed to-day of those fighting
men of all ranks who buzzed about so cheerily amid the heather and the
pine trees that afternoon, and who melted away so silently out of
Aldershot a very few days later?

The clouds thereafter gathered thicker from day to day, and on Friday
morning, the 31st of July, I received a letter from General Henry
Wilson, sent on from my town address, asking me to come and breakfast
with him on the following day. I was going down to Winchester to see
the Home Counties (Territorial) Division complete a long march from
the east on their way to Salisbury Plain, and it happened to be
inconvenient to go up to town that night, so I wired to Wilson to say
I would call at his house on the Sunday. On getting back, late, to
Fleet I however found a peremptory summons from him saying I must come
and see him next day, and I went up in the morning. One could not
foresee that that breakfast in Draycott Place to which I had been
bidden was to take rank as a historic meal. Mr. Maxse has told the
story of it in the pages of the _National Review_, and of how the
movement was there started by which the Unionist leaders were got
together from various quarters to bring pressure on the Government not
to leave France in the lurch, a movement which culminated in Mr. Bonar
Law's famous letter to Mr. Asquith.

On meeting General Wilson at the War Office about noon he told me that
I was to take his place as Director of Military Operations in case of
mobilization, and he asked me to join as soon as possible. He further
made me acquainted with the political situation, with the very
unsatisfactory attitude which a proportion of the Cabinet were
disposed to take up, and with the steps which Messrs. George Lloyd,
Amery, Maxse, and others were taking to mobilize the Opposition
leaders and to compel the Government to play the game. In the last
conversation that I ever had with Lord Roberts, two or three days
before the great Field-Marshal paid the visit to the Front which was
so tragically cut short, he spoke enthusiastically of the services of
Lloyd (now Sir George) on this occasion. In consequence of what I had
learnt I joined at the War Office for duty on the Monday, although the
arrangement was irregular and purely provisional for the