photograph of the building is preserved in the Canadian War Records
Office. The first morning I rang the chime of bells for the early (p. 185)
service, our A.D.M.S. avowed that he, mistaking the character of the
sound, and supposing that it was a warning of a gas attack, sat up in
his bed in the sweltering heat and put on his gas helmet.

From Chateau d'Acq I used to go and take services for the siege
artillery on the Lens-Arras road, and also at the charmingly situated
rest camp at Fresnicourt. We knew however that a bombing raid might
occur at Chateau d'Acq on any clear night. Whenever we heard German
planes in the air we always felt how unprotected we were, and it gave
us a sense of relief when the buzzing sound grew fainter and fainter
and died off in the distance.

The cool green shade of the trees made a pleasant roof over our heads
on the hot days of early summer, and at dawn in the woods opposite we
could hear the nightingales. Later on, the owner of the Chateau sold
some of the bigger trees, and we found on our return to it in the
following year that the beauty of the place had been destroyed, and
the hillside looked like the scene of a Canadian lumber camp. However,
the rose-trees in the garden with their breath of sweetest odour were
a continual joy and delight to the soul.

CHAPTER XIX. (p. 186)

PARIS LEAVE.

_June 1917._

My time for leave was due again, and as we were allowed to spend it in
France without interfering with the number of those who desired to see
their friends in England, I determined to go to Chamounix. I thought
that the sight of a great natural wonder like Mont Blanc would have an
uplifting effect upon the mind, at a time when everything human seemed
to be going to rack and ruin. The white peaks of the Alps in their
changeless purity against the blue of the infinite sky seemed to me a
vision which the soul needed. So I started off one lovely morning on
my way to Paris. I went by side-car to Amiens, where I took the train.
It was a delightful expedition, and I left with a good conscience,
because our men were not expected to attack, and were in a quiet
sector of the line. The driver of the car, with the prospect of a good
meal at Amiens and a good tip, was in the best of humours. The air was
sweet and fresh and the grass wore its brightest green. The sunshine
beat down from a cloudless sky, and when we paused for repairs,