d
that the English language has no superlative sufficient to describe our
infantry.

CHAPTER X.

THE BEGINNING OF WINTER.

Before we came, Givenchy had been a little forgettable village upon a
hill, Violaines a pleasant afternoon's walk for the working men in La
Bassee, Festubert a gathering-place for the people who lived in the
filthy farms around. We left Givenchy a jumble of shuttered houses and
barricaded cellars. A few Germans were encamped upon the site of
Violaines. The great clock of Festubert rusted quickly against a tavern
wall. We hated La Bassee, because against La Bassee the Division had
been broken. There are some square miles of earth that, like criminals,
should not live.

Our orders were to reach Caestre not later than the Signal Company.
Caestre is on the Cassel-Bailleul road, three miles north-east of
Hazebrouck. These unattached rides across country are the most joyous
things in the world for a despatch rider. There is never any need to
hurry. You can take any road you will. You may choose your tavern for
lunch with expert care. And when new ground is covered and new troops
are seen, we capture sometimes those sharp delightful moments of
thirsting interest that made the Retreat into an epic and the Advance a
triumphant ballad.

N'Soon and myself left together. We skidded along the tow-path, passed
the ever-cheerful cyclists, and, turning due north, ran into St Venant.
The grease made us despatch riders look as if we were beginning to
learn. I rode gently but surely down the side of the road into the
gutter time after time. Pulling ourselves together, we managed to slide
past some Indian transport without being kicked by the mules, who,
whenever they smelt petrol, developed a strong offensive. Then we came
upon a big gun, discreetly covered by tarpaulins. It was drawn by a
monster traction-engine, and sad-faced men walked beside it. The
steering of the traction-engine was a trifle loose, so N'Soon and I drew
off into a field to let this solemn procession pass. One of the commands
in the unpublished "Book of the Despatch Rider" is this:--

_When you halt by the roadside to let guns pass or when you
leave your motor-cycle unattended, first place it in a
position of certain safety where it cannot possibly be
knocked over, and then move it another fifty yards from the
road. It is impossible for a gunner to see something by the
roadside and not drive over it.