CHAPTER XIII
THE CON. CAMP 194

CHAPTER XIV
A BACKWATER 214

CHAPTER XV
MY THIRD CAMP 229

CHAPTER XVI
LEAVE 245

CHAPTER XVII
A HOLIDAY 261

CHAPTER XVIII
PADRES 275

CHAPTER XIX
CITIZEN SOLDIERS 289

A PADRE IN FRANCE

CHAPTER I

THE UTTERMOST PART

I have always admired the sagacity of Balak, King of Moab, about whom
we learn something in the Book of Numbers. He was threatened with
invasion by a powerful foe and felt unequal to offering armed
resistance. He invoked the aid of spiritual powers by inviting a
prophet, Balaam, to come and curse the army of the invaders. Balaam
suffered himself to be persuaded and bribed by the king. All
kings--and the statesmen who nowadays regulate the conduct of
kings--understand the business of managing men so far. Persuasion and
bribery are the methods of statecraft. But Balak knew more than the
elements of his trade. He understood that spiritual forces, if merely
bribed, are ineffective. To make a curse operate there must be a
certain amount of conviction in the mind of the curser. Balaam was
not convinced, and when he surveyed the hosts of Israel from the top
of a hill felt himself compelled by the spirit within him to bless
instead of curse. The king, discouraged but not hopeless, took the
prophet to the top of another hill, showed him a different view of
the camp of Israel and invited him to curse the people from there.

At first sight this seems a foolish thing to have done; but properly
considered it appears very crafty. From the fresh viewpoint, Balaam
saw not the whole, but only the "uttermost part" of the hosts of
Israel. I suppose he no longer saw the first-line troops, the army in
battle array. Instead he saw the base camps, the non-combatant
followers of the army, a great deal that was confused and sordid,
very little that was glorious or fine. It might conceivably have been
possible for him to curse the whole army and cast a blight upon its
enterprise, when his eyes rested only on the camp-followers, the
bagg