om waiting longer. The mobiles are as good as they are likely to be
made. One can't call the line disciplined, according to the English
ideas of discipline, but they are better than they were, and at any rate
all are anxious for something to be done."

"Do you think they will get through?"

He shook his head.

"If they could fall suddenly upon the Germans they might do so, but it
is no easy matter to move large bodies of men quickly, and to be
successful they ought to be able to hurl themselves against the Germans
before they have time to concentrate. I have no doubt whichever side we
issue out on, we shall get on fairly enough as long as we have the
assistance of the guns of the forts; but beyond that I don't think we
shall get. The Germans must by this time know the country vastly better
than we do. They are immensely better trained in making extensive
movements. They have excellent generals and good officers. I fancy it
will be the same thing that it has been before. We shall make an
advance, we shall push the enemy back for a bit, we shall occupy
positions, and the next day the Germans will retake them. We have no
method and no commissariat. Even now bodies of troops are outside the
walls frequently four-and-twenty hours without food. In the confusion
consequent on a battle matters will be ten times worse. In the morning
the troops will be half-starved and half-frozen, and there will be very
little fight left in them."

"What would you do if you were commander-in-chief, Cuthbert?"

"I am altogether unfit to make a plan, and still more unfit to carry it
out," he said, "but my idea would certainly be to attack somewhere with
half my force, to force the enemy back, and to hold positions at the end
of the day, so that the Germans would concentrate to attack in the
morning. At night I would withdraw the greater portion of them, march
them straight across Paris; the other half of the army would attack
there at daybreak, and would be reinforced soon after the fighting began
by those who had fought the day before. I think in that way they ought
to be able to cut their way out, but what they would do when they once
get out is more than I can tell you. They have no cavalry to speak of,
while the Germans have a splendid cavalry force who would harass them
continually. The infantry would pursue and would march infinitely better
than we should do. We should scatter to get food, whole regiments would
break up and become mass