of that movement, the end of war would come. Then little
by little it leaked out that liberty had become a licence,--that the
Russian Army had become disorganized,--that the Socialistic element among
the Russians had demanded peace at any price. Soldiers refused to fight,
men deserted by the thousand, while Russian soldiers fraternized with the
Germans.

'Aren't we living in great times,' Edgecumbe wrote to me,--'surely the
greatest times ever known! They stagger the imagination,--they leave our
minds bewildered,--they shatter our little plans like a strong wind
destroys castles of cards made by children. God is speaking, my friend.
Will England be wise, and hear His voice? Will we learn that, although
the voice of great guns is loud, and the power of explosives mighty, yet
they are not final in the affairs of men and nations? Why, our plans out
here have been blown to smithereens by what has taken place many hundreds
of miles away! We had everything in readiness, and, humanly speaking, it
seemed as though nothing could have stopped our advance. We had the
Germans on toast,--we took Vimy Ridge, and Lens was in our grasp,--we had
advanced miles along the Douay road, and Lille seemed but the matter of a
few days. Then God spoke, and Ecco! what were the plans of men? The
Huns, of course, took advantage of the new situation, and removed vast
hordes of men and guns from the East to the West, and now we are held up.
Of course I am disappointed;--looking at the matter from the standpoint
of a soldier, it seemed as though nothing could withstand us. But what
are the plans of men when God speaks?

'Of course you will say that I am seeming to prove that God is on the
side of the Germans and, seeing this Russian Revolution has meant our
being held up here, that God Almighty meant that we should not advance.
No, my friend, I am not such a fool as to pretend to understand the ways
of the Omnipotent, but I have no doubt that this wide and far-reaching
movement in Russia will eventually be on our side. It must be. But why
will not England learn the lesson which is so plainly written from sky to
sky? Why do not the people turn to God,--look to Him for wisdom, and
fight in His strength? Then victory would come soon, and gloriously.

'As I said, I am disappointed at our temporary check, but I am convinced
it is only temporary. God does things in a big way. He staggers our
poor little puny minds by His acts. The world