The Great War As I Saw It | Page 5

of the harping
David? (p. 019) Stephenson was with me till I left Salisbury Plain for
France. He nearly exterminated me once by setting a stone water-bottle
to heat on my stove without unscrewing the stopper. I arrived in my
tent quite late and seeing the thing on the stove quickly unscrewed it.

The steam blew out with terrific force and filled the tent. A moment or
two more and the bottle would have burst with disastrous consequences.
When I told Stephenson of the enormity of his offence and that he
might have been the cause of my death, and would have sent me to the
grave covered with dishonour for having been killed by the bursting of
a hot water-bottle--an unworthy end for one about to enter the greatest
war the world has ever known--he only smiled faintly and asked me if I
should like to hear him recite a poem.
News from overseas continued to be bad. Day after day brought us
tidings of the German advance. The martial spirits amongst us were
always afraid to hear that the war would be over before we got to
England. I, but did not tell the people so, was afraid it wouldn't. I must
confess I did not see in those days how a British force composed of
men from farms, factories, offices and universities could get together in
time to meet and overthrow the trained legions of Germany. It was
certainly a period of anxious thought and deep foreboding, but I felt
that I belonged to a race that has never been conquered. Above all, right
and, therefore, God was on our side.
The scenery around Valcartier is very beautiful. It was a joy now and
then to get a horse and ride away from the camp to where the Jacques
Cartier river comes down from the mountains, and to dream of the old
days when the world was at peace and we could enjoy the lovely
prospects of nature, without the anxious care that now gnawed at our
hearts. The place had been a favorite haunt of mine in the days gone by,
when I used to take a book of poems and spend the whole day beside
the river, reading and dozing and listening to the myriad small voices
of the woods.
Still, the centre of interest now was the camp, with its turmoil and
bustle and indefinite longing to be up and doing. The officer
commanding my battalion had brought his own chaplain with him, and
it was plainly evident that I was not wanted. This made it, I must
confess, somewhat embarrassing. My tent, which was at the corner of
the front line, was furnished only with my bed-roll and a box or two,
and was not a particularly cheerful home. I used to feel rather (p. 020)

lonely at times. Now and then I would go to Quebec for the day. On
one occasion, when I had been feeling particularly seedy, I returned to
camp at eleven o'clock at night. It was cold and rainy. I made my way
from the station to my tent. In doing so I had to pass a Highland
Battalion from Vancouver. When I came to their lines, to my dismay I
was halted by a sentry with a fixed bayonet, who shouted in the
darkness, "Who goes there?" I gave the answer, but instead of being
satisfied with my reply, the wretched youth stood unmoved, with his
bayonet about six inches from my body, causing me a most unpleasant
sensation. He said I should have to come to the guardroom and be
identified. In the meantime, another sentry appeared, also with a fixed
bayonet, and said that I had to be identified. Little did I think that the
whole thing was a game of the young rascals, and that they were
beguiling the tedious moments of the sentry-go by pulling a chaplain's
leg. They confessed it to me months afterwards in France. However, I
was unsuspecting and had come submissive into the great war. I said
that if they would remove their bayonets from propinquity to my
person--because the sight of them was causing me a fresh attack of the
pains that had racked me all day--I would go with them to the
guardroom. At this they said, "Well, Sir, we'll let you pass. We'll take
your word and say no more about it." So off I went to my dripping
canvas home, hoping that the war would be brought to a speedy
termination.
Every night I used to do what I called "parish visiting." I would go
round among the tents, and sitting on the ground have a talk with the
men. Very interesting and charming these talks were. I was much
impressed with the miscellaneous interests and life