"It is
now possible to go."
We went. We lost no time on the order of our going. The rain was over,
but the fog had descended again. We lighted our lamps, and were curtly
ordered by a sentry to put them out. In the moment that they remained
alight, carefully turned away from the trenches, it was possible to
see the hopeless condition of the street.
At last we reached a compromise. One lamp we might have, but covered
with heavy paper. It was very little. The car bumped ominously, sagged
into shell-holes.
I turned and looked back at the house. Faint rays of light shone
through its boarded windows. A wounded soldier had been brought up the
street and stood, leaning heavily on his companion, at the doorstep.
The door opened, and he was taken in.
Good-bye, little "sick and sorry" house, with your laughter and tears,
your friendly hands, your open door! Good-bye!
Five minutes later, as we reached the top of the Street, the
bombardment began.
CHAPTER XXV
VOLUNTEERS AND PATRIOTS
I hold a strong brief for the English: For the English at home,
restrained, earnest, determined and unassuming; for the English in the
field, equally all of these things.
The British Army has borne attacks at La Bassee and Ypres, positions
so strategically difficult to hold that the Germans have concentrated
their assaults at these points.
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