On November 19 the 133rd French Division (“La Gauloise”) relieved the 42nd Division, which was now ordered to La Bassée. The occasion was an interesting one, as the men were keen to notice differences in methods and kit. In the middle of the relief the Germans began heavy shelling, and the Divisional Commander, risking the starting of an artillery battle, applied his scheme of Punishment Fire and silenced the enemy in twenty minutes. The relief was completed without further molestation, all ammunition in the left sub-sector being brought across the Yser in an overhead cradle. There were no regrets on leaving Nieuport. “Remember Belgium!” muttered a Fusilier, in allusion to the posters he had seen when home on leave. “Can I ever bloomin’ well forget it?” The cool bright weather was ideal for route-marching, and the day’s march of about twelve miles was usually completed about 2 p.m. After a short rest, followed by cleaning up and polishing, the troops would make for the nearest estaminet, there to drink _vin rouge_ or _vin blanc_ and converse in a strange compound of English, French, Arabic and sign-language with the thoroughly competent Hebe, of any age between nine and ninety, who attended to their wants. While resting for two days at Aire the Festival of St. Catherine was celebrated, and the local custom which ordains that any youth, by presenting a girl with a flower, may claim a kiss, was voted a bright idea, many staunch Protestants from Lancashire admitting that there was more to be said for some of the Roman Catholic customs than they had hitherto imagined. It was said that the flower-gardens of the village were devastated, but the villagers condoned this departure from the strict respect for private property normally shown by the British soldier. Indeed, the men’s conduct in France won high praise from the civilians, who termed them _très gentils_. There was a bad moment when a borrowed bucket fell down a well, and the owner began to express very eloquently her opinion of such carelessness. Fortunately the cook-sergeant had “won” a _buckshee_ bucket on his way through France, and the presentation of this much superior article softened the good lady’s heart. The five days’ road-marching acted as a tonic; the splendid feeding and undisturbed rest night after night revived the spirits and raised the tone of the troops by the time that they arrived in the La Bassée Sector. On November 29 they relieved the 25th Division in the line. CHAPTER VIII LA BASSÉE (_December 1917—March 1918_)