Our second visit to Fleurbaix, for our first had been but a fleeting one, enabled us to get a more comprehensive view of our surroundings. The destruction in the village proved more considerable than had at first been realized, and though civilians abounded, the place had a weary and depressed air, which was hardly to be wondered at. Everything looked so sadly out of repair; little attempt had been made, or was indeed possible, to make good the ravages of war. Streets where there was little traffic were grass grown, gardens were rank with weeds, fences and railings were broken down, and débris of bricks and mortar littered the ground. Work on improving billets was at once put in hand, and things left unfinished by the 2/7th K.L.R. were completed and improved, in accordance with one of the unwritten laws of trench life--viz., "Always leave a place better than you find it." The 2/8th K.L.R., working with the 2/5th K.L.R., occupied in turn billets opposite ours; and in rear of the village in quite a decent house were Brigade Headquarters, pleasantly adjacent to a couple of 60-pounders! [Illustration: THE OFFICERS MARGATE, 1915.] Being now Battalion in Brigade Reserve, we were initiated at once into one of the special functions of that privileged position, the reconnoitring of emergency routes. This necessary but tedious performance is complicated by the very hazy details usually supplied, and the tendency of the local inhabitants to remove guide posts and to put wire fences across the tracks. Although the battalion remained in Fleurbaix till March 6th as Brigade and Divisional Reserve, it must not be imagined that the time was an idle one. Even in so-called "rest periods" the infantry are never allowed much peace, while in reserve in the vicinity of the front line there is more than enough for all to do. To begin with, the troops found, to their disgust, that general training was not confined to England, and for those not otherwise employed the usual physical training and bayonet fighting, rapid loading, wiring, and all the other inventions of the training enthusiast, appeared once more on the scene. All the same, the proximity of the enemy added interest to the bayonet fighting and other exercises, for no one knew but that skill in those arts, and of the very highest order, might be demanded of every man at the shortest notice. The natural tendency to dirtiness and slovenly appearance produced by a time in muddy trenches had also to be checked, and the battalion soon realized that the best soldiers in action are generally the best turned-out behind the line.