[3] “At the cross-roads near Klein Zillebeke we halted, lying down on each side the road as shells were coming over. In the centre of the road lay a dead trooper of some British Cavalry Regiment, his horse also half dead across him. A woman passed by.... She had all her household treasures strapped on her back and held the hands of two very small children. She took no notice of any one, but I saw the two little children shy away from the dead man.”--_Diary of a Company Officer._ [4] Their Brigadier, Lord Cavan, wrote on the 20th November to Captain N. Orr-Ewing, commanding the Battalion: “I want you to convey to every man in your Battalion that I consider that the safety of the right flank of the British section depended entirely upon their staunchness after the disastrous day, Nov. 1. Those of them that were left made history, and I can never thank them enough for the way in which they recovered themselves and showed the enemy that the Irish Guards must be reckoned with, however hard hit.” [5] Brigade Reserve means in readiness to move at short notice in any direction to support; all wagons standing packed day and night, except that the blankets may be used by the men. Corps Reserve takes a battalion definitely out of the line for the time being and out of reach of all except air-bombing. [6] “I saw him slip back over the parapet in the mornin’ mist, the way he always did, just behind the officer going the rounds. An’ his pockets was bulgin’. I had been layin’ for him a long while because I knew he had something I wanted. So I went up behind him and I said quite quiet, ‘C----, I’ll take your night’s pickin’s if it’s the same to you.’ He knew it had to be, an’ to do him justice he bore it well. ‘Well, anyway, Sergeant,’ says he, ‘’tis worth five francs to you, is it not?’ ‘Yes,’ says I and I gave him the five francs then an’ there, an’ he emptied his pockets into my hands. ’Twas worth all of five francs to me, C----’s work that night. An’ he never bore me malice thereafter.”--_A Sergeant’s Tale._ [7] He was succeeded by Major-General Feilding in command of the Guards Division; Brigadier-General Pereira commanding the 1st Guards Brigade. [8] These were vast cellars reached by a hundred steps, and at the bottom of them resided a very old soldier, who did little more than “boil the hot water for the officers’ baths” and look after a certain mascot-goat which had been given them by a French Corps. When the order to move at once came, the parting words of the Officer in Charge of the Goat to the aged man were: “Now you look after the goat _and_ our blankets, and don’t walk about upstairs. _You_ needn’t worry about yourself. If you’re taken prisoner we’ll send you lots of parcels. Look after the goat and hang on to our blankets.” He did. [9] This, be it remembered, gives roughly the idea at the close of 1918. * * * * * * Transcriber’s note: