“An officer said to me, ‘If you are tired of life try to move it.’ Through this dreadful lane of death soldiers were constantly passing and re-passing, perspiring, laughing, joking, and teasing one another; but the officers in charge did not joke. They were responsible for the lives of these merry, thoughtless boys, and many a growl was heard as a specially daring private failed to take due care of the life that was too precious to be thrown away to no purpose.”[2] [2] From the _Sphere_, with acknowledgments. Between the front-line trench system of the British and that of the Germans was the open space often spoken of as “No Man’s Land.” Across this space there was incessant firing of rifles and machine-guns, throwing of bombs and hand grenades, and the firing of bombs from trench mortars. The attacks and counter-attacks on the trenches were of a grim character such as defies description; and the horror of the work was increased by the use of chlorine gas and flame-throwers. The Germans first began to use the dreadful gas round about Ypres, and the brave Canadian troops were some of the first to feel its deadly effects. The use of the gas by the Germans in one of their attacks upon our trenches is thus described:-- “When the gas cylinders were opened, the thick green mist came rolling towards the parapet from the enemy’s empty front trench, several hundreds of yards away. It looked like vapour rising from a marsh, and the wind was strong enough to carry it rapidly towards the parapet. “The battalion had time to load and fire two rounds through the screen of gas before it came pouring over the sand-bags, penetrating into every crevice of the dug-out, and choking the men who lay there. It was so thick at first that objects three feet away could hardly be seen.” At a later date the Germans began to make attacks under cover of flame-projectors. The liquid used was a mixture of petrol and kerosene and was thrown towards the trench in such a way that it was fired by an electric spark as it left the tube. Such were some of the horrors of trench life which were borne without complaint day after day by the men who held the post of honour, the long front line facing a clever and determined foe. It may seem difficult to believe that there was a funny side to this dread business of death, ruin, and hatred. Yet there were many humourous incidents which were not missed by our cheery soldiers. One story tells of a poor private who had toothache very badly and was sitting by the roadside like the old woman who “went to the market her eggs for to sell.” By came--not “a pedlar” but a shell which exploded in the sufferer’s vicinity, but did not hurt him. In fact it proved of great benefit to him; for he was so much “shocked” that he instantly lost his toothache.