"Dr. Johnson was right," said the colonel to me, "Whoever wants to be a hero ought to drink brandy." Then, as a fresh explosion made the debris of the ruined town in front of us tremble, he said: "Messiou, how many inhabitants were there in Ypres before the War?" January 20th. We are going to leave Hondezeele. The red-hats are getting agitated and already one sees the cyclists passing, the natural advance-guard of our migrations. We were beginning to love this country: the village and the brigade, so distrustful of one another a month ago, had become really quite affectionate. But the gods are jealous. ... Demain, départ de la brigade: La cornemuse et le tambour Douneront la dernière aubade A ces fugitives amours. Les montagnards aux beaux genoux, Qui mimaient la danse du sable Avec des chants graves et doux Vont danser la ronde du Diable. La Victoire, un jour, les cherchant, Les trouvera trois pieds sous terre, Mais par ces fermes et ces champs Flottera leur ombre légère. Et dans nos villages des Flandres... Interrupted by the arrival of our successors, the Canadians, regarded by Madame Lemaire and her little boy with great suspicion. _That_ won’t last long. *CHAPTER XIV* A great attack was in preparation; it was a terrible secret jealously guarded by headquarters; but Aurelle was informed of it several days beforehand by the German _communiqué_ published in the _Times_, and by Madame Lemaire’s little boy, who advised him not to repeat it. However, the division was soon ordered to occupy one of the sectors in the attack. The padre, optimistic as ever, already foresaw triumphant marches, but the colonel gently reminded him that the objectives were simply a ridge, which in peace-time would be called "a slight undulation in the ground," and two villages already destroyed. The real object was to engage the forces of the enemy, who were at that moment advancing in Russia. But this information only redoubled the enthusiasm of the padre. "You can say what you like, sir; if we hold this ridge they cannot hold out in the valley, and we shall break through their line. As for the retreat of the Russians, that’s capital. The Boche gets farther from his base, lengthens his lines of communications, and he’s done." "He is not," said the colonel, "but he will be one day, and that’s all that matters." The evening of the offensive, Aurelle received orders from the colonel to go and act as liaison officer between the headquarters of the division and some French batteries, which were reinforcing the British artillery in this sector. He wished the Lennox good luck and left them for a day.