I doubt whether General Petain realises the respect in which he is held in all the civilised countries of the world. Probably he does not yet understand that people would come thousands of miles to have five minutes' audience with him, for he inquired if we were in any hurry to continue our journey, and added with charming simplicity--"Because if not, and you do not mind waiting an hour, I shall be glad if you will lunch with me." We lunched with General Petain and his etat-major. A charming and most interesting addition to the party was M. Forain, the famous French caricaturist, and now one of the chief instructors of the French Army in the art of _camouflage_--the art of making a thing look like anything in the world except what it is! He has established a series of schools all along the French front where the _poilus_ learn to bedeck their guns and thoroughly disguise them under delicate shades of green and yellow, with odd pink spots in order to relieve the monotony. Certainly the appearance of the guns of the present time would rejoice the heart and soul of the "Futurists." It was most interesting to hear him describe the work in detail and the rapidity with which his pupils learned the new art. For one real battery there are probably three or four false ones, beautiful wooden guns, etc., etc., and he told us of the _poilus'_ new version of the song "Rien n'est plus beau que notre Patrie" ("Nothing is more beautiful than our country "). They now sing "Rien n'est plus faux que notre batterie" ("Nothing is more false than our battery"). It was M. Forain who coined the famous phrase "that there was no fear for the ultimate success of the Allies, if only the civilians held out!" I was much amused at M. Forain's statement that he had already heard that a company had been formed for erecting, after the war, wooden hotels on the battlefields of France for the accommodation of sightseers. Not only was it certain that these hotels were to be built, but the rooms were already booked in advance. It was strange to find there, within the sound of the guns--sometimes the glasses on the table danced to the music, although no one took any notice of that--surrounded by men directing the operations of the war and of one of the greatest battles in history, how little war was mentioned. Science, philosophy, and the work of women were discussed.