"Of the actual meetings held, of the conversations that have taken place, of the strange, moving, pathetic and thrilling incidents that have marked this tragic and glorious nine months, much has already been written, and books could be filled. Thousands of men of our homes and churches have written and spoken most affectionately of the service rendered to them in the Y.M.C.A. tents, and of the lessening of their temptations thereby, while many hundreds of thousands of dear ones have received letters written under the quiet conditions only obtainable in the Association's huts, and, be it added, on their millions of sheets of free notepaper. "Of the generosity of the public, the kindness and appreciation of the generals and colonels and officers generally, and perhaps, most of all, of the untiring and self-denying labour of those who have manned the huts through these long months, short-handed, overworked, cheery, and eager, in cold and mud, it is impossible fully to speak. Let it suffice to say that the Young Men's Christian Association is deeply humbled and proud, by reason of the honour God has manifestly conferred upon it in giving it this supreme chance of serving the interests of His Kingdom." CHAPTER XII WHEN THE MEN COME HOME Clergymen Serving in the Ranks--A Strange Burial Incident--When the New Army Comes Back--Will the Churches be Ready?--They are Coming. The needs of the country led a good many men, already ordained to the Christian ministry, to enter the new Army. The question whether they should or should not do this was, as I have already indicated, a matter of some dispute, but as the war went on a testimony gathered as to the influence of such as did enlist. Thus "D." wrote to the _Times_: "At our table, which served for meals and other purposes, sat opposite to me a clergyman of the Church of England, to do his best with us to fight and prevent his country being treated like poor Belgium. We knew what he was, and what he had given up to join us, and his influence in that hut, and in his platoon, was greater than that of the khaki-clad official chaplain who paid us occasional visits. We all respected him and knew his aversion to things which were often thought lightly of by us, and one look at his good and serious face would often keep back an oath, which would come out naturally to a troublesome steer or a slow and careless sailor, and many a tale which would have been thought appropriate in a smoking-room or round a camp fire remained untold in his presence. This has been my experience of one man, and I am glad to say that in this battalion there are already serving as private soldiers some half-dozen clergymen." [Illustration: WHEN THE MEN COME HOME. _Drawn by Arthur Twidle._]