at the front you never need to go beyond the day on which you write to find things of interest to tell those who have not known the life, who are so unfortunate as to have to remain hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of miles from the center of interest in the greatest game the world has ever known—the game of war—being played at this moment by all the highly cultured, civilized, and refined peoples of the world!

it is a bright spring day in may, 1917, for so-called sunny france is trying to redeem herself after an abominable winter. i am sitting on a tin biscuit box at the entrance of my r.a.p.—regimental aid post—just on the outskirts of a ruined village. had i taken this position one month ago my stay in the land of the living would have lasted something under ten minutes, for then the german front line was about three hundred yards away. but since that time the battle of vimy ridge has come and gone, and the germans are pushed back well beyond the ridge. so it is comparatively safe to sit here, for the only danger is from a stray shell, as it happens at the moment the huns are too busy defending themselves from a heavy assault from the canadians on our right to send any shells this way.

this morning a number of villages opposite our right front are to be taken, and as i sit looking about our guns are firing so continuously that they make what the boys call drumfire, that is, a continuous roll such as kettledrums make. our artillery is so immense in numbers of guns that drumfire is common by day. by night the sky on the horizon is lit up in all directions by the repeated flashes of the guns, giving the appearance of an immense fireworks exhibition.

all about me are the signs of war. i am looking toward a mass of ruins which occupy the site of what was once a well-built and prosperous little city. all that now remains of it is a stone wall here and there, and everywhere piles of stone and brick and mortar. not one roof remains. there on the left, that high pile of demolished walls, is all that exists of a once elaborate church. amidst the ruins the cellars are occupied as habitations for the troops. if you wander among them you will see some strange names given to their quarters by the wags of the companies—such names as the devil's inn, home sweet home, the savoy, the sister susie hotel, and other such devices.

but there is one object amongst the ruins that strikes my eye. it is two hundred yards from where i am seated. it appears plainly to be the shattered trunk of a tree, two feet in diameter and twenty feet in height. it is the largest in the vicinity of those that remain to wave their withered and emaciated arms in mocking derision at our so-called civilization.

let us walk across to it together. until we are almost touching it we recognize nothing but a shattered tree-trunk. on closer inspection we find that what appeared to be the bark is only a good paper imitation of bark, and its irregular upper end has been made by hand, not, as we had supposed, by the impact of a shell. behind the tree, at its root, is a passageway down which we go to find ourselves actually entering the trunk through a small door. looking up we see a perfectly made steel cylinder, up which steps lead to the top. here a seat is placed and an observer may look through a small slit in the steel casing and through a split in the imitation bark, getting a good view of things far in advance.

this is the explanation of this strange affair: a large tree which stood upon this spot had been shattered by a shell, the shattering having taken place when the germans held vimy ridge. this shattered tree was only four hundred yards from the enemy front line. months before the battle of vimy ridge some quick-minded engineer noticed this tree, and the idea occurred that it could be utilized to good advantage. the steel frame was made and covered in exact imitation of the tree trunk, all other arrangements made, and one night the tree was removed and this counterfeit of it was put up. when day broke an observer was sitting comfortably in this strange observation post looking out upon the enemy trenches, watching the movements of the germans, at the same time being safe from any danger except the straight hit of a shell.

now let us return to our biscuit box and see what else there is of interest. all about are sitting boys with red crosses on their sleeves. they are stretcher bearers for a field ambulance. here and there is a gun position from which a bang and a flash come spasmodically, as the guns throw their lead and steel souvenirs at the germans. to our right as we face the enemy lines is a much used road, up which we can see motor lorries by the score pouring forward their loads of ammunition. then there are packmules, motor cyclists, ambulances and—a strange sight—cavalry are going forward.

is the war changing from the old trench warfare of the past three years into open warfare of the past century? ah! there is still another sight, and a pleasant one. it is a group of german prisoners going to the rear, guarded by a couple of tommies. word comes back that the attack which began some hours ago, and at which the guns are still mumbling and rumbling in anger, has been a success; the objectives have been reached and many prisoners taken, though the huns are making a stiff stand of it.

overhead aeroplanes are humming to and fro, looking far in advance of our troops, seeing the effects of our gunfire, signaling instructions to our artillery, watching the movements of the enemy, and generally acting as the eyes of the army.

in front of us, and to the left, is a crater—an immense hollow in the ground, caused by the explosion by the enemy or ourselves at some earlier stage of the war, of a huge load of dynamite, ammonal or some other high explosive. this crater is situated in what was no man's land before april 9 and the great push, at which time it was used as a killing place for our enemies. now it is a burial place for our friends. the french government has notified us that if, in burying our dead, we will put the bodies in groups of fifty in each burial plot, they will buy the hallowed ground, keep it in repair, and present it to the british people. and the corps burying party has utilized lichfield crater for this purpose, has gathered together fifty or sixty of our gallant dead, and deposited their sacred remains in this spot, erecting over the grave a large wooden cross with the names of the dead upon it. in limestone they have laid out the following epitaph:

to the brave canadians of the second

division who gave up their lives on

april 9,1917.

r. i. p.

what hallowed shrines these cemeteries of fifty will become after the war, when those whose loved ones paid their full measure of devotion in the cause of freedom are able to come to visit the deservedly honored graves of their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and sweethearts. i visited this little cemetery this morning. as i left it some tommies passed with a large, red paper balloon sent across by the germans with the message, "canadians, we are ready to quit if you are."

but the canadians, the british, the americans, or the french, are not yet ready to quit! nor will they be till the day comes when prussian militarism is curbed so thoroughly that your boys and mine will not have to give up their lives in conquering it ten years from now!