silencing our concerts. However, they could never quite locate the exact
spot in which the instrument was temporarily placed.

[Illustration: "ENTRENCHING" THE PIANO.]

One night, while one of our concerts was at its height, the officers
even joining in, the order came to advance. So we had to bid a hasty
farewell to our much-prized "Johanna," which had given us so much
pleasure.


"SEVENTY-FIVE HOTEL."

[Illustration: SEVENTY-FIVE HOTEL.]

Now I think of it, there was another ex-"pub" where we touched lucky in
the matter of finding things--though they didn't include a piano. This
was "Seventy-five Hotel." We called it that because the enemy fired
seventy-five shells into it in seventy-five minutes on one memorable
occasion, and then only killed one man. The building, which had been the
scene of fierce fighting even before our battalion arrived on the scene
of action, still bore the sign "Estaminet," and so we could safely
conclude that it had been the village "pub," or wine lodge. There were a
few bottles of wine still in the cellar, which the Germans must have
overlooked when they were in possession, or had not time to take away.
We found many articles, some useful, some otherwise; amongst them a
large warming-pan, which caused amusement. The article we put to the
best use was the dinner bell. This was turned to great account. In front
of the estaminet was our "listening post," where we kept watch and guard
at night. Well, by aid of the dinner bell we installed our own brand of