beginnings when we first stood to arms in August, 1914, through what Mr.
Buchan has finely called the "rally of the Empire," through the early rush
and the rapid growth of the new armies, through the strengthening of
Egypt, the disaster of Gallipoli, the seizure of the German Colonies;
through all that vast upheaval at home which we have seen in the munition
areas; through that steady, and ever-growing organisation on the friendly
French soil we have watched in the supply bases. Yet here, for us, it
culminates; and here and in the North Sea, we can hardly doubt--whatever
may be the diversions in other fields--will be fought, for Great Britain,
the decisive battles of the war. As I turn to those dim lines on the
Messines ridge, I have come at last to sight of whither it all moves.
There, in those trenches is _The Aggressor_--the enemy who has wantonly
broken the peace of Europe, who has befouled civilisation with deeds of
lust and blood, between whom and the Allies there can be no peace till the
Allies' right arm dictates it. Every week, every day, the British Armies
grow, the British troops pour steadily across the Channel, and to the
effort of England and her Allies there will be no truce till the righteous
end is won.

But the shadows are coming down on the great scene, and with the sound of
the guns still in our ears we speed back through the crowded roads to
G.H.Q., and these wonderful days are over. Now, all that remains for me is
to take you, far away from the armies, into the English homes whence the
men fighting here are drawn, and to show you, if I can, very shortly, by a
few instances, what rich and poor are doing as individuals to feed the
effort of England in this war. What of the _young_, of all classes and
opportunities, who have laid down their lives in this war? What of the
mothers who reared them, the schools and universities which sent them
forth?--the comrades who are making ready to carry on their work? You ask
me as to the _spirit_ of the nation--the foundation of all else. Let us