Greater love hath no man than this.




II

THE FRONT




VII

THE TWO RICHEBOURGS


We had business with the _maire_ of the commune of Richebourg St. Vaast.
Any one who looks at a staff map of North-West France will see that
there are two Richebourgs; there is Richebourg St. Vaast, but there is
also Richebourg l'Avoué, and although those two communes are separated
by a bare three or four kilometres there was in point of climate a
considerable difference between the two. In those days we had not yet
taken Neuve Chapelle, and Richebourg l'Avoué, which was in front of our
lines, was considered "unhealthy." Richebourg St. Vaast, on the other
hand, was well behind our lines and was considered by our billeting
officers quite a good residential neighbourhood.

We had left G.H.Q., and after a journey of two hours or so passed
through Laventie, which had been rather badly mauled by shell-fire, and