the foreground to the right I could barely guess the dim outline of
the battered mill and the burnt farm flanking the trench occupied by
the foot Chasseurs. Further off, however, I could vaguely distinguish
the row of trees that marked the first line of German trenches, about
250 yards away from us. To the left the mist had a reddish tinge. No
doubt yet another house was burning in the unhappy village of
Bixschoote.

There was a sudden silence in this little corner of the great
battlefield, as if our arrival in the firing line had been a
prearranged signal. On our right, too, the intensity of the fire upon
the trenches occupied by the ---- Territorials diminished. To the
left, on the other hand, the gun fire and rifle fire were incessant
in the direction of the bridge of Steenstraate, defended by the ----
Brigade of mounted Chasseurs. It seemed evident that the Germans,
having failed in their attempt to cross the Yser canal near us, were
making a fresh effort further to the north. However, it is not safe to
rely too absolutely even upon the most logical deductions, for very
often the event upsets the most careful calculations and frustrates
the wisest plans.

The moon was now shining with extraordinary brilliance, and the fog,
far from veiling its lustre, seemed to make it more disconcerting.
Persons assumed strange forms and the shapes of things were modified
or exaggerated. Our dazzled eyes were mocked by depressing
hallucinations; the smallest objects took on alarming proportions, and
whenever a slight breeze stirred the foliage of the beetroot field in
front of us we imagined we saw a line of snipers advancing.

I had great difficulty in preventing my men from firing. It was