I managed to get to Brooks's for some late supper
at 9.30. At first I was told that I could only have cold beef, but not
being a Staff Officer, and not being afraid of being called a luxurious
and self-indulgent pig, I insisted upon having some hot soup and some
cold pheasant, and also a cup of hot cocoa. After this warming supper I
went to Garland's, and found awaiting me large packets of letters and
proofs. Next morning I was writing my Thursday leader at _The
Spectator_ office, "as usual."
My last and most exciting visit to the front took place on August 2,
1916, that is, just after the great attack on the Somme. Most of my
experiences, however, though very exciting to me at the time, would now
make very dull reading. Still, there were one or two impressive moments.
During the visit I was for a night a guest at Lord Haig's advanced
headquarters, and from a little hill above the ch?teau in which he
lived, I was able to see the trench-line by night.
During dinner, the guns began to speak loudly, and after dinner I got
one of the Staff to take me to the top of the down above the ch?teau to
watch the lights of the battle-line. It was a memorable sight. The
flashes of our guns on one side, and of those of the Germans on the
other, made an almost continuous line of pallid light.
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