Then heard a gust of ghostly thanks to God
That the most famous quarrel of all time
In the most famous friendship ends at last;
Such flame of friendship as God fans to forge
A sword to strike the Dragon of the Slime,
Bidding St. Denis with St. George stand fast
Against the Worm. St. Denis and St. George!”
I ought perhaps to explain that “Churchill’s smile” does not mean the smile of Mr. Winston Churchill, but of his great ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough. The Worm is of course an old name for the Dragon and stands in this case for Germany, and St. Denis is the old battle-cry of France, as St. George is that of England.
In spite of what people may tell you to the contrary, never believe that a secret cannot be kept. Honourable people always keep a secret. It shows how very many honourable people there must be, both in England and in France, when I tell you that the fact that this wonderful force of 110,000 men with all their guns and stores was being taken across to France, was never publicly revealed till Lord Kitchener allowed it to be announced in the newspapers.
And yet what was happening day by day and hour by hour must have been known to thousands of people in both countries. The reason for this secrecy was, as you can easily guess, to furnish a nice little surprise for the enemy. And that it was a real surprise for the enemy is proved by a German Army Order, which afterwards fell into our hands, referring to a rumour that a British force might be coming. That Army Order was dated August 21, after the whole force had landed!