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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from War and the Future by H. G. Wells: we go slowly beside a long column of men going up to the front.
We scan their collars for signs of some familiar regiment. These
are new men going up for the first time; there is a sort of
solemn elation in many of their faces.
The men coming down are usually smothered in mud or dust, and
unless there has been a fight they look pretty well done up.
They stoop under their equipment, and some of the youngsters
drag. One pleasant thing about this coming down is the welcome
of the regimental band, which is usually at work as soon as the
men turn off from the high road. I hear several bands on the
British front; they do much to enhance the general cheerfulness.
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