rs ago in Madame Tussaud's of Edith finding the body
of Harold after the battle of Hastings, and indeed the stiff corpses
were more like waxen models than anything that had lived.

The wounded were by comparison a cheerful company, though their
sufferings during the eighteen hours they had lain there must have
been fearful: but the satisfaction of being able to bring them in was
our predominant feeling.

In the middle of this work we were suddenly recalled and ordered to
march to the support of the outflanking force, of whose movements we
had heard absolutely nothing. But when we had fallen in, all they did
was to march us to the Canal, and thence along it back to the river,
where we encamped about 1 p.m. and still are.

It was a great comfort to be within reach of water again, though the
wind and rain have made the river so muddy that a mug of water from it
looks exactly like a mug of tea with milk in it.

The wind had continued unabated for two days and now blew almost a
gale. The dust was intolerable and made any attempts at washing
hopeless. Indeed one's eyes got so full of it the moment they were
opened that we sat blinking like owls or shut them altogether. So it
was a cheerless afternoon, with rain threatening. Our supply ship with
our tents had not come up, but the Major (Stillwell) had a bivouac
tent on the second line transport, which he invited me to share, an
offer which I gladly accepted. We made it as air-tight as possible,
and built a wall of lumps of hard-baked mud to protect us from
snipers, and slept quite reasonably warm. It came on to rain heavily
in the night, so I was lucky to be under shelter.

_15th, Saturday._ This morning it rained on and off till nearly noon,
and the wind blew all day and the sun never got properly through: but
the rain had laid the dust.

_N.B._--With regard to parcels, none are arriving now, just when
they're wanted. The fact is they have to economise their transport
most rigidly. A staff officer told me that our supply of river-boats
just enables one boat (with its pair of barges alongside) to reach us
every day; our food for one day fills one entire barge, so that you
can imagine there is not much room to spare after ammunition and other
war material has been put on board. The mahila convoys are extra, but
as they take several weeks to do the journey their help is limited.

I have just seen the padre who has been working in the field dressing
station. In his statio