n looks out directly towards
the Germans (I hear a bullet hitting it now). As the place where the
window was is quite open, I have had it filled up with bags of earth
piled one above the other, and I sleep with my head under these and
hope for the best. Last night we had two adventures. Our "friends"
pitched a high-explosive shell after dark with such a true aim that
the pieces flew all about our ruin, in and out of the rooms. They
followed this with three more, but they were farther off. The second
thing was that my Sergeant-Major, Master Cook, and Sergeant-Bugler,
all trembling with cold, poor dears! shut themselves up last night
with a charcoal fire, and we found them about four o'clock insensible
from the fumes, and had a certain amount of difficulty in bringing
them round. Here in war time these people do different things. For
instance, the Master Cook has a party of bomb-throwers formed from
among the cooks. The Sergeant-Major, instead of drilling the
Battalion, arrives up with 8 mules and three ammunition carts, whilst
the Sergeant-Bugler, instead of discoursing unsweet music on a bugle,
converts his buglers into a corps of messengers to bring me letters or
to take them out to my companies.

I was round again last night, not much shot at personally, though
chance bullets flew overhead in an embarrassing way, hitting the
ground in various places. Capt. Tee had a couple of narrow escapes
yesterday while he was out with us. I was inspecting our dressing
station arranging about our little cemetery with the doctor and Capt.
Wright, when a bullet cut the grass beside us in a most uncalled for
manner. So it goes on, and so I hope the war will shortly wind up. I
expect things are not very cosy in Germany either!...

IN TRENCHES.
_January 19th, 1915._

Two letters from you last night up to January 16th. Poor little
Blanche, having her teeth out! They do hurt! Had more Christmas cards
sent on from Aden. A fairly quiet day yesterday, though there is
always fighting Ypres way, and we hear it plainly. This morning I was
out at four a.m. with the Brigade Major, and took up the running
afterwards with the General about 8 o'clock. I assured him that a
certain trench was not the place for him, but he said he had a special
wish to visit it, so with his usual dauntless courage off we went.
Next minute a bullet hit the ground right betwe