ack, but
this threatened attack may make a difference. Another regiment, the
Royal Berkshires, are alongside of us, and we always go into the
trenches and come out together. The Colonel is senior to me, and is
commanding the Brigade in the General's absence, so the next senior
takes his regiment. The latter was knocked over by a shot two days
ago. He only broke his hip, and it is expected to come right in due
course. Do you remember Miss Arundel's nephew, Capt. Wickham, of the
7th Fusiliers, who went out with me to India, half-brother to Sir
Henry Tichborne, I believe? I saw three days ago that he had died of
wounds; so they must have brought him home from India. I am sorry; he
and I had many pleasant chats together on board ship. Would you look
in the upper left-hand drawer in my dressing-room. You will find some
stand-up single collars there with five buttonholes in them. Please
roll one up flat, and send it across in a letter or with soap parcel.
They go in collar of uniform jacket, and as this sort of collar has
gone out, I am wearing mine and throwing them away when done.

IN BILLETS.
_January 26th, 1915._

I am very sorry that you have been obliged to send for the doctor.
"Flu" makes one feel a worm, so take care of yourself. I do not fancy
you need fear the air raids; keep to the country, it is safer than
town. They have not enough explosives on their cars to do all the
damage they would like in London, let alone the remainder of England.
The trip to Norfolk was only a trial one, I think. It has turned very
cold here now, and we cannot get a fire in this place. You see, the
inhabitants are coming back, and we do not like to steal their wood,
for it would cause unpleasantness, whilst we have great difficulty in
getting any coal, so we are between the devil and the deep sea! The
Germans managed to kill one man yesterday with their shelling. I mean
one civilian, of course; soldiers do not count. I suppose we are fair
targets. I have been very lucky, though, with my Batt., on the whole,
for I have only had a quarter of the casualties of my neighbour the
two last times, or even less. Of course, it is just luck, but I take
every precaution, as you know, and use my guns on their machine guns
in, I hope, a judicious manner, giving the gunners little maps of
where we have spotted them along all our long front; and so we crush
t