w that; for he asked
for the congratulations of a friend on his appointment. "I have got a
soft job at last," he said. "I'm an officer's servant, and a
chaplain's at that." The job, I imagine, continued to be a soft one
all the time I was in France; but I am not sure that he would have
said "and a chaplain's at that" quite so complacently the morning
after my scene with the oil stove in the snow storm. Chaplains do
not, of course, swear; but any one who studies the Psalms gains a
certain command of language which can be used effectively and without
scandal.

For the hut I cannot say anything good. This was in no way the
adjutant's fault. He had nothing else except that hut to offer me. It
was made of brown canvas, stretched over a wooden frame. It was lit
by small square patches of oiled canvas let into its walls at
inconvenient places. It had a wooden door which was blown open and
shut on windy nights and could not be securely fastened in either
position. There was a corrugated-iron roof--apparently not part of
the original plan of the hut--on which pouring rain made an
abominable noise. The floor bent and swayed when walked on. Small
objects, studs and coins, slipped between the boards of the floor and
became the property of the rats which held revel there night and day.

The hut was cold in winter and stiflingly hot in summer. Draughts
whistled through its walls and up between its boards when the wind
blew. On calm nights it was impossible to get any fresh air into it
at all. The canvas was liable to catch fire on the smallest
provocation. I do not think there can be in the world any more
detestable form of human habitation than huts like that. Mine was not
unique. There were hundreds of them in those camps. They were, I am
told, the invention of a man who succeeded in palming off these
fruits of stupidity and malice on the War Office. They were called by
his name. If I knew how to spell it I should set it down here for
public execration. I expect he made a fortune out of his huts.

My first few nights in that hut were cold and unhappy, for I slept on
the floor in a "flea bag." Then, with the help of the quartermaster,
I secured a camp bedstead and was much less uncomfortable. The
quartermaster came from Galway and was sympathetic with a
particularly helpless fellow-countryman. He served me out blankets
until I was ashamed to accept any more. He supplied the oil stove,
and it kept my bath water from freezing duri