y longing to get to work, whether here or anywhere else; it
is 100 per cent better in this interesting old town doing for ourselves
in the Convent than waiting in the stuffy hotel at Dublin. There is any
amount to see--miles of our Transport going through the town with burly
old shaggy English farm-horses, taken straight from the harvest, pulling
the carts; French Artillery Reservists being taught to work the guns;
French soldiers passing through; and our R.E. Motor-cyclists scudding
about. And one can practise talking, understanding, and reading French.
It is surprising how few of the 216 Sisters here seem to know a word of
French. I am looked upon as an expert, and you know what my French is
like! A sick officer sitting out in the court below has got a small
French boy by him who is teaching him French with a map, a 'Matin,' and
a dictionary. A great deal of nodding and shaking of heads is going on.

_Sunday, August 23rd._--The same dazzling blue sky, boiling sun, and
sharp shadows that one seldom sees in England for long together; we've
had it for days.

We've had yesterday's London papers to read to-day; they quote in a
rather literal translation from their Paris Correspondent word for word
what we read in the Paris papers yesterday. I wonder what the English
hospital people in Brussels are doing in the German occupation,--pretty
hard times for them, I expect. Two that I know are there doing civilian
work, and Lord Rothschild has got a lot of English nurses there.

This morning I went to the great Requiem Mass at Notre Dame. It was
packed to bursting with people standing, but we were immediately shown
to good places. The Abbe preached a very fine war sermon, quite easy to
understand. There was a great deal of weeping on all sides. When the
service was finished the big organ suddenly struck up "God Save the
King"; it gave one such a thrill. And then a long procession of officers
filed out, our generals with three rows of ribbons leading, and the
French following.

This is said to be our biggest base, and that we shall get some very
good work. Of course, once we get the wounded in it doesn't make any
difference where you are.

_Monday, August 24th._--The news looks bad to-day; people say it is tres
serieux, ce moment-ci; but there is a cheering article in Saturday's
'Times' about it all. The news is posted up at the Prefeture (dense
crowd always) several times a day, and we get many editions of the
papers as