and clinked glasses with the French Staff at every
toast, and finally the little chef came in and sang to us in a very
sweet musical tenor. Our great anxiety is to get as many orderlies and
N.C.O.'s as possible through the day without being run in for drunk, but
it is an uphill job; I don't know where they get it.

We are wondering what the chances are of getting to bed to-night.

4 A.M.--Very late getting in to B.; not unloading till morning. Just
going to turn in now till breakfast time. End of Xmas Day.

_Saturday, December 26th._--Saw my lambs off the train before
breakfast. One man in the Warwicks had twelve years' service, a wife and
two children, but "when Kitchener wanted more men" he re-joined. This
week he got an explosive bullet through his arm, smashing it up to rags
above the elbow. He told me he got a man "to tie the torn muscles up,"
and then started to crawl out, dragging his arm behind him. After some
hours he came upon one of his own officers wounded, who said, "Good God,
sonny, you'll be bleeding to death if we don't get you out of this;
catch hold of me and the Chaplain." "So 'e cuddled me, and I cuddled the
Chaplain, and we got as far as the doctor."

At the Clearing H. his arm was taken off through the shoulder-joint, but
I'm afraid it is too late. He is now a pallid wreck, dying of gangrene.
But he would discuss the War, and when it would end, and ask when he'd
be strong enough to sit up and write to that officer, and apologised for
wanting drinks so often. He is one of the most top-class gallant
gentlemen it's ever been my jolly good luck to meet. And there are
hundreds of them.

We had Princess Mary's nice brass box this morning. The V.A.D. here
brought a present to every man on the train this morning, and to the
orderlies. They had 25,000 to distribute, cigarette-cases,
writing-cases, books, pouches, &c. The men were frightfully pleased, it
was so unexpected. The processions of hobbling, doubled-up, silent,
muddy, sitting-up cases who pour out of the trains want something to
cheer them up, as well as the lying-downs. It is hard to believe they
are the fighting men, now they've handed their rifles and bandoliers in.
(It is snowing fast.) We have to go and drink the men's health at their
spread at 1 o'clock. Then I hope a spell of sleep.

We have chauffage on to-day to thaw the froidage; the pipes are frozen.

6 P.M.--We all processed to the Orderlies' Mess truck and the O.C. made
a spee