d
I'm sitting in the sun;
What will be done in Flanders
Before the day be done?

* * * * *

Above, beyond the larches,
The sky is very blue;
'It's the smoke of hell in Flanders
That leaves the sun for you.'"

--H.C.F.

VIII.

On No.-- Ambulance Train (6).

ROUEN--NEUVE CHAPELLE--ST ELOI.

_February 7, 1915, to March 31, 1915._

The Indians--St Omer--The Victoria League--Poperinghe--A bad load--Left
behind--Rouen again--An "off" spell--_En route_ to Etretat--Sotteville--
Neuve Chapelle--St Eloi--The Indians--Spring in N.W. France--The
Convalescent Home--Kitchener's boys.

_Sunday, February 7th._--This is a little out-of-the-way town called
Blendecque, rather in a hollow. No.-- A.T. has been here before, and the
natives look at us as if we were Boches. There are 250 R.E. inhabiting a
long truck-train here. We have given them all our mufflers and mittens;
they had none, and the officer has had our officers to tea with him. Our
men have played a football match with them--drawn.

We went for a splendid walk this morning up hill to a pine wood bordered
by a moor with whins. I've now got in my bunky-hole (it is not quite
six feet square) a polypod fern, a plate of moss, a pot of white
hyacinths, and also catkins, violets, and mimosa!

I suppose we shall move on to-night if there is a marche.

Many hundreds of French cavalry passed across the bridge over this
cutting this morning: they looked so jolly.

One of the staff who has been to Woolwich on leave says that K.'s new
army there is extraordinarily promising and keen. So far we have only
heard good of those out here, from the old hands who've come across
them.

9.45 P.M.--We are just getting to the place where all the fighting
is--La Bassee way. Probably we shall load up with wounded to-night.
There's a great flare some way off that looks like the burning villages
we used to see round Ypres. It is a very dark night.

_Monday morning, February 8th._--We stood by last night, and are just
going to load now. All is quiet here. Said to have been nothing
happening the last few days.

7 P.M.--Nearing B. We've had a very muddly day, taking on at four
different places. I have a coach full of Indians. They have been
teaching me some more Hindustani. Some of them suddenly began to say
their prayers at sunset. They spread a s