ling of rifle firing; they are bringing in more to-day, both here
and at the Hospice, and we are tired enough to go to sleep as if we were
at home; I shouldn't wonder if the Night Sister had a busy night.

We had to rig up our day-room for an operation this evening--they have
always taken them over to the Hospice, where they have a very swanky
modern theatre.

We couldn't manage to get any food to-day for Gabrielle to cook for us,
as our rations hadn't come up, so we went back to the cafe. She has been
busy nettoying all day, and the house feels much cleaner.

The dead silence, darkness, and emptiness of the streets after 8 o'clock
are very striking.

_Sunday, April 11th._--This afternoon they shelled Beuvry (the village I
went to with Marie Therese on Wednesday) and wounded eleven women and
children; the advanced dressing station of No.-- F.A. took them in. The
promise to send us in one of the M.A.'s to "Harley Street" (the name of
the first communication trench) has been taken back until things quiet
down a little. There was an air battle just above us this evening,--a
Taube sailing serenely along not very high, and not altering her course
or going up one foot, for all the shells that promptly peppered the sky
all round her. You hear a particular kind of bang and then gaze at the
Taube; suddenly a shining ball of white smoke appears close to her, and
uncurls itself in the sun against the blue of the sky. As it begins to
uncurl you hear the explosion, and however much you admire the German's
pluck, and hope he'll dodge them safely, you can't help hoping also that
the next one will get him and that he'll come crashing down. Isn't it
beastly? It was so near that the French were calling out excitedly,
"_Touche! Il descend_," but he got away all right.

Another officer dangerously wounded was transferred to my ward to-day
from the French hospital. He was feebly grappling with a Sevenpenny
which he could neither hold nor read. "Anything to take my thoughts off
that beastly war!" he said.

A small parcel of socks, cigs., and chocs, came to-day. Soon after, I
found the road below was covered with exhausted trench stragglers
resting on the kerb, the very men for the parcel. They had all that and
one mouth-organ--wasn't it lucky? One Jock said, "That's the first time
I've heard a woman speak English since I left Southampton six months
ago!"

Gabrielle cooked a very nice supper for us to-night--which I dished up
when w