with their eyes, noses, or jaws shattered,
are so extraordinarily good and uncomplaining. Got hold of a
spout-feeder and some tubing at Angers for a boy in the Grenadier
Guards, with a gaping hole through his mouth to his chin, who can't eat,
and cannot otherwise drink. The French people bring coffee, fruit, and
all sorts of things to them when we stop.

We shall have to wait at St Nazaire all day, and come back by night
to-morrow.

One swanky Ambulance Train carries four permanent Sisters to the front
to fetch cases to Le Mans and the Base. They go to Villeneuve. They say
the country is deserted, crops left to waste, houses empty, and when you
get there no one smiles or speaks, but listens to the guns. The men seem
to think the Germans have got our range, but we haven't found theirs.
The number of casualties must be nearly into five figures this last
battle alone; and when you think of the Russians, the Germans, the
French, the Austrians, and the Belgians all like that, the whole
convulsion seems more meaningless than ever for civilised nations.

This is in scraps, owing to the calls of duty. The beggars simply swarm
out of the train at every stop--if they can limp or pull up by one
arm--to get the fruit and things from the French.

_Friday, September 25th._--In train back to Le Mans, 9 P.M. We landed
our tired, stiff, painful convoy at St Nazaire at 8.45 yesterday
evening. The M.O.'s there told us our lot made 1800 that had come down
since early morning; one load of bad cases took eight hours to unload.
The officers all seemed depressed and overworked, and they were having a
very tight fit to get beds for them at the various hospitals at St
Nazaire. At about 10 P.M. the last were taken off by the motor
ambulances, and we got some dinner on the station with our Civil
Surgeon, who was looking forward to a night in a tent out of a train.

The R.T.O. found us an empty 1st class carriage in the station to sleep
in, and the sergeant found us a candle and matches and put us to bed,
after a sketchy wash provided by the buffet lady.

The din was continuous all night, so one didn't sleep much, but had a
decent rest (and a flea). The sergeant called us at 6.30, and we had
another sketchy wash, and coffee and rolls and jam at the buffet. Then
we found our way to the hospital ship _Carisbrook Castle_. The Army
Sister in charge was most awfully kind, showed us over, made the steward
turn on hot baths for us, provided notepa