occur
during the night, necessitating our jumping up once or twice to see
what it was.

The farm was quite a good one of the usual form--_i.e._, the
living-house forming one end of a big oblong courtyard, whilst barns
and lofts and cowsheds filled up the other three sides. In the middle,
of course, was a mass of dirty straw and manure, and pools of stinking
water in which ducks and pigs and chickens disported themselves. The
people were most friendly, and supplied us with eggs and straw and a
kitchen fire; but it was rather a squash, as the headquarters of an
artillery brigade were already feeding there, and we didn't get dinner
till very late. The men lay about in the lofts and sheds among the
farm implements and sheep, and I should have expected them after a
march of over thirty-five miles, and no food or sleep in the
twenty-four hours, to curl up and go to sleep at once, but they
didn't; they were quite happy and lively now that at last they'd got
their rations, and made the most of them. I had a bed to lie on, and
actually enjoyed a wash in a real basin, but the little bedroom was
not very sweet or clean, and I'd as soon have slept with the others on
straw in the kitchen and living-room.

_Aug. 28th._

Next morning we were off before the sun rose, with orders to proceed
towards Noyon. We were well up to time as regards our place in the
column, but some of the rest of the Division were very late--probably
some counter-order had been given; anyway, we had to wait a good extra
half-hour by the roadside. I remember that I occupied the time in
shaving myself; and as there was no water handy, I moistened the brush
in the dew on the grass. It did fairly well--though removing two days'
growth was rather painful, I allow.

We plodded on through the heat of the day, in rear of the 14th
Brigade, and kept our march discipline without trouble, though the
number of apple- and pear-trees on the road was a great temptation.
What had happened or where we were going to was a complete mystery;
all that we knew was that we had had to leg it at Le Cateau, but that
we were distinctly _not_ downhearted; nor did the Germans seem to be
pursuing. So we thought that we should probably soon get the order to
turn and either take up a defensive position or advance again against
the enemy--though we also knew that we must have lost a number of guns
and a good many men.

Soon after we started we were asked how many waggons we required to