dour is so strong that one has to pass at the double,
holding one's breath. The very earth over them looks wet and greasy as
I noticed to-day. The whole Gully is full of dug-outs from end to end.
These had been made on the first days of the landing and are now
untenanted. Lying about unheeded is equipment of all sorts, which had
belonged to our dead and wounded.

A Taube dropped two bombs at our ships to-day, but missed as usual. And
our not firing at the marauder showed that we had not much faith in our
own shooting. The warships and a monitor were busy towards evening
battering some unseen object away beyond the mountains--perhaps the
forts of "The Narrows".

We have two Welsh Ambulances beside us. The men move very smartly and
are evidently well drilled. They are great psalm singers, and always at
it.

_August 31st._--The Australians over at Anzac seem very busy to-day.
So also are the Turks whose shells are falling thick on land and sea,
and our ships are firing at some target beyond Sari Bair (Hill 972).

We had a curious plague of midges last night: they attacked the lamp
and table in our mess in thousands, and made things so unpleasant that
we had to hurry from the table. These have never bothered us before,
and I doubt if I ever saw a midge on Gallipoli before.

_September 1st._--Agassiz and I came out to the dressing station as it
was getting dark last night.

Two new officers and twenty men joined us yesterday--Captains Wilson
and Tawse.

Wiseley, M.O. to the Lancs., passed through our station this forenoon,
badly wounded in the head by a sniper. It looks as if it was all up
with him. (He died before he reached the C.C.S.) Tawse followed from
our base to take his place. Pirie of the Royals looked us up, and told
us he was down for "mention" in the next despatch. We have all
admired, and often spoken about, the good work and earnest devotion of
Pirie, and are delighted these are to be recognised, even in this
small way. We were talking about the huge bungle of the landing at
Suvla. It seems agreed had it not been that two Territorial Battalions
turned tail when faced by a handful of Turks things here would have
been totally different, and the ridges which are not yet ours should
have been taken and held the first day. A distinguished General is
said to have remarked: "Had there been more sweat on the part of the
men there would have been less blood". We have one excellent General
here now who pokes