_March 4th, 1915._
Your letter did not turn up yesterday! I have been most busy with
various things. If you saw my men in a spinning mill sleeping under
engines, etc., you would wonder how we exist! Of course, Spring is
coming on, and we shall then have to go in for business of the worst
type; so whilst someone else is holding the lines, we are now trying
to get our men fit for this work. Meals here are quaint, run by a
servant girl. She brings breakfast of coffee without milk and an
omelette, but we always have our ration of bacon as well. That was a
difficulty at first, as neither the adjutant's nor my book gave the
French for bacon. However, by introducing the word _cochon_, we
arrived at the fact that here amongst her class it was called
_porc_--so there we are! Then luncheon is a sad affair, with generally
some cold thing followed only by cheese. At tea (made very weak) from
our ration stuff, she now gives us toast, though there, again, we had
no such word in our book. I managed to remember that it was _pain
roti_, and we got along. Dinner is not bright, but yesterday we were
blessed with a pudding of rice strongly flavoured with vanilla. To-day
I am off for a wade with my officers to show them what they must learn
about my new lines. Such a trouble as it is getting there, with shell
flying and bursting all around one, and rifle bullets humming
everywhere. I hate this business cordially, but what will you! If
these scamps are not driven back, they will try to rule the world, and
will kill and burn as they think fit, and that will not do at all! The
Russians seem to be doing good work in killing the unfortunate
Germans. Let us hope that the whole thing will go with a run now, and
that it will not last much longer.... Love to the children....
_P.S._--I lost two N.C.Os. killed yesterday by one bullet through
their heads, and another of my poor men had his tongue cut out.
_March 5th, 1915._