You say the ground is white with snow. We have had snow too. The
night we marched off from billets to trenches (about 7½ miles), the
snow was thick on the ground, and a mist came down, and it was very
cold. Did I tell you that I thought it would have made a good
picture for an artist to paint? At a bend in the road you could see
a long column of troops--only half its former length--trudging slowly
along, every man laden like a pack animal, with fur coat, waterproof
sheet, blanket, pack, equipment, &c., and of course his rifle and
bayonet and 120 rounds of ammunition. The Colonel and I rode at the
head of the column, and Major Graham and the Medical Officer at the
rear.