r officers on the course, and two of the officers whose
battalion we are attached to. Then we had dinner with them in their
company mess, and a jolly good dinner, too, and after we talked. It
was very interesting, as they have been out over six months
continually, and not lost a single officer I think. They had some very
amusing yarns. I will tell you sometime.

When I returned to my billet I had an awful business. It was one of
the blackest nights I have ever seen. I have never before remembered a
night, when you literally could not see your hand six inches before
your nose. Last night you could not--I tried. Also the darkness was
misty as well, it simply got up and hit you in the face. I started
back once--it quite seemed as if someone was striking a blow.

To-day we did one of the most curious and typical things of modern
warfare. At 10-30 we went out for a walk--five of us--and our
destination was the trenches, just for a few hours' joy ride. We
walked about five miles along the road, and then about a mile across
open fields. The last mile, of course, was within rifle range of the
German trenches, but they could not see you, except from observation
posts, and if they could we were too far off to make the shot easy
enough to make it worth trying. The only disturbing thing was the
behaviour of our own artillery, who suddenly let off a gun, only a few
yards from the road on which we were walking, and made a horrid row.
The curious thing about this trench warfare is that a trench is such a
small thing to hit that the German and our own artillery have given up
trying to do any real damage, but they have come to a sort of
agreement to keep their faces up and to impress upon the infantry in
the trenches that there is some reason for an artilleryman being paid
more than the infantry. Accordingly, they plant their wretched guns
near a road, and when anyone goes along it they let off a round just
to see him jump. The shell probably falls in Holland or in our own
lines. Anyway, it does no damage, and the artillery enjoy their little
joke all right. It has become almost second nature with them. Of
course, the new batteries take some training--they lack humour. One
battery let one Brigadier-General, one Colonel and a transport mule go
past and each time forgot about loosing off a round. At the end of the
cross country jaunt we came across the beginning of the works of the
Cave-men. You may have seen some in England--they disgui