is incidentally a good test
as to whether the tables and mugs, etc., have been properly cleaned.
They are worse in the early morning. When I ride through the town
before breakfast they settle all up the sunny side of me from boot to
topi, about two to the square inch, and nothing but hitting them will
make them budge. They are disgusting creatures. Of course the filthy
habits of the natives encourage them. The streets are littered with
every kind of food-scraps and dirt: and the Arab has only two
W.C.'s--the street and the river. Our chief tyranny in his eyes is
that we have posted sanitary police about who fine him 2_s_. if he
uses either: but like all reforms it is evaded on a large scale. The
theory that the sun sweetens everything is not quite true. Even after
several days' sun manure is very offensive and prolific: and many
parts of the streets are not reached by the sun at all: and in any
case the flies get to work much sooner than the sun.

We have just had news from the front that a successful action has been
fought, the enemy's left flank turned and several hundred prisoners
taken--our own casualties under 500. So the show seems to have come off
up to time. We were afraid it might have to be postponed, as a raiding
party got round and cut our L. of C., but this does not appear to have
worried them. I hope they will be able to follow this success up and
capture all their guns and stores, if not a large proportion of their
forces.

Two days ago we got the best news that we have had for a very long
time from both European fronts, an advance of from one to three miles
over nearly half the Western front, with about 14,000 prisoners: and
Russian reports of 8,000 dead in front of one position and captures
totalling something like 20,000. Since then no news has come through,
which is very tantalising, as one longs to know whether the forward
move has been continued. I am afraid even if it has there will be more
enormous casualty lists than ever.

The most boring thing about this place is that there are no amusing
ways of taking exercise, which is necessary to keep one fit. As a
double Coy. Commander I have a horse, a quiet old mare which does
nothing worse than shy and give an occasional little buck on starting
to canter. But the rides are very dull. There are only three which one
may call A, B and C, thus:

[Illustration]

A is the flooded area, and when it is dry it is caked as hard as
brick, and not a vegetab