let had gone through the nose, down the side of the
face, and out through his neck. He is alive this morning, so it may be
that he will turn the corner all right yet. I received your letter of
January 20th last night, which is good. You ask me about block houses.
They are only useful when screened from artillery fire. If we had one
here, and the Germans could place it with glasses or with aeroplanes,
they would blow it up at once. They were used largely in the South
African War, because we had taken all the enemy's guns from him. Sorry
to hear of your cold. Hope the Kaiser has a very bad one with a sore
throat!!...

IN TRENCHES.
_January 25th, 1915._

I was sorry to see by your note in pencil yesterday that you were in
bed with "Flu." I hope you will not have it very badly, and that you
are up again and all right by this time. There has been a good deal of
trouble lately with German machine guns playing on our working parties
at night. So yesterday afternoon I crept off unobserved, and had a
conclave with my gunners. Then when they started with their guns I had
all the adversary's trenches mapped out, and dropped four shells on
them. About an hour later they began again, but we squelched them in
the same way; finally they stopped firing their horrid machines and
remained quiet; not for long, however, for they next turned their
heavy guns on us in the dark with the high explosive shell. The first
burst about 100 yds. away, and the second nearer, whilst the third
burst alongside the house. I wailed, expecting one in the ruins, but
they fired no more, thank heavens! The last scattered everything all
over the house, bricks, tiles, etc. I was curled up in a blanket at
that hour ready to go over the whole of the trenches, having arranged
to start between three and four o'clock this morning. I got round all
right with, if anything, fewer bullets than usual flying about. A
message has just been sent to us that an attack is expected on our
right, so we are now waiting to see whether this comes to anything or
not. The day is particularly dark, though so far no rain or snow. It
is quite black enough for the latter, but not, perhaps, sufficiently
cold. I am rather sleepy at present, and I hate getting up early.
To-night we go into support, which means that some of our companies,
now 600 yds. from the enemy, will be in a position farther b