eased, for no
sooner had our 5.30 service ended than men and officers began
coming in for the 7.30 ordinary service, and at that the chancel
and more than half the body of the church was again filled with
our troops. It _was_ cheering to see and comforting to share in.

"The morning of this Sunday I spent at Bishop's Glen, about
fourteen miles up the line, close to the bridge over the Modder
River which was blown up directly we got here, where two
battalions of the Guards were afterwards sent. I had to go up in
great haste on the Saturday to bury the adjutant of the 3rd
Grenadiers, who was killed the day before; a very sad task for
me, for having been with the battalion all along, I had got to
know him well and to appreciate him highly, as every one did who
knew him. I got to camp about 5.30 on Saturday evening, after
three and a half hours' heavy travelling along a muddy track over
the veldt, through dongas and drifts, and we laid him to rest on
a little knoll overlooking the well-wooded banks of what is
_there_ a pretty river, a short distance only from the broken
bridge, which stood out against a background of shrubs and trees
on the river side, and struck me as a fitting emblem of a strong
and useful life smitten down suddenly by an unseen hand. I
stayed the night at Glen, where Grenadiers and Coldstreams took
care of me, and on Sunday morning at seven we had our parade
service, followed by a celebration at the railway station, at
which we had a nice number of communicants.

"We find the hospital work here very heavy. There are no less
than ten public buildings in use as hospitals in the town: in
addition, of course, to our field hospitals, which are _full_.
For a short time last week I was left to do all this with two
chaplains besides myself. The chaplains here are splendid, so
keen and self-denying, nothing seems too much trouble; all going
strong and working hard. It is a pleasure to be with such men. We
are all distressed at our inability to do more, and conscious of
our failure to do what we would wish; but we do what we can. The
S.C.A. has two tents and are working on good lines, and the men
appreciate them. Lowry and I have walked the whole way so far,
save that I had a lift from Jacobsdal to Klip Drift, and I am
thankful to