chateau-farm, and Life seems to have gone into a
trance. I wake up and look out into the courtyard and the sunlight, on
geese, Muscovy ducks, pigs, and pigeons, and it all feels like a
half-forgotten story. There are traces of the Huns, but all that seems
unreal. You hear the boom! boom! boom! of the guns all day, and more so
at night; but nothing can disturb the extraordinary remote peace of this
chateau. The very stones in the courtyard look more friendly and more
countrified than ordinary stones, as if some ancient fairy lived here.
There's no doubt at all that the men feel it. Several of them have said
how they like the place. They think it's a little bit like ----shire. I
think I know what they mean.

After the war perhaps we may visit the place together: I should love
showing it to you. I'm not at all sure that it's really very beautiful.
The architecture isn't good when you consider it. But somehow....

_June 10._

The same chateau. We are living a simple and brainless life. No
field-days, of course, and for this relief much thanks. We don't know in
the least what is happening. Troops come and troops go, and guns go by
during the night, and Red Cross waggons go hither and thither, and the
old turkey gobbles.

Yesterday I was out with my troop, quite uninteresting. But what do you
think? Something exploded not 100 yards away from Rinaldo. I was much
farther off, dismounted. He didn't turn a hair, but only looked round
and watched the smoke. Whereas, as you know, a little bit of paper blown
across the road sends him into paroxysms of terror.

[Illustration: A CONFERENCE IN THE CHATEAU DE FEBVIN-PALFART
There are many of these old chateaux-farms in Northern France. The beds
are under great frowsy canopies and all the curtains are looped up with
heavy tassels.]

_June 11._

I went into an old church in a large town ten miles from here to-day
with Sergeant Hodge. There were the usual tinsel things and red baize
and sham flowers. Sergeant Hodge much impressed. He said after we
emerged: "You know, sir, it's very fine indeed. It puts me in mind of
a bazaar." This was in all good faith, and was intended as a great
compliment to the church! We are having lots of rain, which is bad for
the horses, who are picketed in the open. And thunder. It's often
extremely difficult to tell whether, when the thunder is far away, it is
thunder or guns. Quite a novel experience, and quite pleasant after the
long period of