situated nearer the front line and close to our own dug-outs. We
endeavoured however to make ourselves as comfortable as possible,
but for some reason or other the flies took a great liking to our
Mess (No. 1 Company), and at any time day or night they were assembled
in their hundreds on our canvas roof. We had a large war map fixed up
on to the mud wall to enable us to follow events and we had occasional
visits from the Padre and the Doctor, but it was not a healthy place,
no part of the second line was; the second line was about a 100 yards
behind the first, and for some reason it seemed to give the Turks much
more pleasure to put their shells nearer to the second line than the
first. I have picked small flowers growing on the front line parapet,
but I have never seen any on the second. During my first spell in the
trenches after being in the front line, I was put in charge of the
reserves in the reserve trenches and spent three awful days and four
awful nights in this position. The heat seemed to be worse here than
anywhere. I had to spend my days in a small 40 lbs. tent lying on the
ground gasping for air as the sun poured down with relentless fury. It
was burning hot from the moment it rose till it set 14 hours after
over the Arabian Desert. The men were slightly more fortunate in that
they had a bigger tent, but they suffered also and it was at these
times that one could not but admire the spirit of the 'British
Soldier.' One seldom heard a complaint, of course they were "fed up"
with the heat, everyone was the Archangel Gabriel would have been, but
there was never any thought given to anything else but to "stick it at
whatever cost." The officer in reserve was attached to the
Headquarters Mess and so one was likely to get any news going. Lying
in my tent reading, I now forget the name of the book, but I came
across the passage which I will always remember "The writing which
Nebuchadnezar saw on the wall." As I read that I felt convinced that
Nebuchadnezar never saw any writing on the wall and when I reached the
Mess that evening, the first one to come in was the Doctor and being a
good Presbyterian I felt sure he would have this knowledge at his
fingers' ends, so I asked him who saw the writing on the wall and he
immediately replied "Nebuchadnezar". "Not at all," I said, and I told
him I had just read the same thing in a book but felt convinced it was
wrong, he felt certain the book was right. "Very well," I said,