the linen to put out to air, and when that was done it was time to
get "10 o'clocks" ready. After that I sallied forth armed with a big
basket, a fat purse and a long list, and thoroughly enjoyed myself in
the market.

In the afternoons there were always stacks of hospital mending to do,
and then tea to get ready. Sometimes as many as twelve people--French,
Belgian, or English--used to drop in, and it was no easy task to keep
that teapot going; however it was always done somehow. Luckily we had a
gas-ring, as it would have been an impossibility to run up and down the
sixty-nine steps to the kitchen every time we wanted more hot water.

At six the housekeeper had to prepare the evening meal for 7.30, and the
Flemish cooks looked on with great amusement at my concoctions--a lot of
it was tinned stuff, so the cooking required was of the simplest. They
always cooked the potatoes for me out of the kindness of their hearts.
The reason they did not do the whole thing was that they were really
off duty at six, but one of them usually stayed behind and helped.

Work at that time began to slacken off considerably.--A large hut
hospital for typhoids was built and the casualties diminished, partly
because most of the Belgians had already been killed or wounded, and
partly because the remaining few had not much fighting to do except hold
the line behind the inundations. A faint murmur reached us that a
comb-out was going to take place among the British Red Cross Ambulance
drivers, and we wondered who would replace them if they were sent up the
line.

The anniversary of the opening of Lamarck hospital took place on the
31st October, 1915, and we had a tremendous gathering, French, English,
and Belgians, described in the local rag as "_une reception intime,
l'elite de tout ce que la ville renferme_!" The French Governor-General
of the town, accompanied by two aides-de-camp, came in state. All the
guests visited the wards, and then adjourned for tea to the top room
where the housekeeper had to perform miracles with the gas-ring. A
speech of thanks was made to the Corps, and "Scrubby" (the typhoid
doctor) got up and in _quelques paroles emues_ added his tribute as
well. It was a most successful show and we thought the French Governor
would never depart, he seemed to enjoy himself so much!

Our next excitement was a big Allied concert given at the Theatre.
Several performances had taken place there since the one I described,
but th