y
didn't go on long.

The Boches have been heavily shelling our trenches all day.

One boy said suddenly, when I was attending to his leg, "Aren't you very
foolish to be staying up here?" "Oh, sorry," he said; "I was dreaming
you were in the front line of trenches bandaging people up!"

Our big guns have been making the building shake all night. The Germans
are trying to get their trenches back by counter-attacking.

_Tuesday, May 18th, is it?_ 1 A.M., _in bed._--It has been about the
worst night of all the worst nights. I found the wards packed with bad
cases, the boy of 18 dead, and the other boy died half an hour after I
came on. Two more died during the night, two lots were evacuated, and
had to be dug out of their fixings-up in bed and settled on stretchers,
and all night they brought fresh ones in, drenched and soaked with
clayey mud in spadefuls, and clammy with cold.

_Wednesday, May 19th, 12 noon._--Mr ---- has been working at No.-- at
full pitch for twenty-four hours on end, and had just got into bed when
they sent for him there again. They are all nearly dead, and so are the
orderlies at both places; but they never dream of grousing or shirking,
as they know there's not another man to be had.

Two more officers died last night, and three more were dying.

The Padre came and had a Celebration in my ward. Three R.A.M.C. officers
are in badly wounded. They are extraordinarily good.

_Friday, 21st May_, 3 A.M.--Last night the rush began to abate; no one
died, and only one came in--a general smash-up; he died to-night, and a
very dear boy died to-day. I've lost count now of how many have died,--I
think about twenty-four.

The Guards' Brigade here went by to-night from the trenches to rest,
singing "Here we are again," and the song about "The girls declare I am
a funny man!"

11 A.M.--The little Canadian Sister has just been recalled, I'm sorry
to say, but probably we shall get another one. Five Canadian officers
came in last night. The guns are making the dickens of a noise, very
loud and sudden. Yesterday they shelled the town again, and two more
_soldats anglais_ were wounded.

_Saturday, May 22nd_, 6.30 A.M.--Things have been happening at a great
pace since the above, and we are now in our camp-beds in an empty
attic at the top of an old chateau about three miles back, which is
No.-- C.H., at ----.

Just as I was thinking of getting up yesterday evening they began
putting shells over into