hat are out of
sight. So much is this the case that among these hills and valleys it is
a difficult matter for troops to find out whence they are being shot at.

There is a perpetual triangular duel. A's infantry can see nothing to
shoot at, but are under fire from B's guns. The action of B's guns then
brings upon them the attention of some of A's artillery waiting for a
target, the latter being in their turn assailed by other batteries. And
so it goes on. In a wooded country in spite of aeroplanes and balloons
smokeless powder has made the localization and identification of targets
a matter of supreme difficulty.

VIII.

*The Men in the Trenches.*

[Dated Oct. 13.]

On the firing line the men sleep and obtain shelter in dug-outs they
have hollowed or cut under the sides of the trenches. These refuges are
raised slightly above the bottom of the trench, so as to remain dry in
wet weather. The floor of the trench also is sloped for purposes of
draining. Some of the trenches are provided with overhead cover which
gives protection from the weather as well as from shrapnel balls and
splinters of shells. Considerable ingenuity has been exercised by the
men in naming these shelters. Among the favorite designations are the
"Hotel Cecil," the "Ritz Hotel," the "Billet-Doux Hotel," and the "Rue
Dormir."

On the road barricades also are to be found boards bearing this notice:
"This way to the Prussians."

Obstacles of every kind abound, and at night each side can hear the
enemy driving pickets for entanglements, digging _trous-de-loup_, or
working forward by sapping. In some places obstacles have been
constructed by both sides so close together that some wag suggested
that each side provide working parties to perform this fatigue duty
alternately, inasmuch as the work of the enemy is now almost
indistinguishable from ours, and serves the same purpose.

Quarries and caves, to which allusion already has been made, provide
ample accommodation for whole battalions, and most comfortable are these
shelters which have been constructed in them. The northern slopes of the
Aisne Valley fortunately are very steep, and this to a great extent
protects us from the enemy's shells, many of which pass harmlessly over
our heads, to burst in the meadows along the river bank.

At all points subject to shell fire access to the firing line from
behind is provided by communication trenches. These are now so good that
it is possible t