This campaign is being conducted on gentlemanly lines.  When we took a lot of prisoners at Nasiriyah we allowed the officers to send back for their kits.  In return, last week, when one of our aeroplanes came down in the enemy’s lines and the two airmen were captured, they sent a flag of truce across to us to let us know that the prisoners were unhurt and to fetch their kits.

I just missed Sir Mark Sykes who cruised through here two days ago.  I have written to him in the hope of catching him on his way back.

* * * * *

AMARAH.
September 27, 1915.

TO R.K.

After censoring about 100 of my Company’s letters I feel this will be a very incorrect performance.  What strikes one too is the great gain in piquancy of style achieved by the omission of all punctuation.  How could I equal this for instance “The Bible says this is a land of milk and honey there is plenty of water and dust about if thats what they mean?” or “The sentry shot an Arab one night soon after we got here I saw him soon afterwards caught him in the chest a treat it did.”

I’m so glad to hear that Foss is getting on well:  let me know the extent and nature of the damage.  We hardly ever get a casualty list here:  and I can’t take that to mean there have been none lately:  so my news of fractured friends hangs on the slender thread of the safe arrival of my Times every week—­and on you and others who are not given to explaining that Bloggs will have given me all the news, no doubt.

The War Office, fond as ever of its little joke, having written my C.O. a solemn letter to say they couldn’t entertain the idea of my promotion seeing that under the Double Coy. system the establishment of Captains is reduced to seven and so on, and having thereby induced him to offer me the unique felicity of bringing a draft to this merry land, has promptly gazetted my promotion, and antedated it to April 2nd, so that I find myself a Double Coy.  Commander and no end of a blood.  My importance looks more substantial on paper than on parade:  for of the 258 men in “A” Double Coy.  I can never muster more than about thirty in the flesh.  You see so many have overeaten themselves on the ice and fresh vegetables which Austen dwelt upon in the H. of C. or have caught chills from the supply of punkahs and fans (ib.) that 137 have been invalided to India and twenty-five more are sick here.  Then over fifty are on jobs which take them away from the Coy. and from ten to twenty go on guards every day.  However my dignity is recognised by the grant of a horse and horse allowance.

Unless it is postponed again, the great battle up-river should be coming off to-day.  I hope it is, as it is the coolest day we’ve had since April.  In fact it is a red-letter day, being the first on which the temperature has failed to reach 100 deg. in this room.  You wouldn’t believe me how refreshing a degree 96 deg. can be.