In the army you soon realize that you have to make yourself comfortable your own way. I don’t hesitate to take anything. If I have on a pair of puttees which are a bit worn and I find a new pair,—well, I just calmly yet cautiously annex them and discard the old ones. We found a barrel of beer had been left by one of the other units, so we carefully carried the prize to our lines and then tapped it. Zowie! It was a beer barrel all right, only it was filled with linseed oil. ------------------------------------- Thank the Lord!! Under a roof, sitting on a real chair; tablecloth, plates; and I’m dry. We have come to Wilton (of carpet fame) and I’m in a billet. I have a real bed to sleep in. Last night I lay on the floor of a mildewed tent; couldn’t sleep on account of the cold. To-night I sleep between sheets, and the wonderful thing is that I’m not on leave. We drove our cars down here, each of us hoping that we would never again see Bustard Camp, Salisbury Plain, as long as we lived; it had been our home for five months. Yesterday we felt like mutiny; to-day every one is smiling. As soon as we were “told off” Pat and I went to our billet, a nice clean little house close to the center of the town. The owner is a baker. I felt kind of uncomfortable with my boots and clothes plastered up with mud, but the good lady said, “Don’t ’e mind, come in, bless you; I’ve ’ad soldiers afore. The last one ’e said as ’ow he couldn’t sleep it were so quiet ’ere.” I had a wash (this is Friday night), the first since Wednesday morning. The idea of having as much water as you want, without having to go a half mile over a swamp, pleased me so much that I used about six basinsful in the scullery. When the lady of the house asked us _what_ we would _like_ to eat, we both fainted. I’m afraid we’re going to get spoiled here. Couldn’t sleep at first. Cold sheets and having all my clothes off—too great a strain! Had breakfast and then drove our cars to the canal, where we scrubbed and washed them down inside and out. This afternoon I’ve been into every shop I could find, chiefly to talk to people who are not soldiers. Even went into the church to look around and listened to the parrotlike description of the place by the sexton. Everybody is happy, and although it has rained ever since we have been here, we haven’t noticed it yet. I may say there are four or five kids, and the whole house could be packed into our front room. Still, “gimme a billet any time.” ------------------------------------- I have just received the news that I have been given a Second Lieutenancy in the Motor Machine Gun Service, Royal Field Artillery, and I go into camp at Bisley at once. I am very glad that before being an officer I have been a private, because I now have the latter’s point of view. I am going to try hard to be a good officer; promotion always means more work and responsibility,—so here goes.