For the following description of life in Kitchener's new army we are indebted to 8 ce it who has taken it from a letter received from a member of the Suwa Mara contingent. The letter is dated Aylesbury, January 17.
To-day, Sunday, is the first fine day we have had since coming here. Tt can rain in these parts with a vengeance, and the whole place it real sea of mud; a replica of conditions on the other side of the Channel. And Aylesbury mud is as penetrating as it is dirty, which is saying a good deal. The world-famed Aylesbury ducks of immacubatten and fatten on universal slush.
After doing only two days musket try drill I was sent to the battalion Orderly Room for clerical duties, and as it was found that I could do the work and work the machine, they kept me all day at it for a week. I kicked against it, much preferring to be out soldiering, 90 they let me off for a week, but they want me to go back to-morrow for another fortnight. Every day at 2 p.m. the Court sits at the Orderly Room to try such cases ae are brought up, and they are a fair number, as these pitman are a tough lot, but good.
The Colonel ly a bit short-tempered and gives the men rather stiff punishment for such trifling offences ay overstaying leave; failure to be in billet by 10 p.m. One burly miner, who had_ possibly been happy with some of his pals overnight, rather amused the Court with his reply to the question why he had not turned up at time, which was as disarming as it was naive, "T was no foehn' so clever the morn, Kur-r-mel" said he.
Life on 8s, 6d. a Day.
My stable companions and I have removed from our last billet to be nearer the drill ground. We were rather in a hurry and so took the first billet we heard of. There we had to sleep three in a bed, which was rather too much of a joke, 80 some job. after staying three days we got an-|me a band,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.