France
25/2/18.
My Dear Sister -

I received your loving letter in good order yesterday. It is sure good to hear from you often, especially since Marion has quit writing. I do not know the reason she does not write any more. She just quit about November and has not written since. I expect someone has been telling her yarns about me, and she believed them rather than me, so I intend to write soon and tell her to break our engagement. So do not be surprised if you get a ring by post sometime in the spring.

I hope you did not get your whooping cough, that you were fighting against. Yes I had a fine time while in Paris, and would like to go there on my next leave, but will have to go to Blighty as I will not have enough cash, as I could live cheaper in Eng. For ten days than Paris. It was sure good to get away from the battn for a while anyhow. A change of scenery and grub. I have never seen such a beautiful city as Paris before.

No by sox I meant that I liked woollen socks to wear. It is hard to get good socks to wear over here at times. You see they issue us with quite a few machine-made stockings, and they are hard on the feet when marching at times. I'll tell you something else I would like to have you send, if you have more than you need. That is maple sugar. We all like that, and anything I like better than maple sugar is more.

I thought your word picture fine this time. It was so vivid, that I could just close my eyes and imagine I was right there and see it for myself. At present here there is a cold march wind blowing with occasional showers of rain. At present I am sitting on the floor letting my feet hang down, with the pad on my knee. I am in a hut with a halfcircle roof which holds 24 men. The most of us are in at present some writing letters, some sewing, others reading and in the opposite corner from where I am there is a card game in progress, and by the noise they are making it must be a very interesting game. We have a small stove in the centre of the room, in which some are stoking it with branches of trees. There is also the usual soldiers kit and blankets hanging and laying about the room. There is also two cases of phones standing near the door. We do not use glass in our windows but use a transparent gauze which admits the light, but you can not see through it. I do not know if you can imagine half of what I tried to tell you or not. It is not well told, but if you have a good imagination you make it out alright.

As to that question about the elephant Well a trained elephant will lower his head and make a sloped slide out of his trunk, and turns it up at the extreme end. The rider, when he stops the elephant climbs over brunos head between the ears and then steps to the ground, but of course novices use ladders to climb up and down. To mount they step on his hooked trunk and bruno tosses the driver on his back.

Well I hope this finds you all as well at home as it leaves me. I am enjoying perfect health at present except for a slight cold in the head, and I am contracting rheumatics in my left shoulder. But Ish ca bibble this will finish some day. Write often and I will try to answer promptly.

Your ever Loving
Don

Love to all at home.
Don