p.

Letter No. 7. Tuesday - 14 Apr.

Major J.H. Massey,
6, Palestinian Coy, The Buffs.
M.E.F.

My sweetest darling -

I have a big letter to write
to you - just having returned from my weekend - & also
having found a letter from you waiting for me when I
arrived back yesterday evening. But I do not feel too well, &
think I have been bitten by sand flies & things - my head
aches, & so do my legs & back & I am sweating too. However,
I have a powder from the M.O. to take as suppressive
treatment, when I go to bed - & so I am hoping to
beat the thing & be alright again in the morning.
I want to reply about lots of things in your letter - & so I
will start on that & go on about my weekend afterwards.

You said that my letters had been making you feel v.
sorry for me - but that you were selfish enough not to relish
madly cheerful letters from me. Sweetheart - it is good to
know that we can write just as we feel, in fact that
is the one & only way to write. But I did not really intend
to make you feel sorry for me, there is no need for it,
except for one reason & one reason only - & that is the
fact of my being away from you. Contributing factors are
the weather, the flies, & the discomfort of my quarters,
but really only in so far as they affect my capabilities of
thinking about you or writing to you - & to a lesser
degree, of being able to think at all, & read & generally
keep my mind alive & interesting, in order to write to
you. When I describe my discomforts, the things & people
which get on my nerves, I think it is mainly in order
to excuse any literary shortcomings. In any case, there
is not the slightest possibility of my ever writing you a
cheerful letter, until there is some news about me