Mrs. W.A. Mellis has received the following letter from her son, Pte. Melville Mellis: France, May 1st, 1917.
Dear Mother: Just a few lines in answer to your most welcome letters of March 29th. Believe me, I was glad to get them. So Jim Beatty has got his furlough at last! Good for Jim! I bet he is the happiest man in the world just about now. I got Lillian's letter and Daddy's with yours, was glad to get Jim's speech. The last place that Jim said his battalion was when he left was where they still are only further forward. Jim will tell you what kind of a place it is and it has got worse since he left here. Believe me there is a lot of steel going through the air. We have done our turn in the trenches and are just back a little way but not far enough to be out of the range of Fritz's big guns.
You asked if I had ever seen any of the boys from Cobourg. I met Archie Bolster on Sunday night. He is in the 123 Battalion. They are a working Battalion. Archie came over with the 139th as a sergeant. He is a brother to the late Major Bolster. Eight days ago I saw one of the Butler boys. He is out here in the C.H.B. He left in the draft with Joe Hand. I guess it is about a year since they left Cobourg. Butler and Fox were together.
In your letter of March 16th, you said Mrs. B. sent me a parcel, and she can send just as many as she cares to as we are not bursting with all we get to eat over here. Believe me, another little bit would not do us any harm. Say, when you send me another parcel send lots of eats and some tea or coffee that has milk and sugar mixed up with it. I see a lot of the lads get it. It makes shell hole water taste all right. Do not send any socks as we get all we need out here. I have several clean pairs in my pack, and we get clean ones once a week and sometimes twice. They always have clean socks for us as they help to prevent trench fever. Harry Greer writes a very interesting letter. It is just the same out here, jam 365 days a year.
Well, I guess I will ring off now as it is very nearly time for the orderly corporal to collect the mail Good-bye from,
MELVILLE.
