At church and Sunday School as usual. Spoke to Hector MacDonald about Ranald¹. Mr Chadwick preaching. Had long talk with Willie Peake about Chadwicks. Talked to Arthur Marshall about the Debating Society. Wet day. Short walks. Bought special Echoes and heard about the 5 to 6000 English being lost, also that the Germans were withdrawing some men from Belgium to send to Prussia².

1. Intermittent correspondence with Ranald MacDonald continues throughout the diaries. ↩

2. One might expect “Russia” rather than “Prussia”, but the shorthand is clear; presumably “to defend the Prussian E. frontier.” ↩