ayen't 'ealthy."

It is the regular warning to new men. For some reason the first
emotion of the rookie is an overpowering curiosity. He wants to
take a peep into No Man's Land. It feels safe enough when things
are quiet. But there's always a Fritzie over yonder with a
telescope-sighted rifle, and it's about ten to one he'll get you if
you stick the old "napper" up in daylight.

The Germans, by the way, have had the "edge" on the Allies in the
matter of sniping, as in almost all lines of artillery and musketry
practice. The Boche sniper is nearly always armed with a
periscope-telescope rifle. This is a specially built super-accurate
rifle mounted on a periscope frame. It is thrust up over the
parapet and the image of the opposing parapet is cast on a little
ground-glass screen on which are two crossed lines. At one hundred
fifty yards or less the image is brought up to touching distance
seemingly. Fritz simply trains his piece on some low place or
anywhere that a head may be expected. When one appears on the
screen, he pulls the trigger,--and you "click it" if you happen to
be on the other or receiving end. The shooter never shows himself.

I remember the first time I looked through a periscope I had no
sooner thrust the thing up than a bullet crashed into the upper
mirror, splintering it. Many times I have stuck up a cap on a stick
and had it pierced.

The British sniper, on the other hand--at least in my time--had a
plain telescope rifle and had to hide himself behind old masonry,
tree trunks, or anything convenient, and camouflaged himself in