It them seems that Stanhope is calmed down by Osbourne’s presence. We are led to believe that Stanhope and Osbourne have been in the war together a long time together. They seem to have an extremely stable friendship. We know this because Stanhope seems to be comfortable in talking to Osbourne with regards to his own sanity (‘do you think I’m going potty?’). Normally, I doubt that a company commander would discuss such issues with his officers.
Stanhope seems to be hung over what Raleigh's sister might think of him. We definitely know that he is supposed to check letters but he does not normally enforce this rule. (‘Officially, I’m supposed to read all your letters’) - implying that he is supposed to read them but he doesn’t normally. He reminds Osbourne of his censorship plan. Obviously, Osbourne is taken back with the fact that Stanhope will follow his words through. (‘You don’t mean that seriously?’). He probably thought that because Stanhope was drunk, He was not going to follow his word.
During the whole letter scene, Raleigh shows extreme nervousness whenever he talks to Stanhope. Especially when Stanhope announces that he has to censor the letters (I note that he stammers’). He also tries to style out his nervousness as he does not want to appear so (the short laugh). However, Raleigh's resilience to hand his letter over sets off Stanhope's short temper. He seems to tremble with anger as he asks Raleigh to hand the letter over. He then loses his temper and tears the letter away from Raleigh's hand. He is quick to assert his authority over Raleigh (‘do you understand an order?’). Then, a major point. Raleigh is obviously shocked at this behaviour. He tries to calm him down by establishing common ground between them. He calls Stanhope by his first name ‘Dennis’. He is obviously trying to rekindle old school days. However Stanhope is wise to this and stamps on this fantasy (‘don’t Dennis me!’). I think that Raleigh thought that his links with Stanhope would help him. This is maybe what causes Stanhope anger that Raleigh has joined his regiment. He now, on top of everything else, has the added pressure on what to do with Raleigh.
The letter is eventually read out and it turns out that Raleigh has not written anything bad about Stanhope but he practically sings his praises. He announces that he is still proud to be his friend. Stanhope may feel ashamed of this or he may feel embarrassed.
Overall, Stanhope's views on things are that he wants it there and then. He has no patience, and he prefers to use anger and upfront techniques to get what he wants. Raleigh however believes in good old friendship values, which is why he is so shocked when Stanhope reacts in the way that he does. He may have felt that he would be treated differently. We also realise that Raleigh thinks of things in a logical and sensible manner as he acknowledges that the Germans are genuine human beings.
