SCOUTING IN FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2335, 17 December 1914, Page 7

SCOUTING IN FRANCE

ANGLO-FRENCH AMENITIES THE BRITISH ARMY AND THE SAFETY OF FRANCE An officer engaged on patrol duty in the North of France has written the following interesting Ibttor:— "It is more than a fortnight since I ivroto to you; but I warned you that no news would bo good news. And so it is. We have had no end of hard work, and are all the better for it. You will remember that our FrenchCanadian comrade, Sergeant Iβ Fanu, received a wouud in the arm. He is, happily, quite well again, and with us. The shifting scenes of life have caused Us to go back again to , where you way remember I told you we were tho Ruests a month ago of a benevolent French Countess —the men in a bam and myself in a wash-house. We paid the old lady a visit last week, and she was quite pleased to see her proteges again, and glad to tell us that her secluded estate had escaped notice and her house destruction by the enemy. German cavalry had been within four miles, but seemed to prefer, so she hod heard (and it is the fact) the national toads, whioh are our turnpikes, lather than trust themselves over doubtful countrysides and terrain studded with shadv dells and coppices. Monseigueur Marbeau, Bishop of Meaux, tad written to tho Countess asking her to befriend and assist any stranded British soldiers who chanced to get out of their way, and the old lady was quite pleased with herself for having helped Us in our distress before she had received the Monseigneur's letter." She asked what had become of the :e----mainder of our party, and T said throe had cone to hospital wounded, ami ton were on duty norne milos away. Would Wβ remain to dejouner? I replied that it was a ereat honour Madame la Comtesses conferred upon us. And the men wer« delighted. Wo had boon in the saddle since 5 a.m., and it was now 11 a.m. We posted a sentry on the watch-tower of the chateau, and the men wont fishing in a large pond in the park. I was taken into the library, which IB a treasure-house of interesting documents and parchments. Four autograph letters from the great Napoleon to the Grandfather of our Iwtcss, who was a Marshal of France—Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, afterwards Char'es XIV, King of Sweden and Norway, and. as she slyly remarked, Ijad a hundred years ago joined Britain and Russia against France. Then thero nrpre illuminated missals by the monks at Douai, tapestry depicting 'ho baptism of St. Louis and the Coronation of Pope Leo XII, and no end of good things—but we had other things to do that day, so, as politely as possible, I said we must saddle at 2 p.m. and get on the road again.

Toasting the British Army. "A nophew of tho hostess rode with us round the estate, which abounds with game of all kinds, and made a particularly graceful speech after dejeuner, proposing the health of the British Army. He eaid: 'We owe to the indomitable courage and' resolution of the British Generals and tho British Array the safety of France. A false stop on your part a mouth ago and Paris fo-thy would have been a mass of smouldering ashes. Linked henceforth with tho history of England will bo the history of Prance and, Russia and Belgium. May I so far trespass into tho domain of politics as to. welcome that quadruple alliance.; consecrated- by .tho blood of heroes, by the graves of martyrs in Belgium, and by the irrevocable determination of tho Allied Powers to burn ■ out-the cancer of-militarism in Prussia, which has now become the curse and the scourge of Europe. lam a lawyer, who believes in law and order as the only sure foundation of human society, and I raise my glass to the Army which strikes a blow to protect the weak from the incendiary, tho murderer, thq railer, who has disgraced by hia acts and declarations the House of Hohenzollern.' Then I had'the duty of translating this to tho men, and it onded as usual—loud cheers. As we loft the chateau tho Countess smuggled into my hand a roll of notes, and whispered to mo to divide it amongst our .men when we reached oanip, It was 2000 francs; so wo have indeed fallen amongst friends. The men all kissed the hand of our hostess before mounting, which pleased the old lady, who was visibly moved at this act of homage and veneration. "Now we shall be ehifting our scene of operations after to-morrow, as the enemy is 'moving more towards the ooast. Patrols will be greatly augmented, and we have already, had some superb Arab remounts, which, I believe, are presents from the Algerian, Sudanese, and Egyptian Sheiks to the French and British Armies. They arc extraordinarily swift, and a little lighter and smaller than extr horses, so they will carry our packs of blankets and holdalls, camp kettles, travelling pantry, etc., which enables rapid movements to be made; and is the true secret of success in this delightful nomad life on field service with advanced columns. "Since my last letter I had a couple of days with the main army in tho trenches. Two of ue went.together. It was a marvellous sight; the Germans in what is practically a low long lino of fortresses, tho guns behind firing intermittently, our men kooping them in their trenches like cats watching mico and ready to spring upon them once tho enemy gives a ch'anco for a bayonet charge; all our soldiers in the bestof moods and spirits, full of jokes and humour, straining like greyhounds in the lash to.get a fair run after tho enemy. Now it seems to be an artillery duel. I would rather like to lay a wagor that the enemy will bo pushed back to the Rhino before Easter, but wb dont know what is happening in Belgium, and it is never safe to trust to rumour in these matters. So tho form is—no information, obtainable

Capture of Spies. The Cure here is a sociable old gentleman, very musical, and has a fine orgaa in his little church. He knows us all, as we have been in and out of his village frequently during the past thrai weeks. So he mooted an orcliestr,al accompaniment to the service last Sunday (September 27). I said, with plea, sure I and would play the violin. Two corporals—one alto, the other tenor— agreed to assist in tho organ gallery. A neighbouring priest officiated! So tho Cure was choirmaster, arid also played the organ. Benediction was at 3 p.m. It was a most touching and •everent servico, which our Protestant comrades attended voluntarily. People drovo in from miles away in all kinds of conveyances; . old men and women with young children. Of course, the men in these parts are nil on active service. : Thero _ wore quite 400 present. "What strango chance meetings, indeed! H.F., who was in tho name house with mo at Harrow, is a dispatchcarrier, and stopped me on the road. He wants to bo taken on as an interpreter. As ho was talking to mo a couple of our party brought up two prisoners in the habits of Capuchin friars for examination. So I said to Harry, 'As you are a Gorman scholar, come and help mo. . The work did not occupy us very long. Friar No.. 1 was a Bavarian priest trying to make his wav to ——. Friar No. 2 was a German Hussar. Harry read their uapers, all in Gorman, which bo said wore iionseuso and without meaning. So that was clear proof that they wcro carrying code messages from one camp of the enemy to another. Tho Bavarian priest wan a gentleman of culture antf

refinement, and I believe he is of noble birth by his manner. Ho spoke French very fluently, and aßked if he might write a letter to his mother before he was shot. Tho Hussar implored that his life might bo spared. Here was tho difference of character. The priest showed no fear. He had been caught; he knew that death was the penalty. Of course, it is not my duty to try prisonors. But, the' General very humanely spared tho life of tho Bavarian priest, and the Hussar has been remanded for further investigation. They are now out of my keeping, and wo aro scouring tho country. Peter is in fine form, and not a bit lamo, although thinner. All the "Morning Posts" up to September 11 Bafely to hand."