FRENCH CARE FOR ENGLISH SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2376, 4 February 1915, Page 3

FRENCH CARE FOR ENGLISH SOLDIERS

A_ young French lady writes :— Wβ have not had a very busy time, that is why our spirit lagged a bit. We hoard the caunon again after 17 days' peace; more fighting going on at Reims and Soissons. Tlie last town, is about 80 miles from here, so as the country is fiat we can hear the booming of the big English guns day and night. One gees accustomed to it, but sleeping with open windows is a thing of the past. The Germans are still near Reims and Soissons, since a month. Nothing can induce them to leave their wonderful positions. We got permission, from a General to go as near as we could to the firing ig about 39 kilometres from Soissons. Wβ motored out, and saw all the trenches left by the enemy a 6hort time ago. We went by a lot of villages, or, to speak more plainly, ruins of villages. The fields are full of French tombs decorated with (lags; no names—there was no time for thai.

We had such a touching little ceremony here last Sunday. We have four Euglish soldiers buried in the field near our house by their compauione; it was left to our care after the battle. Our priest erected a cross with these words: "Thanking the brave English soldiers who by their bravery prevented our villages being wrecked. May they rest in peace." So last Sunday all the village people came with wreaths of flowers; the tombs were blessed and consecrated. We took snapshots to send to the War Office; one of them has a name. The poor fellow was in the Irish Guarde, and died of his vounds in the field hospital heie. The others bear no indication whatever, so we could not send ivord to the families, as we did for the rest. We can only pray for those heroes. The other day we had « long train full of French wounded, suffering greatly, with no attendance whatever. Tho engine-driver had managed to get them away under deadly fire; all the Red Cross people taken prisoners a few minutes before. At full speed the driver got his train out of the etation. We did our best for these unfortunates, giving them hot drinks, and discovering in one of the carriages one English "Tommy" rocking with pain with a builet- in the shoulder. He was such a sweet boy, and so lonely, not understanding a word of French, and suffering so much. Just as wo were wondering what would be best to do, for he ceuld not possibly continue travelling in such a condition, a lovely ambulance English train moved into the station with 450 wounded and Red Cross surgeons and nurses. We got our man in. The train waited a full haif-hour, for operations were going on, the bullet was immediately extracted from our poor friend's . shoulder, and when the train glided out the last we saw of him was quite reassuring. Tucked up in a "wagon-lit" he m* enjoying a warm cup of tea and a pipe, cheering out of tho window till out of sight. That was one comfort. "

. We had a whole train full of English officers going to the front to replaco the long list of casualties of the day bafore yesterday. ■ They were making tea in the railway carriage, singing in chorus very gaily, and so glad to go to the front. They seemed such magnificent men, giants really, and they quite cheered us up by their optimism. What lovely horees the Royal Field Ar*illery h«s; we see trains passing nearly every day full of them.. The Blue Cross is working well; the poor dumb brutes are cared for; they have ambulance trains with vets, that attend to them. They look so pathetic all bandaged up;.some have hideous wounds. Since the war wo have seen sights! It is like one long nightmare, but I prefer that greatly to being shut up somewhere away from everything. I have kept a journal of the war, and it is fast turning into a volume! My grandfather did the same in 1S70; we found his diary in the library here. It'is most curious; he had the Germene here for two months, and suffered very much by them. The battles were fought nearly at the same places, at the same dates. Happilv for us this war is not turning so badly, thanks to our English "Allies."