The Dominion. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1915. UNDER FIRE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2510, 10 July 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1915. UNDER FIRE

The- letters from our soldiers at the front which, are being published in the New Zealand newspapers throw. some extremely interesting light on various aspects of war, and 'also give wonderful glimpses into some of tho mysterious recesses of, the human mind. *It is ' most interesting to read the vivid descriptions of a soldier's feelings when he gets within range of tho onemy's guns for the first timo. The thrill of looking death straight .in tho face must leave an impression that can never be removed. One letterwriter tells us that tho whiz of bullets and'the shriek of shells give one- "a junny feeling around tho heart" until the weird novelty of tho experience becomes dulled by froquent repetition. If fear is infectious, so courage. English soldier fighting in Flanders states that when for the first time ho heard a shell burst ho half-closed his eye's and watched the expression of tho officers. The. explosion seemed too near for comfort, but as the officers.took no notice, and the other soldiers were smiling and indifferent, he became infected with their confidence. ".You do and act as others do," he explains. Bravery does not consist in the absence of tho sense of fear, but in overcoming it Some of tho bravest soldiers admit that they are extremely nervous in going into i action, but they know that, duty must bo done, and they 'do it. This is the valour of knowledge, which is a much finer,thing than the valour of ignorance, though to the spectatpr the difference may be quite imperceptible. Tho action-of the New Zealanders who went in for a swim under the fire of the Turkish guns has been [quoted as an example of conspicuous bravery—and rightly so. Yet one of them, in a letter to his friends, declares with delightful candour that he and his comrades, who went down to the beach for a wash amidst a hail of shrapnel, "cracked the old soldier and' took no notice," though they were_ "really shivering with fear," This is an excellent illustration of the meaning of battlefield courage—the conquest of the natural shrinking from death by the resolute will to do and dare, fortified by the sense of comradeship and the inspiration of military tradition. It would, however, be quite misleading to take the experience of any particular man as an adequate description of what it feels like to be under fire. It is largely a. matter of temperament and imagination, and, as no two people think and,feel in exactly the samo way, so no individual experience can be regarded as quite typical or. comprehonsivo. But this fact does not lessen the,great psychological interest of tho frequent references in soldiers' letters to tho "funny feelings" they have when tho guns begin to play in deadly earnest. Tho first taßto of "tho real thing" must be a nerve-wracking event, but one of them tells us he would; not have missed it "for all the tea in China."

"It, .was hell !" This is tho terse description given by an Australian soldier of his first.fight. It is the description given by many who find any other words fai] them to adequately explain their feelings. This particular soldier goes on to say that lib one seemed afraid to die. Another man says, "We have no fear of war," but he hastens to explain that "in fact wo don t get time to bo frightened." . Thero seems to be a pretty general consensus of opinion that even if war is hell one gets used" to it. Tho old saying that familiarity breeds contempt holds good when applied to shell fire as well as to the ordinary affairs of everyday life. Tho sense of ever-present darger loses its keenness after a few days of fighting. Tho novelty gradually wears off. A Victorian lieutenant remarks that "it is marvellous how used one gets to fire"; yet some men, just as brave, but probably moro highly strung, never feel quite comfortable' while bullets and shells arc whistling overhead. For instance, .another lieuten-' ant declares that the sound of tho Queen Elizabeth's guns was awful and made him "jump every time." Some men get so oxcited that they forgot to .bo._afraid. This was the stato of mind of a sergeant, who felt just as ho used to feel before going ;<w fee football 'all e.xcitemeal

[and dying to bo at it." He had five "awful days" fighting before ho was wounded. He "enjoyed it though." | War appears to have a wonderfully stimulating effcct on a man's character. It gets right down to tho deepest depths of personality, and often brings to the surface quito unexpected qualities. This characteristic of warfare is referred to in a'striking way in the letter of an Aucklander:

Ko many surprises await one as to tho "real character of those known under normal conditions (lie writes). The experience is such as to give one an abiding faith iu ono's fellowmen, Hard swearing, 'hard living, rough men some of them, yet when tlieir comrades arc wounded, and in need of assistance, nothing is too great trouble. They give anything and everything they have. In fact,, in ninety-nine' cases out of a hundred, as opposed to warless conditions, it is oil for their comrades anil nothing for themsolves, It is firaud.

Yes, it is grand. The countless acta of Heroism and self-sacrifice performed by just ordinary men who have gone to the front from shops and offices, farms and stations, make us realise that human nature is something bigger and nobler than wo.had previously imagined. The British soldier understands the serious sido of life quite as well as other people —perhaps better. He hag his full share of the fundamental emotions in spite of his swearing and his joking. The present war shows that Tommy Atkins is distinctly religious —in his own way. Dit. Martin, of Palmorston North, who can speak' with tho authority which first-hand knowledge gives, tells us that "tho war has struck a now phase. One never hears blasphemy among British soldiers, though ho swears as fluently as over."' Dr. Martin's impressions on this point aro confirmed, by many of tho letters published in The, War Stories of Private Thomas Atkins- It is a fascinating book. One private tells us that we must not take too much notice of the reports of the soldiers in trenches singing as if they had not a care in the He says ho "heard more talk 'of - religion—and from men from whom you would least expect it— than any popular songs." Another letter-writer remarks: "You can bet your hat God answered my prayer, for I asked and He accepted." Dit. Scott Holland.says that never were such hymn singers known as our soldiers in Franco and Belgium. "You ought.'to hear the shout of their jolly voices". . . . They sing and sing for ever." They- all have .their favourites, but when it is put to the vote it is generally one of tho great hymns that is chosen. "If you give them a bit of religion they grip on it at once. TRey listen- as they do not know how !to listen at home." The fact of tho matter is that normalminded men simply cannot go through the awful experiences of a modern battle .without soma alterations in their point of view and their ideas as to. the relative value of things. The man who "for every hour of the .blessed day is expecting to have his Tiead blown off" must, have a good many serious moments.