AUTHOR'S LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1442, 31 August 1915, Page 4

AUTHOR'S LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

MIDDT.KCLASS OFFICERS. TOMMY ATKINS AS I.KTTKR-WRITER . The following leltw from a well-known author, who obtained a commission, and i* now at the. front, throws .sidelights on Tommy Atkins and his (.Herman prototype. Still more interesting is what the writer has to say of (he “new” officer in .Sir John French’s Army. “The rest of the war,” he stivs, “will be much in the hands of the British middle class” : “It, seems to me now that 1 have never done anything else but spend my days at this game. One, grows used to it and it. becomes a habit; even the early rising in the dark and the empty inside* wherewith one faces the morning sia*’. Yon ought to see mo out here nowadays and see our Army, which seems to grow and grow; and, speaking as an erstwhile civilian, 1 rather like to sue more of my own kind. Tliey are the most sociable and unpretentious of fellows, these, new officers, and 1 dare say will prove to be not far short ol the regulars, whom they are swamping out. “It is an actual fact that to-day the avera o- 0 British officer is a changed civilian like mvself. The rest of this war will bo much ‘in tlie hands of the British middle classes, a hotly which hitherto has had no showing in our army. They will give a good account of themselves., ot that I am certain ; and later on they will cote down ihe cranUs and humanitarians who have sat light at home, but who the moment the war is over wITT ask ns ‘not to humiliate Hermany and all that kind of rot. . , “Out her wo don’t fuel -a, wry sensitive about Germany’s feelings---past, present or future. ‘A brutal winner and a d d had loser’ is how 1 h.-ard one man describe her. lie has seen her in both moods, and moved .through many ol the I'loiich frontier hospitals where l.ei mam s handiwork is still in evidence. SOME LETTERS HOME. “Though our army is changing it will take a lot. to change our rank and Ido. Tommy is still the same unconscious limnorisl and condo poet that ever he was. Iho oilier da\. or rather night, 1 Was inutile trenches with a brother Miballeni. Ihe major'of this part icidai battalion lakes no aiso he talks to lilin-ylf aloud, which amuses Toniniv. The major went, cut m the dark to inspect the entanglements Naturally ho soliloi/ttised * Lev the old 1 ,iill cu.win’ on the wires.’ observed a, voice. It, was Tommy, who had sized up the situation to a T. “As an oliicer 1 frank and oven censor a er.od n.aiiv of his letters. Some are lonltsli and indiscreet and got lorn np. 1 ‘■nagme Tommy writes these on hr. black <>u.'■’*■ Out here we all have an occassional black dav. But oilier letters are so good that 1 nlVen wish I had a. note-hook and could make extracts. I copied I hr. old the other dav from a letter »>v a Imsfuaun to his wife: T am longing for to kiss you and ti, bury my face in your lovely hair. It. is quite a passage from Yeates. Olton a husband writes to his wife as romanli callv as any lover, and no doubt, gets an answer in kind. Sometimes, however, they sonabble about money and there are all sorts of threats -ihont what will happen when T. A. gets home. IE I AM SPARED. “Likewise T. A. very frequent ly gives his audience what, he knows it hires. I'lnis an R.A.M.C. orderly m a base hospila about 200 miles from the Itring-hue. wd tell his admiring friends that snot, and -hell are bursting all round him am. that he can hardly hold his pen and collect his wits on account, of the horrors and ex * "The men actually in the bring fine, and ,-speeiallv the gunners and sappers, who are (he pick of the Army, are wry hue and moiled. ‘lf I am spared’ is a phrase that occurs in manv of their letters. No posing and DO heroics. On ne hadine pas avea la marl, as they say out. hero. VI b.ch a. French a language that, even the children speak in this country, as one astomsheel Tnmniv wrote, home tile oilier day. U[> rather afraid I’m rather boring yon with Mr X. A., Imt I like him, and the pure, undiluted nature of him and his apprenatton of promotion, though it be only a hoicocorporal’s stripe, to retain wlncb a.nd add to wilieli be will make heroic exertions in tinwav of suppressing the human appefde lot lieer. Many a stout major might take a. Jesion, from him. THE HERMAN PRISONERS. “The Herman private is unite, a different creature. Of course, one only sees him in captivity, and. therefore, not, at les best. Two things strike, me particularly about, the Herman prisoners 1 have guest unied ; first their abject fear of their officer*, and secondly the desire lo* give (he answer that thev think will please us. ‘Are yon sick ot the war?’ one asks. At once tliey say. •Ves,’ Imt f have a feeling all the time (hat th"\ sav il because they know it is the answer ‘that is wanted. And one in two will literally tremble when you anoress him; that is to say. if he recognises yon as an officer. They come OUI of the trenches covered with mud and (dlhy. and one yields willv-nillv to- the old British instinct which forbids one to kick a man when he is down. ... , “It’s fine day, and 1m my own boss for the next hour or (wo. ; If yon weie out here von would rick vonr neck watching aeroplanes being shelled. or wondering whether the gun that just- said ’bonni was going to fetch you. one. I’m going lor a stroll to look at the spring and the hint ol spring which is in everything just. now. One sees magpies here, and herons, and the sparrows are love-making. Tbc nights are still very cold, hut (In: sun has warmth at last. I may lx- aUo to get. leave next month, and then —”