LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1593, 3 August 1916, Page 4

LETTER FROM THE FRONT.

The following descriptive letter has been received by a loeal resident from a relative now serving in Northern France; —

“Since we left Egypt we have had a very interesting time, for this country is most picturesque. The trip across from Alexandria was somewhat exciting, for we took a devious course running between Crete and Greece in otie place to avoid German submarines. We were twice chased, and on two other occasions the look-out sighted periscopes in time for our boat to turn and clear the other way. We were on the Cunard liner Aluvia, with about 3,000 troops. We landed at Marseilles early one morning, and look train the same afternoon northwards. On the wharf at Marseilles were hundreds of Gorman prisoners —great hulking chaps, taken early in (he wai — working at sundry labours. They had French guards looking after them, most peculiar-looking soldiers, -with red trousers and long blue coats, and enormously long ritlos and bayonets. When wo landed a lot of these German chaps knocked off work to stare at us, a.nd wo paraded just close to them. They .were a hit sullen, and, 1 fear, too "well looked after, for one thing leading to another, in a few minutes about an equal number of their chaps and ours got going with their fists; - It seems Hurt. some of these Germans gave one or two of our’ fdlows some cheek with what English they knew, and sundry gestures, and this started matters. A few police and our guards soon settled it, the result being only a few disfigured countenances. We had throe days and nights in the. train. All the way along, the French people gave us a good reception, especially in the nay of small gifts and luxuries to the troops and providing hot tea, etc. We passed through some very large and fine cities. The architecture of these places is great. Lyons was especially fine, and also Dejon. The view as we crossed the Rhine, with its many handsome bridges and waterfront with all its shipping was quite a sight, especially after leaving a city the size of Ashburton. Every inch of country in the South is cultivated, and there arc no fences. Just an even unfolding undulating landscape of many lines, according to the cultivation, with a little village and church spire every half-mile in all directions. Wc only just skirted Paris on the Sunday morning. Except for the large numbers of troops and munitions of war one sees on all hands, one would never imagine a war to be in progress except really up here. Everything up to within a few miles of the trenches is as before, with everything going on as usual. We were billetted for two or three weeks in an historic dreamy old.world village well up in the North, and not many hours from London. This village with its very old church and winding paved streets, must have ceased to keep up with civilisation about the time New Zealand was discovered. We were billetted there in very comfortable quarters ■ —the men in the large barns, with plenty of straw, and the officers with various of the village folk. For my part, I was very comfortable, with one of my officers, in a picturesque little two-storied house near the church, in the village square, and Monsieur and Madame looked after us quite in a homely fashion. I managed to get along quite passably with conversation, for my good host could not speak a word of English. They became quite interested about New Zealand, and had very quaint ideas about our country. Jt seemed to he a puzzle to them how we have learned any of their language, or why we should even

bother with if. Hut it really did puzzle them to know how we had learned it. The countryside round there was simply charming. There were many canals leading in all directions, which seems one ol: their chief means of transporting goods from village to village. These canals are about the width of the river Avon in Christchurch, and are very ornamental. On either side (hey have avenues of tall trees, with gravel paths and grassy banks running the whole way. Here and there is a bridge or a lock'. Steam barges steam merrily up these canals, and now and then a hospital motor boat running perfectly silently. have landed here in the springtime, when everything is looking very fresh. There wore most charming country lanes, and now and then