Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1914-12-28
ARTIST DESCRIBES
MOVING FORWARD
TO FIRING LINE
With Sensitive Eye OF His Craft London
Artist With More Than Ordinary Vivid
ness Tells of His Impressions in Letter
from Belgium.
OPPORTUNITY FOR HOT TIME At
FRONT WELCOMED BY SOLDIERS
Silent Night Marches, Danger Of Being
Shown Up by Bursting Shells, Setting Of
Surrounding Land, Told OF in Letter
from the Front.
fBy Associated prcss.l

London, December 26.-tndcr what
picturesque circumstances men often
move forward To the firing line is de-
scrIbed by a London artist. "A member
OF the Honorable Artillery Corps. who.
with the sensitive eve Of his craft. tells
OF his impressions with more than or.
binary yiyidness. His letter is undated.
hut was presumably written somewhere
in Belgium.
After doing work all over one coun-
try" nc writes, I'VE find ourselves in an
other with every prospect of having a
very hot time. which We have all been
praying for. At the last place hui two
VIZ .wereaigging a Second line OF trenches
and came I'm for some very hot fire The
next day they caught rs ~ We went to
dig In slightly more advanced trenches;
and VI lay in a small ditch for about
three hours with she'll and rifle bullets
jumping about over our heads and flick
ing leaves of the Stunted willow trees in
our ditch. One was quite safe aud RI
thcr bored. as il poured with rain. |
played "A game of picquet with The man
next me and won two francs. then the
rain stuck the cards together.
The night before last we left at about
.. II was quite pitch black and in
tensely cold and snow lay heavily every
where on fields. roofs. and trees as We
marched silently through the village
and ont into a long, long road with a
wonderful venue of trees like Holbc
mas lannon's picture al the National
Gallery. On we 60. hardly able Ia keep
our footing on the frozen and uneven
ground, and always. like a tremendous
surf heating on an iron shore. comes the
lsDoming Of gunS Rockets N ~ up.
leaving u long steam of stars. and show
ing up the silent country. Snowbonnd
and very peaceful looking. until one
I'M 10 a village totally deserted. ruin
al walls. heaps of debris aud great shell
holes in road and roof telling Their
dreadful story. And a. if a miracle had
happenel there stands the church nm.
touched.
We halt SILENTLY aud move on again.
and as il Ia remind uS that the world j.
not So peaceful after all. shells come
bursting through the air. One bursts
quite close, setting 4 ruined house ia 4
tremendous blaze and lighting NJ the
whole so'nr lquitr one for \ painicrl.
We are just IA nf il. i've minutes c..r
lirr would have shown ~ an nj. aud We
should probably have been vrr, effect
lively shcllcI. We rlimhrl down LITTLE
slippery slopes and NJ others very war
iiv ton H. carving everything. and the
nais In ones boots on the hard ground
make bad coin-l. Over fields. Ind then
Nc reach reserve trenches a. about 30
! hate reserve trenches. one II my
great fears j. sudocation. aud to stag
ger into u hole in the ground and find
oneself under the earth. head touching
knees and roof above. in black darkness.
not knowing where one il and feeling
caught in ON every si,lc. il dreadful L.
me. We do guards. each section TN
about 100 in the morning. with slight
sniping Ia remind one OF the Germans
fhcn We form NJ and oh again. and stag
yer. il seems, for miles across fields and
broken country. Here We arr al last
III the first line of trenches. Black IL
lent figures %snddcnl, appear. a few whi>
rrrcd orders. and W. find ourselves III
The trenches.
There are five Of "a IN our trench
The dawn comes up slowl, aud NC can
SOC what j. in front of n. We are cvi
IDENTIFY on top of "A slope, on rather not
quite IN top. There has 10 he one Oh
srryrr I'm every trench for half an hour
all through the day aud M night an
humr. The cold is still i%ntcn>e. hut We
oven q tin of jam and start having
breakfast. suddenly my slice of bread
aud jam l. covered with clay. knocked
on the Top of the parapet. The Shippers
ore at work, and wonderful shots they