Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-09-09
Homesick at the Front


L- london Daily nail
osr often IL y tns ntue thnss that make men al
IVI the front hofuesick.
Ia the case of = bic Irisbnau who - recovering
fr0n . bavonet thrnst IL the shoulder coal
smoke from a Nseksnfths foree. The Irissman was
having good time IN Frsure unth ne srneit thA'
sBoke Ard then: IL came over me 80 strong. the
honresckncss dd that emily for fear Of being aBghed
at would have LATIN flat down in the read and
howed" he ssid u seemed Just little THING 70
upset him substance iost paff OF yehow-baek
with nc that only forge SMOKE mas ot IN
effect magic cfoud whtch carried him quickeT than
a shot from the zone In France 10 the sweet
sunny fields IRELAND II annhfiated time ~ easily
space From sttoppihg soider Of ~ the lrishnpsn
was metoraorphosed into q boy ~ r.
u s saturday morning little past daylight The
frish hoy and big man, who looks good deal ike
what the boy hopes look Hike some day. jolt over
hiIy road " drawn BY a skinny brown horse'
They rarely speak The man seys "C1k-cik@cik &C
cssonslly snd tte boy sings and whistles When they
have passed the odd roeE formation by the roadside
which least Tina eInatIve horse s APT 90 scare
the hoy hays his hand his fathers hand. Let me
drive. he on these rare trips thet u the IN
vsryne formula Unless the roads are very BAD
father lets him drive. And shout O'Clock they
came 10 the town White yet long way OF the boy
beeins to sniff BY distending hs nostrils vide and
inaIIng hard he smell coal smoke II COMES from
btaexsniths shop outside the town little farther
on from the top of hll. they see the shop u
stands in hollow. The town IL beyond rophd
bend IN the road The boy his fatHef stop At
the blacksmIths SHOP for Old Charlie needs TO be
sboJ While the shoes 60 ON the boy potteTs around
the shop the yard Ie oreathes his fill OF coal
smoke. The dense clouds almost choke him. but the
nearor he comes TO suffocaton the hapver ne ssts.
They burn coal Al his house or At any OF ths
neiehbors houses. lie smells coal smoke only when
he comes to town. It Ia magical odor. Under IT.
Influence his blood hounds his imasinsuon snoies.
II Ia the OF the town the herald OF toys 70
CORE 10 Npifes gayety. change life. ana inst -
! what the hoy wants,
ThsN mere was another man who confessed 20
tassss
! NV the tlekihe of clock The clock was In the
| Kitchen or French farmhouse where soldiers went
| for eggs. II vac bis clock with portentous
| stately tick more suggestive OF eternity than uIho
They had clock at home IN London that ucked hhe
| that The London clock reserved its highest moral
physical forces for the hours between mionisn:
] ana A. M II was supefhafaeh IN lie intston Let
| a fellow slip IN ever 20 quietly that eiock knew and
/ fell on him with accusations ana TeFroof Inc later
the hour the bigger the racket as II Il were oent on
| sharing its discoveries with all
Usually mother heard first When the boy was
half way up the stairs her door opened few inches
| and her head appeared. "Roddy is that your she
| whispered Yes" Roddy whispered back. Mother
said no more. hut inside the room sr'inted
| That was rather Sometimes the clock Kept az 1t SO
loud and 20 strong that one could hear II IN one 3
| own room With the door shut It said harsn, ugly
things eli Of which we're repeated by father the next
! morning at breakfast time regular nuisance that
clock OF itself II was partly TO get away from
! It that Roddy went into the army And here IN
| France was another clock Just like it. Under tho
spell OF the French clock France and the conflict TINT
| ravaged her were fIonehtarily forgotten The boy
climbing the stairs a. home lie strained his ears
| for mothers "Hoddy, IL that your? and father 5
grlnt T6ey dld not come 1t would be rather nice to
! hear them for change.
Two French boys Sharpening knives grind
stone had depfsssing effect well-set-up
1aheashIrc man than al the German artillery There
was grhdstone in the back garden OF the Lancashire
| mans home He lad had many turn at it. Some
times people paid him for turning. more often not.
! 1 Wi a
develop muscle sufficient reward for any ambitious
boy. Knives and without number were sharpened
through the development OF that boys aching arms
| ana back lie never would Iiave believed, II he had
not helped sharpen them that there could be SO
! many knives and in the world. He wondered
| then ana he wonders nov, Who used them all
| There was otie mat who had the biggest knives OF
anybody he sharpened them ofenest and he paid the
least money He had soothing musical voice. which
he employed with exceent effect when the boys IN
terest In muscular development ebbed lowest. Just
one more tuin my lad, one more turn" he chanted
encoura gingy. Revived by that gracious stmulant
the BOY turned again, and yet again and again. until
the knives acquired the desired edge. The French
BOYS knew no such trbane taskmasteT. They seemed
70 grind knives for the fun OF IT, They had only two
knives of moderate size and they sharpened them owe
and over vet theft Knives looked very sharp
Once IN a homesck moment the Lancashire man tool
a turn al the gtindstuhe When he had finished th'
French boys we're frightened OF him and OF the knives
They thought he he German to fashion suei
ihurdefo,s looking implements. The soldier wishet
that the nsn many knives could have been there
see
One night party OF soldiers billeted In bari
heard the neiehing of a horse outside. THIS soldier
were tired. and very soon those who mad peel
awakened by the neighing went TO sleep again Blu
! one Young man could not sleep. Presently he dis
|, | covered that the man beside him eoud not sleep
either queer. stranging sounds came from the sec
ond man The first soldier put out his hand an
touched the second lie was quiyerins all owe
and the stranglng continued. He thought IN
second man afraid.
ITS all right, old chap" he said. fhere's notht
wrong II was only officers horse"
1T sounded like Ned the second man said.
The soldier held his hand ana after little tn
auiverns STOPPED The nest morning the second mar
looking rather shame-faeed referred 10 the incident
II could have sworn 1t was Ned out there Las
night" he said I wouldn't have believed there wa
another horse the World That could neigh just k
that Ned is fathers horse. We drove him 10 IN
station when came away 10 enlist. We got there
2 ] EaI hour halora iraln time. Eather did no