The farmer and mechanic., 1915-11-02
SCENES IN LONDON AS TROOPS
AFTER LEAVE RETURN TO FRONT
Second Partings Harder Than First-An Know W..
Cost Now-Those Left Behind More Afectp5
Fortunate Are Those With None to See Them G..

firing line. He speaks TO M .
looks for no one, but he sazr~ q i.
longing in his eyes. He has urr
khaki and led a charge Nov v4
dragging limbs and shattered ha4t4
he comes in multi to see his coD-r.1.
go.
A wild laugh startles him a-1
turns his head nurriedly f, -.
ment. Two girls are dancing 5sr1
ing in that gathering of sorrow Tn,
toss their heads and lift then >t rs
They set to each other and take ,r,r
ing steps. They glance ~ th. IN.
standers and chant: Its a hong -.
wy to Tipperary.''
No one takes it up and they >-.D
with another burst of hideous r-.r-'
Their men, East End coStarno, rars
once, are exchanging lurid experiences
Of their holiday and have no tim. fe,
them, and all others pass them h,.r-
riedly by.
A Young Mems Christian Aez,o .l..
ton agent slipped quietly pas rh.r
He was seeking men to whom f4
might be of use. He nodded To- rvo
army chapfalns gravely chatting
apart, eccleSiastic unmistakabl} de-.
| suite their uniforms and erect bear
i ,rE, and he gave TO all who asked
! little New Testament, bound in khat5
and just small enough to slip int, the
| pocket.
! Crude jokes about the kai~~f a,l4r
reference to men hurt III Flanders ar
| killed in the Darda aneIleS. heart felt
wishes of good luck and faint pr,u.-
! Uses of d quick return uer, ,t.
snatches Of conversation that CAM -.t5
the onlooler Through il aI rar
restraint. What could he said ~. -irb
an occasion? How could II bt SID
! in such a crowd?
/ The Last Moments
The train began . till up al4 ne
enlisted men crowded the thrd-c.ae,
compartments The crowd o., rs
platform clesed in on the doors one
Of the men stood on the step VIII ore
arm round his mother and the other
round his SWeethearts : necl H.. Was
IN tears and kept kissing paSSiuutte'v
each in turn. His grief was almost
grotesque, but even as he grabbed
suddenly his brother and kissed him
too, no one smiled Strangers sLrgod
around him, but never gave ham a.
second glance
Here and there a woman n Wa CITln.
and sometimes it was hard 10 get !
little tot to let his father go, but gen
orally, the Sef-Cuntrol was wonderful.
The rough criticisms of an irrepreSs.
bic Tommy could still raise laugh
and the very depth of the crowd :
IceilHSS kept II SIlI.
. AS the officers took their places -
the dining car, the line Of division ne
came clearly marked Behind those
plate glass windows was nothing but
khaki, save only where a nursing SIS
ter sat in her quiet gray uniform
: trimmed with scarlet; on the platform
were the women and children they
were to leave behind. The family
, groups were already broken, the VIE
: WIS separated from her husband He
little girl from her father and the od
, couple were bereft Of their son
: The whistle sounded and the raln
began TO move Last kisses we're
, thrown through the window and
? some Of the wilder girls tried I'll ra1
down the platform. cheer UeT ?.
but it was half hearted II ltN Ch"h.
2 ness and eyes grew dim a. nc
!, riages gathered speed But ever
3 that supreme moment fun crepf
r that sad, odd scene. As the last
e sped past a Tommy suddenly tt
. | out his head from the baGEa2'
S compartment.
e "tO'o'd ave thought was era
called, and the crowd laughed
8 unexpected grin
:. The train and the soldiers "efe
t gone and there was nothing a'
y but to go also. Fathers and mo-a
Il wives and children turned d"al
a moment there was d burst o
> but then a woman screamed.
Those near her closed ar00f
8 curiouSly. She laughed and the
n surged quickly past her, leaving
her friends. Another woman S0Ga
h collapsed. and the homegoef~
e rled their steps. fearing Tor
> selves to stop
: They take on something
t sometimes" said the Young
: Christian Association man
: night / thought one would have at'-
y With Tightening lips ana Ted
IS the women kept on their Va
of the station into Victoria Slf'
: the automobile or the bus
II home to the familiar life rh
', round a nd the casualty list.
e --A----