The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1915-07-14
How He Changed
His Mind
By EDITH V. ROSS

tie work Of sending comforts to The
soldiers fighting in France and Bel
GUM. Miss Denton on looking over
some books she owned selected sew
cral novels and took them TO the
roulEs where supplies were being pack
cd. They We're sent to France and dis
tributed with other things among the
soldiers Il. the front.
| Miss Denton had notVotced tha; hen
| name was in one OF the books. The
! novel was given to the Foreign legion.
composed of all natiCnalitics. except
| French. and fell into the MlndS Of Fri
vatu Joseph wilkins. an American
youth who happened to be in Paris
ut the breaking out of the war and
had enlisted in that corps.
one day when Private Wilkins was
some seven or eight feet underground.
getting tired OF listening TO shells
scrccching over his head. lie saw Il book
lying on the bottom OF the trench ami
took it up. Listlcssly opening it. ca
a fyleaf he read written in pencil
'Luella Denton"
If peace had been declared Wilkins
could not have been more astonisheh.
| a year before in Miss Dcnton's home
in America he had propuscd to her,
She had considered his proposition for
three days, then turned him down.
The young soldier was not interested
come from Miss Denton. Indeed. he
did not read IL word OF it. lie was ex-
pcc:ing ut any minute TO be killed,
and one in such condition is not apt
| to give his attention to reading. Ncv-
crtllclCSS lie formed Il resolution to
write to Miss Denton q letter from an
| unknown grateful soldier. Might lie
Fortunately for his plan Miss Den
ton had left Il card between the leaves
which she had used us Il bookniarl;,
with Il London address Oh it,. 1t WAS
possible that this address was that OF
Mrs. Denton. At any rate, when Viii
kins found the means to write and
send Il letter he used the address on
tthc card. He took care to disguise his
handwriting and sign an assumed
name.
One morning Miss Denton received
an cpistle from Il soldier in the trench
cs thanking her for the great relief af-
forucd him by the novel she had sent.
He assured her that it WAS just the
thing needed to divert his mind from
death. which continually stared him in
the face. Would she not write him Il
letter? Whenever the danger WAS
most appalling he would read it, and
lie was sure it would draw his thoughts;
from Il constant prcscnce of death.
Now. Miss Denton WAS a romantic
young woman and had refused Wilkins
on the ground that she could not love
one SO matter of fact. She<was well
pleased to have given comfort to a sol
der who was consistently exposed to
death She wrote a long letter to the
poor man. mainly composed OF such
items as were to be found in the news
papers. addressing it to his corps in
France. 1t reached his company, and
he had notified the mail distributor that
the name it bore had been assumed
by him.
Wilkins was delighted He wrote
again, dwelling on the comfort her
letter had given him. Whenever
shell burst over his head, he said. or
Il comrade was killed beside him he
felt that he would go insane from the
continuance of such horrors At such
times he read her letter, and it always
| I, ;,, ~,
it he had placed it in tin cigarette
box and kept it III his left pocket. A
fragment Of shell had struck him
over the heart and had been turned
aside by the metal. Her letter had
saved his life.
ceive or write another letter. for in q
bayonet charge he was wounded and
as soon as possible sent across the
channel. He was finally removed to
London and not long after arriving
there wrote Miss Denton, informin.
her Of his condition and asking if she
would not further add to his comfort
by coming to see hilp at the hospital
where he lay
Lurlla collected large basket full
of dclicacics and bctook herself to the
hospital. Joe had given his assumed
name to Il nurse. requesting that if
any one asked for that person he was
| the one wanted. Then came Lucl!.l
with her basket on her arm and her
romantic heart beating wildly ut the
prospect of meeting her unknown sol
der. When she was taken up to ,Joe'.;
| bed so pale and thin was he that she
| failed to recognize him.
"Iuclla!" he said in a chOkcd voice.
| The sound Of her name. spoken in a
| familiar voice caused her to look more
| intcntly in his face. and she recognized
| in the poor soldier the man she had re-
| fused.
| "Oh. Joew she exclaimed. and knccl.
| ing beside his cot, she took his hand
in hers,
| Joe told her that when he saw her
/ name in the book she had sent he did
! not feel justified in writing her direct
nfte" her refusal Of him. but. dcsirin"
the comfort she might give Il stranger,
! had written her incognito. Naturally
she took pity on him. for he had been
| badly wounded and was the shadow of
his former self. 50 she nurscd him
back to comparative health. But the
surgeons agreed that it would require