Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1915-09-26
SOLDIERS FROM FRONT
REMARKABLY CHEERFUL
Those Home on Furlough Not In
clined to Talk About War
Unless Asked.
SHARE FATE LIKE BROTHERS
Poilus Send Note to Boches Com
planning of Brand of Shells Used
and Ask for Those With ALUMNI
mum Bands.

Especial Gable to The Times Dispatch. I
fAtiS. September 25.-Profcssor
Emile Faguet, the famous member OF
the French Academy, writes in the
ZEN els!or"
1T is tho soldier, home on furlough
from the trenches. who gives us energy
TO keep on renewing our efforts lie
comes among us hale and hearty, fun
OF good humor, stained and dusty with
the dirt of the trenches. in spite of his
! attempts 10 get rid OF il and look spick
and span for his Homecoming lie does
not speak much. and all his sentences
are brief and to the point and
especially he does not talk about the
war unless YOU ask him about il and
he sees no way to avoid answering.
When thus corncred, he will say:
Yes. OF course, it is rather tough
out there occasionally. but we don't
think OF that. We all share the same
fate, and we are all like brothers In
the trenches YOU feel the elbow of vour
neighbor rub against Your own and
That cheers YOU mp wonderfully II YOU
need TO be checred up'"
They are indeed a marvelouslv cheer
full lot. these poilus in the trenches
gay and happy as children. II was one
of them typical 'trenchman.' who told
me this story the other day.
MADE FINGER RINGS
TO SEND As SOUVENIRS
our trench is in the Argonne," he
said, where the German crown prince
has made his men work overtime for
more months than | care to think OF
in order that he might win the glory
which his father has already rewarded
with the Iron Cross, so YOU NAV
imagine that the bomba rdment is
rather lively most OF the time We
don't mind it in the least, now we have
grown used 10 the noise. which
bothered us at first. lust before l left
however we We're rather annoyed. for
the Germans began to send us n new
kind of shells with no aluminium ba nds
around them. and we needed the aluml-
mum for making finger rings TO send
home as souvenirs.
I'VE are on rather good terms with
the Boches in the trench opposite. so
we decided to send them letter. and
we wrote thus:
" Dear Boches: Since Yesterday we
have received no aluminium. Would
YOU mind sending us $50 caliber shells
as YOU used to. instead OF those CHEAP
lO"'s YOU are dropping on us now and
which arc quite useless. We thank YOU
in advance
When we had written this letter two
men offered to go out and (rop Il into
the German trench, but to do this they
had tn ask the captains permission. and
the captain refused. But grinning be-
hind his mustachc. he gave orders to
send out patrol TO do some scouting,
and the patrol dropped the letter into
the German trench. VIII YOU believe
me. those rude fellows never answered
and kept on sending us those chcap
shells"
The small rcception-room outside the
lawyers library in the Cour de Paris
looks very much different nowadays.
on one wall you find Il tablet on which
is engraved list Of the eighty Paris
lawyers who have been killed in action.
and the other three walls are com
pletcly papered with little suuar.
notices. each containing the name Of
Paris lawyer who has been mentioned
in the orders OF the day or decorated
with the military medal or the Cross
of the Legion OF Honor for conspicu
Gus bravery.
These notices row number nearly 200.
which IL not a bad record. considering
that the number of lawyers serving
with the colors is less than 1900
Partisans are docking to the eShi-
btion of Belgian masterpieces in the
Petit Pals. The entire ground. floor
of the building is filled with macpifi-
cent works of arts. many of which
show traces Of the asphvxiating gases
used by the Germans and so lasting
is tho effect OF these that number
of the mon who unpacked the paint
ings were taken sick.