The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-03-18

TIL.
! cred by the bodies Of his dead and dy-
/ ing comrades, lighted the fuse that
+ Sent the bridge up with a boom and,
! by miracle, escaped.
81 call that marvellous courage
Lieutenant f. added enthusiastically
| as he finished his story.
"Oh, he only did his duty" the Eng
nshnan replied calmly.
Another second and the fuse would
be lighted. 1 dreaded to see it, and,
either feeling that or remembering the
urgent need of our hurrying on, Lieu
tenant f. said, <eWel1, we must co.
! The men shook hands, and Lieuten-
! ant r. said: "Goodby. Is there any
thing we can do for you en- reuter-
eyes. If you will leave this note at
the headquarters at G. will be obltg-
ed He wrote line or two, handed
it to Lieutenant F., and we were off
/ again.
''Those English are fine fellows he
said 1.-THE Germans at first despised
them, and 1 confess we French didn't
begin to appreciate them at their full
the small British army, at fearful loss,
kept the German hordes off and SO en-
ab1ed our forces to fall back in safety.
And you know he continued after
pause, their GOODNESS is appalling, I'M
belfevabIe. They cook, make their eter-
nal tea, wash and even shave under
fire. They are queer he unused.
'sSome one has said of their army"
I replied, "as the nervous lady said of
the mouse, Small, but horrible null
sance.''
This amused Lieutenant r. greatly.
He translated it into French, and it
sounded very funny.
Speaking of the English" he said,
''their most admirable quality is their
ability to stand still or retreat We
French are better at rushing. At the
battle Of Mons they made the most
magnificent retreat that military his
tory records" ri
Eyes, Kipling tells us, Tommy, you
are a hero with your mastery re-
treat - I answered.
Half an hour later we were at the
headquarters at G. As the car stopped
several English officers came to the
door. Lieutenant f. called out that he
had an important message for the COM
81 am he,'' the older of the men re-
piled.
Lieutenant 3. handed him the note,
and we were about to start when the
commander asked one or two ques-
lions. Then he apologized for detain-
ing US and thanked us for bringing
Captain Beaufort's message.
Captain Beaufort's message!
It was Captain Beaufort who had
lighted the fuse at the bridge. Lieu
tenant r. had told him the story OF his
own heroism! Il
We looked at each other moment
in blank establishment, and then the
Frenchman threw up his hands, shrug-
ged his shoulders and said, Mon Dieu,
and he said oh, he only did his duty
while made poem about it!''
After that every few minutes we
were stopped by sentries, and it was
growing dusk before we turned into
the gate of the hospital court. It had
been a monastery before monasteries
had been suppressed, and lately the
French government had used it for an
asylum. It looked heavenly place,
set In trees and reminiscent of glorious
old days, with it's architecture of a by
gone period, its windows reaching
from floor to ceiling and giving out
upon exterior balconies overhung by /
dropping branches. Great gnarled
trees encircled it, gardens gay still
with autumn flowers were about 1t,
and ivy clad walls blended with the
soft gray stone mellowed by years.
AS we stopped before the door the
surgeon in command, Colonel s., and
the matron, a crisp, busting woman ,
Of forty, came out to meet us.
They were genuinely relieved to see
US, and, to know we and our precious
supplies were safe I'VE are so des-
perately in need Of things said the +
colonel. tsBut you must be dead with I
fatigue he added. go o5your rooms I
and rest until dinner, which is at 9. T
We dine only after the patients are
CON fortably settled for the night-that
Is, If we are lucky he added, laugh
Ing, and I learned that for weeks
many of the staff had scarcely known
a nights rest, often sleeping with their
clothes on, and snatching a bite now
and then But there was a little lull i
that day.
CHAPTER VI