The sun., 1916-10-15
|ALAN SEEGER'S PAL
TELLS OF LAST HOUR
Young Americans Greatest
Desire Was to Make
Bayonet Charge.
FIRST ONE COSTS HIS LIFE
life Is Only Beautiful II Di-
yided Between War and
Love-" His Motto.

Tho JoHouino tribute TO the young
,crtcr dnd poet Alan see0er uds pnt-
ten By RJ Bear. a yonn0 Egyptian, Ms
closest friend dSySRO the months Of
active service N the Foreign Legion.
RJ Bear Uds engaged In literary cork
~ Parts phen the rdr began, and en-
listed IN the Foreign Legion. Hb story
Of his friend 1us not ,~critten for pub
Ucafion, but tras addressed 70 Mrs.
Caroline l.. Weeks. a Boston lady, rest
dent w Parts. W h has acted the role
Of "marrdine" (~Dodparent) to many
I merfcdn volunteers. The follOtctnO 70
a Translation from the French. In chich
u tods rrttfen. foricarded by the Paris
correspondent OF THE Sun:
II was IN the Thiescourt Woods. I re-
member, that I saw Alan OF his return
from convaleecent leave. My section
Mas In first line trenches and his. in
reserve. In the second line. ! was on
soup fatigue and was going to the Chaif-
four Quarry when I saw him In front
OF me. walking along lone. Throwing
down the marmites tin r~ecertacles)
with which I vac loaded. ] rushed to
shake him nv the and lie had. II
seemed to me, row slightly thinner.
his pale face seemed slightly pa!er. and
his eyes. his hne eyes with their far
away look. ever lost In distant con-
temptation were still as dreamy as ever.
He to.d me how sorry he was not
TO he still with me as he had been
transferred TO the first section inc I
belonged to the third But We saw
each other every day. He you'd re-
count the Joys Of his two months som
vaiescent leave. and ] shall never for.
get how one phrase was often OF his
lips. Life is only beautiful II divide
be,ween war and love. They are the
on'y two hings truly great. fine and
perfect, everything else Ia but petty and
mean. I have known love the last few
weeks in all its beauty and low I want
To make war. but nne war, a
war Of bayonet charges. the desperate
pursui, OF an enemy in flight. the entry
NJ ~conGueror. with trumpets sounding.
into "A town that we have delivered
Those are the delights OF war. Where
In civil life can be found any emotion
so fine and strong as those? -
And We would exalt our spirits with
hopes OF making an assault with the
hayonet, hopes that were not doomed to
disappointment. for a few weeks later
we were to attack.
Asked to Write Poem.
one day while We were IN reserve A.
49, a's NAshNA III " lNth
for me. lie was full Of Joy and showed
me n telegram that he had received from.
Paris. asking him TO compose "A poem
which he himsel! was 10 read IN public
AT a Franco-American manifestation
for which he was TO receive forty-e'ght
hours leave. Alan was overjoyed at
the opportunity OF obtaining leave, hut
was too retiring 10 think OF reading
MS poem himself he would try. he told
TnA In nAA A. EAA 49,
The eve OF the ceremony arr!ved-I
cannot recall, the date-but no leav.
came. We were In the trenches and
chance had placed me near Seeger in
petit poste" tthe small outlook post,
some yards In advance OF the frat Inc
trench). He confessed that he had lost all
hope OF going. and l tried to find all
sorts OF arguments to encourage him.
that his leave might come 1T dawn, and
mat by takins the train At Reasons
at , a. n. he could still reach Paris
by noon and would have plenty Of
time, as the ceremony was at 2.
The morning came. and instead Of
bringing the much desired permission
10 cave II brought a terrible %downpour
OF rain. and the day passed sadly. He
found consolation In the thought that
u was only q postponement and that
July I wou soon arrive, when the
D HHleIlVaUp Win tUe Foreign Legion
might hope for forty-eight hours leave,
as last year, Alas! He little thought
that on that date.
An Cafortsnate Mistake.
: 1.-THE ceremony referred TO was held
on May 80, In connection with Decora-
ton Day celebrations. Wreaths 70 the
Americans killed for France were placed
around the statue II Washington and
Lafayette. In the Place des Etats-Unis.
Paris. by an unfortunate mistake the
forty-eight hours leave granted for the
event was made for June 80 Instead Of
May 30, The ode which Alan Seeger
composed for he occasion was printed
In THE SuN a few days after the author
had fallen In battle,1
On June 81 We left the sector Of the
Thiescourt Woods for an unknown des-
tination, which proved 10 be the Somme.
We took the train at Estrees 81. Denis
md on June 2: about 10 \. NJ. reached
Doves. Under Il blazing sun. in heat
that seemed to have escaped from the
furnace OF he'll. we started for Bayon-
vilIer. We had undergone no such
marcli since the war began.
q Weighed down by their sacks. pros
tratsd by the heat. men fell by hun
dreds along the road Hardly twenty OF
the 200 forming the company arrived
without having left the column. Seeger
was one of these few. lie told me after
ward OF the terrible effort that ne had
had to make not 20 give up. At every
halt he drank q drop Of 'tafa' (rum ard
coffee) to give himself heart and
when he reached the end Of the march
he was worn out, but proud--he had not
left the ranks.
We passed the eight days or reposc at
B~ayonviller. almost AWAY, together.
seeking the greatest possible enjoyment
In our life at the moment and making
dreams for the future after the war.
Alan con'ded to me that after the war
caused him fear--that he could not
tell what destiny reserved for him, but
that II the fates smiled on him II was
toward tho Orient that he would make.
lie loved the Orient-Consta ntinople,
, Cairo. Damascus. Beirut had a power
fu! fascination for him. their names
would plunge him into profound reverie,
at Ii In the mysterious frame OF the
Orient" he used to say. "in Its daxxline
hight. In It's blue, blue nights. among the
perfumes Of incense and hachish. that !
would live. love and die"
And then the talk would turn again on
the war and ne would say: my only
wish now Ia to make a bayonet charge
After that I shall see. Death may sur
prise me. but II shall not frighten me
IT 10 my destiny. 'Mektoub' tt II writ.
tent" He was q real fatalist and drew
courage and resignation from his fatal.
Durtus the nisht of Yuma 40. Univ I -