Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-06-24

Written iof he S.''i N' 80
The battle front of a sanatorium Tor
those afflicted with nerve trouble, OF
merely with nerves" Is one OF the
many surprises the great war is bring
ing The old-time secluded resort in a
remote and tranquil region is dis
carded, for health purposes. in favor
of the scene of din and struggle where
the manhood of whole nations is with
ing In tremendous noise and conflict.
There are elemental joys on the bat
tie line which have their vitalizing.
renovating effect Those who taste
of them find new courage in life.
French specialists are telling their pa
TENTS who are pessimists and hypo-
chondriacs to go to the front for sure
cure.
Souls that have become too sensi-
tive, over which gusts of the asphyAi-
ating gases of our time have swept
from gloomy writings and taik1nSs,
who. in the fever of worrying over
them are nervous. tired and depressed,
all such should go to the front to nave
the cobwebs wiped away, to breathe
in the vigor of life to learn what is
implied in the joy of living.
If you leave Paris for this purpose.
says one of the advisers in the Petit
Parisien. the train will not carry you
far, and when you are Installed In
YOUR auto your chauffeur will have to
show to the gendarmes the blue pass.
which, of course. was gladly given 70
you by the authorities in the capltal
on account of all you have done for the
nation since the war began.
Checking Up Lines.
First of all you can comfort your
self by checking up the line after line.
of defensive works between Paris and
the front. and which assure you pro-
lection in your quiet home. Disregard
ing the lines of trenches and of barbed
wire you may contemplate, this article
declares. the wonderful landscape. the
succession of hills and plains. of val
now and then a village a manor.
an abbey, a farmhouse or church
spire. Your eyes widen and your lungs
expand. Bicycles go by. motor cycles
alcades prance past. and all these
wheelmen and horsemen are soldiers in
splendid trim. looking well and heartily
attending to their business
Further on is a huge garage within
which a multitude of aeroplanes are
shaking their wings: in little fold
behind a hill is a captive balloon.
Soon you come to the entrance of a
line Of trenches. the article declares.
and you pass into bayou, but wind
ing of the trench. and as you reflect
that the soldiers have constructed them
with the same precision and the same
ingenuity from Dunkirk on the channel
to Belfort near the Swiss frontier, you
begin, without perceiving it, to stretch
yourself and to take on a better color
and then when you suddenly come
5000" row of the big guns hidden
in foliage your chest actually swells
out when you see the artillerymen
you begin to feel ecstatic.
Some Bad Times.
p'ght up in the front line trenches
says this newspaper, there are. OF
course, some bad quarters of an hour
ana it would be foolish boasting to
deny it. but there are also the happy
moments. The night has been long,
with torrents of rain turning the
trench into a river, and the French
man props himself on sticks as best
he can during the eight hours he is
one of the sentries said, that you
would not have the heart to put even
a German out in This sentry was
dripping from his cap to his shoes,
every now and then he shook himself
lik" dog leaving the water.
Beyond the barbed wire the plain
st. e,cles out tiaelc and mysterious.
lined 200 yards away by the German
trenches on which the sentry keeps
his eyes steadily fixed. The cold makes
his eyes water and the gun is icy in his
hands. Within the French soldier here
present there rumbles the crouch of
the French soldier of a hundred years
ago. But in the distance a white scarf
draws along the horizon and grows
gradually. the article says. 1t is the
dawn al last and the sentry feels new
born. And suddenly he is TRANSPORTED
and becomes radiant.
When the Mail Comes.
The mail! The magic word put the
trench on the alert, says the article.
When the hour for the daily distribu-
tion of the letters approaches many of
the poilus have difficulty in hiding their
fmpatience. They await the mail as
they would await sweetheart. There
are the same anxious glances at the
watch, the same nervous drumming
with the fingers, the same idle remarks
which fail to conceal their concern
the same anxiety and the same hope
The soldiers are listening, not this
time for foot on the stairs. but for
the hum that announces the coming of
the military postman around the corner
in the trench gut. where he customa-
rily makes his appearance.
Here he is at last, Conscious of the
emotion he provokes. the carrier ad-
vances rather solemnly He carries his
huge bag slung across his stomach nd
corners of envelopes are visible All
eyes are on the bag. but no one steps
forward or stretches out a hand The
carrier is a man OF order. He permits
no grouping around him. You keep
your place and it IS he who comes to
you: but in no hurry. How really slow
he is. He is a pleasant fellow vet for
. moment you are revolted against him.
You feel like shouting 10 him TO
hurry. But discipline is there Each
squad stays in its place; the postrnan
passes from one soldier to another,
spelling out the names.
Soldiers Study the Letters.
Each poilu now has his letters and
the face Of each is an interesting
study, the newspaper article declares
Some read slowly. deciphering labori-
ously the writing so dear to them and
moving Their lips with each word
anxious TO absorb every phase, readin &
them over and over again.
Again, says this writer one of the
soldiers pleasant moments begins
when he pulls out his pipe anu To-
hacco pouch calmly and methodicaIiy
The pipe is the poilu's inseparable
companion.
The boys of the youngest class al
ready smoke like grandfathers One
does not tremble or give way to the
emotion when smoking the pipe Sc
riously wounded men are carried on
stretchers from the battlefield with
the pipe in their mouths. They bite on
the pipe when the suffering is too in
tense. often the fury against the Ger
mans rises from the poilu's heart to his
teeth and deep marks are then caused
on his pipestem.
The trench concert is another pleas
ant moment. In a typical case one OF