Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-06
THE WORLDS WAR
Through Woman's Eyes
By ELLEN ADAIR
Bdgdad and BuLLecOurt

branches thick with apple blossom and
with flowers Of spring.
a strange and wonderful war; writes
one soldier. Through all this tumult Of
s"elIs, horribly near TO their bursting points,
military band is playing! 1t is playing
merry tunes, as in n country fairt where
May-ume lovers dance. And an this scene
ABOUT me is like such fair with gypsy
tents about and hobbled horses browsing,
ana smell Of sun-scorched grass min
gIlng with the sweet scent of wild flowers
'One would not expect to find dead bodies
ABOUT IN such a scene or TO take tea In
a tent with two men who know and show
by their eyes and by the way they listen
all the time that at any moment death may
spill them over the teacups.
1t was very beautiful last evening when
the sun sank in tide Of gold and the
shadows heightened across the Cojeul River
and gradually the field of battle paled in
a milky radiance Of twilight"
the fighting done by the Australians de-
serves high praise. In particular the
lighting at Bullecourt is bound up with the
Australian troops, who broke through the
Hindenburg line TO the right of this village
and held on to their positions with the most
amazing carnage.
When l hear of those things, the tragedy
Of it all seems as great as the glory Of it.
But through all the record of these
days there shines the spirit Of Australian
youth, those long-limbed hoys Of the South
ern Cross who never would yield, and who,
surrounded on all sides, yet kept the enemy
at bay.
AUSTRALIANS sCoRN FIRE
All Australians-and have met many
are wonderfully careless Of shell, fire
They do not seem to understand the mean.
ing of the word fear. Day after day the
Australian stretchcrbearers cross the peril
GUS ground swept by machine gun fire, and
never falter. Carrying their burdens they
pay no need to bursting shells on either
side, and quite regardless of their own
lives, do everything they can to save their
dying comrades
a friend of mino has sent homo an ac-
count Of a skirmsh between airmen and
earth men on the western front
"A queer thing happened in the Sky
above" he writes "The battle on the earth
took place Just before dusk-the dusk of
n golden day-and it was at tho hour when
all the Allies aircraft ny home to roost
after lone journeys of adventure over the
German lines, some of them with holes in
their wings and some with broken wires.
Il watched these home-going flyers from
the valley Of the Coieul River beautiful
as swallows as they skinned high in tho
blue fields of the air above white-clOut
mountains. All their engines sang il
chorus a steady vibrating drone, cea
above tho noise Of the guns.
They had earned their rest, but did no
take it. They saw the nghtnd down be
lOw-British troops advancing in open or
der and Germans coming out to meet them
These droves Of aeroplanes did not con
tinue their homeward flight. They swoopet
low and Circled round like hawks, dropping
the last Of their ammunition and sweeping
the enemy positions with a swish of ma
chine-gun bullets. Men of the air Tough
with men Of the earth in the glow Of sun
set light, which was rich and warm owe
these battlcholds. 40 scene could hav
been more gorgeousiy beautiful and ye
more tragic and terrible"
(COpyright)