The St. Joseph observer. [volume] (St. Joseph, Mo.) 1906-1932, 1917-02-03
81 HAVE NOT
THE SOUL OF
AN ASSASSIN

The diary Of o young French Off
GER Lieutenant "R. N..' appears in
the Atlantic Monthly. II describes
his baptism of fire and the horrors
which later became Il commonplace
with a certain youthful naivate, the
more striking by reason of its contrast
with The subject matter OF his story.
In the words Of the editor. he is "a
highly educated man who refuses to
be brutalized by tine TeCurrent hOr-
rors Of war" His account OF mis- re-
ldtions with his men is OF "a piece
with what the war has taught us to
look for in the French character. I'VE
marched > huarS along the slippery
road he says in the early part of
his narrative, before coming to La
Chcppe, where We were to await the
return of the brigade that was i'm the
trenches. We took possession of our
quarters. Ny SeCGUn was comfort
ably billeted in a large barn we'll sup
piled with straw. and chose to make
my abode amun- my poIus. I should
Ike to be i'm closer contact with them,
| am determined to make friends with
them. When the regiment lctt the
training camp J was able to procure
few little extras that they wanted,
ana this evening they came and in
vited me to dinner. Tho artrul men,
Der of the Bro squad had succeeded in
getting into the -DoI grlCcs Of an old
peasant woman. who gave him
chickens. The men insisted on my
doing the huuurs, and | accepted with
great pleas are. We Chattod together
familiarly, and | told them how glad
| was to be ut the front, and cnlarg-
ed especially ON the great things /
expected OF them. with You, mon
aSpiraut. we will go anywhere, said
a corporal; and they all applauded.
OF course, | was immensely pleased"
The impression made ul refined sem
sibilities bY the LIST experience of No
Mans Land. between the trenches, is
rather subtly conveyed. There were
dead mems bodies" there the lieu
tenant remarks. l fancies a nice dis
elimination between that and dead
men" In the 1st shattering din Of a
hombardment he notices that "2 larks
kept fitting about jovously and ming
led their song Of life with the chant
Of the engines Of death" and, anx-
ious to be an example to his men, he
was true to the theory of William
James; by pretending not to be
tliblt, ! very soon NlStbNtIeu ltlaL /
was not afraid" The lieutenant was
"much affected by his 1st dead man,
a soldier who had persisted in the
mud. Later there was the mat
ter Of occupying a communication
trench which some time before had
been enfiladed. Its description would
have delighted the soul Of a Russian
reveler i'm the cult of the macabre:
,f Iy,aalynl
down some of the earth Of the wall
opposite, and in the breach appeared
the green and earthly head of a
man. From that moment, this head
was my vis-a-vis, and once the 1st
shudder OF disgust had passed,
thought no more about it," He was
in a cemetery in eruption! The head
OF man who was delivering him n
message was blown off "Its
hard" he remarks, sometimes not to
have the right to have feelings" Yet
when the lieutenants command has
been relieved and they are in u rest
| dugout, a sort Of unSpOiled boyish-
ness is sull scernible-perhaps what
the editors have observed: 81 got 3
letters. which I read with delight"
he writes. 81 also got some eggs
which my little godmother managed
/ TO send me from Lorraine; and they
were a wonderful feast, sweet as a
Carcss Of the one who sent them. =.
We ateH nd went to sleep again. We
can't be entirely british, since letters
| bring us such joy We have killed
men, under penalty Of being killed
| ourselves, and also because it was
| our duty, but these cOmbats took
| place in a sort of frenzy Of action, OF
| enthusiasm, and of suffering. I have
! killed Germans and am proud of It,
and yet, l have not the soul of an
| assassin"