The Washington times., 1917-03-24
JOY-RIDING AT THE
FRONT WITH G. B. S.
Being the PIayMight's Inimit-
able Chronicle of His
Experiences.
CONTINUED from First Pass.)

Continued from First Page.)
little square that made me wonder
how big the great square could be i
this was indeed the little one. IT
facades, made up of rows of ornamen
tai gable-ends, were unlike anything
else in France that / had seen; anc
though its cathedral was pseudo-clas
steal in the Renascence manner, which
is d trifle better than the eighteenth
century or Dublin manner, there wal
a medieval town hall.
Ypres Altogether. Charming.
Ypres was altogether charming. As
1 emerged from the Valemertinge
road and saw the Cloth Hall. it was
noon of a fine and pleasant day, and
the carillon was ringing out a de
lightful tune in a way that would
have delighted Couperin. 1t was Flem
ism in its gayety and French in Its
brilliancy of tone and elegance OF
execution. 1 stopped the car and
listened, quite enchanted, until 1t was
over,
Then 1 went to the Hotel de Ia
ChatelIenie, in the Great Square al
the east end of the Cloth Hall, and
had my dejeuner, followed by the
usual argument with the hostess, who
supposed that / was a vegetarian for
the sake of economy, and had re-
duced her table d'hote price according.
ly. When 1 had convinced her that
was a millionaire giving extra trouble
and prepared to pay on that basis, we
parted In high good humor; and. after
seeing the cathedral, / made my way
round by Furnes, Dunkirk, and Calais
to Boulogne. wiling the last evening
stretch of the journey by inventing a
play on the Rodin theme of THE
BurEssses of Calais" which, like the
play about the Rheims Virgin, have
never written down, and perhaps new
er will. 1t was a very agreeable day.
and left me with a very pleasant
memory, Of Ypres.
War View of Ypres.
have seen Ypres again. This time,
though still a superannuated civilian,
Twas in khaki, like everybody else.
by way of camouflage.
came not through Lille and Vlam-
ertinge, but from somewhere In
France" by a more westerly road. L
was not an idle tourist; ] was "a
government guest" and the govern
ment was not the Belgian. but the
British government.
On my way ! discarded my cap,
and, like Don Quixote. donned the
helmet of Mambrino. And stuck into
my ears q pair of seeming black col
lar studs, which did not prevent my
hearing anything, but did prevent
my OVERRIDING it.
Everything was different. The
weather was again bright but in
tensely cold. The language OF the
country was English in all its dia-
lects.
The farmhouses and villas had no
roofs, no floors, large holes in the
walls, and no Inhabitants. The trees
were clipped and SCARED, and here
and there broken of short. A man
lying by the roadside was not tramp
taking a siesta, but q gentleman who
had lost his head.
The New German Music.
There was no Belgian cariIlon, but
plenty of German music: an imposing
orchestration in which all the instru-
ments were instruments OF percussion
I cannot honestly say 1 disliked 1T;
the big drum always excites me.
I was not yet in the town, but 1
was unmistakably in the Ypres sali-
ent: and the Boche was sending them
over" as persistently as the gentleman
next door to Mrs. Nickleby sent Gu
cumbers and marrows over the garden
wall.
1 was reminded of him by the fact
that in the whole countryside there
was an extraordinary prevalence OF
gas and CATERS. Boom! whizzzzz-
Boomi whiZzzzz-Boomi whizzzzz-alI
diminuendo; then, cresen-
do motto subito. Whizzzz-bang! clat-
ter. In such a bang ard clatter had
the gentleman by the roadside lost
his head. Well, in time of peace he
might have lost it much more pain
fully and mischievOusly. There are
worse ways Of ending ones walk OF
life.
Stimulated by the orchestration, the
car develops an extra ten horsepower,
and presently 1 am again in Ypres.
Houses Standing, But
Its houses are standing like the
villas and farmhouses; but, like them,
have no roofs, no floors, nothing but
shelter against shrapnel, the Germans
having win exemplary perseverance
converted a city of comfortable homes |
for friendly people into effective |
cover for any troops that may see fit |
at any time to use the town for anti |
German military proceedings.
Thus is the Boche on the warpath |
hooked by the demon Of the unintend- |
ed, who has a glorious time of 1t |
when the drums begin to beat. Every |
thing is arranged at the front with |
precision and order; but |
nothing ever happens as 1t was ar
Out of a hundred orders, forty-nine
are Wash out" the poetic formula
which cancels. Even the visitor is
soon shaken out OF his civilian rou-
tiPe OF order and punctuality. In the
the captain proposes; in the
lfternoon the general disposes-most-
y by a very agreeable invitation
which is joyfully treated as an order.
Defended by Undaunted.
Ypres, then. defended and done in
- to its hearths, its floors, its roofs.
Ind its domestic amenities, still rears
It's wall undaunted to the sky, and
still provokes the German artillery
10 send over" and give an interest to
| tour of its streets that was lacking
n the happy season OF the MONDAY
.arflloD