Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1917-08-15
TELLS OF CONDI-
TIONS IN FRANCE.
Former Orleans Boy Near Firing
Line. Makes Observations Was
On Attacked Boat

Ahe MOhlNoH IL pElNHekeu 70 make
copious extracts from intensely in
teresting letters received by Orleans
relatives, from Milton ID. Brown, for
merly living on the Brown farm,
north of Orleans, on the river road.
the son of Charles II. Brown, and a
nephew of Fred G. Brown and Mrs.
c. s. Skinner, both of Orleans. Mr..
Brown is now near the firing line in
France, driving a hospital ambulance.
His first letter dated Paris, Nav
IA, tells of his trip across, when the
boat on which he was sailing was
attacked by a German submarine,
and gives some observations about
France and present day conditions
there.
He says:
"We have enjoyed ten wonderful
days in Paris with every opportunity
to go sightseeing; since there have
been no regularly assigned duties,
other than to go for uniform fittings
at the tailor's, take the typhoid and
para-typhoid inoculations, and re-
port at the Office every day to fill in
numerous blanks covering our life
histories and future intentions.
"On Thursday, we received word
that fourteen men were being chosen
to go to Fe Camp to put in order and
drive back to Paris 21 Fiat automo-
biles, seven men having previously
been sent down to unload the ma
chimes from the Italian boat. We
made the journey of four hours by
train stopping over night at a weird
little hotel on the top-most point in
Fe'camp. In the morning we donned
overalls and went down to the
wharves to assemble and prepare the
cars for the trip back to Paris. By
noon, Friday, we were able to leave,
headed bya convoy Of French officers.
Little wooden boxes had been built
on the bare frames of all the cars,
and only two boards added for the
drivers to sit on, as these cars are
merely frames with the engine and
running gear, which will be fitted
later with a proper ambulance body
at garage in Paris.
"Well, we bumped along at a rate
of 45 miles an hour all Fri
through that wonderful Normandie
country, arriving at Rouen about
nine o'clock, and put up at hotel for
the night. Each driver was beyond
recognition from the layers of dust
gathered along those limestone
roads,-and worse luck-not a bath
room available after nine o'clock in
any hotel (The tax on water and
the extreme cost of heating it, due to
the lack of coal, has made many
a Frenchman resortto talcum powder
baths). However, a cold-cream ap-
plication helps some, at least one
needn't soil his pillow if he has jar
of it along.
"Our officer in charge gave orders
to assemble for breakfast at eight
o'clock, so three of us got up at six,
in order to have time to see that
marvellous cathedral with its lacy
stonework, and also to witness the
spot where Jeanne dare was burned
at the stake.
"I was delighted at Rouen, for
somehow it seemed to fulfil every
thing that / had imagined a truly
foreign city would look like. Never
have / seen such verdure and abund-
ance of flowers. All along the way
we passed little thatch-foofed stone
houses, literally covered up with
wistaria and strange vines bearing
great clusters of white flowers re-
sembling apple blossoms.
"We left Rouen about noon on
Saturday, after a morning spent IN
putting the cars in better shape, for
some of them had given considerable
trouble from Fecamp to Rouen. We
also took on several hundred-welght
of coal in each car, for use in the Red
Cross garage in Paris, as there IS
comparatively no coal here, and
people are making all sorts of plans
for next winter, several schemes be-
ing under consideration for communl-
ty lodging. We finally reached Paris,
only one car breaking down seriously
en- route, and it was toWed safely 70
its destination.
"How / adore Paris. In all my
dreams it never assumed any Of It's
real beauty. It seems to possess an
atmosphere of having been laid out
carefully by a landscape gardener and
finished long ago,Cwhlle New YORK
seems still to be in the process OF
construction, with it's torn-up narrow
streets and constant reconstruction.
At present the horse-chestunt trees
are in full bloom along the wonder
full. wide and beautiful Champs Ely
see and Avenue Bois du Boulogne,
to say nothing of the lilacs and other
spring flowers which make sad OLD
Paris quite gay. One appreciates
the beautiful spring season IN the
presence of such evidences Of sorrow
and suffering. We are located near
two government buildings recently
taken over for hospitals, ana every
where in the neighboring parks one
sees such terribly MANNED individu-
aIs.-all cheerful-eyen those hum
dreds Of poor, blind soldiers whom
we see constantly being led about the
city by their friends and relatives.
Only a small percentage Of French
women still wear colors and a sub
way train or a tram-car is a mourn
fuI spectacle, If one stops TO count
the number Of sorrowing widows and
mothers dressed in deep mourning.
"Mr. Martin and / have visited all
the churches of any note and most Of
the other points Of interest in Paris
The Louvre il closed, with the excep-
ton Of some statuary galleries, much
Of which has been packed away IN
asbestos and hidden somewhere or
other, including, Of course, dear old