Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-03-25

tciSst OF fprcS. apparently knowing
every stone Of IL. and not giving q
dump for tho bombardment except as
an additional chapter in that history.
tic took me up To pinnacle and
showed me Npres beneath me as il il
were all the Kingdoms of the earth
q" fla, On your farc il anything
comes over he remarked. In my
youth | had learnt by scdulousiy imi-
t3tInS the pHntaloons in the harlcuuin-
aides. I" drop Hat on my face Justine
lively. aud To produce the illusion of
h"inG picked up neatly by the slack
II my trousers and set on my feet
again. had wild hope that Br'cr
Bochc would send over something ana
give me an excuse FOR eWibitine this
arcompli shm.nt TO my new friend But
nothing came over just then: and |
loft Nprcs wi my dignity unimpaircd
When the car had left the town far
behind. and took the collar studs out
of my ears and exchanged the hcimc,
Of Mambrino for a eolhng cap. | found
the world suddenly dullcr From ,h:s
INFER that fprcs and its orchestra
had been rather exciting. though | had
not noticed il at the time
SHAW COULD HAVE
"DONE BETTER MYSEI. r..
I.
IN my opinion, IL has not been BON
barded worth a cent: should have
done il better myself
The cathedral. Il copy of n .opy has
been treated precisely as should have
treated IL: like il better AS "a ruin
than | did when il was intact The
Town Hall like the Cloth Han Of
ipres IL now only a subject Of gentle
regret: and tho houses round !, arc
SAMPLE OF what Nigh, have hap
rcncd to tho whole town If the BochcS
had thought it worth some more am
muniiion. The little square is very
handsomely knocked about: much NOR.
so than the great square: bu, their
design is still clear. and mos, Of their
gable lends arc intact. They can hc
restored without difficulty. Those who
have seen tho Somme front hardly mo-
tic" the damasc \ Gas Alcr, was CON
sp'cuously announced: hut n"'hine IN
that line happened. except that talk cd
great deal TO Mr.. Special Correspon-
den, Tomlinson. who came round with
me.
From st Eloi. Philip Gibbs and sur
veyed the battle fields Of the Nimy
ridge. II was landscape like any
other landscape. The silence "f tho
cold winter evening after sunset was
threatened rather than broken by the
booming OF the guns tina, never cease
now in this devoted countryside
:. solitary shell burst IN Nsuv'lle 81,
Vast. Gibbs, man Of fine Irv-
inGesouc melancholy. seemed 10 nedi-
tate on the ruins OF Empires" but was
probably rejecting on the chances OF
our being frozen during tho journey
back 10 our quarters. We were The
nnlo l, g..
my spirits always rise AS tho Their
mometer falls below freezing Snow
is beautiful to me; hate mud OF which
did not encounter q single COB and
am none the worse for my freezincs
The Scmme front in the snow and
brilliant sunshine was magnificent.
The irony Of the signposts was i'm
mense TO Maurepas': and there was
no Maurepas. "ro Contalmaison"; and
there was no Contamination. TO Pc
nieres": and there was no Poziercs. |
went 10 The windmill OF Pozicrcs. and
saw little mound on which tho wind
mill must have stood rrones wood
was a coconut shy with no coconuts
on the sticks: guns had scooped
all that the other fellows guns had
left
ON the road TO Ypres the trees had
stp'u' an unpIpheh tlH GndrN llninG
the road. with hardly e gap in their
ranks But here. With every limb
sho, TO bits, heheadcd. halved. cut OF
AT the shins. torn out Of the earth and
dung PROSTATE. these woods seemed
10 scud with bare poles or broken jury
mastS before the wind as our car
passed. all their risSing blown and shot
away
OF houses except IN one STRANGELY
spared place. not trace. And | knew
from what | had seen in Npres that
This mean, that almost every square
YARD of bric. had received separate
smashing hill AS In the ground. YOU
annot md enough nst earth IN a
square mile TO play marbles on. The
slice Of Gruyere cheese. is as it were. a .
tennis lawn by comparison. From the
small pit made by the funny little
stokes gun that splits out shells as
fast as YOU drop them in, 10 the dew
pond made by the medium trench NOR
tar. eliminating in tho incrcdib Z
crater made b.: the subterrancan mine.
The land is bumped and followed con-
tinuously everywhere. Such blowing
on earth.
Compared 10 this Arras is knock
about joke. and Ypres rough and
ready conversion OF buildings to milf /
tary purposes. Napoleon, or any other (
condotti"ro OF the pifins past. might