New-York tribune., 1917-07-29
A War Sketch by Rene
Benjamin. Translated by
William L. Mcpherson


a highly controversial subject-the
use By the French armies of the
daily ration of Wi,ae. The United
States has passed a laaO torbidding
the sale of alcoholic drinks to Of
fcers or soldiers in uniform. II
makes no proUision, naturally, for
serving such drinks to the men in
the field.
But 1Vith the French armies the
case is different. A nation accuS-
toned to the daily use Of 1Oire can
not see any reason for cutting of
the poilu'S portion OF "pindrd," a:
he calls 1t. ". Rene Benjamin is the
laureate of the poillls. No one IN
this Udr has gotten nearer to the
poilu soul than he has. His tribute
to pinard as solace and comforter
of the man in the trenches must
therefore be taken IN entire good
faith. 1t is the other side of the
question-the side Which the French
see and Which our different per-
spectre preUetts as from seeing.
VI. Benjamin can be q prose poet,
a humorist and a reatist. In this
sketch he IS something Of all three.
II should be understood that this ar
ticle is not intended for civilians who
drink water. It is addressed exclusively
to soldiers who love their wine. am
one of them.
wine--"pinard," as they call it (put-
ting little emphasis on the waggish
second syllable)-what a consolation in
distress, what an aid, what joy, what
a generator Of warmth and comfortl
Even if It is mediocre in quality and
watered For it remains none the less
the poor relative Of noble family.
Whatever it may be, one welcomes 1t
and judges it with curious interest. In
the pinard there are some marvellous
vintages; one dreams of them In drink
ing the average run.
If it is wine, 1t doesn't matter what
il is. II it is wine it always tastes
GOOD. And then to drink it-that means
TO touch glasses and to talk. 1t means
to sit motionless, to look in comrades
eyes, to hold the wine at arms length,
to feel an impulse of cordiality and to
propose this ones or that ones health.
In short, it means to strike a personal
note-sometime an exaggerated one,
but often in the very best Of taste.
A glass of pinard-that is the poesy
Of the humble. Thanks to 1t, the brain
is ouickened and the heart is warmed.
Women are ungrateful when they
speak i'll of wine. Do they doubt that
they owe to 1t often that extra tender
ress with which the letters of all those
who fight are filled? Pinard gives con-
fidence.
One writes:
Don't worry. I shall return. l live
under a guardian star. You are my
darling wife. Await me. 1t will not be
long. Be joyful. I have no more
vermin. The surgeon rubs US with
peau d'espagne. We hold the Boches,
dearest. love you. And the pinard is
sublime"
Yes. It has different ways Of work
ing. If it is light wine. it gives brill
lance. If it is heavy, it gives force.
Only-there is never enough Of it. So
it is not at all superfuous, on return
,ng from leave, to bring back from home
some bottles to be shared with ones
comrades. They roll their eyes greedily'
They clack their tongues and say:
"Ah! my friend, it is not bad, that
wine Of yours!"
, | knew a Territorial who returned
from Touraine with a precious bottle
of Vournay, '93. II was in casing OF
straw, upside down in his bag, he an
nounced:
"Fellows, first brush with the enc,
my. If we survive it, then we shall
drink our pinard."
There was an affair with the Boches::
But he was killed, without having had
an opportunity to offer his wine. linen
the comrades, who knew his wish, drank
it religiously in his memory. And when
they buried his body-simply, sincere.
ly, manifesting thereby an impulse OF
gratitude and piety-they planted un.
der the cross, in the little mound OF
earth, the bottle of that memorable
vintage, converted into vase for flow
ers. have seen it. 1t holds now some
water in which daisies are stepped,
and it has always its label, which IS
also a tribute to the dead.
In order to appreciate the gratitude
aroused by this gift of an example OF a
famous vintage you must remember the
cost, in the second line, OF even small
quantity Of very poor wine. The huck-
sters at the front are people without
grandeur. In selling to the men wine
which makes them better they them
selves stunt and disfigure their own
souls, supposing that they have any.
But they fill their pockets. And the
soldier, eplivened by what he has
drunk, looks sulky only for forms sake,
and pays, with a jest on his lips.
The waitress says with a solemn
face:
"The bottle-that is 40 sous
you're Joking. They take US for
pigeons and pluck US as they pass"
And another answers with a jolly
smile:
'Let us pay. We will regulate this
after the war"
And he pays, adding two sous for
the waitress, because she is polite.
They go away, and outside, in the
air, they say, taking one another by
the arm:
"The worst thing about drinking is
this-it always gives you thirst"
So when they happen to meet the
wagon which brings the pinard-the
army pinard, all neatly measured out
they give it an ovation. Recently there
arrived in the trenches at D a
note from headquarters directing the
trnnns 10 salute oil the baggage wag-