The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1917-08-23

The letter wasn't Wrltun FNauss
hadn't the time and will tell you, In
stead. where those unattractive black
aprons found their own little boys, the
small brothers of the boys IN the
trenches.
when the tide began to turn, and
here a little Bit and there a little bit
Of trench, held for so many months
by the Germans, was captured by the
Allies; and here and there small WI
lagos babe fare to welcome humans
where barbarians had ruled so long,
the German officers in charge called
the inhabitants from the cellars or the
outhouses where they had been herd
ed; separated the girls and young
women from the people who were to
be set adrift; burned or utterly de-
stroyed any and everything that they
could not carry with them; poisoned
all wells; set concealed bombs and
other explosives for the unwary; de-
molished sacred burial grounds and
went their way, carrying with them
what comes nearer being . part of
our very souls than anything in all
the universe. There was no food; no
water; no beds; no homes left, and
so they, these people, found their way,
day after day, into Paris; brought by
train from railway villages into the
Care du Nord the sorrowest people
one could imagine, and the most des-
| titute.
almost Immediately the American
Fund for French Wounded established
distributing depot at that station
and the different workers in the Fund
spent many hours of each day fitting
clothing to whole families and even
neighborhoods. Yes, those unattrac-
tive black aprons found their little
boys there, and they were not so UNI
attractive when they brought smiles
to boy faces that had forgotten how to
smile. Boy hands quickly pulled
aprons apart in the back, to make way
for boy hands to boy pockets, and
when there was enough money in the
desk drawer to buy knife to slip into
these pockets one felt that, perhaps, a
whistle would soon pucker lips that
had forgotten how to whistle. My.
aren't you glad that you stuck to the
Job and made all those aprons? And
who wouldn't go without ice cream on
Sunday to buy a little doll for some
small sister who must learn all over
that little girls were meant to love
dolls, and to have them, too.
"These children, each and every
one of them, sat like small images on
the benches, actually afraid to move,
and the same feeling seemed to hold
the grandfathers and the mothers.
Sometimes / am going to write a bit
about the wartime grandmothers as
have seen and heard of them-the
heroines of battles where tears were
shed instead of blood.
"Let me tell you of one proclama'
ton that was posted in all captured
villages. | saw this one myself and it
is only one of many such, posted from
time to time. 1t read to the effect
!, that every villager over six years OF
age should work in the fields, raising
and harvesting crops for the German
army, from four o'clock in the morn
, ing until eight at night, with one-half
hour intermission twice during that
time. Any person, inclusive of the
children, who should falter or grow
careless over the work should be beat
en- with a stick unto the satisfaction OF
, the overseer, and any mother who in.
terfered with the management of her
children should be separated from
them.
!, "Others among US who have beer
E used to guiding stumbling, childish
feet through happy days and into
t sandman time; those of us who have
t sadly thought best to impose little
, duties as a beginning to the lessons
e that life must teach US all, can picture
e to ourselves what those weary hours
4 in the fields were to the mothers of the
9 little toilers.
e Sorrows have been such constant
( companion TO the individual in France
: land | say France because it is there
g that / have been) that it sometimes
/; seems almost that the heart ha'
grown callous and can no longer fee
d as at first.
G "A train pulled into a little tow
o where we were stopping for gasoline
5 and a young woman hurried along u
e meet her officer husband who had beer
II wounded and was coming back to her
A bandaged comrade told her as gent
II ly as possible that her heart SHOULD
e not ache for him longer for his suffer
n ings were over. Without p tear sh
v asked to be taken TO him, and withou