The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-12-05
A GLIMPSE OF LIFE
NEAR BATTLEFRONT
IN LETTER FROM
CAPT. MfNDENhALl

| have just heard that here will
be mail leaving for the States at
II o'clock. and as it is now 11:15,
shall try to snatch off few lines be-
fore it closes. | shall not try to
scan the lines for mistakes but hope
that you will be able to interpret any
thing you may see.
To start with am enclosing a copy
of an application that l received a
few days ago. 1t reminds me some
what of the letter from the Indian
student that you frequently quote in
which he starts 81 pray thee my faith
er to give me some action. This is
an actual bona fide letter and the man
himself came in few days later to
apply in person. | don't know how
much good he would be on a construc-
tion camp, but he could shine in a
journalistic bureau.
There has arrived in the past week
three mail boats from the States and
the divil letter did | receive on any
of them. You folks seem to forget
that you have soldier boy over seas
who is deeply interested in everything
going on back home. AS before men,
toned, not only for myself but for
others. tell everyone to write letters
as often as possible to the boys over
here. for it sustains their morale, and
perhaps will act as a guiding hand in
keeping them straight During these
gross war times, everything is meas
ured on a grossly material basis, and
the boys soon degenerate into very
sordid forms Of entertainment. The
Y. NJ. c. A. and the letters from home
are the only ties that link them with
their better surroundings back home.
st it would not be amiss to even have
some of the papers mention the fact
of how necessary it is for the boys
to receive letters
One incident that heard some
weeks ago, intended to tell of in my
last letter but had to cut it off rather
unceremoniously. One evening up at
the Y. M. c. A. a young aviator came
in from the front. 1t was about the
time that the news came out in the
papers of one of the allied airplanes
having been brought down in the sea
and later rescued. So naturally the
first inquiry of the young aviator was
if he knew anything of the occur
l ence. He replied. with a twinkle in
his eye that he did, for he was the
man who came down. 1t seems that
he had engine troubles, and had tC
come down. He was above a cloud
when the trouble occurred, and wheT
h, got below it, he found that he was
over stormy sea. But down he hat
to come anyway. and SO he lit or
the heavy swells. For a considerable
time he was tossed about pretty
roughly. when he was spied by ar
Italian destroyer. 1t came up eau
tiously, and when in about mile OF
him, began to circle around, always
with the guns trained on the plane
The circles came closer and closer
until they could get the aviator's sig
nails when they came up and rescued
him. Not very exciting in the tell
ing but quite so for the fellow going
through it. This is a true story
l think Clara is getting up some lit
tie presents for the youngsters for
Christmas. Only very small things
can be sent over, for on the larger
one there is a 20 per cent advalorem
duty which makes it foolish to try tC
send anything nice. A good many
things are going through the mails
now, for ! get to see them in my ca
pacity as censor. Also a great many
packages are coming over to the boys
] do not get to see them, but | see the
acknowledgement in the letters goint
back. The little home interests and
considerations mean great deal tC
the boys in or to be in the trenches,
do not know how many boats have
gone down with mail on them. | un
derstand the Antilles" had a large
quantity on it. You of course heard
of her destruction. Some of my let
ters to you may have been on her.
We see great many sailors from
the boats that have been torpedoed
They assemble in the Y M. c. A. and
talk it all over. ] do not hear much
of it first hand for have little time
to loaf around but it comes to me al
second hand. Those rooms are the
clearing house for all the interesting
tales from the front. One youngster
a Canadian only IL years old, just re
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