Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-26
Little Talks by
Beatrice Fairfax

A group of soldiers had come to-
gether in their fraternity house. Three
We're on the point of sailing for lover
There" four were in training at near
empty sleeve-had just been invalided
home.
The young officer was curiously
preoccupied, the laughter and talk OF
the others seemed not to have reached
him. Then one of them. boy with a
and sang, My Angel of the Flaming
Cross"
"On a homebound transport, as the
sun was sinking low.
Stood a wounded soldier dreaming in
the twilight glow.
Visions of an angel, golden hair and
eyes of blue,
Said a sailor lad. why are you sc
sad2"
Said the soldier. I'll tell YOU"
REFRAIN
There's an angel over there, an angel
from l know not where,
Smiling sweetly through her tears
she drove my fears away.
Little girl, who nursed me through, ]
owe my life to you.
Oh. come back. Love that found and
lost,
My angel of the Flaming Cross
When the war is over. many stories
will be told,
Tales of war and romance, tales that
can never grow old,
Tales of heroes fighting, tales of love
and mercy, too.
But the best of all is the soldiers call
Sweet
Red Cross girl to you.
The man with the empty sleeve and
the saber cut across the forehead was
again "Over There" and the figure
that stretched out hand to him from
the world of pain and death wore 9
flaming cross on her white headdress
AT first that was all he had realiz
ed, and he did not want to take thai
small capable hand and come back t.
the world OF pain. 1t would hav
been SO much more easy to hav,
gone out.
For hours-he had lost all count o
time, hours seemed days. weeks, age
out there in the hell of mo Man!
Land" with the shells whistiing.
The Soldiers Story
Then evening had come, the lonl
stretcher- bearers had picked him uI
and put him in an ambulance, anC
they had whizzed at breaknecl
speed to the base hospital. There h
' Hdu Il COHluSeu Ol SOluleI
/ and many people in white, and I
flashed impression of the operating
room. clean and businesslike, il
spite of the crowd of pain-racket
| creatures like efhimself awaiting thei
turn.
With incredible swiftness surgeon
and nurses worked-they seemed
more like skilled automata than fesl
and blood creatures like himself
| Then his turn cai.ie, and they had pu
him on a table, and he drew in grea
drafts of the blessed ether that stopp
ed the tearing pain, pain agains
which he had to grit his teeth t.
| keep from crying out.
And then he remembered nothing
more; it was dark and still and de
liciously quiet and he felt himsel
falling. falling through space like ;
leaf. Close by him two people wer'
talking about soldier who wa
going out" under the ether. H
felt sorry for the poor devil. life wa
so deliciously tranquil here in dark
cool silence. with that delicious sen
sation of falling.
Then, suddenly, flash of consci
BUSINESS told him the soldier, the!
were talking about was he. And will
1t the tearing pain returned. and th'
deadly sickness.
Yes, he was "going out" and hi
father would never say to him
Proud of you. old man." and hi
mother would never hold his hand il
that sweet, clinging way she had, a.
IL, she were the child. Yes. he wal
going out" all alone, somewhere il
France.
Then, clearly, distinctly. he hearC