The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-11-01
American Soldiers Learn
French From Little
Children in Land
of Romance
Colonel Allen, Son-in-law of
Captain 7. L. Morse, Writes
Interesting L tier of
Conditions "Over There"

Eat last are we in this new worlC
or rather in the new old world and
can assure you it is all new anC
strange to us. l wish | could tell yor
of our trip and all of the vicissitudes
we encountered but it will probably
suffice to say that we reached oui
destination all we'll and in good spirits
and eager for the great adventure
that awaits US. | am not naturally
very sentimental but in seeing France
for the first time must confess that
it is hard from becoming So With
out any doubt in the world this is the
most beautiful country l have ever
seen or ever expect to see. England
was beautiful in a way, but its APP
! pearance and landscape is entirely
different from that Of La Belle,
France.
Il unfortunately cannot tell you
where we are or in what part of
France we are even uuartered, but it
is not exactly just where | had
, thought we would be and is very like
ly about where you would want your
husband to be for awhile. We had
quite a long journey by train and with
seven officers quartered il one of
the dinky little compartments taking
up every available inch of space. even
sitting up. You can imagine what it
would mean to have to spend one or
more nights alongside six other Of
ficers all carrying plenty of avoirdu-
pols and all their hand baggage, eat
ing out of tin cans and paper boxes.
1t would not have been so bad had not
some energetic member of our party
carefully stocked our travelling larder
with large amount of Roquefort and
other nice smelly cheese to while
away our many spare moments of
tranquility
Slept Standing Up.
eve slept either standing or sit
ting up or in postures similar to the
pretzel so that it required some time
for us to get Strengthened out good
after we hit old terra frma.
II had all my life admired France
and the French, but my ideas of this
country and it's wonderful people
were always incomplete and did not
come up to the happy realization of
what they actually are. If there is
any country in the world that men
and women would fight for it is
France. / am doubly proud and will
De all my life to know that 1 have
been able to add my little to the re-
lemption of this wonderful land
"The country we have been through
S rolling, covered with wonderful YER
lure and cultivated to the limit. The
cenery is an ever changing one and
many pretty little rivers and creeks
erve to break up the aspect of the :
vell-tllled fields and the bright green
assures where the thrifty peasant is
ver working on grazing his stock.
he French farmers do not live al
rays on their land in isolated houses.
tut in collective habitations near
ach other. The land is wonderfully
productive, has been cultivated for
enturles and being so well cared for
nd fortified is in just as good con
ltlon as 1t was centuries ago Their l
ouses are solidly and well built from S
ither stone or brick, plastered with
me and cement. ?
In Land of Romance. 7
Il have seen some Of the most mar I
elous chateaux that l never thought \
ctually existed except in the roman n
Ic novels and the imaginations of T
heir readers. We are in the land of :
lstory and the part we are actually :
now, if we could only have time to 1
cad and study it. would take up our =
loments and days for a long time to '
ome. We have chateaux that we L
re occupying that was formerly the t
ONE of kings of France and MANY [
their letters and belongings are \
Ill there intact and just as they left F
lem. Imagine large castle of four ,
five stories built on the banks of r
magnificent little river. with IFS :
eaks and towers, its immense ban -
let hall with all the furniture, tapes-
les, paintings and china just as it
as 800 years ago. The buildings are
Efficient in size and number to ac-
thousand people. The
d kitchen is exactly according to
lie descriptions we have so often
lad, with the immense fireplace I
here whole OK could be and doubt
SIS was many times roasted whole.
here are drawing rooms and an end
SIS number of rooms and apartments