The Mena weekly star., 1918-06-27
RAY LEGATE wRITEs HONE.
Nena Boy in England Tells of Beauty
 and of War.

Mena Boy in England Tells of Beauty
 and of War.
 Ray Legate. son of Ii. B. Legate of this city, writes interestingly of England of the war He is l. NJ. C. 4. secretary. and probably by now is in France. Following is his letter:
 May 20. 1918.
 Dear Homefolks: We're I paint CT my little self could desire nothing more fascinating than some of the pie lures that were painted for me by na- ture. These l would copy and send you- wish that you might have gone with me on q recent weekend.
 z A friend and I found ourselves in a beautiful village on the sea late Saturday night. The hotel was a pop ular resort before the war days. It still has enough patronage to keep going but all the froth and foam Is absent. It is delightful, restful spot, hedged about by the beautiful flowers of England. A spacious lawn and then the sea.
 "Friend-a typical westerner from California-and I spent the morning on the beach. You would hardly call the spot typical beach altho it has many of the ear marks. Rather than lack it abounds in beauty. The famil- far sand is missing. Instead are small stones--pebbles-about the size of marbles. They are clean and pol ished. It was my first day off in months and also my first bake in England's sun. For hours we lolled and basked. The great English Chan nel was full of boats and vessels of all sizes and descriptions. In the surf hundred yards away the ". A. A. C.'s were summing or reading, wad- ing or writing. At 6:30 we attended the village church We would call it a typical Episcopalian service. There was more chanting of long Psalms than l had observed in America and the prayers for the king and for the Royal family were of course unique features. A company of young sailor lads-12 to IS in years added touch of the patriotic. We closed by sing ing four verses of "God Save the King"
 And that reminds me All our Americans are amazed by absence of flags. I have talked to several Brit ishers and have gotton this reaction. The Emblem, or symbol, or embodi- ment of Empire, is not the flag as it is with us. but is the king. Therefore as we are loyal to the flag they are loyal to the king. One thing I have not come fully to understand is how far they mean empire when they sing God Save the King" Suffice it to say that these good people are not welded to. or do not idolize the king as an individual as my American training would lead me to infer.
 Back to my story: We were quiet ly settled in cosy corner for the last chat of the day when, bang-bang- booml and we were sauntering out to see what was happening. It was mo- body, just Fritz. He is causing lot of disturbance over here and last night was no exception. The fireworks broke loose before the first Gotha had crossed the channel. You would have thought 1t was the Fourth of July, Xmas and earthquake all vieing with one another for your at- tention. The channel was a blaze of fire. I pity the Fritz who tries to play hide and seek in the channel these days. Then there was the bar rage fire on the coast of England and all the way to London. As tho this were not sufficient to gratify the TO- nance of any man the boys over in France added their wee bit. It was like distant thunderstorm on dark night, the play of searchlights and the blaze from heavy guns and the bursting shrapnel like the bursting of a great skyrocket. The stage was set and even my poor eyes and dull ears were bringing home to my heart and mind that the most awful battle in history is being staged and the first skirmishes are already distraeting our attention. You will probably know the outcome before this letter reaches you. We are yet to pay heavy price. We must wade thru blood and over death. The Hun will probably know still more temporary successes but we will surely win. We must, we can, we will.
 sT have been in England four months today. l know something of the price these good and heroic peo- pie are paying.
 ''I close with passing word on the Y. M. c. A. It is a wonderful or ganization and we are doing some things for the boys tho not as much as should be done. We need men. Thank God few are coming to Eng land and now we need more men. In proportion our troops are coming much faster than Y secretaries. When someone tells you the kinds of men and the approximate numbers you will have new thrill for the work in the little island.