Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1918-10-26
A COLORED Officers
Description Of
I OVER There
SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE, 4

SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE, 4,
August, 191S.--Today is Sunday and
it dawncd beautifully though some
what cooler than heretofore. yet
there is an added touch to the glory
of tho day unnoticcl in the sixslays
just passed. For several MORNINGS
we have been greeted with showers
that led us TO believe that we had at
last arrived at Frances raining sea-
son Of the year and, We saw visions
OF mud and miro, wet cold nights
when the very heart of soldiers would
be chilled and our souls would cry
out and long for home and loved
ones, for lircsidcS and home comforts
which in days gone by. were more
or less undcrvaluod by us; so | 70
peat today is Sunday, like all Sun
days we have known here, and ii
Is beautiful.
AS | look out over tho surround
ing country from atly point uf the
little village where we are located,
over vast fields OF harvcsts and gar.
don produceAa pictrre Is formed in
my mind that shall romain until Che
last sane and conscious thought is
permitted TO pcrmcatc my mind 4
picture more beautiful than the val
lcrs OF California, which used to
think was the garden spot Of the
world, but there was something about
those cold stern snowcaDpcd peaks
which rose up in tho background to
their dizzy heights that added more
Of woHder, sometimes fear, than Of
beauty, beautiful though thcy were
have looked down into ting depths
of those canyons where, far below
me tho clouds, whiSa robed saints in
my imaginative nSNa, drifted past,
hut tie beauty OF Ssos, scor Ss ~ 50
married by the seeming bottomless
depths, q scene many could not gaze
on alone. / have looked on tho
great American and Canadian falls
and wondered IT there were scenes
more beautiful, but l know now us
! recall those mad whirling death
dealing rapids, that amid the beauty
OF the falls was Il challenge much
like unto the beauty OF tho uneX-
plored wilderness OF the world whore
Turk dangers of every description.
From natural scenes my thoughts
have wandered to the beauty and
grandeur Of Americas leading cities
(moSt of which | have visited) but
the beauty OF our great cities fades
into inSignillcancc when | compare
them, peoplcd as they arc with types
OF every nation, with the towns of
France. Though these lack the
modern convenienccs to which we
have been so long accustomed, the
loss Of such is forgotten when once
you become imbibcd with the spirit
OF France, Il spirit which is, as nearly
as | am able to describe, tho spirit
Of Christ; but I shall write moro of
that later. Just now my thoughts
are full OF the beauty and the glory
OF France as seen by the natural eye
from most any point other than the
section laid waste by the terrible
hand OF the Hun.
From most any height you can sec
for miles and miles beautiful villages
distributed generally from to 10
kilomoters apart (notc--a kilomcter
is iiveeighths OF a mile) and
between every city or village is a
road known as Il French National
Highway, roads that far excel the
kept in the best possible condition.
Along either side arc beautiful trees
planted at even distances apart Ia
bout 10 met. or II yds.) with grass
growing at width nevor less than
two yards and much wider in some
places along the roads. The weary
traveller, most Of whom those days
are soldiers, can always find a cool
shady spot to rest. These roadways
whom seen from q distance seem all
the world like white ribbons that
delicately hold tho villages together.
The villages are generally located
protectively, it seems, between two
or moro hills and in tho center of
every village, however small, their
church stands majestically above tho
smaller buildings; the higher the
buildings OF the village Or town, the
taller the church and the picture.
which comes to ones mind is that
the church is there as a protector.
the chief place, the boacon-lieht
house. in fact, you CAN judge the size
and status OF the town by the size Of
its church or churches and I am led
to wonder If this is not just what
God would have the world to see:
His Church first, then see what other
beauty the place might possess.
The buildings OF this entire coun-
try are nearly always OF stone, many,
many years old; buildings that seem
iEgly stand forever, having stood, in
many instances for hundreds of
years. Possibly the next thing that
attracts ones attention is the water
supply. To me this is most remark
able. In every town you find num-
erous fountains where the water SUP
ply flows constantly from springs,
whose pressure is supplied by an
unknown source.
These fountains date back for CEN
turtles In some cases and tho uotor