The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-03-17

chap with three fingers blown off-ne seemed to suffer most of all. Then a burley chap with head wound, etc, etc. And last always, a puny Algerian who seemed to be just generally all in.
 "One by one they would go into the dressing room and one by one they would come back and walk the floor until the pain from the dressing had subsided a bit, and Charlie would carry his newly dressed thumb around like a precious bunch of lilies of the valley. They would play games, usually queer game of cards with an ancient pack, 1 in which you could hardly distinguish the ace from the Jack, ands woIld read, and sometimes sketch their pie lures, I had taken with me large sketch pad and soft pencil, and oh! how they did enjoy posing for their pictures. I wish I could have saved them to send home, but I knew that they would want to send them to their homes, so I gave them to them. The Algerian struck a pose that would have made King Solomon blush for shame. ''At night by the one candle I showed them all the tricks with matches and handkerchiefs, etc, that I ever knew and wished I knew g million of them. And the fellow with the one leg would give me lessons in French pronuncia- tion and we would all crawl in.
 SERVING OF MEALS
 "The meals were served in the same room all sitting around the table jap- bering to beat the band. You are fur nished one bowl out of which to eat the entire meal and if you have any soup left over from the first course then your second course will have a strong soup flavor. After a meal they
 lit their cigarettes, which smell like firecrackers, and they are off again.
 Three nights and two days were sufficient to effect enough recovery to warrant my return to camp, so with au revoirs all round I took my leave Luckily I caught a truck just leaving town and was happy and relieved to get back, but I've been thinking Q sr eat deal of the poor devils since
 "The next thing happening of note was the walking of the ghost on the day before Christmas. The men were feeling pretty low, too cold to fly only a few had received Christmas packages and letters and all were dead broke and small prospects of re- lief for Christmas. When Santa Claus (paymaster, Capt. F. DO put in his appearance and relieved the situation with months pay, and we have had a big Christmas. But I thought about home and wished I was there most of the day.
 CHRISTMAS AT HOSPITAL
 T too ksome American tobacco some candy, horns and a drum around to my friends at the hospital and was mighty glad I did, for they enjoyed i- tremendously and apparently was just about all the Christmas they had I went to the noon service at won derful old cathedral. Of course, I didn't get much out of the sermon, but the service was very impressive and the music was exceptionally good. The afternoon was spent in the art mu- scum and visiting some of the relics of this old town. Enjoyed very nice dinner party with a lieutenant of the Lafayette escadrille, spent the night in a comfortable room in the best hotel had breakfast in bed and here I am back on the job, with all trace of tooth trouble gone and feeling generally fit as a fiddle and fidgiting to fly
 Flows that for a safe and sane Christmas and as Cousin Frank says: Entirely within the limits of pro- priety?'
 There Is nothing to compare with the pleasure of hearing from home and recently I've been showered with bless ings; letters from you and mother and Cousin Frank and Kate and Mar gie. It has been wonderful to get all