Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-17


French soldiers and English soldiers
are bvouacked in the woods and field
side by side. and saw them bathing
in one Of the rivers which Henry "
crossed on his way to Agincourt, when
their fOrefathers and the British were
not comrades in arms. That was a
good picture with the sunlight stream
ing through the trees, so that the
stream cleaned like a sword blade
/ While some of the men washed their
feet, others lay full stretched in the
grass, sleeping in every attitude of
+ lHnguOrous ease with their steel hats
among the flowers.
So I lay down also in Il ditch full
/ of flowers, and drnwsed and forgot
the war until the usual noises over
head made one open ones eyes again
There was a German airplane over
our country, high enough to be invisi.
bic, but not too high to silence the
drOne of its engine or to avoid Obser-
walton from the "ArChiemen" search
ing for him with their glasses. Bang!
went gun, and presently there was
"A fusillade in the sky, and the tattoo
from machine guns in the grass, and
then the tErob of several engines as
"A cOvey of British planes came over
to chase the intruder.
The enemy's air scouts were out
and about yesterday because Of the
wonderful visibility. and they came
peering over the Allied lines and vii
lagos as If searching for some special
secret. There must have been many
fights in that cloud.ess sky. for the
/ British were up there too, and away
over there were puffs of shrapnel over.
/ head. SO that the peasant girls, har.
rowing the fields. gazed up with their
! hands to their ears, and tho French
| soldiers standing outside the camps
gave a glance upward. And every now
! and then crash of noise came
! through the humming drowsiness of
| this May day, and bomb had been
dropped.
In one field was a German airplane.
newly brought down, a silver looking
thing with iron crosses painted on its
framework, ard some of the British
airmen gathered around it to study
its details.
There are many types of many breeds
of men along these roads, but the
strangest Of all are the Chinese la.
borers, who seem to be spectators Of
all this pageant that passes outside
of it's purpose, ignorant of its idea.
Nothing more uncanny has come
into the western theatre OF war than
these OTientals, whose brOnzed faces
are screwed up into wrinkled smiles,
as if eternaly amused by us. Many
of them are big men, lean and sinewy.
with long black hair like snakes
about their high cheekbones under
! fantastic headgear, which ranges from
billycocks and bowlers to red-banded
caps like those of the British gen.
erals, and little skull caps with ear.
flaps belonging to their native fashion.
They smile as they work. They are
woodmen and smile between their AK
blows. They mend roads and smile,
and they smile as the cars go by and
the guns and all the traffic of the col.
umns. To them all this war of western
men seems a huge and frightful lest,
with marvellous toys, such as flying
machines, at which they stare up and
grin. II Is but a twist of their fea.
lures. and what is passing in their
minds behind those bronze, masklike
faces ! cannot guess.
Such, then, in but glimpse or
two, is a picture of this scene of war
lin these May days, when the armies
wait for another act in the great
drama which Is now being rebearsed
behind the lines.