The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-20


in the evening.
Gathered around the blaziI
told us the latest news from Pal
from the front, and after we h
gossip and the works we were
their musical instruments and
vorites.
Outside the wind whistled along the
dark, shell struck streets, carrying
along the roll of the guns up at the
front and shaking and rafting the
loose timbers and wobbly walls of the
broken houses. Within we were quite
comfortable. Part of the ceiling sag
ged and threatened to cave in, and
the only covering on the windows and
across the hole in the roof was blan-
kets formerly used by the wounded
but the big CHEEKY fire was warm, and
quite a relief from the damp, muddy
darkness without
We sat around on old broken fur
niture or on blanket rolls. One OF
our most cherished possession was left
by the owners of the house.
-Four Heroes, Two Die for France
The four players gave their whole
repertoire and it didn't make any diff
ference to us whether or not we knew
all the old pieces backwards-they
sounded well to US. Out of the four
boys who played that night one is now
sleeping behind the trenches under
French earth with cross at his head
bearing the proud words, "Died for
France" Another, after his ambulance
work, entered the French aviation
section and is now in an unknown
grave somewhere behind the German
lines. The third is an officer in the
United States army and 1 don't know
where the fourth is.
Afterwards we were all silent as we
rolled ourselves in the blankets. We
had, as the French soldiers say, KAT
far''--the blue devils and 1 suppose
the music made all of us think more
or less of home. The dying ember'
in. the fireplace threw Pickering light:
across the walls, the rats hurried anG
scurried about and the guns still rum
bled along.
While we were working along the
Champagne sector we were once sta
toned within ten miles Of the famous
old cathedral town of Rheims, so quitt
often we were able to get into Rheim:
to see the cathedral and the public
buildings and private residences des
troyed by the Huns.
At the time the Boches shellet
Rheims with incendiary shells, drov'
through the city during the night
The great City Hall was completed,
- in flames and the walls tumblinl
down and in the residential section O
the city the houses were all afire, tn
flames lighting up the sky for mile
about, and not soul about tryin
to put out the fires made the thin
tragic.
In this city were only about fiv
hundred civilian inhabitants, all Twin
in big wine cellar caves under tn
ground. There were no soldiers, n
ammunition, no guns, nor railwa
centers; nothing of any military i'm
portance at all, yet the Germans dali
threw from five hundred to eigh
thousand shells into the city-just
mean work of devastation.
Visit Big Wine Vaults
With three others 1 once paid
visit to the big wine vaults runnin
under the city. At this time Their
were twelve million bottles of cham
the vaults extended round about ur
der the city for thirty miles-thirt
miles of tubing We ran through tn
streets after leaving the car OUTSIDE
and just made the entrance to til
vaults as the shells came crashing il
the dull detonationss oddly echoin
through the caves.
The caretaker Of the wine vault
escorted us about. He has a comfo1
table set Of rooms fixed up in til
vaults, where he has lived since tn
war started.
We walked all about the networ
of caves-just like the catacombs.
some places the vaults were floode
and then we went in boats The b
, wine casks were set up high on pro-
and the boat glided down between IL
rows of them, along the black, sticl
water, the only light coming fro
candles we held in our hands.
The great cathedral of Rheims
now quite badly battered. The 70
is caved in in a great many plac
and there are some shell holes in Il
side walls. The marvellous carvin
and decorations are quite ruined al
the great old stained glass windoy
badly broken.
Along the side streets are We
many shell craters and the houses
front of the main entrance to t
cathedral, which is buttressed up
sand bags. is a great cobblesto
square.
The library building, on one sic
has been shelled and Quilted out
the incendiary bombs of the Boch,
and all the cafes, stores and hous
facing the square ara ruined, VIII
the square itself is all torn up frc
the explosions.
Joan of Arc Statue Untouched
And yet, directly in front of
cathedrars main entrance. stands
fence, and inside this fence a stat
OF Joan of Arc seated on a war hoi
the whole piece of statuary cover
with mortar dust of the fallen hous
but untouched by shell fragmen
Joan of Arc sits on her horse in t
midst of this desolation-sits with L
lifted sword. proudly facing t
Boche invaders, the most impress
sight IN war stricken France, and
promise OF the conquest of civilizati