The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-10-10
A SOLDIER DREAM |
AMID SCENES OF CARNAGE HE
THINKS OF PEACE.

The following unusual soldiers let
ter was written by Lieut.. John II.
Kemble, of Muscatine, a nephew of
w. E. and Kay Kemble of Oskaloosa.
Amid the scenes Of war and carnage
the soldier dreams of peace. AS his
eye sweeps the desolation before him,
his mind images the quiet and con
tentment of the scenes which he left
to join in the struggle against the kul-
tur which threatened to bring the raw
ages of war to every nation on the
globe. The dreams which come to
the watchers in the night" in North
France will inspire the world for
years to come as it cheers them in
their present struggle. The following
excerpt taken from a letter written
by a Muscatine man in France pic
lures with rare effect one such dream:
Last night was especially beautiful.
The moon was just full and as 1t rose
shortly after seven o'clock we got the
full benefit. With not a cloud in the
sky, it made a sight that | will not for
get for long time. Imagine before
you, stretching straight away over hill
and dale, glistening white in the
moonlight spots and elsewhere heav-
lily shaded with beautiful shade trees,
a French national highway. Macad-
amized for scores of years, it runs al.
most as smoothly as concrete walk,
always taking the shortest route from
village to village. From the hill on
which I stood l could look across a
beautiful little valley, containing the
headwaters of a river famous in his
tory and rich in lore. Here and there
dotting the landscape as do our farm
homes, one might see a little village
clearly spotted because of the bright
red roofs that shone in the brilliant
moonlight. Little fields so small in
fact that one dreams of a fairy land,
stand forth here and there first dark
one showing a pasture and then two
or three wheat or oat fields in which
you can distinguish the shocks of
grain ready to be hauled to cover. AS
you stand looking and dreaming
gazing in wonderment at so beautiful
and peaceful a picture, you suddenly
realize that you are following the path
of the moon in your dreams and that
while your physical sight stops with
the hills on the opposite side of te
little valley, your mental and spirit
ual sight travels on, ever westward.
Then it is that you dream, the little
stream below you suddenly widens.
You see waters glistening in the
moonlight and in the place of the five
or six villages you can see the piano.
real homes. Homes in which your own
folks live and in which your ma,
tive tongue is spoken. They. too, are
peaceful. More than that they are
happy, and as you dream, you see the
happiness fairly shine from the
ground. And then, just about the time
you begin to get a little hOmesick,
somewhere from behind you, a little
shock is noticed by the more sensi
i've ear drum. There is no noise.
Just little shock. And you listen
again, to hear it, not repeated once,
but often, and even within the hour
you can feel it grow and lull, and you
realize again the purpose of your long
journey. And slowly you turn your
back to the west and with new re.
solve and purpose set your steps and
face eastward with a light heart.
Why? Because YOU have been in COM
munion with all that is dear to you.
Your home, your country. and your
owed ones. And YOU know that you
have a reason with more than all else
in the old world combined, for push.
ing on until you can return to say
the job is done"