The sun., 1919-07-20
By N. P. D.

war when men of forty were made TO feel
lean and slippered and good for nothing
but counsel OF job at dollar a year.
But here in a volume of letters written to
@ mother is record of a son Of 81, white
haired and priest, who was off to France
with the first British expeditionary force,
was In service three years and received two
citations-and should have received an
other one for writing to his mother al
most every day. On the whole, however,
mothers during the war seem to have
Jared better il this matter Of letters than
mere wives or sweethearts.
The writer of this volume of letters is
John Ayscough, the English Catholic
novelist, one Of whose novels is said to
have converted Joyce Kilmer, the Amer
can poet who was killed in the war. There
are two references to Kilmer in the book:
the first one says: "The editress of St.
Josepfs Lilies tells me that young but
famous American Tor Canadian) poet
has been converted by reading Grace
church; I'm glad; and a second reference
reads: "The nun who sends me the St.
Joscpk'S Lilies asked me to note what
the American poet, Joyce KiImer. who was
converted by Gracechurch, says. What
does he sayH"
In another letter the writer comments on
the surprising fact that most of the
Canadian wounded are "Englishmen-or
Americans This was, Of course In the
early days Of the war, when the easiest
way for an impatient American to get
into it was by way Of Canada.
John Ayscough himself, or Monsignor
Drew as he is In the church world, was
converted to Catholicism when a young
man at Oxford. In letter to his mother
dated October 81, 1914, he says: at was
thirty-six years ago yesterday that be-
came Catholic: the really great event of
my life" Priests and chapIains generally,
especially the French priests-who cheer
fully acquiesced N the law that made them
soldiers and marched into battle with the
rallying CITY "Yivent les cures sac au dosw
gave a good accopnt Of themselves In
the war. Again and again in John Ays-
coughs letters. when he enters French
village he notes that "the parish priest
himself is away fighting FOR France In the
trenches, like thousands and thousands Of
Others"
Of the priests killed in cold blood by
the Germans In Belgium only, In the early
days of the war, John Ayscough says,
"Over fifty were killed without the least
pretence at any trial, even the toughest
form of court martial" He tells the fol-
lowing incident:
"After battle three priests went to the
German senior officer and asked leave to
60 out and bring in German wounded. He
gave them a pass and they went. On
reaching the place where the wounded
were, with three wagons, they showed
their pass to the German officer there and
BE- said, Fill your wagons, them and
they did: as soon as they had told the
drivers where to take the wagons, the
German officers ordered all three priests
TO be shot, as they were. There was no
charge of any sort brought against them"
In another letter Ayscough tells his
mother of having walked to the nearby
town In order to see the jewellers win
dOws filed with the empty cases, @out of
which the Germans have taken everything
watches, bracelets, rings-eEery single
thing" In contrast with stories such as
these is the testimony he adds to much
that has already been given in regard to
he way the British treated the German
prisoners, making "pets" of them. As he
says: "You viii see a rough English SOL
der strip off his own greatcoat and give
Up his own blanket eagerly for prisoner,
and he feeds his prisoner like pet (ike