The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1919-10-23

4
home on the Delaware, but here he
slept in a stable or anywhere he could
fnd sufficient space. Eight Of the "Y'
men slept, did their own laundry and
worked In the stable beside our hotel
we envied them. The hotel Was two
stories in front aud FIVE in the back,
We had no butter, no milk, no sugar
OF course, no water TO drink, but we
did have flies. They were most par
ticular about never giving bread un-
less one had their bread ticket, and
we were always dealing ours out to
hungry boys who had forgotten theirs.
One day our nice ~" man took US
with him in the Ford while he did "a
little work." we tied our thick neck
searfs around the lower part Of our
faces, as we always had TO do to pro-
tect our throats from the sitting dust,
but even then promised not to talk. !
think he took us only 10 get US away
from the flies which almost devoured
us when we were indoors.
He had bundles Of mail to take to
the "Y" men at the camps. Almost
all the towns were empty, the boys
we're on their way to the front. This
meant the taking down of the huge
"Y" tents which were standing in the
pastures (the fires from the last still
burning brightly and heaps Of tables
made from saplings to be carried
away. All the huge boxes Of choco-
late, crackers and cigarettes had to be
inventoried and accounted for, and
then the secretary had to manage to
hurry up TO the front with the division
No one knows when they rest, those
secretaries.
When we returned we found the big
French limousine had come from
Chaumont to take us back there. We
packed and we were on our way in
fifteen minutes. Gabriel, the chauf-
feur, had no time to waste on the
road, but we missed none of the
beauties of the wonderful country
through which we passed. The big
hotel in Chaumont is always filled to
flowing, and is even noisier than
any had ever been in Paris "before the
War" The kitchen is one side of the
central court, and the mattresses
scream all their orders from the dim
ing room. No one is able to sleep in
the rooms opening on the court, for
the officers start breakfasting at six,
and from that until nine, when no one
is allowed to use the gas in town un-
til it is necessary for the cooking of
"deujeuner," it is pandemonium of
shriil cries for ''omelettes" and
cafe"
We met number of young officers
at dinner who we had known in the
States, even those we didn't know
came to talk to us, so that we always
had a table full 1t was funny how
almost invariably they spoke of the
blue and white polka dotted frocks
we wore, they said they reminded
them of home more than anything
they had seen in France
Our first performance here was in
the grounds of the Hospital in the
enormous "Y. NJ. c. A." hut. There
were hundreds and hundreds of men in
the audience, and many nurses. Many
Of the boys were sitting in open win
dows, and there we're rows of them,
who had come especially early so that
they could be in the front, and who
were on hard benches without backs. |
They leaned against one another for
support, and they did look so uncom-
Portable. Fortunately there were
number of chairs on the platform so
we handed them all down; many Of
the boys were those who had been
wounded in the dreadful battle of
Chateau Thierry, marines and "Yan-
kee Division" We were glad our pro-
gram was gay one, for it was JOY
10 see the enthusiasm of the men, and
now they did sing our choruses; our
with its usual thirty num-
Ders was almost as long again before
hey would let US stop, they let us
bring it to close only when the
officials told them il was time to go
back 10 the wards.
TO look down into the faces Of those
,oung men, many so distorted by the
,wful scars which are left by the mus
ard gas that they are quite un-recog-
lizable, to see boys blinded and with
,nly one arm or leg, or as one was,
'ecoyering from wound made by
hree machine gun bullets in his chest, {
S one of the most heart-rending
hings we have ever had 10 do; after
ach performance, Of course, we were
lever able to sleep, but were always
a. q