The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1919-10-16
transforming At THE FRONT
Beng an Interesting First Hand Ac.
count ol hos our Boys Lived on the
Front Lines In France,
"A, Frances and Grace Ho,t

lContinued from last Week
Here ~ IN other hospitals in
France. there are no women nurses;
taey need M A.ray, they need more
pillows. and they need many things
which only woman can see. The
boys are brought from camps some
times a hundred miles away ono had
hih shoulder nearly blown of by
schrapncl in aB artillery practice the
day before Another was brought IN
by an ambulance while we were there,
who VIC thought had been frightfully
wounded, FOR there was large bleed
ing place on his side he WAS in the
midst Of an awful attack OF gall stones
and his agony Was 20 intense he had
d, u,conSeiously. torn himself until he
was bleeding. bat not sound did he
make An night long we would hear
the ambuianccs discherging their
freight, and how one does wish that
one were IA traised nurse, beside being
inst an entertainer. Another charm-
ing young man told US, IN "A most em-
harrasscd manner, that he had the
itch. Jack Masters, who had been sec
rotary for Nj Reid, of the Tribune,
poked his head out Of one Of the win
dows 10 tell US that be was almost
well enough TO leave the hospital.
We promised to send them piano,
even though we didn't have a cent of
money with w;tch to buy it, they all
screened with joy, but said i was
much too good to be true, that we
would forget all about tkcm-but the
stcry of the piano comes later!
Up a steep hiIl back Of the town,
W climbed q long stone stairway un-
iii we found Ourselves high above the
housr-tops with a glorious view in all
directions. Here were the ruins of
the castle in which ST. Bernard went
To senooI. The chapel is in fine
state Of preservation CT was built I'M
S9S) The windows are really beauti-
sui the wood has almost grown white
with age, the pulpit, high elaborate
ly carved one .s in the middle cf the
church, ard near il is the long canopy
covered pew which was always reserv-
ed for dignitaries. Beneath this is an
underground chapel which is Roman.
We had never seen more beautiful
mural decorations, and it is filled with
priceless relics This chapel is well
hidden for il was used when church
services were forbidden. There is a
really dreadful group of life-sized flg-
ures which are behind an open work
carved wooden screen as you enter
The central one is of Christ, surround
ed by a crowd of gesticulating,
screaming tyou can see them scream
ing) men which seem to be absolutely
alive Ii may all be crude, but ii is
rthe most upsetting group thai we
have ever seen, BY this time we had, /
beside the concierge, our usual es-
cort of about twelve soldiers, officers
and men. We sat in the park and
watched some coloured soldiers saun
ter iauntily into the chapel and then
come rushing out as though they
we're possessed and almost white from
fear, We knew they would when they
saw the group by the door.
The garden in which the church and
school are, continues along the top of
the high ridge Of land for miles The
walls are thickly over-grown with ivy,
and at one spot, one looks down hun
drcds Of feet into a clean messy
spring rising out Of deep cave, which
is the source Of the river Douix, alas
bit further becoming like the Seine,
an indoloDt, dirty stream
The town is rich in lovely parks,
and the benches are always crowded
with our boys whose laps are filed to
running over with little children. They
are very dirty, but how they love each
other. There are numerous ehateaux,
with gardens ahlaze with flowers,
where our boys are always welcome,
they never disturb thing,
A little French girl who was play
ing "Croix Rouge" and digging her
dolls out Of miniature trenches which
she had niade in one q The gardens.
told us. commiseratingly, that ''it
mus, be very lonely back in America,
now that there were no men al al
left there"
The next performance was for 8 de- |
iachmont of Texas negroes, as most Of |
them had never heard even Dixie" i
could neither read nor write, and !
seemed over awed because we were /
there To entertain them, we put them |
at their ease by asking if they would s
do some Of their own songs for US. '
One huge young man leaned against S
the wall Of the hospital they were