This letter was stopped by the receipt of marching orders. It continued
a little later with the following vivid descriptive passage:
* * * * *
"The flames of a village destroyed by shell fire, a livid moonlight and
a terrible storm, such were the precursors of our entrance this morning
into a pretty village of the Vosges, where a dozen houses were gutted,
burned or totally demolished by shells. Chickens were pecking at the
door-sills of the deserted houses. That is war! Our men might have been
put in bad humor by all this. But no! Their witty remarks cheered the
situation. They are laughing and chatting now, while the German bombs
are falling not far from us, whistling through the air with metallic
shrieks, followed by frightful explosions. Our men are getting used to
this music of a special style."