Do not imagine that the soldier is bored. He has his friends and his
sweetheart.
"Sweethearts! Don't be astonished. Their names are Gaby, Madelon and
Sylvia. Gaby is a little person, plump, with an odor of wild cherry
about her. I never spend more than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour
with her. Sylvia is more slender and frail. She smells of the autumn
heather and I talk with her for fifteen or twenty minutes. As for
Madelon, she is a grand lady in her splendid brown dress with gold
trimmings. She is very cultivated, too, and I spend twenty-five minutes
or half an hour with her. Gaby, Sylvia and Madelon are--pipes. During
the long, anxious hours of suspense one hardly knows what to do. It is
impossible to read or write, for one has to be ready to start at the
first signal. So we smoke our pipes. One of my men carved Gaby for me
from a branch of wild cherry. Madelon and Sylvia were presents from
my subordinate officers. So much for my sweethearts. As for my friend
he is a very devoted personage, very silent and always with me. He
lies at my feet with his honest brown eyes fixed on me until he drops
asleep. He is a wonderful scout and guide. Moose is his name--a black
and yellow water dog who got himself adopted on the tenth of September
and has never left me since."
* * * * *
Our soldiers are wonderful, so full of hope and courage. Still, when
one sees them, one knows what they have endured. They all have a tragic
look, but they are filled with energy and zeal, even though they are
under no illusion as to the possible duration of the war.
We shall come out victorious and France, that most beautiful nation,
will resume its peaceful, prosperous life. War will yield finally to
peace and men will live happily forever.