This is the most pleasantly situated and best regulated camp I have been
in yet. Pau itself is on a little plateau overlooking a valley with a
river and surrounded by the foothills of the Pyrenees. On the sky line
to the south and west of the beautiful snow-capped peaks, 4,000 feet
high.
In this environment we are to attain proficiency in the handling of the
war plane. The trip down from Avord was a tedious one, with a pleasant
break of day at Toulouse. I came down with two Frenchmen who were
excellent company. We spent two nights on the train. All the sleeping
cars are used at the Front to carry wounded, so we slept sitting up.
Sleeping cars are not so common in Europe, I guess. When I woke up
yesterday morning the character of the country had changed from the
rolling valleys of Touraine to the more rocky and broken country of
Toulouse. The buildings were brick instead of stone, and one could see
the round arch and barrel vault of Romanesque influence, combined with
the low broken roofs of Spanish architecture. Here and there appeared
the beautiful pines which suggested the blue of the Mediterranean and
cliff villages, as pictured in paintings of Naples and southern Italy.
Arriving in Toulouse about nine in the morning, we washed and had
breakfast at a very pleasant hotel restaurant. It had the atmosphere of
a good Paris restaurant, but the waitresses were of the brunette
southern type, with sparkling eyes and impetuous activity. We liked it
so well that we had all three meals there. At lunch, the table next to
us was occupied by a good-looking gentleman with a dark moustache, who
evidently was suing the favor of the proprietress’ very attractive
daughter, therefore the waitress who attended him was gifted with
ability and liberty. She caught the spirit of her position, and ushered
in each new delicacy with a pomp and grimace, playing the part of bearer
of the golden platter and king’s jester with a flippant coquetry and
grace which was more entertaining than any show I’ve seen in France.
We spent the day in seeing the town. It is rich in monuments of history
and art. The cathedral of St. Etienne is a monument of brick which
opened to me a whole new field of possibility in the use of that
material. It combines the mass of Romanesque with the Gothic form of an
early vitality. The great basilica of St. Sernin is truly Romanesque and
a perfect example of the Provincial style which introduced the
Romanesque influence into France. We saw the paintings in the Hôtel de
Ville, done by masters of the city of Toulouse, who were of the Ecole
des Beaux-Arts. These works were distinctly of the most modern school,
and they appeal to me more than anything I ever have seen. Wonderful
composition and lighting effect, combined with a freshness of color and
naturalness which shows what really can be done with paint.
The large museum was in a great old monastery, built of hand-made bricks
by the monks of St. Augustine in the ninth century. It is still
beautifully complete, with cloistered court and brick-vaulted chapel.
Past peoples live in monuments they leave. Monuments express the life
and art and religion of a people. To build such monuments is the work of
an architect. This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me. It
shows me the purpose and benefit of education; for the rest of my life
what I read will be absorbed with so much more interest and insight and
profit. Maybe the course of technology is narrow and technical, but I
find that never did I want to study and learn by reading as at present.
It has waked me to the fact that I have tastes and the right to follow
them as I please. And I can follow them in my many spare hours without
detracting from my service in the Cause.
Your letter containing clippings and cartoons was very entertaining. I
believe cartoons serve the purpose of keeping alive the trend of public
thought without being filled up with unreliable censored facts and
rumors.
Love to you all.
Your son,