Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - I. On the Way to the Front
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
36 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
complains that he has not had a word from home for a month.
He mentions that he was present on an occasion when a French
airman dropped a bomb over a gun team, killing three men
and wounding twenty. Of his British opponents he speaks
very disrespectfully. But he forgets that the English mer-
cenaries, whatever their faults, show great personal courage
and fight with bravery and contempt of death. He ends his
letter with the hope that Germany will soon have made mince-
meat of all her enemies. The chief trait which pervades all
these field postcards is the bright and cheery spirit of the
soldiers and their blind faith in the unconquerable might of
the German Army and final victory. That / may fall is of no
account. That / may not be one of the triumphant army
which will march in through the Brandenburger Tor cannot be
helped, but Germany must win, if not before, then after the
spring flowers have begun to sprout and blossom round my
grave.
At Alf, where a white paddle-steamer flying the Red Cross
flag lies at her moorings, we leave the Moselle and follow the
laconic advice of a signpost pointing up towards the hills
which mark the nearest way to Treves. It pours with rain.
We put up the awning and the rain patters loudly on the taut
canvas. Owing to the great speed we get one drenching after
another. The water in the puddles spurts up around the wheels
as before the bows of a swift steamer. The road is only half
as wide as the great main road eastward. But on the other
hand the traffic is insignificant. " Way to Wittlich ?
"
von Krum asks in a village, when uncertain of the road.
" To Paris !
" comes the retort of a couple of joyous maidens
who point in the direction we are to go. In due course we get
to Wittlich and struggle through its horribly narrow streets,
which, to make matters worse, are encumbered with all sorts
of vehicles. The houses both of villages and towns in this
part of the country are almost entirely of stone, and the
streets are very narrow—sometimes one almost gets the
impression that they were originally built with a view to
protection against foreign invasion.
Off we go again down to the banks of the Moselle and to its
beautifully situated villages, and when at length we stop at
the Trierischer Hof at Treves, it is pitch-dark and raining piti-
lessly. We were drenched to the skin, and had intended to
proceed to Luxemburg after a moment’s rest to dry our clothes.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
