Letters From the Front

Dated:

The country I am in is very rich in history, and near here Joan of Arc was born, and it is her spirit that to-day is making the French Army do such prodigious deeds of valor; the whole nation is inoculated with it. It may seem strange to say that Joan of Arc, five hundred years after her martyrdom, saved Verdun from falling into the hands of the Huns, but it is so. When the history of this war is written and the world learns what the French have been up against, it will see that nothing short of Divine intervention could have saved the country, and that intervention came in the form of the spirit of that girl, Joan of Arc. The spirit of the people here is simply astounding; bled white as they are, they cannot be beaten. Pushed back or perhaps exterminated they may be, but they cannot be beaten. I always thought that this girl was somewhat of a fictitious person, but I know to-day that she is a very lively person, and she is still living in the hearts of these people.
Pleased to say I am keeping fit, James likewise, but just a little tired of training. The news from the East is good reading these days. General Maude was one of my officers in the Coldstream Guards. I guess Hornby would know him pretty well. Good luck to him.
R. B. McCarthy (whose brother has just been wounded) is here with me. He is on his way up to join his unit, having been posted to the 78th Battalion. He is in good health. Mr. A. G. Mordy , formerly accountant at Winnipeg, is attached to my unit in England just now, likewise Major J. C. Macpherson of Calgary. T. W. McConkey , Fort Rouge, has been transferred to the Flying Corps. I am in hopes of meeting A. L. Brander over here this trip, as this is his headquarters, but he is up the line just now.

Please remember me to all the staff.