THE AISNE BA'l'TLE
TO S. L. C. In that dim land to which you turned so sootl Too soon !·- it may be that you now can see The destiny tbat shapes our little days And fills them with the present misery ; And with y0ur larger vision know at last Why youth must gi-\'.e up youth itself and give 'Even its life - that the ideals of youth May thus be cherished and forever live.
•
J.
(Ncwspaper clipping : Amcricans are fighting side by side with the French near Cbatcau-Thierry.)
The sky was seared with fire, With blood the ground ran wet, I saw the shattered ranks retire I wept for France, her hour most dire, Her star seemed set ! So thought I 1n my dread Until my dimmed eyes met Above her serried ranks of dead, A screaming Eagle o'er whose head, The star's n:splendent yet ! David DARRAH, Reserve Mallet.
B. C. 17 /635.
BEFORE THE BATTLE Sometimes in tbe hush of the bivouac, Sweet visions of home retum, As I watch on guard, 'cross the battle-scarred Slope, where the star shells burn. And tbe old familiar faces Are framed in tbe faint star-glow And tbe sweet perfume, the shadows, the moon, Are dreams, but they're real I know. And as darkness deepens aroutld My sleep laden eyes can s�e Through vistas of yore, my home once more, Where they're waiting and praying for me And a voice, 'tis mother speaking, So near, and it's soft and low. And it seems to me I'm a child again ln the dim of the long ago. And the gun that slants from my shoulder, Seems her arm in a soft car�ss. And I reach for her hand, - you understand, We attack in the morning, I guess. David DARRAll, Reserve Mallet.
FRAGM�NT OF THE COMEDY OF NIGHTS AND DAYS DEATH:
A thin, ner'Uous old man whose face is lined with care and who bears unmistakable signs of dissipation. FATE:
Wife of Death, who stands a little in awe of her. She is a large, generously formed woman with a habit of standing with.her arms crossed, ihe while she tirades in a rasping, irritating 'ZIOice. HOPE:
Eldest child of the two, wh.o has no affection /or her father. She is shabbily dressed and bears mark$ of reccnt ill-treatment, DESl'AIR:
An O'Uer-grown infant. SATAN;
Himself.
An ethere-al sitting room, where Death and his family gather for occasional moments of leisure. Death is dressed in showy finery, but his clothes are awry and bear the marks of constant usage. -Fate, in a faded house-dress, 'is confronting him. Hope is playing in the corner witli some stars her father has brought her from the Milky Way. The baby is sleeping in a cradle by the window.