was difficult to understand at first. Some of the boys, not knowing the value of the French franc, paid enormous prices for fruits, candies, etc., to French women and girls, who peddled these articles.

While at the Napoleon Barracks we saw the first American wounded. They were soldiers who had participated in the defense against the German drive which began in March, 1918. It was from them that we first learned the real horrors of war. Some had only one arm; others had lost a leg; still others were suffering from shell shock. Those who were suffering from shell shock were the most pitiful, as the least unusual noise startled them.

I had the good fortune to be placed on a motor truck detail during three days of our brief stay at Brest. This gave me an opportunity of seeing most of the city. It has about 120,000 inhabitants, is one of the chief ports of France and has a harbor that is protected by nature as well as by strong fortifications. Lying as it does, among the hills, there is much natural beauty in the city and its surroundings. The streets are about as wide as those of the average American city, although there are a number of very narrow streets that cut into the main thoroughfares at angles and these reminded me somewhat of the narrow streets of Boston. The city is kept clean and there are numerous parks and public squares. The latter are frequented mostly by women and children, though it is not uncommon to see French soldiers, home from the front on leave, lounging in them. The warm blooded French people have ideas that differ widely from those of Americans in many respects, and it is nothing unusual to see a French couple making love in broad daylight with persons passing by on all sides, in one of these public parks. Occasionally one would see an American soldier sitting with a French Mademoiselle. French troops were often drilling in these squares—not troops that had participated in the war, but companies of younger men who were being trained for war. It was interesting to watch them and to contrast their manoeuvers with ours.

There are no skyscrapers in Brest, that is to say, there are no tall office buildings there, although the city is an important business point. The only tall structures are the churches and an old castle, dating from the thirteenth century. The business buildings are all of two or three stories. The stores are not as up to date as the retail establishments in America, and the methods of doing business are entirely different from ours. Goods are not on display in the open as they are in American stores, but are kept in show cases. If you are interested in a certain piece of goods, the clerk takes it out of the show case and exhibits it to you. If you do not buy it, the article is placed right back in the show case. The clerks are mostly girls. They are plainly dressed but always neat. Most of them wear black. They are by no means as well dressed as American girls who work in stores. The French store employes are very poorly paid, the average wage for a clerk being two and a half francs, or about 50 cents in American money a day.

During the war, Brest was very much of a cosmopolitan city. On the streets most any day could be seen the uniforms of the soldiers and sailors of all the Allied nations—French, British, Italian, Portuguese, American and others. The uniforms of the different nations are of different hues and they gave a tinge of color to the crowds on the streets. They ranged from spotless white to faded blues. The uniforms of the Italian soldiers, in my opinion, were the most attractive. They were a pretty gray, well made and attractive in design. The uniform of the American soldier, while not the prettiest, is the most serviceable. For war use it is no doubt the best. The British wear uniforms very much like ours, although a little different in shade and design. They are serviceable and neat but not attractive. The coat has a small lapel and large brass buttons that are always well shined. The home guards of the French army wore flashy coats and trousers. The trousers were either blue with a broad red stripe or red with a blue stripe.

I regret that our brief stay in Brest did not give me a better opportunity to see the mediaeval churches and castles in the vicinity. But war is serious business with no time for sightseeing and on the third night after our arrival, we received our orders to march at 4 o'clock the following morning. It was a restless night for we knew that every day from now on would take us nearer to the front and to the fight. At 3:30 o'clock on the morning of our departure we were all up and dressed and were packing our belongings. We came to company front promptly at 4 o'clock, just as the dawn was breaking; in a very few minutes we were marching out of the historic Napoleon Barracks never to see them again. The morning was cool and crisp; it was conducive to lively marching and we stepped along at a fast clip, passing three companies of infantry on the way to Brest. The march was an eight mile "hike" and we made it without a stop until we reached the railroad yards at Brest. We were then assigned to compartments in French railroad coaches. Most of them were second and third class coaches, although there were a few first class cars for the officers. There were five compartments to a car and eight men were assigned to each compartment; as we also had to make room for our luggage, we were crowded and uncomfortable. However, we made the best of the unpleasant conditions, and patiently awaited the starting of the train, which was to take us through a country new and strange to us, and nearer to the war zone.

CHAPTER III.ToC

From Brest to Langres

Before our train pulled out of Brest we were ordered out of our crowded compartments in the French railroad coaches for the purpose of bringing in traveling rations. These consisted of canned bully beef, canned jam, canned beans and bread. The bread that was given to us here was made into enormous loaves—the largest that any of us had ever seen. The loaves were sixteen or eighteen inches wide, from two and a half to three feet long and eight or nine inches high. They were American-made and were white and wholesome. The outside crust was hard but palatable and the inside was soft and flaky like home-made bread. We afterwards learned that these loaves had been baked weeks in advance and that they were kept fresh and palatable by the use of a chemical. Each compartment of eight men was given three of these large loaves which, together with a number of cans of beans, bully beef and jam, were to keep us supplied with food until we reached Langres, in eastern France, which was our destination. We had previously learned—on our trip overseas—to conserve food, and none of this supply was wasted. We stored it away in our cramped quarters and saw that it got proper care.

As we sat in the train waiting for it to start, we looked out upon the bay of Brest and saw numerous tugs busy along the waterfront. They were all engaged in war work of some kind. We also saw more American troops being landed at the wharf, just as we were landed a few days previous, and we knew their thoughts and feelings. In the air there were several airplanes and dirigible balloons giving needed protection to the ships that were entering the harbor.

While we were still in the yards of Brest, we also saw for the first time in France, numerous Chinese coolies, who were doing with their labor their part toward winning the war. They worked on the railroad tracks in large gangs. To the