EN WE FARA AEA RA RRA BB Gg | Third Section | YEAR 84, NO, 292 ------ ae The majority of the people at home cem to look upon life at the front as unceasing round of hard fighting hey 'think of a continual roar of ar- llery, and of a constant life of at- tack and counter-attack This is 2a mewhat erroneous impression, for there are-times when periods of great quietness come to the men, and dur- ing the lull betwetn the end of the battle of St, Eloi and the beginning of the third battle of Ypres -ihere were many days of quietness on the line in the salient Onone of these days, No. 8 platoon of the --th Battalion were lying in at Voormezeele, close to the . Eloi A few days before moved from their reserve at Reninghelst, and had taken over the Convent School forts at Voormeseele from a platoon of a sis ter battalion from Montreal. Things were quiet in the salient just then hut it was the calm before the great rin which was to break loose on 2nd of June and which was to out so many gallant Canadian at_, 7 had the wipe boys, This is a story, then, of a typical quiet day in the St. Eloi sector. The night had been spent in hard digging Owing to the superiority of obser- vation whigh the Germans had then it was impossible to work during the day. so all trench digging and im proving of positions had to be dong at night. sefore daybreak the work ing parties came into the convent, apd after breakfast the routine "Stand to arms' commenced . For an hour the mien stood at their posts, whicl were loupholes nthe wals of the con- vent, but nothing happéned. Then sentries and gas guards were posted, while the main body of the men fell leep. At 3 a.m. the first streaks of dawn showed in the east, Gradually the day broke, and the sun began to shed its. first rays. And with the rise of the sun the last flickering star shell shot up and faded away. The scout aeroplanes, up with the lark, buzzed lazily around, followed up closely by little balls of fluffy white smoke from the shells of the Archies. The night's work was. over, apd another day's work was begun, First a few German acroplanes drifted across the blue &ky, hovered around for a few moments as the "Archie" gunners found the range, to "and then turned tail when a few Brits ish machines came in sight and pass- ed overhead, winging their way to. wards the German lines Behind Hill 60 a German "sausage" halloon floated to and' fro in the morning IA dng Ao 1 Men's : A Quiet Day in Flanders : Contributed Exclusively to the Whig by A.M.1. now almost roofless, and with great all Che 3 é breeze. Doubtless its observers were keeping a sharp lookout for any movement in our trenches, for in those days stand up or move around in the trenches meant a show- er of snipers" bullets or a few salvos of "whiz-bangs." Everything was strangely quiet. The Convent School, to holes where shells had pierced its sides, indeed seemed a place of the dead to the sentry at his post near the gate But even in its ruin it was a place of beauty, The shells of the Huns could 'destroy the works of man, but old Mother Nature had survived. and had clothed its sur. roundings with surpassing beauty The grounds were pitted with shell holes and here and there were heaps broken masonry and piles of bricks But the warm sunshine and the spring rains had awakened the plants and the trees, and the sentry feasted his eyes on a riot of color be- yond the power of pen to describe. I'be brick and. stone of the convent had been overgrown with creepers, bearing flowers of white and purple. In the garden the plum trees, pear trees and apple trees were in blossom and added beauty where chaos had reigned supreme a few weeks before. A narrow path, shaped by- an' arched pergola of weeping willows, led up to avhat had once been the convent chapel, Ihé grass had grown long ind thick and amongst it were gor- geous patches of scarlet poppi€s, blue} ornflowers, and yellow mustard. In he remnants of the flower beds deep red and' yellow wallflowers raised their heads, and -the ins, the emblem of an unconquerable France, raised its head above the bricks and stones which cumbered the earth. A hedge of young cedaFs marked the bhoun- daries of the grounds, and in spite of barbed wire entapglsments, and the trenches dug behind them, they made a brave show. Just outside the grounds was a thick little orchard, then in full bloom, its pink and white blossoms making a pretty picture. And with the rising of the sun the birds began their songs. From the orchard came the call of a cuckoo. On a pear tree close by the convent wall a starling made love to his mate. In the courtyard dozens of sparrows were. hy Tor crumbs. of bread or "bully-beel" 'and away up in the heavens, 'ad if jealous of the aero- planes, soared a skylark, pouring out its soul in sohg. Nature was pre- dominant, Peace seemed to be over And yet we were in the very midst of war. In concealed positions all around were countless batteries, deri <i ANA rnin of Gifts that are seasonable, useful and luxurious. Each year more and more people appreciate t years experience in the making and selling of fine furs and alway 'real... There is an endless variety to choose from. These are a fe Fur Coats - Ladies' Hudson Seal Coats, $125 up Ladies' Muskrat Cots, . + .$50 up. | Ladies' Persian Lamb Coats $275 up. 'Ladies' Fur-lined Coats . .$50 up. Ladies' Fur-trimmed Coats $28 up. Meii's Muskrat-lined Coats $60 up. Men's Beaver Coats .. . . . $225 up. ~ Men's Black Dog Coats . .. $25 up - White Coney Coats . White Island Lamb Coats $18 up || 'S FURS fo . . $18 up. vo. < Daily British Wh KINGSTON, ONTARIO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER . A FOR YOU, DEAR Silhouette by Justice Charles B. Wheeler; verses by Chancellor Charles P. Norton. My child, you can never be sad and old, If once you see Santa Claus's smile, For it never lets the heart grow cold. And those you have lost awhile Will come laughing down the shining past, While hands wave to you from afar Of those you are waiting to meet at last, High up in Santa Clans's star. So Santa Claus gives the sweetest toys To gray-haired girls and gray haired boys Who on Christmas Eve in the firelight beams Sit too, with you, in the land of dreams. On Christmas Eve, when the Sand Man sprinkles The sand in your sleepy eyes, You just look out at the star that twinkles In the Milky Way in the skies. So hurry and get to the land of dreams! 1 tell you this because The star up there that brightly gleams Is the shop of Santa Claus, And it's just stuffed full with pretty toys For good little girls and good little boys. But Santa Claus and his reindeer team Can only come to you in a dream TN A AAA Ant cs Act itt and less than a thousand yards ahead, behind a vast network _ of barbed wire, lay the German trenches. Now and again the crack of a sniper's rifie broke the silence, but that was all. Nothing could be heard save the wafbling of the song birds, the dron- ing of the bees, and the sighing of the wind as the trees swung to, and fro. It was hard, so hard, to real- ize that theré was such a thing as war, and yet we were at the heart of It 0 a position where three weeks hafore the flower of the Second Ca- nadian Division "had lost their lives. The day wore on uneventfully. The passing aeroplanes. alone: told of Mhe war, The tired garrison slept on, until, just befofe noon, a medsenger hittin ne i Ay v he quality and When old King Nod has worked his spells, And you lie cuddled in bed, Down the Milky Way, with a jingle of bells, Will dash the reindeers' sled, And coming out of the night so black, If you watch out, you can see Kind Santa Claus with toys in his pack, And the nicest Christmas tree! You'll hear on the roof his deers' hoofs patter, You'll hear their horns in the merriest clatter, And if you look up through the chimney place You'll look right straight into Santa's face! arrived' from the cook-hotise to an- founce that dinner was ready. And then there was a hurried awakening a scramble for mess tins, and soon the boys were sitting outdoors, safe in the shelter of the convent wall, enjoying .a er of hot "macona- chie" stew, d and rice pudding. After dinner, rifles and ammunition were cleaned, and then the boys once more settled down to fill in their time. me sat in the shade of the trees and wrote letters to the folks at home, while others read the newly arrived Canadian newspapers. A few began to stroll = through the grounds and orchard, although at the risk of attracting the attention of the enemy. ¥ mt dn kt gn REVERT AS FURS !! | year Furs become more popular as Christmas gifts, and each value of Furs from this store. s carry our fullest guarantee. Our stock and w of the many attractive furs we are showing ~--y Behind the convent lay the village of Voormezeele, pronounced "Warm- as-'ell" by the British Tommies. Its houses were in ruins, but the gardens behind flourished beyond the dreams of any gardener. In one ruined house was a cradle, left there, no doubt, by some heartbroken mother. In another was a sewing machine; in others were beds, leit thete by the poor refugees in their hurry to es- cape from the invaders. _ In the cen- tre of the village, ati Ded Man's Cor- ner, on Suicide rogd, stood the re- mains of the church. = The roof and walls had gone. bug the tower stood intact, raising itself high ahove the rest of the village and pointing like 2 huge accusing finger awards hep. to-day. (MUFF AND STOLE) Black Wolf Setts . . . . . $42.50 up. Natural Grey Wolf Setts . . $20 up. $10 up. $45 ~ ven, Truly 'it was a heartrending sight to look upon the ruins of this little village. What a place of beauty it must have been in the happy days before the madman of Europe let loose the dogs of war! And now it blay crumbled in the dust. In the late afternoon two German shells exploded near by, but, as if ashamed for having broken the still fess, the firing ceased as suddenly as it began. 'At five o'clock supper, con- Jisting of bread, butter, jam and tea, was seryed; and soon the shadows be- 1 to créep over the stricken land, he day-birds ceased their singing, and a nightingale took up their song. Then the star shells hegan to flicker | between the lines, the cracking of every one show They represent over forty store is the biggest in our line between Toronto and Mon- Fur Mi Alaska Sable Muffs .. . .$25 up. Mink Muffs . . Black Wolf Muffs .. . . . .$25 up. Persian Lamb Muffs .. ...$18 up. Black Fox Muffs .. .. . . $20 up. Muskrat Muffs Mink Marmot Muffs .. . .$5.00 up. Persian Paw Muffs . . .. .$6.50 up. Hudson Seal Muffs . . .. .$18 up. Foninle sl ba a a vv rifles disturbed the silence, And the garrison of the convent school, carrying pick and shovel, filed off to work in the trench close by. Day was over, The night's work had be- gun. With men it's wine, women and song; with women it's ice cream soda, men, grand opera and chicken salad. People who use religion as a cloak in this world will doubtless manage to keep warm in the next without a cloak. Silence sounds awfully loud when the boss comes in unexpectedly. Behavior is a mirror in which his image. vio tt ST up,