To Katherine Breckinridge, 25 November 1919

     digitized, transcribed, encoded, and annotated by Stephanie McCormick

Vic sur Aisne,
November 25, 1919

My precious mother,

Today I had my Montigny §  baby clinic with twenty five
nourrissons §  and young children and such an interesting time for everyone.
It is nearly seven now, half an hour before dinner, and I shall begin this
to you and finish it afterwards. I am resolved come what will to get you
a letter written about our trip through northern France and Belgium before
it recedes further from me,..

Four of us left on Friday the seventh of this month in
a camion §  for a brief vacation, or "permission" as it is always called
over here, and incidentally to see thesee-the battlefields forming the British
front with which we were none of us familiar. With the exception of the
three days in which I visited Verdun with the Parsons in Mrs. Dike's
imlilimounssisine I had not beenbeeen off on permission since I came last February,
so the week in Belgium was my first real vacation and I have been mmjjuuucchh
rested by the change of scene.     I confess, throough, that the thing towards
which I look vainly as my real desire in the way of a vacation is just
going somewhere untouched by war and walking under trees and reading
novelsnovv els by a fire with a friednoddr or two. But if I ever do such a thing
it will be alone for none of my friends want to iddo anything but sightsii ght
see when they go off on "ppermission"__ and are all for battlefields.

The four of us who went off in the camion are mighty
congenial, Barney, Lummie, Kit Carson, heaf of and I, and in for anythingann ything
unusual coming along. So we managed beautifully. We left after lunch and
made Albert the first night, getting to an inn set up in barracks in the
ruins of what must have been a darling old town about seven thirty of a
rainy cold night. Now you had better get out maps and things and proceed
to follow me sensibly for I shall trace out quite a fascinating route.
Albert is tiin the Somme in the heart of a Britih famous British sector
and our Hotel de la Paix is kept by an ex_Tioommy §  who has married a French
woman and puts up people locating graves and other tourists. We were
served an excellent dinner and given clean beds, two to a room, of the
refugee type to which we were only too well accustomed. Eeaarly the next
I enclose postcards of the virgin and child which used to be on the
church of Albert because I think the pose rarely lovely. From 1914 to
1918 they were as in the second picture and finally a shell crashed them
down. The whole country is a mass of ruins. We were up and out early
the next morning and piled into our camion with tools, bags, cigarettes
to use as tips (not( not that all of the party didn'tdidn t smoke but me, because
nearly all in the committee do, and in fact nearly all of the war workers
one meets do, but a different brands of cigarettes from thoset hose we give as
tips)     blankets, rubber boots, and top cotaatats. Then we began a long search
to find the British camp at a place called Serre     because Hughes of the
sSSoissons unit had given us a letter to a captain there and told us the
men were so horribly lonely that no decent woman should pass twwithout
calolooking in on them. Anyway we wanted to see the camp and finally found
it across swamps, over hills, thourorough mud unspeakable and along by paths
impassable for anything but a Ford camion, and the captain was off on his
rounds, so we left the note and passed on. That evening at about five
we reached Lille, lunvcching en route at Arras, and were so tired with
the long cold drive and continually seeing sad sights that we decided to
put up anttd Lille and sought thesought the go in for luxury, which one can get
there now about as well as anywhere in France, always excepting heat of
course. So we put up at the hotel de l'eEEurope where we were able to park
the camion in the court and get it off Barney's mind and not have to take
the jack to our bedrooms, nor the extra tires and tubes as we had done at
Albert.

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We got two enormous rooms at Lille with sofas and lpplush
hangings and writing tables and big bath rooms with real hot water for
twenty five francs a room, which at the present exchange meant about
a dollar apiece. seventy five apiece. I fell into Kit's and my tub at
five fifteen and again before going to bed at night and soaked away the
accumulation of months. My but it tasted good.     Lille is looking up and
reminds me little of the Lille of last May where I spent two nights when
I went up with the C.R.B. But perhaps it would speak the smaamame language if
I saw the same side of it. I have never forgeootten the undernourished
children of the schools.

We got off the necxxt morning rather late because of hating
to leave the real beds bath tubs and real beds, oh such soft beds, and
lunched at Ypres, at Ypres__ only to think of it and remember over and
over the communique''s§  of the past years.     The little inn was in a barrack
of course and just zaacross from the most dramatic runiinins I have met in
France. Why build memorials to the dead when one might preserve untouched
such a monumentmounment as Ypres where every step is taken on holy ground. Couplld
any fair stone newly raised express the glory and the anguishang uish of those
shattered heaps?where were embodiedwhere were embodied From Ypres to Dixmude we passed over
the most desperate looking battlegraounoundoundd I have seen in France, and I
know Verdun, the Chemin des Dames§  , the Argonne§  , Chateau Thierry, the
Somme, the Aisne. That corner of Belgium which was a part of the British
front beggars description for utter desolation. Night was falling as
our camion passed along the worn road and a thin wet snow was falling,driving[illegible][illegible]
[illegible] the air chilled us through and through and the dampness percolated through
our wraps__ but when we looked from one side to another and saw the
trenches where the soldiers had lived year after year our imaginations
carried us into something of a realizationreailllzation of what they had been up
against. It is the only extensive piece of front I have seen which seems
entirely to lack drainage. The trenches were full up of cold water, all
of them, as far as the eye could see in the gathering night. Water under_
foot, month after month, year after year, water up to the waist often,
water falling ceaselessly from overhead and such dampness and chill in
the air     that even one's marrow would never feel warm and dry in that
region.     For utter desolation give me the road between Ypres and Dixmude.

After Dixmude we drove on in the black night, although it was
not six o'clock, with the driving snow against us and we got colder
and colder as we neared the sea. We could feel the saltiness in the
air presently and about seven o'clock we rolled into Ostende. The hotel
we had planned to take was closed for the season, but we bugtt we     found an all
year round one in the city itself (which( which is quite extensive independently
of the beach) that had a bath tub on each floor and highly ornate rooms
which were not hafllflf bad. After dinner we soaked again, but not so luxuriously
as at Lille and the water smelt bad.

The next morning found us facing a drivingpeltingpelting snow storm where poor
Barney had the bad end since she must drive against it with every shaprrp
flkaake cutting her eyes. We took the road to Zeebrugge§  and drove along by
the side of the ocean but behind the sand dunes on which many of the
Boshe gun emplacements were still standing. Then late in the morning we
came out by the famous mole near which the Vindictive§  lay sunk and
Captain Fryatt§  's ship, the Brussels, was spending theherher last hours before
being towed to Antwerp, that day. We wlaalked down to the breach in the mole§ 
with the wild spray dashing over us and paid our silent tribute to the
memory of as gallant gentlemen as even England ever gave to the sea.

Then we sought a superb hotel hard by which had been mounted with
guns by the Boshes and used as part of the defenses, but was now in process
of restoration and the lower floor as comfortable and delightful to people
just out of camion as heart could wish. WeWwe sat down to a delicious luncheon

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gffacing the ocean but with a radiator between and were warm. Those who
are winterinbgg in France would understand that I speak of paradise.

After lunch we startedstsrted off again in the snow storm and pulled
up in the middle of the afternoon at Bruges, which is without exception
the quaintest old world town I have ever seen. We only stayed there an
hour or twon, bought a Johanne guide book, (unfortunately( unfortunately of 1911 and that
perhaps explains its uselessness to us later about hotels), post cards and
descriptive booklets, we heard the carillons §  from the old belfry and
gloried in the quiet charm of the canals and the old square. A man we
picked up in the latter place told us about the mayor being shot and
leading citizens imprisoned, but after all some day they would have died
anyqwway and the principal thing to us, fresh from Ypres and Dixmude of the
day before, was that Bruges itself was not dead, that fair and lovely
towns remained uncrucified.

We made Ghent that night and a fair hotel but we did not
become interested in Ghent. Perhaps if wwee had spent a day there instead of
a night we would have cared more about it, but the next morning as we
drove through the streets our impression of a modern industrial city was
confirmed and we were not out to see them. But tehhe long white road from
Bruges to Ghent with its wcceaseless farms and villages of endless charms
charm fascinated usus through the gathering night. The same sort of road met
us going from Ghent to Brussels through the busy thickly settled country
which seemed extraordinarily to have resumed its normal air. The hotels
were warm too and there was plenty of buttreer and nothing     destroyed after
we left the northern corner until we got to Louvain, for we went to
Louvain too. How could we help it when we found ourselves on Tuesday
morning in Brussels with only twenty miles between us and it? I wanted
most tremendously to see the work among the children in Belgium for I
have read that it is exceptional, but I had no letters or addresses so all
I could do was to watch with eager eyes every child I met. Many bore the
familiar signs of undernourishment and I have gotten expert enough to
judge just about how they would size up undressed and on scales, but on
the whole the children looked ruddier far and livelier at their play than
do our little ones in northern France.

We were not particularly partial to Brussels__ a big modern
city chiefly. We saw some of the old parts however and drove all over it
a good partbitbit of the town. Then we turned the nose of the Griffon (Barney's( Barney's
camion) for Louvain     andnand with our hearts in our mouths appraooaoached the
famous place. It has charm too, although not like Bruges, and of course
the famous library and many other buidlldings are in ruins, but the bulk
of the town itself did not burn up. It does not compare for instance with
Soissons for destruction. We were glad that so much of it had been spared
the flames and again it seemed to us that our dear France had borneborn the
brunt of the war. So far we had been in Flemish Belgium where almost as
many of the peasants we spoke to addressed spoke Ebnnglish as French since
Flemish seemed to be their natural tongue. But now we decided to press on
down to Leiiege because     beecause ewwewe wanted to get acquaniininted with Liege and wanted to
know something of the appearance and ways of speaking of Walloon Belgium.§ 
If you get out a map you will see that we traversed Belgium from north
otto south and east to west. Tuesday night we put into Liege and stopped at
a quiet place called the hotel de Suede recommednned by a man near a tram.
We had the funniest way of getting a hotel. First we asked the name of one
at the last place, then we looked it up in the 1911 Johanne guide book,
then we tried it out on the people we met as we drove into town and if
they didn't seem imreprpressed we asked which were their leading hotels any_
way__ and lastly we drove from one to another and made our choice. It was
the eleventh, Armistice night, when we drove into Liege and at once we
fell in love with the city and were glad that the great anniversary found

4;

found us there. Aftern we had put the camion to bed and had dinner,
which we did at another hotel called the Grand on a square and much
lit up, with a nice waiter who whislttled the Brabancççonne §  for meusus, we went
out into the crowd filing past with companies of cssoldiers, a little
music from time to time and occasional dancing on the street. When we
had enough of that we went to the movies, saw Nazimova in an AmericansmmAAmeerican
play. Kit sat next a Belgian soldier who began fondling her arms and she
said to him: ""You know we Americans love the Belgian soldiers. There are
none that we admire more, but in America it isn't the custom to touch
one another in theaters, so perhaps you won't mind if we don't do it
here. It'sIts not that we don't admire you ever so much. But it just isn't
our custom to touch one another in theaters." The man roared, moved over
well into his own seat and bent eyes of respectful adoration upon her
the rest of the evening. We were nearly aleslsleep when we finally passed
out of the place to seek our hotel, but I heard Kit again, thehthe ever
courteous, explaining to a woman interested in our uniforms, that yes
she came from New York and was on her way to Soissons, because, she
asked explained, when we fell upon her for such a prolonged itinerary
and the little interest inaccuracy about Soissons that she didn't feel
equal to entering fully into the purpose of the American Committee and
if she had said she lived in Paris the peopelle might have thought she
was ratherrsther laying it on and if she said the rest of us lived in Vic they
wouldn't have heard of the place.

The cathedral at Liege has a carillonca?illon too, a lovely one I
thought dreamily as I listened to it when I was falling asleepalseep. But our
hotel stood just off from the cathedral and the carillon kept going the
whole night throughtrhough with such distinctness that it woke us almost every
quarter of an hour. So we named the cathedral the church of St. Vitus §  and
let it go at that.

The cahhaharm of Liege held for us when we woke the next morning,.,
and it was nearly ten before we could tear ourselves away. It is a big
modern industrial town too, but has charmingcharm ing old centerscneters, and a noble
bit of river, the Meuse, beside which are theis arearethe university and     many
stately houses. Enormous subeuurban towns surround it and above on the
hills are the famous forts, which we did not take time to visit. Our
road now lay up the Meuse valley, beside the river most of the time, and
along the it was the same raooad the Germans had taken as they marched
from Liege into Namur like an eveiil swarm of locusts to devour the
country. All of the way from Liege to Huy, where we had lunch, is an
industrial country but we did not find most of the industries cggoing yet,
or at least it did not seem to us that they were,., so I suppose the
parts taken away have not yet been replaced. It was romantically beauti_
ful too in the Meuse valley and full of legendsle gends aboutabb out chateaux and gnomesandggnnomes
so the guide book told us. Finally we came to Namur, a charmingcharm ing place
with the fort above it and that fort we climbed up to see, and road drove
through its courts.

wWWe had to tear ourselves away from Namur, after investing largely
in Quaker oats which we were out of at Vic and could not get in Paris,
because ewwe felt it our boundbounde? duty to make Charleroi that night__ but
we wouldn't have dnoone it had we known what we should come up against there..
Of all the ugly industr modern citiescit?e? with a tawdry side attached otto it
Charleroi impresses me as being the worst. It is one of the few places
that I know I shall never awwant to see again. We struck it long after
dark, tired, cold, hungry, and asked after our usual custom of the first
man we met if the hotel mentioned first in the Johanne guide book was
the leading hospttelry of his native city. He hadn't even heard of it but
gave us another name. We went there, didn't like the place but would have
put up in it except that it was full. It gave us another name, we went
there, full again. Then we decided to make a determined efforteffrot to locate

5

the guide book hotel and Lummie and I left the others in the camion while
we tramped down a side street where it was thought to be. It had changed
itsitt s name and was over a cinemacinima and called?alled a CinemaCinima Palace hotel and
such another den of iniquity as it seemed to be I had nothadnot investigated
beoffore. The most dreadful looking man sized Lummie 'points up as we
entered and a swift lady showed us dubious looking tawdry dirty rooms and
we decided that we would walk the streets or sit in a station or roll
up in the camion rather than take them. Then we saw two more places onplaceson
corners, both rather disreputable looking and one full. In the other
we got two filthy rooms with dirty lace curtains and horrid beds and
a dreadful dining saloon where we had dinner with lots of smutty gilt.
But no one disturbed us and we were all so tired we locked our doors and
tumbled in and slept. Incidentally it was the only very expensive pplalaclace
in Belgium and they tried to cheat us on the exchange. Never again.

We made Mons the next morning about ten and wished we hacd
staggered on thaeet night     before in spite of the dark and cold for it
was as rarely fascinating in its way as Bruges and we had the best meal
of the whole trip     at a little hotel just under the old belfry. Ah, but
we loved Mons. We climbed the belfry, reveled in its chimes, and in the
red roofs of the old houses beneath us and the pretty avenues of trees
before the modern places. Off in the distance we swaaw the road we were
to follow, the road of the British heart breaking retreat and off
another way we had come by the road our enemies took five years ago.
After lunch (such( such a perfect lunch and I can't help being material enough
to enjoy it suprememly) we drove off glad that our last memories of
Belgium were Mons and not Charleroi. Mons too is in the heart of an
industrial country and there seemed to be coke or something like it
littered aroundaboutabout for miles and miles between and around both places,
but Mons had dinsstinction and quiteet charm and dust of
feet in the one place and a piece of loour hearts in the other.

In the afternoon we got back into France, dear scarred France.
As we drew near the frontier the wreckage began again, the familiar
heart breaking wreckagewreakcckage we all know so well and feel for as a mother
her war scarred son. The poilus§  that came     out to us at the customs
smiled over our uniform, asked why the Quaker oats and said oho?, let the
aAAmericans take in all of the food they liked. It was after dark when
we mademackke Cambrai where we had to spend the night. We began our usual
inquiries as to hotels of the first men we metmee t, naming over those of a
1914 guide book of northern France, and one by lone we learned they haedd
been destroyed and the only one left     was the Mouton BlancBlan?.§  So we drove
pensively upuup to the White Sheep and found it still standing but just
such a patched up half ruined building as those to which we were accus-
tomed and we felt at home at once. The holes in our bedroom (for( for the
place was so crowded we all four had to pielle into two beds in one room)
and got that by having some men turned out and doubled up) were filled in
with cement, there were only vccandles for light and it was all very natural
especially the manager's hearty welcome to the American Comitmimitettee and
his assurance that no matter how crowded he would put us up for sure.

We lunched at St. Quentin the next day and made Vic for dinner.
Our whole trip from Friday the seventh to Friday the fourteenth including
gasoline and mending tires was only something over three hundred and
forty francs apiece or about forty dollars. Add to that a few dollars
more for guide books post?cards     and patisseries§  and you have the
most wonderful week's vacation for the least money that was ever made.
I have indulged in another extravagance, that of a new uniform, for my
old one had fallen nearly into rags. I am having it relined at our own
workroom,, in Paris. The new one is a beauty, fits divinely and Kit VCCarson
has given me the bronze Griffons of the Committee to     wear with it.

6.

I had to go to Paris for two days the first of last week
and found Katherine Carson at last. We had lunch together at her place
both days and I had her and Kit Carson to dinner     at mine so that they
could meet and claim the kinship that is probably about two hundred
years back but just as good with people who are congenial. Katherine
looked well, very well, and was interested in her work whihcch is
being in charge of the information department of the woman's club in
Paris for the present. Emma had been sent to St. Quentin, arrvisiviiving just
a few hours after I passed through.

I was in Paris on committee business arranging about getting
up a pamphlet about my work and a budget as to its probableprobably expense
for the ensuing year. I think we have gotten up a very effective
pamphlet but it has not been issued yet and in fact is not yet quite
complete. My work goes ahead with increasing success and much happiness.
I am planning and hoping to be home in the spring, but Mrs. Dike does
not see how it can be managed yet. It all depends upon how much executive
ability the French nurses develop in an untried field and howandhow soon they
develop it. Mlle. Harrioo is making an immense success at Blerancourt,
Mlle. Mertillo only just shaking down into ZAAnizy and as she has
along with equal ability far less charm of personality I don't antici_ pate quite the same success. Mlle. Monod for Coucy comes next week. She
icss the daughter of a protestant minister of Lille, lost a brother in
the war and was at Lille during the German occupation. She comes of
a noted French protestant family, distingiuuiuished for their intellect
and a certain "chic laideur."§  I am curious to have her come. Her letters
are charming and like the others she is a graduate of the famous
Bordeaux school. I have also an English nurse coming for Soissons I
think and hope because I like her immensely and an English woman of
means wants to finance not only her but her car and chauffeur and
ussupplies to the extent of hundreds of pounds. So that will take the
county of Soissons off of us financially and she has worked in France
and will fit in as well as I do. I had her here and liked her much.
The object of the pamphlet is to get Americans to finance the nurses
and supplies for the work for some time ahead until the French are
ready to take it over. Every nowEverynow and then some authorityzuaauthority comescomees to
inspect it and they arellll seem charmed. It has had an uncommon success.

All for tonight, my darling, and I haveIhave been two eveningsevening s
writing this. I am distressed over scalrrlet fever in one of my villages.
We carried one of the children to the hospital the other day and
several have ear complications that make me tremble. One of my little
ones has died of pneumonia but was ill during my absence and I knew
nothing of it until her death. Merciot's child, my assistant's child,
has been low with a mastoid condition and operated on at Compiegne.
I am frightuffully busy but refreshed since my week's vacation.

Dear love for all of my dear ones who see this letter from
your devoted child,

Mary