SOLDIER'S LUXURIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17523, 5 July 1917, Page 9

SOLDIER'S LUXURIES.

LIFE IN A FRENCH CHATEAU. • DESCRIBED BY LIEUTENANT HOLLAND. Lieutenant S. G. Holland, son of Mr H. Holland, Mayor of Christchurch, writing from tho front, supplies chatty news of soldiers' doings there. " For tho last two or three weeks," ho says, " I have not been feeling myself at all, but I tried to stick to my post in the hope of righting myself. However, I didn't seem to be improving; in fact, I was getting worse, 60 about twelve day 3 ago I stayed in bed and a doctor came to see me. v My temperature and pulse were both 102 instead of 98 and 75 respectively. He thought I had influenza, but five other medicoes visited me and the verdict was afterwards changed to pleurisy. I remained for seven days on my hard old bunk, and

then an ambulance came and took me away. It reminded me of coming back from Kowai again; but no such luck. Then I was examined by a Medical Board of four doctors, and after a four hours' wait I was sent with another gunner officer to the Officers' Rest House at , where I have been for five days; and a jolly nice place it is. lam feeling very much the same as when 1 arrived at not quite well enough to do a day s solid work; that's all: I would not have told you these details only I thought you might hear from some other source and cause you more anxiety than is necessary. , " The chateau which is now the Rest House is a palace of Baron and Baroness, It is a most magnificent castle, built on quite ancient lines about twenty years ago or so. The outside appearance is nothing to write home about, but the interior is glorious, built almost exclusively of oak. There are at present eighteen New Zealand officers all here for ten days' rest There are no bed cases at all. We two gunners use the room usually occupied by all the Crown Heads passing this way. I have a monstrous great braes double bed all to myself, kapoc mattress and sheets and pillow-cases, too. Our usual pillow-case is a sugar bag filled with Ly. When I got into lied for the first time, I sank down so far that I wondered if I would ever find myself again; but, gee! it was, levely. "Wn don't do a hand stir of work hereby read the 'Daily Mail,' pnll faces and walk about recuperating This life would do me till the end of the war. We are right away from that beastly war we hear so much about -don't have any horrid anti-aircraft shell to dodge, no silly mules + or horses to look after, no men to lose things and make vou worry about, no wretched ammunition to drop on your toes and make you say nasty things about the Kaiser-no, none of these things worry us now. , . , i.» "We are living the 'superior' life now, and getting in a little practice for 4 after the war.' lam writing this in the shade of a lovely oak tree, and am seated on a deck chair on the lawn, with three fat pillows supporting my back and head. "We spend most of our time here taking walks. There is a lovely forest quite'near our chateau, and with the coming of spring, Nature is proudly showing oft her bea-Jty. The trees are all shooting out their new shoots, and the young green leaves and millions ot lovely buttercups, primroses, violets and many flowers are still all wearing their new season's frocks. It seems a pitv to have to walk over them. Above in 'the branches of tho trees the birds are just whistling their throats sore. Larks, blackbirds,, thrushes, sparrows, pigeons and crows are singing their songs of joy; but above all one can occasionally hear the cuckoo, cuckooing t 0 its mate from the top of a lofty tree. As one walks along and comes into the open, one sees that wonderful little bird, the swallow, flitting about, here, there and everywhere, lookinc: for a new home after its, perhaps, thousands of miles flight from its wintry clime. The swallow only arrived here this week April 30—a month later than usual. ~ , ..,«.« •' Dr Izard, of Wellington, is the O.C. of the Rest House; he is the right man in the right place. lam cetting tho monthly parcels all right. The twentyfifth was Anzac Day and the Mayoral election; I am dying to hear the result. I wonder if anyone will think to send me a cable. I simply can't wait another seven weeks tojiear the result." The cable message referred to was sent on the same day as the letter was written. '