THE BELGIAN SOLDIER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15750, 27 October 1914, Page 3

THE BELGIAN SOLDIER.

GALLANT AND GAY.

A London Times correspondent in Belgium writes:"l have watched the Belgian soldier for two months, ending in the fall of Antwerp. I have seen him on every kind of duty—on the march, in tho trenches, on horseback, on tho bicycle, running behind a gun team of dogs, each dog pulling and barking as if it would tear the whole German Army to pieces. I have seen him wounded on the battlefields, on the roadside, in hospitals, brought back from an advanced trench, not wounded, but collapsed from sheer exhaustion. And I have seen him dead. •'As a result I have developed an extraordinary affection for him. I have a great admiration for his careiess courage and a greater liking for the man who, with all his manhood, has still so much of the child in him. He is such a chatterbox, so full of laught&r. his cheerfulness and badinage never so lively as whsa the sternest work is on hand. Unshaven, mud bespattered, hungry, and tired, unable to walk or to lift a rifle, he still bears himself with gallant gaiety. Altogether, ho is fascinating." " Every city in the United Kingdom is offering hospitality to the Belgians," says the Times in a leading article. " Tho nation rejoices at being able to do something for the victims of cruel fate. We have been unable to protect their homes, but we are finding them new ones, where they can safely rest in the darkest hour of their country's night, and await the day of her restoration."