SPRING AT THE FRONT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 15931, 31 May 1915, Page 4

SPRING AT THE FRONT.

SUNSHINE AND WARMTH. CHEERFUL TROOPS IN TRENCHES. A spuing in Flanders really deserves a letter all to itself, especially after one has spent a winter in the trenches, writes un officer of the Royal Artillery. Not that it is'not bitterly cold at times still, for it freezes most nights; but there is that indefinable feeling of spring in the air i that makes thoMilood course through'the veins and makes one glad to bo alive— so different from the - gloom that would settle over us at times after weeks of bad weather and those deep trenches. W c | stand to arms in the grey hears of the morning and watch the sun rising blood red over the German trenches, while we stamp our feet on the frozen ground to try to get warm after being tip working half the' night and spending the other half in a chilly. dug-out, wondering whether our feet .were made of us or of lead. Gradually tho sun rises higher in the sky and slowly warms us. Overhead the sky turns from indigo through grey to a perfect blue, till one can realise where the old Flemish pott, drew their inspiration for their marvellous delft. ' Up above one can hear a lark carolling,' and everything else is still, for the sniper has now retired behind his lines. . 'Hie night long firing has died down and the desultory artillery bombardment of the day has not yet , begun. Suddenly the stillness is broken" by a droning sound, and after craningv our heads in all directions we see an aeroplane hovering like a-hawk and glistening ■; silver as the suit strikes it. It passes in over the German lines and as .we watch two little iieecy clouds burst into whiteness near it and a moment later we hear a whirr and a bang.' The German aeroplane gun, familiarly known as "Archibald" is in action. The aeroplane swerves to alter the range and elevation, and then sails 'serenely on. Reports follow each other l.i quick succession, till the whole sky is flecked with a double line of white 'shrapnel bursts slowly dissipating. A regular fusillade of rifle fire breaks out" and a stammering machine gun' joins - in, but the aeroplane disappears in the; distance apparently unhurt, : while we wonder vaguely whether it is engaged on a strategical reconnaissance or on a bomb dropping expedition against some railway centre. ' . • . --V. . Cooking Breakfast.- ' The -sun grows -warmer and:the ground , grows softer under foot till it resembles;.. a newly-laid asphalt pavement. The men 1 have all got their,braziers alight now, and*. are busy cooking breakfast,, and a discreet glance 'through a periscope shows that the Germans, only a . hundred yards away, are likewise engaged, for a blue wreath' of wood smoke arises from tho line of trenches too . against. the dark line of trees. -One feels that- the wood should be to ting into green by" now, but - these.trees; will never show leaf again, for .they : have been, harried by shot and scarred by shell until the sap and the promise of the new year has died in them. ;; sy-; . If . only , the croakers at Home could pas's ! down our front . line trenches oil such a bright ' spring morning and see the spirits of. the men! Their language may be at times - far from. choice;' but '■ their 1 fund of humour seems . limitless, if occasionally bloodthirsty. ;: ' Every dug-out. leems to have its name and : notice. , ,l All : passers-by - please look into ye old .funk-hole and see the bhoys cleaning German bloodstains off their bayonets. By order Ton ; Ivliik"B Subsection (the - Sunshine Troops);" "Potsdam Lodge" and £0 other cheery placards. Even a dangerous corner must' .be, labelled - with : due solemnity : " Please carry your head, under your arms, when passing he:re." Nicknames for. the Guns. - Every kind of gun opposite has its own particular. . name—" -k v Johnsons, Black Marias," and " Goal-boxes" are commonplaces since our days-oil the Aisno, but lately "Pip," "Squeak," and Fizzbang" have earned notoriety. They aro so called % because., shell and sound arrive almost simultaneously, and ' most unpleasant- customers they J are. ' ' Anyhow, thjy start the ball rolling quite-early in the morning, and our artillery reply," This is no bombardment or battle, but each side wants to show the other that they are still alive aud provided with ammunition. ~ Suddenly there is. a long-drawn singing shriek—for so ;only can 1 describe it—and a " -Jack Johnson" passes overhead, to fail half a. mile behind with a "kirrump" that shakes the earth. - So the day wears on, with shell passing _ overhead one way or the other, an occasional aeroplane, and almost continual rifle five. The C.O. passes down the line and directs this parapet to be heightened or that breastwork to be strengthened. ! Perhaps the brigadier or some staff officer comes un to have a look round, or maybe a gunner strolls along to gather the latest news. By noon the keen wind has died down and "we discard our coats and fairly revel in the sun. But sad to say it nearly always clouds over in the afternoon and the wind blows keener than ever, sometimes even ending in a flurry of snow. But as the sun goes down the sky always clears again and one gets a brilliant frosty moon. Fruit Trees in Blossom. Wo came out to rest yesterday, and I took a walk round, glad to assume once more the erect posture natural to tho genus homo. There is no doubt that height is a decided disadvantage when the trenches were dug by Gurkhas! The fruit trees are bursting into blossom, ami the gardens of the ruined cottages are becoming little patches of colour with daffodils and primulas and pincushions growing up through the rubble. Very strong and bright they grow, and I could" not- but think of Omar: — I sometimes think that never prows so red ihe Rose as where some buried C'soaar bled. , As I walked home again I saw a Soi.g line of poplars silhouetted against the j\mset sky of blue green and orange pink, with a pointed square church tower standing grim and squat. It might have been a Hobbema straight from its frame.

- The . tethered cow is not so familiar a spectacle in this country as slio is abroad 11 . 1 small farmers and small holders find tethering a useful mean of eating m clovers clean, and, where there are i;n lenoes, preventing the aniiual straying Lven on large farms in Scandinavia the £T, ls used, Bavin the services of a dbo a "d the cost of erecting fences. le t Ca * i i tle l of N ? man1 v v are mainly confined to the two great departments of Ca iSS 3 uS^ ncho -^ The Slwnhom hi astd to improve the race, ■ and ■it ih generally acknowledged th ' the host cow a are bled with this dash of 1,1. ,j ®