SPIRIT OF RURAL FRANCE

New Zealand Tablet, 15 March 1917, Page 56

SPIRIT OF RURAL FRANCE

BRAVE AND PIOUS PEASANTS. It is instructive and interesting to notice the influence of the war in Prance away from Paris; this influence (writes the correspondent of the Catholic Times) varies according to the spirit of the place where we observe it and also according to the distance from the line of fire. In the 'zone des armees,' within sound of the connon of the Somme, the nearness of the great conflict is keenly realised by a thousand signs, the hurrying of motors along the country" roads, the passing of trains laden with soldiers fresh from the trenches, or with German prisoners, or, again, a more pathetic sight, with wounded fighting men from both the Allied armies. All these things bring the war very close to us in the districts of the north of France, and its presence, within a few miles, gives a "kind of solemnity to life. Nothing else seems to matter; trivial interests dwindle away when tremendous issues are so near. The Dominant Idea. Here, in Anjou, where I write these lines, the war also dominates the life of every human being, who is old enough to grasp its tragic meaning, but its realisation wears a different aspect. This country, on a fine day in October, is at its best ; its vineyards, chestnut trees, abundant flowers, give it something of a southern aspect, an aspect to which the flat-roofed cottages, wreathed in creepers, add a striking note. At first sight, the gracious picture seems completely at variance with the terrific drama that is being played out at many fronts, but, after a few days, the presence of the war becomes clearly perceptible. A Parish Priest's Influence. The people of the village whence* I write these lines are fortunate in having a parish priest who has lived in their midst for over thirty years. Generations have passed through his hands and age has not weakened his influence. When the young men whom he has known since their birth come back from the front on leave, they never fail to go to Confession and to Communion, before returning to the line of fire. ' Not one of them has failed to do this,' he said to me the other day. The secret of his influence lies in the thorough and solid instruction he gives his flock. Convinced that in these days only an enlightened faith can resist the tide of scepticism and unbelief that a godless Government's methods have let loose, he goes on 1 giving his girls and boys an excellent course of religious teaching, even after their First Communion. The missionaries who, at different times, preached for days together in this parish, have often expressed their surprise at finding mere peasant men and women so well informed in matters of religion. The People's Sorrows. The terrible war, from which, in different ways, we are all suffering, has told severely on the people of la Vendee. In these radiant October days, the country wears its fairest, aspect; the cottages wreathed in vines and creepers, the well-to-do, spotlessly clean farmhouses present a picture of peace and plenty, but we know what heart-felt sorrow is concealed under this fair exterior. In a village close to this one, where the same spirit reigns, forty soldiers have been killed out of 1400 inhabitants, others are missing, others maimed for life. In a tiny hamlet that has only 250 inhabitants, thirteen have lost their lives in the war; in many farms the men are absent, and a young widow is left alone to do the work. On every side we hear of anxiety, pain, and loss, of young, lives cut short and tender plans and hopes for ever shattered. The people meet this far-spreading wave of sorrow in the same spirit as their ancestors, the peasant soldiers of 1793, met danger and death. Their great resource is prayer.