Passed by the censor : $b The experience of an American newspaper man in FranceWilliams, Wythe
History
Passed by the censor : $b The experience of an American newspaper man in France
Williams, Wythe
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American
That morning one of the Italians dropped a letter out of the window of
our loft opening on the street, to a soldier, who said he would post
it in Paris. It was addressed to the "Gaulois" and contained a note
from us to the American Ambassador, which I learned later never saw
its destination. The first news of our whereabouts reached Paris in
a message that our chauffeur sent by hand to the automobile company,
merely saying that the car had been requisitioned; and we did not know
about this until we returned to Paris.
We also drafted a long letter to the Commanding General, asking to send
an enclosed telegram to Ambassador Herrick. The telegram stated that
the three of us were detained at that point, and asked him to notify
our offices in Paris. The Colonel took this letter and said he would
deliver it to the General; but the telegram enclosed never reached
Paris.
At five o'clock the third morning we were awakened by a soldier coming
into the loft and waving a lantern over us as we lay on the floor.
He called out the names of the quartet and told them to follow him.
They did so, and that was the last we saw of them. I confess it gave
us rather an extra chill, even though we were all chilled to the bone
from the weather, to see them led out in that fashion and at that
ghastly hour. It was still very dark. We heard them clatter out into
the courtyard. I peered out of the loft door and dimly saw a file of
soldiers. I heard one of our late companions complaining about the loss
of his hat.
At breakfast our fears were set at rest by the Colonel explaining that
as the quartet had been arrested before us their case had been settled
first, and that they had been taken to Paris. He had found the missing
hat, which he gave to me, and asked anxiously whether I would search
out the owner when I returned to Paris. Inasmuch as this was some
indication that I really might see Paris again, I gladly promised.
The weather cleared and we passed considerable time in the yard. A
small enclosed orchard lay adjoining the courtyard, and one afternoon
the Colonel gave us permission to walk there. We found some wild
flowers and put them in our buttonholes. This touch of elegance called
forth the admiration of the Colonel when we again saw him.
_"C'est comme à Paris_," he said.
We even got up enough courage to shave and scrape the mud off our
clothes and boots, and clean up generally as well as we could. We had
given the cook another twenty francs and he heated some water for us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account