was no reason "de
s'en faire," and if they were alive they decided they might as well
be happy and amused. Just before entering the gate of Verdun we
passed a number of ambulances, some of them driven by the
American volunteers. These young Americans have displayed
splendid heroism in bringing in the wounded under difficult
conditions. Many of them have been mentioned in despatches,
and have received from France the Croix de Guerre. I also saw an
ambulance marked "Lloyds."

It would be useless to pretend that one entered Verdun without
emotion,--Verdun, sorely stricken, yet living, kept alive by the
indomitable soul of the soldiers of France, whilst her wounds are
daily treated and healed by the skill of her Generals. A white city of
desolation, scorched and battered, yet the brightest jewel in the
crown of France's glory; a shining example to the world of the
triumph of human resistance and the courage of men. A city of
strange and cruel sounds. The short, sharp bark of the 75's, the
boom of the death-dealing enemy guns, the shrieks of the shells
and the fall of masonry parting from houses to which it had been
attached for centuries, whilst from the shattered window frames
the familiar sprite of the household looked ever for the children
who came no longer across the thresholds of the homes. Verdun
is no longer a refuge for all that is good and beautiful and tender,
and so the sounds of the voices of children and of birds are heard
no more. Both have flown; the children were evacuated with the
civilians in the bitter months of February and March, and the birds,
realising that there is no secure place in which to nest, have
deserted not only Verdun but the whole of the surrounding district.

We proceeded to a terrace overlooking the lower part of the town
and witnessed a duel between the French and German artillery.
The Germans were bombarding the barracks of Chevert, and from
all around the French guns were replying. It was certainly a joy to
note that for one boom of a German cannon there were certainly
ten answers from the French guns. The French soldiers off duty
should have been resting in the caves and dug-outs which have
been prepared for them, but most of them were out on the
terraces in different parts of the city, smoking and casually
watching the effect of the German or of their own fire. I enquired of
one Poilu whether he would be glad to leave Verdun, and he
laughingly replied: "One might be worse off