y lying in the
mud, and although he believed the child to be dead he stooped
down and picked it up. At the evacuating station the baby and the
soldier were sent to the hospital together; the doctors operated
upon the baby and took a piece of shrapnel from its back, and,
once well and strong, it constituted itself lord and master and king
of all it surveyed. When it woke in the morning it would call "Papa"
and twenty fathers answered to its call. All the pent-up love of the
men for their own little ones from whom they had been parted for
so long they lavished on the tiny stranger, but all his affection and
his whole heart belonged to the rough miner soldier who had
brought him in. As the shadows fell one saw the man walking up
and down the ward with the child in his arms, crooning the
"Marseillaise" until the tired little eyes closed. He had obtained
permission from the authorities to adopt the child as the parents
could not be found, and remarked humorously: "Mademoiselle, it is
so convenient to have a family without the trouble of being
married!"

What we must remember is that the rough soldier, himself blinded
with blood and mud, uncertain whether he could ever reach a point
of safety, yet had time to stoop and pick that little flower of France
and save it from being crushed beneath the cannon wheels. I told
General Nivelle that the hospital staff intended to keep the child for
the soldier until the end of the war, and we all hoped that he might
grow up to the glory of France and to the eternal honour of the
tender-hearted fighter who had rescued him.

After lunch we stood for some time watching the unending stream
of camions proceeding into Verdun. I believe it has been stated
that on the average one passed through the village every fifteen
seconds, and that there are something like twelve thousand motor
vehicles used in the defence of Verdun. The splendid condition of
the roads and the absence of all confusion in the handling of this
immense volume of traffic are a great tribute to the organising
genius of the chiefs of the French Army.

We left General Nivelle as General Petain predicted we should find
him--smiling.

Rheims

We slept that night at Epernay, in the heart of the Champagne
district. The soil of France is doing its best to keep the vines in
perfect condition and to provide a good vintage to be drunk later to
celebrate the victory of France and her Allies. The keeping of the
roads in g