The Argosy — page 376: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Miss Milton. 355 man grew more silent. In the lanes beyond, they were all silent; and when the real horrors began the Frenchman was missing. Had the Belgian disappeared the matter was explicable. But that a gallant young Frenchman should be frightened at the sight of the most terrible slaughter which the world has ever seen, was inexplicable. Still, when they got in that awful potato field, the Frenchman was not there. To describe the field of a great battle is almost impossible. The land seems to be ripped and torn in every direction, in some horrible, | unnatural way. ‘The brown earth is turned up in ghastly furrows under the withering trees. ‘The only beautiful things left are the dead, who chequer the wasted land in groups. No one has ever made even a decent attempt at describing the reality: we pass the description of it by as being utterly beyond our powers. George Dickson stood amongst the dead, and looked around him, The place must have been beautiful at one time, and later travellers have told us that it is once more beautified by nature, though to our eyes it will remain a horrible charnel-house until death. The 17th of the French Line lay in ruins, motionless except where they were being dragged to the trenches by German soldiers. © ‘Why does God allow such things?” he said aloud. | “There spoke a civilian,” said the Bengal officer. “I bet you ten rupees that you see some nature ennobled by this horrible business before the day is over. What do you feel yourself? ” “T feela terrible, inconceivable pity. I feelas if I could lay down my own life to mend this.” ¥ ‘““’Then hand me over ten rupees,” said the Bengal officer. ‘“ For your nature has been ennobled. War is utterly evil, but God brings good out of it somehow. Look at that man: there is a woman on the field, looking at the dead men’s faces.” ““And there is that Frenchman, Delaval, with her,” said George. “That must be Ins sister. He said she was in the town ; but he has told me more lies in one walk than I could believe in a twelvemonth.” “Really,” said the Bengal officer. “ And yet he does not look like a liar.” “No liar ever does, my dear soldier,” said George. ‘If you were a lawyer you would know that.” There were about 180,o00 German men in sight on their left, and they expected the retreating French would make some sign. But they made none. . How clearly one sees it; a hot, trodden plain of clay, a brazen sky overhead, a town down below in the valley, and the French dead lying all round like faded tulips, cut and thrown down. A black figure managing the death pits, and a graceful girl, bending down and peering into every dead man’s face. GOMNGOOO <S (CO)