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[Page 91]

a small village to the South of Armentieres.

The Railway journey was most enjoyable in the extreme and appeared more like a "Triumphal Entry" so demonstrative & whole hearted did the enthusiastic welcome appear every where, in large stately Cities & towns & wayside villages alike the greetings were so abundantly & generously given. Every where the train stopped we were rushed by the inhabitants only too eager to offer anything that was available in the shape of refreshments & sweets. While at stated intervals, branches of the Red Cross or similar Societies were waiting ready to regale us with tea coffee cocoa etc, biscuits cake etc, to our hearts content & gratifying satisfaction.

After the monotonous sojourn in Egypt's dreary, sandy wastes the glorious picture of Southern France with its bracing climate at this time of the year June July & the lovely landscapes that soothed the eye at every turn was a real treat almost beyond description.

This portion of France untouched, & without the least sign of, the havoc of war, looked to us truly enchanting. Every portion outside the boundaries of cities towns & villages appears to be wholly devoted to cultivation of some sort or grazing for dairy cattle.

Every farm seems to be divided into allotments or paddocks & almost invariably each paddock is traced out in rows of poplar, olive, or other beautiful decorative trees & although evidence here & there was seen of the apparent lack of labour the whole country looked so lovely, that we could almost have wished that our stay there could have been made a matter of weeks.

Occasionally the hurried passing of a Red Cross train with wounded French soldiers aboard & the constantly occurring view of only women working in the fields brought

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