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XVI. France

Green hills rising from the sea! The Chateau d'If, the island prison of Monte Cristo! Churches and buildings of ancient grey stone! The City of Marseilles and the Land of France!

There was no delay. The transports ran alongside great wharves, and within a few hours disembarkation commenced. The men marched to the waiting trains, a distance of a few hundred yards only, and rapidly entrained. The famous trucks of "40 hommes et 8 chevaux en long" were for a later time. For this journey the rank and file had third-class compartment carriages. For three days the trains were passing through the pleasant land of France. Blooming orchards, green fields, white-walled and red-roofed villages, stately chateaux, beautiful towns, all were looking their best in the spring sunshine. Speed was apparently no object. Men, whose limbs were cramped with sitting so long in the confined space, would get out and walk alongside whenever a hill had to be climbed. Groups of French girls and French children stood by the side of the line, calling out a shrill welcome in classical Australian. Every here and there fatigue parties had dixies boiling beside the line, and tea heavily reinforced with rum, was served out. Incidentally, it may be mentioned, now the war is over, that not a few emergency rations of tea were opened without "an order from an officer" and brewed with water from the engine. Town after town was passed—Avignon, Orange, Lyons, Dijon. The Statue of Vercingetorix, the first hero of a struggle for the liberties of France, stood proudly on the hillside at Aries. At Versailles, Paris was side-tracked, and the trains went on through Rouen, Abbeville, Etaples, past Calais, through St. page 91Omer, and so to Steenbecque station, where the troops detrained.

1/Auckland arrived on April 16th, and marched away to look for billets somewhere between the village of Morbecque and the town of Hazebrouck. The interpreter was missing. It was popularly supposed that he had provided himself with a sweetheart in Hazebrouck, so as to avoid wasting time between the trains. While a search was being made for the missing functionary, who by the way ultimately turned out to be the village priest, the Battalion shivered on the cobble-stones of the street. Billets were finally discovered to be certain farmhouses between Hazebrouck and Morbecque. The most hazy ideas had been entertained on the subject of billets. Not a few had expected to be quartered by twos and threes on French families, to sleep in the best bedrooms, and generally to be entertained with considerable state. It was a rude shock to visionaries of this sort to be thrust into a lean-to off the pig-sty. The weather was not nearly so good as it had been in the south of France. There was a great deal of cold, misty rain. Everything was sloppy and muddy. It was not easy to keep warm, and, in consequence, the first impression of billets was not as favourable as it might have been. The French folk were soon well liked, and the language question was settled by the use of a few words often repeated, broad smiles and frequent gestures. "Mademoiselle" here came into vogue, but of her more later. The quaint French customs, their different outlook on many things, were all of interest, but in the cold weather the ones who possessed fires and sold coffee to the troops were the most popular. It was a terrible tragedy to find beer selling at a penny a glass and to have no money. Everyone was bankrupt, and so for a fortnight the French folk marvelled at the wonderful sobriety of the New Zealanders. They probably thought that it was one of the national characteristics of their guests to refrain from intoxicating liquors—evidently an idosyncrasy similar to the strange craze some of these Colonials had for bathing themselves. One day certain officers, who shall be nameless, desired of their page 92"madame" a tub and much hot water. "Mais our, monsieur, certainement," and the hospitable old lady bustled round to fulfil this order. The family were warned off, and the bath commenced. As it was Good Friday, the family evidently concluded that this was some solemn religious rite in honour of the season. They gathered reverently round, monsieur, madame, the mademoiselles and the "piccanins," and gazed with awe on this wonderful ceremony of purification. Surely these men took their religion seriously and sadly! "Mon Dieu! Fancy exposing one's body to such cold for so unnecessary a reason!"

It is a very regrettable fact that madarae's cows showed a deplorable lack of restraint, and were evidently quite prepared to be milked in any language.

2/Auckland arrived at Steenbecque station on April 19th, and immediately marched some kilometres to Rebecque, where the billets were found to be not very good. Here, again, there was a great thirst caused by lack of funds. At last, however, came the long-desired day—and the disillusionment of the villagers. Next day the Battalion marched to fresh billets at Bleu. It was a very long and hard march, and after the celebrations of the evening before, the tramp, tramp, tramp along the cobbled roads came none the easier. Many fell out, and the memory of that march still lingers.

Morbecque and Bleu were no very great distance from the firing line. In the still evening air the rumble of the guns could be distinctly heard, and from any eminence the flares could be seen, tiny points of fire, rising in the distance.