February 17-18, 1919

Excerpts from letters mailed together and dated February 17 and 18, 1919

My Dear Grace –

Rec’d your letter this afternoon, some parts of it were just fine, but I see you opened up family matters again, I just wrote you a letter and tore it up so Ill try and keep off of that questions,

No I have not received any Xmas box from any one this year, I guess it landed in France all right, as I received a card from [illegible] that there was a box there and also a card from Brest, that there was a box there for me, I filled out my slip and sent them back about Xmas time but, I never received either box…

My there have been thousands of horses passing here all day to day, the British are shipping them home I guess…

My Dear Grace –

This is a nice warm morning just like it is home in May. the birds are all singing and every thing looks quite springey but perhaps in a hour or so, things will look different, I got thro’ work last night before dark which is about six o’clock now last night was the first night since long in the fall, you know I think we have a great deal more daylight here than we do at home, I cant help but think  of those long summer evenings last summer, when it was still quite light at 10:30 or quarter to 11, it hardly ever got dark before 10: o’clock along in July and August.

I went to a picture show last night they have real good shows over here and the music is just great, I am sure you would enjoy the orcestras’, there are so many things that you would just go wild about, the flowers, for instance, they are just wonderful, can’t tell you about them they are so beautiful, and they seem to keep so long, I guess its on a/c of the wet weather, then the beautiful woods just oceans of ferns, and it is against the law to cut down a tree of any kind every on your own land, unless you have a special permit from the government, and they do not give them permits just for the asking, therefore the wonderful. wild woods of course they are not like our woods, they don’t seem so wild, as they are so close to towns or cities or perhaps wonderful big farms Then the roads, well you know that stretch from the 5 mi corner to Acme, they are just like that, unless you get on the main highways and they are cut up quite bad, on a/c of so much heavy traffic. and then perhaps you would be interested in the clothes, these people wear they sure know how to dress. I believe they spend most of their money on clothes, You no doubt would see lots of things that I do not see,…

If I am unable to take a trip into Germany on my vacation, or up over the battle fields I am going to ‘Biarritts’ that is a town near Bayonee, just about the last town in France, before you get to Spain, these towns are in the foothills of the Pyrennes Mountains and I understand there are some wonderful trips thro that section of the country. I no doubt will get over into Spain, I understand, that the dress of the people there is very quaint, Poke bonnets +etc, and in one town they walk on stilts, as the sand is so deep, then there is good bathing at Biaretts…

Don’t think I have forgotten your birthday I know this will be late, but I will be thinking of you all day March 4^th and I hope you will have many, many more of them, but all the others with me.

Sometimes I have to laugh at the times we have had the last year, you with your many worries, how do you like it? ,, I think it will of done us both a world of good and me having a fit over some d- little thing that, wouldn’t of made a bit of difference if I had been at home, If we just had well never mind…

Ten more days in this month, then March and then sometime in April I will be on my way.

Lots of Love.

As ever

Will