There is little news this time. It has been a raw, cold, wet week-end, quite disheartening to all effort. Saturday afternoon, rain; I stayed at Billy’s. Saturday night there was a dance. I went, and it was only fair. I met an interesting girl and talked to her most of the evening instead of dancing. Sunday I slept late. In the afternoon I shivered and rooted at a ball game. We lost. I ran up and down and shouted myself hoarse, not from enthusiasm, but in an effort to counteract the effects of a penetrating wind. Sunday night it poured so I stayed by the fire and read in Trilby.
Today I began to rehash the News Dep’t. with the purpose of making it more practicable for one man to manage. I expect to be rather busy at that all week, and then to settle down to laziness again. Still I shall be doing two persons’ work (what’s left of it). I don’t want to get anyone to help me, because that would look as though I had something to do. It is just the opposite impression that I want to prevail.
It snowed today. Great way to usher in the spring month. But pity the poor boys in Russia. Today I had a lot of pictures from our unit up there. Beautiful stuff – all snow. But some of them were made at a temperature of 50 below zero. Instead of overseas caps, the Americans up there are issued fur hats.
May 1st is the French labor day. A great demonstration is expected. They are looking for much trouble, so much, in fact, that no American soldiers are to be allowed on the streets of Paris. Everything closes – butchers, bakers, cafes, metro, tramways, telephones, mails. It certainly will be a dead city. We are allowed in Vincennes, but not in Paris.
It is hard to say what is to become of the A.E.F. By July 1st, if the present rate of home-carrying continues, and it certainly should, there ought to be very little left in France but a small S.O.S. force. The Belgium rumor still goes strong.
Next post April 22.
Letters from Sidney Friend During The Great War 