H E L ET T E R S O F T W
EO PLE
WA R
IN
T IM
BY
C O S MO G ORDO N LE NNO X
‘u
LO NDON
E VE LE I G H
NA S H
LI MI T E D
1
6
9
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CO M P A NY
C O NT E NT S
P AGE
LE TTE R
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II
TH E
L ETTE R THA T WAS WRI TTE N
S EN T
FR OM
MR S
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VAN E
III
FR OM E RI C
IV
FR OM CI CELY
V
VI
VIII
IX
X
XI
FR OM E RI C
TO
MR E RI C
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TRE V ANNI ON TO
VAN E
TO
E RI C
TR E V ANNI ON TO
FR OM CI CEL Y
VANE
TO
ERI C
CI CEL Y VANE
TR E VANNI ON
FROM E R I C
TREV ANNI ON TO
I CE L Y
VAN E
TO
E RI C
TR E V ANNI ON TO
FR OM CI CE LY
FR OM E R I C
TRE V ANNI ON
TRE VANNI ON
TR E VANNI ON TO C
FR OM CI CE LY
VAN E
TO
E RI C
CI CE LY
CI CE LY VAN E
TR EV ANNI ON
I
FR OM CI CEL Y
VANE
VANE
VANE
VANE
TR E VANNI ON
TRE V ANNI ON TO C CE
FR OM CI CE LY
NEVER
CI C ELY VANE
FR OM E RI C
FR OM E RI C
BU T
LY
VANE
TO
E RI C
TRE V ANNI ON
TO
E RI C
TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E RI C
TR E V ANNI ON TO C
F R OM E R I C
TR EV ANNI ON TO CI
I CE LY
V
CE LY
VANE
VANE
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C on te n ts
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P AGE
XVII FR OM CI CELY VAN E TO ER I C TRE VANNI ON
XVIII FR OM ER I C TR E V ANNI ON TO CI CELY VAN E
XI X FR OM E R I C TRE VANNI ON TO C I CE LY VAN E
FR OM CI CE LY VAN E TO M ON S IE U R E RI C
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TR EV ANNI ON
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XXI V
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XXV III
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XXXVII
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FR OM E RI C
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TR E VANNI ON -
CI CELY VAN E
FR OM CI CE LY VAN E TO E R I C TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TR E VANNI ON TO C I CELY VAN E
ERI C
TR E V ANNI ON
TR E V ANNI ON TO
N UR S E VAN E
F R OM C I C E L Y
FR OM E R I C
VAN E
TO
FR OM
CI CE LY VAN E TO E RI C TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TR E VANNI ON TO N UR S E VAN E
FR OM N U R S E VAN E TO E RI C TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TR E VANNI ON TO N U R S E VAN E
FR OM N U R S E VAN E TO E R I C TR E VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TRE VANNI ON TO N U R S E VAN E
FR OM N U R S E VAN E TO E R I C TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E RI C TR E VANNI ON TO N U R S E VAN E
FR OM N U R S E VAN E TO E R I C TRE VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TRE VANNI ON TO N U R S E VAN E
FROM N UR S E VAN E TO ER I C TR E VANNI ON
FR OM E R I C TR EVANNI ON TO N UR S E VAN E
FROM N UR S E VAN E TO E RI C TR E VANNI ON
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FR OM
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ANN N
NN N
FR M E R I C
O M R S VANE
FR OM MR S VAN E
E RI C
ANN N
XL III FR M E RI C TREVANN N TO MR S VAN E
FR M M R S VANE TO E R I C
ANN ON
XL V FR M E RI C
MR S VAN E
ANN ON
XL VI FR M MR S VAN E
E RI C
ANNI ON
XLV I FR OM E RI C
ANN N
MRS VAN E
ANN ON
XL VIII FR OM M R S VANE
ER I C
XLI X FR OM E RI C E ANN N TO MR S VAN E
VANN ON TO M R S VAN E
FR M E RI C
L I FROM M R S VAN E TO E RI C TREVANN ON
LII M R S VAN E TO E R ER T
TON
L III M R S VAN E
M R ARV EY
TR E V
TR E V A
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T H E LE T T E R S
T WO P E O P LE I N
LE TT E R
WAR
T I ME
I
The letter tha t w a s w ritten b ut
I
OF
n ever s en t
.
WON D ER
why I write to you ?
—
r
l
I s it because your e y e s are a g e and blue or
grey are they ? I scarcely saw
Or is it because I did se e something in that
—
flas hing m o ment something of your soul ?
Probably N o but since I write possibly Yes
—
How e nigmatic y ou ar e e nigmatic as only
simplicity can be
—
And your charm that is more easily described
—that trick of the lifted lids—all childhood and
—
frankness that low clear voice rippled as a
woodland pool is rippl e d by the fir st warning of
a nearing storm
We were cl os e t ogether y o ur hair almost
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c
g
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Let ters of
"
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brushed
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Tw o
P e o ple
Z
l
che e k T i elt
your nearness and
you moved a little for one heartbeat we were
accomplices
We shall meet again I shall see you lift your
eyes Whose calm your lips belie but shall we
ever share a guilty thrilling secret as we did in
that swift second ?
I should imagine your love might be a Wonder
—
ful t hi ng s o wonderful that I scarcely dare to
—
—
seek it and yet I could match your love but
only with love of you And I am alone in my
—
room and you are where ?
S leeping perhaps ? How do you sleep ? With
one arm bent under your head the mystery of
your eyes veiled lips parted With all the serious
n ess of childhood in your face your tumbled
hair the hair Whose glinting gold was almost
against my mouth to day ?
And your dreams ?
I scarcely know you but this I know—What
are your dreams no man will ever know
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I O
In
Wa r T i me
LE TT E R
MRs VANE
F R OM
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By
ro
II
MR E R I C T RE VANNI ON
m
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es senger
b oy
gave me an invitation to day my dear
Mr Tre v a nn ion You were kind enough t o invite
me to dine with y ou t o go to the play with you
and when y ou heard that I lived in the country
you off ered to put me up at your house for
the night
I suppose you know that that is an impe rtinence
—at least most women would consider it s o I
am going to punish you for your impertinence
—
I am going to accept the dinner the play and
—
the night s lodging Don t look delighted I
am not accepting the invitation in the spirit in
which it w as given I accept for two reasons !
the first is that though I am not a suffragette
—
at least not much of on e I think it is good for
you to be taught that a woman c an meet a man
on terms of pe rfect equality—and that is how I
Yo u
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Letters
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mean to m e et you The second reason is that
you annoyed me yesterday ; you were talking
to my neighbour at tea and you were talking
well and seriously about the war as if you meant
what you said and I thought I like that man ;
then you turned to me and I looked and was
frankly pleased Oh the vanity the pitiful
vanity of men ! You thought I wanted you to
make love to me and you did My dear man; I
don t want you to make love to me I like you
and the fact that I say so cal ly and frankly
should show you tha t I should neve r even want to
flirt with you Anyhow that is the case ; I
should never fall in love with you—you are not
the type of man I could ever care for ; but you
have challenged me and so I accept the challenge
but understand we are only spending the eveni ng
—
I am bored you are at a loose
as good pals ;
end till you go back to France so we will di stract
each other for an evening and then bon soir
e t au revoir peut etre
C IC ELY VANE
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PS
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—Remember nothing more than pals
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Oi course if you would rather I did
PS
not come under the circ umstances s ay so
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In
War T i me
and I shall quite understand ; it is really
importance
no
of
.
M I
TE LE G RA
To M RS VANE The S tone Cottage Woodstone
S urrey
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,
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S hall expect you Wednesday
.
Thanks
.
,
Lett e rs
o f Tw o
LE TT E R
F R OM
III
E R IC TRE VANNI ON
MY D EAR
P e o ple
TO
C IC ELY
5
H A R S TO C K
,
L
O
ST
R EE
N DON
T
,
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LI TTLE P AL ,
Thank you for coming to L ondon
thank you for spending the evening with me
—
thank you for existing I like to know that you
are alive and on the same world as myself
I am sitting in the room do wn stairs the one
—
s
d
you
liked
the
room
where
we
came
a
i
u
o
y
—
after the theatre the room where you let me
—
kiss y ou for you did let me kiss y ou I don t
want to let you forget that Women can forget
—
wonderfully
and
completely
when they really
so
want to I knew a woman once who forgot s o
completely that she altered history or at least
confused it as utterly as did S hakespeare and
Bacon
But you did let me kiss you I asked you
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War T ime
what would happe n if I did You shrugged your
shoulders with such a sure of myself air
( What a baby you l o ok sometimes ) I took y ou
—
in my arms and I kissed you more than once
—
and you you laughed ; I have been trying to
recall the sound of your laugh trying to hear
—
in it the smallest falter the slightest nervous
—
sound and honestly I can t There that ought
t o please you
Does it ?
I wish I could remember or rather pic ture
your face I t is always there before me but I
—
can t examine it in det ail when I try to it goes
flashes away as you fl as hed away this morning
—
I t w as nice of y ou t o s a y
Good bye my dear
I t w as ni ce of y ou to give me a gentle little kiss
on my cheek before you ran out of the room
Thank y ou for that t oo
Yours sincerely
E RIC TRE VANNI ON
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PS
I am sendi ng you the
.
R upert
poems that y ou said you liked
I think them wonderful—they are
thoughts of a man
Brooke
.
.
so
much the
Letters
o f Two
LE TT E R
F ROM C IC ELY VANE
To
P e o ple
IV
E R IC TR E VANNI ON
TH E
C O TTA G E
WOODS T O N E
ST
ON E
,
.
really are th e m o st dear person t o send
me those altogether wonderful books of R upert
Brooke Because we both like his po etry so
much it pleas es me that they should be your
gift You are a dear Thank you You b e
haved very well on th e whole and I thank y ou
—
—
—
a
a
also f o r
a
charming interlude but but
I am n o t so sure I ought to have come
N o my dear friend don t mistake me there
was no nervous sound in my laugh nor will there
ever be but is it quite safe for you ? When I
think of the skilful and charming—yes charming
—
way you make love I feel sure you are quite
safe but when I think of y o u as you are when
you are talking seriously then I am afraid you
You
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6
Letters
o f Tw o
LE TT E R
F R OM
E RIC
T RE VANNI ON
P e o ple
V
C IC ELY
To
5 H A R S TOC K
,
MY D EAR LITTLE
P AL
C IC ELY
VANE
S T RE E T
.
,
I am sendi ng you an implement that you
left here I don t know what it is—it looks
dangerous I have been having a rather worrying
time lately but I won t bore you with the det ai ls
Did I tell you I have a cottage in Gloucestershire
miles from a station with an apple orchard and
a tangle of a garden ? I go there in a fort ni ght
—
Won t you come and stay for a day a week
I t sounds
or j ust as long as you co uld bear it ?
boring but the situation will I hope still amuse
you for a little and I should love to see y ou
you baby S phinx in the heart of the country
Somehow since the war I love every bit of the
mud of England every blade Of grass every
English flower C ome and give me the ze st h et ic
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In
W ar T i me
pleasure of seeing you in the English country
Won t you ?
I shall be within a few hours Of Boxt ow n next
week at Old ! uay Hotel Me rrion e t h Wh en I
leave I would stay at Tow e rsid e if you could
come over and spe nd twenty four hours There
is a be ach near there I know quite a solitary
place with three bathing huts and an old man
w h o provides
lobster te as
Have y ou ever
had a lobster tea after bathing at More c o e
?
C ove
Will you come ? Or would you rather
wait to resume the situation in Gloucestershire ?
E RIC
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9
Letters
o f Tw o
LE TT E R
F R OM C IC ELY VANE
To
P e o ple
VI
E R IC TR E VANNI ON
E L S LA D E
L GE
OD
B O X TOWN
,
.
”
Thanks for the implement whi ch is a
new kind Of hatpin and dangerous only to the
wearer
I suppose it was su ffi cient excuse for writing
though I don t need t h e thing a bit
Gloucestershire my dear man is out of the
question I can t leave here for a month at
least Yes I fancy Tow e rsid e is getatable from
here ; let me know when you go there You
—
call me S phi nx whi ch I like but Baby S phinx
is foolish
To have thought someone an enigma
and discover them to be j ust a child would be
very di sappointing particularly for the eni gma
Fancy having to fill in one s occupation in the
N ational R egi ster as a
Guessed riddl e l
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20
In
War T i me
Bes ides I am not a baby or even a chil d We
are falling into the habit of corresponding and I
am not going to write any more to you till we
have to arrange about my co ming over to
,
Tow e rs id e
,
.
.
How c an we forget each other like this you
ridiculous person
C IC EL Y
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2T
Letters
o f Two
LE TT ER
F R OM
E RI C
P e o ple
VI I
T RE VANNI ON
TO
C IC ELY
VANE
Who wants to forget ?
E R IC
.
T E L E G RA M II
Old ! uay Hotel Me rrion e t h
The last sentence in my letter should read
—
How c an you forget me ? et cetera VANE
To
TR E VANNI ON
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22
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!
In
War T i me
LE TT E R V III
F R OM
E RIC
T R EVANNI ON
!
O LD
ITTLE
L
P AL OF
M I NE
To
UA Y
C IC ELY
H O TE L
,
VANE
ME R R I ON E TI I
CO R N WA LL
,
.
,
I shall expect y ou on the ! uay at Tower
—
side at eleven on Wednesday b y your island
steamer We c a n stay there or go an ywhere else
you fancy on Thursday as S unday the place is
rather full of trippe rs We might lay hands on
a c ar and motor The sea here is as blue and as
—
grey as your eyes (which are they blue or grey ?
I wanted to as k you that the first time we met )
and on fine days it sparkles like your smile so
when I bathe in it I bask in your approbation
I am so excited at the thought of meeting you
I have bought a pe culiarly elaborat e
on the quay
straw hat s o as to look like a S ummer N umber
picture entitled Wai ting for Her
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Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
In all sincerity I am counting the hours till I
s e e you again little Ci c ely
E RIC
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PS
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name
—All my real pals call me by my Christian
.
24
Letters
o f T w o P e o ple
shall come if you want me to but why not
be wise ? We are sure to get into dreadful
complications
However I admit I am looking forward to it
really
behave
very
nicely
u
o
y
C IC EL Y
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26
In
War T i me
LE TT E R X
F R OM
ERIC
T REVANNI ON T o C IC EL Y VANE
OLD
C I C ELY M Y
!
UA Y H O T E L
.
L ITTLE P AL
I love your flashes of defiance but why
do you insist on thinking Of me as a determined
desperado ? I s it n ot possible I may be only
—
looking forward to what is very pleasant se eing
you and spending t w o days in your society ?
S urely that is h ow a real pal would look at
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,
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From E RI C
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Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
LE TT E R X I
F R OM C I C ELY VANE
To
E RIC TRE V ANNI ON
L G
E L S LA DE O D E ,
B O XT OWN
.
Yes I like your letter V ery much You put
me somewhat to school but that is as it should
—
floppy pal But
b e I should hate to have a
the formula still holds
Well au revoir E ric till Wednesday
I am really looking forward to it
C IC EL Y
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PS
It s re all y almost
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L ady
D
woul d say
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28
!
too much fun
”
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as
W ar T ime
In
LE TT E R X I I
F R OM
ER
IC
T o C IC ELY VANE
TRE VANNI ON
5
,
H A R S TO C K
I I
D ARLI N G
MY
’
O C
S T R EE T
L OC K
P
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M
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I am writing at eleven as I said I would
and you are sitting alone as y ou promised What
Only I love y ou I love
c an I write y ou now ?
u
and
again
I
love
L
ast
week
I
could
u
o
o
y
y
write easily to you but now I cannot find wor ds
I f you were only here I could draw
for paper
—
—
you near me and say nothi ng j ust to hold y ou
in my arms is j oy enough I only arrived in
L ondon an hour ago and I miss you horribly ;
it is like a physical pain I can s ee you now
standing on the steamer deck a little slight erect
fig ure and we looked at each other until the b o at
carried y ou away into the mist Oh my dear
sweet heart how can I thank y ou ? That you
should love me is such a wonderful thing That
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29
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Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
you should have told me so ! That you should
belong to me ! Dear I sit here and wonder if
I have not dreamt it all I will try to write you
a coherent letter to morrow To night I c an onl y
say I love you
Your E R IC
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3
In
War T i me
LE TT E R XIII
F ROM C IC ELY VANE T o
E RI C
T RE VANNI ON
B O XTOWN
MY
D EAREST
.
,
I s at in my room last night at eleven
and I knew you would be writing to me as you
promised and I sent tender thoughts to you
—
somet hi ng of my love but oh ! I so longed to
creep int o your arms and lay my head on your
shoulder To day I am longing for your voice
your touch your presence and yet there is all
—
about me a great j oy I belong t o you And
yet you know scarcely anyt hing about me ; it
w as like you not to as k me any questions even
after yesterday ; still there are things that will
have to be said ; but I cannot say them yet I
must keep my happiness a little longer Dear
o
u
were
s
o
swee
t
o
me
you
always
left
me
t
;
y
free otherwise I don t think I should have ever
admitted to you that I did care Do y ou
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1
3
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Of
Letters
Two
P e o ple
know when I w as sure ? You kissed me and I
could not laugh You held me in your arms and
”
I coul d no longer be the statue maiden as
u
o
called
me
in
j
oke
I
seemed
to
lose
all
y
cons ciousness of everyt hing but your nearness
—
and yet all the time I was thinking thinking
furiously E ven then you left me free you
”
s ai d Good night little girl so gently and
left me and then
Oh my d ear one I know
all t hi s should never have happened but I can t
—
regret I can t I ought to try to draw back
even now but all I c an d o is t o cry to you Lo ve
—
me E ric love me
Your C IC ELY
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P e o ple
best and kindest en in the world a man to
whom I owe everything even my life
I have never spoken t o you of my marriag e
Though I was only a c hild the memory of it is
s o terrible that I dare not t hi nk of it even now
My husband not Only treated me cruelly but he
did worse E ric he degraded me ; he dragged
—
me down to his ow n level h e made me what I
am indelibly I s ee t h at to night A nd I
thought I had grown so strong There is a
moral as well as a physical contagion and hour
by hour everyt hing that w as good in me becam e
contaminated diseased l o at hsome Only a
woman can know what it is to hate and despise
a man and yet to know herself bound to hi
bound by her own weakn ess I grew to loathe
myself as one might loathe something physi c all y
unclean and I had cause
A nd you thought I w as a child !
There was only one escape for m e—d eath and
toward t h at gate I made up my mind t o hasten ;
but I was not even strong enough for that and
at the last moment I w as afraid I ran out of
the ho use into th e darkness I scarcely knew why
r where
I stumbled blindly t o the only refuge
I had th e friend I have t o ld y o u of H e had
,
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,
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34
Wa r T i me
In
kn o wn me sin ce I w as a little girl he had watched
over me suffer ed with me I think he guesse d
p art of the truth but I have never dared to tell
a living soul what I am writing to you to night
He to o k me in he hid me away he nursed me
back to health and sanity He took me to
lawyers and a divorce w as arranged My
husband did n ot defend the cas e he w as paid
m o ney t o spare my name
A t last I w a s free and then and o nly th e n I
began to realize what I owed t o th e one friend
I had in the world and in the same hour he told
—
me why he had done all this because he loved
me He h as never loved anyone before o r since
I am the love Of his life And if anyt hing were
to touch his love and trust in me it would mean
wo rse than death to him I am his very life
—
He h as given up all for k and I j ust a cc epted
eve rything
What money I had my husband had squandered
The expenses of the case were p ai d for by my
fri end I had better tell y o u frankly ! to this
day the bread I eat the clothes I wear are bo ught
by him Don t thi nk that he ever schemed to
catch me in a net He h as always be en splendid
an d go od I went t o him o f my own a cco rd and
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35
Letters o f T wo P e o ple
I am his of my O wn fre e will and bound by every
tie in the world He is a R oman C atholic and
can not marry a divorced woman or he would
have even given me his name
Don t you see dear love Of min e whom I love
passionately and with all my soul what I have to
I have t o give up the greatest
s ay t o you now ?
j oy that I have ever known I could not give
nor could y ou accept anything that w as not all
yo urs Oh my dear if we had only met years
ago Tell me you who are big and wise and
strong is there no way out ? I love you and
I can t lose y ou an d yet I must Oh my lover
if I could creep into your arms and wake to find
all this a nightmare ! Don t hate me though I
have
y o u every cause Help me ! Help
me
Your mis e rable C IC ELY
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In
War T i me
LE TT E R
F R OM
IC
ER
TRE VANNI ON
MY L ITTLE GI RL
If
XV
TO
C I C ELY
VANE
,
—
I loved you yesterday I love
o
u
y
a hundred times more since I have read your
letter You gave me yourself indeed when you
wrote it I can t tell you the tenderness pity
and love that surged through my heart as I read
it Dear I admire you beyond the po wer of
words to express and I thank you for the great
proof of love you have given me I can t tell
you h ow I long for you to night I have j ust had
news that my greatest friend h as be en killed
God bless him and I feel desperately
in action
unhappy and lonely Oh my little tender l o ve
there must be a way out I will find one I will
rest assure d o f t h at G ood night beloved
.
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37
,
,
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Letters
o f Two
LE TT E R
FROM
MY
ER
P e o ple
XV I
IC T REVANNI ON T o C I C ELY VANE
D A RL I N G
,
I don t kn o w what kind of letter I
wrot e y o u last night I kn ow I only wanted to
—
put my arms r o und y ou to protect you from all
—
hurt past and present to care for you as if
yo u were my C hild an d I wanted t o tell you th is
Did I dear ?
I h ave bee n t hinking thinking e ver sin ce I
got your letter ; twisting and turning the same
t ho ughts round in my head My sweet heart I
c an onl y find on e answer to th e pro blem and that
I won t admit I won t
I went t o se e poor Jack Treh ern e s sister t o day
( Jack w as the friend I told you of in my las t
letter) an d sh e told me Of hi s death He w as
wonderful laughing and j oking to the last
Why d oes e ve ryon e e x pe ct that t he war ch ang es
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8
3
In
War T i me
m e n wh o are on active service ? I t does not
—
ch an ge any on e they are j ust themselves faults
and all onl y with som ethi ng added something
higher finer the little spark we all used to be
—
afraid of admitting we had in E ngland the thi ng
tha t used not to be good form
I don t remember if I told you that I had twice
tried to get out but that I have always failed to
pass my medical Well I am going to try again
They want Ofli c e rs badly and I t hink I can pass
A nyhow I am going to try again on S aturday
You understand don t you—I
ust
Since I
heard that the brutes had got poor old Jack I
can t r est here I must go out and have a sh y at
them You do un derstand don t y ou ? F or
every reason I ough t to go and I should have
gone long befo re if it had n ot been for this c on
founded heart of mine I have no on e dependent
I am quite al one in the world there is
on me
no on e t o whom my getting picked Off would
—
mak e the slightest d i fference e xcept you little
—
girl and in time y ou would not forget—but
remember gently I think you will always do
that I f I come through all right we shall have
had time to think it out and perhaps we shall
—
clearly
then
I
f
I
don
t
get
through
well
se e
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39
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
perhaps after all a Clean bullet would be the
best solution
Po or old Jack H e left me some of his things t o
keep for him in Gloucestershi re ! He wrote me
only ten days ago t o se e his golf sticks were put in
a dry place and now
His sister and mot h er
are splendid His mother said
I always knew
my boy would j ustify my pride in him—and he
has done so amply and entirely I don t com
plain I am an Old woman now and with hi s
—
example I ought to be able to bear it it will only
be for a little time
There w as scarcely a shake
in her voice but she looks frightfully O ld and
broken and I know it means the end of every
thi ng to her Cicely it s awful everywhere the
s ame story—the terrible agony and wonderf ul
heroism of men and women But it s all for
England so it s worth wh ile Dear if I have the
luck to pass you will let me se e you before I g O
won t you ? E ven if it s difli c ult —even if it s
imp o ssible you will come to me all the same
and you ll write to me all the tim e ? Oh my
dear little child— y little child
E RIC
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4
Letters o f T w o P e o ple
thin g you l o ve in t he wo rld Dear I c an t l o se
’
.
,
you I can t My father h as been ill lately and I
must stay on here with him He has never bee n
much to me in my life I w as sent home from
—
India as a C hild but he is old and he wants me
and in three weeks I must go h o me ag ai n E ric
what c an I d o ? S hall I have on e try to see if I
c oul d free myself ? To be free ! Free t o g o to
you
Good night my love Telegraph m e t he r esult
of the board won t you ?
Y our l o ving C IC ELY
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2
4
In
W ar T i me
T E L E G RA M III
M RS VAN E E lslad e L od ge Boxt on
—
Th ey refuse to pass m e
E RI C
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.
L E TT E R XV III
FROM
ER
IC
TRE VANNI ON
T o C IC ELY VAN E
.
You ask me littl e heart Of mine if y ou s hall
try t o get free t o c o me to m e I can only give
u
answer
I
never
ceas
e
t
o
t
h
ink
f
o
u
n
e
o
o
o
y
y
day and night —I want you now and always I
can t advise you ; y ou alone kn ow what is
—
po ssible I c an o nly say again I want y o u I
shall always want y o u
I telegraphed y ou the result of the m e dical
I am n o t even good enough to stop a bull e t but
I have found somet hi ng to do I m e t a friend
who h as be en wo rking at S t Johns since war
broke o ut an d he h as Offered m e to g o out to take
,
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43
Letters o f T w o P e o ple
charg e of s o me ambul ances that are being s en t
t o th e French and I am going I go out as soon
as the c ars are ready and take them to B arl ay
,
.
bois where we are to work under French mili
tary authority I may have t o leave any day
from Tuesday and alas ! I can t get away from
town as to orr ow I have to go with L ord Norr eys
w h o is at the head of the S t John motor ambu
lance department to see the cars ; and the day
after I must have an intervi ew with my lawyer
to settle business etcetera You promised you
would come don t fail me I must se e you
before I go My dear love you wi ll forgive me
for leaving E ngland and understand won t y ou ?
Yo urs lovingly
E R IC
le
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In
War T i me
M IV
TE LE GR A
IC
ER
S treet London
Coming up by n ight train
S taying with my
Brunet 1 1 6 Melville S treet
old governess Mlle
Brompton What e ver you decide is right
C IC EL Y
TRE VANNI ON 5 H ars t oc k
.
,
.
.
.
.
T E L E G RA M V
IC
ER
TRE VANNI ON
de P aris Boulogne
Goodbye
.
God
Bri tish Red
c /o
C ross
.
bless and keep you
45
.
,
H Ot e l
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
L E TT E R X I X
ER
IC
TRE VANNI ON
T o C I C ELY VANE
H OTE L DE s A R CA D E s
DU N ! U E R ! U E
,
.
MY DARLI N G
,
WE had a very bad j ourney from
L o n d on We burst three tyres on the way and
o nly g ot t o the coast at h al f past one in the
.
,
-
morning The hotel w as full and the big boat
not ru n ning so we couldn t sl e ep on board and
spe nt a stuffy night in the smoking room Of
the hotel The harb o ur was very wonderful the
rag ing rough se a lit up by the searchl ights that
hardly ever leave the entranc e They say an
enemy submarine nearly g ot in last week Then
scrambling over th e railway lines in the pitch
dark on the pi e r and every five hundred yards
being confro nted by the perpetual challenge of a
se ntry ! Wh o g o es there ?
Fri e nd
P ass
”
friend
All unreal and war
.
’
,
,
-
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!
”
!
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6
4
!
,
In
We
W ar T i me
cars on board with some diflI c ult y
at six in the morning and left at
We d
had nothi ng to e at and no breakfast was to b e
disc o vered ; but h al f way over the ship s offi cers
e xtended a very grateful hospitality to us Two
—
—
my drivers the Y o rkshire lads (b y the
of
way they ve never been outside Yorkshire till
—
yesterday) were so sound asleep that I d idn t
dare wake them especially as I don t think they
much relished their first taste of the se a S o as
it w as not till
that we were able t o get any
food they were nearly knocked out I had ho pe d
to get on to H arlay t o day But there are inter
minable difficulties to be overcome There is no
pe trol t o be had for love o r money at Dunquerque
as it h as all been commandeered and there seemed
to be some doubt as to whether we were entitled
to get it from the British R ed Cross but even
t uall y Lionel Holland who h as been doing splendid
work here representing the Red Cross let us have
so me and at three o clock we went to French
headquarters to get a pass to take us int o the
French lines hoping to make Boulogne at least
t o night but after en d less discussions in voluble
French (you know my conversation is second
t o n one—in vo lubility at least ) it w as de ci ded
°
th e
o
t
g
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47
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
that we must go up to E nglish G H ! situat ed
at that town whose name of course nobody knows
and which it would be the height of in di scretion
for me t o reveal
I may add that we E nglish
are strictly forbidden to enter that H oly of Holies
s o heaven only knows how we shall get on to
morrow Of course it was impossible to start
this evening as it is three hours run from here
so there was nothing for it but to take what
accom odation we could get at the hotel here
whi ch is already crowded with Belgian Officers
Cicely dear you were very beautiful and very
wonderful in those few hours we spent together
I s it only two days ago —
and very brave I
should like to thank you for it but there is s o
much that I am grateful t o you for that I can t
—
begin That you should care for me there are
no wo rds to tell y ou how I thank you for that
I thank y ou even for li v ing on the same world
as myself Those last three hours we spe nt
—
—
together I c an see it all so plainly now the
colour Of the wallpaper of the little restaurant
—
the background to your face the shape of the
table the half dead flowers in the vase the
comic looking O ld woman who was dini ng ne xt
to us ; and I fe e l tenderly towards them all
.
,
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8
4
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
LE TT E R XX
F R OM
C IC ELY
VANE T o M ONS I E UR
ER
IC
TRE VAN NI ON
A ux
bons soins de
L anvin
A mbulance 1 0 2
Groupe 78
le
Medecin en Ch ef
,
.
,
Bois
France
a
H a rl y 1e
,
.
R o B I N S ON
'
s
H O TE L
L ONDO N
MY D ARL I N G
,
.
,
You ll be surprised to se e that I am
back again in L ondon but my father h as suddenly
taken it into his head to come up to c ons ult a
specialist S O here we are for a week Only
twenty four hours ago you were here and now I
don t even know where you have got to on your
j ourney And it hurts me not t o know I
think I was dazed all t hrough the night j ourney
’
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0
5
In
War T i me
going home but all through the night I was say
ing to myself N ow E ric is back at H arst oc k
—
Street now he is in the room do wnst ai rs
the room where y o u kissed me and I laughed
D
u
O
o
remember
writing
t
o
me
to
forget
n
o
t
(
y
)
A nd then next morning I thought Now he is on
t he road to Dover
and then N o w he is on the
”
bo at
N o w t he boat has left
Oh my d e ar
I did try so hard to be brave but I m not re al ly
I m not clever I m n o t nice I m not strong I m
not an y of the things yo u think me but be cause
u
s
o
b
e
lieve
in
me
much
I
will
try
indeed
I
ill
o
w
y
You will laugh when you read what I have to
tell you now You know I pas sed all my First
Aid and N ursing E xams at the be ginning o f the
war when eve rybody had that first burst Of
enthusiasm and then I let the whole thing slide
But now I want t o take it up ag ai n n o t from any
high reason but f o r two others ! one I can t g o
back to the co untry and take up my life as it w as ;
I can t at l e ast n o t yet The other reas on is
that if I c an get s o mething t o do in a hospital I
shall be working at the same thi ng as you are
wo rking at and it will seem t o make an o ther
bridge between us although you are so far away
I went t o the Coll e ge Of A mbulan ce to d ay wher e
,
!
,
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,
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5
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
I did my course of lectures There s a dear
j olly old S cotchwoman Mrs Macdonald who s
at the head Of it and I asked her to find something
for me There were three or four other women
there I fancy on the same errand but Mrs
Macdonald seemed to think she might find me
something I am going back to s e e her again
the day after to morrow She h as given me a
letter to the Vicomtesse de la P anouse the head
Of course
of the French R ed C ross in L ondon
I shall wire you if anyt hi ng comes of all this I f
I could only get out to France ! It would be
something to know I w as in the same country as
you are Write me whenever you get a chance
and think of me every moment Oh if I could
creep into your arms put my head on yo ur
shoul de r an d forget everyt hing
C IC ELY
’
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In
W ar T i me
LE TT E R XX I
F R OM
E R IC TR E VANNI ON
C IC ELY
TO
VANE
.
H OT E L DE s TR OI s C H AP EAU X
BO U LOG N E
,
.
3
o clock in the m o rning
'
C IC ELY D EAR
.
,
I T is a very dirty very wet and very
tired man who writes t o you We left Dun
querque at
this morning for H arlay le Bois
and have now arrived at Boulogne I told you
in my last letter that the French authorities
declined to give us a pass into the French lines
and sent us up to G H !
A s it is absolutely
forbidden for any stray British to go there I
thought it more than likely we might be arrested
by the sentries on attempting to enter the town
But somehow or other we were passed in drove
up the main street and passed the house where
He I need hardly tell y ou stands for
H E lives
,
,
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53
Letters
Sir Jo hn
o f Tw o
P e o ple
How on e changes I looked at the
walls and door Of that very ordinary French
house with a feeling of respect and hero worship
that I had not felt since my schoolboy days when
to be on the same earth as the C aptain of the
First E leven seemed to be an honour t oo great
for mortal shoulders to bear We s aw the P rince
He h as
of W ales c o me out and get into his c ar
filled out and looks splendidly fit They tell me
here that everyone both officers and men who
come in contact with hi adore him
Then we got to the P rovos t Marshal s an d
exhibited our papers We each have ( 1 ) a passpo rt
an
identity
card
and
brassard
f
the
R
ed
o
2
( )
t
C ross from the E nglish
dit
o
from
(3 )
th e French R ed C ross (4) a personal letter from
the C olonel le Vicomte de la P anouse French
military attach é at the French E mbassy in
L ondon They told us that it was impo ssible to
have any more papers (it would certainly be
impossible to carry abou t any more withou t b e
coming permanently lop sided) but the E nglish
authorities cannot give any one a pass into the
French lines S o we were told to go to Boulogne
and off we started after a hurried meal
And now co mmences our chapter of accidents
.
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54
W ar T ime
In
remembe r that I told you we were tak
ing out hospital st o res partly given by the French
R ed Cross in London partly by S t John s ! a
hundred pairs Of sheets medical tabloids j am
biscuits shi rts splints e t cetera all elaborately
packed in bales and wooden cases whi ch filled
up every ambulance We found the main road
to Boulogne was close d s o we had to take the
”
R oute Secondaire
My car was closing the
procession The first three cars g ot well ahead
and out Of sight (we found afterwards they had
taken a wrong turning and went twenty miles
out of their way )
S uddenly my c ar stopped and
after a certain amount of swi ming on one s
stomach in the mud we discovered that we had
broken the back a xle There w as nothing to do
but to abandon the car by the road side but as
it w as impossible to leave the stores I sent on
the preceding c ar driven by Jack on e of the
Yorkshire lads to try and find some sort Of house
where he could empty his own load of stores and
come back to fetch ours while we emptied our
packing cases into the road (why are packing
c ases and bales made in such an awkward shape
and with nothing by which you can possibly
catch hold Of them
A fter about an hour back
You will
’
,
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55
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
came Jack He had left his stores at a wine
shop in the village or rather a group of huts
some miles away But he had discovered that
we had overloaded the car and we did not dare
to send our entire load to the haven of refuge in
one j ourney Off he went with h al f ; two hours
passed it was growing dark and pelting cats and
dogs A t last I wal ked up the road to try and
find him He had punctured a tyre two miles
from us and was putting on the new one while he
addressed the car in endearing terms in what I
charitably suppose to be a Yorkshire patois
though it sounded surprisingly like B il lingsgate
A t last we got back to the derelict took the stor es
on board and after stripping everything O ff that
could possibly be stolen we started for Boulogne
A violent wind got up and the rain had changed
to sleet then both the lamps went out and we
had to light one of those removed from the oth er
car whi ch I held in my hands on the splashboard
There is no wind screen to the car S uc h a
drive ! literally blinded by the sleet and one s
hands absolutely frozen and numbed by holding
the flickering badly burning lamp Up hill and
down hill abou t four foot of hard road in the
—
—
middle on each side deep rut s axle deep in
.
,
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56
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
patient from the hospital at X twenty
three kilometres O ff I am afraid he will b e
suffering some inc o nveni ence as I was expected
there two hours ago C an you not go in my
”
place ?
Very sorry impossible unless you
”
c an lend us a spare tin of petrol
Oh how
”
unfortunate I haven t a dro p
Very sorry
nothing doing How far is Boulogne ?
Ten
miles away Will you kindly tell them at the
H Ot e l de P aris that Driver the R ev J H Brown
wo uld be very grateful for a little help as he h as
”
broken down at this spot
You se e he was a
parson Cicely and not a truthful on e fo r the
ten kilometres were fifteen iles I swear
A t last Boulogne We tumbled into th e hotel
more like muddy sponges than human beings
In the hall Ma xine E lliot beautiful and capable
on her way to feed the refugees from Belgian
villages I should be ashamed to meet most
—
women in my filthy state but sh e looks so un
picturesquely got up and so workmanl ike that I
am only glad to se e her A group of English
men—Kennerly R umford two King s Messengers
drivers and some others We re j ust sitting
down to hot food (h ow I love hot food Cicely)
when I remember Driver the R ev J H Brown
fe c t ious
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I telephone to the H Ot el de P aris ?
Oh
non Monsieur ; il y a longtemps que le telephone
I tear the Yorkshire lad fro m
n e marche plus
hi s plate of soup ( I have a feeling that if I have
many more services of this kind to ask o f hi
he ll go back to S heffield) Out we go again A t
the H Ot el de P aris another muddy depl o rable
entrance we find Mr Daniel busy but kind
and helpful ; we report the sad cas e of Driver
the Rev J H Brown and I sugge st that the Red
C ross should let us hav e a car to tow in the
derelict on the morrow
P ers o nally I should
b e delighted
But you re S t John s A m I
j us tified in using the Red Cross cars ?
But
I thought we were amalgamated
S o we are
but I take it you belong to the brigade Now
concerning the amalgamation o f the brigade
Cicely never never be drawn into a discussion
John s and the R ed
o f the amalgamation o f S t
C ross
The truth of the matter is t oo fine for
human knowledge It should be locked in the
breast of some latter day sphinx ( I don t mean
the talented and fair haired
o ur mutual friend
authoress ) I swear to you that though I ve spent
fifteen hours on the box of an ambulance broken
a back axle and confronted the pos sibility of
C an
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having to sleep the night on a stretcher in company
w ith an inconveniently large c as e of biscuits I
should have gone to bed comparatively fresh
had it not been for that final discussion Of the
amalgamation of S t John s and the Red Cross
However Daniel like a good fellow thinks he
—
c an arrange somet hi ng for the derelict to morrow
and we return to food and blessed beds
Good night my Cicely Has my long story bored
you ? While I was writing it seemed almost as
if you s at there listening to y adventures but
—
alas dear you are in L ondon how many miles
—
away surely a thousand a t least
From your
E RIC
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LE TT E R XXII
FR OM C ICE LY VANE T o E R I C T REVANNI ON
H O TE L
LO N DO N
R o B I NS ON
'
s
,
.
D EAR
,
your lett e r thi s morning and I
love d it I love to know every detail of what
you are doing but all the same it causes me a
little pang to read of this other life of yours a
life in which there is nothing t o remind you of
me It is selfish t o write this to you and silly
I know but I can t help it
I think I shall feel
happier when I know that you ve got a letter
from me I trust that you ve got to H arlay
safely by n ow I have bought a large map of
France and marked H arlay with a cross and I
l o ok at it and look at it as if it could tell me
somethi ng of you I have been trying really
hard E ric dear to get something t o do If only
I could get out to France
I feel rather ashamed
I g ot
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myself now for since I h ave been going ro und
in quest of a j ob I ve c o me across so many
wo men who are working un obtrusively at un
interesting offic e work night and day E ver
sin c e war broke out Mrs C antlie Mrs Turner
and Mrs Macdonald have been slaving away all
day and every day at Vere S treet unadvertised
unreward e d but j ust helping splendidl y I
might so easily have done that myself though
if I had I suppose I should never have met y o u
and I can t regret that even with my brain I
can t even wish that I could E ric how I envy
men They always have work and action as
—
a drug in sorrow and I nothing could console
me e xc ept your arms tight around me
C I C ELY
of
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L E TT E R
FROM
XXIII
I C T REVANNI ON To C IC ELY VANE
ER
A M U LAN
B
CE 1 02,
G
RO
UP E
H A R LA Y
MY D A RL ING
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78
B o rs
,
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,
here at
this afternoon but
somehow or other I never got your letters till
half an hour ago R eading them w as like a
message from another world a world where there
is beauty the love of women and pe ace The
desolation of this place ! I ve always loved
France but the misery of it all n ow makes her
still dearer t o me I have had such good times
in this country and I love the sun of France and
her people I wonder dear shall we ever come
here together I feel as if there w as a grey cloud
be tween you and me a barrier that I must not
even long to tear down and yet I love you so
tenderly so ve ry very tenderly littl e l o ve of min e
I g ot
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We got here as
o f Tw o
P e o ple
told you at half past four in
the pitch dark and all I ve seen of the village
is mud mud of every colour and every degre e of
consistency or the lack of it When we arrived
we were shown the way to the head hospital
through a gate in some high iron rai lings W e
slopped and slithered over what I take it w as
either once a stiff French garden or was going
to be We found the medecin e n Chef in a little
overheated o ffice w ith flaring gas He explained
to us that we were under military authority and
warned us that he w as a military martinet and
a great stickler for rul es He w as a mi litary
doctor but h as been out of the army for years
until war broke out and the Frenchmen tell me
that he is hardworking and extremely kind and
considerate He told us to leave our kits at the
hospit al and s ai d he would look after our billets
but that we must begin work at on c e A ccord
in g ly es c orted by the leader of the French convoy
we climbed on t o the c ars plunged into the mud
and darkness on our way t o amb ulance
This is a regimental hospital which h as been
installed in almost the only large villa here
the o r dinary ugly modern French villa and in
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ambulances we stopped I can tell you that
turning a car under such circumstances approaches
a fine art The inside of the goods station is
filled with rows of beds standing on the rail s
A t the entrance there are five rows of benches
filled with the sitting up cases wai ting to pass
the maj or a t the desk S uch a collection Cicely
filthy sordid pain stricken humani ty
of weary
The s tretchers are carried into an inner room or
tent There the men were changed on to hospital
stretchers and ours were returned to us When
we got back to H arlay the convoy dinner had
Our companions embrace every
al ready begun
variety Of profession The French convoy leader
is a wholesale carpet manufacturer and a splendid
fellow We have a motor bus mechanic an
architect a provincial bai liff an Italian aviator
the son of a French general and a professional
C hauffeur among others All very friendly chee r
ful and anxious to make us at home We dined
in a room opposite the hospital whi ch is I should
sa y
the lumber room of the local veterinary
surgeon in whose house it is He is a prisoner
in Germany The paper is hanging off the wall s
but there is a small French stove in the corner
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which thank goodness heats itself red hot
Din ner eaten O ff the Oilcloth covered table con
sists of hot water and grease with bits of bread
floating about in it which is called soup ; bits of
beef steak without any gravy and plates of a
t hi ck green liquid which thi nks it is beans j am
and cheese E verybody complains of and swears
at the food in different languages and patois but
everyone eats it It is cooked over the road at
the hospital by our ow n cook a young French
soldier who is a florist by profession He may
be a very good florist The Yorkshire lads are
teetotallers whi ch is awkward for them as all
there is t o drink is petit n bleu and water is
There are notices stuck
out of the question
up everywhere warning the inhabitants that to
drink it is dangerous to life A t half pas t nine
through the main street of the village by the light
of the indispensable electric torch y ou gave me
I stumbled t o my billet and I am writing thi s
from a divinely comfortable French bed
Darling will you understand me if I say that
in spite of eve rything I would rather be here ?
I love you dear and it seems to me that out here
I have more right to love you DO y ou under
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stand ? I think I can hear the guns booming in
the distance as I write
Good night my sweet heart
From E ric who belongs to you and who wan ts
you
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War T i me
LE TT E R XXI V
F R OM C I C ELY VANE
To
E RIC TRE VANNI ON
R o B I N S ON
MY
’
s
H OTE L
.
EAREST
I have read and re read your letters
I love y o u for writing me such detailed acco unts
of your life —how did you know that that was
what I wanted more than anyt hing ? I c an see
now the place y o u are in the work y ou are doing
and it brings me a little closer to you
E ric dear I am happier tod ay than I have
been since y ou left I have got a job in France
—O nl y a temporary on e but that is better than
nothi ng A V A D in the Anglo colonial hospital
is coming home for a rest and I go to take her
place I leave to morrow My address w ill be
N urse V ane Anglo C olonial Hospital Tarre aux
Boulogne
sur
Mer
I
have
had
a
bad
day
r
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and a tiring day there were so many t hi ngs to
—
g et and there were good byes to be said ; dear
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do you understand ? Oh my dearest man I
suppose I have a conscience hi dden somewhere
and I felt ashamed that I was glad to go for more
reasons than the apparent ones—but still I can t
feel asha med of loving you After all it has
made me at least want to be better than I have
been ; I want to be worthy of so much that I see
and respect and love in you I know I don t
deserve your love I behaved badly to you in the
beginning and worse to myself Only you were
you and it all came right
Your loving C ICEL Y
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PS
I must tell you though I have tried hard
not to write it I wish you could se e me in my
nurse s cap I don t look bad in it at all I
oughtn t to thi nk of that I know Are you
s hocked ?
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LE TT E R
F R OM
C IC ELY
X XV
E RIC TRE VANNI ON
TO
N U RSE
VANE
,
These splendid Frenchmen ! These
splendid Frenchmen ! I cannot describe their
heroism their patience in suffering their grati
tude for the smallest attention —their childlike
readiness to laugh in the midst Of agony In
wr iting Of them I resent havi ng to use words
that have been used to describe so many meaner
things Al l my life I have been O ften in France
I have admired French wit enj oyed French art
literature and theatre appreciated the charm Of
the P arisienne and loved the personality of P aris
—but ti ll now I have never known the great
courageous heart of France
I have been all day in the midst of smashed
men crushed men men mangled almost out of
human shape and yet I have not heard one single
word Of complaint If people at home could
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only se e the sights we see the heartrending
heroic sights surely they would take the war
more seriously ; there are pompous protesting
letters about trivialities in the E nglish pape rs
which make me hot with shame to read
From five O clock till ten we have been working
at a large barn here used in normal times to store
the wool for the j ersey manufactory We go up
a narrow muddy lane where there is j ust room
for two amb ulances to pass It is pitch dark
except at the entrance to the barn where the
glare of the cars that are bringing in the wounded
is almost blindi ng Up a ladder of four crazy
steps is the entrance over which a curtain of
sailcloth has been rigged The huge place has
two large stoves in the middl e (we went to R oux
ville this morning t o get a thi rd as it grows colder
and colder every day) These stoves grow red
hot and on one some of the women of the pays
who do all the nursing here are cooking R ound
these are three or four rows of benches and on
them huddle fifty or sixt y assis the sitting
up cases
All round is thickly spread straw and
lying on or half buried in it are scores and scores
of wounded bleeding crying out in agony or
mercifully sleeping in spi te of the perpetual noise
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fault ; the French were no more expecting war
than we were A mbulance 1 0 2 is an evacuation
hospital and we are only supposed to keep the
patients one night with the exception of those
who are in need Of immediate operation and are
—
too bad to be moved these are put to bed in
the E cole N ormale ; but sometimes the others
have to stay longer as we can t clear them away
quickly enough They seem to sleep comfort
ably in the straw E very man is fed and not
on e leaves the place without having had his
wounds re dressed The doctors were working
all last night and are doing so to ni ght both in
the barn and also at the E cole des Filles whose
Classrooms strewn with straw serve the same
purpose It is strange how methodical on e soon
gets I don t think one loses one s pity for each
individual but it gets merged into on e great pity
for the whole of suffering humanity I have
seen some dreadful sights to ni ght dear and I
pray I may never forget one deta il of them all
my life We have to C hange the men from the
hospital stretchers to the train stretchers at
—
the station often a very p ai nful j ob for the
poor chaps ; but do you know that however bad
they are there is scarcely on e that doesn t hold
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a dirty hand to us as he is carried away with
a poor suffering smile of thanks on hi s face
Al l my dr ivers are splendid chaps and work
Well N either Of the Yorkshi re lads speaks a word
of French
but they manage to convey a sense
rather in the
of friendliness t o their wounded
same way as two nice dogs might get on with
each other I am writing this in bed dear and
shall post it t o morrow I have got the little
kodak picture of y ou but I hate photographs
they are like enough to hurt on e and not li ke
enough to satisfy on e Dear it is not only
your beauty I love but your personality—your
—
presence perhaps I mean your soul G o od ni ght
my little love
E RIC
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open this t o re direct it to N urse V ane
I am s o glad dear but take great care Of your
self for my sake I loved your postscript about
the c ap Don t get too splendid little girl ; I
might n ot reco gnise y ou—that is an i pert i
I have got a ripping billet here
n e n c e is it not ?
with a Mlle Dure lle a dear old lady and her
two nice Old servants N oel and Marie S he gives
me an excellent breakf ast of c afe e l e ft and
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brea d and butter whi ch is very welcome as at
the mess we only get black coffee and dry bread
I am writing this on the step Of the ambulan c e
I have j ust cleaned down (inside that is as we
j ust leave the mud on the outside until it is too
heavy and then knock it off with a h ammer)
There is a Taube circling over us on its way to
R ouxville and it comes s o low we can se e the
black crosses on its ugly great wings Dear I
am not a bit fine One of the reasons I am glad
you re in France is that you will be alone—do
you understand ? I know I ought n ot to write
it —I know I ought not to think of such a thi ng ;
but there it is I do L ove me faults and al l
Cicely
E R IC
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LE TT E R X XV I
F ROM C IC ELY VANE T o
E R IC TR E V ANNI ON
H OT E L DE S TR O I S C H AP EAU X
B O U LOG N E
,
.
MY D ARL I N G
,
I am writing this in the very hotel whe re
you were only a few days ago The thought tugs
—
a little at my heart but still I am glad
I found on arriving this m o rning that I w as
n ot expected till t o morrow s o as they are rather
pressed for room I am staying here to night
E ric dear how on e realises the war from the
moment on e sets fo o t in this country
How unreal it all is—these so rdid streets where
on e meets a well known face at every corner as
on e used to in Bond S treet
Soldiers and nurses
everywhere
To day they brought Lord R ob e rt s s coffin
from G H ! here It w as a terribly s a d sight
and yet more impr essive than the pageant ry of
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a great public fun eral at home In place of
pompous funereal trappings one felt there w as
real grief the grief of subordinates for a great
man who had loved and worked for the same
cause that they love and work for each in their
humble way It was cold and rainy S ome of
our troops paraded and a great many French
It was fin e—weird and warlike Just the essen
—
t ia ls had been done
for nothing more w as
possible The
nurses had arranged
a temporary resting place on the platform with
flowers but the ceremony w as simple and military
The co ffin draped w ith flags was placed on the
ordinary passenger boat which escorted by a
cruiser vanished quickly into the fog Over
everything there was something shabby—cold
unsentimental which I associate with war but
the very sordid desolation of the surroundi ngs
—
made it right it was the funeral of a great soldi er
who died at war I fancy it is what he would
have liked
I heard two Tommies in the crowd talking
sadly about Bobs
I think he would have
liked that too I thought of how the French
sol di ers talked of their petit c apo l
I n the eveni ng I walked down to the station
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with Colonel F a irt ow n j ust as a train of wounded
came in I shall never forget it Most of those
—
who could walk (sitting up cases don t you call
them ? ) were to spend the ni ght at NO 1 3 Base
—
E ric those poor men not an inch of the cloth of
—
their uniforms t o be seen for mud stumbling
helping each other through the puddles and slimy
mud in the dark patient and enduring but weary
—s o very weary I could not speak—their fatigue
their utter filth and dilapidation seemed sadder
almost than their wounds The colonel told me
though that this train was an instance Of the
good work the
do ; all these men had
been wounded only thi s morning and they would
sleep in hospital t o night ; they had been fed
three times and each been given a Change of
shirt e t cetera But still I can t get the endless
straggling procession out Of my head P oor
poor tired Tommies
My dear I have re—
read this letter and it does
n ot seem as if it were I who had written it ; even
the few hours I have spent here make me feel like
another Cicely Dear I am glad y ou are working
for the wounded glad that your work separates
us for you are what I love most in the world and
if I suffer at losing y ou I am suffering a little for
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them and giving what I love most in the world
N o gift could be big enough t o give to such a
cause
Your loving C IC ELY
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—Before
left I sent you out a parcel Of
shirts and things for your hospitals I hope they
will be of use
PS
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mess and not one of these good women will accept
one penny in return Of course all our boys are
going to try and make up in presents ; but that
alters nothi ng of the kindli ness Of the action
and I feel it is all done in memory of their own
mankind who are fighting far away
The weather is perfectly awful and we are still
very busy he re I t hi nk I almost pity the Sick
the most ; a wounded man feels he has done hi s
bit and knows he is something of a hero ; but
when a fellow has been sent down sick he feels
he has been a failure he is horr ibly physically
depressed and j aundice gastritis or whatever it
is is not romantic When your parcel comes I
shall distribute some of the contents to the Sisters
of Charity here They have turned what is in
peace time their asylum for the aged into a
hospital and they take all the infectious cases
They are very devoted and I think their hospital
is very poor The cases of madness among the
men are heartrending I took one quite young
fellow to R ouxville to day ; instead of getting
into the car he stood in the road muttering to
himself L ouis ! J e veux voir L ouis !
est
L ouis ? and after we had induced him to get in
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the whole of the seventeen kilometres d rive he
kept on incessantly Louis OI I est L oui s ! Je
veux voir L ouis
Another was so violent he
had to be strapped to the stretcher and though
he had two orderlies to look after hi in the
ambulance he burst thr ough the strong canvas
straps as if they were paper And then I read
in an E nglish paper to night that Doctor S ome
body or other has bee n advocating a gentle frame
of mind towards the Huns—are people in E ngland
mad to receive such advice calmly ?
Just as we got t o the be ginning of the tram
lines on our last j ourney to R ouxvill e this af ter
noon on e Of the sitters a gastritis patient
seemed almost to lose his head ( I must tell y ou
that the said tram lines have a most exhi larating
eff ect on the men Ca fait tant de plaisir de
voir une ville apr es des mois e t des mois they
sa y )
and I found he was a native of Rouxville
and had been sent back from the front ill once
before and had actually passe d through the town
where his wife w as without her even kno w ing he
w as there
He entreated us to go through the
street where he lived but it w as impossible as
it w as far from our route However I promised
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to go and see his wife and give her news of her
husband and as soon as we had finished our
work we set out
We found the street and I knocked at the
door which was opened by a pretty little lady
who was frightened to death at the Sight of our
khaki
I permit myself to visit you madame
as I have j ust seen your husband
E nter monsieur enter Monsieur will excuse
the kitchen I present you my mother— y
—
fi
é
sister my youngest sister
friend
the
an
c
y
—
of my friend
Monsieur h as seen Gaston how
is he ?
Your husband madame sends you word that
except for slight C hill he is very well
Thank God monsieur When did you see
him ?
I have only j ust left h i
madame
But where monsieur ?
I took hi
to the hospital
Cicely what an i di ot I was A t the mention of
the word hospital madame her mother her
sister her youngest (and s h rillest) sister and her
friend all went into simul taneous and violent
hysterics while the fian c é of the friend attempted
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to render inadequate first aid ( By the way
N urse Vane in case of hysterics what woul d
you do ? ) The peaceful kitchen became a pan
and my stentorian S houts
Your
d e on iu
husband is well your husband is well co ul d
s ca rcely be heard
A t last in despair I forgot my manners seized
the lady of the house by the shoulders and shook
her violently and in five minutes we were all
restored and cheered up wonderfully Do they
teach y ou to S hake patients at the College of
Amb ul ance in Vere Street ? I f not they should
for after co ffee and a petit verr e had been produced
for me Madame dr ied her eyes put on a very
becomin g black hat and sallied forth with her
—
mother her sister her youngest sister—her
friend and her friend s fian c é to try and effect
an entrance into the station hospital I hope
they did poor souls and that Gaston caught a
glimpse of his pretty little w ife
Let me have all your news dear little war
shadowed Cicely
It was a privilege to assist at the last j ourney
Bobs
Of the great and beloved
Your E R IC
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went this evening to the operating room
in the E cole N ormale to be inoculated by the
doctor against typhoid and the orderlies were so
interested to know what the English wear under
khaki that I had scarcely a rag left on me I
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W ar T i me
In
LE TT E R XXV III
F R OM
N U RSE
VANE T o E R IC
A N G L o-C O L O N I
TRE V ANNI ON
AL W
O ME
TA R R E A U X
P AR
D EAREST
BO
N
’
S
H O S P I TAL
,
,
U LO G N E
-
S U R- M E R
.
,
I have be en here for three days and
have quite shaken down The work is menial
work and hard but I like it ; I don t t hi nk I
shall ever rest now when I am not doing some
thing for our men I already look forward
with dread to the day when the
whose
place I have taken returns and I have to go
h ome
Often we see funeral processions of three four
each c ofli n covered with the
or many more
Our matron said to me t o day
Union Jack
Even now I can t help blubbing when I lose
and thank God ! that is the
on e Of my boys
attitude in our hospital There is nothing O fficial
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in the treatment of our boys but somethi ng very
affectionate I thi nk
A t least the war has brought us nearer our
fellow creatures TO day a Jewish patient here
who was recovering from pneumonia was very
anxious to see a rabbi and none could be found
I was told to try and get on e and I thi nk I h ad
a stroke of ge ni us ; I went to the priest at the
—
R oman C atholi c C hurch a n odd pe rson to ask
for such assistance I found him in the sacristy ;
he had j ust finished saying mass He was
C harming and put me on the right track at once
The rabbi asked before leaving the hospit al if
hi s name and address could be left in every
hospital here so a regimental C haplain ( Church
of England) promised to s e e it done Isn t all
that j ust as it ought to be and very O ften h as
not been ?
One of the patients has received a French
military decoration The darling is so proud of
it he insists on wearing it on his pyj ama coat
fate
has
given
him
a
very
broad
and
very
gaudy
(
striped suit ) and whenever visitors come through
the ward he raises himself in bed so that they can
—
bless him
s e e it
I am glad you are doing so much my E ric
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LE TT E R XXIX
E RIC
T R EVANNI ON T o N U RSE VANE
MY D ARLI NG
,
can t get over the insensate cruelty to
harmless little humble lives this war is causing
every day There was a man named L e C
here the brother of a woman who keeps a little
caf é in the village He possessed a li ttle motor
car and when the news came that the Germans
were advancing to t h is village he gave great
help in clearing out the wounded ; driving them
into R ouxville in his car He was at R ouxville
when the news came that the Germans were j ust
outside H arla y and all his friends entreated him
not to attempt another j ourney However there
were still French wounded here and he insisted
on going back The R ouxv illais cove red his car
with Red Cross badges and gave him a large R ed
C ross flag but on the road over which we work
every day he fell in with the Huns ; they fir ed on
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—
the spot
him and he was killed
on e hand
was severed from his body as it grasped the
steering wheel The Germans even wanted to
take the body with them but a peasant woman
w h o was working in the fields declared she w as
his Sister and brought him back in a cart here
where he was given decent burial His little
—
—
car o nly a little tradesman s two seater is in
the yard next t o the barn where we keep our
ambul ances I t is absolutely riddled with bullets
E verywhere one hears these stories of useless
wanton murder and there are still English people
sitting in armchairs by the fire comfortably
believing the Belgian atrocities are exaggerated
I like to read the way you write Of our men
My only regret is that we can t work for them
but I hope and believe they have all that is
needed Yesterday evening we were told to be
prepared to be called up in the night to go up
to the trenches but we were not wanted after
all
Dearest , I have been t hi nking so much of you
but I am not going to unravel the tangle yet I
believe there is an answer to the riddl e but j ust
n ow we w ill steep ourselves in work and get above
al l the pe ace time troubles—shall we ?
A t least
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the war will have given us a respite I kiss your
hands always beautiful and now s o useful
Your devoted E RIC
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—
Have you seen a drawing of For ai n s in
PS
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a French newspaper I thi nk the journa l ? Two
’
.
men in the trenches up to their knees in mud
under the pouring rain One says t o the other
There is only one thing that worries me—wi ll
they hold out ?
The other answers Who ?
And the first one replies
The civilians at home
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LE TT E R XXX
F R OM
N U RSE
VANE
D EAREST
We lost
TO
E R IC
T RE VANNI ON
,
patients t o day
quite a boy From this morning he was sinking
fast and we knew there was no hope The sister
—
asked hi if there was any one mother Sister
—
that he would like her to w rite
or sweetheart
—
—
to but he always answered no no no Then
sh e told him he w as very ill that in a short time
he might become worse that he might lose con
S he asked him if
s c iousn e s s at any moment
there w as anythi ng he would like to say He
answered yes and tried to r ai se himself in his
—
bed Then he j ust s ai d I want to say I die
for King George
An hour later he was dead
I c an scarcely write the story without crying
Have you ever heard anything greater in si
l
i
c
i
t
?
I
thank
d
that
E
ngland
can
produce
G
o
p
y
such men
Your loving C IC EL Y
on e
of
our
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L E TT E R
F R OM
E R IC
P e o ple
XXXI
T RE VANNI ON T o N U RSE VANE
C IC EL Y D EARES T
,
Your story of I die for King George
—
touched me more than I can say and yet we
know that that boy was only one Of thousands
H as all this heroism been created b y the war or
was it there all the time I wonder ? Doesn t it
make you angry to read extravagant puffs in
the newspaper Of this person s war work or that
body s achi evements in war time ? As if any
work could be mentioned in the same breath
with that Of the men who are fighting
Do you remember I told you I had my billet
de logement in the house of a Mademoiselle
Dur e lle ? S he is a kind and Charming hostess
with the manners Of a great lady The old couple
N oel and Marie who wait on her are devoted to
their mistress and their two sons were educated
—
by her on e is the village d o ct o r and the o ther
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In
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a priest at a R ouxville se minary When the
Germans were on their road here the doctor s
wife w as expecting her confinement and for a
moment the little d o ctor hesitated about leaving
the village but his old peasant mother went t o
hi
and said Mon fie u y ou a doctor have
charge of souls as much as your brother the abb é
and Frenchmen can never abandon those under
their care
He stayed and for a fortnight had
to care for O ver eigh ty wounded—both German
—
and French w ith n o other medical assistance
and only the help of the schoolmistress and the
village women He worked night and day short
of surgical instruments
short of drugs short of
everyt hing except pluck and devotion but I
think he h as never recovered from the strain
He looks almost like a wraith ; his eyes are t oo
bright but he h as extraordinary energy
Mademoise lle Dure lle als o refused t o leave
H arla y but left her ow n house and went to stay
with her godson the doctor and only returned
home after the barbarians had retired I asked
her if they had done any damage or stolen any
thing from her house but sh e said no Marie the
servant chi pped in with Mademoiselle forgets
the bottle of Benedictine we missed and Mad e oi
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selle has never unlo cked the s alon si nce she
returned
Mademoiselle confessed that she had never
dared to open the door Of that apart ment and
I suggested that now S he w as upheld by my r e
assuring presence
it would be a good moment
to take the plunge C andl es were procured and
we went down the passage in solemn procession
Just as the sacred door was unl ocked Mad e oi
selle laid her hand on my arm and said Mon
sieur I scarcely dare to enter ; the piano and all
—
the music is in there it would be too much to
hope that they have not taken my Beethoven
L et me hasten for once to clear the Teutons of
suspicion Cicely the Beethoven w as there and
Mademoiselle is consoled
I have a new driver here now as Halling h as
been sent elsewhere The new Chap Harvey
by name is hardly more than a boy ; he is not
eligible for the army on account of hi s health ;
the ve ry type of young L ondoner we all know so
well in peace time very much occupied with
having a good time fond of pleasure and t hi nking
a good deal of his ties and socks and the last
music hall tune and of little else He is cheeky
—
an d rather amusing you would never think he
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D EARES T
P e o ple
XXXII
VANE T o
IC
ER
TRE VANNI ON
,
I wish I knew your hostess sh e must be
a dear I like to know that y ou are living in a
woman s house—I have a feeling you will be
looked after DO you like being written to as if
o
u
were
fifteen
?
y
I begin to understand your irritation with the
tone some Of the P ress take abo ut the war
They never seem to get it right Of course dear
no one is doing any work worthy to b e spoken of
in the same breath with the men who are fighting
but still I suppose the public demands the sort
Of articles you dislike so much ;
and after all
j ournalism is a trade not a patriotic profession
I know by m y own experience that it is i
possible to get even the vaguest idea Of w h at t h e
war is at home One is apt to fall into an e xag
gerated story book se n t i en t a lit y ; and all I
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W ar T i me
hear from our boys here is anyth ing rather than
Di d you ever know young Daver
s entiment al
—
He
in
the
t h and he arrived h e re last
is
t on ?
week He is not seriously wounded I am glad
to say It appears he was ordered to lead his
men to an evacuated trench ( I hope y ou under
stand my knowledge of mi litary terms is vague)
He told me he started off in splendid style
taking c o ver dropping down and then running
like a hare across the pl o ugh ; but j ust as he got
t o the trench he discovered that n ot on e of his
men w as with him ; they must have mistaken the
way and gone to the right of him and there he
w as alone as he first thought in a trench piled
with dead Germans ; but sud denly from under
his nose r o se up a living Hun
Dav ert on said he
lost his head and instead Of drawing hi s revolver
he went for the man and wrestled with hi
getting his arms tight round the German s elbows
He remembers thi nking all the time E veryt hi ng
—
depe nds o n my gri p e ve rything depends on my
grip when t o his horr o r another German
started up and ran to assist his friend Dav ert on
s a w him lift his rifle but instead Of bringing down
the butt end he clubbed the boy s head with his
bayon e t inflicting a nasty wound in the forehead
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but without s t unning him They were two
Germans to o ne English boy and Dav e rt on
blinded with the blood that w as pouring from h is
head had j ust sens e en o ugh t o drop like a stone
and sham dead expecting every moment to be
finished off with the bayonet ; but after a few
minutes he cautiously opene d on e eye and fo und
his aggressors had gone He w as lying on a heap
of dead bodies piled so high that he did not
dare to move so he lay there on this ghastly
decaying couch for nearly five hours At last
evening came and he crept out and made for
what he thought w as an E nglish trench but when
he got there he found it empty ; he crawled along
it and suddenly up rose an immense P russian
guardsman Dav e rt on thought that this time
his last hour had come but to his intense surprise
the P russian threw up his hands and called out
Ka ar a d e !
Ka ara d e
Then Dav e rt on
realised tha t seeing an E nglish Officer the P russian
thought that he was leading his regiment into
the trench With his heart in hi s mouth wonder
ing what he would get in for whe n the P russian
giant foun d he had o nl y on e rather undersized
stripling to deal with Dav ert on disarmed the
man and took him prisoner He says he gave
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Of T w o P e o ple
are and what darlings
apply to you !
,
Both
!
Of
t hese epithe ts
Your own
C IC ELY
.
Dear I must tell you how asham ed I
feel when I look back on the days when we first
met I am not ashamed of what I did but I
a
ashamed of what I was There is only on e
—
phrase that des c ribes me a selfish worthless
min x and y o u never thought me that or pe rhaps
you did and only treated me as you did because
you are gentle and good and—well because you
are you After all how could you really take me
seriously ? I should have no right to complain
if you only admired my looks and if I w as only
j ust an amusing interlude in your life Write
me the truth dear ; but please please love me
really ; for minx or no minx I love you with
all m y heart and soul S ince I have been in
France I know I have a s o ul
PS
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LE TT E R
F R OM
ER
IC
XXXIII
TR E VANNI ON
N U RSE
TO
VANE
I wonder if I o ught to begin thi s letter Dearest
Minx Cicely mine ? NO dear se riously from
the first day I knew you my love for y o u has
be e n growing every day e very hour I can t tell
you when I w as conscious that admirati o n and
attra ction had be en merged into love but whether
I knew it or n ot I se e now I always l o ved you
Dear est girl when we met we were bo th in that
parlous humour that attacks all idle pe ople at
home in war time But y ou were you and I
trust you and love y o u Here in this muddy
village I se em to s e e everythin g more Clearly
There se e ms to be a hi gher test of everything
I can t express it and I s e em to be nearer to the
great life principle of the world I hope I se e
—
t
i
as the humblest soldiers seem to see
though
I shall never deserve the knowledge as t hey have
deserved it
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T o day as we were wo rking we passed a large
convoy of German prison e rs The y seeme d well
fed but I thought them t hinly cla d A little
”
Meridional wh o w as in m y car nearly fell
out Of it with e xcit e ment ; h e c alle d them ev e ry
name in his e xtensive vocabulary I
ay
mention that t h e G e rmans could n o t hear him
The
s o it w as purely a re li e f t o hi s ow n feelings
French sol di e rs hate the Boches down in their
hearts ; you se e ther e are still many Frenc h who
remembe r 1 870 and they know th e delightful
race t h e Kaiser so w on d e rqy typifi e s Th e
priests wh o ar e serving with th e colours make
splendid s oldiers There is an abb é wh o is secre
tary t o our edec in en c hef here I only found
out to day that he w a s an abb é as Of c o urse he
poilu
I have
is in uniform like any o ther
O ften talked t o him for a long time when I have
been waiting in the chef s bureau f o r o rders and
I blush to remember some of
conversation
y
which is not as a rul e adapted f o r cleri c al ears
I almost t ho ught of apologising but he is a
splendid little chap and s o I sha ll l e ave it at that
We pass large convoys of ammuniti o n and
artillery o n t h e roa ds every d ay now and we
h e ar th e guns much often e r We are twelve
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bottle of wine for Harvey and went down t o the
cellar to fetch it S uddenly they heard a loud
—
shriek ; her daughter followed her more shrieks
Harvey fearing some awful catastrophe tore
down th e steps and there beheld the two women
apparently soaked in blood to their kn e es and
—
hysterical but with laughter ! It turned out
that the constant shock Of the bombardment had
broken nearly all the bottles in the cell ar and the
place was knee de e p in wine H o wever a bottle
was found he al ths were drunk and Harvey
drove O ff leaving the old lady still a prey to
uncontrollable laughter as sh e waved good bye
He says the Cheerfulness of these poor pe o ple
must be seen to be believed He used to g o and
dine in the c onvent at S t E ville where some other
R ed Cross drivers were quartered there is not
a wind o w left in the convent as the place is
shelled all the time The nuns used t o wait on
them at dinner and on e eve ning a little Sister
came in wearing one Of their khaki caps on her
head S he was overcome with rem o rse after
wards for what sh e considered a grave fault but
said she could not resist such an exquisite j oke
P oor simple little soul
Dear I thi nk t his will reach y ou about Christ
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as
c an
send
In
,
War T ime
take all m y love and eve ry wish
so
o
u
y
.
Yo ur loving
PS
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—Another order t o be ready to go right to
—
the front at midnight again countermanded
1 07
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P eo ple
L E TT E R XX XI V
F R OM
N UR S E
D EAREST
VANE T o
ER
I C T RE VANNI ON
,
I suppose I neve r really doubted that
y o u l o ve me serI ously ; but o h my love I so
longe d t o hear y o u tell me so once again I
”
say
hear for when I get yo ur letters I can he ar
your voice Miss Belgrave on e of the nurses
h as j ust returned from workin g on o n e Of the
trains The other day sh e h ad two German
wounded an d an E nglish ofli c er all lying cl o se to
each other ; th e E nglishman w as pretty badly
hurt Wh e n sh e went on her rounds on e Of the
Germans plucked at h er skirt an d pointing to
th e opp o site berths eagerly asked her for news
Of the patients
S he thought he w as asking
ab o ut hi s countryman but he said N o ; tell
—
ffi
o
c
r
me Of th e E nglis h
where is he wounded
e
is it serious—does h e su ffer ?
S he answer ed
hi
an d went on to h er other pati ents On her
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1 08
Letters
o f T wo
LE TT E R
FROM
ER
IC
P e o ple
XXXV
TR E VANNI ON
To
N U RSE
VANE
X MA
E VE
S
.
D EAREST L ITT LE MI Nx
Wh en I got back fro m working to Rou x
,
,
ville at
to night I was told to go instantly
I found him in a state of bewilder
t o the C hief
—
ment real or assumed A party of E nglish had
arrived in an ambulance ; the C hief wished me
to see them and I could not get anyt hing out of
except that he feared he had made a mistake
hi
in certain questions he had asked them I w as
to go and interview them at the grocer s over the
way I obeyed and went through the shop and
up the narrow stairs kno cked at the door of the
room where the é picier had lo d ged hi s guests
Cicely there came into the dark passage a tall
figure and I give y ou my word of honour I did
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1 10
War T i me
In
n o t kn o w for some minut e s whether I was talking
t o a woman or a man
To begin with sh e or he was dressed exactly
as we were ! British warm Bedford cords puttees
and a woollen helmet A t last I realised that I
w as speaking to a woman but after s o long in
the heart of the French provinces it was really
a shock Thi s lady and two others (who are also
dressed in khaki but khaki skirts) have come
here t o O ffer their services and their splendid
ambulance driven by their own chauffeur ; but
owing t o some mistake their arrival was not
announced by any of the Red Cross societies and
although their passpo rts e t cetera are quite in
order they have no papers ordering them to
come here which I am afraid may get them into
difficulties
I find that the qu e sti o n the Chi ef asked them
when he was arrangi ng for their being billeted
here to night w as Were they brother and sister
or husband and wi fe ?
I suppose in certain work it is nece ssary for
women to wear male attire but it is cer tainly
a pity here as French people Simply cannot
understand it and think they must be a d v en
t uresses
I t was a very awkward moment when
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Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
I had t o take the party down to mess ; the convo y
were civil Of course but obviously thought they
were des suffragettes ou des folles
A fter dinner I explained to the C hief that the
new arrivals had already worked in Belgium ;
that in a sporting country like E ngland d es
femmes tres bien wore costumes almost identical
with the on e that surprised him so much and I
think I have persuaded him to give them work
in the h OS pit als here if their credentials arrive
The di fficulty is that they are not trained nurses ;
but I have persuaded him that they are ladies
and very kind and anxious to help He admits
that E nglishwomen are ve ry clean and very
dependable in the wards and s o I think they w ill
stay ; but Oh Cicely I can t help feeling that in
war time women had better stay at home ex ce pt
those who are properly qualified to nurse in
hospitals howe ver excellent their int entions may
be
H owever the party is housed for to night at
—
least two at the gro c er s and o ne in the hospital
at the E cole Moderne
I went to midnight Mass to night The whole
scene w as most impressive ; the stream Of wo men
dressed in black hurrying Silently from the
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Letters
o f T wo
P e o ple
LE TT E R XXXV I
N U RSE
D EARES T
VANE T o E R IC T RE VANNI ON
,
I sn
t it a fact that in all wars a mania
among women for wearing male attire h as made
its appearance I know it was a common occur
rence in the Vendean war I wonder why ? Of
course there are isolated cases where it is n e c e s
sary I gather from her photos that L ady Dorothy
F e ildin g wears something of the kind but then
I believe that she has been working right up to
the Belgian trenches and in places where S kirts
were out of the question A very tall handsome
woman who I am told was in the French army
as a man for some time was pointed out to me
the other d ay in the street at Boulogne S he w as
mentioned in the E nglish papers in the early
days of the war I believe S he served some weeks
as a Chauffeur to an aviator but several men in
the regiment knew who sh e was
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4
In
W ar T i me
am told that she is French and married t o
an E nglishman S he does not present at all a
masculine appe arance as far as her face goes
S he w as wearing a long coat SO I could not j udge
of her figure After all in these days of fancy
dress fashions I don t see why men should have
such a prej udice ag ai nst our se x donning the
breeks
it is only a question of convention
after all Trousers are n ot more indiscreet in
their revelatio n s than the b ob b le skirts of two
years ago
We are n ot so busy as we were I thank
Heaven for th e reason—but I resent idleness
I sent y ou a large bundle Of picture papers a
few days ago which I hope you wi ll like as I don t
suppose y ou get them where y ou are When I
have to leave here I shall go to P aris and se e if
I can g e t somethi ng to d o there
I can t face
London again Dear m y thoughts are with y o u
always E ven in your work y ou won t forget
me wi ll you ?
Your loving
C I C ELY
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5
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
L E TT E R X XXV II
FROM
ER
IC
MI Nx M I N E
TRE VANNI ON
To
N UR S E
VANE
,
We distributed a little
”
surpris e o n
Xmas E ve to the men —Cigarettes C h o colate
—
oranges and pain d épic e a very humble little
tre at but received w ith gratitude far beyond it s
merits Di d I tell y o u An d re Charlot gave me 8000
cigarettes to take out to his c ountrymen They
are all E nglish Cigarett e s and the French Tommies
like French tobacco best but they were so amused
by the fact that the Cigarettes had c ome fr o m
London that they even begged for some of the
b o xes as souvenirs A s we went round the barn
it w as t o uching to s ee the dirty hands stretched
o ut fr o m the straw and then here and t here a
figure that did not move but lay wit h e y es
clos e d suffering an d ill One of the patients
said E h bien t o ut d e m eme on a e u un chi c
reveillon
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Letters
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P e o ple
a woman want a raz or for ? I re ally didn t
know Would I answer for m y countrywoman ?
I could not do that as though I w as convinced in
m y O wn mind that all this suspicion w as ground
—
less still I did not know the ladies but I said
all I could Then I w as taken to see the C om
mandant de la P lace and again asked in passionate
accents what use a woman coul d have for a
razor I am afraid I suggested a flippan t reason
not unconnected with Chiropody which did not
go well but however at last it w as decided
that I was to tell les dames Angl ai ses that
no women could be all o wed in the war z one and
that they must depart A pleasant task ! I
got through it as tactfully as I could but I
disliked having to do it Of course I was n ot
allowed to mention the suspicions that the razors
had e x cited but I think the ladies guessed that
something w as wrong I was very sorry for them
Th ey are ladies and very kind and generous I
think
I hasten to tell you that two days after we had
proof from L ondon that the suspicion of their
honesty was absolutely unfounded The blame
res t s purely with whoever was respo nsible for
having sent t hem here without better credentials
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8
In
W a r T i me
S till t he c o stume w as to blame
You say men
are unreasonable and that costume is only a
—
convention but you must remember that the
French are accustomed to the war attitude of
their ow n women which is certainly a very digui
I hate to make comparisons but I
fied on e
don t think that E nglish civilians are remarkable
The two countries seem
for dign ity j ust now
to have exchanged nati onal C haracteristics
Thank you for the pict ure papers We all
—
enj oyed them b y the way some of the portrai ts
Of the young gentlemen Of the stage in heroic
poses are a little di fficult to explain away in
Fran ce They look so terribly strong and well
and fit to fight S till I suppose they are bravely
concealing the ravage of di fferent mortal diseases
—
it is wonderful under these Circumstances they
c a n smile s o sweetly at the camera
Dear y ou are always in my thoughts It seems
centuries Since we parted When S hall we meet
again and h ow ?
Your E R IC
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The French artillery are very busy There is
—
an almost incessant booming of guns on e c an
hear the 75S quite distinctly
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9
Letters
Of
Two
P e o ple
LE TT E R XXXV III
F R OM
ER
VAN E T o
N UR S E
I C DEARE ST
ER
IC
TR E VANNI ON
,
m
I ha ted t o rea d what you wrote me about
e xplaining away the
It is S O
a t in ee idols
s o upsetting that there sh o uld be anyt hi ng
about E ngland to be e xplained in France A t
home one is inclined to be more lenient I sup
pose when on e is idle oneself one has t o stand
in with people who after all are only idle
”
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By the way I believe that most of the Lon d on
managers refuse to engage any chorus men who
are eli gible for the army
DO you really mean that E n gli sh w o en s war
attitude is not as digni fied as that Of French
women ? I hope not I f you s aw the nurs es
work here you would be proud I think Yester
day S o me of us we re allowe d t o go on th e tri al trip
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1 20
.
Letters
moment
think
.
A re
o f T wo
P e o ple
you likely to get any leave do y ou
,
Your loving C IC ELY
PS
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attitude
.
Answer
of
my ques t ion about the war
Englishwomen and Frenchwo men
,
w on t I y ou ?
’
1 22
In
War T i me
LE TT E R XXXIX
F R OM
ER
D EARE ST
IC T RE VANNI ON T o
N U RSE
VANE
,
I don t kn o w if I love you best when you
—
l
r
are in an ange ic mood o when y ou are a little I
—
had al most written pe rverse O f course I meant
feminine Dear of course I admire the splendid
things that women have done but they have
been done b y splendid women ; no on e c an speak
h ighly enough Of the women who have organized
and nursed and been admirable in self sac rific e
and devotion but there are certain things about
—
Englishwomen that I don t understand so much
about Frenchwomen that I do N 0 French paper
—
has fashion articles no E nglish paper is without
them ; no Frenchwoman in P aris goes out in gala
—
dress to the male e y e the audiences in E nglish
theatres are as gaily dressed as before the war I
know all about business as usual but als o I
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1 23
Letters o f T w o P e o ple
kn o w t hat E ngland h as be e n warned t h at t h e
strictest e c onomy should b e practised by every
individual subj ect I n Franc e wo men seem to
—
be living and working quietly in E ngland there
,
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seems to my obtuse male br ai n a certain amount
of pleasurable e xcitement alm o st hysteria about
even war work DO y ou remember the War
Baby s c are I re c eived at that time a copy of
a feminist newspaper announ cing that the body
c o ntro lling the paper was going to undertake
the care and e ducation of all the war babi es and
that consequently fresh subscriptions t o the
pape r would be m o ney p ai d to the national cause
The next week it w as discovered that there were
no war babies to S peak of And side b y side
with this I remember that f o r years infant or
tality in the poorer districts Of L on d on has be en
appalling owing in great part to the mothers
ignorance of the ordinary hygiene and the simplest
methods of rearing Children S urely the remedy
for that is woman s work—but Of course su ch a
cause would not have made such a sensational
special number Frenchwo men seem to me to
—
f
be self e facing now not gloomy or despondent
but conscious ever of the ghastly struggle their
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Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
his peasant wife —the husban d was j ust
twenty two S he wrote t o him that the brown
cow w as giving lots of milk that sh e had some
difficulty in getting their little boy a pair of boots
—but that her father h ad sent her five francs
and S O S he had managed ; that her gr andfather
had had rheumatism but w as better that sh e
w a s glad to know that h er husband w as we ll
cared fo r and sent him the best wishes for his
health from his affectionate wife—a little labori
—
ously wri tten formal letter
and then a po sts cript
scrawled underneath
—
C est l in st an t OII je suis seule avec t Oi avec
—
—
—
t oi avec t oi
mon Cheri
This
is
on cheri
(
—
m y moment with you with you m y darling
y
darling)
The poor little letter arrived three h o urs after
the b oy w as dead
Dear can any punishment be sufficient for the
nation responsible for this war Thes e po or
mutely suffering humble innocent folk
Yours
by
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I did not know that the L ondon theatrical
1 26
In
War T i me
managers refuse engagements to chorus men
—
eligible for the army but if it is true why don t
they apply the same rules to the principals ?
They certainly don t do that as the j uvenile
gentleman still flourishes
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I 27
Lett e rs
FROM
MY
N UR S E
o f Tw o
P e o pl e
L E TT E R
XL
VANE T o
ER
IC
TR E VANNI ON
ARES T
—
I won t discuss wit h y o u you take j ust
the calm j udicial line that is enough to make any
woman perverse ( o f c ourse you will make capital
out of that remark in your ne x t letter )
NO
I know that
on e is ever c onvinced in argum e nt
I can only do on e of two things when we d isagree
—give in or manag e you ; and I c annot d o the
latter from a distance ; besides th e end of your
letter showed such a tender gentle Side Of you
that I can only love you and di sagr ee in Silence
s o we ll let it go at that—shall we ?
A las ! my time here will be up in a few days
I nev e r thought I should b e miserable at giving
up emptying slops Cleaning out ro o ms and doing
h o usemaid s work but I a —quite miserable
My A merican friend Moni c a E rroll is going to
inspe c t som e of th e h o spitals in Fran c e o n beh alf of
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Letters
o f T wo
LE TT E R
F ROM
IC
ER
MI Nx MI NE
P e o ple
XLI
TRE VANNI ON
TO
M RS VANE
.
,
t you j ust manage m e at a distan c e ?
—
t h at s all Dear I am sorry if I wr ote ta ct
—
lessly to y o u o r w as it that my letter came at the
wr o ng moment ? Dear little Cicely when will
you learn that I don t idealise you I love you
as you are and I think I have come to kn o w you
better since we have been parted I too think of
y o u and all you represent ceasele ssly I could
never l o ve a faultless woman I should never
understand her but I do love a woman who h as
the vi rtues of h e r faults I like everyone to be
—
human that is on e Of the reasons I l o ve the
—
French soldi e rs there is no nonsense about them
they are j ust themselves with heroism added
There is in this vi llage of a thousan d inhabitants
C an
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In
W ar T i me
one lady who—o n e lady that—well a lady who is
highly disapproved of by al l our kind hostesses
who never se e her when sh e walks out and o nly
mention her name with r ai sed eyebrows and
Oui Monsieur elle a touj ours
uplifted hands
eu une conduite d eplora b le e t pat ati e t patata
S he wears a red knitted coat (she is what is call ed
a fine figure Of a woman ) hi gh heels and her
rath er large eyes are boldly but carefully painted
S he lives opposite the Ambulance
and when
we work there in the morni ng S he makes no e ffort
to disguise her admiration Of my drivers I thi n k
the eld est Yorkshire lad and Harvey are her
favourites The poilus do not share t he
attitude adopted by the matrons of H arlay
T o day we were loading up the ambulance at
the door of the main hospital ! we had some pretty
bad cases and the stretchers needed handling
carefully
S uddenly I became aware Of a movement
—
among the hospital stretcher bearers a general
smile and a wink or two I looked up and there
I beheld the L ady of the P ainted Eyes sauntering
do w n the street
The orderlies were immensely struck with her
appe arance but sh e strolled along as haughty
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3
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
any Gaiety girl
S apristi ! c es t une belle
Mais oui jt e crois
E lle en a une
fille
taille mon vieux
I was really annoyed for the moment to t hi nk
that the lady could distract their thoughts from
their su ffering human burdens and I w as on the
point of saying so when I saw first on e of
the wounded raise himself on his arm look at the
lady and grin another with his head envelope d
in bandages wi n ked and a third a re al ly badly
—
wounded man managed to wave his hand about
the only part of him that was not wounded
—
The lady saw dropped her haughty manner
kissed her hand called out Bonne C hance mes
amis cheerily if a li ttle raucously—smiled her
sweetest smile and passed royally down the
street The wounded winked at the bearers
murmured C est vr ai c est une belle fille and
settled themselves back on their stretchers i
e n se ly amused and cheered by the S ight of the
lady !
Yo ur E RIC
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Two
P e o ple
what he says is the true story of A erschot I t
appears that when the Germans arrived at that
Belgian village the b ourgue e st re and his wife
were standing at the door of their house and
three German ofli c e rs came up to them The
b ourg ue e st re had to give up the place into
their hands and for once these gentry were quite
civil
On e remained t al king t o the mayor and his
wife the other two went into the house The
mayor s son who was upst ai rs suddenly heard a
scream He ran down and s aw his sister a girl Of
eighteen struggling in the arms of the Huns He
drew his revolver and S hot one of the brutes dead
but the other overpowered hi
Then and there the b o y and his father were
st o od up against the wall Of the house and shot
under the eyes of the two wretched women
The Germans then rounded up all the men in
the place and marched them out of A erschot
the women were driven into the church and locked
in A t Six the soldiers opened the church door
and t hr e w in some mattresses and the wretched
captives thought that this was a proof that their
conquerors were not altogether heartless ; but
at seven o clock the door was unlocked and fifty
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34
In
W ar T i me
German soldiers were let into the church at half
past seven another fif ty took their places and s o
re g ularly at every half
on all t hr ough the night
hour In the morning they put a machine gun
at the door of the church and murdered those
unhappy raving women
Can horror go any furth e r ?
I turn sick and
cold when I t hi n k of it
Your loving C I CELY
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I
3S
Letters
o f Two
LE TT E R
F R OM
X L III
E RI C TREVANNI ON
C I C ELY D EAR
,
P e o ple
1 0
M RS VANE
.
,
—
you ar e back in P aris P aris that I
SO
know and love s o well ; I wonder if I S hould
recognise it again now
We have had quite an exciting time here to
day I must tell y ou that the mayor of t hi s
place is a prisoner in Germany and the adj oint
is supposed to be mayor ; but most Of the ofli c e
business seems to be run by Madame Henri the
C lerk s wife a bustling and determined grey
h aired lady I had to go to the mairie thi s
afternoon on some interminable business con
n e c t e d with our
permis de Sé j our
When I
arrived I found Madame Henri the Clerk s wife
engaged in a heated discussion with an individual
attired in decent black brown boots and a som
b r e ro—
It
a little like Hall C aine in appearance
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Letters
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P e o ple
undergoing a kind of rest cure in the back of the
mairie w as disturbed b y the noise and came to
find out what it w as all about The three dirty
C hildren and I were awed into S ilence but Madame
who was beginning to feel she had had eno ugh
trouble with male creatures for the day related
the story c eremoniously but with rather terrify
ing distinctness The mayor protested Madame
shrugged ; fin ally the mayor insisted that the
stranger S hould be recalled and apologised to
b y Madame Madame S hrugged defiantly ( she
h as most expressive shoulders) and on e of the
c hildren w as sent to fetch the stranger The
mayor again began to talk of apologies ; Madame
laughed loudly and far more than naturally I
w as beginning to look forw ard to the coming
interview when the messenger returned The
stranger w as not to be found ; he had j ust left
the village b y the road leading towards the lines
Tableau and triumph of feminism ! Madame
seized the reins of government c o nducted three
cr o ss examinations at the same time cowed the
populace inte rviewed a sentry and elicited the
fact that the stranger who had been claiming
a pass f o r the next morning in t h e name o f
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8
3
I n War T i me
Darien had j ust left the village showing a pass
for that afternoon made out in the name of
C arrier
The fields were scoured the roads
patrolled by Madame s scouts but all in vain ;
the spy for spy he undoubte d ly w as had vani shed
I don t think the mayor will make any headway
with his rest cure for the next few days You
Cicely a woman is always right in the
se e
end
Th e French convoy have gone to P aris on leave
and we are doing all the work here whi ch is
gradually gr o wing less There are far fewer
wounded ; our patients are chiefly sick men
C ases of frozen feet gastritis pneumonia e t
cetera
TO day we had a larger number than usual
and I realised alas ! that there were more sick
than we could evacuate in the afternoon as we
have to be back in the village b y seven They
had mostly only arrived t hi s morni ng but were
longing to be in bed S ome o f them caught hold
entreating to be taken
of my coat as I passed
first It was pitiful
Dear I have been reading through some Of
your first letters to me I trie d t o carry them
,
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39
Letters
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P e o ple
in m y breast pocket but m y appearance was
becoming so A mazonian that I have had to lock
them in m y bag When I read them I smile
often but s o very tenderly How long will it
be bef o re I see you again I wonder ?
Your loving E RIC
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,
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,
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,
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1
40
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
—
to morrow it would make no difference I am
yours until the day of m y death You are the
—
your love the
on e thing that matters in m y life
on e thing I want to live for and so d e ar fl h a v e
resolved to free myself I don t want t o be cruel
—at least not more than I must necessarily be
I want to spare the man who h as done every
thi ng for me every pang I can but I must be free
I se e now what I have been
I see now what I
will never be again But my E ric remember that
I do this of m y own free will I have only myself
to thank if your love for me is only a fancy t h at
will pass and I shall never reproach you if it is
I don t want you to feel that what I am going
SO
to do binds you to m e in any way I don t want
you to be tied to me by anything but love I
have known women who kept men by a tie of
honour and I know where that leads I want
the best of you and the best c an onl y be what is
freely given
On e thing more dearest I think I have a right
to take back m y freedom ; but I have no right
to hurt or gi ve unnecessary pain to a man from
whom I have received nothing but devotion and
kindness I f I tell him that someone else h as
c o me into y life it will hurt him more for he
-
,
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’
,
,
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,
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,
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,
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'
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,
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’
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”
,
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,
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,
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m
,
1
2
4
In
W ar T ime
a naturally j e al ous disposition and he h as
—
always trusted m e I blush to write that now
E ven if the end Of the war comes sooner than
we expect and you come home we must not
meet for some time ; se c ret meetings wo uld onl y
end in discovery and I want to spare him that ;
it is the least I c an do
Will y ou consent to m y plan ? I have never
loved you so well as n ow that I am risking losing
you for that I know I d o
Besides dear there must be great Changes in
my life ; I mean to begin all over ag ai n I S hall
go t o L ondon s o on and try to take up nursing
se riously and if I don t succeed after the war
is over I must learn some other pr o fession
I
am determined to earn my own livin g I don t
want to be use less I know now that the useless
don t count any more When I think h ow shor t
”
a time it is Since we were all t alking of A rt
wi th a very big A
of how every o ne c on si
or at least a
sid e re d him or herself an artist
critic of art ; of how we t al ked Clever about
—
music literature modern art w e were even
passionately serious O ver ballet dancing and the
theatre ! As if any Of these t hi ngs really mat
t e re d Since they have n ot stood the test of war
is
of
,
.
,
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43
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
They were all j ust peace time luxuries To day
I heard a discussion between some E nglish pe ople
as to whether a great artist should not be exempt
from the duty of fighting for hi s country and I
—
—
s a y no
no no If there is any soul in his art
hi s soul would lead hi
to his country s ai d ;
and if hi s art w as soulless then Of what more
account is he than any other man ?
Dear you who have un d erstood me from the
first understand me now
You will won t you m y dear love ?
Your C I CELY
-
.
,
m
,
’
,
,
.
,
’
,
,
.
PS
.
—
Since you have kept my letters will y
,
ou
send m e them ? I have all yours and I want to
read our story over You S hall have them back
if you want them Do y ou ?
,
.
.
1
44
L etters o f Tw o
P e o ple
LE TT E R X LV I
F ROM M RS VANE T o
ERIC
.
T RE VANNI ON
H OT E L A NT O I N E
P AR I S
,
.
MY D EAR L OV ER
,
When we meet
shall have something
to s ay to you thankfully humbly and very
lovingly ( C an y ou guess what it is because I
forbid you to ? ) Dear I can t write what your
letter h as made m e feel—I couldn t even spe ak
it but if you were here I could make y ou under
stand ; and then —and then—I want to hear y ou
a sk m e again
A m I a coquette and very silly ?
Forgive me love for I am wildly happy I won t
write any more nonsense
We went O ver the American Ambulance at
N euill y whi ch is perfectly wonderful I t must
cost I don t know what fabulous su to run ;
there is a marvellous dental room and every
product of modern me dical scienc e is to be found
th e r e
I
,
,
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6
4
In
War T i me
—
double staff the regular
There is a kind
nurses ( among them Miss Vera Arkwright) and
in addition a great number of the American
—
colony in P aris wait upon the patients serve
them their meals and so on They also wear
nurses uniform and it is a curious sight abo ut
six O clock to s e e these white and blue cotton
Clad nurses being enveloped in magni ficent and
fashionable sable cloaks stepping into their smart
li mousines It reminds one a little of the stage
door Of a theatre where there is an all star
cast There is a French sergeant at N euilly
w h o though he w as wounded twice c ontinued
to lead his men till a thi rd shot brought hi to
the ground He is a magnificent man but I fear
ve ry badly wounded His cross is on the table
b y hi s bed and he asked the nurse to lay it on
hi s breast t o S how an E nglish general who was
inspe cting the hospital The general saluted him
as he s aw it
We went also to the Trianon P alace Hotel hos
pital at Versailles The last time I was there w as
in June when I dined with a j olly party in the
gallery of the restaurant whi ch is now on e of the
wards A t the very spot where our dinner table
stood then there w as a screened off b e d to day
of
.
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47
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple
Dearest y ou are t o write me sensible letters
—
again not love letters ; at least not altogether
love letters—or y ou won t have anythin g left to
tell me when we do me e t again
I n very trut h y o ur
C I C ELY
,
-
,
’
-
.
.
—
You
your French c onvoy had leave
I s there any C hance of your getting a day and
coming here ? I so long to se e you soon and over
here it would n ot be dangerous
PS
.
s ay
.
,
.
1 48
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
the stage the t awdry dirty scene Of a
—
drawing room is still se t with it s dingy pink
and gold walls and impossible theatrical vas es Of
flowers
Yesterday I got up as near to the trench es as
I am ever likely to get ; I went t o get our supply
of petrol from the tr ai n at an even muddier
village than ours where the only big house in
the place was burnt out by the enemy for no
particular reason We could see the wood which
is actually occupied b y the Kaiser s tr oo ps
There is an A merican convoy who are doing
splendi d work from R ouxville they are luckier
than we and seem to go everywher e
Dear est I don t think I have any chance Of
leave for a long time yet Just now we are a
driver S hort ; two nights ago a c ar w as sent for
to go t o a farm a little distance O ff to fetch a
scarlet fever case among the troops and the
youngest Yorkshi re lad who was going to drive
it in the dark poured petrol into his lamp instead
and burnt himself pretty badly so he
of water
h as gone home f o r a little
We are much more comfortable now as We
have taken a room to sit in and got a woman
to cook for us ; but the room is small for Six and
on
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0
5
In
W ar T ime
the time when we are n ot working hangs heavily
on our hands
I suppo se I am n ot to write y ou that I t hi nk
Of you till I ache for a sight Of your face
S hould
I be disobe ying orders if I put a row of crosses
for kisses at the end of this letter as we used t o
do when we were Children ?
Your loving
.
.
,
E RI
C
.
Letters
o f Tw o
LE TT E R
P e o ple
XLV III
F R OM M RS VANE T o
.
ER
IC T RE VANNI ON
P
ARI
S
.
D EAR L OVE
We are leaving here in two days S O
write to R obins on s Hotel and send the packet
of letters there
E very woman is working at
hospitals here —Madame E dwards Germaine
Porel ( Réjan e s daughter) C olette Willy and
,
,
’
.
,
’
,
,
many others are all nursing I am beginning to
se e what you mean about the di gnity of French
women but I don t think Englishwomen d ese rve
what you s ay of them The children in the
C h amps E lys ees run up t o eve ry man they see
in khaki and insist on shaking hands with them
Madame de M
declares they were taught
to do so by their E nglish nursery maids who
have thus enlarged the circle of their military
acquaintances
We dined at Ma xim s last night ; it looks rather
.
’
,
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1
2
5
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
L E TT E R X L IX
F ROM
ERIC TRE VANNI ON
D EAREST
To M RS VANE
.
,
I am sending thi s t o L ondon as I don t
trust the post t o take it to you before you leave ;
also the letters though I am afraid they will take
longer to arrive Yesterday I was disturbed at
r
a
n
i
n
a
m
by
Marie
the
a
state
of
hysterics
s
v
t
e
;
5
The Germans ! The Germans
sh e was saying
are coming Get up ! Get up ! I must tell
Mademoiselle
I w as incredulous and rather
bored ; but there w as a very loud cannonade
going on and there is j ust a chance they might
break through so I followed Marie O bediently
into the little back garden as I was still in my
pyj amas and there I found Mademoiselle and
the household assembled all like myself en
d ésha b illé ( I don t mean for on e moment that
mademoiselle s rob e d e c ha bre in any way
r ese mbles my night attire) I discove red that
’
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,
In
W ar T i me
what had frightened Marie w as that our Ow n
anti ai rcraft guns were firing at two Taubes It
was a splendid sight but the Taubes got away
Mademoiselle and I tried to calm Marie but the
po or old woman was frightened to death ; sh e
behaved splendidly when the Germans came
here but her nerves are shattered now This
morning I woke up conscious of a very loud bang
and while I was wondering if I had been dream
—
ing another deafening report d ifferent to what
—
we hear all the time nearer and with a kind of
stop at the end I wondered for a moment if
it were possible that this time the Boches had
arrived ; but feeling sure that in that case Marie
would be performing a kind of war dance round
the foot of m y bed I turned over and went to
sleep again L ater Marie called me as usual and
cheerfully asked m e if I had heard the morning s
news I replied I had not (scarcely remarkable
under the circumstances) S he then told me
in quite a matter of fact way that a Taube had
dropped a couple of bombs on us S he was not
in the least afraid when danger really came
L uckily the bombs only killed a few C hickens
though a Child had a narrow escape as the
wall against which its bed w as standing w as
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55
Letters
o f Tw o
P e o ple
riddled with bullets an d the adj oining outhouse
c o mpletely wrecked
We have scarcely an hour s work a day here
and the long empty days are simply appalling ;
our onl y distraction is to walk along a dreary
mon o tonous road and back again N othing much
h appens except our daily Taube I feel blue
and tired out How I long to see you again
my dear little girl I think and thi nk of y ou
and it almost hurts I hope you understand that
I ac c ept ev e ryt hi ng you propose to do
I have
seen to o much misery lately not to be as an xious
as you c an be to avoid hurting him if it can b e
avoided Dear I wonder if we S hall ever se e
—
the life I dream Of a t peace and together
—
j ust y o u an d I and in E ngland
Y o ur loving
E RI C
.
’
,
,
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1
6
5
Letters
Of
T wo
LE TT E R
F R OM M RS VANE
.
MY D ARL I N G
TO
P e o ple
LI
ERIC TRE VANNI ON
,
Will the hours ever pass till Tuesday ?
C ome
m
straight to Mll e Brunet s 1 1 6 Melville
S treet where I shall be waiting for you S O i
patiently E ric I thi nk I shall b e sh y of you
I feel I know you s o much better now that it
will b e like meeting you for the first time Come
quickly to me y ou who c an love and under
s tand
I hate L ondon—the atmosphere of in
di fferen ce to the war is beyond belief ; of course
it is not general but it does exist S o many
f
e
ople
seem
to
have
axes
their
O
wn
to
grind
o
p
and are immersed in their own petty affairs t o
the exclusion of inter e st in all tha t really matters
They e xasperate e beyond Words and the
women w ith their new fashions (whi ch ar e hide o us
as well as unseemly) !
I l o ng to get back to
mourning Fran c e In a few days I s hall se e you
’
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,
,
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,
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,
,
m
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1
8
5
In
War T i me
I have to say it over to myself to make such j oy
se em po ssible
Your own C IC EL Y
.
.
T E L E G RA M V I
TRE VANNI ON
,
le
-
Bois
A mbulance
1 02 ,
Groupe 78
H arlay
,
.
Wire me en route that you have started
—C IC E L Y
Love
.
.
.
T E L E G RA M V II
TR EVANNI ON
,
British R ed Cross Boulogne
,
.
S uppose you left before receiving mine asking
o
u
to
telegraph
W
aiting
impatiently
e
n
o
u
e
r
t
y
.
for to morrow afternoon
C I C ELY
-
.
I
S9
.
Toute
ten dresse
.
Letters
o f T wo
P e o ple
T E L E G RAM V I I I
British R ed Cross Boulogne
TRE VANNI ON
,
,
Why no telegram ? What
.
delayed you ?
Telegraph your safe arrival at Boulogne N ot
hearing expected you yesterday Longing for
—
l
V
this afternoon All O C C IC ELY
h as
.
.
,
.
.
.
T E L E G RA M
BR
ITI SH
RE D
C R OSS
,
IX
Boul o gne
.
Mr E ric Tre v annion arrive d Boulogne ?
—
Answe r pai d VANE 1 1 6 Melville St L ondon
H as
.
.
,
T E L E G RA M
.
,
X
H AMI LTON Anglo Colonial Hospital
Tarr e aux P as de C alais
N URSE
-
,
,
.
Please find out from
v a n n ion
h as
if Mr E ric Tre
arrived Boulogne from H arlay le
B R C
.
.
.
.
-
1
6o
,
Letters
o f Two
T E L E G RA M
VANE
11
,
6
P e o ple
XI I I
Melville S treet L ondon
,
.
has not reported here Since N ovem
ber Your wire delayed in transmission
Boulogne
Tr e v a n n ion
.
.
.
T E L E G RA M
H ARVE Y
C onducteur
,
1 02 ,
,
-
Bois
m
d Aut o
’
A nglais A mbulance
le
XI V
ob
ile
Groupe
C onvoi
,
8
ar
l
H
a
7
y
,
.
Wh en did Mr
leave H arlay ?
E xpected in L ondon last Wednesday but no
more news of him Friends very anxious
—
Please wire at once Answer pai d VANE 1 1 6
Melville S treet L ondon
Tre v a n nion
.
,
.
.
.
,
.
,
T E L E G RA M
VANE
,
11
6
XV
Melville S treet L ondres
,
,
An gle t e rre
.
has seri o us attack pneumonia
Well looked after in hospital H ARVE Y
Tre v an n ion
.
1
62
.
In
War T i me
T E L E G RA M
XV I
Handed
in
at
midnight
(
)
H ARVE Y
A mbulance
,
Bois
1 02 ,
Groupe
8
H
a
a
l
l
r
e
7
y
-
,
.
Tell Tre v a n nion I am starting for H arlay to
morrow morning Wire me latest report Tre
—
t
vannion s condition o
Boulogne N UR S E
VA N E
.
’
.
.
T E L E G RA M
N U RSE
XV I I
VA N E c /o British Red
P aris Boulogne
,
unchanged
.
Uncons cious
T E L E G RA M
M A DA M E VA N E
S
.
H Ot e l
,
de
.
,
Condition
Cross
,
W
1 1
6
—HARVE Y
.
XV III
Melville S treet Londres
,
,
.
R egrette
vous informer é tat de Monsieur
tr es grave
M ED E CI N E N CH E F
Tre v a nn ion
A mbulan c e 1 02 Groupe 78 S ecteur P ostale 43
-
.
,
,
,
1 63
-
.
Letters
o f Two
LE TT E R
P e o ple
LI I
M RS VANE T o H ER BERT
.
E R S TON
R U X I LL E
V
O
MY D EAR
H ERB ERT
.
,
don t know how to write to yo n ; I
have lied to you for so long that I suppose I have
forgotten how t o tell the truth and yet it must
be done
You have n e ver done m e anything but kind
n ess ;
you have al ways shown me a constant
faithful and never failing love You have always
trusted me ; you have always given m e complete
libe rty—well I have misused that liberty and
betrayed your trust For months p ast I have
loved another man—loved him and belonged
t o hi
; and now he is dead ; he d ied four
days ago in a military hospital a few i les from
here
You mustn t t hi nk I am writing t his c o nfession
’
I
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,
.
,
-
.
,
.
m
m
.
’
1
64
Letters
Of
T wo
P e o ple
try to disappear utterly For the present I am
going on nursing I have got a place in a French
hospital Don t try to see me or to write to me
I am not going to begin a new life ; I pray God
I am going to begin to di e
C I C ELY
.
.
’
.
.
.
.
1 66
In
War T i me
LE TT E R L III
M RS VANE
MR
To
.
.
H ARVE Y
R U X I LLE
O
V
.
D E AR MR H ARVE Y
I O we you and all your friends on your
convoy my very deep thanks fo r all your goodness
.
to me
,
.
did all that human kindness could do to
help m e in my great grief and you were able to
help me because I felt that y ou all loved E ric
I am a very lonely woman ; indeed I am
absolutely alone now and the knowledge that you
all knew and cared for him constitutes the only
bond between myself and any living human being
that exists for me to d ay
I w as everything in the world t o E ric and he to
me Had he lived I w as to have be en his wife
Please gi ve my message of thanks to all your
friends but to you I have something more to say
When we stood round his grave in that desolate
war battered cemetery I s aw that there were
You
,
.
,
,
,
.
.
.
.
,
,
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1
67
Letters
o f Two
P e o ple i n W a r T i me
tears in your eyes and I w as grateful to you I
have not been able to shed a tear
A fterwards you said to me
He w as a splendid
chap ; he always s eemed to make m e feel what a
little rotter on e was but he never seemed to
notice it
My dear b o y you spoke the truth and that is
what he w as to me ; he made me see how small
and unwo rthy a rotter I w as but he never
s eemed to know it
I am going to disappe ar as completely as I
c an ; it is unlikely we shall ever meet again and
this is the last time I shall ever mention him to
—
a living soul I am glad it should be to you
He wrote me more than once about you ; he
liked you and used to laugh at what you s ai d
You see he loved laughter and the gaiety of life
that w as a great part of his charm hi s laugh I
as I shall
c an see his face smiling at m e now
always se e it till I die
C I C EL Y VANE
,
.
.
,
,
”
.
,
,
,
.
,
.
.
,
.
,
,
.
.
‘
R
I
N
T
B
IN
I
P
.
B R U NS
G
R EA T B R I T A I N B Y R I C H A R D C LA Y
WI CK
ST
.
.
S TA MF O R D
SONS ,
A ND BU NGAY
LI MITE D
S UP P OLK
.
,