France
France
Dec. 24th [1917]
Dear Cath:
I’ve just had the pleasure of receiving seven letters from you, the earliest dated Sept 19th & the latest Nov. 8th, but am sorry to say I’ll have to make this one serve as an answer for the whole seven. Hardly a square deal I know, but when you pause to meditate upon the fact that I have some fifty letters to answer, I know you’ll be kindhearted enough once again to forgive my shortcomings. Yes sir, Katie, so help me Harmar, when I came off parade yesterday the orderly corpl said there were forty-five letters and a parcel lying on that particular portion of our stable known as “my bed”. He said some other things to (which I won’t write down as I don’t know the censor) for you see it’s the corpl’s job to call out the mail every day. Well I started in and read and read till supper time and after supper read and read again till I couldn’t keep my eyes open and then this morning I read and read some more until I had no more letters to read – then I opened the parcel: a pail of cookies from Rose which had been on the road over 6 weeks.
You may think I was somewhat fed up with reading letters but now on your life . I enjoyed every minute of it and my eyes are just as good as ever so don’t think that old excuse of “hurting my eyes” will do for short letters any more. Comprez? To explain this sudden shower of blessings. You remember I was, through a streak of “luck,” detained in Rome and some two months had elapsed before I returned to my batt, during which time I hadn’t received a single line from anyone. But when I did get back, the first thing I did was to make a bee line for the post office thinking there might be some mail for me there.
You can imagine my feelings when the postal Sgt informed me that there was nothing doing. “What?” says he “Do you think we could lug your mail all over the country? Why you get more mail than any other guy in the battalion. We sent it all back to the base.” I thought it was all up with my precious letters but you see I was mistaken; they all came back in a bunch. We’ve certainly got a dandy postal service – no mistake about that.
Well, Cath, I’m glad to hear that you are so well settled in your new “home” and hope you continue to like your work as well as you seem to do at present. You surely did have s0me experience the night you landed in Toronto though – should think you would remember it for a few days all right. However I expect you can find your way around with out any trouble by this time. I know that part of the city where you are living quite well. You see I used to board at 126 Robert St. Just behind the old Knox College on Spadina, and used to take a Bloor car to Mr Dunn’s church + Coynes’ quite frequently. Then my cousins (Eileen and Gladys Ainslie – think you’v met them) were attending St Margaret’s – so I was up there once or twice a week.
And now I come to your journal of Oct 16. Many thanks for your congrats + good wishes but don’t put it on too thick or you might make me light headed. – a M.M. isn’t a V>C> you know, so don’t run away with the idea that I’m one of those story- book heroes some people like to read about. Lo tell the truth it came as a surprise to me, but if you were really as pleased over it as you say you were, I’m going to go right out and win another. There’s some satisfaction in having it though, for it’s all I’ve got outside my bare word to show that I’ve really been doing my bit out here. There are lots of fellows you know who have never seen the front line, but you ought to hear some of them talk. It gives me a pain to listen to them.
Well Cath, I’ll have to close for it’s after eight o’clock and I want to get ready to go to a communion service to be held about three miles from here at 11 o’clock tonight. I is Canon Scott’s idea (he’s senior Chaplin of our division ) Rather novel eh? But Can Scott is full of novel ideas. He expects the service to end just at midnight. This is Xmas eve you known and thank goodness I expect to spend both Xmas + New Years day out of the line.
Oh, say, I musn’t forget to thank you for the snaps – It’s just fine – the best I ‘ve seen I think. I am still waiting for the ones I had taken in Rome but will send them along as soon as they arrive. I think I told you about my trip down south but might add that I spent two days in Paris on my way back. I wasn’t very much taken with the place though. It seemed about the same as any other larger city. Of course different opinions.
And now that I think of it there’s something else – those socks you knit for me. I haven’t record them yet but they’ll likely turn up before long. Thanks very much indeed. I have received two “Standards” and some other papers during the past week. So you see your mother is keeping up the good work. I’m always glad to get them.
Well bye, bye, I wish you a Merry Xmas and a very very Happy + prosperous New Year
Yours – Leslie (over)
If I keep thinking of things I intended to put in this and didn’t, I’ll never get it finished. But it wouldn’t do to forget this.
Have you heard the tastes about Harry O’Neill? You mentioned that he had joined the navy. Well I rec’d a letter from him written in October saying that he intended signing up in a few days + thought Alex would be with him. But here’s what interested me most – he said he’s a married man now although he hadn’t as yet told his folks. I hardly know whether to believe it or not, but he seemed to be really serious. I remember he’s mentioned some girl who lives near where he is teaching, in several of his letters since he went west and that leads me to think there maybe something it after all. But it is the biggest surprise I’ve had for a long, long time. I always thought Harry was pretty level headed but what in the world he wanted to get married for, then leave his wife to come out here and get shot at, I can’t figure out at all. Still I suppose it’s none of my business so I’d better not say any more. But “Harry O’Neill married!!!” Can you imagine it? -Les
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