ound on
the right flank, and with its left as a hinge, swung back like a gate,
opening the way for the Germans toward Paris.

There have been many descriptions of the fierce fighting put up by the
French and British to stem the German advance, but the most interesting
one that ever came to my notice, came from one of the few American
soldiers that participated in the defence. Two weeks after the opening
of the battle and at a time when the German advance had been stopped, I
came upon this American in a United States Military Hospital at Dijon.

An interne led me to the bedside of Jimmy Brady, a former jockey from
the Pimlico turf in Baltimore, and now a proud wearer of Uncle Sam's
khaki. In his own quaint way, Jimmy told me the story of what a little
handful of Americans did in the great battle in Picardy. Jimmy knew.
Jimmy had been there.

"Lad," he said, "I'm telling you it was a real jam. I learned one hell
of a headful in the last ten days that I'll not be forgetting in the
next ten years. I've got new ideas about how long this war is goin' to
last. Of course, we're going to lick the Boches before it ends, but I've
sorter given up the picture I had of myself marching up Fifth Avenue in
a victory parade on this coming Fourth of July. I'll say it can't be
done in that time.

"Our outfit from old ---- engineers, and believe me there's none better,
have been working up in the Somme country for the last two months. We
were billeted at Brie and most of our work had been throwing bridges
across the Canal du Nord about three miles south of Peronne. I'm telling
you the Somme ain't a river. It's a swamp, and they just hardly squeeze
enough water outer it to make a canal which takes the place of a river.

"We was working under the British. Their old bridges over the canal were
wooden affairs and most of them had signs on them reading, 'This bridge
won't hold a tank,' and that bridge wouldn't bear trotting horses, and
so on. Some of 'em we tore down must have been put in for scenery
purposes only. We were slamming up some husky looking steel structures
like you see in the States, and believe me it makes me sick to think
that we had to blow 'em all up again before the Boches got to 'em.

"I see by the papers that the battle began on the 21st, but I've got no
more idea about the date of it than the King of Honolulu. They say it's
been on only about ten days, but I couldn't swear it hadn't been on
since New Year's Eve. It su