llen.

As for myself, the time has been rife with tragedies; throughout I have
tried to do my duty.

I saw all my superior officers killed, and the whole regiment decimated.
There can be no more human hope for those who are cast into this
furnace. I place myself in the hands of God, asking of Him that He would
keep me in such a state of heart and soul as may enable me to enjoy and
love in His creation all the beauty that man has not yet denied and
concealed.

All else has lost proportion in my life.

_March 15_ (a post-card).

DEAR BELOVED MOTHER,--I suppose that by now you know my good fortune in
getting this platoon. Whatever God intends for me, this halt has given
me the opportunity of regaining possession of myself, and of preparing
myself to accept whatever may befall me. I send you my love and the
union of our hearts in the face of fate.

_March 17._

A charming morning. A white sun swathing itself in mist, the fine
outlines of trees on the heights, and the great spaces in light. It is a
pause full of good luck. The other day, reading an old _Revue des Deux
Mondes_ of 1880, I came upon an excellent article as one might come upon
a noble palace with vaulted roof and decorated walls. It was on Egypt,
and was signed George Perrot.

Yesterday my battalion left these billets. I am obliged to stay behind
for my instruction as sergeant. How thankful I am for this respite,
laborious as it is, that gives me a chance of recovering what I care for
most--a clear mind, and a heart open to the spirit of Nature.

I forgot to tell you that a day or two ago, during the storm, I saw the
cranes coming home towards evening. A lull in the weather allowed me to
hear their cry. To think how long it is since I saw them take flight
from here! It was at the beginning of the winter, and they left
everything the sadder for their going. And now it was for me like the
coming of the dove to the ark; not that I deceived myself as to the
dangers that had not ceased, but that these ambassadors of the air
brought me a visible assurance of the universal peace beyond our human
strife.

And yesterday the wild geese made for the north. They flew in various
order, tracing regular formations in the sky; and then they disappeared
over the horizon like a floating ribbon.

I am much gratified by M.C.'s appreciation. I always had a love of
letters, even as a child, and I am only sorry that the break in my
education, brought about by myself