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Show 934 Tlll‘l ll.\lll\' I'MIIICH'I‘ MARIE IVAXUYNA with tenderness as she \\':llt‘ll(‘1lll|('lll. Semyonoy had alwavs when we arrived at our destination. This was the aeeustomed white deserted house standing in a desolate tangled garden. There was no one there, on our arrival. All the doors were open, the sun blazing along the dusty passages. It was inhabited, just then, I believe, by some artillery ottieers, but I saw none of them. Semyonov went otI to find the Colonel of the regiment to whom we were to give tea; Marie Ivanovna and I remained in one, of the empty rooms, the only sound the buzzing flies. Every detail of that room will remain in my heart and brain until I die. Marie lvanovna, looking very white and cool, with the happiness shining in her large elear eyes, sat: on an old worn sofa near 1 he window. In the glass of the window there were bullet holes. and beyond the window a pieee ot' blazing golden garden. The room was very dirty, dust lay thiek upon everything. Some one had eaten a meal there, and there was a his eye upon her. seeing that she did not toneh them. some~ times ealling o11t sharply: "\owl .\l:1rie. . . . t:1l\'eeare! 'l‘alieearel" but tl1is1norning he also s1‘1‘1111‘1l hind and gentle to them. leading :1 small girl baeh to her haggard bony old guardian. earrying her heavy ean ot soup for her. or joking with some of the old men . . . "Now. 11111-le . . . you ought to he at the war! What have they dl'ne. leaving you? So young and so \‘igoronsl They‘ll tal<e you yet I" and the old man. a toothless trembling ereatnre. 1-h1t1-hi11g his hunk of bread with shalting hands. would grin lil~;e the head of ll‘ath himself! llow close to death they all seemed! Ilow alive were my friends. strong in the sun. 1‘11111passiolmte but also perhaps a little th‘spising' this poor gathering of wastrels. The work went on: then at last the tinal set": ps of meat and bread had been shared. the l<itehen elosed its oven, we took otI our overalls, shook ourselves. and bade farewell to the seareerows. The hitehen was then sent home and we moved forward with the tea boiler and two sanitars further into the forest. Our destination was a large empty 1101150 behind the trenehes. From here we were to tahe tea in the boiler to eertain regiments. tea with wine in it as pI‘C- 235 plate, a knife, also egg-shells. an empty sardinevtin, and a hunk of blaek bread. There was a book whieh l pielwd 11p, attraeted by the English lettering on the faded red eover. It was a "Report on the (‘ondition of New Mexieo in 11H) t" ~11 heavy fat volume with the usual photographs of water t'alls, eorntields and enormous sheep. ()n the walls there was only one pietnre, a torn supplement than some (let‘man ventative against eholera. It was the early al'tern1‘1o11 now: and we moved very slowly. The, heat was intense and magazine showing father returning to his family alter a although the trees were thiek on every side of us there witie (latter and uglier), and dog (a mongrel). There was 1he11s11al pile of tietion in Polish, translations l stlspeet ot' (‘onan Iloyle and Jerome; there, was a desolate palm in a eorner and a ehipped blue washing stand. .\ hideous plat-e: seemed to be no shade nor coolness, as though the leaves had been made of paper. "This is a strange forest." I said. "Although there are trees there's no shade. It burns like a t'nrnaee." K0 one replied. "'13 passed as though in a dream, meet' ing 110 one, hearing no sound, the light: da111:ing and lllt'litlr‘ mg 011 our path. I nodded on my seat. I was half asleep long allNellt'tL-Ai\\‘(‘l('1)111(¥(l, ot' worse, by ehild (tat and ugly t, the sun did not penetrate and it» should have been 1-ool, but tor some reason the air was heavy and hot as though we were enelosed in a bisenit'tin. l leaned against the table and looked at Marie lranovna. |