1^^ ALLIER HIS PARENTS Class 'J1 ' Z4'? ^j Book._ 1 (jop}Tightlf.v^iA3> ROGER ALLIER Roger Allier ROGER ALLIER By HIS PARENTS Introduction by THEODORE ROOSEVELT Authorized Translation from the French by Henry H. King ASSOCIATION PRESS New York : 347 Madison Avenue 1919 Copyright, 1919, by The International Committee of YoireiG Men's Christian Associations iv'AK 12 ;9ij ©CI.A5126S2 ^\-Q ROGER ALLIER By Theodore Roosevelt The volume before me is a family book, not intended for publicity, written to preserve the memory of a young man, Roger AUier, a subaltern in the Chasseurs Alpins, who in the first year of this great war, with quiet heroism, laid down his life for France. The book is by his father, Raoul Allier, a professor of Protestant theology, in Paris. The family is a Protestant family — at the time of the boy's studies in the Latin Quarter there is much mention of his belonging to the Association of Protestant Stu- dents. Pie had all the intensity of religious belief of his Huguenot ancestors, although, of course, with a width and liberality which they were denied ; and it is interesting to see how this young man, who proved himself a soldier of such gallant type, was deeply concerned, before the war, in the problems of industrial democracy, in raising the living, housing, and working conditions of the laboring man. The preface of the book is very touching. Al- though it is written only for the family and friends, yet it expresses a spirit of such fervent devotion to and intense pride in France as explicitly to disclaim that the gallant record of the young lieutenant stands by itself, or is more than illustrative of the many, many thousands of similar careers of the Frenchmen who have given their lives that France may live. The great interest of the book lies in the fact that it vividly sets forth the moral preparation which made this youth and his fellows able to check the flood of German vi ROGER ALLIER aggression in the first two months of the war. The astounding victory at the Marne, a victory of untold con- sequences to civilization, was due to the m.oral regenera- tion — and the physical training necessarily accompanying this moral regeneration — which had taken place within France during the decade preceding the war. This book shows how this regeneration was accomplished. The let- ters of the boy, showing such keen perception of moral laws, form a document of permanent worth to all believ- ers in the manhood which treats both valor and gentle- ness as essentials. Roger Allier was of the stamp of our own men, like young Shaw and young Lowell, who went into the Civil War in the highest crusading spirit. He served in the Chasseurs Alpins, a body of soldiers whose extraordinary endurance and boldness are due partly to natural aptitude and partly to a severe and prolonged training of such a character as to raise the man far above the average level — and, by the way, this intensive physical training exerts a profound effect upon the soul, upon the moral qualities, of the man who undergoes it. This book sets forth in detail the work, practical, methodical, and yet permeated throughout with a lofty idealism, which pro- duced these incomparable soldiers. The account would have a direct technical interest for every student of mili- tary affairs in the United States who wishes to know how to train to the highest degree a select body of fighting men. But the great interest this book holds for America is not only, and indeed not mainly, for soldiers; the lesson it teaches is a lesson for our entire citizenship. Considering the dreadful misery and suffering that have been inflicted upon France, the book is singularly free from bitterness; and this although it appears that the gallant young fellow was himself killed while wounded, and in an ambulance, under circumstances of shocking barbarity. It is good ROGER ALLIER vii for us to realize the heroism that France has shown. Small nations, under exceptional circumstances, have in the past shown a like heroism extending over a long period, and great nations have shown such heroism for a short period. But I question if history shows any such drama of sus- tained heroism on the part of a great nation, a nation of forty millions of people, as France has shown during the last three years. Let our people profit by the example. And let them remember that this heroism is due to the moral preparation, the moral regeneration, and the accom- panying physical training of the French in the six or eight years preceding the war. The great regenerative movement was genuinely moral; which means that it was the direct antithesis of the flabby and unhealthy sentimentality which travesties and de- grades morality by seeking to make it a synonym of sham and cowardice and hypocrisy in such movements as those of the professional pacifists. All true elevation of soul must be accompanied by a certain prepared readiness to use the body as an effective instrument for the expression of the soul's desires. All real morality must have in it an element of strength. Brutal and arrogant militarism such as that of Napoleonic France and of the Prussianized Germany of the Hohen- zollerns is a terrible evil. This means that moral weak- ness and pacifism and fear of or inability to oppose such militarism is a crime against humanity ; for the existence of soft timidity in one nation puts a premium on brutality in another. It is no accident that in the United States the professional pacifist, the anti-preparedness man or woman, is a tool and ally of German aggression against not only Belgium and France, but America. It is no acci- dent that the professional pacifist who is actuated by weakness and timidity always finds allies in the most brutal sections of the community. The mob that com- viii ROGER ALLIER mitted murder and torture in the draft riots 'of New- York in 1863 was instigated and led by men who an- nounced that they were for "peace" and were against mihtarism and the draft. Many of the violent copper- heads of Indiana were lawless and murderous people; and yet their leaders all declaimed continually in favor of "peace," and used precisely the arguments of the professional pacifists of our own day. "Every old age of gold was an iron age too, and the meekest of saints may find stern work to do in the day of the Lord at hand !" The golden hopes of mankind can be realized only by men who have iron in their blood ; by men who scorn to do wrong and equally scorn to submit to wrong ; by men of gentle souls whose hearts are harder than steel in their readiness to war against brutality and evil. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Introduction v Foreword xi I. Childhood and Adolescence i II. In the Latin Quarter 13 III. England and Scotland 29 IV. Albertville 49 V. Albertville (continued) 73 VI. Grenoble loi VII. Annecy 123 VIII. Paris and Tignes 157 IX. Aime-en-Savoie 191 X. The Battles of Saint Die 219 XI. A German Hospital 239 XII. May 19-JuLY 13, 1916 249 IX TRANSLATOR'S NOTE This translation is from the authorized French edition. A few short passages, and the Appendices, have been omitted because the material contained in them was not considered of particular interest to American readers. The translator wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Miss Elsie C. Harris, Mrs. G. J. Livingston, and Mr. E, Guy of the French High Commission for much valu- able aid and many discriminating suggestions. FOREWORD This book was first written for relatives and friends. Those who knew and loved Roger Allier still love him and would like to know him a little better. They pool their recollections. They re-read together the old letters. The uninterested may find this wandering among relics a little tedious ; but those who linger over these remembrances in poignant grief, have only one regret: that they cannot stretch out the journey. The correspondence the pages of which they turn with deep feeling is rather volumi- nous; they quote only a small part of it, and they are sometimes tempted to ask themselves why they have not reproduced more. It would, of course, have been easy, with the hundreds of letters at their disposal, to publish a collection which would have constituted the diary of a chasseur alpin from 191 1 to 1914. Such a diary would not be without value. Certainly it would be wrong, in these tragic hours when every regiment piles sacrifice upon sacrifice, to set up an odious comparison to the advantage of any one. The savage hate of the Germans, however — and their admira- tion — for the "Blue Devils" is a well-known fact, which no one has a right to suppress and which means much. What the chasseurs alpins have been during the War is explained quite simply by what they were in times of peace. You understand it all when you have before your eyes the diary of an alpin, beginning with the day when he took his place among his comrades as a private up to that day when, after serving his time as a non-commis- sioned officer and officer in all the rigor of training, he xi xii FOREWORD set out for the front at the head of the machine-gun section. But one does not feel disposed to pay too much atten- tion to the tales of "petty warfare" when the "big war" is unchained and marching in blood. The time will come when, to understand the things of today, it will be neces- sary to know the work of yesterday. A diary of this sort will then be reckoned at its full documentary value. He who lives again in these pages was not by any means an exceptional being. Thousands like him are dead, men who were indeed his brothers and his equals in intelli- gence, morality, high ambitions, and determined devotion to justice and truth. Among these many had his ardent faith in God and in Christ. He is only one among them, and a place apart is not asked for him. But if the phalanx of those who are like him is so great and if the larger part of those who belong to it have been mowed down, one trembles before the crime which has been com- mitted against humanity. And one shudders also at the thought of those who before God and men bear the responsibility of this crime committed under the invoca- tion of the Lord of Hosts. Argentieres, September 25, 1916. CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE (1890-1907) The "Ecole Alsacienne" — Religious instruction — First impressions of Scotland — Tayport — Glentyan — Waver- ings — Vocation. CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE Roger Allier was born in Paris on July 13, 1890. His early life was uneventful — a normal boyhood, marked by no noteworthy incidents but the thousand trifles, recalled with eagerness by relatives, that indicate the awakening of personality. His studies were pursued at the "Ecole Alsacienne," from the time he was six years old till he took his bachelor's degree in philosophy. For many years in the Rue Denfert-Rochereau one could see the group of comrades, like a flock of sparrows, twittering and playing on their way to school, under the care of older boys more or less responsible for the lively group. Notable among these were Raphael Andoyer, Pierre Kruger, and Edmond Boegner. Roger worked for the most part under those professors, many of whom are now gone, who have impressed upon the "Ecole Alsacienne" its distinctive character. One of them, Mr. Adrien Krebs, exerted a powerful influence on the boy. He was one of those teachers who regard teach- ing as much less a profession than a ministry — the shaping of souls, rather than the mere training of intel- lects. He possessed without knowing it the art of com- municating by little tricks, of which his young hearers spoke sometimes with a smile and often with deep feeling, his consuming passion for everything that is beautiful and good. He communicated to his pupil a fervent love for the language and literature of ancient Greece. This love never left Roger. He wanted much to follow up the 3 4 ROGER ALLIER studies to which Mr. Krebs had introduced him. Though not specially drawn to the profession of teaching, he debated for a time whether or not he should enter this particular field, in order to pursue his passion for all that is summed up in Hellenism; it was for this reason that he enrolled in the course in advanced rhetoric in a lycee in Paris, and he never gave up reading the language he so greatly loved. One of his most-prized gifts from his father was a New Testament in Greek, printed at the Oxford Press, which was given him in 1905, Later, in active military service, he profited by an occa- sional leave to select from his library and take back his Homer or the Tragedies in the original. His religious instruction began under Pastor Elie Bonnet, when he was in the fourth form. He was with him for three years. At the end of the third year, he felt himself still too young to take his first communion. It was not that he was deterred by doubts ; but he wished to do nothing of importance without a full understanding of the reason, and he was resolved to take this step only on that day when the act would mark a decisive point in his life. He asked his father during the school year 1 905- 1906 to give him special lessons in the development of religious revelation in the history of the human race. He wished to trace at the same time this development in the spiritual history of the people of Israel and in the Christian Church, and to make an appraisal of the place that Christianity occupies among the religions of the world. He was in the first form when on Whitsunday, 1906, he decided to take his first communion. He did this with such an elation of spirit that in the afternoon of that day, while at Versailles at the annual conference of the Student Christian Association of Paris, he felt the im- pulse to tell all the friends whom he met of what he had done that morning, and his eyes were shining with joy. CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 5 On leaving the first form he went to Scotland, where he spent two months. He had already been there with the hockey team of the "Ecole Alsacienne," to take part in a game with the pupils of the Naval School of Osborne. This time, however, he went all alone, to experience free- dom. He experienced it, though barely sixteen years of age, in a place where he felt his individuality was deeply respected and where he was in contact with a virile piety which opened wide horizons to him. The weeks which he passed with Pastor Halliday's family, at Tayport, were surely among the happiest of his life. He threw himself with eagerness into all sorts of physical exercise — swim- ming in the Tay, long bicycle rides, endless hours of golf. He had as a companion on these rides and partner in his sports a young relative of the family, Sydney Martin, who fell afterward on the field of honor in France. At the same time he exposed himself to all sorts of questions. Tayport, July 29, 1906. At nine o'clock Mr. Halliday holds worship in Eng- lish. All the members of the household gather for this ; and I, I follow with a New Testament in English. After that we go into what Mrs. Halliday calls the greenhouse, or conservatory. There Mr. Halliday has me read aloud from the newspaper. He tells me in German the words I do not know and thus I am becom- ing familiar with English politics (the Nationalists, the Liberals, the education bill, the motor-cars ques- tion), as well as all other events (the dissolution of the Duma, the interview of Mr. Stolypine and the ex- deputies, the Dreyfus affair). . . . After read- ing the paper — which teaches me a host of useful 6 ROGER ALLIER words — I play the violin for an hour. Then, I learn the words which I have jotted down in my note- book. . . . All his letters bring enthusiastic descriptions of what he sees, whether at Tayport, or on a trip with Mr. Halli- day into the extreme north of Scotland, or in the excur- sions which he makes all alone in the "Highlands." He would like to engrave everything for all time on his retina: Dundee and its cathedral, Edinburgh, which he calls a wonderful city but does not wish to describe for fear of being unequal to his subject — he has heard it compared to Athens, but he thinks it is still more beau- tiful than the Greek city — the forests of beeches and Highland pines, the "Highland cattle" with their great heads and enormous horns, Loch Katrine with its wooded little islands where one looks for the silhouette of the "Lady of the Lake," the towns which recall the heroic victories of Wallace and Robert Bruce, Inverness with its Cromwellian fortress and Macbeth's castle, the battle- field of Culloden, the galleries of the cliffs of Lossie- mouth in which he buries himself for hours with his bicycle lantern, "imagining myself," says he, "with Uncle Lidenbrock on his voyage to the center of the earth." The religious life of Scotland immediately interested him. July 31, 1906, he wrote: Last Sunday I went to church for the first time. The edifice is surrounded by a cemetery, and makes no show on the outside, though magnificent within. It was nearly full, although there was a service at quarter after eleven in the morning and another after luncheon. CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 7 Mr. Halliday preached a sermon on Christianity and the decadence of the Roman Empire. This I did not entirely understand, but I read and translated it in the afternoon with Mrs. Halliday. Some fine hymns were sung. Everybody sang, and not listlessly as in Paris. It is most extraordinary to hear so many male voices in a church. Every day the Salvation Army goes through the streets singing to the accompaniment of horns, snare drums, and a big bass drum. Sunday nobody works ; where ordinarily there are trains every half hour, there are but three in the entire day. People are expected to read only religious works. I read a considerable bit from my Greek Testament and started a life of George Buchanan. The rest of the afternoon we sang or played on the piano, the harmonium, or the violin. He did not forget that he would one day be a student and he read with very keen interest a collection of medi- tations delivered before the students of Harvard Uni- versity in the United States : "Afternoons in the College Chapel." Two things struck him particularly in the Scottish piety with which he was being made acquainted. The first of these was a scrupulous regard for the truth, a horror of lying, a sort of worship of intellectual and moral loyalty. During the years that followed he never ceased to praise this trait. The second was the constant devoting of oneself to practical morality. . . . These impressions are strong in the young Frenchman, who receives them without analyzing them keenly, but who will bring back from this contact with Scotland a 8 ROGER ALLIER fixed criterion of religious life and a firm insistence that conversion must give rise to tangible results. ■ The intimate relations betw^een his father and Mission- ary Coillard and the kindly recommendations of Mr. Alfred Boegner and of Captain Bertrand, of Geneva, secured for Roger the acquaintance of Mr, Richard Hunter, the great Scottish friend of the Zambezi Mission. He was invited to spend a few days at the latter's place in Glentyan, near Kilbarchan, in Renfrewshire, not far from Glasgow. There, he finds himself in the family of a great manufacturer, who devotes himself to his business from day to day without being a slave to it; who does not feel that his duty as a citizen and a man is ended when he has left his ofiice, and for whom leisure hours, wisely planned, are a means of enlarging unceasingly his vision of mankind and of taking in hand things that go far beyond the immediate horizon, such as the amelio- ration of the living conditions of workingmen, the con- struction of hygienic houses, the education of orphans, the preaching of the Gospel in the village near by, and an intelHgent share in the apostolic efforts being made in the heart of Africa or in India. While Mr. Hunter inter- ests himself in the most minute details of the French Mission on the Upper Zambezi, one of his daughters, with whom Roger takes many walks in the neighborhood, is getting ready to go to India with the Young Women's Christian Association. All these interests and many others proceed from the very heart of the piety which Roger meets at Glentyan. He is all eyes and ears for what surrounds him: Glentyan, September i8, 1906. Saturday being a holiday, Mr. Hunter did not go to town. He took me to Kilmacolm, about ten miles CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 9 from Glentyan. It is a typical Scottish village, built of grey stone, on the side of a wooded hill, a veritable jewel of cleanliness and order. Some distance from there, on the summit of a hill, Mr. Hunter has built a home for orphans. There in that bracing atmosphere live about one hundred boys and girls whose educa- tion is being most carefully directed. They learn the trade for which they show the most pronounced natural ability and are prepared for the struggle of life. The buildings, from which there is a splendid view of the surrounding country, are very interesting and should be described in detail. The interior is remark- ably clean. Everything is shining. The corners of the rooms are rounded, so that there is no place for the slightest grain of dust to settle. The furnishings are in the "new art," at the same time simple and very artistic. All gives the impression of cleanliness and well-being. . . , Mr. Hunter has built through- out Scotland a large number of such houses. Before leaving Scotland he stops for a week at Edin- burgh, at the home of the Reverend Mr. Benvie, who takes it upon himself to make sure that he sees everything of interest in the city and its environs. On returning from this trip Roger enters a class in philosophy. He has for a professor a very learned man who does not deny the existence of religious phenomena, but who studies these phenomena almost exclusively in insane asylums and thinks he has taken adequate account of them when he has been able to deliver some observa- tions, more or less foreign, on a degenerate of the Sal- lo ROGER ALLIER petriere or a demented one of Sainte-Anne. One should have seen the smile with which Roger, returning from a class where the professor had spoken to his pupils of some of his spiritual discoveries, related these to his father. Moreover, he took occasion to explain to the professor before his amused friends, that he had, in the life of normal men, met with much more interesting phenomena than those that he was bringing to them from the hospitals. While he was attending this class in philosophy, a problem was continually putting itself before the young man with a force that was growing more and more dis- turbing : to what career should he devote himself after his graduation? If he had had a special aptitude for mathe- matics, he would have wanted to go to the Polytechnical School or the Central School to have one day the joy of building locomotives. He knew that it would be somewhat unwise for him to devote himself to that line. He had to be content to collect documents on the latest types of these engines. Up to his death he was a sub- scriber to an English review. The Railway Magazine. Physiology was not without its attraction for him. Above all, he would have Hked to continue the study of classic?! antiquity; but the teaching profession, most decidedly, did not appeal to him. He found himself at the end of the school year without having made any decision what- ever. The long vacation was spent in a continual exam- ination of conscience. He was not able to make lip his mind. It was during the prolonged meditations of two months spent on the Rigi that the thought of matriculat- ing in the Law School came to him, and little by little, led him towards a resolution. It was during this so- journ that he felt, for the first time, in the ascent of Titlis with his friend Andre Guex, the awakening of his taste for Alpine climbing. His decision, however, CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE ii had not yet been formed when the end of the vacation came. In order to give himself a few weeks' respite, he asked his father to enroll him in the advanced rhetoric course of a lyceum in Paris, This delay sufficed to draw him from his uncertainty. He told his parents that he was going to begin his. law course in November. He never dreamed of becoming a lawyer. His aim was to present himself some day for the competitive examina- tion for admission to the Conseil d'Etat.^ Two very different considerations led him to this determination. In the first place, being much interested in social ques- tions, he could not help being struck by the way in which Parliament too often legislates on these questions. Nine times out of ten, the Houses enact laws that are almost inapplicable; the essential thing is to have made a show- ing in order to appease the voters. They adopt, then, a provision that a ruling of the public administration shall determine the actual method of application of the law. It is the duty of the Conseil d'Etat to render a little more nearly feasible the hasty work of Parliament. It is more and more evident that this body is called on to play a leading part, both in construing the laws voted by the Houses, and more especially in formulating proposed laws. Roger felt the importance of functions which, without ever bringing the least popularity to those who ^ "France has ... a special institution under the name of Conseil d'£tat, which was introduced by Napoleon I., and has been maintained since. It is presided over by the Minister of Justice or (in his absence) by a vice-president, and is composed of Councillors, Masters of Requests (Maitres des Requetes), and Auditors, all appointed by the President of the Republic. Its duty is to give opinion upon such questions, chiefly those con- nected with administration, as may be submitted to it by the Government. It is judge in the last resort in administrative suits, and it prepares the rules for the public administration." — "The Statesman's Year Book," 1918, p. 808. 12 ROGER ALLIER discharge them, nevertheless offer an opportunity to render the largest service to our democracy. In the second place, he was living in a milieu in which all the problems brought up by the separation of Church and State were the object of constant thought and daily con- versations. It was justifiable to think that the Conseil d'Etat, in the midst of the struggles which seemed on the eve of springing up, would be called on to become the arbitrator in the great interests in question, to determine the true limits of the domain of the State and that of conscience, to specify and to defend, at the same time, the rights of the State and the liberty of the religious con- sciousness. These were the two trains of thought which, a little abruptly, led the young man to decide in favor of studies to which he had given little consideration up to that time. u IN THE LATIN QUARTER (1907-1911) Program of studies — The Association of Protestant Students — With the miners of Henin-Lietard — The "White Star" — Examinations. II IN THE LATIN QUARTER In November, 1907, Roger matriculated in the Law School and in the Free School of Political Sciences. The usual length of time given to studies in the Saint- Guillaume Street building is two years, after which the pupils take the examination for their diplomas. He decided not to present himself for this examination until the end of the third. If he thus stretched his preparation over a longer time, it was not, by any means, to lighten his work; it was in order to be able to follow at the same school, along with the special studies of the law course, other courses which had no immediate interest so far as his diploma was concerned, but which seemed to him valuable for general culture. These were especially those courses bearing on the development of social ques- tions or on the relation of Church and State in the differ- ent countries of Europe. He was, also, in the Law School, a faithful listener in one of Mr. Charles Gide's courses, one which did not help him toward his master's degree, but which bore often on the problems facing a democracy. He also attended with the greatest interest the public course which his father was giving at the Protestant Theological School on "The Conflict between the Modern Conscience and Religion." Finally, this school having organized during the academic years 1908- 1909 and 1909-1910 some courses in advanced religious instruction, he enrolled there immediately; being also monitor in the Sunday school of Luxembourg Chapel, he 15 i6 ROGER ALLIER was kept very busy in discharging his simple duties ac- curately. Although busy with so many duties, Roger was very desirous of keeping up with his dearest comrades those ties which are so sweet during the years of study in com- mon, and which differing choice of careers so often loosens or even completely severs. Friendship was a need of his heart. But it was not with him an exclusive relationship. He was not one of those who have one or two intimates and who give to these all their affection. Nor was he what they call a "good fellow," one of those individuals who have the air of giving themselves to everybody and who really give themselves to none. When he left the "Ecole Alsacienne" and began his student life, he sought to avoid as far as possible the danger of separation from those with whom he desired to continue intimate. He asked his parents to hold regularly for his personal friends a little informal reception. The third Sun- day in each month in the afternoon Roger's friends, Pari- sians or not, were sure to find him and his parents at home in the house on the Raspail Boulevard. There were no invitations. Those came who wished to or who could. They talked of all manner of subjects just as they came to their minds and with no constraint. The most weighty discus- sions of the outside world had here their echo at times. Often, they limited themselves to exchanging impressions of the different courses of study in which each was inter- ested. They vibrated in harmony in their enthusiasm over some of these and they united in laughing at others. The end of the afternoon arrived and they were loath to separate. Several of their habitues still like to recall these meetings of the "third Sunday." At the time of his return from Scotland in 1907, Roger became an active member of the Association of Protestant Students at Paris. For a long time he had known of the IN THE LATIN QUARTER 17 Student Christian Federation and its program. At the end of September of that same year he accompanied his father to Sainte-Croix and took part in the conference of the Christian Student Movement of French Switzer- land. While he found in the headquarters in Vaugirard Street an agreeable meeting-place with good comrades, he also gained a conception there of the religious work which could and should be conducted among the stu- dents of the Latin Quarter. Surrounded by young men at grips with all the problems of moral and religious life and in quest of convictions which enable one to serve one's country and humanity truly, he felt the heavy responsibility which rests upon those who know what they believe and why. He asked himself if those who have this privilege do not take too easy a satisfaction in an unconsciously egoistical enjoyment of it, and if they make sufficient effort to possess in a personal fashion that which they have perhaps received passively. He would have wished that the Paris Association might be- come in increasing measure a liberal school of strong convictions. Having been from the first day very strongly drawn to the general secretary of the Associa- tion, Th. Cremer, then to his successor, Armand Kuntz, he became acquainted with the nucleus of students who put before the pleasure of making acquaintances the duty of blazing forth the principles of the Association. The realization of this program seemed to him impossible without serious study and he gave ungrudging help to those who were trying to form study classes : "We are beginning to notice that there is a weak point in our defense. The convictions which we pro- fess do not rest on a sufficiently solid scientific under- standing. The researches and conclusions of biblical i8 ROGER ALLIER criticism are too foreign to the majority of us. It is high time that we open our Bibles together and that we cease to leave to the unbelieving a monopoly of historical research. It is not at all a question of aban- doning the big assemblies.^ To these, however, we should add group meetings for the study of the Bible in a spirit at the same time religious and scientific, believing that this study, instead of shaking our con- victions, will give them more force. I permit myself to make an appeal to all the students. They should, when coming to these evenings of study, feel abso- lutely free. We appeal not only to Christian students firm in their faith, but to all those who doubt, to seekers, and to agnostics. We wish to do violence to nobody's personal convictions, but to leave to each one a feeling of unhampered individuality. Our ideal is a foyer in which students will be associated in a serious search after the truth." These words were spoken by him, in November 1910, on the occasion of the reopening of the Paris Associa- tion. But before being appointed by his comrades to formulate a program in their name, he had had three years of personal application of the principles v/hich were dear to him. Before extolling meetings of this sort, he had made the experiment with his intimate friends. He knew by experience the efficacy of what he was recom- mending to others. He was also one of those who feel that Christian ^ An allusion to the meetings which the Association was hold- ing each year for the general public. IN THE LATIN QUARTER 19 students should find time to devote to social questions. He longed to be in contact with these, otherwise than through books or lectures of his professors. At the end of 1909, an occasion offered itself to meet several of them in the flesh. He seized it with eagerness, though it deprived him of a joy which to him was most dear, that of passing the Christmas holidays with his parents. It was not mere intellectual curiosity, however, that made him decide to give up this joy. He felt that the refusal to do a little work for others would be a strange way of celebrating the birthday of Him who came only to give Himself. The minister, Mr. Rene Pfender, who had invited him to Henin-Lietard, himself tells of this visit in a letter to Roger's parents, written at St. Die, July 21, 1916: "Sharing the concern of the Association of Christian Students to interest the youth of the universities in the conquest of our country for Christ, I had the thought that a particularly efficient method would be that denoted by the 'come and see' of the first disciples, consisting in having the students visit centers of evangelistic work, which would thus serve as tangible evidences of the power of the Gospel today. I had, therefore, asked my friend, Grauss,^ to find some student willing to pass the Christmas holidays at Henin-Lietard. Roger Allier was the first to respond to this appeal. Interested in social questions and desirous of ascertaining how the Gospel works the transformation of an industrial community, he 'came and saw,' and saw in the best way, by participating. "It was on the morning of Christmas Day itself, about eleven o'clock, that he got off the train at the ugly little ^ General Secretary of the French Association of Christian Students. Left in August, 1914, as sergeant in the Forty-first Regiment of Territorial Infantry; commissioned sub-lieutenant in June, 1915. Died of wounds received in battle, August 29, 1918. 20 ROGER ALLIER station of this important mining center. We went at once to the church, where we found the young people busy trimming the traditional fir tree. At once, Roger took off his gloves and his jacket, climbed a ladder, and was at work. This spontaneity, so simple, in a trice won for him the liking of the young mine workers. 'He is not proud, that one there at least.' For many years after they recalled this detail." Roger on his part wrote: Mr. P fender was awaiting me at the station. I knew him even at a distance. We had been at the Grand Chasseron together [allusion to an excursion made in common when at the conference of Sainte- Croix]. What a dreary country! I am a few steps from Courrieres. There was something gloomy in passing the little stations of Sallaumines, Billy-Mon- tigny, and Menicourt. How many unhappy memories and what gloomy scenery! As soon as I arrived, I broke the ice by helping with the Christmas tree. To these honest miners, young and old, one is immediately like a brother. A student who speaks to them as a comrade is listened to with open mouth. Thus I became acquainted with all the members of the church ; we talked together a great deal and they taught me many things. The thing that touched me was the way in which the parents came to shake my hand. I spent an hour and a half in chatting. I already know quite a bit about mining. Mr. Pf ender s letter continues : "Towards evening, parents and children filled the large church for the Christ- IN THE LATIN QUARTER 21 mas celebration. Roger was a little uneasy at first, be- cause he was addressing such an audience for the first time. Touched with emotion, he pleased young and old by a pretty Christmas story from which he drew several les- sons. The next day, Sunday, he attended morning worship and Communion ; in the evening he gave a talk before the Christian Society on the progress of Christianity in the Far East. There again, I have a very vivid remembrance of the undivided attention with which the young miners listened to him and of the impression they in turn made upon him. Nothing could be more natural : he laid before them practical evidences of the universal power of the Gospel, and from his meeting with them he carried away another proof of it. "That his visit exerted a beneficial effect on our young people in Henin-Lietard and on him also, I have no doubt. xA-fter this sojourn Roger subscribed for L'Ami^ in order to follow in it from month to month the news of the coal valley. We kept up a correspondence and I should like to quote some passages from his letters, if invasion and pillage had not destroyed them. For their part our mem- bers, in their long chats at the Young People's Foyer, never recalled their old memories without mentioning Roger in a special manner. Under the rough exterior of the miner beats a warm heart and lives a faithful memory. When, after the victory, the church of Henin-Lietard shall count its dead and commemorate their deeds, it will salute as its own two volunteers for Christ and France whom it has known and loved, Francis Monod and Roger Allier. I cannot help associating with the name of your son that of Francis Monod, for they are the two French students who have left in my heart the ^L'Ami, a popular evangelistic paper, published by Pastor Delattre, has in each of its issues a little supplement devoted to news from the coal valley. 22 ROGER ALLIER dearest memory; since they have fallen I cannot think of the one without at once having the other appear in my thought. Surely they are, elsewhere, carrying on their work for the Master, under more direct orders than He gives here below. . . . " Naturally, Roger was eager to see the miners in the midst of their actual life and work. Thanks to a young engineer, Mr. Beigbeder, he made this underground ex- cursion under excellent conditions which permitted him to investigate everything. It was not without emotion that he put on the blue shirt, trousers, and vest, the grey cap covering the head and hiding the hair, and the round, soft, broad-brimmed leather hat, laced the heavy boots, and took the hammer and the safety lamp. He had not the sensation of putting on the tourist's disguise, but rather that of becoming a miner with the miners. He wished to see everything: "With a mine overseer, I went," said he, "for kilometers on all fours and on my stomach, and I am worn out." From this descent he brought back sensations never to be forgotten. Henin-Lietard, December o.'j, 1909. My impression is very simple and can be summed up in a few words : Up to today I was absolutely ignorant of what a mine is. In the first place, the work of a miner is brutalizing to a degree that I had never imagined. Secondly, I used to imagine that a mine was a very simple affair, and in reality it is one of the most com- plicated that one can imagine. There are no "miners." There are fifty different types of workers in the "pit" of the mine, without counting innumerable others who work "in the daylight" and make the coal go through IN THE LATIN QUARTER 23 all sorts of operations before it falls automatically into the railway cars. . . . Walking in the galleries is out of the question : one must go on all fours, or more often on the stomach, dragging oneself along by the aid of the hands, which smart from contact with sharp bits of coal lying every- where about. One holds one's lamp before him and at times (I am not exaggerating) in order to pass, one must tip it : there is not room to hold it upright. The gallery is sometimes several meters wide, what I have just said applying only to height. The height is still further diminished by scaffoldings of wood, which support a frightful pressure and are too often rotten — whatever the companies say when an accident hap- pens. One comes at last to a place where the heat and coal dust (which takes fire at nothing at all, as at Courrieres), make the air scarcely breathable. One sees then, lying on the ground, three or four sweating, half nude human beings, pounding to break up the coal. They break up as much as possible of it in a day, for they are paid by the task. This is the universal cus- tom. The strongest impression that one has in these ex- cavation chambers is how terrible it would be if a scaffolding should break : one would be immediately annihilated (I cannot find another word) by the thou- sands of tons which are above one's head. And in the case of an explosion, can you imagine the flight in this dark prison, with the lights extinguished? And what then, when you are caught in one of these airless little 24 ROGER ALLIER cells, more terrible than the little dungeons of Louis XI, are you to do in case a slide separates you from the rest? If you ever go down into a mine, you will see that this impression is terrible. One understands how it is that during the months and years since the disaster, the Courrieres company has not been able to jEind a sufficient number of workmen to keep the mine going — so terrified are they at the mere sight of such and such a pit of Billy-Montigny ! The company has changed the numbers of these pits, and it seems that this little ruse has to a large extent succeeded in chasing away those awful memories. This little psychological touch shows you how simple and childlike are the minds of the miners. If he was eager to study all the social reforms that he could, he felt at the same time that reforms should not end when they touch only on the exterior of groups of human beings taken collectively; that a new society will be nothing if it does not form new men; and that, by a sort of paradox which has the appearance, but nothing more, of argument in a circle, this society itself can be founded only by men whose inner lives shall have already been made new. That is why he did not recognize a piety based primarily upon rites or dogmas. While attach- ing to knowledge the value we have seen, he conceived of religion above all else as the essence of life, and that life he refused to reduce to emotions. He saw its worth much less in the sentimental effusions which it may provoke than in the conduct that it inspires. Respect for self and for woman was in his eyes the test by which the validity of IN THE LATIN QUARTER 25 many revelations may be proved and at the same time the prerequisite of true social action. He was very much concerned over the necessity of making these principles understood by two classes of persons, those who call themselves social reformers and those who style them- selves thinkers, both of which classes display too often a guilty indifference toward questions of private morality. He was convinced that Christian students ought to be on the front line in the battle against an attitude which constitutes, in the case of the former, participation as an accessory, and in that of the latter cowardly apathy. He was on the alert on every occasion to proclaim before his friends his belief in the greatness of morality and in the profound role of a virtue of which many men affect to speak only with a smile. In February, 1910, knowing that the Congress of the Student Christian Asso- ciation to be held at Palavas was to discuss Association activities, and being unable to attend the Congress in person, he wrote the following letter to his father, who was to preside at the meetings : Schloesing^ and I are desirous of having action taken at the Palavas Congress in favor of the White Star. ... I have never been able to understand why in a circle of Christian students so little time should be devoted to the question of morality. It is * Robert Schloesing, left as second lieutenant of the artillery in August, 1914; made lieutenant July 14, 1915, and killed Sep- tember 29, 1 91 5, in Champagne, cited in the army order of the day: "Showed himself from the beginning of the campaign wholly devoted to his duties and discharged with devotion, intel- ligence, and tact, the missions entrusted to him, notably those of liaison agent of the division commander. He was killed in the exercise of these duties while trying to cross a heavily shelled strip of ground." 26 ROGER ALLIER time to put these points forward. It is necessary to undertake something in the Association itself before thinking of exerting an influence on the students out- side. It is for that reason that Schloesing will deliver this month an address on the question of sexual moral- ity. It is for this also that I have engaged him to say a few words at the Congress at Montpellier. This will be only a beginning. He has had to do this in writing, since we both stay in Paris. He has considered the question like an artist. Both the form and the contents of his letter, which, moreover, was written very hurriedly, will astonish some members of the Congress. As he has signed my name, I wish to explain to you exactly in my own words what our thought was. I am sure that you will catch my meaning at once; for I shall content myself with reminding you of some ideas of your course on "The Conflict of the Modern Conscience and Religion," We maintain that with our comrades the question of morality ought to be approached from a special angle. Each age has its needs. These reflect the spirit of the day, which is characterized by a reaction against all forms of asceticism ( I am summing up in twenty words several of your lessons) ; there is an affectation for identifying not only religion, but plain moral discipline, with hatred of nature; in them one pretends to see the breakdown of that same personality which one wishes to develop with intensity in every direction. This decision being reached, in what spirit ought the question of individual morality to be approached ? By IN THE LATIN QUARTER 27 taking the point of view of our contemporaries in so far as it is sound, by placing ourselves on their own ground — for this is the only way of being understood — by showing them that moral discipline does not tend toward the contraction of the human being but toward his largest development. If it is the development of their personality that they are seeking, it is necessary to show them they are deceiving themselves when they believe they find it in "the right to live as they like." True happiness does not go without a certain portion of asceticism. That is what Schloesing said ; but I fear that he said it rather baldly. His letter will astonish some people, less moved than he by the esthetic side of Hfe. If there should be discussion and opposition, I beg you to make it understood, in our name, what was in our thought. We wished to say this : The White Star ought not to frighten those who do not desire asceticism. We are not ascetics. While making no concession to the "new paganism," we affirm — placing ourselves on the same level as its defenders — that moral discipline is the condition of an intense and beautiful life. With his friend Schloesing he was dreaming of some- thing else than a momentary demonstration. He proposed to Grauss to introduce in the Semeur a supplement de- voted specially to moral propaganda and to the efforts of the White Star among students. This supplement would have to be printed separately for wide distribution in the Latin Quarter, The project was taken into considera- tion. To make it amount to anything would have called 28 ROGER ALLIER for spare time which Roger could no longer find. In June or July, 1910, he passed the examinations admitting him to the bar and obtained his diploma from the School of Political Sciences. The academic year of 1910-1911 was for him one of intense toil. He was resolved to discharge his military service at the usual age, if possible, after passing all his examinations. On the advice of Mr. Lyon-Caen, then dean of the Law Faculty, he at- tended the first year courses during the mornings and in the afternoons the second; he passed the first exam- ination in July and the second in November, when he had already been at the barracks a month. On his return from service, the complicated life which he led was an obstacle in the way of his taking up again at once a project which still was very dear to him. Then, there was the War. In the meantime two trips to the other side of the Channel had enriched his young experience. Ill ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND (1909-1911) The conference at Oxford — Mansfield House — Ber- mondsey — Second visit to Scotland — Camp Moffat — At Dairy and Glasgow — A social investigation — Preparation for military service. Ill ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND In July, 1909, Roger was a member of a delegation sent by the French Student Christian Federation to the Conference of the World's Student Christian Federation held at Oxford. He eagerly attended all the meetings of the Congress, interesting himself deeply in the work of the Federation in the different parts of the world, espe- cially in the Far East, making a more and more complete appropriation of the watchword of these enthusiastic young people, "Make Jesus King," talking with all those who have the privilege of rendering anywhere a useful service, and renewing through contact with all these stirring ambitions his own aspirations in the quest of a field of action. At the same time, he acted as interpreter for his father, whom he accompanied to all the com- mittee meetings or gatherings of "leaders," and thus be- came better and better acquainted with Federation prin- ciples and methods. At home he had heard repeatedly of the efforts made several years before by some students, grouped around Pastor Tommy Fallot, to get into touch with the working classes, to know them better, and to work with them and for them. He had also heard much about the university settlements, both in England and the United States, and he envied the opportunities which our Anglo-Saxon comrades possess of becoming acquainted with the life of the lowly, the humble, the downtrodden of this world, and of thus playing their part as active 31 32 ROGER ALLIER citizens of a democracy in travail. The Oxford Con- ference being ended, he had the joy of reahzing a desire which had long pursued him : accompanied by his father, who was also glad of the opportunity, he went to the University Settlement of Mansfield House, in Canning Town, one of the poorest slums of London. He himself related his experiences and his observations in an article which, in spite of the youth of the author, the Reverend Elie Gounelle insisted upon publishing in his review, Social Christianity. While working with his friends at Mansfield House, he thought of the other university settlements of London, of which he had so often talked with his father. He wished to visit at least the principal of these, and realized this wish to the extent of paying a visit to Bermondsey and Toynbee Hall. London, July 24, 1909. Day before yesterday, I went to an address which had been given me, to visit the settlement of Bermond- sey. This address was incorrect, or rather, the man who gave it to me had confused two different insti- tutions. He had sent me to the "Oxford Medical Mis- sion," which is also a kind of settlement or residence of students or former students. Arriving there, I asked for the person who had invited me to luncheon. They did not even recognize his name. There was nobody in the house; the table was set, and I was hungry. The maid asked me to sit down, and I rested a little. But I must have appeared stupid : being sure of myself, I had not brought the letter inviting me to luncheon, so I was in an odd situation ; I had a little the ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 33 appearance of committing an offense which we call in legal terms swindling or petty larceny. Finally they found for me the right address of the Bermondsey Settlement, and I arrived there an hour and a half late. Pastor Hannam, who had invited me, had gone out with Mr. Mann, one of the German delegates to the Oxford Conference, to show him the settlement and neighborhood. I regretted very much the loss of the meal, not because of my stomach, which was appeased, but because it would have been very interesting to talk with Mr. Hannam, who is a young pastor full of en- thusiasm. He is a fine specimen of a smooth-faced Englishman; he wears a business suit, and with his sprightly gait and long strides, I cannot picture him in a frock coat and top hat. It is necessary to say that he is not a member of the Church of England ; he has the appearance of a Non-conformist. The settlement of Bermondsey is Wesleyan. I vis- ited it in my turn with Mr. Hannam, to whom I ex- plained my lateness. It is a much more important settlement than Mansfield : the work is the same, but on a much larger scale. Although the settlement is only twenty years old, the building is immense. There are large rooms, but not too large, for they are easily filled with the various meetings, addresses, concerts, Bible study classes, and other gatherings which are held there. At Bermondsey, the district is more interesting and poorer than the Canning Town neighborhood. Here, one is in the middle of the docks, very near the Thames, crowded in the midst of sky-scraping ware- 34 ROGER ALLIER houses where accumulate products from all parts of the world. The air is laden with smoke, even in clear weather. Railway trains roar along the viaducts on every side. In the streets and in the small houses swarm immense crowds, in which predominate scantily clad, crying, fighting children. I have tried to give an account of what is being done here for them. But it is in winter above all that one ought to visit these districts, if one would see to what pauperism, not poverty, can lead. For there are hundreds of thousands of men, women, and chil- dren who are in that condition, either because bru- talizing labor brings them only starvation wages, or because they have no work at all. A few scores of rich shipowners, on one side, and on the other, thou- sands and thousands of poor wretches — there is the population of the shores of the Thames; it is a veri- table nightmare. When one has seen that, one does not desire to return to Piccadilly or the West End. One can understand why students should wish to live in the workmen's neighborhood and avoid everything that separates them from the people. I met some who even found the university settlement house too luxurious, and who had bought right in the heart of the slums a little house like those in which the work- men's families live. They are happier there, because it is still more easy for them to become friends of these poor people. I have not the time to write at length about what I saw in the settlement itself. Every time that I visit ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 35 one, I ask for a report. That is the most practical thing. It is what I did yesterday when visiting Toyn- bee Hall. I regret not having gone there with Father, who would probably have been very glad to see it again; for it is not very far from here and perhaps we should have had the time to do it together. He will recall that, from the top of an auto-bus, we had noticed the whole Jewish section, on our way from the City. It is in this quarter, where the population is almost entirely Israelitish, that Toynbee Hall is located. It is a part of the notorious district of Whitechapel. At the end of the following academic year, Roger left again for the United Kingdom with the oldest of his sisters. The objective of the trip was Scotland. The passage through London was rapid, and mainly con- sumed by a search in a special shop for pictures of the newest types of locomotives ! He had hardly arrived at Edinburgh when he had the privilege of being present at a ceremony strangely new to a young Frenchman : Last Saturday I made an extremely interesting journey, one which I shall remember for a long time. Miss Steven's^ brother is a Captain of the Highlanders and is just now in the mountains with 7,000 men. He invited me to visit the camp and to witness the pre- sentation of a flag to one of the companies by Mr. Haldane, the Minister of War. ^ Roger and his sister were in the boarding-house of a Mrs. Steven. 36 ROGER ALLIER The setting was marvelous. There could be nothing prettier than the hundreds of little, pointed white tents standing out clearly on the grass and the heather, surrounded here and there by small clumps of pines and with the great mountains towering above them. It was a sort of immense clearing, in which the High- landers in uniforms of many colors maneuvered with perfect regularity to the accompaniment of the wild shrill accents of bagpipes. You cannot imagine the beauty of this sight. There are colors which it is impossible to describe. The ceremony was composed of extremely com- plicated rites and had been carefully ordered before- hand. Several hundred people had come to witness it. A large part of the ceremony was religious ; a minister of the Established Church offered a prayer, which could be heard very easily, so deep was the silence. The musicians played hymns and at a given moment the voices of thousands of men followed them spon- taneously and with a truly touching earnestness. It always produces an extraordinary impression upon me to hear sacred music rendered in the open air by thousands of male voices. It is unfortunately an unknown thing among us. And I am persuaded that it is in large part from it that the strength of the popular English movements comes. When, in the month of last July, I saw at Hyde Park 200,000 men proclaim their willingness to support the cause of justice against the privileges of aristocracy and wealth, they did not disband without asking the aid of God ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 37 in a hymn. Who knows whether many of the unde- cided were not carried away by this reHgious enthu- siasm? After Mr. Haldane's speech, I dined in a large tent with some officers. They were veritable giants, with blond hair, faces bronzed by the open air, and really superb uniforms. He had gone to Scotland with the desire of enrolling at the Scottish Summer School for the Study of Mis- sions, a large assembly which is held at Moffat, in a tent, in a sort of camp. This conference lasted from the first to the eighth of August. He stayed from the beginning to the end: Moffat, August 3, 1910. I am scribbling these lines in my tent. Today is the second day at Moffat. I left the Stevens' Monday afternoon. Mrs. Steven made me a present of a fine Bible in English, in a little pocket edition, with flexible edges and having a supplement of Scottish psalms and hymns. This Bible is extremely useful, as I have re- peatedly experienced since I have been at Moffat. I found at Edinburgh a whole caravan coming to Moffat. We had special carriages; that is equivalent to an introduction, and contrary to the English custom we dared to speak to one another. I met here again a number of the students who had been at the Oxford conference. All the men, or nearly all, are Student Volunteers for foreign missions, belonging to many different 38 ROGER ALLIER schools. Among the 300 people who take part in the meetings nearly all are young, that is to say between eighteen and twenty-five years, approximately. We are four men to a tent. The camp is quite far from Moffat. It is pitched in a meadow. The old tower serves as a kitchen. They gave us a great heap of straw which we shared, each one carrying away to his tent as much of it as he could. With warm cover- ings over me and my Macfarlane as a pillow, I slept very well in spite of the river which flows through a ravine below and makes no small noise. As I cannot yet give you my impressions of the missionary meet- ings, I content myself with sending you the program, which will permit you to follow me hour by hour. As you see, there are prayer meetings from nine forty-five to ten thirty-five, which all the members attend in a group. Then come classes for study, by sections of ten persons or thereabout, with each person prepared to give a report on a specially assigned chap- ter of Mott's book, "The Decisive Hour of Christian Missions." From twelve to one there is an informal discussion of the subject that has been taken up. The afternoon is completely free. One is strongly urged to spend it in physical exercise, in order that the mis- sionary classes may not have for their only result mere artificial and momentary emotions. At last in the evening comes the volunteer meeting, intended pri- marily for future missionaries, that is to say, for the majority of the men or women students present. Such is the outline of the meetings at Moffat. The meet- ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 39 ings by sections are held in each tent, in the free church, in the estabHshed church, or in the different rooms connected with the churches. The general morning and evening meetings are held in a large tent, like that at Les Ombrages. I have bought Mott's book, as well as "Personal Economy and Social Reform," which, contrary to what I had thought, has no relation at all to foreign mis- sions, but deals exclusively with home missions. For those, laymen or ministers, who wish to devote themselves to the evangelization of Europe itself, the thorough study of social questions is considered here as having capital importance. The Christian Student Movement and the Student Volunteer Movement have already published several works, which are being spread broadcast in the churches through the study circles. These works are rather specially devoted to the Anglo-Saxon world, where social questions are different from those among us. But they seem to me interesting, and, as they are inexpensive, I will pur- chase some of them. The foundation on which the meetings at Moffat rest is provided by the study circles, which were organ- ized some years ago in the different local churches for the purpose of studying missionary questions of the world in general — from the strategic point of view, as Mott would say — instead of continuing to limit the interest to one or two missionaries in a small, fixed corner. This study is difficult, especially in the rural communities, where the people are, of course, very 40 ROGER ALLIER little acquainted with the different religions which are striving for the conquest of the world, and particularly for that of the Far East, which, at this moment, is absorbing to such an extent the attention of the Anglo- Saxon world. But the study is made easier by informational books, like that by Mott, which the Stu- dent Volunteer Movement publishes and disseminates through the churches. They have already sold 20,000 copies of Mott's book in England and Scotland. Here are some figures for Scotland alone : the study circles number 500, with 4,000 members. Four hundred new members joined last year in the wake of a campaign undertaken simultaneously by 150 students of the dif- ferent universities in Scotland, These people who came to Moffat are all members of study circles. These are all of my impressions for the time being. What especially strikes me is the enthusiasm of the young people who are here, particularly in my tent. The Edinburgh Conference^ gave them a great im- petus. A large number of them besides, came from Baslow,^ where this year's conference brought together 1,700 men and women students. ^The World Missionary Conference, which brought together the delegates of 159 societies and which was one of the most important events since the beginning of the century, was held this year, June 14-23, at Edinburgh. On arriving in the capital of Scotland, Roger hastened to visit Assembly Hall, belonging to the School of Theology of the United Free Church, where the Conference had had its meetings. *The annual conference of the Christian students of Great Britain and Ireland is held ordinarily at Baslow. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 41 August 10, 19 10. The missionary week is ended. I left Moffat Sun- day evening, and returned to Edinburgh, whence I went to rejoin Renee at Dairy. . . . The weather was not very favorable at Moffat. The days were gen- erally fine, although the sun did not often come out, but nearly every night we had terrible showers. As I was well covered, that did not bother me. Only the end of my nose was cold. Except for one time, our tents resisted very well and did not let in the water. I also slept very well, from eleven o'clock in the evening until eight o'clock in the morning. As we were on high ground our camp was much exposed to the wind, and my face is well burned. I think that the sharp air did me much good. There was very fine weather the last two days, and the grass in our tents finally dried out. We made regularly a large mess of "porridge," which we cooked in a huge saucepan, and our meals were very bountiful. All four of us were pressed into the service Sunday, to wait on table. I have begun my letter with these material details, thinking you would be impatient to know that I am in good health. With a student from Aberdeen I took long bicycle rides in the surrounding country. The country is full of wild gorges; but unhappily it is terribly hilly and very tiring. Thus, I made the other day an uninter- rupted climb of ten kilometers. . . . This country is interesting for a son of the Huguenots and reminds 42 ROGER ALLIER me of the Cevennes; for it is hereabout that the per- secuted Covenanters sought refuge. I was shown ravines and folds among the mountains where they used to hide and hold their meetings. I unfortunately have not the time to write you a long letter today, and I regret not being able to tell you more about the missionary meetings. I will give you the details by word of mouth. The name Summer School has seemed to me inexact. In reality, they do not study fixed missionary sub- jects. The gatherings at Moffat have an altogether different purpose. The people who come there are members of the study circles of which I spoke in my last letter. It is, therefore, absolutely useless to teach them what missions are, the more so as they are in gen- eral "leaders." It is, rather, an annual conference, which serves as a bond among the study groups scat- tered throughout the different churches. They there discuss the methods used, as well as the adaptations necessitated by the wide diversity, from the educational standpoint, represented in the groups to which they address themselves. But there is still another thing. The gatherings at Moffat are an instrumentality employed for the expan- sion of the mission study movement and the promotion of missionary enlistment. To that end are arranged the evening meetings, which are rather meetings of appeal to the young people than meetings of study. They were directed by well-known speakers and were to me the most interesting and valuable sessions. ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 43 I returned from Moffat delighted with my sojourn. There was revealed to me a laymen's movement, of which I had not dreamed, and which is developing rap- idly in Scotland and even in England, despite the many difficulties and objections with which the study of missions has to contend in the churches. You will notice from the photograph that of the 310 persons present there were 250 women and only 60 men. That is so because the men, who are in the majority in the study groups, were not free to come in such large numbers. They are not all on vacation at the same time; there is a notable conflict in this regard between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Among the campers have I told you that I found a number of students from Oxford ? Among them was the one who used to take particularly good care of us at Balliol College.^ They recognized me as soon as I came, and we parted very good friends. They had just spent two weeks at the Baslow camp. You are curious to know how they study missions here. I have the impression that in the study circles they go into the subject very thoroughly. Here is how it is, in a few words. As one is deaHng with people who differ widely and represent different stages and types of general information, the "study books," like Mott's, have to be brought within the reach not only of the educated public but also of * It was at Balliol College, Oxford, that Roger stayed with his father in 1909. The young- man of whom he speaks has since gone to India as a missionary. 44 ROGER ALLIER workingmen or peasants of town or country. The best definition that I can give you of these books for diffus- ing knowledge is that they are syllabi, offering a sort of outline or plan of study, themselves difficult for cer- tain ones, and for others too simple, requiring supple- mentation by the study of less general works. Thus at the same time the work is simplified and the most diverse needs are met. In the light of the discussions and conversations which I have heard, this method seems to me excellent. The results it is producing are encouraging. Very great interest is being aroused by the study of missions ; the end is being attained. I beg your pardon for expressing my thought so badly and so briefly. I hope that you understand what I mean. I do not know where my head is. Renee is practicing on the piano beside me and is making an infernal racket — the piano at Dairy is excellent, it has a very good tone, but for the moment I find it too much. I am trying to collect my thoughts and here are my impressions : 1. Very great impetus has been given to the study of missions by the Edinburgh Conference. 2. The interest of the Anglo-Saxon public seems concentrated on the Far East: "Half the human race is at a unique epoch of its history." There is the leit motiv. Materialistic industrialism, or religious devel- opment parallel to material prosperity; there is the alternative. It is, indeed, a poignant question for him who has heard the addresses of these days here. It ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 45 seems to me already proved that on the fate of Chris- tianity in the Far East depends the fate of Christianity in the Occident. 3. A very strong impression : no distinction between foreign missions and the evangeHzation of the coun- tries called "Christian." The appeal is as pressing for the one as for the other. But, in Europe, the pre- dominant interest is in social service. It is extremely intense in Scotland at this moment. I prefer to talk to you about this on my return. That which is certain is that economic orthodoxy is being more and more com- pletely abandoned in this country, which was repeat- edly pointed out to me in the course in Political Sciences as the model of social Darwinism put into practice. If it is still true that Adam Smith is better known in the churches than is the Sermon on the Mount, it is becoming less and less true ; and in increasing meas- ure ideas of brotherhood are taking the place of the comfortable old type of charity. If only one could print the address which a pastor from Glasgow deliv- ered before us last Thursday. It should be published in the Revue du Christianisme Social. Thanks to this minister, with whom I talked, I shall see many interest- ing things in Glasgow this month. This interest in social questions, which was becoming identified with his general interest in the Kingdom of God, accompanied him throughout the rest of his trip. At Glasgow and in all the large towns, he visited all the 46 ROGER ALLIER social institutions to which he could gain admittance. Fortified by letters of introduction from Mr. E. de Boyve, one of the leaders of the cooperative movement in French industry, he made a first-hand study of the life of the great Scottish cooperative societies. He did not lose the opportunity to visit a number of the larger manufactur- ing plantts. His trips to Oxford, to Mansfield House, and to Scot- land prepared him to come to his father's aid, in an inquiry which the latter had undertaken for the "Social Museum" on "The Enthusiasm for Social Activity" in the Anglo-Saxon groups of the World's Student Christian Federation. He collaborated actively in this work, writ- ing letters in all directions, aiding in the task of making abstracts of the answers which came in and in the trans- lation of the documents which accumulated. This mem- orandum was not entirely completed when he had to de- part for his military service; but it was at the point at which editing becomes almost mechanical. In connection with this work he had come into touch with the Reverend Mr. Goodrich, pastor of the Berri Street Anglo-American Church, and had formed the habit of regular attendance upon the meetings of its Christian Endeavor Society. In June, 191 1, Roger crossed the Channel to be present at the celebration of the coronation of King George V. On his return from England, he set out with his family to spend the summer in the Italian Alps, in the heart of the Valley of Aosta, at Courmayeur. It was there, in the great windings of the Mont-Blanc range, from the "Aiguille du Geant" to the "Aiguille du Midi," on the Grandes-Jorasses, and in the pass of Tale f re, that his passion for mountains was developed and there that he received his vocation. He decided to discharge his mili- tary service with the chasseurs dlpins. He returned to Paris for some days, participated successfully in the com- ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND 47 petitive examination to determine the award of the cer- tificates of military aptitude. He made this long and fatiguing journey in the midst of the torrid heat of an unusual summer. Almost ill in consequence, he was obliged during the tests to struggle against a fever which made the forced marches a torture : Paris, September 2, 191 1. . . . Everything was whirling about me. But I had determined to hold out to the end at any cost, whatever the effort that it might require. With stub- born resolution I dragged one foot after the other and slowly the kilometers and hectometers passed. It seemed years, centuries. Thus I struggled like a mad- man, bathed in sweat, for five hours, striving all this time to gain forcible control over my protesting stom- ach. Auto-suggestion was my ultimate salvation. At the end of twenty kilometers I felt much better and scarcely even tired ! I put forth such an effort that I made the last four kilometers like a freshly stoked engine. It is no exaggeration to say that never before in my life had I expended such an amount of energy and pertinacity. In desperate circumstances, when one must win at any cost, even to dropping in one's tracks, one is astonished to discover in himself un- dreamed of reserves of strength. His effort was rewarded. The rank which he received permitted him to choose one of the two places in the Alps assigned to the recruits from Paris : one at Embrun, the other at Albertville. He chose the one at Albertville. IV ALBERTVILLE (October, 191 1 -September, 1912) Entrance into the Twenty-second Battalion of Chas- seurs — Pastor Chatelain — On guard at the penitentiary — In the platoon of the student non-commissioned officers — Captain Boutle — Corporal. IV ALBERTVILLE The seventh of October, 191 1, Roger arrives at Albert- ville. The surrounding heights shine with fresh snow ; he needs nothing more to fill him, as he writes, "with madcap joy." The other "blues," in whom this sight awakens fewer memories and arouses fewer hopes, are strangers to this joy, while he understands nothing of the bewilderment which muddles them. He is immensely amused by all that he is made to do — a dictation, a page of writing, four problems in arithmetic — and especially by the difficulty which they have in equipping him, all the uniforms threatening to be too tight and too short. The initiation, involving the tasks of dishwashing and the peeling of vegetables, seems to him rather jolly. Above all, he applies himself at once to getting on good terms with his new companions. To break the ice, he sets on foot a few harmless pranks and is not long in becoming the friend of all. Albertville, October 14, 191 1. My roommates are much less disagreeable than I thought. There are among them some with whom one can talk seriously: an instructor, a normal school stu- dent, a railway employe, and others. There is an ex- traordinary mixture of professions in the barracks. I have lent them a novel and they have read the little 51 52 ROGER ALLIER brochure "Souviens-toi," addressed to young Chris- tians under the flag.^ They have asked me many questions. Two of them asked me to explain to them the map of the General Staff. We are all excellent friends, old-timers and raw recruits. The old boys tell us of the cold of the winter, when there is a meter of snow on the parade ground and one's gun freezes his hands ; they tell us of maneuvers, of the passage by the alpins over the saddles of Bonhomme, the "Croix du Bon- homme" and the "Fours" ; of the reconnaissance at the pass of the "Seigne" ; of the descent in Maurienne by the valley of Mottets and of Chapieux. . . . Some weeks later (November 19) he wrote to his pastor, Mr. Elie Bonnet, who had just sent him another pamphlet : "The Book of Prayers of the French Soldier" has become very precious to me. In fact, I used to know it and on leaving Paris, I had carried away with me six copies, to be able to distribute them, if opportunity came, to my comrades. An officer of great merit, Lieutenant Hienri Krug,^ on ^ Published by the National Committee of Young Men's Chris- tion Associations. ^ Received at the War School March 18, 1914. Named captain of the gth Battalion of Chasseurs, March 25, 1914. August i, 1914, given charge of the command of the 9th Company of the 49th Battalion of Chasseurs. Fell August 30, 1914, near Ecordal (Ardennes). Cited in the Army Order: "An officer full of spirit, ALBERTVILLE 53 the recommendation of Commandant de Cazenove, gave him a cordial welcome in his home and, recognizing in him the determination to become an excellent soldier, did not hesitate to give most valuable advice. Mr. Allard, a young postal employe with whom he had become acquainted, had introduced him without delay to the Methodist minister of Albertville, Mr. Chatelain, who felt for him at once a fatherly love. Roger had to take his final examinations for his doctor's degree the last of October. In the moments when he would perhaps have wished to rest, he had to bury himself in his law books : Albertville, October 18, 191 1. Since the evening of day before yesterday, I have devoted myself incessantly to the review of my course. It is due especially to Mr. Chatelain that I can do this. Knowing that I had no room in town and that I had to review my work for the examination in a quiet place, he has insisted that I go every evening on leaving the barracks and install myself with my books in his study. He has me stay at his house all evening, and has pre- sented me to his whole band of children, who are wild in their admiration of the alpins and have examined every stitch of my uniform. This inspection embar- rasses me more than that of the sergeant of the guard, for this one seems to me more searching. After fam- ily worship, I return to the barracks, light of heart, energy, and bravery, seriously wounded while facing a numeri- cally superior enemy; in order to intensify the courage of his company fell crying to his chasseurs : 'Courage, my friends. Long Live France !' " 54 ROGER ALLIER at last feeling less isolated in this gap of the Alps. ... At the barracks one is in the midst of a crowd, in constant touch with other men and yet nowhere could one feel more isolated. In the letter mentioned above, to Mr. Elie Bonnet, he wrote : I have the good fortune of feeling less isolated than I feared. Albertville is a little "gap" in the mountains, already buried in snow, it is true. But that does not prevent me from finding friends. The Methodist min- ister, Mr. Chatelain, has received me with the greatest kindness. For two years he has been preaching the Gospel in Savoy. He has helped with the work of the Gospel Wagon of which you have surely heard. I have found in his house the comfort and encourage- ment of which a Christian soldier has the greatest need, far away from his family and in the midst of temptations of all sorts in the barracks. On October 26th he appeared in Paris. He stayed there three days, passed with success his final examina- tion for the doctor's degree, and returned to Albertville. His chiefs now knew that he was freed from a care that they had respected. They had decided to make of him an officer of the reserve. Captain Boutle, who com- manded his company, the Fourth, warned him that he would not "let him off easy." This was, moreover, his personal wish. But he was going to experience what is expected of those to whom such a promise has been made: ALBERTVILLE 55 Albert ville, November 6, 191 1. In this connection the sergeant told me not to be too much frightened, if they made me go on guard duty very often during the next week. It was an honor which they were showing me — in other words, they were trying to gild the pill for me — and besides that, it would permit me sooner to become a corporal. Like the "old timers," we leave to make an eight days' maneuver in the mountains. It may be that I shall be on guard duty every two or three nights. The solemn thing about it is that for the first time, simple chasseur that I am, I have an absolute power of life or death over other men; it is my duty, under pain of going before a court martial, to fire on any man who ap- proaches without giving me the password, or to run him through with my bayonet. Albertville, November 8, 191 1. . . . I was on guard from Sunday night to Monday; then again Tuesday night to Wednesday . and I am to go still again Thursday night to Friday! ... It was, I believe, thanks to the howling gale that I did not go to sleep from the cold. The cutting north wind which whistles in the valley of Arly comes right down from the glaciers of Mont Blanc; each day the cold becomes more sharp. Our guns freeze our hands. One no longer is conscious of his feet; he fears he has dropped his weapon, but S6 ROGER ALLIER finds his fingers are so stiff that the hand no longer is separated from the gun. Tomorrow at half -past eleven I take up sentry duty again outside the guard- house. Albertville, November 12, 191 1. At last! The cape is rounded. I got out of the affair as I wished, that is to say without punishment or a cold. Not even my good looks have been im- paired. That does not mean that the weather favored me. The night of Thursday to Friday was freez- ing. Since last Monday's snowfall the grey clouds had not ceased to accumulate. The approach of winter was unmistakable. From three o'clock in the afternoon there was a veritable tempest. I was at that time in a corner of a narrow passage formed by the two walls of the penitentiary, six meters in height. Picture to yourself the wall of the prison of Sante. I was there absolutely alone with fixed bayonet, pacing those dark rounds where my steps reechoed in the silence. The nearest sentinel was two or three hundred meters away. I saw nothing save a corner of the sky, and on each side, extending for thirty paces, the wall, which at this point makes an angle. This curve in the rounds necessitated my taking with almost constant repetition the hundred paces necessary in order to cover the wall in both directions. It is useless to tell you that this is somewhat monot- onous, and' very tiring. By four o'clock in the after- noon it is nearly dark, and this watching every min- ALBERTVILLE 57 ute exacts a great nervous tension. Often one hears the sound of steps. It is necessary constantly to strain the ear. From time to time, officers or non-commis- sioned officers make the rounds to assure themselves that no sentinel has yielded to sleep. They come up in the darkness, accompanied by a lantern-bearer, and it is necessary, under pain of being punished, to stop them at a distance with the usual challenge. One orders the lantern-bearer to stop and permits the offi- cer to approach, alone, up to the point of the bayonet, and give in a low voice the "word." If he gives it, one permits him to pass, saluting him and reporting to him the alarms which one may have had. How many times in the night I rushed to the turn of the rounds, thinking I heard steps! It was only my own echo. During the long hours which I thus passed, a cold rain fell without cessation. Happily, at the end of two hours, one is relieved by a comrade to whom one gives the orders, the "password," and the cartridges. One then enters the well-warmed guard room, and, all dressed and equipped, ready at the least warning, one stretches oneself on the straw under thick coverings. How hard it is to be soon awakened by the officer of the guard to go, from two to four in the morning, for example, in the wind, the rain, and the darkness, to take up again the same place between the two walls! I do not know whether one would have the courage to obey if one did not think of the comrade who is freez- ing out there in the puddles of ic}^ water. While it 58 ROGER ALLIER was raining thus, the snow was descending lower and lower on the mountains which overlook Albertville. It has reached the forts which protect the valley. Be- fore long we shall see it on the borders of Arly. It will be hard then to do guard duty! Being in the penitentiary in the night from Thurs- day to Friday, I made a visit which interested me very much, but which left a deep impression of sadness. Accompanied by an officer of the penitentiary armed with a revolver, and another chasseur armed like myself with his bayonet, I made during one whole hour the night round of the interior of the fortress. -We passed through a veritable maze of stairways and little passages, opening enormous iron doors and thick grillings, examining in passing the locks of the hun- dreds of little doors which, at the right and the left, lead to the cells. I was carrying a lantern, my com- rade was holding a great ring of keys. We pried into the smallest corners looking for a possible lurker be- hind the doors, under the stairways, in the piles of wood, straw, or cloth, under the tables of the work- shops, and even in the water of a watering trough! At last we descended by a dark staircase to the underground cells, where are confined the "punished," the most dangerous of the prisoners. There, we were not content with examining the locks. We went, revol- ver in hand, into each successive cell, to make sure of the presence of each inmate. It is impossible to imag- ine a more heart-rending sight. In the dungeons change of air is almost impossible. But little light ALBERTVILLE 59 filters through. The odor is sickening. The wretches who vegetate here, true waste of humanity, are of a deathly pallor. It pains one's heart to see the looks of hatred which they cast at us when we enter. One divines in these looks a frightful accumulation of moral and physical suffering. You would have to see it in order to understand and feel it. What a sorry fashion of reforming the guilty is that of burying them thus alive ! The thought of it is enough to keep one awake nights. Since that evening you have no idea how much I admire men like Mr. Chatelain who have the courage to penetrate into this place of degradation and despair to take to it the gospel message. It is an heroic and almost mad task, that of daring to speak to such beings of love of one's neighbor, of pity, of redemp- tion, and of life eternal. It is necessary to have the faith which moves mountains to believe that such beings have souls and to try to raise them again and to convert them. I shall not soon forget my rounds by night in the penitentiary. The intensity of the experiences which he was having at Albertville did not make him lose sight of what was going on in Paris. He wished to know what progress his father was making in his various occupations, what recep- tion the members of the School of Higher Social Studies had given to an address on "What the Protestant Churches have to gain from the Separation," and what changes were taking place in the spiritual orientation of the Student Association. But if he followed all these 6o ROGER ALLIER things closely, he did not become lost in regret that he was far away from them. He was whole-heartedly devoted to his military duty and applied himself especially — for him a means of bearing its hardships — to dis- tinguishing what constituted its moral distinctiveness. November 19, 191 1. I thank you for having attached to your letter the monthly program of the Circle. I should be glad to receive it in the future, in order not to lose all contact with the life of the Association, The leading article by Kuntz is most clean-cut. It declares clearly what the Association Is and what it wishes to remain. There is a good beginning for the year. . . . The reli- gious study prospectus gives the promise of enthusiastic work, as does also that of the lyceums. Mr. Chatelain is about to organize a little Christian Association here. If I can render any assistance, I shall do so. Lieutenant Audibert is the man who occupies him- self especially with us ; I am in daily contact with him, for he follows closely the instruction of the student- corporals, and especially that of the two or three future officers of the reserve. Like nearly all the officers of the alpins, he is an athlete and makes us feel it. His commands are short and crisp and he puts us under an intensive physical training. You should see him placing himself at the head of our platoon for field work. He makes us climb, for example, in the direction of one of our forts in order to give us practical instruction, on a typical ALBERTVILLE 6i terrain, in the work of scouts or of sentinels in time of war. He commands us to make rapid evolutions and holds us ceaselessly in action. He makes us worm our way along under cover of walls or hedges, seek out sunken roads, scale high walls several men abreast, explore ravines, walk single file along the most im- passable paths, or surround a farm to see that the enemy are not hiding there. Then we see our lieutenant scramble down a slope with an athletic step. One has to follow him with sack on one's back and weapon in the strap, until one is steeped in sweat. Suddenly, at a blow of the whistle, he warns us that he had seen the enemy ; it is necessary to throw oneself flat on the ground, face close to the earth, in grass, in water, or in mud. Sharply, he gives us the order to surround a wood; we advance two by two, crawling in the meadows and hiding ourselves in ditches or behind bushes. Then there is a new rush at quick step; he is tireless. There is nothing to add except that these exercises are varied ad infinitum. If Mr. Schulz^ has praised to you the discipline and the military spirit of the alpins he was not wrong. Even when we are utterly exhausted, we are compelled to put into our movements an energy, a firmness, a precision, ^ Charles Schuiz, who had been a student at the School of Protestant Theology of the University of Geneva and who had passed some months at that of Paris, had done his military service in the Alpine Infantry. Joined the 42nd Regiment of Infantry in August, 1914, was given charge of the instruction of the volunteers. But he demanded energetically to go to the front, not wishing to continue to send his young soldiers under fire and stay himself far away from peril. He left his station the first 62 ROGER ALLIER which are astonishing. It is necessary at any cost that we show ourselves superior to the other companies; our captain told us so the other day. He had formed us in a square, as he does often after exercise, to address words of encouragement to us. He promised a leave of absence to any one who chances to wound himself in the hand as a result of alacrit)'^ in handling his weapon, or in the foot while making his heels click one against the other. "You are chasseurs. A chas- seur ought to know how to present himself and adopt a natural, proud posture." That is not all. The companies are pitted one against the other, and then in turn the sections of each com- pany. Whether it is a question of climbing the rope, doing gymnastics, of marching, of pulling the rope, section against section, or of making either one's room or the buttons of one's uniform shine, this rivalry pro- duces astonishing results. You should see the pride which the chiefs take in the sections which they com- mand, the changes in their expression when the victory leans from one side to the other, and the cries of encouragement which they address to their men. This perpetual rivalry, which is one of the salient traits of our battalion, is carried even to the point of being sometimes comical. of September, 1914, rejoining his regiment on the fifth, near Paris, and entered the 6th Battalion on the morning of the sixth. The same day he was killed. In front of him a group of Germans suddenly raised their arms in the air crying: "Comrades! Com- rades ! We are Alsatians ! We surrender." Incapable of sus- pecting a trap, Schulz advanced and was shot point-blank. ALBERTVILLE 63 Another important trait of which I have never spoken is the severity with which our chiefs fight alco- holism, and the excellent deportment of the chasseurs from this point of view. Lieutenant Audibert long ago gave us a talk on alcoholism. Soon, in the course of the winter, the surgeon will give us some real ad- dresses on the subject. I think I have said in passing that the canteen does not sell a drop of alcohol. The chasseurs who return from leave are obliged, on enter- ing the quarters, to show all their pockets, and are per- mitted to bring in no alcoholic drink. You have traveled enough to know how easily, on the train, sol- diers on leave permit themselves to be led along by their comrades. Drunkenness is severely punished by terms of im- prisonment. A case presented itself last Saturday; our captain gave us a talk on this subject. He pun- ished a corporal who, being in a cafe and seeing that the young chasseur in question was going to become intoxicated, had neglected to stop him. In the evening in the streets of Albertville, one never sees a drunken chasseur ; all is quiet. Mr. Chate- lain, with whom I dined day before yesterday, told me that the chasseurs had raised the opinion that he used to have of soldiers. It must be recognized that if such results are obtained, it is not due to an automatic and impersonal discipline. The relations of the Alpine officers with their men are of a quite special nature. These relations do not at all 64 ROGER ALLIER conform with the ideas which the young Christian brought to the barracks ; there are times when he is almost surprised and bewildered by them : Albertville, November 28, 191 1. Every Wednesday and often on Saturday I spend a very agreeable afternoon at football. The team has been formed for about a fortnight. We play with the officers and the non-commissioned officers. At first one feels a queer sensation when catching his lieuten- ant by the feet and throwing him to the ground. But it is the game and one becomes accustomed to it. All is not, however, so picturesque and gay in the service. The platoon of the student non-commissioned officers leads a life that can without exaggeration be described as infernal. The sergeant who commands it is a brave fellow, very much impressed with his responsi- bility, his heart set on making excellent non-commissioned officers, convinced that he is acting only in the interest of those whom he maltreats. Excellent sentiments, ab- surd prejudices, narrow ideas, and immature conceptions are strangely combined in his very simple mind. He feels that he has before him the most intelligent individuals of the company, and he figures to himself that, for this reason, they need to be broken. Thus he redoubles his violence, insults, and punishments. He invents all kinds of physical strains. Finally he carries things so far that the captain is forced to take notice of it, intervenes, and orders the sergeant to manage the chasseurs better, "after addressing to us," writes Roger, "one of those en- couraging paternal talks of which he has the secret and ALBERTVILLE 65 which cannot fail to build up the morale of the men at the psychological moment." If he suffers — and he admits this confidentially to his father — he notes with care the progress which is the reward of this suffering. ''Two days ago (December 17th) we even did one- half hour of double time, ten minutes of this with knap- sack on back and rifle on shoulder. Yesterday, we did five hours of marching with, theoretically, seventeen kilos on our shoulders. We were carrying in reality tv^^ice that load, for we were constantly in a veritable tempest of snow mixed with rain." At Christmas, he has several days' leave which he passes in Paris. Returning to Albertville, he devotes him- self again to the mastery of the technique of a service in which he is becoming more and more absorbed. But he has the joy of discovering that he escapes a peril which he has secretly feared : "At no moment since my return from Paris, have I suffered from that horrible home- sickness which often gnaws those who have seen their families again." The thing that visibly strengthens him is that he feels himself esteemed by his superiors ; he has the impression that they are making note of the application which he has shown during the three months. We have from the chiefs the recital of a little deed which shows very well with what faithfulness he worked. To accustom themselves to carrying their heavy knap- sacks on marches, the chasseurs had to put in them a certain number of cast-iron rings; the number of these rings is increased day by day. One time, the officer who was leading the detachment in a night maneuver, Lieu- 66 ROGER ALLIER tenant Krug, unexpectedly undertook the inspection of the knapsacks to see if each one contained the full num- ber of rings. On opening Roger's he found that the number has been increased. He could only say: "You are stuffing the corners with them." I do not wish to speak of the officers, who have confidence in me, or especially of the captain, who treats me in the most fatherly fashion. The non-commis- sioned officers themselves, from the adjutant of the company even to the terrible Ch., gave me, on my return, a welcome which astonished me. Nothing more than the way in which they said, "Good day, Allier!" and in which they shook my hand — a rare thing — put a balm in my heart. That proves that Ch. (you know whom I mean) comes to be grateful to you for persevering effort. He has lost nothing of his violence and remains true to his method : that of driving the men to the limit of their endurance. But to my thinking, all is changed. More than once, after roll call in the evening, he has detained me in his room to talk, or to seek the answers to a course which is in- teresting him. His stories of the Alpine maneuvers or expeditions on ski, for he is a good ski-runner and went to the school of skiing at Modane, are quite funny. He seasons these with many mistakes in his French and with a frontier accent which greatly amuses me. At times, when he is excited, he calls me "Old chap," and at that I can hardly keep a straight face. ALBERTVILLE 67 The snow is becoming deeper, the marches, varied by picturesque shoveling contests, are more and more pleasant — for him who is resolved to take everything in good part. Roger is initiated into the charms of travel on ski, or rather — to begin with — the charms of tumbles, head first, into deep snow-drifts. But a hard test awaits him. In the second fortnight of January, he is taken with a bad attack of jaundice. In vain he resists this illness; it is too strong for him. He is obliged to enter a hospital, to be ably cared for there by Dr. Romieu, for whom he forms an affection. He is furious at the thought that this illness will deprive him of taking part in the winter marches, in view of which he has been training for so long a time. He is forced also to give up taking the examinations, success in which would make him a corporal. All this greatly vexes him, but does not retard his convalescence. He is given leave of absence to recover at home. Febru- ary 4th he reaches Paris, to spend two weeks. But a great disappointment awaits him there. When he is not thinking of his jaundice, he has a relapse which forces him to take to his bed. The days pass. The time for departure arrives. Certainly, he would have no trouble in obtaining, on the report of his physician, an extension of his leave. But that idea is intolerable to him. After all he has done to win the esteem of his superiors, to expose himself to the suspicion of exploiting a little illness ! He is resolved to return. He consents only to his father's writing to Captain Boutle to tell him exactly how things are. He returns to Albertville February i8th. Naturally, he is obliged to go again to the hospital. But at least he has shown his good will. He quickly discovers that everyone has appreciated it. The captain advises him to occupy his long leisure hours in preparing for his examination and from time to time 68 ROGER ALLIER to participate, without getting too tired, in the exercises of the student-corporals on the embankment. "There is," writes Roger, "a mark of confidence that is really signifi- cant. I must now show myself worthy of it." He applies himself with fervor to what seems to him a very sweet duty of gratitude. He passes his examination, and is officially advised that he is admitted, but that he will receive his appointment only after resuming his full duties. His captain does not hide from him the attach- ment which he feels for him and in this connection makes him a very amusing revelation of the sentiments with which he had received word of the arrival of the "lawyer" in the battalion: March 4, 19 12. Last night I had a talk with Captain Boutle. Not having received the order for this morning's march and not knowing what to do, I went to him at his house, after asking the advice of my sergeant-major. Naturally, I was let in at the rear and waited in the kitchen; they did not ask for my name. He received me in his study, where he was taking coffee with Mrs. Boutle and his two daughters. His reception was more affectionate than ever. He prefers that I receive my stripes a little later, in order that my health may become as robust as before. He is putting me off, therefore, until after the second series of test marches which are to take place in about ten days. HI march tomorrow or the day after, it is only officially to get into training again. . . . "I am most eager," added he, "that you be made cor- poral, and that should be only a beginning. I have ALBERTVILLE 69 serious reasons for this. There are chasseurs and chasseurs. You are a thinker. Well, you do not imagine, young man, what a big part you can play in my company. An educated young man, who is devoted to his lot as an alpin, who offers his comrades an example of enthusiasm — such a young man has a very great influence. Young men of your type can be a very dangerous leaven of demoralization. They are so strong in demanding special favors, in giving an example of discontent, in disparaging everything, that they end by communicating their distaste to their less educated comrades. When you came to Albertville, I had absolutely made up my mind to saber you if you were that sort. We do not need those people in the alpins. We are an endurance corps, a picked body of troops. And, on my word, the service is hard. It is necessary to keep working at it every day, continually. It is necessary that they tire you out even up to this sum- mer, in order that you shall come to be able to 'climb the Alps' without feeling it. Well, one gets there only with good humor. You, my boy, you are an enthusiast. You are a fanatic on the subject of mountains. I saw that, this winter, when we crossed the saddle of the 'Fontanelles.' (That was one of our marches in the snow in December. The mess-steward's mules were trying to sit down and the chasseurs who were going ahead and breaking the paths were obliged to relieve one another every ten minutes.) You sweated on this climb, when you were marching ahead with Ch., but it was easy to see that you were a fanatic. That 70 ROGER ALLIER gave me pleasure. . . . That is why I insist on hav- ing you as a corporal of my company. I shall insist to the colonel that he assign you to the Fourth as supernumerary; for there is no squad unclaimed. You are a fellow who pleases me. It would have been so easy for you, if you had wished, to get a good long leave and stay three weeks or a month longer with your family while convalescing. You returned to Al- bertville. I shall treat you with all possible kindness. What you did in that case was very game. It shows the makings of a good chasseur. Go on, my boy, con- tinue to do your small task conscientiously." . . . While he was saying all this to me, my fatherly cap- tain led me right out to the road. And so, there was I seized with a new interest and zeal. March 5th, he resumes his life as a chasseur alpin. He tests himself in a march, and comes out of it without too much fatigue. On the morrow he takes part in another, this time with full equipment. It is a fantastic march, through mud black as coffee, under a driving rain that transforms each cap into a dripping gutter. The test is hard, but it reestablishes him in that atmosphere of self- esteem and pride which helps to conquer every obstacle : Albertville, March 8, 19 12. Suddenly, at a turn of the road — it was on the way back — whom do we see, perched on a rock above our heads, but the colonel . . . who has come to meet us and who watches us pass, calling out all sorts of ALBERTVILLE 71 things to encourage us. It was needless. There were many of the men who had bloody feet, but not for the world would they have put their knapsacks on the mules. To give in — what a humiliation ! One has to see the marches to understand the miracles of endur- ance which self-esteem can accomplish. With what care they have made note of those in the other com- panies who have given in. I noticed in this connection a very amusing scene, when we set out from Villard. The Sixth Company was to be at the head on the return as at the start, and the rest of the battalion was to march in the same order. I was, that day, away at the rear with the Fourth. We had stacked our arms in a pasture, and we saw all the other companies of the bat- talion pass by us. You should hear the jibes which the companies hurled at each other : "Oh, how thin they have become! How pale the Fifth is! There is the Third drinking; how lean they are!" etc., etc. It is not only rivalry that makes them bear without too much pain these cruel marches in the snow; it is also the spirit of merriment which never ceases to reign, right up to the end. On the edge of the road we met a donkey harnessed to a cart. The Sixth Company began to bray all together. The donkey, nat- urally, began to reply. And this interchange was kept up until the whole battalion had passed, calling, "Hee, haw! Hee, haw!" Roger has recovered from his illness. He has become again the young chasseur to his liking. The maneuvers 72 ROGER ALLIER multiply. The second series of "test marches," more tiring than the first, is passed. "I did all that," he writes March 17th, "with the greatest ease, and all the training I had received in the platoon quickly came back to me." He is definitely promoted corporal, and wears his stripes ; he receives, besides, a ski-staff, a cord, a folding lantern, and field glasses. In practice maneuvers with both sides represented he begins his new duties attached to the Eleventh Battalion in the region of the saddle of Tamie and around Annecy Lake. And this first period of his life as a chasseur ends with an eight days' leave which he comes to spend in Paris, at Easter time. ALBERTVILLE (continued) (October, igii-September, 1912) Interests — Madagascar — The separation of Church and State — Evangelization in Savoy — The aspirants' platoon — Marches in the mountains — At Chapieux — Maneuvers in Haute Maurienne and in Dauphine — Maneuvers in the West. V ALBERTVILLE (Continued) From Roger's letters, from the intensity of his absorp- tion in all the details of his service, and from the testi- mony of all his superiors as to his progress during these first six months of life as an alpin, one would naturally think that no other interest could have a place in so full an existence. Yet he used to find time to interest himself in many other things and even to relate himself to them vitally. We do not refer to the life of his family only. There is not a detail of what goes on in Raspail Boule- vard of which he does not wish to know. In spite of the separation, he takes part — his letters speak of it con- stantly — in everything his people are doing, his parents, his sisters, his brother. To each he writes very regularly, interesting himself in the graduation of the oldest of his sisters, Renee ; filling his letters to the youngest, Idelette, with railleries; relating to his brother Jack unpubhshed stories of locomotives or of races on the glaciers. He forgets none of the things to which he used to devote him- self in Paris. The activities of the Association of Protes- tant Students in the Latin Quarter are a subject to which he loves to revert in his epistolary conversations with his father. Each time that a furlough or a visit provides the opportunity, he asks him eagerly about the nature of the meetings which are being held, their success, and the themes of the addresses. One question which pursues him is that of the freedom of conscience in Madagascar. The political agent who 75 76 ROGER ALLIER had jeopardized this freedom had been replaced, at the head of the colony, by an officer of undoubted honesty and justice, but opposed from below by some subalterns who intended to continue the practices of his predecessor. Roger was following all these events with passionate attention. Would a ministerial crisis develop? He wanted, as quickly as possible, information on the moral worth and the probable intentions of the new minister of the colonies. At a certain moment, negotiations were entered upon which ended in the promulgation of a decree on the various forms of worship. The preparation of this projected charter took a long time; it was laborious. Roger wished to be kept in constant touch with its prog- ress. He felt real anxiety over it and plied his father with questions : Albertville, January 22, 19 12. If you succeed with Mr. X in formulating a decree, I should like to know at least the main outlines of it and I hope that you will have the time to sketch them for me. I ask myself if, with the present freedom of action, you will not be obliged to make too great concessions to the discretionary power of the adminis- tration. Is not the latter going to enter a vigorous protest? To inaugurate a true rule of freedom of worship, you will be led perforce to limit an arbitrary power jealously cherished quite apart from all anti- religious passion. The French administration has an instinctive tendency to distrust all liberties pro- tected simply by pledges. Mr. de Toqueville would say that that has not changed since the old order of things. It will always be necessary to fear the in- ALBERTVILLE 77 fringements of officers who are over-zealous or new to authority. But if you are obliged to yield to the passage of a law, even a very strict one, at least it will provide a text. It will no longer be the rule of the good or the wicked tyrant. He kept especially close watch of the religious work which was being accomplished at Albertville and in the neighborhood, and as much as he could, he devoted him- self to this. Hie was a faithful attendant upon the evan- gelical religious services which were held in a modest chapel, but he interested himself also in everything that was being done outside of these general meetings: Albertville, November 28, 191 1. You must pardon the haste with which I write you this evening. Perhaps you are astonished that I did not do so at leisure Sunday, according to my usual custom. It is because I was busy from morning until evening, from the hour of worship up to my return to the barracks. . . . We have just received a visit from Mr. Ernest Favre, who came from Geneva in an automobile. Saturday evening, in the auditorium of Mr. Chatelain's church, he gave a talk which drew many people. Some years before he had spoken in a tent at Albertville, and afterward had traveled through Savoy. He was accompanied by Pastor Lombard, who also gave a talk. In the afternoon of the next day we took a fine automobile trip along the mountain- side to get to Notre-Dame des Millieres, where Mr. 78 ROGER ALLIER Chatelain has a hall. Mr. Favre held two meetings there, one at two-thirty and the other at seven in the evening, which drew big crowds of peasants. He was very eloquent and made, I think, a deep and last- ing impression. . , . These meetings, together with the very sympathetic welcome which I always receive at Mr. Chatelain's, did me much good and have helped me through a week of extremely hard work. The people among whom this effort of evangelization is made interest him keenly. He would like to penetrate what is going on in their minds, to understand what is passing in these oft-times threadbare souls, to plan what he should say to them and the manner in which to say it. This takes time, but he devotes himself to it constantly. He writes about it to his father, who is coming with his mother and his eldest sister to spend several days at Albertville, Mr. Chatelain having invited him to preside at a Sunday service: January 29, 19 12. After a stay of two months in Savoy, I knew little more about it than you. I am beginning to under- stand better the degree of development of these people. What they need is very simple, practical preaching, exactly like that which you used so successfully at Courmayeur. The social and ecclesiastical environment are the same and the difficulties and temptations which result from it the same as in the valley of Aosta. That would not prevent the choice of subjects other than those which you used to take at Courmayeur, mission- ALBERTVILLE 79 ary subjects for example. But as education along mis- sionary lines does not yet exist in this little nucleus of converts, and as their horizon is still very limited, you would be obliged to appeal especially to their imag- ination. It would be necessary to make large use of anecdotes and to call into play a little psychology, ex- actly as is done when one speaks of missions before Sunday school children. In short, I believe that they are not ripe for the subject of missions. It would be better to talk to these people of Savoy of their con- version. There are many of them who, thanks to their personal experience, will understand you very well. You will make their tears flow, for here, as in the valley of Aosta, the influence of the Church is such that true dramas take place in many families. He learns to know all these good people by mingling much with them. But he does not study them after the manner of a dilettante, curious to note soul phenomena. He is especially eager to "serve" them : Albertville, January 7, 19 12. My Sunday, as you surmised, was very full. After worship the Chatelains insisted that I lunch with them. They relighted their Christmas tree for me. Then I worked at the preparations for a church supper, at which Mr. Chatelain's parishioners were going to as- semble in the hall that evening. This original meal, interrupted by songs, and followed by short speeches 8o ROGER ALLIER and recitations by the children, was very successful. The work of decorating the room took me right up to the end of the afternoon. This evangeHstic work is not Hmited to the immediate neighborhood of Albertville. He follows it in its rami- fications : May 19, 1912. Last Thursday, Ascension Day, I went to Bourg- neuf, near Chamousset, where the tent is installed. I have not yet told you under what circumstances Mr. Chatelain decided to open a campaign in this locality. He was invited by the inhabitants of Bourgneuf, by the mayor himself. Seeing that the population seriously desired to know the Gospel, he had the tent transported to Bourgneuf, where he will stay until the end of June. The meetings have succeeded very well. Last Thurs- day the tent was packed. The people are attentive and sing with a vim. I am looking forward to Mr. Ernest Favre's arrival. . . . Whitsuntide is almost here; will there be any stu- dent gatherings at Les Ombrages? This mission to Bourgneuf grips his heart and he wishes to follow its progress closely: Albertville, June 3, 191 2. I set out early for Bourgneuf and spent the day there, returning at nine in the evening, on my bicycle. ALBERTVILLE 8i The meetings in the tent are always large and enthusi- astic; they attract the people from the surrounding country. It is a truly inspiring work that is being ac- complished here. Mr. Chatelain puts into it the impet- uosity of youth ; everybody adores him. The neighbor- ing villages call him and wish also to have "their wor- ship" ; for from the beginning they have frankly spoken of evangelical "worship," instead of saying timidly "public addresses." Miss Chatelain has be- come a nurse. From all sides they bring the sick to her. She cares for their ailments and heals them. From time to time I send her a little medicine ; she is adored by these good peasants and known for two leagues around. She, Mr. Bysshe, and I sang trios at both meetings yesterday. The part he played in the meetings Mr. Chatelain tells us himself : "We used to talk much of our evangelistic work in Savoy. He was very much interested, rejoiced at our progress, and was saddened by the base slanders directed against us. It was at the time when our campaign under the tent, at Bourgneuf, was in full swing. Several hun- dred persons from the countryside were coming evening after evening and three times on Sunday to listen to the word of the Gospel. . . . Mr. Roger used to come nearly every Sunday to lend us his assistance. He used to come by bicycle from Albertville, twenty-four kilo- meters, which made forty-eight kilometers for the round trip. Everybody was glad to see him. Seated beside the evangelists, this fine, tall young man in the dress of a chasseur alpin made a great impression on the audience. 82 ROGER ALLIER He helped us by his warm sympathy and his prayers, and then he helped by taking part in our modest choir. Yes, everybody loved him. When, later, I announced that he had disappeared — not knowing then of his death — I saw many persons weep. . . . "At Notre Dame des Millieres, seven kilometers from Albertville, he used to come often also to help us Sunday afternoon. In the special meetings, he always used to take an active part. At Christmas, for example, he used to trim and light the tree ; look out for the children ; recite a bit of poetry; and sing and aid in distributing the packages to the children. . . . Obviously, being a soldier, he could not do all that he would have liked to do. He would have liked to give us more effective help. But he was doing his best. As for myself per- sonally, I keep a grateful and loving remembrance of him." All the trips to Bourgneuf and Notre Dame des Mil- lieres Roger made without in any way easing up in his work, which was becoming harder and harder. It was then that he used to say to his parents: "Never advise a young man to enter the alpins; you will assume too heavy a responsibility. But if a young man is going into the alpins, do not spare congratulations ; when he has stood this trial — not in the sadder sense of the word but in its etymological meaning — he will be capable of some- thing in life." From the beginning of April, the training assumes a redoubled intensity with a view to the approaching sum- mer maneuvers. The commander is ready every day with the most unforeseen inventions to complicate this training. Roger's accounts are quite fantastic. In these epic circuits the officers are spared no more than the men ; in talking with the latter the young corporal notes some touching incidents : < ALBERTVILLE 83 Albertville, May i, 19 12. One of the men, a Chamoniard, had been a member of Lieutenant Krug's detail, which had accompHshed such fine raids in our sector. Like all the chasseurs who know Mr. Krug, he is very much wrapped up in him; he related to me things which nobody knows, so modest is Mr. Krug. Thus, one evening, after a long forage, they stopped in a hamlet to pass the night. It was impossible to find beds for all. Finally everybody was cared for except one chasseur. Mr. Krug said to him : "We shall share the bed ; you will take the mattress." Naturally the chasseur refused emphatically. He would prefer to pass the night on the floor. Mr. Krug forced him to take the mattress. He himself slept on the bench, which did not prevent him from setting out on the mor- row at the head of the ski-runners, more tireless than ever. At this time, Roger is classed among the candidate student-officers, whose instruction is pushed very hard : Same date. For about ten days the instruction of the candidate officers has been pushed to the limit. We form a little platoon of six or seven, directed only by officers. We have a study period from three o'clock to five, and some courses in the evening. We make many maps of the surrounding country, but particular emphasis is laid 84 ROGER ALLIER on the command of the company, which we take each day, and on physical exercises. We spend hours on the portique,^ in Swedish gymnastics, in jumping, in long runs at double time. That recalls to me the time when I used to be under the orders of Ch., except that the officers are polite and our training is more scientific. We are beginning to have little bouts, two by two, in bayonet fencing. They allow us almost no respite; we caper without ceasing, but our exercise is interrupted for ten minutes in order that we may change our shirts. We wet two shirts a morning; I am ashamed to pass on to posterity such a detail, but it is more eloquent than long sen- tences. Between times, they continue to receive training in mountain cHmbing: Albertville, June 9, 1912. Thursday was our glorious day. We beat our rec- ords and made a reconnaissance which lasted from two-thirty in the morning till six-thirty in the evening. We took our knapsacks and, wearing field uniforms, climbed to Alpettaz, a wooded crest which towers over Ugine, and on the summit of which we have a little blockhouse. There we left our sacks and took a little cold repast on the grass of a pretty glade overlooking * "A rectangular platform 3.5 m. or 4.5 m. above the ground, used in various gymnastic exercises." — "A French-English Mili- tary Technical Dictionary," by Cornelis De Witt Willcox. ALBERTVILLE 85 Tournette. Then we set out in the snow to make the ascent of the Dent de Cons. It is the most difficult ascent that one can make in the neighborhood of Al- bertville; an interminable ridge of rocks which tapers to a knife edge at the summit. Captain Boutie was making it for the first time. He had insisted that the colonel let him lead his company there, while the rest of the battalion was climbing to the "Belle Etoile" above the saddle of Tamie. Thanks to his prudence and that of Mr. Krug, who was acting as our guide and marking the trail, there was no accident. We had set out in the morning in uncertain weather. At the summit we had a perfectly clear panorama; the fog lay in the bottom of the valley. We were able to search the de- tails of the Mont Blanc range, of Vanoise, of the Grandes Rousses, and of Belledonne. One could clearly see the jagged peaks which tower over the Mer de Glace, the Aiguille Dru, the Aiguille Verte, the glacier of the Tour, the valley of Finhaut, and the mountains of Valais. The captain showed his "little children" the passes which they were to traverse during the maneuvers. All are still covered with snow. I forgot to say that on the slopes of the "Belle Etoille" we saw little files of white breeches. They were our comrades toiling on the other slope. When they had reached the summit, our bugles sent over to them the strains of the "Petits Rossards" and part of "La Protestation des Chasseurs," of which the mountains sent back the echo. Their bugles replied to ours. It was very pretty. 86 ROGER ALLIER On the descent the captain was very much tempted by a great neve situated on the other side of the Dent. But before reaching it we had to surmount a bluff, two hundred meters in height, which it took us a long time to climb, in small groups to avoid loosening the stones. The first to arrive waited at the summit of the neve. Then the whole company set out sliding, our iron-tipped sticks serving as brakes. At a given moment, I was off abreast of the captain and Lieutenant Krug, when my feet got caught in a hole, my head shot forward, I let go of my stav, and made some beautiful somersaults in the snow, to the amusement of the captain, who cried to me, "Fine, my boy, keep it up." I had snow in my eyes, down my neck, everywhere, and everything looked blue. The rest of the descent passed without incident. We rested from noon until three o'clock in a little hamlet of four or five cottages, where I drank I do not know how many bowls of hot milk. At six-thirty we returned to the barracks, tired and with heavy step. After thir- teen hours of marching we had not a single laggard ! I never tire of admiring the way our officers know how to manage their men. Everything is based on amour propre. The captain especially has the snap and gaiety of one possessed. It is he who makes the morale of his company. When a man is at the end of his resources, he always finds a way to let fall some bit of encouragement for him, some remark which makes him laugh. He pours him out a drop of rum and takes his knapsack! Naturally, the individual ALBERTVILLE 87 resists, takes back his knapsack, lifts his head, and makes a new effort. He pants Hke a bull, but for nothing in the world would he "quit." His comrades take his gun and pass it to one another in turn. They enter the yard of the quarters. The company draws up at attention and presents arms. What does the captain do? He gives you a last cut of the whip in a short speech of three or four sentences : "My young chasseurs, we have just finished a painful reconnais- sance. I was the first to sweat through my shirt and fatigue jacket. You have conducted yourselves dash- ingly, like true chasseurs. Hereafter you are worthy of wearing the Tam o'Shanter. Keep this up and you will make as good maneuvers as your seniors. Good night, my young lads." What an ovation as we mount the stairs ! For two days one has heard only this phrase, "The captain said we were worthy of wearing the Tam o'Shanter." It has made the rounds of the battalion, Friday was devoted to rest, except for a sentimental walk which we took in the mountains in search — of flowers! At this time, in order to make it easier for his parents to follow the interminable trips which the battalion is making in the region, he adopts the custom, on each of his marches, of buying the prettiest picture postcards of the places they pass through, each of which forms a page which he covers with fine handwriting. His accounts thus arranged constitute a journal of the route, embel- lished by beautiful photographs. 88 ROGER ALLIER After an incredible march in the Bauges range, he obtains a three days' leave of absence. Paris being too far away, he spends it at Geneva, where he is received like a child of the family in the home of Messrs. Ernest and Edouard Favre. The latter is eager to have him visit for himself the lofty city. "Thanks to him," writes Roger, "I am very well instructed." And we know, from other details, that he found at our friends' home other things than instruction. How many times he has spoken with emotion of this stay at Chougny and at Pregny! The summer is coming. "The cattle," writes he (June iSth), "are coming up to the grazing land. On the roads one meets great herds of them ; one hears only the lowing of the cows and the bleating of the sheep. The alpins also are moving to the mountains." The battalion has left Albertville; it will not return until autumn. They will camp hereafter only in barns or in the open air. Like his comrades, Roger has to prepare for these migrations by drawing a map of the sector. He does it with loving care for the minutise : June 30, 19 1 2. I have become very strong on the topography of our sector. Eight days ago, I handed the colonel (as did all the non-commissioned officers of the battalion) a map on the 1/80,000 scale, showing the altitude of the mountains. It was fine. Yesterday I received congratulations on its precision. The colonel sent back my work with a little note, a thing he almost never does. At that time I had around me, in the yard of the quarters, a whole assemblage of officers. Lieuten- ant Jaillet, who made the General Staff's map of the region of the Chotts of Tunis, indicated a few correc- ALBERTVILLE 89 tions. Captain Boutle was radiant and patted me on the shoulder. The hour for leaving the quarters for the mountain is approaching. Every one is overflowing with enthusiasm for it: Same date. We are very happy to set out. For a week we have been counting the days. We are glad to sleep on straw, to breathe the fresh mountain air, and to drink good milk. This happiness is proclaimed by the sounds of the bugles, playing improvised airs. It is a tradition to permit this during the week preceding the maneuvers. Our better buglers are very clever at inventing tunes. The corporal-bugler is wonderful. When he plays very softly, one would say positively that it was a flute. It is the first time that I have ever heard this effect obtained with a bugle. The other evening for "taps" at ten o'clock, he played us the whole of a long cradle song. This morning, at reveille, the whole band played two pieces. Yesterday, at the evening roll call, we had a hunting song, which suits the alpins better. This joy was shared by all the alpins after the depart- ure for the mountain had commenced. Roger wrote June i8th: "Yesterday morning the Third Company left for the Bonhomme. Five or six days ago our neighbors of 90 ROGER ALLIER the Sixth Company left us to go up to Frejus. They started at four in the morning and arrived in three stages. All night they were unbearable. In place of resting they had battles, turned somersaults, executed high jumps, climbed the columns and played bears. Others went through the manual of arms and bayonet fencing in their shirts. In another room they were all wrapped up in their blankets, and, gathered around the corporal's bed, were singing in unison the mass for the dead." The first marches are along the neck of Roseland, under a driving rain. But they do not last long for those who are to go to Lyon to take the examinations for student-officers. The latter go to Chapieux on a sort of preparatory "retreat." What happy memories they all retain of it! Later their thoughts will often revert to those two weeks of quiet intimacy in a rugged and awe- inspiring country: July 20, 19 12. That was a delightful physical and mental rest. Each day, after working moderately in preparation for our examinations, we took our sticks and climbed the rocks hunting for flowers. I have sent you several different varieties, all pressed and all of them of the sort that grow only in high altitudes; I did not pick any others. It was during this stay that my friend Giguet made my portrait; he used an enlargement I had had made of a photograph which you must have received with the ALBERTVILLE 91 flowers. Giguet is an extremely gifted youth. He is employed by the P. L. M. [Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway Co.] at the station of Fayet-St.-Gervais and has never studied drawing. He is quite learned along literary and classical lines, knows Latin and Greek very well, has read all the French literature, is strong on mathematics, and writes poetry. He is a true artist and ought to make his mark. If you only knew all the deep questions which were discussed at Chapieux, in our little room, from eight to eleven at night! What a trio we made, Giguet, Lang, and I ! Everything was discussed there : the reality of the visible world, liberty, determinism, moral evolution, classic sophistry, the most vital social problems. And as one thing led to another, we never got around to going to bed. We felt that we were gay dogs of alpins. But also, what laziness the next morning ! Towards five o'clock one of us, seized with fine zeal, would cry, "Come, get up !" Then he would turn over and go on sleeping. In a corner of the room, a voice would moan, "Oh ! what nerve !" and the third would reply, "Are you never going to be still? . . . It is impossible to sleep." About seven o'clock we would decide to get up and go to the inn, to the "Maman," to begin the day with ham and eggs and a large bowl of chocolate. What a placid life ! Abstract discussions, very concrete eats, exercise in the open air, sleep . . . nothing was lacking. The evening before our departure, Lieutenant Boell invited us to 92 ROGER ALLIER dinner, and in lienor of our examination offered us champagne. . . . Last Sunday, as tradition decreed. Lieutenant Boell reviewed the post of Chapieux: a ceremony which seemed absurd in its formahty, merely because we were only a handful of men in a lost corner of the Alps. We were photographed at the moment when we were presenting arms and when he was responding to us by a salute with his saber. After the review we went to pay honor to a little monument which has been erected in the gorge in memory of a chasseur who died on the mountain. In the afternoon, we set out for Lyon, knapsacks on our backs. At the time when he was writing these lines, the exam- ination was over. It took place the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth of July. The result was not to be known until later. While waiting, he had to rejoin his comrades in Haute Maurienne. The efforts required to secure supplies were formidable. Certain details of these maneuvers give an idea of the type of warfare which the Italians had to carry on during the Great War. In the war games of 191 2, Roger and his comrades wear the white Tarn; they represent invaders arriving in the upper valley of the Arc by the pass of Iseran and trying to drive back the defenders towards Saint-Jean- de-Maurienne. July 27, 1912. The Alpine infantry is fighting in the valley and on the slopes. The chasseurs are ordered to fight on ALBERTVILLE 93 the mountains and to make tremendous climbs in order to be able to turn the enemy and fall unexpectedly on his flank. The principle of mountain warfare is that the contestants always try to surpass each other in altitude; and even if they are forced to draw back, it is still on to the heights that they retreat. As if these tasks were not enough they add others which are sources of both pleasure and pride : Same date. Tuesday was a day of complete rest which should, according to the decision, have been divided between sleep and the needs of bodily cleanliness. The officers only had to make reconnaissances. I was sleeping soundly, therefore, on a bit of straw, my hand on my knapsack, when, towards three in the morning, I felt myself shaken. The light of a lantern dazzled me, I recognized the voice of the captain telling me to put on my puttees quickly and to grab my ski stav and cord. I obeyed him mechanically and before more than half awake was crossing the little wooden bridge over the Arc. The fresh air quickly wakened me. It was still quite dark when we scaled the mountain. On the other slope. In the direction of Vanolse, stretched the glaciers of Vefrette and Vallombrun. After climbing perpendicular paths with the aid of ropes, we reached the glaciers. The captain had me scan the horizon with his glasses. Starting with Mont 94 ROGER ALLIER Rose we scanned all the glaciers of the Italian Alps. On the French side we saw Vanoise and all the moun- tains to the south of the Arc up to the Meije range and that of the Barre des Ecrins. In front of us, towards the east, rose the enormous peak of Char- bonnel with its crevasse-filled glaciers. With our glasses we saw a little caravan in the act of rounding the peak to reach the summit ; they were other officers, who had set out at midnight. We descended into the valley about one o'clock. . . . At the moment of our reaching Lanslebourg a ter- rible storm broke and we arrived at the stopping place in a beating rain. That did not prevent us from mak- ing a triumphal entry. The infantry had been installed there at ease for a long time. Thus we held our heads higher than ever and strutted. The general of the brigade, in Alpine uniform, stood before the principal hotel with the foreign military attaches, who are al- ways filled with admiration by the Alpine maneuvers. The colonel reminded us of that haughty sentence which is written on the walls of our barracks at Con- flans : "The riflemen on foot are picked soldiers ; the alpins are the best soldiers in the world." Then our trumpets and our hunting horns bade us march past, at mad speed. We were applauded by the tourists who filled the hotels and by those who had just arrived by automobile from Mont Cenis. It is after a day of hard tasks that one should judge the alpins. After sleeping on excellent beds we set out again at three o'clock in the morning. ALBERTVILLE 95 July 31, 1912. This is the day when the awful period of unexpected maneuvers ends. We need rest. In my last letter, I told you that we had climbed to 3,079 meters. We mounted the pass of Aussois. Monday was less hard. In the evening the colonel had said: "Men of the chasseurs, now gird up your loins. One more grand effort and tomorrow you will be kings of the mountain. It is going to be necessary to climb very high to en- velop the enemy." With full equipment as always, and after the discomfort of a very bad encampment, we went up to 2,800 meters. During the last hour, the entire battalion scaled the precipitous slopes of crum- bling rock. It would have made a wonderful photo- graph. The pieces of the machine guns were carried on men's backs in very difficult passages. Mr. Krug arrived in time to open fire upon the scouts of the Eleventh who were appearing at the summit of the mountain, above our heads. That permitted us, al- ways with our heavy knapsacks, to assault the last steep slopes. The struggle was so hot that accidents were narrowly averted; the enemy chasseurs pretended to try to stop us with blows of their ski staffs ! The in- fantry officers who were aiding in the maneuvers were astounded and said that never had they seen such a climb by men in full field equipment. After traversing in every direction the region of the Petit and of the Grand Mont Cenis, the battalion had to 96 ROGER ALLIER go to UppCi Savoy, and ascend the valley of Chamonix. Roger, who knew this, had persuaded his parents to go to the Hotel des Montees, between Servoz and the Houches. The whole family united there. From Paris and from the South they had agreed to meet there and all were prepared to applaud the approaching alpins. They had not reckoned, however, on the aphthous fever which was raging in Tarentaise. Upper Savoy was quar- antined. There was only one possible revenge against hostile circumstances. Since the alpins did not come to those who were awaiting them, they had only to go and join the alpins. The decision was quickly made. It led to a trip, the hardships of which they are not likely to forget. After making the rough passage of the saddles of Galibier (2,657m.) and of Lautaret, these pursuers of the Twenty-second joined it at La Grave and accom- panied it to the Bourg d'Oisans, to Vizille, Uriage, and Domene. The battalion returned to Albertville^ somewhat early. The reason for this was that it had been detailed to par- ticipate in the great maneuvers of the West, which had an unusual importance. It set out without taking the least rest. There it found prodigious tasks. But the alpins showed themselves worthy of their reputation. Pride made them accomplish extraordinary miracles of endurance. Those who saw them in these circumstances are not astonished at what they are capable of accom- plishing in time of war. ^ The Lyon Republicain of August 31, 1912: "The Chasseurs of the 22nd Battalion coming from Rochette arrived Thursday morning at Albertville. Setting out at three o'clock they arrived at the halting place at eleven. They thus covered in eight hours and with an average pack of thirty kilograms a journey of forty- five kilometers without dropping any laggards. It is a fine record which does honor to our alpins, whose qualities of endurance and enthusiasm it puts in relief." ALBERTVILLE 97 Plowed fields and the roads of the plains do not offer them an exactly familiar terrain. It makes no difference ! September 10, 1912. Not a laggard, in spite of the terrible stages. Some reservists only, their feet bleeding, were picked up by the ambulance. But their Alpine amour propre is not less than ours. It is only two years since they first "made the Alps." I have already saved some of them, who were about to fall from weariness, by carrying their knapsacks for a time. He himself was a cyclist; and when his comrades at last were at rest, he had often to resume, as if he had done nothing, a very difficult service. When the battalion seemed at the end of its strength, still further demands were made and always somehow met. One evening it is made known to the alpins that they are to take posses- sion of a village to encamp there. General Barret, whose energy is proverbial, feels that it is too much to demand of them. He wishes to advise the general of the division to this effect. Accordingly he entrusts to Roger a note: "The alpins have covered fifty-six kilometers. Do not force them into a new struggle." But it is impossible to pass in order to carry the note. The general orders the attack : September 14, 19 12. We glided into the shadow around the village, where the foot-soldiers were tranquilly getting dinner, sus- pecting nothing. The order was : "Not a shot, all with the bayonet." Suddenly, at the sound of the Sidi- 98 ROGER ALLIER Brahim, the Eleventh and the Twenty-second charged from different directions. The infantry fled, leaving plates and pots along the hedges. We only barely missed capturing the flag. The zeal of the chasseurs was extraordinary. The idea of surprising a whole regiment of infantrymen, of seizing its encampment and drinking its soup, suddenly took away all their fatigue. And every day there is the same intense training : Same date. Tuesday and Wednesday we covered ninety-eight kilometers, many of which were over plowed ground. The rapidity of our marching surprises everybody. "The hills of this country are for the alpins only heaps of sand," says an article in the Matin. When we reached Martaize, Wednesday evening, the people were saying : "They can't be the chasseurs. In the afternoon they had a battle twenty kilometers from here, and here they are again." Thursday evening, I was "all in." About ten o'clock, as we stopped by the roadside I leaned against the embankment and went to sleep standing up. All these efforts were to have their reward : Albertville, September 25, 191 2. These maneuvers have been back-breaking, and ALBERTVILLE 99 partly my own fault. Knowing that I should in a few days leave the Twenty-second, I worked harder than ever. The colonel has every confidence in me. Every time that there was a delicate task to do — preparing a cantonment, making a difficult reconnaissance need- ing the use of the map of the General Staff, and the like — he entrusted this mission to me, and the captain could not make him yield. The captain has been particularly kind to me. More than once, seeing that I had not the time to appease my hunger, he has made me come to his table and fed me substantially. His way of speaking is, usually, very severe. He has become quite fatherly towards me. One evening, he had me summoned and asked me in the presence of several officers : "Has the colonel told you that he is pleased with you and wishes to make you a sergeant?" I replied to him that I should be happy to leave the battalion with this testimony of confidence and that I was very eager to leave the Twenty-second a favorable recollection of myself. "My dear Allier," he replied to me, word for word, "you may he assured of the esteem of all the officers of the battalion, without exception. You must return to a battalion of alpins next year. The mountains for you. Couldn't we get you back by exchange or other- wise?" ... The captain and lieutenants of the Third Company also seem satisfied. There has not been the least hitch in my service. Thus, I have succeeded in awakening them always at the desired hour, right on the minute. lOO ROGER ALLIER The colonel has promised several times to promote me to the rank of sergeant before my departure for Gren- oble. That will be greatly in my favor. In the midst of the maneuvers, September 9th, he is informed that he has been appointed a student-officer. September 25th, having returned to Albertville, he learns that he has been promoted to the rank of sergeant of the Fourth Company. He gets ready to go to Grenoble. VI GRENOBLE (October, 1912-March, 1913) Change of environment — The ascent of the Trois Pucelles — A group of cHmbers and ski-runners — Threats of war — With the Christian students — At Chamrousse — Visit to Albertville — ^At Mont Revard. VI GRENOBLE Roger is installed at Grenoble, October i, 1912. He is at once delighted with the city and captivated by his new studies. He is above all extremely sensitive to the change of environment. Grenoble, October 16, 19 12. The student-officers are very few this year — only sixty-nine, a chosen few, it would seem ! The majority have pursued advanced studies. Among them there are several fine fellows and I have already some very good friends. Nearly all, keen Alpinists, are volunteers in the alpins; several are Parisians, Their conversation and manners suggest the School of Polit- ical Sciences rather than the barracks. We have for instructors officers detailed by the Alpine battalions of Grenoble, They call us "Messieurs," most punctili- ously. At mess, we have a little round table of Alpinists. Conversation does not lag. How many things we have to tell one another, belonging, as we do, to so many different battalions and having just spent three months in the mountains ! Facing me, is a corporal who be- longed to the corps of scouts of the Thirtieth — the 103 I04 ROGER ALLIER Tyrolese, as they are called because of their knapsacks. He has made many practice marches over the glaciers of the Oisans and, naturally, swears by nothing higher than his battalion. The others rally him a great deal about it. Neither is gaiety lacking in the platoon. One must be on one's guard. The pearl fishers are in abundance. The least blunder, the slightest mishap is picked up and caricatured. Officers and students have already their little pile, which grows from day to day, await- ing the review at the end of the year. This gaiety, however, does not lessen the work in any way: Same date. Up to the present, I have spent all of my evenings working, for I have long reviews to make and the "pluckings" are frequent here. My time is my own until eleven o'clock. The classes or lectures come in the morning. They deal with such subjects as tactics, topography, fortification, artillery, and military legis- lation. Each morning, we have an hour of gymnastics. The afternoons from one to five are devoted to field exercises — target practice, formations, maneuvers at double time, or surveying — or, in case of bad weather, to exercises in map work. From the physical point of view this life is not very tiring, especially for chas- seurs. . . . Up to the present I have got along all right. I do GRENOBLE 105 not lack responsibility, however. The platoon is divided into three sections. As sergeant, I have re- ceived the command of one of these. Several times a day, I have to make a minute examination of rooms, packs, equipment, arms, and dress, button by button. Up to the present, I have had only congratulations and I am astonished at having so easily made my comrades obey me. A mishap reminds Roger and his friends that they are not limited to the routine of study or set maneuvers. Three chasseurs and he had decided to climb a small group of peaks which tower over the city and which are called the Trois Pucelles: Same date. We had set out Sunday morning at daybreak, under a heavy fog, with sixty meters of rope. From the foot of the Pucelles the view was magnificent — below, a great sea of clouds stretching as far as the glaciers of Mont Blanc; great waves breaking into foam against the limestone cliffs of the Grande Chartreuse. The mountains of the Oisans and Belledonne were glisten- ing white. We put on our twine-soled canvas shoes and began the climb, peak by peak. The most difficult is Dent Gerard. On the summit of this we left our names in a little iron box. To come down from this Dent, we fastened the rope to a rock and let ourselves slip, one by one, to a little ledge. Everything fared splendidly, io6 ROGER ALLIER except for my trousers. I grazed a rock covered with rough places. My beautiful new trousers were nothing more than a rag. We repaired them temporarily and descended to Grenoble, arriving at nine o'clock in the evening. They assured me at the Alpine Club that the complete passage of the Pucelles had previously been made but three or perhaps four times : once by Capde- pon, the celebrated Alpinist, who had an accident in attempting Meije; twice by chasseurs. The next day I reported my adventure to the lieu- tenant. I was expecting, not to be punished, but to be lectured roundly. Instead of that, all the officers con- gratulated me. My lieutenant, who is very much given to sports, treats me now like a friend. The captain, after having me replace my trousers at my own ex- pense, authorized me to wear civilian clothes on Sun- day to make the mountain climbs. We are not made to ask for leave, my comrades and I. Sunday morning, we took the first train for the town of Oisans and descended into the gorge of Livet, at the place where the path crosses the Romanche. There we consulted a peasant who has the water rights at this point and who knows the mountains very well, for he hunts the chamois there. Do you remember the wooded valleys and the jagged peaks which dominate the right of the valley?^ It was by one of these passes that we climbed for four hours. You cannot imagine the beauty of the forest in this season. There is a rich- '■ An allusion to the trip his parents took the preceding year while following the Twenty-second. GRENOBLE 107 ness of coloring, a diversity of tints impossible to de- scribe. In taking photographs we felt as if we were committing a veritable crime. Towards one o'clock we attained the goal of our excursion, Grand Galbert, a wonderful helveder from which the view embraces the whole panorama of Oisans, Vercors, Belledonne, and the Grandes Rousses. What a glittering of glaciers! We descended by very bad roads into prac- tically unexplored gorges. Joanne devotes hardly a line to them, and yet they are true marvels. I thought of you in passing near a tranquil, pine-encompassed lake, in which the Taillefer range is reflected as in a mirror. We returned to Grenoble after sunset. If only our retinas could preserve the wonderful impres- sions they have received! We promise ourselves to start out again soon, if the weather permits. Be as- sured that we shall do nothing foolhardy. We have all four had experience in mountain climbing and form a very homogeneous group; being of about equal strength, we know that we can depend on one another. The result of all these climbs is an incredibly crowded life : during the hours of service, driving work, and at the first moment of leisure, flight to the mountains. Interest in the work is kept up by a thought that comes to be constantly in Roger's mind : "Each of us will have — ^per- haps soon— the responsibility for sixty human lives" (November 20, 1912). Despite the intensity of this life, the slightest sug- gestion recalls his keenness for the classics, which Alpin- ism has not stifled. This manifests itself in conjunction io8 ROGER ALLIER with his interest in the poHtical questions of the hour and his feeling of coming responsibilities. With reference to an article in which his father had spoken of an English work on the economic causes of the Trojan War, he writes : November 25, 19 12. The reading of your article has reawakened in me old Greek memories. All had not been said, therefore, on the Trojan War! I little thought to see it emerge among present-day topics. Would that the events in the Orient might bring back to our old Homer a little of his ancient popularity ! That would be an original and wholly unexpected result. Perhaps we shall soon see history repeat itself. The Allies will divide the spoils of Turkey. Discord will be born again, as of old among the Greeks with their beautiful greaves. We shall see a little Balkan prince sulking in his tent and we shall say that the w^ath of Achilles is not mere allegory. Winter is come, however ; and with it the snow. Now the sports begin : Grenoble, December 11, 19 12. For several weeks we have been enjoying remark- ably clear weather. It is very cold. Skating and all winter sports are in full swing. Our windows are ob- scured each morning with the frost. We have four covers but no fire. The alpins set out last Monday to spend three days in Chartreuse, camping in the snow. GRENOBLE 109 You cannot imagine the beauty of the mountains at this moment. Each evening at five o'clock, on coming back from exercise, we witness a purple sunset which embraces the whole chain of the Alps. This makes our chasseurs' hearts beat wildly and we joylessly con- template the approaching termination of our two years. While "the others" count the days, we reserve for our- selves alone the right to sing the "Song of the Moun- taineers." We received, some time ago, letters from our seniors who are experiencing in their way homesickness for the mountains. Everybody misses his two years of life as a chasseur alpin. One of them, having returned to Paris, ends his letter in this discouraged tone : "Why must I leave the Alps forever, when it is there that I spent the two happiest years of my life?" I am begin- ning to understand why many reenlist in the alpins. One feels the break so poignantly. In this marvelous country how can one help dreaming of things out of the ordinary: Grenoble, December 19, 19 12. Our little knot of ski-runners has formed a new pro- ject : to attend midnight mass Christmas Eve, in some quaint village in the heart of the mountains. Shall it be Saint Jean d'Arve or Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans ? We do not yet know. What we do know is that there will be much snow and that this arrival of ski-runners no ROGER ALLIER in the moonlight will astonish the natives. We shall soberly go to bed after boisterously singing some mountain airs and fraternizing in fancy with the alpins who, in their winter posts, will be busy celebrat- ing Christmas. Think of me that evening. Unhappily an accident hinders the realization of this plan: Grenoble, December 25, 1912. We climbed last Sunday, in less than an hour, to the signal station of Chamrousse. On the way down I took a bad fall. Shooting down a steep slope and try- ing to make a sharp turn with all speed to avoid the edge of the wood, I fell head first into the snow and gave a slight twist to my left ankle. I suffered a good deal of pain during the descent to Uriage; it was a five hour march. Donckele^ carried my knapsack and ^ Left as second lieutenant of the 66th Battalion of Chasseurs and mentioned in the Order of the Battalion : "Wounded in the arm by a ball, refused to give up the command of the section, which is, moreover, the most dangerous post in the battalion, and continued his work." He was made, as a result of this action. Knight of the Legion of Honor: "Wounded by a ball which went through his shoulder, in the battle of October 6, 1914, he was unwilling to give up the command of his section, did not give up until night, and refused to go to the rear. Though incompletely recovered, took up his command again, October 14, thus giving an example of rare energy and of the highest sentiments of devotion." — Promoted lieutenant, he fell May 8, 1915, at Fonquevillers (pas-de-Calais) and has been men- tioned in the Order of the Army : "Wounded at the end of two months' campaigning, he rejoined his regiment before completely recovered. He did not cease to give proof of the highest military GRENOBLE iii skis. I was very well cared for. By dint of hot baths and massage I am able to walk comfortably and I am counting on not limping at all on my arrival in Paris. Three days later, he arrived in Paris on a short leave of absence. On January 3rd he had returned to Gren- oble, and wrote: "Here I once more greet with pleasure the north wind and the keen air." For those who know how to look a little further than the windings of the Palais-Bourbon, the international situation at the end of 1912 was becoming disquieting. Clearly, those who for forty-two years had been prepar- ing for war were asking themselves if the moment had not come to declare it. As early as December 19th, in reply to some definite questions which his father had asked him, Roger had replied : You put me in an embarrassing position when you question me on war rumors. In order not to frighten you, I did not say a word about it in my last letters. I have the impression that the war spirit has been quieted for some days. One no longer expects marching orders from one minute to the next. . . . Our young chasseurs have been put this year to a hard test. They have been instructed with feverish haste in order that they might be made ready to go directly into campaign service. Do you remember the qualities : bravery, tenacity, a spirit of sacrifice. Won his ap- pointment at the age of twenty-three years, to membership in the Legion of Honor. Fell mortally wounded during a night reconnaissance, where he gave to the chasseurs, who love him, a supreme example of bravery and disregard of danger." 112 ROGER ALLIER emergency drills and the repeated tests of mobilization to which we were subjected last January? The mobil- ization exercises for the alpins took place three weeks ago. They are considered as mobilizable and have just finished a series of long marches. They have been encamped in the snow for some days. They believe here, even outside the circle of officers with whom I have conversed, that the war has been prevented in part by the severity of the winter. But it is so generally looked upon as in prospect for next spring that I am becoming accustomed to this thought, to the point of taking it for granted. I notice this same conviction among all my comrades. Artillery, forti- fications, battle maneuvers interest them in a singular fashion. We study in a very practical manner on the field the different emergencies which might present themselves in a battle. They teach us a thousand ways of conducting troops, under artillery fire, or under more or less intense infantry fire, and of shielding these troops from cavalry attacks. We are learning to direct the fire, to fortify the ground, and to make an assault. There is not a mistake which may not cause the loss of some human lives, no element of skill in maneuvering which might not save some. Thus, we have the impression of preparing for something more serious than an examination next spring. Each of us will have to account for the lives of sixty men. January 13th, these preoccupations again come under his pen. He is moved to declare that the hour when GRENOBLE 113 Europe seems to be again menaced by a German invasion is the very one in which the poHticians cannot find any- thing better to do than to remove the Minister of War from office : The moment could not have been better chosen : Germany is calHng her reservists to the colors. The dismissal of Millerand produced an impression of stupefaction, then indignation and anger. How could a party be so blinded by petty interests? Have our parliamentary bodies really lost all consciousness of realities, all national feelings? It is almost a betrayal to an enemy. . . . Those who call themselves re- publicans should reflect on the remote consequences of the act that they have just committed : it is one of those sins which weigh heavily on the entire Government. Parliamentary government will come to be despised. Is it not now ? And from contempt to ruin is but a step. Parliamentarians err as a rule in seeing in the criticism of their acts only the manifestation of anti-republican sentiments. There is their great error. He who wrote the hnes which have just been read entertained demo- cratic sentiments to the point of passion, and it was pre- cisely because of his attachment to parliamentary gov- ernment that he was so violently incensed against those who seem to compromise it at will. Roger had, too, his reasons for not being discouraged : January 13, 1913. What pleases me is to see to what an extent we are 114 ROGER ALLIER prepared for the worst. If war should break out, we would have under our hands perfectly trained young troops. In three months of instruction, one can do wonders. I am better able to speak on this subject than is the average man. Every afternoon we have at our disposal a company of 250 alpins — war strength. I notice that they are very weak on the manual of arms. In reviews or parades they are not equal to the earlier classes. It is not to be wondered at: they have had only target practice, sham battles, and training in mountain climbing, things which are worth infinitely more than dress parades and reviews. They send them to us for exercises loaded down like mules ; nothing is forgotten in their knapsacks, not even a supply of drink for each man. And you should see them spring to obey the slightest command; they must have been subjected to an iron discipline. . . . Instead of having to drive them on in our sham battles, we have to hold them back, so much zeal do they put into leaping forward or throwing themselves on the ground at the least sign. Today two of them bruised their hands in their eagerness. What fine fellows ! The interests which he felt at Albertville have ac- companied him to Grenoble. He has not ceased to think of the decision on religious liberty which his father and the directors of the Society of Missions desire to obtain for Madagascar. He has learned that an English delegation has come to Paris to confer with the Government about it : GRENOBLE 115 January 14, 1913. What your letter tells me of your interview with Sir Thomas Barclay interests me very much. Just where does the Madagascar question stand? Have you the hope of arriving soon at a solution? Is the attitude of Mr. Besnard, the new colonial minister, known? I hesitate to ask you to take the time, but could you in two words put me in touch with the situa- tion? The pastor at Grenoble, Mr. Arnal, who had given Roger a most cordial welcome, had asked his father to come and deliver an address at Grenoble. Naturally, Roger and his father were especially interested in the small group of Christian students who were trying to organize in this university town. Roger suffered because of being too much taken up with his work to enjoy the intimacy with this group which he would have wished. He was present, however, at some of the meetings, which attracted him less through the interest that they had for him in themselves, than because of the means they offered him of helping, through his attendance, to enlarge the sphere of influence of this growing Association in the University of Grenoble. If he is wholly devoted to his duties as a soldier and prospective officer, he fully reconciles them in his con- science with the constant concern for that which Chris- tians call the Kingdom of God. He reflects on what the churches ought to do to hasten the day when all nations, recognizing that each has its own particular vocation in exactly the same way as every person has his ethical function to discharge, shall resolve to respect one an- other, and to seek elsewhere than in war the solution of ii6 ROGER ALLIER international problems. He knows that the Federation of Protestant Churches of France has entrusted to his father the task of framing an appeal to Christendom, and that the text of this appeal has been sent to the dif- ferent churches of the world. He gives his father the addresses of people whom he has met in England and to whom he would like to have copies of this declaration sent. In the same letter (January o.'j, 1913), without transition, he asks his father to procure for him the httle brochure written by Captain, since General, Lyautey on "The Social Role of the Officer." He is not one of those who dream unceasingly of the success of a future humanity and never discover present needs. Everything comes to take on for him the form of definite obligations, which do not allow postponement. It is thus that he associates himself in thought with the Congress of the French Federation of Christian Students which is being held at Toulouse. He thinks of the paper which his father is to read there and which is based upon the research they made together on the subject of the social activities of Christian students in England and in the United States : February 2, 1913. That reminds me of the time when I was translating the meager notes destined for the Musee Social, and I have difficulty in believing that eighteen months have rolled by since then. What I find more difficult to believe is that soon I shall become again a student of the Latin Quarter. How like an expatriate I shall feel ! February 17, 191 3. If I am writing you very hurriedly, it is because I GRENOBLE 117 must before the end of the day read your speech at Toulouse on "Our Responsibilities," . , . There was a time, which I regret, when, as a student, I used to believe that I had responsibilities. Now, my obliga- tions appear to me, naturally, under a rather special angle, and I shall read, and attempt to absorb the spirit of, the brochures which you have sent me, on "The Social Role of the Army," and that of the officer.^ Between times, he goes to seek in the mountains the poetry with which he is familiar and of which he has need: January 27, 19 13. Last Sunday, on leaving the barracks, we had our skis on our shoulders. After a week of rain and in- cessant hail storms, the weather was fine. Here we are, therefore, off for Uriage, counting on moonlight to guide us in crossing the winding, snow-covered paths. We have decided to climb Chamrousse, the mountain at the foot of which I had my bad fall the night before Christmas. The Alpine Club has con- structed up there a shelter where one can pass the night. There is dry wood for a fire. For a long time we cross deserted pastures. One no longer hears the cow-bells as in summer. Every- thing is dead. Shepherds and flocks have gone down "Along with the brochure of General Lyautry, his father had sent him another by Mr. de Boyve: "The Social Role of the Army," ii8 ROGER ALLIER into the valleys. A little light guides us : it is the house of the forester, an old alpin. He lives up there with his wife and children in a clearing of the great doman- ial forest of Premol, one of the most beautiful pine forests of France. It is also one of the darkest. We were not lost, however, thanks to the moon, which made myriads of small crystals shine in the snow. There is nothing more beautiful or restful than an excursion on skis at night. Everything is so still! By oneself, one glides without noise, hardly disturbing the snow. The forest has a strange solemnity. All nature seems congealed. In the distance towards the south stand out in profile the summits, with their strange shapes, of Devoluy and Vercors. Under their mantle of snow they seem barren and dead like the mountains of the moon. One thing only suggests life : far away in the depths of the valleys are the lights of human dwellings. Towards eight o'clock, we arrive in a great clear- ing. We open our knapsacks and eat. We must be careful. It was in these parts that I roamed last Christmas, dragging one paw ! We set out again. For three hours more the path leads through the woods, then the forest ends. Without trouble we arrive at the hut, towards midnight. The trip of the next day passes almost without inci- dent. We descend towards Lake Luitel, which is frozen and which you can cross on ski. While trying to jump some rocks, de Lestrac breaks one of his skis clean in two and is forced to descend on foot. GRENOBLE 119 Roger also made a hasty trip to Albertville to see Mr. Chatelain and revisit his dear battalion : Grenoble, February 12, 191 3. I revisited Albertville in splendid v^eather. This small corner of the Alps has become for me a veritable little fatherland, which I see again with pleasure and which I leave always with regret. The mountains of Tarentaise, whose smallest paths I know, are so beau- tiful under their coat of snow. I envy my comrades of the Twenty-second who, for two weeks, have been in winter maneuvers. On the bulwarks and in the barracks I scarcely saw a familiar face. I met only young chasseurs, thick-set, broad- backed fellows, who will have to wait until next year, however, for the privilege and honor of making winter marches. I have heard only good of the young new com- mander. There is not a difficult reconnaissance in which he does not march at the head. The battalion set out, about fifteen days ago — some on ski, others on snowshoes, weighted with winter apparel as if for a polar expedition. Thanks to the fine weather, they were able to climb the principal passes of our sector. They crossed in four meters of snow the Valle des Glaciers, Bon- homme, and the Beaufort, Hauteluce, and Joly ranges. They are now leaving for Haute Savoie, and are going to make an eight day march in the Aravis. . . . I am furious at not having been able to participate I20 ROGER ALLIER in the winter marches. In this fine weather they ought to be marvelous. What a pity that they did not in- terrupt our courses to permit us to rejoin our bat- tahons ! At this time all the Alpine battalions are at maneuvers and the papers relate their exploits. It is on account of his love for sport, but also with the hope of seeing the triumph of the Twenty-second that he goes to attend the meet of ski-runners at Mont Revard : Grenoble, March 5, 1913. The military contest had attracted large numbers: in the train one heard people speak only of the great favorite Lieutenant Krug, perfect specimen of an alpin. The Twenty-second's team scored very great suc- cess. In the jumps, especially, they showed themselves clearly superior to the others. I must have told you already that we have among us this year the champion of France in jumping : rifleman Ancey, of Vallorcine. The most successful was the double jump: Ancey and Sergeant Guyot threw themselves into the air hold- ing each other by the hand, came down the one beside the other, and separated with two wide and graceful turns, one to the right, the other to the left. Sergeant Guyot is one of my good friends ; it is he who during one whole summer carried in his cap a tame lizard. Lieutenant Krug led me, still on skis, to the young commander of the Twenty-second. An introduction on skis is a quite original thing. The commander has a GRENOBLE 121 charming personality ; he asked me many questions on our courses at Grenoble and on my studies. He told me that they regretted very much my departure from the Twenty-second as second lieutenant, that they had been very well satisfied with me, and asked me to pay him a visit when I wear my new stripes. ... In changing trains at Chambery I found my- self face to face with a man who snatched off my cap and pulled my hair laughingly : it was my good friend Captain Boutle, who was shaking my hand joyously and asking me to come and see him soon. It Is necessary, however, that Roger become accus- tomed to the idea of not returning to the Twenty-second. Since he is obliged to separate himself from it, he dreams of being attached to the Eleventh. He has heard Captain Larchey spoken of as an alpin of a good sort and he de- sires to enter his company. His dream is realized. He announces to his parents, March 9th, that he has success- fully passed the examination of the officers' reserve and March 28th, that he is assigned to the Eleventh; he has to be at his post, at Annecy, April 7th. VII ANNECY (April, 1913-November, 191 3) Second Lieutenant of the Eleventh Battalion — First contact with the men — The role of the officer — The machine guns — The morale of the battalion — At Beau- fort and Areches — In Vanoise — From Haute Maurienne to Annecy — The Dent de Lanfon — Return to Paris. VII ANNECY Roger is so attached to the Twenty-second Battalion that he does not resign himself to going to the Eleventh without making a new visit to the former, which has been for him in a very special sense like a family : April i6, 1913. I arrived at Albertville, Saturday evening (April 1 2th), the date of the traditional retreat by torchlight. The chasseurs of the Twenty-second have not lost the habit of marching quickly; the bugles play always with the same zeal. The good Mr. Chatelain received me, as always, with open arms. In spite of his white hair, he is younger and more active than ever. His work being well rooted in Bourgneuf, he is going to erect his tent at Gresy-sur-Isere and throw himself into a new evangelistic campaign. After worship, I made some hurried visits to my old officers. I went to present my- self to the new captain of the Fourth Company, and, finally, I lunched at Krug's. My train left at half past one. I cast one lingering look at the quarters, at the bulwark, at the mountains so often traversed last winter, and was off. 125 126 ROGER ALLIER The lieutenant most recently attached to the battalion is given the task of guiding the first steps of young officers assigned to the Eleventh and of aiding them in their procedure ; this is Second Lieutenant Rabaud, with whom, afterward, Roger will have the most friendly re- lations. Roger makes all the customary visits, looks for an apartment, finally discovers one, though not without difficulty, and entrusts it to the care of his orderly: April i6, 1913. Permit me to present my orderly to you. He is an Alpine type, gentle and conscientious. Ancey is his name. He is a native of Vallorcine. One could al- most say that he was born on skis — he always used them in going to school. He is a cousin of the famous ski-runner of the Twenty-second, who is the champion jumper of France. Ancey is the type of the stocky mountaineer, with a broad chest, shoulders which would please a cubist painter, and a good heavy face. When he comes downstairs he makes a frightful racket. He never speaks to me without saluting and standing at "attention," and is incapable of uttering the short- est sentence without saying two or three times, "My lieutenant." He is very devoted. I gave him such pleasure by saying that I used to know his country! It is so long since he has been there ! For, he told me sadly, in winter the railroad does not go beyond Chamonix. His eyes shone when I spoke to him of the mountain pastures of Emosson and Barberine, and of the pass of Balme where they send their cows. Fin- ANNECY 127 haut, Salvan — all that is familiar ground to him; for, in addition to working in the fields, he has performed the task of porter. There befell him last winter a mis- fortune which he has related to me at length. He was a member of the winter detachment at the Ruined Re- doubt. In the course of a reconnaissance the little troop was overtaken by bad weather and both his feet were frozen. They brought him down to Seez and after energetic treatment succeeded in reviving him. He walks today as if nothing had happened. This ac- cident won for him the stripes of a chasseur of the first class. On one of his sleeves he wears, besides, a "hunt- ing horn" won in a shooting contest last year. Not everybody has an orderly with such trimmings. Roger would have wished to be attached to Captain Larchey's company. The latter would gladly have taken him with him. But his list of officers was full and the newcomer was assigned to the Second Company, com- manded by Captain Blanc-Coquand. The lieutenant of the company is busy taking care of a sprain he got in the winter maneuvers. He goes, therefore, very little to the exercises. Roger had anticipated responsibility. He gets it at once, more of it than he expected. During whole days he is the only officer in the company : Same date. It is delightful, when merely presiding at target practice, to criticize the theories given by the under- officers, to question the non-coms, or to give the com- 128 ROGER ALLIER pany a lesson in bayonet fencing, in boxing, or in gym- nastics. But what is less funny, is to have to command the company in a maneuver in double action, a thing which has happened to me twice. One has the com- mandant at one's back, one feels himself watched and his work picked to pieces, one feels small. My first contact with the men of my company was abrupt ; it happened last Tuesday. This was the manner of it. Monday evening, after a day of details and official visits, I went to bed very gladly. At two o'clock in the morning, a great racket at my door. "My lieutenant, the alarm has been sounded!" Good! Let us equip ourself — revolver, glasses, cap, Tyrolean knapsack, and away. . . . The battalion leaves Annecy in the deepest silence for an unknown destina- tion. We take the road which follows the west bank of the lake. At the first halt, day is beginning to dawn and orders come. It has been learned in the night that the enemy troops, represented by the Twenty-second, have descended by the valley of Beaufort and are oc- cupying the valley of the Arly, between Ugine and Albertville. The Eleventh Battalion of alpins is going to meet them. . . . The maneuver lasted until two o'clock in the afternoon, in the pastures of that im- mense forest of Doussard which you know by repute ; it is there that a few bears still remain. At the end of the maneuvers, after the criticism, the two battalions joined and fraternized. A grand halt took place in the clearing of the forest in the midst of a snowed-in circus. The picture was magnificent. The chasseurs ANNECY 129 were cooking their food between two rocks, while the officers of the two battaHons were eating on the ground. The buglers of the two battalions united and played several pieces; after which, the two battalions separ- ated, the one to go up to the saddle of Tamie, the other to go down again to Annecy, following the other shore of the lake. We arrived at Annecy at eight o'clock in the evening, without any weariness, although the march had been fifty-five kilometers and the equipment complete. That is how I made the acquaintance of my men. The next day we began again. Roger has two predominating desires. The first is not to prove inferior, in the necessary exercises, to any one of the men he commands : Same date. Every morning I practice marching at double time with some picked chasseurs who form part of the group of "mountain scouts." There are in the Eleventh ten of them to a company, all armed with ski- stavs and trained in particularly rapid marching and the most difficult reconnaissances in high mountains. At this time this is how we proceed. We put on our canvas shoes and take our mountain shoes in a bag which is slung over our shoulders. After a ten min- utes' run we arrive beneath the steepest slope of the Semnoz, at the foot of a sort of path in the rocks. Quickly we put on our shoes, scale the rocks, go down a I30 ROGER ALLIER gulley at full speed, put on our canvas shoes again, and return to the quarters in the least time possible. This half hour of action develops muscles and lungs. . . . In addition to this training, I have volunteered to go out every Thursday with the scouts. They are accom- panied by three experienced officers, always the same. His second wish is to render himself useful to his men and to assist them to their complete development : In the afternoon, I gave the chasseurs and the non- commissioned officers of the company a talk on old- age pensions for workingmen and methods of coopera- tion between employer and employes, I am planning to give a talk each week. The captain has agreed. That will mean work. Such application speedily brings its moral reward : Annecy, May i, 1913. My captain has just showed me a mark of confidence by commanding me to lead the company on a march in the mountains once a week. Besides, in many other exercises, he has given me free rein. Each week, there- fore, we take ropes and stavs, and go out for gymnastic exercises on the perpendicular wooded sides of Semnoz — scaling the rocks, making rapid marches through the woods, the ditches, and the brambles, and descending the rocks with the aid of pine tree trunks. For me this is a quite new pleasure. Last year, as a ANNECY 131 private of the chasseurs, I was only one segment of each of those long serpents which wound around the sides of the mountain. Now, I am the guide, who seeks out the paths, who whistles to halt or to resume the march. It is no easy task to lead more than a hundred chasseurs through the difficult places. After being for more than a year a private chasseur or a non-commissioned officer, it takes him some time at first to accustom himself to this new regimen. He feels, with an extraordinary freshness of impression, those things to which he formerly paid no attention : Same date. My orderly continues to look after my apartment with maternal care. Sword, equipment, uniform — all is brushed, polished, put in order. Each evening he brings me cakes and fresh milk. My little chafing dish is all ready. When I get up, I have only to strike a match. The proper amount of cocoa and sugar is in the cup and all I have to do is to put in the hot milk. In case of an alarm, at two or three in the morning, nothing is so good as to absorb a bowl of steaming cocoa. What a changed life ! Comfort is made up of a multitude of little things which, aken separately, pass unnoticed, and of which the private chasseur is de- prived. Thus, I have completely lost the habit of that traditional act which consists in leaving one's boots under the kitchen table each evening. You will find 132 ROGER ALLIER that nothing, but it is symboHc, and added to many other little things, it transforms existence. That per- mits me to appreciate doubly the life of intensive train- ing which we lead. There is only one shadow in the picture. The reveille seems to me more harsh since I have been an officer. We depart on the run at four or five o'clock and that is hard, one must admit, when one feels so comfortable at home. But he is not one of those whom comfort prevents from seeing anything else : Same date. The material pleasures of an officer's lot are sup- plemented for me by great satisfaction from the moral point of view. Mott would say, clenching his fist, that there is no privilege without responsibility. An officer can be a true inspirer of men. That is true, especially, of an officer of the alpins, if he takes seriously his duties toward his "men." How many times, in the discus- sions at the circle or elsewhere, have I heard students complaining of the difficulty that they have in reach- ing manual laborers, uneducated folk, farmers! It seems to me that a unique opportunity presents itself to us. Next year, the Alpine companies will comprise 230 men each — what a splendid field for work ! Two hundred and thirty men who must not only be trans- formed into warriors from the physical point of view, but who must also be disciplined mentally, tempered in ANNECY 133 soul, and fitted for future citizenship ! But I perceive that I am falling into a lay sermon, and permitting my- self to paraphrase General Lyautey. That which is certain, however, is that if we Alpine officers do not succeed in leaving an imprint, in exert- ing a moral influence, nobody will ever succeed. Our life of simplicity and toil is of a nature to make the contact so easy ! It is this sentiment of a mission to fulfil, or more modestly, of a useful role to play, that has aided me to come to look upon my three years' service, first as no very painful sacrifice, then, more and more, as some- thing providential. That does not mean that, in a day, one can gain the affection of his subordinates, their confidence, to such an extent as to exercise a moral influence over them. I think even General Lyautey exaggerates when he talks of an officer's knowing, one by one, all the men of his company — their antecedents, their aptitudes, their ambitions ! I am only at the beginning. It is necessary to begin with small things. I try to engrave on my memory the names and faces. I have commenced with the non-commissioned officers, taking advantage of a quiz to which I was ordered to subject them about fif- teen days ago. Then, it was the turn of the chasseurs. Naturally, I discounted considerably the judgments of the non-commissioned officers in regard to them. I know what they are worth. At maneuvers, I am perhaps excessively severe. I have, in commanding, a harshness which I have not 134 ROGER ALLIER succeeded in moderating. A "snap of the jaw" occa- sionally escapes me. But I do all I can to render the exercises interesting and alive, and to avoid monotony. In the gymnastic drill, I take off my coat and, like every self-respecting alpin officer, am the first to climb over the wall of assault. You should see the rivalry! In boxing, I have a horror of the fastidious and su- perfluous motions so dear to the non-commissioned officers. In place of losing my time in long talks to explain parrying, feints, or thrusts, I take off my sword and coat and I give blows with my fist or kicks with my feet . . . or I take them. Is it a question of putting up the tents or of constructing shelters of branches to pass the night in the open ? I call a speed contest and victory goes to him who "cleans up" first. Then, I make the whole company lie down under the tents. One hears sonorous snores. I place sentinels around the camp, I feign an attack and in the flash of an eye, the company is all equipped and ready for the combat . . . and thus in the same way with all the exercises. No dryness or monotony. Animation, always ! I continue to give the company a talk each week, which means no little work. I have just delivered two lectures on Japanese procedure in battle. I had as- sembled a number of reports of unusual observations by eye witnesses in Manchuria. He has already assumed much care. He takes a little more on himself : ANNECY 135 Same date. I am going to specialize further and become more of an alpin than ever. Here is the great news : I took ad- vantage of the return from a long march to express to the commander my desire to receive the command of a section of machine gunners. He has accepted me as a volunteer and has decided that I shall take a three or four months' course of instruction under the direction of the lieutenant gunner of the battalion. In the next Alpine maneuvers, therefore, you will see me file by with my mules. By the way, I forgot to tell you that our last marches had furnished me an opportunity to make the acquaint- ance of my mule. He is called "Valaisan." He is a little mule, very gentle, and has a kind look which surely denotes an open mind. On one side he carries my canteen, and on the other the material for officers' mess. It is understood that this course of training in machine gunnery does not diminish in any way his duties to his company. He simply carries at the same time both his duties and his course. One may imagine the amazing complexity which all that produces in his existence. In the meantime, he has found in the Thirtieth Infantry Regiment quartered in the village, an old comrade from Paris, Henri Westphal, who is a sergeant, and his brother, Frederic. He met them for the first time in 1907, at Sainte-Croix, at the Swiss Christian Student Conference. He sees them often, and trembles at the reading of the letters, palpitating with emotion, which their father 136 ROGER ALLIER writes them after coming back from a visit to Palestine. He makes with them the acquaintance of Pastor Noyer, and longs to make that of Pastor Ullern, of whom he heard so much at Albertville and to whom his friends promise to present him. There take place at this time in two regiments of France regrettable incidents which it is useless to recall here. Roger speaks of the morale which he recognizes in his battalion : Annecy, May 2.'j, 1913. The spirit is excellent. The officers, sharing the tasks and hardships of the men, sleeping with them in the open air, can exert much influence. Certain cap- tains, like Larchey, are adored. Much is done in the battalion to raise the intellectual level of the men. Besides the talks b}^ the officers in the companies, there is one each week addressed to the whole battalion. It is delivered in the new quarters, in the immense fenc- ing hall. The non-commissioned officers are obliged to be present, corporals and student-corporals alike. All the chasseurs are invited. The hall Is always crowded; there are chasseurs perched even on the windows. Out of courtesy to the speaker all the officers attend. The subjects are historical or geographical and gen- erally military; thus, since my arrival, I have heard a talk by Captain Larchey on Alsace, another on the German artillery as compared with the French, still another on the defense of the Alpine frontier between the upper valley of the Ubaye and the Mediterranean, ANNECY 137 another on the history of the Eastern Question, The commandant, who presides at these conferences, gen- erally makes a few concluding remarks. He speaks extremely easily and elegantly, and knows admir- ably how to summarize a subject, and make apt gener- alizations from it. One always awaits with interest this synthesis "a la Charles Gide" ; it is clear and French. Fifteen days ago a lieutenant, who has traveled long in the Orient and whose rank as a French officer on a mission had permitted him to see many things that others do not see, described to us in a picturesque fashion Constantinople and the old Turkish Empire. I almost thought I heard you speaking, when he was describing to us Stamboul, the Golden Horn, the Galata Bridge, Selamlik, the shores of the Bosphorus, the Princes' Islands, and Bebek. He told us unbelievable details of the Turkish corruption, in the army, in the navy, everywhere. . . . As a logical sequel to this talk. Lieutenant Morel- Delville, who commands the platoon of the Mountain Scouts, told us last Tuesday of the Turkish disasters in the last Thracian campaign. The commandant then rose, and, by way of conclu- sion, brought out the relation of cause and effect which exists between the recoil against German influence, due to the progress of the Slavic elements in the Orient, and the new German armaments. To give point to the lecture and to correct certain exaggerations of the press, he showed in what measure these armaments 138 ROGER ALLIER were directed against us and wherein the situation was serious for France. He added that he was counting on all the chasseurs to consent, in full understanding of the cause, to a sacrifice recognized as necessary in the general interest; for it is much easier to be brave in the frenzy of a battle than modestly in time of peace to do one's duty during long weeks or months. At last, in a voice of emotion, he gave an example of the little Balkan States, bending for five hundred years under the Turkish yoke, but determined to maintain intact their individuality, their race, their language, their customs, and their religion. And he drew a parallel between these people who have known how to wait five centuries before freeing themselves, and Alsace, which was snatched from France only forty- two years ago. One felt a wave of emotion pass through the hall. There is a man who holds his battal- ion in his hand. As for me, I am initiating myself more and more in the use of those marvelously precise instruments, our machine guns. For I must be thoroughly acquainted with every possible cause of jamming, and this involves taking to pieces a mechanism more complicated than that of a watch. The whole process of going into battery is accomplished with astonishing rapidity. In thirty seconds at the most, the piece is ready for action. The operation is so nicely apportioned that, in the wink of an eye, the gun is taken off the mules' backs, fastened to the earth, and aimed; while the officer armed with his glasses commands the rate of fire and ANNECY 139 the elevation, the loaders spring to the munition cases and are ready to serve, and the firers are seated behind their pieces, ready to release the trigger. In the mean- time by the aid of his instrument the range-finder has learned the exact distance of the enemy, at about twenty-five meters. All that takes thirty seconds; we shall do it in twenty-five seconds even. On the average, two half days of the week are devoted to shooting. I have taken great pleasure in personally manning a gun ; the fire is so accurate that I have succeeded in making a score of one hundred per cent. I busy myself much also with the mules, those faith- ful companions of our Alpine circuits. I help with the grooming and feeding. I have familiarized myself with the details of their care and with the precautions necessary to avoid injury to them. Lieutenant Nor- mand, under whose direction I work, is an old alpin who has made many difficult passages and gives me precious advice. He knows all the tricks of the trade, in the passage of difficult peaks, in the descent in the snow, and in other situations. The battalion crosses all the heights which surround Annecy, and there are constant transports of admiration and joy : Annecy, June i, 191 3. I am still enchanted with the march which we made last Thursday to Parmelan. We set out at two o'clock in the morning and returned at five in the evening. 140 ROGER ALLIER It was splendid weather but hot ! . . . The chasseurs were loaded down like mules, and I thought that the battalion would rest on the way. But there was not a laggard. Viewed from the valley, Parmelan appears inac- cessible on all sides. Eugene Sue, who lived in a villa at the edge of the lake, likens it to a fortress built by Titans. Its gently sloping sides are covered with for- ests of tall pines; then vegetation stops, you traverse steep mountain pastures and arrive at the base of a vertical wall. It is there that our fifty mules are left, while the battalion takes to the rocks. There is no really difficult passage; everywhere one finds steps or iron cables. It is the first time that I have made a climb with the whole battalion. Generally, a recon- naissance of this sort is made by detached companies. The Indian file was of a seemingly impossible length; as far as the eye could see, there were packs and little white breeches, winding in the sun over the dark green pastures or in the midst of the rocks. When the first troops had arrived at the summit, the battalion was still zigzagging in the peaks of the "Grand Mon- toir," like a little army of busy ants, hanging on to the rough projections of the rock. In two hours, the summit of this gigantic limestone pedestal is reached and discloses two pictures of a striking contrast in form and color : on one side, as far as the Saleve, verdant valleys and lakes of an intense blue, Leman, Annecy Lake, and Bourget ; on the other, a sea of grey rocks, bare and jagged, which form the ANNECY 141 upper part of the Parmelan. These are the lapiaz, very- dangerous labyrinths of hmestone. The scout platoon, which passed by the neck of Pertuis and was to rejoin us at the summit, wandered a long time in the midst of those crevasses and the rounded potholes which recall those of Lucerne. There are ice-paved caverns as much as eight hundred meters deep. In the wooded cavities one finds many rhododendrons. They are not yet in flower. From the topmost point one would say he was look- ing out upon a strange sea of motionless waves, dom- inated by a chain of glaciers. In the direction of Valais, one discerns the Dia- blerets, Wildhorn, the Dent du Midi, Tour Salliere, and the peak of Tanneverge, then Mont Blanc with all its peaks standing out clearly; the glaciers of Pourri, of Grande Casse, of Vanoise; the Grivola and Grand Paradis. In the distance, the three symmetrical points of the Aiguilles d'Arve, Belledonne, Pelvoux, and the Ecrins. All this scene was bathed in sunlight. It was marvelous. In this great silence, our seven hunting horns mingled in playing "Nimrod" and "The Passage of the Grand Stag" ; these are the two favorite airs. In the quiet atmosphere, this calm music, reechoed by the mountain, had in it something of the celestial. Then, there are the very complicated maneuvers made by the battalion in the regions of Beaufort and Areches. Roger grows more and more enthusiastic: 142 ROGER ALLIER July 9, 1913. Never have I been so happy to be an alpin. Here, one does not feel overwhelmed as in the Chapieux, in a chaos of mountains, austere and bare. The sides of the valleys are covered with great pine forests. One would not think oneself in the "high mountains" did not the glaciers of Mont Blanc shine in the distance. Here, we are truly in the Alps, in the open pastures covered with myriads of flowers. There is absolute quiet. We are in a bath of light and sun and our faces are tanned by the wind and the cold. These pastures are immense. They feed the flocks of three valleys — Beaufort, Areches, and Hauteluce. From morning to evening, one hears the tinkling of their bells. The view is cut off at the first pines, whose branches are stunted and twisted by the frost of winter. Then, there is the bluish abyss of the valleys. The cottages are only modest shelters with loosely joined frames. To render them a little more habitable we have papered the interior with the canvas of our tents. The cantonments compete in fastidiousness and neatness. To picture these, imagine a barn divided into two com- partments. On one side is the straw to sleep on. On the other side the floor is carefully swept, and more or less skilfully washed; the one is designed for eight men, the other for hunting horns and such things. ... The packs, neatly assembled, are carefully ar- ranged on some boards, of which an amateur carpenter has made a set of shelves. The well-greased boots are ANNECY 143 placed in a row, in readiness for inspection, to which they are subjected every two or three days, that not a spike may be missing— and in our marches we often lose one! The guns are carefully stacked in a rack. Each chasseur has fastened his iron-tipped stick or ski- stav between the beams to make a hook and there hangs his equipment. At the door are suspended the badge of the section, a folding lantern, and a bucket always filled with water in case of fire. Generally, a wooden veranda surrounds the cottage, and there, sheltered under the great roof, the linen washed in the stream hangs drying. Everything is so well ordered that one could wish to be able to stay here for a long time. Roger's letters are then like a journal of the march. He notes in them, day by day, his incessant marches in all directions, from Beaufort where the Doron leaps in cas- cades to Cormet d'Areches where the snow, in the middle of July, welcomes the battalion with the whistling of tempests, to the ancient capital of the Centrones, Aime, where stones engraved with Roman inscriptions are em- bedded in the walls of modern farm buildings, to Peisey at the foot of Mont Pourri, and from there, by true Alpine jumps, to Ugine, to the passes of Joly and of the Bonhomme, to the Aiguille de Roselette, the lake of Girotte, and the gorges of Roselend. These are not marches of physical training merely : July 9, 1913. Last Friday was for the battalion a day of rest. I 144 ROGER ALLIER took a piece of chalk and, sketching on the beams of a cottage, I deHvered to my company from the height of a balcony a lecture on the defensive organization of Glacier Valley and of the Beaufort range. July 14, 1913. We are going to be able to leave the Beaufort range. Thanks to our reconnaissances and our tours of the horizon, we know all the passes. Certain paths, con- structed by the alpins, are known only to them; they are not marked on the map of the General Staff, but only on private maps of the sector, which are made and corrected by the Alpine officers and are in their hands only. They are maps in color, remarkable for their clearness, in spite of the great minutiss of detail. The faintest trace of a path, the smallest cottage, is indi- cated. The design of the ridges permits one to know whether they are passable. I never use any other map during our marches. He is not satisfied merely to use the maps ; he assists in revising them : Peisey, July 17, 1913. Good-by to the radiant days of Areches! We packed our baggage Tuesday morning under a beating rain. A family staying in the country secured some mules to follow us as far as the pass. They contented themselves with wishing us good courage. At 200 meters above Areches it was snowing. I had gone ANNECY 145 ahead with some sappers to prepare a passage for the mules; then I marched in the lead with the command- ant to guide the battalion. At 2,000 meters it was snowing and hailing so heavily that we could see no farther behind than about twenty chasseurs. The rest were invisible. Below us in the winding path we heard them talking, but we saw nothing. Here we have been at Peisey, since yesterday. We shall leave next Monday. The battalion is to proceed in small detachments from the valley of Peisey, at the foot of Pourri, all the way to Notre Dame du Pre, on the slopes of Jovet. Our program is very full. We are to revise our "guide of the sector" for the region comprised between the upper Tarentaise and the valley of Peisey. Mountain warfare presupposes a perfect knowledge of the smallest passes through our ranges. A little ridge, a hazardous pass, a glacier might permit a few detachments of alpins to outflank the enemy, to make a surprise attack, to harass from the rear while starv- ing him, taking away by hard blows of the fist his con- voys of food or munitions. It is the species of war that is waged by small detachments. Thus, each Alpine group keeps on perfecting the map of its sector. Naturally, the information found there is possessed only by the officers. The secret is absolute. Last summer was exceptional because of the fever which caused us to leave Upper Savoy. This year the work has been apportioned among the Eleventh, the Thirteenth, and the Twenty-second. The Alpine 146 ROGER ALLIER batteries know the passes through which cannon may- be transported. In each battalion, the companies have their assigned duties, and in each company the officers have special reconnaissances, their reports to submit, and their outline of itinerary to draw. It is no sinecure. A multitude of questions must be answered : Is such a pass practicable in every season? In summer only? From what date to what date? For Alpinists only? For men fully accoutered ? For mules ? For mountain artillery? Describe the route followed. Note the length of time consumed by the passage, the climb, and the descent. Draw a map on a large scale indicating all the cottages passed, the chapels, the crosses capable of serving as landmarks in winter, the gradient, the paths, the brooks, the springs, the watering places. At such a cottage, at such a time of year, are there milk, fodder, water, cattle ? Is there wood, or is it necessary to carry it on one's knapsack? In winter, is it neces- sary to follow another route ? Discover the important points where one might place signal posts, the spots most suitable for the establishment of telephonic or telegraphic communication with the valleys, etc., etc. The first company must, in forty-eight hours, construct a telephone system connecting all the hamlets of the valley of Peisey. For four days, therefore, I shall set out early with a platoon. We shall eat where we can, and in the even- ing, I shall do my editing of data collected. Happily, the weather has cleared since morning, though it is still very cold. ANNECY 147 I began today by an easy reconnaissance at the foot of Aiguille Grive. Tomorrow, it will be more serious. I am to climb the neck of Mont Pourri. As we are to reach for the first time this summer an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, I shall try out the young chasseurs and baptize them alpins as I was baptized last year. In what state shall we find the glaciers? Probably covered with fresh soft snow. I should laugh if, in the month of July, the company had to put on their snowshoes. Some days ago, the Twenty-second, go- ing to Tignes, crossed this chain in three groups : some followed the pass of Tourne; others, the passes of Sache; the remainder, the majority of the battalion, with its mules and guns, the pass of Palet. There was a meter of soft snow. The mules had to be entirely unloaded, and their loads, in this case the guns, car- ried on the men's backs for a whole hour. The bat- talion did not arrive at Tignes until four o'clock in the afternoon. The battalion sets out for Vanoise, however. The marches become more and more epic. Entire companies pass over the huge glacier of the saddle of Pourri and that of the pass of the Grande Casse, where the danger of the fall of a serac is so imminent that, fastened to one another by ropes, the men march at intervals of fifty meters, in order that in case of accident, one only shall run the risk of being involved. There follow recon- naissances to Grande Motte, to Grande Forclaz, to the glacier of Lepenna, to the Dome of Chasseforet, to the pass of Tourne, and to Selonge. Then begin unforeseen 148 ROGER ALLIER maneuvers and the battalion is put to traversing, by forced marches, the whole maze of mountains, passes, neves, and glaciers which, for so many weeks, they have been exploring in every direction. The misfortune is that all this takes place in bad weather. The downpours are like floods, and accompanied usually by hail. In only slightly higher altitudes there were tremendous snow- falls. Val d'Isere, July 30, 191 3. Since the beginning of July, so much snow has fallen that altitudes of 2,600 meters are difficult to pass with the mules. Those of 2,800 are impassable. By way of compensation, they are magnificent to see. I have made some photographs which one would think taken in the winter marches. Les Chapieux, August 14, 1913. Not an instant's abatement in the downpour! The path is a veritable torrent of mud. Captain Dechamps, who for fifteen years has explored the Alps, and whom nothing any longer astonishes, neither storm nor tempest, says he never has seen such a deluge of mud. In places, it is with difficulty that we can withdraw our feet; we go in up to our knees. The mules flounder with their loads. One of them makes a series of somersaults, end over end. They pick him up one hun- dred meters beyond, dead, or rather good only for the slaughter-house. His driver, hoping up to the last moment to hold him back, clings to him and falls with ANNECY 149 him. He will be cited in the Order of the Battalion. He is carried to the hospital of Bourg-St.-Maurice, suffering terribly. It is there that Roger's orderly, "though a mountaineer of rare skill," is wounded and goes to join others in the same hospital. He is replaced by Bastide, "a brave little Cevenol," writes Roger, "in whom I have every con- fidence." It falls to the alpins to aid some good people who are traveling in those parts for their pleasure. Post at Chapieux, August 22, 191 3. At Mottets we replenish our supply of provisions and eat in haste in the jovial company of Captain Larchey, who is always sparkling with fun. When we leave the httle inn, it is dark night ; the storm is slowly coming up, but we have good hopes, for the Italian sky is still clear. We light a lantern, for the trail of the pass is not very clear and we have some mountain streams to cross. For an hour we climb, hastening our steps a little, for above us cries for help are resounding. Are they the cries of shepherds, or of travelers lost in the night ? The path leads us to the edge of a torrent. On the other bank, nine persons, of whom several are wild- eyed ladies, call to us, weeping in comical despair. The only plank by which one could cross has been swept away by the current, but it is lodged on two big rocks which we know well; it is necessary to jump ISO ROGER ALLIER from one to the other without letting oneself be affected by the darkness or by the noise of the cascade which breaks into foam below. We leap, after throw- ing to the other band our enormous packs. "Chasseurs alpins!" they exclaim, and they gaze at us with curi- osity, as if we were supernatural beings that haunt the mountains by night. We climb up to the cascade and pile rock on rock in the bed of the torrent. The ladies become calm and decide to pass over this improvised ford, vowing that they will never come there again. Thanks to one of our lanterns, the caravan arrives safely at Mottets but almost dead from fright. Now the moon lights the way for us. Our packs are heavy and the air is mild, the storm still coming on. At last here is the great cairn which marks the fron- tier ! At the right, another silhouette is profiled, mo- tionless. Then a voice stops us ; I cry in French : "We are officers of the alpins." The Italian stands at atten- tion and salutes, then goes off without a word, pacing along the frontier. After their own maneuvers, the alpins go to take part in those of the army corps, in the Department of Ain. The bad weather accompanies them there and renders very difficult, in spite of their zeal, the tactics of the plain, less familiar to them than those of the mountains. The weeks pass. The hour for the return to Paris approaches. Roger asks himself how he can live in that great city where the streets bear so little likeness to mountain paths. He thinks also of the duties which ANNECY 151 await him there. How shall he resume life as a student? With what practical work shall he busy himself ? Shall he take up his old group at the Sunday school ? It seems to him that other duties will keep him busy, and yet it will be painful for him to have to refuse a service to the church he loves. He writes to his father : Annecy, October 12, 19 13. I am convinced that the Separation has left undi- minished the importance of the free churches and that it is necessary more than ever to insist on the prin- ciple of the personal profession of faith, which is the raison d'etre of these churches. Then, what am I to do ? I should not like to feel that I was evading a duty, and a duty it seems to be that confronts me here, since there is to be a shortage of three monitors at one time. I am going to think it over a little longer. He wrote, several days later, to his pastor, Mr. Bonnet, as follows: October 20, 191 3. As my father must have told you, I have asked to spend one more winter with the alpins; I have the firm hope, though not the certainty, that this request will be favorably received. In that case, I shall winter in Upper Tarentaise with a detachment of ski-runners and shall not return to Paris before the first of March. I shall therefore have to give up taking charge of a group at the Sunday school, but I cannot do so with- 152 ROGER ALLIER out telling you how deeply I am touched by your con- fidence. It is not without regret that I decline your offer, considering all the memories that attach me to the Luxembourg Sunday school. But by March the year will already be far advanced and of course you cannot go without a monitor for so long a time. On the other hand, becoming a student again, I shall perhaps have to busy myself with the Federation, and I cannot plan far ahead. I do not dare to make an en- gagement. Excuse my indecision and believe that I am much attached to the free churches and in partic- ular to the Luxembourg church, which is entitled to the utmost gratitude on my part. Roger had hoped for a while to be able to stay at least six months longer in the battalion and thus to take ad- vantage of the new military law which, in cases similar to his, extended the age limit for candidacy for the Conseil d'Etat. This interpretation of the law not having ap- peared accurate, he had to resign himself to ending his service in the middle of November. But, while prepar- ing to return to Paris, he made his plans to escape from there as soon as possible : October 26, 19 13. In fifteen days, I shall be in Paris and set to work with a mad ardor. I shall immerse myself completely in that judicial atmosphere to which my intellectual lungs are so unaccustomed. That will be somewhat suffocating at first. Commander Gamelin has strongly urged that I ANNECY 153 make the winter marches as a ski-runner. Not occupy- ing Chapieux in winter, the Eleventh is opening a post at Tignes. It will be commanded by Lieutenant Bey- net, with whom I am on excellent terms and who passed the whole of last winter at the Redoubt. Beynet is saving a place for me at the post. We shall have excellent ski-runners, for we have brought in a number of carefully selected Chamoniards. Beynet agrees to train me very rapidly and to have me take part in the long marches of the detachment in Iseran and Vanoise. I am madly eager to cross on skis, at a temperature of thirty below, the glaciers which I tra- versed with the battalion last summer. Since Beynet, Lobligeois, and many other lieutenants have told me of their winterings, I am haunted with the desire to know a little of this life of the "Posts of the Snows." All return enthusiasts and never weary of relating their adventures, though it be for the twentieth time. How was he to take his leave of the Alps, if not by some good bold climb ? October 26, 19 13. To crown worthily our service as alpins, we, Mar- gerin and I, have just climbed the peak south of Lan- fon. Capdepon, who is probably the best climber we have in France, was one of the first to succeed in this ascent. He counts it among the most difficult that he knows. So we returned with blood on our hands, as formerly in the descent of the Trois Pucelles. We 154 ROGER ALLIER were assisted by an article which Capdepon published in the Revue Alpine last spring. It was fine weather and thanks to our fifty-five meters of rope we did not have too great difficulty climbing the south face, and descending again by the opposite wall. When our boat left Talloires it was night and the lake was gleaming under a beautiful Milky Way. This meeting with the great mountains is not calculated to lessen his grief at leaving the Alps and all those whom he loves so much: November 3, 19 13. I have but one more week at Annecy. Never have I had such a vivid impression of the flight of time. Notwithstanding the pleasure I shall have in seeing you again so soon, I can not escape a feeling of apprehen- sion. Paris frightens me. November 6, 19 13. I shall be very sorry to leave this corps of officers, who consider me their equal and from whom I have never ceased to receive testimonies of confidence. I shall be especially sorry to separate from my company, which is very much attached to me — I have had many proofs of it — and to which I have been much devoted. A company of alpins is a true family. I have asked you for a little money, for I do not wish to leave so many fine fellows without offering them something. ANNECY 155 These little acts have their importance; who knows in what circumstances we shall meet again ? Besides that, some chasseurs have just volunteered for service in Morocco. They are very poor and we gave them a little pocket money to lessen their wants. The hour of separation arrives at last, and Roger re- turns to Paris. VIII PARIS AND TIGNES (November, 19 13- July, 19 14) The "Rochassiers" — Family life — Music — Develop- ment of character — Social questions — League of Free Trade — The housing problem — The competitive examina- tion for the Conseil d'Etat — The "winter marches," 1914 — At the "Post of Snows" — Christian student conference at Lyon — A march — The "Volunteers for Social Service" — Last climbs. VIII PARIS AND TIGNES Roger returned to Paris November lo, 1913. He had expected to experience some of the feelings of an ex- patriate, and it was in reality some time before he found the air of the city breathable ; he pretended to be stifling, wherever he went. It was in vain that he practiced chamber gymnastics at all hours and worked fervently at his 2ofri exerciser; the hateful anemia seemed ever- present to him. Finding some old alpins who like him- self complained of the heavy air of Paris, he decided to go with them and seek the steepest rocks in the forest of Fontainebleau, and to climb these in the most extravagant ways.i Alas, there are in the forest of Fontainebleau no splendid abysses over which one may lean, defying dizzi- ness. . . . Though he rose in revolt against city life, inveterate alpin that he was, Roger nevertheless succeeded in en- joying his new existence, or rather his return to that of former times. He had a real passion for family life. His great joy was to be with his people in a corner and say, "We are in a little nest." His grandmother wished to have him stay with her in the apartment above that of his parents, in a study admirably adapted to his needs, but he would not consent to that. From the beginning, he * Among these "Rochassiers" — that is the name which is given them among certain members of the Alpine Club — two were particularly intimate with Roger, Andre Jacquemart and Jacques Vehrlin. i6o ROGER ALLIER wished to share his father's study as he had done since infancy. His father and he had the habit of working together, almost facing each other. They would often mingle their researches and their meditations. If the son was wrestling with a problem of law or social science, it was rarely that he did not examine with his father the philosophical principles that this question brought into play. If his father was studying a question of psychol- ogy, individual or collective, he seldom failed to examine with his son the impact of this question on the existing laws or of the existing laws on this question. Both would often interrupt their work to indulge in what they called recreation, that is to say, a random conversa- tion on the men and events of the day, telling each other what they had heard said, trying to interpret events in the light of what was passing behind the scenes, sharing in common their hopes, their distastes, their admirations, their projects for championing such or such a cause. Their intimacy had become absolute. . . . And there was a like intimacy between Roger and his mother. In the evenings, when alone with her, he would begin long confidences on his plans for the future, or on the moral conflicts which he had to face during the years of ab- sence. It cannot be recalled that he ever entered the apartment without asking in the hall, 'Ts mother there? And father?" When his grandmother had offered him a study exactly adapted to his needs, his argument for refusing had been, "We could see one another and talk only at table!" He did not wish to lose a moment of family life. His keenest pleasure in the intermissions which he allowed himself in his work, was to go and sit by his mother in an ad- joining room and tell her stories of the faculty or the School of Political Sciences or show her photographs which he had brought back from Grenoble or Annecy; PARIS AND TIGNES i6i and often, at the recollection of a "good story," he would burst into peals of laughter in which one heard the reso- nance of a joy without reserve and caught the vibrations of a soul in which there was no concealment. These bursts of contagious laughter, almost childlike in its freshness, constantly interrupted his long conversations with his sisters or his young brother. Even after his military service, he did not require much urging to spend hours playing with his brother, installing a mechanical railroad and making clever combinations of rails and switches which furrowed the floors of several rooms in his grandmother's apartment. He had one passion, for music. He used to say that he would devote himself entirely to it if he did not feel called elsewhere by undeniable duties. While young — at the age of five to be precise — he could listen with a sort of fervor to sonatas which would have made many children and even many grown-ups yawn with weariness. The correctness of his ear, enabling him to distinguish the finest variations of sounds, seems to have counted for something in the gift that he had for learning foreign languages and especially for speaking them with a strik- ing purity of accent. When ten — he was in the sixth form — he commenced taking lessons on the violin. He gave himself to it with complete abandon. His other work did not leave him the time to develop into a true virtuoso, however. He never lost an opportunity to hear the compositions of the great masters. It was at the con- certs of the church of the Sorbonne, at those of the "So- ciety of J. S. Bach" or of the "Palestrina Society," that he found some of the deepest joys of his life. Having suffered the deprivation of these artistic pleasures during his miUtary service, he found in music after his return to civil life the powerful charm which alone, with the sole exception of family life, was capable of consoling him a i62 ROGER ALLIER little for having left the Alps. Unhappily, he had less time than ever to study music for himself. But one of his favorite relaxations after the rush of the week was, on Sunday, to play psalms and hymns on his violin to his sister's accompaniment on the piano, and it was rarely that these little religious concerts did not end with number 119 of the Collection of the Reformed Churches: the music is from Beethoven, and Roger found in this serene and spacious harmony a sovereign virtue of ap- peasement. His personality had developed. Without growing ex- clusive, his tastes had become fixed, his convictions were forming. A certain violence of disposition against which he had had to be on his guard since infancy, was gradu- ally changing into an increasing strength of will. While a child, he had very bitter fits of passion. But the crisis once passed, he accepted in advance the punishment which he knew he deserved and he used to go of his own ac- cord and put himself in the corner. Later, he used to go there before the outburst, when he felt one of his fits coming on, and he sometimes stayed nearly half an hour with his head against the wall. When they called him, judging the punishment sufficient, he used to refuse to come if he was still experiencing sensations of anger. A prey to all the perplexities of a scrupulous con- science, he hesitated long before taking sides in anything. But when he had made a decision with a knowledge of his grounds, he stuck to it. When he had seen his duty, nothing could prevent him from doing it.^ ^We may cite here some lines from a letter addressed June 6, 1916, to Roger's parents by Mrs. Henry CouUet: "I think I am fulfilling a pious duty and rendering homage to the memory of your dear son, dead for France, in making you acquainted with a recollection connected with him; his glorious end gives to the incident that I am going to tell you a particularly height- ened significance. A word, pronounced by him lightly, announced PARIS AND TIGNES 163 He had a jealous wish for moral liberty, and nothing outraged him more than an effort to force the enlistment of souls. No influence was ever exerted over him by any save those of whom he was assured that they abso- lutely respected his conscience. He had also, however, a deep feeling for the necessity of collaboration for the attainment of any result whatever, and the solidarity gained through convergent efforts seemed to him to be a necessary condition of the whole social life. Hte was very severe towards the false individualism which is, at bottom, nothing but pride. And as he expressed volun- tarily his gratitude to all those who helped him in his study or suggested to him practical methods of work, certain ones might have thought that they had gained predominance over him, when in reality, though cooper- ating loyally with them, he had entirely reserved his own independence. He greatly loved wit, and a good joke delighted him for a long time. He had a very keen sense of ridicule, especially when it was provoked by somebody's more or less unconscious vanity. A natural gift for imitation, joined to that rapid perception of eccentricities, might have developed in him a certain satirical vein. But irony used to irritate him very promptly. This was due to the fact that he recognized in it when habitual an eccentricity worse than those against which it is directed, almost a mental disease, an egotistical prepossession arising from supreme satisfaction with oneself, a mania sometimes vicious in its eagerness to belittle all things. the disposition of his soul and comes today to honor his mem- ory : I am very sadly touched in telling you about it. Your dear boy was talking at the Chapelle de la rue Madame, while playing with my children, and discussing handwriting with my daughter. Marguerite. As he was asking her to examine his writing, she begged him to write a few words : He then wrote : 'I would do it again, if I had it to do.' " i64 ROGER ALLIER As sincerity was a passion with him, he practiced it himself and he presupposed it always in others. A lie in any form irritated him. Deeply hurt if he suspected that one did not have confidence in him, he himself placed confidence in men and things. He preferred to be de- ceived in the outcome of any transaction rather than to commit an injustice beforehand. He never permitted himself to apply to others at the outset sentiments or thoughts which he would have found unpleasant if ap- plied to himself. And he who detested nobody cherished a strong dislike for two categories of persons : those whose thoughts one never knows, whose affected silences, ex- pressionless looks, and enigmatical smiles reveal them as consciously intent on never giving out anything about themselves ; and those who, one knows immediately, think only evil of others. He had a horror of useless and wicked conversations which consist only in systematic disparagement and in which one speaks of another only to describe his physical weakness or to relate about his char- acter or his life some slanderous story. He reserved his judgments for cases which were worth the trouble; as he did not blunt his critical faculty in easy slanders or in small talk, it remained for him, when the others had exhausted their fund of petty criticism, to feel the most violent indignation against the offensive words that had been uttered and to take practically the contrary position. And from that came his enthusiasm, not for unnatural or fleeting emotions, but for natural and rational con- fidence, for a candid joy in finding good wherever there was any, for the effort to discover this good, which often brought with it its recompense, for willing- ness to adapt oneself to situations instead of protesting against them. He had, certainly, his disillusionments and he suffered because of them; and as he was of a very sensitive nature, he ran the risk of being discouraged. PARIS AND TIGNES 165 But this result was averted by his conscious purpose to exercise confidence and to exert personal influence. The reserve force which he had not wasted in anemic criti- cisms and in paralyzing defiance used to rise from the depth of his nature, and he would go back to his task resolute, happy, and calm. After his return to Paris, he placed himself at the dis- position of Armand Kuntz, to be used as the latter should see fit in the most essential activities of the Student Association. He was one of the regular attendants at those intimate meetings, where, in meditation and prayer, a group of comrades consecrate themselves to "serve," in the complete sense of the word, in the diverse details of the life of the circle. He would have wished to see develop, among the stu- dents calling themselves Christians, a more sustained desire to work for social progress, for the constant amelioration of the material and moral situation of the working classes, for a solution of the struggle between classes. One may say of him that his interest did not flag for one instant, and he did not lose an opportunity to add to his knowledge of social phenomena. Having been invited to preside at the Young Men's Christian Association in Trevise Street at the opening of the com- mercial courses, he there delivered an address which greatly impressed his listeners. Thus brought into touch with men of industry and commerce, he was invited to attend the meetings of the Society of Political Economy. But that seemed to him too often restricted by somewhat ancient formulas. He found it more interesting to work with a group which had sprung from this Society, whose program met his personal needs most exactly, an organization called "The League of Free Trade." Besides, he used to see in this affiliation a means of meeting trained busi- i66 ROGER ALLIER ness men, of assisting at their discussions, of having first- hand documents at his disposal. He used to attend the meetings of the League with great pleasure. By reason of his youth and of his modesty — the two are not always seen together — he spoke there but little; he knew, how- ever, how to make himself esteemed : "I especially ap- preciated," wrote Mr. Daniel Bellet, secretary of the League and professor at the School of Political Sciences, in a letter of June 29, 1916, "his intelligence and his moral worth, and I was building great hopes that he might be able to help us bring liberty into the world." At the same time, he became a member of the "Interna- tional Association for the Legal Protection of Working People." He never missed one of these meetings and faithfully collected all facts, documents, or drafts of laws which could help him in forming a personal opinion on each practical question. The movement of "Social Christianity" had his open sympathy. He was particularly friendly with the Rev- erend Elie Gounelle : "I see him again," writes the latter, "our dear and noble Roger, so distinguished and so mod- est, with his gentle yet penetrating look, his kindly smile, his thoughtful and precise way of speaking, reflecting a strong and highly cultured soul. He always left with me a quite unique impression of grace and seriousness. I am very proud that he published in my review his first social "Study, on the university settlements of England, and I was hoping that he would one day be one of our co-workers and even one of our guides in social studies of Christian inspiration. The last time that I saw him was in the Luxembourg church after service. He was about to depart for his 1914 vacation and came to the foot of the pulpit, to make his adieus and to express to me a simple word of thanks — how precious for me, coming from him — for my modest preaching. I do not know PARIS AND TIGNES 167 what he said to me, but yet his few words followed me. I do not know either what I said to him, but my wishes and my prayers followed him even up to the Father." Among the questions which most occupied his mind and disturbed his conscience, special mention should be made of the housing problem. His stay in the smms of London and his contact in Paris with some poor families whose children he visited, had opened his eyes to the close relation between immorahty and the lack of ele- mentary comfort and hygiene in too many of the workers' houses. But the problem had taken hold of him in all its phases. He did not view it from any exclusive and narrow angle of vision, looking to the construction of inexpensive houses as a sole remedy. He was studying plans of town extension, as found in English, American, and German theories and practices. There are in his papers numerous notes, which would be useful only to him, on the comparative legislation of the different countries on this question and on the tech- nical and artistic principles which these plans try to realize. He had, on this subject, endless discussions with his friend, Robert Schloesing, who dealt with it from the architectural viewpoint especially, while he busied him- self with the judicial and social side of the question. His joy was great when, on the initiative of Mr. Georges Risler, he was appointed a member of one of the study commissions of the Musee Social. In the midst of all these occupations, he set to work with ardor in preparation for the examination for the Conseil d'Etat, spending whole days in the library of the School of Political Sciences, interesting himself in each practical piece of work undertaken by his section, work- ing continually on exhaustive reports on questions of ad- ministrative law, and watching the most recent and most interesting decisions of the Conseil d'Etat on the weight- i68 ROGER ALLIER iest problems of the day. At the same time he followed with great care, at the Palais de Justice, the pleas of the lawyers before the Court of Appeal. Admitted to the bar July 5, 1910, he had had to interrupt his practice dur- ing his military service and had taken it up since his return to Paris. Several times he had had to plead. The time arrived, however, when, according to the promise he had made to Commander Gamelin, he had to take part in the winter marches of the battalion and climb to the poste des neiges at Tignes. He had thought, for a time, that he would have to leave his people again in December, 1913; his departure did not actually take place until January 20, 1914. Commander Gamelin had been replaced at the head of the battalion by Commander Augerd, whose welcome was most cordial. Before going up to Tarentaise, he had to make a six days' march with the detachment of ski-runners who were preceding the battalion. In spite of his zeal and his power of en- durance, Roger had occasion to realize the inadequacy of indoor gymnastics as a substitute for the intensive train- ing of the life of an alpin. Here are some extracts from letters in which he re- lated from day to day his winter marches : Flumet, January 21, 19 14 — 5 p. m. A few hasty lines before going to bed, for I am dead from fatigue. We set out at five o'clock in pitch dark- ness. Not a star in the sky. Is it going to be snowing in the pass of Aravis? No, only a heavy fog which will disappear at sunrise. Towards six o'clock the veil is parted and the sun makes the whole chain of Aravis gleam ; our valley is still plunged in shadow. The spec- tacle of this conflagration is fairy-like. PARIS AND TIGNES 169 In three hours we arrive at Thones of the old arches and pretty church tower. We pass on without stop- ping ! I begin to doubt whether we shall ever stop. Beynet is tireless. He leads the march. D'Hestreux and I follow him, and behind us stretches out, end- lessly, the file of ski-runners, silent, intent, leaning over their staffs. We do not take off a shoe, and for hours we glide along without noise; not the least crunching of the snow; it is ravishing, but surely we are going too swiftly! At certain moments, I ask my- self whatever induced me to get into this scrape ! These Chamoniards have a wind and an endurance that are unbelievable. One hour after the departure, Beynet granted us a halt of two minutes to take off our jerseys. Yes! To take off our jerseys! In spite of the cold, about five degrees above zero,^ it is a real relief ! Hardly had we left Annecy when our moustaches were decorated with icicles. From Thones to Clusaz, the valley slopes gently. The forests are burdened with snow, a snow almost blue under a true Italian sky. All rejoice in anticipat- ing the sudden looming up of the Mont Blanc chain. That gives us courage. The Aravis are now of a blind- ing whiteness and from their summits, towers of lime- stone tapering to a point, hang icicles many of which are surely fifty or sixty meters in length. A few minutes of rest at Grand Bornand, and then we set out for Clusaz, the last village still accessible by * Fahrenheit. I70 ROGER ALLIER sledge; the gorge itself is impassable. Oh! the beau- tiful pictures that I could have taken ! But it is impos- sible to stop; it is necessary to follow, follow always, like a mad man. From Grand Bornand, not a stop! We reach the summit at noon, or rather, Beynet arrives there alone with two chasseurs. The others are climb- ing in echelons the final ascent of the pass. We are dying of hunger. The panorama of the Mont Blanc range is unbe- lievably clear. We could not wish for a finer day. The outline of the humps of the Dromadaire from here stands out clearly and sharply. It is the first time that I have seen it from this angle. At one o'clock we set out again and with dizzy speed descend the side of Flumet. And so ends my first day of winter marches! I am going to bed; for I do not know what I am writing. Excuse me if my sentences have neither head nor tail ! Naturally, I did not get out of this without a mas- terly sunburn. I am already scarlet. That is better than a frozen member. Flumet, January 23, 19 14. Friday morning, 4 o'clock. Heavy steps awaken me. It is my orderly, the ski- runner, Jaurdanney. How willingly one could rest in bed when it is four degrees below zero !^ My muscles are stiff from fatigue. But here under my window is a * Fahrenheit PARIS AND TIGNES 171 bugle calling "Up, Chasseur ! Up, Chasseur !" These short sharp notes do not admit a reply. But it adds with a cruel irony, "If you do not wish to get up, pre- tend you are ill. If you are not found out, you will have four days more!" Up then, and let us attack once again the ever recurring problem of getting into one's boots. Horrible sight — my jug of water, which I had placed far away from the window near my bed to protect it from the cold, is frozen. Frozen also my towel, for I had used it yesterday evening and here it is stiff as tin. And my sponge . . . hard as a billiard ball ! So much the better! The toilet will be simplified. The Tibetans do not know our refinements — let us be Ti- betans! A little milk and steaming coffee, that is what reconciles you to existence. I am too tired to follow the ski-runners; a slow march on snowshoes will be sufficient for me today. A toot of Captain Larchey's whistle and away we go ! It is five o'clock. We pass the bridge of Flumet. Below, the torrent has become nothing but a noiseless streamlet. The route cut out of the rock is reduced to its simplest expression. We go, two by two, between a huge parapet of snow and a frozen wall decorated with icicles. This gorge is beautiful. But we do not linger in it long, and as we emerge from it we see before us, in the distance, the streaks of light which precede the sunrise. The valley is now wide and wind-swept. All the chasseurs have put on their mufflers and hel- mets. Our ears burn and we march quickly in order to 172 ROGER ALLIER counteract the cold. One needs a certain amount of imagination to realize that under this snow and ice are buried the fine pastures of Megeve. It is here that the flocks graze during the summer. The first village that comes in our line of march is called Praz. What a contrast ! Soon the sun rises in an absolutely clear sky. The mountains of Arbois partly hide Mont Blanc from us. To the right emerges, behind the pass of Arbois, the needle of Bionnassay and the Dome. At the left appears the silhouette of the Aiguille Verte. At Megeve, the ski-runners leave us to mount to the pass of Arbois, while, after leaving the village, we follow the crossroad which ends at the chapel of Cretets. The little oratories are half buried in the snow and there is not a footprint leading towards the chapel. To try to describe the descent on the opposite side of Saint Gervais and the fairy-like appearance of Mont Blanc would be blasphemy. The photographs which I have taken will not faithfully reproduce that which it is impossible to paint. It is in winter that one should see the Aiguille de Varens and the Fiz draped with their sumptuous mantles of snow. We approach Saint Gervais. The gorge of Bon Nant, which the Pont du Diable crosses, is only a chaos of glare ice in fantastic forms. Saint Gervais is deserted. Not a stranger! There remain only the natives. The men are lodged as well as possible in the homes of the villagers. As for us, we find a little hotel, kept by a former chasseur of the battalion. It is PARIS AND TIGNES 173 not heated, but what's the difference ! The cHmate of Saint Gervais is delightful. Here, no more of the glacial breeze. The village is backed up against the mountain, sheltered from the cold winds. It is ten above zero in the day and we find that the air is heavy! When the thermometer descends to fifteen below, we laugh at it. I am lamer than ever. No amount of massaging does any good. After dinner, having all the pains in the world when I attempt to put one foot before the other, I go to bed. And I give up writing you! Shall I at least be in condition to march tomorrow ? I am nearly paralyzed. What is going to become of my reputation in the battalion? Up to the present, nobody has noticed anything. I shall march, whatever the cost. We are going to climb to Joly on snowshoes, a mag- nificent ascent in winter, which I wish to make at any price. Saturday, January 24, 19 14. Five o'clock in the morning! The sky is perfectly clear, and we set out for Joly. I walk as if I never had felt the least fatigue. That is indeed a miracle ! Hardly have we passed the last cottages of Saint Nicholas de Veroce when the sun rises on Mont Blanc, We traverse the pine woods and through their ice- covered branches witness the illumination of the glaciers. The ski-runners have preceded us and when we come out past the last pine trees, we see them up yonder near the summit. We advance slowly; for the 174 ROGER ALLIER snow is soft and we often sink into it in spite of our snowshoes. This run is very difficult, but our efforts are rewarded by a unique panorama. It is one of the most beautiful mountain marches that I have ever made. The ski-runners descend from Joly at a mete- oric pace, and we reach Saint Gervais at two o'clock. The meal finished, the chasseurs have nothing more important to do than secure sleds and bob-sleighs, while the ski-runners practice jumping. Up to the present there are no broken heads, but that will come. The sun's rays upon the glaciers produce some superb color effects. The winter marches finished, Roger, with Lieutenant Beynet, Second Lieutenant Motas d'Hestreux and the team of ski-runners, climbs to the poste des neiges at Tignes. He arrives there January 31st. January 31, 1914. Here I am in the country of skis. As I write, the young Tignards are leaving school and one sees babies five years old rush by on skis on their way home. . . . Our first meal at Tignes did not lack the picturesque. We knocked at the door of Mother Revial's house, as she does the cooking for the rare visitors who come to these parts, . . , Imagine a large room all finished in smoke-darkened wood, with a low ceiling and lighted by two windows which have double panes and are always closed. It is there that the whole "family," PARIS AND TIGNES 175 in the patriarchal sense of the word, lives. Beasts and humans mingle. Half the room is occupied by the cows. In the other half one sees a great stove which covers everything with smoke, whether or not the chimney is choked with snow, a frequent incident in this season ; a large table, some benches, and some beds about a meter and a half high, to allow room for the sheep below them. As for the hens, they go every- where — especially where they are not wanted — and make a deafening noise, to which the lowing of the cows replies. Add to the picture a cow that has diarrhoea, and you will have an idea of the atmos- phere in which we ate — with excellent appetite, too. I must admit that we did not touch the "tignard," the most repugnant of cheeses. I ask your pardon for the exactness of my description. Assure your- self that the inn of Mother Revial is the best-kept house in Tignes. The room is clean in spite of the sickening odor. This is how the inhabitants of our mountains live at an altitude of a thousand meters or more. This is not characteristic of Tignes only; it is exactly the same from Seez to the Iseran. While we were eating, two people arrived in a sleigh. They unharnessed and then in came the horse, crossing our room with heavy steps, to take his place beside the cows. Some minutes afterward the door opened with a great noise. In the half-light we distinguished a haggard looking man, pushed by a mysterious force and clinging to an invisible something : he was bringing 176 ROGER ALLIER in his calf which buffeted him about until the floor rang beneath his boots. The post is installed in the old gendarmerie: Sunday, February i, 19 14 — 8 p. m. I was obliged to interrupt my letter, and can add only a few words because I have no paper. Here we are in our new quarters ; the furniture is simple : an army bed, a bench, two lockers, a candle set in a box. It is sufficient; we are warm enough, which is the essential thing. At five o'clock it is still too dark to start out on skis. We work in a well-heated room around a table lighted by the only lamp of the post. Beynet and d'Hestreux are voracious readers. That circumstance gives me my chance. I turn in very early every evening, for the reveille is at six-thirty. During this time, our valiant chasseurs dance lustily to the music of an accordeon or play "moura," hitting the table with heavy blows. But their greatest pleasure is wrestling on the beds. I must stop. A muleteer who goes down tomorrow morning to Bourg-St-Maurice is coming to take my letter, for he starts very early. Roger had carried to the mountains his books on ad- ministrative law and he plugged away at them in the midst of the snowbound country. February 8, 19 14. . . . However paradoxical it may appear, I work PARIS AND TIGNES 177 here with much profit. I am no longer at an age where one needs a mentor who assigns him a task day by day and hour by hour. I take my work very seriously, I assure you. From the fact that my letters are only scribbled jottings of daily events, you conclude per- haps that I live only in the present, without thought of the morrow or even of the remoter future. Nothing is more contrary to my temperament. To be con- demned to an existence without an end in view would be for me the worst of sufferings. I know what I am seeking and whither I am tending. In preparing for admission to the Conseil d'Etat, I have an object and I dare even to call it an ideal. I am going to prove it. I shall be accepted for the Conseil d'Etat in De- cember, 191 5. And my stay in the Alps is an excel- lent trump in my game ! I am subjecting myself at this moment to a vigorous moral and physical test. I am renewing all the cells of my organism. . . . From the physical point of view, I am practicing real asceticism. The sun and the cold of the high mountain purify like fire. And from the moral point of view I am also doing myself a great deal of good. You cannot imagine what tenacity, cool-headedness, and mental alertness the long runs on skis demand, under penalty of accident. This assertion can really be understood only by those who have seen and lived these things. The ski is a veritable school of will power and character. I consider, therefore, that instead of losing my time, I am deriving a lasting profit from each day that I spend here. 178 ROGER ALLIER Motas d'Hestreux leaves the post February nth; Lieutenant Beynet and Roger then perform a little act of generosity which straightway gets them into difficulties. February i8, 19 14. To furnish the place, which we have pompously named "The Chasseurs' Assembly Hall," we gave up a bench, thinking that our two chairs would be suffi- cient. Some days ago, we were wrestling, Beynet and I, as we sometimes do, and broke one of the chairs. The pieces are all there, but the chair is no longer of use. Then for a time we contemplated taking turns eating by organizing two services, as in the dining cars. That would be very agreeable. One of us would fall to while the other would have a fine opportunity to whet his appetite. Happily, the beds are very low, so that while Beynet, by virtue of his rank as chief of the post, seats himself on the sound chair, I eat on my bed. . . . Our meals are the work of a good chasseur who understands cooking about as I understand mathe- matics; he knows only the Sixt patois and answers to the euphonious name of Moenne-Loccoz. He is a carpenter by trade and his principal business at the post is to make and repair skis. The time of the arrival of the postman was somewhat problematical : February 10, 19 14. The muleteer who comes up each day with our mail PARIS AND TIGNES 179 and our supplies arrives generally around three o'clock. At half past three he is not yet in sight. At four no- body. At five it is beginning to get dark — still no- body. Has there been an accident? For some days avalanches have been occurring constantly in the passes through the gorges. At five-thirty we take our packs, our skis, a rope, and lanterns; two chasseurs accompany us. Between the Brevieres and Thuille we cross several avalanches of soft snow which cut off the road for about fifty meters. At last we find our muleteer. He had wisely waited at Ste. Foy until after the fall of the avalanches and did not set out until the snow had begun to freeze again. Several times he had had to unload his mule in order to get him through difficult passes. At each crossing of an avalanche the brave beast lifts up his ears, opens his eyes wide, and buries himself in the snow up to his chest. . . . We fill our packs with bread, meat, vegetables, and fodder and finally reach Brevieres. At eight-thirty we are at Tignes, having well earned our dinner. At that time he is chief of the post, the lieutenant hav- ing descended to Annecy. His isolation is complete : February 19, 19 14. I am without news, for the wires were cut yesterday by an avalanche. Our numbers were increased yester- day by the arrival of several reservists, among them the guides Mangard from Val d'Isere and Alfred Couttet, the champion ski-runner of France. i8o ROGER ALLIER February 20th, Roger, who had decided to attend the Conference of the French Student Christian Federation at Lyon, left Tignes on a several days' leave of absence. To get down to the railroad at Bourg Saint Maurice, he has to do twenty-seven kilometers on his skis. At Lyon, he finds his father and his eldest sister. He is present at all the meetings, except the last, sees his old Paris friends again, goes over with them a thousand projects for ex- pansion and conquest, and replenishes his fund of en- thusiasm. His greatest regret is to be obliged to return before the closing of the Conference. But to reach his post he has to ascend alone the wild valley of the Isere, on skis, by a route the last trace of which is often hidden by snow in the places where it follows the mountain- side. The way would be too dangerous to attempt at night. To accomplish it by day Roger has to leave the Conference at the very hour when he has the greatest desire to remain there. His decision was wise: "I climbed to Tignes," he wrote, "in terrible weather ; it was snowing so hard that not a Tignard was out of doors." The stay at the winter post, which was in reality a school for ski-runners, ended with a trip which took them all to Chamonix by the Cormet d'Areches, the pass of Joly, and that of Voza. These were marches of which, later, these hardened Alpinists spoke only with a shudder : Chamonix, March 5, 19 14. At last, a day of well-earned repose. Yesterday evening, on arriving at Chamonix, I was worn out; I forgot my promise, for I had neither the strength nor the courage to write. My eyes, especially, were too tired. Two days of marching in the storm from morn- ing to evening ! That burned me frightfully. PARIS AND TIGNES i8i It was snowing great flakes when we left Aime Tuesday morning. Our skis sank in deeply, but we had decided to cross Cormet, cost what it might. For the rest, as the wind had fallen, we did not fear the storm; the snow was falling straight without a whirl. It was impossible to get lost; the path lay largely through a forest of great pines, whose frozen branches lean almost to the earth. Oh ! those magnificent pines ! The valley of Ormente, which descends from Cormet d'Areches, has been overlooked by the Vandals. Only several great avalanches have devastated this forest and have carved through it lofty aisles which we cross with precaution, one man at a time. Instinctively, we turn our eyes towards the height, strain our ears to catch the slightest premonitory crackling, and prepare to loosen our ski-straps and to let ourselves go with arms folded. No incident occurs until we leave the forest. There, we are nailed to the spot by a squall. No more pines to shelter us. We now climb a rocky ridge, bare and wind-swept. The snow is frozen and icy, and bites our faces like hail; it is the beginning of the storm. Without our knitted helmets the cold would be unbear- able. It is necessary to go on with eyes closed, heads bowed, and shoulders bent under our thirty kilos of baggage. We still ascend some 200 meters, for we know that high up near the stream is an abandoned cottage. We find it half buried in the snow. The door of the stable is almost completely hidden. We hurl ourselves in without a word. For some moments we do not speak, but glance about us to make sure that all i82 ROGER ALLIER are there. And with what mad haste we take off our skis in order that our fingers may not have time to freeze ! This has the air of being a tale, but it is never- theless the plain truth. One needs to have been lashed by that storm in order to believe it. "Every one here? Break crusts!" And the packs are opened and our jaws begin to work zealously, for appetite never loses its rights — or gaiety either ! While stamping his feet, Beynet, who knows the Chamoniard patois, enters into conversation with the chasseurs, of which I can gather only a few scraps. From time to time the word "storm" is repeated; then, there are great bursts of laughter in which I join with confidence and noise. That ought not to be hard, however, for Chasseur S. I. has the air of understanding it. I guess this from the two rows of white teeth which appear below a pair of black glasses. The fact is that we look more like masked Samurai than like Europeans. The sheepfold which shelters us is about fifteen meters deep. By the only door which lets in the light, the wind drives in with such force that the snow is cover- ing the farther wall of dry stones. "Packs on your backs, children, and away!" And again we bend our spines. One can see less and less. One hour later, we hurl ourselves on a little chapel whose location we know well, without seeing it. Cer- tain rocks noticed the preceding summer have served as guides. We breathe heavily an instant, but without stopping. We approach the pass. Impossible to be mistaken, for the passage leads between two ridges. PARIS AND TIGNES 183 We pass the last cottage, the door of which is open, and give a sigh of satisfaction on seeing in a momentary clearing the silhouette of a cross a hundred meters higher up. But, is it the right cross ? Let us be pru- dent. Beynet turns towards me, unfolds his map. . . . No more cross ! Nothing ! The snow makes us close our eyes. Still up we go, marching as straight as possible. "Halt !" cries Beynet, and I perceive, rub- bing my eyes, that the point of his ski is in empty space. We have mounted too high. The pass must be at our left. At last we find the cross ! But we are not at the end of our trouble; for, how are we to throw ourselves on the opposite slope, when one can see nothing beyond the end of his skis ? That would be madness, although we all know the summer itinerary in its most minute details. We descend first by a steep slope to a small lake. Then, we make a slight ascent to follow a little rocky ridge. That is the delicate point. If we cut too much to the right, we expose ourselves to an avalanche, which will drag us down with a sure stroke. If we cut too much to the left, we fall into a cascade of about forty meters which is formed by the torrent at the outlet of the lake. An error of a few meters would be fatal ; there is nothing to do then but patiently to await clear weather. This delicate passage crossed, all will be well. The min- utes seem like hours to us; for the cold is unbearable. To cap the climax, one of Chasseur Charlet's feet is beginning to freeze, and he is sleepy. We must de- scend to the first cottage without an instant's loss of i84 ROGER ALLIER time. And here we are, Beynet and I, busy rubbing Charlet with snow. That takes a half hour and we set out again. But the storm still keeps on! At last, at the end of an hour, which seems as long as a night to us, we succeed in finding the passage between the rocks, the only passage! Then, the descent begins — with caution — and we go like snow-blows down an incline which we know well, but which is invisible. We have to pay such close attention for two hours that our eyes are smarting with fatigue. Suddenly, through a rift in the clouds we see — with what a sigh of relief ! — the valley of Areches, with its great forests. One hundred and fifty meters below us is the large square sheep fold which we know so well, stationed like a stronghold on a steep crag which is all covered in summer with rhodo- dendrons. Little by little the wind calms down, we go out of the storm, and the descent becomes easy. We fly like arrows over the snow, which, though newly fallen, is fine and very slippery. Sometimes in Indian file, sometimes in a body, we wind through the first clearings of the pines into the sheltered roads between the cottages. This forest descent is so exhilarating that we forget hunger. It is two o'clock, however, when we see the church tower of Areches. The cure receives us with many blessings and offers us all a shelter in his kitchen. At three-thirty we set out again, partially dried and well fed, and glide towards Beau- fort. The cottages in which we were quartered last summer are covered with a meter of snow. When we reach Hauteluce, it is seven in the evening and still PARIS AND TIGNES 185 snowing! A good woman gives us some food and offers us a bed and a mattress and sleep is not long in coming. From Chamonix, Roger went on to Argentieres. He was looking for a house for his parents' occupancy the following summer. He found one, still buried in snow, the house where he was to spend only a few days with his people at the end of July, and from which, the first of August, he was to depart, never to return. Roger returned to Paris March 13th. As his parents were on the point of setting out for Roumania, Turkey, and Greece, he wanted to see them before they left. He had also to play during their absence the role of big brother. The three months of summer seemed to rush by, for him, with a dizzy rapidity. It was because he had to prepare with redoubled vigor for the coming examina- tion.^ In his letter of February 8th, he had spoken of presenting himself in December, 1915 ; in reality he was definitely counting upon attempting it toward the end of 1914. On this return from Tignes, he did not conceal his intentions from his parents. But it was in this period that he found the means of adding still further, and in extraordinary measure, to his occupations. He had be- come acquainted with the "Association of Volunteers for Social Service," which had just been founded by Mrs. Julien Koechlin. He did not affiliate himself with it as a member; several scruples — among them, we shall see, a scruple of modesty — prevented this. But he saw in the work of this Association a means of devoting himself to altruistic effort and of enlarging his experience. He gave it his time with the great zeal which he put into ^ For candidates for the Conseil d'Etat. i86 ROGER ALLIER everything, and with a keen understanding for the work which permitted him to make himself useful. June 28th, for example, at the "fraternal social service ban- quet" which took place at Clairiere, he served at table with a pleasing grace produced by mingled humility and gaiety. And on this occasion he took upon himself a task which was going to demand much work and take much of his time. We have asked one who saw him employed in this connection to tell us his recollections : "Mrs. Koechlin had entrusted to me a family sunken in the deepest misery ; there were a woman and four chil- dren, without other resources than those of public charity, living in a wretched hovel at 24 Broca Street. If you pass this house — it is a furnished hotel — you may say to yourself that he often crossed the threshold of it filled with indignation and grief at the thought of legislation powerless to prevent the exploitation of miserable beings by a conscienceless landlord. How many times have we vented our rage together ! As there was also a puzzling divorce problem to complicate the woman's situation, Mrs. Koechlin had said to me: 'I am going to ask Roger Allier to come to our aid. He will be able to handle the judicial side of this affair. I will tell him to see you.' And thus it is that it began. 'The judicial side' — Ah! Yes ! He handled everything, even to the smallest de- tails, with an unheard-of devotion. And nothing could be more thankless than this task. This woman was half imbecile; after weeks of effort, we discovered that she had not told us the truth and had been acting behind our backs in direct opposition to the course we were follow- ing. She was unfit to bring up children; it was neces- sary to place them out; it is impossible to describe the trouble which this involved. And for the divorce! The patience with which he questioned her, seeking to get his bearings in this maze of contradictions and lies 1 He once PARIS AND TIGNES 187 stayed there two whole hours taking notes, striving pa- tiently to make her tell the truth and to gain some com- prehension of the case for himself. He went to see the husband — how many times ! — and the pseudo-husband, seeking scrupulously to form a just opinion. When, after believing for a long time in this woman's innocence, we finally discovered that we had been deceived, he said to me, 'I cannot plead for her with a clear conscience; I will work on the affair to the end ; but the pleading I will entrust to another attorney.' "And I said to myself, while listening, that a similar professional conscience would not be met with often. . . . Moreover, this case was to be heard during the autumn of 1914, and I never knew myself how it turned out. Once a month, this woman used to go to the mairie to get her pension. One day, fearing I do not know what complications, he accompanied her himself to be sure that they did her no wrong. When one reflects on this woman's appearance — well, there are not many young men who would have consented to show themselves in the street with her. But he thought of that not at ail; he took it as a matter of course. In the same way, he had conducted the ragged little boys across Paris to take them to a refuge, to which he afterward returned to see them, in order to assure himself 'that they were not being bored' ; and all this at a time when, as you know, he was very busy.^ The little ones of this family adored him, and clung around his neck when they saw him. More- over, all the children took such a liking to him that the younger sister, a little girl between one and two years of age, uttered piercing cries as he prepared to leave. "In seeing him at work on this case I realized as never ^ Among Roger's papers have been found many traces of his efforts to discover an organization which could take charge of these children. i88 ROGER ALLIER before the full significance of a profession which has been taken up as a vocation. That alone would have revealed to me the true ministry which a Christian lawyer can ex- ercise in the immediate sphere of his activity. And, what was more striking in him, and more than once moved me and filled me with admiration, was his perfect modesty. Modesty — this word is so trite when applied to him! I do not know how to define the complete ignorance which he had of his own value and which gave to his personality an indefinable strength and magnetism. It is a rare quality. I recall how that struck me one day when we were talking about the form of the pledge of the Volun- teers for Social Service. I no longer recall the exact terms of this form, but it was substantially a promise to serve in a spirit of consecration. He said to me: 'I have told Mrs. Koechlin that I could not sign that. It is too serious ; I am too insignificant a person to make such an engagement; I am not worthy of it. I will do all the work that she wishes to entrust to me. But promise something so great, I cannot.' It was not to be doubted that he was, perhaps, of all the members of the Associa- tion, the one who viewed his service from the highest standpoint, who was the most 'faithful in the little things,' and the most completely consecrated. One felt that one could trust oneself to him absolutely, that he was one of those men who, when they are once charged with a thing, will not give up and will accompHsh their task, cost what it may. I already felt that, without dreaming of the tragic circumstances in which he was going to verify that impression. . . . "He seemed so young and at the same time so mature! I ask myself if one of the reasons of his charm was not this mixture of virility on the one hand and of traits so frank, so young, sometimes almost childlike, on the other. . . . The Semeur speaks of the expression of his eyes. PARIS AND TIGNES 189 That glance — it struck me a long time before we knew each other personally; there was such a clearness, a purity, in his look that it seemed as if life with its ugliness, its sadness, its meanness had not touched him, and as if he had come from a different realm. '^ . . . He was one of those, however, who have the courage to face squarely the causes of suffering. I remember the tone with which he said to me, one evening — it was at Versailles, on Whit- sunday, in the garden, and at a time when we had the right, it seemed to me, to be very tired of our good woman and very glad because her case was closed — 'And then, when this family is relieved, we shall take up another, and still another; for there will be a taboo upon our Christian lives while such things exist.' " July 15th Roger preceded his parents to Argentieres. He had formed the plan, before resuming his law studies, of making some new ascents in the Mont Blanc range. This was for the purpose of renewing the joys of Al- pinis-m and at the same time getting into training for the maneuvers which he was proposing to follow before the end of the vacation with the Eleventh Battalion. It was for this reason that he carried his officer's locker, his uniforms, his arms, his glasses, and his range finder. ''This is the passage from the Semeur to which allusion is made : "The most characteristic trait of the face of our com- rade, that which more than any other enabled the attendants who had approached him in the ambulance of Saint Die to recognize his description, was his glance, a glance where there was, more than frankness, a light which spoke of the clarity of his sotil. It was his whole conscience which was revealed in this glance, together with his desire to serve." The contrast of his dark eyes and their gentle expression, the purity which was reflected there, struck one immediately ; and among the letters written on the morrow of the terrible discovery to his parents by those who knew Roger, there is hardly one that does not speak of it. I90 ROGER ALLIER With his friends, Jacques Vehrhn and Migaut, he made the ascent of the Courtes and of the Droites and then that of the Aiguille du Moine by a new route. "This route," says the review La Montague, "is more interesting than the usual one." In the parlance of the Alpinists, inter- est is measured, one knows, by the difficulties to be con- quered. Wednesday, July 29th, he came down from the last trip on the glacier of Tour and to the cabin of Orny. The following Saturday the notice of the general mobilization was published. IX AIME-EN-SAVOIE (August i-August 22, 1914) Mobilization — The machine guns of the Fifty-first Battalion — The tragedy of the hour — Departure of the Eleventh Battalion — In the fields of Tarentaise — Re- sponsibilities of an officer — The journey from Mulhouse — Restlessness — Departure for the front. IX AIME-EN-SAVOIE When Roger had descended from the mountains, on the evening of Wednesday, July 29th, the catastrophe pre- pared by Germany and Austria was becoming more and more imminent. And yet one was reluctant to believe war at hand. Roger, who was ready for everything, placed less belief in it than any one else. He kept re- peating: "We are in the presence of blackmail. At the last moment, when all seems lost, everything will be set- tled provisionally and war will again be postponed." Friday he felt that things were growing worse, and Satur- day, he descended from Argentieres to Chamonix to purchase things that would be indispensable in case of sudden departure. It was at Chamonix that, at four o'clock, he heard the order of general mobilization pro- claimed. He returned in haste. At six o'clock he was at Argentieres. At seven his chest was ready. He had put on his uniform. After he had eaten a hasty meal and read some passages in the Bible and had family prayer, he went to the station. In the neighborhood, all roused by the news brought in the afternoon by a gen- darme and published far and wide by the alarm, the sight of an officer in uniform, fully accoutred, produced re- doubled excitement. A veritable procession accompanied him to the station. He was the first to depart. In the street, on the station platform, the silence was poignant. The souls of the people were calm, but with the sentiment of something tragic. Only some young German girls, 193 194 ROGER ALLIER staying in a local hotel, displayed a stupid indifference and even an insolent gaiety. They failed to observe the dic- tates of propriety. The first day appointed for the mobilization was Sun- day, August 2nd. Roger left Saturday evening, to try to be at his post before the arrival of his men and to receive them in person. His father accompanied him to Cha- monix. His mother had decided to go all the way to Annecy. At Chamonix Roger and she could find no train on which to go farther. They stayed there for the night. The next morning they were on the first train to depart for Annecy, which arrived from Vallorcine with the majority of the men whose order of departure was for the first day. All these men had had to start on the first train of that day. His father, who arrived with them, told in one of his addresses of this descent of the mobilized men of the valley : "When I returned it was towards midnight. In the village the lights ordinarily were put out early. That night they were nowhere extinguished; one saw them shining in all the windows. For hours I watched them, those lights, and I thought of all that they were telling me. They told me, in their manner, that in each of these houses there was a son, sometimes several sons, a hus- band, a brother, who would have to take the first train. The mothers, the sweethearts, the sisters, without a word, were preparing the baggage, the little provisions for the trip. The dramatic element consisted in this, that no- body complained and that each kept at the bottom of his heart that with which it would fain overflow. ... In the morning, towards five o'clock, I was in the street. From each house a man was coming out. The women accompanied them to the door. There, the last kiss; and the man went away to the station. On the platform, there were only men; with the departing were fathers. AIME-EN-SAVOIE 195 brothers, and friends. Up to the departure of the train they talked. Their conversation was grave but not sad. I do not say that the brave ones were happy; there are certain bonds which must not be broken by laughter. But their stern decision was not devoid of enthusiasm for a duty manfully shouldered. . . . The train started. A waving of hands through the windows of the train. A shout, 'Vive la France!' And the strains of the Mar- seillaise were heard. They sang it with all their hearts and like a hymn. ... I took the same train, to be a longer time with these brave men. At each station we picked up more mobilized men. And there was each time the same burst of serious fervor. I felt with thrilling assurance that these heroes of tomorrow were not mere helpless beings overtaken by an inexorable fate but that, freely, with their whole being, they all were giving them- selves to France." To Fayet, Roger and his mother continued their way alone. At La Roche, they found themselves in the same compartment with Lieutenant Eduard Vaucher, son of the dean of the School of Protestant Theology in Paris, who, accompanied by his young wife, was rejoining at Annecy the Thirtieth Regiment of Infantry. Mrs. Vaucher tells us that during the next three days, which they spent at the Hotel Verdun, the two officers lost no opportunity to be together. They said their good- byes Wednesday, August 5th.i While attending to all his duties after his arrival at Annecy, Roger could still give some fine hours to his mother, who was to depart Sunday evening by the last ' Lieutenant Edouard Vaucher fell some weeks later and was cited in the order of the Army: "September 25, 1914, in the at- tack of the woods of Foucaucourt stuck to the command of the company in spite of a first wound in the leg, and was killed some minutes later. Has given proof during the whole campaign of the highest military qualities." 196 ROGER ALLIER train taking civilians. He was charged with making up a machine gun section for the Fifty-first BattaHon of Chasseurs. Responsible for every detail of the organiza- tion, his task was a huge one. He himself gives an idea of this in a letter which will be reproduced in its entirety. At Annecy he had found again his friend Frederic Westphal, who, in a letter of March 9, 1916, described to Roger's parents this meeting and some of the ideas they had had occasion to exchange. We reproduce here the essential part of this letter : "On the first day of the mobilization, we met like brothers in the streets of Annecy. We both commented with regret that the church and the vestry were closed. Very busy getting our respective contingents under way, he his machine gun section of the Fifty-first Chasseurs and I the reservists of my company, we decided to meet before the Hotel Verdun at six o'clock the next evening. At the appointed hour, I found him waiting for me, in his black dress uniform. There was a big dinner at the hotel that evening. My worn suit was by no means so good as his ; but what did that matter to him ? He received me with open arms, and we went away to- gether, an ill-assorted pair, chasseur and drab civilian. The crowd and the dust followed us, they became more and more dense and breathed a frenzy of patriotism, anxiety, and wine. "We walked towards the lake to look at Tournette in the water before the sunset. We talked the v/hole way along Albigny street. Shall I tell you of the sense of peace both of us felt after our feverish journey? What a refuge at such a time to be with friends in so wonder- ful a setting of nature, at twilight. "He told me of his rapid descent from the mountain, of his regret over having seen so little of you, of his luck in having prepared his luggage in advance. He asked AIME-EN-SAVOIE 197 me for news of Henri,^ and counted strongly on seeing him again. He would have liked to stay with the Eleventh Chasseurs but was content with the role which they had assigned him. We talked of you. He feared that you were greatly worried. Letters no longer came through. But we were both proud to be living amid the gravity of such hours. We were struck with horror by the heed- lessness manifested by the people about us. Roger shud- dered to think of the mirth we saw exhibited and of the misery of the morrow. He had a vision of the abyss in which the criminal attitude of Germany was engulfing us. But it will not be long, we said. It cannot last for long ; there are too many conflicting interests and the fury of arms will be too atrocious. We hardly dared to imagine the grandeur of the task with which Christians would be confronted after the war. A keen sense of universal dis- aster, however, added to the idea of the danger we were facing, dimmed our vision of the future. The stigma of the present horror seemed to bring discredit upon all the churches. But it also most certainly invalidated many other things. In any case it emphasized the imperative need of proclaiming our Christian faith more widely than ever before, since it resulted from a deep ignorance of the Gospel. "It was not the Gospel which was guilty. The responsi- ble ones were the men who had betrayed it. We asked ourselves if the disunion of French Protestantism and the vanity of certain of its speculations and discussions would not delay the accomplishment of our duties towards the country. But Roger beheved that the present ordeal would change and renew many things. It must, unless the gift of God was to pass into other hands. We both resolved to find in the sufferings of the coming days ■ Henri Westphal, wounded and made prisoner August 24, 1914. 198 ROGER ALLIER our consecration for the future task. For the moment, the power of intercession and of example seemed alone to be of service in the fulfillment of our duty as Christian soldiers. We commended to God our loved ones, and returned to our tasks with the assurance and the calm- ness of well-directed workers. "At the rendezvous of the next day I did not see Roger. He had left sooner than he had expected. Since then he must have often regretted, as I have also done, not having beeen able to prolong this brotherly hour and pleasing oasis in the midst of hard days." The same day that Roger had this conversation with Frederic Westphal, he wrote to Argentieres : Monday, August 3, 19 14. Dear Parents : Mobilization is going ahead smoothly, and with re- assuring regularity. Every one gets the feeling that all the details of it had been anticipated. This method- ical preparation inspires in everybody confidence and enthusiasm without artificial stimulation. There is only one shadow in the picture — if it is one. We are disconcerted by the rapidity with which all the men have responded to the call. Fathers of families, who were not expected until the third or fourth day, presented themselves in the first hours, begging us to equip them at once. Men fifty and sixty years old come pouring in, and some old men of sixty-five ask for guns. Young boys of seventeen are joining us. Our ranks have just been increased by an old chamois hunter come down from Tarentaise with his sons. What a magnificent corps of mountaineers is the Fifty- AIME-EN-SAVOIE 199 first! It gives an impression of great and irresistible force. Until further orders, we are assigned to the defense of the Petit Saint Bernard, We shall not set out be- fore Wednesday or Thursday, Italy having just noti- fied us officially of her neutrality. We have too many men; the completed mobilization gives us a strength of 350 to a company. As for the Eleventh, it is still encamped ready for war, at Meythet, near Annecy, impatiently awaiting departure for an unknown destination. We lack news. Not a paper has come here, but there is no dearth of fake reports. First, there was the rumor that the Third Battalion of Chasseurs had driven back the 179th Regiment of Prussian Infantry. Then, that the Fourth Dragoons had had a serious en- gagement with a regiment of Uhlans. Another rumor had it that Garros or Brindejonc des Moulinais had brought down a Zeppelin carrying twenty officers of the General Staff. According to still another, General d'Amade had entered Alsace with 50,000 men. Auga- gneur has become our ranking admiral, if it is neces- sary to believe the news posted at the prefecture. What is one to believe of all this? Perhaps in some months we shall know the truth of this war. For the present, I note a great number of impressions, for every minute is history. Commander Gamelin continues to be attached to General Joffre. Pardon the brevity of this letter. It is with diffi- 200 ROGER ALLIER culty that I find time to eat. My artillerymen are nearly all equipped. All goes well. The spirit is ex- cellent. We shall give a good account of ourselves. The guns are new and shining, the munitions are com- plete, and the fifteen mules are very docile. Soon more news. During this day of fine sunlight, I have often thought of you and of the splendors which your glaciers must display. I hope that you have not too many diffi- culties in getting provisions and that you can consider yourselves up there as privileged beings. . . . Has mother arrived without mishap at Argentieres ? I long to have a few words of news. My most affectionate kisses to all. P. S. What is the name of your neighbor, the father of seven children ?^ The great event of this week at Annecy is the departure of the Eleventh for the East. As for the Fifty-first, it is assigned to encamp for an indefinite time at Aime, in Savoy : Friday, August 7, 19 14. Dear Parents : It is nearly midnight. In a few minutes we are going to begin to put the machine guns on the train. In two hours we shall depart. The moment we have so longed for is approaching. We can no longer hold back our ^ The guide, Camille Simond, assigned to the First Territorials, corresponding to the Eleventh Battalion of Chasseurs. Roger thought he was in the Fifty-first and wanted to look him up. AIME-EN-SAVOIE 201 men. Two days ago the Eleventh left for the eastern frontier in the midst of indescribable enthusiasm. When will it be our turn? In the whole Fifty-first there is not a man who has not made in advance the sacrifice of his life. I am to set out with entire con- fidence, followed by thirty-five staunch fellows ready for everything. Tomorrow morning we shall be at Aime. For how long a time? We do not know for certain, but without doubt we shall not delay in follow- ing the steps of the Eleventh. I am sending you a tiny photograph, which mother can put in a locket or a small medallion. Good-by for now ! A thousand loving kisses to all. Aime, Monday, August 10, 1914 — 2 p. m. Dear Parents : In the midst of the fertile fields and orchards of Tarentaise, we are enjoying the fortunes of peace. No cannonading disturbs our sleep. I have ordered my men to take their guns all apart and to clean them. . . . That permits me to devote a few minutes to you at last. I have been able, since the first of August, to write you only a few hasty lines. I have considered that at the head of a detachment such as that entrusted to me, my responsibility was too great for me to fail to interest myself in every detail of the mobilization. I have, therefore, spent several days in securing the best mules in the region of Annecy, personally accom- 202 ROGER ALLIER panying the requisition committee. At the same time, I have kept a careful watch on the equipment of my men, in order that it might lack neither button nor thimble. I have inspected my guns, regulated my range finder, secured for myself at the gunsmith's the greatest pos- sible number of duplicate pieces, had my fifteen mules reshod, their pack-saddles adjusted and their harness strengthened, obtained carbines, revolvers, munitions, fuses for the machine guns, bottles of oil, petroleum, and valvoline, brushes, curry-combs, ram-rods, sponges, wagon awnings, grooming kits, bags of rags, forage cords. Please excuse this enumeration, which I could still further prolong, . . , For once you will not attribute my silence to that pigritia scribendi to which I am addicted. I have had very little time for sleep but I can justly claim for myself that I have neglected no one detail to safeguard the thirty-five lives for which I shall have to account. My men know it. And, in war, confidence is everything. I have otherwise no merit. I have not, so to speak, had to make a step or a movement which was not foreseen, hour by hour, in my mobilization instructions ; it is a triumph of organ- ization and of method. We have been preceded in our sector by the Twenty-second, which before the mobil- ization occupied Champieux, by the Sixty-second, which is encamped at Beaufort, and by the First Battalion of Territorial Alpins, which is occupying the Ruined Redoubt and guarding the Petit Saint Bernard. As for the Eleventh, their departure for Belfort provoked indescribable enthusiasm. All the chasseurs AIME-EN-SAVOIE 203 filed past, decorated with flowers as after a victory. Nothing could be finer than the bold, determined pace of these 1,500 men; but never, either, have I been so sad as when I saw my old company depart. Of all these men whose hands I shook, which ones will re- turn? Shall I ever see again their brave captain, that veteran of the Alps?'* Here is Captain Larchey,^ imperturbably calm and smiling, jesting drily up to the last moment! He charged me with messages for you. His face is shin- ing with joy. Captains Beck and Halbwachs seem to be experiencing the finest moment of their existence, for they hope soon to enter Alsace. I said good-by to Beynet and the brave ski-runners who used to follow us only five months ago in the snowstorms, good-by to my orderlies, good-by to my dear marching companions, the scouts, good-by to the Chamonix guides, to the Mangard brothers, and to the bold chamois hunters of the Val d'Isere. . . . Will * Captain Blanc-Coquand, killed September 3, 1914, at Kem- berg, cited in the Order of the Army : "Gave proof in several battles of bravery, zeal, and sang-froid worthy of the greatest praise; fell mortally wounded while leading his company vigor- ously on to the assault." ^ Seriously wounded August 20, 1914, at Charbonniere (Alsace), died August 22nd, and mentioned in the Order of the Army: "The four chiefs of section and seventy chasseurs of his company having fallen, he rallied his company and brought it forward, forcing the enemy to draw back; mortally wounded a few days later, refused, in spite of terrible suffering, to occupy the only unoccupied bed at the first-aid post, saying: 'I do not want that bed : there are certainly, among our wounded, chas- seurs in worse condition than L' " 204 ROGER ALLIER they return? Always this question! All are happy to go and are quite simply and unostentatiously re- solved to do their duty. When the train left, 1,500 voices sang the "Sidi-Brahim." "They fell in silence" — those are the last words which reach our ears. Yes, many will fall, but not one will retreat. Such troops can be cut to pieces; they cannot be beaten. "Sidi- Brahim" is the name of a massacre — a massacre and a victory. On seeing the train depart I was ashamed and be- side myself with rage, and I was not surprised to learn that several men of the Fifty-first had jumped the wall of the quarters to mingle with the ranks of the Eleventh and depart for the frontier. When will it be our turn ? Before leaving Annecy, I was able to make my adieux to the youngest of the Westphal brothers. The elder was in Scotland when the diplomatic situation became grave. He has not yet succeeded in reaching Annecy. Here we have been for four days installed in this lovely valley of Tarentaise, at the outlet of the narrow pass of Saint-Marcel, at the foot of forests which rise towards Jovet and the Cormet d'Areches. Above the pines emerges the snowy pyramid of Pourri. The weather is glorious. Even at Annecy, the night of our departure, the surface of the lake was shining in marvelous moonlight. What weather for Alpine climbing ! Here is no warlike scene. All is calm. Automobiles AIME-EN-SAVOIE 205 dash around, and the trees are covered with fruit and give the country a cheerful aspect. In the fields, sheaves of wheat lie in rows, but no one is there to gather them up. The encampment lacked straw, for the wheat was not threshed. Our chasseurs set to work threshing it! And I could not help thinking — O, irony of events! — of the prophecy of Isaiah: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks." Alas! It is not for peace that we are preparing! Since my arrival, I have held maneuvers for the gunners every night and morning. I have a remark- able choice of men — giants who will have no trouble in following me for a long time carrying their guns on their shoulders. You cannot imagine the ardor which they put into the maneuvers ; we run over moun- tains and valleys, from position to position, and mount our guns in less than thirty seconds. My gunners, who are for the most part mechanics by profession, have in three days of exercise recovered all their dexterity. We quote here from a letter written by Captain Aweng, who had not known Roger formerly but who, in passing from the command of a company of sharpshooters at Morocco to that of a company of chasseurs, belonging to the Fifty-first Battalion, found himself at Aime with Roger: "Of all the comrades whom I knew during the first days of the war, he was certainly the most congenial, the most attractive. He won me immediately by his clear glance, so frank, in which one read valor and fidelity. 2o6 ROGER ALLIER You should have seen him at Aime file by at the head of the machine-gun section. One felt in him the ardor of the soldier for whom the hour has come to accomplish great things, the quivering of the leader who has a knowledge of the grandeur and the beauty of his role. And to see the pace of his troop sufficed to enable one to judge of the qualities of the leader. In a very few days he had com- municated to all these reservists his zeal, his faith, a portion of the sacred fire which animated him. Of all these workmen he had made magnificent soldiers." In the course of one of these practice marches between Aime and Bourg Saint Maurice, Roger, four or five days before the departure, had received a sprain. It was of no consequence, but he was greatly troubled by the fear of having to stay behind. He did not tell of this acci- dent, which was learned only through Captain Aweng and Sergeant Jacquet. Aime, same date. We are ready to depart. The morale of my men is perfect. I have neglected nothing to put myself in contact with them and to gain their confidence. I visit their barn, and according to the sound tradition of officers of the alpins, I taste their soup morning and evening. I have devoted myself to those whose family situation is particularly trying.^ In short, the contact " "The lieutenant," relates Sergeant-gunner Jacquet, "gave us a proof of his goodness in the following incident. One man, Veyret, had lost his wife. He had two children. The lieutenant proposed to try to obtain for him leave to remain at the sta- tion. But the chasseur insisted on departing with him. He was killed. . . . During the trip from Aime to the front, knowing that I had had no news of my wife and that I was troubled on this account, the lieutenant kept coming to see me and encourage me each time the train stopped." AIME-EN-SAVOIE 207 is established, mutual confidence is complete. Famil- iarity at the canteen, impeccable rigidity at maneuvers — there is the result obtained in three days. Last Sunday, I learned at the post-office of the en- trance of the French into Alsace and the occupation of Mulhouse. I copied the long telegram with which you are familiar, since it must have been posted at Argen- tieres, gathered all my men before the barn, and told them the news. To describe their enthusiasm is impos- sible. I was myself so moved that I had hardly the strength to read the proclamation addressed by General Joffre to the people of Alsace. I thought that the owner of the barn, an old white-bearded peasant, was going to embrace me. He wept with joy and cried : "Bravo, Lieutenant! Bravo, Lieutenant!" while my men shouted : "Vive I'Alsace !" I announced to them that I would give them a quart of wine at the evening meal. At five o'clock I arrive. I find the barn all decked with flowers and trimmed with flags. On the door is nailed a great medallion of wood; a chasseur has roughly carved with a knife an effigy of the Kaiser with this legend : "William, the man whose hide we are soon going to get," Between two machine guns, draped with little French flags, is the table, or rather an old box which takes the place of one. On this box a handkerchief marked with blue squares serves as a cover; two glasses are there, one for the sergeant and the other for me ; lastly, two canvas buckets filled with wine. 2o8 ROGER ALLIER With an emotion which you can picture, I recalled the memories of 1870: the anniversary of Reichs- hofifen, the invasion of Alsace, the bombardment of Strasbourg. I spoke to them of the people of Alsace, of their obstinate desire to be French. They listened with attention. Then, when I finished by raising my glass, and pledging the Republic, Alsace, and our com- ing victories, there was an ovation, spontaneous and wild. Chasseur Cottavoz, with a touching awkward- ness, handed me in the name of his comrades a large bouquet of field flowers, and found nothing to say to me but these simple words : "My lieutenant, we will follow you everywhere, and we will not do as did the Uhlans." This was an allusion to a patrol of twenty Uhlans who, seeing their officer fall, had fled and abandoned to the enemy the body of their leader. I looked each one in the eye, and their handshakes told me more than the speech. We can start together ; their spirit is tempered. Let us hope that it will be soon! All are impatient to start and too long a wait would be depressing. But it is good to live at such a time ! It is impossible for me to describe to you the deep emotions that an officer experiences on such occasions. It would seem to you fantastic. I have just received a pennon. Would that I could bring it back in a few months, riddled with bullets ! It is a blue pennon bordered with yellow, swallow-tailed in shape. On one side, it is decorated with a great hunting horn; on the other, it carries the insignia of AIME-EN-SAVOIE 209 the gunners — two guns crossed, with the inscription, "51^ Alpin, Section de Mitrailleuses." The Italian Government having again assured us of its neutrality and having expressed its surprise at see- ing so many troops massed in Tarentaise, Chapieux has just been evacuated. The Twenty-second left yesterday evening for an "unknown destination," that is to say, the eastern frontier. I wonder when this letter will reach you. If I could, I would bring it to you on foot — I am so near to you. Since we parted, mother and I, on the station plat- form at Annecy, I have not received a single letter, I know nothing! Have you by mistake addressed something to the Eleventh? I am eager to know you are all in good health, particularly our dear Idelette. I hope she is well. In spite of the fact that there is so little excitement at Argentieres, I hope that your vaca- tion will not seem too monotonous. I kiss you one and all. Best wishes to Maria and Cecile. Good-by for now ! Aime, August 12, 19 14. Dear Parents : Have I told you that we telegraphed as a body to Commander Gamelin to ask him to call us to the East? . . . Where shall we go? To Lorraine? To Liege? To Mulhouse ? . . . Whatever our destination — and we shall be far away when you know it — use no other 2IO ROGER ALLIER address than "The Fifty-first Battalion of Chasseurs, at Annecy." They will forward it. The weather is still fine. This morning I had my gunners make a long march in the mountains. Since I have been waiting to face the great adventure, you can- not imagine the intense need which I have felt of im- pressing on myself all that I see; never have the moun- tains been so dear to me, never has the calm of the sunrise seemed so glorious. I feel a veritable love for Mont Blanc; and beyond the walls of the Redoubt I have said "au revoir" to Grand-Assaly and the glaciers of the Ruitor. They are friends; it seems to me that I talk with them. In our village peopled with weaklings — for all the strong men have gone — life is somewhat uneventful. My letter reflects this. Do not let my lot worry you. I lack nothing unless it is news, and I console myself by thinking that not a letter has yet reached the bat- talion ! Au revoir. I kiss you all affectionately. P. S. We are carrying our mountain artillery. Could it be to help force some passage of the Vosges? Alme, August 15, 1914. My dears i"^ This is a holiday for the women of Tarentaise. They are flaunting their rich ' costumes embroidered ^ This letter is addressed to his brother and his sisters. AIME-EN-SAVOIE 211 with silk, their jewels, and their headdresses of velvet and gold. To celebrate this holiday, the last perhaps before the great departure, we offer our chasseurs ... a rum omelet made of 1,200 eggs ! Our provision officer had there a "colossal" idea. I have adopted the habit of having my letters regis- tered, thinking that they will take some few days less in reaching you. Henceforth address your letters to "The 51st Battalion of Chasseurs, 74th Division of Reserve," without any other indication of destination. I hope that I shall not leave Aime without receiving news of your health, for after that — 1 A thousand affectionate kisses from Roger. Aime, August 18, 19 14. Dear Parents : At last, on the eve of departure, I receive news from you; a letter from papa dated the 9th, a card of the 1 2th, and a long letter from Idelette. I did not re- ceive them a day too soon 1 I would give much to reply to you at length and tell you, in unhurried fashion, the thoughts which I have in my heart. If papa knew to what a degree his anxieties coincide with mine! One is tempted to be discouraged by the thought not only that this terrible conflict will drag after it immense material ruin, but also that the moral and religious future of a great part 212 ROGER ALLIER of humanity is at stake. The survivors of this ordeal will have before them a crushing task. We spoke of these things, Westphal and I, before we separated . . . and just now I learn that the Thir- tieth Regiment from Annecy, has an officer killed! I wonder if the Westphal brothers are safe and sound. We shall not know for a long time. Would that these good workers of the future might be spared! I will write you more at length three days from now. My preparations for departure force me to interrupt this letter. We leave tomorrow at noon. Our trip will take forty-eight hours, but we are ignorant of our destination. From the point at which we detrain I will write you at leisure, for we shall certainly not be engaged on the front line for several days. A thousand caresses to all. Aime, August 19, 1914. My dear Idelette : For two days each courier has brought to the bat- talion a huge box of letters awaited with feverish im- patience. The congestion of the mails is clearing up little by little. I receive your letters in the inverse order of their dispatch : today it is a card from mother dated the loth and a word from papa which is post- marked the 4th. I am curious to know whether all my letters have reached you. I was wrong in not numbering them — I shall do so in the future — but all those which I wrote AIME-EN-SAVOIE 213 at Aime were registered. Henceforth, I shall send the news to Vauvert, two lines to a letter. I was very much astonished to learn of the disap- pearance of my photographs. Do not let that trouble you. It is one of those insignificant small vexations. They must have been confiscated or rather lost after the opening of my letter. I will send you another, the only one I possess. Last evening a dramatic incident occurred. All was ready for our departure for the East. We were leav- ing at Aime our Alpine equipment, our cords, our tent canvas, our iron-tipped sticks. ... In the midst of dinner we received the order to stay at Aime. The diplomatic situation between Italy and Austria is, it would seem, very much strained. Austria threatens to declare war, and, in consequence of secret negotiations on the part of the Italian ambassador at Paris, the possibility of sending some of our Alpine troops to the Tyrolean frontier is being considered by the high military authorities. Public opinion in Italy has not ceased to manifest sympathy for France. There is nothing surprising about the initiative taken by the Italian Government and it would be on our part clever from a political viewpoint to intervene in case of a violation of Italian neutrality. No decision has been made, our departure is simply postponed. Per- sonally, this campaign in the Tyrol would captivate me by its originality . . . and then, too, I confess that, familiar as I am with the handling of machine guns in a mountainous country, I hesitate to have to adapt 214 ROGER ALLIER myself overnight to the tactics of the plain. Let us wait and we shall see. . . . Since yesterday we have received news of the Eleventh. Thanks to its mountain artillery, it has taken the pass of Bonhomme and beaten back the Ger- mans on the Alsatian slope. Suddenly Commander Augerd saw the battalion rushing away from him. In spite of their efforts the officers were powerless to check the zeal of the chasseurs. The battalion rashly threw themselves forward in a bayonet charge and pursued the Germans . . . for two kilometers. In the hand- to-hand fighting several officers were killed — among them, they say. Captain Larchey, but it is only a rumor which may have no foundation and which must not be passed on. What is certain is that the commander was seriously wounded. Normally, it is Captain Larchey who should take his place. It is a heavy responsibility, that of command- ing a group of Alpins, six companies of 250 men each, 150 special chasseurs — machine gunners, scouts, sig- nalers, telephonists — 300 gunners, and fifty sappers, a total of 2,000 men ! Here, as in all the townships in France, we receive official despatches. They are posted at the town hall. The schoolmaster writes a summary of them on a large blackboard for the benefit of the less learned. A board divided into two parallel columns, shows, day after day, contemporary events and those of 1870. All is illustrated with colored maps on a large scale. I am happy to learn that the stay at Argentieres has AIME-EN-SAVOIE 215 done you good and I hope that you will be able to re- main a long time. My congratulations for the support you have given to the Red Cross. I wish I could give you news of our people from Argentieres. Unhappily they are, for the most part, in the Seventh Company, which is en- camped at Macot. I met Demarchi and Arthur Ra- vanel; they are in good health. Good-by, my dear Idelette, I kiss you lovingly and send you a thousand kisses for all the family. Aime, August 22, 8 p. m. Dear Mother : Two words in haste before our departure — certain this time. In forty-eight hours we shall be in the re- gion of Belfort-Mulhouse. Please send me Pauline's address as soon as possible; is she at this moment in Mulhouse, in Strasbourg, or in some distant hospital? Perhaps, at the moment when I am writing to you, papa is at Maubeuge. The telegram by which he an- nounced to me his departure reached me only day be- fore yesterday. I received at the same time a despatch dated August 9th ! Moral : it is better to write letters. Even postal cards have, it seems, a right of priority. Hereafter I shall use only military cards; to escape the rigors of the censor I shall refrain from all com- ment on the country. You will receive on an average one every forty-eight hours. I should not wish, at the moment of departure, to 2i6 ROGER ALLIER sadden you by stupid counsels which would seem like the provisions of a will. Without being at all tragic, however, it is better to foresee everything. If ever I disappear, Captain Dechamps will send you the pennon of the machine gunners. Ask him for it. It belongs to me.^ As for my sword, it is at Annecy, at the Verdun Hotel. I am taking a great saber, heavy and keen- edged, which belongs to the battalion. Excuse the dryness of this letter. I am all upset just now. I have just loaded my mules aboard the train. The prospect (quite new to them) of a railway journey threw them into a comic disorder in their cars. They are frightened and are dancing a mad saraband. Good-by, dear mother. As soon as I learn to what division we are attached, I shall send you my new address. Kisses to all. Roger. On the back of the envelope containing this letter, he gave his address as Besanqon. All the letters and cards which were sent to this address were returned. The battalion left Aime, August 22nd, toward nine o'clock in the evening. The journey was extremely hard; it should have required only thirty-six hours, it took fifty. ^ This pennon was sent to Roger's parents, who had a duplicate of it made, which they sent to the machine gun section. When returning this relic Corporal-gunner Guillaume wrote (August 7, 191 5) : "The pennon has been in honor everywhere where the 51st Battalion of Chasseurs has fought, first in the Vosges, then in Belgium, and in Alsace, where we all not only feel grief in parting with it, but also joy in giving pleasure to the family of our dear lieutenant." AIME-EN-SAVOIE 217 The men were crowded in cars where no rest was pos- sible. The officers occupied a special carriage, but they were scarcely more comfortable. Roger, with his insati- able desire for fresh air, found a means of getting settled elsewhere. At this time, they still believed in the efficacy of infantry fire against aeroplanes. The train had a flat- car on which, constantly, a halfsection watched for "taubes" in order to fire on them. Roger made the greater part of the trip on this platform. Between times, he went to see his men or pass an hour or two with his comrades. The train stopped repeatedly, but not at the stations. At Lons-le-Saulnier during a short stop at the railroad station, vendors offered postcards. Each one bought and hastily sent a message to his loved ones. Some of these cards reached their destination. Roger's — like all those which he must have written between Aime and Saint Die — never arrived. THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE (August 25-29, 1914) Arrival at Saint Die — Gratin — An incident — The machine guns at Dijon — Bombardment of August 26th — A busy night — Bombardment of August 27th — In Saint Die — At Moitresses — Counter-attack of August 28th — The grade crossing at Tiges — A heroic fight — Wounds — Disappearance. X THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE August 25, 1914, at half past three in the morning, the battahon arrived at Saint Die.^ The village was a prey- to heavy anxiety. People no longer spoke of a victorious march across Alsace to the Rhine, which would cease soon to be a German river. A formidable enemy drive was rending our frontier at every point. The din of the heavy artillery was coming nearer and nearer. One felt the hour of the bombardment approaching. The rumor was going the rounds that all branches of the service were to be moved back and that the material of the railroad was ^ See in the March 15, 1917, number of the Revue des Deux Mondes, Mr. Gaston Deschamps's article, "The Alpins at Saint- Die." With reference to the little-known battles that were fought in this region, the full significance of which is brought out by Mr. Deschamps, Mr. Gerald Campbell, war correspondent of the Times, has written : "Above all the Chasseurs-a-pied and Chasseurs Alpins, whom the Germans feared and respected more than any other troops in General Dubail's army, covered themselves with glory — glory that is none the less immortal, though very few individual acts of bravery will ever be recorded because most of the officers who saw them are silent in their graves. But that hardly matters. They were fighting not for glory and for recognition, but for France and the freedom of the world. And they did their work. If they had failed, if the Teuton hordes had broken through between Epinal and Toul, and the grand German plan had been carried out in all its completeness, then the whole defense of France would have broken down. But they did not fail. They gave their lives and France was saved." — "Verdun to the Vosges," pp. 129, 130. 221 222 ROGER ALLIER on the point of being removed to prevent its falling into the hands of the Germans. It was asserted that the last train would depart probably in the evening of that same day. The passenger station was terribly crowded. Citizens of Senones, of Provencheres, of Saint- Jean- d'Ormont poured in, fleeing they knew not whither. There were women and children who were trying to get away from the danger. There were wounded being brought in from all directions, whom it was necessary to get to the rear at any cost. In the midst of this medley of men and cars, the train bringing the Fifty-first has to stop at the freight station. The chasseurs, most happy to set their feet upon the ground at last, immediately prepare their coffee, right beside the carriages from which they have just alighted. While they are drinking it, a "taube" flies over their heads. It is the first bird of this sort that they have seen. They seize their rifles and fire at it. The crackling of their guns frightens some few inhabitants, who ask one another if the Germans are here and if a battle in the streets is beginning. They are quickly reassured. Soouj in simple marching formation, their guns on their straps, the alpins leave the station by an entrance facing the Burlin found- ries, follow to the left the road which goes along the track, crossing this to Foucharupt Street and then to La Bolle Street. They have been told a little vaguely that their camp is in the western part of Saint Die ; they will obtain more exact directions there. When they reach Park Street, they make a halt. On the opposite side of the street is the house of Mr. Jules Marchal, the mill- owner. This manufacturer and his family do not wish the chasseurs who have come to defend the city to want for anything. They distribute to them food, cigarettes, and refreshments. At the foot of the steps the officers talk with them. A lieutenant leaves the group an instant. THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 223 goes to see his men, then returns, and in the name of his comrades and of the chasseurs, thanks Mr. Marchal and his family for what they have done for the battahon. This officer is Roger. He Httle dreams what he and his family will one day owe to this man of heart, so eager to provide refreshment for the alpins. The battalion moves on and, in Park Street, takes up its quarters in the building of a great factory, known as "The Eastern Dye-shops and Twist-mills," and in the places nearby. It is between eight and nine o'clock. The chasseurs are getting ready to encamp. The officers are assigned to their billets. Suddenly, at ten-thirty, comes an order to depart. The chasseurs assemble before the Church of Saint Martin. The sight of these men, firm and resolute in spite of the fatigue of the long journey, strengthens the courage of the inhabitants, who have been expecting the worst disasters. Under a leaden sky the battalion files by with measured pace and while the Ninth Company, under the orders of Captain Aweng, goes to make trenches in the plain of Sainte Marguerite, the others cross the bridge of the Meurthe and mount towards the village of Dijon. Roger goes there in his turn towards one-thirty, with his machine gun section; he installs himself near the Tenth Company, which now is to be almost constantly in his vicinity. The day is passed on this height. With his sergeant, Roger care- fully studies the ground and gauges the distances. In the afternoon, he receives the order to encamp a little lower down, at Gratin, a hamlet the houses of which are sheltered by the southern flank of the plateau. Ever since their arrival at the front, the chasseurs of the Fifty-first had found themselves in the midst of a tragic eddy of people in flight before an invader who was exercising methodical terrorism. The first troops they met on the firing line were in full retreat. Throughout 224 ROGER ALLIER all this frenzied populace, military and civil, the most extraordinary stories circulated. At the most diverse points evidences had been discovered of the clever German system of espionage, organized in view of the premeditated war. The consequence was an impassioned reaction against that excessive confidence which for many years had permitted the enemy to place everywhere skilled observers to supply him with information and assistants all ready to help his armies on the line of march. After their former inability to see spies anywhere, people now were disposed to find them everywhere. Roger's men, in the strained atmosphere which suddenly enveloped them, did not escape this obsession. The owner of a farm where they were to encamp on the outskirts of Gratin, made a show of closing his door against them. It has never been quite clear what misunderstanding was produced be- tween the gunners and this peasant. His maid uttered some remarks which seemed singularly suspicious. Roger overlooked this altercation, which was threatening to postpone still further the rest which his gunners needed so badly, and installed them at this farm. They en- camped there with a section of the Tenth Company. They were convinced, however, that their hosts were hire- lings of Germany. Night comes. The mules are unharnessed. The chasseurs hastily take their food, which has just been brought from Saint Die. They settle down to enjoy at last a little rest. Suddenly, in the evening, the order arrives to go and occupy the road at the point of its entrance to Gratin. The section starts out immediately for the place indicated. It mounts the two machine guns, after barricading the road with whatever materials can be found in the village. Close at hand is the Gerard Inn, where it encamps. The gunners are haunted, however, by the suspicions THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 225 which have been aroused in them. They continue to talk of these. Determined to investigate this affair, Roger returns at night, revolver in hand, to the farm where the alpins had received such a strange welcome and where some chasseurs of the Tenth Company still remain. The latter acquaint him with an incident which had excited them. Hardly had the gunners departed, when two infantrymen (they say, two men dressed as infantry- men) arrived; their bearing was peculiar; they appeared to be on good terms with those who had received the alpins with such a bad grace, they must have made them- selves known by some sign; the country folk had urged them to enter, had offered them refreshments, and had led them into a room where they could change their linen and in which they are now sleeping. Roger goes and wakes the sleepers ; they seem incapable of establishing their identity or of telling whence they have come. He has everybody arrested, the farmer, his servant and the two infantrymen, actual or pretended, and he has them led, surrounded by chasseurs with fixed bayonets, to the inn where the men are. There, he questions them anew. Although he does not intend to let traitors escape, he insists above all on not committing an injustice against the innocent. He immediately makes a thorough investi- gation. He questions the people of the hamlet and con- vinces himself that the farmer and his servant are not what has been feared, and he sends them home. As for the two soldiers, they are stragglers who wanted to keep as far away as possible from the places where they would be exposed to danger. Roger takes measures to obviate the possibility of their pushing their flight still farther. It is only then that he thinks of eating a light repast which the innkeeper hastily prepares for him.^ It is nearly ^ Roger left at this inn the fork which he used to carry with him. His parents found it there, October 27, 1916. 226 ROGER ALLIER midnight. He then goes out of the house, probably to seek a little rest in a neighboring barn where several officers have retired to sleep. The night passes without other incident. A little before dawn, the men are awakened. The companies encamping at Gratin again go up on the plateau of Dijon. They dig trenches. The battalion places the four 65's of the first group from Grenoble. While they are installing them- selves near Parish Road Number 4, Roger establishes his gunners to the left of it. He conceals them under some shelters of boards covered with pine branches. Somewhat later, wishing that his guns be carried a little forward, he has three new huts built. Following his habit, in order that the work may be quickly and well done, he is not content himself with commanding; he puts his hand to the task : "I saw this officer himself carrying boards," said Corporal Chaumont, of the Tenth Company. "All that was so well done," related Chasseur Carroux, of the same company, "that even though quite near, one could not suspect that there were machine guns there." After a relatively cool night, the heat returned, heavy and oppres- sive. Not a breath of air. The trees — a row of beeches with some plane trees, behind the position — have that mournful immobility which announces a coming storm. The heavy rumblings which they hear in the distance, however, are not those of thunder. The enemy cannon is advancing. At ten o'clock, the bombardment of Saint Die began. The heavy German pieces, the 105's, were firing from the knoll of Beulay. For the whole day the battalion was subjected to an incessant series of attacks of enemy fire, having found itself, almost from the moment of leaving the train from Tarentaise, in the midst of the furnace. A part of the shells were falling on the ravine called L'Enfer; one first saw an enormous column of yellowish THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 227 smoke, then heard the frightful noise of the report. Other projectiles were aimed at the station of Saint Die, the embankment, and the bridges of the Meurthe. The alpins clearly distinguished six successive detonations of the German battery in action. On their right, they noticed an intense, incessant firing, dominated at times by the sustained crackling sound produced by machine guns. They chafed at waiting there, invisible spectators, and burned to throw themselves forward. The order was not to move. Near the end of the afternoon the missiles came nearer ; some "taubes" had located the alpins. The enemy firing was beginning to be better aimed when the storm, which had been threatening since the evening be- fore, broke with a furious violence and under bucketfuls of water shattered this offensive. Quiet reigned again. In the evening, Roger had to go to a house in Dijon where the commander was indicating the final prepara- tions for the battle. Then occurred an incident all the details of which it is useless to give here. Let us say only that this incident, complicated by the remembrance of what had taken place the night before at Gratin and by many repetitions true or false which had kindled the imagination, contributed to give birth to one of the first legends to be circulated regarding Roger's fate. It was related — one of his comrades picked up this story some weeks later in a hospital at Lyon — that on the evening of August 26th he had been killed in an ambuscade by Ger- mans disguised as Frenchmen. The incident was, more- over, of grave consequence to Roger, who without being able to find a minute of sleep, had to wander all night between Saint Die and Dijon and endure the keenest anxieties and the most terrific fatigue. It was a tragic preparation for the events of the morrow. At dawn, the gunners were at their post. A violent at- tack was expected. What happened surpassed all expec- 228 ROGER ALLIER tation. The battery of 65's, with a valor to which ade- quate homage can never be paid, began by stopping the approaching German avalanche. It even made the enemy retreat; but suddenly, covered by heavy artillery, the avalanche again began to move. A shower of balls coming from the woods beat down on the battalion. The Seventh Company, which had constructed its trenches at* the outposts, went out with heroic zeal to meet the enemy, ' who was trying to debouch; a number of chasseurs fell and at their head. Captain Rousse-Lacordaire. Almost immediately the great shells came into play and the alpins then knew from experience what a regular shelling is. The machine gun section suffered particularly from it. While in full action the striker of a piece breaks, and jamming results. Almost instantly, a shell wounds Corporal Rouflfet; Sergeant Jacquet falls, with a broken arm. Roger also falls, perhaps bowled over by the blast of air in the trail of a shell. They think him killed. He gets up. Soon, he has about him only Chasseurs Dunant, Cottavoz, and Payre. He takes his position at the second piece and sustains the onslaught of the enemy. Forced to fall back, he puts his gun on his shoulder, entrusts the tripod to one of the men left to him and the box of dupli- cate pieces to the two others, leaves the plateau, the last man to go, and with some remnants of the Tenth Com- pany, descends to Saint Die. He enters the village by Saint Charles Street. He stops there, wondering if the battalion is pursued. "We waited some minutes," relates one of those who were with him. "Not seeing the Germans coming, our lieutenant sent us on a reconnaissance in the street which we were defend- ing. I had gone only a few paces when I saw the Boches. I warned our commander, telling him: 'There they are. They are coming up in columns of four abreast and in great numbers. Let us save ourselves, lieutenant.' 'No,' THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 229 replied our officer, 'we must wait for them.' And in truth, some moments afterward we saw them appear in the street, in close formation. Under the orders of Lieu- tenant Allier we opened fire. This was terrible. The first lines were mowed down. A panic was produced in the ranks of the enemy, who retreated in disorder. Some even, not dreaming of getting away, forced the doors and windows by blows with the stocks of their guns and took refuge in the houses near by." A little later the Germans, wishing. to avoid another welcome of this kind, placed before them as shields four Frenchmen. Three were killed by the shots com- ing from a barricade which the alpins had had time to construct; a fourth, Mr. Charles Visser, was wounded. While coming up the street, he had remarked before he was wounded — which confirms what has just been said — that "each door had been forced, with hatchets or the butt-ends of guns." The troop of Germans which Roger had thus received was one of the advance patrols attempting to enter the city. A few minutes later, he was in the arcades of the town hall. There, finding Sergeant Hyvert of the Sixty- second Battalion of alpins with some of his chasseurs, he grouped them about him. It was then that he met with two wounded comrades. Lieutenant Hubault, of the Fifty-first Battalion, and Second-Lieutenant Lippmann, of the Sixty-second, who had known him at Albertville. He lent them assistance, and himself then prepared to receive the enemy, who he knew was not far away. He aimed his machine gun so as to sweep Orient Street, by which the Germans were expected to come. At what time did he arrive there? In all probability, about eight o'clock ; Lieutenant Lippmann met him there about nine- thirty; Mr. Freisz, printer, who lives opposite the city hall, remarked his presence in this place as late as half- 230 ROGER ALLIER past eleven. The gun did not remain inactive. It aided in the defense of one of the barricades that had been erected in the neighboring streets. Several persons of the district, who could not see it from the cellars in which they were hiding, clearly heard several times its dry, rhythmic crackling. The alpins, however, who had made barricades and valiantly fought in several streets, were obliged to with- draw towards the west of Saint Die. Several times, under a rain of shells, they tried, but in vain, to reoccupy the city. Roger had steadfastly maintained himself with his gun near the arcades of the town hall. As he had done at Dijon, he withdrew only when in peril of being left alone. As night came, he was with his mixed section at Moitresses, the large sawmill on the way to Rougiville. In the morning of the twenty-eighth, the battalion, many officers of which were already disabled and which was itself very badly cut to pieces, got together in the village of Rougiville. In the afternoon, it set out in the direction of Saint Die for a counter-attack. On the way, Roger talked with Lieutenant de Landouzy and told him how, the evening before, surrounded by a rain of shells, he had to choose, for lack of a sufficient number of hands, between the box of duplicate pieces and a box of muni- tions, and decided to carry away with him the former. A little farther on, he walked along with Corporal Simond, today second lieutenant of the Thirty-second Battalion, whom he knew at Chamonix. Quite near the town of La Bolle, Fernand Simond and Roger separated. The latter went into action to the right in the direction of a little knoll; he sheltered his men behind a house at the edge of the road while he himself went forward, with a liaison officer, to locate a good position to mount his gun. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon. After some time, Sergeant Hyvert, not seeing him return THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 231 and being uneasy, advanced in his turn and found the liaison officer wandering about. The latter told him, "The lieutenant is killed." Hyvert inquired about it. He was told that Second Lieutenant Allier, wounded in the legs, fell, picked himself up, and riddled with bullets, fell again in a heap. Thinking itself deprived of a leader, the machine gun section fell back. The truth was that Roger had not been hit at all, but had been lost by his liaison officer who, in the indescribable melee, thought he saw him fall. A bayonet charge executed by the Tenth Com- pany had cleared the ground, and Roger thinking his men were still behind him, had followed it with the hope of finding an excellent firing position. But while his section, thinking him killed, retreats, he is at nightfall in the first houses of Saint Die. He finds himself again with the same sections of the Tenth Company. "At eight o'clock in the evening," re- lates Corporal Chaumont, "we were in house No. 4. I do not know when and how we arrived there. What I do remember very well is the arrival of Lieutenant Allier, who cheered us by his presence. He was a leader on whom one could count. . . . Upon his arrival, he ques- tioned me. I was answering his questions when the Germans, who were near us, heard our voices and opened fire on us with the aid of a machine gun. We were pro- tected by a wall, two meters high, which separated us from the enemy. The crackHng of this gun aroused the lieutenant, who tried to learn its position. Aided by a young chasseur he climbed up on the wall, observed for several minutes, then, baffled, got down again. Not at all discouraged, he repeated this maneuver twice; nothing, absolutely nothing to be seen. While we were talking, always in a low voice, the fire of the German machine gun had slackened and become fitful. Suddenly, I heard a sound in the garden of our house. The branches of the 232 ROGER ALLIER rose-bay were pushed aside. The night was very still. Not a doubt possible, some one was there. On the lieu- tenant's orders I advanced quietly, followed by two chasseurs. Hardly had I taken a few steps when a man's silhouette appeared in front of me. We seized him and made him a prisoner. He was so frightened that he could not answer me and the few words which he pro- nounced were in bad French. I led him to the lieutenant, who, after some questions, ordered me to have him bound. I did the job myself. A chasseur's necktie took the place of handcuffs. Being a little nervous and thinking him a German spy, I seized him very roughly. The lieutenant said to me quietly: 'Do not abuse him. Be kind. Lead him to the place where he says he undressed. If he does not speak the truth, so much the worse for him. And above all, do not let him escape.' I carried out the order of my lieutenant. The results taught me that he was a poor Savoyard who knew very little French, and who, having fallen prisoner to the Germans the evening of the twenty-seventh, had escaped and sought refuge in a little house. He had put on civilian clothes, hidden his belong- ings and military equipment, and spent the night under a bed, without any food. Having recognized the battalion's bugle call at the time of the charge, he had cOme out and tried to rejoin the French lines. When I had identified our prisoner, I let him go free. The poor chasseur was overcome with joy and began to cry. He could not dress himself in this place because a light would have betrayed our presence to the enemy. I took him to the Cafe de la Madeleine. An infantry officer who was at the Madeleine would not let us return to Lieutenant Allier. We slept in the restaurant of the Promenade St.-Martin. The night passed without incident." During the absence of Corporal Chaumont, one of the officers of the General Staff, Major Gay, who had been THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 233 captain of the Thirteenth Battalion of alpins, and who three days before had taken command of a battaHon of the Ninety-ninth Regiment of infantry and was direct- ing the counter-attack, met Roger with his group of chasseurs. He recognized immediately the second lieu- tenant whom he remembered having seen in the Alps. He ordered him to organize the defense of the grade crossing at Tiges : "I put him for the night," related this officer, "in the flagman's lodge. The morning of the twenty-ninth I ordered him to go with some men to locate the position of the German machine guns which had put in their appearance near the station. He brought me the information wanted and I congratulated him on this reconnaissance, ably executed under very heavy fire. I left him on the crossing. I am happy to take advantage of this opportunity to render homage to the fine military qualities, to the absolute devotion which I found in this young second lieutenant during the few hours that he spent under my orders." From some of the chasseurs who were with Roger, the details of this defense of the grade crossing at Tiges have been learned. The lieutenant had stationed a double- guard, relieved every two and a half hours, and he watched to see that there was no relaxation in the execu- tion of this precautionary measure. He passed the night with his little command. At dawn, not suspecting that his machine gunners thought him killed, he made a last effort to find them. While the men made their coffee, he thoroughly searched Tiges and La Bolle Street. This in- vestigation was fruitless and he returned to the group of chasseurs with whom he had to hold this most important point. The little group saw clearly all the perils of the situation, but the lieutenant's bearing encouraged them. "His presence," wrote Corporal Chaumont, "was sufficient to give us courage again." "We felt," adds Chasseur 234 ROGER ALLIER Carroux, "that we had a leader. It was the feeling of all. Later, when I had been wounded and my leg had been amputated and the lieutenant had disappeared, I used to say to myself : 'What a pity not to be making the campaign with him.' " Major Gay comes to inspect what has been done and it is then that he orders Roger to reconnoitre in the direction of the station. Before departing, Roger re- marks that the men show special concern in watching and checking the Germans who are attempting to advance by the meadow of Hellieule. He fears to see the enemy file out by La Bolle Street. "Glass in hand," relates Corporal Chaumont, "he examined the situation, as well as he could in the light fog. Hearing him call for a non- com., I reported to him, and received the order: 'Call some chasseurs, lie down there, and report to me what you see.' We were under a withering fire. The same machine gun of which I spoke in telling of the evening of the twenty-eighth, again opened fire. A second was installed in the station, at our right. The fog was slowly lifting. Lying down facing La Bolle Street, I saw some enemy sections crossing it, coming from the streets per- pendicular to the railway and gathering there. I warned the lieutenant, as he had ordered me. He said: 'Fire repeatedly, elevation of 250 meters.' Our fire was ter- rible. The cries of the wounded reached us. The gun at our right kept steadily at work, seeming even to increase its rate of fire. Without heeding the danger or noticing whether the two chasseurs were following in obedience to his command, the lieutenant set off to try to get its range." Some meters to the right of the road is a knoll. Roger begins his investigation there. But beyond the knoll there is a., great open space which it is impossible for him to cross. On the other side of this space a pile of boards THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 235 meets his eye. It is without doubt behind this shelter that the German gun is hidden. Roger returns towards the road, slips across the railway, and only partially hidden by the hedge along the side of it, crawls in the direction of the station. 'T no longer saw him," says Corporal Chaumont. "How the time dragged during the few min- utes before his return! What joy when I saw his sil- houette reappear ! 'Are you wounded, lieutenant ?' I asked him. 'No, only some thorns in my hands.' " What the corporal did not know was that before rejoining the chasseurs, Roger had made his report to the major, who was awaiting him at the Madeleine Cafe. The position was critical. The road had been blocked the evening before by an improvised barricade, made mostly of little handcarts and wheelbarrows. It had been broken down that evening to let some cavalrymen pass. Roger had it reconstructed ; then, noticing some en- trenching tools which had been accidentally left there, he commanded his chasseurs to make a Httle trench as rap- idly as possible ; with a little pickaxe he himself set the pace for the work. Placing his men in the trench, he remained standing under a tree at the edge of the road, glass in hand, and directed the fire. Finding that from this point his vision did not take in enough of the length of La Bolle Street, he went out to the middle of the road from time to time, furnishing thus a target for the enemy, but also missing none of his movements. It was a little before nine o'clock. Thanks to the fog and also to the remarkable rapidity of its fire, this little group of fifteen chasseurs for more than an hour and a half deceived the Germans as to their numbers. Reenforced by a few infantrymen of the Ninety-ninth, who brought him some cartridges, he was able to intensify his fire and thus keep the enemy from advancing. Now, however, the fighters, who up to this 236 ROGER ALLIER time had been spared, began to fall one after another. The moment came when the enemy cautiously advanced on the right and on the left. Roger's force was out- flanked. The idea of retreating did not occur to him. He was ordered to defend his position to the end. He asked for a volunteer ; Corporal Chaumont, who had not left his side since the fight began, presented himself. Roger tore a leaf out of his notebook, hurriedly wrote these simple words, "We are surrounded. Take the necessary measures," signed it, and commanded the corporal to try to run the barrier of fire and carry this news to Major Gay. He did not know that for some little time already that officer had been wounded and was a prisoner. The corporal himself was seriously wounded in the foot while trying to fulfil his mission. He dragged himself beyond the line of fire ; but there was nobody to whom he could pass on the order.^ Towards eleven or quarter past eleven, the lieutenant was struck in the left calf by a ball from a machine gun, He fell and in falling fractured the right thigh-bone. Three or four men rushed to him and carried him a little to the rear, to a place which seemed more sheltered from the enemy's fire. He commanded them to return imme- diately to their guns: "Do not mind me, we must hold out to the end" ; and lying on the ground, he kept shout- ing words of encouragement to them. Soon there was but one man left standing : Chasseur Carroux. Seeing the Germans coming on all sides, and in danger of being taken, Carroux hurled himself into the gate-tender's house, where he continued to fire through the window; ^ Corporal Chaumont was cited in the Order of the Division : "By his firm and courageous attitude he furnished his men a very fine example in the course of the combats of the 29th of August, 1914; was wounded at the end of the action while carry- ing an order he had volunteered to deliver." THE BATTLES OF SAINT DIE 237 then, his arm broken by a bullet fired point-blank, he went down into the cellar with two other wounded. The Ger- mans set fire to the house, but the cellar being vaulted the three men did not perish ; they stayed there four days. When they came out of it, the morning of September third, they were made prisoners almost immediately.* Carroux had time to find out that all the bodies of his dead comrades were still lying on the ground, but that the lieutenant had disappeared, as had also Corporal Minazzoli, who had fallen wounded at his side while stooping to assist him. * Carroux has received the Military Medal : "Was distinguished in all the battles by his energy and bravery. Wounded very seriously August 20, 1914, his right arm had to be amputated." The Germans did not remove him when they evacuated Saint Die. XI A GERMAN HOSPITAL (August 29-30, 1914) Arrival at the hospital — A German major — A place of pain and despair — Some kind-hearted women — Conver- sations — Departure — Discovery of the crime. XI A GERMAN HOSPITAL The Germans, as early as August 28th, had established in different houses of Saint Die several ambulances which were nothing more than very deficient dressing stations. One of them was in the Crovisier property, on La Bolle Street; another, very near it, in the offices of the day- school of the Jules Ferry College for young girls, on Hellieule Street. The installation had been very scantily made. Straw and hay had been thrown in the different rooms and on such litters the wounded were placed. There the Germans received first aid ; the French were not even examined. Generally, the wounded did not remain there long; they were either transferred to the city hos- pitals, or if they seemed fit to travel were sent to Alsace by way of Saales. In the afternoon of the 29th of August, Second Lieu- tenant Allier, who had been picked up at Tiges — we do not yet know by whom — was brought to the Jules Ferry College hospital on an ox-drawn cart, driven by a rather elderly man and a boy of some fifteen years of age. The officer appeared to be suffering terribly. An inhabitant of Saint Die, who lives opposite the day-school, Mr. Emile Morel, watched for the coming of French wounded and endeavored each time to render them small services. He was particularly struck by the officer's look of suf- fering. The wounded man's lips moved as if under the influence of a burning thirst. He saw him placed on a stretcher, and while it was yet in the middle of the street, 241 242 ROGER ALLIER he approached and asked for permission to offer a drink of water to the wounded officer. The German major, who had allowed him to approach other wounded, re- pulsed him brutally, saying: "To this one, never." Mr. Morel was struck by the accent of hate with which the major uttered those words. In each of his depositions, he came back to this point. Why did the major — whose name we have, and will make known when necessary — thus express himself? Had he just been told that this wounded officer was in so large measure responsible for the German check at Tiges? It may perhaps be wholly explained by the brutality which, according to all wit- nesses, characterized this physician, of whom his attend- ants were first to complain bitterly. The wounded man was brought into the house. On the ground floor a short stop was made and he was or- dered to hand over his money. He was found to be in possession of a sum equal, in German money, to 437 marks. He also gave an address. Was this requested by those who took his money? It is not likely. It would appear rather that, suffering as he did and not knowing the seriousness of his wounds or whether he would re- cover, he thought of giving the address of the person to be notified in case of his death. He did not give his father's address, as he had reason to believe him no longer in Haute-Savoie but, no doubt, confined in the town of Maubeuge. But he knew that his mother was at Armen- tieres, at the villa Les Aiguilles (The Needles) ; he had urged her before the separation to stay there as long as she could. It was there he promised to send her news. Her address, therefore, was the one he gave with the money, which he deposited in the hands of some non- commissioned Wurtembergian officer. The whole was put in a box and placed with other similar objects taken from the wounded on arrival at the ambulance. A GERMAN HOSPITAL 243 From the hall, where this took place, Roger was taken tip to the first floor, where he was put in a room at the end of the hall, on the right-hand side. The room was small. The first wounded brought in were placed along the Meurthe Street wall, their heads toward the wall, their feet to the interior of the room. The lieutenant's head was quite near the window, which opened on the street. When other wounded arrived and there was no space left to place them in the same way, they were simply deposited in the middle of the room, which soon became terribly crowded. In this room and the next, similar to it, there were only French wounded. The German doctors and attendants never appeared in these rooms. None of the wounds of these unfortunates were dressed; they were not even looked at. A soldier of the Twenty-second Infantry Regiment was in agony; a German came up, threw a look at him, and, without doing anything further, went downstairs again. The wounded would have been left absolutely without any care if a few kind-hearted women, some of them work- ing women, others belonging to the middle class, had not secured permission to enter this place of suffering and bring those poor wounded the aid of a little sympathy. These women, however, though most willing, were not qualified to dress wounds ; they could not even examine them ; they could do little but try to comfort, as best they might, their unfortunate compatriots. Often they had to confine themselves to washing the sufferers' hands and faces. They helped them get into the least painful posi- tions. They gave them a little nourishment, brought from their own homes. Roger was cared for particularly by one of these ladies, Mrs. Stuhl (now Mrs. Reichhn). He suffered so cruelly that, to alleviate his sufferings, not being able to do anything else, she took it upon herself to give him 244 ROGER ALLIER an injection of morphine. This soothed him, and when night came, he appeared to rest a Httle. About eight o'clock in the evening, they brought and placed at his right side Battalion Commander Leroy, of the Twenty-second Infantry Regiment, who had been so badly wounded that speech was impossible. The two officers shook hands, and each of them tried to find in sleep a little rest and forgetfulness of their physical and mental sufferings. Night had come. The room was badly lighted. Groans and occasional cries were heard. The dimness of the light made it scarcely possible to dis- tinguish the painful silhouettes. About ten o'clock, an- other wounded man was brought into this crowded room. It was Chasseur Pierre Burnet, of the Sixty-second Alpine Battalion. It was almost impossible to come into the room without knocking against bodies. Burnet was left on the stretcher in the middle of the room, at the feet of Second Lieutenant Allier. Daylight came, driving the nightmares away, also put- ting an end to a sleep which the sufferings of each and the groans and lamentations of some of the wounded had rendered difficult for all. A short conversation took place between Burnet and Roger. Burnet had a brother-in-law named Beauquis, who he thought was with the Eleventh Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins, but who in reality was with the Fifty- first. Noticing the number eleven on the officer's uni- form, he asked, excusing himself for the liberty, if he did not have this Beauquis in his company and if he could give him news of him. The lieutenant answered : "Yes, it is true that I have the number eleven on my uniform, but I am of the Fifty- first. Moreover, I am not in a company, I command a machine-gun section." Burnet did not insist and the conversation stopped there. It does seem as if Roger's sufferings had become ap- A GERMAN HOSPITAL 245 peased, but if any attempt was made to move his legs, or even touch them, the pain became again very acute. Two sisters, the Misses Epp, and one of their friends, Miss Muckensturm, who were attending the wounded in that room, had to take infinite precautions in going about among the many bodies and especially to avoid knocking against the lieutenant's legs. Seeing him, in a movement of anguish, place his hand on the top of the right thigh, near the groin, they had wondered if he were not wounded in the abdomen. Mrs. Stuhl, in her inability to give real care, was doing her best to draw the wounded men's thoughts away from their sufferings. She was doing everything she could to make those who were able speak to her. She thought the second lieutenant was an officer of the regular army; when her conversation revealed this to him, he told her she was mistaken. She was thus led to ask him what he was in civil fife. He answered that he had been studying law in Paris, where his family lived. It was for him a diver- sion to say a few words about his family. He spoke espe- cially of his mother, whom, he said, he resembled very closely. Always with the intention of diverting her un- fortunate interlocutor's mind, Mrs. Stuhl talked to him of Annecy, where he had been garrisoned, of its lake, and the mountains which surround it. She led him on to tell her that he had made long ski excursions in that region. The conversation was rather short. The officer's mind was busy with other thoughts and the volunteer nurse had around her many other wounded who claimed her attention. At exactly what time it has been impossible to ascer- tain — probably between half -past one and two o'clock in the afternoon — they came for the second lieutenant. He was brought down to the ground floor and taken through the courtyard to a conveyance which was standing in 246 ROGER ALLIER Hellieule Street and which was employed to carry the wounded to Alsace. This conveyance was one of those large carts which are used to carry fodder and which have long wooden ladders on each side. It was littered with straw, and wounded Germans, of whom two were armed officers, were already installed in it. The French second lieutenant was in turn placed therein. Mrs. Stuhl accompanied him to the cart. In her presence the order was given to go as far as Saales and to come back quickly to take other wounded. The cart started . . . Mrs. Stuhl reentered the college. . . . What happened afterwards? ... It may, perhaps, not be impossible to specify exactly some day; that hour, however, has not yet come. Whatever happened, the second lieutenant was found, on the 19th of May, 1916, in a large grave where the Germans had placed the bodies of the wounded who died at that ambulance. His presence there was so inexplicable that we had to try to account for it. The autopsy, made by a military surgeon, revealed the fact that, besides the wounds in the legs, to which all the witnesses testified, the second lieutenant's skull had been horribly fractured. Death must have been instantaneous. The murderers' took the most minute precautions to pre- vent the young officer's body from ever being identified, should it be recovered. They picked his pockets and turned them inside out so as to make sure that they con- tained nothing which might tend to establish his identity. They even went so far as to cut off the upper left part of his underdrawers, which bore his initials. It goes without saying that his identification tag had been taken away. But the criminals did not foresee everything, and the proofs of their crime — we do not give them all here — shall, one day, rise terrible against them. Once again A GERMAN HOSPITAL 247 the words of Christ shall be realized: "There is nothing . . . hid that shall not be known." A few days later, on September 10, 1914, a card from Roger reached Armentieres. It was written on August 28th, a few moments before he entered the heroic struggle from which he was not to return. It contained these few words, followed by his signature : "Tout va bien. Affections" (All is well — Love). Today, this message, which seems like a message from the grave, takes a sig- nificance of which Roger probably did not think when he wrote it, but which he would most certainly not deny: "Whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. . . . Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." XII (May 19-July 13, 1916) XII MAY 19-JULY 13, 1916 At the end of October, 1914, it seemed as if it would never be possible to learn Roger's fate. His locker, re- turned at that time, did not contain anything that could help to reconstruct his acts in the region of Saint Die. He probably was separated from it when the battalion arrived in the city. In it were all the letters received from his family at Aime, his pocketbook, and a series of "decisions." The last thing which he had put in, and which was found on top of his extra uniform, was his Bible. The machine-gunners, questioned carefully by a devoted comrade, Lieutenant Engel, said that they saw him advance towards the furnace, enter there, and disap- pear — that was all. An investigation of the most careful sort has little by little torn aside the veil. Except for the final drama, of which a mysterious Will delayed so long that which was to be brought to light, this inquiry has made it possible to piece together all that which one has just read and many other things besides. The affair of the grade crossing at Tiges, of the existence of which nothing was known at first, has come out little by little from the shadow. The survivors have related all the incidents of it with precision; and May 14, 1915,^ Roger was cited in the ^ Vllth Army Extracts From the Order of Citations of the Seventh Army No. 12 of the 14th of May, 1915 251 252 ROGER ALLIER Order of the Army. Then the mystery of the German hospital was gradually cleared up. One after another, the details of Roger's stay there were brought out. The inquiry always terminated at the same point — the depart- ure of the wounded for Saales Pass in the fodder wagon. When time had rolled by, when all the details of the story had been discovered, when the final revelation would no longer put an end to investigations by making them appear useless, this revelation was achieved. May 19, 1916, the "Lyons Committee of Search for the Miss- ing," with the consent of the military and the municipal authorities, ordered opened a great grave situated behind the Marchal mill in the suburb of La Bolle. Mr. Jules Marchal, who for eighteen months had devoted himself without stint to helping the AUier family in their search, was at Paris. He was informed of the sad discovery by telegraph, by Mr. Clemencet, chief inspector, who had himself aided the search with a touching zeal ; he had the sad duty of informing the parents. The latter, accom- panied by Roger's godfather, his uncle Paul Allier, ar- rived at Saint Die May 23rd. The body had been temporarily placed in a tomb in the General- Staff 1st Bureau Are mentioned in the Ordre de I'Armee; Second-Lieutenant ALLIER Roger, of the nth Battalion of Chasseurs : "Although seriously wounded in both legs, con- tinued to encourage his chasseurs with the most remarkable energy." The General in Command of the Seventh Army, (signed) : DE MAUD 'HUY. A true copy, At Headquarters, September 19, 1915. Commander of the General Staff : Signed: G. Bouvier. MAY 19-JULY 13, 1916 253 cemetery on the left bank, called the cemetery of Fouch- arupt. The morning of the 24th, Doctor Olivier, in the presence of several witnesses, made the verifications which establish the crime. The final burial took place at two o'clock in the afternoon. Tenderly wrapped in a large flag, the body was placed in a triple coffin. The grave is at an angle of two walks, and beside it stretch away in several rows the graves of a number of the chasseurs who fell in the battles of the latter part of August, 19 1 4. There had been no pastor in Saint Die since the begin- ning of the war. No army chaplain was in the neighbor- hood. But, when all was finished and when they were alone, Roger's parents and his uncle had together a moment's meditation and prayer. They read the 121st and 130th Psalms and verses 9 to 17 of the Seventh Chapter of Revelation, while the cannon thundered near by. Some weeks later, on July 13th, Roger's birthday, his parents, his sisters, and his brother stood around his grave and there read aloud the same passages. And henceforth they can no longer meditate on these sacred passages without seeing a vision of the bright, calm cemetery where, towering over the heroically de- fended city, a httle army of French soldiers, after barring the way to the conqueror, seems to stand guard before the immense horizon of the Vosges, facing the heights which lead to the Promised Land.