France 2/10/17
My Dearest Baby:–
This has been a good old peaceful day – plenty of work but nothing serious, nothing irritating. It has been a little cooler and no sunshine to-day and I should hate to think that the good weather is going to break up but pretty soon it must come I suppose. In addition, or probably this is the real reason why it was a good day, I had a good letter from you, My Dearest a pretty good little saucy little letter with some very pertinent enquiries in it. To take them in their order on a business basis. You know perfectly well the reason or reasons I wanted you to stay in France. I may be superstitious but I cannot make myself believe that England is any safe place to be living in even when you were in Woking I was always worrying about zepps and aeroplanes and as for your running about well – I certainly was worried when you went to Margate and Folkestone because Fritz drops things there about as regularly as he eats lunch. And now, of course, when he goes over daily I am absolutely tickled to death to think that you are safe in France. Surely Dear, you don’t think that I wanted you to stay over here because you ‘ran around’ so much in England. Really I was always pleased to pieces when you were shifting about and enjoying yourself. And if you aren’t enjoying yourself in France, why I shouldn’t want you to stay a single minute and if you ever do want to go back to England ever so little well you know that your wish is supreme. That is quite honest, Maidie, its great for me your being in France but I should be very unhappy if I thought you were staying here just to humour me when really you would be happier in England.
Now as far as not having any money is concerned – well you said a mouthful there. We haven’t got such a very lot, have we? Economy won’t do any real harm but at the same time you must not let it keep you awake nights. You must keep a sufficient stake to get back to Canada of course, and as much more as possible but absolutely you must not brood over your poverty.
To digress. As I write the boys are getting ready for bed and Larry is giving us his life history. He said that he lived in New Brunswick and he heard of the harvest excursions. So away he went and never did get nearer home than when he came down on the train to embark at Halifax. He is very funny. He is going to subdivide all the valley we are in at present We were talking about the long names Fritz has for some things and Larry observed that “it must take a good educated fellow to hold down a job in their Orderly Room”.
Don’t you know that I should be in bed at this very minute? Its my night on the messages and I’ll be awake plenty. So I’ll just tell you that I adore you and ask you if you feel as if you could be nice to me if I were there with you and ask for a little kiss and I’m away
Au revoir, My Dearest
Your own
Ross
zeppelin, rigid airship of a type originally manufactured by Luftschiffsbau-Zeppelin and consisting of a cigar-shaped, trussed, and covered frame supported by internal gas cells. The first Zeppelin airship was designed by Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin, a retired German army officer, and made its initial flight from a floating hangar on Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen, Ger., on July 2, 1900. Beneath the 42-foot (128-metre) craft a keel-like structure connected two external cars, each of which contained a 16-horsepower engine geared to two propellers. A sliding weight secured to the keel afforded vertical control by raising or lowering the nose, while rudders were provided for horizontal control. The craft attained speeds approaching 20 miles per hour (32 km/h).
During World War I the Germans achieved moderate success in long-range bombing operations with the zeppelin-type rigid airship, which could attain higher altitudes than the airplanes then available. On two occasions during 1917, German Zeppelins made flights of almost 100 hours duration. Such performances led many people to believe that large airships would play a prominent part in aviation development. A number of Zeppelins were distributed to the Allied countries as part of postwar reparations by Germany.
Working parties as usual. Training 2.00 p.m to 4.00 p.m. in the afternoon. Casualties. 3 O.R. Killed in Action. 1 O.R. Wounded on working party.
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