The Fledgling

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Fledgling, by Charles Bernard Nordhoff

THE FLEDGLING
By
CHARLES BERNARD NORDHOFF
BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY The Riverside Press Cambridge 1919
COPYRIGHT, 1917 AND 1918, BY THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY CHARLES BERNARD NORDHOFF
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE FLEDGLING
We were put on active duty at the front about the first of the year; in fact, I spent New Year's night in a dugout within pistol-shot of the Germans. It was quite a celebration, as the French Government had provided champagne, cakes, and oranges for all, and every one was feeling in a cheery mood. When dinner was over, each of us chipped in his day's ration of army wine (about a pint), and with a little brandy, some oranges, sugar, and a packet of spices I had been commissioned to get, we brewed a magnificent bowl of hot punch, or mulled wine. First The Day of Victory was toasted, then, France ; then, with typical French consideration, The United States. After that, each man's family at home received a health; so you may be interested to know that your health and happiness for 1917 were drunk in a first-class abri by a crowd of first-class fellows, as all French soldiers are.