July 29th. Cooler, overcast. There is a rumor of tennis balls being procurable. Also about twenty pages of directions regarding mail censorship, etc. All of which was duly read and all the information which could be derived therefrom was that you could mention the weather, the state of your health, and there it ended. No date, nothing on letterhead, signature in a certain corner, and a thousand other things. About five hundred letters and postal cards were returned this morning marked "Improper to forward." The French term is "Achamement."
July 30th. Cloudy and later raining. A violent thunder-storm Sunday night. This is the first rain since leaving U.S.A.
Major Hansell started classes on Field Service Regulations. We are to have it two hours every morning, with an hour of drill in the p. m. In addition, individual officers have been assigned special subjects to report on. I have been given "Demography in so far as it relates to the Vital Statistics of the Army." This is to be summarized and reported upon from an article by Lieutenant-Commander Weston P. Chamberlain. In the evening Russell and I gave Ward, Trinder, Hansell and Peck a dinner at the Grand Hotel. Such things may seem trivial but they mean much. Still no definite orders and simply marking time.
July 31st. Making up mess statement. Trinder, Floyd and Steiner went to Nancy this morning to get funds for pay day tomorrow. The enlisted men are much excited at the prospect of getting money. They have all patronized the café freely, buying candies, chocolates and cigarettes. Candy is in great demand. Even the officers are consuming it in great amounts. It seems strange to see men using it in such amounts. I went to the candy shop in the Arcade to get some this morning, and the woman was practically sold out.
Two of the men go to Paris to-day at one p. m. to bring down a motor-truck and the two mascot dogs that were given to the Unit. They have been given a large number of commissions, among them one for tennis and golf balls.
August 1st. After two days' hard rain a beautiful clear day. It dried sufficiently in the afternoon for some fine tennis. The box of athletic goods has been opened and it was a real pleasure to get a good racquet and some new balls.
Russell, Stillman and myself dined at the Grand. At nine p. m. the French officers tendered us a reception. We all sat around a long table. Sweet champagne and a pyramid of cake were served with French and American flags stuck in them. Major L—— made a speech of welcome in French, then read a translation which somebody had evidently made for him; his attempts at pronunciation nearly choked the poor man, for he mopped the sweat from his brow and drained his glass at a gulp. At the conclusion a toast to the American and French Armies was drunk. Then Hansell arose and read a very nice little speech which Widener attempted to translate, but all the jokes fell as dead as Cæsar translated.
The surprising thing was that among our men only one can speak French and only a few understand anything. The French were no better off. Still we struggled along, and all had, or seemed to have, a good time. The party broke up by our singing the "Marseillaise" in English and then "Oh, Say, etc." and finally "Way Down upon the Swanee River." The French tried to respond, but broke down and explained they never sang like that.
Cave did not come home till one o'clock. Great excitement!