,,your ,,boys ,by ,gipsy ,smith ,with a ,foreword by ,the ,bishop of ,london ,,new ,,york ,,george ,h4 ,,doran ,,company ,,copyright1 #aiah1 ,,by ,,george ,h4 ,,doran ,,company ,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,of ,,america ,foreword ,i am writing this during an air raid at #ab4cj at night1 and ,i have just finished a ,foreword for the ,bishop of ,zanzibar's new and tender little book4 ,he has been a water-carrier for the ,british force in ,german ,east ,africa1 and ,gipsy ,smith has just come from the trenches in ,france4 ,you would not expect the two books to be similar1 but they are3 they are both about 8,jesus40 ,this devotion to 8,jesus0 binds all time ,christians together1 and one day will bring us all more visibly together than we are now4 ,i love this breezy little book of ,gipsy ,smith's2 it is not only full of the love of 8,jesus10 but love of our 8our boys40 ,they are splendid4 ,i spent the first two months of the war as their visiting chaplain--went out to give them their ,easter ,communion the first year of the war at the ,front4 ,gipsy ,smith and ,i made friends together1 speaking for them at the ,london ,opera ,house on the great day of ,intercession and ,thanksgiving we had for them when the ,king himself called us all together4 ,then ,i like the common sense of it6 ,you must have robust common sense if you are going to win 8our boys40 ,anything unreal1 merely sentimental1 washy1 they detect in a moment4 ,you must draw them 8with the cords of a man and the bonds of love10 and those who read this book will find many a hint as to how to do it4 ,a4,f4 ,london4 ,,your ,,boys ,i have just come back from your boys4 ,i have been living among them and talking to them for six months4 ,i have been under shell fire for a month1 night and day4 ,i have preached the ,gospel within forty yards of the ,germans4 ,i have tried to sleep at night in a cellar1 and it was so cold that my moustache froze to my blanket and my boots froze to the floor4 ,the meal which comforted me most was a little sour ,french bread and some ,swiss milk and hot water1 and a pinch of sugar when ,i could get it4 ,there are ,y4,m4,c4,a4 marquees close to the roads down which come the walking wounded from the trenches4 ,in three of these marquees last summer in three days over ten thousand cases were provided with hot drinks and refreshment--free4 ,and that ,i call ,christian work4 ,you and ,i have been too much concerned about the preaching and too little about the doing of things4 ,a friend of mine was in one of those marquees at the time1 and he told me a beautiful story4 ,some of the men sat and stood there two and three hours waiting their turn1 and the workers were nearly run off their feet4 ,they were at it for three nights and three days4 ,there was one fellow1 a handsome chap1 sitting huddled up and looking so haggard and cold1 that my friend said to him1 8,i am sorry you have had to wait so long1 old chap4 ,we're doing our best4 ,we'll get to you as soon as we can40 8,never mind me10 said the man2 8carry on60 ,as the sun came out he unbuttoned his coat1 and when the coat was thrown back my friend saw that he was wearing a colonel's uniform4 8,i am sorry1 sir10 said my friend4 8,i did not know4 ,i oughtn't to have spoken to you in that familiar way40 8,you have earned the right to say anything you like to me10 said the ,colonel4 8,go right on40 ,and then my friend said1 8,well1 come with me1 sir1 to the back1 and ,i will get you a cup of coffee40 8,no1 not a minute before the boys4 ,i'll take my turn with them40 ,that's the spirit4 ,your boys1 ,i say1 are great stuff4 ,they have their follies4 ,they can go to the devil if they want to1 but tens of thousands of them don't want to1 and hundreds of thousands are living straight in spite of their surroundings4 ,they are the bravest1 dearest boys that ,god ever gave to the world1 and you and ,i ought to be proud of them4 ,if the people at home were a tenth as grateful as they ought to be they would crowd into our churches1 if it were for nothing else but to pray for and give thanks for the boys4 ,they are just great1 your boys4 ,they saved your homes4 ,i was recently in a city in ,france which had before the war a population of #ee1jjj people4 ,when ,i was there1 there were not #ejj people in that city--#ed1ejj were homeless refugees1 if they weren't killed4 ,i walked about that city for a month1 searching for a house that wasn't damaged1 a window that wasn't broken1 and ,i never found one4 ,the whole of that city will have to be rebuilt4 ,a glorious cathedral1 a magnificent pile of municipal buildings1 all in ruins2 the ,grande ,place1 a meeting-place for the crowned heads of ,europe1 gone6 8,thou hast made of a city a heap0--a heap of rubbish4 ,your city would have been like that but for the boys in khaki4 ,i was saying my prayers in a corner of an old broken chateau1 the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 headquarters for that centre1 with my trench-coat buttoned tight and my big muffler round my ears4 ,presently ,i heard some one say--one of the workers--8,a gentleman wants to see you1 sir10 and when ,i got downstairs there was a ,general1 a ,v4,c41 a ,d4,s4,o41 and a ,star of ,india man--a glorious man1 a beautiful character4 ,he was there with his ,staff-captain1 and he said1 8,i've come to invite you to dinner to-morrow night1 ,mr4 ,smith4 ,i want you to come to the officers' mess40 8,what time1 sir80 ,i asked4 8,i cannot miss my meeting at half-past six with the boys40 8,well1 the mess will be at half-past seven4 ,we will arrange that40 8,before you go1 sir1 ,i should like to ask why you are interested in me40 8,well1 ,i'll tell you1 if you wish10 he said4 8,men are writing home to their wives1 mothers1 sweethearts1 and they are talking about a new power in their lives4 #8,we have got something that is helping us to go straight and play the game1' they write4 ,and so10 said the ,general1 8we should like to have a chat with you40 ,i went the next night1 and for an hour and a half ,i preached the ,gospel to those officers4 ,it was a great chance2 and it was the result of the note-paper which ,i have sometimes given out for an hour and a half at a time to your boys4 ,there are lots of people think you are not doing any spiritual work unless you are singing1 8,come to ,jesus40 ,put more ,jesus in every bit of the day's business4 ,jesus ought to be as real in the city as in the temple4 ,if ,i read my ,new ,testament aright1 and if ,i know ,god1 and if ,i know humanity1 and if ,i know ,nature1 then that is ,god's programme4 ,god's programme is that the whole of life should be permeated with ,christ4 ,god bless the women who have gone out to help your boys4 ,women of title1 of wealth and position1 serving ,god and humanity behind tea-tables4 ,in one of our huts ,i saw a lady standing beside two urns--coffee and tea4 ,she was pouring out1 and there were #aej or #bjj men standing round that hut waiting to get served4 ,the fellows at the end were not pushing and crowding to get first1 but waiting their turn4 ,they are more good-natured than a religious crowd waiting to get in to hear a popular preacher4 ,i have seen these people jostle at the doors4 ,but your boys don't do that4 ,they just sing1 8,pack up your troubles10 and wait their turn4 ,well1 these boys1 wet and cold1 were waiting for a cup of coffee1 and one of those red-hot gospellers came along1 and he said1 8,sister1 stop a minute and put a word in for ,jesus4 ,this is a great opportunity40 8,but10 she replied1 8they are wet and tired2 let me give them something hot as soon as ,i can40 8,oh6 but let's put a word in for ,jesus10 urged this chap4 ,then a bright-faced soldier lad called out1 8,guv'nor1 she puts ,jesus in the coffee40 ,that is what ,i mean when ,i say you have got to put ,jesus into every bit of the day's work4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have never once been asked by your boys to what ,church ,i belonged4 ,they don't stop to ask that if they believe in you4 ,they want the living ,christ and the living ,message4 ,it isn't creed2 it's need4 ,and don't you get the notion that the boys can't be reached1 and don't you think that the boys are hostile to ,christianity4 ,they are not4 ,i won't hear it without protest4 ,the best things that the old ,book talks about are the things the boys love in one another4 ,they don't always think of the ,book1 but they love the fruits of the ,spirit in one another4 ,they love truth1 honour1 courage1 humility1 friendship1 loyalty4 ,and where do you get those things8 ,why1 they have their roots in the ,cross--they grow on that ,tree4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i had a dear friend who won the ,m4,c4--a young ,cambridge graduate4 ,he was all-round brilliant4 ,he could write an essay1 preach a sermon1 sit down to the piano and compose an operetta4 ,the boys delighted in him4 ,he would always be at the front4 ,he would always be where there was danger4 ,i was talking about him one day in one of the convalescent camps1 and two of the boys said to me afterwards1 8,you have been talking about our padre4 ,we loved him4 ,we were with him when he was killed1 for the shell that killed him wounded us4 ,every man in the battalion would have laid down his life for him40 ,this old world's dying for the want of love4 ,there are more people die for the want of a bit of it than with overmuch of it4 ,don't stifle it--let it out4 99 99 99 99 99 8,i am afraid10 said a padre to me once1 8the boys are sceptical40 8,come with me to-morrow10 ,i answered4 8,i'll prove to you they are not sceptical40 ,we were half an hour ahead of time and the hut was crowded with eight hundred men4 ,they were singing when ,i got in--something about 8an old rooster--as you used to40 ,do you suppose ,i had no better sense than to go in and say1 8,stop this ungodly music80 ,you can catch more flies with treacle than with vinegar4 ,i looked at the boys and said1 8,that's great1 sing it again40 ,and ,i turned to the padre and asked1 8,isn't that splendid8 ,isn't that fine80 ,while we were waiting to begin the meeting1 ,i said1 8,boys1 we must have another40 8,one of the same sort80 they shouted4 8,of course10 was my reply4 ,and they sang 8,who's your lady friend80 and when they had sung that1 ,i called out1 8,boys1 we will have one more4 ,what shall it be80 8,one of yours1 sir40 ,i had not trusted them in vain4 ,i said1 8,very well1 you choose your hymn40 8,when ,i survey the wondrous ,cross0--that was the song they chose4 ,and they sang it all the better because ,i had sung their songs with them4 ,before we had got to the end of the last verse some of those boys were in tears1 and it wasn't hard to pray4 ,it isn't far from rag-time to 8,when ,i survey the wondrous ,cross40 ,when they had finished the hymn ,i said1 8,boys1 ,i am going to tell you the story of my father's conversion40 ,for ,i had to convince my padre friend that they were not sceptical4 ,i took them to the gipsy tent and told them of my father and five motherless children1 and of how ,jesus came to that tent1 saving the father and the five children and making preachers of them all4 ,i said1 8,did my father make a mistake when he brought ,christ to those five motherless children80 ,and the eight hundred boys shouted1 8,no1 sir40 8,did he do the right thing80 8,yes1 sir40 8,what ought you to do80 8,the same1 sir40 8,do you want ,jesus in your lives80 and every man of the eight hundred jumped to his feet4 ,you say they are sceptical where ,jesus is concerned4 ,i'll tell you when they are sceptical--when they see the caricature of ,jesus in you and me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was1 as ,i have said1 under shell fire for a month in one place--night and day for a month--and never allowed out without a gasbag round my neck4 ,i slept in a cellar there at night when ,i did sleep--only #gjj yards from the ,germans--and1 as ,i have said before1 it was cold4 ,when the thaw set in1 ,i put a couple of bricks down and put a box-lid on top1 so that ,i could stand in a dry place4 ,we had two picks and two shovels in that cellar in case anything happened overnight4 ,i have been up against it4 ,whenever ,i talked to the boys there they sat with their gas-bags round their necks1 and one held mine while ,i talked4 ,it was quite a common thing to have something fall quite close to us while we were singing4 ,imagine singing 8,cover my defenceless head10 just as a piece of the roof is falling in4 ,or-- ,in death's dark vale ,i fear no ill ,with ,thee1 dear ,lord1 beside me-- then another crash6 ,that makes things real4 ,every word was accompanied by the roar of guns--the rattle of the machine gun and the crack of the rifle4 ,we never knew what it was to be quiet4 ,a shell once came and burst just the other side of the wall against which ,i was standing and blew part of it over my head4 ,i have suffered as your boys have1 and ,i have preached the ,gospel to your boys in the front line4 ,i long for the privilege of doing it again4 99 99 99 99 99 ,if ,i had my way ,i'd take all the best preachers in ,britain and ,i'd put them down in ,france4 ,and if the church and chapel goers grumbled1 ,i'd say1 8,you're overfed4 ,you can do without a preacher for a little40 ,and if they were to ask1 8,how do you know80 ,i should reply1 8,because it's hard work to get you to one meal a week4 ,you only come once on a ,sunday and often not that4 ,that's how ,i know you are not enjoying your food40 ,i love talking to the ,scottish boys--the kilties4 ,oh6 they are great boys--the kilties4 ,when the ,french first saw them they didn't know what they were1 whether they were men or women4 8,don't you know what they are80 said a bright-faced ,english boy4 8,they are what we call the ,middlesex40 ,you can't beat a ,british boy1 he's on the spot all the time--8the ,middlesex60 ,some of you haven't seen the joke yet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i once went to a hut just behind the line1 within the sound of the guns4 ,buildings all round us had been blown to pieces4 ,the leader of this hut was a clergyman of the ,church of ,england1 but he wasn't an ecclesiastic there1 he was a man amongst men1 and we loved him4 8,gipsy ,smith10 he said1 8,i don't know what you will do2 the boys in the billets this week are the ,munsters--,irish ,roman ,catholics4 ,you would have got on all right last week2 we had the ,york and ,lancasters40 8,do you think they will come to the meetings80 8,i don't know10 he replied2 8they come for everything else6 ,they come for their smokes1 candles1 soap1 buttons--bachelor's buttons--postcards1 and everything else they want4 ,but whether they will come for the religious part1 ,i don't know40 8,well10 ,i said1 8we can but try40 ,it was about midday when we were talking1 and the meeting was to be at #f4cj4 8,have you got a boy who could write a bill for me80 ,i asked4 8,yes10 he said1 8,i've got a boy who could do that all right40 8,print it on green paper10 said ,i4 ,why not8 ,they were the ,munsters4 ,why shouldn't we use our heads8 ,people think mighty hard in business1 why shouldn't we think in the religious world8 8,just say this and nothing more10 ,i said4 8#8,gipsy ,smith will give a talk in the ,hut to-night at #f4cj4 ,subject--,gipsy ,life4'0 ,i knew that would fetch them4 ,at half-past six the hut was crowded with eight hundred ,munsters4 ,if you are an old angler1 indeed if you know anything at all about angling1 you know that you have got to consider two or three things if you are to stand any chance of a catch4 ,you have got to study your tackle1 you have got to study your bait1 you have got to study the habits of your fish4 ,when the time came to begin that meeting1 one of the workers said1 8,shall ,i bring the box of hymn-books out80 8,no1 no10 ,i replied2 8that's the wrong bait40 ,those ,munster boys knew nothing about hymn-books4 ,we preachers have got to come off our pedestals and not give our hearers what we want1 but the thing that will catch them4 ,if a pretty1 catchy ,sankey hymn will attract a crowd1 why shouldn't we use it instead of an anthem8 ,if a brass band will catch them1 why shouldn't we play it instead of an organ8 8,keep back those hymn-books10 ,i said4 8,they know nothing about hymn-books40 ,i had a pretty good idea of what would have happened if those hymn-books had been produced at the start4 ,i got on that platform1 and ,i looked at those eight hundred ,munsters and said1 8,boys1 are we down-hearted80 8,no10 they shouted4 ,you can imagine what eight hundred ,munsters shouting 8,no0 sounds like4 ,they were all attention instantly4 ,i wonder what would happen if the ,vicar went into church next ,sunday morning and asked the question1 8,are we down-hearted80 ,i knew it would cause a sensation1 but ,i'd rather have a sensation than a stagnation4 ,those boys sat up4 ,i said1 8,we are going to talk about gipsy life40 ,i talked to them about the origin of my people4 ,there's not a man living in the world who knows the origin of my people4 ,i can trace my people back to ,india1 but they didn't come from ,india4 ,we are one of the oldest races in the world1 so old that nobody knows how old4 ,i talked to them about the origin of the gipsies1 and ,i don't know it1 but ,i knew more about it than they did4 ,i talked to them about our language1 and ,i gave them specimens of it1 and there ,i was on sure ground4 ,it is a beautiful language1 full of poetry and music4 ,then ,i talked about the way the gipsies get their living--and other people's2 and for thirty minutes those ,munsters hardly knew if they were on the chairs or on the floor--and ,i purposely made them laugh4 ,they had just come out of the hell of the trenches4 ,they had that haunted1 weary1 hungry look1 and if only ,i could make them laugh and forget the hell out of which they had just climbed it was religion1 and ,i wasn't wasting time4 ,when ,i had been talking for thirty minutes1 ,i stopped1 and said1 8,boys1 there's a lot more to this story4 ,would you like some more80 8,yes10 they shouted4 8,come back to-morrow10 ,i said4 ,i was fishing in unlikely waters1 and if you leave off when fish are hungry they will come back for more4 ,for six nights ,i told those boys gipsy stories4 ,i took them out into the woods4 ,we went out amongst the rabbits4 ,i told the boys the rabbits got very fond of me--so fond that they used to go home with me6 ,i took them through the clover-fields on a ,june day and made them smell the perfume4 ,i took them among the buttercups4 ,i told them it was the ,finger of ,love and the ,smile of ,infinite ,wisdom that put the spots upon the pansy and the deep blue in the violet4 ,and then we went out among the birds and we saw ,god taking songs from the lips of a seraph and wrapping them round with feathers4 ,and the boys saw ,jesus in every buttercup and every primrose1 and every little daisy1 and in every dewdrop1 and heard something of the song of the angels in the notes of the nightingale and the skylark4 ,oh6 ,jesus was there1 and they felt ,him1 and they saw ,him4 ,i took them amongst the gipsy tents1 amongst the woodlands and dells of the old camping-grounds4 ,they walked with ,him and they talked with ,him4 ,i didn't use the usual ,church language1 but ,i used the language of ,god in ,nature and the boys heard ,him4 ,towards the end of the week one of those ,munster boys came and touched me and said1 8,your ,riverence6 ,your ,riverence60 he says4 8,you're a gentleman40 ,i knew ,i had got that boy4 ,now1 if you are an old angler you know what happens if you begin to tug at the line the first time you get a bite4 ,when you hook a fish1 if he happens to be a ,munster1 you have got to keep your head and play him1 let him have the line1 let him go1 keep steady1 no excitement1 give him play4 ,i gave him a bit of line1 that young ,munster4 ,i thanked him for his compliment and then walked away--with my eyes over my shoulder1 for if he hadn't come after me ,i should have been after him4 ,presently he pulled my tunic and said1 8,won't you give me a minute1 sir80 8,what's the trouble80 ,i said4 8,sir10 he said1 with a little catch in his voice that ,i can hear now1 8you've got something ,i haven't40 8,how do you know80 ,i asked4 8,it's like the singing of a little song1 and it gets into my heart4 ,i want it4 ,won't you tell me how to get it8 ,i want it40 8,sonny10 ,i said1 8it's for you4 ,you can have it at the same price ,i paid for it40 8,begorra10 says he1 8you will tell me to give up my religion1 you will60 ,i said1 8,if ,god has put anything in your life that helps you to be a better and a nobler and a braver man1 ,he doesn't want you to give it up40 8,he doesn't80 he asked4 8,what am ,i to give up1 then80 ,and ,i replied1 8,your sin40 ,the boy said again1 8,you're a gentleman40 ,if ,i had said one word about his religion or his creed1 my line would have snapped and ,i would have lost my fish4 ,that night1 when all the boys had gone1 we got into a corner and we knelt down1 and when he went he said1 8,i've got it1 sir4 ,i've got the little song--and it's singing40 99 99 99 99 99 ,at one of my meetings the boys were four thousand strong and the ,commandant of the camp was to preside4 ,as they say in the ,army1 he had got the wind up4 ,he did not know me4 ,when he saw the crowd there he began to wonder what was going to happen4 ,he called one of the officers to him1 and said1 8,i don't know what he's going to do4 ,i hope he's not going to give us a revival meeting or something of that sort4 ,i hope he knows that one-third of these fellows are ,roman ,catholics40 ,well1 of course ,i knew1 and ,i was laying my plans accordingly4 ,what right have you or ,i when we have got a mixed crowd like that to try to cram our preconceived programme down everybody's throat8 ,the officer1 who was one of my friends1 said to the ,colonel1 8,i don't think you need trouble1 sir4 ,he's all right1 and knows his job40 ,when we were ready1 ,i went to the ,colonel1 and said1 8,we are quite ready to begin1 sir40 ,the ,colonel rose and announced1 8,officers1 non-commissioned officers1 and men1 ,i now introduce to you ,gipsy ,smith1 who will perform40 ,now1 the first thing ,i wanted to do was to disarm all prejudice in the mind of both officers and men4 ,so ,i said1 8,are you ready1 boys80 8,yes1 sir40 8,well1 we'll have our opening hymn1 #8,keep the home fires burning4'0 ,and didn't those boys sing that6 ,some of them were smoking1 and ,i wasn't going to tell them not to smoke4 ,that would have put their backs up4 ,they were ,british boys and they knew what to do when the right moment came4 ,and so ,i said1 8,boys1 you sang that very well1 but you were not all singing4 ,now1 if we have another1 will you all sing80 ,and they answered1 8,yes40 ,i knew if they sang they couldn't smoke4 ,so we had 8,pack up your troubles10 and this time every smoke was out and every boy was singing4 8,we'll have another10 said ,i1 when they had finished2 8we'll have-- #8,way down in ,tennessee ,just try to think of me ,right on my mother's knee4'0 ,i knew if ,i got them round their mothers' knees ,i should be all right4 8,now1 boys10 ,i said1 8what am ,i to talk to you about80 ,i let them choose their subject very often4 8,tell us the story of the gipsy tent10 they called out4 ,and there ,i was at home1 and it was all right1 and for an hour ,i told them the story of how grace came to that gipsy tent--the old romance of love4 8,now1 boys1 ,i'm through10 ,i said when ,i had spoken for an hour--and they gave me an encore4 ,when ,i had finished my encore1 the dear old ,colonel got up to thank the 8performer0--and he couldn't do it2 there was a lump in his throat and big tears were rolling down his cheeks4 8,boys1 ,i can't say what ,i want to1 but10 said he1 8we have all got to be better men40 ,the ,gospel was preached in that hut in a different way from what we have it preached at home1 but we got it in1 and the thing is to get it in4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was talking behind the lines to some of your boys4 ,every boy in front of me was going up to the trenches that night4 ,there were five or six hundred of them4 ,they had got their equipment--they were going on parade as soon as they left me4 ,it wasn't easy to talk4 ,all ,i said was accompanied by the roar of the guns and the crack of rifles and the rattle of the machine guns1 and once in a while our faces were lit up by the flashes4 ,it was a weird sight4 ,i looked at those boys4 ,i couldn't preach to them in the ordinary way4 ,i knew and they knew that for many it was the last service they would attend on earth4 ,i said1 8,boys1 you are going up to the trenches4 ,anything may happen there4 ,i wish ,i could go with you4 ,god knows ,i do4 ,i would if they would let me1 and if any of you fall ,i would like to hold your hand and say something to you for mother1 for wife1 and for lover1 and for little child4 ,i'd like to be a link between you and home just for that moment--,god's messenger for you4 ,they won't let me go1 but there is ,somebody ,who will go with you4 ,you know ,who that is40 ,you should have heard the boys all over that hut whisper1 8,yes1 sir--,jesus40 8,well10 ,i said1 8,i want every man that is anxious to take ,jesus with him into the trench to stand40 ,instantly and quietly every man in that hut stood up4 ,and we prayed as men can pray only under those conditions4 ,we sang together1 8,for ever with the ,lord40 ,i shall never sing that hymn again without a lump in my throat4 ,my mind will always go back to those dear boys4 ,we shook hands and ,i watched them go1 and then on my way to the little cottage where ,i was billeted ,i heard feet coming behind me1 and presently felt a hand laid upon my shoulder4 ,two grand handsome fellows stood beside me4 ,one of them said1 8,we didn't manage to get into the hut1 but we stood at the window to your right4 ,we heard all you said4 ,we want you to pray for us4 ,we are going into the trenches1 too4 ,we can't go until it is settled40 ,we prayed together1 and then ,i shook hands with them and bade them good-bye4 ,they did not come back4 ,some of their comrades came--those two1 with others1 were left behind4 ,but they had settled it--they had settled it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,two or three days after that ,i was in a hospital when one was brought in who was at that service4 ,i thought he was unconscious1 and ,i said to the ,sister beside me1 8,sister1 how battered and bruised his poor head is60 ,he looked up and said1 8,yes1 it is battered and bruised2 but it will be all right1 ,gipsy1 when ,i get the crown60 ,one night ,i had got about fifty boys round me in a dug-out1 with the walls blown out and bits of the roof off4 ,i had taken some hymn-sheets1 for ,i love to hear them sing4 ,i never choose a hymn for them--,i always let them choose their own hymns4 ,there is wisdom in that4 ,if they have asked for something and don't sing it1 ,i can come down on them4 ,among the great hymns they choose are these3 8,jesu1 ,lover of my soul10 and ,i have heard them sing1 8,cover my defenceless head10 with the shells falling close to them4 ,i have heard them sing1 8,i fear no foe 4440 with every seat and every bit of building round us rocking with the concussion of things4 ,and then they will choose3 8,the ,king of ,love my ,shepherd is10 8,the ,lord's my ,shepherd1 ,i'll not want10 8,abide with me10 8,rock of ages1 cleft for me10 and the one they love1 ,i think1 most of all is1 8,when ,i survey the wondrous ,cross40 ,those are the hymns they sing1 the great hymns of the ,church--the hymns that all ,christian people sing1 about which there is no quarrelling4 ,it's beautiful to hear the boys4 ,that night ,i said1 8,i have brought some hymn-sheets4 ,i thought we might have some singing1 but ,i'm afraid it's too dark40 ,instantly one of the boys brought out of his tunic about two inches of candle and struck a match1 and in three minutes we had about twenty pieces of candle burning4 ,it was a weird scene4 ,after the hymns ,i began to talk1 and the candles burnt lower1 and some of them flickered out1 and ,i could see a boy here and there twitch a bit of candle as it was going out4 ,i said1 8,put the candles out1 boys4 ,i can talk in the dark40 ,it was a wonderful service1 and here and there you could hear the boys sighing and crying as they thought of home and father and mother4 ,it isn't difficult to talk to boys like that4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is no hymn of hate in your boys' hearts4 ,i have known them take a ,german prisoner even after he has played the cruel thing2 but there6 he looked hungry and wretched1 and in a few minutes they have shared their rations and cigarettes with him4 ,i call that a bit of religion breaking out in an unlikely place4 ,the leaven's in the lump1 thank ,god6 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was speaking at a convalescent camp4 ,every one of the boys had been badly mauled and mangled on the ,somme4 ,this particular day ,i had about seven or eight hundred listeners4 ,it was evening1 and when ,i had talked to the boys1 ,i said1 8,i wonder if any of you would like to meet me for a little prayer80 ,and from all over the camp came the answer1 8,yes1 sir2 yes1 sir2 yes1 sir40 ,there was a big room there--we called it a quiet room--and so ,i asked all the boys who would like to see me1 just to leave their seats and go into this room4 ,i went to them and said1 8,you have elected to come here to pray1 so we will just kneel down at once4 ,i am not going to do anything more than guide you4 ,i want you to tell ,god what you feel you need in your own language40 ,the prayers of those boys would have made a book4 ,there were no old-fashioned phrases4 ,you know what ,i mean--people begin at a certain place and there is no stopping them till they get to another certain place4 ,one of these boys began1 8,please ,god1 ,you know ,i've been a rotter40 ,that's the way to pray4 ,that boy was talking to ,god and the ,lord was very glad to listen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was talking to one boy--an ,american2 he was a little premature1 he was in the fight before his country4 8,sonny10 ,i said1 8you're an ,american80 8,yes1 sir4 ,i was born in ,michigan40 8,well1 what are you doing1 fighting under the ,british flag80 8,i guess it's my fight too1 sir4 ,this10 he said1 8is not a fight for ,england1 ,france1 or ,belgium1 but a fight for the race1 and ,i wouldn't have been a man if ,i had kept out40 ,i told that story to one of our ,generals who died last ,september4 8,ah60 he said1 8that boy got to the bottom of the business4 ,it's for the race4 ,it's for the race40 8,are you a ,christian80 ,i asked4 8,no10 he answered2 8but ,i should like to be one4 ,i wasn't brought up4 ,i grew up1 and ,i grew up my own way1 and my own way was the wrong way4 ,i go to church occasionally--if a friend is getting married4 ,i know the story of the ,christian faith a little1 but it has never really meant anything to me40 ,then he continued slowly1 8,on the ,somme1 a few hours before ,i was badly wounded0--he put his hand in his pocket and drew out a little crucifix--8,i picked up that little crucifix and ,i put it in my pack1 and when ,i got to hospital ,i found that little crucifix on my table4 ,one of the nurses or the orderlies had put it there1 thinking ,i was a ,catholic4 ,but ,i know ,i'm not1 sir4 ,i am nothing4 ,i have been looking at this little crucifix so often since ,i was wounded1 and ,i look at it till my eyes fill with tears1 because it reminds me of what ,he did for me--not this little bit of metal1 but what it means40 ,i said1 8,have you ever prayed80 ,he replied1 8,no1 sir4 ,i've wept over this little crucifix--is that prayer80 8,that's prayer of the best sort10 ,i said4 8,every tear contained volumes you could not utter1 and ,god read every word4 ,he knows all about it40 ,i pulled out a little khaki ,testament4 8,would you like it80 ,i said4 8,would you read it80 ,he answered1 8,yes10 and signed the decision in the cover4 ,when ,i shook hands with him there was a light in his eyes4 ,have you ever seen the light break over the cliff-tops of some high mountain peak8 ,have you ever watched the sun kiss a landscape into beauty8 ,have you ever seen the earth dance with gladness as the sun bathed it with radiance and warmth8 ,oh1 it's a great sight2 but there's no sight like seeing the light from ,calvary kiss a human face as it fills the heart with the assurance of ,divine forgiveness4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one hundred and fifty-two thousand cups of tea and coffee are given away monthly at one railway-station4 ,i once happened to be at a railway-station on the main lines of communication4 ,there are women working there1 women of position and means1 working at their own expense4 ,i have seen rough fellows go up to a ,british woman behind a counter--the first time they have seen a ,british woman for months--and ,i have heard them say1 8,madam1 will you shake hands with me80 ,i saw an ,australian do that4 ,he got her hand--and his was like a leg of mutton--and he thought of his mother and his home-folk4 ,he forgot his tea4 ,it was a benediction to have that woman there4 ,well1 on this occasion two of these ladies said to me1 8,gipsy1 we're having a relief train pass through to-morrow1 and one comes through up and one comes through down40 8,i'll be there10 ,i said4 ,the train that was coming from the front we could hear before we could see it4 ,and it wasn't the engine that we heard1 because that came so slowly1 but ,i could hear the boys singing as they came round the curve1 8,blighty1 ,blighty is the place for me40 ,we served them with tea and coffee1 ,french bread a yard long1 and candles and matches and 8,woodbines10 and then we got that crowd off--still singing 8,blighty40 ,they had been gone about five minutes when the other train from ,blighty came in4 ,we couldn't hear them singing4 ,they were quiet and subdued4 ,we served them with coffee and tea1 candles1 bootlaces1 and smokes1 and then1 as they had some time1 they started having a wash--the first since they left ,blighty4 ,the footboard of the train was the washstand1 the shaving-table1 and the dressing-table4 ,but they didn't sing4 ,i saw in a corner of that little canteen a pile of postcards1 and ,i said1 8,who says a postcard for wife or mother80 ,somebody asked1 8,who's going to see them posted80 ,i said1 8,i am4 ,you leave them to me40 ,they said1 8,all right10 and ,i began to give out the postcards4 ,i started at one end of the train and went on to the other end4 ,in the middle ,i found two carriages full of officers4 8,gentlemen10 ,i said1 8will you please censor these postcards as ,i collect them1 and that will relieve the pressure on the local staff1 for ,i don't want to put any extra work on them80 8,oh1 certainly10 they answered1 and ,i sent a dozen or twenty up at a time to them1 and in fifteen minutes that train was steaming out of the station and the boys were singing1 8,should auld acquaintance40 ,when they had gone ,i collected the postcards that had been written and censored--and there were #ege4 ,to keep the boys in touch with home is religion2 to keep in their lives the finest1 the most beautiful home-sentiment that ,god ever gives to the world is a bit of religion--pure and undefiled4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how gloriously brave are the ,french women and ,belgian women6 ,i was talking to one in ,london--a young girl not more than eighteen or nineteen4 ,she was serving me in a restaurant1 and ,i saw she was wiping her eyes1 so ,i called her to me and said1 8,what's the matter1 my child80 ,she answered1 8,sir1 ,i came over on the boat from ,belgium early in the war1 and my mother and sisters got scattered1 and ,i have never seen or heard of them since40 ,and the ,madame of the restaurant came to me a little while afterwards1 and said1 8,we dare not tell her1 but they were all killed40 ,many people at home don't realise what is going on4 ,some are in mourning1 some have lost boys1 some have lost husbands1 brothers1 but we have not suffered as others have suffered4 ,i was riding in a ,french train a few weeks ago4 ,beside me sat a lady draped in mourning4 ,i could not see her face1 it was so thickly veiled with crape4 ,beside her was a nurse1 and the lady wept1 oh1 so bitterly6 ,i cannot bear to see anybody weeping4 ,if ,i see a little child crying in the street ,i want to comfort it4 ,if ,i see a woman crying in the street ,i want to comfort her4 ,god has given me a quick ear where grief is concerned--and ,i am thankful4 ,i wouldn't have it otherwise--though ,i have to pay for it4 ,that woman's tears went through me4 ,every little while she was counting in ,french1 8,un1 deux1 trois1 quatre1 cinq10--then she would weep again and then she would count4 ,i said to the nurse1 8,nurse1 what's the trouble80 and she said1 8,sir1 her mind has given way4 ,before the war she had five handsome sons1 and one by one they have been killed1 and now she spends her time counting over her boys and weeping40 ,and all that is for you and for me6 ,what sort of people ought we to be1 do you suppose8 ,are we really worth--that8 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was talking to some ,canadians one night--and the ,canadians are fine boys4 ,i was putting my foot on the platform1 just about to begin1 when a bright young ,canadian touched me and said1 8,say1 boss1 can you shoot quick80 and ,i replied1 8,yes1 and straight40 8,well10 he said1 8you'll do40 ,i had a great time with those fellows4 ,hundreds of those ,canadian boys stood up to say1 8,god helping me1 ,i am going to lead a better life60--hundreds of them4 ,and then ,i put another test to them4 8,i want you all to promise10 ,i said1 8that you'll kneel down and say your prayers to-night in the billet1 and those of you who will promise to do that come up and shake hands with me as you go out40 ,i was kept one half-hour shaking hands4 ,now1 there were nine fellows sleeping in one billet and not one knew the other eight had been to the meeting4 ,they all got mixed up1 but all the nine came up to shake hands1 and the one that got back to billets first told the story afterwards4 ,this one had made up his mind he would kneel down and say his prayers1 but when he returned he found there was no one there4 ,somehow he felt different then--he felt he couldn't do it4 ,he was more afraid of nobody than he would have been of somebody4 ,then just suppose the others came back and found him kneeling there6 8,i funked it10 he said4 8,i got under the blanket1 and tried to say my prayers under the blanket1 but it wouldn't work4 ,then ,i heard one man come into the room1 then two1 three1 four1 five1 six1 seven1 and eight4 ,and the eighth man was the champion swearer of the company40 8,boys10 said this man1 8did you hear him80 8,yes10 they said1 8we heard him40 ,and the little chap under the blanket said 8,yes0 too4 8,well1 ,i shook hands with that man1 and ,i promised him for my mother's sake that ,i'd kneel down and say my prayers to-night40 ,and the little chap under the blanket jumped up1 blanket and all1 and said1 8,so did ,i4 ,i'm with you40 ,and the others said1 8,so did we40 8,well10 the last comer said1 8the best thing we can do is to kneel down now and say a little prayer40 ,so they all knelt down1 and they each said a little prayer--,i wish ,i had a record of those prayers--and they finished up with 8,our ,father40 ,then the champion swearer said1 8,boys1 ,i've cut it all out3 no more drink--not another drop40 ,and they said1 8,all right1 we are with you4 ,we'll cut it out40 ,then he said1 8,i've cut something else out4 ,no more swearing40 ,eighty-five times out of every hundred that the boys in ,france use a swear-word they mean no more than ,i do when ,i say1 8,great ,scott40 8,do you1 boys80 ,i ask them4 8,no1 sir10 they invariably reply4 8,well1 then1 why do you use these swear-words80 ,and then ,i've got them and1 out of their own mouths1 they are condemned4 ,i tell them it is bad form1 and ,i say1 8,cut it out40 ,these boys made a solemn compact that night that the first man who swore should clean all nine guns1 and before the week was out my champion was cleaning nine guns4 ,but those eight boys didn't go back on him4 ,they were sporty4 ,i have seen a little bird's nest all broken with the wind and torn with the storm1 and two or three little eggs1 with a few wet leaves over them1 addled and cold and forsaken1 and my little gipsy heart cried over those poor little motherless things1 for ,i was motherless too4 ,and up in a tree ,i have heard a thrush singing the song of a seraph and ,i have said1 as ,i looked at the eggs1 8,you would have been singers too1 but you were forsaken40 ,these boys--they did not forsake their chum4 ,they said1 8,buck up1 old boy4 ,we'll help you40 8,no10 he said4 8,this is my job40 ,so they stood by him and cheered him on4 ,people1 ,i say again1 don't die of overmuch love1 but for the want of a bit of it4 ,these boys stood by my champion swearer1 and when he was putting the polishing touches on the last gun he stood up1 his face radiant1 like a man that has fought a battle and won3 8,boys1 this is the last gun ,i shall clean for anybody under these conditions1 because1 ,god helping me1 ,i'm going to see this thing through40 ,and he is seeing it through4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was at a home for limbless men the other day--there are over one hundred and eighty of them in that home4 ,i held my hand out to shake hands with the first two men ,i met1 and they laughed at me4 ,i looked down for their hands--they hadn't got one between them6 ,i took the face of one of those dear boys and ,i patted it4 ,i wanted to kiss it with gratitude4 ,i wonder how you feel6 ,i walked round amongst those boys--one hundred and eighty limbless6 ,i found one boy without legs and without an arm4 ,he was just a trunk1 and his comrades1 those who could1 were carrying him around4 ,he was the sunshine in the whole place--not a grouse4 ,they are doing no grousing--your boys there4 ,when they see you they just say1 8,cheerio40 ,a friend of mine1 a minister1 went to see one of these boys1 and he was wondering what he could say to him2 he thought he had got to cheer him up4 ,the boy looked at the padre and said1 8,guv'nor1 don't get down-hearted4 ,i am going to make money out of this job4 ,why1 ,i shall only want a pair of trousers with one leg1 and ,i shall only want a coat with one sleeve1 and ,i shall only want a pair of boots with one boot40 ,it reminds me of the question ,i once asked3 8,sonny1 what struck you most when you got in the trenches80 and the reply came sharp1 8,a bit of shrapnel40 ,another of your boys1 just picked up in the trenches by those tender fellows1 the stretcher-bearers1 those men with the hands of a woman and with the heart of a mother--,god bless them6--called out as they came to him1 8,home1 ,john40 ,and when he was passing the officer and they were carrying him into the ,red ,cross train1 he cried1 8,season40 ,he had two gold stripes already4 ,that's the spirit of your boys4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was a dear old ,scotchman from ,aberdeen4 ,a telegram had come to that granite city to say that his boy was badly wounded1 and he ran all the way to the station and jumped into a train without stopping to put on a collar4 ,you don't think of collars when your boys are dying4 ,i saw him when he landed4 ,it was my job to help him4 ,the dear old fellow was just in time to see his boy die--and afterwards he came and laid his head on my shoulder and he sobbed4 ,and ,i wept too4 ,he was seventy4 ,presently he said1 8,it will be hard to go home and tell mother that her only boy has gone1 but ,i've got a message for her4 #8,father1' my boy said1 #8tell mother ,i am not afraid to die4 ,i have found ,jesus4 ,tell mother that4'0 ,there are some people who think you are not doing ,christian work unless you have a hymn-book in one hand and a ,bible in the other and are singing1 8,come to ,jesus40 ,i am glad ,i haven't to live with that kind of people4 ,i call them the ,lord's ,awkward ,squad4 ,if you take 8firstly10 8secondly10 8thirdly10 out to the front with you1 by the time you get to thirdly the boys will be in the trenches4 ,i never take an old sermon out with me to ,france4 ,i write my prescription after ,i've seen my patients4 ,i was talking to a thousand boys one day4 8,boys10 ,i said1 8how many of you have written to your mother this week80 ,now1 that's a proper question4 ,i wonder what would happen if the preacher stopped in his sermon next ,sunday morning and said1 8,have you paid your debts this week80 8,in what sort of a temper did you come down to breakfast this morning80 ,if a man's religion does not get into every detail of his life he may profess to be a saint1 but he's a fraud4 ,religion ought to permeate life and make it beautiful--as lovely as a breath of perfume from the garden of the ,lord4 ,the boys have given me the privilege of talking straight to them4 8,if you don't write1 you know what you'll get10 ,i said1 and ,i began to give out the note-paper4 ,i can give boys writing-paper and envelopes and sell them a cup of coffee or a packet of cigarettes with as much religion as ,i can stand in a pulpit and talk about them4 ,why1 my ,master washed people's feet and cooked a breakfast for hungry fishermen4 ,he kindled the fire with the hands that were nailed to a tree for humanity4 ,there are no secular things if you are in the spirit of the ,master--they are all ,divine4 ,i went on dealing the note-paper out1 and presently a clergyman came to me and said1 8,gipsy ,smith1 a man in my room wants to see you40 ,when ,i got there1 ,i saw he was crying1 sobbing4 8,i am not a kid10 he said2 8,i am a man4 ,i'm forty-one4 ,you told me to write to my mother4 ,read that10 he said1 throwing down a letter2 and this is what ,i read3 8,my dear ,mother1 8,it's seven years since ,i wrote you last4 ,i've done my best to break your heart and to turn your hair grey4 ,i've lived a bad life1 but it's come to an end4 ,i have given my heart to ,god4 ,i won't ask you to believe me1 or to forgive me4 ,i deserve neither4 ,but ,i ask for a bit of time that ,i may prove my sincerity4 8,your boy still1 8,jack40 8,shall ,i put a bit at the bottom for a postscript80 ,i asked4 8,but first of all1 let us pray40 ,we got on our knees1 and ,i said1 8,you begin40 8,i'm not used to it10 he replied4 8,begin2 never mind how4 ,did you ever pray80 8,yes10 he said2 8,i prayed as a child40 8,start with that1 then--,he loves cradle faith40 ,it took him some time1 but presently he began with his mother's prayer1 8,jesus1 tender ,shepherd1 hear me40 ,when he got to the third line there was a big lump in his throat and one in mine1 and then he gave me a dig with his elbow and said1 8,you'll have to finish0--and ,i finished4 ,i put my postscript to that letter4 8,god has saved him10 ,i wrote4 8,believe him4 ,write and tell him you forgive him40 ,and when that mother got that she knew that giving out note-paper was religion4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was in a cemetery just behind the lines1 walking among the graves of our dear lads who have fallen1 and weeping for those at home who weep over graves that they will never see4 ,there ,i found an old soldier who had been to the woods and had cut a big bundle of box trimmings4 ,he was setting a little border of box round the graves4 8,but10 ,i said to him1 8they won't strike4 ,it's not the right time of year--and the ground's too dry40 8,i know1 sir10 he said1 8but it will look as if somebody cares40 ,god's jewels lie deep1 and if you will dig deep enough you will find them--so ,i took the trouble to dig a little deeper4 ,i said1 8,nobody will see them here40 8,yes1 sir1 the angels will4 ,you taught me to think like this in one of the meetings in the huts1 and since ,i can't do any more in the fight0--for he was disabled--8,i am putting in my time caring for the boys' graves1 and if the wives and mothers don't see them--well0--and his face lit up with a radiance that ,i can't put into words--8the angels will1 sir40 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have had your boys say to me1 8,gipsy1 does it mean ,blighty1 or does it mean ,west80 ,i have had to say to some of them1 8,it doesn't mean ,blighty40 ,a sister took me to see one dear fellow4 ,he was blown up by a mine1 both his legs and his arm were broken4 8,i was lying out there1 after the mine blew up1 for twenty-four hours1 and ,i was half buried10 he told me4 ,fancy lying out there in ,no ,man's ,land for twenty-four hours with both legs broken and an arm6 ,i said1 8,sonny1 you have had a rough time40 ,and this was his reply3 8,they copped me1 worse luck1 before ,i had a pot at them40 ,you can't beat these boys of yours1 the nation's boys1 the best boys of our homes1 the flower of our manhood1 the noblest and the dearest that ,god ever gave to a people4 ,these boys1 they are worth everything in the world1 and there is nothing you and ,i can do will ever repay them for what they are doing for you and for me4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when the great end of the day comes1 the greatest joy of all will be the joy of knowing you have tried to make somebody else's life happy4 ,it is the flowers that you have made grow in unlikely places that will tell--not how much money you have made1 not how big a house you have lived in1 not how popular you were in the world of letters1 of science1 of finance1 but--how many burdens have you lifted8 ,how many dark hearts have you lightened8 ,you can't do too much for your boys4 ,remember what they are doing for you4 ,remember the lives that are being laid down for you4 ,i shook hands with a boy a little while ago in ,scarborough1 and he said1 8,i believe ,i hold the record for having lost most in the war4 ,i have lost five brothers1 my sister was killed in the war1 and my mother died of a broken heart through grief1 but10 he said1 8,i'll give my next week's pay1 sir1 towards this new hut40 ,another boy1 when ,i was making my appeal1 said1 8,i've been wounded and ,i am discharged4 ,i'll give my next week's pay10 and up jumped a war-widow and she said1 8,i'll give my next week's pension40 ,i was talking in ,doncaster1 and ,i had a batch of wounded men from one of the local hospitals--a batch of twenty dressed in blue--and every one of them gave something2 and when ,i looked round and said1 8,boys1 why are you giving80 one said1 8,well1 sir1 we're grateful for what it did for us when we were there40 ,people say1 8,what are you going to do with the huts after the war80 ,we want to pick them up1 and bring them back to this country and put one down in every parish in the land1 so that when the boys do come back they will still have the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 hut to go into1 so that they can still keep up the spirit of unity4 ,woe be to the man who goes into the hut and tries to preach sectarianism4 ,the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 is creating a spirit of unity amongst the boys1 and that is going on all the time4 ,i want the limitations to vanish at home4 ,i want the ecclesiastical barriers to go4 ,when you get to ,heaven the ,lord will have to give ,gabriel a job to introduce many ,christians to one another4 ,you should see your boys1 how they mix up4 ,they come in--the ,roman ,catholics1 the ,church of ,england1 and the ,nonconformists and ,plymouth ,brethren and ,salvation ,army1 and all sorts--you don't know who's who4 ,we are not quarrelling over religions at the front--we are fighting and dying for the folks who are doing that at home4 ,let's stop our religious nonsense4 ,religion's too big to be confined within our four little walls4 ,if our ,church rules are so rigid that they won't let us come together1 then our ,church rules are wrong4 ,god never made rules which divide men--all ,god's laws unite4 ,christ died that we might be one1 and it is time we got together4 ,your boys are bigger than your ,churches4 ,you and ,i have got to rise to the opportunity4 ,god help us to do it6 99 99 99 99 99 ,somebody asks1 8,why does the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 always want more new huts8 ,why not move the old ones80 ,what will the boys do who take the places of those who have gone forward8 ,when the line goes forward1 it does not come back--not in these days2 it abides--and the boys who come up as a support1 they take the huts the other boys leave4 ,the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 stands for everything to your boys4 ,it is their club1 their church1 their recreation-room4 ,it is their canteen--dry canteen1 you may be sure--it is their reading-room1 it is their smoking-room1 and why should not the ,church of ,jesus ,christ provide places of recreation for its own people8 ,why should it leave the public-house and the theatre to do it all8 ,we have lost lots of people because we have been so slow--we have lost them1 you and ,i1 but we are learning sense in these days1 and the ,y4,m4,c4,a4 has come to the help of the ,churches1 to be the communication-trench between the ,churches and the people4 ,it is doing magnificent work4 ,as ,i write these lines ,i think of one dear boy1 a young sergeant1 a ,public-,school boy4 ,i had watched him grow up4 ,i knew his home1 and as he leaned against me he said1 8,gipsy1 ,i'm homesick2 ,i want my mother10 and then1 with a sob1 he said1 8,tell me more about ,jesus40 ,i was able to talk to him about his mother because ,i had lost mine1 and just because ,i love ,jesus ,i was able to talk to him about the blessed ,jesus ,who comes into a man's heart when he is sad1 lonely1 and homesick1 and helps him4 ,he was lying on a stretcher1 and it was my privilege to hold his hand and to kiss him for his mother4 8,gipsy10 he said1 8does it mean ,west80 ,i said1 8,sonny1 it means ,west40 ,as ,i held his hand it flickered for a moment and he said1 8,i am not afraid to go4 ,i know ,christ4 ,i found ,him in your meetings1 and--it's great to die1 for freedom40 ,and it was a great thing for me to be with your boy then4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i thank my ,god upon every remembrance of your boys4 ,,the ,,end