25th July 1919                                                                       D.B.Bearman

                                                                               Friends War Victims Relief Cttee.

                                                                                                 A.P.O. 

                                                                                                    S.5.

                                                                                           B.E.F.      France

 

Dear Père,                                                I will am sending on Div warrant next time, for I have 

                                                                   Not get it here at office.  Don

 

I have received no letter from you – or anyone except Charles Owen – since you sent those three separate letters re Orion Gym.? Even then you gave me no idea which of my letters or cards you have received. I wrote two letters to Mère – Wednesday week & last Sunday – the latter including two cards. Before that I had sent you two packets of six cards each; and I have sent two cards recently to all the others. I know you would not have a great multitude of incidents to relate: but I do like to know whether you have received my scribbles & how long they take etc. I am writing this from the office now so am hurrying.

Since last Sunday little activities have come my way. But I have had to make one great change. Viz – to move out of the Hotel Brittanique to a private place run by the Mission right down south in the Rue de Sèvres (Sèvres) No. 85 – practically opposite the well-known Bon Marché (one of the first department stores in the world - built in 1838) & quite near my French friend’s home. It is a wonderful old Spanish building stretching round a great paved court yard about 70 yrds deep by 100 ft wide. The Mission run one floor in the further right hand corner of the court – sufficient accomodation for about 9 men. The large but rather low rooms are simply muffled? in tapestries & carpets. There is a grand piano in the Drawing Room. The bed room I share has three large casement windows (open day and night) overlooking a large extent of gardens in which the trees - acacia & ash & plane. etc. are so tall and thick that it is like looking out into a forest. The garden immediately belonging to our house is the privilege of a girls seminary which occupies most of our buildings. Next door on the left looking out of window is a Convent garden in which Nuns often walk & figure march, & somewhere beyond is I think an R.C. Chapel with tinkling bells which ring to Mass every hour from 5 am. But on the whole it is wonderfully quiet here after Av. Victoria with its rowdy trams & market carts in the earliest morning.

I received the slippers thanks, which are very comfortable, though really too large for active use. But that does not matter at all here. The bags also will be fine: especially the dirty clothes bag. Charles had a very bad passage.

Of a night round the corner from the office is the Boulangerie (Bakers) in the cellar of which one can see the baker at work quite stripped, with just a towel wound round his waist.

You won’t forget to show my letters home to Mr J. & others as I cannot repeat myself ad lib. – n’est ce pas?

Those old circular towers in the Palais de Justice are the old conciergerie it seems.

                             Love to all,                                                                                                                                  

                             Don                                                                P.T.O.

 

Don’t forget to send me a few more of those (B.B’s) I asked for, for my handkerchiefs or other things. Especially as I shall have to buy some more cotton shirts.

                             Don

Please acknowledge arrival ? of Warrant