List of Illustrations (etext transcriber's note) |
THE PRISONERS OF MAINZ
THE PRISONERS OF
MAINZ
BY
ALEC WAUGH
AUTHOR OF
“THE LOOM OF YOUTH,” “RESENTMENT POEMS,” ETC.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
CAPTAIN R. T. ROUSSEL
(P.O.W. MAINZ)
LONDON
CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ltd.
1919
Printed in Great Britain by
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,
BRUNSWICK ST., STAMFORD ST., S.E. I,
AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
A BALLADE OF DEDICATION
TO MY FELLOW-GEFANGENER
A. H. CHANDLER
Fast locked within the citadel,
We’ve watched the hours of eight months fare
Slowly towards the evening bell,
And its cracked summons “clear the square.”
We’ve watched the stately barges bear
Seawards their teeming casks of wine,
As we sat in the alcove there,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
We’ve watched the hours of eight months fare
Slowly towards the evening bell,
And its cracked summons “clear the square.”
We’ve watched the stately barges bear
Seawards their teeming casks of wine,
As we sat in the alcove there,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
Ausgabe queues, we knew them well;
Those thin lines straggling out like hair,
Receding from an open cell,
And finishing, the Lord knows where;
And we have felt barbed wire tear
Our breeches’ loose and draggled twine;
But we’ve known hours less foul than fair,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
Those thin lines straggling out like hair,
Receding from an open cell,
And finishing, the Lord knows where;
And we have felt barbed wire tear
Our breeches’ loose and draggled twine;
But we’ve known hours less foul than fair,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
We could forget the sauerkraut smell,
Forget our weariness and share
The phantasies that flocked pell mell
About our unreal world; and there
Across the thick, smoke-laden air
Our loom of dreams was woven fine;
We tracked illusion to its lair,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
...
Forget our weariness and share
The phantasies that flocked pell mell
About our unreal world; and there
Across the thick, smoke-laden air
Our loom of dreams was woven fine;
We tracked illusion to its lair,
Sipping the vintage of the Rhine.
...