Chapter VI: One Young Man Receives a Letter

George's stepfather wrote to Sydney Baxter as soon as he received the heartbroken letter telling of his chum's death. To this letter from the father I devote a chapter. It must stand alone. In all the glorious annals of the war it is, to me at least, unique. Nothing that I can write can add to its pathos or increase its heroism or enhance its beauty. I leave it to speak for itself--this letter which will live, I believe, as the most beautiful expression of a stepfather's love and devotion in our language.

"MY DEAR LADDIE,

"Our hearts are breaking for you, and our thoughts and
prayers are much taken up on your behalf. All along we have
united you and George in our petitions, and all that was
sent addressed to George was meant for Syd and George. We
never thought of you separately at all, but just as sure as
you shared all in common, so our thoughts were for you
both.

"George's call home was undreamt of by me. It was dreaded by
his mother, but I hardly think the possibility of such a
thing had entered into the minds of his sisters or brothers.
I cannot explain it, but I never expected him to give his
life out there. I knew many were praying for you both, and
must have rested my mind completely on the expectation of
our prayers being answered in the way we wanted. It was not
to be. And at the first look one feels rebellious in that
God permitted his death to take place. But who am I, and of
what account am I, in the scheme of things? Can I understand
the infinite thought of God? Can I see the end, as He can? I
can only bow my head, with a heart full of sadness, and
accept the ruling of my God; and hope for a reunion with our
dear lad when my call shall come. It was something for me, a
stepfather, to have had the fathering of such a dear lad. It
is a heart-break to me that that is ended, and never more in
reality (though I expect often in mind) shall I hear his
voice or feel his kiss, or see the dear lad, as he used in
these later years to do, standing in front of the fireplace
talking down at me on the chair or listening to me talking
up at him on Saturday nights. You can picture him, I have no
doubt. Now all is over, his place in the home is empty--but
in the heart that can never be. His Mum (as he always called
his mother) is heart-broken, but very brave. The dear woman
is worthy to have had such a son, and that is praise indeed.
If she was prouder of one of the children or made any
distinction between them, George held that place, and though
I think we were all conscious of it, none of us grudged it
him. And that is the greatest tribute that could be paid to
him--when you think it out. We are all jealous of Mother's
love. We all want it, and if one is first he must be good
indeed if it is not a cause of trouble. And that it never
was in his case.

"Now, my dear lad, I have a proposal to make to you. We
received some money to send things out to the lads at the
front, and there is some left. Besides, George sent some
home, so that he might get what he wanted sent him without
asking if I could afford it, I suppose. Well, I am to send
you some little thing every now and then; you are to get
another friend and share with him, and you are to make every
endeavour short of cowardice (of which you are not capable)
to save your life, valuable to all who have the privilege of
knowing you, doubly valuable to your mother, and precious to
your many friends. We feel we have a personal claim on you,
and I am writing you just as I would were you indeed my boy,
and we entreat you to bear up, to do your duty, to be a
brave and true and Christian lad, and to come back safe to
us all. Oh, what a happy day it will be when we welcome you
back home!

"We shall always think of you as partly ours; and for what
you were to and did for George we will ever bless you. Dear
lad, get another friend to lean upon and be leant upon. It
is a glorious thing--friendship. You risked your life to try
and save George's. God bless you for it. I think He will. If
you could read our hearts, you would feel afraid. I cannot
write as I would like. It is in my heart, in my brain, but
the pen won't put in on the paper. It couldn't. But it is
there, a deep love for you, a great admiration for your
bravery, and an earnest prayer that you may be preserved to
live a happy and useful life for many years to come.

"Mummie wishes me to say how her heart goes out to you, and
how she feels for you in your loneliness. Be assured of a
place in a good woman's prayers, and be assured also that
all of us continue constantly in prayer for you. We did not
know how constantly and continually we could petition the
Great Father till you lads went away. We will not cease
because one needs them no more. Rather we will be more
constant, and perhaps that may be one of the results of this
war. Think what a power the prayers of a whole world would
have with God! If only they were for the one thing--that His
Kingdom would come, it would be accomplished at once! May
the knowledge of His all-pervading love dwell more and more
in the hearts of the people of the world, so that wars and
all kindred evils may cease and the hearts of the people be
taken up with the one task of living for God and His
Kingdom.

"May God be ever present with you, watching over and
blessing you, and may He come into your heart more and more,
helping and sustaining you in your hard task, and blessing
you in all your endeavours to be His true son and servant.

"Your loving friend,
G---- B----.

"P.S.--We have not, up to the time of writing this, received
an official notification of our poor laddie's death. I felt
I must write you, however. You will perhaps be able to read
into my letter what I have been unable to say, but all my
thoughts for you are summed up in 'God bless you.' Thank all
the dear lads for their kind sympathy with us."

One Young Man in the Salient