From The Spectator, 17 September 1914:
THE long periods of darkness and absence of all direct news which add to the gloom of this war are illuminated by the flashlights of soldiers’ letters. Letters of the deepest interest have, as we all know, enthralled public attention; but these are of course picked letters. The letters and postcards which come from the mass of soldiers tell nothing of general interest, nothing which could enable any one to picture any corner of the great war, or to share any of the emotions which must possess the souls of those firing and under fire. No hint of patriotic purpose finds expression in them; battle, murder, and sudden death are hardly alluded to, much less described, by the men in their midst; and the golden illusion of glory is not so much as named.
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