Page:The Bohemian Review, vol2, 1918.djvu/194

 of the Hussite wars, and the exploits of Žižka and his followers.

My first impression of the spirit of these modern Hussites has been intensified by my close association with them during the last two months. Their esprit-de-corps and fighting spirit would be remarkable in a freshly-recruited volunteer army, and when one hears of the experiences that they have all been through first in the Austrian army, then as prisoners of war in Russia, and of late as volunteers in the Russian army, one wonders that they have come through it all alive, and is perfectly amazed that after all they have suffered they are ready, yes and eager to make further sacrifices for their country.

It seems as if they cannot or will not be downed. The present political situation in Russia has put upon them an added burden. All around them the Russian army has been going to pieces. A complete breakdown of military discipline has been followed by social and political anarchy. In the midst of the turmoil of events in Russia, in spite of the uncertainties and dangers that surround them, the Czechs have held their army together, completed its organization, maintained its discipline, and are holding themselves ready for further service in the cause of the allies.

All know that they can do nothing more here in Russia. To a man they are anxious to get to another front where they can be of some use. Yet they know that for the present that is impossible and are stoutly making the best of an impossible situation.

For some time past the troops have been situated out in the country not so very far from what was once the active front. The men are billeted in the peasants’ cottages. But the cottages there are nothing like the cottages they are accustomed to in Bohemia. They are small, and dirty and ramshackle, and infested with vermin. The men sleep on the bare floor with their knapsack for a pillow and their overcoat for a covering.

Fortunately the commissary department of the army has laid up a bountiful supply of provisions, so that the men are fairly well fed. Most of them have warm clothing too for the winter season, although quite often one sees soldiers walking through the snow clad only in the light summer uniform of the Russian army. The people in the villages are either very poor Ukrainians of little or no education, or grasping, fawning Jews. The men of the Czechoslovak army are of the intelligent class. They have all had a good schooling, and it is by no means an uncommon thing to find University professors, lawyers, merchants and well-to-do farmers serving in the ranks as privates.

One of the greatest privations of their life, as they stand idle during the long winter months, is the lack of any outlet for their natural social instincts and of any means of satisfying their intellectual and cultural tastes. In many cottages no light whatsoever is afforded them and they have nothing to do but think, and with nothing very pleasant or cheering to think about.

The men have, however, displayed untiring energy and remarkable ingenuity in meeting this situation. Most every regiment now has a theatre of its own where performances are given three times a week. I have attended a good many of these performances, and have always come away with a feeling of wonder at the ingenuity of the men, and also with the sense of having a very good time. Generally the entertainments take the form of “cabarets”, by which is really meant a vaudeville show or stunt night. The regimental band or orchestra plays, the regimental chorus sings, and individual soldiers give an exhibition of their ability along the line of declamations, imitations, comic monologues, and short one-act comedies. Often the men borrow feminine attire from the civilian population and appear as charming young soubrettes. Some of the regiments are more ambitious, and have produced musical comedies and more ambitious plays with great success.

The “theatre” is generally an old barn which the men themselves have fitted out, and on the night of the performances it is always crowded to suffocation. The officers and the civilian population occupy the front seats, for which they pay a good round sum. The local people are wild about these performances, are only too glad to pay any amount charged to see them, for they also have no other form of recreation. The men crowd in the back and stand, wedged in as tight as they can be, throughout the whole performance. Quite often the men realize as much as 1500 rubles from one performance which is devoted to the invalid fund, or the Bohemian Liberty loan. So that in addition to furnish-