Page:This side the trenches, with the American Red cross (IA thissidetrenches00desc).pdf/44

 began to feel that at last she had found friends in America and when, after a time, one of her visitors suggested that she study English she readily accepted the suggestion. She began, also, to make excursions about the city in order that she might select a house in a more congenial neighborhood, which her husband's increased salary now made possible. Through the Red Cross the boys learned about the changes that had taken place at home. They began writing to their parents. When they return from the war they will find a family ready to give them the environment they desire.

People welcome the opportunities which the Red Cross offers them to become acquainted with American ways of life. "So many things I want to learn; maybe she teach me more than writing," said one woman for whom a Home Service worker had obtained an instructor in English.

Families of soldiers and sailors need the strengthening influences of the Red Cross in still other ways, for all the men in the service will not have progressed because of their war experiences; some households will have to prepare against a deterioration in the quality of the men who return to them.

The separation, long in time and in distance which the trip to France involves, is a severe strain upon family ties. In the Civil War the soldiers were seldom more than a few days' journey from home. They could usually visit their families during comparatively brief furloughs. This, also, is true of the French and the English soldiers. The Americans, however, will probably be abroad for the duration of the war. Unless the bonds