CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IN THE WAR
ing to letters, telegrams and messages asking for treatment in Christian Science.
The Brest Depot was one of the last of the Rooms to close as a great number of men passed through the city during the demobilization period.
ST. NAZAIRE
In the first week of July, 1918, a Christian Science War Relief Depot was opened in the city of St. Nazaire, France. It was ideally located on the rue Ville-es-Martin, the main highway for the motor bus lines operating between St. Nazaire and the outlying army camps. The rooms taken for this purpose were on the ground floor and had formerly been used for a buvette or bar room. They were comfortably furnished by the Committee with a piano, writing desks and easy-chairs, and flowers on the tables always added a bright and cheerful touch. Some months after they were opened two sailors entered expecting to find the buvette of former days. Undaunted by the marked change, however, they remained and read for some time.
St. Nazaire is not an old city, as cities go in France, the first Mayor having taken office in 1790. Until that time the village had been nothing more than a coast fishing town. It was admirably situated for a port of commerce, however, standing as it does at the mouth of the Loire River, and when a floating dock was built to meet the difficulties presented by the changing tides, the city became an important port.
It was selected by the American Government as one of the chief debarkation ports for the American troops and the population of the city increased enormously on this account. In normal peace times the
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