Praise be, a Red Newman story from 67 years ago and from a man who was there, William Green of Cambridge, Ont., who relates:
Between the battles of Vimy Ridge and Hill 70, we were out on rest in a town named Barlin where the Dumbells were playing to their usual full houses. When I saw the show, I happened to be sitting next to Canon Scott, the beloved padre of the 1st Div.
Newman, one of the Dumbells troupe, spotted the padre in the audience and immediately told a story. A dying soldier in hospital asked Padre Scott to pray for him. The padre knelt beside the bed and said a long prayer. The soldier asked for another, then another. Canon Scott was finally constrained to ask why the soldier wanted so many prayers. The soldier replied: “Well, padre, your breath smells so much like heaven I want to take some with me when I go.”
Canon Scott slapped me on the knee and laughed as loudly as anyone in the crowd.
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