Evening star., 1896-07-30
A WAR TINE EXPERIENCE.
Recalled Mt an Accidental Meeting
of Americans in London.

Recalled mt an Accidental Meeting
Of Americans in London.
From the London Telegraph.
Never since steamers commenced to cross
the Atlantic has London been so crowded
with Americans as this summer. They are to
be met with everywhere. The great hotels
are full Of them, and al Conversations and
reunions their presence is unmistakable-
and agreeably SO, for the visitors are as
unlike the old caricatures of Uncle Jona-
than as Hyperion to a Satyr. Formerly
Americans, as rule, made Paris their
headquarters, and merely visited London.
Today the French capital is almost deserted
by them, and if they go to IT at all. it is
merely for day or two. The preference
for the English metropolis is natural for
mere they are not only almost at home but
have infinitely more chances of meeting
each other and renewing old acquaintance
ship.
A touching instance of this occurred YES
day In one of the great hotels in North
unperland avenue. A party of Americans
VINO mad arrived on the previous day. most
OF them strangers to each other were Sit
tlnS at luncheon, and one of them was with
an English friend who had called to see
him The conversation between the two
naturally drifted back to the war time.
and the American, who had been a federal
described some Of his adventures and how
at one place the opposing soldiers used to
work so near each other in the trenches
tnat tney were able to engage in conversa-
tlon and surreptitiously exchange tobacco
and tea-the northerners having plenty of
the latter and none OF the former, while
the SouthernerS were in exactly the opno-
site condition.
But. he continued, the most curious
"swop' ever he made was a small packet
of quinine for a pound of tobacco. to which
the confederate added a curiously carved
wooden pine That nine ba bod
since, because ne regarded ii and the to-
bacco as having saved his life: for some
how or other. his superior officer had come
to know that he Possessed q uuantity af
1.-The weed and ordered him to rcnort bi,,
SELF concerning it. Before he could regain
MS post skirmish occurred, and the man
who was In his very place was killed
AZ tnis point a tell. sunburnt American,
with white hair and beard. who had been
listening to the other with considerable
emotion, interrupted with, Excuse me
though L am stranger to YOU bur didn' +
That southerner tell you that the ouinin,.
with fever?" YES" said the other And
didn't the northerner say that his little
girl was i'll Of fever, too. but he would
snare her medicine with the other little
one, even without the tobacco?"
Why, yes," cried the original narrator
II believe he did, and that was me-" And
l was the southerner," cried the other.
and here is my daughter, whose life YOU
SPSu " saw anu mere one OF my grand
children with her." The Englishman who
was present. and who sends us the account
OF the meeting, says that there was then
such a scene of hand-shaking, introduc-
uons and congratulations as must have
made people at the other tables think the
company must have been visitors from
Bedlam. The northerner had also a daugh-
ter with Kim, who is a widow, and the en-
brace of the two women who had never
seen each other before. but whose early
lives had SO closely touched was neon.
harly affecting. And to think we should
meet each other SO far from home, and in
England, too," exclaimed one. God bless
England for 1t, say l." replied the other