The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-07
TALES OF THE DAY.
A War Time Experience.

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 at con-
versaziones and reunions their presence is
unmistakable-and agreeably so, for the
visitors are as unlike the old caricatureS
of Uncle Jonathan as Hyperion TO
Satyr. Formerly Americans, as a rule.
made Paris their headquarters, and mere
ly 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 here they are
not only almost at home, but have in
finitely more chances of meeting each
other and renewing old acquaintanceshlo
A touching instance of this occurred yes
terday in one of the great hotels in North
cumberland avenue. party of Anerl-
cans who had arrived on the previous day,
most of them strangers to each other,
were sitting at luncheon, and one of them
was with an English friend who had
called to see him. The conversation be-
tween the two naturally drifted back to
the war time, and the American, who had
been a federal, described some of his adj
ventures. and how at one place the op-
posing soldiers used to work so near each
other in the trenches that they were q
to engage in conversation and surreptiti-
ously exchange tobacco and
northerners having plenty of the latter
and none of the former, while the south
ton.
But, he continued. the most curious
"swop'' ever he made was a small
packet of quinine for pound of tobacco,
to which the confederate added a curl
ously carved wooden pipe. That pipe he
had kept ever since, because he regarded
it and the tobacco as having saved his
life; for, somehow or other, his superior
officer had come to know that he possess
ed a quantity of 1.-The weed and ordered
him to report himself concerning it. Be
fore he could regain his post d skirmish
occurred and the man who was in his
place was killed.
At this point tall, sunburnt American,
with white hair and beard, who had been
listening to the other with considerable
emotion, interrupted with Excuse me
that southerner tell you that the quinine
was for his little daughter, who was down
with fever?" Yes said the other. And
didn't the northerner say that his little
share her medicine with the other little
one. even without the tobacco?"
why. yes" cried the original mar
rator, Il believe he did, and that was me-
And 1 was the southerner," cried the
other; land here is my daughter, whose
life you helped to save, and here's one
of my grandchildren with her. The
Englishman who was present, and who
sends us the account of the meeting, says
there was then such a. scene of hand
shaking, introductions and congratulate
tons as must have made people at the
other tables think the company must
have been visitors from Bedlam The
northerner had also a daughter with him,
who is a widow, and the embrace of the
two women who had never seen each
other before, but whose early lives had so
closely touched. was peculiarly affecting
"And to think we should meet each other
so far from home. and in England, too
exclaimed one. God bless England for it,
say t. replied the other.-Lonkn Tele,
graph.