The Washington herald., 1914-10-11
TRAVEL CHEAPER
Than BEFORE war
British Artist Goes for Week S
Journey and Does Not
Spend Even $40.
COULD SAY "ANGLAIS"
French Would Allow Him to Pay for
Very Little and He Had
Capital Time.

London. Oct. io.-Ret1rned travellers
from the Continent say that travelling
there is cheaper than before the war.
One artist who has just come back from
France. told how he started out with so
and returned home with as after SPEND
ing a week In the war zone. He said;
Eight days ago I found myself In
Boulogne. tried TO get through to Paris.
but il was impossible, so made up my
mind for Ostend. Grim tales Of Uhlan pa
trols were told me. Railway fares out OF
the question. I had not then thought Of
the possibility Of free rides, 80 l set
out to walk
"A days tramp saw me at Calais. There
times I was stopped by French soldiers
The only French word knew was An
giais." but that was enough. "Angisis,"
] said, and waved my much-thumbed
passport with all the assurance Of a tour
list with a Baedel1er. 1t had a magical
effect Smiles. saiutes. and good wishes
replaced the fearsome challenges Of a
moment before.
"AREIais' Got Him Through.
The early success of 'AngIais' brought
inspiration at Calais. II was the same
there. Gendarmes, stationmaster. ticket
collector, and booking clerk bowed and
smiled at the magic word. No one
dreamed Of my paying for ticket to
DunlIirk.
In two days after leaving Boulogne,
with dread tales ringing in my ears Of
what would happen to me on the way,
had arrived at Ostend without having
paid cents in fares and only few
cents for food
In this roundabout route to Ostend I
encountered many little kindnesses, but
the limit was reached when q porter Of
fered me franc. 1t was probably all
the money he possessed, but he thought
by my gestures that ! was broke"
Saw No German Soldiers.
But, although have spent seven days
in France and Belgium at the cost apart
from the boat passage) Of IS shillings. I
have come back with an uncomfortable
feeling that I have hardly had my
moneys worth. Not one German have ]
seen.
In the seven days, however. have
seen sights and heard tales thrilling and
glorious that the years will never eface
I shall never forget, for instance, how
one morning in Boulogne saw coming
toward me little group Of seven men,
clothed in rags, faces smeared with dust
and CRIME, rusty-red blotches showing
duly here and there, grim reminders Of
such things as whistling bullets and fly
ing fragments Of shell. One of them
asked me to direct them to the British
consul When replied to them in words
that still have lingering trace of Md
land accent, they. were almost overcome
with joy.
They were British soldiers. They had
been at the great battle of Mons, and
the nine days OF walking and hair
breadth escapes that had followed their
having been cut OF from their regiment
had left their mark.
Had Terrible Time.
They had had a terrible time. They
had been, they said, in the trenches at
Mons. The German artillery had got the
range almost immediately. The blessed
shells" said one. were screaming like
well, like nothing you ever heard before.
All We could do was to keep on firing.
Our officer stood up in the trenches and
clapped his hands like as if he was clap
ping a star turn at the Empire. Good
boys he yelled. Good boys, stick to it,
That was all he said. The next moment
a piece of shell had crumpled him up. The
next in command ordered US to retreat,
and we pelted back
"On the way We passed a deserted
Maxim. There was a Lancashire chap
there who knew how to work it. so
long, boys he shouted, and made a dive
for the gun. A few moments later I
looked back. There he was pumpin' lead
into the mass Of EN-, laughin' for all he
was worth and yellin' out: Look at 'em
droppin', boys; look at 'em droppin','
That was the last I saw Of him"