The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-10-23
scorrespondence of AsAoeiated Press

London, Oct 2S-Not since the electric light supplanted gas has Lon dan been So sombre at night as at present, when the German Zeppelin fleet Is not an unlikely visitor. The illuminated signs of Piccadil1y Circus, the lamp-studded cafe-fronts of Lsei- oester Square have been extinguished. No more light is allowed thanlis nec- essary to traffic. Along the main ways of London. Threadneedle and Fleet streets. the Strand, Regent and Ox- ford streets. comprising the principal financial and shop district, only every third street arc lamp is in use. and the upper halves of these are masked with black paint so as to throw down zone Of light on the roadway. It is on these lines that the Bank of England, St PauIs Cathedral, Trafal- gar monument. the National gallery and the British museum lie The su- bnrbs, where the restrictions are cas- fer, are now the brightest part of Lon- don.
 den's gayety in other respects The pubs or saloons must shut doors at eleven at night, instead of 12:30 as formerly. The liquor regulation has also practically ended the theatre supper business Of the hoels. The res- taurant habit has declined in general. There arss still g theatres running, whose business depends not on the state of the weather. but on how the war news goes Good news means good business, while bad reverse to the Allies leaves stalls and galleries empty.
 The people are not nervous and trust to the search lights which play over London at night to save them from the zeppelins.
 A rogue with sense of humor has played a double trick on 2 military o1Ecer and on the landlord Of a work 1ngmenss hotel at Shefne1d. which has made both men the laughing stock of Yorkshire
 The officer in command at tho SEef- Held barracks received one day re- gently an invitation by telephone to billet 8O0rrecrults at a new working n1en's hostel owned by $ prominent citizen The officer was, Of course, accepted. The manager of the hostel was then called up by the same voice and ordered to prepare quarters as we'll as supper for 800 recruits under His Ma3esty transport oface1. Rid 1ey The men arrived and so did the mysterious ssTransp ort Officer Rid-s 1ey.ss who thereupon chose one recruit to shave him, another to clean his boots. while a third was placed as seu- try at the door with orders to keep absolute quiet in the hall while the Commander slept Rdd1ey's ext or der was to post this notice:
 Thls f8 military institution, and the men are under the authority Of Mr. Ridley. transport officer. If he calls upon any man to perform any ac- ton he is bound to do sos else he will be guilty Of crime against military law for which he will be punished by the military authorities"
 Transport Ofncer Ridley remained several days in unquestioned com mand when he became nL AS hs- rsfuagd to have . doctof5 fhe manager of the hostel te1egraphed to the bar racks A real officer appeared. and 10 enlighten him, Ridley produced a note purporting to. bear a captafn's 8 signature. The officer left. for fur ther investigation. whereupon Ridley left the hotel and disappeared.
 English and Russian civilians caught in the German and Austrian health resorts at the outbreak of the war are now aIlen ed to return to their own countries exeepting able-bodied men of military age. Few restr1c- lions are placed on alien enemies re- rnadn1ng t11eres who are allowed to travel short distances and to remain outdoors until g sos cock at night, which is the curfeW hour.
 These are the conditions reported by a member of the American Woun- ems Relief committee of London, who has just taken over party of Ger man girls from England, returning
 
 Austria She also says that food seems plentiful in the places visited and life quite normal. The opera season is on in Franl<fort.
 Isondon< October 2s.-W-hile dra- anatic story of the escape of Dunbar IT winner of this years Derby from Ger man hands has already been circu- lated by the press, it's circumstances do not at all agree with those voucheo 9,k4s I3A trainer Of H F.. Duryea's stable a, Chanti1ly, near Paris. Instead of Dur bar being spared because he wore an American flag with the words Shoot Ade1 Not' across his breast, the train er who fs now in Lond0n, says the Germans never sasv Durbaf, nor did they see his companion, shannon, a1c the two American co1ored men iT charge The reason of their escape he explains, was that during the Ger man raid the two horses were hfdder in a shed on a peasants farm while the two negroes lay in a protectint haystack.
 For ten days and ten nights the negroes lay in fear of the Germans By a mistake in the road. they hat 5eds the animals into territory occupied by the invaders. There they obtained the protection of the peasant, who tole flae host1ers that if captured by ths G Germans they would be mistaken fol 
 been distfn gufshing themselves witt the bayonet work. Hence the pail would be tried by a drumhead cour and shot dead. The peasant promised to look after the horses and to brinf food to the hfders- During the ter days UhIanss rode by fredu entity bu tfev did not discover the racers ol their guardians
 when news first came to Paris tf1a. f11a Germans were sweeping south SMr Durvea. as an American citizen cbtafned permission from the Frenc1 eovernment to send his stock to hi