Evening star., 1914-12-29
m 1915 LAST BARGAIN SALE S S y; ':*
BRITISH TAKE WAR
IN SILENT CALMNESS
Tidings Of Victory Find No Exuber-
ance in London Streets.
Dingy Flags.
Special Correspondence of TIE Star.

Special CORES Spon'ience OF TIE Star.
LONDON, December 12.-London con-
tinues to take the war calmly, in bright
as in dark days. 1t is not the British
way now to come out into the streets
on days of good news, and perhaps we
shall not see during these times of in
fnitely greater stress any such exuber
ance Of delight as marked the latter
days in the Boer war. The tidings of
the smashing victory in the south At
lantic, which has heartened every one,
make no difference in the look Of the
streets.
Not a single fresh flag was added in
the windows to the rather dingy ones
that have hung there since the begin
ming of the war. Nothing could bring
out more sharply the different temper
in the way of looking at things here
and in Germany
1t IS certain that if the Germans had
Won such an engagement the streets of
Berlin would be glaring with flags and
lnll OF the noise of rejoicing.
No Street Demonstrations.
London goes on taking the war stern
~ and phleSmatically, and it is, after
all, sign that people realize the bur-
den OF enormous issues. There are still
letters in the papers complaining that
soldiers are allowed to go away to the
war without cheer. but the silence
uoes not mean that the Londoner does
not feel thrill as he sees them march
ing away.
Ihere has not been decent-sized
demonstration of any kind since the
war began. Even now the crowd has
not discovered where the Russian and
French embassies are, and the one at
Tempt to show sympathy outside the
aged
The same conditions are seen when
matters come home to the individual
Britisher. He manages his personal af-
Ialfs with the same disregard of en-
thuslasm as in national concerns. Fare
wells at the railway stations are Off
hand matters. Instead of going to the
front, perhaps never to return. officers
and men might merely be starting for
a week end in the country.
Soldiers Well Fed and Healthy.
You may see this sort of thing any
DAY at Victoria station. The two boat
trains at Victoria each day are crowded
with soldiers going back to the front
after a brief run home They come to
the station with their wives, and often
wonderment of departure, hand-in-
hand. You realize how it is SO little
has been seen of the holiday y-making
soldier in the street.-the has spent
every moment of his too brief time
among his people.
There is nothing of the war-worn
warrior about them; they look remark
a bly, well fed and healthy. big artil- |
leryman, asked whether 1t was true
that the soldiers were getting fat at
the front, pointed with grin to the
bursting buttons of his tunic.
Il have come over with our SER
geant's pass he said. He is not a |
family man, and he told me I might as
well go instead of him-good luck to
him! Yes, I'd rather be out there than
that is like life. Yes, the
war is all right, but you do get your
feet cold in the trenches
No Emotion at Train Partings.
That seemed to be the CHEEKY spirit |
of all these smiling outstanding men,
and most of them had been through the |
worst of it, from the wreckage of the |
Mons week onward to the stalemate |
in Flanders. By the 1 o'clock train the |
travellers were mostly officers, who |
were taking huge piles of mixed bag
gage with them. They had been COM |
TO buy Tor comrades at the |
front. There were signs of visits to |
the shops in the brand-new warm wool
lies these officers were wearing. There |
was no hustle, no emotion and certain
ly no outward sorrow. Women parted |
with their men outwardly as calm as
if they were going into the next street,
and as If they felt that this was no
for furry aud excitement
AS the time came near for getting
past the barrier children were held up
to their fathers faces for the last |
kiss, the mother would say, perhaps,
so long: look after yourself"' and the |
soldier would straighten himself and |
stride away down the long, gray plat
form.
Behind the big iron gates some
Younger soldiers pressed with ffiokes
and snatches of song, thrusting through |
their big red hands for a final shake,
and it was these lads who were wait
ing for a later train to the front who
gave a cheer when the long train
moved away.