The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-28
TRENCHES THEIR USE
 IN PEACE AND WAR

On the field, General Joffre. who in private life loves to potter about the garden of his house in Auteui1, ac- company his wife on shopping expedi- lions, who is very fond of la musical evening with his daughters, Marcelle and Annette, who have on occasions lpersuaded their father to exercise his bass voice, and who might often be seen in the morning riding with his girls in the Bois de BouIogne, is all though amiable and genial to his in- inmates, imperturbabIe, arbitarary, and assertive, says a writer in The Strand Magazine.
 Perhaps one of his most curious characteristics is that he will tolerate no interference so far as the exi- the systematic personal habits which he has followed for many years, and to which he attributes not a little of his good health. This is illustrated 1 by an incident which happened dur ing the retreat from Mons. &
 Late one night at offre's head quarters a Staff officer arrived with I a very urgent despatch. The Com mander-in-chfef had retired, and the officer was informed that on no ac-a count Whateved must the General be disturbed. 'sBut he must be roused,'' said the Staff officer. flor a whole division is in danger of being sur rounded z The General, = came back the reply, has given orders that in no circumstances is he to be awaken ed before six a. m. FSurthermore. there is no need to do so. for he has left all the necessary instructions for possible emergencies in envelopes marked one, two, and three.'' The Staff officer on duty thereupon open 1 ed the despatch, selected envelope l Number two which met the case, and ] Instructions were immediately tele- I graphed to the commander who had sent his despatch, and who was promptly reprimanded next morning by Joffre, when he had heard what I had taken place. for using the motor instead of the telegraph.
 He endeavors to follow, as far as
 circumstances will permit, the same 1 regular mode of life to which he has been accustomed almost since his
 marriage. Every morning previous to i the war he would be up and dressed, 1 having previously had a, vigorous ten
 minutes in a room next to his bed- room. which is fitted up as a minia- I ture gymnasium, ending with a cold i shower bath An hour later he l might, be seen trotting briskly on horseback through the leafy bridle- f paths of the, Boise du Boulogne, some
 times in company with other officers.
 but more often with one of his daughters followed at a. discreet Gis- I tance by his orderly.
 Social functions never appeal to
 him. And if dis1nc1ined for music in his leisure moments he would turn l to his books and spend an hour with I military works or the fiction of Hugo,
 BaIzae, Dumas, and Diekens+the lat
 ter being 8 great favorite. Or if I friends dropped in he mi ght. take a
 hand at bridge or whist. The simple i habits which he imbibed in his
 youthful days at sRivesaltes still cling l to him. His only surviving sister,
 Mu1e. Artus, says that even after he l became a. general the Commander 1 in-chief insisted on remaining to his
 friends plain Joseph Joffre. He made
 a practice of paying frequent visits to I the family home at Rivesaltes, and
 one of his great pleasures during his
 brief holidays at home were long
 card games in the evening with his father and friends
 A faYorfte game was s'mo ouil1e,' 5 I and it was during one of these games
 Mime. Artus tells us. that he explain ] ed to his father how to dig slanting trenches on his property as a pro-
 lection against the ravages of spring
 rains. t'Y ous should afather,s' he said tsssdig slanting lines of trenches across
 your farm at Bompas. They will
 drain the land and prevent floods in
 spring; and think I can claim to
 known something about trenches,' he added with a laugh.