New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-07-20
Paris, June %.

first and Bea through the second. MY
clothes went through a process OF elm
ination. a thing they had no time for
in New York. for had decided to go on
Friday night and sailed on Saturday
Nv little glimpse of France IN Eng
land at the consulate cheered me- as
France always does. | love the bon
homie. the humanness, the unoihciouS
quality of officials, and the politics. De
cnur as distinguished from set OF
manners that is "hand-me-down" and
unadjustable.
Nv official at the consulate and l be-
came very intimate. He discovered
that we both belonged to the same pro-
fession. and that fact captured his
fancy. We promised each other TO ex-
change visits in our respective clties
he and his wife to callNpon me IN Ne"
York and to visit them in R. we
even became confidential. | told MN
If nv impression of laundering ana
mismanagement in England. he more
than agreed: "They talk, they buster
they boast-but they can't hold thirty
kilometres on the line. The French
and Germans are holding successfully
over FIVE hundred each! The indivlduai
ENGLISH soldier is brave enough-no-
bodv more so-but thew have no man
a
agement, no mind TO guide them' lnett
oficers are manly and courageous, Du1
they are land he used French teiH'
which corresponds 70 "stuited shIrts >,
must say his descriptions seemeI
70 me apt, as | looked them over IN,
morning at Victoria station Dis.,"-
guished and handsome men tney "eLe
these English officers-but theirs W.
not the faces of efficiency. In reier-
once TO some of them | heard 1t WINS
rered. There go the officers OF tne
General staff. They spend their time
travelling back and forth from Frame
m England. Much of the hard worn
thew see! Ornaments they are.
Logic! Not for England.
Rea waved US a last goodby and we
were off. For the first time l felt
rr;cL Of excitement. We were really
n the zone of war. The number OIL
Ulcers and nurses on the train made
mo aware of it. There were very ieW
civiliar passengers. Among US, now
over was Prince Louis of BattenDerg'
conspicuous in his multi. England
You remember, had requested ms res
Ionation from the navy after the wa wa
broke ont because Of his German anil
ations-his wife, believe. is German
A farfetched action it would seem, con,
sidsrino that most of the English roya'
family including the King, have similar
affiliations. But-logic, thy haoltat is
certainly not England.
Arrived at Folkestone, we "eEt
through easily among the hrst-thahhs )
N some magic Of Serenas. lie might
he an American commercial traveileri
n great are his energy and adrolthess'
He even managed to have the car pa;
on board after they had fatty refused
"a take il. and, wonder of wonders; IL
was the first piece Of luggage they ais
eorged at Boulogne.
The Channel was calm ana very
smiling. much to my RELIEF. ne seen.
was exciting, if not gay. NO, gay II
certainly was not; there was certa II
air of sternness and sobriety ABOUT
everv one-here and there mint Oh
tragedy. A grande dame OF Rome VINO
had lost herself in a love enlargement
was refused permission to embark DC,
cause her passport bore the stamp OF
Vienna. The unhappy lady, who was
alone and in need of the utmost care,
was despairing, but the officials were
infexible. -;,,.-.i
With submarine nets. They looked IKE
fsb nets in the water, their buoys JUS:
about as far apart, only hundred
times larger. England, | am told, mas
snent over a million pounds IN sucA
Submarine protection, and already Ger
many has built submarines carrying
one torpedo each, so tiny that they pen
citrate the nets.
Smoky, Black Destroyers.
Revond them lay smoky black torpedo
boat destroyers-on guard ana NeIJ
nucb so. TO Judge by their numbers
So you see the passage from Englahe 70
France is not much of a danger, at'"I
ell. From my point of view, the pas
sage was the only nice one | have ever
known. but my point of view with re,
gard to Channel crossings Is local
one, so to speak.
Prince Louis viewed the bit OF fleet
with sardonic eye, thought. To have
been trained for forty years to service
and then, when the opportunity for set;
vice presents itself, to be dismissed
must be a biting, bitter fact to face
He looked. as he stood gazing out on
he shining sea, an able and dlstn'
euished gentleman.
Will Twins blithe face was the hrst
thing | saw on Boulogne pier. Again
owing TO the Serenas's management, W
were able 20 disembark early, so that
we had time for conversation as well
as greeting. Before | left the boat
heard the order "Red Cross nurses
nlease stand aside until the officers dis
embark"
I wondered whether it was the char
acter of the service that gave prece-
dence to the one above the other;
whether the one who destroys is con-
sidered of more Importance than the
one who recOnstructs; or whether II
was lust another illustration OF the
fact that in the workaday world the
woman is subordinate. For, remember
here we were not in active service. On
the field doubtless the nurses take or
ders from The officers as they do from
he doctor. But we were not on the
field. We were fellow passengers.
Boulogne Throbs with Excitement.
The town was turbulent; Red Cross
trains. dispatch officers, motor ambu'
lances, comings and goings Of all sorts
| loved the throb of it and | felt my
blood mounting with excitement until
| saw two broken bodies on stretchers
| realized | was letting myself get IN
the grip Of a sp rit whose present man
Hesitation detvst-a spirit begotten
by the JOY Of doing active and colortul
things in crowds. An admirable spirit
really turned to abominable use. y
-. ~. do nse of 10 the nolnt of eX-