Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-03-28
SUPERSTITIONS
OF THE-POILU
Gold in the Pockets and Dreams
of Automobiles Are Omens
of Good or Ill
By HENRI BAZIN
Special Correspondent Of the Evening Ledger
IN France,


longer to come. military reasons have
suspended front tournees for civilians and
correspondents. | was given the opportu-
nifty. nevertheless, upon condition that l
would not detail in any article anything in
the nature of specific information that might
have military significance.
To this have willingly subscribed and
IN view or II, have simply recorded within
my memory much in genuine interest upon
my trip to the - front of which can
not write But I can tell of certain per-
sonal impressions, and the result of per-
sonal contact with men in both rank and
file of the marvellous army of France, some
thing typical of their lives as passed upon
and about the front line, and typical, too
of a little that in its birth is due to the
places In which they live. work. fight and
perform their several duties. OF these, /
here choose n few.
northern France for twenty-five years
There was little no wind. or the record
for frigidity would have been broken. The
moon was shining full. a polar-lilte moon
shedding a mystic light upon the floor of
the trench-a floor of ice and snow Beyond
the observation post the tangled mass of
barbed wire supported upon it's spiral-ended
metal posts seemed to take vague fantastic
form, something menacing and at the same
time grotesque And beyond still. past the
the soil of France. | could see the Boche
wires and, behind them, the Boche line 1t
was very calm. not even an occasional shell
passing to break behind.
The lieutenant who accompanied me, in
spirit of raillery, said: II remember a
few years ago while visiting the Cathedral
at Munich that the Boche who was show
ing our party its beauties said, This way,
please follow the guide, if you please viii
you do likewise?"
He had stopped before the entrance to a
city. 1t was a hole in the side of the trench
with descending steps into greater dark
ness. Twcnty-seven steps. for | counted as
we went down in the dark feeling our way
against the frozen earthen wall. At the
bottom my guide flashed his pocket electric.
and l saw before him a solid, roughly built
door Passing within, "A long passage ap-
peared before my eyes well illuminated
with electric lamps suspended from the
woodcn-braced ceiling few inches above
my head. We stopped at one OF the many
doors lining the wall. knocked and entered.
Two officers were sitting at little table,
smoking the inevitable cigarette. one was
writing and the other reading Paris news
paper six days old / passed him the four in
my pocket that were two-thirds the age of
that he had in hand while his companion
said
Here, where life is thing apart from
Paris, we hear and see many things that
might be classified as folklore tales of the
trenches and underground caverns in which
we live when not above on duty. ! have
been collecting them and If | am alive at
the end of the war shall put them in some
sort of form as legacy for my son. Let
me tell you a few. They are dsjointed. yet
each dovetailed to the other notwithstand-
ing.
"All along the line curious superstitions
abound Some graceful and poetical,
and all difficult to trace as to origin. They
come, | suppose, as superstitions come to
the sailor who lives close to watery grave
we live close to death from gas or
flame metal.
"One is that you must never light three
cigarettes from the same match. If you
do, the third mans fate is sealed, and he
will fall within twenty-four hours. Curl
ously, there are a dozen instances of this
having been proved true. In two of them
| was the second man, and the third was
killed in each case well within the time.
And, more curiously STILL they were each,
as the superstition goes, deaths that could
have been avoided We have a contempt
| of death here. No one breads it, since 1t
| is a possible daily portion. But we would
| like 1t in action, and not because it has
been fatally pronounced by burning
match as thing to occur in some banal
| manner ! do not attempt to explain but
| the fact is that there it is in a dozen
records, and that belief in it exists all
along the line from the sea to the noun
tains, among the Belgans and the Eng
| lish as ourselves.
| Another of which | have evidence in
| six individual cases is that he who dreams
of an automobile is doomed to die the next
| day. ! cannot explain it. either; but there
are six authentic cases in this sector A
| third is that a piece of gold in the pocket
| is taisman and a sure protection against
| wound or death 1t is general and has
| little foundation, since all the gold in
| France is in the hands of the Bank Of
France"
| In great cavern-lke space through
| the dim light of a burning briquet / could
| see "A confused mass of men completely
| dressed and booted, each wrapped in a
| brown blanket, each huddled against the
| other. There were perhaps a hundred
| some on the earthen floor, some in double
hunks of three tiers that suggest the steer
| age section upon ancient steamers. The
| atmosphere was heavy and warm All
was silent save for heavy breathing These
| braves had not undressed for long time
| They had almost forgotten the luxury of
| sheeted bed They were waiting, ready
! at the instant to go forth to death if need
! be. II was solemn thing to see, these
sleeping men of France, men of all ages
and all conditions in life together in their
| soiled gray uniforms, together in purpose
| ready for call, ready to give, as had thou.
| sands and thousands before them, all they
held dear for the cause of right and liberty
Some were doomed to die. and very
shortly. 1t was written and that which Is
! written, the poet tells us, cannot be blotteC
out by all your tears, nor piety, nor wit.
| We passed out and through the passage
to the steps. the twenty and to thu
frigid polar night. walk of a few min
utes along the Icy trench brought us t.
an observation post just beyond the frs
line, in no mans land. Muffied within 1t
wrapped up to the ears. was gra,
helmeted figure, rife in hand.
Bon sor," said the lieutenant in whls
per
Bon soir. mon lieutenant, r de NJ"
For at the front habit OF abbrevatinI
has grown, and ''ren de nouveau" (nothinl
/ new) has been reduced to initials.
"Cold?" asked the lieutenant
"Ah, mon lieutenant. 1t is so cold