New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-02
Shuttlecock Amuses Generals
Between Drives at Germans
SissGed Game Explained by Britshers Need OF Keaxa-
ton Where Guns Thunder Ceaselcssly and Sky Is
Flecked With Fighting Aerop planes
BY Floyd w. Gibbons

Copyright. 1917 by The Tribune Association: Cen
.ored and Approved by British CENSOR
WITH THE BRITISH ARMIES IN
THE FIELD, Sept. 20. via Paris. Sept.
Give were driving in the direction
of the trenches, hoping to obtain later
a permission for a night in a front line
dugout. when our car dropped US higf
on a wooded hilltop il. front OF an an
Gent chateau, from whose doorstep one
may look six miles away across misty
lowland to the actual battle line.
This old French country place in
Artois houses the corps headquarters
where Canada puts forth her best
brains to continue convincing German
militarists that they laughed too soon
when the British brought her first ar
mazda from the New World. Across the
broad driveway and garden a clever
screen OF camoufage, which bottles the
end Of the avenue of trees, hid US from
German observation.
A soldier of the world met US with
words that carried accents OF home
Before 90 he started soldering un-
der General Gomez in Cuba, and to-day
he is staff officer of corps. In spite
of his American experience, ne SUP
iected us to a typical British lntroduc-
ton when he ushered US INTO inc
presence of a number Of generals and
other officers in an old gold furnished
drawing room.
In passing it may be explained that
a British introduction is nameless al
fair in which persons are introduced
to one another casually, as persons ana
identities are left to subsequent lnVes-
tigation.
"Gentlemen, these are two American
correspondents" was the presentation
on which we bowed, clasped hands right
and left and acknowledged conventional
expressions of pleasure by conventional
mutterings and conventional smiles.
Conversational tea was followed by
the game of badminton on the lawn.
There's only one word that herman
unacouainted with badminton known
in America as shuttlecock) would use
in expressing an opinion of his irst
observation OF the game, with its high
nets and feathered ball and light rae
cuets. He might think OF bean bag and
iackstraws and other girlish pursuits
which schoolboys proudly Stunned. But
the word was supplied for me by one
of the plavers himself, a man of me-
dunn height, rugged shoulders and
chest and sparse blond hair that
TONED an ever-smiling, genial face
r. I,I
and range Of the German guns and
under skies fecked with nghtlng arr
craft. presented TO me new aspect
Of the European unpleasantness. war
has actually become habit at the
British front, and that thing when
we characterize as the doggedness OF
the insular Brtisher is nothing more
than his love of habit.
Peace was a habit with him before
August, 1914, and that is probably
why it took him so long to discard
it and begin fighting.
At dinner | was placed at the right
Of zone word deleted), corps com
mander, whose directness and clear
ness of statement on subjects ina
could have been obscured by technical
terms would impress any American
more than the imposing line OF or
ders banked in two multi-colored par
allel lines on the breast of his service
turic.
On my right sat the badminton en-
thusiast-he Of the straw-colored hair
and eyes that twinkled at the merry
climaxes 10 his stories. My attention
was divided between his happy fire
Of stories that circled the globe 70
lands far and wide and the more Sc
rious discourse of the corps COM
mander. who was particularly inter
ested in the extent of American mill
tary participation in the war.
After dinner, when We were back in
the drawing room waiting for the press
officer who was to conduct us TO the
front. we heard vivid answer TO the
question that all men in the ranks have
asked during this war.
That question is: What does the
modern general do during a battle .
The way the matter came up was in