The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-12-14
CHAPTER XlII-Continued.
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*
Coming back along the same road we
halted to let another convoy of mules
go past, and an officer of the Royal
naval division came up and began
talking to our officers. He was telling
them how he and his men had landed
at "X' beach, and how they had to
wade ashore through barbed wire.
"And, you know" he said in sur
prised way, as if he himself could
hardly believe it, 'the beggars were
actually firing on us!" That is just
like the Limeys, though. Their idea
is not to appear excited about any
thing at any time, but to act as though
they were playing understanding
around on a lawn with paddles in their
hands, half asleep. The Limeys are
certainly cool under fire, though, and
/ think that because the Anzacs did
so we'll at Gallipoli people have not
given enough credit to the British
regulars and r. N. DIS, who were
there too, and did their share of the
work, and did it as we'll as any men
could.
After While this officer started on
his way again, and as he cut across
the road o French officer came up.
The Limey wore monOcle, which
caused the French officer to stare at
him q minute before he Saluted. After
the Englishman had passed him the
Frenchman took a large French penny
out of his pocket, screwed it into his
eye and turned toward us so that We
could see it, but the Limey could not.
That was not the right thing to do,
especially before enlisted men, so our
officers did not laugh, but the men did,
and so loud that Limey turned around
and caught sight of the Frenchman.
He started back toward him and l
thought sure there would be a fight,
or that, more likely, the Limey would
report him. Our officers should have
placed the Frenchman under arrest,
at that.
The Frenchman expected trouble,
too, for he pulled up very straight and
stiff, but he left the penny in his eye.
The Limey came up to him, halted a
few PAGES off and, without saying
a word, took the monocle out of his
eye, twibbled it three or four feet in
the air and caught it in his other eye
when it came down.
do that, you bIighter," he said and
faced about and was on his way down
the road. They had it on the French
man after that.
This Philippe Pierre, Of whom I
have spoken, told me a story about
two Limey officers that l hardly be-
lIeved, yet Philippe sWore it was the
truth. He had been in America before
the war, and he said he had seen one
of the officers that the story is about
many times in New York.
He said there were two Limey Off
GERS going along the road arguing
about the German shells which the
Turks were using. One of the officers
said they were no good because they
did not burst. Just about that time
a shell came along and they picked
themselves up quite a distance from
where they had been standing. An
other shell whizzed by and landed fiat
on the side of the road. The officer
walked over, dug it out Of the ground,
and took away the detonator and fuse
to prove that they did not explode
The only thing that would make
me believe that story is that Philippe
Pierre said they were Limey officers.
No one but a Limey would remep1-
Der such an argument after being
knocked galley west by a shell con-
cussion. do not doubt that a Limey
would do 1t if 1t could be done, though.