The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-03-24
Waiting For Pestilence
 That Flies at Night
Measuring Food by the Ounce and Wondering if the Veg etabes and Fish Will Hold Out-What Wartime
 Means to the Women of England
By LADY MARY

the incessant firing had given me a bad
 headache, so l scarcely got more than
 two hours rest, and so l struggled out
 of bed and we caught an early train
 from Waterloo to Farnborough, where
 Herbert and some of his brother officers
 met us and we had a lovely walk through
 the country in dazzling sunshine.
 About noon we turned into small
 inn for lunch, and to our amazement and joy we were supplied with plenty of
 meat, butter and cheesel That I should live to enthuse over foodi Soldiers. as
 you know, are not rationed in England, and 1t seems that our cavaliers are very popular in the district and we, as their companion. were treated with a consid- eration that was as delightful as it was actually Illegal
 We left for London by the s:aO train after perfectly charming afternoon and evening in the officers mess, and ar rived at our own station at Kensington at 10 o'clock just as the first warning came through from the coast that even ing that aircraft were approaching the city!
 "Of course we knew that raid was expected when We reached Waterloo as all the inhabitants of the slums in that locality had collected near to the under ground entrance in order to be in readi- ness to descend into the station be- heath. The thoughtful and wise au- thority in preparation for this stampede had plentifully sprinkled the platforms and steps with disinfectant! And as- sure you it was badly needed, for the atmosphere had not recovered from the | raid of the previous evening""
 UNDERGROUND IN AIR RAID Tt is quaint to notice the class of
 people who spend hours and hours in | these underground stations during the
 nioonlit nights when the enemy is overhead The psychology of the Lon- 1 don tubes deserves serious considera- l tion. In order of progression notice | that at Waterloo and stations nearby ; the throngs crowding the safety zones below ground are composed of the alien population and the very, poor.
 l Piccadilly station is entirely cosmo. politan; Down street and Dover street
 refugees are rather smart and sport 1 fur coats and jewel cases, while Hyde | Park corner Is the resort of superior 1 family servants, clergymen and rather
 tinlid young girls. At South Kensing-
 ton and Gloucester road the prosperous highly respectable ultra English people | congregate, while at Hammersmith the
 riff-raff of the district storm the place
 and eat oranges and crack jokes and | nuts. and are generally unpleasant l pie who live in ricketty houses dashing I to tube stations for safety during raid l ing times, but l really cannot understand :, the other class doing anything so ig- | nominious. I don't see myself for in- stance. collecting a sandwich and sol emnly repairing to the nearest railway
 and spending every evening during moon- l light nights underground, Personally. I
 prefer to remain in our own topfloor flat
 and trust to luck
 | Last night. for instance, I was so | tired that I slept through lot of ter l rife firing. Herbert has not again been
 passed as fit for general service abroad
 I only hope he will continue to be rather 1 seedy for a long time. He has had
 quite enough of that hell upon earth
 over in France. He has taken severa i drafts over to Havre lately, however l and seems to enjoy the excitement of the trip. As yet they have struck nothine worse than a floating mine that did not I explode
 Things are very sad over here now even for the most optimistic of us. We
 expect the great German offensive tc
 start almost any day, and as everybody has somebody over there we are sitting | tight and holding breath. The Americans will be well in it, I expect !, also, and therefore, the sadness will be spreading your way by the time you re- celNe lnlS letter. My Friend GOenrey
 who came out of that awful Cambria
 affair, the, third member of his entire 1 regiment to escape alive. has been home l on leave. We spent an evening together l and now he has gone back. I am afraid l he went feeling that his luck was bound 1 to fail this time He has been through l so much. It is ghastly to have to keen | on going back until something hanners { 1 And my young correspondent finishes
 her letter in characteristic British fash 1 ion-"It is is late-I think I'll so to bed l The night is quiet. I don't believe those 1 flying fools are coming over, so, per l haps, I'll have peaceful rest
 I Well-there you have it. An epic ot l London life in this year of our Lord I 1918! I make no apologies for copying
 word for word one of my own private let ! ters. It seems to me document that every thinking, woman must read. and ] it seems to me more than it's mere words. l Think of sitting and waiting for the
 pestilence tEat flies by nightv' Think of
 measuring your food by the ounce and
 wondering if the vegetables and fish will
 hold out and keep famine from your