The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-02-27
ming! There we're lots Of them, come
to enjoy the music and the movies;
and the darkness ana the hand-hold:

to enjoy the music ana tne moves,
and the darkness ana the hand-hold-
ing. -
5, We found ourselves humming, too,
fragments of long forgotten airs, as
we swung along the boulevard; and
our. footsteps we're lighter and our
hearts were lighter, and for. little
time we forgot that there was a war.
as did tia poilus on leave
More music, we must have more
music! X,
What should it he, heavy opera,
welterweight or <featherweight, which
last is better knownans musical com
edy? %
Guess, and you'll guess rightly il
you can put yourself in the position
OF those who have sometimes lincd
music with their meals. A kind
French gentleman who runs a theater
ticket agency, told us about revue
which had a Broadway chorus; ana
we shall like him always!
The show was alb lrigh'-. But lis
ten.
At the close of the first act, they
introduced regular, genuine i'm
ported jazz band, known here as q
"sherbo"
We sometimes used to sniff lit
tie at that music, back home; we used
sometimes to thing it was low, and
common, and all that; but goodness
gracious! it was like a sight of the
Statue of Liberty, and the tall build
ings along the Battery, and the Broad
way trenches, and all the other dear
delight of home! That jazz band
played again from balcony out in
the big promenade foyer, all through
the big intermission, played lickety-
split, thmupety-thump, whang, bang,
slam, with the triangles and the bells
and the big bass drum, and some
saxophones. for the WellknoWn moan,
and everything. .a
OF course there can be no dancing
in a country where there is so much
sorrow, but never have we seen any
thing so lift up and exhilarate con-
course of totally mixed people as
did that wonderful, that marvellous,
that miraculous Jazz band!
There were people of all national
4 tiles and all classes, but whether they
were English, Americans or French,
or just assorted, the effect was the
1 same .e5.L H.
Eye sparkled into eye, and gleoful
smile answered gleeful smile, should.
ers swayed; and feet iresisti5ly lifted
in time 10 the music despite the Isl wv
shuttle compelled by the pache |
crowd.
But the most joyous faces we saw
were those OF a group Of queer look.
ing poilus, with the lower corners Of
their overcoats pinned back, and big
wrinkled boots, and 3eards growing
almost any place.
They stood slouchily and had gen.
eral air of elderly negligence, which
was striking, to say the least, for sol
diers but the most striking thing was
the Joyous CLEAN in their eycs!
We asked an American officer about
them, a doctor who has seen lot of
service He laughed.
i ooh they don't care much about
the finer points of drill and dress pa
: rade. They can't do anything but
just fight. Their entire regiment was
decorated They're getting their first
lay-off in two years. They're from
Verdun."
:, We took another look; a good, long,
hard, earnest look Those fellows had
been strong enough to go through
two years of concentrated Hades;
they had been strong enough to live
through conditions which four years
!, ago would have been declared impos
sible they had been reckless enough
i to expose thmselvs to fatality so of
ten that the ilnminence of death must
have seemed the normal condition;
they were supplemented enough, at
ter all that, to reapsthe keenest Of en-.
7! joyment out Of a Jazz band, and, as
we watched them, we knew that such
J men, men with that elasticity Of spir.