Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-22

LONDON, Feb. I.
THE phllosophic spirit Of the French.
i no matter where / meet them, frank
ly amazes me.
To my table at the American Hut
comes regularly trio of cultured French
''poius." In private life they are gem
tlemen In the best sense of that much
misused word. They have all undergone
endless hardships since war began, in
Guiding many wounds, much suffering
personal loss and big financial reverses.
But they are invariably cheerful,
smiling and reconcled.
Que voulez vous, mam'selle?" they
say with a philosophic shrug of their
expressive, blue-clad shoulders. "C'est
la Guerre ~
One of them has endured physical dis
ablement, the complete smashing up of
his excellent business in Paris, the loss
of his wife and child-a loss which
might have been prevented had he had
the money to send them to a suitable
sanatorium-and the loss of his two
brothers.
Tears spring to his dark eyes when
he speaks of his wife and child But
-"C'est In Guerre!" he repeats, as
though the words held comfort. A brave
and enduring race. the French.
isDIu beibys w AT
speaking today in the Aldwych Club in
London, has just given us an amusing
and true little story:
An English prisoner-ofw in Ger
many. with no friends or relations, was
| getting none of the parcels which were
lavishly distributed to other prisoners
He thought, therefore, that he would
write b letter home to see II he could
not get some charitable person to do for
him what friends were doing for others.
So he wrote the following letter:
Dear God--Please send me ten
pounds $500"
The Germans, seeing the letter ad-
dressed to the Almighty. thought 1t was
the same address as the War Office In
London.
They sent It to the War Office and
the branch to which 1t was sent SUBJ
scrbed among themselves and sent the
lonely soldier three pounds Sl5).
They got an answer, again addressed
TO the Almighty, and again forwarded
by the Germans to the War Office In
London, in which the writer said:
Dear God--I know you wanted to
send me ten pounds but II you do send
II to me in the future don't send II
through the War Office. because last
time they sent me three pounds and
pinched seven pounds for themselves"
In London we must all state our exact
age on our sugar cards. And the can
tankerous people who will not state their
ages will get no sugar
Hence there are many lively and
heated complications
No act of Parliament says that they
must state their ages. But no act OF
Parliament give them sugar II they
won't The ages are needed for the
system of checking
This concealment of age Is nothing
but out-of-date snobbery. The persor
of fifty who looks forty should boas'
about IT, not hide it, no matter to which
sex he or she belongs.
An. amusing scene occurred the othe
day at a London railroad station. =
British officer (of the famous Guards
was wearing his long gray overcoa
which looks SO much like the German
service coat At the same time a larg
number Of German prisoners were ar
, irving at the station. sent from France.
A dear old 'lady had arrived also a
, the station, hoping to see the Germa
. prisoners. The moment she saw tn
Guards officer she rushed at him. h
/ him violently on the head with her uu
brella and shouted loudly, Bah
Kil,er!'
Luckily the British Guardsman had
sense of the ridiculous and could TAX
joke. even though a somewhat straine
{ one. But I think he will feel more dis
posed for the future to wear the khal
garment known as a British warm
than the overcoat which has a Germa
aspect
y The picturesoueness Of the America
language-"good United States. as sh
Is spoke'--is arousing immense deligf
! and interest in Londoners. Endless eS
amples of delightful and expressly
American slang" are quoted to me b
Britishers who, for the first time in the
lives, have met and talked with Amer
d lean officers.
e The other day, for instance, an avis
n tor from the other side of the Atlanti
9 now In England, flew his machine int
! n British aerodrome. and, marching int
s the commanding officers hut, remarke
airily:
: Say! Are you the big noise in tn
u constituency? Guess you are. Wei