Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-17

THERE is one good thing that the sub
L marine scare has done for us. No one,
except Those We Really Love, will come
to visit us at our apartment any more. Per-
sonally we have always. suspected that
what appeared to be popularity was really
only the apartment, and now we are sure.
When we first moved in and people came
in for luncheon and stayed for tea and
dropped in for dinner and thought nothing
of running in from farthest Jersey to
spend the night with us and demanded
eggs for breakfast when there weren't
any in the house We were thrilled and
fiattered But later 1t developed that what
they really craved was our couch by the
window. from which you gain peerless
view of Gramercy back yards and rat
cats stti,.. on the tops of fences. There
is a breeze too. that sweeps across the
chair, and we are mercilessly adjacent to
the IL" and the subway.
DUT. recently all this has been done
- away with. Our invitations are con-
stently declined and there is every propa-
bility that we shall be able to sleep IN our
respective beds during the summer instead
of taking the front room so that guests
may have them. When the word passed
that U-boats We're lying in New York har-
bor our families-Evelyn's lives in Pennsyl-
vania and our own, further west-bom-
barded us with kilograms to seek shelter,
to give up our jobs, to go to Connecticut,
to do anything but remain in New York.
And we, fatalistic with the melancholy Sc
curity OF three months lease only
i. v,cix
letters sent C. o. D. bade them hush.
DUT Tuesday night things really looked
- serious. The evening papers warned
us to dim the lights and gave minute and
depressing details about siren whistles
which would blow at stated intervals in
case of danger, We were instructed to go
into the cellar and to open all the windows.
Evelyn, who has a scientific mind, said this
last was to guard against concussion or
percussion, l forget which. Anyway 1t
seemed rash thing to do when thieves
might so easily break in and steal by run
ming up the fire-escape. We have a dozen
| silver knives and forks that the family
yielded up when it seemed obvious that we
| were not going to marry after all and
| hence would not need a regular trousseau.
| Had we locked the fire-eseape window so
| faithfully these many nights only to have
| our morale broken by a possible German
| airplane? We decided not.
| TNHEN we inspected the cellar. This was
l. rather difficult as 1t was full of beds
| left by tenants who had taken the bull by
| the horn. so to speak, and had automat.
ically banished guests by banishing the
beds. There were so many Of both tenants
| and beds that there was really no place to
| stand. No one admitted to being nervous
and we talked lightly and laughingly on
| ether topics. The sound of our forced mer-
| Timent seemed to irritate William the col
ored boy who runs the elevator. William
has an inkling that we are connected with
the press and he probed us with questions
as to how soon the Germans might be ex-
| pected to attack the CITY and II worse
| came to worst how would they treat a
poor colored boy? We told William coldy
that we were not. acquainted with the I'm
perial Governments view of the race prob
| lem.
DUT we were worried, none the less, and
- drew the shades down tightly while
we ate dinner. Tuesday was hot night,
II you remember, and there was sofnething
distinctly stuny about the whols saair.
At 10 ~ could bear X no lonuor ~ -
1 1 1qsptavr; ~ ~