The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-03-28

Watkins generally replies, Well
keep out of draft, you'll catch cold
Another game is "Pontoon," played
with cards; it is the same as our
BLACK Jack" or "Twenty-one."
A card game called "Brag' is also
popular Using casino deck, the
dealer deals each player three cards.
1t is similar to our poker, except for
the fact that you only use three cards
and cannot draw. The deck Is never
shuffied until man shows three of
kind or Il "prile" as it is called. The
value of the hands are. high card. L
pa;r. A run, ii flush or three of Il kind
or '.prile." The limit is generally
penny, so it is hard TO win - fortune
The next in popularity is card
game called Nap" 1t is we'll named.
Every time played it l went to sleep.
Whist and solo whist are played by
h, highbrowS of the company.
D, he gamblers tire of all other
try Banker and Broker
spent a week trying to teach some
of the TommieS how to play poker, but
because | won thirty-tive francs they
declared that they didn't "fawncy" the
game.
Tommy plays few card games: the
general run never heard of poker. eu-
chre, seven up, or pinochle. They have
a game similar to pinochle called
Royal Bezique,' but few know how to
play it.
Generally there are two decks of
cards in a section, and in a short time
they are so dog-eared and greasy, you
can hardly tell the ace of spades from
the ace of hearts. The owners of these
decks sometimes cOndeScend to lend
them after much coaXing.
So you see, MIR. Atkins has his fun
mixed in with his hardships and, CON
trary to popular belief. the rank and
file of the British army in the trenches
is one big happy family. Now in Fir-
ginia, at school. l was fed on Old Nc
Guffy's primary reader, which gave me
an opinion of an En@liShman about
equal to &c Minute Mans backed I'D
by Sim Feiner's. But | found Tom
my to be the best of mates and Il gem
tleman through and through. He never
thinks of knocking his officers. Ii enc
makes a costly mistake and Tommy
pays with his blood, there Is no gen
eral condemnation of the officer. Tie
is just pitied. 1t is exactly the same
as it was with the Light Brigade at
Ro1arlaua tp nnthipp of (,allinnlj
Neuye Chapelle and Loos. Personally
I remember little incident where
twenty OF us were sent on a trench
raid, only two of us returning, but !
will tell this story later on.
said it was big happy family, and
so 1t is, but as in all happy families.
there are servants, so in the British
army there are also servants, officers
servants, or 80. s. rs they are termed.
In the American army the common
name for them is dog robbers" From
Il controversy in the English papers,
Winston Churchill made the state
ment, as far as | can remember, that
the officers servants in the British
forces totaled nearly two hundred
thousand. He claimed that this re-
moved two hundred thousand eXcep-
tionally good and well-trained fighters
from the actual firing line, claiming
that the officers, when selecting q man
for servants duty, generally picked the
man who had been out the longest ana
knew the ropes.
But from my observation find that
a large percentage of the servants do
go oyer-the ton. but behind the lines
they very seldom engage in digging
parties, fatigues, parades or drills.
This work is as necessary as actually
engaging in an attack, therefore think
it would be safe to say that the all
round work of the two hundred thou
sand is about equal to fifty thousand
men who are on straight military du-
ties. In Numerous instances, officers
servants hold the rank of lance-corpo-
rails and they assume the same duties
and authority of butler, the one
stripe giving him precedence over the
other servants.
There are lots of amusing stories
told of 80. S."
One day one of our ma ors went into