Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-05-02

seat rpzaa 10 er nr~ mea hsi'
Haa fsan8 that ozf caska haa FrspzreI
= real reoA ket Amerlszn arruy sap
pr and Renty q tide first nea
q is kina we haa had fer mau.
ncsn2 I settles myseh comfortably
and p~roet~3ea ie pack ny htas tuu.
ny with hst fooa ard rial coffee a
systeuatieaily and suspect more
successfully thsa I had been h4iins
truck& By the way, ! have heeoms
= real coffee BAG drink il twics
and Oftsa three tines 3 dag, a great
hE cup or TIVE a. q time 10 never
dare tel notheF that lshe used 70 Eivs
ne ahouf two-thirds cup of coffee for
breakfast small cup too-and pro
test violently Il I asked fer il al din
nerl. she woald think that l was be-
coming a regular topper But i is one
Of the most essential things in 4 sold
iers ~rations. particularly when a fel-
low is all in. The French. who can
eook a piece of sole leather and make
i taste like = Porterhouse steak, and
make chocolate like the nectar of the
godS fan Down miserably on making
coffee. ! don't know what they put
in 1t, but Il tastes like a healthy dose
Of quiHine served up in a cup Of stale
beer. Our cooks, however, can make
excellent coffee If they get good stuff
to make It from.
But this good meal was only a start.
We had brought with us as a part Of
our hospital equipment a whole lot Of
the softest mattresses you ever saw.
They are supposed to be used by pa
tents but we appropriated them to
our v use until we get some pa
tents to put on them. All of us were
too tired to wiggle, and by seven
o'clock Z. H. Mol heaved a collective
and eontented sigh and turned in to
sleep the clock around: With that
wonderful mattress under me l al
most imagined that / was in one of the
beds on the old sleeping porch.
Our fun with the French and their
customs and their language contin-
ues. Of course a new money system
has been sprung on US. No sooner
had | become adept enough at the
English money to tell a form from
a half crown without a microscopic
examination, and to know how many
shane s Of my copper stock to get rid of
when | bought something worth "tup-
pence ha' penny Tone always has a
pocketful of huge copper coins) than
| had to commence thinking in francs
and sous and eentimes; and not only
think in French and count in it, too.
But l will say one thing about the
French coinage system-it is based on
a definite and sensible decimal ratio
like our own, and if you can forget
that a franc is worth only about IT'S
cts. and think Of il as being worth a
dollar, with a eentime a hundredth
part Of IL as a cent is Of our own dol
lar, it is not so hard to get on to;
though ! admit that when you see
some little trinket marked I.50 you
give a nervous start until you realize
that it is not $3.50, but 1850 (about
a quarter.)
Well, Teddy man, the big game is
about to begin, and | feel as fused
up as a young girl at her frs dance.
We are in an ideal location. You have
stood behind the scenes at a play,
waiting for the curtain. You can
hear the expectant, confused murmur
that comes from the audience, and
you know that when the orchestra
finishes the piece it is playing, the
curtain is going up, and you are going
to face the real thing and find out
whether your hard work of the past
weeks has been all wasted, or whether
it is going to help you to success You
know the little thrill that wriggles up
and down your backbone, and your
eagerness to get into the game. We
are in much the same shape, ex-
cept that our overture is not being
played by violins and horns, but by
the big fellows up a short distance
that below and rumble s~ullenly way
down in the throat, and by the smaller
boys that talk with a quick, snappy,
vicious bark and by the planes that
drone and sputter above us almost
constantly, on the lookout for Fritz's
pet chickens, that have a nasty fond
ness for dropping bombs on all things
American, you know. We are work.
ing at top speed to establish ourselves
for we know that it will not be long
before the curtain will 90 up and the
play be on. Last night / stood and
watched the flashes along the horizon
line and listened to the unbroken roar
that sounds much like heavy waves
dashing against a cliff, and ! confess |
had a longing to be there with them.
No doubt ] should be scared stiff, but
the thrill and excitement of the thing
has a wonderful appeal.
Yes, just as you have stood in the
wings wondering whether or not YOU
are going to forget your lines, so |
am wondering a number of things
about myself. Shall l make good?
Shall ! have the presence of mind, the
GOODNESS, the self control to handle
dangerously wounded men? Shall l
have the endurance, the pep, the op-
timism this job of mine calls for?