Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-29
FOCH REVEALS HIS AVOIDANCE
OF BOOKS BY ANATOLE FRANCE
Writer "Wonderful Command of Form
Did Not Concern Marshal, Bugnet's
Book Says.

familiar figure and asked who is that?
Gen. So-and-So!"
Are you sure"
Eyes, sirl"
Gen. So-and-Sol" The marsha
murmured..
Good morning, sir" cried the gen
eral.
We'll, WE'LL" replied Foch, "and how
have you been getting on since yol
were at the Staff College? You wer,
one of my pupils let me see,
saw you again during the war at
on the
And Foch correctly quoted a date anc
| the name of a place, so excellent wa:
his memory. except perhaps when il
came to putting name to a face. After
that, as a rule. the conversation chang.
ed. The marshal let himself drift or
the tide Of Renaissance 49,.
| One morning when Gen. Graziani
that imposing figure, was coming to-
ward us, in full dress uniform, the mar.
| shall being in unusually high spirits
| forestslled him and was the first tt
| raise his hat
Thereupon, when the general, who
was rather surprised and disconnected
came up, Foch burst out: Long live
| tthe army, Graziani!" and then, de-
| lighted with the effect he had produced
the marshal went on his way, beating
| time with his cane to several bars of a
tune which had been popular in his
youth.
Mourns Poor Little Clerk"
Every day, just outside the door OF
the military governor of Paris, the most
conscientious and punctual of our regu-
lar clients" would bow to the marshal
as he went swiftly along by the wall
He was poor little old government
clerk, whose features recalled those OF
the moment of our daily salutation,
lighted up with spark of intelligence.
AS soon as we had passed the point
where we met him, tthe marshal muir
INJURED: I'VE are early today!" or else
Hurry up, it must be late!" Unhappy
he later had to remark: We'll nowl we
no longer see our little old mani"
Reaching the end of the boulevard,
he bore to the right. Faced by the open
space of the eSplanade. where motor
cars were rushing from several different
directions, he paused on the edge OF
the pavement, waiting for favorable
moment, and then dashed across often
at run. II vehicle cut in unexpect-
eddy, I warned him: Look out on your
left!" and every time I thought invol-
unfairly of the cry of Philip the bold
fighting beside King John: Father
Guard your right! Father! Guard your
left"
The marshal himself was rather fond
of those daily walks He was not one
of those dreamers who sought solitude
to retire into themselves. On the con-
%Sox = xxtnT h. al al
most animate. He had always, indeed
pursued the practice of holding CONVEX
| sations during walks, whether for dis.
cussions with his pupils at the staff col
lege-"I put them at their ease, en-
courage them to talk, draw them out
And then know them"
| During these moments of relaxation
and intimacy he entirely threw off al
reserve, with no attempt to secure ar
effect or maintain pose, whether he
was recalling his memories or whether
his mind haunted by an idea-he was
celebrating it, maturing it, discussing
expounding, trying to give 1t better
, expression.
And what an excellent method Of
reasoning and judgment! In a word
! his conversation was series of con-
| crete cases, which he put, one after
the other, and analysed now by de-
scribing them, now by striving to solve
them-whether a problem of politics
or question of history, finance OF
| morality, decision to reach, an opin.
ion to express.
To every specific problem he gave
a specific solution-"No stereotyped So
! buttons! One must learn to reason
In his next article Commandant
Bugnet aide de camp to Marshal Foch
sheds further light on the intimate life
and working methods of the late SUI
preme commander of the allied armies
during the world war.
! Copyright 1927