One of
them, who acted as spokesman, held up his selection, and astonished the
woman at the other side of the counter by saying, 'How mooch monnee?'
Naturally enough the woman gazed at him with a bewildered air, when
'Tommy' turned to the pal by his side and said, 'Silly swine, they don't
know their own language.'
A remarkable feature which I frequently encountered in connexion with
what I may call the soldier's social life, is the great facility with
which he introduces himself to the native inhabitants. In a very few
minutes he seems to be thoroughly at home with them, girls and all, and
is in some mysterious way holding conversation, or at all events
conveying his meaning, to the satisfaction of both parties. In the
gloaming you will see him strolling about with the girls of the village,
as much at home as in the lanes of his own countryside. What they talk
about I can't tell, but talk they do; and as far as one can determine,
to their mutual pleasure.
Even in the deadliest moments, the wit of the man is to the front. At
the battle of Neuve Chapelle, at the beginning of March, a bomb-thrower,
rushing through the village, came upon a cellar full of Germans in
hiding.
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