Scotch and Moroccan

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 August 1915, Page 3

Scotch and Moroccan

.NO boB RAIO.NEIIM) lil NO btio. The Moroccan's left arm was bandaged. lie related the story )1 nis wounus. heated with Mm at tlie caie talile were another Atoi ocean ol 'igiuei complexion and two irencn soldiers one of whom spolie a lew words oi iliiighsh. lo hini Othello addressed his Imjuent punctuations oi and "lou understand P" •'1 see. 1 understand",'' the uttlu I'iencluuan replied, gravely; but except lor tiiose and a few little simple purases he did not understand. Othello knev that he did not, and he was immensely please to get a listener at last who really did understand. He talked taster than ever. The Trench man objected. "Tell it in l'Tench," he said, "lou speak French as well as me." ''Ho you?" 1 said to tlie Moroccan.

"Well, yes," lie acknowledged, "J do. 1 was brought up oil French, but 1 learned English in Alexandria years ago and 1 like it better. 1 speak it now on principle. lam superstitious about, speaking English, 1 believe that it would be black ingratitude to .*peax anything else. It was due to ail Englishman that 1 got off with ojny this," lie touched his wounded arm "Only lor liini and a command given in English, I'd be back in the Argonue to stay." The Moroccan said Unit the day when he got his wound was a day oi : surprise and contusion. Men lost then ["heads and their insiinct oi obedience. The Moroccan, thought usually a steady lcllow, was as bad as the others. lie wanted to obey orders, but lor the Hie ol him lie could not comprehend ilieni {Suddenly, above the emuess l'rench uproar there sounded a command m English, "Duck, 1 say; uuck!". lhat was the first command tnat iiad meant anything to the Morroccaii ail day. He ducked, and his arm caught Uie uiece oi shrapnel that would otherwise liavustruck his head. "Only tor that 'duck' " said lie, "i should have gone, and since 1 am still 'here to tell it 1 should expect to be struck by something more deadly than shrapuel it 1 even told it. in any tiling but English." Absurd? Narrow-minded? Possibly but mixed with the absurdity ana the narrowness is a strain ol' loyalty that is very touching. L U CK Y~ KiLllEb.

Two Highlanders on the look-out ioi feiguts in the Latin encounter - ed a superstition whose intensity ol expression was somewhat overpowering, l'liey stopped at a cale! A tumult oi voices.and a flutter ol outstretched hands greeted them.

"Sit here, monsieur," said the occupant ol one table, and "Sit here, "Sit here," said the occupants oi others.

"And what do you think the row was all about?" said one oi the Higlilana-

crs. "Luck. That was what ilay wanted for us, good luck. Every man. woman and child" in l'aiio has Uie iclcu that to drink with a man in kilts will bring good luck, and they nearly liau a free-l'or-all fight to get at us. 1' or a chap who was always considered an unlucky penny at home that was a cheering experience. Maybe they'll tliink more about it." ft**#***

The No 888 superstition has a toucn o' real humour. It is the conL'Ssed weakness of a Canadian soldier. Since li's enlistment he has been haunted by No 888. To start with, that is his regimental number. In inlanders he was bayoneted by a German whose number wa:- also 888.

"And a jolly good thing lor both ol u.s that it was," said the Canadian, "lor 1 am sure that wo let each otliei off easier than we should have done if we had had different numbers."

They took him to the base hospital iu motor-ambulance No. 888. .In tlie hospital he harped so constantly on that just to humour him they fagged \ nurse with three eights, and so ?ased his mind and gave her a chance to pull him through. When convalescence sot in he received a letter from his wife. The Canadian owns a little shop bacs home, and his "wife mentioned a lew details of the -business, among r-hem being the case of a well-to-do townsman who owed a bill of eight dollars and eight cents, which" apparently he did not intend to pay. By that time No 888 had taken its place in the Canadian's creed. He Had lirm taitlr in its infallibility, bo lie wrote hack "►Send another eight cents, worth ol something around to his house, then make out a bill for eight dollars and eighty-eight cents. He will be sure to pay up." The Canadian chuckled, "And took a cheque ironi his pocket "Hero you are, 8 dsllare 88 cents. She was so proud of me that she sent the cheque all the way over here just for me to look at."