COCK-A-HOOP.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 November 1917, Page 3

COCK-A-HOOP.

WHY DON’T WE RAISE A CHEER

[By “Wi.” in the Dominion.] There are elderly and quite respectable citizens in Wellington to-day who blush to remember what they did in public, and in broad daylight, one wild hilarious day when news came through that Matching had been relieved, lne schools wore closed, shopkeepers put up their shutters, grave seignieurs locked their private ledgers, told their office staffs to get. out on the Quay and get on with tlio dance, gave their hats a rakish tilt,-and went forth to assist in that time-honoured method of rejoicing which may be conveniently described as painting the town a bright ve.nmllion. Toby Bung, lisq., made signs that the taps bad been turned on ad lib,- and that the limits of his hospitality were the bottoms of the last- barrel and the last bottle. Wellington woke up nextmorning with its head in a towel, a. lack lustre eye, and a fixed and settled determination never to do it- again. A ’perfectly natural feeling, under the circumstances —eh? \ Yesterday the biggest tiling that lias happened in the war, the most brilliant spectacular, unmistakeable, and convincing defeat that- we, the British, have yet put upon the Germans, was displayed in the newspapers in thrilling head-lines, and told in dispatches that fairly blazed and cracked with the enthusiasm of the writers. The Hindenburg Line wOs smashed, and turough the groat gap that was torn in the enemy’s defences there poured endless streams of horsemen, whirling their sabres in ecstasy as, for the first time in forty months, the order that they had been waiting for was at Last given them, and they charged, pursued, rounded t:p, and cut down the enen l a . Did we cheer ourselves hoarse? Did wo throw our ha'ts up in the air, slap each other on the hack, invite one another to have an ice-cream or a milkshake? We did not.

We smashed the Hindenburg Line not by superior weight of metal, or superiority of aircraft-, hut by our wits. 'Pho Germans wore out-Cencralled tricked, surprised smitten hip and thigh, by a stratagem that- in itself wa s worth many cheers. Did we gather together and say; “Now, boys—hip-hip-hooray!—’ray! — ’rav!” ?. Not-' wo. What’s wrong with us? You know, this is very serious. My personal grievance is that I never even got <» *olday. Did you; You did not. No shutters went up. The youngsters wont to school just as usual, and the Quay was full of gloomy-looking wumps, whose expression seemed to say: “Hull! We’ll get it in the neck yet—you see if wc don’t.” It’s the Government’ R fault-. The first thing old B—l mean the Prime Minister —should have done when he got the news was to have jumped up, slapped his private secretary on the hack—some slap it- would have been what?— and said, to this effect: “In vito —no —command the country to shut-

up the shop for the day—tell ’em why and hang the expenses—wave flags, cheer till the welkin’s been knocked end wavs and so forth and so on. Got that? Well, I’m off. Won’t be home till morning.”

Then he would have made exit on his toes, whistling something from the

“Pink Lady.” I daresay something will be done Probably this: There will bo a meeting in the Town Hall. Age and repectability will dutifully attend to listen to patriotic hot air and blase reporters will dutifully report it, so that the country may read all it afterwards.

Ugh! And that will he a day after the fair

For me the cheers, the tumult in the blood, the pride of race, of arms, of country—the real, live, human celebration. Tf not, why not?'.