WAR JOTTINGS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 160, 11 March 1915, Page 3

WAR JOTTINGS.

GRAVEYARDS TO THE SEA. The Amsterdam "Telegraaf" publish, es a cartoon by Raemaekers, depicting a German soldier in a trench, writing the following letter: "Dear Mother, We have made good progress in Belgium. Our graveyards stretch from here to the sea." Raemaekers' cartoons which are a feature cf the "Telegraaf," are invariably characterised by clever and unsparing criticism of German military methods. "DIO SALVE IL RE." It Is not generally known that our National Anthem, under the title of "Dio Salve il Re," was for some years also the 'ltalian National Anthem. In Russia, for a time at least, it was adopted as such, and in France during the early years of the nineteenth century it was sung somewhat as our "Rule, Britannia" is subsidiary to the national air, "Vive Henri Quatre." STRUCK BY THE KAISER. The "New York Journal" states on the authority of its London correspondent that the reason the Germans were unable to reply to tha Allies' naval attack on the Belgian coast is that the Kaiser quarrelled with Krupp's representative and struck him." The enljineer returned to Germany, resigned, and refused to withdraw his resignation unless the Kaiser apologised The Kaiser refused, and ordered another skilled man to be sent, but no one could be found to take the plac'e of the insulted man, so that the guns are still waiting, unusable.

A SCRAP OF PAPER. When the dead ware being buried a trace cf blood led the searchers to a shady spot, where they found a French s'ergeant lying dead with his hand tightly clenched in death pressed to his lips. In his clenched hand was a scrap of paper, which they forced from it, and read. It was a latter from his little girl cf five, which, when mortally wcunded, he had crawled here to read with the last light of his dyingeyes, and it ran thus: "Dear Father, I miss you so much. I miss you most mernin'g and evening when I used to kiss you. I try to be good, as you told me and kind to mamma.—Your loving little girl, Marguerite." PLAYING A MAN'S PART. There was in the Cheshire Regiment a well-connect'ed young chap, who had brought disgrace on ins family, and had 'listed to get away from the police. "In one of our big fights he was mortally wcunded, after a terrible tussle with three big Germans. He asked me to take this message to his father, whose name h'e gave me to his confidence: 'l'm very sorry for the trouble I have given you and poor mother, but I hope you will forgive the past, because I did try to make £ood as a soldier, and every time I went into action I thought that I would do my best to atone fcr the past by playing a man's part fcr Old England.' Then he died." —From a Soldier's Letter. CONTRABAND OF WAR. A lady who lately passed the triple row of inspectors on her way from Germany to Holland had occasion to learn that even a box of sweets may become "contraband of war" in these troublesome times. "What is that?" askd the uniformed Beamter, pointing to the small pasteboard parcel in her hand. "A box of chocolates," she incautiously replied, "That stays h'ere," said the official gruffly. "But it was a present to me fcr the trip, and I've already eaten most of th'em," protested the traveller. "'Macht nichts," said the , official, firmly taking hold of the package and depositing it behind the counter, "the exportation of food is forbidI den. The chocolates stay here."