ZEPPELIN ESSAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1916, Page 3

ZEPPELIN ESSAYS.

CHILDREN'S POINT OP VIEW. "Children's Interest in the War at Different Ages'' was the subejet of a lecture given by Dr. C. W. Kimmins, the chief inspector of schools, at the. Royal Sanitary Instituc in Liondon, when some amusing extracts were read from essays on the last two air raids written by boys and girls whose ages range from eight to thirteen. One of the most striking facts Which emerge from the consideration of these essays, said Mr. Kimmins, is that the father plays, from the point of the child, an extremely unimportant part in the family life en such occasion as an air raid. In 0.) per cent, of the papers no reference is made to him, and even then the reference is not flattering. Tin's is the opinion of one boy: ''My father was very frightened during the raid and ran into a beer shop and got under the counter, and stayed there until it was all over." ''A man came into the public-house.'-' wrote one boy, and said, "(Jive me half-c-pint. If I am going to die I'll die drunk." Some of the children took quite a philosophic attitude, as tlio following example shows:—".My teeth were hanging together, but when I remembered that our lives were mapped out for us, and Mod's will must he done." One boy wrote:—"The bomb dii not go off, so I went to get it, but burned my fingers. A 'copper' came running round the corner, and he took it." The following are further extracts: "Is this war'; Xo! Murder! I hope to God they will never come again." "My mother went into a fit, so I went out to see the penny hank." "Eat head," said I politely, "it cannot be a Zeppelin. It does not move, therefore it must be a star." "All the street lamps were put out—a very silly thing indeed—for the intense darkness can be as easily observed as bright light."