Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 March 1915 — Page 2

SOLDIERS TELL VIVID STORIES

Give Personal Touches Impossible to War Correspondent in These Days. JOKERS EVEN IN TRENCHES Irish Spirit Proves Irroprooolblo »« Face of Grave Danger—Sea Fight M Seen From the Engine Room. li(ndoD. —The war mailbag ia Just now a prolific source of Interest Vivid letters from soldiers at the front or in hospital bases and scrappy notes from the tars with the “silent fleet* mirror the actualities of war with a wealth of Intimate detail and picturesque personal touches impossible to the harshly censored war oorreepondent The following Is written from the front by Oorp. T. Trainor: "We have had German cavalry thrown at ns six times in the last four hours, and each time it has been s different body, so that they must have plenty to spare. There is no eight hours for work, eight hours for deep and eight hours for play with vm. whatever the Germans may do. "The strain is beginning to tell on tWi more on us, and you can see by the weary faces and trembling k«ixi« that they are beginning to break down. -One prisoner token by the French aear Courtrai sobbed for an hour as though his were broken, his nerves were so much shaken by what he had been through. The French are fighting hard all round us with a grit and go that will carry them through. "Have you ever seen a little man fighting a great, big, hulking giant who keeps on forcing the little chap about the place until the giant tires himself oat, and then the little one, who has kept his wind, knocks him over? That's how the fighting here strikes me. “We are dancing about round the big German army, but our turn will come. Our commanders know their business, and we shall come out on top all right.” Sergeant Major McDermott does not write under ideal literary conditions, bnt his style ia none the worse for the inspiration furnished by the shriekiifg shell: “I am writing *to you with the enemy's shells bursting and screaming overhead! but God knows when it will be posted, if at all. “We are waiting for something to turn up to be shot at, but up to now, though their artillery has been making a fiendisji row all along our front, we haven’t seen as much as a mosquito's eyelash to shoot at. That's why I am able to write, and some of us are able to take a bit of rest while the others keep ‘dick.’ “There is a fine German airship bunging around like a great blue bottle up in the sky, and now and then ouf gunners are .trying to bring It down, but they haven’t done it yet “It’s the quantity, not the quality of the German shells that is having effect on us, and it’s not so much the actual damage to life as the nerveracking row that counts for so much. “Townsmen who are used to the noise and roar of streets can Btand it better than the countrymen, and I think you will find that by far the fittest men are those of regiments mainly recruited in the big cities. “A London lad near me says it’s no worse than the roar of the motor ’buses and other traffic in the city on a busy day.” Gaelic Spirit irrepressible. The Gaelic spirit has not deserted Sergt. T. Cahill under fire. He writes: “The Red Cross girleens with their purty faces and their sweet ways are as good men as most of us, and better than some of us. They are not supposed to venture into the firing line at all, but they get there all the same, and devil a one of us durst turn them away. “Mike Clancy is that droll with his larking and bamboozling the Germans that he makes us nearly split our sides, laughing at him and his ways. “Yesterday he got a stick and.put a cap on it. -sc that It peeped *so above the trench just like a man, ana then the Germans, kept shooting away at it until they must have used up tons of ammunition.” But Mike Clancy was not the only practical joker in the trenches, as the following from a wounded soldier shows: “Our men have Just had their papers from home, and have noted, among other things, that 'Business as Usual’ is the motto of patriotic shopkeepers. -(“In last week’s hard fighting the Wiltshires, holding an exposed position, ran oat of ammunition, and had to suspend firing until a party brought fresh supplies across the open under a heavy fire. “Then the wag of the regiment, a Cockney, produced a biscuit tin with ‘Business as Usual* crudely printed on it, and set it up before the trenches as a hint to the Gormans that the fight could now be resumed on more “Finally the tin had to be taken In bMtoM It proving such a good

target for the Gorman riflemen, hut the Joker was struck twice In rescuing It "A wounded private of the Buffs relates how an infantryman got temporarily separated from his regiment at Mons, and lay concealed in a trench while the Germans prowled around. “Just when he thought they had left him for good ten troopers left their horsee at a distance and came forward on foot to the trench. “The hidden infantryman waited until they were half-way up the slope, and then sprang out of hia hiding place with a cry. ‘Now, lads, give them hell!’ Without waiting to see the ‘lads’ the Germans took to tbelr heels.” From Men In the Ffeet. Equally interesting are some of the letters from men with the fleet. Tom Thome, writing to his mother, in Sussex, says: “Before we started fighting we were all very nervous, but after we joined in we were all happy and most of us laughing till it was finished. Then we all sobbed and cried. “Even if I never come back, don’t think I’ve died a painful death. Everything yesterday was as quick as lightning. “We were in action on Friday morning off Helgoland. I had a piece of shell as big as the palm of my hand go through my trousers, and as my trouser legs were blowing in the breeze, I think I was very lucky.”. A gunroom officer in a battle cruiser writes: “The particular ship we were engaged with was in a pitiful plight when we had finished with her —her funnels shot away, masts tottering, great gaps of daylight in her sides, smoke and flame belching from her everywhere. She speedily keeled over and sank like a stone, stern first. So far as ia known, none of her crew was saved. She was game to the last, let it be said, her flag flying till she sank, her guns barking till they could bark no more. “Although we ourselves suffered no loss, we had some very narrow escapes. Three torpedoes were observed to pass us, one within a few feet. Four-inch shells, too, fell short or were ahead of us. The sea was alive with the enemy’s submarines, which, however, did us no damage. They should not be underrated, these Germans. That cruiser did not think, apparently, of surrender.” What naval warfare seems like to the “black squad,” imprisoned in the engine, room is described by an en-gine-room man of the Laurel, who went through the “scrap” off Helgoland. Writing to his wife, he says: “It was a terribly anxious time for us, I can tell you, as we stayed down there keeping the engines going at their top speed in order to cut off the Germans from their fleet. We could hear the awful din around and the scampering of the tars on deck as they rushed about from point to point, and we knew what was to the fore when we caught odd glimpses of the stretcher bearers with their ghastly burdens. • “We heard the shells crashing against the sides of the ship or shrieking overhead, as they passed into the water, and we knew that at any moment one might strike us in a vital part and send us below for good. “It is ten times harder on the men whose duty is in the engine room than for those on deck taking part in the fighting, for they, at least, have the excitement of the fight, and if the ship is struck they have more than a sporting chance of escape. We have none.” From a Dying Frenchman. The most dramatic letter comes from the French. On one of the fields of battle, when the Red Cross soldiers were collecting the wounded after a heavy engagement, Ihere was found a half sheet of notepaper, bn which was written a message for a woman, of which this is the translation: "Sweetheart: Fate in this present war has treated us more cruelly than many others. If I have not lived to create for you the happiness of which t. • t

FUNERAL OF GERMAN PRISONER

At South-End-on-the-Sea, at the mouth of the Thames, large numbers of captured Germans are kept on liners. The photograph shows the funeral of one of these prisoners. He was buried with full military honors and tbs other prisoners were allowed to act as pallbearers and join in *ha aschga

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN♦ RENSSELAER, IND.

both our hearts dreamed, remember that my sole wish la now that you should be happy. Forget me. Create for yourself tome happy home that may restore to you some of the greater pleasures of life. For myself 1 shall have died happy In the thought of your love. My last thought has been for you pud for those I have at home. Accept this, the last kiss, from him who loved you.” Writing from a fortress on the frontier, a French officer says the colonel in command was a.k* to send a hundred men to stiffen some reservist artillery in the middle of France, far away from the war area. He called for volunteers. “Spine of you who have got wives and children or old mothers fall out,” he said. Not a man stirred. “Come, come,” the colonel went on. “No ohe will dream of saying you funked. Nothing of that kind. Fall out!” Again the ranks were unbroken. The colonel blew his - nose violently. He tried to speak severely, bnt his voice failed bJm. He tried to frown, but somehow it turned Into a smile. "Very well,” he said, “you must draw lots.” And that was what they did.

HELPS RED CROSS

Madame Emma Calve, the famous grand 4sera singer, is devoting a good deal of her time to relieve the sufferings of the men who are fighting to defend her native country. She gave a concert in New York recently for the benefit of the Lafayette fund and the French Red Cross.

FAST REDUCES HER WEIGHT

Forty-five-Day Abstinence Helps Lady to Reduce Too Solid Flesh Some, Anyway. Stockton, Cal. Thoroughly convinced that overeating is one of the potent causes of obesity, Mrs. A. H. Barnes, a' well-known resident of this city, has just completed a 45-day fast. “I have been in poor health for some time,” said Mrs, Barnes, “and I undertook to get rid of my adipose Tissue. My weight for the last ten years ha§ been 220 pounds. I never varied. At the end of the fast I weighed 186 pounds. My height Is five feet two inches, and my age ia fifty-seven years.” During the entire 45 days, Mrs. Barnes says, she took no food whatever, and soon grew accustomed to doing without it. She broke the fast by eating an orange.

Call “281 Apple."

New York. —Union N. Bethel, president of the New York Telephone company, was being joked about hiß poor memory by John L. Swayze, the company’s counsel. “You don’t even know the telephone number of Adam and Eve,” said Swayze. “I don’t What was it?” Bethel acknowledged. * 4 281 Apple,” he was told.

ASPIC JELLY BY OLD METHOD

Flavor Universally Acknowledged ae Far Superior to That Made In the Easier Way. Old-fashioned housekeepers cling to the old way of making aspic, claiming that Its flavor is far superior to the easier made product. It ia indeed excellent and in eoki weather keeps its form quite aa well as where gelatin la used to stiffen. , l Get from the butcher a knuckle bone of ham, a calf’s foot and a knuclge of veal. Put into two quarts of cold water, and set over the fire where* it will come slowly to a boil. Add one onion with four cloves stuck into it, a large carrot, a bunch of soup herbs and a spice bag. Cook gently for four or five hours until the water is reduced about one-half. Strain and set aside to cool. When cold remove every suspicion of fat and return the thickened jelly tp a clean saucepan with the crashed shells and beaten whites of two eggs, a tablespoonful of tarragon vinegar, and lemon juice or wine aa preferred, to season. Salt and pepper to taste, and keep stirring until the Jelly nearly reaches the boiling point and a thick scum has formed. Remove that, then draw to one side of the fire and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Set back covered, until the Jelly settles, then strain Jhrough a jelly bag two or times until quite clear. Pour into a mold that has been soaked in cold wather, then pack in a pan of snOw or broken ice until hard.- 11 you desire to have the Jelly a pretty red color, add sufficient tomato to color at the same time and add the lemon or wine.

RECIPE IS AN ANCIENT ONE

Noel Cake for Many Years a Favorite Both in This Country and in England. To three cupfuls of sugar add two and one-half cupfuls of softened butter and whip to a light, white cream. Add ten eggs, two at a time, beating for about five minutes. To this mixture add four well sifted cupfuls of flour to which one teaspoonful of baking powder has been added; mix the whole well and add one-half cqpful of shredded citron, four cupfuls of washed and dried currants, one teaspoonful each of nutmeg and cloves and one-half cupful of fruit juice. Mix well and pour into a paper-lined tin, which is also well protected with paper on the outside. Bake for two and one-half hours in a moderate oven. This should be made at least a week before serving it. When ready to serve, wrap each slice in white paraffin paper, tied with a red ribbon and a sprig of fir tucked under the ribbon. —The Mother’s Magazine.

Beef Used in Salad.

Although beef is not at all an ideal salad meat, surprisingly good meat salad may be made from a small piece of boiled beef (bouilli). A half cupful of such meat cut in small pieces and mixed with dainty cooked vegetables and a mayonnaise dressing may be very tasty and will make an unexpectedly large salad. The vinaigrette of beef, a popular way with the French of using left-over boiled beef, fs practically the same thing as a beef salad, except that the meat iB cut in as pretty slices as possible and allowed to lie in the dressing for a time before it is served. This is what is called marinating the beef. It is good for luncheon with hot vegetables.

Vinaigrette of Beef.

Cut in thin slices some left over boiled Jbeef and let it lie an hour in a marinating mixture made as follows. Thin one scant teaspoonful of mustard ■with enough oil and vinegar to soak the meat in. Use half and half oil and vinegar, or three times ap much’ oil as vinegar, according to taste. Add salt and pepper and chopped fine herbs to taste. A little chopped onion may be used and the dish in which the meat is marinated may be rubbed with a clove of garlic.

Rice and Bacon.

Boil one cupful of rice in plenty of boiling salted water until done. Put in a colander and wash several times in cold water or hold under faucet and let plenty of water run over it. Then place In a round casserole with onefourth cupful hot water. Sprinkle the top with paprika and cover with very thin slices of bacon. Cover and bake 30 minutes in a slow oven. Uncover and brown the bacon and serve at once.

Spinach With Eggs.

Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter; when bubbling blend In one tablespoonful of flour, than , add one quart of tlnely chopped spinach and cook and stir five minutes. Add half cupful Of cream, season with pepper and salt; cook and stir three minutes longer and arrange in a mound on a heated dish. Garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs and serve at once.

Prune Cocktail.

Soak over night, stew and strain the largest primes. Sweeten slightly, then cool thoroughly on ice and chop small. Add to the prune juice orange and lemon juice to flavor, stir in chopped fruit and serve, in glasses banked with crashed ice.

To Clean Brass Breads.

To clean brass beds that have become tarnished, apply.* mixture of olive oil and whiting, then rub dean with a soft, dry flannel or chamois •W*

Little Paris of the new World

THE railway from the port of La Guaira to Caracas, capital of the republic of Venezuela, is about twenty-four miles long, following the track of the road built by the colonial Spanish governors along the shoulders of the mountain wall, writes L. Elwyn Elliott in the Pan-American Magazine. As the railway track winds up in a series of curves the traveler sees a few yards below, all the way, the highway newly built up and splendidly surfaced where automobiles are climbing or descending—negotiating the frequent bends with care. No better road could be desired, and this Is but one of the excellent systems of public highways which are the pride of Venezuela. Up in the mountains we get a quick and grateful change of climate with some suddenness; it is not really cool, for Caracas is sheltered by the double range that closes it in on either hand, but it is exceedingly agreeable—a perfect soft spring temperature almost equal during the whole of the year and only varied by the seasons of alternating dryness and moisture. The first, and I think the last, impression that one gets of Caracas is that it is very clean, very spick and span, very much “embellicida.” It is indeed the most embellished city of the Caribbean countries. Large sums have been spent dtfring several successive presidencies on the adornment of this greatly beloved capital city, and there is no Venezuelan who grudges the continuous expendi-

ture that is used in making place of pride. To the 20-year regime of President Ghzman Blanco were due the first layings of modern pavements, the erection of many modern edifices for public use, the introduction of up-to-date utilities; his ideas have been added to as well as maintained, and the result,is that Caracas has made the most of her natural advantages and is the prettiest, best paved, best managed of cities. Many Handsome Plazas. Caracas is laid out in squares intersected by a quantity of public gardens or plazas in the style common to Span-ish-America, and a very excellent system of town planning; in the case of the Venezuelan capital each square is beautifully tended,-.shrubs and fountains are kept in fine condition, the paths are paved with bright tiles, and the roads leading away at each side are macadamized or asphalted, like the streets of Paris. The newcomer is always proudly told' that Caracas 1b called the “Little Paris of the New World,” and her people hare certainly done their best to earn the title for their capital. The Plaza de Bolivar marks the center of Caracas, the .chief government building being accessible to it. It is a fine square, with an equestrian statue of the Liberator in the middle, flowering trees all about it, and the warm midday atmosphere cooled by fountains; a fine band plays here twice a week. One one side, or rather at the northeast corner, stands the cathedral, the remainder of the side taken' up by stores; the post office and Museo Boliviano, together? with the Hotel Klindt and more stores, take up another side; the palace of the archbishop and certain of the municipal office buildings lie on the south, while the Casa Amarilla, seat of the department of foreign relations, is on the west side. One block jrest and a block south of the Casa A mar ilia stands the Capitolio, occupying with its airy spaces an entire Mock. It is surrounded with trees and has a beautiful patio, gay with palms and statues and fountains, in the center, while about it are government offices, the chambers where Um senators and deputies meet, and p magnificent reception salon. Some Notable Buildings. Among the many handsome bnlldr *******

tha.fi the National university; on on* side a great series of shallow steps run along the front of a delicate lacy facade, rows of pillars shading the cloisters; the rounded front of ttte Capitolio, already mentioned, is architecturally fine, and the Yellow House 1b a fine spacious building. It does not, by the way, really correspond to the White House at Washington, to which it is often compared, for the president of Venezuela does not reside here. 'The president’s residence is a lovely palace built over a rock opposite the Calvario hill, and is known as Miraflores. South of the main plaza are the business and largest dry goodß stoles—which are not too busy to shut up tight in the middle of the day, when everybody is supposed to be at lunch —most of the financial houses and important offices; north the shops thin out and big residences, many of them two stories in height, crowd the streets. Like those in many another Spanish-American city, they have deeply embrasured entrances, are painted in gay colors,, and decorated externally in a manner only possible in a land of the sun. Paraiso and Calvario. The Paraiso is the neck of valley that runs out in a southerly direction from the capital; there are two mag--niflcent roads, meeting at the valley’s head, and with a broad strip of green between where there is an almost continuous series of parks and residences. Delightful country homes deep in trees edge the hillsides along the

ARCH OF THE FEDERATION

roads, and as a background stand the emerald heights themselves, velvet with soft the peaks softly capped with trailing clouds. This drive in the afternoon is . one of the pleasures of Caracas that no one can afford to miss. Seen from the Paraiso roads Caracas lies embowered in trees delicately spread at the foot of the protecting heights, an enchanting position. If there Is another view of the eity for which one would exchange this, it is the enchanting scene laid at one’s feet when seen from Calvario hill. To reach this point we drive out from the city one fine balmy afternoon, cross-*!

ing the outskirts and approaching a westerly hill dominating the whole, of Caracas. Once upon a time this was nothing 'but a grim height, but now an encircling driveway winds up to the tqp, a series of stone steps invite the energies of the pedestrian, and on the summit is a botanical garden and a zoo where Venezuelan animals and birds are spaciously housed. ▲ fine triumphal arch guards the foot of the hill, and the park at the top is adorned with statues of Colon and of the soldier Sucre; from the breezy brow one looks down on Caracas itself and <m the smiling green strip, hill guarded, which is .the Caracas valley* *

Statue, of Bolivar