the kernel give his talk and sed how the girls cood help by making the bandiges and how the boys cood find out who was fer the guvernment and who wasnt.  I bet Erny and his father isnt, and I am going to keep my eye on them.  Then we sang the french nashunal anthem and it is a fine him, and it goes this way in English:  Ye sons of France awake to glory, the day of victory has come, your childrens wives, and sires horny, behold there tears—­and thats as far as Ive lernt, we have got to lern all of it, and their is a buly part that goes, March on.  Yesterday the fife and drum corpse plaid it and the Star Spangled Banner and some of the boys lafft becaus the fifes sort of sqweekt.  I dont see how ennybody can laff when they play the Star Spangled Banner.  Did you get my pig?  I suported you this weak by polishin 10 door handels at 7 cents each, some of them was already polisht but the folks was real nice about it and let me give them an extry polish.  Say why dont you tell me who that Mr. le Cure is?  I have askt you too times now, and say if I was you I woodnt say, come like the dickens or skin them alive or enny of that kind of talk.  It is al-rite fer boys who are used to ruffin it, but it is not nice fer girls so if I was you I wood go easy on it, and hot dogs aint machine guns, they are sausidges that are made from those low-down german dogs that heve short legs, but say they test buly in a roll.  The vilets and pollywogs have come and I wood send you some but I guess they wood dry up before you got them.  Ennyway you neednt worry much about the war now that Uncle Sam is in it we will lick the stuffin out of him together, I mean out of Kaiser Bill.

Your affeckshunate godfather,
James P. Jackson Jr.

P.S.  Bug Hadley sez it is lucky fer him Erny and I had that fite, because he had fergot what come after, and dedicatid to the proposishun.

June 3, 1917.
18 rue d’Autancourt, Paris.

Dear Godfather: 

It is great damage that the pretty egg of Easter I sent you be smasht up!  But I regret yet more that to receive my paquet make you dispute yourself in dutch, like you say, with the little villain in school.  All the same I am content you landed him one in the eye (I comprehend not what you want say by that, but I am sure the little boche comprehend) and you are one valiant patriot.

Dear godfather, why say you the girls must go easy to learn the American?  I effort myself to be instructed with the words in your letters the dictionary contains not but if they are nothing but for little boys I pray you to tell me the pretty words for the little girls.  I am sure my dear godfather serves himself not of villain talk.  Jean was put in penitence yesterday because he say one word that is for Poilus only, and Maman turn him against the wall in the corner with the hands behind; and do you know what he do when we regard him not?  He lick the paper on the wall and make it to come off.  So Maman give him the spank.  Dear godfather, I am happy to make you a little pleasure in sending you my portrait.  I think it is well succeeded and very resembling, and will you have the obligeance to envoy to me the one of you?