Went to a dance the other night and met some swell girls.  I made em all laff.  I says I guess I got the instinks of a soldier all right.  The minit I smell powder Im right on my tows.

I havent been very well lately.  I guess Ill cut out eatin at meals.  It spoils my appitite for the rest of the day.  I kno youll be glad to kno my feet aint hurtin so much.  Remember me to the hired girl and your mother.

Yours through the winter,
Bill.

[Illustration:  “REMEMBER ME TO YOUR MOTHER”]

Chair Mable:

Thats French.  I didnt expect you to kno what it meant though.  The Y.M.C.A. are learnin me French now.  I only had three lessons so far but I can talk it pretty good.  You know how quick I am at pickin up any kind of trick stuff like that.  The only difference between French and English is that there pretty near alike but the French dont pronounce there words right.

When I use French words Ill underline them.  Thatll give you some idea of the languige.

When we get voila as the French say for over there itll come handy to be able to sit down and have a dosy dos with them poilus. (That means chew the rag in English.) A poilus Mable is a French peasant girl an they say that they are very belle. (Now don’t mispronounce things an get sore till you know.  You pronounce that like the bell in push button.  It means good lookers.) There crazy about us fellos.  They call us Sammies.  They named one of there rivers for us.  You have heard of the battle of the Samme.  But I dont suppose you have.

They have been learnin us a lot about gas at attacks lately.  These are not the kind your father has.  These are more like the open places in the street on 6th avenoo.  Only in the army when anything like this happens they give you a gas mask.  A gas mask is like a cracked ice bag with windos in it.  An in the front they got a cigaret holder.  I always heard how the French was cigaret feends.  I guess it got so bad they put in the holders sos they could smoke during a gas attack.

Im goin to put on my mask an have my pictur took en cabinet.  Thats nothin to do with furniture, Mable.  Its the French for what its goin to look like when its done.

The gas fello said the other day that gas was perfectly safe cause you could always tell when it was comin.  You could hear it escape or see it or smell it.  The only trouble was, he said, that when the gas started the machine guns made so much noise you couldnt hear it an it always came at night sos you couldnt see it and when you smelled it it was most to late to bother anyhow.  I been thinkin that over.  Seems to me theres a joker in the contract somewhere.  Ask your father to read it over an see if it sound droit (thats French for right) to him.  Better still.  Ask Higgins the grocer to give it the once over.  Hes got a grand tete as the French say when they mean brains.

[Illustration:  “NOT THE KIND YOUR FATHER HAS”]