TO "LIFE" OF NEW YORK.
(In acknowledgment of its "John Bull Number.")
In earlier peaceful days your attitude
Was witty and satirical and shrewd,
But, whether you were serious or skittish,
Always a candid critic of things British,
Though, when you were unable to admire us,
Life's "little ironies" were free from virus.
But since the War began your English readers
Have welcomed Martin's admirable leaders—
Which prove that all that's honest, clean and wise
In the United States is pro-Allies—
And learned to recognise in Life a friend
On whom to reckon to the bitter end.
But these good services you now have crowned
By something finer, braver, more profound—
Your "John Bull Number," where we gladly trace
Pride in the common glories of our race,
Goodwill, good fellowship, kind words of cheer,
So frank, so unmistakably sincere,
That we can find (in Artemus's phrase)
No "slopping over" of the pap of praise,
But just the sort of message that one brother
Would send in time of trial to another.
And thus, whatever comes of Wilson's Notes,
Of Neutral claims or of the tug for votes,
Nothing that happens henceforth can detract
From your fraternal and endearing act,
Which fills your cup of kindness brimming full,
And signals Sursum corda to John Bull.
(The War Week by Week, as seen from New York. Being Observations from "Life." By E.S. Martin.)
"The Chairman said he should like to appeal to the good sense of the inhabitants of Duffield, through the Press, to do all they could to darken their windows not only at the front of the houses, but also at the back.
The Clerk said the Council had no power to take action in this matter only by persuasion, and it was decided that 500 leaflets should be distributed by the lamplighters to each house."—Derbyshire Advertiser.
And with pulp so expensive, too!