Every time I hear about an iminent war I remember with respect and pride from the time when I was one of the brave defenders of Independece. At the time of the last Oriental conflagration I served in the civic guard – Intelligent Bayonet – in the company of the Armenian slum. Heroic times ! I have beautiful memories of you…

My captain Joe Tomcat, once sergeant to the firefighters, was a solid man who was then on the turn cabman, bartender, building contractor, servants broker, police spy, bully and now, finally, he had declared himself openly on the side of the government. He was a profound propagandist – the fear of bartenders, cabmen, fiddlers and others who were dropping in his hand in his moments of madness against the upstarts. But otherwise he was a pleasant man, smart and cheerful.

When he first came to call me in the…