our first thoughts ever, and, if Heaven
Had not enough good weather to go round,
Gladly I'd sacrifice this present boon
And welcome howling blizzards, hail and flood,
So they, out there, might still be warm and dry.

II.

_C_. Have you observed the alien in our midst,
How strangely numerous he seems to-day,
Swarming like migrant swallows from the East?
_D_. I take it they would fain elude the net
Spread by Conscription's hands to haul them in.
All day they lurk in cover Houndsditch way,
Dodging the copper, and emerge at night
To snatch a breath of Occidental air
And drink the ozone of our Underground.

III.

_E_. How glorious is the Milky Way just now!
_F_. True. In addition to the regular stars
I saw a number flash and disappear.
_E_. I too. A heavenly portent, let us hope,
Presaging triumph to our British arms.

IV.

_G_. Methought I heard yestreen a loudish noise
Closely resembling the report of guns.
_H_. Ay, you conjectured right. Those sounds arose
From anti-aircraft guns engaged in practice
Against the unlikely advent of the Hun.
One must be ready in a war like this
To face the most remote contingencies.
_G_. Something descended on the next back-yard,
Spoiling a dozen of my neighbour's tubers.
_H_. No doubt a live shell mixed among the blank;
Such oversights from time to time occur
Even in Potsdam, where the casual sausage
Perishes freely in a _feu de joie_.

V.

_J_. We missed you badly at our board last night.
_K_. The loss was mine. I could not get a cab.
Whistling, as you're aware, is banned by law,
And when I went in person on the quest
The streets were void of taxis.
_J_. And to what
Do you attribute this unusual dearth?
_K_. The general rush to Halls of Mirth and Song,
Never so popular. The War goes well,
And London's millions needs must find a way
To vent their exaltation--else they burst.
_J_. But could you not have travelled by the Tube?
_K_. I did essay the Tube, but found it stuffed.
The atmosphere was solid as a cheese,
And I was loath to penetrate the crowd
Lest it should shove me from behind upon
The electric rail.
_J_. Can you account for that?
_K_. I should ascribe it to the harvest moon,