ns in thousands, and men of the ranks in
uncountable numbers, have not taken very much notice of the padres.
They felt perhaps that the clergy did not really count for much in
army life.

Fortunately it is not only in the drawing of artists that the
general opinion finds expression. The average man, a very sure and
sane judge of worth, cannot use pencil, brush, or paint; but he has
other ways of expressing himself. For instance he labels whole
classes with nicknames.

Consider the various names for the enemy which are current in the
trenches. "Hun" was not the invention of the army. It came from the
newspapers. The soldier uses it, but not with delight. He prefers
"Boche"; but that was not his own word either. It originated with the
French. And there is a noticeable difference between the way a
Frenchman and an Englishman say "Boche." The Frenchman hisses it. In
his mouth it is eloquent of a bitter hatred for something vile. An
Englishman says "Boche" quite differently. You feel as you listen to
him that he regards his enemy as brutal and abominable, but also as
swollen, flatulent, and somewhat ridiculous.

"Fritz" and not "Boche" is our own invention in the way of a name for
the enemy. It expresses just what the men feel. "Fritz" whom we
"strafe" continually is in the main a ridiculous person, and any
healthy-minded man wants to rag him. There is an inflated pomposity
about Fritz; but given the necessary hammering he may turn out to be
a human being like ourselves. He wants to get home just as we do. He
likes beer, which is very hard to come by for any of us, and he
enjoys tobacco.

Or take another nickname. Generals and staff officers are called
"Brass Hats." The name was fastened on them early in the war and it
still sticks. Perhaps if we were starting fresh now we should give
them another name, a kindlier one. For a "Brass Hat," if such a thing
existed, would be more ornamental than useful. It would occupy a
man's time in polishing it, would shine, no doubt agreeably, on
ceremonial occasions, but would be singularly uncomfortable for daily
wear. Is that the sort of way the fighting men thought of the staff
after Neuve Chapelle? The name suggests some such general opinion and
the name passed into general use.

"Padre" is another nickname; but a friendly one. I should much rather
be called a padre than a Brass Hat. I should much rather be called a
padre than a parson. It is an achievement, something they may we