(Le Régiment, Paris, 1919) (Sexist fare for the troops.)
Finally, what do we call superfluous?… Hors-d’oeuvre, for example… But they are necessary to admire the most rosy of the nails when they are unwrapped with an indolent finger…
Perfume?… But it is necessary to fight the Spanish flu… The [Medical] Faculty will tell you, ah!…
Our little doggie?… But he is needed as a liaison… (A war veteran looks at the address on the dog’s collar.)
High laced boots?… But they are necessary to emphasize the arch of the foot and the size of the calf above the thinness of the ankle…
Our light and scanty chemise?… That, I grant you, is sometimes superfluous…
A nice aviator?… But I assure you that it is badly necessary when you have an old husband…
Sic Transit Pestilentia 