Presence of Mind

A fire broke out in the middle of the night in a country house where a number of guests had been staying outside wrapped up in shawls, sheets and blankets.

One of the guests was the last to join the crowd. He said he was not at all excited and had not lost his usual presence of mind in spite of the danger. He drew everybody’s attention to the fact that he had not only put on his shirt and tie but had even found time to fetch his pipe and his tobacco-pouch [paʊʧ]. Only one of them wondered why together with his shirt and tie he had not put his trousers.