The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-04

When the flag was completed. save
for sewing the stars upon the blue
ground. Fanchon took it away from the
others and insisted upon finishing the
work herself. To her own room, she
carried it, and each of the white stars
that the young men of Rouen were TO
follow in the struggle that would add
so many others TO the constellation,
was jewelled with her tears and kissed
by her lips as it took its place with its
brothers. Never were neater stitches
taken, for. with every atom of her
body yearning TO receive the shot that
was destined for Crailey. this quiet sew
ing was all that she could do! She
would have followed him, to hold
parasol over him under the dangerous
sun. to cook his meals properly, to
watch over him with medicines and
blankets and a fan: she would have
followed barefoot and bareheaded, and
Yet, her heart breaking with the cru
cial yearning to mother him and pro-
tect him, this was all that she could do
for him, this small stitching at the flag
he had promised to follow.
When the work was quite finished,
she went all over it again with double
thread, not facing the superstition of
her motive, which was to safeguard her
lover; the bullet that was destined for
Crailey might, in the myriad chances.
strike the flag first and be detected,
though never so slightly, by one of
these last stitches, and Crailey's heart
thus missed by the same margin
1t was at this juncture, when the
weeping of women was plentiful when
old men pulled long faces, and the very
urchins of the street observed periods
of gravity and even silence, that no
ton entered the head of Mrs. Tanberry
young jamie Tanberry-to the effect
that such things were all wrong. She
declared energetically that this was no
decent fashion of farewell; that after
the soldiers went away there would be
time enough to enact the girls they
had left behind them; and that, until
then, the town should be made enliven-
ing. So she went ABOUT preaching re-
vival of cheerfulness, waving her jew
elled hand merrily from the Carewe
carriage to the volunteers she saw upon
the street, calling out TO them with
laughter and inspiring quip; every
where scolding the mourners viciously
in her husky voice, and leaving so
much of heartening ViVacity in her
wake that none could fail to be con-
WINGED that she was a wise woman.
Nor was her Vigor spent in vain. 1t
was decided that a ball should be given
to the volunteers of Rouen two nights
before their departure for the state
rendezvous, and it should be made the
noblest festival in Rouen's history; the
subscribers took their oath to it. They
rented the big dining room at the Rou-
en- House, covered the floor with small
cloth. and hung the walls solidly with
banners and roses, for June had come.
More, they ran red carpet across the
sidewalk (Which was perfectly dry and
clean) almost to the other side of the
street; they imported two extra fiddleS
and q clarionet to enlarge the orches-
ira; and they commanded a supper
such as a hungry man beholds in a
dream.
Miss Betty laid out her prettiest dress
that evening, and Mrs. Tanberry came
in and worshipped it as it rested. like
foam of lavender and white and gray
upon the bed, beside the snowy gloves
with their tiny, stiff lace gauntlets,
while two small white sandal-slippers,
with jeWelled buckles where the Stra pS
crossed each other were being fastened
upon Miss Betty's silken feet by the
vain and gloating Mamie.
Its a wicked cruelty, Princess" ex-
claimed Mrs. Tanberry I'VE want to
cheer the poor fellows and help them to
be gay. and here do you deliberately
plan to make them sick at the thought
of leaving the place that holds YOU Or
have you discovered that there's one
poor Vagabond of the band getting off
without having his heart broken, and
made up your mind to do it for him
tonight
rs father to go with us?" asked
Betty. 1t was through Mrs. Tanberry
that she now derived all information