The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-09-19

| Europe. am sure Il snau SPEAK ue'
| ter French for going to France for
| ten minutes, and being among the
French people. your friends. WAN,
now, till / am comfortable" oao'
turned q deep chair 20 that Il laced.
him, and dropped into It. Put .
| footstool for me-" she ordered, -
southern women order the men they
care for-and the men they do noG
And she settled back with her little
feet on II and smiled at him. For
moment the mans brilliant case rest
cd on her and the girl saw It. and
thrilled to It. Now, Monsieur, racorr
fss-moi une historic" she spoke
softly.
Francois Beaupre's look turned
from her to the Are. and the air of
gazing at something far away came
again. 1T is picture see 40 think
Of that time of my childhood" he be-
gan. a. II speaking to himself. "A
picture many times painted In home
like colors on my brain. Many .
night In the winter have sat, . little
boy. by the side of my grandmother.
At that great hearth. and have look
ed and have seen all the faces, have
heard all the voices and the Are
cracking. and the spinning-wheel
whirring, even as I see them and hear
them tonight. was always close by
the 8rand-mere, for I was the dearest
Of the children to her. Sometimes
long after my bedtime sat there, but
very quietly, for fear that my mother
might remember and send me to bed;
yet she liked to please the grand
mere. 20 l stayed often longer than
the eothers. It was q great room, and
across one corner was the hearth
which was raised like q throne,
Mademoiselle, from the floor, twelve
feet Wide. One burned logs six feet
long within it, and from up the chin
ney swung the cremaillere-the
chains from which were hung the ket-
ties. II was the house OF q peasant,
Mademoiselle knows. yet It was the
best house In the village Often, OF
. November night, the neighbors
would come In. perhaps q dozen. per-
haps more. and the young men had
their work-they arranged the max
Tor spinning. It might be-and the
young girls prepared apples to dry,
and the mothes' knitting needles
flashed back and forth on the stock
inO for our winter wear, and the
grand-mere would be spinning linen
threads for our clothing-whirr, whirr
~ can hear the low sound Of her
wheel. And always I, Francois, would
Dc ON the stool at her side. watching
and listening. For my father wan Q
great reconteur. and he told stories
OF the war and Of the legends OF that
country. It was an ancient country
you must know. Mademoiselle, and
the name Of our village itself was
from the Romans. vicQues was the
name. and that % you know.
Mademoiselle. comes from the Latin
word vicus, . village. So that there
VERY ole castles In ruin In those parts
ANA ssa1ee Of buried treasure, ana
ghosts In arm0r guarding II, and
fNnt~AqU that breathed flame. and
omsr things pleasantly horrible "a
the ear Of . little boy. On the cold
nights. - the hre roared ND the chin
ney and the grandmother's wheel
whirred softly. my father and the
other men told these tales, and I lis
tened. quiet - q mouse In nv corner
ana from time to time I saw Z young
man lean over and whisper in the ear
Of one Of the young girls. and I won.
dered why her face became rcd -
the drelight.
And from time TO time one az the
men. - he talked, rose IN and strods
across the room to the Rreaf 90 tshie
whore lay always ON ! voodsn Nae
2 long Loaf of black bread with .
.nife. ana always . glass ana . bot
tle Of eeu-oevie-br1ndy And re-
member how manly It looked to me.
Watching. when ! NV him take the
LOAF under his arm and hold. Il and
'sasce On boldly . great Piece OF the
reen re bread. and pour out . glass
g brandy and toss II OF ~ he ate
tne ereao. The stories seemed 70
HQN better after the taller had done
that.
And always I waited, even throuxh
the tale OF the ghost and the flrs-
breathing hound, till the talk should
swing around. - 1t did ever toward
me end, to the stories Of Napoaeon
that were fresh In men's minds n
nose days. It was &c X / eat on nee
dies before my bedtime came, vet /
did not dare to be restless and move
about FOR fear that my mother MINT
send me suddenly TO bed. But Al
ways gave q sigh Of content ana ~.
ways the grand-mere patted my head
softly TO hear II, when my father
cleared his throat and began-
There 10 q small thing that hap
pened when the emperor vac march
ing and then he was launched ON
his tale"
A great hickory log fell, rolled out
toward the hearth. The carved
nymphs and shepherds seemed 10
trown In disapproval at this irregu-
iarlty, and the girl In the deep chair
smiled. but the man sprans nm and
put the log back in place with quick
ernciency. He stood Silent by the tall
mantelpiece, deep yet in his reverie.
al the names caught the wood again
ana sparkled and sputtered.
DID any Of them ever see Napoleon
those men who talked about him"
the girl asked.
The Frenchman turned a oueer ,oo.
on her, and did not answer.
DID any Of your family ever see
MIN. Monsieur" she asked again.
The alert figure stepped backward.
st down again on the gilded chair ana
leaned forward considerfngly. Fran
co.'s nodded al IL to the fire. "put
yes, Mademoiselle," he said. In =
whisper.
on. tell mel" the girl cried. all in.
toro0t "Who vs. as IT, -"