The Detroit times., 1915-10-13
Three French Cooks mn
Happiness III Knc
After Bit III Trend
BY HERBERT COREY.


(Cepyrtsht. 1915, ny Herbert Cersy.l
PARIS, Sept. 9.--The three cooks
have returned to the trenches. The
fat cook wept when he said good-by.
The middle aged cook kissed her
hand. There is something of the
distant aristocrat In the middle aged
cook. One remembers reading OF
certain seigneurial rights and OF
certain seigneurs who exercised
them very long ago. The little
young cook stood up very straight.
He had that way with him that 30
many Frenchmen have OF saying
theatrical things In an untheatrical
way.
1T 10 for France" said he.
She III an American woman. When
the permissionnaires began to come
home for the first leave they had In
more than eleven months It occur
red to her that many French SOL
diers have no homes to which they
may 60. Their homes-the places
whore their homes were-are BE-
hind the German lines In northern
France. She began TO worry at
nights about these men. At last
she went to the War Once.
"will these men be given leave!''
she asked.
"No." said the onycials. 1T 10 re-
Rrettable, Madame, but what would
you? They have no place to Co."
It has been said that Madame ID
an American. Americans are ad.
dicted to whipping the devil around
the bush Of obstacle. She canvass.
ed her friends for money. One day
she returned to the War Once.
Send three Of these homeless men
to me each week." said she Il
will give them good meals and q
bed to sleep In, and they shall see
this brave Paris. As for the money,
my American friends will help me
out"
For a time there was silence
Then. one morning. there came a
little tinkle at her bell A timid
tinkle. II was as though a good
child had touched It. Madame the
American went to the door, and
there stood three mon looking at her
wistfully. They were clothed in the
French uniforms Of blue mist
which had been stained from heel
to shoulder with French clay They
did not speak. One Of them--the
middle aged cook--bowed with
something of grace and offered her
! paper. The others took OF their
caps and stood at attention. II
was the order from the War once,
quartering the three homeless SOL
diers upon Madame the American
for q week,
But come IN" said she. "Come
in. I am so glad to see YOU"
They entered in single file, the
middle aged cook and the fat cook
and the little young cook. Once In
side the door. they stood at atten
ton. Their faces were precisely
the color OF those bronzes one sees
in shop windows upon the Rue dc
la Paix, but Madame would have
sworn they we're blushing. She
asked them to sit down, and they
sat upon the extreme frontier OF
the chairs and held their caps nrm.
ly in their strong fingers and look
ed unhappily before them. II Is OF
certainty, says Madame the
American, that they were regretting
the trenches.
Madame may be addicted to
prayer. Quien sabe? II she is. II
Is very certain that ahe prayed
that night that these three men
might have q good time in Paris
They were such very dear helpless
simple souls, for all their uniforms
and mustaches and the trench clay
Like children. Madame says. They
did precisely what she told then
with touching obedience. Thel
they returned to their chairs and
sat on the edges OF them and moved
their fnss.s dolefully. Once Mad
ame suggested that they look on
Of the window.
AT last took them away from
that window" said she. II believ
they were enjoying It. Not one ha,