The sun., 1916-12-17
There Also the Women Are Doing Their Part-An Out
Of the World Region Made Kin to Paris
by Patriotism and Suffering
WAR

In the field over the hill the VomAn
keeps on working So bent u .she
that her face seems almost to touch
the ground. For . second she looks
UP. straightens out and mods. She h
not an old woman In years, but it y
difficult to discern that. She stands
there an instant. then as though with
q sudden thought quickly stoops over
the ground again and works away a.
II she had been wasting time. In her
face Is written the story Of life wreck
Ing toll. Several children run out OF
the woods from near by toward the
house.
Late afternoon. and the village IL
reached. II contains probably nifty
houses. and in the centre. where there
Is q sort of square. stands tho Marie.
the town hall. where the Mayor lives.
He has q soldier for an assistant.
They both speak French. the Mayor
with an accent sometimes almost un-
intelligibly.
They examine papers suspIciously
and go over them again and a4Ain.
At this time they cannot understand
why foreigners should be In their town.
II takes until evening 10 make expla-
nations. II Is not until well into the
next day that those Of the villagers
who speak French will show conf
dence. They maintain reserve that
seeks to demand why strah gers should
have come 80 far to visit their town.
On the other side Of a high motin-
tain that towers UP In sheer height
by the village 10 Spain. while on the
wall 0f he Marie II posted Q list Of
names. those OF the latest escaped Ger.
man prisoners. For the capture Of
some rewards are offered
A road leads from this town to .
larger tswn half . days Journey away.
OccasionAlly In peace times few tour
lists stop there. some through acci-
dent. others through curiosity. The
soldier assistant 70 the Mayor Of the
village. who had once been to Paris
and had gone to the school in the town
down on the coast. comes from the
other village.
There are . cafe and q store In the
first town. Tho cafe. tho soldier ex-
plains, Is kept moro for the benefit
Of tho occasional peasant passing
through and for tho tradition OF the
place than for the accommodation Of
the villagers themselves. Tho store
supplies the simple needs Of tho peo-
pie. such things that might come
from the world without-candles, cheap
cloth and various sundries with such
delicacies as cakes.
A day passes and the villa gers be-
come talkat!ve enough. They are
curious to know what is going on in
the world without. what people think
Of the war elsewhere. In Paris, and
news OF those they have ut the front
They think II IL strange that they
shouldn't have been met with some
where.
Here. far away from the rumble Of
cannon. tho idea Of the war Is de-
rived from the few lined Official COM
munique posted daily over on the wall
OF tho Marie. the papers that occa-
s!onally drift into tho village and the
soldiers on leave.
Many OF the folk have never been
more than a few miles from their
I homes. They aro simple people
with simple needs. soft hearted and
confiding. Their delight has been to
Till the land. a life OF work and song,
but the song is gone.
! Tho store IL kept ny woman who
| has n son and "A husband at tho front.
Her only companion now is boy
| about 10 years old who helps along
with the work. On tho youngsters
face already are beginning 10 hc scen
the lines OF overtoil. Pnt tho woman
is happy. for her family ia vet intact
She has been down I" tho town by
! the sea twice In her life. Sho has
| lived hero always Except for occa-
sioral visits her whole life has been
confined to this village. So in a mat
tor OF fact way she tells how. at the
beginning of the war. tho village was
| fortunate to have escaped an invasion
by tho Germans. They were planning
To invade France hy way Of Spain,
she says. and It was lucky tho project
was abandoned, for they would have
/ probably come over that way. she SAYS,
pointing in the direction of tho noun
tain.
Her lot since tho war has not bccn
typical throughout tho village. Tho
| toll OF its manhood has been heavy
| The woman across tho street has a
different story. She has lost two sons.
Now. carefully treasured somewhere,
she keeps a picture, Some one has told
her II she exposes II to the light Il
will fade. After much hesitation she
very carefully and tenderly unwraps
1t from many pieces OF paper, much
crumbled so as to be soft. and "A piece
OF cloth. In a shaded place for q
/ brief moment she shows it-a cheap
| photograph of two smiling small boys.
II was taken long ago. This is all she
has left. Her husband too is dead
Great tears burst out over = much
wrinkled face as she again tcnderly
hut quietly rewraps the Photograph.
Life has gone wrong with her, she
says.
In another house lives woman
who has hut recently received word
Of her boys death. Her husband Is
at the front, Ky latest reports he
SIN lives. She has another child, q
little girl OF years. Now shc spends
all her time with her. II helps to
distract.
Such is tho story OF other houses In
the village. former homes. Tho some-
thing that lacks in the bigger town
down by tho coast is missed in this
town also. Tho houses are still here.
! the mountain towers above, and this
year the vine covering the stone wall
over by the Marie again ~ bearing
its blossoms. They are littlo white
flowers and they I'LL the air with their
sweetness
Long live France" Is on the lipo
OF the inhabitants, and they shield