Bridgeton pioneer., 1916-02-03
A Strange
Case Of Trio
Story Told by a Red Cross
Nurse.
By EILEEN BRENNAN

SOOH dlIeT the DredklnS out OF tlt
great worlds war | left my home to
go abroad to engage in Red Cross
service. Shortly before returning for
recuperation--for | was entirely in
capacitated-I stopped one day to rest
in the cottage of a peasant. The only
occupant was a young woman about
twenty-five years of age, whom | took
for maiden. She was dressed in
what mourning she could afford. which
was not much. She told me that she
wore it for a lover
Two photographs hung side by side
on the wall. Each represented q fine
looking young man in the uniform of
a French soldier One of the pictures
was wreathed in flowers.
rs that" l asked, pointing to the
one decorated. "a picture of your
lover:"
Yes. madame"
"And the other:"
THAT is my husband
looked at her surprised.
81 presume You married for some
other reason than love:"
NO. madame; love my husband"
And your lover?'
Il love him. too. though he is dead"
Il see. He died. You gave your
heart TO another who lives"
NO, madame. | married one lover.
giving him my heart. Then the other
lover died. and | gave him my heart
too.''
And was not your husband jea.
ous:'
NO, madame; he loves Henri a
much as t.
Hearing a stamping on the floor be
hind. l turned and saw a man with
wooden support for a missing leg.
This is my husband" said the wo-
man. HE will tell you why we both
love one who loved me. Tell her, Vic
tor"
She placed chair in position for the
poor fellow, who had evidently not
long been without his missing leg; ar
ranged his underpinning so that il
would give him the least discomfort.
filed pipe with tobacco and poured
out a glass Of red wine for him. TAX
ing a sip Of the wine, he looked at the
picture that was decorated, evidently
drinking to it Then he told me the
story:
Henri and Clochette and I were
brought up together. playmates and
schoolmates. Henri and l We're chums
and loved each other, and when we
grew to manhood we both loved Clo-
chette, but neither knew that of the
other. / did not suspect that Henri
loved her, for he was very undemon-
strative man and did not tell his Sc
crets. But l have believed since his
death that he loved her from boyhood.
Whether he suspected that loved her
/ do not know to this day.
"One day / told Henri that Clochette
was my betrothed. / fancied / saw
pallor stealing over his face, but it dis
appeared so soon that / thought little
about it. Afterward Clochette told me
that he had proposed to her the day
before / asked her to be my wife.
can now see what q shock my an
nouncement must have been to him
But neither Of us could have Clio
chette then, for suddenly the war broke
out, and Henri and | were both called
to the colors, going to the front in thc
same regiment By this time | had
learned that Henri had met with a
great disappointment in losing Clio,
chette, and told him the day we were
entrained for the front that in case
was killed it was my wish that he
should marry Clochette; that / had ex
pressed this wish to her and she had
promised me she would accede to it.
you see, madame, by this time
made it the interest of Henri that I
should be killed. Had he been a vii
lain he could have shot me In battle.
and no one but himself would have
known that lie was murderer. But
knew he was not that kind Of man.
Henri and joined that army which
extended southeastward through Bel
GUM and along the border Of France
and were In the battles occurring while
we were being driven back toward
Paris. Then came the battle of the
Marne and the subsequent fighting for
the possession of Calais. During all
this time neither Henri nor received
n scratch. When later we were struck
Henri received his death wound and |
lost my leg.
You remember, madame, when late
in September, in the second year of the
war, we and the British. after four
weeks sending storm of missiles
against the German trenches moved
forward along the whole line yell IN
that movement, in which it seemed tc
us and our enemies as if the end of the
world had come, Henri advanced
with the rest, and. being not only in th(
same regiment. but in the same com
pany. we We're near together Once
through the horrible surroundings
when l was stumbling over dead anf
wounded. the din of 10000 thunder
storms beating ON my eardrums,
eou~ht sight of Henri His owes \ver,