New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-18
French Soldiers
Seek Marraines
By Haywood Broun
(Accredited to the Pershing Army in
France for the Nelo Yori;
T..;b,,,o o,,d Syndicate

France tOr the NeW orr
Tribune and SyndicGte.)
lCopyrisht. 1917. by The Tribune Associationl
PARIS, July 21.-There are days in
France when one may have no coal, and
other days when cakes are forbidden,
but seemingly there is no shortage Of
marraines. At least, no one ever ad-
vertises for marianne except a "Jolie'
one, and It is nearly always stipulated
that she must be "jeune.'
The custom of each soldiers having
a sort of godmother who writes to him
and sends him little gifts has obtained
no foothold in the British army, nor in
the American army, for that matter, al
though General Pershing has received
scores of letters from. those who would
be marraines for him and his soldiers.
Some Have Fifty Marraines
The custom is growing in France to
such proportions that it is said some
canny poilus have as many as fifty mar
raines. and it is notorious that groups
of men get together in the trenches and
model their letters after a common
form dictated by the best letter writer
in the company.
On the other hand, if their letters are
TO be believed and that is doubtful,
there are officers and men in the army
who have not even one marianne. This
makes them no less exacting. For m
stance, one reads in an advertisement:
"Does there still exist marianne for
an automobilist with gray hair-a dis
interested marianne who combines the
charms Of youth and beauty with those
of spirit and sentiment, and who is also
very serious z"
Truly. this seems exacting on the
part of a gray-haired automobilist, par
ticularly as the automobile belongs to
the government.
Some soldiers are less explicit, and
there are advertisements such as:
"'Allo!' Is there marianne for hand
some little 'Blue-Collar'
Some Demand Photos
A few soldiers are not willing to 90
it blind, but insist upon photographs,
and we find: "A territorial, neither
fippant nor morose, of liberal habit,
would like TO correspond with a mar
raine from twenty-four to twenty-eight
wears of age, amiable and very large
and blond. A photograph is essen
tial."
often the soldier lays the stress upon
his own good qualities rather than
those of the marianne. So It is with
three. at any rate, whose paragraph
reads: Three young officers having
sixty-eight years between them, deco
rated, amiablo, and sentimental, lonely
and weary Of living, would like young
and spirited marraines. Discretion or
the most honorable"
Tho colonies are represented. "A
Young colonial under officer, camping
under the skies, lost among the blacks,
would like young and pretty mar
the same color"
Some pin their hope on brevity.
"Will this simple announcement suf-
fee to bring me a pretty Partisan mar
raine? >" writes one, while another con-
tents himself with. Jack wearies him
self alone. A marianne would be his
dream" or "Secrch no further, pretty
marianne; write to Y"
Spirituele Marianne Sought
Beauty is nothing to a few, for we
have, "A wounded aviator wishes TO eN-
change ideas beth literary and philo-
sophical with a spirituelle marianne"
Contrasting with this is the adver-
tisement directly below: "A captain OF
the General staff, we'll favored of per-
son. distinguished, young. would like
to correspond with a young marianne
answering strictly to the following de-
scrption; young girl or young, woman
Of the world. pretty, distinguished and
sentimental"
Most writer's express a preference
for Parisians. "Above all. Psrisian,"
states one, while "Pnrisian preferred"
Is common. Occasionally somebody
ADDS. Tor Lyonnhises." Poetry is the
last resort Of the hopeless, as may be
Judged BY the following lines, some
what freely translated from tho
Frcnch:
"Marraine whose fair young face lifts
itself
To the morning sun,
Remember and write 10 this flleul
Whom sadness lies in wait for
At his awakening" -.