The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1917-05-21
TONNES IRE KISSED
TO CHEER Them UP
BY PATRICK McGILL

Written for the United Press
LONDON, May 1.--fBy Mail) -
That the youths name was Dick
Hirst has nothing to do with the
story. That he was youth Of nine
teen, newly out with the latest draft
will explain why Corporal McManus
saw fit to take the youths educa-
ton in hand. The first lesson was
given in the attic OF much shelled
house up near the firing line. This
was how it happened.
The men. section Of seven, were
sitting on the floor cleaning their
rifles by the light of candle. The
newly-out was standing under the
roof looking out at the near firing
line and its evening lights through
chink in the tiles.
At this moment somebody lifted
the latch and the door Of the attic
was pushed inwards. A dark form
showed in the doorway, then made
it's way int the circle Of light, bear
ing a number of cups of coffee on a
board. 1t was a stiff, angular wo-
man dressed poorly in hard-worn
clothes. She placed the coffee on
the floor and Hirst could see her un-
quiet hands had been worn by many
long days work. Her wrinkled
iskin was stretched taut over high
cheek bones and queer little brown
cracks showed round her thin lips
/ Bong soir, Nanny" said Corpor-
al McManus as he looked at the wo-
man.
] "Ah! mon petite soldat. mes en-
fants." said the woman, Bon sol
dat Anglais,''
! She brushed back her hair with a
lean hand, lifted cup of coffee and
handed it to the Corporal. He
caught the cup, drank sup, then
muttered TRAY bong, Mawmy, tray
bong"
AS he spoke the woman reached
| forward, caught him around the neck
J and kissed him. Then she kissed all
the others in turn. They endured
these tokens of affection with stoical
calm. If they were in England and
not in France-but anyhow the wo-
men treated them as children. The
rocky who watched the performance
drew nearer the wall and trusted he
would not be seen. To be kissed by
a woman whom he did not know, OF
any woman in the presence of his
| comrades! To his absurd bashfuli-
ness the thought was tragic He
crouched against the wall. But
! Madame Leblanc saw him.
Mon bon petite soldat," she said
and put her arm around his shoulder
He took step backwards.
| Where the devil are We going. ye
| rocky" shouted McManus. LET
the woman kiss you
Hirst, newly out. obeyed the Cor
poral and received his kiss.
why didn't you let her kiss you
at once?" MeManus asked the youth
angrily when the woman made her
exit. you should feel honoured
when that woman wanted to press
her lips against yours. Man! she's
an angle"
But / didn't know" said the
rocky.
Course you didn't know" said
McManus. Its not to be expected
that We would know, being newly out
here. Some day maybe yen know
about half as much as us old sweats
know. But there are things yen
never know. TIN never come your
way to be shrapnelled and not have
trinch hilmet to cap the shrapnel.
or to be gassed and not have a rhes-
pirator to save yer lungs. Ye're a
boy that has some book larnin' if
Judge be yer conversashun. Well,
when yer go back to England agin
and meet yer swell friends. tell them
that the gretest honour liver bestow-
ed on We was kiss given to ye by a
poor ould ragged half-crazed Frinch-
woman be the name Nv Mawmy Lay
blong. AS I've said afore, We should
go down on your knees afore the wo-