The Washington herald., 1918-02-24

4 ~oo-@"o
terms.
Any kind of a treaty will do. be-
cause the important point lies in
when the document Is signed.
| He wants to continue the war
until only one German remains,
conclude q peace with him, then try
him with due decorum, and hang
him for the crimes Of the Huns.
To some this view may seem more
or less radical; but If your sister
had been in the captured and evac-
uated district, and had seen her
father and husband and son killed.
and IL she and her daughters had
been for eighteen months the
slaves of German beasts, you'd have
than your mere duty to humanity.
YOU'D HATE.
We have all heard these tales of
| atrocities, but reading them far
away from the scene does not seem
to carry any reality.
It is only when you come actual
| ly face to face with despicable
rayage which has been done that
you begin to realize what CHASTITY
savages. what british barbarians.
what intolerable beasts these Ger
mans are!
Some beautiful grapes led US to
Andre.
They lay in the tiny show win
dow of a tiny shop in one of the
tiny narrow sidestreets in which
Paris abounds, and they were so
large, SO round and plump and purple,
and so superior in appearance to all
their poor neighbors, the knotted little
apples and the weazened little sour
oranges, that it seemed only an act
Of mercy to take them from their in
| appropriate surroundings.
A clang of the little bell over the
shop door, and. from the back room,
fat little woman came running,
young but motherly.
All; the grapes,
She lifted the solitary bunch from
its bed of cotton tenderly reverently,
| and explained that they were very
exquisite. but very expensive.
How much?
Renee! Renee,
Renee came hurrying out of the
| little back room. a hollow-chested
| woman. with a drawn face and deep
lines in her brow, and sparse hair
| SNACehCu Win SldIlilS SlIdIluS OL
| silver, and eyes which were widened
with a something which seemed like
| a permanent terror; but a very pleas
ant smile for madame, a very pleas
! ant smile for monsieur. a.-'.
All! the price of the grapes!
1t was a highly important question,
and vastly exciting. for the price
of grapes has seemed to have gone
up or down or something. since
their daring investment in this
bunch; and while the discussion
went on another woman came out,
quite a young woman, with a dull,
heavy. set expression on her lips.
She looked up once furtively. then
cast down her eyes and started knit
ting and did not look up any more.
Cold in that little shop. colder
even than in the raw. chilly, slushy
\ street; for the scant but neatly kept
stock of fruit on the little shelves,
and the few tins of salmon and
sardines and other precious hors-d'
oeuvre, and lettuce and other green
goods, had no refrigeration for safe
keeping but the shop itself.
| AhI The feet of madame!
She was tapping them Alternating
ly on the floor.
They were cold, the feet of ma
dame!
The two shop women stopped the
delicate weighing of the grapes to
sympathize with the cold feet of
madame.
Andre! AndreI
Andre came out Of the little rear
! room, a handsome young poiIu, if
I If had hann ha hn1
given to France, and a sturdy poilu
in spite of his grace, had it not
been for the arm which was in a
sling.
A pleasant smile for monsieur,
and a pleasant smile with a bright
ening of the eye for the petite
madame.
Andre! All, the feet of madame;
they are cold! All!
Andre also sympathized with the
feet of madame, deeply.
He hurried away, and hurried back
with a fat box. about a foot and a
| half square and four inches high.
| which was filled with sawdust covered
| with dry newspapers.
Into this madame was invited to
step, while the precious grapes were
= l1sNNAAlldNGNl ny llC anu
| Renee and Andre.
| Not such a tremendous price, not
| greater than would have been paid in
New York for the same bunch of
grapes. and while monsieur paid for
the little bundle. which was now tied
with red string and furnished with
a wooden handle. the three smiled
| pleasantly at madame, who is petite,
delighted that she looked more happy
I standing in the middle of the floor in
| her foot-box.
| 1t seemed. rather coy through the
| glass panel of the door TO the little
back room.
Four small, cloth-covered tables In
there indicated a probable cafe at
tachment to the tiny shop.
Was it possible to secure a cup Of
hot coffee at this hour?
Oh, certainly, but not milk with il at
this hour, and nothing to eat with
it at this hour; black coffee, yes, with
| pleasure.
So behold US in the little back roor1,
with the silent young woman out
there in the irfinitesimal xitchen pre-
pairing the coffee. and the rest of the
family handy, to smile whenever
looked at.
1t was then that we sounded Andre
on the matter of the German peace
proposals.
They were mentioned In a sort OF
off-hand manner, because We had
come to have a habit of asking this
and it had come to give such satisfac-
ton to US to always, receive the same
reply-that the only peace France
would consider was a victory.
But We had met some reserve, for
1T is bitter subject, and the French
people, like any other people. do not
care to expose their deepest motions