Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-16

now. and ! can imagine quite easily how
shiny her eyes got when she opened the
letter that took 1t to her. I'm not going to
let many weeks go by while I'm in France
without news of the little thing. | think
the most enchanting thing about her was
her weighty sense OF responsibility for her
brother. GustaNe. Mon frere" a
chunky little boy. with a blue soldiers coat.
made like his fathers and a saucer-shaped
hat that gave him a semiclercal expression.
Mon frefe' gave me the only moment OF
glee had all that long evening. Calais and
Dunquerque ancient rivals. and "un
dunquerquos' suddenly appeared out Of no.
where in particular and upon no special err
rand. Mon frere" hit straight and strong.
Dunquerque hit back with skill. 1t was like
summer thunder storm, and Calais was
soon weeping all over my Red Cross uni
form However it occurred to me to tell
nm that poiu never cries and he sat
up instantly and stared at me. it seems that
mad hit upon his pet name. little sister
explained: "Pere iappelle toujours 'Poilu' :"
MOST of the children had porte bon
AV1 heurs' of one sort another. One little
girl had a tiny aluminium teapot which
dangled under her chin on a silver chain.
II had been made by her uncle on the battle
field. She was envied by all the others; in
fact. one OF her friends who called my at
tention to IT said it was "superbe." Another
child, whose thin little fingers were knotted
and twisted as II with rheumatism wore a
trench ring. which she told me privately had
been given her by a Russian soldier TO whom
she had given piece of her bread
But the good-luck gift which touched me
most belonged to a boy whose mother didn't
want to send him even into safety because he
mad no "paquet' to carry with him. All she
could give him was two observation-disclosures
OF Calais-to help him to remember his
home.
These were the things we heard and saw
on every hand-trivial little details that
came out in the talk OF those refugee chill
dren for four hours. And all the time the
guns were booming over our heads, while
the sharper reports of the bombs would
come every now and then and make the win
dows rattle and the floor tremble under our
feet.
AT one time the cannonading grew so loud
that one OF the women started the children
TO singing the "Marseilase"
That was the moment Of the whole evening
that hope TO remember longest Eager lii
lie races. every child standing one small hoy
waving his arms NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Tho
chorus-the music itself almost unrecognIza-
BILE in the shr.l childish voices but the swing
and rhythm OF it perfect. working up to thai
thrilling climax "Formez vos bataillons 80
Al the time. louder than the ohdren's sing
ing was that roar of guns above us all the
time the Gothas flying above darkened Paris
and along the walls Of the room in which we
were the poilus slept undisturbed lust hack
from the trenches.
GTA BERLoQUE." the all.clear signal
- sounded at quarter Of one, and we bur-
ried the children out into a great police auto-
van and drove in complete darkness through
miles OF deserted streets of the city 10 the
house where there were at least beds for
them to sleep in.
My impressions of putting the children mt,
those beds are bit vague--only a confused
jumble of directing the little ones here ana
the big ones there. and Ct unfastening shoes
and funny little French underclothes, until n
seemed that my own eyes would shut up once
for all But the children were neither sIeenv
nor were they nervous and troublesome thew
just waited quietly. as they had waited ali the
evening to see what was going to happen To
them-what new thing was going 10 be done
next. As remember, was asked only two
questions: One. very shyly. Have YOU still
got my bundle?" The other. rs this a
palace?
And then they were all tucked in under
clean warm covers for their first nish,
away from their mothers. Two days Later
rested and their faces less thin. the children
left Paris to 20 south. down into the Mia;
There they will go into simple homes wbers
perhaps. they viii forget some OF the horror.
they have seem After the war they will 20
back to their mothers and fathers, IL fate he =
been kind to them. and the homes viii, 10
re-established which were broken up IN I iaI .
by the bombardment OF the Huns