Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-03-14

AhahHH'AHH HaatH 4 NRsN w go
reached the pot Of gold at the end O
the rainbow, and, unlike most pots o.
gold we find, it has not proved a dis
appointment France, that mag:,
lodestonC which has been drawing u.
for months. has been reached al last
and it is worth coming thousands o.
miles for. l liked England very, very
much, hut ! believe I like France even
more. I haven't found out Just why
vet. but ! suppose I shall before long
1t may be because Of the natural and
simple beauty Of the landscape Ii,
isn't a little toy garden country as
England is, but it'sccms rather as il
it had grown according to its own idea
Of beauty it may be because the poo
pie are a great deal more interesting
than the English; it may be on account
Of the intangible atmosphere and spir-
it Of the place; or it may be a mix
ture Of all or something entirely diff
fercnt-at any rate, I should rather
be here. ! think, than anywhere ]
know Of.
From the little l have seer Of the
French people they are worthy Of all
the compliments that have been show
cred upon them. There seems to be
very little class distinction for an Eu-
ropean country. and the people as a
whole are intelligent, alert, and ex-
cecdinrly kindly and polite. Even
the little ro~ugh-necks that around
the camp have in most ases the clean
est cut features imaginable, and they
are as bright as new dollars. In fact,
the French people in general seem
much more like our own than do the
English. Certainly we have onc very
marked point in common - we are
not bound by conventionality and
custom. the thing that rules England
far more than either King George or
his Prime Minister. | think ! a IN
derstand, now, how fashions originate
in France. / do not believe any peo-
pie could get more pleasure out Of
their clothes than the French. And
they have wonderfully good taste, too
and a natural gift for wearing clothes
to a good advantage. It is very sell
dom that you see anyone who is not
neatly dressed, The women some
times wear clothes that are pretty
gorgeous, but they are really so pref
ty-the colors and the women, too, by
the way-that you can't blame them.
And you should see the way the
Youngsters dress. Their mothers seem
to take particular pride in fixing them
up all swell. Little girls about James
size and ALMOST as pretty will be
dressed up like regular little dolls,
and the boys that size and larger viii
have dandy looking suits, the cockiest
little hats imaginable and kid gloves.
O~yercoats are somewhat rare, but
nearly every French youngster wear;
a long, flowing cape, which, if the
owncr is at all graceful, is the mos
regal looking garment that a 5'
worn. And these French kids-ever
the little tots-carry it to perfection.
1t Us as good as a side show to watcl
two Of them coming down the street
As they approach a group Of soldier.
they will s~traighten up, salute a grea'
deal prettier than many Of Uncle
Sans boys can do, and wish then
"bon jour" or, more often (for the!
are picking up English pretty rapid
ly) good night"
This difference in language, by tn.
way, is the cause Of nor %inconyen
fence and more fun, too, ! suppose
than any other one thing. ] have haI
only the one year Of French, you wi.
remember, and that was taken durint
my last year at college when thrr
were a dozen other things Of create
importance in my head; 50 while az
a little better off, perhaps, than if
knew absolutely nothing Of the Ian
guagd, ! am not exactly what 20
might call fluent. So long az ] site
to such interesting subjects as thing
to eat and the prices thereof I al
comparatively safe, but if ! wandt
conversationally farther afield tina
the weather, / an hopelessly los
And these dear French folks take
everlasting much for granted. Jul
because you a walk up to a lady
a shop and ask for a cake and a gla'
of milk without stammering mo
than two or three times she evident
assumes that you have the vocabulai
of a Victor Hugo, and starts conve
sation accordingly. Of course tn.
takes all the wind out Of your sal
and you feel like a "blowed up cook,
to quote our French Erwin. And Il
reckless rate these people throw the
language around would make a Lew
machine gun hide its head in shan
when you come to study French, y
will find that the French people ha
the habit of emitting about half I
letters when they pronounce anythi
and they slur the others together U
iii only about three high places q
hit in every sentence. This, taken
conjunction with the fact that