The Washington herald., 1918-02-19

Y
and on, choked with dust, faint with
hunger. perishing with thirst, but
with the cry OF France on their lips!
Papa Guillemont, trudging toward
, Paris. with his shoulder throbbing.
met this heroic band. They Were
headed the other way; they were set
ting out to fight for Erancel Papa
Guillemont's mental processes were
very simple; he turned and went with
them. He had saved no arms or ac-
coutrements in his escape. but he
took munitionless gun from a fallen
comrade. and, joining the suffering
but dauntless little Army of Paris.
plodded on with them until he could
go no further. He leaned against a
wall. slipped down in an angle TO his
launches. and his eyes closed. He
thought he was ready for death,
A voice aroused him. 1t was an Of
| fcer.
Papa Gulllemont raised to his feet
and saluted.
'tHave you finished?" asked the Of
ficer
'T have finished" returned Papa
Guillemont huskily. and, saluting
again, prepared to slide down in his
corner to die.
NO." said the officer But wait
here. II the Germans come, you may
die, fighting. 1t is for Francep'
Eyes. my officer" agreed Guille-
mont. and into him came at that mo-
ment something stronger than the
strength OF life itself, the thing which
has made the asmy of this land the
marvel Of the world. 1t was the spir-
1t Of France!
Spirit of France.
The light of 1t is IN his face to this
day. and so long as there is a piece
of him 1t will remain.
He did stay alive, though his head
dropped and his knees bent. stayed
alive and in that spot until the Ger
man came. He can't tell much Of
what happened after they arrived.
but when the stretcher-bearers picked
up Papa Guillemont from among the
dead Huns which surrounded him, he
was plumb full of bayonets. though
he had spirit enough to smile ecstat-
ically and voice enough to whisper
"Vive la Francer'
The dead Huns were in front of
him. in front of him, mind you, for
he lay nearer Paris than they.
What had happened where Papa
Guillemont stood had happened in SO
many places that Paris is still Paris.
and the towers of Notre Dame still
stand sturdily against the sky, and
the Arch of Triumph still heads the
beautiful Champs Elysees.
With pained surprise the Germans.
who had not brought along enough
ammunition to kill all the Frenchmen
hnt ha fApnd
| themselves badly worsted in some Of
the bloodiest hand-to-hand fighting
of the war, found themselves held in
permanent check by the despised lit
| tie Army of France. found the itin-
erary of the Hohenzollern tour of the
world disrupted and knocked to fin
| ders for centuries to come!
Papa Guillemont has been reformed
three times since then, overhauled. re-
built and new parts supplied. and he
| is now a proud permissionaire; but If
| Paris is ever again threatened, he
asks one favor: to lead a regiment of
reformed poilus like himself-and now
the twinkle is once more in his jolly
eye.
He'll do the thing scientifically.
| He'll divide his regiment according to
! men in one platoon, left-wooden-leg-
ged men in another, rightwooden-
armed men in another. left in another
and so ION. He'll guard the last
bitches with that regiment. and guard
them well; and when he cries AL
lous Marchand!" and they go over
the top. you may be certain that no
body of soldiers will dash into battle
with more enthusiasm, fight with
fercer vim. account for more of the
enemy. or with more more profound
patriotism shout "Vive la France"'
Rehearses Fight.
! Why, cOnfound 1t, Papa Guillemont
is in earnest about it! There's an
electric vibration in his voice. there's
a moisture in his eye, there's "a
No, the twinkle is back again, as he
tells what he will do in case they
don't give him that regiment of re-
formed poilus. He'll go right back
to the spot where he made his glori-
GUS stand in 1914, and once more pre-
vent the Germans from entering Par
is. He has studied the matter for
lived every thrust and every counter
three and half years. and has ana
thrust of that never-to-be-forgotten
engagement and he is certain that ne
could dispose of at least twice as
many Huns as in the original fight
He has not only practiced well a
fancy new uppercut with the bayonet.
but he has added boxing with the feet
and butting with the head. VOLTA!
You may rest assured that the spirit
of France will never die. so long as
Papa Guillemont lives. And France
is full of Papa Guillemonts!
Copyright. l9ls)
What do the Americans "over there
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