Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-20

neighborhood, away you rattle lick
ety-split at a ~hair-raising speed; 1t
rests entirely with him, however,
whether he will wait to bring you
back. AS likely as not. he won't.
The reason lies not in any lack Of
humanitarian interest in your welfare,
but in the fact that he is only allowed
SO many litres of essence" per day,
and he must. make every spoonful
count. Naturally, mutual necessity
promotes the flow of the milk Of hui
man kindness.
We had an important errand, and
rushed to meet the first taxi which
alighted smiled, and held up a warn
ing hand.
I'm sorry. I'm not through with
it," she apologized. What direction
are you going !"
Splendid" she said. my place
Is right on your way, and if you don't
mind waiting while l run in to buy
this chauffeur a pair Of Christmas
gloves-he's been so nice!-you may
take me home. where l will pay him
off. and o may have him from there
on"
She smiled again.
! "TaXis are SO difficult to secure. We
must all help each other"
Ihat fact was further illustrated in
the bureau where we had the import
ant business. We had a few minutes
to wait. and the concierge, one of the
most pleasant and af1able old men to
be met. explained with extreme
~polteness and extreme volubility that
monsieur might smoke if he liked,
that there was positively no rule here
against smoking, and that monsieur
must make himself perfectly at home.
Monsieur did not at all feel like
smoking at that moment. but, being
further urged. saw the point and
brought out the cigaret box.
Of course the temporary host was
invited to have a smoke, and the
pleasure with which he accepted it.
added to the fact that he would not
light 1t then but saved it for after
dinner, brought sharply to mind that
cigarets are a luxury in Paris.
For fully 20 minutes the concierge,
whom we came to know very we'll as
Philippe. entertained us with droll
himself. now that he was putting
every franc into war loans. and we
left him with a feeling that the only
thing he considered was to make us
comfortable, and happy while in his
little room.
1t was not until afterwards we
learned that Philippe has lost three
tGoiIS, Oue SOu-Il-ld", 1OuE ncpncWS,
and seven cousins in this war!
We went down to the Louvre. with
many misgivings, to find If a quaint
jewelry shop we had known Of old
was still in existence. Still there. and
the little old jeweler. not much more
shrunken since the bygone days, rec
ognized us at once and came forward
radiant with greeting.
How was business. we asked after
u uyhilo Thn~o v1roc vo4,4 In ~r>o11 ~
The different poilus on leave
bought occasional trinkets. and the
shop might as we'll be closed as open
until after the war; except that it was
not good for Paris to have blind win
dows; so he kept the shop running.
while his former constant compani-
ons, madame and the dog. lived in the
country, where living was cheaper.
A brave and a helpful spirit in the
little jeweler. for in every word. in
every glance, in every smile, there was
the one thought. to pass along a
cheerful feeling: and. by reason of
that particularly French idea, Paris
is still gay
A new terrible test has proved the
irresistible buoyancy of the Partisan.
The dire day came when it was order
ed hat there he no more cakes! Only
those who know Paris pastry can
Irealize the depth of that calamity.
War bread had long since replaced
the f1aky white uns and rolls and va
rious bakery delights in which the
French n their visitors reveled
alike. but there had been no COM
plant. The pangs Of that deprivation
could be alleviated a nice little gateau
with the afternoon tea or coffee. Nov
what was to be done!
The tea hour was an institution,
and the cake its bulwark! Did Paris
NOPE. and close it's tearooms anG
cafes? No.
The Frenchman is very fond Of his
cafe. 1t is more than a feeding place;
it is a place for the meeting of friends
which lis why luncheon needs al hour
two and a half hours. Not food oc-
lcupies all the time. but the indul.
igence Of a pleasure which this nation
of all others has not lost; the JOY OF
conversation.
So Paris has it's afternoon tea OF
coffee Just the same, and. without
even a crust of bread, makes up In
gaietv what it lacks in cakes.
"Mais. oui, c'est Ia ruerre."
1t is the war! That is the catch.
word Of Paris: one hears it every.
where. 1t is the excuse for every
thing, particularly for a deprivation.
The next place we heard it was a
dinner, when the lights winked a
s:15. There came an immediate luI
in the chatting vivacity. 1t was at that
delightful coffee period of the dinner
when the long cigars are lighted. and
the human system is full Of peace
and the conversation. however seriou:
1t might have been before. turns tc
drollery.
For a moment after the lights wink
ed. there was a silence almost glnm
then the shrug Of the shoulders and
the cheerful smile. Cheeks were paid
wraps were donned. and chatter wa.
resumed as we all filed out.
At $3.50 every dinner place in towr
was empty-for gendarmes stood a,
Outside we met our friend. the
,arky A~mer'c"n. n he was sronref
deiec+ed,v with three cf the boys
w~or1e-ir~ what rex to do.
"FIello,' we hailed him. How dc
you like Gay P'ree'?"
"Why. this is the most respectahls
town on EARTH he complained
We've Just been up to the Mont
martre. and it's dead q. n doornatl.
guess the town isn't what 1t used tc
be. It's the war"
"Yes,' was the admission. "The
war hasn't stnpped gay Paris. but !
has stopped Gay P'ree.' II h that vo,
mean certain scandalcus places where
the French w 20
They grinned sheepishly. n shift
cd to the other foot.
Put tell me; you know New York
dor't you?"
The rlnmmrst Of the r"a-tet did:
"well. would you call Sinner Ma
rnire'z fix. chinatown representative
OF New ycvk TIE ?" 2
TJe wasn't old enough ia rnvne~,hA,