The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1918-12-10
. Bit of France
and French !:
By Mrs. Byrd Trego.

For few weeks we have known
the town of Spa as we have not here
tofore, Spa Is pronounced with the
as in ask, or far, as you choose and
many times has been spelled Spaa
and Spaw. The word is French or
Flemish and means mineral springs
or a place where there are such
waters. Spa is in Belgium, about
ten miles from the German line, so
1t was quite fitting the selfish old
ex-kaiser should have years ago plan
ned to use this town for his head
quarters.
|, During the first years we some
times read that his health was bad
and he had retired to Spa for a period
that he might take advantage of the
mineral baths. Now we learn he had
prepared the way years ago by build
! ing double track railroads right up
to the border and later extended the
service very luxuriously the remain
ing short distance to the little town.
There is little otherwise of interest
in Spa which conains perhaps eight
and one half thousand people. 1t
was just a fine health resort with
many mineral springs.
So when the Huns wanted to ne
gotiate for armistice terms, they OPP
Grated from Spa, and later represent
atives of the ex-kaiser journeyed
down in southwest direction
for perhaps 100 miles to near
the town of Guise, about
twelve miles northeast of st.
Quentin. The battleline was at this
point and therefore it was here that
firing ceased to allow them to pass
thru the lines. They were joined
here by an escort who conducted
them to point farther south, where
Foch had established a temporary
quarter in railroad car. We were
given the name of this location at
the time, but do not now recall it
other than it was near or" at some
| forest.
Now Guise is called about like
this-Geez-with long sound of e.
Geez is a small town of about 5000
people, but is Of especial interest
from being the birthplace of Can-
lille Desmoulins ida mo Ian, long
, III A1oC ny 1dUACJ III LILO year ~.
Damolan was the chief contributor
to the excitement that caused the
storming of the Bastile in 1889. He
was guillotined in Paris in 1894.
The family from which this town
of Geez takes it's name were historic
characters in battle, one was MUIR
dered, another assassinated and a
third dangerous and designing. Did
tell you st. Quentin was pronounced
like this-San Kontan-I wonder?
The peace conference is t ODE held
at Versailles. The nearest you and
will come to French prouncings
will be to say like this --Ver-say-
tho it is considered quite correct
for us to say ver-salz, for we have
town of that name in Kentucky and
that is the way we call it.
Well, Versailles is perhaps the
most noted of the smaller cities of
France. 1t contains about fifty-one
thousand people, is ten or dozen
miles out from Paris and of especial
interest to Americans because the
treaty that terminated the Revolu-
tionary war was consumated there.
1t is city where conferences and
conventions and treaties and delibra-
tive conclusions are held and made.
The president of the French repub:
lie is elected there, but I'd like to
tell you briefly bit of it's early his
tory.
In the seventeenth century Paris
was choking within it's walls. There
seemed only one highway and that
was the river Seine, the city could
only breathe on its banks. Archi-
tects were unable to expand the city
for this reason. Palaces began to
be erected outside the town among
the gardens and converts.
The king Of France didn't have
room enough in Paris for his mag
nificent display at receptions so he
created Versailles. At first it was
only a pretty brick country house,
then Louis XIV began to collect re-
representatives. of all arts to the service
of Versailles that it might become
a fit kingly residence.
The selected ones were commanded
to become subject to the orders of
the king and his court that Versail-
les should outshine anything the
world had known. The Gobelin
factories were appropriated and en-
larged to weave the most exquisite
fabrics for furniture and hangings
and again extended until it became
human hive to create furniture,
framework, marbles metals and
wood of most extravagant form un-
der directions of the kings painters
and cabinet makers. Ebony, brass
and gold, with inlays Of tortoise
shell and pewter were materials
that went into cabinets, displaying
the highest decorative wealth. The
most reckless extravaganza was dis
played with buildings, furnishings,
and the parks which surrounded
them. 1t is said, however, that each
succeeding monarch became so OBJ
.cessed with the idea Of leaving
monumental work at Versailles that
the architectural designs grew lily
proportioned and crude with the
many additions and changes that
took place. 1t was also enlarged
continually to be made to contain
the vastly increasing court and the
nxecufivo of the sovereign Now thew