The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-05-22

marked the tenderness of spirit of the
French-the thoughtfulness they show
to those Americans who are at rest In
the French cemeteries. The graves Of
the Americans wherever I have been
are cared for as carefully and tender
ly as are those Of the Poilus who have
given their lives for France, writes
Don Martin In the New York Herald.
Private Albert - of the American
army has had opportunities to see the
people Of this wonderful country In
their homes. He is a native of New
England. but OF French ancestry, and
through his ability to speak French
gets perhaps In more intimate touch
with the French than does the average
American.
A university student when the war
came to his own country, he enlisted
and has been here ever since. In the
few spare moments he has had he
wrote a little article about the French
and their thougAtfuIness of the Amer
lean soldiers. 1t Is as follows:
All the morning I had seer people
going past the Office on their way to
church carrying small branches of
''buis." a plant which looks very much
like our box elder. This was Palm
Sunday, and the French-old men and
women, boys and girls-were bringing
theil buis to church to be blessed.
Wait to Cemetery.
In the afternoon / did not work, SO
/ met Mr.. Duphand, a well-to-do lawyer
Of the town, and accepted his invita-
ton to accompany him In a walk to
his garden.
II was a treat to walk with such
pleasant company on such a bright
summer day after a solid week I'm the
office from eight In the morning to nine
or ten and sometimes even until eleven
o'clock at night.
So at two In the afternoon q little
party was formed In front of Monsieur
Duphand's house and we started. In
the party were Monsieur and Madame
Duphand, with their two daughters,
Mesdemoiselles Therese and Madeleine,
Madame Reveillon and Madame Toll
lot. All the ladies carried a bunch of
buis. And al we started out Madame
Duphand said we would first go to the
cemetery, where we would visit the
plots and place q branch of the blessed
bulls on the graves Of their relatives.
II Is the custom of my country. Mon
sieur told me, to decorate the graves
With buis every Palm Sunday.
All Graves Decorated.
Az we passed through the ancient
gate we entered a narrow aisle lined
With tall pines whose boughs inter-
locked over our heads. Half way the
aisle widened and In Its center rose a
TAN stone crucifix, so tall the figure
Of Christ was lost among the green
branches. There was no grass except
that which lined the aisle beneath the
trees. The little plots were covered
with tiny pebbles, level and neatly
kept.
As we came to the grave of one
well-known Of the party. 1t was re-
membered and a little twig placed
upon It. We went from one plot to
another, stopping only at those of the
immediate relatives Of the party or
very close friends, until we had made
the round Of the cemetery.
From here we went to the Soldiers
cemetery. Here we entered under an
arch. bearing In big silvered letters
mort pour In Patrie." l paused In
the gate to cast a glance over the
neld. There were hundreds of French
graves marked by the French cocarde
three rings, red. white and blue, In
. circle of about six inches.
Arabians Buried There.
At the right were several Arabian
graves facing to Mecca, and In the far
left hand corner some newer graves
whose markings i could not distin.
guish from the distance. We had not
gone In very far when Mademoiselle
Therese took a little branch of buis
and placed II upon a French grave. II
was that of a private In the French
army, who had been killed at the be-
ginning of the war.
II knew him well before the war;
oaid Mile. Therese as she placed the
little holy leaf In the ground over the
body.
'What are you going to do with the
rest Of the buisr" l asked mademoi-
eelle. "Those are for your comrades"
ehe Informed me.
my comrades2 7" / asked In surprise.
"vOila." she said as we neared the
graves that ! had heretofore been un-
able to make out. Over the first one
WAS q beautiful piece Of floral work
bearing the information, "A nos CANA.
rades les Americans" Ito our com.
t1des. the Americans).
TWenty-Four American Dead.
Here In this little corner of the
nsld were "a American graves. No
Dot killed In action. nor not buried
With the croix de guerre, but neverthe
less "Mort pour Ia Patrie." / inspect
"a the names and the organization
and found they were nearly all from
ny division. Mademoiselle knew this
DO. and she gave me q little piece o.
buis and said: