The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-08

along"
At the Church.
The church was near by. 1t was old and
faded, and SO was the bedeau we passed
at the door. He was the sort of beadle
who looked as if he had grown old along
with the church, with its gray stones and
the ancient sycamores in the yard When
he closed the big wooden doors after us,
the dimness and chill of the interior fell
on us like n curtain.
The church was dimly lit by distant
candles They cleaned, far off, beside the
affairs gold and lifted swaying jewels
in the draughty air. The autumn after
noon was twice as sombre by the time it
had Seeped, diluted, through the narrow
stained glass windows. In the back Of the
chur,9, near the baptismal font, we waited
for the cure. Meanwhile the beadle, like a
shadow seeking corners, slipped here and
there as noiselcsS as a moth.
AT length the cure came down the aisle
and took up his position in front of
grandmere, who held the baby in her arms.
1t is time | quit calling the baby cit and
gave her her true name, Andree. The
cure motioncd 10 Mademoiseie Marie
Louise TO stand on one side, as the god
mother. He then inquired: "Who's the
godfather Dick was pointed out and
the cure, not a bit surprised, directed this
puzzled person in olive drab to stand on
the opposite side from the MARIAN.
"What do l say?" whispered Dick in a
panic.
whatever the cure tells you TO-" re-
turned Ernie.
But how do know what he tells me?"
Monsieur lie Cure.
The cure opened his book and gave the
beadle an admonitory glance, as much as
to say: "If you don't hold that candle
closer / won't be able to read thing.
And if your hand doesn't stop shaking
the candle will go out entirely"
The cures surplice shOne soft in the
glow of the candle and his fine old face
smiled on Andree as he chanted in rapid
Latin and French through the ritual OF
the service Midway in the ceremony he
poured something wet on the baby's head
and then wiped it off with cloth. But
he was too late. AndrGe began to cry.
The beadleS hand, holding the candle,
trembled perilOusly; the cure mumbled his
Latin: "Um, um, I'm. - the
baby cried. Hi, hi, hi" Marie Louise
spoke the responses of the godmother and
Dick stood up, proud parrain, though
the beadle answered for him.
The cure began TO realize that the
baby's health might be jeopardized by the
cold church and he hurried his reading
faster and faster. The '7m, um, umS'
gathered momentum and among them the
cure scattered imprOmptu advice of his
own about the baby. 1t sounded like this:
"Um, UNI, UNI, don't let the baby catch
cold, um, UNI, nm, where's her bonnet, I'm,
UNI, UNI, we're almost through, nm, um,
I'm, that's ended, pass out quickly, um,
um'
We obeyed the good cure We passed
out quickly and back in the home of
Alexis we found feast awaiting us. OF
course it WAS only coffee and cakes, but
it was feast none the less, for cakes have
been forgotten delicacics in France-since
the war. And for the coffee grandmcre
had provided sugar. Where She got it
nobody knew. but there it was. real gran
ulated sugar. saucer full Of it.
And while the Teasing and merrimcnt
went on and Dick began TO congratulate
himself on how well be had done his part,
Alexis brought NE poem to read. He
had cut il out of Il French magazine.
don't know who the author of ii is and so
I cannot Give him the credit due him. but