Evening star., 1918-07-10
FRENCRMOTHERS
SLEEP IN FIELDS
Take Children There for
Night to+Escape Ger
man Bombs.
TERROR POLICY FAILS
BY. HERBERT COREY.

A TOWN IN FRANCE, June. s.
Every one Of this town sleeps in the
folds nowadays. It is chic. One
makes picnic Of II. II ono has close
friends. one calls them up. and the
two families go out together. daddy
carrying the blankets over his shoul-
der while mother swings q basket on
her arm. In which there are special
sandwiches and q straw shielded bot
tie Of good vino. Tho petite some
times carries q squirming kitten.
Sometimes the petite leads 4 fat, pant
ing dog. which walks with an air Of
logged martyrdom. Sometimes the
petite has 4 little doll.
You see. the boche bombs this lit
tie town almost every night now.
Twelve nights he has bombed It out
of fifteen. with huge bombs that seem
to shake the very earth. A mile away
window glass has been broken and
doors have been burxt open by the
conclusion.
Bombs Fall; House Disappears.
A night or two ago a bomb fell in
the courtyard Of one Of the fine old
medieval houses here-one OF the old
houses with overhanging balconies
and roof that was drawn doMn over
its smiling windows as a happy man
might pull his. hat down over, his
eyes to shield them from the sun
and the house ceased to be. There
was a great hole in the courtyard
where the bomb had fallen and all
about 1t were broken masoRry and
twisted timbers and dust that was
floating sparkling in the sun. The
At first the people Of the little
town tried to brave It out. The
mayor arranged that the factory
sirens should toot fifteen times when
the listening posts reported the
boche night bombers were on their
way. But sometimes the niers crossed
were not heard. 80 that the fifteen
frantic hoots Of the siren were hur-
ried into 4 syncopated scream. Some
times the warning was not completed
before the enemy arrived. People ran
into the cellars, but cellars are slight
protection. Then they abandoned the
town at night entirely.
All Lights Forbidden.
So that nowadays dinner is hurried
through at the hotel, and the last
dish is washed and the last bill paid
long before candle lighting time.
There Is no candle lighting nowadays.
The town 10 illuminated at night by
the moon and stars only. II one 90
much as strikes q match to light q
cfgArette--no, no one ever does suoh
a thing upon the street-if ono but
smokes . cigarette at night . warn
ing growl comes from somewhere:
"Pas de lumiere! No light!s
Near this town are. two great cav
erns in which mushrooms are grown
in times Of peace. One enters them
by steep flights OF down.going steps.
happily conscious that q hill Of solid
stone 10 overhead. Inside is q vast
hall. in which . few pinpoints OF
candlelight flicker. The impression
produced is that of the inside of q
huge. hollow. black pyramid. Here
all is laughter and animation in the
earlier hours OF the evening. Cigarette
ends glow happily. the voices of wom-
en- and children ate heard. sometimes
a cork pops in the semi-luminous
dusk Little by little the cavern
auiets. Men roll down the blanket
Mothers bid their little ones go to
sleep. One by one the candle flames
60 out before the pumng breath OF
their owners-their faces oddly fore
shortened and distorted as they lean
over the tiny fiame.
Rack Home in Mornin1