Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-02-26
a Kiss For the Children Of
Gallant France
All the Nation Sees that Wars Horrors are Kept From Them as Much as Possible,
Says Lillian Chester-And They Show the Stuff that Made the
Boche Unable to Take Verdun.

bitterness which was In her; aKainAs
not only the hell-loosed Hu VINO hdo
taken her husband and TIVE pre.neEs
but against everything, to the 1nfiHate;
a fierce protest that she, in the midst
of peace and hapiness. she and
her countless widowed sisters OF
France, had been plunged into such
needless asenies Of grief!
She cried! Something stopped her;
| the voiee of her t~wo-year-old son, VINO
was crying out of sheer sympathy.
Her first, and her most natural, lh-
stinct waa TO clasp him in her arms;
but at the same moment came the
thought that, if future France is to
maintain its centuries-eld subliH1ity O.
courage and endurance, it was for her,
as for every mother, to set an example
of strength. So she dried her tears,
and smiled.
But the future Frenchman, was
started, and could not stop. The most
powerful lever was used; he was told
that little French gentlemen did not
cry! It was a terrible blow, and he
struggled with all his baby might to
achieve the high ideal which was his
because it was his mothers; but the
/ sobs continued. Amidst them, ne
stoutly maintained that he was a lit
tie French gentleman, ever If he did
cry; and that took almost more
strength than his mother possessed.
for she was compelled to dispute his
proposition; w%hereupon he turned
from, her knee and toddled to the
door.
snuffling and Gulping, he closed that
door: but not altogether. A tiny crack
remained, it held slightly wavering
for a long time, 2 very long time> The
mother, sitting perfectly motionless,
had as hard a struggle as the n
which was going On in the hall.
All! The door opened, and a smiling
but moist face was revealed, while a
triumphant voice proclaimed that the
owner thereof vas indeed, and in fact,
a little French gentleman! That's the
sort Of little boys who grew up to be
the sort Of men who held Verdun!
1t is n of u great privileges also
to know a certain little Madeleine,
who is five and a half years old.
Madeleine, of course, cannot remem
Der when there was no war; but she
a remember. with vivid distinctive
ness, the air raids which occurred in
h beginning, when the Germans
were more convinced than now that
tho world was their football. and that
all they had to do was come over in
a leisurly fashion, three or four nights
a week. and drop bombs until all the
little Madeleines and Yvonnes and
Henris and Jacques were destroyed.
1t has been a long time since the
German has felt it safe or profitable
to try that trick on Paris. but, long
az the time is, Madeleine can renem-
per the warning scream Of the siren.
the deafening reports Of tho aircraft
guns, the whizz and shriek Of the fall
ing bombs, the crash Of the explosions.
the fires which Jared up.
The other night. when there was a
practice warning Of the siren, to. keep
the defense system in working order.
like a fire drill, Madeleine's lip auiy.
cred at h first sound, but that wa
all. w.
She sat bravely in her chair, and
went on eating her dinner. and even
managed to answer. though somewhat
"anly, q reassuring smile.
20 you know why. Madeleine did
not cry, when that weird wild seund
struck terror to her heart? She
couldn't they had company for din
That is the sort of little zir,, v,o
grew up to be the sort of mother ma
who raised the sort of sons VIII held
Verdun! e
SOLDIER RI1ss-A FRENCH BED
Kansas City man, writing home
from the battle front in France, ex-
claimed: "Oh, man! When we get
whefe you get a room! For
10 cents you can sleep on a he'd with
4 feet of mattresses and covers. These
french people will do anything to
make o comfortable. They will
give their last norsel to an American
soldier. You folks at home should
be darn glad the war 10 on this aide Of
the Atlantic. ] see sights here every
day that makes me glad the United
States Is only a training ground. The
hest fninR VNn p2n dA IL "a ~u;., o-i
bear those food restrictions and OBJ
serve them to the letter. You may
think he pinch cramps, but it's the
pinch you now feel which is going to
prevent that cramp from becoming a
collie"