The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1919-11-27

out Of a clear. sky, came a terrible
have found the sweetest little girl
In all the world, and I'm bringing her
home with me as q Christmas pres
ent to you. The regiment is now at
! Brest for embarkation and We'll sure
/ ly be home for the holidays. {.
She is awfully pretty; black hair, big
eyes and always wanting to be kissed.
Her name Is Angelique. OF
course she can't speak anything but
French, but, dear mother and dad,
just know that you'll soon learn to
love her as much as l do"
The old folks were stricken with
CONSERVATION. Their Henry bringing
home a French girl-a foreigner who
wouldn't understand their simple, old
fashioned ways, and to whom they
never could reconcile themselves!
Such one-accustomed to the
wicked frivOlities of Paris-never
would fit in on the farm, however
modest or mice" she might be. More
likely she would despise it, and them,
and take their boy away to live in
some big city-leave them lonely in
the old age that was now upon them.
The old folks bowed their grayed
heads beneath the blow, nearly heart
broken, although they tried bravely to
conceal their most narrowing breads
from each other.
maybe she won't expect to wear
silk underwear all the time and will
be willing to help you wipe the dishes
evenings, mother" old John clumsily
tried to console his wife as they sat
alone in the farmhouse kitchen one
night after chores were done. "And
maybe, after all, she won't want to
smoke cigarettes before people when
she finds that American girls around
here don't do that sort Of thing
Ma Barker shook her head sadly.
"I'd do anything almost to make
our boy happy, pa" she said, while
the tears gathered In her faded eyes.
1--WE must do our best not to let him
notice how disappointed we are. Only
I'm afraid she'll never be content here
or the farm with u.s."
Ma Barker went about preparations
for the big Christmas dinner with
fearful premOnitiOns, heavy hearted.
She was nervous; wanted to sit down
ahd cry. but felt she had to keep up
before pa. for Henry's sake II moth
ing else. She knew Of old, exactl,
all the good things that her boy like
for the Christmas dinner-juicy. blacl
. fruit cake, steaming plum pudding
odoriferous brown-roasted turkey, an,
but OIL she didn't know what to pre-
pare for her-couldn't get any fro
legs II she had wanted to. And tn
| geography said that frog legs were
. :favorite French dainty.
l.. oh, whatever would the ministe
, say? yes, and Sally Howarth
; too, when they heard about-abou
,"Angelique! Sally had been sweet
.on Henry, and poor old Ma Barker ha,
|, hoped
But, ali WELT She mustn't let he
} dear boy know! He and his Angeliqu
would be there tomorrow.
Christmas eve the old folks deco
rated the house with fir boughs, holl
! and strings of colored popcorn. The
: even trimmed tree as they had don
} for Henry ever since he had been
little boy. Ma Barker thought, wit
a rising lump in her throat, that may
be the French girl would look on
all as silly; would curl her lip at thei
homely endeavors, but
Christmas morning Jed, the hire,
man, drove off in the sleigh to NEE
their boy and his bride at the station
in town. The odOr Of savory goo
things on the kitchen stove permeate
the whole farmhouse, and the big opel
fire in the dining room cracked 4
comfortable contrast to the sparklin
cold of the snow outside. Ma Barke
hustled about, sadly setting the tabl
with her best dishes. She caught oil
John stealthily coming up the base
ment stairs with dusty demijohn.
] "Why, Pa Barkerw she exclaimed
What's that you've got there? 1 d
\ believe it's that cider that fermente
80 as we couldn't use itw
Eyes, it's" admitted old John prett
shamefacedly and shutting his fee
to hide his embarrassment. "But 20
see, / thought that mayb
as Henry's girl is a French woman
she'd rather like hard cider, seem
: as we haven't any light wines no
: champagne for her to drink"
A few minutes later they heard tn
sleighbeIls jingling, the snort Of tn
!, horses and the crunch of runners o
the snow in front of the house. Ir
stantly the old folks forgot the dfea
|. that had been overshadowing ther
! since the letter came. Ma Barke
|, with trembling fingers undid he
spron, smoothed her hair 80 ths
Henry's girl would see her lookin
: right" and rushed out Of doors. Oh
John followed more decorously an
z stiff1y, for his rheumatism had bee
troubling him more than ever latel.
> making work harder for him about tn
!. farm. Yes, he certainly was going
miss Henry's help when
my boy! my boy| cried ma q
she threw herself into the extende