The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-01-10

\ army tents. Today they have a Is
4 large dining hall with beamed IS
a ceiling, rough hewn chairs and Is
y tables in close imitation of an IS
! y early colonial home.
and tumbled back through the gate
ahead Of us as the heralds of our pro-
cession. Seeing that ii was unwise for
Mellett and me to be too ~distantly sep
arated, | unlocked two OF the girls
and Mellett took the arm OF the one
between us, Mile. Berthe Dubauts, by
the way. France never made 'em pref
tier than Mile. Berthe.
Everybody Wanted Two Kisses.
The enormity OF what a ahead Of
us was not realized until we were
through the gate. Our heralds were
shouting 1.-The English are cOming!"
Wave upon ave of men, women and
children bore down upon us n at
times there were collisions that must
have hurt. Everybody wanted at least
two kisses and a handshake.
The dear old ladies of Lille had the
highest average, going at the rate OF
20 in q possible 100. The younger
m (and / am not referring to Mel
/ let's CONTINGENCY wanted to do the
thing tenderly and gently and as a re-
suit often got only a little bump
against my nose or ear, the second kiss
missing fire or ricocheting to n OF
my winsome escort.
The only trouble with the escort
was that they could not tell us where
we wanted TO go. We just staggered
on, pushed and pulled at from all d.
rections, sometimes almost carried
down by the weight of some wildly
joyous person who would spring at us.
throw both arms around our necks and
kiss us rapturously.
AS we were entering Rue des Postes
we heard a booming voice call out:
Can / help? Just a minute while 1
get through these blinking girls"
He was M. Auguste Vonherzeele, q
Belgian tailor, formerly Of London.
Because he was sixty-four years old
the Germans had not forced him to
work. He had kept his son bidder for
four years, but, he said, "the little fool'
insisted finally en- getting out and had
been seized and taken away by the
Germans when they deported all the
able manhood, even youths in mid
teens, shortly before the evacuation.
NJ. Vonherzeele introduced US to M.
Fernand Hanciaus, Lille representative
Schenectady, N. Y.
"Will you-smack-take US through
-smack-the main streets-smack-
to the mayor-smack-and back
smack to our car - smackT' We
begged, between kisses.
The two turned about and talked
very fast to the mob. A way opened
for us and we started. All went well
for two minutes, her q fresh battal-
ion Of kisses went over the top and cut
M. Hanciaus off from all communica-
ton with us. We never saw him
again.
Ribbons, Badges, Rosettes.
We now began to be entwined with
red, white and blue ribbons, and many
badges and rosettes were pinned to
US. We also got punches Of red, white
and blue paper flowers.
There was nothing amorous about
the kisses. They we're given by old
and young to the good English" One
trim mademoiselle In my retinue
kissed me once for the allies, once for
England, once for myself and once for
my wife. (Note-I am not adding this
to square myself at home. This true
and accurate history Of the great 0c-
casion must be complete in all details.)
What happened to the kissers after
they had battered their way into u
parade and finally got within kissing
reach2 They formed In lines fifteen
abreast and danced or stamped ahead
or behind us, singing the Marseillaise.
When we got back to our car we
found 1t indistinguishable in the mob.
The British captain had two babies ON
either knee, and he sat so they were
between him and the kissers. The
uIiNci huu 6iFCh w lighting iOH9
time & and quite miserably hung
over his seat In a limp position within
reach of short or tall. For him 1t was
more cheerful to give than to receive.
The brave British deliverers of Lille
later did get a tremendous v q
ton from the city. We saw a few sen
tries when we returned there having
their guns held by girls and being be-
decked with garlands and fed with
cakes. We saw other Tommies having
their guns and packs carried by Lille
girls. 1t Is a pity that the first spon-
~taneous outburst of gratitude to the
British should have been centered on
two Yank correspondents.
HOLDS THRIFT STAMP RECORD