The Alaska daily empire., 1921-12-08

and they use it like preposl'lon, "le chez-soi" is the home, which has a special meaning of privacy ana comfort. The French not only love the home, but they worship it. To them it is a shrine. The stranger can travel all over their country and know everything about them except the inside of their hearts. and the inside of their homes. They say, i've welcome the stranger, we are hospitablc, but it is our territory that we open and our street and our boulevard. but the foyer" (hearth) never or hardly eyer.'
 "The truth is. that the hearth is our religion, just that. It is our pride and it remains our secret"
 The French parent does not decant on his love for his home; he is shy about it, because it is deep love. The deep feelings are those which they live on, and which they hide, feelings so deep that they never get into print for their real home is not for the printer.
 Soldier vs. Home
 A French soldier wrote letter 70 9 friend. At the time he wrote the letter he was about to go into the drive on the."Chemin-des Danes" and I never heard as to whether he ever came out of that drive to estab- fish the home that he wrote about Bnt his letter gave such definite description of the Frenchman's idea of home that copied F.
 II reads as follows: My Home. The war has come and prevented me from builting it. But I hope to have built it in my dreams. I wish for small house on the slope of a nil near river. small white house under the trees. The vines will climb along the walls and the swal low will build their nest under the roof. There will be many beds where will grow rose bushes, prim- roses and daisies. I will have kitchen garden with all kinds of vegetables and many fruit trees. will have, too, a poultry yard. The interior of the house will not be lux urious; the furniture will not be of any great price, for I am not rich man. but hope that it will shelter happiness, for when l return from my hard work I shall feel every day the faithful tenderness of my wife. and the light smile of my little Ciil- dren."
 Education Is Hard
 The children of France are having about the same hard time in secur ing an education as did our grand fathers. They are attending the same one-room school building, with only the light from the one or two windows, but with it all they are learning the one big lesson, namely, Love of Country. They do not have the fine big light school houses. warm in the winter and well ventilat- ed in the summer that the children of our own country have They walk many miles to their lessons for the reason that there are no cars that start out each morning to pick up the children and take them to their lessons. They spend long hours each day in school. for the reason that in the summer months they have to | work to help keep that beloved home But with 1t all. they are bright and cheerful for they know that they must get all of the education that they can for in a few years they will 1 be called upon to take over the cares and burdens of the Father and the Mother and take upon their shoul- ders the, cares of their beloved France
 The little fellow in France, hardly able to talk, will in his childish way tell you how he means to grow up and fight for his country. They are looking forward to the time when they can assume the burdens of a true Frenchman.
 We learned many lessons while in France and we saw and heard many strange things, but the one thing that will remain with us the longest and the thing that will remain in our minds the longest, is that wonderful love shown by the French children for their homes and for their country.