ond
man's interiorities. The walls were charmingly decorated not only with
pictures of the heroes of the war but with the colored supplements of
the great weekly magazines which pursue their even and welcome way in
spite of the war. Above there were flags and banners, and the lights
were very bright. Altogether there was no restaurant in Paris more
cheerful--or more exquisitely neat in its kitchen. I went behind and
saw the great roasts in their shining pans, the splendid loaves of
bread, the piles of clean dishes. Not a spot of grease in those
crowded quarters. In a corner the President of the Chamber of Commerce
was cashier for the night.

Adjoining was a rest-room with six or eight beds, and a lavatory large
enough for several men simultaneously to wash off the dust of their
long journey.

These cantines are supported by collections taken up on trains. On any
train between Paris and any point in France outside of the War Zone
girls in the uniform of the Croix Rouge appear at every stop and shake
a box at you. They are wooden boxes, with a little slit at the top. As
I have myself seen people slipping in coppers and, no doubt, receiving
the credit from other passengers of donating francs, I suggested that
these young cadets of the Red Cross would add heavily to their day's
toll if they passed round open plates. Certainly no one would dare
contribute copper under the sharp eyes of his fellows. This, I was
told, was against the law, but that it might be found practicable to
use glass boxes.

In any case the gains are enough to run these cantines. The girls are
almost always good looking and well bred, and they look very serious
in their white uniform with the red cross on the sleeves; and the
psychotherapeutic influence is too strong for any one to resist.

Madame Waddington had brought a large box of chocolates and she passed
a piece over the shoulder of each soldier, who interrupted the more
serious business of the moment to be polite. Other people bring them
flowers, or cigarettes, and certainly there is no one in the world so
satisfactory to put one's self to any effort for as a poilu. On her
manners alone France should win her war.

X

THE COUNTESS D'HAUSSONVILLE[D]

I

Madame la Comtesse d'Haussonville, it is generally conceded, is not
only the greatest lady in France but stands at the very head of all
women working for the public welfare in her country. That is saying a
great deal, particularly