Told in a French Garden: August, 1914 — John Shaqi
Told in a French Garden: August, 1914Aldrich, Mildred
General
Told in a French Garden: August, 1914
Aldrich, Mildred
Short stories
The daytimes were not ever very bad. Short-handed in the pretty
garden, every one did a little work. The Lawyer was passionately fond
of flowers, and the Youngster did most of the errands. The Sculptor
had found some clay, and loved to surprise us at night with a new
centre piece for the table, and the Divorcee spent most of her time
tending Angele's baby, while the Doctor and the Nurse were eternally
fussing over new kinds of bandages and if ever we got together, it was
usually for a little reading aloud at tea-time, or a little music. The
spirit of discussion seemed to keep as far away before the lights were
up as did the spirit of war, and nothing could be farther than that
_appeared_.
The next day we were unusually quiet.
Most of us kept in our rooms in the afternoon. There were those
stories to think over, and that we all took it so seriously proved how
very much we had been needing some real thing to do. We got through
dinner very comfortably.
There was little news in the papers that day except enthusiastic
accounts of the reception of the British troops by the French. It was
lovely to see the two races that had met on so many battle
fields--conquered, and been conquered by one another--embracing with
enthusiasm. It was to the credit of all of us that we did not make the
inevitable reflections, but only saw the humor and charm of the thing,
and remembered the fears that had prevented the plans of tunnelling
the channel, only to find them humorous.
The coffee had been placed on the table. The Trained Nurse, as usual,
sat behind the tray, and we each went and took our cup, found a
comfortable seat in the circle under the trees, where a few yellow
lanterns swung in the soft air.
Then the Youngster pulled a white head-band with a huge "Number One"
on it, out of his pocket, placed it on his head after the manner of
the French Conscripts, struck an attitude in the middle of the
circle, drew his chair deftly under him, and with the air of an
experienced monologist began:
* * * * *
Not so very many years ago there was a pretty wedding at Trinity
Church in Boston. It was quite the sort of marriage Bostonians believe
in. The man was a rising lawyer, rather a sceptic on all sorts of
questions, as most of us chaps pride ourselves on being, when we come
out of college. They were married in church to please the Woman. What
odds did it make?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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