The French Twins | Page 4

France
Map of the Voyage
THE FRENCH TWINS
by Lucy Fitch Perkins

CONTENTS
I. THE CHURCH AND THE PEOPLE II. ON THE WAY H0ME III.
THE COMING OF THE GERMANS IV. THE RETURN OF THE
FRENCH V. AT MADAMS COUDERT'S VI. THE BURNING OF

THE CATHEDRAL VII. HOME AGAIN VIII. REFUGEES IX. THE
FOREIGN LEGION X. FONTANELLE XI. A SURPRISE XII.
MORNING IN THE MEADOW XIII. CHILDREN OF THE LEGION

I. THE CHURCH AND THE PEOPLE
The sunlight of the clear September afternoon shone across the roofs of
the City of Rheims, and fell in a yellow flood upon the towers of the
most beautiful cathedral in the world, turning them into two shining
golden pillars against the deep blue of the eastern sky.
The streets below were already in shadow, but the sunshine still poured
through the great rose window above the western portal, lighting the
dim interior of the church with long shafts of brilliant reds, blues, and
greens, and falling at last in a shower of broken color upon the steps of
the high altar. Somewhere in the mysterious shadows an unseen
musician touched the keys of the great organ, and the voice of the
Cathedral throbbed through its echoing aisles in tremulous waves of
sound. Above the deep tones of the bass notes a delicate melody floated,
like a lark singing above the surf.
Though the great church seemed empty but for sound and color, there
lingered among its shadows a few persons who loved it well. There
were priests and a few worshipers. There was also Father Varennes, the
Verger, and far away in one of the small chapels opening from the apse
in the eastern end good Mother Meraut was down upon her knees, not
praying as you might suppose, but scrubbing the stone floor. Mother
Meraut was a wise woman; she knew when to pray and when to scrub,
and upon occasion did both with equal energy to the glory of God and
the service of his Church. Today it was her task to make the little
chapel clean and sweet, for was not the Abbe coming to examine the
Confirmation Class in its catechism, and were not her own two children,
Pierre and Pierette, in the class? In time to the heart-beats of the organ,
Mother Meraut swept her brush back and forth, and it was already near
the hour for the class to assemble when at last she set aside her
scrubbing-pail, wiped her hands upon her apron, and began to dust the
chairs which had been standing outside the arched entrance, and to
place them in orderly rows within the chapel.
She had nearly completed her task, when there was a tap-tapping upon
the stone floor, and down the long aisle, leaning upon his crutch, came

Father Varennes. He stopped near the chapel and watched her as she
whisked the last chair into place and then paused with her hands upon
her hips to make a final inspection of her work.
"Bonjour, Antoinette," said the Verger.
Mother Meraut turned her round, cheerful face toward him. "Ah, it is
you, Henri," she cried, "come, no doubt, to see if the chapel is clean
enough for the Abbe! Well, behold."
The Verger peered through the arched opening, and sniffed the wet,
soapy smell which pervaded the air. "One might even eat from your
clean floor, Antoinette," he said, smiling, "and taste nothing worse with
his food than a bit of soap. Truly the chapel is as clean as a shriven
soul."
"It's a bold bit of dirt that would try to stand out against me," declared
Mother Meraut, with a flourish of her dust-cloth, "for when I go after it
I think to myself, 'Ah, if I but had one of those detestable Germans by
the nose, how I would grind it!' and the very thought brings such power
to my elbow that I check myself lest I wear through the stones of the
floor."
The Verger laughed, then shook his head. "Truly, Antoinette," he said,
"I believe you could seize your husband's gun if he were to fall, and fill
his place in the Army as well as you fill his place here in the Cathedral,
doing a man's work with a woman's strength, and smiling as if it were
but play! Our France can never despair while there are women like
you."
"My Jacques shall carry his own gun," said Mother Meraut, stoutly,
"and bring it home with him when the war is over, if God wills, and
may it be soon! Meanwhile I will help to keep our holy Cathedral clean
as he used to do. It is not easy work, but one must do what one can, and
surely it is better to do it with smiles than