Ir
Winter-Killing
of the Hedge
Br JANE OSBORNE
K I K
Copyright, 1818, by the MrCl u nTNvspa
pr Syndicate.)
Forty years from now the old resi
dents of Kosevnlewlll still be alluding,
" Ho doubt, to "the yeur the hedges winter-killed."
Perhaps by that time
there will be a little uncertainty- in
the minds of some ns to Just which
3ood Friday it was that the VnitoA
States "pot into the war." and Just how
long thnt war lusted. They will have
xorgotten that old Peter Conkllng
Itosevale's millionaire didn't sub
scribe a cent to the Liberty loan and
that Judge Robert Prltchard subscrib
- d ten thousand, and that somebody's
neighbor probably poisoned some-
i)Ody 8 CUt anil Hint thp llnr-tor'a triHrav
lind set her cap most openly for snld
Peter Conklin. All thos thi nfra will
liave been forgotten forty years from
now, but not the winter-killing of the
hedge. That is the sort of In
In the flight of time that we somehow
- always remember even when wp for
- et affairs of larger or more personal
interest. "It was Hie coldest winter
on record," some octoneuarlnns will
ny, "and I remember how th hedge
twelve feet high that had been growing
"ten or a dozen years between Judge
rriteiiard's place and the old Marden
place was winter-killed, roots and
Branches."
That this particular luxurious
growth of privet had been entirely
flighted as the effect of the unwonted
cold weather last winter neither Judge
Pritehard nor Hester Marden realized
till weeks after the usual time for Its
Jbuds to be bursting under the warmth
of April sunshine. And it was after
other Rosevalians, whose less luxuri
ous hedges had also been blighted,
had come to the realization that the
only thing to do to save what life
niiuht remain in the roots of their
Ledges was to amputate all the dead
branches above, that Hester on her
ide of the thick network of dead
twigs and branches and Judge Robert
Prltchard. hidden on his side, realized
one warm spring evening that the old
Jiedge would have to go. The hedge
liad been planted on the Harden side
of the dividing line, so it was obvious
ly up to Hester to have it cut down, al
though its branches had long since
spread many feet over into the Pritch
ard domain. Hester hesitated several
days after she had purchased the last
pair of hedge-clips in the Rosevale
hardware store before giving her order
to the gardener-by-tlie-dny to begin the
nipututlon. It seemed like desecra
tion to her; she could not make it seem
other than unloyal and traitorous to
the memory of poor old Aunt Bethiuh.
till Aunt Bethiuh would not have
wanted to let the hedge remain as It
was. Hester was sure of it. She
rplanned an overnight trip to the large
nearby city for the days when the cut
ting down operation was to take place
and, after having cast a contrite look
at the old painting of Aunt Bethiah
that still hung over the nuirble mantel
piece In the old "front parlor," made
tip her mind to give the order.
There would have to be a first time
in that unhedged garden, Hester as
sured herself. Even .Aunt Bethiuh
could not object to her thirty-year-old
niece going Into her own garden under
the circumstances. So as soon as she
had eaten her solitary dinner on the
day she returned from the city she
left the table and .descended Into the
old garden. The sun was still warm
and golden and the wood thrushes
somewhere In the Prltchard shrubbery
were Just beginning their long evening
Bong. Hester tried not to kp th
change till she was actually In the
garden. Then a strange sense of free--dom
and emancipation came over her.
Already the plants and growing things
in her garden had profited by the In
crease of air and sunshine that the
passing of the hedge had allowed. The
columbines and tulips were out earlier
than usual and it seemed to Hester as
if their colors were deeper and gayer
than In the old days when they were
hedged In by the twelve-foot privet.
And It was as If a new world had
teen opened and discovered to her
when she first permitted her eyes to
wander beyond the line whem th
privet iind once been placed, over there :
in the fairy land of light green leaves
and foliage where the wood thrushes '
eang. She had not seen that realm for j
ten years, not since the day the high j
board fence was taken down, and in i
consequence of that she was hurried j
away by Aunt Bethiah to be gone until j
the newly plunted privet should have j
taken its place. Could it be that all !
these years that fairyland of leaves
and blossoms had been there just be- i
yohd the privet? Hester was wonder- '
ing. j
And then came the voice of Judge i
Prltchard, who nmut have been In his !
garden behind one of his lilac bushes
all the time that she was inspecting
her own transformed domain. '
Neither Heater nor Robert said any--thlng
very profound or clever or worth
remembering that evening when they
spoke for the first time In ten years.
Each had known from the time they I
knew that the hedge had to go that
their speaking would be the Inevitable i
result Perhaps that is why Hester had i
teit so especially guilty when she stood
before old Aunt Bethlah's picture a
few minutes before. The spell cast by
Aunt Bethiah was entirely broken
when Hester permitted herself to be
urged across that old barrier on the
excuse of looking at some especially j
luxurious rose-colored columbines that i
Judge Prltchard Insisted hnd been j
vagrants from her garden and hud
shown themselves a season or so be- :
fore. j
"I know they were yours," he told j
her, "and that is why I cherished thorn I
so. I had the gardener nurse them like j
orchids." Hester was kneeling over to
touch the silky blossoms with her fin
gers. "I wonder how they dared go ;
through the hedge?" was all she could !
thitlk lit Mlirillf, nlwl tln.n n.... n.l
those of Robert Pritchnrd met and both
Knew that the barrier thnt had gone
down ith fh v,Q,i ..i,i v
down with the hedge could never be !
replaced.
After they had seated themselves on
the rustic bench under Judge Pritch
ard's lilacs, on the excuse of hearing
the thrushes' song, Hester volunteered
the suggestion that it really seemed
only a day since the last time she hnd
sat on the snme bench under the lilacs.
And then she wondered whether she
had said anything that was too dis
loyal to the memory of Bethiah Mar
den, the stern old aunt who had
brought her up and left her all her
property.
Robert Prltchard answered this hv
taking Hester's hand In his exactly as 1
he had that last time, ten years before, '
and mat. too. seemed quite natural,
though Hester blushed quite as if she
had been twenty instead of thirty.
"You didn't go away because you
wanted to?" he asked.
Hester shook her head.
"Tell me just what happened and j on the move ngnin. this time hurrying
then I'll tell you something you per-1 to the front, where the enemy was
haps never knew." j hitting hard at the Lys line. The env-
Hester had reheursed the details of . airy rode hard as the advance guard
Just what happened on that memorable of the French Infantry columns mnrh
occaslon so often to herself that the j ed toward St. Omar. In the first
recounting was not difficult. "Well, ! 24 hours, despite the long strain
you see, Aunt Bethiah had ideas of her ! of fighting in Picnrdy, they covered
own about how girls should spend j
tneir time and so long as I read poetry
and novels and did embroidery In the
garden she was satisfied. But when I
Improved my time talking to you in
stead, she was distressed. So long ns
that high board fence was here she
was satisfied. I was quite snfe hi the
garden. Then the Neighborhood as
sociation decided to hnve all fences
down, and though Aunt Bethiah fought
it, the association had its way. She
planted the hedge and took me off for
four years in France she said she had
Intended to take me, anyway, and per
haps she had. I would have Jlked go
ing better if it hnd not seemed like
punishment for talking to you those
days when the fence was down before
we started. It was Just about this
time of the year, wasn't it?
"And then by the time we came back
the hedge wns high enough for a pro
tection and you hnd forgotten all
about your neighbor, and Aunt Bethiah
was sure she had done her duty. I
think the poor old dear died happier
because the hedge was twelve feet ;ii,'h
and five feet thick. She used to sn:lle
f,01061111151" PfPIt 'i1 htr " '
woo rna firmest hndio t . . 1 . T
really don't know why she should have
objected so much to our talking.
"Perhaps I was very much to blanie."
Robert Prltchard explained. "I was
twenty-five then, nnd went about
things differently than I would now.
You see I made the Neighborhood as
sociation vote to have the fences taken
down. It was my first nttemnt at civic
improvement, and no one but Aunt
Bethiah suspected my motive. She
called at my office and told me her
opinion of me and I got as hot-headed
as she was and told her thnt I wanted
to marry, you and Intended to do it.
I'd spent the evening here by the lilacs
with you then and I knew my heart. I
didn't believe the good lady when she
told me that you had told her I annoy
ed you and had asked to be taken
away, so I can't hold it trp against her.
I've wanted, though, to hear you say
that It wasn't so."
"And I really think Aunt Bethiah
liked you all along do you believe she
is so very cross because we are sitting
here again under the lilac bush?"
Judge Prltchard would have liked to
Bay Just then that he was entirely In
different as to whether Aunt Bethiah
approved or not but so completely
was he concerned with the realization
that he had within his reach the love
of the woman of his dreams that he
had no thoughts for the other woman
who had separated them ten yeurs be
fore. YOU BET SHE KNEW.
Mrs. Flatbush I hear your hus
band's in the war?
Mrs. Bensonhurst lie is.
"And I understand he's the com
manding officer of his company ?"
''Well, you 'can be pretty certain
that that is more than he ever was
in my company."
PROVE GOOD FIGHTERS AFOOT
Rides 80 Miles In Day and Relieves
Hard-Pressed British In Flanders
Makes New Place for
Self In Warfare.
Washington. Skillful use of French
cavalry has marked General Foch's
tactics ever since he took over control
of the allied armies as supreme com
mander, . according to information
reaching military circles here. The
horsemen have played an Important
role In the whole battle of 1918, as
the struggle which began March 21
with the first German drive has come
to be knowu.
The employment of swift-moving
columns in the present counter-stroke
from the Alsne-Marne line hns been
noted In the dispatches. Again Gen
eral Foch took advantage of the great
! mo'"Ht of 1,,e ,,n!ed ,tnrow
' 1 ,
: units threatened to lose touch with
each other In the heat and confusion
of the contest. No gaps have been left
where the enemy might strike back,
for always the horsemen came up to
fill the hole until the Infantry line
could he rectified and connected in a
i P0,M front -
The same tactics marked the first
use of French cavalry In the battle of
I'lcardy, when the French took over
.r5 miles of front from the British
to permit the latter to mass reserves
at seriously threatened points of the
line farther north.
Cavalry Fights Afoot.
A French cavalry corps complete
with light artillery, armored cars and
cyclists arrived first on the scene in
Ploardy and relieved the British. They
fought it out afoot until the heavy
French infantry arrived and took over
the task.
Three days later the horsemen were
80 miles without losing n mnn or a
horse on the way. In C6 hours they
had transferred their whole corps over
125 miles and arrived east of Mont
Cassel.
"It was a wonderful sight," writes
the chief of staff of a division. "The
horses were In fine condition ; the men
were cheerful and went singing, in spite
of the sufferings nnd privations they
had to endure.
"In truth, our boys looked a little
tired, but they were nil very proud
that such an effort had been asked
of them and all were bearing It cheer
fully."
The cavalry corps stood In support
of the British for ten days In April
after the enemy had forced the line
held by the Portuguese division. It
maintained communication between
two British armies nnd organized the
ground from Mont Cassel to Mont
Kemmel, while the French army
moved up behind It. As the French
Infantry came into line the cavalry wns
drawn off to the left In the
Mont Kemmel region, nnd for five driys
the horsemen. I'uluing nfoot with twr.
Ifantry divisions', withstood the ter
rlf.c nssanlts of the Germans - who
sought to hammer a way through be
hind Ypres at any cost.
They stood steady bombnrdment for
days, and when the infantry was hem
med In on top of Mont Kemmel,
the cavalry drove forward In counter
attack and held off the shock divisions
of the enemy while the French gun
ners got their pieces away.
Later, at the battle of Locre, the
cavalry also shared fully with the In
fantry, blocking gaps in the line, and
the final definite occupation of the
town for the allies was accomplished
by a cavalry battalion. A sergeant
and a handful of dragoons drove 40
Germans out of the town, and at an
other point a cavalry officer and 20
men backed np the Infantry at a
critical moment, the officer waving a
pistol In one hand and a shovel In
the other as he led the dash which re
stored the situation.
Defend Compelgne.
A few days later the same cavalry,
after another long ride, met the en
emy advance against Vlllers-Gotterets
woods In the Alsne sector, where the
fighting today Is waging fiercely, and
where the horsemen again are en
gaged. When the Germans drove for
ward In their effort to get around the
forest to Compelgne, the horsemen
blocked the road between the wooded
region and the River Ourcq.
In view of this record for swift and
dashing attack afoot, the cavalry ap
pears to have established a -new place
for itself In modern warfare. They
are the light reserves; the men who
are always hurled first into the point
of danger to hold until the slow-moving
Infantry arrives. They have
learned trench warfare completely,
and General Foch Is making use of
thera In any move that Insures them
a glorious chance when the day comes
for the allies to drive back. all alone
the Una. 1
SCIENTISTS EXPLAIN THEM
Some of the Qualities That Give Amer-
leans Superiority In Air Over
Their Hun Opponents Tem
perament Is Important.
new xorn. considerable concern
has been expressed at the large num
ber of fatal accidents reported from
our American military and naval avia
tion training camps. Considering the
risks the novice necessarily takes and
the very special physiological and dsV'
etiological factors that enter into the
science of flying, these fatal accidents
are few In proportion to the number
of men undergoing training, and they
are not more numerous than those on
the training fields of Great Britain,
t rance and Italy.
A perfect knowledge of all the rule."
of the game of flying will not save a
man who lacks confidence In himself
and Is Inclined to hesitate. A half
second of Indecision may be fatal. In
itiative, the sporting instinct and a
certain Irresponsibility, qualities In
herent In American youth, have been
found of far greater value In the air
than the logical, scientific, severely
disciplined character of the Germans
nnd account for the superiority of the
allied aviators In general.
The most emlimnt of r.ritish scien
tists hnve devoteil special study to the
psychological and physiological as
pects of flying.
One authority says that good eye
sight, normal hearing, good "muscle
sense" and equilibration are indispen
sable qualifications. But most impor
tant of all Is the right temperament
not an easy thing for a medical board
to examine. Of the types the imagi
native and the unimaginative the
Imaginative youth is said to make the
better pilot if he can keep his imagi
nation under control.
Surgical Operations No Bar.
In the British air service previous
history of wounds and disease Is thor
oughly investigated. Persistent head
aches, vertigo and easily Induced fa
tigue are serious defects. But some
times even a serious surgical opera
tion Is not regarded as Important.
Thus a doctor recently passed as fit
for flying a man who had quite a large
piece missing from the frontal region
of the skull. It Is much more impor
tant that a man should have both
arms Intact than both legs. A clever
pilot who was killed on the western
front was Lord Lucas, who had an
artificial leg.
Considerable importance Is attached
to the respiratory system. In addition
to good, healthy lungs and vital capac
ity, the would-be pilot must pass a
Dreath-hol.dlng test. This gives an In
dlcatlon of his capacity to stand the
strain of flying at high altitudes.
where the air Is rarefied and breath
ing Is difficult. No man with a weak
heart can hope to pass the tests.
Self-balancing is another test. The
candidate has to stand on one leg with
his eyes shut and his hands on hi.
hips. There is also the old test foi
sobriety walking a straight line heel
to toe with eyes open and then turn
ing round nnd walking back without
losing balance. The importance of
this test can be understood, seeing
that an aviator flying In a dark cloud
or In a fog becomes unconscious of his
position and sometimes the machine
Is actually upside down. It Is essen
tlal that he should not lose a "second
In recovering his balance.
The throat, nose and ear are care
fully examined, for any defects rnieht
seriously handicap a man during the
great strain that all flying imposes.
With regard to the eyes, it Is consid
ered that pilots should hnve perfect
color vision, In order to pick out the
color or marking of hostile machines,
and In recognizing signal lights and In
Judging the nature of landing grounds.
Air Sickness Rare.
A candidate who suffers from sea
sickness or train sickness would not
be rejected on those grounds alone.
Air sickness, caused by the rolling and
pitching of the airplane, Is a very rare
complaint, and sickness usually occurs
Immediately after laudiug.
An unstable nervous system suggest
ed by fidgety movements of the hands,
feet or face, or biting the nails Is a
poor recommendation.
Aero-neurosls is the name which Is
sometimes given to nervous troubles
brought about by the strain of flying.
It has been said that an airman's life
consists of "long spells of idleness
punctuated by moments of lutense
fear." He has to endure Intense cold.
rain, wind and fog, the nerve-racking
noise of the engine, the antiaircraft
fire, and to loop, spin, dive or side
slip, apparently out of control, in or
der to deceive nn opponent. An In
teresting nerve test has been devised
In France for selecting the best types
of airmen for fighting. Around his
chest is a pneumograph, In his left
hand a trembler, and around two fin
gers of his right hand a pneumatic
"dolgtier." Behind the candidate a
revolver shot Is fired or a magnesium
flare la set off, and a record of the
effect on his nerves Is obtained by
means of stylets writing on a black
ened revolving-cylinder.
MEET SUFFERING WITH SMILE
Brave Men In France 8et Example
Which We In Safety at Horn
Might Well Follow.
They love to laugh, those boys in
France. Of course, they reserve th
right to grumble, too. "Grousing,
is what Tommy calls it, and ha
grouses to his heart's content when
there's nothing serious the matter.
But when it comes to real things,
like suffering and dying, he mceU
them with a smile.
There are more smiles in the hos
pitals of France and of England
than well, than in an appalling lot
of our "happy homes" here in Amer
ica. There is more brave smiling in
those pitiful lines of the walking
wounded, on their way to the dress
ing station, than in any Easte
"church parade" that ever strolled
up Fifth avenue. '
I wish I could make every man
and every woman in the United
States see those smiles. They art
rather difficult, rather grotesque, for
the faces are stiff with mud and
bleod and are drawn with pain. Bui
there they are! The suffering lips,
which make no murmur, can some
how manage to 6mile.
If they can do that, it seems to
me that we ought to be able to pack
up our troubles in our old kit bag;
we ought to manage to hide then
away in our hearts somewhere, and
to smile, too. Charles W. White
hair, in the American Magazine.
ONLY TWO ENJOY PRIVILEGE
High Church Official and Prussian Am
bassador Accorded Freedom From
Strict Vatican Etiquette.
Only two persons enjoy the privi
lege of driving to the Vatican with
a one-horse vehicle. One of them is
the commissary general of the holy
inquisition, and the other the Prus
sian ambassador accredited to the
holy see.
The tatter's privilege owes its
origin to a rather curious circum
stance. A Prussian ambassador some
years ago drove up one day in a single-horse
carriage, and presented
himself for admission at the gates
of the Vatican leading into the
courtyard ; but, in pursuance of their
orders, he was refused admission, ex
cept on foot, by the guard. Being
forced to yield, he complained with
some bitterness to Cardinal Antonel
li, secretary of state to Pius IX, wbe
said he would refer the matter to his
holiness. Pius IX, upon hearing of
the incident, immediately gave or
ders that henceforth his excellency
the Prussian ambassador was to be
allowed admittance however he
came.
TURNIP SOUP A LA HUN.
"Dump a basket of woody, dirty
turnips on the ground outside the
cookhouse door, set a prisoner at
work peeling them, with no water
for washing his hands or the turnips,
gather the peeled, mud-coated tur
nips from the ground, dump them in
a kettle of water, boil and mash
them, mud and all, add more water
and serve ! That's what we were fed
i
on until some of the nv n actually
went crazy at the sight of turnip
soup," says Private Jack Evans of the'
Fourth Canadian Mounted Rifles,
who tells, in the Forum, of the hor
rors of 16 months' imprisonment in
the "Black Hole of Go: many" and
how, after four attempts, he man
aged to escape.
MARK OF DISTINCTION.
"You seem to have a great opin
ion about this man's wealth and in
fluence. Have you made inquiries
about him?"
"Didn't have to. I saw a ton of
coal lying in front.-of his house."
MORE TO THE PURPOSE.
Daughter I tell you, mother, you
are prejudiced against Reginald, but
he is a coming man.
- Mother Perhaps so, but I wish
he had more "go" in him.
IT DIDN'T WORK.
"Ever try your hand at farming?"
Yes, but he wouldn't do it."
"Who wouldn't do it?"
"The farmhand."