in so short a time it would be the object of such desperate and bloody
disputes--nor so historically famous.

The Chateau de St. Paul sits, or rather, sat back from the road,
surrounded by its lovely garden and a high wall. I left my motor and
entered the grounds, preceded by a servant who had opened the gate. In
a small drawing room I presented myself to a very charming young person
already installed behind a desk, though it was scarcely half-past eight,
and explained the object of my visit.

"Madame Macherez will be delighted. I'm her secretary, and I can assure
you she will do all she can to further your plans. Would you mind
waiting just a few moments? She'll be down presently. You see," she
continued, "we have been up all night. We suddenly had part of a
regiment quartered on us, and the officers who slept here were coming
and going most of the time. I beg you will excuse the dust, but they
haven't been gone long enough for us to make things tidy. There were
twenty here, and two hundred men in the outbuildings which makes quite a
_remue menage._"

Just then the president of the _Association des Dames Franpaises_ came
in.

Madame Macherez, a fine looking, elderly woman with iron-gray hair and
clear blue eyes, is the widow of former Senator Macherez. Her keen
understanding and wonderful business ability have won her the respect
and esteem of two entire nations; both friend and enemy are united in
their praises of this wonderful person.

I was not long in explaining my intentions--I could supply sixty beds,