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 page vi

Brief Table of Contents

Detailed Table of Contents vii
Vignettes xi
Case Guide xiii
Preface xvii
Guided Tour xix
Technology to Enhance Learning and Teaching xxii
About the Authors xxvii
Acknowledgements xxviii

PART 1
Fundamentals of Marketing 1

1 Marketing and the Organization 3

2 The Marketing Environment 37

3 Consumer Behaviour 73

4 Business-to-Business Marketing 109

5 Marketing, Ethics and Society 139

6 Marketing Analytics and Research 171

7 Market Segmentation and Positioning 203

8
PART 2
Creating Customer Value 239

8 Value Through Brands 241

9 Value Through Services 279

10 Value Through Relationships 311

11 Value Through Innovation 341

12 Value Through Pricing 371

PART 3
Communicating and Delivering Customer Value 405

13 Integrated Marketing Communications 407

14 Mass Marketing Communications 441

15 Direct Marketing Communications 481

16 Digital Marketing and Social Media 519

17 Distribution and Channel Management 555

PART 4
Marketing Planning and Strategy 593

18 Marketing Planning: An Overview of Strategic Analysis and

Decision-making 595

19 Analysing Competitors and Creating a Competitive Advantage

627
20 Product Strategy: Lifecycle, Portfolio and Growth 667

21 Global Marketing Strategy 699

22 Managing Marketing Implementation, Organization and Control

735

9
 page vii

Detailed Table of
Contents
Vignettes xi
Case guide xiii
Preface xvii
Guided Tour xix
Technology to Enhance Learning and Teaching xxii
About the Authors xxvii
Acknowledgements xxviii

PART 1
Fundamentals of Marketing 1

1 Marketing and the Organization 3

Introduction to Principles and Practice of Marketing 4
What is Marketing? 5
Adopting a Market Orientation in a Changing World 6
Understanding Market-driven Businesses 9
Efficiency Versus Effectiveness 11
Creating Customer Value, Satisfaction and Loyalty 14
Marketing Planning 19

10
 Does Marketing have all the Answers? 20
Review 22
Key Terms 23
Study Questions 24
Recommended Reading 24
References 24
CASE 1 Coca-Cola and Pepsi 28
CASE 2 Fast Fashion at H&M 32

2 The Marketing Environment 37

Technological Forces and the Digital Revolution 39
Economic Forces 41
Political and Legal Forces 47
Legal and Regulatory Responses to Ethical Issues in Marketing 51
The Physical Environmental Forces 51
Culture and Society 54
Societal Responses to Ethical Issues in Marketing 58
The Microenvironment 59
Monitoring and Responding in the Marketing Environment 60
Responses to Environmental Change 61
Review 63
Key Terms 64
Study Questions 64
Recommended Reading 65
References 65
CASE 3 Marketing a ‘Place’ in a Rapidly Changing Environment 67
CASE 4 Reaching ‘Sinks, Dinks and Millennials’ Worldwide 70

3 Consumer Behaviour 73
The Changing Context of Consumer Behaviour 74
The Dimensions of Consumer Behaviour 76
Influences on Consumer Behaviour 87
Review 96

11
 Key Terms 98
Study Questions 99
Recommended Reading 99
References 100
CASE 5 Cappuccino Wars 102
CASE 6 The Rise of Influencer Marketing: is it Worth it for Brands?
105
4 Business-to-Business Marketing 109
Importance of Business-to-Business (B2B) Markets 110
What is Business-to Business Marketing? 113
People and Process in Purchasing 117
Influences on Buying Decisions 123
Segmenting B2B Markets 125
Review 129
Key Terms 130
Study Questions 130
Recommended Reading 131
References 131
CASE 7 Naked Wines—A Community of Wine Makers and Drinkers
CASE 8 AstraZeneca: Sweden and the UK Join Forces to Serve 133
New Markets in the Pharmaceutical Industry 136

5 Marketing, Ethics and Society 139

Dimensions of Sustainable Marketing 140
Marketing and Ethics 144
Marketing Approaches and Society 149
Societal Marketing 155
Review 159
Key Terms 160
Study Questions 161
Recommended Reading 161
References 161
CASE 9 Channel 4 and Maltesers Championing Diversity 164

12
 Social Responsibility or Good Business? Coop Danmark’s
CASE 10 Anti Food Wastage Initiatives 167

6 Marketing Analytics and Research 171

Marketing Analytics: Goals, Performance and Measurement 172
Marketing and Research 178
The Market Research Process 179
Ethical Issues in Marketing Analytics 192

page viii

Review 192
Key Terms 194
Study Questions 195
Recommended Reading 195
References 195
CASE 11 Accelerating Marketing Research 197
CASE 12 TomTom: Still Helping Us Find Our Way Around the Planet
200
7 Market Segmentation and Positioning 203
Why Bother to Segment Markets? 204
The Process of Market Segmentation and Target Marketing 206
Segmenting Consumer Markets 207
Target Marketing 218
Positioning 224
Key Characteristics of an Effective Marketing Mix 228
Review 229
Key Terms 230
Study Questions 231
Recommended Reading 231
References 232
CASE 13 The Growing No-Alcohol and Low-Alcohol Beer Segment
CASE 14 Behavioural and Psychological Segmentation Criteria: 234
The LEGO Case 237

13
PART 2
Creating Customer Value 239

8 Value Through Brands 241

Products, Services and Brands 242
The Product Line and Product Mix 243
Brand Types 243
Why Strong Brands are Important 244
Brand Equity 247
Brand Building 249
Key Branding Decisions 254
Rebranding 256
Brand Extension and Stretching 259
Co-branding 261
Global and Pan-European Branding 263
Review 265
Key Terms 267
Study Questions 268
Recommended Reading 268
References 268
CASE 15 Kim Kardashian: Marketing Genius? 271
CASE 16 Burberry 274

9 Value Through Service 279

The Service Industries 280
The Nature of Services 287
Managing Services 291
Review 300
Key Terms 301
Study Questions 301
Recommended Reading 302
References 302

14
 CASE 17 Nordstrom: Using Service Excellence To Provide A Better
Customer Experience 304
CASE 18 Pret A Manger: ‘Passionate About Food’ 307

10 Value Through Relationships 311

Value Creation 312
Value and Relational Networks 315
Key Concepts of Relationship Marketing 317
Relationship Management and Managing Customer Relationships 318
How to Build Relationships 319
Benefits for the Organization 322
Benefits for the Customer 323
Developing Customer Retention Strategies 324
Technology-enhanced Customer Relationship Management 327
Relationship Marketing—Summary 331
Review 332
Key Terms 333
Study Questions 333
Recommended Reading 334
References 334
CASE 19 Starbucks: Managing Customer Relationships One Cup At a
Time 336
CASE 20 Top of their Game—Technology Innovation in Manchester
City Football Club (FC) 338

11 Value Through Innovation 341

What is an Innovation and What is a New Product? 343
Creating and Nurturing an Innovative Culture 345
Organizing Effectively for Innovation and New Product Development 348
Managing Idea Realization (New Product Development) 350
Review 361
Key Terms 362
Study Questions 363
Recommended Reading 363

15
 References 363
CASE 21 Keogh’s Crisps—Home Grown Innovation 365
CASE 22 Innovation through Collaboration: Apple Watch Nike + 368

12 Value Through Pricing 371

Economists’ Approach to Pricing 372
Cost-orientated Pricing 373
Competitor-orientated Pricing 375
Market-orientated Pricing 376
Initiating Price Changes 388
Reacting to Competitors’ Price Changes 390

page ix

Ethical Issues in Pricing 392

Review 393
Key Terms 394
Study Questions 394
Recommended Reading 395
References 395
CASE 23 easyJet and Ryanair 396
CASE 24 The Triumph of German Limited Range Discounters 400

PART 3
Communicating and Delivering Customer Value 405

13 Integrated Marketing Communications 407

Integrated Marketing Communications Approach 408
Planning for Integrated Marketing Communications 410
Elements of Integrated Marketing Communications 415
Review 430
Key Terms 431
Study Questions 432
Recommended Reading 432

16
 References 433
CASE 25 Domino’s Journey to Number One 435
CASE 26 eSports Sponsorship: Game On 438

14 Mass Marketing Communications 441

Introduction 442
Advertising 443
The Role of Advertising 443
Advertising Expenditure 447
How Advertising Works 447
When to use Advertising 451
Organizing for Campaign Development 456
Product Placement 458
Public Relations and Sponsorship 459
Sales Promotion 465
Ethical Issues in Advertising 469
Review 470
Key Terms 472
Study Questions 473
Recommended Reading 473
References 473
CASE 27 Volvo: Buying a Car by Simply Using an App 476
CASE 28 Toyota and Buddy 478

15 Direct Marketing Communications 481

Principles of Direct Marketing Communications 482
Direct Marketing 484
Direct Marketing Campaigns 485
Managing a Direct Marketing Campaign 490
Selling and Sales Management 493
Characteristics of Selling 494
Personal Selling and Sales Management 495
Sales Management 497

17
 Business-to-Business Relationship Development Strategies 503
Exhibitions and Trade Shows 505
Ethical Issues in Direct Communications 507
Review 508
Key Terms 510
Study Questions 510
Recommended Reading 511
References 511
CASE 29 Airbnb: Don’t Go There, Live There! 513
CASE 30 The Taste of Success: Nestlé’s Direct Marketing
Communications 516

16 Digital Marketing and Media 519

What are Digital Marketing and Digital Media? 520
The Digital Communication Environment 528
Digital Marketing and Digital Media Campaign Planning 533
Creative Implementation 539
The Dark Side of Digital Marketing 542
Review 544
Key Terms 545
Study Questions 545
Recommended Reading 546
References 546
CASE 31 Digital Disrupters Competing for
Our Attention 548
CASE 32 Online Media—Brand Marketing in Real Time 552

17 Distribution and Channel Management 555

Functions of Channel Intermediaries 556
Types of Distribution Channel 558
Channel Strategy 563
Channel Management 569
Retailing: Physical and Digital Channels to Market 573
Retailing: In-store, Online and Mobile 576

18
 Ethical Issues in Distribution 579
Review 580
Key Terms 582
Study Questions 583
Recommended Reading 583
References 583
CASE 33 ASOS 585
CASE 34 Walmart and Asda 588

PART 4
Marketing Planning and Strategy 593

18 Marketing Planning: An Overview of Strategic Analysis and Decision-

making 595
Marketing Planning Context 596
The Functions of Marketing Planning 597
The Process of Marketing Planning 598
Marketing Audit 601
Marketing Objectives 605

page x

Core Marketing Strategy 608

Rewards of Marketing Planning 611
Problems in Making Planning Work 612
How to Handle Marketing Planning Problems 614
Review 615
Key Terms 616
Study Questions 617
Recommended Reading 618
References 618
CASE 35 Marks & Spencer: Challenging Times Ahead 620
CASE 36 From Value Added in Africa (VAA) to Proudly Made in
Africa (PMIA)—

19
 A Strategic change 623

19 Analysing Competitors and Creating a Competitive Advantage 627

Analysing Competitive Industry Structure 628
Competitor Analysis 632
Competitive Advantage 637
Creating a Differential Advantage 641
Creating Cost Leadership 645
Competitive Marketing Strategy 647
Competitive Behaviour 648
Developing Competitive Marketing Strategies 650
Review 652
Key Terms 654
Study Questions 654
Recommended Reading 655
References 655
CASE 37 General Motors 657
CASE 38 Coca-Cola in India: An Unstoppable Powerhouse or a
Stumbling Giant? 662

20 Product Strategy: Lifecycle, Portfolio and Growth 667

Managing Product Lines and Brands over Time: The Product Lifecycle 668
Uses of the Product Lifecycle 670
Limitations of the Product Lifecycle 673
A Summary of the Usefulness of the Product Lifecycle Concept 674
Managing Brand and Product Line Portfolios 676
Product Strategies for Growth 684
Ethical Issues and Products 687
Review 688
Key Terms 690
Study Questions 690
Recommended Reading 691
References 691

20
 CASE 39 Growth Strategies at Unilever 693
CASE 40 Fever-Tree: Capitalizing on Market Trends 696

21 Global Marketing Strategy 699

Deciding Whether to Go Global or Stay Local 700
Deciding Which Markets to Enter 701
Deciding How to Enter a Foreign Market 708
Developing Global Marketing Strategy 713
Review 723
Key Terms 724
Study Questions 724
Recommended Reading 725
References 725
CASE 41 IKEA 728
CASE 42 Subway Germany: Getting Steadily Underway 732

22 Managing Marketing Implementation, Organization and Control 735

Marketing Strategy, Implementation and Performance 736
Implementation and the Management of Change 738
Objectives of Marketing Implementation and Change 741
Value-based Approaches to deliver the Marketing Concept 743
Forms of Resistance to Marketing Implementation and Change 745
Developing Implementation Strategies 745
Marketing Organization 753
Marketing Control 757
Strategic Control 759
Operational Control and the Use of Marketing Metrics 759
Review 765
Key Terms 767
Study Questions 767
Recommended Reading 768
References 768
CASE 43 Marimekko—a Story of Design, Determination and

21
 Leadership 770
CASE 44 Managing a Changing Musical Portfolio: HMV 773

22
 page xi

Vignettes
MARKETING IN ACTION

1.1 Pokémon Go from Zero to Hero in 24 hours 11

1.2 H&M: Look Good, Do Good, Feel Good 12

1.3 Brand Loyalty Wobbles when Starbucks Employs a Siren that’s

Just Too Perfect 18

2.1 China: The Greatest Connected Market in the World? 46

2.2 Market Forces Influence Norwegian Oil Company’s Investment in

Arctic Oil Exploration 48

2.3 Consumerism in Sweden and Britain 57

3.1 She Wears Fashion 75

3.2 The Bandwagon Effect: Online Group Buying 77

3.3 Chocolate Shortages and Black Friday Promotions Cause

Impulsive Behaviour and Panic Buying 84

3.4 Classic Marketing is the Surest Way to Fail in this Business 87

3.5 The Active Consumer: Intuition versus Deliberation 89

3.6 Technology Delivers Consumer Insights, and Age of

Neuromarketing is Here 92

23
4.1 Quel Fromage? You can’t be Serious! 111

4.2 Human Made Stories from Sweden Not Hollywood 114

4.3 Wing Yip: All the Chinese you need to Know 115

4.4 Is Eliminating the Mavericks a Good Thing? 122

5.1 Commercial versus Social Marketing 142

5.2 IKEA People and the Planet 150

5.3 Employees Win Company Awards 154

5.4 Using Social Marketing to Combat the Obesity Crisis 157

6.1 What is Big Data? GSK Shares its Big Data 173

6.2 Viking Targets the Wrong Customers 176

6.3 Proximity Apps and Customer Information 177

6.4 Mobile Ethnography Reveals Motherhood is not a Job 187

7.1 Start-up Business Fyndiq Creates a Marketplace with a Difference

205
7.2 Tribal Marketing 211

7.3 The A–Z of Digital Generations 216

7.4 Companies Use Different Brands to Meet the Needs of their

Various Target Markets 223

8.1 The Personality of a Brand 252

8.2 Why Do Some Brands Fall from Grace? 254

8.3 Developing the Lotus Bakeries Brand of Caramelized Biscuit 260

9.1 Nordic Noir Changes the Mood in the Creative Industry 282

9.2 Leggett Immobillier Voted the Best Estate Agency in France for
the Fifth Year 285

9.3 Mary’s Living and Giving Shops 286

9.4 Social Media Transformed the Hashtag into a Marketing Tool

24
10.1 The Third Place: Creating and Managing Customer Value in 294
the Coffee Shop Industry 313

10.2 Most Valued People Award Helps Drive Umbraco’s Success 321

10.3 E.ON, European Energy Supplier, Updates its CRM Systems 328

11.1 Innovation in Luxury Industries in Europe 345

11.2 Innovation Drives Passion Brands and Builds Sporting Universes at

Decathlon 351

11.3 Creating Radical Innovation 353

11.4 3D Printers 355

12.1 Technology Drivers of Price 372

12.2 Oil Price Collapse: A Classic Case of Supply and Demand 380

12.3 The price of the Free 387

13.1 Nike Scores By Getting Controversial 412

13.2 Digital Platforms, Managed Content and Customer Journeys Move

IMC to a New Level 414

13.3 Sky Adsmart: Clas Ohlson uses Precision Advertising to Penetrate

the UK High Street 425

14.1 Saatchi & Saatchi Advocates Love and Respect When Planning
Communication Objectives 446

14.2 Nordic Brands Invite Audiences to Experience the Benefits of a

Brutal Landscape 451

14.3 Keep Calm and Carry On 453

15.1 Has Direct Marketing been Given a One-way Ticket to Extinction?

485
15.2 Society Profits from Cyclists, but Who is Doing the Driving?
491
15.3 Technology Rules, Online and on the Road 496

16.1 Gucci goes Digital in Style 521

25
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Joyce Kilmer
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Joyce Kilmer

poems, essays and letters in two volumes. Volume 2,
prose works

Author: Joyce Kilmer

Editor: Robert Cortes Holliday

Release date: September 28, 2023 [eBook #71748]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: George H. Doran, 1918

Credits: Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from images made available by the
HathiTrust Digital Library.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOYCE

KILMER ***
 Transcriber’s Note
Larger versions of the illustrations may be seen by right-
clicking them and selecting an option to view them separately,
or by double-tapping and/or stretching them.
New original cover art included with this eBook is granted
to the public domain.
Additional notes will be found near the end of this ebook.
 JOYCE KILMER
POEMS, ESSAYS
AND LETTERS
IN TWO VOLUMES

VOLUME TWO: PROSE WORKS

SERGEANT JOYCE KILMER
165TH INFANTRY (69TH NEW YORK),
A. E. F., FRANCE, MAY, 1918
 JOYCE KILMER
EDITED WITH A MEMOIR
BY ROBERT CORTES HOLLIDAY
VOLUME TWO
PROSE WORKS

NEW YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN
COMPANY
 Copyright, 1914, 1917, 1918
By George H. Doran Company
Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS—VOLUME TWO
PAGE
ESSAYS
Holy Ireland 11
The Gentle Art of Christmas Giving 26
A Bouquet for Jenny 39
The Inefficient Library 49
The Poetry of Hilaire Belloc 62
The Catholic Poets of Belgium 78

LETTERS
To Charles Willis Thompson 101
To Shaemas O’Sheel 101
To Louis Bevier, Jr. 103
To Sara Teasdale Filsinger 104
To Katherine Brégy 105
To Amelia Josephine Burr 107
To Howard W. Cook 108
To Thomas Walsh 111
To Robert Cortes Holliday 114
To Reverend Edward F. Garesché, S.J. 116
To Reverend James J. Daly, S.J. 119
To His Mother 144
To Kenton Kilmer 163
To Deborah Kilmer 165
To His Wife 166

MISCELLANEOUS PIECES
A Ballad of New Sins 227
War Songs 230
“Try a Tin To-Day:” A Short Story 233
Some Mischief Still: A Play in One Act 252
 ILLUSTRATIONS
Sergeant Joyce Kilmer Frontispiece
PAGE
Joyce Kilmer, Age 5 120
Joyce Kilmer’s Grave 222
ESSAYS
 HOLY IRELAND
WE HAD hiked seventeen miles that stormy December day—the
third of a four days’ journey. The snow was piled high on our packs,
our rifles were crusted with ice, the leather of our hob-nailed boots
was frozen stiff over our lamed feet. The weary lieutenant led us to
the door of a little house in a side street.
“Next twelve men,” he said. A dozen of us dropped out of the
ranks and dragged ourselves over the threshold. We tracked snow
and mud over a spotless stone floor. Before an open fire stood
Madame and the three children—a girl of eight years, a boy of five, a
boy of three. They stared with round frightened eyes at les soldats
Americains, the first they had ever seen. We were too tired to stare
back. We at once climbed to the chill attic, our billet, our lodging for
the night. First we lifted the packs from one another’s aching
shoulders; then, without spreading our blankets, we lay down on the
bare boards.
For ten minutes there was silence, broken by an occasional
groan, an oath, the striking of a match. Cigarettes glowed like
fireflies in a forest. Then a voice came from the corner.
“Where is Sergeant Reilly?” it said. We lazily searched. There
was no Sergeant Reilly to be found.
“I’ll bet the old bum has gone out after a pint,” said the voice.
And with the curiosity of the American and the enthusiasm of the
Irish we lumbered downstairs in quest of Sergeant Reilly.
He was sitting on a low bench by the fire. His shoes were off and
his bruised feet were in a pail of cold water. He was too good a
soldier to expose them to the heat at once. The little girl was on his
lap and the little boys stood by and envied him. And in a voice that
twenty years of soldiering and oceans of whisky had failed to rob of
its Celtic sweetness, he was softly singing “Ireland isn’t Ireland any
more.” We listened respectfully.
“They cheer the King and then salute him,” said Sergeant Reilly.
“A regular Irishman would shoot him,” and we all joined in the
chorus, “Ireland isn’t Ireland any more.”
“Ooh, la, la!” exclaimed Madame, and she and all the children
began to talk at the top of their voices. What they said Heaven
knows, but the tones were friendly, even admiring.
“Gentlemen,” said Sergeant Reilly from his post of honor, “the
lady who runs this billet is a very nice lady indeed. She says yez can
all take off your shoes and dry your socks by the fire. But take turns
and don’t crowd or I’ll trun yez all upstairs.”
Now Madame, a woman of some forty years, was a true
bourgeoise, with all the thrift of her class. And by the terms of her
agreement with the authorities she was required to let the soldiers
have for one night the attic of her house to sleep in—nothing more;
no light, no heat. Also, wood is very expensive in France—for
reasons that are engraven in letters of blood on the pages of history.
Nevertheless—
“Assez-vous, s’il vous plait,” said Madame. And she brought
nearer to the fire all the chairs the establishment possessed and
some chests and boxes to be used as seats. And she and the little
girl, whose name was Solange, went out into the snow and came
back with heaping armfuls of small logs. The fire blazed merrily—
more merrily than it had blazed since August, 1914, perhaps. We
surrounded it, and soon the air was thick with steam from our drying
socks.
Meanwhile Madame and the Sergeant had generously admitted
all eleven of us into their conversation. A spirited conversation it was,
too, in spite of the fact that she knew no English and the extent of his
French was “du pain,” “du vin,” “cognac” and “bon jour.” Those of us
who knew a little more of the language of the country acted as
interpreters for the others. We learned the names of the children and
their ages. We learned that our hostess was a widow. Her husband
had fallen in battle just one month before our arrival in her home.
She showed us with simple pride and affection and restrained grief
his picture. Then she showed us those of her two brothers—one now
fighting at Salonica, the other a prisoner of war—of her mother and
father, of herself dressed for First Communion.
This last picture she showed somewhat shyly, as if doubting that
we would understand it. But when one of us asked in halting French
if Solange, her little daughter, had yet made her First Communion,
then Madame’s face cleared.
“Mais oui!” she exclaimed. “Et vous, ma foi, vous etes
Catholiques, n’est-ce pas?”
At once rosary beads were flourished to prove our right to
answer this question affirmatively. Tattered prayer-books and
somewhat dingy scapulars were brought to light. Madame and the
children chattered their surprise and delight to each other, and every
exhibit called for a new outburst.
“Ah, le bon S. Benoit! Ah, voilà, le Conception Immacule! Ooh la
la, le Sacre Coeur!” (which last exclamation sounded in no wise as
irreverent as it looks in print).
Now other treasures, too, were shown—treasures chiefly
photographic. There were family groups, there were Coney Island
snapshots. And Madame and the children were a gratifyingly
appreciative audience. They admired and sympathized; they
exclaimed appropriately at the beauty of every girl’s face, the
tenderness of every pictured mother. We had become the intimates
of Madame. She had admitted us into her family and we her into
ours.
Soldiers—American soldiers of Irish descent—have souls and
hearts. These organs (if the soul may be so termed) had been
satisfied. But our stomachs remained—and that they yearned was
evident to us. We had made our hike on a meal of hardtack and
“corned willy.” Mess call would sound soon. Should we force our wet
shoes on again and plod through the snowy streets to the temporary
mess-shack? We knew our supply wagons had not succeeded in
climbing the last hill into town, and that therefore bread and
unsweetened coffee would be our portion. A great depression settled
upon us.
But Sergeant Reilly rose to the occasion.
“Boys,” he said, “this here lady has got a good fire going, and I’ll
bet she can cook. What do you say we get her to fix us up a meal?”
The proposal was received joyously at first. Then someone said:
“But I haven’t got any money.” “Neither have I—not a damn sou!”
said another. And again the spiritual temperature of the room fell.
Again Sergeant Reilly spoke:
“I haven’t got any money to speak of, meself,” he said. “But let’s
have a show-down. I guess we’ve got enough to buy somethin’ to
eat.”
It was long after pay-day, and we were not hopeful of the results
of the search. But the wealthy (that is, those who had two francs)
made up for the poor (that is, those who had two sous). And among
the coins on the table I noticed an American dime, an English half-
crown and a Chinese piece with a square hole in the center. In
negotiable tender the money came in all to eight francs.
It takes more money than that to feed twelve hungry soldiers
these days in France. But there was no harm in trying. So an ex-
seminarian, an ex-bookkeeper and an ex-street-car conductor aided
Sergeant Reilly in explaining in French that had both a brogue and a
Yankee twang that we were hungry, that this was all the money we
had in the world, and that we wanted her to cook us something to
eat.
Now Madame was what they call in New England a “capable”
woman. In a jiffy she had the money in Solange’s hand and had that
admirable child cloaked and wooden-shod for the street, and fully
informed as to what she was to buy. What Madame and the children
had intended to have for supper I do not know, for there was nothing
in the kitchen but the fire, the stove, the table, some shelves of
dishes and an enormous bed. Nothing in the way of a food cupboard
could be seen. And the only other room of the house was the bare
attic.
When Solange came back she carried in a basket bigger than
herself these articles: 1, two loaves of war-bread; 2, five bottles of
red wine; 3, three cheeses; 4, numerous potatoes; 5, a lump of fat; 6,
a bag of coffee. The whole represented, as was afterward
demonstrated, exactly the sum of ten francs, fifty centimes.
Well, we all set to work peeling potatoes. Then, with a veritable
French trench-knife Madame cut the potatoes into long strips.
Meanwhile Solange had put the lump of fat into the big black pot that
hung by a chain over the fire. In the boiling grease the potatoes were
placed, Madame standing by with a big ladle punched full of holes (I
regret that I do not know the technical name for this instrument) and
keeping the potato-strips swimming, zealously frustrating any
attempt on their part to lie lazily at the bottom of the pot.
We forgot all about the hike as we sat at supper that evening.
The only absentees were the two little boys, Michel and Paul. And
they were really absent only from our board—they were in the room,
in the great built-in bed that was later to hold also Madame and
Solange. Their little bodies were covered by the three-foot thick
mattress-like red silk quilt, but their tousled heads protruded and
they watched us unblinkingly all the evening.
But just as we sat down, before Sergeant Reilly began his task
of dishing out the potatoes and starting the bottles on their way,
Madame stopped her chattering and looked at Solange. And
Solange stopped her chattering and looked at Madame. And they
both looked rather searchingly at us. We didn’t know what was the
matter, but we felt rather embarrassed.
Then Madame began to talk, slowly and loudly, as one talks to
make foreigners understand. And the gist of her remarks was that
she was surprised to see that American Catholics did not say grace
before eating like French Catholics.
We sprang to our feet at once. But it was not Sergeant Reilly
who saved the situation. Instead, the ex-seminarian (he is only
temporarily an ex-seminarian, he’ll be preaching missions and giving
retreats yet if a bit of shrapnel doesn’t hasten his journey to Heaven)
said, after we had blessed ourselves: “Benedicite: nos et quae
sumus sumpturi benedicat Deus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus.
Amen.”
Madame and Solange, obviously relieved, joined us in the Amen,
and we sat down again to eat.
It was a memorable feast. There was not much conversation—
except on the part of Madame and Solange—but there was plenty of
good cheer. Also there was enough cheese and bread and wine and
potatoes for all of us—half starved as we were when we sat down.
Even big Considine, who drains a can of condensed milk at a gulp
and has been known to eat an apple pie without stopping to take
breath, was satisfied. There were toasts, also, all proposed by
Sergeant Reilly—toasts to Madame, and to the children, and to
France, and to the United States, and to the Old Grey Mare (this last
toast having an esoteric significance apparent only to illuminati of
Sergeant Reilly’s circle).
The table cleared and the “agimus tibi gratias” duly said, we sat
before the fire, most of us on the floor. We were warm and happy
and full of good food and good wine. I spied a slip of paper on the
floor by Solange’s foot and unashamedly read it. It was an
accounting for the evening’s expenditures—totaling exactly ten
francs and fifty centimes.
Now when soldiers are unhappy—during a long, hard hike, for
instance—they sing to keep up their spirits. And when they are
happy, as on the evening now under consideration, they sing to
express their satisfaction with life. We sang “Sweet Rosie O’Grady.”
We shook the kitchen-bedroom with the echoes of “Take Me Back to
New York Town.” We informed Madame, Solange, Paul, Michel, in
fact, the whole village, that we had never been a wanderer and that
we longed for our Indiana home. We grew sentimental over “Mother
Machree.” And Sergeant Reilly obliged with a reel—in his socks—to
an accompaniment of whistling and hand-clapping.