Language

Premier Poincare journeyed last week to Alsace-Lorraine, the "lost provinces" which his militant patriotism did so much to regain for France. Entering many a schoolroom he sat down quietly beside the teacher, listened while children cradled in German struggled to recite in French. M. Poincare then requested the children to recite in German and noted carefully the difference in their proficiency. Said he, at Metz: "The children grow each year more proficient in our beautiful tongue. The difference since my last visit two years ago is most marked."

Frenchmen were vexed last week when thieves entered the Musee Conde at Chantilly and stole three million dollars' worth of jewels belonging to the State. Most valued of the stolen gems is "the Grand Conde," a pink heart-shaped diamond measuring more than half an inch across.