UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
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 BACK FROM BELGIUM
 
 Eminence, I). I. Cardinal Mercicr.
 
 BACK FROM 
 BELGIUM 
 
 A Secret History of Three Years 
 Within the German Lines 
 
 By Father Jean B. DeVille 
 
 Cardinal Mercier's Personal Delegate 
 to America 
 
 Illustrated 
 
 IRS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE H. K. FLY COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 Copyright 1918, by 
 The H. K. Fly Company.
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 n ' 
 
 To 
 His Eminence 
 D. J. Cardinal Mercier, 
 °^ Archbishop of Malines
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I How I Went to Belgium 11 
 
 II First Impressions 24 
 
 III Early Work in Belgium 39 
 
 IV Bruxelles 59 
 
 V Further Missions 72 
 
 VI Where the Huns Have Passed 94 
 
 711 Dinant 117 
 
 VIII Charleroi 129 
 
 IX Louvain 155 
 
 X Cardinal Mercier 175 
 
 XI The Deportations 186 
 
 XII The Clandestine Press in Occupied 
 
 Belgium _ 207 
 
 XIII Flemish and Walloons 220 
 
 XIV America Declares War 234 
 
 XV Farewell to Belgium 246 
 
 XVI How America Helps 257
 
 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 How I Went To Belgium. 
 
 It is a long step back to those first mad days 
 of the Great War. Treaties became but scraps 
 of paper and horror followed horror in such 
 rapidity that the neutral world stood aghast. 
 What must the first days have meant to 
 those with loved ones caught in the whirlpool 
 of the Kaiser's wrath! 
 
 The invasion of Belgium had barely begun 
 before thousands of Belgians who had found 
 new homes in America sought a means of 
 communicating with their relatives in the 
 invaded territory, and of bringing them if 
 possible to safety across the Atlantic. The 
 conquerors of the little country which had gal- 
 lantly refused to serve as a thoroughfare to 
 their insane ambitions were allowing no mes- 
 sages to cross the borders, and many a dis- 
 
 11
 
 12 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 tracted Belgian in America was living in ter- 
 rible anxiety at the possible fate of the loved 
 ones at home. 
 
 A meeting was therefore called of the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee of the Belgian- American 
 Alliance, and its President, Mr. Felix J. 
 Streyckmans, was given full authority to take 
 any steps that might prove of help under the 
 circumstances. The Department of State had 
 already been appealed to, and through the 
 Consular Staff in Belgium it had succeeded 
 in locating some of the Belgians about whom 
 inquiries had been made, but beyond that point 
 diplomatic efforts had been powerless, and the 
 German Foreign Office had steadfastly turned 
 a deaf ear to the requests of the American 
 Government. 
 
 There remained but one chance of success. 
 If a delegate were sent to Holland he might 
 manage to enter Belgium and persuade the 
 German authorities to consent to such de- 
 partures of Belgians as could be of no possible 
 military disadvantage, while relieving con- 
 siderable suffering. Our own Department of 
 State had no objection to this plan, although it 
 did not attempt to conceal its doubts as to the
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 13 
 
 possible fulfillment of it. For my part, it was 
 with a complete appreciation of the obstacles 
 which I would encounter that I undertook the 
 mission when it was offered to me. 
 
 The question of ways and means took weeks 
 of consideration, and many persons of in- 
 fluence and wealth were approached for assist- 
 ance, but none considered the plan practical 
 and none would believe that I should ever 
 manage to enter Belgium and bring out some 
 of her inhabitants. 
 
 Someone finally suggested appealing to one 
 of the leading newspapers, and the proposi- 
 tion was submitted to the Chicago Herald 
 which promptly agreed to support it, and to 
 enable me to proceed as joint representative of 
 that newspaper and of the Belgian- American 
 Alliance. 
 
 Again the State Department was ap- 
 proached, and credentials were obtained in- 
 troducing- me to American representatives in 
 Holland and Belgium. The German Embassy 
 at Washington was advised of the plan, and 
 consultations held with both the German Am- 
 bassador, Baron Von Bernstoff, and with the 
 German Consul at Chicago, Baron Von Reis-
 
 14 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 witz. Their endorsement of our ideas was 
 lukewarm, but no definite refusal was en- 
 countered. At the same time every possible 
 requirement of the German military authori- 
 ties was anticipated, the letters received from 
 persons imploring aid in rescuing their rela- 
 tives were properly classified with records of 
 the name, address, age and occupation of 
 each person sought. Altogether I was en- 
 trusted with appeals from 187 families, and as 
 in some instances there were as many as ten 
 persons to be brought back the total number 
 of those I was in search of amounted to over 
 five hundred. 
 
 I sailed from New York on the 30th of 
 August, 1915, to Rotterdam, and on my arrival 
 in Holland I called on Mr. Henry Van Dyke, 
 American Minister to the Netherlands. Mr. 
 Van Dyke readily agreed that my mission was 
 laudable, but held out no encouragement as to 
 its accomplishment, and courteously expressed 
 regrets at the little help he could offer me in 
 view of Germany's objections to any traveling 
 into Belgium. 
 
 It was explained to me in great detail that 
 the American legation had been instrumental
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 15 
 
 in obtaining passports for quite a number of 
 Americans who had wanted to enter Belgium 
 but who, on coming out, had invariably circu- 
 lated sensational reports about conditions in 
 the invaded country. Because of this, Mr. 
 Van Dyke informed me the German govern- 
 ment had come to regard with disfavor any 
 attempt he made to procure passage across 
 the frontier. 
 
 " Besides,' ' he stated, "I have aided a num- 
 ber of persons to enter Belgium who assured 
 me that they had pressing, legitimate business 
 there, but it later developed that they made 
 the journey solely out of curiosity." 
 
 " But," I pleaded, " I am not asking for a 
 passport to go on a sightseeing tour. I want 
 to enter Belgium for a worthy cause." 
 
 " I am not doubting your good intentions," 
 Mr. Van Dyke replied, " but I am powerless 
 to help you. The experience of the Legation 
 has made it necessary for us to establish a 
 rule and it cannot be broken." 
 
 I then thought of going to Berlin, and per- 
 sonally presenting my request to the German 
 Foreign Office. In this purpose I again met 
 obstacles, as my American passport covered
 
 16 BACK FKOM BELGIUM 
 
 only the Department of State's permission to 
 enter Holland and Belgium, but was value- 
 less in aiding me to get into Germany. 
 
 However, I called at the German Embassy, 
 and asked for the First Secretary, Baron Von 
 Stumm, who speaks excellent English and 
 has, I believe, an American wife. I asked him 
 to give me a passport for Cologne. 
 
 " That is one of the most difficult places to 
 get to," he answered. " because it is a forti- 
 fied town. What is your reason for desiring 
 to go there? " 
 
 " I wish to see His Eminence, Cardinal 
 Von Hartmann," I said. 
 
 The Cardinal's name seemed to impress 
 Von Stumm. " Does the Cardinal know 
 you? " he asked. 
 
 " Not personally, but I have important 
 business to transact with him — business in 
 which he is greatly interested." 
 
 Finally I was told that my application 
 would be considered, and after a week of con- 
 tinued pleadings I received the precious docu- 
 ment allowing me to proceed. 
 
 There were very few passengers on the 
 train which bore me eastward, mostly German
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 17 
 
 mei chants returning from business trips to 
 Holland where they had bought everything 
 they could obtain — and in those days Holland 
 was still a great source of supplies for Ger- 
 many. At the frontier I was thoroughly 
 searched from head to foot, and every docu- 
 ment I possessed, including my credentials and 
 even my breviary had to be left behind. The 
 officials noted my intended address in Cologne, 
 the Dom Hotel, and told me that all these 
 documents would be forwarded there in a few 
 days, after thorough examination. 
 
 After the frontier was crossed, officers and 
 soldiers began to appear on the train, while 
 everywhere I could see women, children and 
 old men working in the fields as substitutes 
 for those who were gone to war. At every 
 station groups of soldiers appeared, waiting 
 for some train to take them to the front, and 
 several times we passed troop trains loaded 
 with men, some of whom sang popular tunes 
 while others seemed to sulk quietly. 
 
 Even then I noticed what impressed me so 
 much in all my experience with the German 
 army, the total absence of any intermingling 
 between the officers and their men, and the
 
 18 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 haughty contempt with which the former ad- 
 dressed their subordinates. 
 
 I had left Holland in the early morning, and 
 it was about five of the same afternoon that I 
 reached Cologne. Before being allowed to 
 register at the Dom Hotel I had to sign a long 
 statement in triplicate showing who I was, 
 my reason for coming to the city, how long I 
 intended staying, and innumerable other de- 
 tails. I had then to present myself to the 
 chief of police for that district who questioned 
 me closely. A mistake had been made in my 
 passport, where my birth date was shown in 
 September whereas it should have been writ- 
 ten December. I forgot about this, and gave 
 the correct date with the result that I was 
 stormed at by the official. My knowledge 
 of German being rudimentary at best, I found 
 it difficult to explain matters. 
 
 "A fine priest jo\x must be," sneered my 
 questioner, "if you don't even know your 
 age." And I was given a little lecture on the 
 idiocy of all non-Germans in general, and my- 
 self in particular, before being curtly dis- 
 missed. 
 
 The next day was one of the Feasts of the
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 19 
 
 Virgin, and as I left my hotel crowds were 
 wending their way towards the big Gothic 
 Cathedral. Wounded soldiers and mourning 
 women were conspicuous, and there seemed to 
 be an atmosphere of gloom over everyone. 
 Many remained to pray after the service, the 
 greatest number being grouped around thft 
 statue of the Sorrowful Mother who bears the 
 inert form of the Crucified One. 
 
 In the afternoon I went to see Cardinal Von 
 Hartmann, passing on my way a monstrous 
 statue of Michael, patron of old rural Ger- 
 many. It was partly covered with nails which 
 had been driven in by generous citizens, some 
 of whom were in the act of driving in a few 
 more from the top of a ladder. I forget what 
 exact amount had to be contributed to the War 
 Fund for the privilege of driving a nail into 
 the statue, but the same idea seemed to have 
 been followed all over Germany. 
 
 On reaching the Cardinal's palace I learned, 
 to my great disappointment, that he was 
 absent from the city and would not return 
 for ten days. I was gloomily returning to 
 the hotel when I met a monsignor whom I 
 saluted. He looked at me curiously as we
 
 20 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 passed, so that I was seized with an impulse 
 to speak to him. Turning, I found that he 
 had also turned and stopped to look at me. 
 
 "An American priest?" he asked, coming 
 towards me. "I thought so. I love the 
 United States which I have visited several 
 times, and I have a number of friends there. 
 Would you mind walking along with me, and if 
 you have time come into my house? " 
 
 I assured him that I would be honored to 
 visit him, and found he was no other than 
 Monsignor Richen, the German ecclesiastical 
 commissary for the Holy Land, and an 
 astronomer of repute. His house was spacious 
 and exquisitely furnished, with a beautiful 
 garden in the back. Monsignor spoke English 
 perfectly, and offered me the hospitality of 
 his home, but I explained the reasons which 
 had brought me to Cologne, and I asked him 
 if he could not help me secure permission to 
 go to Berlin as soon as possible. He was 
 most kind, and spent the remainder of the 
 afternoon and evening getting my passport 
 altered and securing accomodations for me on 
 the Berlin train. 
 
 Monsignor Richen and I dined together at
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 21 
 
 the Dom Hotel, and after dinner he wrote a 
 letter of introduction for me to the Dean of 
 the Berlin district. 
 
 The Berlin train was filled with more offi- 
 cers than I had seen as yet, and many were 
 angrily protesting because they were unable 
 to secure a berth. One of them tried to get 
 into my section, but the conductor who had 
 been lavishly tipped in advance kept him out. 
 Although the section was mine I felt like 
 sharing it with him, but his manners and lan- 
 guage were so abusive that I could not bring 
 myself to it. 
 
 We arrived in Berlin the next morning, and 
 I took a cab at once to the Hotel Aldon where 
 I had to fill out the same kind of forms as in 
 Cologne before registering. There were sev- 
 eral American newspaper correspondents stop- 
 ping at this hotel, as well as several American 
 doctors and nurses on their way back from 
 Serbia where they had served with the Red 
 Cross. 
 
 I called the same afternoon on Ambassador 
 James W. Gerard, and told him of my wish 
 to go to Belgium. He looked over my creden- 
 tials, and shook his head. "I advise you not
 
 22 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 to waste any time on this mission," he said, 
 " because you will never be able to carry it 
 out. Return home as soon as you can. I 
 should like to help you, but I am powerless 
 to enable you to get into Belgium." He then 
 invited me to attend a reception at the Ameri- 
 can Embassy that night. 
 
 Next day I had an interview with the Dean 
 for whom I had a letter, and he in turn gave 
 me one for Count Montgelas of the German 
 Foreign Office. 
 
 Strangely enough, the greeting of Count 
 Montgelas proved the most cordial I had yet 
 received from any official. He entertained me 
 very kindly but did not conceal how difficult 
 it was for anyone outside of the army or civil 
 service to enter Belgium. He told me that 
 many Germans of prominence were repeatedly 
 refused the permission for which I asked, that 
 they were usually kept waiting for months 
 after making theft application, and that even 
 then a refusal was most frequent. He would 
 however, make a special effort on my behalf, 
 and I should be advised as soon as possible. 
 
 For two long weeks I waited, most of the 
 time in the hotel for fear of being absent if a
 
 HOW I WENT TO BELGIUM 23 
 
 messenger should come for me. Regiments 
 were constantly marching by, the people waiv- 
 ing handkerchiefs and cheering loudly as they 
 passed; otherwise the city showed little signs 
 of animation, and I was getting very worried 
 over the delay when I finally got word to call 
 at the Foreign Office for my passport. Count 
 Montgelas there informed me that he had ex- 
 perienced considerable difficulty in obtaining 
 it, as the German Secret Service had reported 
 that I was a correspondent of the New York 
 Herald, a newspaper much in disfavor with 
 the German Government. I explained the 
 error, and after being instructed to send no 
 communications out of Belgium except 
 through the local censor who would forward 
 them to Count Montgelas, I was at last al- 
 lowed to proceed.
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 First Impkessions. 
 
 I went from Berlin to Bruxelles via Liege, 
 Louvain and many other towns whose ruins 
 were gaunt monuments to German Kultur. I 
 was to become better acquainted with most of 
 these places later on, but this first glimpse of 
 the country gave me general impressions 
 rather than separate and distinct pictures. 
 
 Bruxelles did not offer the same picture of 
 desolation as some of the cities of which I had 
 had fleeting glimpses from the train. No 
 charred walls stood gauntly there as sole re- 
 minders of a former normal life, and I could 
 see that many of the city's inhabitants ap- 
 parently still moved and lived almost as they 
 moved and lived before the great tragedy. 
 Cardinal Mercier, whom I was so anxious to 
 see, would still be found in the capital, and I 
 should myself be able to live there in com- 
 parative comfort. 
 
 24
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 25 
 
 Yet even in Bruxelles I could not escape the 
 oppression which I had felt since entering 
 Belgium, the oppression that the whole country 
 is a vast prison. And every town, every 
 hamlet of Belgium is a prison within a prison. 
 The oppressive feeling of confinement is such 
 that it seems natural that all along the Dutch 
 frontier there should be a barbed-wire barrier, 
 double in places, charged with high voltage 
 of electricity and guarded day and night by 
 sentries. 
 
 As soon as a young Belgian is of military 
 age, if he has red blood flowing through his 
 veins, he will make his way to the frontier and 
 try to pass over that barrier into Holland to 
 join later the army of Belgium, either by brib- 
 ing the sentries or by braving the perils of 
 the wire. During the first two years of the 
 occupation nearly 25,000 young Belgians thus 
 regained their liberty, chiefly by bribery. The 
 German authorities, however, investigated the 
 reason of such laxity at the frontier and soon 
 discovered that many of the Landsturmers on 
 duty there had fought and bled for the Father- 
 land not once or twice, but repeatedly, and 
 knew that as soon as they had fully recovered
 
 26 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 their health they would be sent back to the 
 front; they were tired of it all and were glad 
 to accept a bribe and desert by crossing over 
 into Holland. These conditions no longer exist 
 at the frontier. During the past year and a 
 half the sentries have been carefully selected 
 from men having influential relations and vast 
 estates in the Fatherland, who cannot be 
 easily induced to desert. To escape from 
 Belgium has, therefore, become more difficult, 
 but attempts continue to be made and hardly 
 a day passes without the discovery of a few 
 inanimate Belgian forms dangling from the 
 wires where they have been electrocuted in 
 an unsuccessful effort towards freedom. While 
 I was in Belgium a young man of my acquain- 
 tance learnt that the current had been tem- 
 porarily shut off and decided to escape. When 
 night fell he took his pet dog to a spot where 
 the guard was not particularly strong, and to 
 test the wire he sent his dog through it. The 
 dog got safely across, but fate was against 
 my friend, for while he was following the cur- 
 rent was turned on again, and he was instant- 
 ly killed. 
 
 The realization that in Belgium one is in
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 27 
 
 a prison is increased by the difficulties of com- 
 munication, not only with the free outside 
 world but even within Belgium itself. Where- 
 ever a Belgian goes, he is called upon to 
 present his Identification Card which has 
 been issued by the authorities of the district 
 to which he belongs, and which lacks nothing 
 in the way of information. It bears the 
 owner's photograph, place and date of birth, 
 parentage, height, weight, color of hair, com- 
 plexion, business — every possible detail that 
 might be of interest. If he happens to be a 
 man of military age, between seventeen and 
 fifty-five,, he is required to carry a military 
 card showing that he was present at the last 
 muster conducted each week by the German 
 authorities. 
 
 In a few provinces of Belgium under the 
 jurisdiction of the Governor General, you may 
 communicate with your friends by open letter, 
 but there is absolutely no communication be- 
 tween this part of Belgium, or the part of 
 Belgium under the jurisdiction of the German 
 Government, and Flanders, and absolutely no 
 communication is possible in Flanders. A 
 father or mother may be lying at the point
 
 28 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 of death within a fraction of a mile of the 
 town where their child lives, but the child can- 
 not go there. The only thing" allowed is to 
 make an application for a passport, stating 
 the reason it is requested. These passports 
 are very seldom granted, and the Belgians 
 apply for them out of sheer despair to assure 
 themselves that they have left nothing untried 
 to reach their dying relatives. The Pass 
 Bureaus are usually located in the municipal 
 government buildings of Belgium, and it irri- 
 tates Belgians to have to go there for favors. 
 Instead of meeting polite officials, the applicant 
 is yelled at, pushed from side to side and in- 
 sulted in every way. People go there as early 
 as three or four o'clock in the morning in 
 order to have the opportunity of signing an 
 application for a passport the next day, and 
 you usually meet hundreds of them congre- 
 gated for that purpose. They may have to 
 go back day after day, until they have the 
 opportunity of signing an application. That 
 does not mean that they will receive the pass- 
 port; usually they wait for days and weeks 
 and months, only to be notified that their
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 29 
 
 friend or relative has died, and there is no 
 longer any necessity for the journey. 
 
 In order to appreciate the extent of the Bel- 
 gians' sufferings one should have been in Bel- 
 gium before the war and have known the coun- 
 try as it was then, the most prosperous in the 
 world, the per capita wealth of its people the 
 highest. Then the life was that of a happy 
 industrious people, but now almost at every 
 turn of the street you meet a funeral proces- 
 sion winding its way slowly, dismally to the 
 cemetery, carrying either the small body of 
 a child that has died of malnutrition or the 
 larger coffin of a man or woman who has died 
 of starvation or a broken heart. In all quar- 
 ters of the cities, in all sorts of weather, 
 winter or summer, you find hundreds and 
 thousands of people waiting before a building 
 in order to receive at the stated hour their 
 daily quota from some of the Alimentation 
 Committees. These people are not recruited 
 from the peasant or laboring classes alone. 
 You will find there the erstwhile prosperous 
 merchant, the artisan, the artist, professional 
 man, and even the patrician. God only knows 
 how many of them have passed away quietly
 
 30 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 in their beds, dying of sheer starvation rather 
 than join the bread lines. But gradually they 
 were forced to join them and according to the 
 latest reports almost two thirds of the Belgian 
 population is dependent in some way or other 
 upon the charity of the world. Starvation is 
 more or less general. In the words of the 
 Bishop of Namur, the people are just receiv- 
 ing enough food to prevent them from dying, 
 and not enough to live on. Even those who 
 have a few hundred or a few thousand francs 
 laid by are starving themselves, because they 
 do not know how long the war is going to 
 last. Who can afford to buy potatoes at twen- 
 ty cents a pound, butter or meat of the worst 
 kind at several dollars a pound ? If the Bel- 
 gians could only have beans or rice or other 
 nourishing food, they would deem themselves 
 happy indeed, but such articles of diet are 
 practically unobtainable. The only kind of 
 bread that can be had to the extent of two 
 hundred and fifty or three hundred grams a 
 day is the so-called war bread, a bad black 
 mixture, filled with bits of straw which must 
 be baked for twenty-four hours before dis- 
 tribution or else it becomes fatal to health.
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 31 
 
 A silent testimony to the pillage of the Hun 
 is supplied by the million chimneys without 
 smoke' silhouetted against the Belgian sky. 
 Nowhere did I hear the hum of machinery. 
 Every factory had been robbed of its equip- 
 ment, and Belgium, it must be remembered, 
 was one of the world's greatest industrial 
 countries before the war. "Why shouldn't we 
 confiscate their machinery! " a German officer 
 said to me one day. " We can use it to make 
 bullets and other war materials! " 
 
 The same reason, the insatiable appetite of 
 the battlefront, lias stripped Belgium bare. 
 Literally she is a country left naked before the 
 world. Of course it was inevitable that news 
 of the pillage should penetrate the frontiers, 
 leaving humanity aghast at its cruelty, but 
 not even the mind of the eyewitness could 
 grasp the extent of the robbery, the system- 
 atic sacking with which the army of occupa- 
 tion had laid its brutal hand upon King Al- 
 bert's domain. Here for once, unquestion- 
 able proof seemed unbelievable. 
 
 Though Belgium is a country of coal the last 
 winter I spent over there people with money 
 were offering as high as fifty dollars per ton,
 
 32 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 and they could not obtain a supply even at this 
 fabulous price, while the poor people, especially 
 the children, had to remain under the bed 
 covers continuously in order to keep warm. 
 That in itself was no easy task because all the 
 woolen materials had been requisitioned. 
 Where did the coal go? The coal was sold by 
 Germany to Switzerland and Holland and 
 Sweden and other neutral countries in ex- 
 change for food — not food for the Belgians 
 but food for themselves. 
 
 So, to the misery of hunger was added the 
 horror of freezing. I myself, during some of 
 my visits to Belgium, suffered bitterly from 
 the lack of fuel, but this privation, which I 
 could endure, proved too great for many of 
 the emaciated natives. Thus " frozen to 
 death " was added to the list of explanations 
 for the many funeral processions which daily 
 could be seen wending their way to the ceme- 
 teries. 
 
 People stayed in bed continuously, day and 
 night, in order to keep warm. Schools were 
 closed, though a child was no warmer in his 
 home than he would have been in the school- 
 room. On mild winter days endless streams
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 33 
 
 of people, baskets on their arms, would hope- 
 lessly tramp from one place to another in 
 their quest for coal. A few of the rich were 
 able to obtain a handful of pieces in exchange 
 for a fabulous price but the poor got nothing. 
 
 During my last mission to Belgium, in a 
 winter season which was the coldest in twenty- 
 five years, the coal scarcity was accentuated 
 by the freezing of the canals. Practically all 
 horses had been requisitioned by the Germans, 
 and the tieing up of the barges left the Bel- 
 gians without means of fuel transportation. 
 No help was to be had from the railroads, for 
 they were almost exclusively engaged in carry- 
 ing supplies to the front. On many occasions 
 I saw a dozen or more Belgians, men and 
 women, people of wealth and refinement haul- 
 ing heavy coal-laden trucks along country 
 roads and through city streets, stopping here 
 and there to deliver small portions of their 
 burden at their various homes. 
 
 But, although this coal seizure was a mon- 
 strous horror it lacked the fiendishness that 
 robbed Belgium of her wood, stripped bare 
 her splendid forests. The coal supply could 
 hardly be hopelessly depleted, but in the cut-
 
 34 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ting down of acre after acre of trees not 
 the slightest heed was given to the country's 
 future needs. 
 
 Little of this wood was used for fuel. Most 
 of it was sent to the front to be used in the 
 construction of lines of defense — some of them 
 by Belgium prisoners! Under the German axe 
 the beautiful forests of Belgium disappeared 
 one by one. During the earlier period of in- 
 vasion the control and management of the 
 forests were left to the Belgian Government's 
 Department of Forestry. However, as their 
 military needs increased, the Germans began 
 to treat this guarantee with the same con- 
 tempt they had shown for any treaty whose 
 observance interfered with their military 
 needs. 
 
 In the Hertogenwald, in the Province ot 
 Liege, timber to the value of three million 
 francs was sacrificed to Hun pillage. In Dol- 
 hain, in the same Province, not one oak or 
 poplar was left standing. The splendid forest 
 of Fumay, one of the glories of Belgian 
 natural resources, was completely denuded. I 
 could mention countless similar evidences of 
 forest devastation— it was the same story
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 35 
 
 throughout the length and breadth of the land. 
 Nature had been systematically murdered, 
 laid low under Hun butchery. 
 
 Before the war the Grobbendonck canal, in 
 the Province of Antwerp, was lined with stately 
 rows of trees. The last time I saw those canal 
 banks they were stripped bare. The forest of 
 Aulier, where the best saplings in Belgium 
 could be found, was entirely denuded. Num- 
 erous saw-mills were erected in the splendid 
 Forest de Soignes, to the South of Bruxelles, 
 and Russian prisoners of war were set to 
 cutting down the trees and turning them into 
 timber. Not a saw ceased buzzing until the 
 forest was a memory. A vast stretch of 
 stumps was all that was left to tell what it 
 had once been. 
 
 It was after witnessing some of these evi- 
 dences of Hun robbery that I asked a promin- 
 ent citizen of Bruxelles a question that had 
 persisted in recurring to my mind. 
 
 " Tell me," I said, " do you Belgians regret 
 that you did not allow the Germans to pass 
 through your country unmolested! Are you 
 not so tired and weak from hunger and per- 
 secution that you desire peace at any cost! "
 
 36 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 " We would be curs if we regretted having 
 fought to uphold our honor," was the answer. 
 " As for peace, let every tree in our beloved 
 country disappear; let every home be burnt 
 and pillaged; let every life be destroyed 
 rather than consent to conclude peace with a 
 victorious Germany! " 
 
 Even while we were talking, every home in 
 every corner of Belgium was being searched 
 by the " green devils," a name given to 
 German gendarmes because of the color of 
 their uniform. Orders had gone out demanding 
 that every scrap of aluminum, tin and leather 
 in the country be yielded up. Another order 
 commanded the people, already robbed of their 
 gold, to deliver every piece of zinc or nickel 
 money to the Banque Nationale or its agencies. 
 The bank, so the order stated with char- 
 acteristic lack of humor, could redeem the 
 money with paper, holding the metal at the 
 disposal of the Governor-General. Despite 
 the penalty of a heavy fine, which was to be 
 levied if this order was disregarded, not a 
 single Belgian obeyed. If there was any ziuo 
 or nickel currency in Belgium at the time, the 
 people had concealed it.
 
 FIEST IMPEESSIONS 37 
 
 Financially the country was drained almost 
 dry shortly after the invasion occurred. Fines 
 of hundreds of millions were levied for no 
 other reason than the Belgians' resistance, and 
 these fines were continued at the rate of $8,000- 
 000 per month. 
 
 Every expression of patriotism by the Bel- 
 gians was seized as an excuse for levying fines. 
 The slightest infraction of the imposed laws 
 of the invaders had to be paid for with an ex- 
 horbitant money tribute. The commune of 
 Zele, in East Flanders, was for instance, fined 
 80,000 marks because some of its inhabitants 
 took food and cigarettes from their scanty 
 store and distributed them among some 
 English prisoners who were passing through 
 on their way to Germany. Other cases of in- 
 iquitous wholesale fines occurred in every part 
 of Belgium. 
 
 The tragic result of German rule is shown 
 by the mortality among the Belgian civilian 
 population. 
 
 Consider the vital statistics of Bruxelles and 
 its suburbs for the first six months of 1913, 
 the year before the war. Then the mortality 
 records showed 4,926 deaths as against 6,417
 
 38 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 births. The corresponding period in 1917 
 showed 3,311 births as against 7,272 deaths. 
 A prominent physician of Bruxelles informed 
 me that Belgian's capital had suffered a 
 frightful increase of tuberculosis and rheuma- 
 tism cases among its children and young 
 people between 1914 and 1916, an increase that 
 had reached the appalling result of 40% above 
 the figures of 1913. This, he stated, was dir- 
 ectly due to lowered resistance caused by lack 
 of nourishment. 
 
 " Benevolent rule " in Belgium gave Ant- 
 werp in 1917 a death rate which almost 
 doubled its birth rate. In Liege, during the 
 period of the first nine months of 1917 there 
 were 1,123 births and 2,350 deaths. Ger- 
 many, always boasting of its life-saving 
 science, must stand at the bar of eternal 
 Justice, accused of murder, confronted by 
 these records of victims starved to death 
 that it might quaff the cup of military dom- 
 ination.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Early Work in Belgium. 
 
 On my arrival in Bruxelles I had presented 
 my credentials at the Headquarters of Gov- 
 ernor-General Von Bissing, together with a 
 list of the Belgians whom I desired to locate 
 and take out of the country. From the very 
 outset of my mission obstacles arose to retard 
 its progress. The Governor General's Office 
 had jurisdiction only over the Provinces of 
 Antwerp, Brabant, Liege, Namur, Limbourg, 
 Charleroi and Luxembourg, so that it could 
 not grant permission to travel in any other 
 part of the country. Other localities which 
 I must visit were under the jurisdiction of 
 Kommandanturs depending directly from the 
 military authorities in the zone of operations, 
 and they were inaccessible to all persons not 
 connected with the army. 
 
 By the greatest stroke of good luck I man- 
 aged to obtain a passport to Flanders. It 
 
 39
 
 40 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 was for three days only, but after I reached 
 there I managed to have it extended, three 
 days at a time, until my visit had covered 
 twenty-one days. The restrictions of martial 
 law made it extremely difficult for me to 
 travel in this section of the country, but I 
 managed to visit a number of towns and 
 reach most of the people I was searching for. 
 These people were of every class, and the 
 way they received me varied greatly. While 
 some were profuse in their gratitude, others, 
 poor souls, were suspicious of my motives. 
 In the discharge of my duties I was naturally 
 compelled to keep in touch with the German 
 authorities, but some of the Belgians could 
 not understand or forgive my being polite to 
 the tyrant. Many evidently considered me 
 pro-German, but others gave me their full 
 confidence. Sometimes as many as seventy- 
 five Belgians would call on me in one day 
 in connection with my mission. Many of them 
 gave me letters for friends or relatives in 
 America, and so immune was I from military 
 suspicion that I accepted these letters under 
 the very noses of the German officers living 
 at the hotel. Practically all the rooms in
 
 A snapshot of Father De Ville, his interpreters and guards, 
 taken in Uruxelles.
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 41 
 
 the Palace Hotel, where I stayed in Brussels, 
 were occupied by attaches of the military 
 government, and yet there was not a day of 
 my stay there when my desk drawers and 
 trunks were not bulging with clandestine cor- 
 respondence and literature. My boldness was 
 my salvation and the best means I could have 
 employed to divert suspicion from myself and 
 from those I was helping. Had I been living 
 in a purely Belgian hotel, German secret ser- 
 vice men would have found out what I was 
 doing, and soon put an end to my activities 
 and freedom, if not to my life. As a matter 
 of fact, I was doing — quite incidently be- 
 cause it was not part of my original under- 
 taking — a great deal of smuggling of corres- 
 pondence out of Belgium, and at the same 
 time I was constantly called upon to intercede 
 with the military authorities on behalf of 
 some of my Belgian friends accused of of- 
 fending in one way or another. 
 
 One case that interested me greatly was 
 that of a priest, Father McGuire, a splendid 
 type of Catholic Irish missionary. He had 
 arrived in Belgium shortly before the war, 
 but had now received word in some way or
 
 42 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 other that his mother lay dying in Chicago. 
 He had made extraordinary efforts to ob- 
 tain a passport for the United States, but 
 all entreaties had been in vain. Finally he 
 came to me for help, and I wrote to au- 
 thorities on his behalf, urging that he be al- 
 lowed to leave Belgium. A few days later 
 I was asked to call at the Pass Bureau. 
 
 11 We cannot allow Father McGuire to leave 
 the country." I was told, " because he is 
 a native of Ireland, and therefore a British 
 subject." 
 
 " But," I pleaded, playing upon the Ger- 
 mans ' vaunted sympathy for Ireland, " is 
 it his fault that he is a subject of Great 
 Britain? Have not his ancestors been en- 
 deavoring for generations to free their country 
 from English rule? " 
 
 The stolid German mind was capable of only 
 one answer : * ' We know, but we cannot over- 
 look the fact that he is a subject of Great 
 Britain." 
 
 I did not give up hope. I tried many chan- 
 nels, and at last through the intercession of the 
 German Chaplain-General, Dr. Middendorf, 
 the passport was obtained. It was, alas, too
 
 EAELY WORK IN BELGIUM 43 
 
 late; when Father McGuire reached Chicago 
 his mother was dead, and he could but visit 
 her grave. 
 
 As for the Belgians whose letters I smug- 
 gled out of the country, and for whom I 
 succeeded in obtaining favors, many thought it 
 was some great and mysterious influence with 
 the Germans that enabled me to accomplish 
 what I did. I could not explain that I en- 
 joyed no special prerogative, and neither 
 could I explain my methods of smuggling let- 
 ters ; the danger was too great, and I was not 
 the only one involved. 
 
 Many of the German officials did not show 
 much eagerness to aid me in my mission. Here 
 and there I encountered an officer whose as- 
 sistance proved that he took some interest in 
 my success, but more often the answer would 
 be: " How can you expect us to bother with 
 anything so foreign to strategy when we are 
 fighting for our existence? " 
 
 "When I seemed doomed to fail to obtain 
 passports for the people whom I wished to 
 take to America, the Duke of Wurtemburg, 
 Commander in Chief of the Fourth Army, ar- 
 rived at the hotel where I was stopping. I
 
 44 BACK FBOM BELGIUM 
 
 tried to reach him, but it was impossible to do 
 so except through his staff, and that proved a 
 hopeless task. They refused absolutely to 
 " trouble him with such matters." 
 
 In desparation I approached the head 
 waiter of the hotel, and got him to agree to 
 help me . . . for a price. It was part of his 
 duties to serve the Duke, who took his meals 
 alone in the main dining room, and he promised 
 to hand the royal guest a letter which I had 
 written, requesting an audience. I did not 
 state in it the details of my mission, but merely 
 implored the opportunity to present a petition. 
 
 Two long, weary days went by without any 
 indication that my request was to be granted, 
 and during that time I never left the hotel 
 for a moment lest I be sent for in my ab- 
 sence. My heart sank with despair when 
 the third day arrived and the report was 
 circulated that the Duke was preparing to 
 depart. 
 
 It appeared that my request was to be 
 ignored, but at the last moment I was 
 summoned and asked to state my business. 
 The Duke's first answer was a blunt refusal 
 to entertain the petition, but for half an
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 45 
 
 hour I pleaded, advancing every argument 
 I could think of, appealing to his pride, flat- 
 tering his vanity until I won the day and 
 left his presence with the assurance that 
 my request would be granted and that my 
 people in Flanders would be allowed to pro- 
 ceed with me to their relatives in the United 
 States. 
 
 My work in the Provinces under the juris- 
 diction of the Governor-General was attend- 
 ed with less difficulties, but even there many 
 obstacles had to be overcome. Some of the 
 people I was endeavoring to locate had 
 moved from the address given me, some had 
 died, and others had been deported or had 
 fled to Holland in the early exodus of re- 
 fugees. Grandparents having children in their 
 custody frequently refused to give them up, 
 either from fear of possibly worse fate or 
 because they could not face the anguish of 
 parting. Most pityful of all were the cases 
 of some girls who refused to join their 
 fiances in America because they considered 
 themselves no longer worthy to become a 
 good man's wife since the coming of the 
 Hun; some had become unwilling mothers
 
 46 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 and could only ask for oblivion in their 
 martyrdom. 
 
 Most of the people I sought, however, were 
 overjoyed at the prospect of being soon re- 
 united to their dear ones. They thanked 
 me profusely for my efforts in their be- 
 half, but their childish eagerness added con- 
 siderably to my work. 
 
 My final instructions in every case would 
 be for my charges to meet at the Pass Bureau 
 on a certain day at a certain hour, each of 
 them bearing his Identification Card and three 
 small photographs similar to the one at- 
 tached to the Identification Card. Some of 
 them forgot one thing and some forgot an- 
 other; some brought one or two photophaphs 
 instead of three, and all of them were in- 
 variably late for the reason that they kept 
 the appointment by Belgian time whereas 
 I had set it by German time which was two 
 hours earlier. 
 
 As my most important engagements were 
 made with the German officials, and as I 
 frequently rode on trains, all of which were 
 run on German time, I found it necessary to 
 set my watch according to that time. The
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 47 
 
 Belgians, however, had flatly and firmly re- 
 fused to accustom themselves to this dif- 
 ference in time, as I repeatedly found out to 
 my inconvenience. I tried the plan of tell- 
 ing them to meet me at the Pass Bureau at 
 a certain hour "German time." They would 
 look at me contemptuously, and though they 
 might say nothing I could be sure that they 
 would not be on hand at the hour specified. 
 After a while I found that the best method 
 was to set the appointment according to Bel- 
 gian time, figuring the difference myself, but 
 what with other instructions and the necessity 
 of carrying on many conversations through 
 an interpreter I was beset with constant dif- 
 ficulties. 
 
 At the Pass Bureau the preparation of the 
 passports always seemed to take much long- 
 er than was really necessary, but nothing 
 could be gained by complaining. At the first 
 evidence of irritation the Germans would slow 
 up their work, or else the anxiety would arouse 
 suspicions. Finally, after everyone had been 
 located, I would purchase tickets for the entire 
 group, check their baggage and move them 
 all to Antwerp where we would remain over-
 
 48 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 night. There, in order to keep all together, I 
 would lodge everyone in a Belgian Refuge, the 
 Winnipeg Hotel, managed as a war institution 
 by a Mr. Obussier, and his sister, prominent 
 citizens of Antwerp who were always extreme- 
 ly kind and helpful. 
 
 In the morning, after again checking the 
 trunks and submitting all passports for ex- 
 amination, I would pilot my charges aboard 
 a train for Esschen, a Dutch frontier sta- 
 tion. The long process of examining every 
 person's baggage, clothes and even body for 
 smuggled articles took place there. All trav- 
 ellers arriving at the frontier were ordered 
 to leave the train, carrying their own bag- 
 gage to a waiting room in the station. Doors 
 were locked and windows carefully guarded 
 while every piece of baggage was placed on 
 a long bench which ran all around the room, 
 and inspected by soldiers. All written or 
 printed material, even a Testament and visit- 
 ing cards, was confiscated, and all cigars 
 or cigarettes were barred, experience having 
 taught the German authorities that the paper 
 and tobacco wrappers could be made to con- 
 ceal messages.
 
 EAKLY WORK IN BELGIUM 49 
 
 The search did not stop at the' baggage. 
 The most minute examination was made of 
 each person. The men were taken, one at a 
 time, into a private room and examined by 
 soldiers who were experts at such work. 
 When I crossed the Holland border I had 
 to remove every stitch of clothing that I 
 wore, my body was scrutinized for code 
 marks, the soles of my shoes were examined 
 to see if they contained messages of any 
 kind, and for the same reason the lining of 
 my clothes and my hat band underwent a 
 thorough scrutiny. The contents of my 
 purse, especially such bills as I had, were 
 closely examined. Gold, being considered 
 contraband, was confiscated and German 
 nioney given in its place. 
 
 Women and children fared no better than 
 the men, being examined by matrons as thor- 
 oughly as the men, the hair of the women 
 being particularly searched for hidden mes- 
 sages. The trimming was removed from 
 their hats, the heels from their shoes, and 
 their gold jewelry was confiscated. 
 
 Although I always gave explicit instruc- 
 tions to my charges not to bring any printed
 
 50 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 or written matter, many of them could not 
 resist the temptation to carry letters, news- 
 papers or postcards. Some of these people 
 had so much written or printed matter stored 
 away in their trunks that only by repeated 
 entreaties was I able to save them from be- 
 ing turned back. 
 
 One good woman had her trunk more than 
 half filled with the cheapest grade of cotton. 
 She told me that someone had informed her 
 that cotton was very scarce, and consequently 
 very expensive, in America, and she hoped 
 to make a little money by selling her meagre 
 supply. Another one had her entire trunk 
 filled with the cheapest chinaware, each piece 
 carefully wrapped in tissue paper and cloth. 
 As her baggage was examined — and each 
 piece had to be unwrapped — the floor of the 
 station became strewn with crockery, rags 
 and paper. The shrieking color and horrible 
 design of the china irritated me, and I walked 
 over to protest with her. 
 
 " My dear woman," I said, " I told you 
 not to bring any useless things. Don't you 
 see the delay and inconvenience you are
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 51 
 
 causing? Why did you burden yourself with 
 a lot of stuff that isn't worth anything? " 
 
 She looked at me sadly, with reproachful 
 eyes. 
 
 " They are not worthless to me," she 
 answered* " For many years they have oc- 
 cupied the place of honor in our home. We 
 used them for wedding feasts and when our 
 children were baptised, and we treasured them 
 so much that I could not leave them behind." 
 
 Following the personal search came the ex- 
 amination of passports. This was done by 
 three officers, one of whom inspected -the 
 form to make sure that it was not a for- 
 gery, while another consulted the records 
 in case there might be instructions to detain 
 the passport's owner, and the third officer 
 compared the photograph and description 
 on the passport with the appearance of the 
 person who presented it. Only after all 
 these formalities were we allowed to proceed 
 into Holland, and it was with a profound sigh 
 of relief that I crossed the frontier. 
 
 We reached the Hague about four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, only to find that the steam- 
 er sailed that night at eight and that, des-
 
 52 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 pite my cabled request to the United States, 
 the passage fare and expenses of my party 
 had not been received. 
 
 There I was, almost penniless, custodian 
 of more than four hundred helpless Belgians 
 who, like myself, were without funds. My 
 temper was ruffled for I had had no end of 
 trouble getting my charges across the fron- 
 tier; I was loaded down with baggage and 
 bundles belonging to some of the unattached 
 children in the crowd, and I had gone the en- 
 tire day without food. A feeling of despair 
 came over me; my mind refused to work, and, 
 for a moment I felt like abandoning the en- 
 tire undertaking. 
 
 But — there were those sorrowful, appeal- 
 ing eyes turned upon me, so I pulled my- 
 self together and started out to find the 
 Director-General of the Holland-American 
 line and see if I could not pursuade him into 
 allowing my party to make the trip and col- 
 lect the fares at the termination of the voy- 
 age. 
 
 " I am sorry," he said in answer to my 
 .entreaties. " the granting of your request 
 is out of the question."
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 53 
 
 "But think what your refusal means," 
 I pleaded. " If I cannot get these poor peo- 
 ple out of Holland your government will in- 
 tern them in refugee camps; they will be 
 scattered here and there, and it will take 
 weeks to reassemble them. My work will be 
 practically undone.' ' 
 
 "I appreciate that," he answered, "but 
 I cannot assume responsibility for the pas- 
 sage of so many. If it were a question of 
 guaranteeing the expenses of fifteen or twen- 
 ty, I would advance the necessary funds 
 nryself. Your crowd is too large; I could 
 not give them passage without the consent of 
 the Board of Directors of the line." 
 
 11 Can you not convene the Board? " I 
 asked. 
 
 " The time is too short," was the answer. 
 " Barely three hours remain between now 
 and sailing time." 
 
 I rushed from the Director-General's of- 
 fice bewildered. My charges, suspecting 
 something had gone wrong, crowded about 
 me, alarmed and nervous, some of them 
 weeping. One look at them, and I made up 
 my mind to move heaven and earth before I
 
 54 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 would abandon the hope of getting them on 
 the steamer that night. 
 
 I summoned a taxi and ordered the driver 
 to take me to the residence of a Dutch baron, 
 a friend, who I was sure would help me. 
 But, alas, when I arrived at his home I was 
 told that he had gone to Amsterdam on a 
 matter of business and would not be back 
 for several days. There was but one thing 
 left for me to do and that was appeal to 
 the American Minister, Mr. Van Dyke, whom 
 I had not seen since he had declined to aid 
 me in getting a passport into Belgium. With 
 mingled determination and misgiving I or- 
 dered the chauffeur to take me to the Am- 
 erican legation. 
 
 Mr. Van Dyke received me at once. 
 
 " I have more than four hundred Belgian 
 women and children at the office of the Hol- 
 land-American line," I announced abrupt- 
 ly,' ' and I cannot get them out of the coun- 
 try because their passage money has not 
 yet arrived." 
 
 " Four hundred Belgians!" he exclaimed. 
 " Where did you get them? " 
 
 " In Belgium."
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 55 
 
 " But how did you get into Belgium? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Through the German Foreign Office in 
 Berlin,' ' I explained, and then, with a feel- 
 ing of pride which I could not entirely con- 
 ceal, I added: " The German Government 
 has endorsed my mission and has given me 
 considerable assistance in its discharge." 
 
 " Well, well, you are to be congratulated," 
 exclaimed Mr. Van Dyke, with a sincerity 
 that swept away all resentment and made 
 me his friend at once. " I didn't believe it 
 could be done. Now what can I do to help 
 you? " 
 
 I related my experiences of the day, and 
 when I had finished Mr. Van Dyke called up 
 the Director-General of the Holland-Ameri- 
 san line. He pleaded with him for an hour, 
 refusing to hang up the telephone receiver 
 until the coveted permission had been granted. 
 In the end, when all arguments and ex- 
 planations had proved futile, Mr. Van Dyke 
 personally guaranteed the passage money, 
 and I hurried back to my precious cargo at 
 the steamship office. 
 
 " Well," I said to mysef when I had seen
 
 56 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 the last of my charges safely tucked away 
 aboard the boat, " now the troubles of this 
 trip are at an end." 
 
 As a matter of fact they had just began. 
 Many Polish Jews had taken passage on the 
 same steamer, and as they all spoke German 
 the members of my party immediately classi- 
 fied them as their enemies. Try as I might 
 I could not satisfactorily explain that their 
 language did not necessarily make them sub- 
 jects of the Kaiser. 
 
 " They speak German and they must be 
 Germans," was the ultimatum that greeted 
 my every argument. 
 
 After many pleas and much trouble the 
 boat steward finally managed to separate 
 the Belgians from the Jews so that they occu- 
 pied different sections of the steerage quar- 
 ters, but, even so, they were forced to mingle 
 more or less, and scarcely an hour passed 
 that I was not called upon to adjust some 
 factional quarrel. 
 
 To make matters worse, measles broke out 
 among the members of my party and the, 
 disease quickly spread to the Jews. Then 
 Israel stormed my stateroom, showering re-
 
 EARLY WORK IN BELGIUM 57 
 
 proaches upon my helpless shoulders and 
 begging me to bid my charges keep their 
 illness to themselves. In vain I tried to ex- 
 plain my impotence to eradicate the cause of 
 their troubles, that it was through no fault 
 of mine that measles were contagious. They 
 would have none of my excuses; either I 
 must make myself master of their comfort 
 and the captain of their health, or else openly 
 proclaim myself their enemy. 
 
 But matters were soon balanced by a fate 
 which, though unkind to my accusers, brought 
 at least temporary relief to me. "Within a few 
 days chickenpox broke out among the Jews 
 and spread to the Belgians. Then I became 
 the victim of censure at the hands of my 
 own party, though of course their case had 
 been weakened by their own epedemic of 
 measles. 
 
 Eventually the voyage came to an end, as 
 all voyages must, and with its termination 
 all petty troubles faded into nothingness. I 
 had brought about four hundred persons to 
 safety, and, looking back, I realize that it was 
 through the experiences of this first mission 
 that I learned to conquer many of the dim-
 
 58 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 culties of my subsequent labor in Belgium. 
 
 My charges were greeted on arrival by 
 their anxious relatives, and all the way from 
 New York to their homes they met little 
 kindnesses which would bring tears to their 
 eyes. At stations where changes were made 
 people seemed only too glad to assist in tak- 
 ing care of the wants of the women and chil- 
 dren. At one place at least a hotel keeper 
 offered the best rooms in the house and all 
 meals free if some of the children could be 
 permitted to rest there over night. 
 
 Lucky little children, how their fate would 
 be envied by the millions of little ones still 
 waiting for freedom behind the German 
 prison bars.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Bbuxelles. 
 
 During the first year of the war, life seemed 
 almost normal in the capital, except for the 
 srowds of soldiers to be seen everywhere. 
 Such conditions, however, were only appar- 
 ent, and visitors soon noticed how many 
 houses seemed closed and deserted, how 
 many stores had their shutters drawn down. 
 Their owners had too evidently fled at the 
 enemy's approach, or locked up their homes 
 while they joined King Albert's army. 
 
 Of the finest houses, most are now occu- 
 pied by German officers while the beautiful 
 buildings of the Belgian government are 
 used by the invaders for their innumerable 
 "Bureaux"; in one of them they even 
 house a small force to handle the colonial 
 affairs of Germany. 
 
 As time wore on, a great change was grad- 
 
 59
 
 60 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ually wrought upon the population of Brux- 
 elles. The bread line kept increasing in 
 size, many of the people in it being evi- 
 dently persons of refinement. Threadbare 
 coats, battered hats and wornout shoes could 
 no longer be concealed. Few could afford to 
 buy a new suit of clothes or a new pair of 
 shoes at the fabulous prices that prevailed, 
 and the windows of the remaining stores 
 gradually grew empty. Some stores are 
 still open to accomodate customers, but few of 
 the owners are making a living from their 
 business. Tobacco stores, some of the caf£s 
 and a few of the stationery and souvenir 
 stores are an exception, because of the pat- 
 ronage extended to them by the Germans. 
 
 A few theatres are still open for the en- 
 tertainment of the officers, the soldiers and a 
 host of German civilians who infest the city. 
 Most of these civilians are connected with the 
 multitude of " Zentralen " established by 
 the Government of occupation in order to 
 systematically rob Belgium of all it pos- 
 sessed. There is an Oil Zentrale, a Coal 
 Zentrale, a Leather Zentrale, a Wool Zen- 
 trale, a Potato Zentrale, etc. At the head of
 
 BRUXELLES 61 
 
 each is a German expert in that particular 
 branch of commerce or industry, assisted by 
 hundreds of other men similarly drawn from 
 the Fatherland, and the business of all is 
 to scour the land in every direction for what 
 they may steal. Their work is efficient and 
 ruthless, and little is left to the poor Bel- 
 gians after the German officials have seized 
 everything in sight. 
 
 Inevitably there are a few Belgians who 
 give help to the invader for the sake of per- 
 sonal profit, but such Belgians are despised 
 beyond words by the patriots and marked for 
 after-the-war punishment. 
 
 Hardly a day passes by without some new 
 orders being issued to the population of 
 Bruxelles by means of varicolored posters. 
 It may be an injunction to be inside their 
 homes by eight o'clock in the evening under 
 pain of fine or imprisonment, it may be 
 the requisition of something previously 
 overlooked by the German master-thieves, or 
 it may be the red poster announcing the exe- 
 cution of a few Belgian patriots. 
 
 Prisoners and wounded are constantly 
 passing through Bruxelles on their way to
 
 62 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Germany, but the trains go through chiefly 
 at night and without stopping. When a train 
 loaded with prisoners or wounded passes 
 a train that carries civilians, all windows 
 and shutters of both trains are closed. In 
 the early days troop trains could be dis- 
 tinguished by the singing of the men, but 
 now they are silent and war-weary. When a 
 regiment marches through the town there is 
 still " regulation singing," but even then a 
 note of hopelessness is apparent. 
 
 Occassionally, military bands give a con- 
 cert in one of the public squares — usually af- 
 ter some German victory. In fine weather 
 these places are normally filled with the in- 
 habitants of Bruxelles, but as soon as the 
 first note is sounded the people hurry off in 
 all directions, and within a few minutes the 
 spot is empty of Belgians. 
 
 I was in Bruxelles when Miss Cavell's 
 sentence was announed. I had spent the en- 
 tire day at the Bruxelles Pass Bureau, ob- 
 taining passports for three hundred Bel- 
 gians I was to take out of Belgium the fol- 
 lowing day. Shortly after sundown I left 
 the Pass Bureau and started for my hotel.
 
 BRUXELLES 63 
 
 Coming down the hill at the end of the Jar- 
 din Botanique I observed an immense crowd 
 congregated at the corner of the Rue Neuve 
 and as I drew nearer I saw that they were 
 reading what I surmised to be the latest 
 affiche. 
 
 " It must be the bulletin of some great 
 battle or a new sensational order of the mili- 
 tary authorities," I said to myself as I 
 joined the crowd. I waited a good half hour 
 before I could get near enough to read the 
 poster; those in the front ranks were loath 
 to make way for their neighbors; the yellow 
 sheet of paper with its black hieroglyphics 
 seemed to exert some strange fascination. 
 
 Although there were several hundred per- 
 sons in the crowd the most religious silence 
 prevailed. I had noticed that it was always 
 thus when Belgians deigned to read the de- 
 crees of the government of occupation. The 
 prevalence of spies made it dangerous for 
 them to indulge in comment. On this parti- 
 cular occasion, however, it was very appar- 
 ent that the Belgians were under high ten- 
 sion of feeling; their fists were clenched, 
 their lips compressed. As I gradually made
 
 64 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 my way through the gathering I saw that 
 the eyes of some were moist, while others 
 flashed glances of cold scorn. Finally, when 
 I had managed to draw near enough to the 
 affche to read its message I saw that it an- 
 nounced the acquittal of eight persons ac- 
 cused of treason, sentence of imprisonment 
 for from two to eight years for seventeen 
 others, sentences of ten and fifteen years at 
 hard labor for five others, and death sentences 
 for five. Included in these last five sentences 
 was the name of Edith Cavell. The name was 
 strange to me; that was the first time I had 
 heard of Miss Cavell. 
 
 The next day I went to Holland where I 
 remained for a week, completing arrange- 
 ments for the passage of my charges. Mean- 
 while the news of the execution reached the 
 outside world, with the result now so well 
 known. I was besieged with inquiries about 
 the case, and I could scarcely wait for my 
 return to Belgium to learn the details. 
 
 I talked with many persons who knew Miss 
 Cavell intimately, and without exception they 
 spoke of her as a saint, a great beautiful 
 soul housed behind rather plain features.
 
 BRUXELLES 65 
 
 Among those with whom I discussed 
 the trial and execution was a nurse who had 
 been attached to Miss Cavell's institute, a 
 place which had originally been a training 
 school for nurses but which was transformed 
 shortly after war broke out into a hospital 
 for sick and wounded soldiers. This nurse 
 gave me the last letter written by Miss Ca- 
 vell, a missive penned during her imprison- 
 ment in the jail of St. Gilles. It is here- 
 with reproduced. It — better than any state- 
 ment I could make — bespeaks the character 
 of its author. 
 
 I had it, upon the word of those who were 
 acquainted with each detail of Edith Cavell's 
 trial, that it was not her conviction of the 
 charge for which she was arrested that 
 caused the death sentence to be passed. It 
 was the things she revealed, of which the 
 military authorities had known nothing, that 
 lad to her execution. Hun pride was wound- 
 ed; the Government of occupation was furi- 
 ous that a woman had been able to outwit its 
 elaborate system of espionage, and nothing 
 less than its feminine opponent's life would 
 soothe its outraged vanity.
 
 66 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 In reviewing the Cavell trial and execu- 
 tion it must not be forgotten that by virtue 
 of her vocation Miss Cavell was, theoreti- 
 cally at least, protected by international 
 law. Nurses are immune from many of 
 the war time restrictions imposed upon civil- 
 ians and, by a strict interpretaton of the let- 
 ter of the law, Edith Cavell took advantage 
 of the immunity she enjoyed to bring con- 
 sternation to the government which was ex- 
 tending her immunity. By the same strict 
 interpretation it must be remembered that 
 her sex did not mitigate the result of her 
 offense. But her execution left humanity 
 aghast because the German military author- 
 ities showed themselves incapable of being 
 moved by the spirit of the law under which 
 she was tried. In her sentence barbarism 
 ruled unbridled. 
 
 The impetus thus given to Hun lust made 
 itself further evident in the attempted per- 
 secution of Maitre Gaston de Laval, attorney 
 to the American legation in Bruxelles, who 
 was chiefly instrumental in announcing the 
 execution to the world. M. de Laval was as- 
 signed by Minister Whitlock to act as Misi
 
 BRUXELLES 67 
 
 CavelPs counsel and he, more than anyone 
 else connected with the American Legation, 
 knew the details of the case. 
 
 The German government, immediately it 
 was confronted with the storm of condemna- 
 tion caused by the execution, insisted that 
 M. de Laval, being a Belgian, was unfriend- 
 ly to the Germans and must leave the official 
 family of the American Legation. M. de 
 Laval quite as promptly refused to leave 
 unless ordered to do so by Washington. 
 The German Government then threatened 
 him with arrest. 
 
 Minister Whitlock made a personal appeal 
 to the military authorities to abandon their 
 proposed action, and they acquiesced with a 
 promptitude that was nothing if not amaz- 
 ing. But there was method in their seeming 
 leniency, for they immediately announced 
 that M. de Laval would not be arrested pro- 
 viding he severed his connection with the 
 American Legation. 
 
 * " "When this decision was conveyed to 
 me," said M. de Laval, "I was momentar- 
 ily at a loss to understand the unexpected 
 outburst of German generosity. Then I real-
 
 68 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ized the motive that lay behind the offer of 
 immunity, and flatly refused to accept the 
 terms by which my liberty was to be granted. 
 The attempted trick of the enemy was trans- 
 parent; few days would have passed after 
 my severance from the American Legation 
 before the military authorities would have 
 found some pretext to seize me and con- 
 demn me to imprisonment or perhaps death. 
 
 " My answer was that I refused to resign 
 unless the German government granted safe 
 conduct to myself and family across the 
 Holland frontier. This request was refused, 
 as I had anticipated. Minister Whitlock 
 then cabled the State Department at Wash- 
 ington, asking that it make a formal request 
 of Germany that I be granted safe conduct 
 into Holland. Washington made the request 
 immediately and, as Berlin could advance no 
 good reason for its refusal, I was permitted 
 to leave Belgium." 
 
 The Cavell case only revealed to the world 
 one example of the spirit of devotion and 
 self-sacrifice which women have shown in all 
 crises of history, and of which I have seen 
 many humbler but equally heroic examples
 
 BKUXELLES 69 
 
 during my stay in Belgium. 
 
 The famous Burgomaster of Bruxelles, 
 Adolplie Max, comes only second to the King 
 himself in the affections of the people of 
 that city. On August 19th, 1914, the day 
 preceding the entry of German troops into 
 Bruxelles, Mr. Max was feverishly prepar- 
 ing the defence of the city, but at the last 
 moment, the King, in order to spare Brux- 
 elles, ordered its surrender. During the try- 
 ing days that followed, Mr. Max courageous- 
 ly and unceasingly championed the cause of 
 his fellow-citizens, and defied the invaders 
 who were breaking every international law 
 as well as every law of moral decency. He 
 was not afraid to publicly give the lie to 
 the German Governor, and some of the post- 
 ers signed by Mr. Max will remain histori- 
 cal documents as long as the German crime 
 of 1914 is remembered. He was soon re- 
 moved by the Germans and sent to a for- 
 tress, from which grave reports filtered out 
 concerning the state of his health. 
 
 In spite of the harsh German rules, or per- 
 haps because of them, patriotism in Brux- 
 elles is growing greater and stronger every
 
 70 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 day. Proscribed from school and street and 
 theatre, Belgium's national anthem, the Bra- 
 banconne, has taken refuge in the churches 
 where it is often sung at the end of the ser- 
 vices. The priests deliver patriotic address- 
 es in more or less veiled form, and I have 
 listened often to splendid sermons dealing 
 on the surface with some theme from the 
 Gospels, but having a hidden metaphorical 
 meaning which every person present under- 
 stood. Several ministers of various denom- 
 inations have been arrested and punished 
 for this at various times, but their spirit 
 of courage has influenced those who were 
 left. 
 
 The anniversary of Belgian Independence 
 is celebrated on July 21st, and on that day 
 of 1915 Bruxelles presented a sad sight in- 
 deed to the stranger. It was a day of gen- 
 eral protest, and the people walked through 
 the streets or parks dressed in mourning. 
 The Belgian tricolor being forbidden, they 
 wore ivy leaves as emblems of eternal faith- 
 fulness. The shutters of all houses and 
 shops were closed. 
 
 A year later the Huns sought to kill mem-
 
 BRUXELLES 71 
 
 ories of past liberty by forbidding the wear- 
 ing of ivy leaves and by ordering all pub- 
 lic places to keep open. Many people dis- 
 obeyed, and cheerfully paid heavy fines or 
 went to prison. The shops that were open 
 had empty windows and plainly showed that 
 customers were not desired, while some gro- 
 ceries displayed the national colors in their 
 windows by a careful grouping of yellow 
 lemons, red tomatoes and black grapes. As 
 a substitute for the forbidden ivy leaf, green 
 ribbons — the color of hope, — were seen in 
 every buttonhole, on every hat and even on 
 the dogs and horses of defiant Bruxelles. 
 The forbidden Belgian flag was replaced by 
 American Stars and Stripes as an emblem 
 of freedom, and as America was neutral 
 the furious Germans could not forbid the 
 display of its colors.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Further Missions. 
 
 The result of my first trip so encouraged 
 the hopes of the many Belgians scattered 
 througout the United States and Canada 
 that hundreds of letters poured into the of- 
 fice of the Belgian-American Alliance. 
 Classifying these requests, communicating 
 with their authors and arranging the thou- 
 sand and one incidental details soon became 
 a task of such magnitude that Mr. Streyck- 
 mans, Presidsnt of the Alliance, asked Fa- 
 ther Stillemans, Director of the Belgian 
 Bureau of New York, to undertake the work 
 and give it the benefit of his experience and 
 knowledge of all matters pertaining to Bel- 
 gium. Father Stillemans gladly undertook 
 the task, with the result that when time came 
 for me to depart upon my second mission I 
 was in possession of a splendidly compiled 
 list of over 1500 names. 
 
 72
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 73 
 
 Applications had come from almost every 
 state in the Union, but most of them had ori- 
 ginated in Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois and In- 
 diana, while a considerable number came 
 from Canada. Many were from husbands im- 
 ploring us to liberate their wives and chil- 
 dren from the yoke of the Hun; anxious 
 sons begged us to locate their parents and 
 bring them to a home prepared for them; 
 lovers beseeched us to find the maid whom 
 they had left behind when coming to build 
 their fortunes across the ocean. 
 
 One case which I often remember is of 
 two lovers who had grown up together in a 
 picturesque Belgian village. They had lived 
 in adjoining cottages, gone to school hand in 
 hand and played their childhood games un- 
 der the sycamore trees that lined the dark 
 waters of the canal. They had worshipped 
 side by side in the same little village church 
 as side by side they had worked in the fields, 
 and because they were inexperienced and so 
 wrapped in one another they had loved not 
 wisely but too well. The young man, too 
 poor to marry the maid, had left for Am- 
 erica, -/owing that he would send for his be-
 
 74 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 loved as soon as lie could provide a home 
 for her. A few months after his departure 
 she gave birth to twins. Patiently she bore 
 the denunciation of her parents, the snubs 
 of her friends, the sneers of the hypocriti- 
 cal villagers. She did not mind the isolation 
 to which her sin had condemned her; simple 
 and primitive soul that she was, to her it 
 did not seem a sin. She had her babies — 
 their babies — and her love for them and for 
 their father filled her life completely. 
 
 At first the letters from the new world 
 came with regularity; later long intervals of 
 terrifying silence intervened. But always 
 the letters narrated the odyssey of the 
 young immigrant, his disappointments and 
 difficulties, his hopes and his achievements in 
 the new country. Then the war came, and 
 for more than a year the silence was unbrok- 
 en. During this time her hope never fal- 
 tered, and when I found her and she learned 
 that I had come to take her to America and 
 her beloved, she fell on her knees and wept 
 tears of joy, crying aloud that I was a hea- 
 ven-sent messenger. 
 
 During the long, trying journey home I
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 75 
 
 often had occasion to admire her patience 
 and passionate love for the children. Every 
 time I caressed them she would say, as tears 
 swelled to her eyes: " The little angels 
 will at last know their father, and as they 
 grow older I shall teach them to pray for 
 you daily and love you because you have 
 been our benefactor." They were going to 
 him, the husband and father, to live with 
 him — what else mattered? What were the long 
 delays, the many inconveniences, the sea- 
 sickness and the measles with which they 
 were seized? They were going to him, and 
 nothing else counted. After having waited 
 for three long years she could afford to 
 bear a few more burdens and wait a little 
 longer. 
 
 The reunion was so touching that all who 
 witnessed it were visibly affected. There 
 was the happy father, a child on each arm, 
 two pairs of little arms about his neck and a 
 baby cheek held close to each of his, with a 
 radiant mother embracing the group, her 
 lips pressed close to those of the father in a 
 long, happy kiss. It was a picture worthy 
 of the brush of a master. I waited at Ellis
 
 76 BACK FKOM BELGIUM 
 
 Island until Father Stillemans had united the 
 happy parents and then, with many protesta- 
 tions of gratitude, they bade me good-bye. 
 
 A few days later I learned that the mother 
 and children were dead. The husband had 
 been obliged to leave his family a few hours 
 one evening, and the mother, after putting 
 the children to bed, had sat down to write me 
 a letter. Christmas was approaching, and 
 she had wanted to send me the greetings 
 of the season and tell me how happy she 
 was in her new home. Evidently she had be- 
 come drowsy before the letter was finished 
 and after blowing out the gas, about the use 
 of which the husband had forgotten to in- 
 struct her, she had laid down beside the 
 children. The husband, returning home, 
 found them asphyxiated. Some time later, 
 he sent me a picture of the children and the 
 mother's unfinished letter; they are among 
 the prized mementos of my second voyage. 
 
 I had to bring back many unattached chil- 
 dren, and the care of these added to my diffi- 
 culties. I have had as many as sixty unat- 
 tached little ones at a time, ranging from 
 two to nine years of age. After many frights
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 77 
 
 caused by the temporary loss of some young- 
 sters who persisted in wandering off by 
 themselves, I hit upon the plan of distribut- 
 ing them among the women of the party. If 
 a woman was accompanied by one child of 
 her own, I would entrust her with the super- 
 vision of two or three of the unattached 
 children. Women who had two or three 
 children were given one other one to look 
 after. In nearly every case, of course the 
 mothers were only too willing to look after 
 these additional little charges. 
 
 One of the waifs who became a great 
 friend of mine was Jean. Little Jean had 
 known no parents. He was an illegitimate 
 child, who on the day of his birth had been 
 left with a Belgian institution for abandoned 
 children. Several years later his mother 
 went to America and married. No children 
 were sent to bless this union, and the moth- 
 er's thoughts were constantly turning to the 
 little lad in her far away native country. 
 She told me that sometimes the pangs of re- 
 morse seemed more than she could endure; 
 her heart cried out for her little son's love, 
 and she yearned to feel his arms around her
 
 78 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 neck, his lips pressed close to hers. Sh« 
 appealed to me, implored me, to bring him 
 back to America on my next trip, but this 
 I refused to do until she had obtained her 
 husband's consent. 
 
 She shrank from doing this, but I told 
 her that her request could not be entertained 
 until such a step was taken. No one will 
 ever know the anguish and misgivings that 
 tortured her mind before she could bring 
 herself to broach the subject to her husband, 
 but the good man, much to her relief, ac- 
 qniesoed readily in her plans. Thus I came 
 to be entrusted with the task of locating little 
 Jean and restoring him to his mother. 
 
 I found him in the Home where she had 
 left him, a miserable little specimen of hu- 
 manity, his eyes dull with sadness, his little 
 frame emaciated from privation, his lips 
 strangers to kisses and smiles. The head of 
 the institution was willing to have me take 
 him, but no amount of arguing or persuasion 
 would move the Pass Bureau to issue a pass- 
 port for him. Being an illegitimate child he 
 had no Identification Card- and that barred 
 him from consideration.
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 79 
 
 "But, Mr. Officer,' ' I pleaded. "he 
 came into the world without one. He was 
 abandoned when an infant, and the institu- 
 tion where he has lived has only the vaguest 
 knowledge of the identity of his parents. 
 His mother has only recently revealed her- 
 self." 
 
 " No passport can be given without the 
 Identification Card," was the reply. " It 
 is the rule." 
 
 I went to the head officer of the Pass Bur- 
 eau, and from him I received the same ulti- 
 matum. Then I went still higher, to one of 
 the attaches of the Governor-General's of- 
 fice, taking Jean along with me as mute wit- 
 ness to his own inoffensiveness. I begged 
 and implored for a deviation from the es- 
 tablished rule. 
 
 " Look at the lad," I beseeched, as Jean 
 stood by, the picture of utter dejection in 
 his ill-fitting clothes. " Please make an ex- 
 ception in his case." 
 
 " How do you know that the woman who 
 has sent for him is his mother? " I was 
 asked.
 
 80 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 " Who but his mother would claim him? " 
 I replied. 
 
 A faint smile stole about the attaches 
 mouth, and I knew that I had won the day. 
 
 So little Jean came back with me. His 
 eyes seemed to brighten almost from the 
 moment our journey began. He was a very 
 shy child and, although he seemed to know 
 instinctively that I was helping him in some 
 way, he never uttered a word. During the 
 first few days of the journey he kept very 
 much to himself, and when I would speak to 
 him he would move away in silence. As 
 the voyage progressed, some of his reti- 
 cence dissappeared and occasionly he would 
 permit me to caress him. Sometimes he 
 would draw away when I touched him, like 
 a frightened dumb animal, but a little later, 
 when he thought that I was not observing 
 him, he would slowly make his way to my 
 side and look up at me timidly, wistfully, 
 his sad eyes begging me to caress him again. 
 
 Of all the little charges I brought to Am- 
 erica on my various trips, there was none 
 I was quite so loath to part from as little 
 Jean. But when that voyage ended I turned
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 81 
 
 him over to his mother to be born again I 
 hoped, into a world where little children 
 could find happiness as well as sorrow. 
 
 In the gallery of my memory are many 
 other pictures, tender or pathetic, but there 
 are also a few amusing ones. A constant 
 source of amusement on my various trips to 
 Belgium was the persistence with which I 
 was tracked by patriotic enthusiasts and by 
 spies. I was kept busy dodging them on the 
 steamer, in railway carriages, in hotels and 
 even on the streets. After a brief greeting 
 they would launch forth into their one sub- 
 ject, the war. Some, of course, were pro- 
 Ally, others violently pro-German, and many 
 were undoubtedly " agents provocateurs" 
 whose business it was to take up cudgels for 
 the cause to which they were opposed in or- 
 der to discover the trend of their compan- 
 ion^ sympathy. If I listened to their ar- 
 guments without comment and with no sign 
 of approval or disapproval I could be sure 
 they would end by bluntly asking: "And 
 where do you stand! " 
 
 Desiring to steer my ship cautiously, I 
 usually answered that I didn't feel like com-
 
 82 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 mitting myself to either side, that I knew 
 nothing about international politics, that I 
 felt sorry for all of the people involved in 
 the terrible conflict and that, as an Ameri- 
 can, I wished to remain neutral. My com- 
 panions would immediately flare up and de- 
 clare that there was no such thing as ab- 
 solute neutrality, taxing me with being an 
 enemy of their faction because I did not 
 openly and loudly agree with them. 
 
 Holland, most specially The Hague, was 
 a hotbed of spies, and every newcomer was 
 approached, spied upon, and followed by 
 agents of all the governments at war. Se- 
 cret service men supplied their local em- 
 bassies with a record of each individual's 
 movements and the embassies, in turn, trans- 
 mitted the information to their respective 
 home offices. One could never be sure that 
 hotel clerks and porters were not in the pay 
 of the agents of foreign governments. I 
 know of one enterprising hotel clerk who 
 was taking money from representatives of 
 two opposing nations at the same time. The 
 trunks in one's room, even though locked, 
 were not safe from secret investigation as
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 83 
 
 I discovered in my own case* on more than 
 one occasion. 
 
 One could not be sure that one's name was 
 not on the black list of several contending 
 governments. For instance, while I was at 
 The Hague, I had legitimate business with, 
 and consequently visited, the German, Bel- 
 gian and British embassies. I am sure that 
 my visits were promptly reported to the au- 
 thorities of those three countries. Though 
 I exercised the utmost prudence, never dis- 
 cussing the war with anyone save my most 
 intimate friends, and even then guardedly, 
 I was held up by the British authorities at 
 Falmouth when I crossed the last time, and 
 my effects were submitted to the closest 
 scrutiny. Someone in the United States, I 
 afterwards learned, had cabled the British 
 Foreign Office to look out for me as I was 
 snspected of being pro-German, and my name 
 had been duly recorded upon the British 
 black list. The same person, bent on mak- 
 ing trouble for me one way or another, had 
 informed the German government that I 
 was pro-Ally. 
 On one occasion when I crossed the Bel-
 
 84 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 gian border into Holland, I learned that 
 the Belgian Government had issued orders 
 to its embassy at The Hague to warn all 
 Belgians against me as I was engaged in 
 unpatriotic work, taking Belgians to Am- 
 erica and abandonng them to their own de- 
 vices. Of course I knew that the accusation 
 was absurd, but, nevertheless, I had to prove 
 my sincerety to the proper authorities. I 
 submitted my credentials and a complete re- 
 port of my work to the first secretary of the 
 Belgian Embassy, Prince de Ligne, who 
 took the trouble to immediately inform his 
 Government regarding my aims and accom- 
 plishments. 
 
 In Belgium the secret service or spy sys- 
 tem was fearful and wonderful in its organ- 
 ization and wide ramifications. The Ques- 
 ture, that is, the secret service council, was 
 the highest tribunal of both the civil and 
 military authorities. Even the military au- 
 thorities themselves, both officers and sol- 
 diers, were constantly watched and spied 
 upon. Some of the cleverest of the spies 
 were attractive demi-mondaines. They were 
 to be frequently seen in the hotels dining
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 85 
 
 with officers who often learned later, to their 
 sorrow, that they had been lavishing money 
 upon informers in the pay of their own 
 government. Another dangerous spy for the 
 officer was a radical socialist. It was a clever 
 idea that led to this state of affairs. The 
 socialist, of course, hated all officers, and the 
 higher the rank of his prey, or the more illus- 
 trious his family name, the greater were the 
 spy's efforts to find him guilty of treason 
 and denounce him. 
 
 I was summoned before the police authori- 
 ties on two occasions. The first time I had 
 arrived in Bruxelles from a trip to Flanders 
 late in the evening and I was very tired. My 
 Flanders passport had expired that day and, 
 according to the military regulations, I should 
 have returned it to the Pass Bureau immedi- 
 ately upon my arrival and obtained a re- 
 ceipt for it. But in a moment of fatigue I 
 decided that I would postpone my call to 
 the Pass Bureau until morning, and went to 
 my hotel and to bed. I was awakened from 
 my first sleep by a secret service agent and 
 summoned to the Police Headquarters im- 
 mediately. There the matter was adjusted,
 
 86 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 but not before I had received a severe lecture 
 which made me vow not to repeat that par- 
 ticular offence. 
 
 Another time I was ordered to report at 
 Police Headquarters without delay, and when 
 I arrived there I was submitted to a long in- 
 terrogation. " Who are you? " I was 
 asked. " How long have you been in Bel- 
 gium? " How did you get into the coun- 
 try! How many times have you been here? 
 What are you doing here! Why are you do- 
 ing it? Whom do you know here? " 
 
 After awhile I became impatient and an- 
 swered. " I came here by permission of 
 the German Government, which knows all 
 about my work. I am well known at the 
 Politische Abteilung and there you can find 
 out all you want to know." 
 
 I imagined this answer would mollify, if 
 not crush, my questioner. The shadow of a 
 smile crossed his features and he said, with 
 unmistakable firmness: 
 
 " Never mind the Politische Abteilung; 
 you are dealing with the Police now." 
 
 More questions followed. *' Do you know 
 anyone in Flanders? Do you attempt any
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 87 
 
 correspondence with them! " 
 
 And then the reason for my cross-examina- 
 tion came out. The news that I was in Bel- 
 gium, looking up families of Belgians in 
 America, had somehow spread throughout 
 the entire country, and many needy people, 
 having relatives in the United States, had 
 tried to reach me to give me messages for 
 them. Some succeeded and others did not, 
 and it was as a result of one of these foiled 
 attempts that I had been haled before tho 
 Police. That very day a man from Roulers 
 had been caught with a letter on his person 
 addressed to me in which he asked me to 
 locate his people in Oregon and tell them 
 his family was in great distress. When I 
 convinced the Police authorities that I knew 
 nothing about the man, — and that was no 
 easy task — I was dismissed, but not before 
 I had signed a lengthy document in which 
 my entire examination had been recorded. 
 
 On another occasion I was summoned to 
 the Censor's office. I had written a letter 
 in French to a lady living in Charleroi, ask- 
 ing her to be in Bruxelles at the Pass Bur- 
 eau at a certain hour. In my haste I had
 
 88 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 used the past tense instead of the future, and 
 this gave umbrage to the Censor who thought 
 that it might be a pre-arranged secret code. 
 I explained the mistake but I was not ra- 
 leased until I had signed a statement to the 
 effect that my error was due to my imper- 
 fect knowledge of French. 
 
 Thus the machinery of German efficiency 
 operated unceasingly, yet I managed to 
 smuggle thousands of letters and many vol- 
 umes of clandestine literature across the 
 Dutch frontier. How I accomplished this 
 I cannot divulge, but considering the eternal 
 vigilance of the military authorities and spies 
 it will be evident to the reader that I trusted 
 in the passive cooperation of someone con- 
 nected with the German Government. The 
 individual to whom' I owe my liberty, if not 
 my life, was not cognizant of the extent of 
 what I was doing; he may have suspected 
 my guilt, but I am convinced that he did not 
 realize the measure of it. To his honor let 
 it be said that he was lenient solely because 
 he sympathized with the purpose of my un- 
 dertaking. He loved children, and I think 
 he helped me because he realized that I was
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 89 
 
 restoring many little Belgians to their par- 
 ents. He looked npon me as the godfather 
 of the little citizens of nnhappy Belgium and 
 believed that whatever I was doing was be- 
 ing done primarily for them. To say more 
 than this might incriminate him and bring 
 unnecessary sorrow to his family. 
 
 No one else connived with me, no one else 
 connected with the Government of occupation 
 knew or suspected what I was doing, not even 
 my interpreter, Mr. Bayer, a fine, sympathetic 
 old German, whose wife was a Belgian and 
 whose children were naturalized citizens of 
 their mother's country. Mr. Bayer had been 
 an officer in the German army and had fought 
 in the war of '66, remaining a German in 
 Allegiance even after settling in Belgium. He 
 was tall, distinguished in appearance and very 
 alert in spite of his seventy odd years. Al- 
 though he did not realize it himself, his mere 
 appearance helped me out of many uncomfort- 
 able situations. I am convinced that many of 
 the lesser military authorities thought, after 
 examining his passport, which revealed him 
 as an ex-officer, that he was a companion offi- 
 cially detailed to accompany me on my travels.
 
 90 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 He did not realize this, but I did, and made the 
 most of it. 
 
 I must state, however, that I never jeopar- 
 dized my interpreter's liberty by carrying 
 political messages; I never once al- 
 lowed myself to become a subservient tool for 
 political activities. I merely wished to do what 
 I could to alleviate the suffering of the Bel- 
 gian people, — nothing more — and so whenever 
 a letter was given to me to smuggle out of the 
 country or into another commune, I would 
 read it carefully, and if its contents were ob- 
 scure or savored of a code system I invariably 
 asked the writer to take it back and give me 
 another letter instead. / never allowed these 
 letters to be addressed or signed, depending 
 on a code I had invented so that if they were 
 discovered in my possession I would be the 
 only sufferer. 
 
 Once, when going from Ghent to Bruxelle* 
 alone, I carried more than four hundred clan- 
 destine letters. The train on which I was 
 traveling was packed with soldiers; I was the 
 only civilian among its passengers. Almost 
 immediately after it started an officer came 
 through the cars, inspecting passports and
 
 FUETHER MISSIONS 91 
 
 baggage. Besides my valise I had five small 
 bundles wrapped in paper which I had tucked 
 away in the rack above my seat. Four of the 
 packages contained small antiques which I had 
 purchased in Ghent, and the fifth contained the 
 letters. Some of these letters were from Bel- 
 gians whom the war had reduced to beggary, 
 people who were asking assistance of friends 
 or relatives in America. Others were for Bel- 
 gians who lived in the Provinces of the Gov- 
 ernor-General. For even one of these inno- 
 cent missives to have been discovered among 
 my effects would have meant a military trial, 
 and, undoubtedly imprisonment; perhaps even 
 the death penalty. 
 
 When the officer arrived at my seat I made 
 a great fuss over the obstinacy of the lock on 
 my valise. I fumed and fretted at its failure 
 to promptly respond to the key treatment. 
 Finally I managed to get it open, only to re- 
 veal that its contents consisted of a few ar- 
 ticles of clothing. Once these were inspected 
 and replaced, I locked the valise, placed it 
 undei the seat and started to settle down as 
 though I felt relieved that the annoying in- 
 spection had been completed.
 
 92 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 "Come, come," said the officer, pointing 
 to my packages in the rack above, " what 
 about those? " 
 
 " I have some antiques," I answered, lab- 
 oriously rising and reaching for one of the 
 bundles. 
 
 One by one I took them down, opening each 
 package, exhibiting the contents and extolling 
 upon their beauty at great length. I was 
 hoping that a view of the contents of one or 
 two of the bundles would appease the curios- 
 ity of the officer, and so I carefully left the 
 package of the letters for the last. I had 
 successfully followed this procedure on pre- 
 vious trips, but this officer was the personifi- 
 cation of efficiency and insisted upon seeing 
 all of my baggage. 
 
 With the opening of the fourth package my 
 heart began to beat a lively tattoo against my 
 waistcoat, though I strove to remain outward- 
 ly calm. Finally I climbed upon the seat and 
 reached for the fifth package, but luck wa3 
 with me and just at that moment the train 
 pulled into a station and the officer was obliged 
 to leave.
 
 FURTHER MISSIONS 93 
 
 "It is all right," he said brusquely as he 
 turned away, leaving me to settle down to a 
 prayer of gratitude for my narrow escape. 
 It was the nearest I ever came to being caught.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Where The Huns Have Passed. 
 
 In the course of my search for the people 
 whom I was to bring to America I visited 
 many cities whose gaping wounds were mute 
 testimonials of their martyrdom, while under 
 the debris lay the bodies of thousands of in- 
 nocent victims, men, women and children 
 slain wantonly. 
 
 From what I was able to learn — and I fre- 
 quently conversed with Belgian civilians and 
 German officers or soldiers — I am convinced 
 that the German military authorities decided 
 to establish a system of terrorism before they 
 even entered the country. They must have de- 
 cided it as soon as they learnt that free pas- 
 sage would be denied to their troops. The 
 few feeble efforts at resistance made by civil- 
 ian Belgians would be a ridiculous explanation 
 for the destruction that followed in the wake 
 
 94
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 95 
 
 of the invading army. Belgium was burned 
 down and wrecked for the example it would 
 give the world of the punishment meted out 
 to whoever resisted the Kaiser's hosts. 
 
 Advance patrols of Uhlans were shot at in 
 many cases by detachments of the regular 
 Belgian army sent forward to await the enemy 
 in concealment, and because the shooting 
 soldiers were concealed, word was passed 
 through the German ranks that Belgian civ- 
 ilians had fired on the troops. It was a suf- 
 ficient excuse to put the system of terrorism 
 into execution. Within a few days after the 
 entry of the Huns into Belgium, German 
 newspapers were filled with details of imag- 
 inary atrocities committed by Belgian civil- 
 ians, even by women, children and priests, 
 upon wounded German soldiers. Many of 
 these stories were undoubtedly issued with the 
 official seal of the German War Office while 
 others were elaborations of letters sent by 
 German soldiers to their relatives at home. In 
 view of the drunkenness and debauchery prac- 
 tised by some of the invaders it is natural that 
 they should send home such imaginary ac- 
 counts which infuriated German civilians.
 
 96 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Among the effects found on a wounded 
 soldier was a letter from his father in Ger- 
 many who wrote: "Do not let any civilians 
 come near you. Fire upon any who approach 
 you." 
 
 Eyewitnesses told me that on various oc- 
 casions in the confusion caused by drunken 
 revelries or by mere accident, German troops 
 fired upon their own comrades as they came 
 toward each other from different directions. 
 In every case Belgian civilians were blamed, 
 upon the assumption that they were franc- 
 tireurs. Then, without even a pretence of 
 investigation, they were mercilessly massacred 
 and their town pillaged and burned. 
 
 One of the most common accusations by 
 the Germans was that of " gouging out eyes " 
 by priests. It may have originated in the dis- 
 ordered brain of the Hun, but it seems to me 
 that its origin can be traced to the fact that 
 Belgian priests could be seen everywhere, 
 kneeling beside wounded German soldiers 
 just as they knelt beside their own fallen 
 countrymen, administering Extreme Unction, 
 part of which is to touch the eyes with the 
 Holy Oil for the Infirm.
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 97 
 
 One day I was discussing the accusations 
 against the clergy with a prominent anti- 
 clerical lawyer of Bruxelles, a man whose 
 professional activities before the war had 
 shown him to be far from partial to the cler- 
 ical fraternity. 
 
 " Tell me something/ ' I said, " about the 
 participation of priests in the reported snip- 
 ing on the German troops — especially from 
 the heights of church towers." 
 
 " That is one of the favorite lies of thost 
 damned Prussians/' he answered with ve- 
 hemence. " I was everywhere during those 
 first trying days and I have talked with every- 
 one worth talking to, and from what I saw 
 and from what I heard I know there is not 
 a shred of truth in all of their assertions. 
 
 " The populace was terror-stricken as soon 
 as they heard the Germans were coming, even 
 before the first troops put in an appearance. 
 As for the priests, I do not need to tell you 
 how meek and timid they are. The discipline 
 of religious colleges and seminaries, the can- 
 nons which rule their daily lives, the constant 
 wearing of the cassock, all these things com- 
 bine to make the priest anything but a belli-
 
 98 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 cose man. Why, in some instances they were 
 even pro-German, such as the Cure of Battice, 
 who, by the irony of fate, was the first victim 
 of the invasion. 
 
 " But what was the attitude of the Belgian 
 government toward the supposed uprisings of 
 civilians." I asked. " Entre nous, would 
 it not have been natural for the government 
 to foment resistance? " 
 
 " It would not only have been an inconsid- 
 erate act," came the emphatic answer, " but 
 a positively criminal one on the part of our 
 authorities, had they tried to do so. It would 
 have been supreme folly for the civilian pop- 
 ulation to oppose any resistance. Remember, 
 they possessed practically no arms. Our 
 people are not fools; they were conscious of 
 their feebleness and knew very well that the 
 German armies were formidable." 
 
 To verify his statements my informant led 
 me into his library, and from a desk took out 
 a bundle of papers which he placed before 
 me. They were circulars issued by Govern- 
 ment authorities and the mayors of the differ- 
 ent towns, urging civilians to bring such 
 weapons as they had to the Hotel de Villa
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 99 
 
 and remain quiet. Some of these circulars 
 are reproduced in these pages. Their mes- 
 sages conform to the following translations: 
 
 To The Civilians. 
 
 The Minister of the Interior urges the fol- 
 lowing line of conduct on all civilians, in 
 case the enemy appears in their region: 
 
 1. Not to fight. 
 
 2. Not to utter threats or insults. 
 
 3. To remain indoors, and to close win- 
 dows so as not to give the enemy the 
 pretext to say that there has been any 
 provocation. 
 
 4. If our soldiers occupy a house or an 
 isolated hamlet in order to defend 
 themselves, it should be evacuated at 
 once so that the enemy may not say 
 that civilians have fired. 
 
 5. Any act of violence committed by a 
 citizen is a crime which the law pun- 
 ishes because it might serve as the 
 pretext for a bloody repression, or 
 for pillage and the massacre of an
 
 100 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 innocent population, the massacre of 
 women and children. 
 
 M. Berryer, 
 
 Minister of the Interior. 
 
 Bruxelles, August 4, 1914. 
 
 This notice was printed daily, in large 
 characters and in a conspicuous place, in 
 every newspaper in Belgium. 
 
 Fire-arms. 
 
 The international law of war does not 
 permit civilians to take part in hostili- 
 ties, and all infractions of this rule may 
 bring about serious reprisals. Many of 
 our fellow-citizens have commendably ex- 
 pressed the desire to voluntarily give up 
 whatever weapons they possess. Such 
 may be brought to the Commissioner of 
 Police where a receipt will be duly given 
 for each piece. The arms will be placed 
 in the central Arsenal at Antwerp and 
 given back at the end of the war. 
 
 Adolphe Max, 
 Burgomaster. 
 
 Bruxelles, Aug. 12, 1914.
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 101 
 
 Similar warnings were issued by the mayor 
 of every important city and town through- 
 out Belgium. 
 
 Methodical pillage, incediarism and the 
 slaying of civilians constituted the order of 
 the day in those localities where the German 
 armies met with resistance on the part of Bel- 
 gian or French troops, and sometimes in towns 
 where there was no opposition to their ad- 
 vance. 
 
 The excuse for this was always the same. 
 A shot is heard, and immediately, without any 
 investigation, the orgy of blood begins. " Die 
 Zivilisten haben geschossen," the civilians 
 have fired! Who fired that shot? A timid 
 sentinel, a drunken soldier, or was it done 
 purposely by someone in authority, and for 
 too obvious a purpose? Little does the an- 
 swer matter, bring the benzine torch and fire 
 the houses while the troops laugh as they 
 shoot the fleeing inhabitants. 
 
 Let me draw a picture of what occured at 
 Acoz, a picturesque little village of some
 
 102 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 1300 inhabitants, lying at the eastern extrem- 
 ity of the province of Hainaut. 
 
 It is dusk. The Germans are crossing the 
 Sambre at Chatelet. Earlier in the day — -this 
 is August 22nd, 1914 — the French military au- 
 thorities through the Burgomaster and rural 
 guard request the inhabitants to evacuate the 
 town and save their lives. "Word has already 
 been received that the Germans are forcing 
 civilians to march ahead of them to cover 
 their advance, so the villagers, with less than 
 a score of exceptions, gather what few be- 
 longings they can carry and flee the town. 
 Finally the invading troops arrive, and short- 
 ly afterward smoke and flames make a lurid 
 picture of the erstwhile peaceful landscape. 
 The Convent of the French Sisters, the Post 
 Office, the Town Hall, the Municipal School 
 and other public buildings are the first tar- 
 gets for the toreh. In vain the Burgomaster 
 protests. 
 
 " The inhabitants have fired upon us from 
 almost every house," says an officer of the 
 Tenth German Army Corps." 
 
 " But the inhabitants had fled before you 
 arrived," pleads the Burgomaster.
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 103 
 
 " Man hat gechossen," is the uncompromis- 
 ing reply, and the torch continues its fright- 
 ful work. 
 
 In the granary attached to the parsonage 
 are found the Cure, L'Abbe Druet, a sep- 
 tuagenarian clergyman, and two civilians, M. 
 Archange and Joseph Bourbou. They are 
 trembling with fear. When the Germans 
 question them they can only answer with ges- 
 tures because they do not understand the 
 tongue of the invader and the Germans know 
 no French. So they are condemned to be 
 shot. In vain do they beg for mercy, pro- 
 testing their innocence; in vain does the aged 
 priest show the ribbon of the Red Cross en- 
 circling his arm. No mercy is shown; they 
 are the chosen victims and they must die. So 
 the trio is blindfolded and shot while the 
 crackling of the devouring fire and the fall- 
 ing of charred timbers sound their death 
 dirge. 
 
 > Another locality I visited was Battice. 
 Here lived on August 4th, 1914, a little over 
 three thousand souls. On that day the first 
 German soldiers are arriving, and some of 
 the Belgian Lancers who had left the village in
 
 104 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 the morning are now returning, their horses 
 galloping furiously. Shots rain on them from 
 all sides, and several saddles are emptied. 
 The parish priest, Abbe Voisin, moves from 
 one wounded man to another, offering the last 
 comforts of religion. The people have fled to 
 a neighboring, hamlet, and the invaders pene- 
 trate the houses, breaking doors and windows 
 in their haste to procure food and drink. With 
 no apparent reason some soldiers amuse 
 themselves by breaking up the furniture 
 while others are content to fall asleep as soon 
 as they have drunk their fill. 
 
 For awhile life seems safe enough, and the 
 population begins to return, when in the after- 
 noon three men are arrested and without pre- 
 tence of trial shot on the sidewalk in front 
 of the Christiane residence. " I am sure they 
 were innocent " said Father Voisin, who had 
 himself been arrested and compelled to wit- 
 ness the execution. " They were timid peas- 
 ants, and were arrested while conversing in 
 the middle of the street. To the best of my 
 knowledge not a single German soldier was 
 killed or wounded in Battice." 
 
 Father Voisin spent the greater part of
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 105 
 
 the night standing up against a wall, his 
 hands tied, guarded by sentries who con- 
 tinually threatened him with their bayonets. 
 His ecclesiastical garb seemed to excite their 
 anger, for they neglected his two companions, 
 Municipal Councilors Browers and Iserentant. 
 Meanwhile, the nearby forts of Liege were 
 spitting fire at the German troops whose re- 
 sentment could only be vented on the innocent 
 civilians. 
 
 "At two o'clock in the morning," says 
 Father Voisin, " we were started towards 
 Liege under escort of soldiers who repeatedly 
 struck us with their rifles or kicked us while 
 we staggered with our arms still tightly bound. 
 At Herv6, however, an officer gave the order 
 to set us free as no time could be wasted on 
 us, and shortly after a lively engagement had 
 started between our captors and some Bel- 
 gian troops. We returned to Battice and 
 found that some inhabitants were still there." 
 
 Wednesday passed quietly, but Thursday 
 saw numerous German soldiers pour into the 
 town. They seemed exhausted, and refresh- 
 ment was provided for them. Suddenly a 
 sharp report was heard, followed by a num-
 
 106 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ber of others in rapid succession. Everywhere 
 soldiers began to shoot rapidly through doors 
 and windows. Men and women were killed as 
 they talked or worked. Jacques Halleux died 
 as he tried to cover his fiancee by whose side 
 he sat. Six farmers on the road to La Min- 
 erie were shot within sight of their homes, and 
 a little further three bewildered laborers were 
 executed for no earthly reason. In a cellar 
 they found the unfortunate Iserentant who had 
 been a fellow prisoner of Father Voisin two 
 days before. With him were his infirm brother 
 in-law, Mr. Garcon, a young servant girl and 
 a Mr. Hendrick. They were terrified and 
 begged for mercy, but all were slain. In the 
 next farm house were two young girls who 
 were shot as they fled. 
 
 Emile Liegeois, with his two sisters, a 
 brother-in-law and the latter's two children 
 had sought refuge in the cellar of their homes. 
 At dusk he came up to look around and see 
 if it was safe to flee, but as soon as he ap- 
 peared on the threshold he was shot down 
 and died without having time to utter even 
 a word. His sister Mary was close upon his 
 heels, and was struck on the forehead by two
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 107 
 
 spent bullets. She fell on the spot and, hearing 
 some one approach, feigned death. Several 
 soldiers surrounded her and one of them 
 stooped to examine her body. He did so 
 very hastily and rising said, " she's dead tool" 
 Later that night, however, her brother-in-law 
 carried her on a wheel-barrow to the convent 
 of the Sisters of Providence at Herve, and she 
 is now quite recovered. 
 
 While these murders, and many others, were 
 going on, the village was looted and then set 
 on fire. Two days later it was still burning, 
 all but a few houses in the neighborhood of 
 the station which had been spared because 
 they were needed for the soldiers who guarded 
 the railway. 
 
 Tamines was still another happy little com- 
 munity of about six hundred inhabitants. Of 
 its wanton destruction for some imaginary 
 crime the Kolnische Zeitung of September 
 10th, 1914 wrote: "Not being able to appre- 
 hend those who had fired, the rage of our 
 troops turned against the city. Without 
 mercy it was set on fire and turned into ruins." 
 
 One needs to know but part of the story of 
 Tamines to appreciate the truth of those
 
 108 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 words " without mercy.' ' A small detach- 
 ment of Belgian troops had offered heroic 
 though futile resistance to the invasion of 
 the town, and as a result the Germans inaug- 
 urated a massacre of the civilians. On Sat- 
 urday, August 22nd, at seven in the morning, 
 several hundred male citizens were assembled 
 in the Place St. Martin, along which flows 
 the Sambre. These civilians were lined up 
 as human targets for the rifles of German 
 soldiers. 
 
 The order to fire is given. All of the vic- 
 tims fall to the ground, some killed, some 
 wounded, others feigning death or helpless 
 from fright. Those who have escaped death 
 are ordered to stand up again. They are fired 
 upon a second time, and then some of those 
 who have escaped injury fling themselves into 
 the Sambre and try to swim to safety. The 
 German soldiers rush to the bank of the river 
 and attempt to pick them off with their rifles, 
 and as a result but few escaped. A little 
 while later a detachment of German soldiers 
 make a tour of inspection among the fallen 
 dead and wounded, despatching with bullets 
 and bayonets those who are still alive. Tam-
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 109 
 
 ines' death toll numbered upwards of five 
 hundred civilians; nearly two hundred houses 
 were completely destroyed by fire and five 
 hundred more were sacked and pillaged. 
 
 The same story, with variations of cruelty, 
 is told in the martyrdom of Andenne. Lying 
 between Namur and Huy, on the right bank of 
 the Meuse, Andenne was a town of 7,800 souls. 
 A bridge connected it with the village of 
 Teilles on the left bank of the river. 
 
 When a detachment of Uhlans arrived on 
 the morning of August 1st they discovered that 
 the retreating Belgian troops had destroyed 
 the bridge, and they were furious. They offer- 
 ed all sorts of insults to the civilians of An- 
 denne, and especialy to Dr. Camus, the Burg- 
 omaster, who had taken extraordinary pre- 
 cautions to prevent the civilians from interfer- 
 ing with the enemy's advance. At the Burgo- 
 master's request all weapons had been de- 
 posited in the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 In the afternoon of the same day large 
 bodies of German troops arrived and began to 
 crowd the town's cafes, drinking freely and 
 becoming more offensive as their intoxication 
 developed. There was no serious outbreak,
 
 110 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 however, until six o'clock in the evening when 
 a shot was heard. No one knew who had fired 
 it, but immediately the cry was raised: " Man 
 hat geschossen! " 
 
 Andenne witnessed the same mode of pil- 
 lage, incendiarism and massacre that had be- 
 fallen so many other towns, a procedure which 
 proves nothing if it does not prove a premedi- 
 tated plan of intimidation. Houses were en- 
 tered into and pillaged. Fire was started in 
 various sections of the town, and citizens were 
 executed without even the mockery of a mili- 
 tary trial. 
 
 On Friday, August 21st, all of Andenne 's 
 citizens were driven out of their homes and 
 into the streets where they were forced to line 
 up, their hands held high above their heads. 
 Those who hesitated in obeying orders were 
 knocked down with bayonets and butts of 
 rifles. Those who tried to escape were shot. 
 Dr. Camus, the Burgomaster, was shot down 
 without the slighest provocation. One man, 
 a watchmaker, emerged from his dwelling 
 carrying his father-in-law, an old man of 
 eighty years. He was ordered to hold up. his 
 hands but could not obey because of his
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 111 
 
 human burden. An infuriated German sol- 
 dier rushed at him and with a blow from a 
 hatchet almost severed his head from the 
 body. He fell dying upon his doorstep. 
 
 The entire population, old, infirm and in- 
 fants, as well as the able-bodied, were driven 
 to the center of the town and there searched, 
 but to the eternal guilt of the Germans let 
 it be set down that not a single weapon was 
 found on anyone. Still barbarism was deter- 
 mined to have its holiday, and so the defense- 
 less creatures were killed right and left, some 
 by shooting and some with hatchets. One 
 little child was literally chopped out of its 
 mother's arms. 
 
 At noon all of the surviving men, about 
 eight hundred in number, were taken as host- 
 ages and locked in three small houses, packed 
 in so that there was not room left for even 
 one to sit down. Some time later their wom- 
 en folks were allowed to bring them some food, 
 but they were not permitted to converse with 
 them. 
 
 And to the question: " Why was Andenne 
 sacrificed? " the only answer is found in the 
 proclamation of General von Bulow, which
 
 112 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 decorated the walls of Liege: " It was with 
 my consent that the entire city of Andenne 
 was burned and its citizens shot. I bring 
 these facts to the attention of the city of Liege 
 in order that its inhabitants may know the 
 fate which threatens them. ,, And back of 
 this answer? The real reason was the ter- 
 rorizing of Liege. Andenne was to be its 
 warning, just as Dinant was made to serve as 
 an example to Namur, Malines to Antwerp, 
 Louvain to Bruxelles, Tirmonde to Ghent. 
 
 As for Aerschot! Who can toll the story of 
 Aerschot? I heard the sickening tale from one 
 of its women, a woman whom I found weeping 
 over the grave of her martyred son and hus- 
 band, in a little cemetery just outside the 
 town. 
 
 " On the morning of August 19th there was 
 fighting between our soldiers and the Ger- 
 mans, but the Germans were victors and took 
 the town. Then their soldiers began to rush 
 through our streets. They were arriving all 
 day, and at about eight o'clock in the evening 
 there was much firing. Heavy wagons seemed 
 to be rushing in all directions, and we could
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 113 
 
 hear the sound of firing and the crashing of 
 glass. 
 
 " We were hiding in the kitchen, my little 
 family and I, when the window panes were 
 shattered and the bullets whistled past us and 
 stuck in the plaster of the walls. My husband 
 and son rushed out of the house to see whether 
 there was a chance for us to escape. I begged 
 them not to go but they would not listen to 
 me. After they had gone I went into the 
 cellar. I must have stayed there for two hours 
 or more, and then I could not stand the an- 
 xiety any longer and I came upstairs. I 
 looked through a window and saw that the 
 town was burning. In a few minutes three Ger- 
 man soldiers rushed into the house and or- 
 dered me to get out. One of them carried a 
 torch and told me to leave at once or they 
 would burn down my dwelling. 
 
 " When I asked them what I had done to 
 be treated thus they told me that their Colonel 
 had been killed and that our town must per- 
 ish. One of the soldiers took me by the arm 
 and pushed me toward the door. I asked them 
 to allow me to take a few things, but they 
 told me the only thing I needed was a shroud.
 
 114 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Then they shoved me into the street. Soldiers 
 were rushing in all directions, driving the 
 the men of the town ahead of them. 
 
 " I had not gone far when I met one of 
 our old priests. I stopped him and asked him 
 whether he had seen my Jean and my Pierre. 
 For a few minutes he did not seem to recog- 
 nize me and then, when he realized who was 
 talking to him, he took hold of my hands and 
 told me that I must have courage and trust 
 in the will of God. 
 
 " What do you mean? " I cried, " Are 
 they dead? " 
 
 " Then he told me that he had just left my 
 loved ones and that I would find them near 
 the outskirts of the town, beside a burning 
 building. I flew to the spot he had men- 
 tioned; I don't know how I got there or why 
 I was not shot on the way. And my son, 
 my husband! . . . How can I tell you? . . . 
 I found the body of my dear boy so burnt 
 that I could hardly recognize it. It was 
 stretched across the center of the road, half 
 buried in cinders. Bodies of men were lying 
 all around and I began to search for my poor 
 husband. After a while I found him . . ,
 
 WHERE THE HUNS HAVE PASSED 115 
 
 dead, too . . , and I dragged him out beside 
 my boy. That was the last I remembered un- 
 til the next morning when I awoke in the 
 home of some Belgians in another town. I 
 had fainted and was picked up by some of my 
 neighbors who were fleeing from Aerschot." 
 
 So many reputable witnesses have told me 
 of the intoxicated condition of German troops 
 who set out upon their missions of murder 
 and incendiarism, and so much testimony 
 under oath has been gathered to this effect 
 that it is evidently alcoholic madness which 
 started most of these crimes. 
 
 As a matter of fact, evidence of this is to 
 be found even in the diaries taken from Ger- 
 man soldiers killed or captured in the inva- 
 sion. To quote only one, the diary of Cor- 
 poral Kase, Second Regiment of Uhlans, 7th 
 Corps, 14th Infantry Division, contained the 
 following : 
 
 " August 8, 1914 — Crossed Belgian fron- 
 tier and rested 1 kilometre from Salem where 
 a country seat was completely robbed of its 
 wine. " 
 
 " August 11, 1914 — We lay in the barracks 
 and did not know what to do for sheer high
 
 116 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 spirits . . ." we had a continuous supply of 
 wine and champagne ..." 
 
 " August 26, 1914 — . . ."As invariably, the 
 surrounding houses were immediately plun- 
 dered. We drank eleven bottles of cham- 
 pagne, four bottles of wine and six bottles of 
 liqueur. ' '
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DiNANT. 
 
 In a little inn not far from Vilvorde I sat 
 at the end of a dull and rainy day talking with 
 a chance companion,; he was a man of about 
 forty-five, quietly dressed, but with the white 
 hands of a man unused to manual labor. He 
 informed me that he was a native of Dinant. 
 
 " Have you visited Dinant since its inva- 
 sion? " I asked. 
 
 "Yes, on several occasions. When I re- 
 turned the first time, a few weeks after the 
 massacre, seven hundred bodies had already 
 been exhumed from the ruins. That was my 
 first glimpse of Dinant — a cemetery. Many 
 of the dead were relatives of mine, others were 
 old friends, and you may wonder that I re- 
 turned to a place so fraught with painful 
 memories. I could not resist the long- 
 ing to go back; I was drawn to the place by 
 
 117
 
 118 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 an irresistible desire to see it, bleeding and 
 disfigured as it was, the same desire, I pre- 
 sume, that prompts the exile to return to the 
 land where his forefathers bled and died. I 
 seemed to find solace in prowling around in 
 the debris of my home ... I was like a 
 lost soul . . . My father, mother, wife and 
 children — all gave their lives there; sacrificed 
 on the alter of barbarity.' ' 
 
 " How did it happen," I asked after a brief 
 silence, " that you escaped the fate suffered 
 by the other members of your family? " 
 
 " I am trying to forget," he said wearily, 
 " Every time I recall the horrible catastrophe 
 that befell us, the wounds of my soul are re- 
 opened and I live again through the agony 1 
 of those first days of war." 
 
 "Pardon my request," I said. "We Am- 
 ericans find it difficult to imagine the extent 
 of the atrocities visited upon Belgium. It is 
 only when we hear details from personal suf- 
 ferers that we can bring ourselves to accept 
 the horrible truth. Forget my request if it 
 pains you to relate your experience." 
 
 1 ' No, no, no ! " my companion answered 
 quickly. " I want to tell you all. The Ameri-
 
 DINANT 119 
 
 cans have been so generous in succoring my 
 unhappy country that I must not let an oppor- 
 tunity pass to prove that their generosity 
 has not been misdirected* * * 
 
 " Belgian troops were occupying both banks 
 of the Meuse when some German cavalrymen 
 appeared at Auseremme, which, although 
 forming a distinct Commune, is practically 
 part of Dinant. That was on August 6th. 
 One of the Germans was wounded by the Bel- 
 gian Chasseurs, and he and one of his com- 
 panions, whose horse had been killed, were 
 taken prisoners. Between that day and Au- 
 gust 17th, 1914, the Germans made several un- 
 successful efforts to force a passage of the 
 Meuse. 
 
 "Here is a picture of the situation . . . 
 Cannons are roaring from both sides of the 
 river. A number of our buildings have beea 
 damaged. The Germans are furious; they; 
 fight like demons. Finally our brave allies, 
 the French, are obliged to abandon the right 
 bank of the river and the Huns, in small de- 
 tachments, commence to descend into the city- 
 
 " Some time during the night of August 
 21st, the inhabitants of the town are awak*
 
 120 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ened by sounds of rapid firing coming from 
 the neighborhood of the Rue St. Jacques. 
 Doors of buildings in that thoroughfare are 
 broken down, and three civilians are seriously 
 wounded. The Germans clash through the 
 street in automobiles, soldiers firing from 
 them through shuttered windows. Fifteen 
 houses are set on fire. 
 
 " Very early on the morning of August 
 23rd, furious fighting takes place between the 
 opposing troops, and Dinant's panic-stricken 
 citizens seek refuge in the cellars of their 
 homes. At sunrise, the city is entered into 
 simultaneously from four different roads, and 
 the carnage begins. Helmeted fiends force 
 their way into private homes, murdering some 
 inhabitants, ejecting others and setting fire 
 to the buildings. There is no prescribed order 
 of barbarity; the Huns proceed as the spirit 
 of lust moves them. 
 
 " In the quarter known as Fonds de Leffe 
 barely a dozen men escape alive from the 
 massacre. Some men are murdered in thp pres- 
 ence of their wives and children. M. Him- 
 mer, director of the local factory, is mur- 
 dered together with more than a hundred
 
 DINANT 121 
 
 of his employees. Women and children are 
 locked in the Abbey of the Premontres and 
 their church is pillaged. The same fate be- 
 falls the Monastery. German soldiers 
 dressed in the stolen garb of monks, strut 
 about the streets, making obscene gestures. 
 
 " Flames are consuming every quarter of 
 the town. The massive doors of our beau- 
 tiful gothic church resist their fire, so the 
 Germans, in order to make their fiendish 
 work complete, apply the torch to the tower 
 and roof. Hundreds of men, women and 
 children are driven to the banks of the Meuse 
 where they are lined up and ordered to raise 
 their arms, while German troops pass be- 
 hind the living barrier . . . 
 
 " I was in this crowd. I had left my home 
 early in the morning to see if there appeared 
 to be a chance for my family to flee, but I 
 had not gone far when I was taken into cus- 
 tody by some German soldiers . . . 
 
 " When the French saw that we were be- 
 ing used as a shield to protect the German 
 troops they ceased firing. About two hours 
 later we were taken to prison. Almost im- 
 mediately we were joined by other citizens of
 
 122 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 the town, and from their terrified expressions 
 we knew that they had passed through some 
 ordeal more frightful than that which had 
 claimed us for its victims. After a while 
 I had a chance to ask one of the members of 
 this second party what had befallen them. 
 He was an old man, and, unlike his com- 
 panions, he appeared to be composed. 
 
 " ' Why were we ordered to give up our 
 arms before the monster came? ' he said in 
 answer to my inquiry. ' As long as death 
 was to be our fate we might at least have 
 been given the opportunity to send the 
 craven souls of some of these barbarians to 
 hell. 
 
 " ' I was gathered in with this crowd, ' 
 he went on after a pause, ' We were taken 
 to a point opposite the house of M. Fran- 
 quinet, the architect, and there the younger 
 men were taken from our midst and lined 
 up against a wall, four rows deep. One of 
 the officers said something in German which 
 none of us understood, and a firing squad 
 came forward and shot down these young 
 men . . . shot them down in cold blood before 
 our verv eves.' "
 
 DINANT 123 
 
 " I could scarcely credit what my fellow 
 prisoner had told me, it seemed too fright- 
 ful to be true, but I was soon to learn that 
 his experience was as nothing compared to 
 other calamities that had overtaken our 
 beautiful city. 
 
 11 In one section of the town between 
 eighty and ninety men, women and children 
 were herded together, driven against a wall 
 and shot. Later in the day the Germans 
 found that not all of their victims were dead 
 and these, — many of them seriously wounded 
 and weak from loss of blood — were made to 
 dig a deep trench as a grave for their mur- 
 dered comrades. Many of our citizens were 
 burned alive in their homes . . . Sometimes 
 I feel sure that it was thus that my own dear 
 ones perished . . . One aged woman, a friend 
 of my wife, was a paralytic. She was known 
 to be alone in her home at the time the Ger- 
 mans applied the torch to it. Some of her 
 neighbors begged permission to carry her 
 to safety, but instead of the request being 
 granted they were forced to stand in front 
 of the house and watch its destruction. 
 
 " I was in a crowd of four hundred men
 
 124 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 who were deported to Germany. We were 
 taken to the heights of Dinant and there we 
 were kept for one whole day without food. 
 When we asked our guards what they in- 
 tended doing with us they answered that we 
 were to be sent to Germany and shot. In the 
 evening we were given some straw on which 
 to sleep, and the next morning at about ten 
 o'clock we were given a little soup. Then we 
 were taken down into the city, under armed 
 escort, and ordered to search among the 
 smouldering ruins for empty cans and other 
 small utensils which we were told to keep for 
 our needs until our arrival in Germany. 
 Our escorts continuously threatened us with 
 death. 
 
 " Finally we started on our Calvary. We 
 were marched in rows four deep, with sol- 
 diers back of each row. We passed many com- 
 panies of German troops coming from the 
 opposite direction, and almost without excep- 
 tion they would shout abuse at us. Some of 
 these soldiers gave us to understand by their 
 gestures that we were to be hung or shot. 
 Many of them hurled handfuls of dirt at us. 
 
 " Late in the afternoon we were given a
 
 DINANT 125 
 
 scanty ration of weak soup and a few bis- 
 cuits, and then at nightfall, when we were 
 near the village of Geryoux, we were told 
 that we could sleep in the damp grass of a 
 large field. We were told that if anyone 
 attempted to speak or rise during the night 
 be would be immediately shot. 
 
 " The next day we were driven forward 
 on our journey. By this time many were 
 suffering acute pain; they had traveled a 
 long distance in house slippers, and they were 
 footsore; most of us had walked bareheaded 
 for two days under the August sun. At 
 Marche we were packed into a building 
 scarcely large enough to accomodate one 
 fourth of our number, and there we were 
 forced to spend the night standing, although 
 we were at the point of fainting from fatigue. 
 In the morning the inhabitants of Marche 
 were allowed to give us food and clothing, and 
 then we were taken on to the station of Mel- 
 veux where we were herded into cattle 
 trains. The trains which had neither benches 
 nor straw had but recently given up their cargo 
 of cattle, and the odor of offal was sicken- 
 ing. After a wait of about two hours we
 
 126 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 were en route for Germany. 
 
 " At each station along our journey in 
 Germany we were exhibited to crowds that 
 had gathered to see the terrible franc-tireurs 
 of Belgium! Soldiers and officers vied with 
 civilians in hurling vile imprecations and 
 threats at us. Very early on the morning of 
 August 28 we arrived at Cassel; the journey 
 had lasted thirty-five hours and in that time 
 we had been given food and drink only once! 
 We were litteraly dumped out of the cattle 
 cars and driven through the streets of the 
 town, through crowds of people who, des- 
 pite the early hour, were waiting to greet us 
 with yells and curses. 
 
 " Our final destination was a jail into 
 which we were herded, three and four of us 
 to each tiny cell. We had no beds to sleep 
 upon, and our only resting place was a pile 
 of vile smelling straw which was not changed 
 until six weeks after our arrival! Such food 
 as we were given was either tasteless or hor- 
 ribly offensive in odor. The most promin- 
 ent men of Dinant were included in our 
 ranks — the Burgomaster, the Procurator of 
 the King, the Judge, lawyers, doctors, clergy-
 
 DINANT 127 
 
 men — and yet all were treated in the same 
 manner. It was late in November when we 
 were released and allowed to return home, 
 released without a word of explanation. We 
 were not subjected to trial, and our dismissal 
 was just as unwarranted, as unreasonable 
 and mysterious as our arrest had been." 
 
 It was my almost invariable custom, when 
 I heard such tales in Belgium, to ask my in- 
 formers whether the Germans had not been 
 provoked by the sniping of francs-tireurs. 
 
 "Is it possible,' ' I asked after a pause, 
 " that some injudicious and over-zealous 
 patriots of Dinant were guilty of sniping, 
 thus precipitating the catastrophe that be- 
 fell the town? " 
 
 " No! " my companion protested with 
 heat, " such was not the case, whatever the 
 Germans may say. I did not see a single civ- 
 ilian handling a weapon of any kind. But, sup- 
 pose a handful of foolish ones had offered 
 armed resistance; how long would it have 
 taken the mighty German army to apprehend 
 and punish them? As early as the morning 
 of August 16th our Burgomaster had warned
 
 128 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 posted all over the city, ordering us to bring 
 all weapons to the Hotel de Ville. And in 
 order to insure obedience of this order our 
 police searched every home where inhabit- 
 ants were suspected of having retained their 
 weapons."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Chaeleboi. 
 
 My good friend, Father Larsimont, often 
 spoke to me of what he had seen in Charleroi 
 at the end of that fateful August 1914. I 
 have taken down his testimony because of its 
 interest and unquestionable authority, and 
 will quote his own words. 
 
 During the first days of the war, the resist- 
 ance of Liege had produced enthusiasm all 
 over Belgium, and everybody was speaking 
 of the exploits of the heroic troops who had 
 stopped the first advance of the Germans. 
 
 By and by, however, unrest took the place 
 of enthusiasm. The help that our allies had 
 promised to send us did not arrive as soon as 
 we had expected. On August 12th, the rumor 
 was circulated that Liege had been taken, that 
 the Belgian army was retreating towards 
 Louvain and Antwerp, and that the Germans 
 
 129
 
 130 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 were approaching Namur. On the 15th of 
 August the French had succeeded in coming 
 to Dinant and won there a brilliant victory. 
 Five more days of increasing uncertitude 
 followed. News about the German advance 
 and the French movements were contradict- 
 ory. On August 19th and 20th Charleroi ap- 
 plauded relatively important groups of French 
 soldiers who took position around the city. 
 In the afternoon of the 20th a first patrol of 
 Uhlans was made prisoner on the Grand 
 Place of the city, but notwithstanding this 
 fact, most of the inhabitants believed that 
 the German army had not passed Namur, about 
 25 miles to the east of Charleroi, and that the 
 Uhlans were only a small patrol which had got 
 lost during the preceding night. The Bel- 
 gian newspapers had probably received the 
 order not to inform the public about the pre- 
 vailing condition, in order not to scare the 
 population. On Friday, August 21st, we read 
 in the last editions of the newspapers that 
 there was no reason to be alarmed, and that 
 the situation was good. But open columns in 
 those newspapers indicated the hand of the 
 censor and gave us pessimistic feelings, which
 
 CHARLEROI 131 
 
 increased considerably when the sound of the 
 cannon made itself heard in the distance. 
 That same evening we saw the French, who 
 had taken position in our suburb of Montig- 
 ny-sur-Sambre (East of Charleroi) retire to- 
 wards, the South, and during the night other 
 soldiers passed by. They were returning 
 from the battle line, exhausted, but they barely 
 were allowed to rest for five minutes. They 
 told us that the Germans were coming in 
 numbers and that the French were taking up 
 more favorable positions for the next day. 
 Most of them eventually occupied positions 
 upon the southern shores of the Sambre, 
 placing by so doing the valley of the Sambre 
 between them and the enemy. 
 
 It was during the same night that the Gor- 
 man army covered a distance of about 25 miles 
 and enveloped the French army in the tri- 
 angle Dinant, Namur, Charleroi, called the 
 Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse. Next morning, Sat- 
 urday 22nd, at 3 o'cock, the sound of the 
 cannons unexpectedly rumbled very near by. 
 It was the beginning of the fighting to the 
 west of Charleroi and the east of Chatelet. 
 Towards 9 o'clock in the morning the French
 
 132 BACK FROM GELGIUM 
 
 evacuated the city of Charleroi; there was 
 not much fighting in the city of Charleroi it- 
 self, and only a few losses on either side. 
 
 The Germans immediately took possession 
 of the houses on both sides of the boulevard 
 and the main street of the "Ville Haute". 
 They claimed that the reason for doing bo 
 was to protect themselves against the danger 
 of the francs-tireurs. 
 
 By eleven o'clock the French had evacuated 
 the position of Chatelet east of the suburb. I 
 could follow the movements of both armies 
 from the summit of a litle hill formed by the 
 refuse of one of our coal quarries, and 
 watched the last French troops placed at 
 Montigny-sur-Sambre retire towards noon in 
 the direction of the south and take position 
 in woods covering the hills of the right shore 
 of the Sambre. From that point the ad- 
 vance of the Germans could easily be observed. 
 As the shooting had temporarily ceased, I 
 hurried home. 
 
 At half past one that afternoon, I could see 
 from the windows of my house, located in a 
 small, deserted street, the first Germans de- 
 scending towards the river Sambre through the
 
 CHABLEROI 133 
 
 principal street. This was the order of their 
 columns : 
 
 1) Cyclists at a slow pace, the rifle held 
 under the arm; 
 
 2) Infantry, rows distanced about 10 
 meters from each other with their ri- 
 fles ready to fire. 
 
 3) A group of about a Hundred civilian 
 prisoners, all men; 
 
 4) Three or four infantry companies; 
 
 5) Automobiles of which several were 
 pulled by horses (these automobiles 
 did not belong to the German army) ; 
 
 6) Field artillery of different caliber; 
 
 7) Another group of about 300 prisoners 
 kept together by a long rope held by 
 those forming the ends of the group ; 
 
 8) The rest of the army corps, infantry, 
 cavalry, artillery, munition, and inter- 
 minable convoys of provisions, and 
 finally ambulances. 
 
 A part of the infantry stopped on the shores 
 of the Sambre and all along the principal 
 street. They piled their guns, deposited their
 
 134 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 equipment, and by and by the street was filled 
 with soldiers, some sitting, some lying down, 
 inspecting the houses or going for water. 
 
 The inhabitants at first did not leave their 
 dwellings, but seeing that the soldiers were 
 calm, they gradually came out to offer them 
 water, soap, towels, cigars, bread, butter etc. 
 The soldiers accepted with thanks and advised 
 our people to remain inside and not to leave 
 their houses, giving the reason that there was 
 not much good to be expected from the sol- 
 diers who were to follow them. 
 
 In the meantime, I chose as an observation 
 post the tower of the church dominating the 
 valley, so as to be able to see when and how 
 the battle would start, if the last French 
 soldiers intended to defend the passage of 
 the Sambre. 
 
 Up to 5 o'clock in the afternoon not a single 
 shot came from the woods where I expected 
 the French to be ready for action. A few 
 bullets were sent by the Germans without 
 answer from the French side. Meanwhile a 
 German aeroplane was circling above the 
 town. 
 
 The reason why the French waited to open
 
 CHARLEROI 135 
 
 fire on the Germans, as a wounded French 
 soldier told me later, was the presence of 
 Belgian civilians at the head of the German 
 column, hut suddenly I heard the rattle of the 
 French guns. The Germans who at that time 
 were moving forwards pointed their cannons 
 and machine guns toward the sound. I re- 
 turned home through the old cemetery that 
 surrounds the church and leads to my garden, 
 creeping over the ground, because the walla 
 forming the fence around the cemetery are 
 very low, and bullets coming from all direc- 
 tions were whistling through the air. In the 
 main street, opposite my house, groups of 
 Germans, continued singing the " Wacht am 
 Rhein " which they had started some time 
 before by order of one of the officers. 
 
 The rhythm of song mixed with the thunder 
 of the cannon and the rattle of machine guns 
 was impressing, notwithstanding the painful 
 surprise it caused us, but soon I saw soldiers 
 running to hide themselves behind walls, in 
 corners or in the opening of doors as French 
 bullets came in their direction. 
 
 The panic did not last long. A whistle 
 signal, and the men ran for their arms and
 
 136 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 baggage. I heard the rattling of the guns, 
 and then through the windows of a house I 
 noticed the sinister flames of a fire I Our 
 chastisement was beginning. 
 
 Seeing their men fall, and not knowing 
 where the bullets came from, the. Germans 
 pretended that the shots had been fired from 
 windows and that we were hiding French 
 soldiers in our houses. They set all the 
 buildings of the town afire, and started shoot- 
 ing in all directions through windows and 
 doors. 
 
 Beginning with the stores on the Grand 
 Place, they broke the windows with chairs or 
 the butts of their guns, and almost immediate- 
 ly fire broke out. The inhabitants took refuge 
 in the cellars, and when their dwelling was 
 set afire they tried to escape through the back 
 yards. There seemed no end to the incessant 
 stream of German soldiers, and each fresh 
 company which arrived continued the work 
 of destruction begun by its predecessors, caus- 
 ing new fires as they passed by. 
 
 Towards 8 o'clock, it was getting dark, and 
 the incendiary work could be better seen by 
 the light of the flames. Horses drawing
 
 CHARLEROI 137 
 
 munition wagons galloped through the narrow 
 streets where the heat caused by the fires was 
 more intense. By half past ten o'clock I saw 
 another group of German soldiers accompan- 
 ied by a new group of prisoners, and amongst 
 them were priests, women and children. These 
 hostages did not go far; they were placed up- 
 on the two bridges used by the Germans for 
 crossing the Sambre between Montigny and 
 Couillet. 
 
 These same priests, women and children 
 were later compelled to go to Somzee where 
 the next morning, Sunday, the French fought 
 a hard battle. Amongst them were four of 
 our Brothers of St. Jean Baptiste de la Salle. 
 They suffered intensely from the insults and 
 beatings, especially their director, Brother 
 Merantius who was 64 years old. IWith the 
 other prisoners he had to clear the road of 
 the heavy rocks and stones accumulated there 
 by the French. A soldier struck him several 
 times with a stick, because he did not work 
 fast enough. Another Brother's frock was 
 pulled off and taken away. All this time, bul- 
 lets were whistling around in such quantities 
 that some Germans of kinder disposition ad-
 
 138 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 vised the prisoners to lay down in order to 
 escape sure death. 
 
 All night the German army continued 
 marching through the town. Sometimes a 
 half hour elapsed before another army ar- 
 rived. Inasmuch as I was separated by the 
 width of a narrow street only from the con- 
 vent of Ste. Marie, I decided to see the sis- 
 ters and tell them to bring water up stairs on 
 the side where the fire was spreading, with the 
 object of throwing that water upon the roof 
 of the adjoining dwelling which was much 
 lower than the roof of the convent. I found 
 the poor sisters assembled in their front cor- 
 ridor, all terrified. The Sister Superior had 
 taken the Holy Sacrament with her, the cibory 
 was placed in a case which she carried, and 
 they all were preparing to escape in the op- 
 posite direction of the streets to where the 
 Germans were passing in case the fire should 
 spread to the convent. 
 
 The orphans, assembled there a few days 
 before from another convent, had taken refuge 
 in the cellars so as not to be exposed to the 
 bullets. I endeavored to console them. The 
 Holy Sacrament was transported to the cellar,
 
 CHARLEKOI 139 
 
 and the water buckets were filled. "We suc- 
 ceeded in stopping the fire before it reached 
 the convent. 
 
 Dr. Dutriex, who lived quite near the con- 
 vent, and who had been called upon during the 
 night by the Germans to care for their wound- 
 ed, pleaded with the officers not to set fire to 
 the houses of the street where he lived. 
 Thanks to his intervention the incendiary 
 work in the neighborhood came to an end. 
 
 Between the convent and my own home, a 
 distance of about 70 yards, I had not seen any 
 German soldiers. Therefore, I decided at 
 6 o'clock on Sunday morning to return and 
 say mass in the chapel of the convent; nobody 
 could be expected in church that day. 
 
 After mass, on my return home, I inspected 
 the narrow street for fear that soldiers might 
 be there as they were still marching through 
 the principal street. I detected nothing and 
 proceeded cautiously. I had only to cross the 
 street, and considered myself out of danger 
 when, at the moment I left the wall of the 
 convent, a soldier appeared in front of me and 
 held the muzzle of his rifle against my breast, 
 exclaiming " Stop! " Immediately I told him
 
 140 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 there was no reason for him to shoot. He 
 ordered me to accompany him, and I was led 
 before a group of officers able to speak French. 
 I observed then that the " Grand Place " was 
 filled with newly arrived German soldiers. It 
 was another army corps taking hostages be- 
 fore advancing. I expressed my surprise at 
 such action. They admitted that it was ab- 
 normal, but claimed to have received the order 
 to do so. These officers were relatively polite 
 with the exception of one of them who obstin- 
 ately insisted in keeping me and held me by 
 the arm. I was allowed to return home and to 
 get my hat and clothing. Four soldiers es- 
 corted me, and my sister was compelled to 
 hand the requested objects — they did not let 
 me go inside. It was a very painful moment. 
 ^What was going to happen next? 
 
 I was directed on the main street to an of- 
 ficer of high rank who asked me in French: 
 "Are you the priest of this locality? " I 
 answered in the affirmative. " Sir ", he said, 
 " What we have to do is very regrettable, but 
 you allowed a war of francs-tireurs to be made 
 against us!" "I beg your pardon," I re- 
 plied, " I told the civilians not to shoot,
 
 CHARLEROI 141 
 
 the authorities placed posters with the same 
 orders, and the newspapers have reproduced 
 these orders." 
 
 " Your influence has been very important! " 
 
 " I certainly have not the influence you im- 
 agine, and I can assure you that the only 
 shots fired came from French soldiers posted 
 on Couillet heights, and not from civilians." 
 
 " You lie, " exclaimed the officer, " It was 
 your damned civilians, and we are going to 
 knock their houses down over their heads." 
 
 It was impossible to argue with this brute, 
 so I merely asked him if I could hope to be 
 set at liberty. He ordered me to follow the 
 soldiers, and I was led away from the artil- 
 lery and ammunition column towards a place 
 where all prisoners were concentrated. I 
 walked through a crowd of soldiers who in- 
 sulted me, pointing at their wounded com- 
 rades, at the bandages on arms or head, ex- 
 claiming that I was responsible. A few mom- 
 ents later, close to where I was standing, three 
 of my companions, found in the cellar of 
 Vandervelde *s house, were shot: DeVos, 
 Merkeman and Vandevelde. The reason for 
 this execution was the finding of a revolver
 
 142 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 in a room of the house. 
 
 An officer, speaking the French language 
 very fluently, asked me if the authoritities 
 had requested the surrender of all arms by 
 the population. I informed him that the Civil 
 Guard had been disarmed two days before, but 
 that the sudden and unexpected arrival of the 
 German troops had prevented all the civil- 
 ians complying with the order given before. 
 He also asked me if I could designate houses 
 where arms were still to be found. I told him 
 that I could not, as I did not know who pos- 
 essed arms. I added that it was very hard 
 for us to be treated as we were, inasmuch as 
 we did not have any hatred against Germany 
 before the war, and furthermore that the large 
 steel plants of the Sambre and Moselle, where 
 5000 of our people were working are German. 
 He answered: "I also feel sorry, sir, be- 
 cause I left many friends in Belgium! But 
 the civilians have fired.' ' 
 
 I pointed out that the civilians proved their 
 kindness for the German soldiers during Sat- 
 urday afternoon, but he answered that they 
 acted so in order to gain the confidence of 
 the soldiers and to stab them in the back later
 
 CHARLEEOI 143 
 
 on. I think that this man meant what he said. 
 
 The officer did not know whether I was to 
 be set at liberty or not, but during this con- 
 versation, shooting was heard behind the house 
 where I was standing. It was the execution 
 of unfortunate civilians accused of having 
 shot at the German soldiers. "We found about, 
 40 bodies aligned on this spot; seven of them 
 had been shot under the very eyes of their 
 wives who on bended knees had vainly im- 
 plored for pity on behalf of their husbands. 
 
 Most of my companions and myself had 
 been captured without having eaten or drunk, 
 and, as a result of the emotions we had gone 
 through, we felt very thirsty. A few soldiers 
 had compassion and gave us a bottle filled 
 with water which we passed one to another. 
 One soldier let the hostages partake of the 
 wine which filled his gourd, others offered 
 chairs to the grayhaired prisoners pending 
 our departure. Two men were released ; the 
 one for the sake of his young son who spoke 
 German and implored pity for his father ; the 
 other one, because his little daughter, about 
 ten years old, did not want to be separated 
 from her father.
 
 144 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 We had been made prisoners by the 73rd 
 Infantry regiment. About one hour later, 
 an officer appeared who gave the signal to 
 depart to the group of nearly one hundred 
 persons to which I belonged. The order was 
 given in French: " Forward! and he who 
 tries to escape will be shot! " 
 
 We descended towards the Sambre, pass- 
 ing in the midst of the soldiers and the am- 
 munition wagons. Every now and then 
 threatening remarks were addressed to us 
 or a fist or whip shaken at us. In front of 
 the hospital I noticed that doors and win- 
 dows had been broken, and the window panes 
 pierced by bullets. 
 
 Marching over the Grand Place, I saw to 
 my left, seated upon arm chairs and smok- 
 ing cigars, a group of officers, amongst whom 
 the one who had questioned me after my ar- 
 rest. I bowed and he answered by bowing 
 and laughing. Further down I saw here and 
 there bodies of dead horses in puddles of 
 blood, corpses of civilians piled up and cov- 
 ered with yellow woolen bed covers stolen 
 from the inhabitants; broken bottles, gro- 
 ceries, bones, straw, hay, smashed furniture,
 
 CHABLEEOI 145 
 
 all lying pell mell in the street. On our left 
 several houses were still burning, and to 
 make the picture complete, a lone soldier 
 standing in front of the door of a pillaged 
 house played the accordion as we passed. 
 Behind the hills hording the Sambre the 
 cannons' voices once mora resounded. It 
 was an infernal spectacle. 
 
 When we arrived close to the bridge span- 
 ning the Sambre, I met a group of women 
 ascending the main street in opposite direc- 
 tion, composed of eight sisters of Ste. Marie 
 and four other women, amongst them my 
 sister. They were returning from the same 
 bridge where during the night the Germans 
 had placed women and children, so as to pre- 
 vent the French: destroying the bridge. Af- 
 ter my capture, the sisters' convent was in* 
 vaded by German soldiers who got in through 
 the back door which they had broken to 
 splinters. They ordered everybody outside, 
 and started a so called search for hidden 
 civilians. The little orphans were standing 
 on the street, trembling and crying. A sol- 
 dier told the sister to have the children stop 
 their cries as it disturbed his officers. Luck-
 
 146 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 ily the little ones were hushed before the out- 
 raged officers could stop their cries. 
 
 After the convent had been thoroughly 
 searched, my sister asked a soldier whether 
 the sisters could now return to their convent. 
 The soldier answered in the affimative; but 
 at the very moment when the sisters reached 
 the door, a young lieutenant came running 
 to them and said in French : * ' We want six 
 sisters!" and addressing my sister, "you 
 also! " She first refused and finally said 
 that she was not dressed for a long journey. 
 " Go and dress yourself! " replied the officer 
 and he made a sign to a nearby soldier who, 
 taking his gun from his shoulder and cov- 
 ering my sister with it, followed her in the 
 house. Then she had to join the nuns, and 
 the whole group was led to the bridge. 
 
 As I was going to cross the Sambre, a 
 soldier stationed by the bridge took me 
 rudely by the arm ( I was the last one to 
 the left of a row of five hostages) and, pull- 
 ing me out of the ranks, he gave me a vio- 
 lent punch in the face, calling me " schwein " 
 (pig). We had to walk ahead of the soldiers 
 until we arrived in the village of Loveral,
 
 CHARLEROI 147 
 
 at the spot where the street de Gilly crosses 
 the road to Philippeville. After a halt of 
 20 minutes we had to return, in rows of four 
 towards the Sambre at Couillet. All along 
 the road, soldiers at rest or marching sang 
 " Die Wacht am Rhein ". More soldiers 
 insulted me, showing me their clinched fist 
 or their gun. Arrived at Couillet, a petty 
 officer struck me on the head with a whip 
 while exclaiming; " Ah! a priest !", and a few 
 steps further an artillery officer, when he saw 
 me come, began swinging his sword and tried 
 to hit me in the back. Luckily a sudden 
 movement of the crowd placed some of the 
 soldiers between me and the officer, who 
 was prevented from carrying out his inten- 
 tion. 
 
 On the other side of the road I saw sol- 
 diers, amusing themselves by slightly stab- 
 bing with their bayonets my companions in 
 the back as they passed. I also noticed a 
 drunken petty officer striking with the fists 
 or kicking one of my fellow prisoners for 
 the only reason that he did not understand 
 a question put in German, and answered: 
 " No, I did nothing!" Other soldiers fi-
 
 148 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 nally answered in his stead by exclaiming 
 " ja! ja! " This brought an end to the mal- 
 treatment. 
 
 We were drawn up in front of some hous- 
 es where fire was still smouldering, and in an 
 excessive heat we witnessed the movements 
 of different groups of infantry and ammuni- 
 tion convoys arriving from all directions, 
 
 The hostages numbering now more than 
 five hundred, were divided into two groups, 
 The first started towards Charleroi. The 
 unfortunate people had to walk hands up 
 in the air. In the other group, to which I be- 
 longed, we were placed in ranks of three and 
 had to walk in the midst of the soldiers on 
 the main road of Philippeville. Before start- 
 ing the same captain who had told us: ''The 
 first one who tries to escape will be shot " 
 called me from the ranks and said to me in 
 French " Mr. Pastor, tell all those men that 
 if we are fired upon in the villages through 
 which we go, all of them will be shot. If no- 
 body shoots at us, tomorrow every one of 
 the hostages will be set at liberty.' ' I re- 
 turned and transmitted the message. I asked 
 further if I was also to be free, He an-
 
 CHARLEROI 149 
 
 swered in the affirmative. 
 
 We started on our journey. All day long 
 and during the following night, we were op- 
 pressed by the fear that somebody might 
 fire at our escort. When passing through 
 the town of Couillet, the soldiers, as they did 
 in Montigny, destroyed the doors with their 
 hatchets, broke the windows with the butt 
 ends of their guns and pillaged the houses. 
 I then noticed that the German soldiers con- 
 stituting our escort were not the same 
 who had been our guardians at the beginning 
 of our captivity. One of them, of amiable 
 appearance, approached me and speaking 
 very low asked me if I was a Catholic priest. 
 I said I was. Thereupon he told me he was 
 a Catholic also and that six others of his 
 comrades had the same religion. A conver- 
 sation between us two began. When I left 
 my house I had taken with me a German 
 grammar, and thanks to a dictionary at the 
 end of the book, I was able to make myself 
 understood in German. This man was con- 
 vinced of the so-called cruelty of the Bel- 
 gians, and even of the Belgian priests, against 
 the German wounded. He claimed that the
 
 150 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 officers were informed rightly. He pointed 
 to a shed to the right of the road, and told 
 me that two of his comrades had been killed 
 there on the previous day by a civilian. I 
 had occasion to visit the spot a few days 
 later, and learned that two Germans had in- 
 deed been killed there by a French soldier. 
 
 After what seemed a long time we reached 
 a large field where ammunition wagons were 
 packed in the form of a hollow square, we 
 being placed in the middle. As we were com- 
 pletely exhausted the Germans allowed us 
 to lay down on the ground. Here again I 
 was insulted by cavalrymen, who coming 
 close to me looked at me disdainfully, point- 
 ing me out to one another, menacing me with 
 their whips and accusing me of having fired 
 upon Germans. Occasionally I answered: 
 "I have done nothing of the kind." This 
 answer having however, the result of exciting 
 their anger I avoided speaking and kept my 
 eyes down. "We remained there until 6:30 
 P. M. Nearby the cannon was still rumbling, 
 but with less intensity. 
 
 One of the catholic soldiers who had spok- 
 en to me earlier in the day brought me a
 
 CIIARLEROI 151 
 
 bag of biscuits to be distributed amongst 
 my friends, and this did much to give us 
 strength for the next part of our journey. 
 
 When we resumed our march, the soldiers 
 were still talking about the cruelty of the 
 civilians. I heard a petty officer, the same 
 who had beaten one of my companions in 
 the morning, say in German to one of the 
 prisoners : ' ' We too are married, we all 
 have, a family to support; still the civilians 
 fire upon us; the priests even do so. There 
 is one of them right with us. Tomorrow morn- 
 ing we will get him! " 
 
 At the next stop I exhibited before a few 
 soldiers a picture that I had found in my 
 German grammar representing a Christian 
 woman and a child, captives in the anti- 
 theatre of Rome and waiting to be delivered 
 to the wild beasts. On the back of the image 
 was the following inscription in German: 
 " Fortunate will be those who suffer perse- 
 cution for the sake of Justice, because the 
 kingdom of Heaven is theirs." The sol- 
 diers read the text, and silently walked away. 
 A few minutes later one of them returned and 
 told me I was not to be shot, as my hands
 
 152 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 had not been bound and as my back was not 
 marked with a cross in chalk. 
 
 At ten o'clock we were finally halted and 
 ordered to lie down on the ground in an open 
 spot where sentinels surrounded us. We 
 were warned not to move, but a poor boy of 
 our group, a lad of feeble intellect named 
 De May, tried to escape in the darkness, We 
 heard the loud call to stop, and at the same 
 time three consecutive shots resounded. Af- 
 ter the third shot I heard somebody give the 
 order to stop firing. The young man had 
 been shot in the leg, and as the Germans 
 neither attended him nor allowed anyone else 
 to do so he died of hemorrhage. 
 
 The captain was furious, and threw him- 
 self upon the five nearest hostages, saying 
 in French: "And now all shall be shot." 
 I first thought that he meant us all but I saw 
 the soldiers bring away these five men only. 
 From a distance I gave them the absolution 
 as they disappeared in the darkness. A few 
 minutes later I heard the volley of the exe- 
 cution squad. 
 
 We were then removed to a stable, into 
 which we were jostled, the door being se-
 
 CHAELEROI 153 
 
 cured behind us by a heavy farm wagon 
 pushed against it. This stable was already 
 crowded with people, so that we had to 
 stand, leaning against one another in a suf- 
 focating atmosphere while vermin crept 
 over our bodies and faces. Some men were 
 praying, and begged me to hear their con- 
 fession; others were cursing monotonously. 
 Somebody wanted to open a window, but 
 others opposed it, fearing that the soldiers 
 might fire into the crowd. Others exclaimed: 
 " It will be better to be killed by a shot; we 
 are dying here anyhow.' ' One of our party 
 begged the sentinels to open a window but 
 they replied with the shouted command: 
 "Sleep." Finally at 5:30 the gate was 
 opened, and we rushed upon a few water 
 buckets in the yard of the brewery to quench 
 our thirst. 
 
 We were then led to the same spot where 
 we had been put the previous night, and it 
 was there that the officer in charge abruptly 
 told me that I could return home with all 
 the other hostages. Before leaving, however, 
 I called his attention to the fact that several 
 of my companions had been already captured
 
 154 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 and released two or three times, and I asked 
 him to give us a passport so that we should 
 not be arrested by the troops which we would 
 undoubtedly encounter. " That is true," he 
 said, " I am going to dictate one ", and 
 calling his orderly he dictated a pass and 
 signed it "Von Muller, 73rd regiment." I 
 thanked him and took charge of our group. 
 Five or six times on our way home I had to 
 exhibit the pass to other German army 
 troops, yet we proceeded as swiftly as pos- 
 sible, the younger men helping the elderly 
 who could hardly walk. Some of the sol- 
 diers who passed by greeted us with a smile 
 while others sent us angry looks and clinched 
 their fists. 
 
 When we neared our homes the mothers 
 and chidren of those who accompanied me 
 ran out to greet them, and I had to break the 
 news of the executions that had taken place. 
 Apart from the men shot without reason by 
 the Huns several of the older hostages died 
 within a few days as the result of suffering 
 and exposure, while not a few became insane.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Louvain. 
 
 Five centuries of labor turned into dust 
 . . . such was the German triumph at Lou- 
 vain. 
 
 It was with a heavy heart that I visited the 
 once gay and quaint city whose library dated 
 from the 12th century and contained more 
 than 250,000 volumes, many of them priceless. 
 "Within the city the streets had hardly been 
 cleared of the debris, and at every step the 
 wind would fill my eyes with dust from the 
 heaps of dirt and ashes. The atmosphere was 
 heavy with the stale, sickening odor of burned 
 things. 
 
 Laboriously I picked my way down Station 
 street, one of the thoroughfares that had suf- 
 fered most. After a while I paused to gaze 
 about me at the awful spectacle of devastation. 
 Presently I was approached by a little urchin 
 
 155
 
 156 BACK FBOM BELGIUM 
 
 wlio furtively showed me a package of picture 
 postcards which he wanted to sell for fifty 
 centimes. I bought without bargaining. 
 
 Hardly had the purchase been consumated 
 when the lad scampered away and I was ap- 
 proached by a man who appeared to be a 
 Belgian laborer. He gave me a quick, search- 
 ing glance, and then his eyes fell upon the 
 postcards in my hands. 
 
 "Hide them, ,, he said in a quick under- 
 tone, " unless you wish to get in trouble. 
 You must be a stranger, for such things are 
 forbidden and are only sold clandestinely." 
 
 He spoke excellent French, an unusual 
 tongue to hear in Louvain where the language 
 is either Flemish or defective French. 
 
 "■Yes," I answered, pocketing the cards, 
 11 1 am an American." 
 
 " I thought so, " he said. His eyes spark- 
 led and he extended his hand. " "We love 
 the Americans from the bottom of our hearts. 
 They have been our good friends in our hour 
 of need. Permit me to thank you." 
 
 Despite the rough garb he wore I was con- 
 vinced by his bearing that he was not what he 
 appeared to be. I felt sure he was not a
 
 LOUVAIN 157 
 
 laborer but a gentleman in disguise, probably 
 in Louvain on a secret mission. 
 
 " Would it be too much, ,, I ventured, " to 
 ask you to accompany me about Louvain? 
 Have you the time at your disposal! " 
 
 He held my gaze for a full moment before 
 lie answered. 
 
 " I shall accompany you as far as the church 
 of St. Pierre and then leave you. It would be 
 unsafe for both of us to be seen in each other's 
 company for a longer period. Even as we 
 stand here we are being watched. Without 
 appearing to glance about, take notice how 
 suspiciously we are regarded by passing offi- 
 cers and soldiers." 
 
 We remained where we were for a few mo- 
 ments longer, ostensibly chatting, the while 
 I followed his suggestion. Every officer, every 
 soldier who passed us would give us a search- 
 ing survey. Some of them even stopped to 
 look back after they had gone a distance be- 
 yond where we were standing. 
 
 " Come," said my acquaintance, " we will 
 attract less attention if we walk leisurely," 
 
 1 ' What other quarters of Louvain have 
 suffered as this one has? I asked after we
 
 158 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 had gone a short distance. 
 
 " The wealthy quarter inhabited by the Uni- 
 versity professors, the Place du Peuple, the 
 Rue Leopold and the adjacent streets. Then, 
 as you will observe when you reach there, the 
 very heart of the city, round the church of St. 
 Pierre and the neighborhood of the Hotel de 
 Ville suffered horribly. 
 
 " Were you here on the fatal night? " 
 
 " Yes," he answered grimly, " that night 
 and ever since. And I hope to be here for the 
 hour of reparation." 
 
 We were nearing the church as my com- 
 panion struggled for composure. 
 
 " Look before you at the ruins of the house 
 opposite the church," he said in a voice that 
 shook with emotion. " Only one wall stand- 
 ing, the front one, and that full of bullet holes. 
 Do you see the three small crosses at the 
 right? That is the tomb of my wife and two 
 little ones. When the massacre began I went 
 to the assistance of friends who lived at the 
 other end of the town. I thought my loved 
 ones were safe and they died undefended! 
 Oh, God! that I had been with them! You 
 would now see more than three crosses! "
 
 LOUVAIN 159 
 
 He clenched his fists and had to pause for 
 a moment. After a while he went on with his 
 story.* 
 
 " The terrible picture of Louvain's marytr- 
 dom will be with me until my hour of death. 
 In groups of six or eight the drunken devils 
 went for eight days, from house to house, 
 breaking in doors, crashing through windows, 
 penetrating into cellars. They blew open 
 safes, carried away furniture, clothes, silver- 
 ware, provisions — everything they could lay 
 their hands on. I, myself, saw scores of mil- 
 itary trucks filled with booty on their way to 
 the station.'* 
 
 "Is it known how many persons lost their 
 lives in Louvain! " I asked, as we walked 
 along. 
 
 " So far as we have been able to ascertain, 
 210 of our citizens were murdered. I helped 
 to bury many of them. Twenty-four of the 
 victims were women, twelve were octogenari- 
 ans, and there were scores of little children 
 from a few months to fifteen years of age. 
 You cannot imagine the brutal lust with which 
 many of the murders were committed. All 
 through the night of Friday, August 28th, the
 
 160 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 aged Cure of Herent was kept standing in the 
 middle of the street, guarded by soldiers. In 
 the morning he fell to the ground exhausted. 
 Two of the soldiers picked him up, one at his 
 head and the other at his feet, and after 
 swinging him in the air for a few moments 
 they threw him on to a small balustrade, and 
 there they shot him with a bullet through the 
 heart.' ' 
 
 My acquaintance shuddered and ceased 
 speaking. After a few minutes he spoke 
 again. 
 
 " I must be leaving you now, or both of us 
 will be subjected to annoying questions. You 
 will find that what is left of the church is 
 closed by order of the military authorities. 
 But, if you will go to the sexton, who lives in 
 the first house to the right, and tell him you 
 are an American, he will probably let you in. 
 Good bye and good luck. Above everything, 
 be cautious." 
 
 With a hearty handshake and a courteous 
 bow he left me. I followed his directions and 
 made my way to the house lie had indicated. 
 A middle-aged man opened the door for mo. 
 
 "Pardon me, Monsieur/' I said to him, " I
 
 LOUVAIN 161 
 
 am an American and would like to see the in- 
 terior of St. Pierre. Will you be kind enough 
 to let me in? " 
 
 He examined me critically for a moment. 
 
 " How do I know you are an American? " 
 he asked auspiciously. 
 
 I drew forth my imposing passport and 
 pointed to the engraved insignia at the top. 
 He frowned at it and then frowned at me, but 
 his frown quickly faded into a smile of reas- 
 surance. Then he made a hasty survey of the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 " Walk slowly until you reach the side door, 
 and then walk nonchalantly up and down un- 
 till I come." 
 
 Twenty minutes later I was inside the 
 church, picking my way amid the ruins of the 
 fallen vault and the melted bells with which 
 the floor was strewn. It was easy to see how 
 the place had been set on fire. In each of the 
 lateral chapels of the great nave a pyre had 
 been made by piling up altars, furniture and 
 pews. Some of these pyres had evidently 
 burned feebly and then flickered out, and thus 
 some of the beautiful woodwork had been 
 saved. The two masterpieces by Bouts " The
 
 162 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Last Summer " and Martyrdom of St. Eras- 
 mus" which hung in one of the aspidal cha- 
 pels, had escaped the flames but they had been 
 removed to the Hotel de Ville by the mili- 
 tary authorities in charge of the town. The 
 steeple and roof had been destroyed beyond 
 repairs. Beyond this there was nothing to 
 see but the smoke-scarred and bullet-pierced 
 walls. 
 
 From the church of St. Pierre I turned my 
 steps toward other devastated sections of the 
 city. One by one I visited the ruins of other 
 famous buildings that had fallen before the 
 brutal advance of the Hun — the Halls of 
 the University, the Palais de Justice, the Acad- 
 emie des Beaux-Arts, the theatre and the 
 Ecole Commereiale et Consulaire of the Uni- 
 versity. The Library of the University was 
 nothing but a heap of formless debris. Not a 
 single book, not even one manuscript had been 
 saved. With it had perished the gallery of 
 busts, the priceless collection of portraits by 
 masters and the precious archives. 
 
 Later I went to the American College of 
 Louvain, founded by two American bishops 
 for the purpose of educating young Americana
 
 LOUVAIN 163 
 
 in the customs and languages of the old world 
 and of training European students for the 
 American field. It was late afternoon, and I 
 sat with the Rector, Monseigneur De Becker, 
 in the garden of the college, listening to the 
 distant canon. 
 
 My companion was very thoughtful. His 
 features were contracted, and he would brush 
 his forehead from time to time, as if to dispel 
 some troublesome thought. After a period of 
 silence he fell to musing aloud. 
 
 "Ah!" he sighed, "what evil days have 
 come upon us. We were so happy here with 
 our boys — our children from the four quarters 
 of the earth. How popular were the German 
 seminarists from the Rhine country! They 
 seemed to love their Alma Mater so tenderly, 
 and every summer they would come to visit 
 us, and what splendid times we had together. 
 I confess that I was partial to them. Does 
 not German blood flow through my veins? 
 But now I cannot bear the sight of them, even 
 though they are my brothers. How we hav« 
 suffered at the hands of the Germans ! Lou- 
 vain will never welcome them again, never! 
 
 I did not venture to speak, and for a long
 
 164 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 time we sat silent, each busy with his own 
 thoughts. After a while Judge de Becker, 
 brother of my companion, came and joined 
 us. His home had been totally destroyed in 
 the invasion, and most of his family had fled 
 to Switzerland for refuge, but he and his 
 youngest daughter, Juliette, had elected to 
 remain behind and they were making their 
 home with Monseigneur. 
 
 " Even today," said Monseigneur, as his 
 brother sat down beside us, " there are times 
 when everything seems hazy, unreal, nothing 
 but a horrible nightmare. I feel that I must 
 awake and find it all a dream." 
 
 " Did the catastrophe come unexpectedly," 
 I asked, " or did you know that trouble was 
 impending! " 
 
 " It was like a thunderbolt out of a clear 
 sky," interposed the Judge. " I had given 
 hospitality to the Commander of the first con- 
 tingent of German troops to arrive in Louvain. 
 He told me many times how greatly he ad- 
 mired the restraint of our citizens. 
 
 " The Germans entered Louvain first on 
 Wednesday, August 19th. The population 
 was peaceful, the communal authorities very
 
 LOUVAIN 165 
 
 courteous. The German military authori- 
 ties made a number of regulations at once — • 
 and they were promptly obeyed — first, that the 
 people should be inside their homes before 
 eight o'clock in the evening; secondly that all 
 doors be left open and all windows lighted up ; 
 thirdly, that all weapons, munitions and gaso- 
 line be deposited in the Hotel de Ville, and, 
 finally, that inhabitants be ready to lodge and 
 feed in each home a number of soldiers and 
 officers. 
 
 " Everything went well until Tuesday, Aug- 
 ust 25th. It was a little after eight in the ev- 
 ening and our citizens, complying with the mili- 
 tary order, had retired to their homes, when 
 a brisk fusilade was heard in the direction of 
 the Rue de la Station and Porte de Bruxelles. 
 
 "I opened a window and looked out. The 
 sound grew nearer and nearer, and soon bul- 
 lets were whistling in the garden below. Then 
 the rattle of machine-guns was added to the 
 inferno of noises. I closed the window and 
 joined a number of my neighbors who had 
 sought refuge in the cellar. 
 
 "At dawn T crept upstairs. The town was 
 in flames, and I could see that my own house
 
 166 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 was doomed by the conflagration. I summoned 
 my family, and we started for the American 
 College which seemed to be outside the path 
 of the fire. 
 
 " People were fleeing in all directions. Some 
 were carrying bundles, hurrying along in 
 silence. Others were screaming aloud, their 
 hands raised high, beating the air, imploring 
 help. Sick women were being carried to safety 
 on carts drawn by dogs. Children separated 
 from their parents were running in all direc- 
 tions, calling aloud for their mothers and 
 fathers. 
 
 "Such cruelty as was visited upon us that 
 night — and for the week following. It was 
 all so horrible and so unmerited. Our citizens 
 had done nothing. They were a peaceful, 
 law-abiding lot. Why, in their desire to rid 
 themselves of any incriminating weapons they 
 had taken all sorts of useless and antique 
 articles to the Hotel de Ville — razors and 
 other things which even the Germans 
 did not classify as weapons. And what was 
 their reward? Murder, torture, pillage, in- 
 cendiarism. The German had to show his 
 power."
 
 LOUVAIN 167 
 
 "And you, Monseigneur," I said when the 
 Judge ceased speaking "how did it fare with 
 you?" 
 
 " What I suffered," was his answer, " forty 
 thousand of my fellow citizens suffered — 
 nay, some suffered more. Instead of com- 
 plaining, I should be thankful to God that 
 my life was spared. But it was so horrible 
 that one cannot rid one's mind of the memory. 
 
 11 On that fateful "Wednesday night I was 
 restless and could not retire. When I saw the 
 glare of the burning houses from my' window 
 I went to the roof to get a better view of 
 the town. House after house was breaking 
 into flames, others which had been burning 
 for some time were collapsing. I remained 
 on the roof until two oclock in the morning, 
 when the first flames darted through the roof 
 of the Library. 
 
 " On Thursday morning, August 27th at 
 nine o'clock, an order was promulgated 
 throughout the town instructing the inhabi- 
 tants to flee, as Louvain was to be bombarded. 
 Old women and men, women in delicate condi- 
 tion, priests and nuns, people belonging to 
 every stratum of society, began to crowd the
 
 168 BACK FROlTBELGnBi 
 
 streets, many of them carrying bundles of 
 their most cherished belongings. 
 
 " Brutal German soldiers drove groups 
 of people in different directions. More than 
 ten thousand mem women and children were 
 driven as far as Tourlemont, eighteen 
 kilometres from Louvain, without a moment 
 for rest or food along the way. Worse still, 
 they were exposed to all sorts of ignominies. 
 Those in the vanguard were compelled to 
 raise their arms or bend their knees at the 
 passage of German officers. 
 
 " Others were driven to Bruxelles, and from 
 there sent to Germany as prisoners. We have 
 since heard from hundreds of them — and 
 such tales of suffering as they have written! 
 They were kept out in the open many nights 
 in pouring rain, shown to the populace in 
 open carts in the German cities through which 
 they had to pass, hooted at and spat upon. 
 
 " And in spite of all that Louvain was not 
 bombarded at all. The Germans ordered it 
 evacuated so that they could pillage it un- 
 hampered. That was the purpose of their 
 order, a purpose which they began to put 
 into execution almost at the moment our
 
 All interesting picture of Edith Cavell taken a few day: 
 before the tragic events which ended in her execution.
 
 LOUVAIN 169 
 
 people were leaving their homes. 
 
 " I was with the contingent which was 
 ordered to move in the direction of Tervueren. 
 Many of my fellow-exiles were cripples and 
 invalids who had to be transported in wheel- 
 barrows. Many were children, of all ages; 
 there were aristocrats and peasants, ecclesias- 
 tics and nuns. What a heart-breaking jurney ! 
 Many of us passed ruined houses where only 
 a few days before our friends had entertained 
 us. The many villages that fringed the road 
 were in ruins. Corpses of men and animals 
 were on every side; the air was horrible 
 with the odor of burned flesh. 
 
 " When some of the old or feeble members 
 of the contingent lagged behind they were 
 prodded with the bayonet and ordered to walk 
 faster. Two men, carrying a young woman 
 who had given birth to a child that morning, 
 attempted to pass ahead in their haste to bring 
 her to some shelter before she perished from 
 exposure. They were pushed back with brutal 
 violence by soldiers who shouted " Lump- 
 schweinehunde " (foolish pig dogs) at them. 
 
 " Priests were the particular objects of 
 abuse, and vilest abuse was hurled at us.
 
 170 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 We certainly had been given into the custody 
 of the dregs of the German army. Some 
 of the officers joined in the abuse, others 
 looked ashamed and half apologetic. 
 
 " To add to the terror of the situation we 
 were constantly threatened with death. At 
 the outskirts of the village of Tervueren the 
 priests were singled out and stopped, while 
 the rest of our comrades were ordered to 
 continue their journey toward Bruxelles. That 
 was noon of Thursday, August 27th. There 
 were about 150 churchmen in our party, in- 
 cluding the Eector and Vice-Rectors of the 
 University. We were driven into an en- 
 closed field and twenty-six priests, of whom 
 I was one, were ordered to line up against 
 a fence. We thought our last hour had come; 
 and we confessed to each other and gave each 
 other absolution. 
 
 " After some minutes had passed, min- 
 utes which seemed to drag into eternity, we 
 were informed that we were taken as host- 
 ages and would not be released until the end 
 of the war. We were then driven across 
 a field to a spot within a few hundred yards 
 of a wood, where we were drawn up in rows.
 
 LOUVAIN 171 
 
 I stepped out of line and made an effort to 
 regain my liberty by stating who I was and 
 my connection with an American institu- 
 tion. I had scarcely uttered a sound before 
 an officer stopped me." 
 
 " Silence! " he roared. " This is no time 
 for explanations. ' ' 
 
 " But I am Rector of the American Col- 
 lege," I protested. 
 
 " I don't care who you are," he shouted, 
 turning on his heel and walking away. 
 
 " It was at that moment that Father Eu- 
 gene Dupiereux, a young Jesuit, was led to- 
 ward us between soldiers with fixed bay- 
 onets and followed by two officers. His clasped 
 hands held his crucifix and rosary and by the 
 movement of his lips we could tell that he 
 was praying. The procession halted a few 
 yards from where we were lined up." 
 
 "Which one of you can speak German?" 
 asked one, of the officers. 
 
 " Father Schill, a native of Luxemburg, 
 stepped forward." 
 
 " Read this," commanded the officer, pro- 
 ducing a scrap of paper, " read it and trans- 
 late it into German. If you omit or add a
 
 172 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 single word you will be shot." 
 
 " The paper bore a freshly made entry 
 which Father Dupiereux had intended for 
 his diary but which, in a moment of thought- 
 lessness, he had placed in his pocket. It had 
 been discovered when he was searched. 
 
 "I shall never forget the agonized expres- 
 sion of Father Schill when he glanced at 
 that piece of paper. We all suffered with him 
 as he read it. I cannot repeat its exact word- 
 ing but in substance it was something like 
 this: 
 
 ' ' l At the beginning of the war we 
 laughed at stories of German atrocities. 
 Now we know how the Germans have 
 acted at Louvain we know that the other 
 stories were true. After the burning 
 of the Library and University, the bar- 
 barians can no longer utter a word of con- 
 demnation against Khalif Omar for 
 burning the Library at Alexandria. And 
 all in the name of German kultur! ' " 
 
 "Enough!" shouted the German officer. 
 " That means death! " 
 
 " Father Dupiereux did not betray the 
 slightest trace of fear or emotion. He asked
 
 LOUVAIN 173 
 
 for permission to confess, which was granted, 
 but not without churlish grumbling. A 
 priest stepped forward and the young Jesuit 
 knelt at his feet . . . 
 
 "What a scene! The sky was yellow, the 
 daylight sickly. The sun seemed to have 
 gone to sleep forever, or else to have hid- 
 den itself in shame at what was transpiring. 
 Wfaen Father Dupiereux had received absolu- 
 tion he arose and shook hands with his con- 
 fessor, and when he was ordered to move to- 
 ward the nearby wood he advanced alone, 
 his step steady and his countenance calm. 
 
 " We were commanded to face about, so 
 that we could witness the execution. My body 
 did not seem to want to turn ; my mind rebelled 
 at directing it. And if I suffered, what do 
 you think must have been the emotions of six- 
 teen of Father Dupiereux 's fellow students, 
 who were in our party, and of his twin brother 
 Father Robert Dupiereux! . . . 
 
 " When thirty yards or so from us the 
 young martyr — he was only twenty- three — ■ 
 was ordered to halt. Four soldiers came from 
 the rear and lined up about ten yards in front 
 of us, their guns pointed at their victim.
 
 174 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 A non-commissioned officer gave the order to 
 fire . . . 
 
 " After several minutes one of Father Du- 
 piereux's arms was still moving, clutching the 
 air. Finally one of the officers walked over 
 to his prostrate body and despatched him by 
 firing a bullet into his brain. He was buried 
 on the spot. Poor, poor, boy! " 
 
 Monseigneur De Becker's frame shook with 
 emotion as he buried his head in his hands. 
 After a pause he looked up and resumed his 
 narrative. 
 
 " After that we were loaded into open 
 carts and driven to Bruxelles. I finally man- 
 aged to get in touch with Mr. Whitlock, the 
 American Minister, who called upon the Ger- 
 man authorities at once and had me released 
 along with several others. He was kindness 
 itself. He took me back to the College in 
 his automobile, and in order to give me 
 prestige in the eyes of the military authorities, 
 he personally came to see me several times. 
 Since then the American flag has floated un- 
 molested from our building and we have not 
 been disturbed. But if America should de- 
 clare war against Germany, God alone knows 
 what other tortures are ahead of us! "
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Cardinal, Mercies. 
 
 I met His Eminence Cardinal Mercier for 
 the first time in the summer of 1915. It was 
 at his official residence in Bruxelles, a palace 
 of comparatively modern construction and of 
 no particular architectural interest. It is 
 large, rather dark, and the waiting-room into 
 which I was introduced was comfortably but 
 simply furnished. A few good engravings of 
 Rome were on the walls, while on a small stand 
 stood a gothic Madonna. At one end of the 
 room an old triptych, half opened, occupied 
 the centre of a marble table above which hung 
 a narrow mirror of pure Louis XVI period. 
 
 About a dozen persons were in the waiting- 
 room when I entered, all of them there, like 
 myself, to see the Cardinal by appointment. 
 In the party were two or three nuns, an aged 
 priest, four Belgian gentlemen, each dressed 
 
 175
 
 176 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 in black, his top-hat resting on his knee, a 
 lady, who, like the four men, evidently be- 
 longed to the aristocracy, two peasants in 
 rough, blue smocks, and a large shapeless, 
 middle-aged woman with a much-worn shawl 
 covering her head and shoulders. 
 
 The Cardinal's visitors, I found, were re- 
 ceived without preference. Each one was ad- 
 mitted in his turn. An aged lay brother would 
 open a door at intervals and announce that 
 His Eminence was ready to receive the next 
 caller. Passing through the door and follow- 
 ing your escort you were led to the second 
 floor, where the Cardinal received you in his 
 study, a small room in the middle of a suite. 
 A door to the right led into his personal 
 chambers, another to the left led into his pri- 
 vate library. The entire apartment was 
 chastely furnished, its appointments of aus- 
 tere simplicity. The Cardinal 's portrait, by 
 Janssens, his favorite, as he told me himself, 
 hung in a conspicuous place in the library. 
 
 When it came my turn to be received I fol- 
 lowed my escort upstairs where His Emin- 
 ence, with both hands outstretched, stood wait- 
 ing for me at his study door, his face inex-
 
 CARDINAL MEBCIER 177 
 
 pressibly sad, yet illumined with a smile of 
 sympathy. The Cardinal was sixty-four years 
 old when I met him. His tall frame was gaunt, 
 his shoulders slightly stooped, his broad fore- 
 head slightly receding, his gaze benevolent 
 and paternal. He looked exactly what the 
 world knew him to be, the ascetic churchman, 
 the scholarly philosopher, the uncompromising 
 defender of Justice. 
 
 Here is a blending of the personal knowl- 
 edge and popular estimate of Cardinal Mer- 
 cier gathered during my various visits in 
 Belgium: "With his friends he is as simple 
 and meek as a child, always seemingly uncon- 
 scious of the honors which are his not alone 
 through the exalted position to which the 
 Church has called him, but which have also 
 accrued to him through achievements in 
 the world of learning. But, on the other hand, 
 he has proved himself a tower of strength, as 
 unbending as Truth itself, when he finds it 
 necessary to denounce abuse, to condemn in- 
 justice. Then he knows no fear; then his 
 courage is as steadfast as that of the early 
 Christian martyr. 
 After a cordial greeting the Cardinal led
 
 178 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 the way into his study and bade me to be 
 seated. He told me that he had heard of the 
 work I was doing, and praised my mission 
 very highly. Then the subject evidently up- 
 permost in his mind was presented in a query 
 regarding the opinion of the people of the 
 United States concerning Belgium. He was 
 deeply moved when I told him that Americans 
 of whatever religion were counted among the 
 greatest admirers of Belgium and of himself 
 for the stand he had taken in electing to re- 
 main with his people and defend them. 
 
 Cardinal Merrier, I soon learned, was pro- 
 foundly grateful for the splendid work that 
 Herbert Hoover and his assistants were doing 
 in his stricken country. 
 
 11 It has been the cornucopia of food from 
 your fertile fields, " he said, " the stream of 
 gold from your cofTer9 and the courage and 
 untiring efforts of the men you have sent 
 over here that have kept us from starvation, 
 from sinking into utter dejection, and it has 
 sowed undying gratitude and sentiments of 
 love in the hearts of our people." 
 
 We discussed for some time the work of 
 the Commission for Belgian Relief and other
 
 CARDINAL MERCIER 179 
 
 generalities, and then our conversation turned 
 to the subject of German atrocities. 
 
 " Your Eminence," I asked, " how many 
 priests were actually killed in the invasion of 
 Belgium? " 
 
 " Thirteen in my Diocese,' ' he replied, 
 " and forty in that of Namur." 
 
 " Is there any foundation for the reports 
 that the Germans violated cloistered nuns in 
 Belgium? " 
 
 The Cardinal's brow clouded for a moment 
 as he sat in silence, his head bowed. I could 
 see that I had broached a distressing sub- 
 ject. 
 
 " Let us not discuss that topic," he said 
 finally. "It is too delicate, too disagree- 
 able. Suffice it for me to tell you that there 
 are sisters in our hospitals today in the 
 condition you have alluded to. We have been 
 asked to take their deposition and publish 
 them, but you can readily see the unneces- 
 sary pain that would bring to them. Their 
 depositions would have to bear their names, 
 and their publication would be but another 
 burden of sorrow added to that which they 
 are now bearing. I realize that our refusal
 
 180 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 in this matter may tend to discredit the re- 
 ports which the depositions would substan- 
 tiate, but I am sure that all good people will 
 appreciate the motive that bids us keep si- 
 lent." 
 
 The conversation again turned to my work, 
 and after a little while I rose to make my 
 departure. Others were waiting to see the 
 Cardinal and I had already consumed much 
 of his valuable time. But he was very an- 
 xious to get further details concerning my 
 mission in Belgium, and to learn more about 
 America's attitude toward Belgium's vio- 
 lation. He asked me to return at one o'clock 
 and take lunch with him. 
 
 I returned at the appointed hour and 
 joined in His Eminence's meal. Before 
 the war, Cardinal Mercier was known through- 
 out Belgium for the extreme modesty of his 
 table and, with so much hunger and suffer- 
 ing about him, his daily fare had become 
 even more moderate. One needed but to 
 glance at his table to see that he was a true 
 ascete. He told me that he never touched 
 intoxicants, and I learned that although he 
 was tolerant with the habits of others he
 
 CARDINAL MERCIER 181 
 
 never ceased advocating teetotalism among 
 his priests and parishioners. I was sur- 
 prised, therefore, when I observed a decanter 
 of wine upon the table. 
 
 " Do you wish a glass of wine? " he 
 asked. 
 
 Though I am not a total abstainer I re- 
 fused out of deference to his convictions. 
 The same brother who had earlier escorted 
 the Cardinal's callers to his study was in 
 attendance at the table. There was a total 
 absence of formality; for the time being we 
 were just two Churchmen dining together, 
 discussing the subjects that lay nearest to 
 our hearts. 
 
 TVe talked again of the outrages perpe- 
 trated upon the Belgian people, and while 
 the Cardinal expatiated upon certain par- 
 ticulars I watched closely to see if I could 
 observe any trace of rancor against the op- 
 pressors. Never once did a note of hatred 
 creep into his voice, never once did a shadow 
 of enmity cross his countenance, though he 
 was righteously indignant in his denuncia- 
 tion of Gorman cruelty. At times he spoke 
 with a heat of resentment, but even then there
 
 182 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 rang through his words the tone of a holy, 
 measured indignation. While I was in his 
 presence I felt the strong, beautiful radianee 
 of his soul envelop me, and for a long period 
 after I left him I felt uplifted and ennobled. 
 I saw and talked with His Eminence on 
 a great many occasions afterward, but I al- 
 ways visited him guardedly — sometimes clan- 
 destinely — because I could not tell when I 
 might fall under suspicion of the secret ser- 
 vice, and I did not want my visits to add to 
 his already heavy burden of sorrow. 
 
 It was my good fortune to be present on 
 July 21st, 191G, Belgium's Independence Day, 
 in the Cathedral of Saint Gudule when Car- 
 dinal Mercier preached one of the finest and 
 bravest sermons that ever came from human 
 lips. Out of those troubled days he comes 
 in my memory a giant figure. I did not know 
 then, that later he was to make me his courier 
 to President Wilson. But of that in proper 
 time. 
 
 As he stood in the pulpit that day, tall, 
 gaunt and austere, he seemed the veritable 
 symbol of bleeding Belgium, and when he 
 spoke he was a prophet of old, lamenting
 
 CARDINAL MERCIER 183 
 
 over the ruins of his country's devastated 
 cities. In words that echoed through the si- 
 lent building he told the people that although 
 they were temporarily in the grasp of a 
 foreign power they owed that power neither 
 love, nor respect nor obedience. " The only 
 legitimate authority in Belgium today," he 
 thundered, " is the King and the elected 
 representatives of the nation." 
 
 The people sat spell-bound until the ab- 
 solution, and then the Brabanconne peeled 
 forth defiantly. As the last note died away, 
 a scene occurred which I shall never forget. 
 The people had come to church without any 
 previous plans for demonstration. They had 
 been told to be prudent, but the pent-up feel- 
 ings of months and years were swept away 
 by a trivial incident. A voice, rather timid- 
 ly, almost apologetically, cried out, in the 
 stillness that followed the conclusion of the 
 Brabanconne, the magic words, " Vive le 
 Roi! " There was a moment which seemed 
 like the eternity of intense painful silence. 
 Then a shout like the sound of a thousand 
 cataracts filled the immense edifice, and it 
 was "Vive le Roi!" "Vive le Reine! "
 
 184 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 "Vivent les Princes!" Vive la Belgique! " 
 "Vive L'Armee!" and "-Vive le Car- 
 dinal! " 
 
 Thousands of arms were striking the air, 
 agitating hats and handkerchiefs. Strang- 
 ers embraced each other. Some people were 
 laughing. Others were crying. In vain did 
 the organ try to drown the mighty sound; 
 it only increased in volume and the loud 
 Hosannahs were repeated over and over 
 again. "Long live the King! " "Long 
 live the Queen! " " Long live the Princes! " 
 "Long live the army!" "Long live the 
 Cardinal! " 
 
 There were hundreds of German soldiers 
 and secret service men who had gone there for 
 the purpose of preventing exactly such a 
 demonstration, but not one of them dared 
 to interefere; and I admired their prudence 
 indeed, because had there been the least in- 
 terference while the people were in such tem- 
 per, it would have meant a catastrophe. In- 
 side of half an hour the cannon would have 
 been rolling throughout the city, its stately 
 buildings would have been pounded to ruins,
 
 CARDINAL MEECIEE 185 
 
 and thousands of human lives would have 
 been lost. 
 
 After a while the people streamed out, 
 and lined up the streets solidly between 
 the Cathedral and Place Rogier. When the 
 Cardinal appeared on the threshold again, 
 the same frantic salutations were given. It 
 was only after his automobile disappeared 
 beyond the station that a platoon of soldiers 
 charged and made a few arrests. But the 
 people dispersed quietly. They had had 
 their day and were not ill-humored. The 
 next day the city was fined a million francs 
 for the demonstration, and all the citizens 
 of Bruxelles for three months had to be in- 
 side their homes at eight o'clock in the even- 
 ing, under pain of fine and imprisonment.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Deportations. 
 
 I paid a visit to His Eminence, Cardinal 
 Mercier, during the worst period of the de- 
 portations. He had just returned from a 
 three days visit of mercy and consolation 
 at Wavre, Court St. Etienne, Nivelles, Tubize, 
 Braine, l'Allend and other towns that had 
 fallen victims to one of the worst forms of 
 Hun atrocity. He was bowed with sadness, 
 but in his eyes there flashed the fire of holy 
 indignation. 
 
 " These past few weeks have brought the 
 supreme sorrow of my life," he said, " What 
 sights have I not seen! I found the husband 
 and father gone from almost every home I 
 visited — the children orphaned, the wife hag- 
 gard from ceaseless weeping. The atmo- 
 sphere of hopelessness was in every cottage 
 I entered; one might have fancied that some 
 
 186
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 187 
 
 frightful plague had swept over the land, 
 leaving a corpse in every home." 
 
 " Your Eminence, is there any hope that 
 Germany may abandon these iniquitous pro- 
 ceedings? " I asked. 
 
 " I fear not," he answered. " Our Holy 
 Father and several neutral states have al- 
 ready addressed strong protests to Berlin, 
 but to no avail. These deportations constitute 
 a flagrant, deliberate violation of pledges 
 made to me personally by the Government 
 of occupation. After the capitulation of Ant- 
 werp, the Governor of that Province, General 
 von Huene, confirmed the oral promise he 
 had previously given to me that there would 
 be no deportations. He addressed a letter to 
 me which was read in all the churches — a 
 letter which stated that our young men should 
 entertain no fear of being sent to Germany, 
 either to be enrolled in the army there or tq 
 be employed at forced labor. That statement 
 was read in the churches in October 1914. 
 
 " When the first Governor-General, the late 
 Baron Von der Goltz, arrived in Bruxelles, 
 I called upon him, and made a personal plea 
 that he ratify the pledge of General Von
 
 188 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Huene and extend it to the entire country. 
 General Von Huen's promise, of course, had 
 applied only to the Province of Antwerp. 
 
 " The Governor-General took ray petition 
 under advisement, and the next day he called 
 upon me and in the presence of two members 
 of his staff and my private secretary, he in- 
 formed me that the liberty of Belgian citizens 
 would be respected. When Baron Von Bis- 
 sing assumed the Governor-Generalship the 
 deportations were begun and I addressed a 
 letter to him reciting the facts I have just 
 related.' ' 
 
 The Cardinal gathered up some documents 
 from his desk and handed me a copy of his 
 letter to Baron Von Bissing and of another 
 letter addressed to Baron Von der Lancken, 
 Chief of the Political Department in 
 Bruxelles. The letter to the Governor-Gen- 
 eral, after recounting the pledges made to 
 His Eminence, said: 
 
 " To doubt the authority of such pledges 
 would have been an insult to the persons who 
 had signed them, and I therefore employed 
 all the powers of persuasion 1 possessed to
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 189 
 
 dispel the persistent uneasiness of the fam- 
 ilies concerned. 
 
 " But now your Government is tearing 
 away from their homes workers who, through 
 no fault of their own, have been reduced to 
 a state of unemployment. It is violently 
 separating them from their wives and chil- 
 dren, and deporting them to a foreign land. 
 A large number of workmen have already 
 met this unhappy fate; more numerous still 
 are those who are menaced with the same 
 violence. 
 
 " In the name of the freedom of domicile 
 and the freedom of labor; in the name of the 
 inviolability of family life; in the name of 
 morality, which the policy of deportation 
 would gravely compromise; in the name of 
 the pledges given by the Governor of Ant- 
 werp and the Governor General, the immedi- 
 ate representative of the supreme authority 
 in the German empire, I respectfully ask 
 Your Excellency to have the measures of 
 compulsory labor and deportation repealed, 
 and to restore to their hearths those Belgian 
 workmen who have been already deported. 
 
 " Your Excellency will appreciate how
 
 190 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 heavy would be the weight of my responsibil- 
 ity towards families if the confidence which 
 they have reposed in you through my inter- 
 vention and on my recommendation were la- 
 mentably deceived. I cannot, however, be- 
 lieve that such will be the case. ,, 
 
 This letter to the Governor-General was 
 dated October 19, 1916. On the same date 
 His Eminence addressed the following letter 
 to Baron Von der Lancken: 
 
 '* Sir: I have had the honor of sending His 
 Excellency, Baron Von Bissing, a letter of 
 which I enclose a copy. 
 
 " Repeatedly and even publicly the Gover- 
 nor-General has expressed his intention to 
 reserve a large share of his solicitude for 
 the interests of the occupied territory, and 
 you yourself have often affirmed the wish of 
 the German authorities not to perpetrate for 
 the period of occupation the state of war 
 which existed during its early days. Conse- 
 quently, I cannot believe that you will put in- 
 to execution the measures with which your 
 Government threatens the Belgian workmen 
 who have been reduced, through no fault of 
 their own, to a state of unemployment.
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 191 
 
 " I hope you will use all your influence with 
 the higher authorities to prevent such a crime. 
 
 " Do not speak to us, I beg of you, of the 
 need of maintaining public order, nor of the 
 burden on public charity. Spare us this 
 bitter irony. You are well aware that public 
 order is not menaced, and that every moral 
 and civil influence would spontaneously coop- 
 erate with you if public order were endanger- 
 ed. The unemployed are not a burden on 
 official charity, and it is not from your finances 
 that they derive support. 
 
 " Consider whether it is not to the interest 
 of Germany, as well as to your own, to res- 
 pect the pledges signed by two high officials 
 of your empire. 
 
 " I feel confident that my petitions to the 
 Governor-General and you will not be misin- 
 terpreted or misunderstood, and beg to 
 remain, 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 D. J. Cardinal Mercier 
 Archbishop of Malines
 
 192 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 " "What answer did the Governor-General 
 make to the representation of Your Emin- 
 ence? " I asked. 
 
 " He had recourse to sophisms," was the 
 Cardinal's reply. " He told me that the prom- 
 ises I referred to regarded only men of mili- 
 tary age, not the unemployed. He said that 
 the measure was rendered imperative by so- 
 cial and economic conditions due mainly to the 
 policy pursued by England to isolate Ger- 
 many, and which had gradually extended to 
 Belgium where all factories had had to close 
 down because of lack of raw material caused 
 by the discontinuance of importations. He 
 contended that Belgian workmen would ob- 
 tain regularly a leave of absence to return 
 home to visit their families, or better still — 
 as he put it 1 — that they could arrange for 
 their families to join them in Germany. Hun- 
 dreds of thousands of workmen being idle in 
 Belgium, whereas there was a shortage of 
 labor in Germany, made it the economic duty 
 of his Government, so he said, to employ the 
 idle Belgians on productive work in Germany. 
 He claimed that all of the blame should be put 
 x on England who had created such conditions
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 193 
 
 by her policy of isolation." 
 
 "Is it true," I asked His Eminence, 
 " that the Germans are taking Belgian men 
 indiscriminately, without regard to their con- 
 dition or occupation? " 
 
 " Alas, it is only too true," was the reply. 
 " At first only the unemployed were threat- 
 ened but now they are taking all able-bodied 
 men, bearding them into cattle trains, and send- 
 ing them God only knows where. One of the 
 reasons advanced by Baron von Bissing in 
 favor of deportation is that by their long 
 idleness our workmen are losing their techni- 
 cal skill. We are told now that the Germans 
 are going to send these men to the quarries 
 and lime kilns of Germany — fine places, in- 
 deed, for skilled workmen to find employment 
 that will preserve their skill! "Why did the 
 Germans not leave Belgian industry its mach- 
 inery, its raw materials and the manufactured 
 products which were sent to Germany! " 
 
 " Are there very many Belgians who have 
 agreed to work for the Germans? " I in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Some tens of thousands, unfortunately, 
 but they have done so c«ily under the pressure
 
 194 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 of threats, the fear of hunger. But what is 
 that compared with the 400,000 loyal citizens 
 who have chosen poverty and dependence up- 
 on the National Relief Committee rather than 
 betray the interests of their unfortunate 
 Fatherland? 
 
 " The Germans have paralized Belgium — 
 not England. Who invaded our little country, 
 a country that had never done anyone evil! 
 Germany! Who inflicted upon our people 
 death, pillage and devastation? Who, by cold 
 calculation, gradually despoiled us of every- 
 thing, and by the organization of their econom- 
 ic system absorbs the products of our agri- 
 culture and industrial plants? Germany! 
 These deportations are Germany's supreme 
 injustice. They will result in failure and 
 hatred. Most of the deported Belgians refuse 
 to work; many of them have had to be sent 
 home because of sickness; many of them have 
 died." 
 
 "Is it true," I asked, " that the invading 
 Government is deporting more than one mem- 
 ber of a family? " 
 
 " That, too, is true, it grieves me to state. 
 As many as four men have been taken out of
 
 THE DEPORTxiTIONS 195 
 
 some of the families I visited recently. When 
 they arrive in Germany they are poorly fed, 
 and you should read the heart-rending ap- 
 peals that are reaching their people here. The 
 same plea runs through every message: 'Un- 
 less you send us food you will never see us 
 alive again! ' 
 
 " People flock to me daily, asking for help. 
 Thanks to God and the generosity of your 
 American people I am provided with some 
 means which I use for this and other charit- 
 able purposes. Will you not tell good Father 
 Stillemans, of the Belgian Bureau, and his 
 assistant, Father Nys, how grateful we 
 are for the sums that have been sent to us 
 and how much good we are enabled to do with 
 them? Their establishment of the Fund which 
 bears my name, was a veritable Providence. 
 I am deeply indebted to all of those who have 
 contributed to it." 
 
 " I have been told by one of your intimates," 
 I said, " that Your Eminence intends to 
 visit the United States after the war. Is this 
 true? " 
 
 11 Traveling does not agree with me," the 
 Cardinal replied, " and there will be so much
 
 196 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 work here for a long period after the war that 
 it was with much reluctance that I consented 
 to the plan you have mentioned. Only the 
 repeated persuasions and pleadings of my 
 friends have caused me to make this decision. 
 I believe they are right, that I should go to 
 your country, and personally express my 
 gratitude and appreciation of the immense 
 services rendered to Belgium by the people 
 of the United States. They have saved us 
 from material and moral starvation by their 
 generous help, their efficient work, their con- 
 stant encouragement and sympathy. May the 
 good God bless and protect their land." 
 
 Their methods of conducting deportations 
 will probably make the Germans hated by the 
 Belgians for generations to come. 
 
 I witnessed some of the deportations from 
 Gembloux. All the towns and hamlets with- 
 in a radius of fifteen miles had been notified 
 that on a certain day they must send all 
 their male inhabitants between the ages of 
 seventeen and fifty-five to Gembloux, each 
 one carrying a small bundle of food and 
 clothing. 
 
 The fated dav arrives. The little square
 
 THE DEPOETATIONS 197 
 
 in front of the parish church is crowded 
 with people. There are old men and women 
 there, with tears streaming down their with- 
 ered faces, clinging to their sons as they say- 
 good-bye to them; women are wrapped in the 
 embrace of their husbands, and cry out aloud 
 as if their hearts would break; then little 
 children of both sexes group around the par- 
 ents, not understanding exactly what is the 
 matter, but realizing one thing, that the fa- 
 ther is leaving them. The gold of the setting 
 sun is dying out of the waters of the nearby 
 canal, and the Angelus rings out its saluta- 
 tion upon the open air. It is time to depart. 
 There is no way of going to the city except 
 on foot, so they leave in small groups of 
 two, three or half a dozen. In some instances 
 they are accompanied by the younger women 
 or by the elder children, who wish to say 
 good-bye to them on the morrow. Through- 
 out the entire night they are joined by other 
 men coming from scores of villages and 
 towns, going to the same place and for the 
 same purpose. There are no noisy greetings 
 exchanged, only a solemn salutation now and 
 then.
 
 198 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 The next morning at nine o'clock the men 
 marked for the deportation are lined up be- 
 for the Kommandantur in the station of the 
 town, while the relatives are sent to the 
 other end of the square, which is roped off 
 and guarded by soldiers. As each man pre- 
 sents himself, two surgeons standing at the 
 entrance size him up cursorily and superfici- 
 ally. If he appears to be ablebodied and 
 strong, the command is given " Rechts " — to 
 the right. If, instead, he looks weak or 
 sickly, the given order is " Links " — to the 
 left, and he passes into a room, there to be 
 reexamined and possibly to receive his dis- 
 charge to go home. Everytime that word 
 11 Rechts " is shouted a pitiful cry comes 
 from the other end of the square, the cry 
 of a woman who has seen her man, whoever 
 he may be, father, brother, husband, lover, 
 disappear inside the station. 
 
 At two o'clock the loud whistle of an en- 
 gine is heard. The train is waiting for its 
 human freight. And those people, who have 
 been prudent and quiet during the morning, 
 can no longer be restrained, but they rush 
 through the square, in spite of the bayonets—
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 199 
 
 some of them are hurt in the attempt — and 
 arriving at the building, they run to the 
 railroad tracks. A cry of the infinite weari- 
 ness of a strong race suddenly plunged from 
 the very heights of prosperity into the depths 
 of abjection rends the air. The men inside 
 the cars are straining their necks looking out 
 through the open windows, trying to steal a 
 last glance of their loved ones. 
 
 But their thoughts are not for them, not 
 of them. Nay, they do not even think of 
 themselves. Their supreme thought and 
 greeting are for their bleeding and martyred 
 fatherland, and louder than the whistle of 
 the engine or the rumbling of the wheels, 
 louder than the guttural exclamation of sol- 
 diers and attendants, louder even than the 
 pitiful cry of the distracted relatives, arises 
 the cry of the victims, and it comes, as it 
 were, from the very heart of bleeding Bel- 
 gium. And what is that cry? " Vive la 
 Belgique! " 
 
 Nivelles had a male population of 4,000. 
 Of this number approximately 1,700 were de- 
 ported, and unquestionable records reveal 
 that of these but 550 had been dependent
 
 200 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 upon relief organizations for subsistence. 
 The balance were self-supporting or else had 
 independent means. The famous Ateliers 
 Metallurgiques are located in Nivelles, and 
 there were many skilled workmen in the 
 neighborhood — coveted prey for the German 
 munition factories. All of these workmen 
 were deported, together with many manufac- 
 turers, merchants, painters, farmers and stu- 
 dents. One student was asked whether he did 
 not want to go to the Flemish University in 
 Ghent to study, an institution conducted by 
 the Germans, and the professors of which 
 were creatures of the Berlin government. In 
 a spirit of evasion the student answered that 
 he did not know Flemish, the language of 
 the University, and so he was packed off to 
 Germany. I know of one instance where a 
 father of eleven children (M. Gobert, a paint- 
 er of Nivelle), was deported together with 
 his two eldest sons. 
 
 The number of men deported from Tubize 
 totalled in the neighborhood of 2,000 souls. 
 Braine-l'Allend lost 800 of its male citizens. 
 From Tirelemont and neighborhood 1,500 
 men between the ages of seventeen and fifty-
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 201 
 
 five were torn from their homes and sent to 
 Germany. These figures are not idle esti- 
 mates but were substantiated by investiga- 
 tion. As the result of a conservative census 
 it was established that, up to the end of De- 
 cember, 1916, 150,000 men were deported to 
 Germany. No fewer than 20,000 were taken 
 out of the district of Ghent (Flanders) alone. 
 Municipalities that refused to furnish the 
 military authorities with the names of the 
 idle men for the purpose of compiling lists, 
 were heavily fined. In some cases the Burgo- 
 masters and Municipal Councillors of these 
 towns suffered personal fines and imprison- 
 ment. The city of Bruges was condemned 
 to a fine of 400,000 marks and the Burgo- 
 master was suspended. Of course, it was 
 to be expected that the Germans would turn 
 these refusals of assistance to their own pro- 
 fit. Some German officials actually assumed 
 an air of injury when they told me that in 
 many instances they had been forced to de- 
 port men who were not idle, because they 
 were not given any assistance in locating 
 those men who really were idle. 
 
 In a proposal as insulting as it was im-
 
 202 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 pudent some two hundred miners of Saint 
 Ghislain were invited to go to Germany to 
 work for their enemies. Their refusal was 
 unanimous. They were immediately arrested 
 and shipped to Germany, without permission 
 being given them to take leave of their fami- 
 lies or procure clothing. When they arrived 
 in Germany they were told that they would 
 have to choose between work and imprison- 
 ment. Again they refused to labor for the 
 Hun. As a reward for their patriotism they 
 were cast into jail. 
 
 The same noble spirit was displayed by 
 600 workmen of Lessines (Hainaut), but the 
 punishment meted out to them was infinitely 
 more cruel. They were taken to Germany 
 to swell the ranks of munition workers, but 
 when they arrived there they flatly refused 
 to accept the assignment. " Very well," 
 said the German authorities, " then back to 
 Belgium you shall go." The men were over- 
 joyed at what appeared to be their easy es- 
 cape from servitude, but upon their arrival 
 in Belgium they were informed that unless 
 they signed a contract, agreeing to work for 
 the Germans voluntarily, they would not be
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 203 
 
 allowed to return to their homes, not even 
 for a visit. Again they courageously refused, 
 this time not knowing what more frightful 
 fate might await them. They were immedi- 
 ately divided into groups of 100, and sent to 
 the Western front to work in the trenches. 
 
 It was with the utmost recklessness that 
 the Germans selected many of their victims 
 for deportation. Among the people I sought 
 on my first Belgian mission was a young 
 man, twenty-four years of age, whose father 
 was a naturalized American citizen. The 
 young man himself had lived in America, 
 had suffered a paralytic stroke as the result 
 of a coal mine accident in Pennsylvania, and 
 shortly before the war broke out had gone 
 to Belgium to recuperate I was informed 
 by the military authorities that it would be 
 impossible to obtain a passport for him be- 
 cause he was of military age. 
 
 On my second voyage I took him money. 
 On the third trip I had both messages and 
 money for him, but when I reached his aunt's 
 home, where he had been staying, I was told 
 that he had been deported to Germany. It 
 was not until then that I learned that in ad-
 
 204 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 dition to being paralyzed he was an epilep- 
 tic. I immediately went to the Politische 
 Abteilung and appealed to the authorities 
 there, Baron von Lancken, Mr. von Moltke 
 and Baron Falkenhausen, to take steps to 
 have him sent back to Belgium. They ap- 
 peared anxious to aid me, and took the matter 
 up at once with the authorities in Berlin. 
 For months an active correspondence was 
 carried on between officials in the two coun- 
 tries, but apparently it was very difficult to 
 obtain the young man's release. "When I 
 was about to leave Bruxelles for the last 
 time, which was after America had declared 
 war, I went to the Politische Abteilung to 
 make a final appeal in his behalf. The au- 
 thorities showed me letters purporting to be 
 from Germany, in which it was stated that 
 he was soon to be released and permitted to 
 return to Belgium. Whether this promise 
 was kept I do not know. He may have 
 died in Germany. If he did he was one of 
 many deported men — heaven only knows 
 how many — whose lives were offered as a 
 sacrifice to the German god of brutality. 
 After the fall of Antwerp the German au-
 
 THE DEPORTATIONS 205 
 
 thorities had taken the most solemn engage- 
 ments that no civilian should be deported to 
 Germany, this being done in order to per- 
 suade those who had fled to Holland to re- 
 turn. Some of the refugees accepted these 
 promises, especially as they were guaranteed 
 by the Dutch government, who had taken some 
 sort of responsibility for them. They there- 
 fore returned, and two years later, in October 
 and November 1916, they were deported and 
 employed in military work. 
 
 It was a flagrant violation of a promise 
 given . . . 
 
 Yet another. 
 
 The Dutch Government protested against 
 the abuse made of its trust and good will. 
 
 The German official papers replied that the 
 engagements made in 1914 were already two 
 years old! and, besides, circumstances had 
 altered. In the " Neue Zuricher Nachrich- 
 ten " (1st December 1916), General von 
 Huene attempted to explain that though he 
 had made promises to safeguard the liberty 
 of the Belgians who trusted to his word, he 
 had, at the same time, made mental reser- 
 vations by which his promise would not be
 
 206 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 binding in the event of military necessity. 
 Considerations of social order and of human- 
 ity alone had induced him to take such an 
 engagement. Now that military necessity 
 was above all things important it was no 
 longer valid. But the " Norddeutsche All- 
 gemeine Zeitung " (December 3rd 1916, 2nd 
 edition), the organ of the Chancellor, in its 
 article on von Huene's explanation, gives 
 quite another interpretation. According to 
 this paper, von Huene is no longer bound by 
 his promise because the matter is no longer 
 a military one, it is now merely a question 
 of social interest. 
 
 These contradictions would be almost 
 laughable if it were not such a serious sub- 
 ject. 
 
 In point of fact, the promise to safeguard 
 the liberty of the Belgians met the same fate 
 as that to safeguard the neutrality of Bel- 
 gium.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Clandestine Pkess in Occupied Belgium. 
 
 In spite of the sufferings which the Bel- 
 gians in the occupied territory have to bear, 
 they preserve a spirit of patriotism relieved 
 by a keen sense of humor which has to vent 
 itself in a cry of defiance or in a laugh at the 
 invader's expense. 
 
 The war has furnished innumerable oppor- 
 tunities to the dramatist, the poet or the satir- 
 ist of Belgium, and these opportunities have 
 been seized through the clandestine publica- 
 tions which find their way from hand to hand 
 in spite of every effort which the Germans can 
 make for their suppression. The dignity of 
 tho exponents of kultur is outraged by this de- 
 fiance, and the supreme ambition of the Ger- 
 man secret service is to discover, and bring 
 before a firing squad, those who help to keep 
 alive a spirit of rebellion against the German 
 rulers. 
 
 207
 
 208 
 
 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 The best known and most widely read of 
 these publications printed in the occupied ter- 
 ritory is " La Libre Belgique," of which a 
 front page is reproduced in this book. Its 
 title, translated, is as follows: 
 
 " Price per copy: Elastic, from zero to the infinite (dealers will 
 please not exceed that limit). 
 
 LA LIBRE BELGIQUE. 
 
 I have faith in our destinies; 
 a country which defends itself 
 earns the respect of all: this 
 country does not diel God will 
 be with us in our just cause. 
 Albert, 
 King of the Belgians. 
 (August 4th, 1914.) 
 Let us accept temporarily the 
 sacrifices imposed on us, and 
 let us wait patiently for the 
 hour of reparation. 
 
 A. Max. 
 
 Towards the persons who 
 rule by military force our coun- 
 try, let us have the attentions 
 necessary in the interest of all. 
 I«et us respect the rules which 
 they force on us as long as 
 they do not conflict with the 
 liberty of our christian con- 
 sciences nor with our patriotic 
 dignity. 
 
 Mgr. Mercier. 
 
 Bulletin of Patriotic Propaganda — Regularly Irregular 
 
 Submitting To No Censor. 
 
 Telegraphic Address 
 Komtnandantur- 
 
 Bruxellet 
 
 Offices and 
 
 Management. 
 
 Inasmuch as they 
 can be in no perfect- 
 ly safe place, they are 
 located in an automo- 
 bile cellar. 
 
 Advertising. 
 
 Business being nil 
 under the German 
 rule, we have omit- 
 ted the advertising 
 page, and advise our 
 clients to keep their 
 money for better 
 times. 
 
 In an early editorial, La Libre Belgique ex- 
 plained its aims and purposes as follows: 
 
 " Those to whom this paper is sent should 
 consider it as a proof of the confidence the
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 209 
 
 editors have in their patriotism and discre- 
 tion. They will kindly hand it to equally 
 trustworthy friends, who will pass it to others 
 without delay. In this manner a necessarily 
 small number of copies will have a consider- 
 able influence upon public opinion in Belgium. 
 
 " Our sole object is to strengthen Belgian 
 patriotism until the hour, as yet unknown but 
 certain, of the deliverance of our noble and 
 glorious little country, victim of Teutonic 
 treachery. 
 
 " There is in Belgium a considerable ma- 
 jority of citizens who are Belgians above 
 everything else. Our paper will very soon 
 have a large circulation. 
 
 "La Libre Belgique will be printed one day 
 in one cellar, the next day in another. 
 
 " La Libre Belgique will not be like those 
 newspapers which are published and widely 
 distributed with the permission and encour- 
 agement of the Germans, and which endeavor 
 to discourage our patriotism. No, "La Libre 
 Belgique " will have its home underground 
 and propagate thence like Christianity from 
 the catacombs. 
 
 " It shall live in spite of persecution be-
 
 210 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 cause it tells the truth, nothing but the truth, 
 and because there is something stronger than 
 might, stronger than Kultur, stronger than 
 the Germans, — the truth. And Belgium is the 
 land of truth and liberty; Germany is the 
 country of might and of false pride, mother 
 of lying and hypocrisy." 
 
 After the defiant editorials come news of 
 the latest German atrocities, and such encour- 
 aging news as may have filtered over the 
 border of the progress of the Allies and of 
 the hopes for early success. 
 
 In one number the editors excuse them- 
 selves for delayed publication, and at the same 
 time refer to the constant irritation felt by 
 the Belgians at the use of their street-cars by 
 German officers and men: 
 
 " A little indulgence, please. Some of our 
 readers have complained about the unpleasant 
 odor of some copies of this paper. They will 
 kindly excuse us, remembering that in war 
 time one cannot always choose one's traveling 
 companions. La Libre Belgique has been com- 
 pelled to voyage with sour herrings, Lim- 
 burger cheese and calcium carbide. We beg 
 our readers to have the same indulgence for
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 211 
 
 La Libre Belgique which they are temporarily- 
 forced to show towards certain passengers on 
 the street cars. 
 
 ft The present number is being issued late. 
 The reason is that we had to reprint a second 
 edition. La Libre Belgique met the enemy and 
 had to dive into the water. While trying to 
 escape by swimming, it was drowned. 
 
 Requiescat in pace! " 
 
 In August, 1917, on the third anniversary 
 of the war, La Libre Belgique published the 
 following editorial: 
 
 After Three Years! 
 
 "A statement, oh! very brief . . . 
 
 On August 4th, 1914, Germania goes to war. 
 The plan is simple: Belgium does not count, 
 Paris taken in six weeks, Russia crushed be- 
 fore winter, England remaining alone, too in- 
 telligent not to realize that nothing remains 
 but to capitulate. 
 
 WE knocked down that castle of cards! 
 WE! Later, one decided to seize Calais, to 
 cross into England, etc.
 
 212 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 There was the YSER! WE again! 
 
 The Zeppelins were to destroy London; 
 London has suffered little; the reputation of 
 the Zeppelins has suffered much. Meanwhile 
 one tried to finish off Russia, in a military 
 way at first, without success. One made at- 
 tempts in the Balkans, one was crushed at 
 Verdun, all in vain. And meanwhile the Ger- 
 man people suffered terribly, the new chan- 
 cellor has admitted it. 
 
 They are throwing in their last stake: the 
 submarines! And now in Germany itself one 
 acknowledges that this last weapon is use- 
 less. ... Is it then the end? Yes, it is the 
 end. Already one is attempting friendly ad- 
 vances: one desires no conquest, one wishes 
 only the right to live, etc. 
 
 Let us be calm, we are in no hurry at all, 
 WE, THE ALLIES. Since America has en- 
 tered the arena, in good time to make up for 
 the Russian weakening, the account of the 
 Central Empires is settled. A little while 
 longer, and they will be begging for peace. Of 
 course, another winter would be especially 
 hard for us. But in view of the unique im- 
 portance of the contest we wish, we, the Bel-
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 213 
 
 gians, to suffer still more if necessary to let 
 Right and Justice triumph more completely, 
 more gloriously. 
 
 Let the Allies know it: We do not ask that 
 any thought of our suffering should hasten 
 peace by a single day! The future of Europe, 
 the safety of the world, the necessary punish- 
 ment of a crime against humanity are more 
 important.' ' 
 
 Is it not admirable, that cry of a suffering, 
 starving people who ask to go on suffering 
 and dying rather than to see a premature 
 peace? And what a lesson to the sleek, hypo- 
 critical and selfish pacifists of the lands un- 
 touched by war I 
 
 La Libre Belgique is only one of several 
 patriotic sheets published clandestinely by 
 Belgian patriots; others are Motus, La Revue 
 Hebdomadaire, Patrie, Verite, Vlaamsche 
 Leeuw (in Dutch), L'Ame Beige, etc. The 
 purpose of all centres around the same love of 
 country, of law and of liberty. 
 
 One of the clandestine papers in Flemish is 
 De Vrije Stem, which calls itself: Belgian 
 organ for the province of Antwerp, published 
 during the German occupation-. — Offices and
 
 214 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Editorial Department: u Hotel des Patriotes," 
 42 Rue des Beguines. This address is the 
 nickname and location of the prison into the 
 cells of which have been thrown a great many 
 Belgians arrested for the crime of patriotism. 
 Besides these various papers published 
 necessarily with " regular irregularity," in- 
 numerable pamphlets are secretly printed and 
 mysteriously dropped into letter-boxes, slipped 
 under front-doors and forwarded boldly to 
 the German governor himself. One of these 
 contains the following appeal: 
 
 "COURAGE! 
 
 "Belgians, your dignified attitude, your 
 superb protests have at last aroused neutrals. 
 If the foreign press has not reached us for 
 several weeks, it is because of its unanimity in 
 protesting against the cruel wrong done to 
 your liberty by the occupying power. Con- 
 tinue to show to the world the example of a 
 country small in size, but great in spirit and 
 in the endless courage of its children. 
 
 "Crushed under the heel of a brutal ag- 
 gressor, you must continue to oppose Right to
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 215 
 
 Might. This attitude will win for you the 
 sympathies of every noble heart and the ad- 
 miration of history. 
 
 " Let no one take any share, direct or in- 
 direct, in the crime of the Teuton. 
 
 Passive Resistance 
 
 in all and always, such must be your watch- 
 word ! 
 
 Long Live Belgium. 
 Please copy and circulate this leaflet. 
 
 Besides the papers and leaflets clandestinely 
 printed in occupied Belgium itself, there is 
 secret distribution of papers or circulars 
 dropped for that purpose by allied aviators. 
 The purpose of these is generally to bring en- 
 couragement and to counteract the deceiving 
 German propaganda; sometimes it is to give 
 warning of impending danger. I have seen 
 the following circular dropped over Mons and 
 suburbs :
 
 216 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 " Department of Aviation, No. 2539, 
 Section of Bombardment & Information, 
 
 IVth Escadrille A. R. P. 
 
 " Fearing to make numerous victims among 
 the civilian population in the occupied terri- 
 tories, the Allies have carefully abstained until 
 now from bombarding important buildings, 
 even those of greatest value to the enemy and 
 purposely selected by him for their location in 
 the midst of populous parts of occupied ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 " Positive assurance has, however, reached 
 the Allied General Staff that the number of 
 Belgian workmen selling their labor to the 
 enemy is constantly increasing. This gives 
 the enemy great assistance by releasing an 
 equal number of soldiers for the front, and 
 the Allied nations have, therefore, unani- 
 mously decided that they will not be swerved 
 in the future by considerations of humanity 
 or sentiment. "Whoever sells his services to his 
 own country's enemy, whoever supplies him 
 with money, must be considered in accord- 
 ance with existing law as a traitor to be dealt 
 with accordingly.
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 217 
 
 " In consequence, the allied fleet has re- 
 ceived orders to act unsparingly, beginning 
 August 1st, against all railways and places 
 offering any advantage to the enemy. The 
 Commander of Aviation intends to destroy 
 by means of heavy bombs all railways, sta- 
 tions, trains, workshops, dock-yards, mills, 
 factories, etc., now being used by the enemy. 
 
 " A last appeal is made to the patriotism 
 of all Belgians worthy of the name, so that in 
 the interest of their own lives they abstain 
 from working for the enemy, and from making 
 use of the railways operated by him." 
 
 Allied and neutral papers are smuggled into 
 Belgium and discreetly sold to always eager 
 buyers. One night, I remember, I was sitting 
 in a Bruxelles cafe, discussing with a friend 
 the plans which he had made for escape into 
 Holland, from whence he hoped to proceed to 
 the Belgian front and join the ranks of his 
 country's defenders. It was late at night, and 
 only a few persons were in the place. A tall, 
 emaciated youth entered the cafe, glanced 
 about cautiously, caught the eye of the head 
 waiter and received a nod of encouragement.
 
 218 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 He then approached our table and ostecsibly 
 asked for alms. While he was doing this he 
 slipped copies of La Libre Belgique, the Lon- 
 don Times and Le Matin beneath our table- 
 cloth. 
 
 " There is good news in these," lie whis- 
 pered. "Would you like to read them or rent 
 them? " 
 
 " What is the charge? " I asked. 
 
 " Twelve francs if you want to take them 
 into the gentlemen's retiring room for a few 
 minutes or fifty francs if you want to take 
 them home. If you want to take them home I 
 will call for them tomorrow morning." 
 
 We elected to take the periodicals into the 
 retiring room and when we repaired there we 
 found that they announced America's declara- 
 tion of war against Germany. My friend was 
 jubilant. 
 
 «q a m more determined than ever to make 
 my escape into Holland," he said. " This 
 means that we are nearing the end, and I must 
 do my duty before it is too late." 
 
 A little later we bade each other good- 
 bye. That was the last I saw of my courage- 
 ous friend. I made repeated inquiries in Hoi-
 
 THE CLANDESTINE PRESS 219 
 
 land, but I failed to locate him. Either he 
 reached King Albert's heroic little army, or 
 else his charred form was found under the 
 murderous entanglements of the frontier.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Flemish And Waj^loons. 
 
 << i 
 
 Flemish ' and ' Walloon ' are only- 
 Christian names. ' Belgian ' is our family 
 name." — Ant. Clesse. 
 
 Belgium has no common tongue. The north- 
 ern part of the country is occupied by the 
 Flemish who speak a Germanic language; in 
 the southern provinces live the Walloons 
 whose language is French. The natural re- 
 sult had always been a friendly rivalry be- 
 tween the two parts of the country, but it had 
 never threatened the existence of the nation. 
 
 The possibility, however, of dividing the 
 Belgians in order to more easily rule them ap- 
 pealed to German ingenuity. 
 
 During the first few months of the invasion 
 the official notices of the military authorities 
 were printed in French and German. Corres- 
 pondence was not allowed save when written in 
 
 220
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 221 
 
 French or German. Flemish was prohibited. 
 Then, the Germans, scenting possibilities of 
 creating trouble between the North and South, 
 began to print their orders in German, French 
 and Flemish. Shortly afterward French dis- 
 appeared from the official comuniques, and 
 Flemish took its place. German newspapers 
 began to exhibit solicitude for their " Flemish 
 br others.' ' Motion picture theatres were or- 
 dered to publish their programmes in Flemish 
 as well as French. Shopkeepers were com- 
 manded to take down their French signs and 
 replace them with placards printed in Flemish. 
 The German press bubbled over with allus- 
 ions to the natural affinity between the Flem- 
 ish and the Germans. Article after article was 
 published citing the natural bonds of history, 
 language, origin and customs that united the 
 two races. In a trial at Tongres a group of 
 Flemish and Walloons were accused of the 
 same offense. The Flemish got off much easier 
 than the Walloons; thus two purposes were 
 served at the same time. The Flemish were 
 being " coaxed " into favoritism for their 
 oppressors, and the Walloons were being "per- 
 suaded " to suspect and hate the Flemish.
 
 222 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Could duplicity go further? 
 
 Of course the cost of this propaganda was 
 exacted from the Belgians. Germany had no 
 intention of spending any of her own money 
 to accomplish her purpose. By decree of the 
 military authorities, Flanders and "Wallonie 
 were split up into two countries, with separate 
 administrations and educational departments 
 for each. Seven millions of Belgian money 
 was requisitioned for this division, and two 
 millions were exacted for the purpose of estab- 
 lishing the University of Ghent. 
 
 This university was heralded as the first 
 step to be made toward the emancipation of 
 the Flemish people from the so-called yoke of 
 their French brothers. Professors were re- 
 cruited from a small body of traitorous Flem- 
 ish, from Holland and from Germany. Stu- 
 dents were offered all sorts of inducements — 
 monetary assistance, white bread, other food 
 which the rest of the people could not procure. 
 
 Up to the time America declared war, the 
 Flemish University had proved a fiasco; it 
 boasted of but four students to each profess- 
 or! So much for that attempt to annihilate 
 the spirit of Belgian patriotism.
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 223 
 
 These insidious efforts at spreading dis- 
 cord among the Belgians were exposed merci- 
 lessly in the clandestine press. 
 
 A copy of the " Revue Hebdomadaire " 
 writes as follows about the Flemish Univers- 
 ity: 
 
 " Among the thirty-five students there are 
 only two from Ghent. Of the others, the 
 greater number are peasants from the region 
 of Waes: In the beginning the number was 
 much smaller still, but threats of deporta- 
 tion have brought a few of the cowardly ele- 
 ment. 
 
 " These students gTeet with deference the 
 German officers. They wear velvet caps with 
 white, blue, orange, and red ribbons, and they 
 all carry clubs as a necessary means of de- 
 fence against a population which scorns them 
 openly. The old servants of the University 
 have refused to work for these students, pre- 
 ferring to starve rather than serve the rene- 
 gades." 
 
 As recently as January 1917 the German 
 press was weeping crocodile tears over the fate 
 of their Flemish brethren. The KREUTZ-
 
 224 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 ZEITUNG of that time published the follow- 
 ing morsel: 
 
 " To the Flemish population, ill treated by 
 its own Government, we are as a big brother 
 defending his junior. 
 
 " Now that we have given them the Univer- 
 sity of Ghent we cannot abandon them again. 
 Furthermore, we need Belgium in our war 
 against England. The longer our fight against 
 England remains undecided, the more we must 
 protect ourselves against her. Naturally we 
 will keep Antwerp and the whole Flemish 
 coast, and for at least twenty years Belgium 
 must pay to Germany a sum of money equi- 
 valent to what she would spend on her army 
 and navy while she enjoys the protection of 
 Germany. The separation between Flemish 
 and Walloons must be complete. Flanders on 
 one side, and the state of Namur on the other, 
 will constitute two great principalities ruled 
 by German princes, the Hohenlohe family for 
 instance. "We will thus avoid unconditional 
 annexation and all the intricacies of repre- 
 sentation in the Reichstag. 
 
 " The State of Namur shall be reduced as 
 much as possible to the benefit of Flanders
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 225 
 
 and Luxemburg, and there shall be added to 
 it territory from Northern France. Ownership 
 of the French mines is a vital question for us, 
 as demonstrated by the war. Belgium is for 
 us not only the milch cow bringing all the 
 prizes that peace will give us; to all of us, to 
 every man in the trenches, she is a symbol of 
 our victories. Not one German will give her 
 up." 
 
 How Belgium was viewed at the same time 
 by a mind not saturated with Germanic vanity 
 is shown by a correspondent of the NIEUWE 
 COURANT, who wrote, after a tour of 
 Belgium : 
 
 " I have seen for the first time a people 
 whose land is occupied, but whose spirit and 
 heart are in no manner subdued. The abyss 
 between victor and vanquished is still as 
 deep, if not deeper, as in the beginning of 
 the war. Walloons and Flemish know how 
 to enjoy life, but they also know how to suf- 
 fer. They make a strong people, a people 
 that knows how to hate as no other. Those 
 who in Germany dream of a German Bel- 
 gium, be they correspondents of the Tages- 
 zeitung or members of an annexationist gang,
 
 226 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 dream of a peace with accompaniment . . . 
 of machine-guns. An army occupies Bel- 
 gium, but it is certain that the Belgian peo- 
 ple remain unconquered. ,r 
 
 Another form of murder attempted by the 
 Hun in Belgium, a form none the less re- 
 volting because it chose the spirit rather 
 than the body for its victim, was the annihi- 
 lation of the common bond of patriotism 
 which held all Belgians in their loyalty to 
 their King. The first effort of the German 
 to this end was in the spreading of reports 
 that King Albert was anxious to conclude 
 peace with Berlin, but could not do so be- 
 cause of England. But even efficient Ger- 
 many is not always consistent, and where 
 one German officer would vow that Albert 
 had sold his soul to England another would 
 declare to me that Belgium's King had re- 
 fused Germany's prof erred hand because he 
 was blind with pride! The spreading of such 
 reports, I learned, was not confined to Bel- 
 gium alone but extended into Germany itself. 
 On November 15, 1914, the Vossische Zei- 
 tung printed this despatch: 
 
 " From Bruxelles the Hamburger Nach-
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 227 
 
 richten hears through a very reliable source 
 that the report is confirmed of serious dif- 
 ferences between Belgium and England) — 
 that is, that all personal relations are inter- 
 rupted between King Albert and the British 
 Staff. The King desires an understanding 
 with Germany, which Great Britain is en- 
 deavoring by all means to prevent." 
 
 Here we have Hun inconsistency blossom- 
 ing from a tricolor bud. Belgium's King 
 cannot make peace because he is in Eng- 
 land's grasp; he will not make peace because 
 of blind egotism, he wants to make peace 
 because he has quarreled with England. 
 
 All efforts to discredit King Albert in the 
 eyes of the Belgians have miserably failed. 
 It was in Bruxelles that I heard these words : 
 " There is only one King in the world today 
 worthy of the name." Spoken by a Belgian 
 Socialist Deputy they measured for me, in a 
 flash, the loyalty and admiration which the 
 rank and file of the Belgian population en- 
 tertains for Albert I. 
 
 Nothing will ever appeal more strongly 
 to the imagination of the average Belgian 
 than the spectacle of his King leading the
 
 228 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 heroic Belgian army on the banks of the 
 Yser. The eyes of those in exile, longing 
 ardently for their return to the Fatherland, 
 and the tear-dimmed, tired eyes of the mil- 
 lions groaning under the yoke of a ruthless 
 foe turn constantly to the stalwart figure of 
 the royal soldier sharing daily dangers and 
 privations with his men in the trenches. 
 
 The praise of my Socialist Deputy friend 
 for his King had been invoked by a question 
 concerning the royal palace in Bruxelles. 
 But in discussing Belgium he had but one 
 thought, his love for his country and his ad- 
 miration for Albert I. I shall never forget 
 his expression as he leaned across the table 
 where we were sitting in a Bruxelles res- 
 taurant. He was a young man, with long 
 flowing beard, full of the intense enthusiasm 
 that characterizes the Socialist zealot. 
 
 u Albert may have lost his kingdom and 
 his crown," he said in low, earnest tones, 
 " but he still dominates the hearts of his 
 subjects absolutely. What other ruler can 
 boast of swaying the hearts of millions as he 
 does? These hated Germans may rob us of 
 everything else but they are powerless when
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 229 
 
 it comes to tampering with our affections 
 for our King and country. 
 
 "Albert the First, King of the Belgians! 
 His people will never forget his attitude in 
 face of the German ultimatum; his quiet, 
 dignified, yet firm demeanor when he ap- 
 peared before the parliament to deliver his 
 epoch-making speech. That was on August 
 4th, 1914; we were gathered in session ex- 
 traordinary. The speech which His Majesty 
 then made will remain forever an example 
 of dignity and courage. I have kept a copy 
 of it, and read it again whenever I feel a 
 tendency to discouragement." 
 
 And my friend handed me a copy of this 
 speech, which deserves to be printed again: 
 
 " Never since 1830 has a more grave mom- 
 ent come to Belgium: the integrity of our 
 territory is threatened. 
 
 " The strength of our just cause, the 
 sympathy which Belgium, proud of her free 
 insitutions, and of her moral conquests, has 
 never ceased to enjoy at the hands of other 
 nations, the fact that our independent ex- 
 istence is necessary for the balance of power
 
 230 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 in Europe, these considerations give rise to 
 hope that the events which we fear will not 
 take place. 
 
 " But if our hopes fail, if we must re- 
 sist the invasion of our soil and must de- 
 fend our threatened homes, this duty, hard 
 though it be, will find us ordered and pre- 
 pared for the greatest sacrifices (cheers and 
 cries of ' ' Long Live the King ! Long live^ 
 Belgium I). 
 
 " From this moment, with a view to meet 
 every contingency, the valiant youth of our 
 nation stand ready, firmly resolved with the 
 traditional tenacity and calmness of the Bel- 
 gians to defend their fatherland at a mom- 
 ent of danger (cheers). 
 
 11 To them I send a brotherly greeting in 
 the name of the nation (cheers and cries of 
 Long Live the Army!). Througout Flan- 
 ders and the region of Wallonie, in town 
 and country one sentiment alone fills every 
 heart — patriotism; one vision alone fills 
 every mind — our threatened independence. 
 One duty alone is laid upon our wills, stub- 
 born resistance (cheers). 
 
 " At this grave moment two virtues are
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 231 
 
 indispensable — courage, calm (renewed cheers) 
 but firm, and close union among all Belgians. 
 
 " Striking evidence of both these virtues 
 is already before the eyes of a nation full 
 of enthusiasm. 
 
 " The faultless mobilization of our army, 
 the multitude of volunteers, the devotion of 
 the civil population, the self-sacrifice of 
 families have shown incontestably that the 
 whole Belgian people is carried away by 
 stimulating courage (applause). The mom- 
 ent has come to act. 
 
 " I have called you together, gentlemen, 
 to give to the Legislative Chambers an op- 
 portunity to associate themselves with the 
 impulses of the people in the same sentiment 
 of sacrifice. Gentlemen, you will know how 
 to deal urgently with all the measures which 
 the situation requires for the war and for 
 public order (general assent). 
 
 " When I see this enthusiastic gathering 
 in which there is only one party, that of the 
 fatherland (enthusiastic cheers and cries of 
 "Long Live Belgium"), in which at this mo- 
 ment all hearts beat as one, my mind goes 
 back to the Congress of 1830, and I ask of
 
 232 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 you gentlemen, are you determined unswerv- 
 ingly to maintain intact the whole patrimony 
 of our ancestors? (Yes, yes, from every 
 side.) 
 
 " No one in the country will fail in his 
 duty. 
 
 " The army, strong and disciplined, is fit 
 to do this task: my Government and I have 
 full confidence in its leaders and its soldiers. 
 
 " The Government, firmly attached to the 
 populace and supported by them, is conscious 
 of its responsibilities, and will bear them to 
 the end with the deliberate conviction that 
 the efforts of all united in the most fervent 
 and generous patriotism will safeguard the 
 supreme good of the country. 
 
 " If the foreigner, disregarding the neu- 
 trality whose every duty we have always 
 scrupulously observed should violate our ter- 
 ritory, he will find all Belgians grouped 
 around their sovereign who will never be- 
 tray his coronation oath, and around a Gov- 
 ernment possessing the absolute confidence of 
 the entire nation. (Cheers on all the Bench- 
 es). 
 
 "I have faith in our destiny: a country
 
 FLEMISH AND WALLOONS 233 
 
 which defends itself commands the respect 
 of all; such a country shall never perish. 
 ("Hear, hear. Long live the King, long live 
 Belgium.")' 
 
 " God will be with us in this just cause 
 (fresh applause). 
 
 " Long live independent Belgium " (long 
 and unanimous cheers from the Assembly 
 and from the Galleries). 
 
 The glory of Albert I, King of the Bel- 
 gians, can never be dimmed by the subjects 
 of Wilhelm II, emperor of Germany. The 
 former has shown himself as much of a 
 glorious leader as the latter has shown him- 
 self some vile thing to be cursed by all man- 
 kind for generations to come.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 America Declares War. 
 
 It is now commonplace to say that the Ger- 
 man mind is capable of the most astounding 
 gymnastics, yet I was constantly bewildered 
 by the agility with which it could evade logic 
 when applied to the Fatherland. 
 
 For example, German officers declared to me 
 time and again in Belgium that America's 
 neutrality would remain a shallow mockery 
 so long as she continued to supply munitions 
 to the Allies. 
 
 " But, suppose it were possible for us to 
 ship munitions to Germany," I would invari- 
 ably say, " Would that be unneutral? " 
 
 " Oh, no," was the answer. " We are fight- 
 ing for a just cause and that would be entirely 
 legitimate.' ' 
 
 But, if I am to give the Hun his dues I 
 must say that most of the German officers with 
 
 234
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 235 
 
 whom I came in contact seemed to be anxious 
 to spare my feelings, to avoid any such dis- 
 cussion involving American policy. Upon only 
 one occassion did any of my acquaintances 
 among the military authorities forget them- 
 selves in this respect. 
 
 I had invited two officers to have dinner 
 with me at the Palace Hotel in Bruxelles. 
 They had been very kind in making it easy for 
 me to discharge some of the duties connected 
 with my mission, and I was desirous of show- 
 ing my appreciation of their efforts in my be- 
 half. To be quite candid, I wanted particu- 
 larly to install myself in their good graces 
 because I was on the eve of asking for some 
 very special concessions. We had no sooner 
 seated ourselves at the table than one of my 
 guests raised a glass of wine to his lips and 
 said with a rather sardonic smile: " Here is 
 to Kitchener's fate as well as to the fate of 
 all of our enemies." 
 
 "Kitchener's fate!" " I exclaimed in 
 astonishment. " What do you mean? " 
 
 The world had not yet learned of the catas- 
 trophe that had claimed the great K of K as 
 its victim, not even Holland, as I ascertained
 
 236 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 later by comparing dates. I presume that 
 England had kept the news quiet, fearing its 
 effect upon the public mind. According to 
 subsequent admissions of my guests, which 
 I wrung from their rather reluctant lips, they 
 themselves had only learned the facts half an 
 hour before joining me. 
 
 I tried to smile at the officer's toast, but it 
 was a guilt) 7 , sickly smile, which developed 
 into a frown of protest. My guests evidently 
 suspected the course of my thought and apol- 
 igized for their thoughtlessness, but their apol- 
 ogies were not made because I was an Amer- 
 ican but because I was a Christian minister. 
 During the entire evening the hilarity of the 
 officers assembled in the Palace dining room 
 was most irrepressible. They were besides 
 themselves with joy at the news. 
 
 Many times as I traveled back and forth 
 between Holland and the United States I 
 heard the rumor that Kitchener was alive and 
 in a German prison. I repeated this rumor to 
 one of the officers I have referred to, and 
 asked him bluntly whether there was any truth 
 in it. 
 
 " Absurd, " he laughed. " That is noth-
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 237 
 
 ing but a stupid English joke. Kitchener 
 alive would be a far greater trophy for Ger- 
 many than a Kitchener whose body cannot 
 even be located! " 
 
 Although I had, with a few exceptions, been 
 well treated by the military authorities in 
 Belgium, I must confess that I entertained 
 misgivings when America declared war. No 
 one seemed to know whether all Americans 
 were to be interned or whether they would be 
 allowed to depart, but my military acquaint- 
 ances were unanimous in the opinion that no 
 American would be permitted to remain in 
 Belgium. 
 
 I was in Bruxelles on the day word was re- 
 ceived of America's declaration. One by one 
 the American flags were lowered, and a feel- 
 ing of gloom settled over the city. At first the 
 Belgians were fearful that even the last mor- 
 sel of bread was to be taken away from them. 
 Later it was seen and realized how vitally im- 
 portant was the step taken by the United 
 States, and all selfish consideration and fears 
 vanished in the light of the greater good to 
 be accomplished by America's intervention. 
 
 When Minister Brand Whitlock and his
 
 238 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 family left Bruxelles, crowds gathered at the 
 depot, offering them flowers and weeping sil- 
 ently. The tribute was not meant for Mr. 
 Whitlock alone — though all Belgians held 
 him in high esteem, it was meant for all Amer- 
 icans. The Belgians realized full well that they 
 were facing a discontinuance of America's 
 relief work, an undertaking that had kept them 
 alive, but they were brave even in the face of 
 unknown additional adversity. 
 
 Mr. Whitlock had advised me to leave Bel- 
 gium at the earliest possible moment. Ameri- 
 can relief workers departed as soon as they 
 could arrange their affairs. Some of them 
 who had labored in Flanders were held in 
 Bruxelles for several weeks so that they would 
 not be able to report recent military opera- 
 tions when they returned home. I remained 
 longer than anyone else, expecting to bring 
 out a crowd of four hundred Belgians whom 
 I had located since my previous journey to the 
 United States. But the military authorities 
 would not hear of it. 
 
 When every other avenue of appeal had been 
 explored without success I appealed directly 
 to Mr. Zimmerman, by letter. I portrayed, as
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 239 
 
 eloquently as I knew how, the plight of my 
 poor charges. I pointed out that applications 
 had been made for their passports before 
 America's declaration of war, even before she 
 had severed diplomatic relations with Ger- 
 many, that they had sold what little property 
 they possessed and were eagerly waiting to 
 leave. I pictured their dismay at not hearing 
 from me as I had told them they would ; it was 
 impossible for me to communicate with them 
 as I had promised. 
 
 Two weeks after writing to Mr. Zimmerman 
 I received a summons to report at the Pass 
 Bureau in Bruxelles, where I was informed 
 that the coveted permission had been granted. 
 I then begged permission to communicate with 
 the Holland American line through the Ger- 
 man authorities, to ascertain the sailing date 
 of the next steamer to the United States. In 
 about ten days I received word that owing to 
 the resumption of unrestricted submarine war- 
 fare, the Holland- American line had discon- 
 tinued its sailings for an indefinite period. I 
 was informed that there was no likelihood of 
 any steamer sailing within the near future, 
 and that so many reservations had already been
 
 240 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 made that when a steamer did sail there would 
 be no room for my party. So, to my great 
 sorrow, I had to leave my poor people behind 
 without even the opportunity to apprise them 
 of the reason. I might have been able to ob- 
 tain passports to take them out via Spain, but 
 that would have involved an expenditure which 
 I was not prepared to meet. 
 
 The question then arose as to my own pass- 
 port. The German authorities insisted that I 
 leave via Spain. I was equally insistent that 
 I be permitted to make my departure via Hol- 
 land as had been my custom in the past. 
 
 " What good will it do for you to enter Hol- 
 land? " the Pass Bureau officials asked. " You 
 will be bottled up there indefinitely; you might 
 just as well remain here in Belgium." 
 
 I explained that I wanted to enter Holland 
 so that I could cancel th e steamship passages 
 that had already been arranged before it was 
 known that I could not take my charges home 
 with me. The money for these passages had 
 been paid to Holland-American line rep- 
 resentatives in America, much of it by poor 
 families who could ill afford to lose it. Well, 
 the Pass Bureau officals said my reason was
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 241 
 
 good, but they could not see how they could 
 give me a Holland passport. Finding that my 
 persuasions availed nothing, I went to my hotel 
 and wrote an informal letter to Governor- 
 General Von Bissing, who had just returned 
 from taking the cure at Weisbaden. I begged 
 the Governor-General to grant me an audience 
 at his official residence. 
 
 Two days later I was called from my room 
 to the office of the hotel, where an officer of the 
 German government handed me an important 
 looking envelope. I tore it open, and to my 
 amazement discovered that it was an invitation 
 to luncheon at Trois Fontaines, the Governor- 
 General's chateau. I was in a dilemma. I 
 hated to accept because, with America and 
 Germany at war, it seemed nothing short of 
 treason to accept such a courtesy from an offi- 
 cial of the German government. On the other 
 hand I dared not refuse, because my doing so 
 would have set at naught the work of many 
 months during which I had gathered messages 
 from Belgians which I was to convey to their 
 relatives and friends abroad. The officer who 
 had delivered the invitation eyed me critically
 
 242 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 as I stood there pondering what course to 
 pursue. 
 
 " Well," he said, finally, " what answer 
 shall I give to His Excellency? Will you 
 accept? " 
 
 " I will. " I replied. 
 
 " Very well; the Governor-General 's motor 
 will be at the hotel entrance on Thursday at 
 twelve-thirty sharp." 
 
 I was waiting at the hotel entrance on 
 Thursday when the automobile drove up. 
 Two young officers, in glittering uniforms, 
 alighted and introduced themselves in excell- 
 ent English. They informed me that they 
 had been school friends of Baroness von Bis- 
 sing, the Governor-General's daughter, and as 
 they were passing through Bruxelles on their 
 way from the front, to spend a furlough at 
 home, they had called her up and had been in- 
 vited to join the luncheon party, with in- 
 structions to pick me up on the way. 
 
 I jumped into the car and settled back in 
 silence. I was anything but a pleasant com- 
 panion, for I could not help worrying over 
 the possible outcome of the situation. I was 
 fearful that I was about to be placed in a very
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 243 
 
 uncomfortable position, that unpleasant allu- 
 sions would be made to America and that I 
 would have to forget my position as a guest 
 and show my resentment. 
 
 "We were met at Trois Fontaines by the 
 Governor-General's adjutant, who immediately 
 informed me that I would be expected to es- 
 cort Her Excellency in to lunch. I felt like 
 asking that I be relieved of the honor; it was 
 my first experience of that nature and I was 
 puzzled which arm I should offer to her. But, 
 before I had puzzled very long the Baron, his 
 wife and daughter appeared upon the scene, 
 and I managed to get through the ordeal some- 
 how. 
 
 I was amazed at the Governor-General's ap- 
 pearance. He walked with great difficulty and 
 with very evident pain; his face was ashen 
 and there was a worried, agonized look in his 
 eyes. I understood then why I had been in- 
 vited to luncheon. It was apparent that the 
 Governor-General would never go to his office 
 again, and he had given me the one possible 
 opportunity to see him. 
 
 The repast was very modest and of short 
 duration. I was seated between the Baron
 
 244 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 and his wife, and although the Governor-Gen- 
 eral spoke but a few times during the meal he 
 took occasion to congratulate me upon the 
 work I had been doing. Her Excellency spoke 
 to me in English tinged with the very slightest 
 accent, asking me in a general way about my 
 mission and passing a few perfunctory re- 
 marks. The Governor-General, I was told, 
 knew no English whatever. 
 
 The guests at the luncheon included the two 
 officers who had called for me at the hotel, the 
 family physician and two other officers, one of 
 them Baron von Marx, the chief official of the 
 Pass Bureau. No one made the slightest al- 
 lusion to America's participation in the war, 
 a mark of unusual courtesy for which I was 
 deeply grateful. When we arose to say fare- 
 well I turned to Baron von Bissing and beg- 
 ged permission to leave Belgium via Holland. 
 He seemed quite willing to grant the request 
 and, calling Baron von Marx to his side, he 
 gave instructions to issue the needed passport. 
 I thanked the Governor-General, bade every- 
 one present good bye and was taken back to 
 my hotel in the Governor-General's motor. 
 
 Four days later I stood at the window of
 
 AMERICA DECLARES WAR 245 
 
 my room in the Palace Hotel and watched the 
 procession of officers and notables accompany- 
 ing the body of the Governor-General to the 
 railway station whence it was to be sent to 
 Germany for burial.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Farewell To Belgium. 
 
 Before leaving the country in which I now 
 seemed to have worked and lived so long, I 
 naturally paid a last visit to Cardinal Mercier. 
 His cup of sadness was overflowing; he 
 seemed more downcast than I had seen him at 
 any of our previous meetings. The much- 
 heralded offensive of the Allies appeared to 
 be on the wane, and the Cardinal had just suf- 
 fered from the petty tyranny of the German 
 masters. His Coadjutor Bishop, Monseigneur 
 De Graefe, had been imprisoned for extending 
 hospitality to a French fugitive and his sec- 
 retary, Canon Srancken, had that morning 
 commenced a term of imprisonment for break- 
 ing one of the military laws of the enemy. 
 
 " So you are leaving us again, and this time 
 for good," said His Eminence. "What is 
 
 246
 
 FAREWELL TO BELGIUM 247 
 
 to become of us now that America can no 
 longer be our godmother? Who will feed our 
 starving people? " 
 
 The pathos of his voice wrung my heart, 
 and I remained silent as he stood gazing- sor- 
 rowfully out of the window of his library. 
 After a few minutes he turned and faced me 
 with a cheerful smile. 
 
 " Away with gloomy forebodings,' ' he said. 
 1 * We should be thankful that Columbia, young, 
 virile Columbia, has unsheathed her sword in 
 the eternal cause of righteousness. We love 
 America for having succored us in our hour of 
 need, and no matter what becomes of us we 
 shall worship her for shedding the blood of 
 her brave sons in the cause of Belgium and 
 freedom, because the cause of Belgium symbol- 
 izes the vindication of humanity's most sacred 
 and inalienable rights against the abuses and 
 oppression of caste and might.' ' 
 
 I felt the Cardinal's emotion in every word 
 he uttered about his love and gratitude for 
 America, and when we discussed the possibil- 
 ity of my taking back some message from him 
 to our President I assured him that I could 
 smuggle such a message out of Belgium. His
 
 248 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 Eminence therefore handed me the following 
 letter : 
 
 Monsieur le President: 
 
 Often since the beginning of the war have I 
 wished to express to the people of the United 
 States, whose highest representative yon are, 
 my sentiments of gratitude. You have lav- 
 ished on us your sympathy, your help, your 
 devotion. At the very moment when you saw 
 yourself compelled to break off the dip- 
 lomatic relations of your country with Ger- 
 many you have had one more special thought 
 for our country; to the fifty delegates of the 
 Committee for the Relief of Belgium you 
 have immediately given the advice not to 
 abandon us as long as the authority in power 
 allowed them to look after our subsistence. 
 Accept our thanks for your generosity, Mon- 
 sieur le President, receive the heartfelt 
 gratitude of the Belgian nation, and allow us 
 to tell you that we pray God, to bless your 
 noble country and its very noble President. 
 
 An American priest, Father de Ville, is 
 kindly bearing this modest message to your 
 address.
 
 JrtRO sn niN im 
 
 PRIX 01 Sl'MEKO - ri:isli.|ii.-. il.- aero ii ruitini (jpriejc :m\ nv.n.lcurs <le nc pas depasser cette linuu-i 
 
 LA LIBRE BELGIQUE 
 
 AfrXftom pr*ftMU«MMt I 
 
 K0N1>FI" E»\w» «W penemncs 5111 ilewiacni par U force ■ 
 
 LE 1" KEVKIitf- ISH3 ^^J'taiS^fcCSSiS^aMSSSKS 
 
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 BULLETIN HE PROPAGANDE PATRI0T1UIE — REGULIEREMENT 1RREGILIEH 
 
 >E SE SOIMETTANT A ACCUSE CESStlBE 
 
 - AUUSSE TELEClUHilul t ! 
 
 KOMMANDANTIR BRIXELI.ES 
 
 limn et auhimstration 
 
 >e pouvant iHrc uu emplacement 
 
 de tout repot, lis 1081 mstalles 
 
 daus une cave automobile 
 
 ANNONCES : Lea affaires etant Dulles 
 sous la domination aileroande, nous 
 avous supprime la page d'annoncea et 
 couseillons a ocs clients de resener 
 leur argent pour des temps meilleurs. 
 
 AVIS. 
 
 (Jn nmu (ait & nimteau llwn- 
 neur de t'i<eeuper de «ntn mo- 
 date bulletin. .Ymi en tumme* 
 flatted, rnais nous nous pojftnu 
 lords de repelei K que nous 
 avoru depi dil p»ur mitre de- 
 fnae. Or n'exl rertrx pox untie 
 
 a la oeritr, de prorvqutr not 
 emciioucnx it la retvile. Sou* 
 ne maaquon* pa* une occasion 
 de preeker la patience, I'endu- 
 rancc, It colmc et ie respect dc* 
 lot* de la yuerre. Atutt puift- 
 tout-nou* de rette iteration qui 
 turn* est offerle pimr repeter 
 lata que wu* aeon* deju in 
 ttrt : 
 
 hestoss 1. 1 /.mas 
 
 U" jour rtendra {tenlemeul 
 
 SON EXCELLENCE LE GO! VERtfEl Ii B ■■» VON HISSING 
 ET SON AMIE 1.M1ME 
 
 cnmlruint* At reenter der.tnl It* 
 AUUu.drmnl etan-l,.Hmn . 
 capitate. 
 
 Sem t ema m * miu at*r* ee* wu 
 —it r aitr qui m eu iimue* 
 ma* etrtU par ie l^'urerme 
 ment at paw U'-tre u*mryme*ln 
 
 1 HHI>HK VX Ul Tlllt IMItll I. KIM. I 
 PUN LA 111 J i.l'jl I. 
 
 il. Max .SOYONS CALMES!!! I 
 Faisons /aire let sentiments de 
 legitime colere qui fermenteut ] 
 eu Hnx ctrurs. . 
 
 Soyone, cvmttte nous i'avons 
 rle jmqu hi, respe<tueux da . 
 hi* de tit tjiwm: tl'eM niitsi que . 
 Hun* rouliuneifiix n meriter i 
 -..w,™ a iMimiluiuM de tut**' 
 lex fvupies eiritises. 
 
 /.'<■ xeiait tw LMTILE LA- 
 II1ETE. une larhele luiligue de* 
 Ketone que de rheriher a te rem- \ 
 yer uilleurt que xttr Ie ehamp de 
 butaille. /.. xerait de plu* EX- 
 POSKK UES IN.MM.ENTS J 
 tie* repremWet terrible* de ta 
 jinrt it'eninmi* xau* pltie" et 
 xant iustiee. 
 
 M<ftmt* nou* de* eaemit pro* 
 roeatewn altenutxki* qui. em 
 tialUmt m4re patriatitme, am , 
 ptwxxeraient * etnmmettre dee 
 rJtree, 
 
 KKS10NS M n [li/s KB 
 Mil > m-tn-l* ET PMtUIUNS 
 l.r. 1, U.UL At fUtM DC ; 
 Mils I IM LE PLtS j 
 
 utMi MJivice utE son ; 
 
 PI LvMO.Vi Mt-NUKE A .MK^ '' 
 IKI mtlU PATKIC. 
 
 l*X 3 AuUl. Ir lMm»«TTinikr|it alktlMHl 
 
 max* mxxlr xWuuxmxUmi w lit«v <mm«^< |*. 
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 l- <•■ I-.- 
 
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 p«/a*c i-« mux ttmruM CM UilMTt* 
 
 UlaM)*r 
 
 1 H- i.. f » 
 
 *J 
 
 This picture of Von Hissing reading I. a Libre Belsique was the 
 last straw. With reclouhled energy (ierman agents went out to lind 
 its abiding place.
 
 FAREWELL TO BELGIUM 249 
 
 Believe me, Monsieur le President, with 
 renewed expressions of gratitude, 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 D. J. Cardinal Mercier, 
 Archbishop of Malines (Belgium), 
 
 Malines, February 9, 1917. 
 
 to Mr. Wilson, President of the United 
 States. 
 
 Carefully I accepted this message, and 
 with deep sorrow bade farewell to the Car- 
 dinal whom I, like all of his people, now 
 loved as a real father. 
 
 This letter to President Wilson is only 
 another example of his courageous spirit 
 most decisively shown in his pastoral of 
 January 29th, 1917 to the deans of his dio- 
 cese and sent with his permission the same 
 year to all of his clergy. I quote it beneath. 
 
 1 To every day its sorrow. The practice 
 of the moral virtues varies with events. At 
 the present time, gentleness, strength of
 
 250 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 mind, serenity, in a warm atmosphere of 
 charity, are especially necessary to us. We 
 have the divine mission of supporting and 
 encouraging our people. Whatever our hu- 
 man reasons for confidence in the future 
 may be — and you know well that they are 
 more justified than ever — let us search for 
 better. 
 
 " Let us follow the example of Moses, 
 who, as is shown in the epistle to the Hebrews, 
 had such a lively faith in God that he saw 
 him with his eyes ' By faith ... he en- 
 dured, as seeing Him who is invisible,' and 
 let us, as sons, deliver all our soul to God. 
 Let this faith inspire our judgments and 
 steep our wills. Undismayed ourselves, we 
 shall support our brethren. The Belgian 
 people have not flinched and, by the grace of 
 God, they will not flinch. Their unalterable 
 serenity will, to the end of their long and bitter 
 trial, console our absent ones, thank our bene- 
 factors, smile on our soldiers, bless our dear 
 Allies and bow before H. M. King Albert; 
 to the end it will be our defiance of the op- 
 pressor, our daily act of patriotism, the hom- 
 age of Belgium to wisdom and goodness and
 
 FAREWELL TO BELGIUM 251 
 
 to the justice and mercy of Divine Provid- 
 ence. ' ' 
 
 I did what I could during the next few 
 days to help all those who had previously 
 appealed to me, and whom I would probably 
 never see again. 
 
 These last efforts led me sometimes far in- 
 to the country, and it was on one such oc- 
 casion that I found myself walking late in 
 the afternoon along a deserted road. The 
 sun was just setting over the edge of the 
 canal, and no sound was to be heard when 
 my ears were startled by the words of a 
 plaintive song in a woman's voice: 
 
 "Pauvre mere, pauvre enfant, 
 Quel malheur, quelle douleur. . . . 
 
 The words seemed to be repeated again and 
 again, in tones now tender and soft, again 
 harsh and punctuated with sobs. I looked for 
 the singer, and about a hundred feet from 
 where I stood I observed a woman seated in 
 the shadow of a cluster of willows, her body 
 swaying slowly to and fro.
 
 252 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 I walked over to the spot. A thin cotton 
 dress covered her emaciated figure; a mass of 
 auburn hair, clotted, unkempt, fell about her 
 shoulders. Her pale face revealed traces of 
 beauty through lines imprinted by sorrow and 
 want. In her lap lay a sleeping child, an in- 
 fant probably a year old. The woman looked 
 at me with an expression of stolid indifference 
 which soon changed to mingled shame and 
 conscious self-pity. 
 
 " Pardon me," I addressed her, " can I be 
 of any service to you, Madame? " 
 
 " No one can do anything for me," she re- 
 plied, in the tone of one who knows utter 
 despair. 
 
 " Do not say that, my friend," I entreated 
 her. " You are suffering, and that entitles you 
 to my respect and my humble help as well, no 
 matter what you may have done." 
 
 She looked at me in silence, and her eyes 
 filled with tears. I did not say anything, but 
 sat down beside her and took hold of her hand. 
 Presently she withdrew her hand from my 
 grasp and wiped her eyes with her apron. 
 
 " Pardon my rudeness," she said with un- 
 steady voice. ' ' Since this happened I am not
 
 FAREWELL TO BELGIUM 253 
 
 responsible for either words or actions." 
 
 "Tell me the cause of your grief," I urged 
 gently. 
 
 She hesitated for a moment and then, with 
 visibly painful effort, she told me her story. 
 
 " I was born twenty-two years ago in that 
 little white house by the canal." She paused 
 for an instant, pointing in the direction of the 
 dwelling she had mentioned. " I was the only 
 child of comparatively poor parents, but I 
 grew up happy and contented. I had every- 
 thing I wanted because my desires were few. 
 
 " Three years ago, at the Easter Kermess, 
 I became engaged to Peter, the son of the vil- 
 lage blacksmith. We loved each other very 
 much. He worked hard and saved his money, 
 and bought a little piece of property in the 
 next hameau. He was preparing to build a 
 cottage on it, and this fall we were to move 
 into it as man and wife. Then this cursed 
 war broke out, and Peter went away with the 
 defenders of Belgium. Perhaps he is not far 
 from me now, on the banks of the Yser. Per- 
 haps he is dead. Who knows? " 
 
 She ceased speaking and fell into a fit of 
 revery, staring ahead into vacancy. After a
 
 254 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 while she lifted her voice in agony. 
 
 " Oh, I pray God that Peter is dead so that 
 he may never learn of my shame. You little 
 serpent," she said with sudden fury, gazing 
 with horror on the still form of th e child, who 
 awoke and began to cry. 
 
 I placed my hands on the woman's should- 
 ers. 
 
 "My poor friend,' ' I said, " do not be un- 
 reasonable. Though unwelcome, the little one 
 is your child and innocent itself of any wrong. ' ' 
 
 " I know it, I know it," she cried passion- 
 ately with a sudden change. She gathered the 
 child up in her arms and covered it with kisses. 
 " I know it — I am its mother and should cher- 
 ish it, but when I think of the father I cannot 
 but rebel and abominate the creature. Oh, if I 
 could only repudiate it and forget that it is 
 part of my flesh and blood! 
 
 " * * * when the Germans entered our vil- 
 lage I was in the stable milking the cows. 
 Three soldiers entered and asked for a drink 
 of milk. I was trembling with fear, but I gave 
 them a pail half filled, and then suddenly, one 
 of them, the largest of the three, took off his 
 helmet and threw it on the floor. He came over
 
 FAEEWELL TO BELGIUM 255 
 
 to me and I knew his purpose from the ex- 
 pression on his face. I screamed, but he 
 seized me in his arms and kissed me. I heard 
 the other two soldiers laugh, and then I knew 
 no more. 
 
 11 When I regained consciousness, I was un- 
 der the covers of my bed, in my room. My 
 father had found me lying on a pile of straw in 
 a corner of the stable. When the little one came 
 my parents tried to hide their shame, but oc- 
 casionally things would go wrong and then they 
 would reproach me. The villagers shunned me 
 as though I were a leper. . . . Six months ago 
 my father was deported to Germany, and we 
 are greatly in want. My poor mother is pining 
 away. Of late, and today especially, I know 
 not why, I have thought that I could find peace 
 only at the bottom of our old canal. Don't 
 you think God would understand and forgive 
 me?" She looked up appealingly. 
 
 11 Poor, poor child," I said, "how deeply I 
 sympathize with you! " 
 
 I offered her a few pieces of silver, as much 
 as I could spare from my slender purse, then 
 I gave her my card and said : " Promise me to 
 be brave for a little longer. I shall try to ob-
 
 256 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 tain a passport for you, so that you may come 
 with me to America, where I can introduce you 
 to friends who will be glad to care for you." 
 
 She pressed the babe to her breast and 
 looked at me with tear-dimmed eyes. 
 
 " Tomorrow," she said sadly " you will 
 no longer remember me. I am only one of 
 many. ' ' 
 
 I assured her that I would not forget my 
 promise, and took her name and address. 
 Then I patted the child on the cheek and left 
 her. I shall never forget the glance she bes- 
 towed upon me at my thought of the little one. 
 There was infinite love and devotion in it. 
 When I neared the road I heard her singing 
 again, but her voice, though sad, had a note of 
 hope in it. 
 
 I made every effort to obtain a passport 
 for her, but she had no family in America and 
 so I could not induce the authorities to allow 
 her departure. I only hope she has had the 
 courage not to let herself drop some evening 
 into the still and peaceful waters of the canal 
 where she played as a child.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 How America Helps. 
 
 I carried Cardinal Mercier 's letter to Wash- 
 ington, and delivered it personally to Presi- 
 dent Wilson, with whom I had an interviw 
 about conditions in Belgium and my work 
 there. The President told me of his admira- 
 tion for Cardinal Mercier, to whom he sent the 
 following answer: 
 
 5 July, 1917. 
 
 The White House, 
 Washington. 
 
 His Eminence 
 
 Cardinal Mercier 
 
 Archbishop of Malines. 
 
 Your Eminence 
 
 I am deeply touched by your personal com- 
 munication of the ninth of February, 1917, 
 
 257
 
 258 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 which recently reached me at the hands of 
 Father deVille. 
 
 The sincere sympathy of the people of the 
 United States for the people of Belgium in 
 their sore affliction has been manifested in 
 many ways since the very outbreak of the 
 war, and this Government has set its seal of 
 approbation upon this national sentiment by 
 sending its chosen forces to the Belgian front, 
 there to fight the common enemy. I trust that 
 the efforts of the American people towards 
 the relief of suffering among the stricken 
 people of Belgium may soon be resumed under 
 happier auspices which will attend the libera- 
 tion of Belgium. 
 
 With assurance of my high personal consid- 
 eration, 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 Woodrow Wilson. 
 
 I came out of the White House more en- 
 couraged than I had felt for a long time. It 
 seemed good to walk about the streets filled 
 with American uniforms symbolic of the war 
 for universal liberty, and it was with deep
 
 HOW AMERICA HELPS 259 
 
 reverence that I saluted the flag when I saw it 
 borne by some of those keen-looking youths 
 who had enlisted in its defence. 
 
 America is going to the war in the noblest 
 and most unselfish manner that any country 
 ever has, and her sons will come back from a 
 war waged so unselfishly with deeper con- 
 sciousness of the brotherhood of man. 
 
 The question has often been put to me, as 
 to what effect this war will have upon religion. 
 People who return from France tell us that 
 the faithful flock to the churches and that 
 there is a great revival of religious spirit. 
 Thirty thousand priests have abandoned their 
 missions in the Far East, in Africa and other 
 places, and have returned home to fight for 
 France in her hour of need. Sisters and mem- 
 bers of religious orders flocked back in spite 
 of the laws passed in France some years ago 
 against religious communities, and are devot- 
 ing themselves to the alleviation of suffering. 
 Why did they desert the missions that needed 
 them? Why did they abandon the benighted 
 pagan and a fertile harvest in order to return 
 to what they considered an ungrateful Father- 
 land? Was it because they felt their first duty
 
 260 BACK FEOM BELGIUM 
 
 was to their brethren at home and hoped that 
 their patriotism, their abnegation would cause 
 many to come back to the fold? Or was it 
 merely love of country that prompted them to 
 do so? Perhaps both. Be that as it may, it is 
 an imposing, inspiring spectacle that they pre- 
 sent — this legion of levites — scattered through- 
 out the army, fighting the enemy and pausing 
 now and then to grant absolution to their 
 wounded and dying comrades. The effect 
 their heroism and ministrations must have 
 upon their comrades is a beautiful one for the 
 future of the Church of France. 
 
 In Belgium many people go to Church that 
 never went before because the Church has be- 
 come the only " Temple de la patrie" where 
 homage may be paid to the Fatherland with a 
 certain degree of impunity. The priests are 
 patriots, and the sermons they preach are full 
 of subtle allusions to the momentous questions 
 of the time, if not openly patriotic. The na- 
 tional anthems are sung, the national airs 
 played. Hence you will find there the pious 
 Catholic and Protestant, as well as the bileral, 
 the socialist and the atheist, all brought to- 
 gether by a common sorrow, all breathing the
 
 HOW AMERICA HELPS 261 
 
 same spirit, giving vent to the same emotions 
 and aspirations. How beautiful would it not 
 be if this could last forever! 
 
 On the other hand, I asked a Bavarian of- 
 ficer, an excellent Catholic, what effect the 
 war had upon the church-going Germans, Ba- 
 varians and Austrians. 
 
 "Very bad," he replied. "At the beginning 
 of the war the churches in Belgium were full 
 of soldiers who went to mass and received the 
 sacraments regularly. Now things are differ- 
 ent and you see comparatively few performing 
 their religious duties. The war has lasted too 
 long, and many of them having been away 
 from their families so long have contracted 
 illicit relations and consequently grow tepid, 
 indifferent. Again, the socialist has not been 
 idle, and during the long days in trenches 
 and camps has argued and preached in season 
 and out of season, making tens of thousands 
 of converts, men whom he could never reach 
 at home, surrounded as they were by the at- 
 mosphere of the church, and prejudiced 
 against new doctrines. 'What is the use of 
 praying?' they say to you now. 'We have 
 prayed long and earnestly but God does not
 
 262 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 hear our supplications.' They gradually grow 
 hard, skeptical, angry at the tenets they once 
 professed. A prominent clergyman of Col- 
 ogne told me as early as March, 1915, that 
 there were very many cases of infidelity 
 among the women of Germany whose hus- 
 bands were away at war and that the clergy- 
 men and leaders of the various municipalities 
 were very much alarmed." 
 
 Perhaps the people of France and Belgium 
 have turned to religion in their suffering as 
 the people of Germany, waging an evil war for 
 ignoble motives, could not do. The German 
 "Gott" is too opposed to the idea which civi- 
 lized persons, be they Catholics or Protest- 
 ants or Jews, have received of the Divinity. 
 Not until the inevitable defeat will the German 
 come to realize the ignominious part played 
 by his country, and the glory of those who 
 opposed Hohenzollern lust of conquest. 
 
 But who can tell now of Belgium's glory? 
 Where are we to look for Belgium's singer? 
 Not in Belgium herself nor yet among the 
 peoples of any of her Allies. For there is no 
 one person, no one nation that can sing the 
 song of the savior of civilization. The hymn
 
 HOW AMERICA HELPS 263 
 
 of Belgian praise will ascend through the 
 years of history, rising high on the voice of 
 humanity. Justice, fairest daughter of man- 
 kind, will declaim the glory of Belgium's cour- 
 age, a courage that unfurled the banner of 
 defiance when Right lay bleeding under the 
 heel of Might. Even German posterity will 
 "sing unto the Lord a new song" — celebrating 
 the immutable force that saved the German 
 peoples from their self -directed destruction. 
 
 Picture the women and children of Belgium, 
 — her old men — during the period of German 
 domination. Those who stayed at home fought 
 as bravely as the soldiers enlisted under the 
 colors of King Albert's land. I saw them in 
 their dark hours of adversity, I saw their 
 smiles of hope as their savings gradually dis- 
 appeared, and I saw their heroism in the face 
 of danger. I saw them when they put aside 
 their pride and joined Charity's bread line in 
 order to keep alive. I observed the evidence 
 of their unconquerable pride as one by one 
 their liberties were taken away, I watched 
 them hide their chagrin, bow their heads like 
 early martyrs. And always in their eyes was
 
 264 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 the fearless light of those who have "fought a 
 good fight ! ' ' 
 
 It was Bismarck, that fiendish plotter, who 
 laid the foundations for the present tragedy, 
 who wrote in 1870 that: " True strategy con- 
 sists in striking your enemy and striking him 
 hard. Above all things you must inflict on the 
 inhabitants of invaded territories the maxi- 
 mum of suffering, in order to discourage them 
 from the struggle and to insure their assist- 
 ance in bringing pressure to bear on their 
 government to induce it to end resistance. 
 You must leave to the people through whose 
 homes you march nothing but their eyes with 
 which to weep. ,, 
 
 It is in accordance with this hellish doctrine 
 of their great war teacher that the Huns are 
 joyfully sinking peaceful fishermen, shelling 
 the churches in which women pray and starv- 
 ing the children of Belgium. 
 
 And so, as I cannot return to those un- 
 fortunate millions starving in Belgium, I am 
 doing what little I can from America for their 
 relief. Before my final departure from Bel- 
 gium, I had been asked by Cardinal Mercier 
 and by those at the head of L'Oeuvre du Lait
 
 HOW AMERICA HELPS 265 
 
 to carry to the United States and to South 
 America the plaint of Belgium's starving 
 babes, and since my return I have been ap- 
 pealing for these little ones. 
 
 One of the most sorrowful sights in Bel- 
 gium is that presented by little children gath- 
 ered in shivering groups at corners where 
 they remain for hours in the hope of receiv- 
 ing a cup of so-called milk. Though there be 
 crowds of them together they are sadly silent, 
 and rarely indeed is childish laughter heard 
 in Belgium today. Father has been deported 
 or is fighting somewhere for the cause of lib- 
 erty, and mother is often in tears when she 
 thinks of him and wonders whether he will 
 ever return to fill that empty chair at the fam- 
 ily table. 
 
 And now strict economy has been replaced 
 by actual want, by gnawing hunger for these 
 little children of the heroes of Liege and of 
 the Yser who saved not only Europe but the 
 whole civilized world. They are growing 
 daily paler and thinner, and sometimes they 
 quietly die for the want of a little food. 
 
 Wherever I go I find sympathy and gener- 
 ous response from Americans of every de- 
 nomination and of every class whom war has
 
 266 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 drawn together in such brotherhood as did not 
 exist before. I wish I had the space to re- 
 print here some of the letters I have received 
 in connection with this work. They would 
 show a little Protestant school teacher in Wis- 
 consin teaching her class to make sacrifices in 
 order to feed their Catholic friends in Bel- 
 gium, they would show a poor Jewish woman 
 in New York sending for the same cause her 
 only Liberty bond, proudly bought at great 
 sacrifice, they would show the unending gen- 
 erosity of those to whom a little often means 
 a great deal. 
 
 The patrons of L'Oeuvre de Lait, known 
 here as "The Belgian Children's Milk Fund,'' 
 are headed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 
 of Belgium and include the Duchess of Ven- 
 dome, Cardinal Mercier and the Princess of 
 Ligne, while the Honorary President of the 
 American Committee is the Hon. Henry Van 
 Dyke, assisted by John Purroy Mitchell, Mr. 
 Pierre Mali (Belgian Consul-General at New 
 York) and a number of the leading ministers 
 of every religion. Its American headquarters 
 are at 2517 Logan Boulevard, Chicago. 
 
 The Belgian Children's Milk Fund has a
 
 HOW AMERICA HELPS 267 
 
 group of cottages near the Hague, Holland, 
 and it takes care of destitute Belgian children 
 of refugees who are not able to care for them 
 or who have died during the war. Its princi- 
 pal object, however, is to send money to its 
 branches in Belgium with which to buy milch 
 cows or milk for their two distributing sta- 
 tions at Contich and Malines. It also buys 
 cows in Holland to send over to Belgium and 
 this is done with the protection of the Dutch 
 authorities who see to it that they be regarded 
 as property of a beneficient organization with 
 Dutch connections, and hence immune from 
 seizure. A great deal of good has been done 
 and the work has been supported by the rich 
 Belgians until now, but their resources are 
 now exhausted and the need is greater than 
 ever, as the little petitioners are daily in- 
 creasing in number. More stations should be 
 built in different parts of the country, and the 
 daily allotment should be increased instead of 
 diminished. At present each child receives 
 one-third of a quart per day. The "Milk 
 Fund" appeals now, for the first time, to the 
 American people, and it is an appeal which 
 should be heard by every parent whose own
 
 268 BACK FROM BELGIUM 
 
 little ones safe at home are growing up happy 
 and healthy while those others — a week's 
 traveling away — are slowly starving and have 
 forgotten what it is to be happy. 
 
 As I write it is nearly four years since 
 Belgium fell under the ruthless domination of 
 Germany, and for nearly four years the Huns 
 have dashed themselves against the barrier 
 composed of French and British and Belgians. 
 "They shall not pass" has been the challenge 
 of civilization, and now the barrier is strength- 
 ened by the incalculable force of a peaceful 
 America roused at last to war. It may be a 
 long war still, and it will bring sacrifice and 
 cost some of our best blood, but every man 
 that falls will be a source of pride and inspir- 
 ation for all times, and in the glory of the 
 achievement we will remember Maeterlinck's 
 words : 
 
 " "Where are the dead? 
 There are no dead."
 
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