The Spell of Belgium Part 24

"Here I am at Tirlemont, where we are occupied in reforming our scattered regiment! Many are killed and injured, some are taken, others lost. It is a terrible mix-up, and it will take a long time to get it straightened out, and I am profiting by this moment to write you and let you know what has happened in the last few days.

"We had been fighting all day Wednesday, and when evening came on we were told to dislodge a troop that occupied the s.p.a.ce between the two forts. They gave us the message very simply: 'It is death, but it must be done.' Nothing more. We were under fire all night. We kill without seeing any one. The bullets whistle, a shrapnel explodes five meters from us, we have several killed, and we stay under this rain of bullets and it is awful.

"I could not tell you my impressions. I recited about one hundred vows; I wondered what it felt like to be in heaven, because I was certain that every moment would be my last.

"The Germans advanced more and more, and we retreated, surrounded on all sides, and at four in the morning out of one hundred and sixty in our company only seventeen remained; all are not dead; there are injured and prisoners. We shall return under fire if this keeps up. I will take my part in it; I am ready and prepared, and know that if I die I shall do so with confidence. Do not think that it is with despair that I shall die; it is with the utmost resignation. Do not cry or be sad.

I resign myself to my fate, and I ask you to take things in this way also. Adieu, with all my heart. It is perhaps only for a short while, and I shall wait for you above. Much love to the family. I am in good health but very tired. Thousands of affectionate kisses. I have had my photograph taken and they will send you the proof. For my part, I take care to keep your photographs on me, and every day, after looking at them, it gives me fresh courage. Adieu."

I give next a letter from the Mother Superior of a convent at Liege, written the night after Liege had been attacked:

"In the morning the sound of cannon again shook the chapel.

"The sisters were told to go and get their bundles, and in five minutes to be at the gate, where they would each receive five francs and their papers, and then they were told to run to the station. They did, through the rain, and to the accompaniment of the whistle and whine of German bullets. The Germans were on the heights, and were approaching every minute. The younger sisters helped those who were ill or old. Arriving near the station two sick ones were obliged to go to bed in another convent, and the others installed themselves in the cellars and small hallways. An immense explosion occurred--it was only a bridge they were blowing up, but the garden was filled with broken pieces of iron and steel. Eighteen sisters got into a train filled with wounded and arrived at Brussels at midnight, nearly dead from fright.

"They went up the Boulevard Botanique, where they found an ambulance wagon, which took them to the Mother's house. The General Superior came to open the door for them, with her white ap.r.o.n and her arm band of the Red Cross. They slept in beds prepared for the wounded, and the next day they were sent to different inst.i.tutions.

"People knew nothing but false news, given out by the Germans.

We had no news for three weeks, so I didn't even know a new Pope had been elected."[15]

[15] The young English lady who took this letter to Roehampton was made a prisoner, from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon. Although she had to show the letter, the German officials let her go, as it was unimportant, but her husband was taken prisoner. They asked him his age, and told him that they needed soldiers, and that he might be of use to them.

This letter is from a Belgian nun:

August.

"My sister Catherine, not being able to get away from Brieux, was obliged to stay there thirteen days, and it was the priest that brought her back to Bosel in tram and cart. He will go back there and show the soldiers the retreat. The Reverend Father von Volkson stayed in Malines till the last, and quietly kept on reciting his ma.s.s while they were bombarding the city.

He was in civilian dress: but we don't know where he is now.

Have you heard that the Reverend Mother of Tournai had her arm lacerated by a bullet, which then went and hit Mother de B----, who was standing behind her, in the region of the heart, and both of them died, hit by the same bullet? They were going into the loft to see from which direction the Germans were advancing to take possession of the city.

"It is a just war, for G.o.d and country. It is this that gives the King and our soldiers superhuman strength. As soon as it was known that Germany was going to insult Belgium, thousands of men offered themselves to fight, and the priests accompanied these brave men to give them spiritual help and encouragement."

"OSTEND--end of October.

"During the week of the 31st of October the Belgians resisted the attacks of the enemy, and the King had the dangerous honour of commanding the Allies' left wing while they put up a terrific fight to defend Calais, which was the princ.i.p.al prize of this terrific struggle. For six days our Belgians stood the fire of 250,000 Germans, who were afterwards reinforced by 100,000 others. With these forces the enemy had to pa.s.s the Yser, which was filled with bodies. Although the fight seemed ended, 'the Belgians'--to quote Caesar--'continued to dispute the mastery of the last parcel of their territory. With a rage bordering on grief they thought they would have to capitulate immediately.' The Belgians lost 10,000 men. They attacked again, and the enemy was forced to repa.s.s the Yser red with blood, and they were chased ten miles towards the north.

"But still, though we have lost so many, we have not lost courage. In the midst of our ruined cities and our burnt and ruined crops, higher than our burnt towers, higher than the cruel deeds, stands our hope, and higher than the ignominy our proud independence, our love for the King and our land. Not for one instant has the Belgian spirit regretted the call of honour that has caused us such calamities, and tomorrow she would still refuse, even at the same price and at the cost of the same martyrdom!

"Sir Edward Grey saluted the Comte de Lalaing (Minister Plenipotentiary at London) with the t.i.tle of Amba.s.sador, of which Belgium is worthy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BELGIAN ARMY.]

"If you could only hear our injured and wounded speak of the King. When an officer fell the King took his place, crying out, 'Come, my children, shoot now, like this, all together.' And you should see how they killed their enemies! Today is the fete-day of our poor little Queen; what an anniversary! At the Palace Hotel they give the wounded wine in her honour, and they sing the 'Brabanconne,' and 'Vers l'Avenir.'"

I give two verses of the "Brabanconne":--

"Fled the years of servile shame, Belgium, 'tis thine hour at last, Wear again thy ancient name, Spread thy banner on the blast.

Sovereign people, in thy might Steadfast yet and valiant be, On thy ancient standard write-- Land and Law and Liberty!

"Belgium, Mother, hear us vow, Never will our love abate, Thou our hope, our refuge thou, Hearts and blood are consecrate.

Grave, we pray, upon thy shield This device eternally, Weal or woe, at home, a-field, Land and law and liberty."

From Countess ----:

"BRUSSELS--October.

"Food is easy to get if not plentiful and the bread eatable in Brussels. V. got out of Belgium this time without being caught.

We are full of hope. We are well and busy. Every one is trying to help those in need. There is much to do. Those who still remain here see each other often. We meet at each other's houses for tea and bring information. A. was wounded in the head and has been taken prisoner. Mr. Whitlock's untiring devotion to his work is more than appreciated by every cla.s.s.

He is just the man for the place. The Spanish Minister is a great help. We have had no letter since August. I knit madly to keep calm. I hope the day may come when I may say all that is in my heart. It is a suffocating feeling to have a foreign occupation. We have such a time getting the papers. One sheet appears a day, and all we want to know is carefully left out by the Germans."

In October there comes a moan from Luxembourg.

"LUXEMBOURG.

"We are crying for flour. Nothing sent from America can reach Luxembourg. The railways are destroyed by dynamite, _toutes les routes ravagees_; not one way of communication at present. The rich as well as the poor are dying of hunger and cold. All the horrors of our enemies are, alas! quite true. We are ruined, our money gone, the villa burnt. Tears are dropping on the letter as I write. This letter which may never reach you."

"October.

"My good Mother,

"I have thought of you very often since it has pleased G.o.d to visit upon us the horrors of war. What damages have been caused by the Germans in our country! At Dinant Mr. Wa.s.sege has been shot with his two sons because he did not want to open the safe of the bank or give the combination. Seventy-five other civilians had the same fate, also hundreds of little children.

The horrors the Germans have committed here are fit for Turks or savages; I could state hundreds of cases. In Antwerp two beautiful estates, which were situated near the forts, belonging to well-known German society people, were found to have underground pa.s.sages leading to the fortresses. By chance, barrels were found containing German uniforms for those we have received with so much kindness, to put on when the German soldiers occupy the city, as was seen in Verviers. In several houses in Antwerp wireless plants were discovered. In Antwerp hundreds of spies were found, who dressed in all manner of clothing, as nuns, priests, and nurses.

"They are taking the civilians away to serve as soldiers in the German army, or to gather their crops. In Namur they have started to write down the births, deaths, and marriages, and the people must take German names, or be shot.

"Eight thousand people fleeing from Louvain were forced to march a great distance by the Germans, eight in a line, and they had to keep their hands in the air all the time. They had to fasten Helen P----'s baby on her back--she is the niece of Mother V. E---- so that she could walk in this way. Our soldiers often have Communion, and are full of courage and confidence. They love the King, who shows himself full of courage. He marches at the head of his troops, and after a battle shakes hands with the soldiers; we can be proud of him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BELGIAN REFUGEES.]

"A magistrate on his way back to Brussels was given a letter to deliver. He told a friend on the train he had the letter on his person, but did not know where to hide it. His friend said he was doing a very dangerous thing, for if the letter was found on him he would be shot. He also said: 'You must read it, then tear it up, and transmit the news orally.' This he did. Later the train was surrounded by Germans, who announced that no one was to descend, and that it was forbidden to carry letters, and in consequence every one was going to be searched. Terrible fright! Of the people carrying letters, one managed to eat his, when he found that it could not be hidden and he was not able to throw it away.... The magistrate presented himself at six-thirty at the proper place, and recited the contents of the letter and told the story of his trip."

"LONDON--November.

"As for the Belgian refugees, it is getting to be a great problem what to do with them. There are thousands and thousands like droves of frightened sheep, not a particle of clothing but what they stand up in, and not a penny in the world. You just cannot realize it unless you see them. Ladies and gentlemen of fine position and peasants all together, and all helpless and homeless.

"It seems so horrible to think that our only thought is to kill, and that we rejoice when the enemy has lost men. I hardly dare think of it. It seems as though we had all gone mad.

"The King Albert Hospital is working well, and three more Belgian hospitals have had to be opened. They now all work under military authority, and so they do not need our a.s.sistance any more, I mean, in the way of our being there daily.

"Mrs. B---- and I have now put our hearts and energies into a Maternity Home for Belgians, that is, we have two, one for ladies and one for working women. They are both such sweet, pretty homes, that it really must help them to forget the cruelties of being far from their husbands and homes. They nearly all call their sons Albert, and the daughters either Elizabeth or Alberta.

"The streets and shops are filled with Belgians, one hears French in busses, everywhere in fact. One often hears Flemish too. I was surprised when I first heard it, for it sounded so like German. _L'Echo Belge_, a Flemish paper published in London, has on the first page: '_Voor G.o.d en Vaderland_'--'_Pour Dieu et Patrie_.' A great many papers are published here for the Belgians and French. There are innumerable appeals, many for Belgium, such as: Belgian Relief Fund, the Belgian Soldiers Fund, and so forth.

"Limericks are very common among the soldiers and are very good. Here is one about a Belgian girl. Please remember that Ypres is called Wipers by Tommy Atkins.

"There was a young lady of Ypres, Who was. .h.i.t in the cheek by two snipers, The tunes that she played Through the holes that they made, Beat the Argyle and Sutherland pipers."

"The shop windows are full of war games, such as: 'Storming the Citadel'--'Kill Kiel'--and the 'Dreadnaught game.'