Part 4

What naval warfare seems like to the "black squad" imprisoned in the engineroom is described by an engineer of the _Laurel_, who went through the "scrap" off Heligoland. Writing to his wife he says:

It was a terribly anxious time for us, I can tell you, as we stayed down there keeping the engines going at their top speed in order to cut off the Germans from their fleet. We could hear the awful din around and the scampering of the tars on deck as they rushed about from point to point, and we knew what was to the fore when we caught odd glimpses of the stretcher bearers with their ghastly burdens.

We heard the shells crashing against the sides of the ship or shrieking overhead as they passed harmlessly into the water, and we knew that at any moment one might strike us in a vital part and send us below for good.

It is ten times harder on the men whose duty is in the engineroom than for those on deck taking part in the fighting, for they, at least, have the excitement of the fight, and if the ship is struck they have more than a sporting chance of escape. We have none.

FROM A DYING FRENCHMAN.

The most dramatic letters come from the French. On one of the fields of battle, when the Red Cross soldiers were collecting the wounded after a heavy engagement, there was found a half sheet of notepaper, on which was written a message for a woman, of which this is the translation:

Sweetheart: Fate in this present war has treated us more cruelly than many others. If I have not lived to create for you the happiness of which both our hearts dreamed, remember that my sole wish is now that you should be happy. Forget me. Create for yourself some happy home that may restore to you some of the greater pleasures of life. For myself, I shall have died happy in the thought of your love. My last thought has been for you and for those I leave at home. Accept this, the last kiss, from him who loved you.

Writing from a fortress on the frontier, a French officer says the Colonel in command was asked to send a hundred men to stiffen some reservist artillery in the middle of France, far away from the war area. He called for volunteers. "Some of you who have got wives and children, or old mothers, fall out," he said. Not a man stirred. "Come, come," the Colonel went on. "No one will dream of saying you funked. Nothing of that kind. Fall out!" Again the ranks were unbroken. The Colonel blew his nose violently. He tried to speak severely, but his voice failed him. He fried to frown, but somehow it turned into a smile. "Very well," he said, "you must draw lots." And that was what they did.

* * * * *

Twenty-two grandsons and great-grandsons of Queen Victoria are under arms in the war, and all but five of them are fighting with the Germans.

* * * * *

The Cunard liners _Saxonia_ and _Ivernia_ were converted into prison ships by the British. The German prisoners were delighted with the transfer to the roomy cabins, where they could keep warm and dry in contrast to the unfavorable conditions under which they lived in the camps at the Newbury Race Course.

* * * * *

Reindeer meat and lamb, imported from Iceland, found their way into the markets of Berlin since the war began. The reindeer meat is a novelty and the supply is plentiful. The supply of game in the markets of Berlin ran short long before, since hunting had almost ceased. Poultry in the markets was still in great quantities, although eggs were not so plentiful, as the supply usually comes from Galicia, which was then overrun by the Russians.

* * * * *

A sale of small Belgian flags in Paris and throughout France brought about $40,000 for the benefit of the Belgian refugees. The sale was prolonged in the outlying provinces. There was every manifestation of enthusiasm.

* * * * *

Once gay Ostend is desolated. The city lives in an atmosphere of fear. The spectre of famine is continually before the inhabitants, who subsist on wounded, emaciated horses purchased at $4 a head from the Germans. They are the only meat the people can buy. There are no vegetables, and scarcely any coffee and no tea. Many convicts from prisons in Germany, distinguished by their shorn heads, are employed in grave digging work about the city.

* * * * *

The hygiene committee of the French Chamber of Deputies has won over the veto of General Joffre that a number of committeemen be allowed to inspect the hospitals at the front with a view to certain reforms. General Joffre opposed the proposal. The Minister of War, however, agreed that twelve of the committee should go on the inspection trip.

* * * * *

That the battle of Crouy was one of the bloodiest engagements of the war is demonstrated by the stories told by wounded soldiers reaching Paris to-day. An officer gives this thrilling account of the affray:

"After our successful advantage the Germans counter attacked with fearful violence. How strongly they were reinforced is shown by the fact that they were 40,000 against less than 10,000 French. They first drove us from Vregny to Crouy, then, because further reinforcements were still reaching them, we were compelled to quit Crouy, Bucy, Moncel, Sainte Marguerite and Missy.

"These attacks certainly hit us hard, but our losses are not comparable with those of the Germans, for we killed an inconceivable number of them. A battery covering our retreat alone annihilated two battalions of Germans who advanced, as usual, in a mass. We could not resist, so we left a small rearguard force with the mission to hold on to the last man so that the bulk of our 10,000 men could recross the Aisne.

"This force took cover behind an old wall and belched fire on the advancing Germans until its ammunition was exhausted. The Germans managed to reach the other side of the wall, and even grasped the barrels of our rifles thrust through gaps. 'Surrender!' they cried. 'We won't harm you.' But we continued mowing them down with six mitrailleuses. The carnage was frightful, and that moment a shell splinter struck me.

"A shell fire directed on our positions in the Valley de Chivres was fearful. Those of our troops who escaped said it was a continuous rain of Jack Johnsons, which are impossible to dodge.

"Next day the Germans tried to pursue us across the Aisne, but our artillery repulsed two determined attacks, decimating several regiments, which were forced to retreat to Moncel."

* * * * *

It is a curious thing that shell explosions always make hens lay. Just whether it's shock or not no one is able to say as yet, but as soon as the soldiers see a stray chicken after a fusillade they make a dash for it in hopes of finding an egg. Some of the soldiers are suggesting running a poultry farm on the explosion system.

* * * * *

Petrograd reports that the German officers in command of the Turks induced the temperate Osmanlis to drink cognac before going into battle. Russian soldiers assert that many Turks fell from dizziness before reaching the Russian bayonets. So unused are many of the Turks to alcohol that small quantities of the cognac completely befuddled them.

* * * * *

Kaiser Wilhelm has presented the Turkish Government with a series of motion picture films of the Germans in battle along the Western front. These pictures will be reproduced in Constantinople in public and are hoped to be a stimulant to enthusiasm in the Turkish capital.

* * * * *

Switzerland's neutrality has thus far cost her $22,000,000. This includes the expenses of mobilization along the frontiers and other purely military expenditures. It is an enormous sacrifice for the Swiss people, but the spirit in which it is being borne is the most striking proof of the determination of the country to remain neutral.

* * * * *

Efforts are being made by the Washington Humane Society to have laws enacted prohibiting the exportation of horses and mules to the war. The life of a horse or mule at the front in Europe varies between three days and three weeks. The life of the beast depends upon the service to which it is put.

* * * * *

Eight Belgian heroes prevented the Germans from piercing a weak spot in the Allies' line near Dixmude. A patrol of eight Belgians with a machine gun saw a column of Germans advancing. The patrol took shelter in a deserted farm house. Not until the German column was one hundred yards away did the Belgians open fire. Then the machine gun shot a spray of death into the column, whose front rank just seemed to melt to the ground. The Germans pressed on bravely, their officers urging them with hoarse cries. But discipline had to bow to death, and the first rush was stayed. Behind their rough shelter the Belgians fired steadily, though outnumbered twenty to one. For two hours the unequal fight continued, and still the Belgians continued to pick off individual Germans or melted down any threatening rush with a shower of flame and death from the machine guns. When relief finally came three of the Belgians were dead and the other five desperately wounded.

* * * * *

An order has been issued expelling all German and Austrian subjects between the ages of sixteen and sixty from Petrograd and its environs, and from those Russian provinces bordering on the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic, including the Gulf of Riga. Drastic measures will be taken with those who evade this order. All Germans and Austrians found in the forbidden districts will be dealt with as spies.

* * * * *

The British War Office is now urging the women of the Empire to send their husbands to war. London newspapers printed the following advertisement: "To the Women: Do you realize that one word, 'Go,' from you may send another man to fight for our King and our country? When the war is over and your husband or your son is asked, 'What did you do in the great war?' is he going to hang his head because you would not let him go? Women of England, do your duty! Send your men to-day to join our glorious army. God Save the King!"

* * * * *

A brave young wife travelled from Paris to the Belgian firing line to see her husband, but was told that such was impossible because he was in the trenches. Noticing that she wept, a Belgian officer nearby told the woman to dry her tears. He then telephoned to the trenches. In an hour the French artilleryman appeared and rushed into his wife's arms. "You must thank that Belgian officer--he has a heart of gold," said the wife to her husband, pointing to the officer who had befriended her. "Hush," whispered the soldier, "he is the King of the Belgians."

* * * * *

One of Italy's best known military critics, while manifesting high esteem for the strategy of General von Hindenburg, severely criticized a certain feature of the Marshal's tactics. Some days later he received a parcel from Germany containing a fine fac-simile of the famous General's baton, accompanied by a note asking the critic to accept the baton and come and have a try at the job of beating the Russians if he thought himself more capable of doing it than Von Hindenburg.

* * * * *

A British soldier made somewhat of a name for himself by refusing to allow General Joffre to enter the house used as headquarters owing to the fact that the famous French General had no permit from the English General, whose orders were to allow nobody whatever to enter without it. General Joffre was not upset, and went off with his aide, who obtained the necessary permit.

* * * * *

The official aviation reports show that 135 deaths occurred in the French aero service between the beginning of the war and January 1. This number includes observers, passengers, pupils and pilots.

* * * * *

Every precaution has been taken to guard against possible attack by German aeroplanes on the Palais Bourbon during the session of Parliament in Paris. Three French aeroplanes flew constantly in the vicinity of the building during the session.

* * * * *

A brilliant charge by French Alpine troops on skis down the snow-covered slopes of Bonhomme, on the Alsatian frontier, is the latest thing in warfare. Under a heavy fire from the Germans the Alpine troops climbed to the summit. Then they charged down the side of the mountain with the speed of the wind, firing their rifles as they sped along. These Alpine men are so skilful on skis that they can fight as they slide along at breakneck speed. Many of them were dropped by German gunfire during the charge, but as the outrunners drew near the Germans broke and fled.

* * * * *

That the Kaiser has Breton blood in his veins is the latest assertion of Paris newspapers. To prove their assertion the Kaiser's ancestry is traced back to 1547 to the head of a princely Breton family.

* * * * *

Five dollars for officers and $2.50 for non-commissioned officers are the bounties placed on the heads of French leaders, according to German prisoners. The soldiers receive these amounts for every officer killed. Many bounties have been paid.

* * * * *

General Grossetti, whose name matches his physical proportions, has won fame by his habit of sitting in an armchair when duty calls him to the firing line. His contempt for death has become proverbial and won for him the admiration of a Japanese journalist, who compared him to the Samurai. Once he rallied a wavering regiment by taking a seat, amid a hail of shells, before the trenches the regiment was defending.

* * * * *

There are two plausible explanations of the mystery that still surrounds the deposal of General von Moltke, former Chief of Staff in the Kaiser's war council. One story is that when von Kluck was making his fierce drive to the very gates of Paris, von Moltke was for having him continue on to the coast. The Kaiser flatly decided against von Moltke's strategy--which was thoroughly justified by subsequent events. It places von Moltke, however, in the untenable position of one whose mere presence is the silent reproach of "I told you so." The other explanation is that von Moltke was too lavish in squandering the lives of his men for petty gains, paying fancy prices in blood for a few yards. The Over War Lord finally called a halt.

* * * * *

The castle of the Duke de Tallyrand, husband of Miss Anna Gould, of New York, in East Prussia, has been occupied by Russians. The Duke is acting as a military chauffeur in the French army.

* * * * *

The new German super-submarine has just completed successful trial runs in the Bay of Heligoland. This giant submarine is of the type that carries three months' supplies, which does not necessitate her putting into port or having recourse to the parent ship. There have been rumors that the Germans intended landing men on the coast of Britain by means of this sort of submarine.

* * * * *

The fear of an attack by the Germans has about worn out in Paris. The gates are no longer closed and the Parisians can hereafter take their strolls along the avenues of the Bois.

* * * * *

Following a mutiny in the Turkish army seventeen officers who distinguished themselves in the Balkan war have been shot.

* * * * *

Through inoculation the ravages of typhoid fever among the British troops have been checked. Not a single death has occurred among those thus inoculated.

* * * * *

That thousands of Russian women are rejoicing over the fact that the sale of vodka has been prohibited by the Russian Government was the news brought by Mrs. Anna Omohundro, who arrived on the Scandinavian-American liner _Oscar II_. Mrs. Omohundro, who is an American woman and a widow, has been living for the last three years in Petrograd and Moscow, where her brother is the agent for the International Harvester Company.

"For the first time," said she, "many Russian wives find their homes livable. It appears that the prohibition on vodka has worked wonderful changes in a short time. I have heard of hundreds of cases where men became home loving and industrious because they were unable to get the fiery liquor which turned their brains.

"There was one case in my own home in Moscow. A woman servant came to me and fell on her knees and said she wished to leave our service. I asked her why she wished to go and she said: 'For the first time I am happy in my home and wish to go there. My husband is no longer made crazy by vodka. He is kind to me and I wish to keep the home for him.'

"Of course the cases of reformation that I know of personally are among the men who from one cause or another have not joined the Russian armies. I believe, however, that the benefit extends throughout the nation."

_Twenty-seven Miles in Sleighs._

Mrs. Omohundro made a journey of several hundred miles to get out of Russia from Petrograd to Stockholm, part of which was a trip in sleighs of twenty-seven miles from Tornio, in Finland, to Korning, Sweden. This trip took about four hours and the ride was through the rather weird twilight of midday in the northern latitudes.

An amusing story was told of the stop at Tornio, on the border, where the members of the party were searched. Even the women did not escape inspection by the Russian soldiers and all postcards and suspicious looking papers were confiscated. In the party was an English Jew who was returning to London after selling out his business in Moscow. It was noticed by some of the travellers that the returning merchant, whose name was Cohen, frequently bought many boxes of matches.

When the search took place at Tornio the many boxes of matches in Cohen's baggage did not seem to excite any suspicion among the Russian troopers. After the party had passed over the border Cohen opened up box after box and from the bottom of each took a compact roll of money. He had concealed about $12,000 in this way.

"You see," he explained, "I could not afford to take any chances."

* * * * *

A French officer who came under heavy fire while carrying several cases of champagne across an exposed place in his lines to a hospital nearby wrote thus to a friend: "For the first time during the war I was afraid--terribly so. No one could have been more terrified. I wasn't afraid of being killed, but if I had been hit while carrying the champagne from a vacant house everyone would have said, 'Served the looter right.' Who would have believed that I was taking it to a hospital?"

* * * * *

A German living in St. Louis has twenty-three nephews in the Kaiser's army, three of whom have been decorated with the Iron Cross for bravery. Two have been wounded in action. A French Senator has given his three sons for France. One was killed in Alsace, another storming breastworks on the Aisne, and another in Africa.

A NINE DAYS' PURGATORY.

A correspondent of the London _Daily Chronicle_ in Flanders telegraphs the following:

"The Germans had been attacked and driven back during a certain engagement to their trenches 400 yards from ours. Between the lines a German officer fell, wounded by a bayonet. He was nearer the British trenches than the German, but whenever our men began to go out to carry in the wounded man the German snipers got busy. They would neither succor their tortured comrade nor let the British do it.

"For nine days the wounded officer lingered. Finally a British non-commissioned officer and one or two privates crawled to the fallen man at night and brought him in. For nine days he had lain there, pierced by a bayonet from breast to back, without food or drink. He was unconscious when rescued and died soon afterward. During his purgatory the gallant man, unable even to crawl, had kept a diary, a record of physical and mental anguish borne like a noble gentleman. On him was found a photograph of his wife and two little children.

"A British officer translated the diary to our men and with a catch in his voice held up the German officer as a hero to whom they should bow their heads in reverence. The diary was sent to headquarters, and perhaps has by now found its way with the picture to the widow of this man."

"A GALLANT FOE."

The German artillery is extremely efficient and accurate and German soldiers thoroughly trained, is the statement of an English brigadier-general published in the London _Times_, in which he says:

"We are having a hard time in the trenches, for we are cannonaded day and night. The infantry fire was devastating, since our opponents are sharpshooters who aim successfully at every moving head. The German artillery is better than I had thought possible. We are never safe from it and never know where we should conceal ourselves, our horses and other equipments. I have been attacked twice, and both times it cost me a large number of good men and officers. I am shocked about the newspaper reports which speak of the 'inferiority' of the German soldiers. Do not believe it! The German soldier is splendid in every way. His courage, his thoroughness, his organization, as well as the equipment and bearing of the troops, challenge comparison. The German soldiers always take the offensive. I have the greatest admiration for them, and so has every one who knows them."

NOT ALL HATE!

Chancellor Lloyd George has contributed a message to the London _Methodist Times_, in which he says:

"I recently visited one of the battlefields of France. I saw in a village being shelled by German guns a prisoner of war just being brought into the French line. He was in a motor car under guard. He was wounded and looked ill and in pain.

"The French General with whom I had gone to the front went up to the wounded Prussian and told him he need not worry; he would be taken straight to the hospital and looked after as if he were one of our own men. The Prussian replied, 'We treated your wounded in exactly the same way.'

"It was a curious rivalry under these conditions; for you could hear the 'wizzle' of the German shells and the shuddering crack with which they exploded, dealing out death and destruction in the French trenches close by. We were in sight of a powerful French battery which was preparing to send its deadly messengers into the Prussian ranks.

"A little further on I marvelled that this exhibition of good will among men who were sworn foes should be possible amid such surroundings, until my eyes happened to wander down a lane where I saw a long row of wagons, each marked with a great red cross. Then I knew who had taught these brave men the lesson of humanity that will gradually, surely overthrow the reign of hate. Christ did not die in vain."

FOUGHT TO LAST MAN.

An excellent idea of the vicious attack by the Australian cruiser _Sydney_ that ended the career of the German cruiser _Emden_ is gained in a letter from an officer of the Indian army in Ceylon, where the _Emden's_ wounded were taken. He writes:

"The _Sydney_ was warned by a wireless message from the Cocos Islands station to put on full speed; she made twenty-nine knots. When she sighted the _Emden_ the latter was anchored, but came out to give battle.

"The _Emden_ got in the first three shots. Only one landed, as after that the _Sydney_ took care to keep out of range. The larger guns fired 600 rounds, and after one and a half hours of action, during which the ships covered fifty-six miles in manoeuvring, the _Sydney_ forced the _Emden_ to beach herself, her steering gear having broken.