Part 7

"I had the happiness of speaking to the Kaiser in former years, and he has not altered. Latterly I have met him frequently, and I can only say that he has lost nothing of his freshness and elasticity. His appearance has not altered in the least, and yet every day he puts in twenty-four hours of work. Everything must be reported to him and he takes part in everything.

"I am often asked: 'How is the Kaiser able to bear this physical and mental strain?' I think the correct answer is that he is able to bear it because his conscience is clear; that he feels himself innocent before God and man of having caused this war and that he knows he has done everything in his power to prevent it. The Germanic cause cannot wish for any better representative than the Kaiser, and it would almost appear that he had been born for this crisis. For, just as he did all in his power to keep the peace, he feels now that he is responsible for the development of German destiny, and with this in view he devotes to the cause all his feelings, thoughts and acts."

"A FRIGHTFUL HECATOMB."

The disadvantage of having a sovereign who insists upon being his own generalissimo must have weighed heavily of late upon the German armies in the west. A French soldier engaged in the district just south of the Somme gives particulars, gathered from German prisoners, of the Kaiser's recent visit to his lines in this region. He says:

"To prove their zeal in his presence the German officers increased their daily quota of about 100 shells for firing at the French to 3,000 in twenty-four hours. The next day the imperial traveller was five miles south of Lihous, where the same ceremonial was organized for his reception. There was a regular debauch of shells from cannon, guns and mortars. There, again, the infantry showed little eagerness to attack us, but some blows and threats improved their sense of duty.

"There was a frightful hecatomb. They again tried to capture the villages of Dilrens and Quesnayen Santerre on the following day, but, although encouraged by the presence of Emperor William, they failed ingloriously. One officer says 500 German bodies already have been buried and many still are on the ground."

WILL AVENGE BELGIUM.

"Day and night the agony of Antwerp is present with me," said the Bishop of London, preaching at St. Nicholas Cole Abbey, "but if there be a God in heaven the wrongs of Belgium--absolutely innocent in this war--will one day be avenged.

"For myself, when I have boys whom I love as my own sons killed every day, and my rooms filled daily with their sisters and their young widows, I feel that I should go mad but for my religion.

"It is hardly to be expected that Great Britain can feel charitably toward Germany, which has perpetrated diabolical acts of cruelty, but, nevertheless, we must fight this war with Christian faith."

HIDE DEAD FROM WOUNDED.

A correspondent of the _Nieuwe Rooterdamsche Courant_ tells an amazing story of how the German dead are disposed of at Quatricht, a little village in the neighborhood of Ghent. Every day people see huge pits dug, and every night they hear the rumble of wagons, but they must not even peep from their houses.

Each morning, however, shows fresh mounds of earth, and the people have come to the conclusion that bodies must be brought to the place of burial in tip wagons.

The wounded are transported during the day so that they may not see the procession of the dead.

CLOSE CALL IN THE CLOUDS.

The story of a thrilling airship raid by French officers comes from Arras.

The captain in command of the airship had received orders to try to destroy a railway junction where the Germans were conveying troops. The line was well guarded, and it was necessary to cross the enemy's position for a considerable distance.

The airship started at dusk, without lights, and succeeded in crossing the German lines without being perceived. It soon located the junction and dropped in rapid succession three dynamite charges upon the station, with considerable damage to the tracks.

The airship by that time had been discovered by the Germans' searchlights, and all the field guns and mortars in the neighborhood were aimed at it. The sky was ablaze with bursting shells, some coming dangerously near.

By throwing over all the available ballast, the airship's crew was enabled to rise rapidly. As a departing salute it attempted to drop a fourth charge of dynamite.

Just then something went wrong which threatened the airship with instant destruction. The dynamite charge got stuck in the tube.

The automatic detonator already had been set in motion. The captain seized a hatchet and climbed over the rigging. He struck a few desperate blows at the tube, at the risk of his life, and released the charge, saving the airship. The dynamite exploded with a terrific detonation long before it reached the ground, with a burst of flames.

CAPT. VON MULLER'S GALLANTRY.

Another tribute to the gallantry of Capt. Von Muller of the German cruiser _Emden_ is contained in a letter received by a Glasgow woman from her son, a member of the crew of the steamship _Kabinga_. The letter says:

"The _Emden_ captured the _Kabinga_ in the Bay of Bengal, but when Capt. Von Muller learned that our skipper's wife and children were aboard he presented the ship to the lady, remarking to the skipper, 'You can inform your owners that as far as they are concerned the _Kabinga_ has been seized and sunk.'"

"BOMBARDMENT TERRIBLE!"

An officer in the pay department of the French army, writing from Ypres, says:

"The town is being sprinkled with shells. In the earlier days of the attack only bombs from aeroplanes fell, but during the last forty-eight hours the town suffered from the attentions of big howitzers.

"Night before last a regular bombardment destroyed a score of houses and killed eight persons, of whom two were women. Up to now the shells have spared the wonderful city hall, but will this delightful Flemish city suffer after the manner of Arras?

"My letter has been interrupted by the bombardment, which is terrible. For two hours yesterday evening nearly all the houses in our neighborhood were struck. Many are smashed. We sought refuge in the cellars of the Hotel de Ville, the only place capable of resisting the great shells.

"Profiting by a lull we went out in search of another shelter and found a vault under the ramparts of the town. There we spent the night, huddled up with a hundred men, women and children."

A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.

A mile and a half crawl with five bullets in his body under artillery and rifle fire was the experience of Private Dan Hurst of the Coldstream Guards. Writing to his wife, Hurst says:

"Don't fret over me. I have five wounds, but I am a lucky chap to be here to tell the tale, for if the shell which hit me in the chest had exploded a bit lower I should have been killed outright. Our ambulance men tried to get us away, but the Germans fired upon them, so they had to leave us to take our chances. It rained in torrents all that night and the Germans put sentries with bayonets over us. They took all our food and water away, and on Tuesday afternoon some of them tried to make out that we had been firing upon them. We asked how that was possible when they had taken everything from us, but they were going to shoot us when an officer came up and stopped them.

"On Wednesday they removed us to the far side of a haystack out of their line of fire so we could not get hit, but one of the British shells exploded near us, and of course I got hit. We thought it best to make a dash for it. I could not walk and had to crawl on my hands and knees with my wounds bleeding, and while I was crawling away they started to fire on us. There were six of us who started but only two of us finished. Our trenches were only a mile and a half away, but it took us four hours and a half to crawl there."

THE NEW WAR WEAPON.

A French doctor, who has just returned from Flanders, describing the effect of the "Fleche d'aero," as the steel darts with which the French airmen are supplied are generally called, said:

"Among the 2,000 wounded whom we treated in forty-eight hours was a German who had been struck by an aeroplane dart. He was evidently bending over when hit, for the dart had entered the right thigh and traversed the whole leg, so that the point emerged just above the boot. The man was conscious when he was brought in, and said he felt no pain, only a heavy blow. He died soon afterward from shock and loss of blood."

The darts resemble steel pencils. They are about five inches long with the unpointed end half-fluted to insure their falling head first. It is calculated that they strike with a hundred pounds force if thrown from an elevation of 1,000 metres.

CENSORING THE CENSOR.

As threats and entreaties have proved equally vain against censorship the Paris _Temps_ attacks it with ridicule. Pierre Mille, one of the best known contributors, writes a column article, beginning:

"Regarding the origin of the convulsion which is shaking Europe, together with the least known diplomatic secrets and the most concealed strategic projects, I am going to make some most important revelations."

Before he can reveal anything here, however, the censor intervenes with a four-line cut. He continues:

"It will be remembered that Napoleon once cried before the Pyramids----" (Here is another slash.)

The writer goes on:

"But we do not need the support of history or the remembrance of the victories won by Jeanne d'Arc at (name excised) or at Valmy by (another obliteration). One fact I will add----" (Here follows a ten-line cut.)

He continues:

"His undaunted attitude at----" (This time ten lines more disappear.)

The article proceeds:

"She cried in a trembling voice, 'Oh daughter, cruel----' (the woman's speech is all excised save the words 'the devourers fight among themselves,' although the passage appears to be taken from nothing more modern or harmful than a famous tragedy).

The writer makes a last effort:

"The adversary's position was now very serious. Throwing himself upon his knees, he cried, 'Our Father, which art----' (Even of the Lord's Prayer the censor allows only this beginning and the final 'Amen.')"

"HOCH DER CZAR!"

During a fortnight's sojourn with his armies in the field the Czar spoke to thousands of wounded, according to a Petrograd correspondent. His Majesty visited the Germans and Austrians in field hospitals, addressing kindly words to them. In one ward, entirely occupied by wounded Germans, the men, who were unable to rise, spontaneously greeted the Czar with a three-fold Hoch!

The Czar inquired about the identity and direction of a column passing the imperial train. He was told they were officers and men recovered from wounds returning to their respective regiments. His Majesty alighted and asked where and how they had been wounded. It appeared they all had participated in the early battles of the war. They were anxious again to go to the firing line.

A HOLOCAUST.

A wounded English officer describes the following incident of the German attack between Dixmude and Ypres:

"A German regiment with the flag flying approached our trenches to about 300 yards. It was met by a heavy discharge of our machine guns and rifle fire, and fell back in disorder. Immediately it reassembled some distance away. Once more we saw it advance, with the ranks already thinner. It came to within 100 yards of us, when it was received as before and again beaten back.

"This time the order was sent through our trenches to let them come on to twenty yards. We did so; then the order to fire at will was given. Two-thirds of the regiment had already fallen in the first two attacks, and now the remainder was wiped out. Not one of the assailants got to our trenches."

FIGHT WITH SHOVELS.

Soldiers who have been fighting near Roye say that the hostile trenches there are only fifteen yards apart at some points, so that the enemies can hear each other talking. Last week a company of sappers were misled by the darkness right into a German trench, where a squad of Teuton sappers were at work. The men fought in the dark with picks and shovels until rifles also began to crack, whereupon each side drew back.

French cemeteries, with their strong stone tombs, sometimes play an important part in the hostilities. Thus the Germans have intrenched themselves on a cemetery height near Roye and have made it a strong position. The vaults offer a safe shelter against rain and shrapnel, while metallic coffins have been placed along the edge of the trenches as a protection against rifle fire.

"OUR LUCK WAS IN."

A thrilling incident in the wonderful retreat of the British from Mons is described by Sapper Wells of the Royal Engineers, who passes lightly over his own part in an extraordinary act of heroism.

"One of our officers asked for a man to go with him to blow up a bridge, so that the Germans could not follow us, and I went with him," says Wells.

"Well, to blow a bridge up we use guncotton and a wire fuse. It is safe enough if you take your wire well away, but this time it would not work. Our men in running back had stepped on the wire, so we had to go nearer to the bridge and try again. Even then it would not act, so the officer said to me, 'Get out of the way, Wells.' I said, 'No, I'll go with you.' We were the only two on the bridge and the Germans were shooting at us, but our luck was in. Well, we both lay down and I fired ten rounds at the guncotton with my rifle, and he did the same with a pistol, but it wouldn't work. If it had we should have gone with it, so you see what a shave we had. We made a dive back and got some more guncotton, and were making to have another go when an officer ordered us back, saying it was no use trying."

"IN HONOR BOUND."

A photographer in Southampton row showed outside his studio an apt comment on the war. Last September the Duke of Westminster and other British sportsmen sent round a circular letter asking for subscriptions to the Olympic games to be held in Berlin, and in the request were the following words: "In honor bound, Great Britain must send a team to Berlin, and ... this object can only be accomplished by efficient organization and adequate financial support."

The photographer has written below by way of comment: "The response to the above appeal has been most successful. The money has been found and the team, most thoroughly equipped, is now on its way to Berlin. Very little doubt exists that all the prizes will fall into its arms."

A HEROIC SACRIFICE.

Correspondents of Finnish newspapers report the heroic sacrifice of the crew of a picket boat in order to save a Russian cruiser, which was unwittingly approaching a mine in the Gulf of Finland.

Realizing that it was too late to signal the danger, the boat deliberately rushed at the mine at full speed. A terrific explosion followed. Six of the crew of seven perished. To the survivor, who was severely wounded, was awarded the decoration of St. George.

A TERRIBLE BAYONET CHARGE.

A dispatch to the London _Times_ from Dunkirk, France, said:

"It may be admitted that the position at Ypres two days ago was serious. The town itself was bombarded by the Germans with great violence and under the fierce cannonading the Allies had to withdraw from the town, which became a 'No Man's Land,' shells from both sides bursting across it.

"The Germans made a final effort under cover of a fierce bombardment of the British positions. They had prepared a determined onslaught. Masses of men were launched in succession at chosen points on the allied front. The assault was met in a supreme way.

"Two regiments, one Scottish and one of the Guards, went down with bayonets to stem the advance. It was the most terrible bayonet charge of the whole war. It succeeded, the break in the line was repaired and the German attack was once more driven back.

"That was their last effort. The Germans are now assailing the allied line at Arras, forty miles further to the south, but not with the same fury as they exhibited in the onslaught of the past week.

"So fierce has been the fighting around Ypres that the casualties of the Germans are believed to have reached 100,000, though these figures may prove to have been exaggerated."

COLONEL AVENGED INSULT.

"At one time in Berlin I saw two British officers guarded by twenty-four soldiers with fixed bayonets," writes a correspondent. "One of the officers was an officer of some importance, I think a colonel, a tremendous man about 6 feet 4 inches in height, with iron-gray hair and mustache. His companion was a younger man, with a red band around his cap, denoting, I believe, he belonged to the General Staff.

"The prisoners were surrounded by the usual hooting, jeering crowd. Suddenly one of the guards deliberately prodded the big colonel in the back with the butt end of his rifle. It was a brutal act. The next moment the gray-haired officer turned around and struck his tormentor full in the face with his fist. It was a fine blow.

"I saw no more, for the crowd in a paroxysm of rage closed in on the group, surging here and there. I heard afterward both prisoners were handcuffed and led away. Their fate I do not know."

WORK OF NEW AERIAL BOMB.

The London _Daily Mail's_ Paris correspondent reports an interview with a French airman on the new French air bomb.

"I have used both the dynamite bomb and the new bomb," said the aviator. "The two are very similar in size and weight, but the effect as seen from above is very different.

"When a dynamite bomb falls upon a body of men you can see the bodies leap up in air. It is like a small volcano in action. When the new bomb bursts it simply lays everything out flat within the area of its explosion. It seems to exert the whole of its force in waves like the ripples made when a large stone is thrown into a pond. The men go down like ninepins; buildings collapse like houses of playing cards; guns are turned over as if by some unseen hand.

"The explosion raises practically no dust or smoke. Even the earth disturbed by the case of the bomb striking the ground is instantly flattened out by the same extraordinary waves of force. Extreme cold is produced at the moment of the explosion. It is so intense that I felt it myself when I dropped my first bomb at a height of about 800 feet.

"I was taking great chances in flying so low, but I wished to see the effect of the bomb. It fell on a section of Germans bivouacking in a field. I estimate that at least thirty men were killed within the area of the explosion. Death from these bombs comes instantly from intense cold and concussion."

BRITON PRAISES GERMANS.

The Hon. Aubrey Herbert, M. P. for South Somerset, a lieutenant in the Irish Guards, describing his experience in North France, says:

"I was shot and was found by some German privates after about an hour and a half.

"With other wounded men and officers I was taken away to a house that had been converted into a temporary hospital after nightfall. We remained prisoners in the hands of the Germans for eleven days, until the French occupied the village where we lay and set us at liberty.

"It is only fair to say that both on the battlefield and subsequently we were all shown courtesy and great kindness by the Germans, from all ranks, from Prussians and Bavarians alike."

He adds that from the general behavior of the British troops "one might have supposed that they were engaged in autumn manoeuvres."

NEARLY PUT ONE OVER.

"The Germans are full of resources," writes an English correspondent, "and it is one of their favorite plans to lure the allied troops on to attack them by various devices, of which an indicated intention of surrendering is the most common. If this deception is successful, a skilfully concealed machine gun turns a murderous fire upon those who have advanced either to attack or to accept surrender.

"The audacity of the enemy cannot better be illustrated than by a well-authenticated statement of what took place last night in a trench held by a Gurkha regiment. A figure, silhouetted by the moonlight and wearing a complete Gurkha uniform, approached the end of the trench and delivered the message.

"'The Gurkhas are to move further up the trench; another Gurkha contingent is advancing in support.'

"Puzzled by this announcement, the officer in command replied, 'Who are you? Where do you come from?' to which the only answer was, 'You are to move up and make room for other Gurkhas.'

"The English was good, but something excited the officer's suspicions.

"'Answer, and answer quickly,' he said; 'if you are a Gurkha, by what boat did you cross?'

"This question, under the circumstances, was no easy one to answer, and the German (for such he was) turned and fled, but he had not gone five yards before he fell, riddled with bullets.

"If the officer had been deceived the trench, of course, would have swarmed with Germans almost before the Gurkhas had made room for them."

CLOSE CALL FOR AIRMAN.

"Roland Garros had a narrow escape from death while engaged in an aerial duel with a German near Amiens," cables a correspondent. "His motor broke down and Garros made a corkscrew descent and feigned death, whereupon the German landed and approached.

"The Frenchman arose and shot the German dead with his revolver. He regained the French lines in the German aeroplane."

FASTIDIOUS SANDY.

News has come back to England of how the British soldiers taken prisoners are faring in Germany. There are 6,000 in a caserne at Daboritz.

Among them are some Highlanders. It's getting to be cold weather in Daboritz and a German officer, with the kindest of intentions, offered to provide them with trousers.

The Scots were indignant and rejected the gift.

"But why do you prefer petticoats?" the German asked of one of the Highlanders.

"Because they never bag at the knees," replied Sandy.

"IS THIS THE KAISER?"

According to a despatch from Petrograd to the London _Daily News_, the Russian soldiers pursuing the Germans in western Galicia are bringing "captured Kaisers" into camp two or three times each day.

It is the belief of the Czar's force that the war can be easily terminated by making a prisoner of Emperor William. For that reason nearly every German officer who wears a "Kaiser" mustache and is caught by the Russians is taken to headquarters. "Is this he?" is the oft repeated query. The fact that the Kaiser is still at liberty has not dampened the enthusiasm of the Russians.

"SEND ON SOME MORE DISHES!"

Appended to the French official communique recently was the following note:

"The example of the German chiefs has influenced all the German troops to plunder systematically everywhere in Belgium and France. A special train service is now admirably established to carry the chateau booty taken by the princes and lesser lords of the army back to Germany. The whole plunder service is well organized.

"A letter from Gettenau, Hesse, dated Oct. 8, to a landwehr trooper at Ste. Croix-aux-Mines shows the high development of the frenzy of plunder. It says:

"'The shoes did not fit little Hermann. All the other things pleased us very much. We have no need to hide them or be secret about what you send us because others at the front have sent much more stuff than you. Among other things the French pots are very much appreciated. If you find more French dishes or ware send them along.'"

A NEW FOE ENTERS.

Winter begins officially in Russia with the closing of navigation on the Neva, but already snow is lying on the ground on the western frontier, and in Poland there are severe frosts at night.

A new touch of horror is introduced by the freezing of the ground, which makes it practically impossible to dig graves for the great number of dead in the woods, where recent floods washed the bodies from the shallow graves in which they had been hastily buried.