Paris War Days: Diary of an AmericanBarnard, Charles Inman
History
Paris War Days: Diary of an American
Barnard, Charles Inman
Paris (France) -- History -- 1914-1918; World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives
This is the second day of mobilization. A warm, cloudy day with
occasional showers. Thermometer, 20 degrees centigrade.
At six this morning Felicien, with a brown paper parcel containing a
day's rations consisting of cold roast beef, sandwiches, hard-boiled
eggs, bread, butter, and potato salad, walked off to the Gare St.
Lazare, which is his point of rendezvous indicated by the mobilization
paper. His young wife wept as if broken-hearted. Felicien, like all the
reservists, restrained his emotions. I shook him warmly by the hand and
said that I would surely see him again here within six months, and that
he would come home a victor. "Don't be afraid of that, sir!" was his
reply, and away he went.
I watched the looting of the Maggi milk shops near the Place des Ternes.
The marauders were youths from fifteen to eighteen years old, and seemed
to have no idea of the crimes they were committing. The Maggi is no
longer a German enterprise, and the stupid acts of these young ruffians
can only have the effect of depriving French mothers and infants of
much-needed milk. I bought a bicycle to-day at Peugeot's in the Avenue
of the Grande Armee, because it is hopeless to get cabs or motor-cabs.
While there, the shop was requisitioned by an officer, who took away
with him three hundred bicycles for the army.
The aspect of the main thoroughfares in the Opera quarter, the center of
English and American tourist traffic, was depressing in the extreme this
afternoon. All the shipping offices in the Rue Scribe closed in the
morning. The Rue de la Paix is never very brilliant in August, but now
it is an abode of desolation. Nine tenths of the shops have their
shutters up and the jewelers who keep open have withdrawn all their
stock from the windows.
Many of the closed shops on the boulevards and elsewhere bear placards
designed to protect them from the possible attentions of the mob. On
these placards are such texts as "Maison Francaise" or even "Maison
ultrafrancaise."
On the Cafe de la Paix is the following announcement, in several places:
"The proprietor, Andre Millon, who is mayor of Evecquemont
(Seine-et-Oise), has been called out for service in the army and left
this morning." Similar messages, written in chalk, are to be seen on
hundreds of shutters.
Steps have been taken at the American Embassy to supply credentials, in
the form of "a paper of nationality," to citizens of the United States,
which will make it possible for them to register as such with the
police, as required by the French Government.
The proposed American Ambulance has been organized under the official
patronage of Ambassador Herrick, and the auspices of the American
Hospital of Paris.
Beginning to-day, all cafes and restaurants will be closed at eight in
the evening. They were left open till nine yesterday as an exceptional
measure, owing to the fact that there was not time to distribute the
order for early closing by eight o'clock.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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