"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.
"The _Sydney_ then put up a signal to surrender, but as all on
deck except three had been killed this was not done. The _Sydney_
accordingly gave her two more broadsides as she lay on the beach.
"When the Germans succeeded in showing the white flag the _Sydney_
went off to sink the collier. After this she returned to the _Emden_
and sent parties to help the survivors. It is said the _Emden_ was a
perfect shambles. She had nearly 200 killed.
"The Germans had torn up their flag and threw it into the sea."
THE SMILE IS GONE.
Entrained Austrian and German troops who came from the Yser,
presumably on the way east, were a sight very comforting for the
people of Brussels, on account of the depressed bearing of the men.
Their uniforms were soiled and tattered, and they looked worried.
The spectators remembered the former haughty and ardent look of the
same men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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