The European war brought its train of trials to Alsatians no less than to other European peoples. French papers contain the complaints of natives of Alsace and Lorraine serving in German regiments to the effect that their officers exposed them to the worst dangers of war with undue harshness. It is not unlikely that at the cessation of hostilities the number of native-born Alsatians will have dwindled to insignificant proportion. A plebiscite on the fate of the province, taken then, might help German designs. But since a revision of the Franco-German boundary seems inevitable, a preliminary solution might be found in the abrogation of the treaty of Frankfort. The final settlement of the problem will be equitable only when the desires of native-born Alsatians shall have been taken into consideration. Beyond Alsace, French and German languages meet along a line which extends across western Swiss territory to the Italian frontier.[39] Its present course has been maintained since the fifteenth century.[40] Beginning at Charmoille, north of the Bernese Jura, the linguistic frontier strikes east towards Montsevilier,[41] after which it makes a sharp turn to the southwest as it follows the strike of the Jura mountains. In this region the historical division between Teutonic and Latin civilization occurs in the valley of Delémont through which the Sorne flows. Teutonic invaders never succeeded in penetrating beyond the Vorburg barrier. East of the Jura, the line passes through Bienne, Douane and Gléresse. At Neuveville the valley is French. The line follows thence the course of the Thièle. With the exception of its northeastern shore all Lake Neuchâtel is surrounded by French-speaking communities. The parting next coincides with the line of the Broye river and extends across the waters of lake Morat. The western and southern shores of the lake are likewise French. It then skirts the banks of the Sarine until it reaches Fribourg, which it cuts into two portions. A strenuous struggle for linguistic supremacy is maintained at this urban edge of French-speaking territory. Inside the city’s line, German is spoken principally in the quarters tenanted by the laboring classes. With the middle classes both language and tradition are largely French. In the twelfth century Fribourg had been turned into a fortified outpost of German power by the Dukes of Zähringen.[42] The city’s position between the Alps and the Jura favored its selection for this aggressive purpose. German language flourished under the shadow of its castles and probably would have taken deeper root among its citizens but for one fact. At the time of the Reformation, the Fribourgers decided to stand with the Roman Church. This decision converted the city into a haven to which the Catholic clergy of French-speaking Switzerland repaired; and the Bishopric of Lausanne was transferred to Fribourg, where it became the headquarters of active French propaganda. [Illustration: