The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915Various
History
The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915
Various
World War, 1914-1918
About 5 per cent of the original population have come crawling back, and
the three companies of Landsturm garrisoned here, together with the
sightseers, form their source of revenue. The more courageous
shopkeepers who have come back and reopened their stores are coining
money as never in peace times--especially the little confectionery and
pastry shops, where the soldiers off duty come for afternoon coffee,
and the one tailor's shop which is open. Workmen are putting the
finishing touches to the new pine-board roof on the cathedral and are
making efforts to "restore" the stone exterior. The famous Gothic Hotel
de Ville is now protected by a high board fence, and two bearded
Landsturm men mount guard there day and night. A gang of laborers is
making headway in cleaning up the interior of the hopelessly ruined
University Library, and the streets are all cleared of debris. The
academic halls of the main university building, which suffered little
damage, are not silent, for one of the Landsturm companies is quartered
there. I found half a hundred of them and two cows in the university
quadrangle or campus. The men were all unshaven, but of a good-natured
sort, and many were the rough German jokes as they watched a comrade
milking the cows preparatory to their slaughter on the spot by the
company butcher, who stood in waiting, while at the same time the
gray-haired university castellan was getting ready to take a time
exposure of the cows.
"And yet they say we Germans are barbarians," laughed an under officer.
"I bet you won't find that the French soldiers, or the highly civilized
English gentlemen, either, have a photographer come to take a picture of
the cows they are about to eat."
The venerable university guardian continued to do a brisk business
making group pictures and solo portraits of Landsturm under officers and
men at two francs per dozen postcards, till a Lieutenant appeared on the
scene and the bugle sounded in the court for "boot inspection." All
promptly lined up in double file against the brick university wall and
presented feet for the critical eye of the inspector--all except the
company cooks, who were busy among their pots and pans and open-air cook
stoves set up in the academic stone portico.
The last of the former students of the University of Louvain was
probably the well-dressed, meek-looking young Chinese, eating luncheon
at the near-by restaurant--the only one open in town. The German
soldiers, fortunately, did not mistake him for a Japanese, and he has
not been molested.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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