When the dragoons trotted, the Uhlans trotted too. Now the former would
gallop across a bit of open country, and the Germans would gallop away
just as quickly. Evidently they were making for shelter.
Soon Lieutenant Bruyant saw that they were trying to reach a wood, where
they could take cover. No time was to be lost. He knew that if they got
there they would escape him. Now was the moment to unchain the ardor of
his men. He gave the orders "Draw swords!" "Charge!"
The seven spurred their horses and fell upon the twenty-seven with
shouts of defiance. The shock demoralized the Germans, who made no stand
at all. One was killed by a lance thrust. The officer in command was
drawing his revolver when Lieutenant Bruyant cut him down with his
sabre. Six more were wounded and knocked off their horses. The rest fled
in disorder.
_Monday, August 17._
Sixteenth day of mobilization. Gray, cloudy weather with northerly
breezes. Thermometer at five P.M. 17 degrees centigrade.
The first trophy of the war, the flag of the One Hundred and
Thirty-second German Infantry Regiment (First Regiment of Lower Alsace),
arrived in Paris this morning, having been brought by motor-car from the
front, where it was captured at Sainte-Blaise by the Tenth Battalion of
Chasseurs-à-Pieds (riflemen), a corps which distinguished itself in the
Franco-Austrian war of 1859 by capturing the first Austrian flag at
Solferino. In 1840, the Tenth Chasseurs-à-Pied were commanded by Patrice
de MacMahon, then a major and afterwards Marshal of France and Duc de
Magenta, and whose name is remembered by the corps in their march song:
"L' dixièm' batallion,
Commandant Mac-Mahon,
N'a pas peur du canon,
Nom de nom!"
The captured flag is of magenta colored silk, with a white St. Andrew's
cross, on which the imperial eagle and the regimental insignia are
embroidered in gold. The news that a German flag was being shown spread
rapidly, and a large crowd gathered. There were no insulting remarks,
merely quiet observation. Among the first to see the trophy were some
school-children headed by their master, who explained the significance
of the capture. The flag was taken to the Elysée Palace and shown to
President Poincaré, who is himself a major of chasseurs-à-pied. It was
afterwards placed in the Invalides.
General Michel, the Governor of Paris, has notified all places of public
entertainment that their programmes must henceforth be submitted to the
censors under pain of closure of the establishment.
Except for trifling drawbacks, inevitable in times like the present,
Paris has little to complain of. There are everywhere signs of a gradual
return to normal conditions. Among these is the reappearance of flowers
on the costermongers' carts and at the kiosks. In the early stages of
the mobilization, when many thousands of families were saying good-by to
their men, no one had the heart to buy flowers, even had any supply been
available. The conveyance to Paris of flowers grown in the neighborhood
of the capital has now been reorganized, and roses and carnations are
being sold on the main thoroughfares at normal prices.
Women and girl newspaper-sellers have become familiar figures in Paris,
and their number is increasing steadily as the needs of the army are
depriving more and more families of their bread-winners. A pathetic
figure seen on the Boulevard des Italiens yesterday afternoon was a
woman toiling along under the weight of a sleeping child about five
years old, and calling her newspapers gently, so as not to wake him.
_Tuesday, August 18._
Seventeenth day of mobilization. Cloudy weather with occasional patches
of blue sky. Thermometer at five P.M. 17 degrees centigrade. Light
northeasterly wind.
It is now for the first time officially announced that the British
expeditionary force has safely landed in France and in Belgium. The
transportation has been effected in perfect order, promptly on schedule
time, and without the slightest hitch or casualty. British troops were
everywhere received with immense enthusiasm. Not only have they landed
at Ostend, Boulogne, and Havre, with all their field transports, but
they have been taken up the Seine in steamers to Rouen, whence they were
entrained on the strategic lines for Belgium. M.J.A. Picard, a young
Frenchman, and his wife arrived from New York and reached Paris via
Boulogne. M. Picard will join the army to-morrow as a reservist employed
in the general staff. His wife will act as a correspondent of the
_Tribune_ in France. M. Picard said that Boulogne was full of
British troops. They marched through the narrow streets of the city
wearing their khaki uniforms, thousands upon thousands of them, roaring
as they pass the new British war slogan: "Are we downhearted?
_No-o-o-o-o! Shall we win? Ye-e-e-e-e-s-s-s!_" Then came an Irish
regiment with their brown jolly faces beaming with fun, and singing:
"It's a long way to Tipperary ... It's a long way to go!" A Welsh
battalion followed, whistling the "Marseillaise." The prettiest girls in
every town throw flowers and kisses to these stalwart British lads. As
soon as the order to break ranks is given, bevies of smiling lasses
surround the troops, offering them sandwiches, fruit, wine, and flowers,
and even kisses. There would be thousands of jealous girls in England,
Scotland, Ireland, and Wales to-day if they could but witness the
reception. Highland regiments wearing the kilt have stupendous success
with the blushing young women of France.
From the seat of war in Belgium, and also in the North Sea, the same
awful silence continues, and Parisians manifest growing impatience for
the inevitable great battle. I went to the Ministry of War with M. and
Mme. Picard, but no news of military importance was communicated.
_Wednesday, August 19._
Eighteenth day of mobilization. Fine summer weather, with light
northerly wind. Temperature at five P.M. 17 degrees centigrade.
Absolute silence concerning military movements in Belgium. No official
communication was made to-day at the Ministry of War. Parisians feel
that momentous events are about to take place but look forward with calm
confidence.
I called upon my old friend, M. René Baschet, manager of the
_Illustration_, which is the only illustrated weekly paper in
France to continue its issue. I hastened to tell M. Baschet that I had
received a private telegram from Rome announcing that the Pope was so
ill that his physicians, and above all Monseigneur Zampini, did not
think that His Holiness could live through the night. M. Baschet paid
genuine tribute to Lord Kitchener's instructions "to every soldier of
the British expeditionary forces," and said that the British War
Minister showed himself at once "heroic and hygienic," and cited the
passage: "You may find temptations, both in wine and women. You must
entirely resist both temptations, and while treating all women with
perfect courtesy, you should avoid any intimacy."
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I met M. Jules Cambon, French
Ambassador at Berlin, who after being treated discourteously by the
Germans and dealt with practically as a prisoner, reached Paris by way
of Denmark and England. It would have been indiscreet to ask M. Jules
Cambon to disclose diplomatic secrets, but after conversing with persons
who accompanied him, it seems certain that there had been complete
understanding between Germany and Austria about the sending of Austria's
ultimatum to Servia. It is true that German diplomacy had not accepted
the exact terms of the ultimatum communicated to Servia on July 23 and
had asked for certain modifications in the text, which Austria refused
to make. M. Cambon drew an important distinction between German
_diplomacy_, and the German _military clique_. The former were
willing only to go so far as _risking_ a war, while the latter
seized the opportunity to _bring on_ the war and to attack France.
The discussion lasted two or three days, and the military caste,
receiving the strong personal encouragement and support of Emperor
William, became omnipotent, and from that moment war was inevitable. In
regard to France, Germany constantly repeated the formula: "Put strong
pressure upon Russia, your ally, to prevent her from helping the
Servians!" To this France replied: "Very good, but you yourself should
put strong pressure upon Austria, your ally, to prevent her from
provoking a catastrophe!" To this Germany rejoined: "Ah! But that is not
the same thing!" Thus it was in this "_cercle vicieux_" that the
diplomatic conversation continued, which, under the circumstances, and
especially owing to the attitude of Emperor William, could end in
nothing else but war.
_Thursday, August 20._
Nineteenth day of mobilization. Ideal summer weather. Light northerly
breezes. Temperature at five P.M. 16 degrees centigrade.
Good news of further French advances in Upper Alsace and the recapture
of Mülhausen make Parisians cheerful. The death of the Pope during the
present tension is scarcely noticed. All thoughts and expectations are
centered on Belgium, where the great battle is impending.
It is announced at the Ministry of War that it was not the Tenth but the
First Battalion of Chasseurs-à-Pied that captured the German regimental
flag now hung in the Invalides. The French tobacco factories are working
night and day to supply the armies with tobacco, for in all countries
soldiers and sailors are ardent devotees to "My Lady Nicotine." In honor
of the Belgians, a special cigarette, _La Liégeoise_, has been
produced, which is naturally tipped with cork (_liége_). The stock
of "Virginia" has run short for supply to the British soldiers. The
"Virginia," being slightly scented, is known in France as _tabac à la
confiture_, but large quantities are being imported from Liverpool
expressly to satisfy Tommy Atkins.
I met at the War Office, M. Pégoud, inventor of "looping the loop," who
was being congratulated by M. Messimy, Minister of War. He came here to
get a new aeroplane, his own having been riddled through the wings by
ninety-seven bullets and two shells when he was making a raid of one
hundred and eighty miles into German territory. He naturally did not
tell me _where_ he went, but simply said he crossed the Rhine with
an official observer and blew up, by means of bombs, two German convoys.
"Captain Fink," he stated, "destroyed the Frascati airship shed near
Metz, where there was a Zeppelin which was wrecked. He also destroyed
three Taube aeroplanes, which were also in the shed."
General Bonnal, formerly professor of strategy at the Ecole Militaire,
says: "The greatest piece of good fortune for France that can be
expected, is that Emperor William will take personal command of all the
German armies. This is now an accomplished fact, and it gives us all
immense encouragement."
[Illustration: From _L'Illustration._ Flag of the 132nd German
Infantry Regiment. Captured at Saint-Blaise by the 1st Battalion of
Chasseurs à Pied (riflemen) and exhibited at a window of the Ministry
of War.]
_Friday, August 21._
Twentieth day of mobilization. Threatening weather with overcast sky.
Northwesterly wind. Temperature at five P.M. 19 degrees centigrade. No
clouds prevented the eclipse of the sun from being seen in Paris. Most
people however were profoundly indifferent to the celestial phenomena.
Thousands of foreign volunteers assembled on the Esplanade des Invalides
this morning to offer their services for the war. These young foreigners
are mostly strong, active youths and have all received more or less
military training. They marched through the streets in detachments of
from two to six hundred, grouped together according to nationalities,
bearing French flags alongside flags of their own countries. There were
about five thousand Russians, five thousand Italians, two thousand
Belgians, numerous Czecs, Slavs, Roumanians, and Armenians, together
with smaller contingents of Americans, British, and Greeks. Mr. Arthur
Bles and his second in command, Mr. Victor Little, are busy organizing
the "Rough Riders" in a riding-school in Rue Avenue des Chasseurs.
M. Geissler, manager of the Hotel Astoria, who was recently reported as
having been shot as a spy for arranging disks on the roof of his hotel
to interfere with the French wireless telegraphy, was tried today, not
by court martial, but by a civil judge, M. Tortat, to whom the court
martial had referred the matter for further evidence. It appears that M.
Geissler had been denounced on insufficient grounds by a clerk in his
employment. His innocence was established, this morning, and he was
released from the Santé prison and handed over to the military
authorities, who will probably let the matter drop.
_Saturday, August 22._
Mobilization is now completed. This is the nineteenth day since the
declaration of war (August 3). A sultry day with light northwesterly
breezes. Thermometer at five P.M. 22 degrees centigrade.
"All that I can say to you is that the battle has begun. That is all I
know," is the statement made by M. Malvy, Minister of the Interior, as
he stepped into his motor-car at the Elysée Palace on his way home this
evening after the meeting of the Council of National Defence.
Remarkable, impressive silence prevails everywhere. If people speak, it
seems to be in a whisper. Never before was Paris so full of
motor-ambulances, all driving hurriedly hither and thither, bearing
nurses or Red Cross attendants, but never a wounded. The whole of the
Rue François-Premier is lined on both sides with Red Cross motor-cars.
The railway stations have an unusual appearance, with hundreds of wooden
booths forming a sort of barrier to approaches. The calm, confident,
silent, patriotic expectation augurs well for the future and vividly
contrasts with the noisy, braggadocio spirit of 1870. Paris at the
present moment is the most orderly, well-behaved city in the world.
I met at the Café Napolitain, a favorite resort of journalists, my
friend Laurence Jerrold, chief Paris correspondent of the _London
Daily Telegraph_. We spoke of the stories showing the amazing
ignorance in which German officers have been kept regarding the
situation. Mr. Jerrold told me that a relative of his, who is a French
officer, saw yesterday two Prussian lieutenants, who, as prisoners of
war, were being taken around Paris, to a town in western France. Both
spoke French perfectly. At Juvisy station, where the train stopped, they
said to the French officer: "Of course, we know why you are taking us
around Paris and not _into_ Paris. Paris is in a state of
revolution, and you don't want us to see what is going on there."
Argument followed; the Prussian officers persisted that Paris was in
revolt, that France stood alone, that England had declared neutrality,
that an Italian army had already crossed the French frontier and had
invaded the department of Haute Savoie, etc. The French officer rushed
to the waiting-room, bought all the newspapers he could find, and
brought them back to the Prussian prisoners, who fell aghast and read
them in silence, as the train proceeded.
The curator of the Louvre Museum has taken every possible precaution to
ensure the safety of the works of art under his care. The Venus of Milo
has been placed in a strong-room lined with steel plates--a sort of
gigantic safe--and stands in absolute security from any stray Zeppelin
bombs. The Winged Victory of Samothrace is also protected by armor
plates. Mona Lisa once more smiles in darkness. The Salle Greque,
containing masterpieces of Phidias, is protected by sand bags. Many
unique treasures of statuary and painting are placed in the cellars.
Similar precautions are taken at the Luxembourg and at other museums.
The upper stories of the Louvre, which are roofed in glass, are being
converted into hospital wards, and thus the collections of the national
museum, which belong to all time and to all nations, enjoy the
protection of the Red Cross flag.
I made a brief trip to Versailles, which has been transformed into an
arsenal and a vast supply depot for food and forage. Troops of the
military commissariat train are cantoned in the parks and shooting
preserves of Prince Murat and of Mr. James Gordon Bennett. The
attractive little summer residence of Miss Elsie de Wolff and Miss
Elizabeth Marbury is occupied by cavalry officers. Versailles is the
mobilization center or assembly for the southwestern military regions,
and over fifty thousand men have been equipped here and sent on to their
destinations at the front. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are
grazing contentedly on the lawns and meadows of the chateau.
The membership of the executive committee of the women's committee of
the American Ambulance has been increased by the addition of Mrs. Robert
Woods Bliss, Mrs. Cooper Hewitt, and Mrs. Barton French.
Among the American women who have volunteered to serve as nurses in the
hospital now being established in the Lycée Pasteur, in Neuilly, are the
following: Mrs. H. Herman Harjes, Mrs. Frederick H. Allen, Mrs. Laurence
V. Benét, Mrs. Whitney Warren, Mrs. Charles Carroll, Miss Ives, Miss
Edith Deacon, Mrs. Barton French and Miss Treadwell.
_Sunday, August 23_.
Twenty-first day of the war. A hot sultry day, with southerly wind.
Temperature at five P.M. 25 degrees centigrade.
The fourth Sunday of August finds Paris silently awaiting news from the
great battle going on for a distance of one hundred and five miles
extending from Mons to the Luxemburg frontier, and which is expected to
rage for several days. Parisians receive with enthusiasm the news
communicated by M. Iswolski, the Russian Ambassador, announcing that
three of the five army corps which Germany has in East Prussia have been
defeated by the army of General Rennekampf, near Gumbinnen.
I drove to-day with the Duke de Loubat, who is a close friend of
Cardinal Ferrata, now spoken of as foremost favorite among the
_Papabili_ Cardinals. Monseigneur Ferrata enjoys great popularity
not only at Rome but abroad, and is a warm friend of the United States.
He has also a keen sense of humor. Not long ago a distinguished member
of the French parliament lunched with Monseigneur Ferrata and remarked:
"How is it that the Church requires such a long lapse of time before
pronouncing a decree of nullity of marriage?" "Well," replied Cardinal
Ferrata, "before the end of the ten years' delay, it is usually found
that _one of the three_ dies or disappears, and that the petition
consequently is no longer pressed!" A great change is noticeable in the
Paris churches. They have been more crowded since the war than for many
years past. I entered the Madeleine to-day and found, to my surprise, an
unusually large proportion of men among the congregation. Most of them
were reservists called to arms. In other churches the congregations were
almost entirely composed of women and children.
Our Ambassador, Herrick, is a sort of guardian angel for Americans in
Paris. I saw him to-day working with Mr. Robert Woods Bliss, first
secretary of the Embassy. He rose at six in the morning, and except for
a brief repose for breakfast and dinner, is constantly ready to give
advice to Americans or to attend to intricate diplomatic duties that
crop up here at every turn. Our Ambassador also has on his shoulders the
affairs of all the Germans and Austrians who remain in France. Some of
our countrymen are very hard to please. Everything possible is being
done for those who wish to return home, and money, when necessary, is
advanced to them for the purpose. But they strongly object to waiting
in line for their turn, whether at the Embassy, the Consulate, or at the
Transatlantic Company, where, owing to the crowd of applicants, there is
some necessary delay in attending to them.
[Illustration: Robert Woods Bliss, First Secretary of the United States
Embassy in Paris, September, 1914.]
A number of complications have arisen by discharged servants filing
statements against their former employers, denouncing them as "probable
spies." Several examples of this have already occurred with prominent
American ladies who permanently reside here. I spoke with M. Hennion,
the prefect of police, on the subject, and he said that "such malicious
accusations"--and he showed me a pile of denunciations nearly a yard
high--"were never acted upon, unless under _really suspicious
circumstances_."
One of Mr. Herrick's callers at the American Embassy was Mme. Henri de
Sinçay, a grand-daughter of General Logan, of Civil War fame. She is the
wife of a French army officer and when the war broke out was living in a
chateau near Liege. She fled to Brussels with her child, and then,
leaving the latter there with her sister-in-law, came to Paris to say
good-by to her husband, who is attached to the aviation corps near
Versailles. Now Mme. de Sinçay cannot return to her child, but she is
not worrying over the situation and has offered her services to the
American Ambulance here in Paris.
The earnest, practical way in which General Victor Constant Michel,
Military Governor of Paris, carries out his work, is admirable. General
Michel has quietly despatched large numbers of the unruly youths of
Belleville, Montmartre, and Montparnasse,--known as the "apaches"--to
the country, in small gangs, to reap the wheat harvest, and he also
employs them in the government cartridge and ammunition factories. In
Paris, they have completely vanished from sight. The prohibition of the
drinking and sale of absinthe, not only in Paris, but throughout France,
was also due to the foresight of the Military Governor. General Michel,
although a rigid disciplinarian and a masterful organizer, is extremely
affable and agreeable. He was born at Auteuil in 1850, and after
graduation from Saint-Cyr, the French West Point, served in the war of
1870-1871 as second lieutenant of infantry. In 1894 he was made colonel
of an infantry regiment and showed such proficiency during the
manoeuvers that he became general-of-brigade in 1897. He was made
general-of-division in 1902; he is member of the Supreme War Council,
and in 1910 was awarded the high distinction of Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honor.
_Monday, August 24._
Twenty-second day of the war. Hot day with bright blue sky and
southeasterly wind. Thermometer at five P.M. 27 degrees centigrade.
Terrific night and day fighting continues on the Sambre and Meuse. The
French attack seems to have been repulsed. The allies remain on the
defensive, awaiting further German attacks. The losses on both sides are
terrible. Some days yet must elapse before the final result of the great
battle can be known. Meanwhile, Paris waits with patriotic confidence.
Russian victories in East Prussia, the Japanese bombardment of Tsin-Tao,
in Kiao-Chow, the advance of the Servians, and the increasing probability
of Italy claiming eventually her "_irredenta_" territory, are all
encouraging factors in this world-wide war.
The American volunteers mustered to-day at their recruiting offices in
the Rue de Valais and marched to the Invalides, where they passed the
French medical test prior to enrolment in the French army. The men are
wonderfully fit, and their splendid muscular, wiry physique was greatly
admired as they marched through the streets. Out of the two hundred
present, only one was not passed by the army surgeons, and even he was
not definitely refused. The corps will proceed to-morrow to the Gare
Saint-Lazare for entrainment. They will be sent, at first, to Rouen.