[From THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 8, 1914.]
_The following is a literal translation of a letter just
received in New York by a French lady's maid from her sister
at Rouen, and gives the point of view of the modest laboring
classes in France:_
ROUEN, Aug. 21, 1914.
My Dear Sister Henriette:
If I judge according to our impatience to get your news, I understand
you are anxious for ours. I hope that you made a good voyage and that
nothing disagreeable has happened to you during the journey. There is a
little change in life in Rouen. Numerous factories are closed, for the
reason that the men are gone to war, and women are powerless to operate
the machinery. As for me, the sewing is still going a little, but I do
not think that it will last long. Business stops little by little; the
most of the stores are closing, which gives the city a sad appearance.
Per contra, there is a big bustle in and around the railroad station of
the Rue Verte. Hundreds of persons stand on the square near the station,
to assist the passing of the English troops on their way to Paris; they
are acclaimed by the cry of "Vive la France!" "Vive l'Angleterre!" "Down
with Germany and the barbarians!"
Numerous trains bring hundreds of young wounded English, French, and
Belgian soldiers. Many offices of the Red Cross are settled in the
largest hotels of the city. Many citizens have asked to take some of the
wounded into their homes. We are going to have several of them at our
home. Mother is already preparing two rooms. She has moved Lili's bed
into the kitchen. As for us, we are going to sleep in the armchairs.
Lili talks of the war like a grown-up person, and so seriously! She also
wants to take care of the wounded. She will divert them. She made
dresses for all her dolls and put them to bed. She set on the table all
the history books to interest the soldiers. Of course she will do the
reading herself. Then she collected all the pieces of old sheets to make
some lint out of them, but she will do that in the kitchen when the
wounded are sleeping, so as not to worry them. If you were in Rouen now
you would be proud of your god-child. Maman had to have made for her a
big white table "for nurse." She goes to school every day, and I
promised that I would take her with me this afternoon to see an English
warship which arrived in the Seine yesterday. It seems that the ship had
narrowly escaped capture by the Germans, but I cannot give you much
information. We don't have any news from our own soldiers. I do not know
where father is. George and Maurice must be artillerymen in Belfort.
Jeanne and Helene are in despair, thinking of their husbands. Maurice's
baby is always so sweet; he does not suspect that his father is at war.
Our aunt has no news from Leon, André, and Joseph.
This is all the news. I hope that my letter will reach you. Do not
worry. But if the Germans arrive in Rouen they will find somebody to
receive them. If the men are not strong enough the women will help them.
For my share I would like to kill one of them, and it is the Kaiser
himself; I assure you that I would do it gladly. My dear Henriette, I
say "au revoir" to you today.