A merry group of Convent girls, in charge of Sister guardian, was
seated in the shade of a huge old pear tree, discussing the joys and
expectations of the approaching summer vacation. High are the walls
enclosing this ancient cloister, and many are the gay young hearts
protected and developed within its shady precincts.
Bright are the faces and happy the hearts of more than one hundred
young girls on this midsummer day in the memorable year 1914....
July's sun sank gently away on the western horizon, and its last rays
lit up the ripening fruit, the plants and flowers in the garden. It
seemed to linger for a last farewell to the groups of merry children
who, unconscious of their fast-approaching woe, were cheerfully singing
Belgium's well-known national song, "The Proud Flemish Lion."
In a few moments the "Golden Gate" closed on a field of purple haze,
shutting out that blessed glimpse of heaven, while the black shroud
of the most dismal night in history darkened the sky of that hapless
nation.
The Sisters were together in the evening recreation of that fateful
day, when word was received that King Albert of Belgium, in order to
fulfill his obligations of neutrality, had refused the Kaiser's army
access to his territory to attack the French. Had a thunderbolt fallen
from a clear sky, or an earthquake shaken the ground under foot, it
would scarcely have surprised or terrorized the people more than did
the Kaiser's declaration of war against this free and happy little
kingdom....
One Sunday morning, about the middle of August, an unusual tumult was
heard on the street. The door bell was loudly rung, and a messenger
admitted with news that the officers of the Belgian War Department had
commanded everything within firing range of the fortress to be cleared
away at once. For some time previous the soldiers had been busy cutting
down the groves and all the trees in the immediate vicinity of the
fortress. The poor people were given just three hours to get away with
bag and baggage.
This was a terrible misfortune for about six hundred families, whose
dwellings, being located within the limits prescribed, had to be
leveled to the ground. Even the tombstones in the cemetery, together
with all the crops, trees, haystacks, barns and everything within range
of the gaping mouths of the cannon, had to be laid flat or taken away.
No wonder that the people raced to and fro that hot Sunday morning,
carrying bundles, dragging wagons with household furniture and
fixtures; wheeling trunks, clothing, stoves, pictures, bedding and
every article that could be taken up and carried away. Tears and
perspiration rolled over the cheeks of men and women, whose faces
glowed from the heat and intense excitement....