diff options
Diffstat (limited to '44599-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 44599-0.txt | 1701 |
1 files changed, 1701 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/44599-0.txt b/44599-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..90fafe3 --- /dev/null +++ b/44599-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1701 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44599 *** + +BEYOND THE MARNE + +[Illustration: Mlle. Henriette Cuvru-Magot, from a recent portrait] + + + + +BEYOND THE MARNE + +_Quincy--Huiry--Voisins before and during the battle_ + + BY + HENRIETTE CUVRU-MAGOT + + TRANSLATED BY + KATHARINE BABBITT + + ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS + + [Illustration] + + BOSTON + SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY + PUBLISHERS + + + + + Copyright, 1918 + BY SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY + (INCORPORATED) + + + + +To + +MILDRED ALDRICH + + +"Will you allow me, Miss Aldrich, to pay you the tribute of my +admiration for the lofty courage you have shown, and to express to you +my gratitude for the comfort you have given my family during these +early days of September?" + + + + +PREFACE + + +MADEMOISELLE HENRIETTE CUVRU-MAGOT, who, since the early months of the +war, has been nursing the wounded at the Auxiliary Hospital of _l'Union +des Femmes de France_, at Quincy, near Meaux, lives in the picturesque +village of Voisins, a dependency of that commune. + +Daughter of a superior officer who played an active and brilliant part +in the war of 1870, granddaughter of a Garde-du-Corps of Louis XVI, she +heard from childhood in her home many tales of valiant deeds performed +by the French Army. + +And now, in her turn, wishing to complete the story of the glorious +past, witnessed by her father and grandfather, by the story of the +heroic present, at which she herself is an onlooker, she is about to +tell us what she saw from her modest cottage at the very beginning of +the Great War, and trace to us a poignant picture of the events which +took place under her eyes. + +Mademoiselle Cuvru-Magot began her journal August 2, 1914, thinking, +of course, that she would never know the war itself except through the +accounts given by our soldiers when at last they should return. + +Five weeks later she was in the midst of a battle, and that, of all +others, the Battle of the Marne. + +The real merit of these notes--all too few, alas! since they leave off +on the morrow of the Victory of the Marne--is not to be sought in the +military incidents recorded by Mademoiselle Cuvru-Magot, though even +these have their importance, but rather in the noble sentiments she +expresses, which stand out above everything else, especially during the +heart-rending hours of the invasion. In her village, cut off from the +rest of the world, she finds herself almost alone with those who are +most dear to her--too weak to protect them, powerless on the other hand +to sacrifice herself, to give all her strength, all her sympathy to the +soldiers wounded in the battle that is being waged there, a few steps +from her door. + +Mademoiselle Cuvru-Magot was kind enough to let me see her manuscript, +and at my earnest request has consented to publish it. + +It is with interest and emotion that we read these pages marked by +ardent faith and by an unfaltering trust in the eternal destiny of our +country. And they are pages written by a Frenchwoman who remembers with +just pride that she is the daughter and granddaughter of soldiers. + + GEORGES HUSSON + + _Vice-President of the Literary and Historical + Society of Brie_ + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PAGE + + Mlle. Henriette Cuvru-Magot, from a Recent Portrait _Frontispiece_ + + The Mareuil Road from Voisins to the Marne, the Ancient + Pavé-des-Roizes 10 + + Terrace of the Actors' Home at Couilly, established by + Coquelin, who died here 20 + + Voisins-Quincy. Rue de Condé 32 + + Miss Mildred Aldrich 36 + + The Junction of the Marne and the Canal de Chalifert 42 + + _Route national_ from Couilly to the Demi-Lune 52 + + The Road leading away from the Château de Condé, + across the Grand Morin 66 + + Wounded Soldiers at the Hospital of Quincy 76 + + Voisins-Quincy. Rue de Condé 86 + + Château in the Park of the Actors' Home at Couilly 96 + + Tomb of Coquelin 100 + + On the Banks of the Marne 104 + + The Home of Mlle. Henriette Cuvru-Magot 106 + + + + +BEYOND THE MARNE + + + + +I + + + 2 August, 1914. + +WAR is declared! Up to the last minute I would not believe it. Is such +a thing still possible in this century? Alas, yes! There is no denying +the facts. + +Even these last few days I felt perfectly confident. We have been on +the verge of war so many times before this, but the danger has always +been averted by means of diplomatic parleys. I thought that in our day +and generation disputes were settled in that way, without bloodshed, as +a matter of course. But now! It seems to me we have just gone backward +several centuries! + +I did not realize the truth until a little while ago when I took my +brother to the station at Esbly. He is on his way to Paris to get his +mobilization orders. How I wish I were a man and could go with him! +This is the first time in our lives we have ever been separated, and +under what circumstances! How sad it is to think that in every town and +village in France there is the same anguish of farewells. + +The pealing of the tocsin is a funeral knell that strikes terror to +every mother's heart. + +The great grief that has stricken the earth is borne from village to +village on the church bells like a single long sob. + + + + +II + + + 4 August, 1914. + +EVERY day some of the men about here start for the front, but it is at +the Esbly station, where I have just been, that the leave-takings are +the most heart-rending. + +The men are very grave, but they start off without a complaint, without +a murmur. And if they are courageous, the women who accompany them, +understanding fully their own great duty, do not give way to their +feelings for a single instant. They are determined that no tears of +theirs shall make harder the task of father or husband. It is really +sublime. + +Huge bunches and garlands of roses are twined over the cars. Here +and there is the vivid note of our national bouquet of simple +wildflowers--cornflowers, daisies, and poppies, scarce at this season. +In the cannon's mouth and on the gun-carriages are branches of laurel. + +Inscriptions chalked on all the cars bear witness to the good morale of +our troops. + +On the locomotive of a return train we read: + + Our souls to God, + Our blood to our country, + Our hearts to our women, + Our bodies to the wicked. + +How very French that is! + +It is as if these trains, decked with flowers and flags, were on their +way to a vast festival. When each train comes to a standstill there is +an impressive moment of silence, broken by cheers as it moves off. + +Although I was deeply stirred by these departures, I stayed a long +time at the station, filled with admiration at the ardor with which +every man answers the call of his country. It is a sight never to be +forgotten. + +On the way home from the station, I meet a friend whom I have known +a long time, a good man who is father of a family. In order to spare +his wife and children the worst of the farewells, he has insisted on +going alone to the station. He asks permission to embrace me. "I have +known you since you were such a little tot, Mademoiselle." Of course I +consent willingly. + +Highways as well as railroads are being used for transporting men and +supplies. Auto-buses, delivery wagons of Paris shops--the Bon Marché, +Galéries Lafayette, Printemps, still bearing their signboards and +advertisements--go by on the road to Meaux, carrying munitions (at +least we imagine so). They are tight shut, and, to judge by their dull +rumble, heavily laden. + +Just as I reach the outskirts of Quincy, I see a group of men armed +with pitchforks and sticks coming down the road. Farther on, a lady +with white hair is holding a Browning aimed at the sky. + +What is happening? + +I learn that an automobile driven by Germans and flying the Red Cross +flag has been signalled. The order has just come by telephone to try to +stop it. + +The constable is blockading the road with carts, planks, and farming +implements. I immediately start back to Voisins, and urge everyone I +meet to do likewise. + +In the distance an automobile coming at a rapid pace from the direction +of Couilly stops suddenly at the sight of the barricade. The little +group of armed civilians approach. + +It is too far away for me to make out anything more, but I see a second +automobile, driven at top speed, slow down, and then swiftly wheel +about. In my anxiety to give the alarm in Voisins, I do not notice +which way it goes. + +At Voisins no automobile has been seen, but barricades are erected, +nevertheless. While I am answering the questions people ask me about +this automobile story, I suddenly notice some marks scratched on the +wall of the house in front of which we are standing, at the corner of +the roads to Huiry and Voisins. + +The drawing looks like a map, and has an arrow beside it. It must have +been made a very short time ago, and looks as if it were made with a +nail or the point of a knife. The blades of grass underneath are still +covered with the fine powder and plaster that fell from it. + +[Illustration: The Mareuil Road from Voisins to the Marne, the ancient +Pavé-des-Roizes] + +The arrow points towards Pavé-des-Roizes, and, on studying the +lines, we think someone was trying to point out the road to +Couilly--Mareuil Street, the road of Champ-Madame (going from Demi-Lune +to Huiry), Huiry Street, Condé Street, and once more Mareuil Street (or +Pavé-des-Roizes). + +We dare not say to each other what is in our minds. It occurs to one +of us to follow the direction of the arrow, and, to our surprise, we +find other arrows leading all the way to the Marne. What is more, they +are all newly made. Some of them point in the direction of Paris, and +have the word "Paris" written in large letters underneath. Was the auto +to reach Meaux by going through Mareuil in case the State road was cut +off? Even along the State road there were several guiding marks. On +the blinds of a farmhouse just outside of Quincy is a large arrow, +pointing downward towards the German colors. + +We were unable to find out what became of this automobile. The first +one that was stopped--thus allowing the second to escape--was that of +a French general, who was doubtless obliged to give numerous proofs of +his identity in the course of an hour. + + + + +III + + + 8 August, 1914. + +TO-DAY our gas and water supplies were cut off! The town-crier +announces that people are forbidden to circulate on the high roads +between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M., and that foreigners in the commune are not +to leave it under penalty of immediate arrest. + +A home guard has been organized, which is to be armed and patrol the +streets at night. + + + + +IV + + + 20 August, 1914. + +THE efforts to find the automobile signalled on the 6th were perhaps +not without success. We were told to-day that an automobile with nuns +in it had been seized. A child happened to call attention to the size +of the nuns' hands, and it was discovered that they were no other than +two German officers. Their automobile contained a large quantity of +powder. + +These Germans were shot at Lagny almost immediately, I am told, but of +this I am not positive, as I know it only by hearsay. + + + + +V + + + 30 August, 1914. + +TRAIN loads of wounded keep passing through Esbly. We all flock to the +station, in the hope of bringing back good news. Alas, nothing comes +but great numbers of refugees and wounded. The hospital installed in +the waiting-room of the station is not large enough to care for all the +wounded and provide comforts for the refugees. There are many young +girls, but not enough to attend to all these unfortunates. While some +of us are busy dressing wounds, others hasten to carry sandwiches and +drink to the refugees on the trains, many of whom have had nothing to +eat or drink for twenty hours. + +Trains do not stop long enough at the station to allow the women of the +Red Cross to go through all the cars. Even though it is against the +rules, we reach the platform from the railroad-crossing and distribute +fruit, bread, and chocolate to the children. + +Our brave soldiers, for all their wounds and their weariness, look +confident, and the ones we are able to approach assure us that they do +not doubt our victory for a single instant. They have seen it. I can +read it in their eyes. + +How I long to be useful in these tragic hours! It is the duty of +everyone to the full measure of his strength. No effort to help, +however small, is unimportant. + +Unfortunately, the hospital at Quincy is not yet completely organized, +but meanwhile a branch has been fitted up at the railroad station. I am +assigned to the Quincy hospital, and so am obliged to wait until it is +opened. + +There are moments when I could weep at not being able to do as much as +I should like to relieve all this suffering--to give of my strength +since I cannot give of my purse. I want to start for the hospitals near +the front, but my mother absolutely forbids it. + +I wrote to Bishop Marbeau asking to be allowed to work in one of his +hospitals. He answers that Meaux has no hospital as yet, but that he +will let me know in case there is any way I can be of use. He sends +with his letter several packages containing warm clothing and various +useful articles for needy soldiers of the neighborhood. I am deeply +touched. + +Quincy possesses a dispensary installed by Madame Bruneau, mistress of +the château. This dispensary, directed by a Sister of Mercy, Sister +Jules, is of great service to the civilian population in time of peace. +Since war was declared, it has been transformed into a hospital for +wounded or sick soldiers, and the management entrusted to Madame René +Benoist, wife of the mayor of the commune. + +This hospital has two branches--one at Pont-aux-Dames, in the Home +for Aged Actors founded by Coquelin, the other at the Esbly railroad +station. From here the wounded who arrive on the trains will be taken +to Quincy or Pont-aux-Dames. + +Doctor Pigornet of Crécy is in charge of the medical service. + +So far no orders have been received from the Sanitary Service assigning +wounded to either branch. We are obliged to wait for these orders. +Each annex has its staff appointed. Quincy is not entirely fitted up. +Pont-aux-Dames is organized, and the branch at the station is already +at work. + +Trains keep rushing to the Eastern frontier in an endless procession. +The roar is incessant, especially at night, and a dismal sound it is. + +Refugees in even greater numbers throng the roads. The towns on the +other side of the Marne are beginning to be evacuated. It is a desolate +sight. + +Old people manage with difficulty to keep their balance on carts piled +high with household goods and fodder. Young women walk, carrying little +ones whose eyes are wide with fatigue and fright at all this commotion. + +Carts follow carts, crowded close together in one long line. They come +from Liège, from Namur, from our invaded regions of the North! + +[Illustration: Terrace of the Actors' Home at Couilly, established by +Coquelin, who died here] + +In the midst of all these people in vehicles and on foot, terrified +cattle jostle each other. Some that were in leading have broken +loose; others, still tied, cannot keep up, and let themselves be +dragged along. Sheep and cows run about the fields or simply stop where +they are and begin to graze. + +As a result of the increasing difficulty in taking their cattle with +them, peasants dispose of them for almost nothing: a cow, forty francs. + +The hospital at Quincy, though it cannot be of service to the wounded, +will at least, while waiting for them, have cared for the unfortunate +refugees. It is distributing soup to three hundred people daily, as +well as milk and other food and drink. Tired women stop there to rest a +little before resuming their sad journey to the unknown. + +They all have a tale of horror to tell--barbarous acts committed +by the Germans in the homes these people are fleeing from--acts so +terrible that it is almost impossible to believe them. One man tells +us that a young boy in his family had both hands cut off by these +wretches. "This child," he said, "must have been taken along this road. +We started out together, but I was so tired and hungry that I stopped +to rest, and got separated from the others. The Boches have destroyed +everything I possessed." (I have made inquiries. People tell me they +saw at the Couilly bridge a little boy of about seven with both arms +wrapped in bandages.) + +Supplies of food at the hospital are beginning to give out. The +town-crier is sent out to make an appeal to the generosity of the +citizens, and once more the kitchen is filled with food. + +The town-crier, in conformance with instructions from the Prefect, +orders the civil population to carry to the town hall any arms they may +have in their possession. Everyone hastens to comply. In their panic, +people even carry the ancient arms of their panoplies. + +All day long (and for several days back as well) Boche aviators have +been flying over us, and seem to be exchanging signals. They come from +the direction of Meaux, circle about in large and small circles as far +as Voisins, from there they dart in a straight line towards Paris, +returning after rather a long flight, still in a straight line in the +direction of Soissons, where we lose sight of them. We have noticed +this man[oe]uvre several times. + +I walked to Esbly this morning in company with a lad of about fifteen +who has come with his mother to take refuge in Condé. He told me +that, together with several friends whom they brought with them in +their motor, they have been fleeing before the enemy all the way from +Belgium. "We wanted to go to Compiègne," he said, "but were advised to +come here instead, because there was less danger. But here, no more +than elsewhere," he added, after a pause, "are we safe. We shall not +stay. We leave to-morrow." + +"But," I asked, "what makes you think we are in danger here?" + +"Look at all those 'planes. They are Boche machines. They keep just +ahead of the army. At first we did not pay any attention to them, but +since then we have found out what it means. You may be sure their +troops are not far behind." + +I have decided to go to Paris. There I shall find out what is really +happening. + +At the railroad station they are not sure there will be a return train. +The service may be discontinued at any moment. After considering the +possibility of having to return on foot, I start out. Come what may, I +must see my family in Paris. + +The trains are crammed with people and stacked on top of each other +are bundles and boxes of all shapes and sizes. From the boxes come the +whining of dogs, the screeching of birds, and the mewing of cats. It is +indescribable. + +On the way back I have the luck to get a train which takes seven hours +from Paris to Esbly, being side-tracked all along the line to make way +for trains carrying wounded, war supplies, or troops on their way to or +from the front. + +When I get back to Voisins I am plied with questions by a number of +people who are anxiously awaiting my return. I hardly dare give them +the news I have brought. + +I went to the Bank of France to see my uncle. He advises us to stay +where we are,--this in spite of the fact that the government is being +moved to Bordeaux next Thursday. The Bank is preparing to leave at +the same time. The courtyard of the Bank is full of automobiles and +railroad delivery wagons, which, after being loaded hastily, start out +in every direction. + +This news throws everyone into a panic. + +English heavy artillery arrived to-day. It came by way of Esbly, and +this afternoon has been taken up to Coutevroult where the batteries are +being installed. Coutevroult is on the slope opposite that of Quincy, +Huiry, Voisins. The Grand-Morin flows between. + +If the Germans come to Quincy, or the heights over opposite, we shall +be between two fires! + +We were awakened last night by the tramping and neighing of horses. The +horses' hoofs seemed to have been wrapped in something. The sound was +muffled. + +My mother and I called to each other: "It is the Boches." Did they +hear us? The windows of our bedroom open on the street. At any rate, +the pace quickened, and finally died away in the direction of the +ford--a road leading to the Aulnois woods behind our house, then to +Pavé-des-Roizes, communicating with the Condé woods and the banks of +the Chalifert canal. + +We did not get up quickly enough to find out what this expedition was +that was being carried on with so much mystery. It is a great pity, for +the night was clear, and it would certainly have been possible to see. + + + + +VI + + + 2 September, 1914. + +THE King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, commanded by Captain Simpson, +arrived at the same time as the heavy artillery, and is camping at +Demi-Lune. The regiment has retreated all the way from Belgium and +these brave men have been fighting continually since the Battle of Mons +on August 23. These are their first days of rest. + +Heavy ration trucks and hospital ambulances, superbly appointed, line +the road. + +The soldiers are splendidly set up and perfectly equipped. Spruce, +shining, freshly shaved, they are as clean and correct when they +present themselves to us as if they had just stepped out of a bandbox. +They are very reserved in speech, and do not talk much unless we +question them. Even so, we have to be careful not to put indiscreet +questions. + +On our asking: "Where are the Germans?" "Far, far away," they answer, +with a wave of the hand. They do their best to reassure us and gaily +begin whistling "Tipperary." + +Their coolness allays our fears. + +This afternoon the detachment of Hussars stationed at Meaux marched by. +People were already uneasy, and after that they were more than ever +convinced that it was time to flee. This evening everyone is impatient +to be off. + +Esbly is already evacuated. A few Scotch troops are beginning to arrive +there. + +Neufmontiers, Penchard, Dammartin, all the communes in the immediate +vicinity of Meaux, are evacuated. Official records of real estate, also +birth, marriage, and death registers, and the municipal archives have +been removed to the quarries of Mareuil, along with the arms deposited +by civilians. + +Departures are growing more frequent. People in Quincy are preparing to +go, likewise some of the inhabitants of Voisins. The mayor and the curé +have already been mobilized. + +Are we alone to remain behind? + +[Illustration: Voisins-Quincy. Rue de Condé] + +Before leaving, everyone wants to save his most treasured +possessions. Mattresses, beds, old furniture--the most absurd and +unlikely things--are carried from one end of the village to the other +to be hidden in the underground passages which abound in Voisins and +Huiry. + +Holes are dug to contain barrels crammed with linen and household +goods. In all this extraordinary activity there is very little reason +or method. People are half crazed. They even hide furniture and various +other objects in the tunnels of the plaster quarries! + +To abandon one's home seems like deserting a friend. And yet we shall +have to consider it, for we may be forced to go. I promised my brother +to see that his wife and children were removed to a place of safety +in case of danger. We are none of us terrified as yet. Though I have a +feeling that the battle will not come as far as this, I am doing all +I can to persuade my mother to leave. It is only when I speak of the +safety of the children that I succeed in shaking her determination to +stay. Meanwhile, the danger does not seem imminent, and we keep putting +off our departure till the morrow. + +At the turning of the road that leads from Demi-Lune to Voisins, on +the hilltop overlooking the valley of the Marne, one of the humble +dwellings of the hamlet of Huiry was transformed a few months ago +into a beautiful cottage. It is two stories high, with a pointed and +irregular roof, but most graceful in its whole effect. It is here that +an American lady came to live in the early months of this year, hoping +to pass in this solitary spot calm and peaceful days. + +Miss Aldrich, a woman of courageous soul and great heart, is an +unspeakable consolation to the little group of women who have remained +near her. Filled with the most generous sentiments, giving lavishly of +her sympathy and guidance, she charms all who come in contact with her. + +I go to see Miss Aldrich every day. Her conversation delights me and +her qualities of mind and heart fill me with admiration. By her force +of character in the tragic hours we are living through she helps us to +rise above emotions that at times nearly sweep us off our feet. + +If a bit of good news reaches her, I am sure to see her come hurrying +down the hill towards our house to talk over with us what she has just +learned. + +She is truly French at heart, and knows just what to say to make us +feel the same confidence she feels herself. If, before she came, we +were beginning to waver, we discover after she has been here that we +are once more strong and brave. + +[Illustration: Miss Mildred Aldrich, the author of "A Hilltop on the +Marne" and "On the Edge of the War Zone." Riding in her cart behind her +donkey, Ninette, Miss Aldrich is a familiar figure in the country-side +round about "La Creste," her "house on the hilltop."] + +Will you allow me, Miss Aldrich, to pay you the tribute of my +admiration for the lofty courage you have shown, and to express to you +my gratitude for the comfort you have given my family during these +early days of September? + +We learned from Captain Simpson at Miss Aldrich's that German patrols +had crossed the Marne in advance of the English. English aviators have +seen them. Can it be that the horses we have been hearing for several +nights back belong to these patrols? + +The soldiers of the King's Own Yorkshire Regiment mount guard until 6 +P.M. in Voisins and also along the canal that joins the Marne to the +Morin. At that time Captain Simpson suddenly receives marching orders +and starts off at once in the direction of Crécy. The Yorkshiremen are +promptly replaced by a regiment of Bedfordshire Light Infantry. + +General French and the English General Staff are at +Villeneuve-le-Comte, it is said. Motorcycle messengers maintain +communications between the various English corps that surround us. + + + + +VII + + + 3 September, 1914. + +SEVERAL days ago the hospitals near Meaux received orders to evacuate +their wounded and equipment to Orléans. The last train-loads of wounded +are to pass through Esbly to-day. So, in spite of our reluctance to +leave, we shall have to make up our minds to it. + +This morning, Madame Benoist told us of these orders, and urged us to +leave, and, for the sake of the children, as quickly as possible. The +Germans are advancing rapidly. They are at Saint-Soupplets, she tells +us. She kindly offers us a horse and carriage, saying that it is +almost out of the question to take the train. + +The trains crawl along at a snail's pace, gathering up everyone in +their path. Refugees wait all along the track, and at the stations are +jammed together pell-mell in the midst of all sorts of luggage and +supplies. + +The station at Esbly is to be closed and the hospital moved away. + +We accept Madame Benoist's offer with gratitude, for we must make sure +that the children are safe. + +So we pack up hastily and load the carriage, which we have no small +difficulty in finding, as it is haled in every direction by people who +are trying to escape. Everyone is getting more and more distracted. + +We start out without locking up anything, or even so much as closing +the doors. We can't help feeling that we shall not go very far. + +Before being bestowed on us, the horse has already made several trips +and carried heavy loads. He is fagged out. After going a few steps, he +falls on his knees. We manage to get him up. Will he start off again? +Certainly not. He plants his feet firmly on the ground and puts up a +most lively resistance. We can't make him budge an inch. + +The English are blowing up, one by one, all the bridges around us, so +as to cut off the advance of the Germans. After each explosion we begin +to dread the next one. They shake the house and make the furniture +slide around. The people living near these bridges all had to leave; +the inhabitants of Condé are taking refuge on our plateau, where they +can watch at a safe distance the masses of stone hurled violently into +the air by the explosions. + +The Couilly bridge is as yet only mined. The English will not blow it +up until they have crossed to the other side, in case they are obliged +to retreat. + +Captain Simpson said that General Joffre's orders are to make a final +stand at the Marne. His orders are explicit on this point. If our +troops are forced back over the Marne, they will fall back to the +Morin, but the enemy will not come that far, he adds. + +[Illustration: The junction of the Marne and the Canal de Chalifert, +between Lagny and Esbly; the point nearest to Paris where bridges were +destroyed during the Battle of the Marne] + +This morning the English artillery placed batteries at the bottom +and top of Justice Hill, commanding the town of Meaux. From the +road-maker's cabin where they have established an observation post, +likewise from the roof of an isolated house on the top of the hill, +they sweep the plain and direct movements of troops. Road-maker +Duchesne is invited by the English to look through their field-glasses, +and as the weather is very clear, he sees the Germans arrive in close +formation and in great numbers beyond Lizy, marching towards La +Ferté-sous-Jouarre. + +Artillery and infantry are on the move. Some of the troops have halted +and are camping. At this moment a loud booming of cannon is heard in +the direction of May-en-Multien, Acy. But Duchesne cannot make out +anything in that quarter, as it is in a valley cut off by the heights +of Monthyon and Penchard. + +In the direction of Trilbardou Chauconin, Neufmontiers, Penchard, he +sees French troops coming up and taking positions. + +Presently, at two o'clock, the artillery receives orders to start +for the forest of Le Mans, in an attempt to check the Germans who +are coming down the hill and advancing towards the forest. The +German troops seen near Lizy are marching at this moment upon +Mary, Germigny-l'Evêque, Saint-Jean-les-deux-Jumeaux, Montceaux, +Villemareuil, Pierrelevée, on the way to Coulommiers. + +English engineers continue to blow up bridges. Between three and four +o'clock they blow up the bridges of Trilport, the railroad bridge, that +of the State road, and likewise that between Moulins and Meaux. + +The Cornillon bridge, over the canal, is mined. + +The last inhabitants have left Meaux; they went by on the road at the +same time as a detachment of infantry, falling back before the enemy. + +As they go along they shout to us: "They have blown up the bridges +behind us. The Germans are already at Trilport!" + +"But," asks a woman, "isn't there any way of stopping them?" + +A lieutenant who heard her question answers: "You might as well try to +stop the waters of the sea. They pour in from everywhere--from every +highway and byway and back-alley--a regular tidal wave. Unless some +miracle happens they will be here by to-night." + +It is impossible, even if we wished it, to leave by way of Esbly. There +are no more trains! Impossible to leave on foot--the roads are choked +with troops and supplies. Moreover, all the bridges are destroyed, the +bridge of Lagny along with the rest. So we shall stay. God be merciful +to us! + +There is no more mail--not the slightest communication with the +outside. We are completely cut off from the rest of the world. + +The new English General Staff has taken up headquarters at the château +of Quincy. The English are camping along State road number 36, between +Quincy and Voisins. + +The roar of the cannon is coming nearer and nearer. The sound +electrifies me. I cannot keep still, but go back and forth from Quincy +to Esbly to get news, and more especially to try to send news to my +brother. I seem to be the only human being on the roads. + +What a feeling of sadness it gives one to go through these empty +villages. Every house is like a tomb. But those who have gone did not +take away everything. Their hearts and souls remain behind, keeping +watch over all that memory holds dear. + + + + +VIII + + + 4 September, 1914. + +THE booming of cannon is still very near. + +Scarcely anyone is left in the neighborhood. The butcher has gone. +Fortunately, the baker is staying, and as long as the flour holds out +we shall have bread. + +If this state of isolation lasts long, it is proposed to kill and +divide up the pet horse to feed those who are still here. Poor beast! I +hope we shall not come to that pass. I feel a sort of gratitude to him. + +The few people still remaining in Quincy and Voisins seem to make one +big family. We live almost in common. The town-crier, Marin, with the +help of Pron, the road-maker, kill and distribute an ox that was left +behind by a refugee. Mirat, the carpenter, goes a long distance now and +again to get provisions of some kind, and so renders us a very great +service. Everyone is doing something to help everyone else,--holding +his neighbor by the hand, as it were. + +But we must try to find some sort of shelter, in case, owing to our +position, we should be exposed to a bombardment. + +Near by are deep spacious wine-cellars, which with their massive arches +look like vast cloisters. We prepare provisions and carry them to +these cellars, so that we can take refuge there if need be. + +One of my aunts said she knew a very safe place where we could go if +for any reason we were obliged to leave both the house and the cellar. +It is one of the most isolated nooks in the plaster quarries, and is in +the form of a trench. It would be impossible to find us there. + +But we shall have to give up that "very safe place." My aunt came in a +little while ago much excited. She has discovered that her hiding-place +is inhabited! And by whom? By the Boches themselves! She saw their +heads emerging from this kind of trench. They had carefully covered +their shining helmets with grass. There were ten or more of them, and +several cavalrymen farther on. + +Perhaps it would be prudent to bury some of our things. I ask one of +our old friends to help me dig a hole in the garden. We have planned to +dig it this evening. + +Meanwhile, I go to the hospital at Quincy, reaching there just +as Sister Jules and Sister Marie are getting ready to go to +Pont-aux-Dames. Sister Jules has arranged all her dressings and +surgical instruments with the most painstaking care.[1] + +[Illustration: _Route national_ from Couilly to the Demi-Lune, a hard, +straight hill, over a mile and a quarter long] + +The road is almost deserted, except for an occasional refugee who goes +by on foot. The English are digging trenches at Demi-Lune in Mareuil +Street, near the State road. Trenches are being made also beyond the +Quincy plaster quarry, near the road to Mont and at Ségy. + +There is an encampment in the plain in front of the park of the +château. It is meal time. With very evident pleasure the men are eating +raw tomatoes. They are also taking great satisfaction in some jam that +looks most appetizing. The jam comes in large cans decorated with +pictures of the fruit of which it is made. + +Every little while the earth trembles under our feet. We now hear +cannon booming all around us. + +This morning I saw a man who has just been to Meaux. He tells me that +as he was going along the Magny road, in a place called Pageotte, a +German automobile stopped in front of the demolished bridge. An officer +got out and angrily inquired of several bystanders if it was long since +the bridge had been destroyed. + +"Yes, yesterday," they answered. + +"Then," said he, "what happened to the patrol that was ordered to go +this way this morning?" + +"The men swam over, together with their horses." + +Not being able to cross over himself the officer ordered his chauffeur +to turn back. He was escorted by two soldiers carrying rifles. + +This evening there is very little bread in the neighborhood. I meet a +tall young Englishman looking for bread for himself and his comrades. +I think there is some at home, so I tell him to follow me. When we +reach the door, he refuses to come in and I have to hand him the bread +through the window. We have very little left. Will the baker make more +to-morrow? He carries off the bread, but is especially happy at being +given some raw tomatoes. Always tomatoes! There is nothing you can +give them that pleases them so much. But you have to hand them out +through the window. One of the men who speaks very good French tells +us they are under strict orders not to go inside a house on any pretext +whatsoever. And they obey implicitly. + +Another man comes and asks us for a crucifix. He manages to explain to +me that he is engaged to be married, that perhaps to-morrow he will be +killed, and he wants to send a souvenir to his young lady. We are glad +to give him one. Before he goes, he wraps up his parcel, and in return +offers to forward a letter to my brother by one of their messengers. + +At nightfall a platoon of English come down from Huiry to search the +Aulnois woods. Germans have been seen there. + +Part of the men are detailed to beat the woods while the rest with +astonishing agility and suppleness lie down on the ground and crawl +away to hide, either lying flat or kneeling on the edge or inside of +the ditch by the road. (This road is the continuation of Huiry Street +towards the Aulnois woods, and is called Cat Lane.) If the Germans are +driven out of the woods they will be obliged to go along this road. + +Our old friend kept his promise to come to the house, and we +immediately set about preparing the hiding-place for our treasures. +While he was digging in the garden I heard very distinctly in the +garden next door, on the other side of the wall, a dull thud that +sounded like someone falling, then the same noise a second time. +Certainly two men had jumped over the wall into the garden. Our friend +heard it too, and motioned to me to know if he was to continue. Keeping +my eye on the wall, I nodded to him to go on. + +Hearing nothing more, I was tempted to go to the door in the garden +wall that opens on the little woods to see if the English were +continuing their search, so as to tell them to go into the garden +next door. I don't know why I did not carry out this plan, unless +because I was too much absorbed in putting the finishing touches to +our hiding-place. It was lucky for me, possibly, for I might have +found myself face to face with the Boches. The noises we heard were +very likely made by two Germans jumping over the wall to escape being +caught. While the English were watching for them in the road, they +reached the garden from the rear, then Pavé-des-Roizes, and from there +slipped away in single file in the direction of Demi-Lune. (I learned +this detail from a woman who saw them.) + +FOOTNOTE: + +[1] After rendering various services during the Battle of the Marne, +the annex at Pont-aux-Dames had to be closed. No official order came +permitting us to receive wounded there. This order did not come until +January, 1915, and then solely for Quincy, which has been in operation +since that date as Auxiliary Hospital Number 112, under the intelligent +and devoted direction of Madame René Benoist, President of the cantonal +committee of the "Union of the Women of France." + + + + +IX + + + 5 September, 1914. + +THERE is no one left in the streets. The place is deserted. The English +left this morning at three o'clock. Cannon are raging. + +While we were at lunch a woman stopped before our window a moment in +her flight and said to us, "From your window you must be able to see +the firing of the cannon. The light can be seen from here." In fact, +from the upper story we can distinguish plainly a veritable whirlwind +of artillery. It is on the plain of Monthyon that the firing is the +most sustained. Mingled with the roar of cannon and the rattle of +machine guns we can hear men shouting and trumpets sounding the charge. +They tell us it is our brave Zouaves and our Moroccan sharp-shooters +who are down there in the valley, while the enemy artillery is on +the hills. With the naked eye we can see very plainly brown specks +advancing in columns. + +Shells are bursting three miles from us as the crow flies. Black and +white tufts mount and spread about in the air. Under these tufts fires +spring up, and farmhouses, woods, and mills burst into flames. + +The fire and noise are hellish! + +We have in front of us the magnificent panorama formed by the heights +of Monthyon and Penchard, Chauconin, Neufmontiers; in the background, +Chambry and Barcy. All these little wooded hill-tops stand out like +lace-work against the clear sky. In the lowlands, on the right of the +valley, is Meaux, with its cathedral towering over it; below, in the +foreground, winds the Marne; between us and the river are the great +trees of the Aulnois woods and our own garden. + +Can it be possible that in this marvellous setting, in this peaceful +countryside and radiant sunshine, men are killing each other? Each of +the combatants claims God on his side. And yet, did not His messenger +on earth say: "Love one another"? What have the sons of men done with +Christ's doctrines of love--charity--peace? + +As long as time endures, in order that ideals may live, must the earth +be drenched with blood and tears? + +What harvest will be garnered from all this mowing down of tender +youth, cut off here before our eyes? + +Oh, the crushing guilt that weighs on the instigators of such a war, +and the terrible responsibility that is on their heads! + +Civilization seems nothing but an empty word, that no longer has the +slightest meaning. We are not, alas, ripe for universal peace. And yet, +how happy nations could be if these mountains of gold that are being +melted up for their destruction could be used for their well-being! +Shall we ever attain to the ideal of peace? Perhaps, but before that +time what suffering will be ours! + +For the present, we must drive out the invaders, thrust back this +cursed and ambitious people which has long been preparing for war, and +reduce it to impotence. Our brave soldiers are setting at the task body +and soul. + +All political parties have put aside their differences and, for the +sake of the common cause, are walking hand in hand. + +May victory keep and strengthen this spirit! It would be the first step +on the road to happiness. + +While the battle rages before us, our prayers go out to the heroes who +are suffering and dying so near at hand. Each cannon-shot, as we think +of the bloody trail it ploughs in its path, is like a stab in the heart. + +And my thoughts are with the wounded as they try to crawl out of reach +of bullets, huddling in a furrow, crouching behind a bush. Some of +them with their little remaining strength write on the back of an old +envelope their last farewells. + +The vision of my brother rises before me. He is bleeding, near unto +death. He calls for help. Every movement that he makes wrings from +him a groan. By a superhuman effort, goaded on by the thought of his +children and his longing to see them again, he succeeds in dragging +himself to the banks of the Marne, in the hope of finding help. To +assuage his fever he tries to dip his hand in the cool water. But his +arm refuses to obey. His hand is rigid. No one to aid him. Shattered, +weak, he lies there waiting--waiting for the help that never comes. + +I am in despair. Surely there are wounded men in agony on the banks of +the Marne. + +If anyone would go with me, perhaps we could organize some sort of +relief work. But how are we to get to the other side of the river? All +the fishing boats, even the wash boat, have been sunk by the English. +Can we do nothing but stand waiting here--useless--helpless? + +[Illustration: The road leading away from the Château de Condé across +the bridge over the Grand Morin, looking away from the château] + +My brother's little girls are playing peacefully at our side. Like +them, we are calm. Not for a moment are we afraid. Without saying a +word to each other, we seem to think the same thoughts, and we remain +at our post until evening, with full confidence. But our emotion is +very great. + +To what merciful providence do we owe our certainty that the enemy will +not reach us, and the tranquillity with which we await the end of this +tragedy? I confess that I do not understand. + +One by one the stars break through the veil of darkness that comes down +gently upon us. Now myriads of stars are shining in the heavens. + +It is eleven o'clock. Houses are in flames, and forests. Here and there +in the distance camp-fires are burning and trench-rockets burst in +showers, making the valley seem like a great fiery furnace, an ocean +of flame. + +How insignificant are our own troubles in the presence of these heaped +up ruins, this destruction of men and things! + +On the highest tree of the Aulnois woods I have just seen a little +light, square in shape, which alternately appears and disappears. + + + + +X + + + 6 September, 1914. + +MY first thought this morning was to find out what the light was +that I saw last night. I recognized the tree from which it came, and +discovered that several branches had been cut to make it easier to +climb. At the very top an opening has been made where the light was +evidently placed. The leaves just above are scorched. Underneath, a big +branch, fastened across between two other branches, forms a platform. +To whom can I report this discovery? There are no soldiers left in the +neighborhood. + +The booming of cannon kept up all night long, though it was not so +loud as during the day. Before sunrise it began again in full force. + +The same sights as yesterday. + +The noise of the cannonade, though still very violent, seems to +be shifting and going farther away. Can it be that our soldiers, +after a hundred years, are going to repeat nearly in the same spot +the strategy of Napoleon, who saved Paris by cutting off Blücher's +army--that terrible Blücher, who likewise made his name a by-word by +his vandalism? We have before us his worthy descendants--Von Kluck and +Von Bülow. Nor will they break through. I feel more and more sure of it. + +On our left are the army of Maunoury and the Moroccan troops; +immediately behind us, the English Army under General French, and the +French under General Franchet d'Espérey. + +To-day I saw some Uhlans! They are beginning to venture out of their +hiding-places, knowing that they can do so with perfect security. I met +them on the road at noon. They had just been to Couilly to get their +horses shod. Their uniforms look very much like those of the English, +but are more greenish in tone. + +They went along at a jog-trot, with their lances under their left arm, +point downward. They passed by a few yards from me, intent on examining +the château. Two or three of them glanced at me indifferently. + +This patrol disappeared over the hill to the right of Quincy. Others +(or else the same ones) were seen during the day at Huiry, where, with +their staff maps spread out before them, they inquired the name of the +commune where they were, and also asked for water for their horses. + +This evening a patrol of the 3d Hussars is looking for them. + +Several nights ago, Delautre, the store-keeper at Demi-Lune was +awakened by a loud knocking at his door and on his shutters. The +visitor got no answer, so he went away to the other houses in the +place. Delautre, who cautiously opened the blind a crack, heard someone +say: "They have all cleared out. They must have got cold feet. We shall +see to-morrow." + +Very early the next morning two men appeared at Delautre's house and +said to him: "You were at home last night. Why didn't you answer? If we +had felt like it we could have come in without knocking. We know your +house. You have a back door that's easy enough to open." With that they +pushed by him and walked in. + +One of them went on with a sneer: "Ha, so you're scared of the Boches, +are you? Well, I'll give you a chance to see a few." He went out, put +up his hand as if to give a signal in the direction of the château, and +Delautre saw several horsemen emerge from behind the wall of the park. +They came galloping up to Delautre, making their horses prance about +on the grass for his special delectation. They laughed heartily at his +dismay. + +The two civilians demanded drinks for everybody, and after exchanging +a few words in German with the one who seemed to be the leader, they +started down the Couilly hill, waving and nodding to the cavalry men; +the latter, after watching them a minute, and waving back, galloped off +towards Moulin-à-Vent, keeping along the park wall. + +Delautre is terrified by this visit. One of these men is not a stranger +to him. When he is questioned, he is unwilling to give other details +than the ones above, saying that people would be too amazed if he let +it be known who this man was. He has been entreated to tell, but he +always refuses. + +"Don't talk to me about that patrol," Delautre[2] would say every time +anyone mentioned it. "I cannot believe what I saw with my own eyes. I +think of it constantly. After the war I will speak, and either that man +or I will have to leave this place." + +Were there several patrols? + +I think so, for Monsieur Damoiseau, a citizen of Voisins, had the same +adventure as my aunt, this time near the oak woods, above the Mareuil +quarries. He also went there in the hope of finding a hiding-place for +his family. + +On the plateau (over opposite the one where my aunt went) he saw +five German soldiers observing the plain of Iles, and several others +watching the road to Quincy. The hill where they were stationed +overlooks Voisins and Quincy on one side, and on the other the plain +which a few days later was to witness the Battle of the Marne. Not +knowing whether to go forward or back, Monsieur Damoiseau stood stock +still. The Boche who was in command asked in perfectly good French what +he was doing there. + +"Officer," he replied, "they tell me the Germans are coming, so I am +trying to find a place where my family and I can hide." + +[Illustration: Wounded soldiers at the hospital of Quincy. The author, +with her friend Miss Mildred Aldrich by her side, stands in the back +row] + +"Are you sure you aren't on a spying expedition for the English?" + +"I didn't know there were any English about here." + +"Well, there are. I know it whether you do or not. But where do you +live?" + +"In Voisins, the little village you see yonder in the valley." + +"Yes, I know the place. Well, be off, and don't let me catch you around +here again, or I'll shoot you." + +The poor soul didn't need much urging, but took to his heels and ran +home as fast as his old legs could carry him, telling his wife and +daughter not to stir out of the house. + +Every morning people discover that rabbits or chickens are missing. +Several garden-gates have been forced open, and palings torn away. The +German patrols go out at night to water their horses and get food. They +have been seen several nights crossing the ford at Voisins. + +This evening the battle lasted until nine o'clock. + +FOOTNOTE: + +[2] Delautre died suddenly eighteen months later. + + + + +XI + + + 7 September, 1914. + +ABOUT seven o'clock this morning English scouts arrived belonging to +General Snow's division. For two whole days we had been alone, almost +forsaken, it seemed to us. It's joy to see those khaki uniforms once +more. + +They are as correct and as gentlemanly as ever, our friends the +English. A young officer is kind enough to give us news, and good news, +too. The Germans are beginning to fall back. Already a pontoon-bridge +has been thrown across the Marne at Meaux. After trying to cross +sixteen times, and sixteen times seeing their efforts of no avail, +the Germans gave up the attempt to cross the river. The French General +Staff has already arrived there, and Galliéni's army is advancing from +Paris. + +All this good news fills us with joy. + +From now on we shall see no more Germans. + +Troops are beginning to arrive. A regiment of infantry went through +Voisins this afternoon. These men have come on foot from Paris. What a +fearful march! They still have several miles to go before reaching a +cantonment. Some of them drag themselves along painfully, their faces +streaming with perspiration, their legs tottering under their weight, +staggering like drunken men. Others, with a show of cheerfulness, hum +marching songs to keep up their courage, but what a monotonous sound it +is! + +They are hot and thirsty, poor boys! They need something to drink. We +go out with a pitcher of fruit syrup and water. They are not allowed to +stop, so we follow on beside them and fill their cups which they take +out hastily as soon as they catch sight of us. It seems to please them +and renew their courage. + +My little nieces are with us. The eldest, aged three, is holding up +fruit which she takes from "Gamma's ba'ket." One of the men, as if to +find new strength in the touch of her fresh childish cheeks, asks if he +may kiss her, saying with tears in his eyes: "I have a little girl of +my own at home about her age, with light hair like hers." Several of +the men kiss her as they march along, and it makes them happy. + +Poor things! Will they ever see again those little ones of whom our +children remind them? + + * * * * * + +At the same moment, in a far-off home, the mother presses close to her +breast her youngest born, who is asleep. The child stirs slightly. +A gentle breath moves her fair curls. Do not waken, little one. Thy +father kisses thee. + +The mother's face is growing worn. The sister is silent. The +bride-to-be is on her knees. They all have but one thought--the Absent +One! + +How many among those men who are marching by will see their own again? + +Alas! Many of these women, these mothers, these sisters, will all their +lives remain fixed in the same attitude--waiting. By force of habit, +through the long years, each of them will keep her ear strained for the +footsteps on the road, her eye fastened on the door, hoping against +hope to see her loved one enter there. + + * * * * * + +The State road is full of troops, marching in close formation. The +ranks extend from the foot of Couilly hill as far as the eye can reach, +in the direction of Meaux, along the streets of Voisins and Quincy. +The 8th Division of the 4th Army Corps, the 115th, 117th, and 124th +regulars, the 148th, 246th, etc., cavalry goes towards Charny. + +A captain asks me to show him the road to Saint-Fiacre. While I give +him the information he wants, I walk along a moment beside his horse. +This movement of troops interests me. + +Before leaving me, he expresses his surprise that I should be here all +alone, and asks if I am not afraid. + +"No," I answered, "I am not afraid. Perhaps I shall be, later. Do you +think, Captain, that there is still danger? The Germans are falling +back, aren't they?" + +"Yes, but who can tell? Tomorrow you might see very ugly things. They +are not far away yet." + +"They evacuated Penchard yesterday, didn't they?" + +"Yes, and they left behind them unspeakably foul traces of their +Kultur." + +"But, Captain, seeing all these troops here reassures me. We were two +whole days without setting eyes on a soldier. That was the time to be +afraid. All the troops you are bringing up will drive them back still +further. And besides, Captain, if danger threatened, wouldn't these +troops insure the escape of the civilians who are left?" + +"If it were in their power, certainly." + +"But, Captain, let me say again, I have faith in your soldiers." + +"You are quite right," he said, as he shook hands with me and wished +me good luck. + +"For my part, Captain, I am sure good luck will go with you." + +The 117th stopped at Voisins. The soldiers are billeted everywhere, but +preferably in the few houses that are still inhabited. + +This regiment, which made the retreat from Belgium, has just come on +foot from Asnières where it had been sent to recuperate. Several of the +men with bleeding and blistered feet stop me in the street to ask if I +can give them socks. Unfortunately, I have none. All I can offer them +is women's stockings, linen bandages, and talcum powder. + +[Illustration: Voisins-Quincy. Rue de Condé] + +For several days Boche aviators have been reconnoitring above us. +One of them was only a hundred or two feet up, directly over the +heights of Huiry. We thought he was going to land. He looked like an +immense bat. + +This evening another one came. The soldiers were just building their +fires to cook dinner, when the command was passed along: "Stand close +to the walls." The street, which a minute before was swarming with +people is, to all appearances, empty and deserted, nothing but a single +row of men on either side, standing close to the houses. + +A platoon in a back street fires several times with machine guns. We +watch anxiously. + +"It's hit," someone shouts. + +Sure enough, the 'plane gives a lurch and is certainly going to fall. + +It is out of control. + +But this was nothing but a trick. Once out of reach, it righted itself +and shot straight forward in the direction of Coulommiers, where they +say the Crown Prince and his staff are stationed. + +It was a great disappointment. + +The soldiers go on building their fires, making little square ovens +of bricks. Rations have not arrived yet. Some of the men, worn out, +stretch out on the ground to wait. It is getting dark. + +The sight of these haggard men, gray with dust, blowing on fires which +cast fitful gleams on their wan faces, calls up visions of Dante. + +And still rations do not come. The men are too tired to wait, and lie +down to sleep supperless in any sheltered spot they can find. + +The few who are not completely exhausted make a descent on the houses +that are inhabited. They fall upon our garden and clean out our larder. +The salad bowl and kettles not being large enough, they season and mix +a huge salad in tubs and washboilers. It is all they will have to eat +this evening. + +Scarcely anyone was courageous enough to wait for rations, which were +delayed by the block on the roads and did not arrive until nearly ten +o'clock. Not a single man gets up. + +The battle lasted very late last night. + +The officers went up on the plateau of Huiry to follow the artillery +duel that was in progress, and they found it amazing. + +On one of my trips to-day I had the good luck to meet one of the few +civilians. It is a man who has come from Chelles on foot. He has heard +that Meaux, Crécy, Coulommiers and all the neighboring villages have +been put to fire and sword. He wanted to see his people who live in +this region. He had to swim across the Marne, and was obliged to go +over and back several times in order to bring his clothing. + +He is to return to Paris by the same route. I gave him several letters +which he was kind enough to take charge of. They are not of great +importance--mostly messages to my friends from whom I feel so cut off +at this moment, but I want very much to set my brother's mind at rest +as to the fate of his children. The thought of his anxiety makes me +unhappy. + + + + +XII + + + 8 September, 1914. + +WE were up at four this morning. The officers billeted in the house +were not expecting to break camp until seven or eight o'clock, but they +were suddenly roused by a messenger with orders to start at once. A +hasty breakfast, and the signal for departure was given. + +I run out into the wet grass of the garden to gather all the roses I +can find. I hand them to the soldiers as they leave us saying: "From +your mothers--from your sisters." + +Tears come into their eyes, poor fellows! One of the officers takes my +hand, kisses it and says: + +"Your reminding us of our mothers and sisters, Mademoiselle, touches +us deeply. It is with much emotion that I tell you, in behalf of my +comrades and my men, who are too moved to speak for themselves, how +grateful we are for the gracious vision we shall carry away with us to +the battlefield with these roses." + +I am afraid of breaking down, so I turn away abruptly and go to +distribute fruit to the soldiers. + +Several weeks later I received from the mother of one of them a letter +thanking me for the kindness I had done in her name. + +No need to thank me, Madam. In the face of the feelings that stirred +me at that hour--feelings that I could not put into words--this act +was small indeed. Those brave boys starting forth to face the cannon +that boomed so near at hand--how could I make them understand that our +prayers were with them--followed them? This poor makeshift was all I +could find to let them know at this tragic moment that I longed to +serve as a bond between them and their loved ones who were so far away. + +I could not help thinking, too, that if one of them were to fall, he +would at least have this little flower with him, and so be less alone. + +We were just giving the last fruit and flowers to the late-comers when +one of them came to tell us he had left a side of beef in a store-room. +"We haven't time to carry this meat to the wagons, so if you do not +take it, it will be wasted. It would be a pity if no one used it." + +What shall we do with it? And to think of those hungry boys who had no +supper last night! + +We hardly know what to do with this enormous piece of meat. But to +begin with, there's only one thing to do. My aunt and I carry it with +great difficulty to a clean place and, after a fashion, cut off steaks +which we broil rapidly and put between slices of bread. The men take +eagerly all they can carry of these meat sandwiches and start off on a +run to find their chums, who, they say, are going to have a "bully old +time" eating them. + +Things strewn around everywhere indicate the haste of the departure. + +The cannonade was very heavy again last night. + +Yesterday--Monday--the battle was stationary. To-day it seems to be +farther away; the firing is most intense over towards the Ourcq. + +After ten o'clock this morning there was not a single shot from the +enemy. + +The English came down from Coutevroult this morning and have crossed +the Marne. + +The French cuirassiers found a few Uhlans at Bouleurs, and cleared them +out. + +[Illustration: Château in the park of the Actors' Home at Couilly. It +was there that the commune's first provisional hospital was set up +where the English and the French were cared for after the Battle of the +Marne] + +About two o'clock this afternoon French soldiers marched past in the +direction of the Ourcq. + +In the ambulance of the 115th regiment lay a poor boy suffering with +dysentery. They could not take him farther, so he was left at Quincy, +where he died a few days later in terrible agony. He is to be buried in +the Quincy cemetery. + +It was just as I thought. There _were_ wounded men who succeeded in +dragging themselves to the banks of the Marne. + +Sister Jules was summoned to dress the wounds of two Moroccan +sharp-shooters who managed to crawl along by the river until they were +opposite the village of Condé. There they were seen and picked up. + +The only horse and carriage left anywhere about was sent to +Pont-aux-Dames to fetch Sister Jules. She was going through deserted +Couilly when a military automobile, driven by two officers, came by and +stopped. + +"Where are you going?" asked one of the officers in surprise. + +"There are wounded soldiers in Condé. I am carrying dressings for +one of them and cupping-glasses for the other, who has difficulty in +breathing." + +"Leave your carriage, Sister, and get into our automobile. We will have +you there in five minutes." + +Sister Jules accepted readily, thanking Heaven for sending her the +means to reach more quickly the bedside of those who needed her care. +When she began working over her two wounded men, one of them showed her +triumphantly a bullet he had just taken out of his foot himself! The +man speaks French a little. + +Hussars on patrol on the hill at Montpichet have killed Bavarian +soldiers, they say. A young Boche is brought to Pont-aux-Dames. He is +wounded rather seriously, but he appears to be suffering more from +fright than from pain. His fears do not subside until he sees the kind +face of Sister Jules bending over him. + +Our hospital--the annex at Pont-aux-Dames, which is only +semi-official--is installed in a wing of the house of the great +comedian, Coquelin, alongside the wing where aged actors have their +home. Among the retired actors who are there at this moment are +Messieurs Monti, Gravier, Didier, Victor Gay, Mesdames Clarence, +Antonia Laurent, Marie Georges, and the director, Monsieur Hervouet. +They are all presided over by their dean, Angèle Desraux, ninety-five +years old, whom they call "grandmother." + +All these good people were much frightened last Sunday by seeing +Bavarians go by. They were in their dining-room when they saw them +pass. The pointed helmets, sixteen of them, showed above the sash +curtains. + +[Illustration: Tomb of Coquelin in the park of the Actors' Home at +Couilly + +_Qu'il dorme dans ce beau jardin ses vieux comédiens le +gardent._--Rostand] + +After luncheon the old people were taking their walk in the park +when they heard voices not far away. Behind the tomb of Coquelin, to +their great amazement, they saw the Bavarians sitting on the grass +eating their luncheon. Suddenly two shots interrupted this rustic meal, +a signal for the rally, doubtless, and the men mounted their horses and +galloped off up the hill. + + + + +XIII + + + 9 September, 1914. + +THIS morning at nine, armed boats went down the canal towards Trilport. + +A French cavalry division on the way to Paris gave us news to-day of +victory. The Germans have been pushed back forty-five miles! + +Miss Aldrich came hurrying down the hill at the very moment I was +starting to run up. With a single impulse, each rushes to share her joy +with the other. + +We feel as if we had just awakened from a dream. It seems to me these +three days have decided the fate of France. All the glory of it +belongs to those heroes whose dead bodies strew the plain. Behind this +rampart we are safe. + + + + +XIV + + + 14 September, 1914. + +AT the top of the hill, in the same spot where we watched with aching +hearts the passing of the refugees, we are now watching for the +inhabitants of the countryside, who are beginning to come back. + +It is a soft, mellow autumn day. Everything is wrapped in a delicate +veil of mist, and the sun, sifting through gently, touches the houses +with a pale golden light. + +Ah, but what a good and beautiful day! They are coming home! + +Yes, there they come, slowly, in little groups. + +[Illustration: On the banks of the Marne] + +Several black specks at the foot of the hill! Impatiently we wait until +they are near enough for us to recognize them. How different is the +look in their faces, and how different their whole bearing from that of +the departure! + +We are happy to see once more even those who were most indifferent +to us. They are like members of our own family returning from a long +journey. + +Ah! How glad they are to catch sight of the roofs of their houses down +below them in the valley! + +In a few words they tell us what they have suffered. They have +experienced in their wanderings all the anguish of the homeless. How +dark the future looked to them, whereas now, their houses, safe from +harm, full of sweet welcome, open wide their doors to receive them. + +Their home--symbol of the native land--is still there. How could they +have gone away from it? Could anything be more beautiful to their eyes +than their humble dwelling--their little white house? + +How clearly they understand now that love of one small corner of the +earth, that love of home, which years of peaceful happiness had perhaps +made dim. + +Beloved spot where one has lived and loved and suffered, we have all +needed this hard trial to show us how we cherish you. + +So they are coming home. + +[Illustration: The home of Mlle. Henriette Cuvru-Magot, with the gate +open, showing part of the front garden] + +And there, in the distance, where sky meets valley, our heroes lie +dead. + +Beautiful young heroes, flower and hope of our land, who have given +their lives unfalteringly here, that our homes might be saved to us! + +This thought pervades all the home-coming, and the gratitude of those +who are returning floods forth to those who are no more. + +Now the setting sun stains the sky with crimson, and forms, with bands +of azure and of white, an immense standard which it spreads like a +winding-sheet over those glorious heroes who have entered upon the +eternal life. + + + + +NOTE BY THE AUTHOR + + + Our humble village has nothing very noteworthy, unless + perhaps its magnificent situation on a hillside overlooking + the Marne and the Grand-Morin, with beautiful views in every + direction. + + I am going to jot down here a passage which sums up the + history of the commune, taken from "Excursions in the Valley + of the Grand-Morin," by Monsieur Georges Husson: + + "The Commune of Quincy is one of the largest of the Canton + of Crécy. Built on a high plateau, it comprises the village + proper, of pleasing aspect, and several hamlets: Ségy, + Moulignon, Voisins, Jonchery, Huiry, Demi-Lune, etc. + + "The oldest document where Quincy is mentioned is a charter + dated 1257, in which King Louis IX gives permission to + cultivate certain lands of the village, in return for the + payment of seven measures of barley at Christmas, and nine + deniers for Easter eggs. + + "From the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, passing by + the long line of over-lords, quite without interest, we find + nothing remarkable in the history of Quincy. But during the + Wars of the League, June 12, 1590, the village was the scene + of deplorable events. + + "Chevalier de Thury, Governor of Meaux, and Sieur de + Saint-Paul, Governor of Brie, at the head of two thousand + men, besieged the village, where intrenchments had been + made. The inhabitants were forced to retreat before the + besiegers; part of them took refuge in the church, and + climbed up into the galleries that were pierced with + loopholes. From there they attacked the Leaguers and killed + fifty or more of them. The latter, exasperated, set fire to + the seats in the church, and the defenders, men and women, + about a hundred, were smothered. + + "Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Quincy still held out, and + did not yield until about midnight, after a desperate + defence. They were condemned to pay a large sum of money, + and the Leaguers did not take their departure until they had + pillaged the unhappy village. + + "In the nineteenth century, at the time of the invasion of + 1814, the Allies established their headquarters at Quincy. + Frederic William III, King of Prussia, passed the nights of + March 28 and 29 in the New Château. + + "Alexander I, Czar of Russia, spent the same two nights at + the Old Château. One can still see the room in which he + slept. The furniture has been carefully preserved. + + "Thanks, doubtless, to their illustrious guests, the commune + was spared at that time." + + In the twentieth century, to-day,--September 9, 1914,--it is + solely due to the valor of our soldiers that the village has + not been subjected to the worst kind of horrors. + + H. C.-M. + + * * * * * + +Transcriber's Notes: + +Page 9, "ont" changed to "out" (out anything more) + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Beyond the Marne, by Henriette Cuvru-Magot + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44599 *** |