The times., 1898-09-18
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stroke of that great sword split the head of their
! leader-the villain that was going TO burn our
! homes and kill us all? Did he not come back
with his own head half broken, bleeding and
bandaged, smiling as if this had been all fun and
swear before God, the Holy Virgin, and the
Saints that foreign robber should ever get out
| of his county aliyeP F"
The improvement was great after the strong
| castle with its massive towers and battlements
| had been built. Sir Charles, for instance, bade
| all the vassals, under penalty of being hanged
| or beaten to death, TO cart up mountains OF
| building stone and lime; and since he made this
pile OF masonry, everything is already better in
| life. Before Sir Charles time, when the for-
| eign raiders invaded the valley, they killed the
count, his hired fighting men, and three -fourths
| of the population; they outraged the girls and
young women, tortured farmers who had con-
eealed their corn, burned down every dwelling,
| and drove away all the horses, cattle, and sheep
! Ii took half century before the new people
| succeeded in reclaiming the land, draining the
marshes again, and clearing the long abandoned
| fields When the next war came, the castle haY-
ing been built by Sir Charles, all took refuge
| in it, penning the cattle and the horses near the
| well in the yard and under the walls. Then dur
ing the long siege the invaders tried in vain 10
| storm the castle; everybody gave helping hand
to Sir Charles, and all those who could night stood
| by him; with the result that his duke or his
king at last came to his rescue as by the feudal
| statute he was bound to do.
| Not to be killed. says Stendhal, 'and 10
own a suit of leather in winter, the great
est happiness for most people in the tenth cen
| tury."
This sketch gives one an inkling how
some of our social and religious ideas,
| fondly supposed to be innate, probably
| originated.
The author then takes up the decay of
| the feudal system under the rise of the
commercial spirit and the power of the
| cities. With the rise of the burghers
| came the rise of the common people, and
the merchant and the money-lender, not
| the warrior, became the real though not
| the nominal power In the land. Deprived
| of real power, the aristocracy continued
| to plume themselves on nominal power,
| and the elimination of this anomalous
state of things is shown in the court of
| Louis XIV. This monarch formulated
| the idea that he was the state, and that
| in him were concentrated all the powers,
privileges, and glories which the medic
val count, duke baron, and king held
| because it was a necessary arrangement
| of society that they should. Since the
real power was not theirs, he substituted
| ideal power, and where former kings had
] given their favorites tangible moneys or
| lands, Louis bestowed ideal benefits,
namely, the honor of helping to clothe
and groom the royal person. The state
ruled the people, body and soul, and Louis
! was the state.
Then the crash came, and the aristoc-
|
old habit of thought still remained. The
state still ruled the people, body and
! soul, but instead of a king, the ruling
| power was in the hands of the officers of
a republic. Then it passed TO those of an
| emperor, and subsequently to a republic
| again, but Ii was always the same sys-
| TEN at bottom. Hence revolutions an
archy and despotism by turns. The habit
of being ruled by the state had deprived
| the people of the independence necessary
| for rational thought and action. That.
| at least, is Mr. Gaullieur's idea of the
| matter and It is certainly worth think
| ing about. England. while starting from
the same medieval feudal system, es-
| tablished for the same reason, gravitated
| toward individual liberty as France and
| Germany gravitated toward individual
serviity. 1t may be. although the author
does not consider this question, that geo.
graphical reasons had as much to do
with this liberty-loving spirit on the part
OF England as did anything else. The
| hordes of invaders who menaced France
and Germany were in some measure cut
| off from England by water, and thus the
| feudal system was not so necessary as on
| the continent, and the barons. instead of
being forced for their own safety TO be
| loyal to the ruling power, had a chance
to force him to terms and gain some lib
| critics for themselves.
After handling France without gloves
| the author turns his attention to Ger
many. and after some gossip about the
ruling houses of that country, and the
way in which their power had OCCASION
ally been abused, 10 the detriment of NOR
ais throughout the land, he gives some in
teresting facts about the renowned Ger
man army. We have heard a great deal
about the superior discipline of German
troops but 1t looks from Mr. Gaullieur'
! description as If the discipline was gained
at the expense of most of the soldiers
| self-respect. He quotes number of
statements from the reports of Mr.. Her
man Schoeler, who served two years as
an infantryman in the German army, and
afterward wrote a book about his expert
ences Then we find the following start
ling passage:
Let us observe-and Schoeler's adversaries, the
functionaries Of the German state, admitted the
fact IN court-that beating, kicking in the ribs
| Shaping the face, or knocking q German private
on the head Is not an exceptional occurrence
! 1t is the national custom in Germany to beat
a recruit unless he belongs to the privileged
class OF EinjahrigeT-the young men of good
families. who having received higher college
education, and being destined mostly to become
state functionaries and officers, allowed TO
pass certain examination which shortens by
one year their service privates Observe that
if the poor private the insult and defends
himself against a kick or a blow, he is imme-
dately court -rnartialed and shot or sentenced f
life; but that the superior runs no risk and
knows this fact, too-he is safe. He can kick
and beat that defenseless German subject as much
he pleases, for the latter must not lift a finger
Observe that German honor is the stereotyped
word in everybody's mouth in Germany, in every
school college, and state institue that the pres
ent Emperor OF Germany alludes TO this extra
ordinary virtue of official Germany almost every
week in his constant effusions OF imperial eo-
quenee. Observe what a stage OF moral degra-
dation German iunctlonaTy must have reached
when he lifts his fists to 4 who he knows
viii never strike back. How often he will do it
on his German countryman but how seldom he
would Try such methods a boxing Anglo Saxon
amateur who might knock all his teeth out of
place as protest against German manners. :.
In discussing this subject with German officers
OF truly good education, as the writer has often
done, one hears only the same excuse. "0ne hat
OF our recruits are stupid or lazy; some of them
all have had good state school education. They
may know how TO read and write, but that does
not cure stupidity or laziness. Now our non
commissioned officers are directly responsible to
their superiors for the bad appearance
duct OF the men, The corporal exercises paterna
authority over them, he provides for their educa-
tion and looks after their comfort. Who can blame
him IT, when out by the stupidity or indo
lence Of our recruits, he hits them in the face
| or kicks them in the legs TO straighten them up?
And. besides. all our recruits used TO it, and
| never object TO this method. We know that the
right of the recruit to complain of ill-treatment
is an illusory right, perfect farcei We know
that il exists only on paper for show and appear
| ance But what else we to do in Germany
if our recruits cannot be drilled without such
methodist
In these days, when all America is in
terested in the army question, and when
we have heard much of the beautiful dis
I