The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1914-10-24
STORY or IRISH GUARDS.
HOW They Met the Charges of the
Germans and RcpuIscd Them.

"HicH tnc irish guards at NJ
met the charge of three German cav
airy regiments and emcrgcd from the
encounter with undying Glory.
1t Is the story of what those saw
VINO were not themselves i'm The firm
line, and who awaited with azure
hcnsion and wondcrmcnt the collision
| between the grey hordcs OF the Kais-
ers horscmcn and the thin. but IN
sWerNins line Of IritiShers in Khaki,
who. with bayonets fixed, made ready
Tor their oncOnmOing. These same
i'rltlshcrs had jovially shouted their
adieu to French troops who had been
retired from their immediate neirh
porhood, and in the brief interval be-
iore the crash camc the watchers
could see officers walking up and
down the lines. cracking jokes with
their men, and otherwise assisting to
maintain their excellent spirits. I
am told that wien the German cav
airy was only 200 yards aWav ono
man momentarly put down his rifle
ana begged a cigarette from q COM
rade. which he cOolly lit.
Then they prepared to receive the
cavalry" and did it in better order
and with much less excitement than
II they had been about to witness the
hnish of st. Legar. Three rcgi-
ments OF German cavalry splendidly
horsed, splcndidly equipped, charged
regiment OF Irish infantry. The
men who had been Joking and smok-
ing rose up to meet them, a brist
ling bulwark Of giants holding weap-
ons of steel in steel grips.
For few minutes there was an
awful chaos of horses, soldiers grey
and soldiers yellow, glittering lances
and bayoncts, the automatic spit of
machine guns, the flashes of musketry.
Amidst it all the men in khaki stood
lmmobile. Grimly, and without
budging. they threw back at the BAY
onets point, in utter decentralization,
the troops Of the Kaiser, the men
who terrified the peasant villagers Of
Belgium and Franco.
They wanted something to put on
their banner, and their casualty list
Will show that, ''if blood be the
price" they achieved their aim.
French soldiers tell me that, rising
from the ranks Of the Irish, just be-
fore the crash came, there reached
them the strains Of songs they had
never heard before. A French soldier,
hobbl!ng along with q bandaged face,
and bullet in his back, ventured to
repeat from memory the beginning OF
a tune which ] made out to be that
of God Save Ireland and / have
gathered that whistle to me, said l."
was another Of these strains.
The generosity Of Mr.. Thomas At
kins earns for that adaptive gentle
man tributes Of surprise and admira-
tion from the French soldcry. He
wants to give everything away-hij
jam, his canned meats, and many 9TH
CT delicacies whercwith he is provided.
He believes in sharing with his pals"
In a cafe. the landlady said to mc.
1--WE like the English soldiers, but the
Scottish and Irish are not good men.
They won't pay for what they have
Now, this was u slight on men Of my
own race and l asked the good pa
tronnc what sum she had lost by rca
son Of their faulty commercial il
Stincts. Twelve francs, l VAS TOLD.
represented the total. "Thc;i,' said |,
Il will pay YOU your twelve francs,
and | was about to do 30 wh"l some
French soldiers who hal been drink
ing III the restaurant stool mp and
said. "No. YOU won't. If thi; be- true
that the Irish and Scotch 40 not pay
their bills, it is true also that they 40
not run when the Krupps are turned
upon them. They are cooler than we,
that. the landlady. whose husband
was lighting at the front. refused 20
take my money.
And now something about the
scamiost side OF the war. Those Of
us at home who, thanks to Our glOr-