The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1914-10-08

We were about to drink a cup of tea
In the garden when the village church
bell began to toll q quick, nervous
alarm. The most dramatic moment
had come. Everyone about knew what
it meant except ourselves. poor, ig-
norant foreigners! 1t was the tocsin!
In America the trains in a great rail-
road system are sometimes halted out
Of respect for the passing beyond of
some great political or commercial
chief. Everything in our busy life is
at 8 ~standstill, If for only five minutes.
Somewhat similar. but infinitely more
tragic, was the scene [ now witnessed.
The French among our companions
knew the full significance of that toe
sin. Instinctively we gathered together
almost without a word. The air sud-
denly grew heavy. Men n women
looked in each others faces and their
eyes filled.
All Knew the Meaning.
I looked at my watch. 1t was 4:50
o'clock. The bell continued to ring in
the belfry Of the old Twelfth century
church nearby. 1t rang for Is min
utes. AS wives threw their arns about
their husbands, as children, wondering,
chung to their parents. it was easy for
US to understand what the bell meant.
1t was the mobilization generate of all
France. the order for which had been
posted in Paris barracks exactly at
4:19. and had been telegraphed to every
postoffice in the country. No time had
been lost.
No sooner had the bell ceased than
a drum beat was heard at a neighbour
ing street corner. We all rushed out
to hear the news. A crowd had
gathered to hear the garde champetre
read the official dispatch from the war
office. He was accompanied by his 10
| year-old boy. who served as drummer.
Putting on his glasses and assuming
his most official pose, he read the dis
patch. and then proceeded to another
was primitive. old fashioned. If you
will. but intensely impressive. It drew
US all together IN sympathy as we
shook hands with some of our &C
q~uaintances and tried to tell them what
we, too. felt in this moment Of grief
n possible calamity.
Road Thronqed With Reservists.
According to the order. the mobiliza-
ton vas to begin on the following day.
AT dawn on Sunday the youngest re-
servists began to leave. Family ties
began to break as old fathers and
mothers put their sons in the motor
bus for TrCuville. Young fathers JADE
| farewell to their wives and babies.
The paralysis Of the national business
had begun in earnest as the workers
dropped their tools, their trades, their
fishing n responded to the call to
arms. All r~eservists who served as far
back as 1887 are subject to call, The
younger men go first, have already
gone. The older men will all be gone
In a few days to the frontier or to the
| concentration camps.
Sunday morning the highroad be-
tween Honfleur and Trouville presented
an animated scene. Files of requisi-
toned horses We're led by; private
automobiles and public vehicles shot
past. rowded to capacity or their way
to distant stations. The local inhabi-
tants We're waiting at $50 for the Paris
papers Presently. at the top Of the
high hill which slopes down to this
village, appeared the bicyclist colport-
eux of LIE Petit Journal, followed in a
moment by him Of LIE Matin. Each
tossed off a bundle Of 100 copies from
his basket and continued his furious
pace toward Honfleur to spread the
news. Yes. the expected has happened.
We learn it as we fight in the crowd
to get possession of a sheet. L'Anema-
gne declare la Guerre a la Russie! That
Is a headline which is worth keeping
as a historical document. Alongside of
this column on the front page Is the
| text of the order we heard the even
and impressive appeal to the patriot
ism of the French nation in the pres
ent crisis.
A Solemn Church Service.
AT 1870, prompted by a natural de-
sire to associate in the interests of the
t~ownspeople. / attended the mems mass
In the church. Many of those who We're
lbout to depart for the army or the
fleet were seated in the choir. How
they sang in French those patriotic
cantfques with which heroism and the
spirit Of self sacrifice are stirred! The
cure addressed his remarks for a few
minutes directly to the defenders Of the