The Hawaiian gazette., 1914-12-11
Writing To Honolulu Friend This
Refugee Charges Germans
With Awful Atrocities
PROSPEROUS AND PEACEFUL
COUNTRY HAS BEEN RUINED
Words Cannot Picture Anguish
Through Which Unhappy
People Have Staggered

As4 ------
Following is = translation Of letter
iron, q Belgian woman, wife Of pro
fessor, to her old friend and school.
mate, who resides in Honolulu, received
n The last mail from the mainland
with reference TO conditions incident
to the great European war:
Modern Huns
ttMy Doar Friend--I feel sure that
YOU are keeping up with the news OF
this terrible war and that YOU know
that the Germans have plundered our
country in The most awful way, so that
there are now no cities and even fewer
villages. All have been bombardei,
burnt. pillaged; thousands Of inhabit.
ants have been massacred women and
children mutilated y in short. the Huns
Of Attila were lambs compared TO pres.
ent-day Germans; might fll volumes
telling Of their acts Of barbarity and 70
horrible and awesome would they be
that NO one could believe my history.
II be had not seen for himself what
has taken place. Think Of all the
horrors described BY Motley. in his
Rise Of the Dutch Republic, when
writing Of the Duke of Alva; I'll out
what he partly leaves to the imaginR
ton and yon win only have faint
idea Of the devastation Of our unhappy
country. To tell You the anguish
through which we have passed wonlA
be impossible. We saw stream into
Bruges an the nnfortpnates driven ont
Of rother cities and villages; we had
ID lodge, clothe and feed them, but we
cherished a hope that our dear Flanders
nlifht be spared.
Military Restrictions
rttIn October the English reached
Bruges and we saw what IL meant to
have an army in our midst. For two
months already our lives had taken on
new character. Nothing was MS
usual; everything had to be subordin.
ated to military existence. We could
not leave the town without passports
not even visit neither (she lived aboni
half a mile beyond the gates Of the
city). ! wanted to send mother and sis
ter to England, but the former refused
70 leave her home saying that she was
too old and too III. (I think she must
be nearly ninety and has been III for
years) and / must own that such a
journey as ours would have killed her.
r"f am glad to tell you We have has
letters from Bruges up to November Z,
and at that date our many relatives
there seemed TO be in good health. We
were receiving letters via Sluys ION the
Dutch border) but now the Germans
allow no one TO leave or enter the
town and so from now on we shall r.
ceive no news. What anguish we are
endnringi MitrailIenses have been
plaeed on the Tour des Halles (Long
fellni's famous Belfry of Bruges). Oh
my beloved ethyl The thought Of It's
possible ruin ellis me with horror I feel
a. though II would drive me crazy
Win II be as Louvain, Malines, Ter,
Dnant aud many othersi
Wild Rush For Safety
~ must 70 back, however, to the
passage Of the English army. II went
to different parts Of Flanders and after
the fall Of Antwerp the Belgian army
passed through on its way to France
where II reformed to take part in the
battle Of the User. Our poor, hEave
army; how IL has suffered our hearts
bleed for i'll Our soldiers told us
The Germans are coming on fast
Leave Immediately. In two day,
more IL win be too late and you will
all be massaered, / was told that on
October /.
cit is impossible to describe the
panic. Where could we fyf Holland
was full already Of refugees, the boats
between .Ostende and England, with
one exception, were only carrying
wounded, and such were the crowds
waiting for that one, that women and
children were being crushed on the
wharvcs in trying to reach her after
waiting whole days and nights fol
passage. II was hdrriblei We had only
left Bruges at the very last hour be
cause we had to do so to save my
husband and w., who, had they beer
made prisoners, would have been placed
In the German ranks and made TO fighi
against their own eountrvmen. Neyel
could they do that. (The husband
was an officer Of the Garde Cirine an
had recently received decoration an,
the boy had been in the ambulance ser
vice. ,5
Nephews and nieccs joined US -
that our party counted eight. The
morning weleft the enemy was already
throwing bombs into the town, whiei
were exploding all about our train
which was military train, and tbs