Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-11-12
MIC HELEN J WOLFF.

Really, we did not have a wink oil
sleep, for the sound of the shells as
they passed overhead and their eX-
p.osion when they landed kept us in
a tremor of fear all of the time.
AT one time a bomb fell in the
courtyard and broke the glass of the
skylight over the cellar. Nobody went
upstairs to find out what damage was
done.
THE next morning the government
caused posters to be placed all over
the city. These posters said:
'Reassure Yol rselves.'
"'Our Forts Hold
1.-THE General Is Safe
Germans Are Being Repulsed.'
"That didn't stop the panic, though.
! People did not know where to turn.
, They hurried into the country and
then hurried back, apparently with
no idea of where to go or what TO DO.
I'VE heard that the Belgians had
| blown up a bridge nearby. AS We
ooked out we saw the sky all red,
| Then we knew that something was On
fire. We afterward heard that a
number of people who remained n
the upper floors were killed through
| the night. The house of the Cuoan
! consul, adjoining ours. was set on hre
/ by a bomb, VIII. h smashed through
| the wall.
THE next day, the seventh, we put
/ mattresses in the cellar and covered
| the cellar windows with mattresses.
| There was a lull in the firing, but IN
the middle of the day we were told
that the Germans would lombard the
town at o'clock in the AFTERNOON.
Later. we we're told that the bonn
bardment would begin at cock
that evening, and again the time was
changed to O'Clock. 1t seemed tnat
they were holding some kind OF
barley. But the Germans id not
| lombard the city at al that nlght'
Put Up Notice.
"The first German troops came into
Iiege itself early the next morn ng.
The first thing they did was to put up
notice directing everybody 10 give
up their arms. The notice warned
people that if they did not do so they
would be shot. ,,
ALWAYS, there was that warning
that thew would shoot. People had
closed their stores because of fear OF
the army, and the notice directed
them to open at once, but they did not
do SO. 1t was a few days afterWafu
that all of the stores were opened.
..The night the Germans came we
silent in the cellar again. To be sure,
we did not sleep very much. Tor we
were greatly frightened and spent
most Of the night awake, hardly OAR
| ing to whisper.
ssWhen the stores opened the Ger
mans patron zed them. That is, what
| they wanted they took and paid for
as they chose. Sometimes they gave
worthless slips of paper for what they
took. These slips of paper were
sometimes tickets of adm ssion to
German moving picture theatres and
sometimes they were only circulars.
The storekeepers, who could not read
| German, We're often fooled that way
when they wanted to say any,
| thing about the war an offic' al notice
was posted by the order of the COM
( mander. One of these excited derisiVe
| laughter and did not impress the peo-
/ pie of Liege. This poster announced
that the army had taken Bourg Leo
! pold. Bourg Leopold was a place
with but one building on it The COM
/ ments made by the Belgian people
| and their laughter made the German
| soldiers very angry. and it was some
time before another bulletin was
I posted.
| Broke Up Seats.
1.-The Germans took possession OF
| the court house and the theatres in
! Liege. Even the moving picture
houses and the schools were crowded
by them and they broke up the seats
/ for firewood.
THE people of the city were told
to leave their front doors open and
lights in all of their front windows,
so that the so diers could come in
whenever they wanted to. and use the
windows for firing down the streets.
Y This precaution, it was said was TO
prevent shipping If a person would
shoot from the windows at night his
shadow would be seen against the
light by the German guards, who
could gain instant entry by the open
door and shoot the persons in the
bui'ding.
ION the 9th of August the COM
mander ordered every door in the city
10 be opened. Locksmiths were sent
to abandoned houses and public
buildings to execute this order, and
when the loeksmiths failed axes were
used to smash the doors open. DC
casionally sentries would come into
our house and look around This sys-
tenn of inspection frightened us al
times.
son the 18th of August all of the
cattle on nearby farms were brought
to Liege. There are a number OF
large fields between Liege and 'he
forts. and these feds were filed
with cattle, pigs and sheep. to pro-
vide food for the people of the city
and the army. We saw the droves
Of cattle going through the streets
and later we saw them in these fields
THE twelfth was our first day out
OF the house We saw the wreckagt
OF houses filing the roadways.
number Of fine homes had been de.
stroyed by fire and shots, The streets
were filed with German soldiers
J THE next day they posted a warn