The Washington herald., 1915-01-24

TIERE. ar, only two frontiers in Eu-
rope which touch the emotions OF a
L Traveller. They arc the boundaries
bct wcCn the three great Jealous ldmlllc"
cast and divides the TeutUn from the
Slav while the other is in the west and
divides the Teuton from the Latin.
For forty Years tn" German coming
vest has eNulted and the Fr"nChman Eo-
ing east has WINGED to see the boundary
InC drawn by the sword Of tn" victor
along the cre>l Of tn" NOsGes. Even
wayfaTinE mon from neutral nations nave
not been able to look without twlnSe ul
pity upon the uuhCaling wound OF th'
heroic surgery which separated NlSaCe-
Lorraine from France.
The pilgrim as he journeys to the last
provinces. however. has need I" guard
his symDathieS EainSt the EaStTonomic
distractions along the way. For at the
E.pcrnav station nr is beEuilcd with
champagne AT Ia cents a glass. while al
Bar le Due little jars Of the preserves
that have made that town famous are
held up before his car window. NcNl
vcnderS Of ''MadelineS' tempt him with
g-,-Cent boxes Of those celebrated cakes
Of CommcrCy. At Nancy ne almost loses
his heart to the stately beauty of that
lovely daughter OF France. and ne might
fall captive TO her rare charms Gld MOI
certain sadness cloud her OtOM anu
recall him 10 the object Of his pilgrim
On the Border.
For Nancy herself is Of Lorraine and
Sorrows for IN" sisters torn from her
side The BSmarCkian knife. indeed cur
close to her and she stands on the newly
made frontier with her eastern horizon
alienated from her Moreover. she mar
hors many. perhaps thousands OF relu-
gees from the diSmembered LANDS.
Some were men of wealth and enter
prise. who feed to her with their money
and their industries Several cotton man
ufaCturers were among them and their
rransDIanted mills are now part OF the
1roSDerity of Nancy. In her university
and her schools are not a Few OF the SONS
and daughlcrS Of those who continue 10
live in AIsace-I sorraine, but who tax"
care that their children shall not Imblbe
IN" kuItUr Of IN" COngueror
A. il is in that ancient capital or the
dukes of Lorraine. so il j. in Belfort and
.rn~r Of tn" towns in the part Of l.or-
rainp which the triumphant Germans ICtt
IN tho vauOul~nCd French when thcv drew
,hr international line along the summit
Of IN, NoS-eS. AZ on" iOuTneYed along
that mountain wall between tn" Teuton
md the Gam ur IN" e. Of the war ne
could not help hearing tho waves OF IN
ictrariOnaI prejudice and hatred beating
.,C-irst 10. And that lovely valley OF the
NoSelle vas one great military camp. orc
hiC Jungle ol armed men before II became
the battlefield that il lS TO-DAY.
Crossing the Frontier.
When my train came to the last little
town IN France. did not have to change
cars as At the Russian frontier. Dut me
French conductor and engineer. with their
..rtirc crew had to give way to Germans
Thus manned, the train resumed its Jour
nyv along the banks OF the MoSeUe, ana
a. II pulled out of the station there
,-Iouched on the platform three or four
Of the strangely unmartlaI looking men
ut the valiant race that subjugated Eu-
rome under Napoleon, their req baSsE
trousers impartinC the Galhc touch 10
the scene.
After five minutes the train came to a
stop at another station Platform. Where vI,e,.e
the helmets of German soldiers rose above
tho crowd as symbol OF domination
We were in Germany, in Elsass ana
I TOtHringpn where We were opening our
BAGGAGE in the customs rooms for the
inspeCtion of the German customs ON
GERS and setting our watches FORWARD
ifty-five minutes. For now We must tahe
even our time from Berlin rather tnah
from Paris The money terms TOO,
changed from francs to marks. from cen
times TO pfenniSS and even inc IeIIerS
IN tie posters on the wall, with their
tern catalogue Of things verbot"n. were
no longer Latin and Roman, but Gothic
4 Chained Captive.
The very name Of the next station pro
rlaimcd tive triumph and humiliation ol
those August daNS Of l>V-MctZ- f"r
there we were within "a day drive OF
rh,. bloody fields Of RcZOuN lille oi BOrny
and of Grstyclottc. whl" Metz itself cont
pIctcd the French disaster when 10000 /
mon under Marshall IIaZalnr laid down
rLcir runs at the t"et OF the Germans and I
surrendered. besides more than nifty
,.3Elrs Of tho second empire and NOR"
i,-N0 cannon.
From it, pedestal IN tn" Icafy espIa-
made at Metz the statue OF that hrav"st
81 kapoleOn's BRAVES Marshal NeA, him
self the son of soil now lost TO France,
nnI,- n,oCks the subjugatCd town. a mock .
rr-v heightened by its sCulptured neigh 1
l,Tr Emperor William ]. But there L. a
r"ievi1E humor in preserving tht IAN
-uaEe Of the conquered IN the naming
Of the place Empereur GuillaumC.
No doubt Metz is the goal post Tor the
French in the field of the present war.
L. OF hsNTs nj "
would like SO well to hoist the tricolor as
on the lowered old gate through which
Razaine walked with sheathcd sword out
But the Captors OF the town never
have relaxed their vigilance. and the
captive is bound in an iron chain or forts
that lie in coils around her. the outer /
ring being no less than fifteen miles IN
circumference. The most conspicuous OBJ .
icct ! saw in the place was huge |
hangar with its wide door pointed Sug- |
rcstively toward EcrdUn the great fOrti- |
fed outpost of France. And there the !
two towns sat glarlnG at each other /
across the frontier like lions crouched for !
a spring.
Germans in spite of Themselves.
Metz is the capital Of Lorraine. and |
Strassburg of AlSaCe. Unless forewarn- /.
ed by a reading OF history. the visitor |
to Alsace-L Lorraine. who has hearkened |
Ia Frances maternal CRY over their KID |
1apinE and seen the funeral wreaths on
the StrassburE monument in Paris heat |
I'd rs as over a nCw-made grave. might !
we'll be disappointed in the aspect of /
the Alsatian metropolis and Of any other |
AlSatian town. II he CoeS expecting 20 !
see a community II Frenchmen lanGuiSh- I
ing in an enforced rYpatriation. he VIII !
he surprised to find tine architecture and |
tho people more Teutonic .han Gallo. /
lie will note the abseLce Of French |
speech in the streets and French signs !
over the shop doors and wonder IL the 4
inhabitants have heen compelled TO !
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