The Washington herald., 1915-05-02

p,,;. mn longer is France a fact which accounts
for much in the bearing of that nation in the "sf
From the little island in the SEINE where tne e.s
started. Mr. Morgan sketches To-Day ls ~,
power its strsuqe yicissitrdos and its downfall.
The New France and the People Who Rule Her
will be the subject Of the article next SUNDAY IN
this series of sketches Of the backgrounds vi ,ne
var az Mr. Morgan them in the course ot Ills
tourney along the route Of Napoleon campaigns
The behavior OF France in the midst OF
the war has so greatly surprised many
of the onlookers that their comments
have become the commonplaces of the
street. The calmness with which she met
the sudden call to arms, the silence with
which her hundreds of thousands of citi-
zen-soldicrs marched away to battle. her
steadlness under the first heavy blows.
the GOODNESS with which she abandoned
her CAPITAL before the onrushing invad-
ers, her fortitude in defeat, the sober
ness with which she watched the retreat
of the foe, her grim patience through the
long. dreary. indecisive winter campaign
have caused ordinations of astonish-
ment to run around the vast circle of
spectators. which comprises mankind.
People have turned to one another to
ASK II I1lS can he tne SlDI dhNc
of the Grand Monarch. the vehement
France of the Revolution and OF the
Marseillaise; the militant, all-cont,uerinS
France of Napoleon; the tickle France
of the coup d'etat and the barrlcade the
llght-hearted France of the Second En-
pire: the blindly rash France OF ls'o: the
fierce. turbulent France OF the CON-
mune: the volatile and voluhle France OF
Boulanger and of the Dreyfus case.
Where is her Gallo cffervescence! TO
other wars she has gone off like cham
paGne cork. To this she went with no
more spriGhtliness than n sledCe ham
mer. And in other days reverses at the
front too often meant revolutions at the
rear.
New France and Old.
Plainly she is a different France to
whom Gen. Joffre has been addressing
his unsparinGly candid reports of re.
advances. as devoid OF emotion and rhe-
toric as market bulletins. This Is the
France of the French democracy.
Psr h1i is i France pa no more The French
people are the new France and the capt
tai city is but one of the eighty-seven
departments of the Republic.
For long Paris meant far more than
any other modern capital and exercised
a rule somewhat like that OF Rome.
London, Berlin. Vienna never held such
sway. Although the British metropolis
holds a seventh of the population OF the
kingdom, no one would dream of say
ing that London is England.
In France, on the other hand. the gov
eminent. the business and the social lie
we're centralized at the capital. The
nation was not a federation Of states
like the United States or Germany. or
A federation of jealous races ike AUS
tria Hungary. nor was It DIVIDED as
Italy long was into several independent
sovereiEntieS.
Seeing the Ages in a Tiki.
And today tho story of France for 1000
wears unrolls like a film in a motion Pic
rides over two or three square miles OF
Paris in a taXicab or atop an omnibus.
Or he may, in five or ten minutes, take
n birdseye view of the stirring tale from
the height of the Eifel Tower. After
ward. a few excursions into the nearby
suburbs will suffice to complete his edu-
cation in French history: i
The first chapter opens in the midst OF
tho town. where the narrow, winding
Seine is parted by the lie de la Cite. On
that tiny isle: Paris was born In the
tn" birthplace of tho French language
aud of the French nation. For genera
ton after generation. century after CEN
turl. tn" little island. only few marshy
mainland until it ruled all France from
the Channel to the Mediterranean, from
tho Alps to tho Pyrenees.
When Caesar came to conquer Gaul in
the harharouS little tribe Of PARISH
dwelling in their mud huts In the middle
Of the Seine. The strategic eye of tho
Roman saw that the island controlled
main highway to and from the sea for
wide cNparSe of country. When. there
fore. he called a council of conquered
tribes. he commanded the chiefs to meet
named Lut"tia.
4 Little Island.
Then and there tho island was started
honors and to the dignity of the north
ern Rome. In time. it became the out
post of Roman law and manners and
shining example 10 all the barbarous
West. lust where the noble, gray walls !
of the Cathedral of Notrc Dame now
rise, at ono end of the island, the PARISH |
set up Temple of Jupiter. and there |
they worshippcd the god of the Romans |
until st. Denis came bringing the Cos |
pcls to them. Thcreupon the pagan altar |
was overturned and for the first time
tho cross arose on, that now historic !
site
the pious missionary and condemned him
to be deCapitated over on the neighhoring
height of Montmartre. a bluff rising out
Of the swamp. which is covered today
with the bouevards and palaces Of Paris.
The saint rose in triumph from the ex-
ccutioner's block and. as he walked
away. tho lips of the severed head which
he carried away under his arm sang the
glory of God.
Some five centuries after Caesar the
Franks swarmed down out of the Ger
man forests and the altar candles of
tho little island lit up their heathern
minds with the first rays of Christianity
and civilization. Even they conquered
with the sword the savage conquerors
were conquered by the cross. and after a
'ime their Teutonic tongues spoke only
me speech of the islanders. The Nero
vinEian dynasty, therefore. was the first
10 take lessons in French and strive to
achieve the Partisan accent.
After several generations. however.
'harlemagne reverted to his German in
Frankish throne among the Germans at
AK Ia Chapclle. Paris became the seat
and property of a mere count The
great Emperor had been in his tomb
only a quarter OF century when his
warred between them
selves and the empire fell apart.
The Island Throne.
Now. back to our little isle. While the
'amily quarrel between the Grandchil-
iren of CharIemagne was raging in the
,ast. the Mortimer beached their skiffs
IN the beautiful coast, to which they
'astened forever the name of Normandy.
Next they padded up the Seine and cap
tured the town of Rouen. The island
above them now reasserted the strategic
Importance which Caesar had recognized.
md in that time of peril II became the
hope OF France and the breakwater
against the invading tide.
The King chose the bravest among his
mobiles to defend the island. And the
selves became kings by right Of their
victory over the vikings sitting IN at