The Washington herald., 1916-01-24

ember of the British House of commons).
: Il Myself" Dog Stars" Etc.
through the head. and he dropped like
q stone on Butler And man after man
fell around me. / had to step over half
a dozen TO lead my men and yet-here
| amt
II sincerely hope that you won't get
we'll" I said heartily. "and that here
you will stay. Have you observed, by
the way, the luck of the House of Com
| mons-only six or eight of the men who
/ Joined the army have been killed? Is IL
that God of Battles protects them, or
are they recruiting In the north. south.
east and west at home? Or seeing, what
is going on In Bouiogne7 It's pretty
safe there. isn't IL? Or does kissing go
| by fayor?"
The major reproyed me for being
satirical at the expense of his country
and was noncommittal
III" I said. Il had the making of the
laws of country should send king or
president, cabinet and parliament or con-
gress to the front. And after they had
all been killed the regular army could
then fight II II wanted to-"
You've been reading Toistoy." said
the major. smiling That's what he
says. with the difference that IL the men,
bers of the government had to fight there
would be no wars"
He lifted himself from his chair. I
| could see that his movements were weak
and stiff. like an old mans. And his
face looked sad and set. He has indeed
been seeing red he'll"
II Is small wonder that with soldiers
giving such graphic descriptions of the
real war. Zeppelin raids, even with the
serious loss of human life they entail.
seem of no great Importance. A great
military parsonage is reported as saying:
After all, the Zeppelins never kill any
body whom one knows"
The question arises: Can snobs be witty
or can wits be snobs? / suppose they
lean. Personally / prefer them separate
AT any rate. London is utterly unintimi-
dated by the raids. Ladies' are even
knitting very wide, long. bright-colored.
scarfs and calling them 'Zepp shawls." &"
| wouldn't be in the least surprised to see
ticketed in any of the London shop win
dows "Zepp coats and "Zepp caps" 1
have a sense OF humor, but IL is not
strong enough to find any amusement In
zeppelins. nor do feel like arectionate-
ly calling them "Zepps"
How marvelously in England secrets
are kept! In this great city, where four
| raids have taken place, the inhabitants
| (except those who have been wounded or
| mained, or the relatives of those killed.
know little or nothing Of what has taken
! place. The morning after a raid men get
up at the usual hour and go to their
| offices or places of business. Children
start off for school, women for shopping
or to market. Friends drop in to tea in
the afternoon, every one is calm and COL
lected; the only difference being that the
day following Zeppelin raid enlistment
is brisk and successful
Trafalgar Square Is practically given
! up to the business of recruiting. Yester-
I a
| for Edith Cavell at st. Pauls / saw a
| number of fine young men among the
four British lions at the base OF Nelson's
i column. They were waiting TO join his
majesty's forces. Not only the cathedral
was crowded. but the streets for q lons
distance were filled with dense mass
of sad and silent people. never saw
such a respectful crowd. A faintins
woman, overcome with emotion, was be-
ing carried down the steps by Austral-
| ian soldiers just as I ascended them
A company of women in khaki,- the
Women's Volunteer Corps. was drawn UP
within the square formed by the police.
They marched well and looked deter.
mined and soldierly in their uniforms.
They wore strong. brown boots, puttees.
short-skirt tunics and slouch hats. The
| lord mayors carriage OF blue and goio,
! drawn by four horses, with coachman
and footman in blue and gold-laced iv-
| cries, powdered heads and three-corner-
ed hats waited with the royal carriage
of scarlet and gold at the foot OF the
| steps before the main.
| Inside the scene was great and impress
sive. The seats under the dome had
been reserved for seven hundred nurses,
who all wore their distinctive uniforms,
! but altogether there were quite two
| thousand of them among the congrega=
/ tion-women who had come from Man
chester, Birmingham, Liverpool and other
towns to give silent tribute to their
noble sister. Many of their faces looked
| tender and courageous. as II they, too,
might, II the time came. die for prin-
| ciple. In the prayer from the burial
service, no matter what words escaped
those many people gathered together, the
name of Edith Cavell. in the slightly
raised voice of the priest, penetrated to
every ear and thrilled every heart.
It Is difficult to analyze the motives
of men concerned in a great tragedy,
but my own opinion is that Edith Cavell
was put to death for the Red Badge of
Courage. If she had lied and trembled
and faltered and tainted and collapsed
and been carried out of that German
court in the arms of a lusty soldier she
would have been saved. But she did none
of these things. She made no appeal
to that almost obsolete word "chivalry,"
nor to manliness. nor to sex. In that
hour of her supreme triumph, she stood
a noble human being, the equal Of any
man in honor, In truth, in courage. She
demonstrated with her life-all she had
to give-that women have the right and
| the force of character to demand JUS
tice and freedom for their sex.
The Cologne Gazette says: Miss Cavcll
in her actions displayed a thoroughly
| masculine force of mind and decision.
1t was therefore her just due IL she was
treated like a man" Her woman's USE
fulness, her helpfulncss. her pure life and
| strong full hands, her tenderness he,
unselfishness in this dread hour were all
obIiterated by her masculine force OF
mind and decision" These were her un-
pardmable sins. She was shot on sc-
count of them in the dead OF night. Ali
men who set up and keep alive the false
| ideal of woman. so afraid. untruthful
and cowardly that she must not be
trusted with her liberty, have contriout-
ed their quota to the death OF this blame
less heroine.
The only consolation In the martyrdom
of Edith Cayell lies in its ennobling in