The sun., 1916-02-13
w AR

resident at the German House Of
studies at Rome II 1918. The Cont
n'nt seemed to me fairly bristling
with preparations for war
only London and England were
silent During my residence in Lon
don IN 1914 | scarcely ever heard
about the war. Even after it had
broken out remember how far away
II all seemed to us In London. and
can truthfully say that during the
in"fth o' August, when all Belgium
rang with the cry. Where are the
English ," none of those with whom
came in contact believed that Eng
land would be drawn into the war
u wac only when saw the soldiers
going aboard the TRANSPORTS at Cork
ana Queenstown that the seriousness
OF II all came over mo. and when I
cIamborcd aboard the Adrintic in H..
TACK midnight darkness out beyond
me harhor Of Queenstown with 700
other Americans who were all fever
'sh with excitement. a feeling came
over me hope never again to .xpc,i-
eh'e-l felt like a deserter NV com
rldes IN Belgium were without doub,
~ TIE front of the battle lines az
l.iegc and Namur. while I was going
home TO safety.
|. was all too pcrilously near IN,
realization of being traitor and
though the feeling left mo on tho
voyage across, a blow awaited mo in
Ne" iork which brought il all back
WIN rush. For the world seemed ,o
crash ~ upon me when ] hos!L tho
&c "s tha' 1.ouvain was no more. Her
~ ilients had heen scattered, the very
u "spHpers that morning contained
the account Of the death Of my cbu,n
a; college its profes sors had lacn
driven out %. town and men hal
earned TO reverence and -esp.,;
scholars Ike Mgr dc Becker. the reg
tor Of tho American College C,nor
tauChie. undor whom | studied par
uCular'N: the Mgr. I.aduac. the rector
ot the university. IN whom ". stu.
cents saw all that was noble and ma
)eStic. vtre lodged in a stable ana
were then taken % BRUSSELS led to-
sether like common criminals
The old. ancestral Hslles Of the l'ni-
ver-ry. huilt in 1917. where We d.
N'n!iy students attended lectures. and
ne library where last saw Cardinal
MERCER. were battered to dust. II was
hard 70 adjust ones ideas To tho s.tu,-
ton for We had understood GERMANY
IN a different way.
No one at Louvain understood better
OF appreciated more keenly tho mar
vcllous advance of German science
t!an Cardinal Mercier. To many his
Volumes were the frst true lnsigh,
Into the work ~ the German phi,oso-
piers. We al had r-ofitei Intimately
hy the scientific work ~ her rre,.
mon; We had used her language as
freely as French In our classes. and
the result was that my mind waS sim
ply brwildercd by wha, j. stiil To- mo
tho most awful fact of thie present
war
l"uva'n's destruction brought tho
'r.chtfulness ot tho war nome t. M
moro keenly than anything else. The
only note ~ optimism could see was
that some one had bundered In N.
old capita. ~ Brahant and tina. when
the war was over ari dore annie
r"parhtion would ~ ma1r f,r IFS be-
''TictoN. ! could not accept 'l.. >.r-
'lus"rts cNrr"sscd ~ the public rrcss
'l'' j. was a savage act of outrage
"u III" part "f German regiment
composed entirely ~ aut!-c'"r.c1.e
fIr in all my experience IN Europo
and = was certainly passed at an
~" when Impressions arr made
deeply 'he k!ndluoss and gcn,,encss
of the German people and oc the Ger
man Pr"teTants in particular stand
"ut among my strongest memories
And SO when the news Of the death
~ Belgium priests and eccies.ast .cs
began To appear in the new spaperS nv
! thoughts naturally turned in III, ?