New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-05
THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WITNESS

THE THREE-YEAR-OLD WITNESS
Two persons came in the room at
Luneville where | was sitting. One
was Nine. Dujon, and the other was
her granddaughter. Nine. Dujon had a
strong umbrella, with a crook handle.
Her tiny granddaughter had a tiny UNI
trela which came as high as her chin.
As the grandmother talked, the sadness
of the remembrance filled her eyes
with tears. Her voice had pain in il,
and sometimes the pain, in spite OF her
control, came through in sobbing. The
little girls face was burned, and the
wounds had healed with scars of rigid
flesh on the little nose and cheek. The
emotion of the grandmother passed
over into the child. With a child's
sonsitiveness she caught each turn Of
the suffering. Troubled by the pain
in the voice overhead, she looked up
and saw the grandmother's eyes filed
with tears. Her eyes filled. When her
grandmother, telling of the dying boy,
sobbed, the girl sobbed. The story Of
the murder tired the grandmother, and
she leaned on her umbrella. The little
girl put her chin on her tiny umbrella,
and rested it there.
Nine. Dujon said:
81 will try to tell you the beginning
Of what | have passed through, mon
sieur. but do not promise that shall
arrive at the end. II is too hard. The
day of August %, which was a Mon
day
As she spoke her words were cut by
sobs. She went on:
when the Germans came to our
house, my son had to go all over the
house TO find things that they wanted
did not understand them. and they
were becoming menacing. said to
them:
81 am not able to do any better.
Fix things yourself. | give you every
thing here. | am going 70 a neigh
boris house"
She went with the tiny grandgiri,
who was three years old, her son. Lu-
Glen. fourteen years old. and another
son. sixteen. The Germans came here.
too. breaking in the Windows, and
firing their rifles. The house was by
this time on fire. The face of the
little girl was burned. The grand
mother started 20 run out with the
three children.
my boys wished TO make their es-
cape. but the fourteen-year-old was
more slow than the other, because the
little fellow was bit paralyzed, and
he already had his hands and body
as the pantry. / saw the poor little
thing stretched on the ground, dying.
"'My Cod he said, leave me. am
done for. Mamma. see'
IL saw. Just then the Germans came,
shooting. ! said to them:
T "'He has had enough
"The little one turned over and tried
to get the strength 10 cry out 10 them.
Every one called to US to come out
OF the fire. The fire was spreading all
over the house. | did not want 10 un-
Gerstand what they were saying. /
went upstairs again where the little
/ girl was. 20 try 10 save her (see still
the marks which she received. sue
ceeded. not without hurt, in carrying
away the little girl out Of the flames.
had to leave my boy in the flames,
and. like mad person. save myself
with the little girl.
81 have two sons-in-law, Of whom
one is the father of this little girl here
Look at her face marked with scars"
"Yes. They burned me-" said the
tiny girl. She held up her hand to the
scars on her face.
my other little boy escaped from
the fire. He was hidden all one day in
a heap of manure He did not wish 10
make me sad by telling how his brother
had cried out 70 die"
Nine. Dujon sobbed quietly and could
not 20 on for a moment The little
girl put her chin on her little UNI
Lrella, and her eyes filled with tears.
The Mayor Of Luneville, Monsieur KEEL
Ter, said 10 Us:
Madame has not told you-the Ger
mans finished off the poor child. See
| ing that he was nearly dead, they
threw him into the fire, and closed the
door"
THE HOMELESS
We are a nomadic race, thriving on
change. Apartment houses are our
tents; many OF us preempt new fiat
every moving day. This is in part an
| Inheritance from our pioneer readiness
20 strike camp and go further. Il is
I the adaptability of a restless seeking.
/ 1t is also the gift made by limitless
supplies of immigrants, who, having