The Washington herald., 1916-03-27

every home the men are fighting
4 j while the women work and wait
and-no! the Scottish women will.
not weep! Not even when news comes
that their men somewhere in France"
or in tho desolate tracts OF Southern
Europe lie buried in the last long
sleep that knows no waking do they
don the outward signs of mourning.
Yet in these quiet soldiers graves lies
buried the whole of the Scottish wom-
ans faithful heart! A Spartan bravery
has descended over Scotland, and NOR
tai soul wounds hide behind brave
faces that often are too sad for tears.
ITO die fighting on t1e field-what a
magnificent ending" is the thought Of
each killed soldier as lie jauntily adj
justs his Glengarry bonnet and steps
out to the skirl of the pipes.
And heaven grant the boy returns
again" his mother is praying, pas
sionately yet silently. for speech on
vital subjects never comes easily to the
Scottish mother. Perhaps that is why
she feels so much.
War marriages are thick about US.
This very morning / acted as witness
to one. There was neither clergyman
nor registrar nor written contract. and
the ceremony lasted exactly four sec
onds Said the would-be benedict
gruffly-a great raw boned Highlander
home on leave, Jean, you're my wife,!
SANDY" said Jean. you're my hus-
band"
And that was all. No pomp and
panoply of church service nor civil
process could have tied them up more
thoroughly than those simple words.
And the bridal pair set off on a one
day honeymoon. for big Sandy was
much needed man at the firing line.
Last year there were more than 400
irregular marriages in Scotland"
clergyman informs me. The young
couple declare their marriage before
two witnesses, and leave an order be-
hind for the sheriff to register 1t. Such
a marriage is perfectly legal; no question
of succession to property is raised by Its
validity; no reproach of illigitimacy rests
upon ito issue; but the only excuse for
such a rough-and-ready method is the
fact that soldiers are granted very short
leave and there is little time for the usual
ceremony"
All, those magic changes in old Scot
land since this devastating war began!
Such wild rushes to the recruiting Offices
such tales of mingled humor and pathos-
such leading Of forlOrn hopes to victory
such desperate charges on every battle
field of Europe-and such magnificent
fighting! In the plant of the Scottish
bagpipes one can hear the tears and the
passion of her history. Nor did the i'm
mortal Pied Piper OF Hameln, with his
magnetic music, draw with stronger
lure than the recruiting pipers of today
in the streets of Edinburgh.
Wake up! Your King and Country
Call You" is painted on the gates OF
graveyard. A strange place, truly, for
such an injunction! And the famous Re-
cruiting Mirror, decorated with the
soldiers hat and tunic, and bearing the
words Are You Big Enough to Fill This
Uniform" meets the gaze of every man
as he walks in Princes Street beneath
the shadow of the Castle Rock. One
hears that no Stacker can see his re-
Election beneath that tattered soldiers
uniform and remain Indifferent to the
fight, He joins at once.
A curious incident came under my no.
.tfce IN a street car today. Said a dash
ing recruiting sergeant to a Salvation
Army man who could not even boast the
military "armlet." which means honor
able exemption from service, You would
look well in khaki
NO, friend" was the solemn answer,
'T fight only in the army Of the Lord"
my man." said the sergeant testify,
you're a damn long way from either
or DtdNtn-IOE inc l@OIu dc "tll
as the Scottish nation has no use for
STRIKERS"
Sentries ever on the watch, trenches,
barbed-wire entangIements and a medley
of sandbags surround the city. Stygian
darkness reigns supreme at nightfall.
The shutters Of the houses must be
drawn and no light shown, for fear of
Zeppelins, or suspected traitorous con-
nivance. Down upon the unwary afd the
l.. hn f,bF full
II precautions are overlooked. And to
find ones way home through the unlit
streets at nightfall is a veritable Chinese
puzzle. All manner OF strange collisions
with ones fellow-crea lures take place,
and old-fashioned lanterns prove the
safest remedy. But near the seacoa st
even these are banned.
In a quiet Scottish village the other
day, 1 met and chatted with a German
prisoner, a non-commissioned officer cap
tured from the Inflated Butcher. His
guard was an antiquated old man whom
the big. goOd-looking Teuton could have
quickly vanquished. But no such blood
thirsty aspiration seemed in his heart.
He was apparently quite contented.
Never again." he observed ferventIy.
do 1 wish to see a German battleship.
And never again do 1 wish to fight"
Peacefully his fine blue eyes roved over
the rolling moorlands. You wish me
to speak of the fight between the Butcher
and the Lion? Oh. very well It's not a
pleasant memory! The first shot which
the Lion fired struck the Butcher in her
tore-bOiler which instantly blew up. The
British, then having ascertained the exact
range of our boat, pounded us with shells
till our decks were like a slaughter
house! 1t was a horrible sight. Our
guns were outranged and we were power
less to reply
When the Lion did at last come with
in range, the Butcher capsized and l
was shot violently into the sea. The
British picked me up"
A pause. Funny devils, you British
ers!' said the German, First of all you
blow US up to heaven, and then you try
to save our lives!"
Farther along the moerland road were
hfteen or twenty prisoners, digging in
leisurely fashion. Two elderly men
formed their sole guard. A mile beyond
lay the camp. a collection of COM
Portable huts, fitted with electric light
and telephones.
IF you only knew the CHASTITY suffer
ings we've been through in the trenches, -
said an elderly German as he lit the pipe
OF peace and leaned back in a deep chair.
you'd understand why some of our men
actually come across and sIIrrepdar