The Washington herald., 1916-07-23


but the clay of the bodies Of the tnno- |
cent-nothing but a chaos OF dead human |
bodies with the spirit OF the killers trl- |
Umphing over that chaos" says Bel
grade college professor. The old men
and women, the sick and wounded, the
crippled and blind, have been slaughtered
with Joy and satisfaction. But SERBIA
will henceforth be the conscience Of her
snemIes. The enemies will be, like Rich
ard III. disturbed in their sleep by
the pale face OF the destroyed Serbia,
whispering like spirits, Why did you sin
so much against me7'
have met and talked with many Ser
oians lately. There is something very
iovable about them. something very hne
and childlise. They feel so deeply, their
sensibilities are 50 keen. Much Of the
melancholy and the poetry Of the Celtic ,
temperament Is theirs and many OF the
old fighting qualities of the Scottish race.
The stern Covenanters Of Scotland fought
and suffered and died for their faith and
their principles, but even in dying they
could smile, well satisfied. Thus is ii with
Serbia. Death in a fine cause seems very
beautiful to them. Their prime minister,
Mr.. Pashich. announced that Serbia Will
fight to the very last man, because 1T is
better TO die in beauty than to live in
shame
At a little concert in London. heard
a wounded Serbian sing one Of the old
passionate songs Of his race. He played
on a one-stringed fiddle which he called
the ''gusla." and though the music was
very primitive, 1t seemed to express all
the pain and the tears OF Serbia 1t was
a Montenegrin melody, and the transla-
ton Of the song was handed round
among the audience The lines struck me
forcibly as being the keynote to Serbia's
fortitude:
Happy is he. now and forever,
For he died such a beautiful death"
The exultant spirit of self-sacrihce Is
very strong in the Serbians, a joy in
losing everything. forsaking everything.
Crucifying everything dear to the human
man" for the sake OF principle. Does the
world really understand the awful suf-
fsring of Serbia? She is not merely
being starved, she Is being exterminated
4 woman doctor friend of mine who has
recently labored for months In Serbia
and who was taken prisoner by the Ger
mans and Austrians and finally. with
the help Of the American embassy In
Vienna sent back to England. tells me
today: Make no mistake about the at
titude Of Austria in this matter. Her
punitive expedition was not against the
Serbian army; il was against the Ser
oian people. The policy OF Austria Is
10 wipe out Serbia
The vaIor OF this unhappy little coun-
try is learned in a hundred tales of suf-
fering bravely borne. For Serbia has
been prosecuted for centuries. There's
the story Of the young monk Abakum
whom The Turks crucified. His mother
stood below the cross and wept heart
brokenly. But her son looked down at
her and smiled through his pain. DO not
weep" he said, for the Serb Is Christ
follower and enjoys DEATH
On another occasion, the Turks were
torturing a Serbian boy They crushed
rR1 hTfy
touch his soul. My agony IS only for a
short time" he bravely told them, but
YOUR shame is forever. 1 am going to a
beautiful place where pain will be for
gotten and where can despise your life
Death will be sweet and very welcome "
An English clergyman who has been
out in Serbia and who was speaking OF
the still, small voice" which urges men
and women to follow its behests and lay
down their lives for the cause Of right,
said: Witness Serbia today; old men,
sick men. women. girls, little children
dying with arms in their hands. This is
Seroia's hour OF agony and glory. Her
people are not merely being crushed;
they are being blotted OF the face Of the
earth. They need not be- and at first
sight one wonders why they should con-
sent to be. All they have to do is 20
throw down their arms and submit to
the invader They might have to suffer
lecuon' but at least this tide OF slaugh-
Ter would be stayed And they will not
The world. with parted lips and strain
Ing eyes. beholds that they will not"
l have a little Serbian friend called
Rada, slim, dark-eyed child Of fifteen
To look at her. one never would guess
her strange career. She has seen much,
and suffered more. A fighter in her coun-
try's army. she has worn a soldiers uni
form and been wounded twice As far
back as she can remember, life has been
rather terrible. The Turks murdered her
mother before her very eyes when she
was only a tiny tot. They tortured her
father to such an extent that he was
invalided for life and died not long
after.
All the childish affection Of the little
CIR! centered on her two brothers
Douchan and Stephanovitch "Ah. but
they were wonderful boys, so handsome
and so kind says little Rada, wiping
her eyes. In Serbia We love greatly
because We suffer greatly We are not
demonstrative but we fell deep. Douchan
II was who gave his life for me II
was many years ago. Two Turkish
soldiers were seeking to injure me, and
Douchan killed them both. But he was
shot for il.
l was with him just before his death.
'Rada,' he said. will you look after the
lonely little cousin, Hitch and be kind
TO MIN: Hitch was an orphan and very
Young. And l promised, because it was
Oouchans will. So Stephanovitch and
The little Hitch and I lived together
We had many sutferings. but that made
rs care the more for each other When
this terrible war broke out, my poor
Stephanovitch was killed And so I wore
his uniform and took his place.
fought for many months and was
wounded twice. Then, later, the little
Hitch was sent over the Montenegrin
mountains with the retreating Serbians,
in order to gain the island Of Corsica
and escape capture. Alas, he could not
endure the hardships. the lack Of food
and the cold! He died on the mountains,
and they buried him in the shadow of a
big rock. Perhaps it was better that he
should die thus than be taken prisoner
and maze to fight for the enemy. He
was but twelve years old"
I noticed round the girls neck a little
locket with photograph in it That is
my husband" she said simply, 'an Of
fcer Of the Serbian army. We were
married after the death of the little
Hitch. I have no news OF him for long.
He is prisoner with the Austrians.
Our country is very beautiful" she
continued with a homesick light in her