The sun., 1917-06-10
THE STORY OF THE ALRSF1IP BONBARD.
MENT OF BUCHAREST.
Personal ExpeneLe Damage Was Done but Were
Driven From the City by Terror.

AhoHhdhlh uiuSt Will thC will
Powers or she must remain neutral.
In case Rumania espoused the cause
Of the Entente Bucharest was to be
set in flames by Zeppelins. They were
encamped at Rustchuk, distance of
seventy kilometers from the capital OF
Rumania. The great surprise which
Rumania gave the Austro- -Hungarians
made all the world believe that the
threatened attack on Bucharest would
be too late. The evening Of the day
following the declaration of war q
Parsifal and two aeroplanes came and
dropped bombs on Bucharest.
My house is situated in the southern
part of the city. To be exact, it is
in the direct line Of the aeroplanes
coming from Rustchuk to Bucharest.
1t was a rather dark night. Heavy
clouds hung over the city. The enemy
thought that he could reach the capt.
tai unobserved, but the noise of his
motors betrayed him. The working of
his machinery was heard all along
coming from Giurgiu, town situated
on the Danube south Of Bucharest.
The visitor was a Parsifal, because
at that time the Zeppelins had hardly
left Germany for Bulgaria. The air.
ship had not reached the outskirts Of
the capital when the guns Of the outer
Notifications gave it a warm reception.
Within a few minutes the powerful
searchlights of Bucharest were turned
on and exposed it to the fire of our
guns.
Owing to the intense heat l went
out on the porch to open our shut
ters, so that / might hear and see
the explosions produced by our guns
in the air. In my bewilderment at the
sight OF the unusual fire in the sky
my eyes followed the stretched arm of
light which was shed on the dirigible.
The enormous silhouette Of the Par
sifal took an upward course. followed
by six searchlights.
| ran downstairs to waken my
mother. But found her fully awake.
Il thought" said she, "that 1 heard
dogs barking"
In fact, in closed room the swift
ness and the frequency Of the explo-
sions gave one that impression.
We went out on the porch so that
We might see the extraordinary dis
play of fireworks" And l saw-at
least so 1t seemed to me-that the
enormous Parsifal was about 500 me-
ters above my neighbor's house to the
right. Across the way from my house
there was a broad vacant space which
belonged to me. l brought out a few
benches from my garden and invited
several OF my neighbors to sit there
with me.
My mother was in a state Of terror
and from excitement and fright she
became feverish. To quiet her 1 be-
gan to jest. saying to my neighbors:
Come, friends. the show has begun.
There was never such a show before.
nor have you ever heard Of anything
like it. Then you must not forget
that it is absolutely free. Come, ladies'
and gentlemen, take your choice Of
seats, orchestra or box seats, circle.
balcony or gallery. Come, take them
while they last, otherwise there will
be standing room only"
AS a matter of fact 1t was really
something that we had never seen or
During this time and while / was
jesting with my neighbors I succeeded
in calming my mother. Meanwhile the
demon in the air opened its ballast
chest and we heard sand falling on
our roof. The airship now began to
ascend swiftly and reached an altitude
OF about 1900 meters over our heads.
The shells that were fired at it ex-
ploded at a distance without striking
their mark. Having reached that alti-
tude the Parsifal, instead of moving,
remained stationary in the air. 1t
seemed as though it were held by the
long stretched arms of the searchlights
directed at it. What really prevented
strong air current which forced 1t
back. The monster struggled hard and
with all the power of its machinery
sought to extricate itself, The engine
and the revolutions of its propellers
caused our window glass to vibrate.
The intense bombardment seemed
to have dispersed the clouds. All the
searchlights were now turned on the
Parsifal. Some struck 1t on its sides.
while others kept their stream OF light
fixed so as to expose 1t as a target
for the guns that kept up an inces-
SAINT fire.
While the searchlights were engaged
in following the maneuvres of the
Parsifal two Bulgarian aeroplanes,
which had accompanied it, We're en-
deavoring to locate the arsenal. But
these aeroplanes were also kept under
surveillance by four searchlights. The
guns kept up their work by firing at
them. but without any result.
The Parsifal evidently realized that
it could not battle with the powerful
air currents that held it, and so it gave
up the idea of attacking Bucharest II
then turned east. apparently carried
by the wind. 1t sped over a section
OF the city called Calea Calarashilor.
Having been attracted by the lights
Of some street lanterns it threw down
a few bombs. One of them struck a
corner of a house, another uprooted
a tree and lamp post; a third bomb
fell on a heap of dirt in the market
without exploding. The following day
this bomb was carried to the arsenal
in great parade. one woman wounded
was the result OF that night attack.
But even this casualty was caused by
a shot from a Rumanan bullet. She
died the following day.
The first exploding bomb thrown
from the Parsifal fell two klometers
away from us. But the shock and the
noise which the explosion produced
were terrific.
Standing on a hill. we first saw big
light project itself upward. We then
felt the ground under us shaking or