The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1917-10-24
THE wAToHMAN AND sourHRoN OCTOBER "a, 1917

perceive its incidents and outlines al
ready taking shape.
But the ruin of his bridges, his
his churches, his farm
houses. his vineyards and orchards
il the least OF his SORROWS. In lit
tie village near Ham dwclt Il man who
had saved a fortune for his old age
100, ,00O francs. When the invading
army like a black wave was approach
ing, he buried his treasure beneath
the large Hat stones that made the
walk from the road up TO the front
step of his house. Then, with the
other villagers, the Old man fled.
Many months passed by, while the
Germans bombarded the village. At
last the German wave retreated, and
once more the old man drew near to
his little village. There was nothing,
nothing left. After a long time he
located the street, which was on the
very edge of the town, but could not
find the cellar of his own house.
Great shells had fallen. Exploding in
the cellar they had blown the bricks
away. other shells had fallen hard
by and blown dirt to fill what once
had been Il cellar. The small trees in
front of his house had been blown
away and replaced by shell pits. In
Paris Ambassador SHARP told me that
the aged man had up to that time
failed to locate his house, much less
his treasure. But what triles light az
air are houses
At the officers chateau late one
night after returning from the front
general and captain were recount
ing their experiences. Among 9TH
er incidents was this one.' During
the winter of 1915, months after the
Germans had occupied that territory,
several English officers and a young
French captain were recOunting their
cNpeIicilceS. III say ms tilc iVi CWclis'
before each man went out to his
place in the trenches to look after his
Next week at this time 1 will be
home. Five more days and my week 5
leave of absence comes" Then sud
denly remembering that the French
captain had been there a long time,
he asked when he was going home. To
which came this low answer: 81
have no home. You men do not un-
derstand. Your English village has
never been invaded. When the Ger
mans left my little town, they de-
stroyed every little building. My wife
and my little daughter are both ex-
pecting. babies within few weeks
|, II" and the storm broke. The
two Englishmen fled into the dark
night, knowing that there was a
night that was blacker, that rain was
nothing against those tears, for all his
hopes of the future were dead. His
only task was to recover France and
transfer all his ambitions to God in
heaven.
That is why there will be no incon-
elusive peace. Do not delude your
self. Whether this war goes on one
year or five years or ten years, it will
go on until these Frenchmen are on
German soil. Nor will the German
ever learn the wickedness of his own
atrocities and the crime of miltar-
ism until his own land is laid waste
until he sees the horrors OF war with
his own eyes, and hears the groan ol
his own family with his own ears, and
sees his own land laid desolate. We
may believe that vengeance belongs
unto God, and we may argue and
plead for forgiveness, hut it will not
avail. You will remember that pas
sage In Proverbs, in which the pen
alues of nature become automatic
ana where an outraged brain and
nerve and digestion are personifed
and speak to the transgressor: 81
warned you, but ye would none of my
reproof. / stretched out my hand
and pleaded, but ye would not listen.
Now 1 Will laugh at your calamity; /
VIII mock at your desolation, when
desolation comes as Il whirlwind and
fear and destruction are upon you"
The dam that held back the black
waters has broken, and it was the
German who dynamited the dam and
released the flood of destruction upon
MS own people and his own land.
ii takes another summer or
many, there is no British nor Ca
madam officers, no French nor Italian
whose face does not turn to granite