Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-03-12
:: The Truth About Belgium ::
= = By Brand Whit1ock - -

Brussels. 1t was somehow terrible to
see the agitation, the tragic expression
in NJ. Fontacre's mobile face-even his
beard seemed to have grown more
gray-and his brow was moist with
perspiration, mating down the locks
of his banged hair.
He remains for me, somehow, in the
memory have of him as he sat there,
leaning anxiously forward over the
edge of the desk, the incarnation Of
the decentralization and the intensity
of those terrible times; he was in
agony, as was his, country.
He nodded sadly in affirmation,
even before l could put the question he
must have read in my eyes-we were
somehow still hoping selfishly that we
might escape the horror and:
"Oui," he said, 'c'est la guerre!"
eyes he said, "it is war;
He presented his chiefs compli-
ments and excuses and wished to know
If would take over the French lega-
ton. was pleased, and I told him so.
To one to whom the word France
meant what it did to me, since that
youthful phase, common | suspect to
most boys, when had pored over ev-
cry book l could find that related to
Napoleon, and then the French Ian
guage, French literature, French art;
1t was like an accolade.
War Is Certain
When he had gone I went upstairs
and told Nell that we were in for it;
that war was certain; but I was too
busy all the morning to notice how
the family were affected; until at noon
Nell told me that Aunt Sarah had de-
cided to go home; she was sadly
shaken. Great bustling about then,
rushing up and down stairs, servants
flying everywhere and clamoring
Americans in the corridors below! We
got Aunt Sarah off at l o'clock,
bundling her and her bags into the
motor, her steamer trunks on top and
Alice, her English maid, weeping, bid
ding the servants goodbye and clam
oring into the motor after her mis-
tress, her black gown all unbuttoned
down the back, revealing her white
undergarments.
Monster Klobukowski called during
the afternoon to ask me to take over
his legation in case of eventualities.
He was smiling as he usually was,
and showed none of the signs of the
strain exhibited by NJ. Fontacre that
morning. / told him that / should be
delighted to act for him.
And that day passed with the world
tumbling back into chaos.
The Belgian governments reply to
the German ultimatum, dignified
state paper, saying that Belgium re-
70 70
would resist German aggression, was
delivered on Monday evening at Z
o'clock. At 10 o'clock the king ad-
dressed a telegram of appeal to the
King of England. Tuesday morning
at o'clock Mr.. Won Below delivered
his governments note saying that Ger
many could take what she wanted by
force. Germany had already declar-
ed war on France. The Belgian gov
eminent had been notified by both
France and England that they would
come to her defense if Belgian soil
were invaded; the formal declarations
Of war were all that remained.
And at 10 o'clock that morning the
king went to parliament.
1t was day of lovely sunshine; the
Belgian flags of black and yellow and
red fioated from every house, and the
people had gathered early about the
park and the palace and the parlia-
ment buildings to see the king and the
royal family go by. The crowds were
massed along the sidewalks, on the
terre-pleins and the carefours; peo-
pie hung out of windows, even the
roofs were black. The garde-civique,
the chaSseurs and the infantry, the
gendarmes a cheval and companies of
boy-scouts, formed a hale from the
royal palce along the Rue Royale to
the parliament houses at the other end
of the park. The queen went by first
in a landau, with the three royal
children, preceded by the piquers de
la Cour. The king, booted and spurred,
mounted on his big bay, came after
with his staff and the escadrOn Marie
Henriette in their green tunics and,
grey BUSHES as guard of honor. Thel
crowds were wild with enthusiasm.