The Washington times., 1918-12-15
r. PROFESSIONALLY "a great number

summer IL was Exposed Hore IMAM Eve
1417 and the Long Sentence Read
r. PROFESSIONALLY. "a great number
of superstitions or pious beliefs,
as you may please to regard them.
came true during the late war.
Perhaps the most interesting of all
these was the legend concerning "the Hun
ger Stone of the Elbe." For centuries the
German people have believed that when
ever this stone showed itself famine or
some other great disaster was about to
fall on Germany.
In August Of this year. just when the
German armies were about to collapse
and hunger had reached its worst point,
the Hunger Stone of the Elbe showed it.
self higher above the water than it had
ever done before.
!, The notorious stone lies in the bed of
the river Elbe, near the town Of Tetschen,
in the German part Of Bohemia. The Elbe
is, of course, the principal river of Ger
many and flows through the heart of the
country, although it rises in Bohemia.
The locality where the stone is situated
is resort for holiday-makers from Berlin
and from other parts of Germany and
Austria.
The Hunger Stone is an ominous look
Ing object of gloomy black basalt, situated
near the left bank of the river. 1t is about
eight feet high and ten feet across, and is
covered all over with inscriptions regard
ing the dates at which it came in sight
and the point to which the waters fell
The most striking of these is an ancient
Inscription, ornamented with a cross.
(which reads:
= when thou seest me, weep"
: This is believed to have been made in
JAZZ, when the fateful character of the
stone was first recognized. In that year a
dreadful famine combined with plague,
afflicted Germany, which cost ten million
lives out of a comparatively small popu-
lation.
The stone is not seen above the waters
in normal years. Every time it has been
exposed, the people say, some distinct and
terrible calamity has fallen on Germany.
80 This Summer the water fell so low that
the stone was exposed right down to its
base, portent never before known in his
tory. This fact doubtless played a con-
siderable part in undermining the war re-
sistance Of the Germans, who attach great
importance to tribal divinities and fetiches.
d" A strange superstition was involved in
the famous wooden image of Marshal Hin
denburg. When this German military
leader was at the height Of his power the
people Of Berlin set up colossal wooden
statue Of him. Every German had the
privilege of driving a nail into the marshal
at the rate of one mark per nail The
money went to a fund for supplying Ger
man soldiers with little comforts Hun
dreds Of thousands Of nails were driven
into HiDdenburg.
When superstitious persons in the En-
tente countries heard of this episode they
thrilled with delight, for they knew that
every nail driven into Hindenburg meant
some disaster to him and his plans. From
the earliest times in Latin countries 1t had
been a practice to secure a little waxen
image of an enemy and stick pins and
ueeQleS INTO II. Inc images were SuppIleu
by witches and magicians, who gave in
structions concerning lamentations to be
uttered while fixing the pins.
The practice prevailed in Italy in an
Gent Roman times, and has been kept up
more or less to the present day. The use
of these images was one Of the charges
upon which the knights Templars were
burnt in 1907.
The Judge shuddered on the judgment
seat" says a historian, when the proofs
we're brought before him in the shape of
ghiltres, amulets, frogs, black cats and
araxen images stuck full Of needles"
., The modern Germans evidently did not
know what terrible results could be &C.
complished by driving nails into Q wooden
idol. Savagely and industriously they
worked away at producing their own ruin.
A war legend of pleasanter kind than
any Of those is that Of the Virgin of
Albert" Albert is an ancient French city
with a cathedral. on the high tower OF
which stood a large statue Of the Virgin.
when the Germans invaded Franc In 1914
enc Of their shells struck the Virlin. She
did not fall completely down, but hung at