Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-10-19
TOUCHING SCENES
WHEN ALLIES ENTERED
CITY OF LILLE

Paris, Oct 1S-"I have just wit
messed the most touching spectacle Of
my life. The whole city. i'll a delirium
of Joy. was ready to throw itself up
on us. the first to ener Lille"
telegraph the war correspondent of
the Petit Journal. from that city.
Tonight at 9 o'clock near Armen-
there's, an officer shouted to us Lille
is takenv We speeded our automo-
bile on the road Of victory. Two
miles from Lille two young girls ran
cut in front of our automobiles cry
ing amid sobs of joy: They have
gone. they have gone. Vivent Les
Anglais, Viva La France"
I'VE went little farther and then
a huge shell hole obliged us to aban-
don our machine and we proceeded
on foot. Two more girls, who had run
out of the city to meet their deliver
ers sooner, cried. while tears stream
ed down their cheeks: They won't
come
"A hack appeared and we got in,
but 4 crown. every member Of whicH
was weeping, seized us. One man
climbed on our shoulders. Another
shouted to us: My name is Guiselin.
| am city counsellor The Germans
offered me million to betray my
country. The towards. the towards!
and then he burst into sobbin2.
Carried by the crowd, we 1rriv-
ed at the City hall. Deputy Mayor
Eaudon stood at the door. When we
entered everyone rushed to embrace
us. An old man. with whate hair,
;,l, hn of
grand staircase and played the
'Marsellaise.' Outside the crowd
seethed lik. sea We were the first
messengers from the motherland
Speak, speak to US. they cried. We
opened tn windows and told of our
victory A shout went UP that filled
the CITY. We told Of the Bulgarian ca
pitulation. Again the cheers rang
out. We told of the Turkish promise
TO aquit the war, and again the crowd
checred. Then we told them that
Precedent Wilson had refused to
grant an armistice and demanded
Emperor Williams head. The crowd
in a frenzy tossed everything It could
Law hands on into the air.
AT the prefecture, the acting project,
NJ. Tegnier, embra ced us and there was
d fresh outburst Of cheering from the
crowd. 1t was for Mayor Delsalle AMI
for his son, a French officer of the Lee
gion of Honor, and wearing the war
cross This officer, an aviator. heard
at II O'Clock that the city had been
freed. He leaped into his machine. flew
quickly to Lille and landed in the Place
de la Theatre. He rushed home to his
father.
"His was the first French uniform the
liberated citizens had seen and the sight
Of it increased their delrum of Joy.
There remain 10000 nha bitants in
Lille. The Germans had carried off all
the male population more than IA years
of age. The city is not greatly damaged
and the public buildings are intact.
When news of the deliverance of Lille
came to Paris flags were hung out on
all sides and crowd of refugees from
the Lille region paraded to the Lille
statue in the Place de la Concorde,
where they sang the Marseilaise and
decorated the statue with Allied flags
Numbers of refugees waited most of
the day Thursday at the offices of the
committee in charge of the refugees Of
the Department of the Nord on the
chance that news of the evacuation Of
Lille would be received. When n mes
| senger arrived with the glad tidings
tears came into the eyes of the refugees
Al most of the theatres the manager,
announced the news to the audiences.
when arose and sang the Marseillaise