The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-11-25
Thousands Freezing With Joy, Dance and Sing Their
 Way Along the Streets
CELEBRATE RELEASE FROM BONDAGE AND
 HERMAN TYRANNY
Soldiers and Civilians. Friends and Strangers, Link Arms and Hop Away to the Swing of the
 Marseillaise

Brussels, Friday. November 22.-(By the Associated Press.)-It is midnight of the greatest day in the history of Brussels
 the day of the triumphal return of the royal family to their capital after four years of gallant fighting against the Ger man invader-and the city is still cele- brating the homecoming of it's King and Queen.
 Brussels tonight was absolutely freez- ing with happiness. All the pent-up emo tions of its people which had been held in leash through those weary years by the iron hand of bondage. broke loose in mighty volume with the advent of their King and Queen, and the city, which years gone by has been known as one of the Sayest capitals ln Europe, has been swept with such a wave of patriotic joyousness as it never experi- enced before.
 LAUGHTER SUCCEEDS SORROW Countless thousands of loyal subjects for hours have been literally dancing their way through the principal thor oughfare, singing, cheering and laughing as they dance. Gray-haired men and women, youths and maidens, children and soldiers and civilians all have joined in the great throngs which have swirled iither and there chanting the.r paean. to the German downfall. The overwhelm- ing reception given to the royal family this morning upon their entry into the city from Ghent was in itself unprece- dented. But more remarkable scenes were to come
 As evening fell the city for the first time in four years burst into brilliant lights. The street lamps which had re- mained dark under German rule were lighted and the night in Brussels was turned into day,
 Even the changing electric signs of the big buildings began their endless play.
 RENAME BOULEVARD Many of the big restaurants are still closed bHt others threw wide their doors to the crowds clamoring for admission. Hours passed and the Boulevard Du Nord-incidentally this great thorough fare today was renamed the Boulevard | Adolphe Max, in honor of the famous |burgomaster-and other neIghborine streets became the playground of hun dreds of thousands of people. The Boulevard Adolphe Max was filled for hours with a crowd of not less than 100000 celebrators. M
 So rapidly did the merrymakers give
 way to others and move their activi-
 ties tosadjoniug streets that probably
 no succeeding hour fousd ths same
 crowd in the boulevard. There WIS plenty
 of muSic, It was mostly vocal. but here
 and there civilian bands blared their
 way to the head of joyous columns.
 There was little traffic in the streets and
 endless lines of people marched and
 danced along arm in arm.
 LOCK ARMS AND HOP AWAY
 Many streets were damned from one
 side to the other With human streams
 passing in either direction. 1t made no
 difference whether you knew your neigh
 bor or not, you simply linked arms with
 him or her and hopped away to the
 swing of the Marsellaise or other
 marching songs.
 However. it was entirely harmless cele-
 bration throughout Thousands of sol-
 diers-American, Belgian. British ana
 French-everywhere joined heartily with
 the people in the festivities. The sound
 of singing and of tramping feet still con tiEued and thousands still will be cele-
 brating when the dawn of new day
 arrives.