Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-08-30

Germans as Unbidden Guests


A French paper, or a copy of
ia Revue des Deux Mondes" was
a godSend. Anyone with a bit of
news, or even a rumor, was well
come, and anyone with a piece of
good news, in a town and time when
good news never came, or never
stayed long if it did come, was as
sured of a popularity all evening
long And anyone from the country
was welcome because that meant
new Incidents for it was in the
country, in lonely chateau where
German officers quartered them
selves, that ia mentalite allie
mande" (the German mind) was
best exemplified. I knew a charm
ing old dowager whom no German
general could daunt; one of them
with his staff came to lodge in her
chateau; they remained several
weeks, and when they left the gem
eral asked the maitre d'hotel to re-
quest the dowager to be good
enough to receive him for a. mo-
ment. The old 'grande. dame" in
her white hair, came slowly down
the stairs, and, pausing at the bot
tom. stood there with folded hands,
and in her mild voice asked what, he
wished of her. The general said
that during their stay there they
had been so kindly treated that he
wished to thank her for himself
and for his staff. The old lady
looked at him a moment and then
said calmly.
"Vous n'avez pas a me remercier;
. lie ne vous avais pas invite" C'You
do not have to thank me; L had not
invited yoV.O
Madame y. having been at her
chateau near Mons with her hus-
band, who was III, on her return to
town told this story: The Ger
mans appeared in numbers, to be
uuartered in the chateau; she pro-
tested and said that her husband
was very i'll with heart disease, ana
was confined to his bed-his brother
had dropped dead from heart dis
ease in the summer and y him
self did not know that the land had
been invaded. She was ready to let
the Germans lodge in her house"
but she asked that they respect her
husbands apartments. The, OFFICER
said that it would be necessary to
examine y; then she asked to
be allowed to inform him gently and
to prepare him for the ordeal so
that he would not suffer from the
effects. But no; a military doctor
with a squad of soldiers tramped
down the corridor, burst open the
door of the sick room; the doctor
threw back the bed-clothes, opened
poor Us shirt, clapped steth-
oscope over his heart, listened and
exclaimed: "Ganz schlect! CAM
schlect! Very bad! Very badD
One of the BIS had received
visit at his chateau from the Ger
mans, headed by Prince H. The
soldiers were ransacking the palace
and the prince told her to; place the
''obiets dart" that she held most
dear in a certain cabinet and they
would be SAFE She did this. and
when she had finished they bore the
cabinet away with all its contents!
One evening at dinner Madame
@ described the pillaging of her
chateau; the whole place was in
shocking condition, bestial outrages
had been committed, the piano
scrubbed over with C h K
''Duetschland uber allies" a d
phrases that one does not repeat. ''
throughout alinner young Il
had been telling similar incidents
that had happened at his chateau
near Tervuereh; it had been occur
pied from the. beginningi sixty
thousand bottles of wine had been
taken, and those that they-the
Germans (when one says they in
Belgium it means the Germans
could not drink they had broken
and poured out the wine. He had
spoken of the fear of the soldiers,
how they would 'skulk behind trees
with guns, fearing to enter the
houses and how at night they would
not go out nor sleep in rooms
alone, so that when his brother
said:
Are you not afraid to go to sleep
at night?' he could answer:
"No. that is the safest time. they,
are afraid to go out at night.
After dinner old Count van der.
T read aloud a letter the Vicom-
tesse had received from young H,
in London. Young H--was much
disturbed by story 20 the effect
that he had criticized the Belgians
who had remained behind in their
land, and he begged the Vicomtesse
to circulate a denial, in which he
stated on his word of honor that
he had not said or~written any such
thing. .-.s~ ~ t- t.. :.-.
There was always much talk OF
those who had gone to England; the
governor general had just issued an
order that they were to return or be
heavily fined, and recall a pretty
woman saying one evening:
"AlI of those who have gone, have
gone because of fear, and all those
who come back, come back now be-
cause of their interests, and it is
Just as shameful to come back as to
have gone" e-
Another evening there was much
excitement because Nine r had
been ordered to be in her chateau
in the country the following day
to receive a visit from the, governor =
general, who was, looking for a
chateau for the summer; the poor
woman was afraid to go and more
afraid not to go. She had been to
the Pass Central to secure permits
sion to 20 to Holland, and there
had talked with Major Won der
NJ, who said that the German
officers whom she had known before
the war complained that she did
not notice them or recognize them
in the streets, and then. he asked
her why 1t was that the German
officers were not liked in Brussels!
To be seen speaking to German j.,
was enough to send, Belgian to
coventry: and when officers went
along the boulevarts in their strik-
ing colors, and their grey cloaks
D EREW Tn NEMN