The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-10-23

all the fiags could have been concealed
AS you pass through the towns and ham
let's the streets hil with cheering
throngs. Stop and your car 10 sur.
rounded by eager. happy faces ano
hands are outstretched by men ana
women anxious to pour out the tale OF
thankfulness for their deliverance.
In Bruges lives an English woman
Mrs. Cousins. widow of former Church
of England chaplain. When the war be-
gan she sent her daughters home, re-
naming to look after her property For
four years she had German under Of
flcers billeted at her house and had TO DO
practically all Of their work she
strives to speak gently and kindly OF
them. though one can see II II an ehort
'SThey were not bad" she says, lex
cept few Of them. Sopie were even
helpful. Yes, It's true they stole every
thing I had that could be carried away.
including my knives and forks"
Allowance was InsuMcient.
Others In Bruges told me what ter
rible time she had with the Germans,
though she would not speak Of these
things herself. The billetIng allowance
was not sufficient TO maintain her house
hold and she had extreme difficulty.
often, when the wea Their was wet and
cold she had no shoes, and now she has
been robbed OF all her possessions by
the berbarians whom she served and be-
friended and her lot 10 harder than ever.
I sincerely hope some kindly disposed
English or American reader Will get In
touch with Mrs Cousins, whose address
is Rue Hydromel, Bruges. and try TO
make UP. in part at least, what she suf-
fered for four years at the hands OF
civilizahon's enemies.
The northern Belgian front remained
absolutely stationary for four years. The
Belgian army made a wonderful front
line defensive system Of concrete and
sand bags facing the flooded area. and
here they held the Germans powerless
during the whole Of the four years Of
fghting. This line was repeatedly bat
tered by German shells and air bombs.
but 1t hold Arm against all assaults.
Beyond the trench line IL flooded
area, big, level lagoons with wide reed
beds and here and there long mud banks,
moor hens dotting the water and plovers
walls carrying across the wastes
Through all this desolation run Belgian
plank walks, along which the gallant
garrison passed daily to and from the
! advanced posts amid the ruin OF some
| abandoned farm or on an island In the
| watery wilderness. Beyond these out
| posts came more waste, and then the
German front line. with everywhere be-
tween great belts Of barbed wire.
Blockhouses Eight Feet Thick.
The German biockhouses beyond are
OF concrete, so thick that there 10 but
| little room inside. Some are intact
! Others. though eight feet thick, lay
shattered from direct hits by tremendous
shells. Back OF the German lines |:
every evidence OF the severity OF tho
Smelling to which the invaders were sub
iected. The roads are little more thar
shell torn tracks, with many signs OF at
tempts to make repairs.
| On all sides ia the litter OF war
Strewn all over the landscape and fire.
| ouently half buried in the mud one see.
skeletons OF vehicles In Incredible con
fusion, with trunks OF trees and beam
! from houses Piled up beside the road
are thousands Of concrete blocks, enough
to rebuild every farm house In the die
trict. all left by the Germans in thei
hurried flight. Piled up also are end
| less rolls of barbed wire and ammunition
J pcy OIu
Such villages as were here are non
existent. Places like Schoore. st. Pierr
and Carelle are gone, or are at best
| huddle OF stone and plaster. Nowher
is there one cubic yard OF earth no
bombarded. all being she'll torn. a vast
endless expanse OF alternate mound an
hollow the hollows filled with stangan
| water, the mounds covered with weed
and debris.
Beyond this battle SCARED area on
passes almost imperceptib,y into tn
region that lay beyond the range Of tn
Belgian guns. Here the road Is reall
p road. except that every bridge an
culvert was blown up by the German
IN their retreat Along the road ar
solid brick houses that had been use
as barracks by the Germans. The field
had been cultivated and the sugar bee
crop IL now being harvested. The Ian
is once more a land OF peace and onl
the German signs at the road crossing
exist to remind one of the invader
hand.
In the Houthulst forest, which is no,
region of stripped and shattered tire
trunks. there is ample evidence OF tn
enormous strength with which the Ger
mans held this country. Almost every
where are gun emplacements. for II wa
here that the enemy had great concer
trations Of artillery and many grea
howitzers. Many o: these latter lie haI
buried in the mud.