The Washington times., 1931-11-25
CHAPTER 80

q stuffed barn owl and a map
Of Europe. Outside the win
dows the clouds drive steadily
by, swift and low.
The map of Germany is col
ored in brown and green. I stop
before it. The frontiers are
Matched in red and make a GU
fious zigZag from top to bottom.
Cologne--Aachen. there are the
thin black lines marking the
railways; Herbesthal, Liege,
Brussels, Lille-I stand on tip
toe-Roubaix, Arras, Ostend-
Where is Mount KENNEL then?
1t isn't marked at all; but there
Is Langemarck, Ypres, Blk.
schoote, Staden. How small
they are on the map-tiny
points only, secluded, tiny
points-and yet how the heav'
ems. thundered and the earth
ragged there on the 31st Of July
when the big offensive began
and before nightfan we had
lost every officer.
I turn away and survey the
fair and dark heads bending
zealously over the words. Lima
and Larch. Strange-for them
those tiny points on the, map
will be no more than just so
much stuff to be learned--a
few new place names and a
number of dates to be memor-
tied by note in the history les
son--like the Seven Years War
or some battle against the
Romans.
A little Tom Thumb jumps
up in the, second row and
waves his notebook in the air.
He has done his 20 lines. I
go over. and point out that he
has made the bottom stroke
of the L a trifle too long. He
looks up at me so radiantly
with his liquid blue eyes that I
must drop my gaze a moment.
I go hastily to the blackboard
to write two more words with
another capital letter. Karl
and-T pause for a second, but
I can do no other, an invisible
hand guides the chalk-Mount
KENNEL.
Karl what is that?" I
ask.
The Answer
Every hand goes up. "A
man." shouts the little Tom
Thumb Of before.
And Mount Kemmel?" I
ask after a short pause, almost
choking.
Silence. At last a. little girl
puts UP her hand. "Out Of the
Bible" she says hesitatingly.
I look: at her a while. mo-"
I then say, that is not right.
You mean the Mount Of Olives.
or Lebanon, perhaps, do you?"
The girl mods, crestfallen.
I stroke her hair. Then we
shall write that this time. Le-
hanon is a very pretty word"
-Thoughtfully I resume my
patroling to and fro between
the benches. Now and again
I catch a searching glance
abo-e the edge of a copy book.
I stand still near the stove
and look at the young faceS~
Most of them are good-nautred
and ordinary, some are sly,
others stupid; but in a few
there is a flicker of something
brighter. For these life will
not be. so obvious and all
things will not go so smoothly.
Suddenly a great sense OF de-
spondency comes over me. 10
morrow we shall take the prep
ositions. I think to myself-and
next week we shall have a 'dic"
tation. In a years time you
will have by heart so ques-
tions from the Catechism: in
four years you will start the
larger multiplication tables.
And so you will grow up, and
time will take you in his pin
cers-one dumbly, another
savagely, or gently or shatter'
ingly. Each will have his own
destiny and thus or thus it
will overtake you. What help
shall I be to you then with my
the rivers Of Germany? Forty
Of your conjugations and enum-
Grafton Of all-forty different
lives standing behind you and
waiting How gladly would I
help you, if I could. But who
can really help another here?
Have I ever been able to help
Adolf Bethke.
The bell rings. The first les
son is over. .
Next day we don our swallow