Evening star., 1940-05-26

was but 20 years old. tall, slender,
dark, with cameo features; exactly
the type of beautiful princesses pic
tured in our childhood story books.
She sprang from the same stock as
Queen Wilhelmina of the Neither
lands.
Kaiser Wilhelm took cognizance
OF the change Of rulers in the little
duchy. He considered thoughtfully
that a marital alliance might benefit
a future marital solidity. Tactfully
he suggested as possible suitors sew
eral Of his blue -blooded subjects. But
Marie Adelaide evaded the issue, at
the same time whispering a mans
name in confidence to her sisters.
He was not German.
Two years passed. The Grand
Duchess reigned in peace and har-
mony loved by her loyal people.
There was apparently nothing to
mar the future.
But nearly a quarter of a century
previous, Count Alfred Won Schlief-
fen of the German Army laid plans
for an attack against France. In
effect, it was the maneuvering of 4
huge German Army swinging like
hinged door. Directly in its sweep
lay the grand duchy of Luxembourg,
as did Belgium.
At Gas pm, on August 3, 1914,
Germany declared war on France.
The plans formulated a quarter of a
century before were put into oper-
alton, and on the following morning
the solid points of the German Army
stabbed into Luxembourg.
The news came to Grand Duchess
Marie Adelaide. For a moment she
was stunned. Then hastily ordering
her carriage, she raced the 200 yards
of roadway leading from the royal
palace and thundered across the
bridge into the village of Colmar-
Berg.
Family Under Guard.
She had tiny eyes, and they
flashed in impotent fury as she de-
manded the immediate withdrawal
of the German horde. A Prussian
officer laughingly ordered her horses
seized and the ruler of Luxembourg
returned to the palace to be kept
under guard with her five sisters.
There could be no organized re-
sistance, but here and there a
sprinkling of patriots contested the
Germanic might. About 200 of them
were executed for their fervor. The
subjugation of Luxembourg was
complete.
In the latter part Of August, Won
Moltke established his headquarters
in little red schoolhouse in Luxem-
bourg City, the capital of the duchy.
Once more the Kaiser intimated
that Marie Adelaide should marry,
suggesting as most eligible Prince
Henry Of Bavaria. Again she re-
fused, this time with more hauteur
than before. She wanted no al
lance with the Germans. But some-
how, through coercion or otherwise,
announcement was soon made that
Princess Antoinette, 1S-year-old sis
ter of Marie Adelaide, was to marry
Crown Prince Rupprecht Of Bavaria,
commander of the German armies
on the Somme.
The populace of Luxembourg grew
sullen in hostile indignation. Rup-
precht was not popular and was
generally believed to be q man of
odious and vicious habits, whose
cruelty had driven his first wife to
suicide. The people openly accused
Marie Adelaide Of sacrificing her
young sister to the gods Of war.
As it developed, the good citizens
were correct in their prophecy. The
marriage turned out badly. The
elderly crown prince and his bride
existed in obscure poverty after the
war.
There were dark gatherings Of
patriots who famed the embers Of
their hatred against the Grand
Duchess. German secret agents
sought them out and slew them,
which only increased the belief OF
those that escaped that Marie Ade-
laide was allied with the Kaiser.
Sorrows Faced.
Then another sorrow shook her.
She learned that the young noble
man whose name she had whispered
to her sisters, but never divulged
publicly, had been killed in battle.
In the meantime the war went on,
year after year, battle after battle,
until that memorable November II,
1918. And all this time tiny Luxem-
bourg knew the steel-shod heel Of
the conqueror.
The morning Of November II
found our OUTFIT pressed hard
against the river, across from the
Town of Stenay. Our heated guns
stopped just short Of II o'clock and
we settled down to await develop
ments. Everything seemed 80 calm
and peaceful. We didn't know what
was happening in Luxembourg. In
fact, most of US had never heard
Of Luxembourg.