A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES ON 
 THE WAR 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/frenchwomansnoteOOpratrich 
 
A FRENCHWOMAN'S 
 NOTES ON THE WAR 
 
 BY 
 
 CLAIRE DE PRATZ 
 
 AUTHOR OF "FRANCE FROM WITHIN," ETC. 
 
 LONDON 
 CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LTD. 
 
 1916 
 

o 
 
 V\ 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 IS DEDICATED TO 
 
 LADY BUNTING 
 
 WITH -raiNDEB AFFECTION AND REGARD 
 
 344555 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 We who are now actually living through 
 the terrible hours of this Great War will 
 never be in complete and accurate posses- 
 sion of all its details. These will be truly 
 known only to the generations who come 
 after us, long after we have passed 
 away. . . . For we, of French race, who 
 will have suffered and endured every 
 anguished hour of the brutal invasion, and 
 will have felt it so poignantly in our hearts 
 and lives, will have Uved not only in too 
 close proximity to the war, but will have 
 been part of it ourselves, so that its influence 
 will have touched us too keenly for us to 
 be able to judge the diverse facts of it with 
 sufficient aloofness. 
 
 Those generations who come later will 
 alone be able to elucidate, to examine, and 
 to appreciate, those events which now so 
 dominate us that they confuse our judg- 
 
 vii 
 
viii FOREWORD 
 
 ment and alter the very quality of our 
 vision. Our descendants alone will possess 
 the entire truth, for the great epoch-making 
 events of history can only be judged im- 
 partially from a distance, and by those who 
 have taken no part in them. We, the 
 spectators of the drama, cannot adequately 
 appreciate facts, not being competent to 
 weigh dispassionately the motives which 
 caused them. 
 
 Also — let it be remarked — we, who are 
 the spectators of the greatest war that 
 history has ever known, possess but incom- 
 plete War news, greatly censored. The bare 
 official information yielded to us day by 
 day consists of separate items of news from 
 our immense battlefield, 500 miles long, 
 and these — as presented to us — appear to 
 be independent of one another, having no 
 apparent cohesion or interdetermination 
 between them. It is only occasionally — 
 indeed, very rarely — that some sentence in 
 a communique reveals to us, in a flash, some 
 general point of view. 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of all these adverse 
 conditions, which keep us in relative 
 ignorance of events, we, alone, throughout 
 
FOREWORD ix 
 
 history will be known as the Contem- 
 poraries of the Unique War, and it is 
 through the emotions we are now feeling 
 that we will communicate to the future 
 generations the tragic sense and meaning 
 of this great event ; for we alone shall have 
 experienced every moment of its agony, 
 having realized its immensity and fathomed 
 its depths. Even if we are unable to appre- 
 ciate the relative and intrinsic value of its 
 daily occurrences, they will have affected 
 us more deeply than if we had learnt of 
 them by hearsay. Ours will be the sad 
 privilege of impressing upon the coming 
 generations the calamitous bewilderment of 
 these awful hours, and the depth and 
 intensity of our present emotions will guide 
 the historians of the future. . . . Even 
 though the apeiyu of each of us may be 
 too limited to admit of a general survey, 
 yet it is the total sum of our present ex- 
 periences, sufferings, and fluctuating hopes 
 which will constitute our contribution to the 
 history of modern mankind. 
 
 Cl. de p. 
 
 Paris, 
 
 DecetnheVy 1914 — June, 1915. 
 
PART 1 
 
 PAGE 
 
 From the End of June to the End of 
 Sefiember, 1914 - - - 1 
 
 PART II 
 
 I. Why France was Unprepared for War 162 
 
 II. The Quality of the French Fighting 
 
 Spirit - - - - 185 
 
 III. The Influences of the War upon 
 
 National Character - - 208 
 
 IV. The Women's Part in the War - 263 
 
 XI 
 
A FKENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 ON THE WAR 
 
 PART I 
 
 DIARY FROM THE END OF JUNE TO THE 
 END OF SEPTEMBER, 1914 
 
 At the moment when the great and unex- 
 pected conflagration, which now dominates 
 Europe, broke out, I was staying in a tiny 
 fishing village on the northern Breton coast, 
 connected with the main line of Brest and 
 Paris by means of a small local railway. I 
 had left Paris on Saturday, June 27th, with 
 the intention of spending a quiet summer 
 in retreat to work at a novel I had just 
 begun. 
 
 But I seem to have arrived at the vil- 
 lage of P. B. just in time for the rise of 
 the curtain upon the prologue of the great 
 drama of the present war, for on Sunday, 
 
 1 
 
i^H^ FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 June 28th, at Sarajevo, in Servia, the Arch- 
 duke and Archduchess of Austria were 
 assassinated. And this event — so remote 
 from all thought of a general European war 
 — was yet to be made the basis of the flimsy- 
 pretext used by Austria to attack Servia, 
 and to lead to the general conflagration. 
 
 I was seated in the garden of a peaceful 
 little inn, overlooking the sea, in the early 
 afternoon of June 29th, when the news of 
 the crime of Sarajevo came to us. A chance 
 number of the Petit Parisien had been 
 brought into the village by a lady with 
 whom I was slightly acquainted, and who 
 was staying at the inn. It was after lunch, 
 and the empty coiFee cups had not yet 
 been cleared away from the small green 
 tables in the garden. The news had been 
 abruptly telegraphed from Vienna on the 
 evening of the 28th. Considering the late- 
 ness of the hour, and the immediate need 
 of printing the paper, the telegram had 
 merely been inserted, together with the 
 portraits of the victims, and it had been 
 possible to add but few comments. 
 
 When I look back across the space of a 
 few months, I cannot even yet understand 
 
ON THE WAR 3 
 
 what made me make the remark with which 
 I greeted the news. It must have been some 
 sort of a prophetic vision, some sudden 
 flash of clairvoyance, which urged me to 
 speak, but almost as I read out the news 
 over the shoulder of the lady who owned 
 the paper, I exclaimed : 
 
 ''This crime might help to make an 
 excuse for war !" 
 
 " How could that be ?" asked the lady ; 
 " I cannot see the slightest connection be- 
 tween a Franco-Prussian war and this purely 
 local crime." 
 
 "I admit that my remark must appear 
 absurd," I answered " and 1 cannot even 
 explain what prompted me to make it. 
 Yet I cannot help feeling that this is going 
 to be the beginning of a great disaster." 
 
 " But what grounds have you for saying 
 such a thing?" she insisted, evidently im- 
 pressed with my illogical explanation. 
 
 " I can give no reason ; I only feel 
 impelled to make such an assertion," I said. 
 
 But, even as I spoke, I perceived by 
 means of a special and rapid process in my 
 brain — too fugitive to analyse consciously — 
 that I had passed swiftly from one quick 
 
4 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 deduction to another, and had inferred that 
 the Archduke's immediate successor was 
 but little known in Europe. He was a 
 young and inexperienced boy, and, even 
 though he might be quite well-meaning, 
 he was so far unprepared for kingship, 
 being not yet trained to realize the heavy 
 responsibilities incumbent upon him. I 
 had therefore probably concluded — rightly 
 or wrongly — that the young Archduke 
 would be a dangerous successor to a better 
 prepared and more experienced man. 
 
 A month later my curious prophecy came 
 back to my mind, and though it never be- 
 came apparent that the influence of the new 
 Austrian heir was in any way responsible 
 for the outbreak of war, yet the fact 
 remained that Austria — with Germany at 
 the back of her — did seek, in a certain 
 measure, to make a pretext of the assassi- 
 nation at Sarajevo in order to explain her 
 unwarranted demands upon Servia. How- 
 ever, since the beginning of the war, and 
 since the production of the various Blue 
 Books, Yellow Books, etc., it has now been 
 realized how slight was the motive afforded 
 by the tragedy enacted on June 28th. 
 
ON THE WAR 5 
 
 A few days after this event I was installed 
 in a fisherman's cottage, which I had taken 
 for the season, a little way out of the village, 
 high up on the softly rolling downs domi- 
 nating the magic lace-work of fine and 
 delicate rocks that so picturesquely edges 
 the coastline of the country. 
 
 Opposite the cottage, on a neighbour- 
 ing hill above the sea-coast, stood a white 
 semaphore, which, with its mysterious poles, 
 movable triangles, and floating pennons, 
 looked like a huge skeleton ship, with 
 intricate masts bereft of their sails. It 
 stood clearly outlined against sky and sea, 
 and to the left of it, on the crest of the hill, 
 rose a high forest of pines, from the midst 
 of which emerged the roof of an old grey 
 manor-house. 
 
 My cottage consisted of two rooms. The 
 principal one was a very large living room, 
 with whitewashed walls, dry mud floor, and 
 a huge stone fireplace. There was a long, 
 narrow table set at right angles before the 
 window, flanked on either side by the 
 benches upon which Breton families sit 
 close, side by side, at their meals. There 
 was a huge coffer near the fireplace, where 
 
6 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the fuel — both coal and wood — was kept, 
 for one half of the wide hearth was occupied 
 by a modern kitchen stove, and the other 
 half was used for wood fires in connection 
 with a tripod. There were two fine wooden 
 bedsteads, each provided with white cur- 
 tains, a large square red eiderdown — 
 thoroughly modern bedsteads now so dear 
 to the Breton housewife, which have re- 
 placed the far more picturesque and 
 quaintly carved lits clos. There was also 
 a large double-doored armoire, which con- 
 tained many piles of snowy white linen ; 
 and, needless to say, this being the typi- 
 cal Breton cottage, the whitewashed walls 
 around were adorned with pictures of saints. 
 Crucifixions, and of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 Leading out of this room was the grand 
 bedroom of the establishment, which also 
 had a wooden bedstead with white curtains 
 and a red eiderdown. Similar curtains of 
 white dimity were at the windows, and the 
 walls were adorned with gold-framed en- 
 larged photographs of Marie-Louise I^e B. 
 — my landlady — in a fine new coiffe, and of 
 her husband, a sailor in the State Navy. 
 But the principal treasures in the room 
 
ON THE WAR 7 
 
 were a hideous wooden clock — probably 
 made in Germany! — and a fine Japanese 
 tea service locked up in a buffet with glass 
 doors, which Marie-Louise's husband had 
 brought back with him from one of his 
 journeys to the Far East. 
 
 I had made arrangements to have all 
 my meals at the inn, though I had rented 
 the cottage for the entire summer ; for here 
 I hoped to work in peace and quiet away 
 from the noise of the village. Marie-Louise 
 had arranged to come each day to do the 
 housework, bring in the water from the well 
 next door, and prepare my breakfast and 
 afternoon tea. Through my landlady I got 
 into touch with the lives of the peasants 
 and fisherfolk that lived around me, and 
 from them I learnt much concerning the 
 ways and methods of thought of the simple 
 God-fearing Breton people. During the 
 early days, when war was being problem- 
 atically discussed, it was both refreshing 
 and enlightening to listen to the talk of 
 the village people, and to note the calm, 
 simple manner in which they faced the 
 eventuality of a war in which most of the 
 men would be engaged, while the women 
 
8 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 would remain at home to do the work of 
 the men added to their own. 
 
 Marie-Louise Le B. herself was a remark- 
 able woman, quite typical of the Breton 
 race. She was the daughter of a small 
 farmer who owned a field, in the centre 
 of which he had built his house. He had 
 brought up his children on the produce 
 of this small piece of land. At his death 
 the small property had been sold, according 
 to French law, so that the proceeds might 
 be divided between his three daughters. 
 Each of these had married. Marie-Louise 
 had chosen a young sailor, but, as her hus- 
 band was often away at sea, the young 
 couple had lived together only during those 
 rare intervals when he was home upon 
 leave. Marie-Louise had therefore spent 
 the greater part of her married life alone 
 with the two children that had been born 
 of the marriage. All the more important 
 steps concerning her own existence and that 
 of her children she was forced to take upon 
 her own responsibility, because her husband 
 was always too far away to give her any 
 advice. It was she who had, therefore, de- 
 cided that she and her family would no 
 
ON THE WAR 9 
 
 longer live in a hired cottage. It would be 
 far better to own one's own house. There- 
 fore she would build one for herself, which 
 she would let furnished each summer season, 
 until she should have earned sufficient 
 money in rent to pay up the capital she 
 would have to borrow in order to buy her 
 new home. Having decided this, she there- 
 fore selected a piece of ground, purchased it, 
 called in a builder, and with him discussed 
 every detail concerning the building. The 
 sum required to pay for the land and the 
 cottage came to about 4,000 francs (£160), 
 a very large sum in the estimation of a 
 Breton peasant woman. Marie-Louise had 
 not sufficient money in hand, for her hus- 
 band's wages came only to a pound a week, 
 and she herself could make but very little 
 money with an occasional sale of vege- 
 tables from her garden or eggs from her 
 chickens, or by a few hours' service each 
 day in the villas of P. B. occupied during 
 the summer. 
 
 She therefore appealed to an elder sister, 
 who had married a rich farmer in Normandy, 
 and was willing to dispose of some capital at 
 a reasonable percentage. 
 
10 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 It was at this stage of proceedings that 
 she informed her husband of her intentions, 
 laying before him by letter her reasons for 
 building and her methods of payment, 
 which were the following : She would live 
 in the house all the year round with her 
 children except during the two summer 
 months, when she would go and stay with 
 an aunt near by. Her cottage would let 
 for eight or ten pounds a season, and thus 
 each year she would be able to pay off a 
 large portion of the borrowed sum with the 
 interest. 
 
 In writing to her husband, she did not 
 say, " May I do this ?" She said, " I intend 
 doing this." 
 
 The husband, however, evidently raised 
 no objection, so Marie - Louise built her 
 cottage and superintended all the details of 
 its erection with a scrutinizing and critical 
 eye. She had become accustomed, by the 
 enforced long absences of her husband, to 
 accept such grave responsibilities that she 
 had acquired a firm and self-reliant spirit, a 
 great belief in her own powers, and an 
 aggressive sense of independence. 
 
 Having made all my arrangements for the 
 
ON THE WAR 11 
 
 summer season, I set to work in my peaceful, 
 pleasant cottage to begin writing a new book. 
 But this was destined not to be finished — at 
 least, for the present — for soon real life be- 
 came so much more fascinating, so much 
 more enthralling, than imagined scenes and 
 destinies. I was to witness here the result 
 of a series of most momentous events, taking 
 place on the other side of France, but im- 
 printing their seal profoundly upon the old 
 and sturdy population of Brittany — as, in- 
 deed, upon all parts of France at that 
 moment — fusing their diverse spirits into 
 one great national spirit, and making France 
 at one with herself more completely, more 
 cohesively, than she has perhaps ever been 
 before at any moment of her history. These 
 mighty influences were disconcertingly rapid 
 in their manifestations, and those people 
 who were in France during the few por- 
 tentous days between July 25th and August 
 2nd, 1914, witnessed one of the most sudden 
 and complete upheavals of national character. 
 The diverse phases of this rapid upheaval 
 passed through the various and often con- 
 flicting emotions of consternation, revolt, 
 apprehension, anxiety, followed by a resolute 
 
12 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 acceptance of realities, and resulting in a 
 courageous resolve and fierce, inexorable 
 determination. And, however surprising it 
 may appear to superficial observers of 
 French character, these varied transitions 
 were passed through without exultation, 
 excitement, gesticulation, or useless rhetoric. 
 
 I was particularly fortunate to find myself 
 in this small corner of the Breton coast in 
 this auspicious moment, for here were gath- 
 ered together a mixed set of people which, 
 though restricted in numbers, might have 
 been considered as almost entirely repre- 
 sentative of the social elements that compose 
 the French nation, had there been any repre- 
 sentatives among them of the commercial or 
 industrial population. 
 
 The native population, besides a few old 
 aristocratic Breton families, were mainly 
 peasant proprietors, fishermen living on the 
 proceeds of their hauls, sailors — either retired 
 upon their pension or in actual State service, 
 and home upon leave — and a large contin- 
 gent of men in the merchant service. The 
 floating summer population was composed 
 of a certain number of rich families, living 
 in their chateaux or manor-houses during the 
 
ON THE WAR 13 
 
 summer months, of residents staying in 
 villas rented for the season, and particularly 
 of a large sprinkling of professional and 
 literary people — artists and political men — 
 most of whom had cottages or houses of 
 their own in the neighbourhood, although 
 many took villas for the season, or stayed 
 for a few weeks at the larger hotel. Among 
 the latter were two English families, friends 
 of mine, in whose company I had already 
 spent the summer- of the year before in this 
 same village. 
 
 I consider myself fortunate to have found 
 myself in such a community of varied in- 
 terests at such a time. It gave me a wider 
 scope both for analyzing and generalizing. 
 In Paris and in the larger towns we are 
 inclined to live in cliques or grooves, and to 
 exchange ideas only with those whose minds 
 are already well known to us because they 
 are similar to our own. But when staying 
 away from home we are apt to foregather 
 with all classes and conditions of people. 
 
 I knew the various elements which com- 
 posed this small community sufficiently well 
 to be able to enter completely into the lives 
 and minds of the friends of all classes whom 
 
14 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 I knew here, having spent three months in 
 this delightful spot during the summer of 
 1913. Indeed, some very old friends of 
 fifteen years' standing, composed of husband 
 and wife and three daughters, who had 
 settled here definitely some eight years 
 before, and made it their permanent home, 
 had put me into direct touch with the per- 
 manent residents and customary summer 
 visitors, as well as with the peasant popula- 
 tion, in whom, as ardent Socialists, they 
 were greatly interested. But there w^ere 
 other types of French thinkers here besides 
 my Socialist friends — others who stood for 
 the Radicals of French parliamentarism, 
 others for the intellectual bourgeoisie of 
 France, others for mere democracy ; while 
 the old Breton landlords of the country 
 around were Legitimists and Clericals of the 
 purest white banner. 
 
 Although there were no representatives 
 here of the working classes or business 
 urban classes, it would have been impossible 
 to find a locality more completely repre- 
 sentative of the conflicting ideals, each 
 equally sincere and respect - worthy, of 
 France in the first half of 1914. 
 
ON THE WAR 15 
 
 But after the breath of strong emotion 
 which followed the invasion of the Mother- 
 Country had passed over these various con- 
 flicting small groups, all differences were 
 forgotten, and there remained only one 
 large family of human beings, of French- 
 men, all united in the one great love of La 
 Patrie. If one examines this magic force, 
 which instantaneously ended all quarrels, as 
 the fierce rising sun instantaneously dis- 
 solves the thin snows that lie upon the 
 surface of the mountain-tops, one will find 
 that the origin of the impetus that united 
 all the people of France so spontaneously, 
 so unanimously, lay partly in the apprehen- 
 sion of actual invasion, for the awful memory 
 of 1870 was still ever living in the hearts 
 and minds of all Frenchmen, and partly in 
 the strong leaping together, hand in hand, 
 towards hope in the ideal of La Revanche, 
 
 A great effort of self-examination as well 
 as outward observation was required in order 
 to discern, in the midst of the rapid, kaleido- 
 scopic succession of events at this time, the 
 accompanying succession of emotions, revolts, 
 and passions, which they aroused, and which 
 eventually so influenced the French national 
 
16 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 character that it appeared almost entirely 
 transformed. 
 
 I will try to explain these processes as 
 they passed in my own mind. From what 
 1 am able to judge by repeated observations, 
 my own state of mind at this particular 
 moment entirely typified the state of mind 
 of the great majority of my compatriots. 
 
 The first event — as I have already said — 
 which first suggested to me thoughts of war 
 was the news of the assassination at Sarajevo 
 on June 28th. A curious yet prompt and 
 keen flash of clairvoyant foresight had led 
 me to believe that this event would be 
 transformed into some sort of an excuse for 
 hostilities. 
 
 The next event which troubled my spirit 
 took place on July 13th, when Senator Hum- 
 bert, of the Meuse department, made his 
 famous speech in the Senate House, fully 
 documented and supplied with incontrover- 
 tible facts, showing that, should war be sud- 
 denly declared, it would be found that the 
 French military authorities would not be 
 prepared. At that time, in all conversations 
 among my friends in the Breton village, 
 doubts were expressed — on all sides and 
 
ON THE WAR 17 
 
 by all kinds of people — as to the advisability 
 and opportuneness of the Senator's declara- 
 tions. Generally speaking, he was judged 
 unwise to have made public certain truths, 
 because such revelations were dangerous in 
 that they strengthened Germany's belief in 
 France's unpreparedness. 
 
 On July 20th M. Poincare made an official 
 visit to St. Petersburg, and the two allies, 
 France and Russia, exchanged the amenities 
 usual upon such occasions. 
 
 Meanwhile the Servian question was 
 growing serious. Not only were the older 
 and deeper differences between the two 
 countries still pending, but Austria had 
 made the Servian Government responsible 
 for the assassination at Sarajevo, and had 
 taken advantage of this crime — which she 
 imputed to Servia — to make humiliating 
 proposals to the smaller country. 
 
 On July 23rd, in spite of Servia's humble 
 attitude — which was probably advised by 
 England, France, and Russia — Austria sent 
 an ultimatum to Servia ! 
 
 To the amazement of all Europe, on July 
 25th Servia replied in humble acquiescence 
 with the outrageous and humiliating de- 
 
18 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 mands of Austria. Servia's submissive note 
 was officially handed in on July 25th, at 5.45 
 in the evening. Yet, notwithstanding this, 
 the Austrian Ambassador, Baron Giesl, at 
 6.30 p.m. — that is, three-quarters of an hour 
 later — sent in his reply (evidently prepared 
 beforehand), declaring that he did not accept 
 the Servian answer, and left Belgrade at 
 once. 
 
 Here it became clear to all that Austria 
 was acting under strong pressure, evidently 
 from Germany. But also it was known 
 that Russia would not allow Servia to be 
 treated with such contumely. In all con- 
 versations henceforth, it was apparent that 
 what was happening was not altogether a 
 mystery — that Russia, in helping to defend 
 Servia, would inevitably draw in her ally 
 France, perhaps even England, though this 
 was not yet sure. And Austria's mobili- 
 zation necessarily meant Germany's. The 
 actual hostilities between Austria and Servia 
 began on July 27th, and war was officially 
 declared on July 28th, though it appeared 
 evident that the Austrian military authori- 
 ties had been preparing long before the 25th 
 of the same month ! 
 
ON THE WAR 19 
 
 Meanwhile in Paris, the Caillaux case — 
 that trial of calumny and shame — was 
 progressing. It ended abruptly, being 
 brought to a rapid close by the strong 
 rumours of war that stirred the air. In a 
 confrontation between M. Bernstein, the 
 playwright, and M. Caillaux, it will be re- 
 membered that M. Bernstein exclaimed in 
 words to this effect : 
 
 *'I beg to remind M. Caillaux that, 
 if war is declared — as it probably will be 
 within the next few days (I personally shall 
 be mobilized on the fourth day) — that a man 
 goes to the war himself and shoots with his 
 own rifle ! He cannot send a woman there 
 to take his place !" 
 
 This was in allusion to what M. Bernstein 
 considered as M. Caillaux's responsibility 
 in the murder of M. Calmette by Mme. 
 Caillaux. 
 
 It is strange that this amazingly scanda- 
 lous case should have taken place just exactly 
 before the war. It was as if certain political 
 coteries of the French Republic — which, 
 alas ! were often the most powerful — had 
 reached their zenith of cynicism and lawless- 
 neiss at the precise moment when the soul of 
 
20 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 France was about to be regenerated ! It is 
 always darkest before dawn. . . . 
 
 It would appear clear now, by comparing 
 the various official documents since published 
 by the British, Russian, and German Govern- 
 ments, that Austria, had she been left to 
 herself, invited thereto by Russia, and pressed 
 by England, France, and Italy, would have 
 yielded and left Servia in peace once more. 
 But it is evident that the strong power from 
 behind Vienna was Berlin. It was thence 
 the true decision came. History can now 
 deal definitely with that fact. 
 
 On July 31st an ultimatum was addressed 
 to St. Petersburg — not by Austria, the 
 Power directly implicated — but by Ger- 
 many. This meant war irrevocably. From 
 various documents again compared, it ap- 
 pears clear that military operations had 
 been absolutely decided upon in a Council 
 held at Potsdam on the evening of July 29th. 
 Whether it was the direct wish of the Kaiser 
 himself, or whether it was the pressure put 
 upon him by the military authorities, which 
 carried his ultimate decision, is not yet 
 known. 
 
 On Wednesday, July 29th, I was sitting in 
 
ON THE WAR 21 
 
 the garden, in front of my cottage ; I could 
 do no work, for I was too much disturbed in 
 spirit. I had been down in the village, and 
 had spoken to various friends there — some 
 University professors, a famous and well- 
 known writer, and my English friends, two 
 entire families — who were staying at the 
 village hotel. Of course there had been but 
 one subject of conversation between us. 
 
 About two o'clock in the afternoon, two 
 peasant girls passed down the lane at the end 
 of my cottage garden. One of them held a 
 newspaper that had flown open. The two 
 children were laughing and talking, evidently 
 quite unconscious of what was printed in the 
 large headlines of the paper which one of 
 them held, and was probably about to deliver 
 at the house of some Parisian visitor to 
 P, B. As she passed my garden gate, I saw 
 that the paper she held, the Ouest-Eclair — 
 a local paper printed at Rennes during the 
 night, and containing the telegrams from 
 the evening Paris journals — bore headlines 
 in large letters, consisting of these words : 
 " Russia declares War upon Austria." 
 
 It seemed to me that in that moment 
 my heart stood still, for it was then that I 
 
22 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 was certain that my worst fears would be 
 realized, and that war would soon be declared 
 between France and Germany. I rushed 
 into the lane and begged the girl to lend me 
 the paper for one moment. I felt that I was 
 deathly pale, and the two children looked 
 at me with a frightened expression. I read 
 the telegrams hurriedly, and learnt that 
 hostilities were already in progress between 
 Austria and Servia, and that Russia, having 
 declared war upon Austria, was now pre- 
 paring to defend the smaller Slavonic 
 State I 
 
 This meant war for France, who was 
 bound to join Russia. But it seemed at 
 that moment almost incredible that a great 
 European conflict should result from so 
 small a cause. I could hardly analyze my 
 own deep emotion, and the nervous strain 
 which resulted in that anguished hour. . . . 
 
 I gave the newspaper back to the girl 
 with a trembling hand, and immediately 
 walked back into the village. I could remain 
 in my cottage no longer. I needed to talk 
 with somebody and to hear other opinions. 
 
 At first I ran down to the hotel, and 
 there I found my English friends somewhat 
 
ON THE WAR 23 
 
 affected by my alarm. But what amazed 
 me was that they did not seem personally 
 anxious. They did not appear to think 
 that war for France would inevitably follow 
 even yet, and considered it extremely im- 
 probable that in such circumstances England 
 would be implicated. In trying to convince 
 them, I am afraid that I only gave them 
 the impression still more deeply that I was 
 over-excited. Many French friends, too, 
 whom I met that day, considered my judg- 
 ment hasty, and refused to believe war 
 possible upon such grounds. Nevertheless, 
 conversations were, of course, warm upon 
 the subject, and there were the groups of 
 pessimists and optimists, fully characterized 
 even at that date. The only one whom I 
 found filled with the same quality of anxiety 
 as myself was a famous biologist of the 
 College de France, a man celebrated for his 
 scientific research throughout the world. 
 He felt convinced then, as I did, that in a 
 very few days Germany would invade France, 
 though both of us — at that time — believed 
 that the invasion would take place upon 
 our eastern frontier. There were several 
 well-known writers staying in P. B. at this 
 
24 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 date, among them a literary critic and a 
 poet who had their summer residences in 
 the village. I questioned them. The poet 
 was determined to remain resolutely opti- 
 mistic to the end ; the critic refused to give 
 any frank opinion, although he admitted 
 that the situation was extremely grave. I 
 asked him to give me some advice concern- 
 ing the advisability of my own immediate 
 return to Paris, but he would give me no 
 definite counsel. 
 
 After my walk through the village I went 
 back to my cottage, more disturbed than 
 ever in my mind. Yet I determined to 
 take strong practical measures in view of a 
 sudden outbreak of hostihties ; for many of 
 the material difficulties which cripple the 
 people of a nation in war time would in- 
 evitably assail me here in this remote 
 village, and perhaps keep me a prisoner with 
 very limited funds for an indefinite period. 
 The thought was not to be tolerated. And 
 now any delay might result in a financial 
 catastrophe. I therefore immediately wrote 
 a long letter to a Paris friend. In this 
 letter I enclosed a cheque for a fairly large 
 sum, drawn upon my Paris bank, begging 
 
ON THE WAR 25 
 
 her to cash it at once, and to keep the 
 money for me until I should send her further 
 directions. 1 was becoming more and more 
 convinced that hostilities would be declared 
 very shortly. I knew that, in the event of 
 war, the banks in Paris would stop the 
 payment of all cheques, and I wanted to 
 be sure not to be left stranded so far 
 from home without means of subsistence. 
 Although all the people who discussed war 
 agreed in saying war would be short, though 
 severe, I wished to protect myself even 
 against a probably long period of hostility. 
 So I made the cheque as large a one as 
 possible. Further events showed me how 
 wisely 1 had acted. 
 
 Two days later, on July 31st, I received 
 news from my friend acknowledging the 
 cheque which she had not yet cashed. In 
 her letter she remonstrated with me, and 
 insisted that it was absurd to fear war. 
 
 " I assure you," she wrote, " that you are 
 needlessly anxious. War is not as imminent 
 as you seem to imagine, and you will have 
 plenty of time to withdraw your money 
 yourself, without burdening me with the re- 
 sponsibiUty of it. If you saw Paris as it is 
 
26 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 now, so calm and so evidently unexpectant 
 of war, you would have no fear. Surely 
 you must be surrounded by people who in- 
 fluence you strangely, and I am astonished 
 that a woman of your character can be so ill 
 advised. You are probably living among a 
 set of very simple, ignorant people, who 
 allow themselves to be frightened by the 
 tone of the newspapers." 
 
 She herself had evidently quoted her 
 opinion from one of the most optimistic 
 papers, resolved not to spread a panic among 
 the people. Twenty-four hours later it was 
 impossible throughout France to find change 
 for a banknote of either one hundred or of 
 fifty francs. 
 
 I remember taking up my pen and writing 
 to her in rather an impatient mood: "My 
 dear, I asked you to do me a service which 
 I consider vitally important to me. I did 
 not ask you for any advice upon the subject. 
 Please cash my cheque at once directly you 
 receive this letter, whatever happens, what- 
 ever you may have to do, or whatever your 
 opinions may be. Let me implore you to 
 do the same for yourself, for in a few days, 
 or even hours, it may be too late. Then the 
 
ON THE WAR 27 
 
 banks will be closed,- and you will find your- 
 self stranded without any money, perhaps 
 for months." 
 
 So certain was I that I was right that I 
 backed up this note with a telegram urging 
 her to act immediately. I am mentioning 
 these facts in detail merely to show with 
 what incredible rapidity events followed one 
 another, and also because it is interesting to 
 note how much some people required waking 
 up before they could be made to realize that 
 hostilities were actually about to take place. 
 
 Fortunately, my friend immediately exe- 
 cuted the imperative and reiterated order 
 contained in my telegram. 
 
 A few days later I received from her a 
 contrite and regretful note, in which she 
 said : " How I wish I had done as you did — 
 and as you advised me to do at the time — 
 and had taken out my own money ! I can 
 get none now. One cannot even obtain 
 any change for banknotes, and, with a 
 hundred-franc note in one's pocket, one can 
 get nothing to eat !" 
 
 Meanwhile my English friends at the 
 hotel were enjoying their holiday, organizing 
 tea-parties upon the rocks, and probably 
 
28 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 finding me a most tiresome companion. In 
 extenuation of my constant references to 
 war, I explained to them what a war would 
 mean to me and to all France. In my own 
 family my three brothers and seven first 
 cousins would start out as combatants upon 
 the first and second days. Every single 
 French family without exception would 
 contribute soldiers to the war, and thus the 
 whole social and national life of the country 
 would be paralyzed or crippled. Commerce 
 and industry would come to a dead stop ; 
 artistic life in all its manifestations would 
 momentarily collapse, and all the horrors of 
 1870 would be known to us once more. 
 Though 1 had not witnessed the first 
 Franco-German War myself, I had been 
 bred and educated in the recital of all its 
 horrors, and, like every French man or 
 woman of my generation, I had fiery hopes 
 of La Revanche in my blood, though I had 
 never failed to realize what the price would 
 be. In my mind, in spite of my alarm for 
 my own people and all my friends, I felt a 
 leaping, exultant elation at the thought of 
 possible vengeance. 
 
 I tried to bring home to my English 
 
ON THE WAR 29 
 
 friends — so happily safe in their tight little 
 island — all that the invasion of one's country 
 could mean to a civilized human being. 
 And I think in the end I convinced them. 
 
 I remember saying to one of them, in 
 order to explain to him the present fervour 
 and excitement of my spirit : " You happy 
 English people, who live in an island, may 
 perhaps find it difficult to realize the point 
 of view of the people of France, whose 
 barriers are so frail and artificial. Here is 
 Germany — our bitterest, cruellest, most 
 envious foe — living on the other side of a 
 purely imaginary frontier. We have no 
 natural defence against the enemy, who can 
 invade us at any moment. We have but 
 the wall built up of the breasts of our 
 sturdy sons ! 
 
 " Do you realize what invasion means ? 
 Do you not realize what bombardment of 
 a town means ? Can you represent to your- 
 self the emotions of a man who sees the 
 home that he or his forefathers have built 
 up laboriously, which encloses and encom- 
 passes all his earthly and emotional treasures 
 — his home, his hearth, his wife, his family, 
 the temple where he prays, the room where 
 
30 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 he sleeps — all ruthlessly blown into atoms, 
 in the space of a moment, by a bitter 
 enemy ?" 
 
 I remember that my friend's very earnest 
 and thoughtful face clouded over with deep 
 reflection at my question. It was evident 
 that he was trying to take some lofty and 
 intellectual point of view before making any 
 answer. 
 
 In order to bring home to him the deep, 
 vibrant horror which such thoughts evoked 
 in my French soul — conscious of humiliation 
 known in the past — I said to him : " Try to 
 make a great effort of imagination; suppose, 
 for instance, that several German ships have 
 bombarded and destroyed Liverpool ?" 
 
 I was looking at my friend's face as I 
 spoke, and I saw a sudden wave of quiver- 
 ing emotion spread over it for a few seconds 
 — for just that infinitesimal space of time 
 which elapses before even the most practised 
 Englishman can rein in his emotion. In 
 that flash of time his face was suffused with 
 a glow of colour. Every feature was re- 
 laxed, as if suddenly released from an elastic 
 spring, but in that second I saw that my shot 
 had not missed its mark. He had under- 
 
ON THE WAR 31 
 
 stood my question now, and having realized 
 it he himself had felt, in imagination, that 
 instinctive tremor of revolt that a man feels 
 when he learns that his country has been 
 attacked. 
 
 It was that particular quality of revolt 
 bred from a sense of outrage, and alert with 
 a keen desire for revenge, which I saw on 
 my friend's face at that moment. It is that 
 same thirst for vengeance that now inspires 
 every French soldier and evokes his fighting 
 spirit. 
 
 At the moment I am writing (the bom- 
 bardment of Scarborough has just taken 
 place) one cannot yet tell to what extent 
 England may yet be roused ; but recent 
 events tend to show that the same elan 
 that has animated the whole French nation 
 from the first hour of the mobilization now 
 animates the English, though perhaps the 
 Frenchman's vigorous zest of hatred is still 
 more acute, because part of his country is 
 still under the heel of the oppressor, and 
 also because he remembers past humilia- 
 tions. The Englishman, happily for him, 
 has not experienced them. May he never 
 have occasion to suffer them ! 
 
32 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 A few moments after this conversation 
 several of the Enghsh party were accom- 
 panying me back to my cottage, and 
 discussions were still rife on the subject 
 of war. 
 
 Suddenly one of them asked me : 
 
 " If war is really to be declared in a few 
 days' time, as you believe to be so probable, 
 how do you think the whole French nation 
 will accept a declaration of war ? How will 
 the people about here — the peasant and 
 fisher folk — accept the news and receive 
 their marching orders ? Will they go off 
 willingly to the war, eagerly, joyfully, like 
 free men ? or will they merely go out to 
 fight because they are forced to be soldiers 
 — legally — under penalty of being shot if 
 they refuse ?" 
 
 " The French nation at large will march 
 to the front like a single man. Of that I'm 
 sure," I replied, " in spite of all their internal 
 differences of opinion. At present the entire 
 nation is as if stupefied with the new idea 
 so suddenly thrust before them, by unex- 
 pected events. They have received a sudden 
 shock, and, for the moment, can hardly 
 believe what has happened. But have no 
 
ON THE WAR 33 
 
 doubt, my friend : there will not be a 
 moment's hesitation ! The reality of war, 
 which had almost been forgotten during 
 long years, has suddenly reappeared before 
 them. To the present generation it had 
 only been apparent at times, and had dis- 
 appeared anew, to be forgotten once more in 
 the uprising tide and stress of life. 
 
 " Thus war scares have passed on. But 
 now the people are beginning to be con- 
 scious that they are faced by a reality. 
 The moment they fully realize what is 
 happening, the whole nation will rise up 
 spontaneously, like a single man, and rush 
 into war, conscious only of one thought — 
 La Revanclief At last ! Each French home, 
 rich or poor, whatever its own particular 
 creeds or ideals may be, will instantly send 
 forth its sons. No compulsion will be neces- 
 sary. It will be an eager, spontaneous gift 
 to La Patrie. 
 
 " But it will be more convincing to let 
 the people round here answer that question 
 for themselves," I continued. "Here are 
 two men coming towards us now, returning 
 from the village. Let us question them. We 
 will learn their opinion from themselves." 
 
 3 
 
34 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 The two men, brothers of a family of 
 seven, were young married men, who, with 
 their wives and children, lived in two cot- 
 tages side by side upon the moor. They 
 had three brothers, younger than themselves, 
 who had all done their military service, and 
 two sisters, married to sailors in the State 
 Navy. In case of war, the five brothers and 
 two brothers-in-law were due to start on 
 the first or second day of the mobiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 The elder of the two men, Jean, an 
 inscrit maritime, lived by his fishing. He 
 had just finished selling his daily haul in 
 the village, and carried an empty basket. 
 His brother, Yves, was a small farmer 
 who tilled his own land and lived upon its 
 produce. He had been tying up the oats 
 and barley in his field, and hoeing potatoes. 
 Over his shoulder he carried his field im- 
 plements. My friends and I nodded "Good- 
 evening " to the men. 
 
 "These are two of the peaceful inhabi- 
 tants of the country, whose opinions may 
 interest you," I said, addressing my English 
 friends. And I stopped the men. 
 
 " Well, mes enfaiits, what is your opinion ? ^ 
 
ON THE WAR 35 
 
 Is it to be war this time or not, do you 
 think ?" I asked. 
 
 It was the blue-eyed, curly-haired Jean, 
 the fisherman, who first replied : 
 
 "We none of us want war. We haven't 
 even been expecting it. The fellows down 
 in the harbour all say that, and God knows 
 it's true enough !" He turned to his 
 brother, as if asking for confirmation of his 
 words. Yves nodded a reply. 
 
 And Jean continued : " But if war is 
 forced upon us by the beastly Boches, or 
 if they make it so impossible for us that to 
 insist on peace would be a humiliation for 
 our country, then ' Allons-y done /' like a 
 single man. Our wives and children must 
 manage without us for a time, while we are 
 off to give the Germans a trouncing they 
 will not forget !" 
 
 " Yes," nodded his brother. 
 
 ** We will brag about it less than in 1870, 
 perhaps. We won't begin by crying out, 
 ' A Berlin /* But this time we'll get there !" 
 
 ** Surely it's our turn this time," put in 
 his brother, quietly. 
 
 "And you mean to say," asked one of 
 my English friends in his halting French, 
 
36 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 which, however, was perfectly comprehen- 
 sible to the two Bretons, " that if in a few 
 days Germany attacks France, and war is 
 declared, you all will be ready and willing 
 to leave your home and families, and your 
 crops, which are just coming in so well, 
 after you have worked so hard at them all 
 these months ? And you " — turning to the 
 fisherman — "will you be ready to abandon 
 your fishing at the very moment of the year 
 when it is the most lucrative, just when you 
 are earning food and clothing for your 
 family for the coming winter ?" 
 
 " Mais certainement^ inonsieur /" replied 
 Jean, the fisherman — ''mats certainement ! 
 II lefaut bien ! If anybody attacked your 
 mother, you would go and defend her, 
 wouldn't you ? The mother of all French 
 men, cest La Patrie /" 
 
 And both men remained silent, awaiting 
 any further questions that might be put to 
 them, but finding nothing further them- 
 selves to say upon the subject. 
 
 A few moments later they were trudging 
 up the hill towards their home. 
 
 *' These," I said, turning to my friends, 
 " symbolize the spirit of France at this 
 
ON THE WAR 37 
 
 hour. Nobody here has asked for war ; but 
 in each home the men are ready to start at 
 once and do their duty to the best of their 
 abihty." 
 
 The English party was silent for a few 
 moments. 
 
 " I like your Breton peasants better than 
 your Caillaux set," said one of the women 
 in the party suddenly. 
 
 " Thank Heaven," I answered fervently, 
 "that it is those who constitute by far 
 the larger number of the French nation ! 
 The Caillaux set is but an infinitesimal por- 
 tion of the whole, believe me. When all 
 France gathers around the flag, in a few days, 
 you will see that so negligible a quantity 
 will merge into the masses of the whole, 
 and will no more influence the national 
 spirit than a single drop of ink, spilt into 
 the sea out yonder, would change its colour." 
 
 I think that my English friends, who, 
 like so many other neighbours of France, 
 were misled by books and papers, which 
 give only a superficial explanation of the 
 French character, were inclined to dis- 
 believe me even then. But since that day 
 they have changed their opinion. 
 
38 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Later that same afternoon I called upon 
 a charming French lady, the wife of a well- 
 known writer, who owned the delightful old 
 manor-house, surrounded by pine woods on 
 the edge of the sea, close to the semaphore. 
 
 I found her engaged upon her maternal 
 duties, for, like the sweet French maman 
 she is, she was presiding over her children's 
 five o'clock tea, and helping their governess 
 to cover large slices of crumby Breton bread 
 with strawberry jam. The children, who 
 had been playing in the garden all the after- 
 noon, were chattering like gay and noisy 
 monkeys. The homely family sight some- 
 what soothed me. 
 
 " Papa is out in his boat sailing," volun- 
 teered one of the children. 
 
 " I came up to see you this afternoon," 
 I said to my friend, while the little ones 
 were quieted with bread and jam, " because 
 I feel so troubled and unhappy about this 
 coming war." 
 
 She looked at me with an amazed ex- 
 pression. 
 
 " The coming war ! You surely don't 
 think that ?" she exclaimed, as if the idea 
 had only just struck her. 
 
ON THE WAR 39 
 
 "Yes, I fear so," I said. "What does 
 your husband say ?" 
 
 " Oh, he doesn't say much about it. But 
 I don't think he fears war, really. Calm 
 yourself, my friend ; I think you are making 
 yourself unnecessarily unhappy." 
 
 But I insisted upon my fear, and remem- 
 ber saying to her : " But I can't help think- 
 ing of my brothers." 
 
 And then suddenly she, too, became 
 anxious. 
 
 " I should have three nephews going out, 
 and ever so many other relations," she 
 began reflectively. Then, suddenly check- 
 ing herself: "Oh, but I am sure there 
 won't be war." 
 
 She was so determined to be hopeful 
 herself that her optimism gained on me, 
 and I walked back to my hotel dinner in a 
 rather more peaceful spirit. For the young 
 governess had chimed in reassuringly, too. 
 She had also young male relations who 
 would start at once, for every French family 
 would contribute combatants. 
 
 When I returned to my cottage after 
 dinner, I found that Marie- Louise, my 
 sober-minded and capable landlady, had 
 
40 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 already come in, and by the light of the 
 oil-lamp was busy preparing my room and 
 arranging the cottage for the night. 
 
 She was a dark-browed, serious-looking 
 woman, tall and lean. She had a pale, 
 clear skin, softly tanned, and her features 
 were as severely regular as the profiles seen 
 on certain old Greek coins. Always dressed 
 in black, with a black apron, she wore, as 
 usual, the white- winged coiffe of her country. 
 She bowed to me as I entered, but did not 
 say a word. She proceeded with her work 
 in dignified and stern silence. 
 
 I did not speak, either, and apparently 
 became occupied with arranging the books 
 on my table. But meanwhile I was ob- 
 serving her. As she moved about the two 
 rooms, intent upon her simple duties, I 
 saw, though the expression of her features 
 was calm and unmoved, that she was weep- 
 ing. The heavy blistering tears that sprang 
 from a sorely stricken heart were coursing 
 slowly down her cheeks. There was some- 
 thing terribly and painfully sinister in the 
 attitude of this silent weeping woman, 
 whose hands performed their work so effi- 
 ciently, even though her heart was breaking, 
 
ON THE WAR 41 
 
 for she seemed to typify the womanhood of 
 France in this sad hour ! 
 
 I went close to her and put my arms 
 round her shoulders. 
 
 " Ah, Mademoiselle !" she replied, in 
 answer to my unspoken sympathy, " we are 
 going to have war now, that is sure. My 
 poor husband 1 I may be soon a widow, 
 left alone with my two little ones !" 
 
 Her sailor - husband was on duty just 
 off Toulon, on the Ernest- Renan, one of 
 our large Dreadnoughts of the Mediter- 
 ranean fleet. 
 
 And with what words could I comfort 
 her? 
 
 All through the morning of August 1 
 we waited expectantly for news, but none 
 came, for the postman was extremely late 
 on that particular day. We felt that events 
 were succeeding one another rapidly, and, 
 although we had no definite news, we 
 experienced the counter-shock of those 
 events in the varying emotions through 
 which we passed. 
 
 During the last few days, in our small 
 village, which represented a miniature pre- 
 
42 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 sentment of France herself, we had known 
 periods of astonishment, consternation, re- 
 volt, alarm, and anxiety, each accompanied 
 by an enervating impression of uncertainty 
 and vagueness. Finally we had reached a 
 state of desperation which led us to feel that 
 anything would be preferable to the be- 
 wilderment running through all the other 
 emotions, and to escape from the horrible 
 feeling of suspense even the most peaceful 
 of us had actually begun to wish for war. 
 We were even conscious that if the alter- 
 native, at this eleventh hour, were to be 
 peace, and not war, we should be rather 
 disappointed than otherwise. Indeed, we 
 wanted war now, and were anxious to know 
 that mobilization would be decided upon. 
 
 The minds of all in the small village were 
 entirely occupied by speculations upon the 
 actual opening of hostilities, and were alter- 
 natively swayed by hopes and misgivings 
 concerning the decisions of the Govern- 
 ment. Would it decide to mobilize, or 
 would it still temporize ? On the one hand, 
 mobilization would put a sudden and aggres- 
 sive termination to any possible diplomatic 
 settlement of the situation, but, on the 
 
ON THE WAR 43 
 
 other, it would have the inestimable ad- 
 vantage of ending the perplexing dilemma. 
 For uncertainty always seems more difficult 
 to bear than the certainty, even, of a great 
 disaster. 
 
 Evidently the French Government was 
 now beginning to realize that secretly Ger- 
 many had long been alert and prepared, 
 and that France would be attacked before 
 she was ready. We went through hours of 
 poignant anguish, and events and emotions 
 progressed so quickly that, long before the 
 mobilization was made known, the general 
 feeling was that anything would be better 
 than the present state of anxiety. 
 
 In all the various communes around, orders 
 had already been sent out by the Mayors 
 informing the inhabitants that they must 
 hold ready all motors, carriages, carts, and 
 horses, likely to be commandeered, which 
 therefore had to be declared at each Mai?ie, 
 These orders had been complied with two 
 days before. At the same time, nearly all 
 the villas were being emptied. Hundreds 
 of visitors at the bathing -stations along 
 the coast had already left for Paris ; for 
 it was well understood that as soon as 
 
44 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 general mobilization was decreed women 
 and children would not be allowed in 
 the trains, all railways being immediately 
 and inevitably placed under the control of 
 military law and reserved for combatants 
 only. Many families who had taken villas 
 for the season, and who had paid but half 
 their rent— in the locality it is customary to 
 pay half upon entering and the other half at 
 the end of the stay —had left all their luggage 
 and belongings in forfeit, and had departed 
 abruptly with only the clothes they wore 
 and the smaller handbags. 
 
 But in some cases the mothers of families 
 of young children who thought it more 
 prudent to remain away from Paris, not 
 knowing what might happen, took measures 
 to prolong their stay in the country or 
 at the sea, while fathers, husbands, and 
 brothers, were away at the front. Most 
 families, however, were confident that the 
 war would soon be over, and that in the 
 autumn at latest all Parisians would be able 
 to return to their town residences. 
 
 An amusing story is told of two ladies 
 who left P. B. precipitately in their bathing 
 dresses, still wet with sea-water, and merely 
 
ON THE WAR 45 
 
 covered with their cloaks. Even their bath- 
 ing headdress had not been removed. It 
 appears they had not been told about the 
 mobilization until very late, and were enjoy- 
 ing a swim in the sea half an hour before the 
 last train available for women travellers left 
 the small local station, so they were obliged 
 to go just as they were or remain behind 
 until after the mobilization. During the 
 rare moments in which I had time to 
 speculate on such frivolities, I wondered 
 whether they did not catch severe colds ! 
 
 At the midday meal in the hotel it was 
 evident, in all the conversations which I 
 heard, that the minds of people had gradu- 
 ally moved with incredible rapidity towards 
 the conviction that war was now inevitable, 
 and few believed that matters would be 
 arranged diplomatically. I remember asking 
 myself if, at the price of our present emo- 
 tions, peace would be worth having, and 
 even whether hopes of peace would not now 
 revolt me more than hopes of war. 
 
 For, upon analyzing the condition of 
 mind that had always existed in France 
 since the beginning of my own life, I 
 asked myself if I had ever known what 
 
46 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 peace truly was. Those of my generation 
 had always lived in a state of constant 
 endurance and constraint, as if in apprehen- 
 sion of having to measure disproportioned 
 forces with those of our enemy on the other 
 side of the frontier. 
 
 This could not be considered a state of 
 true peace. It certainly was not the whole- 
 some, fruitful tranquillity of a nation going 
 about its business and attending hopefully 
 to its personal and intimate affairs. It was 
 a condition of perplexed unrest and alert 
 alarm. We had experienced war scares 
 before to-day, but this time the entire 
 nation felt that, whatever the coming war 
 might be, it would at least do away, once 
 and for all, with that intolerable state of 
 mind that had dominated us all too long. 
 
 I realized intensely in these hours that 
 such a quality of peace necessarily demanded 
 a moral and spiritual subservience which the 
 French nation would tolerate no longer, and 
 I felt, as probably nearly all French people 
 of my generation were feeling, that once 
 and for all the particular attitude of mind 
 which had formerly held us was now altered. 
 It was then that I, who had hitherto be- 
 
ON THE WAR 47 
 
 lieved myself to be pre-eminently a pacifist 
 and a humanitarian, suddenly understood 
 that all my most cherished intellectual con- 
 victions were being ruthlessly swept away 
 by the instinctive uprising tide of my sense 
 of "national honour," and, to my rather 
 childlike amazement, that sense had sud- 
 denly and instantaneously annihilated all 
 the strongest of my mental convictions. 
 
 Few among us indeed were ready for this 
 sudden upheaval of our own souls, for few of 
 us had perceived what was about to happen. 
 In the provinces, in all the larger towns, 
 among the factory and field workers, in 
 most of the liberal professions, diligent 
 French folk were intent upon their work 
 in perfect security, little dreaming that 
 meanwhile our enemies and neighbours 
 were laboriously preparing. The Press had 
 explained those political situations which 
 might have enlightened the public — but in- 
 sufficiently, so that the mass of the people 
 were ignorant of the true state of affairs. 
 And it is a strange fact, though a true one, 
 that the ordinary conventional French mind 
 does not appear to conceive that which is un- 
 usual, or to hope for any fate that is not 
 
48 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 moderate and uneventful. Even though the 
 hidden soul of the people is so heroic, the 
 people themselves rarely expect great and 
 heroic events. The French had gradually 
 acquired the habit of alluding to war in con- 
 versation rather as mere argument or as a case 
 in point than as an immediate or even pos- 
 sible reality. Even at this eleventh hour 
 there were still people to be found trying 
 to soothe their friends' anxiety by saying : 
 " Oh, matters will surely be diplomatically 
 arranged. Mobilization does not necessarily 
 mean war. There have been instances when 
 a country has mobilized its troops merely as 
 a threat." 
 
 With the exception of the military con- 
 tingent of the nation, whose duty it is to live 
 in expectation of war, and of a few travelled 
 people, whose minds were prepared for the 
 idea of a coming struggle by the foreign 
 books and newspapers they read, the mass of 
 the people, including the governing classes 
 and the heads of the great State depart- 
 ments, were brought to within a week 
 of the event without having realized its 
 proximity. I'his attitude proved an incom- 
 prehensible, and certainly reprehensible, in- 
 
ON THE WAR 49 
 
 nocence in so old and logical a nation. Ytit 
 events have proved that its inner heart, in 
 spite of all appearances, was well prepared 
 for any disastrous destiny. 
 
 Meanwhile, though totally unconscious 
 of the fact, the nation was being keenly 
 measured, studied, watched, by the wily 
 enemy, with a view to its ultimate ex- 
 termination. Yet we cannot say that we 
 were e7itirely ignorant of the fact, for we 
 had been fully warned. But we had refused 
 to believe that our country was under- 
 mined and sapped through and through by 
 the enemy's spy system, and that even in 
 time of peace an advance guard was 
 established within our walls, which having 
 assumed a disguise of friendliness concealed 
 its preparation for murder. 
 
 The repeated denunciations of some of 
 our Nationalist writers, which some of us 
 considered fanatic, were only too true ; yet 
 we disregarded them, and thus were delivered 
 into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of their secret snares, 
 we yet remained to them as a closed book. 
 They misjudged us completely, for even the 
 best trained spy cannot spy upon souls. 
 
50 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Their numerous cunning and well-paid body 
 of informers (we have now learned that the 
 pay of an ordinary spy was thirty shillings 
 a week, and the work interfered in no 
 way with ordinary occupations) knew every- 
 thing concerning our material affairs — in- 
 deed, often more thoroughly and in detail 
 than ourselves. But it would have required 
 a finer quality of discrimination than they 
 possessed to be able to judge the moral 
 worth and the hidden qualities of so proud a 
 nation. It was comparatively easy to ascer- 
 tain the names and addresses, as well as 
 information concerning the circumstances, of 
 their prey ; but it was more difficult to 
 measure the probable reactions of French 
 national character as well as its immaterial 
 demands. They might compute to a pound 
 what quantities of coal, of fodder, of sugar, 
 might be hidden away in our houses, but they 
 could not estimate what our national reserves 
 of energy might be. So far as such insight 
 was concerned, their meanest spies, as well 
 as their most brilliant Ambassadors, were 
 completely misled. A finer perception than 
 can be dreamt of in all the German " kultur " 
 would have been necessary for that. 
 
ON THE WAR 51 
 
 Yet, in spite of the non-prevision of 
 the Government in the hour of awakening, 
 most State departments were admirably 
 managed, and the mobihzation was so 
 deftly executed as to amaze all France's 
 friends and neighbours. For non - pre- 
 vision, which is a want of political fore- 
 sight, does not necessarily mean non-prepa- 
 ration, which is a want of administrative 
 foresight. And although the great State 
 administrations which perform the practical 
 management of the country are nominally 
 under the control of the Government, they 
 are more stable and longer-lived, and their 
 work more durable and reliable. Thus, 
 as soon as hostilities were apparently 
 about to begin, these State administra- 
 tions set to work almost automatically. 
 Orders were given in all directions, and 
 general mobilization was achieved with 
 admirable discipline and in perfect me- 
 chanical progression which amazed, not 
 only outsiders, but the mass of French 
 people themselves. The transport of field 
 artillery, the commissariat department, 
 the commandeering of conveyances, etc., 
 operated almost perfunctorily. One was 
 
52 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 astonished, when the time came, to see 
 how efficiently all these departments were 
 conducted. To be fair to the Governmental 
 authorities — if hitherto they had been too 
 prone to mere talk — their prudence sud- 
 denly awoke with strenuous events, and 
 became equal to the occasion. If they had 
 not foreseen^ at least, once brought face to 
 face with the emergency, they organized 
 everything with rapid proficiency, and were 
 the first to give the example of the quick 
 adaptability to circumstances which was 
 shown throughout the whole nation at 
 this juncture. Almost instantaneously ur- 
 gent measures were taken to avoid any 
 possibility of panic, riot, or revolt. The 
 danger, too, that might arise from the 
 appointment of military leaders by favour 
 was foreseen at once, and imperative orders 
 were given to prevent anarchy among those 
 in authority. Indeed, almost as soon as the 
 danger became apparent, every effort was 
 made to obviate it. 
 
 It was about four o'clock on Saturday 
 afternoon, August 1st, 1914. Shall I ever 
 forget the emotion of that hour and that 
 
ON THE WAR 53 
 
 date ? 1 was sitting at my writing-table 
 before the open window of my cottage, 
 trying in vain to collect a few scattered 
 thoughts and to continue the story I had 
 been engaged in writing. It was a beau- 
 tiful day. The sun was shining brightly, 
 and the air was soft and balmy, though 
 crisp, being blown inwards from over the 
 open sea. Suddenly I heard myself called 
 from the lane that ran past my garden : 
 
 " Mademoiselle I Mademoiselle ! Voyez ! 
 Voyez r 
 
 I looked up, and just outside my gate 
 there was a sailor standing — a blue-eyed 
 and curly-haired young fellow whom I knew 
 well, and who treated me as a friend, as did 
 all the good folk of the moor above the sea. 
 He was accompanied by his two little girls, 
 tiny toddlers whose small golden heads 
 " sunning over with curls " were the image 
 of their father's. They stood on either side 
 of him, and, like him, each carried a large 
 empty basket ; for the trio were going down 
 to the beach to gather in a local kind of sea- 
 weed which, after being dried in the sun, 
 would be used as fuel by the family in the 
 winter. 
 
54 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 " Voyez / . . ." he called again, and 
 pointed in the direction of the semaphore 
 which stood on the sloping hill just opposite 
 to my cottage. My gaze followed the direc- 
 tion of his hand, but it was a few moments 
 before I truly understood what I was look- 
 ing at. Then it seemed that my heart had 
 suddenly stopped beating. . . . 
 
 For there before me three pennons were 
 slowly being hoisted up the flagstaff — three 
 pennons of which I knew the portentous 
 significance, for the signals had been ex- 
 plained to me several times during the last 
 few days. Three pointed pennons, hori- 
 zontally set, red, yellow, and red, as if 
 to symbolize : Blood, Fire, and Blood ! This 
 was the order for the general mobiliza- 
 tion of all the youngest, finest, strongest, 
 most able-bodied men of France ! 
 
 I looked at the sailor, but could not utter 
 a word. He, too, was speechless. Evidently 
 we both felt that words would have been 
 unable to express all that we experienced in 
 that moment. The little girls stood silent 
 by their father's side, with the strange awed 
 gaze of children perplexed by the inexplic- 
 able emotions of their elders. Then suddenly 
 the man said, as if greatly relieved : 
 
ON THE WAR 55 
 
 " Alors, fa y est / . . ." 
 
 " Oui , , , fa y est / . . ." I echoed more 
 slowly. 
 
 " Eh bien / . . . Cest entendu /" and, nod- 
 ding good-bye to me, he picked up his 
 basket and proceeded on his way towards 
 the beach. 
 
 For although he had just received the 
 urgent summons of his country, and to- 
 morrow morning, with all the others, he 
 would start out to obey the sacred call, 
 his work to - day must be done. The 
 fuel for the winter must be gathered in. 
 His wife, doubtless, would learn the news 
 at her work at the village lavoir^ and would 
 return in good time so that, after the 
 evening meal, she could get everything ready 
 for his early start. 
 
 He made no comment, lost no time in 
 useless remarks. He knew what his duty 
 was. He was prepared to fulfil it without 
 the slightest question. But the work in 
 hand must be proceeded with nevertheless. 
 So he turned, and, followed by his won- 
 dering children, soon disappeared from my 
 sight. 
 
 It was only afterwards that I thought of 
 his fine, simple manner on learning the 
 
56 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 news. He would start on the morrow, 
 perhaps never to return. His quiet courage 
 was typical of all his race. 
 
 Meanwhile I felt as if stunned, and there 
 was no conscious thought in my mind ; for 
 the news so ardently expected was Uke the 
 blow which stuns one when, after having 
 watched long beside the deathbed of a 
 beloved friend, Death at last arrives. . . . 
 
 Of course mobilization meant war. There 
 was not the slightest doubt about that in 
 my mind, in spite of the specious optimism 
 of some of my friends. I remember catch- 
 ing up my field-glasses, which lay on the 
 table before me, and, carefully following all 
 tne details of the hoisting, I watched the red 
 flames of war being run up on each side of 
 the yellow flag. The order of their relative 
 positions indicated the class of combatants 
 to go out first. A few days later that order 
 would be altered to indicate the calling out 
 of older classes. 
 
 So here it was definitely settled at last — 
 this great question which had been agitating 
 us all so terribly during the last few days. 
 This was the signal all France was fearing, 
 expecting, hoping. Though I had been 
 
ON THE WAR 57 
 
 awaiting it so anxiously, yet it was a shock. 
 But in this case it was a shock that held in 
 it an element, not only of release from 
 suspense, but a sort of exultation ; for the 
 manifest reality immediately dispersed all 
 lingering, festering doubt. It cleared the 
 atmosphere of heart and brain, and filled 
 the soul with a sudden, healthy, clean 
 certainty. . . . 
 
 For two or three moments still I felt 
 myself speechless — not so much with 
 surprise as with emotion. There is a 
 potent strength in the knowledge that a 
 disaster has been definitely decided upon. 
 All speculation was now at an end, and at 
 last it had come — this event I had so 
 ardently dreaded all my life, with all the 
 strength of my heart as well as the strength 
 of my brain, and yet which now I as 
 ardently desired. 
 
 The excitement that stirred me was 
 almost unbearable. I could no longer 
 remain quiet or be alone. I longed to 
 speak with fellow human beings, and to 
 share the great emotions I was now expe- 
 riencing with others who would feel as I 
 felt. . . . Although I was incapable of 
 
58 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 realizing it at that time, I had become a 
 living part of the great soul of my nation. 
 I no longer possessed an individual soul, for 
 a widened, immense spirit dwelt within me, 
 which I shared with others of my race and 
 blood. 
 
 I set out for the village without a hat, 
 leaving my cottage door open, and flew 
 down the hill, impelled by a force stronger 
 than myself. A deep and poignant agita- 
 tion held me, and my heart beat fast. 
 However, I was in a state that was incapable 
 of any analysis, for it is only possible to 
 analyze deep feeling after it has passed. . . . 
 The very process of introspection, being an 
 intellectual process, dispels the emotion 
 itself, which is in the passion of the blood. 
 
 But I understood later that the pro- 
 found upheaval of feeling which personally 
 I had undergone in those tragic moments 
 was precisely the same as that which 
 dominated the soul of thousands of my 
 compatriots too. From the highest and the 
 most consciously introspective, to the lowest, 
 most unconscious, and least introspective, 
 the whole French nation was undergoing 
 the same transformation ; and it was pre- 
 
ON THE WAR 59 
 
 cisely because all were passing through that 
 fervent experience of emotion together, in 
 the selfsame hour, that simultaneously all 
 sense of differences, mental convictions, and 
 individual theories, were immediately an- 
 nihilated. All the men and women of France 
 together felt that power which gripped hearts 
 more fiercely than any intellectual convic- 
 tion. And such was its force that instan- 
 taneously the old national spirit of France 
 was thereby completely reawakened. 
 
 I say "reawakened," advisedly, and not 
 "changed." The qualities and character- 
 istics which came uppermost in that great 
 moment of passion and realization had lain 
 dormant in French hearts for many years. 
 There had been no occasion to manifest 
 them within recent times. But they had 
 ever been there ; they were fundamentally 
 the racial proclivities which had distin- 
 guished the French people through all the 
 generations of their history. Above all, 
 they typified an old race. They were not 
 new, and they changed nothing in the in- 
 trinsic national character. 
 
 But primitive and uncontrollable emotion, 
 once re-arisen, dominates all those other 
 
60 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 emotions based upon pure reason and bred 
 only in the brain. 
 
 Yes, higher still than all ideals, than all 
 mentally bred convictions, is the instinctive 
 inborn love leaping in the blood, which is 
 
 "L' amour sacr^ de la Patrie!" 
 
 Race and nationality have deeper mean- 
 ings than even the intelligence of man can 
 compass. The instincts of the blood are 
 stronger than those of brain and under- 
 standing, and cannot be controlled by 
 them. 
 
 Hitherto I had believed the love of 
 humanity to be even higher than the love of 
 one's native land. But in this moment I 
 knew that the contrary was the truth. 
 
 Mixed up and conflicting with more con- 
 scious thoughts that strove for supremacy, 
 these simple, passionate emotions held me as 
 I ran down the hill into the village on that 
 memorable day ; and, strangely enough, I 
 thought not so much of those near and dear 
 ones of my own family who would be called 
 out to face death on the morrow, as I thought 
 of the wider family, which was La Patrie ! 
 I felt myself so completely a part of my 
 
ON THE WAR 61 
 
 own land — more than a part, even — La 
 Patiie — Herself! And not only Herself 
 now, in the present, but in all that she 
 had ever been before throughout History, 
 in the past. Herself in my own dead 
 parents ... in my own dead ancestors, Her- 
 self — the nation and the race completely in 
 my own blood I 
 
 It is only the more ancient races that can 
 feel thus, those veteran races of the world 
 who have made History. The English and 
 French alone — as the oldest constituted 
 nations of Europe — can feel all that tradi- 
 tion means. And even when we, the 
 defenders of modern thought, laugh at its 
 forces and scorn them intellectually, we 
 know them to be part of the souls of even 
 the most humble of us all, and we are forced 
 to admit that they rise within us and domi- 
 nate us all completely in such hours as 
 these. 
 
 On my way, as T rushed into the village, 
 I met many people, peasants and visitors to 
 P. B., who all, like myself, were strangely 
 and deeply agitated, though they neither 
 spoke nor gesticulated. A few wished me 
 
62 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 good-day, with that quiet, solemn, hushed 
 expression that we all assume when we 
 speak in a death-chamber, because we all 
 share the same great emotion in the presence 
 of Death. In truth we were in the presence 
 of death (though we did not know it), for 
 the old soul, the more superficial soul, of 
 France, had just died, and the deeper, older 
 one had re-arisen once more. . . . 
 
 The first house I reached was that of 
 Professor G. I had seen him that morn- 
 ing in the house of Mr. L. B., the well- 
 known poet. He had burst in upon a 
 literary conversation with the Temps in his 
 hand, and, white as death, had read us 
 the leading article which had appeared the 
 evening before, and which had taken a true 
 view of the situation : admitting that it was 
 very serious. I therefore expected that he 
 would be quite prepared for my news now. 
 
 When I asked to see him, he came out 
 with his wife into the garden to meet me. 
 There was a travelling- case in the hall, 
 which seemed to me to be ready for a 
 journey, and the thought flew into my 
 mind that he was only waiting for some 
 definite information to start back for Paris 
 
ON THE WAR 63 
 
 at once. As he came towards me, I said : 
 " So you know the news ?" 
 
 To my amazement, he looked surprised, 
 and asked : " What news ?" 
 
 I repeated the words of the fisherman : 
 " Eh bien ! pa y est /" 
 
 Yet he did not understand me, for he 
 asked : " What do you mean, Made- 
 moiselle ?" 
 
 I said : " La mobilisation / . . . La 
 Guerre / . . ." 
 
 He understood then, and every drop of 
 blood seemed to recede from his face. He 
 was a white-haired old man, and had a 
 pointed grey beard ; and I remember noting 
 the cadaverous pallor of his cheeks, that 
 contrasted with the white and grey of his 
 locks. He looked at me again in astonish- 
 ment, as if stunned, and exclaimed : ** Pas 
 possible r 
 
 It seemed amazing that a man already 
 so prepared and so alertly awake for news 
 should be suddenly so incredulous and so 
 astonished at the information I brought him. 
 Understanding his emotion, however, I put 
 my hand upon his shoulder, and said : " Come 
 out on to the road and look at the sema- 
 
64 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 phore." His wife, who had stood by while 
 we were speaking, ran in to fetch a field- 
 glass. As soon as he saw the semaphore 
 pole he knew that mobilization throughout 
 France was now ordered, and his face became, 
 if possible, a shade whiter than before. 
 
 " I shall leave to-night for Paris," he 
 said, without the slightest hesitation or 
 reflection. " I am no longer a young man, 
 but I may be of some service to my country 
 even yet. Though I took my medical de- 
 grees many years ago, I have never prac- 
 tised. But I may be of some use under the 
 orders of some doctor, in an ambulance or 
 hospital." 
 
 I may mention that, though the most 
 modest of men, the Professor's reputation is 
 world-wide. But at this hour spontaneous 
 service was offered by great and small alike. 
 
 '' I will return to Paris with you, of 
 course," said his wife. 
 
 ** You might stay on here, my dear," he 
 suggested. 
 
 " No, no, I will not leave you I" 
 
 Mme. G. went in at once to begin her 
 preparations for immediate departure, and 
 her husband remarked to me : 
 
ON THE WAR 65 
 
 "There will be a terrible rush at the 
 railway to-night. I must try to get a 
 motor ; I hope that I may find one that 
 will take us all the way to Paris, for to- 
 morrow my wife will not be allowed to 
 enter a train." 
 
 I left them, and later in the evening I 
 learnt that they had hurriedly packed the 
 dressing-case 1 had seen, and had left every- 
 thing else in the cottage they had taken for 
 the season, travelling to Paris by motor. 
 
 As I neared the hotel I met other people on 
 my way. All spoke of the mobilization, for 
 all had now read the message of the floating 
 pennons. I was amazed at the quiet reserve 
 and discipline which reigned everywhere. 
 There were no raised voices, no gesticula- 
 tions, no cries. Strangely enough, during 
 these and during all the following days the 
 '' Marseillaise " was heard almost nowhere. 
 Everywhere, when crowds gathered, they 
 were silent, though, in case of necessity, 
 orders had been given that large gatherings 
 of many persons should be dispersed imme- 
 diately. Walking along the road at the 
 top of the beach, I heard the tocsin being 
 rung at the little grey church nestling 
 
66 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 among the downs, and flanked by its high 
 calvary cross. The peasant women who 
 passed me by had very grave and solemn 
 faces. Many had tears in their eyes. But 
 one could see that the emotion was all 
 inward, not outward, which is a form of 
 expression rare with the French, and which 
 always indicates great and deep feeling. 
 That excitement which finds an outlet in 
 vociferation and gesticulation is merely a 
 surface or transient perturbation. The pro- 
 founder emotions of the race are always 
 mute. This is a phenomenon understood 
 only by those who know the French very 
 well. 
 
 Later I saw the women going out to 
 meet their men as they returned from the 
 fields. Many had already been into the 
 chapel to pray before taking the news to 
 their husbands. . . . 
 
 But the men knew already, for great news 
 travels apace. Just as the pennons float- 
 ing in the breeze at the semaphore had told 
 their message to the village, so the sound of 
 the tocsin had reached the men at their 
 work in the distant fields, and had informed 
 them that on the morrow they would be 
 
ON THE WAR 67 
 
 expected to do their duty as soldiers of 
 France. They knew that on the next day 
 they would be starting and would not 
 return to their fields again — at least this 
 season, so they had brought back all their 
 field implements with them. They were 
 calm and awed, but quite resolute, and not 
 at all excited. 
 
 There was much to be done after supper 
 before retiring. Nearly all the men in the 
 village were within the age limit, and would 
 leave the following morning early, so that 
 each combatant should be at his appointed 
 barracks by Monday morning, which 
 counted as the first day of mobilization. 
 Every man who has done his military 
 service in France possesses an individual 
 livret militaiir, upon which, besides a de- 
 claration of his identity, is inscribed the 
 directions which he must follow in case of 
 mobilization orders. These instructions are 
 usually known by heart. Nevertheless, upon 
 this great occasion, each livret militaire was 
 produced from the family linen press, where 
 it is usually kept in small households, and 
 was consulted anew. Then there were 
 orders and explanations given by each man 
 
 r 
 
68 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 to the wife concerning measures to be taken 
 in case of his non-return. And the wives 
 listened with grave faces and forced back 
 their tears. . . . Though no combatant 
 might carry with him more luggage 
 than an extra pair of boots and a change 
 of linen, the good housewife, anxious 
 that her man should start as comfortably 
 equipped as possible, spent half the night 
 sewing on missing buttons and putting in 
 extra stitches, so that he should look his 
 best. 
 
 A few days before an official order had 
 been printed in all the newspapers that every 
 combatant in France was to provide himself 
 with a strong pair of boots, the price of 
 which would be refunded to him upon his 
 arrival at the barracks. This again was 
 one of the proofs of administrative fore- 
 sight. 
 
 To supplement the order for general 
 mobilization given out at the flagstaff of 
 the semaphore, and rung out by the tocsin, 
 printed notices were posted in every com- 
 mune in France. It appears that these had 
 been prepared long before, in case of need, 
 and had been ready waiting at the Ministry 
 
ON THE WAR 69 
 
 of War since the year 1904, the actual date 
 of mobiUzation being written upon the 
 printed form by hand. In those towns not 
 too far from Paris, the bills were posted on 
 the afternoon of Saturday, August 1st, but, 
 as P.B. was so far removed from the main- 
 line, the bundle of posters did not reach 
 the village until the first class of men had 
 actually started. The bills came in about 
 ten o'clock on the morning of August 2nd. 
 Here is one translated into equivalent 
 English terms : 
 
 ^^ Eootixmely urgent. Most iinportant 
 announcement, 
 
 "Order for General Mobilization. 
 
 " The General Mobilization of the Armies 
 of Land and Sea is ordered. The first day 
 of Mobilization is August 2nd." 
 
 This notice was usually posted up at the 
 railway-station or at the Mairie of each 
 locality. It was noticeable that, as soon as 
 the station-master or the employe at the 
 Mairie was seen fixing it in its place, a 
 small gathering of people immediately began 
 to collect around him. Then others joined 
 
70 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the group. The poster was first read by each 
 member of the small crowd in complete 
 silence, without a single comment; then 
 read again with closer attention, in order 
 that its meaning might be well grasped. 
 From among the group of people not a 
 sound arose ; not a remark nor a single 
 comment was heard. A rapid circular 
 glance of understanding passed from man 
 to man, as if to say : " Well, here it is at 
 last !" 
 
 As one group dispersed it was at once 
 replaced by another. Then deliberately each 
 railway official of every grade drew his 
 mobilization badge from his pocket, where 
 he had been keeping it for some days past, in 
 case of need. It was a white armlet printed 
 with red, and it indicated that from that 
 moment the wearer, like the railway to 
 which he belonged, was in the direct service 
 of his country. Each man wore it buckled 
 round his left arm, just above the elbow. 
 Thus were all railway porters mobilized 
 at once like combatants — for their work 
 on the railway was considered henceforth as 
 military service — and, wearing the visible 
 sign of their submission, the men went off 
 
ON THE WAR 71 
 
 in silence and order to resume their usual 
 duties, without any apparent alteration in 
 their manner, save perhaps for a graver ex- 
 pression on their faces. 
 
 Such is the simple method of a call 
 to arms in a modern nation when all 
 subjects know how to read. No heralds, 
 nor drums, nor summons by means of bans 
 or sounds of trumpets, or any of the older 
 forms of general convocation, are necessary. 
 The call is accomplished by means of the 
 telegraph wires, and everybody throughout 
 the country is thus simultaneously informed. 
 Those in the fields are told the news by the 
 tocsin, rung out at once at each parish 
 church ; those on sea by the flags of the 
 coast semaphores, or, when out of sight of 
 land, by wireless telegraphy ; those in towns 
 and villages by the posters. So all French- 
 men scattered all over the surface of the 
 land can enter instantly into one great 
 silent communion. Thus a modern demo- 
 cratic people gathers together to fight for 
 the Mother - Country without words or 
 declarations. 
 
 As soon as war was decreed — even before 
 hostilities had begun — anxiety was instantly 
 
72 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 replaced by tense resolve in the hearts of 
 all, for the actual passing from the state 
 of uncertainty to certainty was felt in itself 
 to be a deliverance from bondage. 
 
 Nevertheless, it must be remarked that 
 the state of incertitude from which we 
 had just been delivered was not the per- 
 plexity of weaker spirits. It had held 
 that quality of suspense most difficult 
 for strong spirits to bear, because it is 
 the dread uncertainty of those who cannot 
 decide which of their conflicting and urgent 
 impulses is the mightiest. 
 
 For forty years we had existed in this 
 predicament concerning the expediency of 
 war, uncertain, not as to what might happen 
 but as to what we truly wished would 
 happen. 
 
 And now suddenly events had decided 
 for us, and spared us the anguish of making 
 a choice between two evils. Interior debate 
 was thus settled once and for all. Destiny 
 alone would now shape the issues. 
 
 Our enemy had accomplished what we 
 ourselves had liesitated to do. Germany, 
 ignoring the treaty of Frankfort, had 
 taken upon herself the responsibility of 
 
ON THE WAR 73 
 
 decision, while we, in our desire to spare 
 thousands of innocent victims, had checked 
 our hope for La Revanche for forty years. 
 In so acting, our enemy had freed us and 
 released our will. 
 
 One remarkable trait of our mobilizing 
 for the present war is that during the call to 
 arms neither the word " war " nor the name 
 of the enemy was spoken. Such words, 
 indeed, would have been superfluous, for 
 when we French say the word Vennemi we 
 well know whom we mean ! . . . 
 
 Neither was there a single dissenting 
 voice. No one thought fit to find fault 
 with the motives of the contention, nor 
 to declare them to be outside of French 
 interests. Nominally, hostilities were be- 
 gun to settle a quarrel between Servia and 
 Austria. It was not the quarrel of the 
 French people at all. Yet no man thought 
 of asking why, or in whose interests, he was 
 going out to face death. For each felt and 
 knew that, if the excuse was far-fetched, the 
 true reason was easy enough to understand, 
 and the true enemy was surely ours. Each 
 combatant in his heart was saying to him- 
 self : " They have been some time trying to 
 
74 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 pick a quarrel. Now they have found an 
 excuse at last, and so now they will get it 
 from us straight from the shoulder. We 
 shall see how they like it. . . ." 
 
 It was six o'clock in the morning of 
 Sunday, August 2nd. The sun shone fiercely 
 on the windows of my cottage. I had 
 scarely slept all night long, but had fallen 
 into a light doze towards the morning, 
 when I was suddenly aroused by the rather 
 raucous voices of the dear Breton peasants 
 passing the cottage gate. It seemed that 
 the whole population of the downs were in 
 the lane, men, women, and children ; for all 
 the young and eligible men were leaving by 
 the early train which started at seven o'clock, 
 and which had been " militarized " at once. 
 For after the declaration of mobilization all 
 France was declared to be en etat de siege 
 and the railways entirely under military 
 authority. Wives accompanied their hus- 
 bands, sisters their brothers, mothers their 
 sons. Nearly every man was followed by 
 some loved one. The men were all gathered 
 together on the small place of the village at a 
 quarter past six. The railway-station being 
 some four kilometres inland, the wealthier 
 
ON THE WAR 75 
 
 peasants drove in carts to the station, but the 
 greater mass proceeded on foot. No man was 
 allowed luggage of any kind. Each man 
 knew his destination, and was ready, eagerly 
 ready, to answer the call of his country. 
 There was no fuss, no excitement, no panic 
 — only a quiet, simple resolve on the part 
 of each man to do his duty. 
 
 As I watched the groups gathering to- 
 wards the centre of the Place, pouring in 
 from all directions, with such simple, earnest 
 faces, as if the defending of one's native 
 country was absolutely an everyday matter 
 of course, and the jeopardizing of one's life 
 in the act quite a secondary consideration, 
 concerning which no hesitation was possible, 
 swiftly through my mind ran Nelson's heroic 
 exhortation at Trafalgar — one of the finest 
 recorded in history : 
 
 England expects every man to do his duty. 
 It was evident that on the morning of 
 August 2nd, 1914, France too expected 
 every one of her sons to do his duty. And 
 he was doing it in the simplest, most matter- 
 of-fact way possible. Unconsciously each 
 man forgot that he was obeying a legal 
 charge. He felt no compulsion, for in his 
 
76 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 heart he knew that he was following only 
 his own individual impulse to defend his 
 own hearth and home. 
 
 The women and children gathered close 
 to the men during the last moments, but 
 none, of course, could be accompanied on 
 his journey towards duty. The railway 
 company refused admittance in the trains to 
 travellers other than those bound for 
 their barracks. Women, of course, were 
 not allowed within the station, and few 
 women at all during the twenty-one days of 
 mobilization would be allowed to travel on 
 the railway lines of France. 
 
 The combatants were under orders to 
 report themselves at the headquarters of the 
 barracks where they had undergone their 
 period of military service, but from that 
 depot they expected to be sent at once to 
 the front, the younger soldiers being ordered 
 out first, the older men following after. 
 This incessant travelling between the various 
 garrison towns of France and the front 
 would necessitate a complete reorganization 
 of the train services on all the railways in 
 tlie country, and this naturally would affect 
 the general circulation, and consequently all 
 
ON THE WAR 77 
 
 the departments of national life, for weeks to 
 come. There would be few and less regular 
 postal services, and, as the goods services 
 would momentarily be stopped, each locality 
 would be forced to live upon its own re- 
 sources. These new conditions of existence 
 were realized at once by the practical house- 
 wives of France ; but such considerations 
 now seemed to weigh but little. A quiet, 
 resolute spirit animated one and all alike, 
 and all were determined to bear everything 
 with the simplest equanimity. For what 
 mattered anything to the wives and mothers 
 compared to the lives of the sons, husbands, 
 and brothers, they were sending out in 
 defence of their native land ? • . . 
 
 When the men had started and the train 
 had left the small station, the women re- 
 turned to their homes with white faces and 
 a tense, calm expression of inward pain that 
 was still determined not to express itself. 
 The little children followed them or clung 
 to their skirts with the awed, puzzled ex- 
 pression of the very young who cannot 
 understand the mute sorrows of their elders. 
 
 The small village now seemed absolutely 
 deserted, for not only was it emptied of all 
 
78 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 its male population, but the evening before 
 there had been a great rush of thousands 
 of visitors from P. B., as well as from all 
 the localities around, who had taken advan- 
 tage of the last train, not yet militar- 
 ized, to return to their homes in the 
 larger towns. As soon as the mobilization 
 had been made known the general rush had 
 been instantaneous. Every single available 
 motor had been sought for, and engaged at 
 exorbitant prices ; for although notification 
 that they would be requisitioned by military 
 authority had been made public a few days 
 before, so far most of the owners of motors 
 had them still in their possession. 
 
 As soon as the mobilization had begun, 
 the entire life of the nation was altered. In 
 the agricultural districts the crops were still 
 standing, though they were nearly ripe, and 
 the dearth of men would make it practically 
 impossible to garner in the harvest if the 
 women did not come out to take their 
 places. This they did with spirit and cour- 
 age, while yet bearing upon their shoulders 
 the burden of their women's work. They 
 went on with their duties, as the mothers, 
 cooks, sempstresses, and housekeepers, of the 
 
ON THE WAR 79 
 
 family circle. To these they added the duties 
 of the breadwinner, who goes outside the 
 home to labour. They courageously under- 
 took to do the men's as well as the women's 
 work — that is to say, to undertake the labour 
 of two classes of workers. All over France 
 the women did this. In my corner of 
 Brittany I saw them take their men's places 
 in the field in their plain black gowns, blue 
 aprons and white coiffes, and gather in im- 
 mediately the harvests of wheat, oats, barley, 
 and buckwheat, and, a few days later, the 
 potatoes — a large and important harvest in 
 that part of the country. In the towns and 
 the factories they replaced the men every- 
 where. In Paris nearly all the larger, as well 
 as the smaller, shops were staffed by women. 
 The large emporiums replaced their men 
 clerks by women clerks ; even in the larger 
 banks one saw rows of women employees 
 sitting behind the counters. Those tramw^ay 
 lines still running employed women to work 
 them as conductors ; the "tubes" and local 
 railways were also run by women. In certain 
 restaurants the waiters were replaced by 
 waitresses. To a great extent women re- 
 placed men on the Press. The municipality 
 
80 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 of Paris employed women in lieu of men 
 for watering the streets. In fact, there 
 was scarcely any department in private or 
 national service in which women did not 
 take part. 
 
 In the country districts the scarcity of 
 men was still more apparent. In the 
 fields there were no men to be seen, 
 except a few hoary-headed grandfathers and 
 very young boys. Passing through the 
 villages in the afternoon, one found them 
 almost entirely deserted, and only a few 
 children could be seen ; for the fathers 
 having gone to the war, the mothers had 
 gone to do the fathers' work. Even the 
 crews of the fishing-boats were women, who 
 went out instead of their husbands, so as to 
 secure the hauls for the market, and thus 
 buy food for their families. 
 
 It may be noted here eii passant that 
 among the masses of Frenchwomen who 
 immediately took the place of the absent 
 men, in all branches of activity, no woman 
 even thought of devising a new costume 
 specially adapted to her unaccustomed 
 labours. All went out to work at once in 
 their ordinary feminine attire, for, for them. 
 
ON THE WAR ' 81 
 
 the circumstances seemed too serious to 
 allow them to find amusement in such 
 frivolities. 
 
 Meanwhile we were feeling almost en- 
 tirely cut off from civilization ; nothing could 
 reach us from the outside world. For the 
 moment, no other food but that which was 
 indigenous to the locality could be sent to 
 us. But never had living been so cheap, for 
 military law decreed — even if the railways 
 could have carried provisions — that the pro- 
 duce of the country should not be exported. 
 The result was that it had to be consumed 
 on the spot, and, as the number of our com- 
 munity was largely reduced by the exodus 
 of visitors and of a large proportion of the 
 native male population, there was more 
 food to be sold than was actually needed. 
 In the first few days of the war, before the 
 hospitals began to fill, or the refugees to 
 arrive, provisions fell considerably in price. 
 Thus, at the neighbouring market each 
 week, fresh butter could be bought at six- 
 pence a pound, new-laid eggs at sixpence a 
 dozen, and plump young chickens at a franc 
 apiece ! During the first few days fishing 
 had not been possible, because the boats 
 
 6 
 
82 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 were not allowed out, but special orders 
 were given later allowing fishermen within 
 certain limits to ply their trade. Fish then 
 with poultry became almost the staple diet. 
 Those who were fond of shell-fish could in- 
 dulge their taste, a good - sized lobster 
 being procurable for sixpence, and a small 
 one for threepence. A large dor^ade cost 
 three-halfpence ; whiting and fine large 
 mackerel cost a penny and three halfpence 
 each. Meat, on the other hand, was no 
 cheaper. If anything, it was dearer and far 
 more difficult to procure, for the men who 
 slaughtered the animals were gone to the 
 war, and the women refused to perform this 
 particular job ! 
 
 After the violation of the neutrality of 
 Belgium, and when it had become known 
 that the English would join the war, there 
 was a great outburst of joy throughout the 
 country, and the English became tremen- 
 dously popular. There was much enthusias- 
 tic talk about " Nos Allies les Anglais,'' and 
 my English friends who still remained in 
 P. B., even though they had been treated 
 with great sympathy hitherto by the popula- 
 tion, suddenly found themselves immensely 
 
ON THE WAR 83 
 
 popular. For, during these wondrous days 
 of the transformation of the national soul, a 
 new kind of sympathy between the nations 
 of the Allies had been formed, too. 
 
 However, my friends were beginning to 
 feel very anxious on their own account. 
 How were they going to return to England ? 
 There seemed to be no means of attaining 
 St. Malo, which was the route for their 
 return to England, before the end of 
 August at least — perhaps not even then 
 — for the news was circulated that the 
 St. Malo and Southampton services had 
 been stopped. The chief of the group 
 was a professional man, and his presence in 
 luondon was necessary. Moreover, like all 
 travelling Englishmen, he had brought a 
 cheque-book with him, but very little ready 
 money, and the moratorium had put an end 
 to all possibility of cashing an English cheque 
 in France. He had with him his wife and 
 tw^o small sons, and an English nurse. The 
 rest of the party consisted of a widow with 
 her two daughters. All these people were 
 anxious to get back to their homes, if not at 
 once, at least eventually, and wondered if 
 they would be able to cross the guarded 
 
84 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Channel, even supposing they were lucky 
 enough to reach St. Malo. For many days 
 they waited in patience, having sent a tele- 
 gram to the Consul at St. Malo and to the 
 boat service offices. So far they had re- 
 ceived no reply. Meanwhile, owing to the 
 law concerning foreigners sojourning in 
 France, they had to report themselves at the 
 Mairie in the next town, and each person 
 was forced to apply for a passport. 
 
 At last, at the end of the first week of 
 August, they received an answer from St. 
 Malo, announcing the departure on the 
 following morning of the last boat that 
 would leave that harbour for England. It 
 reached them one evening about half-past 
 nine. As the date of the boat's departure 
 was the day after the morrow, they dared 
 not hesitate ; for they found themselves 
 forced to leave immediately, or to decide to 
 stay in Brittany throughout the war. 
 
 Now, even at that early period of the war 
 we had all begun to realize that hostilities 
 would continue at least far into the winter, 
 and probably throughout the whole winter. 
 They had already devised many plans in case 
 they found themselves forced to remain at 
 
ON THE WAR 85 
 
 P. B. They did not even consider the 
 possibiHty of returning through Paris, be- 
 cause of the disorganized train services. So, 
 rapidly, they decided to make a try for that 
 last boat. But it was not certain that they 
 could manage to get to St. Malo in time. 
 There were no trains, no conveyances of 
 any kind, and, anyway, P. B. was a full day's 
 motor-trip from St. Malo. Fortunately, 
 the hotel possessed a motor-bus for the use of 
 visitors and their luggage, but the chauffeur 
 was called to the war. Luckily, how- 
 ever, being an older man, he was not to 
 join his regiment till two days later, and had 
 just the time to take them as far as St. 
 Brieuc. They set to work to pack imme- 
 diately. They had a large quantity of 
 luggage, being eight persons in all. They 
 were to leave on the following morning at 
 half-past six for St. Brieuc, where they hoped 
 to arrive in the afternoon, and there to find 
 another motor which could take them on to 
 St. Malo, so as to arrive there by the even- 
 ing. It was a very risky undertaking, be- 
 cause they might never be able to arrive 
 either at St. Brieuc or at St. Malo, but 
 they resolved to take the risk. Fortunately 
 
86 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 for my friends, they enjoyed the privilege 
 of popular enthusiasm in favour of our 
 English allies, and in spite of the morato- 
 rium, when they left, the hotel authorities 
 allowed them to pay in English cheques. 
 
 As the small village clock struck half-past 
 six, the motor carrying the English party 
 away from P. B. left the door of the Grand 
 Hotel. A sympathetic crowd of peasants 
 had gathered round to see them off, for, 
 besides the sympathy felt for the Allies all 
 over France at this time, the English party 
 had made itself popular in the country, and 
 was most beloved. Moreover, were not the 
 English now the actual allies of the French ? 
 In the simple minds of the peasants, these 
 same English visitors, who had arrived less 
 than a month ago to enjoy the beauties of the 
 country, and to be the legitimate prey for 
 the overcharges of the local tradesmen, had 
 now been transformed into friends and 
 brethren. Among the sympathetic crowd 
 of women, old and young, children, and old 
 men, who gathered around the doors of the 
 motor to see them off, and to wring the hand 
 of one of the young men of the party who — 
 
ON THE WAR 87 
 
 as it was already known in the village — would 
 go out to fight later side by side with their 
 own lads, there was not a soul there — man, 
 woman, or child — who would have tried 
 to gain a sou from them. Many of the 
 peasants in the group had left their work 
 in the fields to come and give them a hearty 
 cheer before they left. One of the village 
 boys— Marie-Louise's son Yves, who had 
 become the sworn champion of one of the 
 English boys, a lad of about his own age — 
 had come earlier in the morning to help 
 him to decorate the motor-car with the flags 
 of England and France bound together. 
 These, securely attached to the roof of the 
 car, now fluttered in friendly companionship 
 side by side in the soft sea breeze. 
 
 With a shrieking toot the motor shot 
 out, dispersing the sympathetic crowd of 
 friends, and in a few seconds was seen 
 bounding along the road up the hill that 
 led to the highroad beyond, its British 
 and French flags flying gaily in the wind, 
 its brightly varnished body adorned with 
 metal platings twinkling in the sun. It 
 pursued its course gaily, bounding onwards 
 as if towards hope. ... 
 
88 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 But suddenly I felt very lonely, and, 
 bereft of the cheerful company of my friends, 
 my thoughts dwelt sadly once more with my 
 doubts and fears for those of my own family 
 in the coming strife. . . . 
 
 A few days later I was happy to receive 
 news from my English friends, concerning 
 w^hose fate I had been most anxious. It 
 was one of the women of the party who 
 wrote — a charming and typical English 
 woman, the mother of two fine boys. 
 
 " After the most terrible anxiety, fearing 
 that we should arrive too late for the boat, 
 and in the midst of some amusing adven- 
 tures, we have managed to arrive here in 
 plenty of time for the English steamer," 
 she wrote from St. Malo. " However, it 
 will not land us at Southampton, as we had 
 hoped, but in Jersey, where we shall have 
 to wait for another boat to consent to take 
 us to England. As ours will probably be 
 the last boat for some time, we consider 
 ourselves lucky to have arrived here in 
 time. But let me tell you how it was 
 that we got to St. Malo at all. It is all 
 owing to a delightful French officer. 
 
ON THE WAR 89 
 
 Oh, how I love the French people, and 
 French officers most of all ! I tell my 
 husband that, if 1 were not already a wife 
 and mother, I should certainly marry one 
 of them at once, and I am sad to think that 
 1 have no daughter, so that I might — some 
 day at least — have a French son-in-law ! 
 For it was a French officer who heroically 
 saved the situation for us. As you know, 
 once at St. Brieuc, we immediately had to 
 send back the motor that had brought us 
 from P. B., because the chauffeur was forced 
 to return early so as to join his regiment the 
 following day. 
 
 " Well, upon arriving at St. Brieuc we 
 made every possible inquiry at once, to 
 secure another car to take us to St. Malo. 
 There was no time to be lost, for, as you 
 know, we were sorely pressed for time. But 
 no motor could be found in St. Brieuc for love 
 or money. So, very disconsolate, we went 
 into the dining-room of the Grand Hotel 
 to have luncheon, and to talk over ways 
 and means of getting on farther. In the 
 dining-room there was a group of officers 
 standing, talking. In our despair at finding 
 no conveyance for our party, I begged my 
 
90 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 husband to go and ask the chief officer's 
 advice as to what we ought to do. You 
 can imagine what a business it was to get 
 him to do it ! At first he flatly refused. 
 But the officer was charming, and came 
 towards our party at once. As I speak 
 French better than my husband, I explained 
 our position, Mrs. A.'s two daughters 
 helping me in the difficult parts, which 
 needed a subtler use of the language. 
 But the dear man grasped the situation at 
 once. All he said was : 
 
 " * Cest bien simple ! There is my own 
 car at the door at your disposal. I will 
 drive you myself, and you will be in plenty 
 of time for your boat. I^uckily my car is a 
 large Limousine — big enough to hold you 
 all.' He laughed as he glanced round at the 
 group of eight disconsolate creatures which 
 formed our party. 
 
 "It was with difficulty that I refrained 
 from throwing my arms around that dear 
 man's neck ! . . . But I remembered in time 
 that I was "a respectable British matron," 
 as you would say, and controlled my 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 "As soon as we had finished luncheon 
 
ON THE WAR 91 
 
 we were all bundled in — the eight of us — 
 with all the luggage piled up on the top of 
 the car, and we sprang across the roads at 
 full speed. Through all the towns we 
 passed the mobilization was going on, and 
 I was amazed at the quiet discipline of the 
 people — their silence, their reserve, their 
 evident resolve. The whole French nation 
 seems changed to me. I can't understand it 
 any longer. It is totally different from what 
 I have always thought it to be, and from all 
 that has been told me about it. We have 
 met with the greatest kindness and con- 
 sideration on every side, and fraternal good- 
 feeling everywhere. With the officer's per- 
 mission, Ralph fastened our English and 
 French flags on to his car, and all along 
 the road we have been much cheered with 
 merry cries of ' Vivent nos Allies /' 
 
 " At one farmhouse where we stopped to 
 ask for some cider in the late afternoon, the 
 farmer's wife gave great bowls of cider to all 
 of us, and a beautiful junket of milk and 
 cream to Ralph and the baby. But she 
 refused all payment, saying she was proud 
 to do so small a service for her English 
 friends. 
 
92 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 " What a delightful people yours is, my 
 dear ! I love them more than ever nov^, if 
 possible ! 
 
 " We all send you our best and tenderest 
 love, and anxiously await news from you, 
 and of your brothers at the front. 
 
 "Bear up and be cheerful, and be sure 
 to let us know if you decide to return to 
 Paris." 
 
 At the end of the letter her husband had 
 added a few words : 
 
 "My dear Friend — We are safe and 
 sound here at St. Malo, and, though still far 
 from home, I devoutly hope that our tribula- 
 tions — or, I should say, my tribulations — are 
 over. For I feel that I have not a friend in 
 the world, not even my own wife ! All the 
 women of my party seem to be off their 
 heads. They have all fallen madly in love 
 with the French officer who drove us here 
 from St. Brieuc, and I can do nothing with 
 any of them ! " 
 
 In P. B. we passed through a weary time 
 of anxiety and " hopes long deferred " during 
 
ON THE WAR 93 
 
 the first long days of August. For more 
 than a week we remained practically with- 
 out any news at all, although on some 
 days voluminous packets of back numbers 
 of newspapers and far-dated letters were 
 handed in, that had been delayed for many 
 days in the post. Nevertheless, in spite of 
 their staleness, they presented much inte- 
 rest ; for they brought us the comments on 
 current events from various friends and rela- 
 tions in other parts of France, surprised by 
 the war in the midst of their holiday, as we 
 ourselves had been. Thus we learned that the 
 emotions we had experienced were shared by 
 one and all alike throughout the country. 
 The only direct and really fresh news that 
 reached us, which was also to a certain 
 extent reliable, consisted in the brief cen- 
 sored official communique, which was brought 
 in by a cyclist each day from the nearest 
 town — a small sous-prefecture eleven kilo- 
 metres distant. This communique was 
 posted up by means of four drawing-pins 
 upon the opened shutter of the principal 
 shop of P. B. There were only two shops 
 in the entire village, for even the two bakers 
 and the butcher who supplied the locality 
 
94 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 with bread and meat resided in the bourg 
 or commune of P., close to the railway- 
 station, four kilometres inland. Therefore 
 the shop which had the honour of possessing 
 the official communique became the great 
 centre of attraction during the rest of the 
 season. Here the few remaining visitors 
 gathered together, and, while they waited 
 for the problematic arrival of the postman 
 with letters and newspapers, or the appear- 
 ance of the cyclist with the daily coinviu- 
 niquS, they discussed the events of the day 
 and the progress of hostilities. Here, too, 
 many canards were set in flight. As it was 
 at this shop that all the newspapers read in 
 P. B. were sold on the rare days when the 
 postman put in an appearance, it was here 
 that he made his first halt to deposit them. 
 Thus here, too, each day he was waylaid by 
 a group of anxious, expectant people im- 
 ploring him for the immediate delivery of 
 their letters which he carried in his bag. 
 As this forced him to sort out the whole of 
 the letter- bag upon each application, the 
 process invariably put him into a bad tem- 
 per, and nothing could soothe him but an 
 adroitly offered small coin. The villas and 
 
ON THE WAR 95 
 
 peasant homes were scattered along the 
 coast in a long straggling line, and usually 
 it took him more than two hours to accom- 
 plish the delivery of all the letters at the 
 various houses. So that those who lived 
 far from the centre of the village found it 
 more expeditious to meet the postman half- 
 way, and so obtain their long awaited cor- 
 respondence a few moments sooner. Often 
 these special deliveries occupied much of 
 his time, and usually he went off in a great 
 temper, which was accentuated when later 
 he found himself met at other points along 
 the road, towards the end of the coastline, 
 by anxious suppliants of another kind. 
 These were peasant women who, employed 
 at their work in the fields, could not afford 
 the time to go down into the village to post 
 their own missives to distant and beloved 
 combatants, and came to meet the post- 
 man halfway, to entrust him with their 
 own stamped letters to put into the post- 
 box on the train upon his return to the 
 bourg. So we realized from the first that, all 
 through the war, the postman of P. B. would 
 remain in a chronic state of bad temper, and 
 therefore resigned ourselves to the inevitable. 
 
96 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 We were dependent, during those anxious 
 and terrible days, upon two erratically 
 delivered local papers for further informa- 
 tion concerning the actions at the front. 
 One was the Ouest-Eclair, which is pub- 
 lished at Rennes during the night, and 
 contains the telegrams that have appeared 
 in the evening Paris papers, though the 
 greater portion of its columns is devoted 
 to local news. This journal reached P. B. 
 usually at midday, but during war time it 
 came in at any possible hour of the day, 
 sometimes with the post, and sometimes by 
 special messenger. 
 
 The other newspaper of the region was 
 La Depeche de Brest, which arrived about 
 four in the afternoon. This is the organ of 
 all naval interests, and is an excellent paper 
 containing all the latest telegrams. 
 
 But these papers were scarce in number 
 in P. B., for all the copies were subscribed 
 for in advance, so that to obtain a copy of 
 either newspaper was difficult. Often a single 
 sheet was passed round by its complaisant 
 owner, and was read by no less than a dozen 
 or fifteen people one after another. The 
 Paris newspapers, such as the Journal, the 
 
ON THE WAR 97 
 
 Matin, and the Petit Parisien, all of which 
 publish special provincial editions, only 
 reached P. B. after many days' delay in the 
 trains, so that we could only be regaled by 
 stale news. 
 
 To make up for these deficiencies, how- 
 ever, we were offered any number of false 
 reports. Tourists were continually arriving 
 from one of the nearest towns on bicycles, 
 bringing with them stories purporting to 
 be reliable information obtained from some 
 reputable official source — a sous-pr^efecture or 
 a -prefecture maritime usually being quoted 
 as authority. These canards were so grossly 
 absurd that — even taking into consideration 
 the unnatural condition of most people's 
 nerves at this time — one was astonished that 
 they should ever have obtained the slightest 
 credence. 
 
 I shall never forget being roused out of 
 my beauty-sleep one night about ten o'clock 
 by a friendly fisherman, who brought me 
 the astounding news from the nearest town, 
 from which he had just returned, that on 
 the third day of hostilities the English had 
 blown up two of the largest German Dread- 
 noughts, each with 12,000 men on board 
 
 7 
 
98 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Moreover, that the Russians were halfway 
 between their frontier and Berhn, and — most 
 amazing of all — Germany had implored 
 France to remain neutral ! 
 
 It might have been feared that the circu- 
 lation of such stories would do great harm 
 by giving rise to panic. However, nothing 
 of the kind occurred, for even the simplest 
 peasant people seemed to keep their minds 
 fairly level, and were determined not to be 
 alarmed by exaggerated reports. It was use- 
 less to try to obtain news by telegrams, for 
 not only was their transmission delayed in 
 transit for several days, but the initial diffi- 
 culty of sending them off from P. B. was 
 great, because of the necessary preliminary 
 official visa that was indispensable. To pro- 
 cure this, one had to go to the bourg^ four 
 kilometres away, and apply for the Mayor's 
 signature for permission to send the telegram. 
 
 Yet, in spite of all these small difficulties 
 and annoyances of all kinds, the spirit of 
 the people was admirable. Everybody was 
 determined to make the best of everything 
 and to wait in patience. The destiny of the 
 war and of the dear combatants at the front 
 alone was of importance. 
 
ON THE WAR 99 
 
 In view of the noble fortitude of the 
 people under such adverse circumstances, 
 my thoughts went back to the time of the 
 1910 floods in Paris, when one could not go 
 down the staircase of one's house to go out 
 and buy food, and when one travelled in 
 boats through the darkened streets of the 
 capital, with only an occasional oil-lamp by 
 the roadside, because all the gas and electric 
 light was cut off. There was the same 
 courageous spirit, determined to bear with 
 difficulties, among the Parisians of all classes 
 at that time as was visible here to-day 
 among the simple peasants of Brittany. 
 What particular strength of resistance is it 
 which in sad and tragic times lives so vitally 
 in the heart of the so-called "frivolous" 
 French race? Those Anglo-Saxon friends 
 of France who, upon this and other occa- 
 sions, have been able to judge the French 
 character, are wont to declare that the 
 qualities which they discover in such hours 
 in the soul of the nation tally in no possible 
 way with the " frivolous." 
 
 So far as we etrangers were concerned 
 — for the Breton peasant calls all who are 
 not Bretons " foreigners " — it was a strange 
 
100 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 experience to find ourselves in such a 
 moment, when, the emotional spirit domi- 
 nating us all, we were suddenly thrust out of 
 the conditions of our own more thoughtful 
 life into a state of mere primitive existence. 
 Here we were, a small group of educated 
 people, used to all the luxuries and modern 
 conveniences of life, among simple peasants 
 who hardly spoke the same language as our- 
 selves, either from the material or the moral 
 standpoint, stranded in a small far-away 
 village, deprived not only of comforts — 
 these only too gladly renounced — but of all 
 communication with friends and relations of 
 our own, and this at a time of supreme 
 national anxiety, when every family in 
 the country fears for the fate of its own 
 male members. Yet in that hour we 
 felt that the artificial barriers, which so- 
 called civilization has erected between the 
 various classes of human beings, were very 
 slight indeed, and that the great common tie 
 of race between us and the simpler people 
 around us was so strong that the knowledge 
 alone that we were all of the same blood, 
 and that in our hearts lived the same great 
 hope for one and for all, submerged all sense 
 
ON THE Wj^R •• :-'. "-i itoi 
 
 of differences. We all felt the same fear for 
 our loved ones and for our Mother- Country. 
 It is amazing how near to the great family 
 constituted by a nation the individual feels 
 in such moments. Differences of conviction, 
 of education, even of tastes, are entirely 
 forgotten. Personally, in those moments, 
 I knew myself to be nearer to the dear, 
 ignorant peasants around me than to the 
 most highly educated or rarest - minded 
 foreigner that I could have met. The 
 national soul in me — as in all around me — 
 was paramount at this hour. And I knew 
 that what 1 felt all those of my own land 
 were now feeling. 
 
 This immediate and intimate contact with 
 the peasants of France was a refreshing and 
 renewing education for ourselves. We came 
 near to true heroism by being in touch 
 with the simple folk. What lessons of 
 patience, of endurance, of resignation, and 
 of sound common- sense, they taught us ! 
 Eventually many of us will discover that 
 because of our intimate mingling with the so- 
 called lower classes of our old and matured 
 nation, we shall have uplifted our souls 
 and broadened our comprehension. Just as 
 
IW: A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 those of our brothers and husbands in the 
 trenches have realized the simple, unaffected, 
 silent heroism of their humbler comrades in 
 arms, we women who, because of the war, 
 have been brought nearer to our poorer 
 sisters, bearing their burden of solitude 
 and poverty so bravely, will have learned a 
 fine lesson of courage, which their patient 
 endurance will have taught us. We arro- 
 gantly suppose that we can teach them 
 many things by enlightening their ignor- 
 ance. Yet what a moral education we can 
 gain from them I 
 
 The news brought by the communique 
 about August 8th was the happy news of 
 the entrance of the French into Alsace. 
 The elation was great. Strangers accosted 
 one another in the streets of the village 
 and in the country lanes with tears of 
 joy in their eyes as they imparted the 
 news. Was this terrible and unexpected 
 war indeed to see the dawn of our long- 
 cherished, though deeply silent, hopes ? We 
 hardly dared to speak of them, and, above 
 all, of the dreams which this news evoked. 
 
 At last a large batch of letters reached 
 me, about August 10th. One of these. 
 
ON THE WAR 103 
 
 dated *' August 4thj midday," was from an 
 old retired naval officer who lived in 
 Paris, and who had been there ever since 
 the days when probabilities of a war were 
 first discussed. The letter had been delayed 
 several days in the post, but, in spite of the 
 fact that it gave us no absolute " news," we 
 found it full of the greatest interest. 
 
 " Since the order for mobilization has 
 gone round, but scant attention has been 
 paid to Jaures' murder, and the Affaire 
 Caillaux has been completely forgotten," 
 wrote my old friend. "Just as in the 
 provinces — so the newspapers tell us — the 
 national spirit seems to have been entirely 
 transformed within the space of a few days, 
 so has a similar process been observable 
 in Paris. Those who have witnessed the 
 departure of our mobilises cannot form any 
 idea of the firm and cool resolution with 
 which France has accepted war ; and this 
 resolution is only equalled by as strong a 
 determination to win the battle and to crush 
 our enemies once and for all. At this early 
 hour of hostilities we are already aware that 
 it is France who alone will have to sustain 
 the shock of the first attack of Germany's 
 
104 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 immense army of fresh troops, eager and 
 bloodthirsty. We know that our allies the 
 Russians will be slow to move, and there- 
 fore cannot be of great practical help to us 
 for the first months — for this will be a long 
 war, in spite of all that has been said to the 
 contrary. During the next few weeks we 
 alone shall have to support the entire burden 
 of over forty corps of the German army. 
 In my opinion, the brunt of the enemy's 
 effort will be made through Luxembourg 
 or Belgium. That seems evident now. 
 They will not make any serious effort to 
 break through our eastern frontier yet. 
 
 ** In Paris the men are grave and resolute, 
 and present themselves at the stations all 
 in good time. Wives, mothers, and chil- 
 dren, accompany them, to see them off 
 and encourage them. But there have 
 been no too emotional or too regrettable 
 scenes, and the women restrain their tears 
 so as not to affect the men's courage. From 
 the crowd not a single cry has been raised, 
 nor has any manifestation taken place, yet 
 one feels that it is stirred to the depths. 
 Though children offer flowers to the depart- 
 ing soldiers, no one seems to have even 
 
ON THE WAR 105 
 
 thought of offering drinks, for the masses 
 are conscious that this is not the time for 
 joyous hbations. Every man is self-dis- 
 cipUned and holds his nerves in leash. All 
 are self- controlled and calm. Not a single 
 truculent cry of *-^ Berlin F as in 1870, has 
 been raised. There is no question of in- 
 vading the enemy's country, either, only of 
 defending one's own; and from the ex- 
 pression of the men's faces and from their 
 rare words one understands that they intend 
 to defend themselves furiously and to the 
 death. 
 
 " For my own part, I am broken-hearted 
 to think I can take no part in the fight. I 
 am too old. The authorities will not have 
 me ! Seventy-one ! my dear friend. And it 
 pains me beyond words to think that I 
 fought with a defeated army in 1870, and 
 that I cannot have my share in the victory 
 now ! For everyone knows that this is to 
 be a war to the death for our nation, and 
 that we mean to win. From the very first 
 moment it was evident that mobilization 
 was admirably managed. Nothing can 
 oppose the union of all the strength of 
 our military forces. The old spirit of the 
 
106 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 nation has re-arisen. The SociaUsts even 
 have put aside all their grievances, and have 
 risen to arms like a single man. As soon as 
 it was understood that the pan-Germanists 
 intended to suppress the liberty of France, 
 not only the Socialists, but every political 
 group of the community, of whatever kind 
 it might or might not be, joined the great 
 mass of the nation ; and this union was 
 accomplished in the midst of the greatest 
 calm and discipline, yet with profound 
 enthusiasm. It is a strange thing to note 
 that in the French character apparently 
 conflicting and opposing qualities exist. 
 In one sense the French are emotional and 
 undisciplined and talkative, and in another 
 sense they are silent, reserved, and out- 
 wardly calm. And it is the quality of the 
 emotion which dominates them that decides 
 their attitude. With them, the deeper 
 their feeling, the more silent is its mani- 
 festation. It is only their lighter excite- 
 ment which finds its outlet in immediate 
 expression and vociferous gesticulations. 
 The noisier characteristics of the nation are 
 but superficial. The inner emotion of the 
 soul is profound and mute. That is why 
 
ON THE WAR 107 
 
 Paris, at the present moment, is so orderly, 
 so quiet, so disciplined, so touchingly re- 
 solved. It is true that, like great children, 
 a few of the mob have risen and broken up 
 all the milk depots of the Maggi Society, 
 because they have been told that these are 
 under German management ! But, on the 
 the other hand, the same disturbers of the 
 peace — only a handful in the mass — have 
 inflicted exactly the same punishment upon 
 the shops of those Paris tradesmen who 
 ventured to increase the price of their wares 
 in view of the rise of prices. 
 
 "What has altered Paris greatly is the 
 absence of taxi-cabs and motor-buses. All 
 have gone to the war. The '' Metro " 
 railway, for lack of hands, has been closed 
 in various parts ; but we are told that later 
 they will be reorganized with female em- 
 ployees. Probably in souvenir of the 
 siege of 1870, many households have 
 bought large quantities of stores, not only 
 of food, but of fuel, oil, etc. The rise 
 in certain prices merely results from the 
 suddenly increased demand, but that small 
 panic will soon come to an end when 
 mobilization is over, and when all the trains 
 
108 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 bring produce into Paris regularly — even 
 perhaps before. 
 
 " The Parisians themselves seem to have 
 suddenly altered in their relations with one 
 another. They appear to have become more 
 friendly and more fraternal. As you know, 
 Parisian families ' keep to themselves ' very 
 much. For instance, usually the tenants of a 
 house do not mix freely with the other people 
 living in the same building as themselves. 
 Rarely indeed does one even know the names 
 of others living on the same floor. But since 
 the beginning of the war all kinds and con- 
 ditions of people have become more friendly, 
 more truly human. One can see tenants 
 of the same house speaking together from 
 balcony to balcony when they come out in 
 family groups to breathe the evening air 
 after dinner. Conversations about the war 
 are engaged in between them. It is evident 
 that a great desire for human sympathy 
 and understanding exists in the hearts of 
 one and all alike; for every family in the 
 nation shares the apprehensions of all other 
 French families concerning the ultimate fate 
 of some dear son, brother, or husband, at the 
 front. Indeed, as a matter of course, in 
 
ON THE WAR 109 
 
 shops, in trains, etc., one hears perfect 
 strangers addressing one another, and ask- 
 ing : ' How many of yours are at the 
 front ? Have you had news yet V And 
 so views and apprehensions upon the sub- 
 ject of the war are exchanged between 
 people who would never have thought of 
 addressing one another before ; and thus 
 intercourse has become quite free among 
 individuals of very different social positions. 
 " From a military point of view, although 
 so many of our neighbours in Europe may 
 have thought, as so many of ourselves also 
 thought, that we should not be ready, I 
 think that now all will admit that our 
 mobilization was admirably organized, and 
 without any fuss or panic. The higher 
 military authorities, of course, have still 
 much work to do, and are busy gathering 
 all the regiments together and strengthening 
 our cover on the boundaries of Alsace- 
 Lorraine. Our soldiers are there waiting 
 now, quite ready, it appears, stationed a 
 few kilometres from the frontier, so that it 
 may be made evident to the eyes of the 
 world that we were not the first to begin 
 the fight. 
 
no A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 "So now we can do nothing more but 
 await events. The latest news we have 
 here is that Luxembourg and Belgium have 
 been invaded by the enemy, which would 
 tend to prove that what I have so re- 
 peatedly argued is correct, though none of 
 my military friends would believe me — 
 namely, that Germany would not attempt 
 to cross our eastern frontier, upon which 
 are concentrated so many of our strongest 
 forces, but would make an attaque hrusquie 
 upon the northern frontier, as was predicted 
 two years ago by the great German tac- 
 tician. Von Bemhardi. 
 
 " Meanwhile the German Press appears 
 to be extraordinarily jubilant. 
 
 " The Berliner Tageblatt (I suppose you 
 know that this journal has been nicknamed 
 Tas de Blagues/), mocking the French, 
 says : * Poor little Frenchies ! We are 
 going to break all their bones for them 
 this time, and, instead of merely five mil- 
 liards, shall obtain at least thirty milli- 
 ards of francs for a war indemnity besides.* 
 Another paper declares that : * The French 
 campaign will be but a short military 
 promenade for us.' As for the Kaiser, 
 
ON THE WAR 111 
 
 it appears that he is so confident of success 
 that he has ordered dinner at one of the 
 most famous and well-known Paris res- 
 taurants for the evening of August 15th. 
 It is said that he has always been eager to 
 sample the wines at that particular establish- 
 ment. But so far he has never been able to 
 do so. . . . 
 
 " Certainly the Germans appear to pos- 
 sess a firm conviction in their superiority, 
 and believe that we cannot oppose any real 
 resistance to their forces. That is prob- 
 ably why they waited so long before 
 attacking us. They are convinced that we 
 are a decadent nation, and evidently do 
 not consider us very dangerous. So they 
 let even the Three Years' Service Bill pass 
 without troubling about it. But now they 
 seem to have decided the exact time for 
 making their attack. Their conviction con- 
 cerning the weakness of the French army has 
 just been confirmed once more by a French- 
 man, by means of the revelations made in the 
 Senate by the fine patriot, Senator Hum- 
 bert, at the famous seance of July 13th, and 
 they have deliberately chosen the holiday- 
 time as the most propitious moment to begin 
 
112 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 hostilities against us. On the other hand, 
 they know that Russia, because of the 
 inefficiency of her railway system, will 
 be some considerable time preparing her 
 mobilization, and they consider her weak- 
 ened, too, by the difficulty of settling with 
 the strikes all over the country. They 
 will probably think that England will not 
 join in the war — though there, I think 
 they will find themselves greatly mistaken. 
 But, at any rate, they will certainly rely 
 upon the fact that at present Great Britain 
 is disturbed by internal dissensions, and is 
 practically upon the eve of a civil war in 
 Ireland. 
 
 " In spite of the fact that they are no 
 longer sitting, the Chambre and Senat have 
 been called together for a special session by 
 the representatives of the public, and the 
 evening papers tell us that never has there 
 been a more spontaneous unanimity between 
 all parties. Never has a nation, attacked 
 without right, reared its head more proudly 
 to face the enemy. It seems to me that there 
 is a presage of victory in this attitude of 
 France ! Personally, I do not for a moment 
 doubt that we shall win. The conflict will be 
 
ON THE WAR 118 
 
 long and hard, but we shall be victorious in 
 the end. This is a war of nations. Above 
 all, it is a war against war. This time we 
 must crush the military element of Germany, 
 and for ever, if we are to hope for peace in 
 Europe. And it is evident to all our 
 citizen-soldiers that we are fighting, not 
 only for France, but for the supremacy of 
 all the ideals of higher civilization in the 
 world. 
 
 " Before closing my letter, let me relate 
 a small incident which I witnessed in the 
 street near the Gave de VEst the other 
 day, and which is most indicative of the 
 spirit of the Parisian crowd at this moment. 
 I was sitting at the table of a small cafe, 
 not far from the square Montholon, watch- 
 ing the crowds of mobilises, as, accompanied 
 in many cases by their wives, mothers, 
 and children, they progressed towards the 
 Gave de VEst on foot, each man carrying 
 his belongings, probably consisting of an 
 extra change of linen and a second pair of 
 boots, either in a bundle or in a small 
 valise. These were the rank and file, but 
 the officers for the most part drove up to 
 the station in the \ov^ fiacres so dear to the 
 
114 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 heart of the Parisians. I was looking at 
 two officers sitting side by side in one of 
 these, when suddenly, the carriage having 
 been slowed up by the traffic, there shot 
 out from amongst the crowd a bright young 
 street urchin, who might have been about 
 twelve years of age, and who looked like 
 the son of some well-to-do working man. 
 Jumping lightly on to the foot-board of 
 the fiacre, he threw his arms affectionately 
 round the neck of each officer, and fervently 
 kissed each man upon the cheek. Then 
 he jumped back again as the cab went on, 
 and waving his cap frantically, while his 
 bright eyes glistened with enthusiastic tears, 
 he cried out : ' Vive la France !' 
 
 " As the boy ran back into the crowd, 
 he brushed past my table, and I said to 
 him : 
 
 " * Tu les connais done, ees qffieiers f 
 ** ' Oh no 1 I don't know them at all I' 
 answered the boy ; * but they are two brave 
 officers going to fight for my country; so 
 I love them!'" 
 
 The very worst of our anxiety at P. B. 
 was during the early days of September, 
 
ON THE WAR 115 
 
 when we knew that the enemy was making 
 a rush for Paris. We had learnt from the 
 regular laconic communiques that the Presi- 
 dent of the Republic and the Government 
 had left the capital for Bordeaux, and, in 
 the absence of all details, we became more 
 and more disturbed in spirit. By degrees 
 the local hospitals had begun to receive 
 wounded soldiers from the front, and from 
 these we were able to gather a few details 
 concerning the hostilities in progress. We 
 heard with some satisfaction that the general 
 moral of our combatants was good. Several 
 stories concerning the defeat of Charleroi 
 were circulated, but as a rule all the fan- 
 tastic tales that circulated at this time were 
 discredited. There was a wholesome feeling 
 through the entire country that the duty 
 of all Frenchmen was to trust the military 
 chiefs who had undertaken to defend them, 
 and to avoid all disparagement of their 
 methods. 
 
 That same spirit of determination to 
 allow the responsible military men to 
 manage the affairs of the country in their 
 own way and according to their own lights 
 has been maintained throughout the whole 
 
116 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 period of the war, and it is, perhaps, the 
 first time for many generations that the 
 turbulent, censorius, and argumentative 
 French people have been known to main- 
 tain so dignified and resolute an attitude. 
 The spirit of criticism inherent in the 
 French nature, amounts almost to a fault. 
 Usually, no sooner has the nation elected 
 a citizen by popular ballot, and put him 
 into a position of power, than his methods 
 are immediately discussed, and, if not 
 actually blamed, are disparaged by almost 
 one and all. It has, however, appeared 
 noticeable that in this war, by the con- 
 scious will of the people, this French 
 national defect seems to have been volun- 
 tarily suppressed. A calm, resolved, and 
 steady determination to keep their confi- 
 dence in their Generals entire, and to allow 
 them every chance of winning the battle, 
 seems to characterize the whole nation 
 at this juncture. How far this new 
 attitude of mind among the people of my 
 dear country may endure after the termina- 
 tion of hostilities, I am not prepared to fore- 
 tell ! Whether it is to be a permanent or 
 temporary attitude of mind no one can 
 yet say. 
 
ON THE WAR 117 
 
 It was during this period of great anxiety 
 and trouble that a Paris resident, a friend of 
 one of the regular summer visitors to our 
 seaside village, inquired whether it would 
 be possible for the commune of P. B. to 
 harbour some refugee children from Paris. 
 There were to be about nineteen or twenty 
 in number — boys and girls together. An 
 appeal was made to the ladies of the district, 
 and a small committee was formed to pro- 
 cure the necessary funds for housing, cloth- 
 ing, food, etc., for the children. 
 
 Upon this occasion I went with one of 
 the ladies, a most devoted and indefatigable 
 worker, into the hourg, or town, four kilo- 
 metres away, to make inquiries as to possible 
 accommodation. The children were to arrive 
 under the escort of two Boy Scouts, and 
 would each carry a small bundle containing 
 a change of linen. All other articles of 
 clothing would have to be charitably sup- 
 plied by the committee. 
 
 Our first care was to seek for the neces- 
 sary accommodation. It was not so easy 
 to secure as we had at first imagined, and 
 we made several unsuccessful appeals for 
 help to the local residents. 
 
118 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Firstly we called at the Mairie in order 
 to learn the names of residents to whom 
 we might appeal for the loan of a few beds. 
 Here we did not find much help, but 
 we gathered that a scarcity rather than a 
 surplus stock of beds existed in the com- 
 munity. The usual inhabitants were not 
 rich, and it appears that people with families 
 who go to the seaside for the summer gener- 
 ally manage to do with less bed space than 
 at home. We therefore were obliged to 
 relinquish all thought of obtaining beds from 
 the visitors that remained. We next tried to 
 convince the landlords of empty furnished 
 summer abodes that it was their bounden 
 duty to let us have the beds now unoccupied 
 in the forsaken villas of the locality for the 
 use of our small refugees. But they alleged 
 the rights of departed tenants, who, though 
 they had fled before the mobihzation, having 
 paid but half the season's rent, had yet left 
 their boxes and many other belongings in 
 forfeit. It was therefore impossible to dis- 
 pose of the beds in the half-paid villas. The 
 landlords were right in their refusal, for in 
 many cases the wives and families of distant 
 combatants returned to the deserted villa 
 
ON THE WAR 119 
 
 later, to remain there in the absence of the 
 chef de famille at the front. 
 
 Then we went to the convent and asked 
 the nuns to try to help us. These replied 
 that they could do nothing. The children, 
 who were their usual boarders during the 
 scholastic year, were at present away on 
 their holidays. Besides, they provided their 
 own bedding and bedclothes, the convent 
 supplying only the empty bedstead. 
 
 Then a brilliant thought struck us. 
 
 The village communal schoolrooms were 
 also now free, since it was holiday time 
 there too. If we could obtain the use of 
 the empty schoolrooms as dormitories, we 
 might perhaps be able to collect the beds 
 from elsewhere. So we turned our steps 
 towards the schoolhouse and asked to see 
 the head-schoolmaster. Here we met with 
 instant sympathy and a spontaneous and 
 generous wish to help our small stranded 
 guests. The excellent man, with the aid of 
 his daughter, a charming girl of sixteen, 
 undertook to do all in his power. He placed 
 the schoolrooms at our disposal, and even 
 unlocked for our benefit several empty 
 unused rooms on the first floor of the build- 
 
120 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 ing. Being now assured of a hospitable 
 roof, we studied all the ways and means of 
 obtaining beds, sheets, blankets, etc., and 
 also of making arrangements for service, etc. 
 Ultimately, after many difficulties, and with 
 the aid of much good-will and many volun- 
 tary contributions, we were promised twenty 
 beds, with their complete accessories. Mat- 
 tresses being scarce, several kindly ladies 
 of the village volunteered to make them 
 for us out of oat chafF, which can be con- 
 verted into excellent and springy bedding 
 for children. 
 
 At last all arrangements concerning food, 
 service, accommodation, etc., were made, 
 and we returned to P. B. thoroughly tired 
 out, but entirely satisfied with our after- 
 noon's work. 
 
 But, alas ! disappointment awaited us 
 upon our return. We were informed that 
 a telegram had just been received in the 
 village, saying that Paris was closed against 
 the Germans, and that the refugee children 
 could not now leave the city. . . . 
 
 This was the 3rd or 4th of September. 
 
 Our anxiety was now increased tenfold, 
 and for the next three or four days we 
 
ON THE WAR 121 
 
 remained in complete ignorance of what was 
 happening in the capital. The telegram 
 which had reached us had merely contained 
 the words " Paris femur 
 
 The constant strain which resulted from 
 our alarm concerning absent friends and rela- 
 tions, many of whom we supposed were 
 shut up in Paris, cut off from all possible 
 communications, was almost unbearable. 
 We all felt that any tragedy would be 
 preferable to this state of uncertainty. 
 Yet, even in those hours, I remember noting 
 once more with astonished admiration the 
 cool, collected attitude of those who remained 
 in total ignorance of all that was going on, 
 removed from the centre of all their own 
 personal interests in far-off P. B. It was 
 plainly evident that all were determined, 
 whatever might occur, to bear their troubles 
 with fortitude. Some families of visitors 
 at P. B. had their relations and families 
 upon the eastern frontier — at Charleville 
 and at Nancy — others upon the northern 
 borderland. What might be happening to 
 their dear ones? Were they even still 
 alive ? 
 
 To this hour I cannot understand why 
 
122 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 that misleading telegram had been sent 
 and by whom it was addressed, for after- 
 wards we learned that only a certain number 
 of the gates of the city had been closed, and 
 that residents had left Paris in hundreds and 
 thousands during all those days of terror. 
 In fact, the pressure of traffic was so great 
 that travellers departing from Paris were 
 obliged to secure their seats several days in 
 advance, and were allowed no luggage of 
 any kind. Thousands of free tickets were 
 given by the municipal and Government 
 authorities to enable the poorer residents to 
 leave the capital, and thus many servants 
 stranded in Paris without employment were 
 enabled to return to their country homes. 
 
 Being without any communications from 
 the outside, and believing Paris cut off from 
 the rest of the world, we could form no idea 
 of what was going on. Nevertheless, after a 
 few days — and in spite of the news brought 
 by the telegram which had so upset us all — 
 an occasional arrival from Paris proved to us 
 that the city was not yet entirely closed, 
 though w^e still received neither letters nor 
 papers from the capital. This was, of course, 
 explained to us later by the fact that, in the 
 
ON THE WAR 123 
 
 general rush from the city, the mails had to 
 be left completely aside. 
 
 The train traffic was such that, instead 
 of the usual fourteen hours' journey that 
 separated P. B. from Paris, it took be- 
 tween thirty - six and thirty - eight hours 
 to reach our village. A friend of mine, 
 Mme. du P., was thirty- eight hours stand- 
 ing bolt upright in a third-class carriage, 
 in which eighteen people travelled ! She 
 was not even allowed a handbag. On 
 September 12th my maid, whom I had left in 
 Paris in June, joined me. She was specially 
 fortunate in being able to travel with a 
 small trunk, though a few days later " No 
 luggage allowed " was again the order of the 
 day. What was so confusing was that 
 from one day to another — according to the 
 traffic of soldiers and army necessaries — 
 travellers were allowed or not allowed to 
 start with their luggage. Often one left 
 one's home, after having ascertained that 
 one might travel with luggage, only to dis- 
 cover at the railway-station that one's trunks 
 must be left behind, while no assurance 
 could be given by the authorities as to its 
 ultimate delivery. On certain days sixty 
 
124 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 kilos of luggage were allowed each pas- 
 senger, some days only thirty kilos were 
 allowed, while on other days no luggage 
 was admitted at all. 
 
 My maid related to me later the rather 
 picturesque details of her journey, which 
 had occupied thirty-six hours. She had 
 travelled in a second-class carriage, filled to 
 overflowing with wounded soldiers, who 
 were being transported to various Breton 
 hospitals. Most of these were so badly 
 wounded as to be unable to sit up on the 
 seats of the carriages, and were stretched 
 upon mattresses along the floor of the 
 corridor. The carriage was so full that the 
 atmosphere was stifling. During the first 
 night of travelling my unfortunate maid, 
 who was sitting upright — tightly wedged 
 in between two wounded soldiers — suddenly 
 fell forward and fainted away, with her 
 head resting upon the shoulder of the 
 nearest warrior! Happily for her, how- 
 ever, the infirmier in charge of the men 
 administered restoratives and considerately 
 opened the window. Whereupon she 
 revived. 
 
 In another part of the train were some 
 English soldiers, who travelled part of the 
 
ON THE WAR 125 
 
 way with them. All along the line, at 
 every stopping-place, the inhabitants of the 
 countryside brought baskets of the choicest 
 fruit of their gardens for the delectation 
 of "nos chers Allies'' The partiality of 
 English soldiers for fresh fruit was already 
 well known all over France — as well known 
 as the partiality of German soldiers for 
 champagne ! — and wherever they travelled in 
 the autumn time the Enghsh " Tommies *' 
 found the stations along the Normandy and 
 Brittany lines crowded with kindly peasants 
 carrying trays and baskets filled with offer- 
 ings of apples, pears, plums, grapes, etc. 
 
 The proofs of sympathy and good feeling 
 were quite mutual. When the refugee 
 children eventually arrived, they told us 
 that on their way down from Paris their 
 train had stopped some time at the station 
 of Le Mans, where the headquarters of the 
 English Commissariat Department were 
 situated. To comfort and sustain our poor, 
 weary little travellers — who had been forty 
 hours in the train, and were yet to face 
 almost as many more before they reached 
 their destination — the English soldiers dis- 
 tributed among them cups of hot tea, which 
 delighted the children beyond words. 
 
126 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 For after many weary days of waiting and 
 much anxiety, which their continual post- 
 ponements caused us, our refugees had at last 
 reached us under the escort of the Boy Scouts, 
 which had been announced from Paris. (I 
 refuse, in despair, to give here any adequate 
 rendering of the word " Boy Scouts" as pro- 
 nounced by the Bretons. It took me some 
 considerable time to understand to what 
 genus of individuals the excellent people 
 were referring !) 
 
 Everything was in perfect order for our 
 young guests at the schoolhouse. There 
 were the twenty beds, neatly made up and 
 ready for occupation. Twelve of them 
 filled the space around the larger school- 
 room, and the others were distributed around 
 the empty rooms upstairs. We had three 
 dormitories, and a smaller room set aside 
 for the female attendant of the younger 
 children. We had thought of everything. 
 The committee, composed of several ladies 
 of the district, had — besides money — col- 
 lected stores, food, and delicacies, for our 
 visitors. There were several pounds of 
 chocolate, dozens of pots of jam, etc. Upon 
 their arrival from the station the younger 
 
ON THE WAR 127 
 
 children were to be put to bed at once, and 
 each small guest was to be given a stick of 
 chocolate, with a slice of bread and a cup of 
 fresh milk. But what was our amazement, 
 when we went to the station to meet our 
 guests, to find that the nineteen children 
 whom we had been expecting had multi- 
 plied in number for there were forty-one of 
 them ! The two Boy Scouts were there, 
 supplemented by a lady convoyeuse, and the 
 work of the three attendants was cut out for 
 them, I can assure you, for the little ones 
 were undisciplined, unruly, and excited. 
 And what were we to do with forty-one 
 children, having prepared but for nineteen ? 
 However, with good-will and help from all 
 sides, we managed to take them all in, 
 dividing the extraneous numbers between 
 ourselves. For my part I carried off two 
 small girls, who kept me busy for the next 
 few days, until comfortable permanent 
 quarters could be found for them. 
 
 The new arrivals had brought us news 
 from Paris, and had somewhat reassured us. 
 We learnt of the emotions of the Parisians, 
 who had believed the Germans to be sur- 
 rounding the city as in 1870. But there 
 
128 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 had been not the slightest sign of fear or 
 panic — only a certain restrained curiosity 
 concerning the Taubes, which at that time 
 came each day to visit Paris at about half- 
 past five o'clock every evening. The 
 amazing Parisians seemed to treat the 
 bomb-dropping aeroplanes as a mere joke. 
 Large crowds assembled in the open-air 
 cafes, where a comprehensive view of the 
 sky could be obtained. Some establish- 
 ments went even so far as to improvise a 
 roof-garden, which was patronized each day 
 by the devotees of the Taube exploits. 
 They seemed to consider themselves im- 
 pervious to the bombs which might fall 
 from above, for large crowds followed the 
 aeroplanes through the streets of the city, 
 gazing upwards as they walked along, and 
 watching with great interest the intricate 
 manoevrings of the strange birds above their 
 heads. One evening a Taube remained 
 circumvoluting over the city for a particu- 
 larly long time. It was past seven 
 o'clock, and still the crowd pursued its 
 movements from street to street, evidently 
 awaiting the fall of the expected bomb. 
 Suddenly a street urchin, tired of waiting 
 
ON THE WAR 129 
 
 forming a speaking trumpet by curving his 
 two grimy hands round his mouth, voiced 
 the feeUng of the patient, fearless crowd by 
 caUing up to the man in the Taube : " Hurry 
 up and throw down your bomb, you stupid 
 Boche ! . . . We want to get home to our 
 dinners !" 
 
 Such was the dauntless attitude of the 
 Parisians and the spirit in which they re- 
 ceived the enemy's aerial visits. 
 
 But meanwhile we, down in Brittany, 
 had passed through an anxious time, for we 
 had believed our friends in Paris to have 
 been in great danger. Yet, though so far 
 we had no indication as to the manner in 
 which they had faced these perils, we 
 knew that they would not be downhearted. 
 Later, when we learned how serenely 
 dignified had been their conduct in face 
 of the enemy's rush towards Paris, our 
 admiration was increased and our fears 
 appeased. During eight or ten days it had 
 been useless to attempt to write to any 
 friends in or near Paris, still less to expect 
 any answer from them ; for when we 
 tried to enter into communication with 
 
 9 
 
130 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 anyone by post, we seemed to be play- 
 ing a game of cross-purposes. The mails 
 were so absurdly irregular that one could 
 never rely upon any letter being either sent 
 or received. 
 
 But when at last we began to receive the 
 letters and papers which had been so long 
 delayed in the military trains, they proved 
 to us more conclusively than anything else 
 the spiritual serenity of those who had just 
 been through a period of anxious storm and 
 stress. Amazing tranquillity of a people 
 usually so exuberant and excitable! But 
 those who know the French well were not 
 surprised. The people of France possess 
 the deeply hidden virtues of an old race 
 which has suffered much and carries in its 
 heart the memories of many former struggles 
 and final victories, of many overwhelming 
 defeats rapidly followed by a marvellous 
 renewal of the national spirit. 
 
 But the time had now come when I 
 felt terribly homesick for Paris. I had 
 come to the end of my patience, and 
 felt that I could no longer remain an 
 exile while my relations, friends, and com- 
 rades, were in the thick of the fight. I had 
 
ON THE WAR 131 
 
 been particularly dismayed at the news of 
 the enemy's descent into Chantilly, where I 
 had near relations. 
 
 There had been an immense burst of 
 indignation in the small Breton towns 
 of the coast when we had learned of 
 the bombarding of Rheims Cathedral. 
 At first the information was received 
 almost with incredulity. Most of the 
 people at P. B. — amongst whom so many 
 absurd stories had already been circu- 
 lated — refused to believe the report, which 
 they declared must be another canard. It 
 seemed, indeed, incredible that a nation, so- 
 called civilized, like Germany — who boasts 
 of her Kultur — should have perpetrated so 
 dastardly an act. Since the thirteenth cen- 
 tury the cathedral had stood as a monument 
 to everything that represented the greatness 
 and glory, not only of France, but of Gothic 
 art. Throughout history many terrible 
 enemies had battled in its vicinity, yet so 
 far none had yet been so vile as to have 
 insulted its majesty. It required a modern 
 German army to dare to outrage its dignity ! 
 
 But the news, alas ! was but too true, as 
 all the world now knows. 
 
132 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Rumours of the repulse of the German 
 army and the subsequent victory of the 
 Marne had reached us, too, and we were 
 also told that the railway-lines were begin- 
 ning to be less encumbered. 
 
 So I now decided to return. 
 
 But I had reckoned without my host. It 
 was one thing to decide to travel home, but 
 quite another thing to put that decision into 
 execution. To obtain information at P. B. 
 concerning the hours of the trains to Paris 
 and concerning the possibility of travelling 
 with luggage was most difficult of achieve- 
 ment. As our bourg was served by a 
 local railway, of which all the regular 
 employes were away at the war, the new 
 employes, who were either very old men or 
 young boys, could give no information as to 
 the conditions of travelling on the main-line, 
 the services being entirely disorganized by 
 the mobilization. 
 
 At last, after several prepaid telegrams — 
 all long delayed in transit — to various high 
 officials of the company, all of whom gave 
 me different answers, 1 was able to gather 
 that 1 might start on a certain day by a 
 comparatively rapid train returning to Paris 
 
ON THE WAR 133 
 
 by means of a Normandy line, but as for the 
 transport of luggage nothing could be 
 assured me. I might be able to take it 
 through, or I might possibly be forced to 
 leave it en route/ However, I decided 
 to start, even if I had to stop on the way 
 and proceed to Paris in stages. At that 
 date the trains were not allowed to run 
 at a pace exceeding thirty kilometres an 
 hour. We travelled comparatively rapidly 
 as far as Dreux ; thence, however, it took 
 us nearly eight hours to get to Paris — 
 a distance usually accomplished in less than 
 an hour. 
 
 We travelled with many soldiers return- 
 ing to the front from hospitals or con- 
 valescent homes. In my compartment, 
 which was quite full, there were two Spahis 
 — our native African regiment — on their 
 way back after a few weeks' convalescence in 
 Normandy. One of the men was very ill, 
 and was bent in two with pain. The poor 
 fellow had caught a violent chill by sleeping 
 face downwards upon the ground at night 
 time — a feat he was quite used to performing 
 in his own native land, under African skies, 
 without pernicious results, but which could 
 
134 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 not be indulged in in the fresh, damp 
 country he had just been visiting. He 
 was doubled up with cramp, and evidently 
 enduring great pain. We managed to give 
 him restoratives, and a free space was made 
 for him upon one side of the carriage. We 
 covered him up warmly with all our rugs, 
 making him quite comfortable. I had an 
 indiarubber travelling cushion with me, and 
 this I placed beneath his head. He took so 
 great a fancy to this that later I made him 
 a present of it to use in the trenches. When 
 ultimately we arrived in Paris, he appeared 
 to have greatly recovered. He showed his 
 cushion triumphantly to all his comrades 
 upon the platform. Several of them — like 
 great children at play — tried to take it away 
 from him and annex it for their personal 
 use ; but my Spahi was too quick for them, 
 and after a little horseplay, being a strong 
 hulking fellow, he administered a few play- 
 ful kicks and well-aimed blows, delivered 
 with perfect good-nature, but which soon 
 put an end to their pretensions. Then, 
 triumphantly, he marched out of the station, 
 waving the cushion victoriously above his 
 head ! 
 
ON THE WAR 135 
 
 He told me that he would cherish that 
 cushion in the trenches, for it would be a 
 great comfort to him ; and often since I 
 have wondered why so few people, who 
 have loaded our soldiers with presents for 
 the front, have not thought of providing 
 them more widely with air-cushions, which 
 are so easily rolled up and carried in the 
 pocket. 
 
 The other Spahi, travelling with his 
 friend, who tended the sick man like 
 a mother, carried with him several well- 
 filled heavy bags. I asked him what 
 they contained, and laughingly he showed 
 me. They were packed full of pro- 
 visions given to the two men by the kind 
 peasants who had lodged them during their 
 convalescence. They contained no less than 
 seven pounds of chocolate, forty hard-boiled 
 eggs, three cold roast chickens, three large 
 brioches, besides other cakes, bread, fruit, 
 and cheese, in profusion. There were also 
 several bottles of wine and a quart of cold 
 black coffee. At one part of the journey, 
 and considering the slow pace at which we 
 travelled, some of the occupants of the 
 carriage had feared that the train would 
 
136 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 not bring us into Paris in time even for 
 late supper. The Spahi had laughingly 
 offered to give us a meal, declaring that he 
 had sufficient with him to satisfy us all. 
 Naturally, we had not believed him, and 
 had refused his offi^r. But we little 
 guessed that his bags were so well stored 
 with provisions, or we might have accepted ! 
 
 We reached Paris at midnight in total 
 darkness. The city had already been sub- 
 jected to several Taube visits, which had 
 resulted in the order for a total extinction of 
 lights in the capital at night. As our train 
 wound its way in through the darkness past 
 Versailles and by way of the Eiffel Tower, 
 the impression was most sinister. All that 
 could be distinguished were the searchlights 
 on the Tower as we neared the city. 
 
 An amusing incident occurred halfway 
 between St. Cyr and Versailles. Our train 
 slowed up considerably, and suddenly we 
 found ourselves side by side with an im- 
 mensely long train filled with English 
 soldiers and English field artillery. It was 
 pitch-dark. There were very few lights 
 along the line, and none in the train beside 
 us. Suddenly I caught sight of the English 
 
ON THE WAR 137 
 
 uniforms, and, lowering the window, to the 
 astonishment of the occupants of my car- 
 riage, who probably did not know that I 
 spoke English, I called out at the top of my 
 voice, " God save the King ! . . . Rule, 
 Britannia !" 
 
 An instant response came from the train 
 alongside, and vigorous mutual cheering 
 began at once. Instantly, also, all along 
 our train, windows were thrown open, and 
 as soon as the English were recognized 
 vociferous cheering spread down the line. 
 Of course, the English Tommies were 
 fully alert at once, and crowded to the 
 windows of their train, answering our 
 cheers with their own. The din, re- 
 echoing and reverberating through the chill 
 air, was deafening as cheer after cheer was 
 raised. " Hip, hip, hurrah !" shouted the 
 Tommies. "Vive ?ios Allies T answered 
 the occupants of our train. . . . There were 
 about eight hundred soldiers in the English 
 convoy, and they seemed to enjoy the fun 
 immensely. At last, in the midst of the 
 noise, I was able to get myself heard, and 
 cried out : 
 
 " Where do you come from ?" 
 
138 A FBENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 " London !" was the reply from five 
 hundred throats. 
 
 '' Where are you going to ?" 
 
 " Amiens !" came back the reply. 
 
 (I admit that the name was pronounced 
 so extraordinarily by the English Tommies 
 that I was immediately reminded of the 
 Bretons when they tried to pronounce the 
 words "Boy Scout"!) My companions in 
 the carriage asked me to oblige them with 
 a translation. 
 
 '* You must understand English w^ell to 
 have understood what was meant by that /" 
 remarked one of the ladies of the party. 
 
 The cheering continued until the train 
 bearing the English soldiers had passed out 
 of sight. Yet in the distance, through the 
 still darkness, could be heard the echoing 
 " Hip, hip, hurrah !" of our friends the 
 English Tommies. 
 
 The small incident had turned the con- 
 versation in the carriage to the subject of 
 the Allies, and I found it most interesting 
 to learn the various opinions of my fellow- 
 travellers upon the English. The enthu- 
 siasm of the French for the British 
 soldiers, who were now becoming quite a 
 
ON THE WAR 139 
 
 feature on the French landscape, was most 
 genuine. What seemed to strike them 
 more forcibly than anything else in the 
 English private was his handsome figure, 
 his fine physique, and the smart trimness of 
 his attire. 
 
 The French combatant in this war who is 
 not a professional soldier makes it a point of 
 honour to appear as unprofessional as pos- 
 sible. He neglects his appearance in every 
 way : allows his hair and beard to grow to 
 fantastic lengths — thus well deserving his 
 nickname otpoilu — proudly sports his mud- 
 stained, ragged clothes, and, provided that 
 some detail of his costume is sufficiently 
 military to prove that he is not a civilian, 
 he is quite contented to look a fearful object. 
 He is happy and proud to show that he 
 has been " through the w^ars." There is 
 nothing of the regular soldier in his de- 
 meanour ; he is a simple citizen momentarily 
 transformed into a combatant, who is the 
 more in deadly earnest because he is fight- 
 ing to defend his own hearth and home. 
 
 It is necessary to point out here that the 
 lack of smartness of the French combatant 
 is the result of the non-preparedness of the 
 
140 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 military depots. Hostilities began so sud- 
 denly that nothing was actually ready, so 
 that all sorts and conditions of uniforms on 
 hand were brought into service. 
 
 But the Frenchman admires the spirit of 
 the professional English soldier, with whom 
 warfare is a business, yet who is determined 
 to get his daily shave and his five o'clock tea 
 even in the trenches, and who keeps himself 
 clean and smart even when under fire. 
 
 * I was profoundly impressed by the aspect 
 of my beloved Paris when I reached my flat 
 in late September. The *' Ville-Lumiere " 
 looked like a woman who had gone through 
 the deep sorrow of an unfortunate love 
 affair, but was determined to keep up a 
 brave and courageous attitude, and would 
 not allow herself to be pitied even by her 
 best friends. 
 
 Usually at that period of the year Paris 
 is still more or less the haunt of the tripper 
 or traveller, for Parisians themselves rarely 
 return to their beloved city before the last 
 
 * The following passage, down to the end of the 
 chapter, appeared in the Contemporary Review (July, 
 1915) under the title of "Paris in War Time," and is 
 reproduced here by the kind permission of the editors. 
 
ON THE WAR 141 
 
 days of October. But even when the 
 Parisians of the upper classes are absent 
 from the city, September Paris is yet bright 
 and gay and busy with distinguished visitors 
 passing through, filhng the smart restaurants 
 and shops and byways. The most charming 
 women of all countries are to be seen buying 
 the newest fashions in all the large dress- 
 making and millinery establishments that 
 have made Paris the centre of the world of 
 elegance. But the Paris of September 1914, 
 was as if it were a dead city — a city whose 
 soul was tense with emotion, and refusing to 
 be interested in any form of frivolity because 
 all its energy was devoted to its firm resolu- 
 tion to attain the final victory over its 
 enemies. The Rue de la Paix, the Place 
 Vendome, the Avenue de TOpera, and all 
 the adjacent streets, usually so bright and 
 busy at this hour, were now deserted and 
 empty. They reminded one now of a perpet- 
 ual Sunday afternoon ! All the larger shops 
 were closed. Scarcely a dozen people could 
 be counted in the Rue de la Paix in the 
 middle of the afternoon. The fashionable 
 teashops, usually buzzing with noise at this 
 season, were not even opened, and their 
 
142 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 closed shutters looked funereal. Even 
 though the poorer quarters of the city 
 retained some of their activity, one noticed 
 that there was a dearth of young men, and 
 an increasingly anxious look upon the faces 
 of the women. The larger emporiums, such 
 as the Galeries Lafayette, the Printemps, 
 etc., were curiously deserted by customers, 
 and at least nine-tenths of their employes were 
 away at the front. Later, when customers 
 began to crowd again into the shops for their 
 winter clothing, it was found that there was 
 but one attendant for every four buyers. 
 
 All the taxis and motor-buses having 
 been sent off to the front, the local trans- 
 ports of Paris were effected by means of 
 the tramways only, and the local railway- 
 lines had to be closed up for lack of evi- 
 ployes to attend to the passengers. But 
 the administrations of the railways, like 
 those of the tramways, found that in the 
 absence of their male employes the wives 
 of the men could replace them as conductors 
 and porters, and so took them on in the 
 place of the absentees — at a lower rate of 
 pay, of course, even though they performed 
 the same duties as their husbands ! The 
 
ON THE WAR 143 
 
 chauffeurs and engine-drivers had to be 
 recruited from the ranks of the older men, 
 and during the period of probation necessary 
 to their responsibihty, the trains were run at 
 a slower speed. 
 
 From the beginning of the war up to the 
 early days of the New Year, all traffic on the 
 railway-lines was stopped at nine o'clock 
 every evening, both Sundays and weekdays. 
 After the beginning of January, trains were 
 run an hour later, and in February, till 11 p.m. 
 But the tramway-lines closed even earlier, 
 half - past seven or half-past eight being 
 the latest hours for the evening departures, 
 according to the locality, and the same 
 rules still hold good. The restaurants and 
 cafes were closed at nine, at half - past 
 nine, and at ten later in the winter, and 
 everything was done by the municipal au- 
 thorities to discourage the Parisians from 
 going out in the evening. Long before the 
 days of the Zeppelin scares all lights were 
 extinguished in certain parts of Paris. Oc- 
 casional lamps were lit, and only on one 
 side of each street. Excepting along the 
 boulevards and in the larger car7^efours, 
 Paris looked like a dead citv. 
 
144 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 I tried to pass the Place de la Concorde 
 one evening in October at half-past eight at 
 night, and found that it was a vast abyss of 
 gloom, approached by another dark abyss, 
 which was the Rue Royale in total darkness. 
 Never had I seen Paris like this. And 
 later it was even worse, for when the newer 
 orders were given, in view of the threatened 
 Zeppelin raid, all the inhabitants were in- 
 formed that they must close the shutters of 
 all windows, or, in the absence of shutters, 
 must veil the panes with thick curtains, so 
 as to obstruct the light. I was told that 
 a lady living in my neighbourhood had 
 been fined a hundred francs for refusing 
 to veil the windows of her drawing-room. 
 Paris was so dark that it was positively 
 dangerous to venture forth in the more 
 thinly populated quarters after six o'clock in 
 the evening. The municipal authorities had 
 warned the population that, in the event of 
 a raid, the inhabitants would be advised by 
 means of the sound of trumpets and clarions. 
 They were enjoined, as soon as these were 
 sounded, to rush to the nearest place of 
 safety — that is to say, to stand preferably 
 in a doorway or to hide in the cellars of 
 
ON THE WAR 145 
 
 their houses. As for the Ughted lamps in 
 the streets and cai^refours of Paris, they 
 could be extinguished at a moment's notice 
 at headquarters in the diverse arrondisse- 
 ments of the city. 
 
 When these orders had been executed, 
 the aspect of Paris was still more funereal 
 than before. I remember some years ago, 
 in my early youth, crossing the streets of 
 the city about three in the morning, on the 
 day of President Carnot's funeral. It will be 
 remembered that Carnot was assassinated by 
 an anarchist, and was buried in state. The 
 route along which the procession was to pass 
 later was being prepared for the occasion. 
 All the walls of the public buildings were 
 draped with black crape, and even the street 
 lamps along the avenues where the cortege 
 was to pass, though still alight, were each 
 veiled with crape likewise. 
 
 At the hour of the funeral the lamps 
 would be extinguished, but each post, being 
 entirely covered with a black pall, would 
 appear to be one of a straight serried row of 
 black sentries on each side of the road. 
 The effect was extraordinarily lugubrious, 
 and the memory of it has remained in my 
 
 10 
 
146 A FRENCHWOMAN S NOTES 
 
 mind ever since. I was reminded of this 
 scene the first time that I saw Paris at 
 night during the present war. 
 
 But what was perhaps more striking than 
 the outward appearance of my Bonne 
 J^ille de Paris was the inner resurrection 
 of the spirit of its inhabitants. After the 
 transfer of the Government and of the more 
 important State administrations from Paris 
 to Bordeaux, and after the large exodus 
 from the city, I had necessarily expected to 
 find the inhabitants of the city greatly re- 
 duced in numbers. But, at least, I thought 
 that I should find them as full of spirit as 
 ever, and as full of eager vitality. Strange 
 to say, however, the exuberant Parisians of 
 yore had suddenly become impressively 
 solemn and sober-minded, disciplined and 
 resolute. One felt that it was not only 
 the steadier provinces which had felt the 
 shock of the abrupt change to more serious 
 thoughts, but that Paris too, Paris the 
 frivolous and charming, had now fortified 
 its spirit, and was grimly determined to wait 
 calmly and serenely for the end, the final 
 success of which it never for one moment 
 doubted. For I do not think that through- 
 
ON THE WAR 147 
 
 out this long war there has been a single 
 moment when this conviction has not been 
 keenly alive among the population. There 
 were evidences of the urgent appeal which 
 the Parisians had made to their deeper 
 selves to be seen in every detail of the life 
 of the city. Even the most trivial-minded 
 women seemed to have thrust from them 
 all their most cherished caprices, and 
 to have sobered down into earnest, helpful 
 creatures. The true note of everything now 
 was mutual help and devotion on all sides. 
 
 And not only was the spirit of mutual 
 help evident everywhere, but also the 
 supreme effort made by one and all not to 
 wound the feelings or convictions of others. 
 Those who formerly were the most separ- 
 ated by their opinions and ideals were now 
 gathered together in the same elan of good- 
 will and reciprocal kindUness. All the 
 meaner dissensions seemed to be forgotten 
 — done away with. Parisians, usually con- 
 sidered so shallow and so light-heartedly 
 selfish, were proving their broad-mindedness 
 and their rare qualities of feeling. 
 
 And as the French are pre-eminently an 
 artistic race, prompted by a fastidious sense 
 
148 A FRENCHWOMANS NOTES 
 
 of taste and of fitness in the details of life, 
 their gravity of thought and dignity of 
 bearing, as well as their tactful respect for 
 the feelings of others, were now evinced in 
 the manner of their dress. Among all 
 classes, since the beginning of the war, this 
 attitude of definite composure among the 
 people was noticeable, but in no way more 
 than in the dress and attitude of the 
 Parisian women. In the tramways, on the 
 underground railways, in the streets, in 
 the shops, it almost appeared, at first sight, 
 that all the women were dressed in a 
 uniform of dark colour. Not that all were 
 in mourning, but one and all, anxious not to 
 offend the taste of those who wore the garb» 
 of woe which French custom imposes so 
 strictly upon the sorrowing relations of the 
 dead, had adopted the most sombre colours 
 for outdoor wear. 
 
 At the present moment the hats worn 
 by all classes and conditions of women are 
 still close and severe, and almost entirely un- 
 trimmed. There is no jewellery seen of any 
 kind, and none of the extravagant aigrettes 
 and plumes which adorned last year's modes. 
 This sudden change to severity is the more 
 
ON THE WAR 149 
 
 noticeable to those who have followed the 
 details of Paris fashions within recent years. 
 During the last few seasons popular taste had 
 been largely influenced by the violent and 
 clashing tones used in the Russian ballets, 
 which had taken Paris by storm. The most 
 eccentric styles, the most decollete corsages, 
 the flimsiest and most transparent of mate- 
 rials, the split-up skirts, revealing half the 
 leg of the wearer, the cobweb silk stockings, 
 the bare shoulders and bosoms seen through 
 fine net or lace in full daylight, the high 
 waving feathers, the profusion of barbaric 
 jewels and extravagant furs and laces — all 
 these have disappeared as if by enchant- 
 ^ment, because the intuition of the Parisienne 
 has prompted her to conform to the general 
 national spirit in these times of individual 
 and national sorrow. For the aim of even 
 the most frivolous of women now is not to 
 hurt the feelings of others, not to excite 
 envy, not to remind other women, who are 
 sorrowing for the loss of their beloved ones, 
 of past days of fetes and gaiety. 
 
 It is a wonderfully interesting subject to 
 study carefully, this sudden and radical 
 transformation of the soul of a race. 
 
150 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 But can it be called a transformation ? 
 Was it not rather a resurrection, deter- 
 mined by the passionate resentment of an 
 invaded people, which brought up to the 
 surface again the more heroic national char- 
 acteristics and qualities that had lain dormant 
 for so long through unheroic times ? 
 
 What this war will have proved to the 
 French themselves, and to their friends also, 
 as well as to their enemies, is that, through- 
 out the generations, the old qualities of 
 bravery, valour, and chivalry, which had 
 distinguished the race in the past, have 
 remained as vital as ever, in spite of all that 
 had been said by outsiders to the contrary. 
 And this is proved by the fact that such a 
 magnificent resurrection of the high-mettled 
 elements in the nation should have im- 
 mediately followed such a period of Paris life 
 as that typified by the tango teas and the 
 Caillaux case. How far off such things seem 
 to us now, and how uninteresting ! For they 
 belong to the distant, far-away times "before 
 the war." 
 
 For France now is stern, grave, and serene, 
 and ready to confront all difficulties, all 
 tragedies even, provided that in the end 
 
ON THE WAR 151 
 
 she shall be victorious. And the frivolous, 
 gay, and happy soul of her now Ues hidden 
 beneath her unconquerable tenacity of pur- 
 pose. 
 
 " A new France !" suggests a friend 
 who has always identified France with 
 the spirit of gaiety. No, my friend. An 
 old France, a very old France! For only 
 a very old and sorely tried nation could find 
 in herself such resourcefulness as she now 
 shows — such depths of feeling and such 
 valour as France is now revealing to the 
 world, and that the corruption which preceded 
 the war was but superficial was abundantly 
 proved by the sudden and violent reaction 
 of the entire nation in the face of war. 
 All the force of the country instantly re- 
 vived when necessity for immediate action 
 became apparent to all, and, like a torrent 
 of lava sweeping away into oblivion before 
 its fiery flood all that it touches, all frivolity 
 immediately disappeared. The traditional 
 and heroic soul of France had come back 
 to life again. The very originators of the 
 most extravagant and sumptuous luxuries 
 were the first to don their uniforms, to go 
 out to the front, and die like heroes. The 
 
152 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 women, too, at once threw aside their finest 
 gowns to follow ambulance classes, and to 
 don the straight linen overall and tight- 
 bound veils of the Red Cross nurses. Even 
 those women who did not serve as nurses 
 sobered down their costumes at once, and, 
 their motors having been commandeered for 
 the army, one sees them now plainly attired 
 in dark serge costumes and close hats, using 
 the Metro as a means of locomotion, and, 
 laden with parcels for the soldiers, going 
 from one hospital to another. 
 
 The Parisienne of to-day is equipped the 
 whole day long as for early morning shop- 
 ping or a walk in the Bois before luncheon. 
 Even " at home " days are done away with in 
 Paris at present, for no one is entertaining, 
 and there is no probability of any hostess 
 wishing to entertain for some time to come. 
 There are, of course, no evening entertain- 
 ments, and after a long day's work devoted 
 to good deeds, all Paris goes to bed now 
 at nine o'clock in the evening. 
 
 It is to be hoped that history will not 
 forget to extol the virtues of the woman of 
 1914 ; for she is truely worthy of com- 
 mendation. The modern Parisienne has not 
 
ON THE WAR 153 
 
 needed the slightest admonition, nor lesson, 
 nor teacher, to point out to her where her 
 duty lies. The wave of heroism that has 
 swept over all the country has dominated 
 and possessed her soul ; and, though her sex 
 forbids her the excitement of the fight, she 
 has in her own way gone to the front and 
 become a soldier, for the soldier's spirit has 
 filled her soul. And her greatest merit is 
 that she does not realize the noble courage 
 of her own conduct. 
 
 The entire population of Paris has mar- 
 vellously adapted itself to the new condi- 
 tions of national life. It may even be said 
 that many of those citizens, both men and 
 women, who formerly were the most agitated 
 members of the community, now find a great 
 charm in the simple life into which they 
 have been forced by circumstances ; and if 
 the tormenting thought of the hostilities in 
 progress at the front did not beset them, 
 they would welcome the new conditions of 
 their existence with delight. For if Paris 
 is no longer Paris as they once knew her, 
 she has gained a new charm which but few 
 of us knew before, which is the charm 
 of the provincial town. How often, during 
 
154 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 a season of overstrung nervous excitement, 
 when the days seemed too short to contain 
 their various and varied occupations, with 
 all the hurry and bustle that one forced into 
 them, would we not have welcomed days 
 of quiet and uneventful hours which offer 
 us time for meditation, and the simpler and 
 rarer emotions of pleasant friendly inter- 
 course ! Not to mention the reading and 
 music and all the other attractive pursuits 
 to which one could devote no time at 
 all during the days of Tango teas and 
 Russian ballets. 
 
 Besides these new joys, what novelties 
 have not been discovered since the begin- 
 ning of the war by the weary and surfeited 
 Parisians who formerly spent all their time 
 in frivolities ! Because economy is the 
 order of the day on all sides, the more 
 elementary forms of amusement are now 
 being cultivated, and one is discovering new 
 sources of delight in the simpler pleasures. 
 Just as the women of the jaded Court of 
 Marie Antoinette found great charm in 
 playing at butter-making, the neurasthenic 
 ladies of 1914 have discovered a new enjoy- 
 ment in cultivating the more unsophisti- 
 cated pastimes. 
 
ON THE WAR 155 
 
 There are even no dinner-parties now 
 given in Paris, but occasionally a hostess 
 invites a few of her old friends to a simple 
 dinner — le diner de guerre, she calls it — 
 composed merely of two dishes. As the 
 men - servants are all away at the war, 
 the war-dinner is served by a simple hand- 
 maiden. Economy being severely practised 
 in the household because of the necessary 
 charities to be performed, it is taken quite 
 as a matter of course that one's hostess 
 should deprive herself of all unnecessary 
 luxury, in order to come to the aid of some 
 poor mother of a starving family. 
 
 The table therefore is not decorated with 
 expensive flowers nor covered with a lace 
 tablecloth. But the diners — not in even- 
 ing-dress — gather around and chat together 
 with greater intimacy and abandon than 
 before. The suppression of all pomp and 
 show has reduced the guests to their native 
 simplicity, and they are all the better for 
 it. At these informal gatherings, as well 
 as at the knitting-parties, which have re- 
 placed the formal *' at home " calls in the 
 afternoon, the conversation becomes more 
 cordial, and people who formerly would 
 
156 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 have found time only to be mere acquaint- 
 ances now become friends. The pro- 
 founder quaUties are allowed to become 
 more apparent. One is not ashamed to 
 show the true depths of one's heart, any- 
 more than one is ashamed to own one's 
 poverty. It is no longer *' the thing " to 
 be smart, but to be simple, real, and 
 kindly. 
 
 Neither is there time or taste for talking 
 scandal. No one even thinks of it. It is 
 a curious fact that during war time, when 
 everyone in the nation is in fear for the life 
 of some loved one, no one wishes to speak 
 unkindly of one's friends. Such habits may 
 have been current last year — avant la guerre. 
 But now nous avons change tout cela ! For 
 the two periods are quite separate in the 
 minds of all. There was the time avant la 
 guerre^ but now we are living in the time 
 penda nt la guerre. These terms will probably 
 subsist for many generations on the lips of 
 Parisians. Avant la guerre will signify all 
 that is frivolous and meretricious, while 
 pendant la guerre will signify all that is 
 heroic. 
 
 Of course la guerre will now always 
 
ON THE WAR 157 
 
 mean for us this pa?'ticula?^ war, though 
 until now la guerre to French people has 
 meant the war of 1870. We now allude 
 to that past war as la guerre de '70. 
 
 For the current expressions used by a 
 generation typify that generation through- 
 out history. 
 
 The general stampede from the capital, 
 when the President of the Republic, the 
 Government, the high State administrations, 
 and even the offices of some of the most 
 important newspapers, were transferred to 
 Bordeaux, took life still further away from 
 Paris, making Bordeaux the capital of the 
 nation for the time being. This general 
 exodus from Paris gained a new sobri- 
 quet for those who fled the city. Hence- 
 forth they were known as tournedos a 
 la Bordelaise, which literally translated 
 means " turnbacks in the style of Bor- 
 deaux." This is actually the name of a 
 dish popularly liked amongst Frenchmen, 
 a very delicate sort of steak served up with 
 a Bordelaise sauce, and was an apt nick- 
 name for the occasion. But it was most 
 indicative, too, of the disregard of Parisians 
 
158 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 for the Government as an institution carry- 
 ing weight and respect, to observe that, while 
 the whole of the State paraphernalia was 
 absent from Paris, the Ville Lumiere herself 
 fared just as well without it. It is true that 
 at that time the military Governor of Paris, 
 General Gallieni, had taken up the reins of 
 responsibility, and was managing the interior 
 government of the city with an efficiency 
 which restored the Parisians' confidence. 
 
 I had left Paris in June, and returned to 
 it at the end of September. During that 
 lapse of time the war had broken out, and 
 the entire spirit of the city had been trans- 
 formed. 
 
 The Parisians, like the provincials, seemed 
 determined to forget all the differences that 
 might once have separated them — differences 
 of opinions and convictions, whether poli- 
 tical, social, or religious. There were no 
 dissensions now of any kind. This was 
 noticeable in a great number of ways, but 
 in no detail was it more apparent than 
 concerning the choice of the newspapers 
 sold and read in the capital. Hitherto the 
 class of readers of the various political 
 papers had been most clearly defined. It 
 
ON THE WAR 159 
 
 would have been impossible to find a 
 Socialist with the Echo de Paris in his 
 hand, or a Reactionnaire reading La Gruerre 
 Sociale, But since the war all these habits 
 had been changed. People of all political 
 groups and opinions read the Echo de Paris 
 now, not only for the war news, but also to 
 read the articles which Maurice Barres and 
 Paul Bourget publish in its columns, so as 
 to be able to keep in touch with the point 
 of view of these stern upholders of the 
 Nationalist and religious parties, which had 
 suddenly become of great interest to men of 
 all parties in France. Gustave Herve, 
 too, who had served so many years in 
 prison for his too advanced Socialist and 
 pacifist views, had now become an ardent 
 and eager patriot, who thirsted for the 
 blood of the enemy. His articles in the 
 Guerre Sociale, explaining this transforma- 
 tion, are some of the most ably written and 
 most admired journalistic productions of his 
 time, and meet with general enthusiasm. This 
 writer, who, if he had not absolutely insulted 
 the French flag, had at least once derided it, 
 and had paid for this derision with several 
 months' imprisonment, now produced articles 
 
160 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 which, in their simple and practical rhetoric 
 and with their strong common- sense argu- 
 ments, did much to reassure the people. They 
 remind one somewhat of certain articles by 
 Henri Rochefort. Indeed it may be said that 
 Hervd's success as a chroniqueur among the 
 public of 1914 has only been equalled by 
 Rochefort 's during the war of 1870. People 
 professing every variety of thought and 
 reUgion read his daily articles eagerly, and 
 are amazed to find that the once exag- 
 gerated, absurd, and anti - Governmental 
 pamphleteer can express such sober-minded 
 and subtle arguments in favour of peace and 
 good-will towards all men as are now signed 
 by this once fiery opponent of law and 
 order. 
 
 The call to arms of all men, of all 
 denominations, of all classes, of all trades 
 and convictions, of all ideals, and of all re- 
 ligions, making of them all comrades in arms 
 to defend the common cause, has brought 
 about an amalgamation of conflicting in- 
 terests in a manner that would have been 
 deemed totally impossible in France some 
 months ago. But now the sense of values 
 appears to have been subtly altered, and 
 
ON THE WAR 161 
 
 even the very terms used to express them 
 have no longer the same quahty of meaning 
 which they possessed before the war. 
 
 Thus has V Union Sacree been accom- 
 phshed. 
 
 !l 
 
162 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 PART II 
 
 I 
 
 WHY FRANCE WAS UNPREPARED 
 FOR WAR 
 
 The Germans had been preparing for the 
 present war for the last forty-four years. 
 We now possess evidence proving that fact. 
 Yet France — her nearest neighbour, her 
 oldest inveterate enemy, whom she had 
 vanquished in 1870, and who had never 
 forgiven nor forgotten that humiliation — 
 was apparently not aware that these prep- 
 arations against her were in progress ; or 
 at least, though she knew of them, she 
 appeared to understand but little of their 
 purpose. Perhaps, even, she deluded herself 
 in the thought that they were not directed 
 against her. What is certain is that she 
 acted as if she did not expect to be invaded ; 
 
ON THE WAR 163 
 
 therefore she made no adequate prepara- 
 tions to cope with such an emergency. 
 
 Everything had been done to prevent the 
 masses from considering war possible, still 
 less as imminent. The Press, under Govern- 
 mental propulsion, excluded all information 
 that might have enlightened public opinion 
 as to the ever-increasing preparations of 
 Germany. France, like England, had not 
 perceived the meaning of the thousands 
 of German spies that infested the land 
 and invaded every department of national 
 activity. 
 
 Nevertheless, can it be truly said that 
 France was unprepared ? Hardly, when one 
 has seen her immediate response and eager 
 rush to the enemy. It would perhaps be 
 fairer to say that, even though not materially 
 equipped, she was not morally unprepared. 
 For that the heart of the nation was ready 
 has been amply proved by the magnificent 
 and determined fighting spirit which all 
 classes have shown since the first day of 
 hostilities. 
 
 Why was it, then, that the leaders of 
 France had not perceived the inevitable 
 fatality of coming events ? Why was it 
 
164 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 that the French nation had not held itself 
 in readiness for a probable war ? 
 
 The answers to these questions will be 
 found in diverse causes. 
 
 Statisticians tell us that war is one of the 
 fatal laws of the universe, and emphasize 
 their assertion by saying that since the year 
 1496 B.C. to the year 1861 — that is to say, 
 during a period of 3,357 years — there have 
 been but 227 years of peace ! And this 
 amongst so-called civihzed nations ! Thus 
 there have been 3,130 years of warfare and 
 bloodshed, making an average of fourteen 
 years of warfare to each single year of peace. 
 In face of such figures there is no means of 
 disputing the evident fact that until modern 
 times war has been an apparent law of the 
 world. 
 
 But within recent times — during the last 
 forty-four years of peace — France had begun 
 to be interested in other things than in 
 warfare, and, being always in the vanguard 
 of intellectual progress, had been greatly 
 attracted by ethical speculations on pacifism 
 and internationahsm. All the more modern 
 intellectual ideas amongst all the civilized 
 nations, following France's lead, tended 
 
ON THE WAR 165 
 
 towards a policy of peace and understanding 
 between nations, and towards the hope that 
 a more developed and conscious humanity- 
 would do away with warfare as the sole 
 method of settling human differences. France 
 herself had been one of the first nations of 
 Europe to respond eagerly to the generous 
 appeal of the Tzar for the institution of a 
 Court of Arbitration at The Hague. 
 
 The Socialistic persuasions also — which 
 were the inevitable prolongation and natural 
 outcome of more advanced Republican 
 thought — had of recent years won many 
 adherents, who were in principle opposed to 
 all ideas of warfare, declaring not only that 
 it was an immoral and effete force of the 
 world, but also that they felt no unfriend- 
 liness against their brother Socialists in 
 Germany. 
 
 Such ideals, principles, and convictions, do 
 not lead a nation to practical preparations 
 for hostilities, and French politicians and 
 leaders of thought, devoted to mere intel- 
 lectual speculations, had not, as a whole, 
 considered practical issues. Indeed, in the 
 words of Prince von Biilow himself, in 
 his famous book " Programmes of Political 
 
166 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Parties," ''the characteristic trait of the 
 French nation lies in the fact that the 
 psychic needs of the people are more neces- 
 sary to them than their material wants." 
 
 Nevertheless, and in spite of these pacific 
 theories, a certain number of the French 
 military leaders were constantly engaged 
 upon the study and invention of scientific 
 weapons of modern warfare. This is proved 
 by the production of such a piece of artillery 
 as the famous soixante-quinze (75) cannon, 
 and by the invention and advancement of all 
 aerial and marine navigation. Indeed, be- 
 sides artillery, the motors, wireless telegraphy, 
 dirigibles, and submarines, so largely used 
 in the present war, are all primarily of 
 French invention. 
 
 After a long period of comparative peace 
 the French nation had become sincerely 
 interested in other intellectual and scientific 
 discoveries, and had abandoned a steadily 
 pursued national defence. Internationalism 
 had become the principal condition of mind 
 of the modern Frenchman. He had travelled 
 much, and had learned some foreign lan- 
 guages, German amongst others. He had 
 studied the various foreign countries, though 
 
ON THE WAR 167 
 
 Germany insufficiently, for he had never 
 read either Treitschke or Bernhardi. But 
 he felt convinced that the men of all 
 nations together form one large human 
 family, and that all men are brothers. 
 
 But what of Alsace? may be objected. 
 Yes, there was Alsace, he had not forgotten 
 her. " Y penser toiijours, . . . JVe7i parler 
 jamais,'' had been Gambetta's advice. And, 
 generously, he had dreamed of a pacific 
 understanding that would make Alsace- 
 Lorraine an independent State. For his 
 pacifist illusions had blinded him as to the 
 real spirit of Germany. 
 
 But there were other reasons, strong, 
 profound, and of a more general order, which 
 can explain why France was not practically 
 prepared for war. The adversaries of the 
 Republic lay the blame entirely upon Re- 
 publican methods. In a measure they are 
 right, and the saner and more moderate 
 Republicans will admit that to a certain ex- 
 tent the accusations of their opponents are 
 founded upon truth ; for the essential func- 
 tion of a Republic is that of administering a 
 community in times of peace, of striving 
 for the prosperity of the nation, and not 
 
168 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 for warfare. In spite of some excellent in- 
 fluences upon the character of the nation — 
 for, to be just, one must admit that demo- 
 cratic teachings of Liberty, Equality, and 
 Fraternity, have been beneficial to the spirit 
 of the race — the Republic has grave 
 errors to answer for in having prevented 
 the nation from realizing its immediate 
 danger, by neglecting all preparation for 
 war, and by allowing all the bellicose energy 
 of the country to be concentrated in other 
 directions. 
 
 After the events of 1870, France was 
 the first great people of modern Europe 
 to evolve a Democratic form of govern- 
 ment, and it was natural that the defenders 
 of the Republic should desire the main- 
 tenance of the policy for which they them- 
 selves had battled above all other things. 
 Therefore they did not desire, nor even con- 
 template, warfare with any outside Power. 
 The young activities of the Republic 
 were entirely employed in asserting the 
 supremacy of Republican ideals, and its 
 more fruitful energies being used to estab- 
 lish its own domination or to convince 
 fresh adherents, the combative spirit of the 
 
ON THE WAR 169 
 
 nation during the last forty years was 
 mainly directed towards its own interne- 
 cine struggles, against Reactionaries and 
 Clericals more especially. Though Repub- 
 lican theories had succeeded in gaining the 
 greater portion of the nation — those whom 
 they had not convinced had rallied round 
 them merely because there was no other 
 possible form of government in France to 
 oppose — nevertheless the Republic still 
 possessed irreconcilable enemies within its 
 own national frontiers, and all its fighting 
 energies were inevitably employed in in- 
 doctrinating, or in silencing these opponents, 
 rather than in preparing for war with an 
 outside neighbour. 
 
 Even those long colonial campaigns which 
 the men of the Republic have undertaken 
 since 1870 have all had one object — the 
 aggrandizement of a Republican France, and 
 therefore of the Republic itself 
 
 If we consider the more recent work of the 
 Republic within the last fifteen or twenty 
 years, we shall find that nearly all its efforts 
 have been used in the establishment of 
 reforms — Republican reforms, destined to 
 strengthen its hold upon the nation. 
 
170 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Perhaps the most important of these was 
 the separation of the Church and State, for 
 this ended the long and exhausting struggle 
 between the two apparently almost irrecon- 
 cilable forces which had torn France in 
 twain. ''Le Clericalisme, voila Vennemi!'' 
 served as a byword, proving in what direc- 
 tion the Republic had sought and found its 
 true rival. 
 
 Besides this long struggle with Cleri- 
 calism, which finally resulted in the triumph 
 of the Republic, the various successive 
 Cabinets have been exclusively occupied 
 with reforms of other kinds. Firstly public 
 instruction was entirely overhauled and a 
 system re-established. For it was essen- 
 tially necessary, according to Republican 
 ethics, that the youth of the nation should 
 be educated upon Republican principles 
 and nourished with democratic ideals. In 
 this struggle for supremacy over the minds 
 and souls of the rising generations, the 
 Republic again met with a strong and 
 vital resistance from their old enemies, the 
 Clericals. 
 
 The attention of Republican Ministers 
 was also specially directed towards the 
 
ON THE WAR 171 
 
 elaboration of democratic reforms, that 
 tended towards tlie comfort as well as to- 
 wards the democratization of the citizens. 
 Such were the increase of the salaries of 
 deputies, raised at one sitting from 9,000 to 
 15,000 francs a year, old age pensions, etc. 
 
 The Republican policy therefore offered 
 no encouragement to military ideals — one 
 may almost say that it opposed all military 
 tendencies. And this not only from a sincere 
 desire for peace, but also in a spirit of self- 
 defence against the army itself, which had 
 ever remained faithful to its religious convic- 
 tions, and was therefore under the influence of 
 the Church, and consequently of Clericalism. 
 Indeed, the struggle for supremacy between 
 the Republic and military leaders almost 
 caused a revolution within the army itself. 
 
 In addition to the fact that Republican 
 politicians were almost entirely absorbed in 
 reforms which were ultimately destined to 
 assure the definite stability of the Republic 
 itself, the reformers also neglected to attri- 
 bute portions of their yearly Budget to the 
 necessary war credits. For the last twenty 
 years, the succeeding Ministers of War have 
 never demanded the military Budgets which 
 
172 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 would have been indispensable for the main- 
 tainance of a strongly prepared army ready 
 for the field. 
 
 That to Republican politicians, the de- 
 fence of Republican principles has always 
 appeared more essential than the mainte- 
 nance of France's military prestige among 
 other nations, has been evident in many 
 ways. An example of this has often been 
 proved to those women specially interested 
 in forwarding the feminist movement, who 
 have continually met with the following 
 argument from convinced Republicans : 
 
 " If women were given the vote, they 
 would be led to the polling-stations by the 
 Roman Catholic priests, and that would 
 be the downfall of the Republic. We are 
 therefore against female suffrage." 
 
 The very form of their objection proves 
 that the preservation of their own form of 
 government appeared more essentially neces- 
 sary to them than any wider national reform. 
 
 Another of the forces that militated 
 against any possibility of war prepara- 
 tion — which necessarily implies long fore- 
 sight and steady, ever - vigilant activity — 
 was the instability of the various and sue- 
 
ON THE WAR 178 
 
 ceediiig Republican Cabinets, and the con- 
 sequent incapacity of State administrations 
 to pursue any long-sustained effort. For 
 the actual work and organization of such pre- 
 paration, which demand incessant tenacity 
 of purpose, are directly under tlie control 
 of the high officials of the State adminis- 
 trations. But it is impossible to maintain 
 the necessary cohesion and regular persuance 
 of any definite military scheme if the War 
 Minister, who is nominally responsible for 
 the administration of his own department, 
 is being continually changed. Governmental 
 instability paralyzes the efforts of the ad- 
 ministrative directors, who realize that no 
 sooner might a reform in their own depart- 
 ment be decided upon, than the Minister 
 himself might fall from power, thus abruptly 
 putting an end to all carefully premeditated 
 plans. And in most cases the fall would 
 be due, not necessarily to his own policy, 
 but to the policy of one of his colleagues, 
 involving the fall of the entire Cabinet. 
 Thus, the most unimportant of political 
 dissensions may often overthrow the slow, 
 patient, far-seeing labour of the preceding 
 weeks or months. The perfectly justifiable 
 
174 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 discouragement of the permanent State 
 officials brought about by such kaleidos- 
 copic political changes in the government 
 has therefore militated against their setting 
 themselves resolutely to undertake the 
 reforms in their department, ordered by 
 the last-appointed Minister, because they 
 always felt that the position of their chief 
 himself was so insecure that even his most 
 excellently conceived plans could never be 
 put into practical execution, owing to the 
 likelihood of the Cabinet being overthrown 
 before their institution had been begun. 
 Thus the govermental instability of the 
 Republic was a powerful factor against the 
 regular methodical pursuance of any warlike 
 policy. 
 
 But, to be quite frank — for the truth 
 must be confessed — a strong reason, per- 
 haps the strongest of all, why the Republic 
 neither equipped the country for a military 
 defence, nor encouraged the bellicose senti- 
 ments of the people, was that the Republic 
 itself instinctively feared the coming of 
 war. All Republican politicians had per- 
 ceived to what extent a possible war 
 would be dangerous to the Republic as a 
 
ON THE WAR 175 
 
 form of government. They argued — per- 
 haps not always consciously, though all felt 
 it obscurely — that, if France were to be 
 vanquished as in 1870, the nation would 
 consider the Republic as the responsible 
 cause of defeat, and would speedily rise to 
 overthrow it. And if, on the other hand, 
 France were to be victorious, the danger 
 might be still greater. For the enthusiasm 
 of the masses would be such that, in a 
 sudden revulsion of feeling, a victorious 
 General might easily be transformed into a 
 Military Dictator. So that, in either case, 
 the possibility of the fall of the Republic 
 was to be apprehended. The danger of 
 Military Dictatorship was, perhaps, feared 
 most, and this explains why the Press, 
 following instructions from higher quarters, 
 has, since the beginning of hostilities, care- 
 fully abstained from encouraging the popu- 
 larity of any particular General. The higher 
 officers of the French army had, until recent 
 times, always been Reactionaries ; for the 
 army and the navy, as well as the diplomatic 
 service, had remained faithful to the Catholic 
 Church and to Clericalism. It had there- 
 fore been greatly feared in Ministerial 
 
176 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 circles that, in case of war, the army, led 
 by its enthusiasm for any special reactionary 
 General, might be used as a means to end 
 the Republican i^egime. When the time 
 came to appoint a Gdn^ralissime, General 
 JofFre was most carefully chosen for the 
 responsible post by the Republican Govern- 
 ment, because he was known to be a firm 
 Republican, a freethinker, and a man devoid 
 of any personal or political ambition. 
 
 That the Republic should have been 
 pacific in feeling and undesirous of war 
 will be easily understood. A Republic can 
 be nothing if not pacific. It cannot be 
 bellicose if it wishes to exist at all. The only 
 warfare which a Republic can recognize is 
 that not waged with weapons, but by expan- 
 sion of trade and industry. The Republic of 
 France had recognized this form of peaceful 
 struggle, and admitted that Germany had 
 every right to expand her being, and even 
 to prove her superiority in the industrial 
 and commercial world, if she were able to 
 do so. 
 
 But what Republican politicians had not 
 perceived was that, if nations, like indi- 
 viduals, exist through " the incessant perseve- 
 
ON THE WAR 177 
 
 ranee of their being," the last unanswerable 
 argument, when differences occur, is inevit- 
 ably that which is clinched by the force of 
 the sword. 
 
 In the words of Marcel Sembat, the 
 Socialist — now actually a member of the 
 present Ministry — "to aim at a warlike 
 Republic is to try to transform a plough- 
 share into a cannon." In his book 
 Faites un Roi, sinon faites la Paix, 
 which, curiously enough, was published 
 in 1913 as a method of opposition to 
 the Three Years' Service Bill, he declares 
 that, "Republicans must know what they 
 want, and to realize that themselves they 
 must understand the position of the Repub- 
 lic, and then act fairly, in accordance with 
 Republican principles." The whole volume 
 is written to prove that a Republic is not 
 apt, and cannot be apt, to prepare for war- 
 fare, because of necessity there is no respon- 
 sible head, no responsible personal initiative, 
 capable of decreeing war or of carrying out 
 any plan of mobilization. 
 
 He repeatedly asserts throughout the 
 volume that a Republic is not created to 
 pursue warfare, but peace. It is essentially 
 
 12 
 
178 A FRENCHWOMAN S NOTES 
 
 against all military action. A sincere 
 Republican can never have a bellicose 
 spirit, he declares. " The earlier Republics 
 of France were not real ones. The Revo- 
 lution was not a Republic in essence, nor 
 was the Republic of 1848, because it failed 
 to establish itself permanently. The mere 
 fact of the alliances of the Republic are a 
 contradiction in terms." 
 
 And he continues : " During the Bou- 
 langist period people had clearly discerned 
 the truth which certain Republicans liad not 
 understood, to the effect that bellicose efforts 
 towards a Revanche necessitates a Dictator. 
 War cannot be a merely heroic episode, 
 after which the affairs of a State resume 
 their regular course once more. Modern 
 warfare demands long preparation, diplomatic 
 and military, and must be such that the 
 period of pseudo-peace which precedes it is 
 itself a veilUe d'armes, 
 
 " It is evident that such conditions are 
 incompatible with the ideals of a sober, 
 serious, and peaceful Republic, in which 
 men go about their work and business 
 without being disturbed. A contentious 
 attitude necessitates an appropriate policy, 
 
ON THE WAR 179 
 
 and the essential condition of that special 
 policy is kingship." 
 
 The author therefore asserts that the 
 nation must make a deliberate choice be- 
 tween a peaceful Republic or a warlike 
 King. 
 
 He goes even farther and admits that 
 a Republican form of government has not 
 the necessary authority to prepare for war. 
 " There are too many inefficient nonenti- 
 ties, too many heads of departments that 
 accomplish nothing," he declares, *' and the 
 War administration is so badly managed that, 
 in the event of a sudden outbreak of hostili- 
 ties, when equipping the infantry, it would 
 be suddenly discovered that there were 
 no boots for the men. Boots of small sizes 
 and of extra large sizes might perhaps be 
 found, but boots for moderate-sized feet 
 would be entirely lacking in the equipment 
 stores of the War Office." 
 
 This proves that the Socialists themselves 
 did not believe in the possibility of any 
 organizing powers in a Republic. How- 
 ever, M. Sembat's fears were somewhat ex- 
 aggerated, and it is interesting to compare 
 his declaration with what actually took place 
 
180 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 at the end of July, 1914, when the mobili- 
 zation of troops was imminent. 
 
 It will be remembered that, three or four 
 days before mobilization was decreed, some 
 thoughtful person, probably some director in 
 the War Department, caused a notice to be 
 inserted in all the newspapers of the country 
 to the effect that, in case of a possible mobil- 
 ization, every future combatant was to pro- 
 vide himself with a strong pair of walking 
 boots, the price of which would be refunded 
 upon his arrival at the barracks. One would 
 like to know whether this particular instance 
 of administrative foresight was due to the 
 suggestion of any responsible politician in 
 power ! 
 
 However, in spite of the fact of the non- 
 bellicose spirit of the Republic, there had 
 been signs in recent years, not only that the 
 nation itself had never forgotten a possible 
 Guerre de Revanche, but even that the 
 Republican Government itself was awaken- 
 ing to the existence of facts that fore- 
 shadowed war. More than twenty-five 
 years ago the Alliance with Russia had 
 already sounded a significant note which 
 Germany had not misunderstood. In later 
 
ON THE WAR 181 
 
 years the Entente with England was even 
 less equivocal, and there were proofs in 
 many directions that the German Govern- 
 ment had considered this understanding as 
 the testimony of an aggressively reawakened 
 spirit in France. It is evident that, like the 
 Alliance, the Entente was considered by the 
 enemy as a fighting agreement between 
 England and France, which therefore stood 
 as a menace to Germany. 
 
 A still more recent proof that the Repub- 
 lican Government was beginning to awaken 
 to facts and to a more active interest in 
 outside affairs existed in the passing of the 
 Three Years' Service Bill in July, 1913. 
 After the war scare of 1905 a certain num- 
 ber of Deputies in the Chamber had begun 
 to be dimly aware of the increasing war 
 budgets and of the constant military prepara- 
 tions in Germany, and therefore to perceive 
 the dangers likely to threaten on the other 
 side of the Vosges. This apprehension prac- 
 tically resulted in the voting of the Three 
 Years Bill, w^hich, fortunately for France, 
 had come into active force a year before the 
 outbreak of the war. Indeed, when one 
 reflects upon its opportuneness, one realizes 
 
182 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 yet once more how inefficient were the 
 Teutonic powers of discrimination ; for it is 
 evident that it would have been to Germany's 
 interest to make her attack upon her neigh- 
 bour some two or three years ago, before 
 the passing of this Bill, which certainly has 
 been the means of preserving France from 
 a great danger. 
 
 The outburst of national feeling which 
 the voting of the Bill called forth proved 
 to Republican politicians that the country 
 itself was eager enough to prove its military 
 valour, and ought to have served as a clear 
 proof that the entire nation was ready to 
 sacrifice itself upon the altar of patriotism. 
 Though it was strongly opposed by the 
 Socialists, it was the more moderate Re- 
 publicans who, assisted in this case by 
 Reactionary forces, gained the day, and 
 responded by this means to the alarming 
 armaments of Germany. The argument of 
 the Socialists was that for France to in- 
 crease her armaments each time the enemy 
 increased theirs was a policy that might be 
 continued ad infinitum^ without any other 
 result than that of impoverishing the 
 country. 
 
ON THE WAR 183 
 
 Besides these indications that the Repub- 
 lic was beginning to contemplate preparation 
 for war, there were many other signs that 
 the country itself was aroused. Although 
 for many years the nation appeared to have 
 neglected thoughts of Alsace-Lorraine, the 
 memory of 1870 still lived fresh in the heart 
 of the people, and the ravished provinces 
 had never been forgotten. And herein it 
 appeared that the instincts of the nation 
 were not always in apparent accordance 
 with its intellectual tendencies, for, even 
 though pursuing pacific and international 
 ideals, the whole country at heart still 
 thirsted subconsciously for La Revanche, 
 
 That a warlike spirit was reawakening 
 among those of the younger generation had 
 been strongly manifested of recent years. 
 Under the name of V Action Franpaise there 
 had been a great movement among young 
 men of nationalist tendencies, and the asso- 
 ciation known as les Camehts du Roy, com- 
 posed of young and enthusiastic students, 
 formed a small and active army oi R^action- 
 naires, marching in true warlike spirit under 
 the Legitimist banner which was often dis- 
 played in the streets of Paris. The younger 
 
184 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 generation was eager and hopeful for the 
 military future of France. It had known 
 none of the horrors of defeat and invasion, 
 and its soul was not weighed down with the 
 pessimism of its forefathers who were the 
 vanquished of 1870. Energetic as well as 
 optimistic, this young generation used its 
 energies for practical issues. It was fond 
 of games, sports, and adventure, rather 
 than of purely intellectual speculation, and, 
 though not greatly encouraged by the 
 Republican form of its government, the 
 quality of its courage was shown by the 
 spirit of enthusiasm with which it went 
 out to battle against the hereditary enemies 
 of its nation. 
 
ON THE WAR 185 
 
 II 
 
 THE QUALITY OF THE FRENCH 
 FIGHTING SPIRIT 
 
 During this great war, which in so short 
 a time has upset Europe, bringing all the 
 larger civilized Powers into conflict with 
 one another, with their corollaries of minor 
 Powers — two of which, in the first instance, 
 the Allies started out to defend — it is im- 
 portant to remark that the country whose 
 national soul has been the most profoundly 
 affected is France. And this for several 
 reasons. 
 
 Firstly, because among the greater Powers 
 now in the fighting line France is — with the 
 exception of England — the oldest country, 
 because she has possessed a complete and 
 distinctive national temperament of her own 
 for the longest period of time. Old nations, 
 like old people, have evolved strong personal 
 characteristics and tendencies which are in- 
 
186 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 evitably thwarted and perturbed during a 
 period of warfare such as we are now un- 
 dergoing. Secondly, it must not be for- 
 gotten that France is now under invasion. 
 She has the enemy upon her own soil, 
 for seven of her richest, most prosperous in- 
 dustrial departments are occupied by the 
 hated oppressor. And thirdly, since the last 
 European war in which she had been engaged 
 France has entirely altered the form of her 
 military service, and has assimilated an 
 entirely new conception of her military 
 power. 
 
 In the present war France is fighting not 
 merely with her professional army, but with 
 the whole of the nation itself Every single 
 department of social and professional life, 
 every class and condition of French people 
 — men, women, and children — are affected 
 by the hostilities now in progress as no 
 other Great Power — not even Russia be- 
 cause of her size — can possibly be affected. 
 
 The French soldier of to-day does not 
 fight for a King or an Emperor — he fights 
 for his nation, of which he himself, like 
 every other Frenchman, is a representative. 
 And that is why the French soldier is so 
 
ON THE WAR 187 
 
 especially influenced by this war. He is 
 not a professional military man whom 
 others of the nation have delegated to go 
 out and fight for them. He has not shifted 
 his responsibility on to the shoulders of an 
 army of professional combatants. But, as 
 one might say, he is personally interested, 
 for he contends individually and for personal 
 issues. The whole French nation fights 
 with its hearts and homes — not only the 
 men, but the women and children, too — 
 so that the army is not merely a part 
 of the nation or a support of the nation, 
 or even a special product of the nation — 
 it is the Nation itself, in its most com- 
 plete form. This does not necessarily 
 mean that the French soldier is superior 
 to any other in the field, even though 
 he be gifted with a prodigious faculty of 
 assimilation — because perhaps technically, as 
 a mere fighting unit, in spite of the training 
 of his three years' national service, he may 
 yet lack knowledge. But what each man 
 feels is that he is fighting for his own home 
 and to save his own wife and children 
 from the horrors inflicted by an enemy 
 coming from a few miles away and draw- 
 
188 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 ing nearer each hour. Moreover, he is 
 defending that higher, imponderable ideal, 
 above even the cult of the family - his 
 native land. With such incentives he 
 battles with a more fervent spirit and 
 a more ardent soul, because to him it is 
 a question of actual hfe and death — not of 
 himself, for he is willing enough to sacrifice 
 his life — but for all those whom he loves in 
 the present and whom he hopes for in the 
 future. Thus he develops in himself an 
 heroic altruism, because he endeavours to 
 win for others that which he, individually, 
 will not live to enjoy. This adds to his 
 value as a fighter. 
 
 He may, perhaps, not possess the neces- 
 sary cool-headedness which is part of the 
 technical equipment of the practised profes- 
 sional soldier, although it has been noticed 
 that his particular and characteristic quality, 
 most apparent to-day, is the dominating 
 power of the spirit over muscle, will-power, 
 and even technique. Yet the French soldier 
 is not fighting with his knowledge, or even 
 with his brains. He is fighting with his heart. 
 Therein lies his strength, and therein will be 
 found the reason for his ultimate success. 
 
ON THE WAR 189 
 
 Another of the great forces which inspires 
 the spirit of the French combatant is his 
 firm conviction that he is about to attain 
 that for which he has so ardently wished — 
 La Revanche, For the French people have 
 never forgotten the humiliations of 1870. 
 These have remained indelible and bitter in 
 their hearts. Those of the present genera- 
 tion who are fighting to-day, but were not 
 present at the war of 1870, have been 
 nurtured and educated since their child- 
 hood upon stories concerning it. They 
 bear the conscious knowledge of its deep 
 sorrows in their very veins. And beneath 
 all the variously conflicting thoughts that 
 have alternately swayed and dominated 
 their ideals, even when they declared 
 themselves to be, above all things, inter- 
 nationalists and humanitarians — whatever 
 their religious convictions might be, and 
 even when they have thrust from them- 
 selves all religious convictions — Frenchmen 
 still have conscious in their souls that 
 strong dominating ideal which to them 
 was in itself a religion — the firm hope of a 
 successful Revanche, And this aspiration 
 has remained alive in the hearts of the 
 
190 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 masses for the last two generations, even 
 when the pohtical leaders of the country 
 sought to attract them towards other 
 ideals. 
 
 Another element which inspires the 
 French soldier's spirit is the firm convic- 
 tion that in this particular war he has been 
 unjustifiably and perfidiously attacked, and 
 nothing so much excites the anger of a 
 Frenchman as injustice. His combative 
 spirit has therefore gained all the deter- 
 mined vindictiveness of a lover of fair play 
 who perceives that the very principle of 
 equity has been violated in his own person. 
 Moreover, since the beginning of the war, 
 the French combatant has understood 
 that Germany had considered the nation 
 merely as an inefficient antagonistic force — 
 to be put an end to once and for all, so as 
 the better to be free to tackle England, the 
 still more abhorred enemy. And this know- 
 ledge has stirred the Frenchman's blood so 
 ardently that it has largely been responsible 
 for the conscious and voluntary resurrection 
 of the France of olden days. 
 
 Moreover, above all these considerations, 
 the Frenchman feels that he is fighting 
 
ON THE WAR 191 
 
 also for something which he places far 
 above any feeling of personal resent- 
 ment. He is conscious that, while defend- 
 ing his own country and his own liberties, 
 he is also defending all those higher ideals 
 of a chivalrous civilization for which France 
 stands representative throughout history. 
 Upon every occasion, when Germany has 
 broken her word and has behaved without 
 principle or frankness, using contemptible 
 and underhand methods for establishing 
 her power, she has lost more of the respect 
 of the nations that now combat her. And 
 just as Germany has fallen, France has 
 risen in the esteem of all the more honest 
 European nations 
 
 For throughout this war, on every possible 
 occasion, and in striking contrast with her 
 enemy, France has, in all her relations with 
 the aggressive Power, maintained the atti- 
 tude of a civilized and proud nation who 
 would not stoop to commit any of the great 
 or small violations of the laws of inter- 
 national warfare. She is ever conscious that 
 she is fighting for wider altruistic principles as 
 well as for the soil of her own country, and 
 that conviction of lofty disinterestedness 
 
192 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 lends a fine eagerness and passion to her 
 methods of warfare. 
 
 All students of history know that the 
 personal element in the spirit of the com- 
 batants has always counted as a great 
 factor in the winning of battles. It has 
 a power within it that is superior in effect 
 to the best training of armies, to the 
 most perfected artillery and the finest dis- 
 cipline. Even in the days when the troops 
 went out to fight without taking the least 
 interest in the cause they were defending, 
 often without even knowing what was 
 the cause, allowing the Sovereign of the 
 land to employ them as mere fighting 
 units, the great thinkers of the day 
 tried to impress upon the combatants the 
 advantages that an army obtains when it is 
 convinced that it is fighting in a good cause. 
 
 The great preacher Bossuet said : 
 
 " The conviction of defending a good 
 cause adds courage and confidence to the 
 efforts of the troops. 
 
 *' Indignation against injustice increases 
 the fighting value of the soldiers, and urges 
 the combatants to fight more boldly and 
 more earnestly. In such circumstances one 
 
ON THE WAR 193 
 
 is right to presume that one has God upon 
 one's side, since one possesses Justice, of 
 whom He is the protector." 
 
 On the other hand, the great Napoleon 
 himself declares that — 
 
 "A good general, able officers, a well- 
 organized military instruction, with severe 
 discipline, makes good troops, independently 
 of the cause for which they fight. Never- 
 theless, fanaticism, the love of fatherland and 
 of national glory, can also inspire young 
 troops, with great advantage." 
 
 If the great Napoleon considered the moral 
 spirit of the troops as comparatively un- 
 important, it is because the form of military 
 service in France was entirely different in 
 his time. In modern days, when each indi- 
 vidual citizen of the nation is suddenly torn 
 from his place in his domestic and social 
 life, separated from his affections and busi- 
 ness, to take part in the fight, in order that 
 he may be ready to combat with eagerness 
 and to face death as well as many other 
 dangers, it is necessary that he should be 
 inspired with the fire of generosity. More- 
 over, he must be profoundly convinced of 
 the necessity of the struggle in which his 
 
 13 
 
194 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 country is engaged, and must believe in the 
 justice of the cause for which he struggles, 
 and for which he often sacrifices his life. 
 
 Even the great politician Bismarck him- 
 self believed that the moral conviction of 
 combatants in the justice of their cause is 
 ever a factor that stimulates the fighting 
 spirit. Indeed, it is interesting to note what 
 he has to say upon the subject. In February, 
 1898, speaking before the Reichstag on the 
 subject of the war credits, he was facing 
 the possibility of a war against Germany, 
 with France and Russia as the aggressors. 
 Upon that occasion he explained how neces- 
 sary it was for the fighting spirit of troops to 
 possess that quahty of eagerness which can 
 only characterize those who are fighting to 
 repress an aggressor. 
 
 While urging the German people not to 
 be the first to attack, he declared : " If we 
 were the aggressors, the influence of those 
 imponderable elements — far more important 
 and more effective than those of material 
 force — would be on the side of our adver- 
 sary. But we ourselves should lack that 
 elan. 
 
 " We must not let that element of 
 
ON THE WAR 195 
 
 superiority escape us. If war is to be, 
 it must not be on our responsibility. If 
 anyone is to light the fuse, it must not 
 be done by us." 
 
 It is evident that the successors of 
 Bismarck have not learned the lesson which 
 he sought to give in these unequivocal terms. 
 They have certainly neglected the impor- 
 tance of those "imponderable elements," 
 and have given their adversaries the advan- 
 tages which he foretold and feared. By 
 beginning hostilities, our enemies have them- 
 selves placed us in the position which the 
 Man of Iron judged so favourable to a 
 nation which is the first attacked. 
 
 The elan of the French army is such that, 
 what it lacked at the beginning of this par- 
 ticular war in efficiency and in the matter 
 of material organization, has been amply 
 compensated for by the eager spirit of the 
 combatants. One of the strongest French 
 national characteristics is its assimilative, 
 inventive spirit, and this has been invaluable. 
 
 For it may be said that one of the essential 
 qualities of the French is their faculty of 
 improving upon any technical handicraft 
 they may learn from others. Thus all the 
 
196 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 fighting mechanism of the French soldiers 
 in the trenches to-day is in every degree 
 equal to that of their opponents. This assimi- 
 lative quality of the French is observable in 
 every class of work that they undertake. 
 No better plum-cake or plum-pudding, made 
 according to English receipts, can be achieved 
 than by a French cook ; and though the 
 blouse, a garment worn by civilized woman 
 in every land, was first designed by an 
 English dressmaker, no one will deny that 
 it has been so perfected in France that no 
 English woman will buy an English-made 
 blouse when she can get a French one ! 
 
 Added to his assimilative qualities, the 
 French soldier possesses a virtue of personal 
 initiative, which all the combatants of 
 this war — whether they be among the Allies 
 or among the enemies — recognize as a 
 strong French characteristic. Not only 
 does the French combatant possess his per- 
 sonal opinions as to what he is fighting for, 
 but his critical sense leads him to observe his 
 own officer from the standpoint of efficiency ; 
 and though he is determined to obey, he 
 cannot forget that he possesses an indi- 
 vidual and original judgment. 
 
ON THE WAR 197 
 
 The head officers all declare that the quali- 
 ties of resourcefulness, initiative, and the 
 power of assimilation, are remarkable among 
 their men. Even those combatants who 
 are recruited from those callings which in 
 no way conform with military training 
 give evidence of their amazing adaptability 
 to circumstances, and of their resource- 
 fulness in creating the necessaries of life 
 required in their present environment. 
 Amongst my own acquaintances an example 
 of this is most striking. A popular and 
 talented poet, well known in Parisian salons 
 — a most fastidious and critical being in 
 ordinary life, whose chief delight appeared 
 to consist in hyperelegant, literary ratioci- 
 nation — was called to the front on the first 
 day of hostilities. In a recent letter he 
 informs me that he is now the cook of his 
 regiment, and has improvised a subterranean 
 kitchen, entirely built and contrived by 
 himself, which he describes to me in fine 
 academic style. Here he grills steaks for 
 the regiment, set in rows on old bayonets. 
 The stove — provided with a chimney-pipe 
 fashioned by himself — is made out of the 
 tin lining of a German ammunition basket. 
 
198 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 To obtain this he had crawled out of the 
 trenches at night, and, having picked up the 
 basket in his teeth, dragged it back to his 
 trench, keeping as flat to the ground as 
 possible. This is one of the innumerable 
 instances of the adaptability and ingenuity 
 of the French soldier-citizen. 
 
 A quality which the French have gained 
 in the trenches of this war, and which cer- 
 tainly heretofore has not been counted as 
 one of their distinguishing characteristics, is 
 that of patience. Their unlimited fund of 
 this virtue is exemplified a hundred times a 
 day to their officers. They realize that this 
 is a war of temporization, and every com- 
 batant seems to have taken a lesson out of 
 the book of General Joff*re, known as " the 
 Temporizer." Their patience is strong 
 because their faith is absolute in their 
 ultimate triumph, and is the outcome of 
 repeated experiences, which have convinced 
 them of their power of victory. But theirs 
 is not a blind and stupid confidence such as 
 animates the masses of the German army ; 
 the French are too critical and too much 
 addicted to deep logical reflection for that. 
 In the trenches they read and converse to- 
 
ON THE WAR 199 
 
 gether and discuss events. And the object 
 of their discussion is almost invariably the 
 war which they are now fighting. They 
 are patient because they have the impres- 
 sion that they are blockading Germany. 
 It may be objected that the Germans 
 boast that it is they who are besieging 
 France ; but the French pioupious will 
 declare this to be untrue, and they will 
 prove their assertion by comparing the fine 
 white-crumbed, golden-crusted bread which 
 is sent regularly to the French trenches, 
 with a loaf of black, malodorous KK bread 
 of which they often find pieces in abandoned 
 German trenches. 
 
 And they argue from the particular to 
 the general, and declare that the conqueror 
 will be the one who can eat the better bread ! 
 
 Their patience is inexhaustible, because 
 they realize that the final result will be the 
 sum of many added results obtained in many 
 different countries — in Flanders, in Lorraine, 
 in Poland, in Hungary, in the distant East, 
 in Turkey, and in Africa — and that so great 
 a war as this can only be handled slowly. 
 
 The soldiers make no mistake upon that 
 score. 
 
200 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 All the letters from the trenches go to 
 prove the excellent state of mind and the 
 healthy point of view of the French com- 
 batant. All letters declare '' Le moral est 
 bon^ which is equivalent to the English 
 phrase ''We are not downhearted." The 
 eighteen-year-old son of my country gardener 
 writes to his parents : 
 
 "... I do not know if the war will last 
 very long, but while it lasts it is a most 
 interesting life. I feel very happy to think 
 that I belong to a generation which will 
 not have missed it." 
 
 It must not be forgotten that among the 
 minor though not unimportant factors which 
 help to exalt the spirit of the combatant 
 are the reciprocal love, devotion, and con- 
 fidence, that exist between French soldiers 
 and their officers. Perhaps even here 
 may be found another fine influence of 
 the teachings of the Republic. It is not in 
 vain that one reads upon every Republican 
 monument in France the words " Liberty, 
 Equality, Fraternity." In the French army 
 to-day the finest, most touching examples 
 of the effect of this doctrine are exempli- 
 fied. In the German army, the officers 
 
 ^\ 
 
ON THE WAR 201 
 
 inspire their men with fear, treating them 
 with gross brutaUty, and scornfully sacrificing 
 their lives in great numbers ; the French 
 officer treats his men as if they were his 
 own sons, and their affection for him is 
 filial. It is the personal influence of the 
 officer which decides the elan of the soldiers 
 under his orders. Any French soldier, of 
 whatever class he may be, will explain to 
 you that his love and devotion for his officer 
 alone will make him go, happily, gaily, 
 eagerly, to meet almost certain death. 
 
 But the spirit of equality and fraternity 
 among the French does not imply famili- 
 arity. A characteristic of the race is 
 that men of very different social classes 
 can treat one another as equals without 
 losing personal dignity on either side. 
 Familiarity among French people does not 
 necessarily imply a loss of respect, neither 
 does it necessarily breed contempt. One 
 sees this fact illustrated daily in the 
 relations of servants and masters. It was 
 evident long before the Revolution. Indeed, 
 in the old noble families of France the rela- 
 tions between servants and masters who have 
 been playmates in childhood together, are 
 
202 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 those of affection and familiarity which in 
 no way preclude either respect or dignity. 
 In democratic France the respect of the 
 lower classes for the higher is not based 
 upon the consideration for a nobler family 
 or a richer one. It is the instinctive 
 deference of the more ignorant for the 
 better educated — for all that stands superior 
 in knowledge. The pioupiou looks upon 
 his officer with the attitude of the pupil 
 for the master, as well as with filial respect, 
 which in France is totally different from the 
 feeling between fathers and sons in Anglo- 
 Saxon lands. 
 
 This feehng of affection is most evident 
 in all relations between officers and their 
 men. Nearly all the men that one meets 
 in Paris back from the front emphasize this. 
 Many declare that they would go through 
 fire and water at a mere suggestion of their 
 officer, and are entirely led by his incen- 
 tive. Nothing touches the men more 
 than the officers' camaraderie with them. 
 " Why, Mademoiselle," exclaimed a working 
 man just home for a ten days' respite, " our 
 officers treat us as if we were one of them- 
 selves ! When they are out of tobacco, they 
 come and ask us for some of ours !" 
 
ON THE WAR 203 
 
 But it is the paternal attitude of the 
 officers themselves towards their men that 
 gains the hearts of the French pioupious. 
 
 Here is a small anecdote that will illus- 
 trate my meaning ; it is one of many 
 hundred similar stories : 
 
 A Colonel required two men for an 
 aerial raid that was absolutely necessary, 
 but which meant almost certain death. He 
 called his men together and asked those 
 who would volunteer to hold up their hands. 
 Every single hand in the company was 
 raised. There was not one missing. The 
 Colonel then decided to draw lots among 
 the numerous volunteers. A few moments 
 later the two men whom chance had 
 chosen were about to leave the group to 
 make preparations for their immediate 
 departure, when the Colonel called them 
 to him : 
 
 " When a man's sons go out to battle, 
 do they not embrace their old father ?" 
 
 And before they left, the officer folded 
 them both in his embrace. 
 
 The spirit of fraternity between the 
 soldiers of all social classes who meet for 
 the first time in the trenches is of the same 
 quality. 
 
204 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 All soldiers of the same age, fighting side 
 by side, use the familiar thou and thee in 
 place of the more formal you, with the 
 result that when an acquaintanceship has 
 lasted some time, and two men begin to 
 question one another concerning their per- 
 sonal circumstances in ordinary life, they are 
 often amazed to find that often they belong 
 to very distinct social classes. The following 
 anecdote has been told : A very merry 
 young soldier of twenty-five or twenty-six 
 entertained all his companions in the " dug- 
 out" during their free hours by his witty 
 sallies, his amusing recitations and imi- 
 tations. However downhearted circum- 
 stances might induce them to feel, the 
 spirits of the men in that particular trench 
 were immediately revived by the excellent 
 fellow's fun. But one day he seemed sad and 
 disheartened and disinclined to amuse the 
 others. One of the fighters, a special crony 
 of his, standing close to him in the mud, 
 asked him the reason of his sadness. 
 
 After a few moments' hesitation, '' Well, 
 old man, I will tell you," he said. " In 
 ordinary life I'm a sort of clown in a third- 
 rate music-hall. That's why I'm so funny," 
 
ON THE WAR 206 
 
 he added with a rueful smile. " You see, 
 it's my business to make people laugh." 
 
 " Then, what's upsetting you now ?" asked 
 his companion. 
 
 "Well, I must explain: I'm married to the 
 dearest, bravest little woman in the world. 
 Since I've been off to this war she has done 
 all in her power to make ends meet, and to 
 keep herself and our two youngsters in 
 food. Such nice dear children — a boy and 
 a girl. And now," and his face clouded 
 again, " she writes that the two little ones 
 have got measles. She can't leave them 
 alone — she must nurse them— so she can't 
 go out to work, and the result is that they'll 
 soon all be starving. . . . And / can do 
 nothing to help them. ... So I am about 
 as miserable as can be, old man ! That's 
 why I can't cheer up the other chaps 
 to-day. 1 really can't !" 
 
 His comrade nevertheless tried to com- 
 fort him, but without avail. 
 
 A few days later the same comrade came 
 upon the merry man with a beaming smile 
 upon his face, but with an expression of 
 perplexity. 
 
 " Well, old man, you look jolly enough 
 
206 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 to-day, I am glad to see. Perhaps we 
 shall have you enlivening up the trench a 
 bit this evening ?" 
 
 " I've just got a letter from my Louise," 
 confided the clown. " Both the kids 
 are better — in fact, are getting on nicely. 
 . . . But what I can't understand is a piece 
 of news she tells me. It appears that the 
 other day she got a letter from some lawyer- 
 man asking her to call, as he had some 
 money to give her. To her amazement, he 
 handed her three one-hundred -franc notes, 
 and told her that his client, M. Jean 
 Breton, had instructed him to hand her a 
 similar sum of three hundred francs each 
 month until the end of the war. What 
 do you think of that, mon vieux, eh ? But 
 what's puzzling me is — who on earth is 
 M. Jean Breton? I don't know anyone 
 of that name. Who the deuce can he be V 
 
 The other man was silent for a few 
 moments ; then, laying his hand upon the 
 brave fellow's arm, said : 
 
 " Don't worry, copain, I'm Jean Breton. 
 No, don't thank me," he added as the 
 other man's eyes filled with tears. '* I'm 
 rich enough to afford it. In ordinary 
 
ON THE WAR 207 
 
 life 1 m a rich and idle bourgeois and have 
 a hundred thousand francs a year of my 
 own to spend. I shall be more than repaid 
 if you'll sing us one of your comic songs 
 this evening. Will you ?" 
 
208 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 III 
 
 THE INFLUENCES OF THE WAR UPON 
 NATIONAL CHARACTER 
 
 The sudden reawakening of patriotism, 
 brought about by the equally sudden attack 
 of Germany, has caused a profound altera- 
 tion in the character of the French. It 
 cannot be said too often that this is an 
 upheaval of the French soul, not a trans- 
 formation. It is not even a renovation, 
 but merely a modification which has led to 
 the resurrection of all the older French 
 characteristics. Nothing has been essen- 
 tially altered, but the passions which had so 
 long remained dormant in the soul of the 
 French people, and which have suddenly 
 been called into active being, have re-arisen 
 once more, and have submerged more re- 
 cently developed convictions of a purely 
 intellectual kind. 
 
ON THE WAR 209 
 
 For after forty-four years of peace, the 
 French nation had allowed itself to become 
 interested in things other than the actual 
 defence of the country. It had believed 
 itself to be in complete security, and all its 
 tendencies had been directed towards the per- 
 fecting of individualism. But these specula- 
 tions had been mostly superficial, because 
 they were created by the intellect and the 
 reason of the nation, whereas all those heroic 
 qualities which had remained beneath, and 
 which had lain dormant for so many years, 
 were of the passions and emotions. As soon 
 as the sudden shock of invasion reawoke 
 these sleeping instincts, they arose at once, 
 and, like giants refreshed by slumber, sprang 
 into fierce activity. All the more rational 
 characteristics were instantly submerged 
 by their rampant force. The French, long 
 divorced from religious convictions, had 
 made a cult of Reason and erroneously 
 believed that the rational was stronger than 
 the emotional. How quickly they per- 
 ceived their error! The spirit of France 
 at this hour resembles in no way the spirit 
 of France of " the days before the War." 
 The amazing change which disconcerts 
 
 14 
 
210 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the friends of the nation, and makes her 
 appear almost inexplicable in their eyes, 
 must seem still more amazing to her 
 enemies. In spite of their thousands of 
 spies of all classes and conditions of people 
 whose business it was to study, to observe, 
 and to fathom the French character, the 
 Germans had not the slightest knowledge 
 of what was really in the soul of the 
 people. Being, in spite of all their vaunted 
 Kultur, an indiscriminating race, the Ger- 
 mans could understand nothing but what 
 was superficially obvious. They had judged 
 French character in its most frivolous — 
 one might almost say most childish — 
 aspect, and taken as indicative of the 
 whole only what were in reality the most 
 superficial mannerisms of a very small and 
 jaded class of idle society folk. To be 
 just even to our enemies, it must be admitted 
 that one of the idiosyncrasies of the French 
 temperament is to mislead and confuse those 
 who seek to probe it. A whimsical spirit 
 seems to animate the people of France, and 
 to lead them to show only their more trivial 
 feelings, as if a certain bashfulness withheld 
 them from revealing their true depths. 
 
ON THE WAR 211 
 
 In reality, they possess a sort of curious 
 restraint that urges them to withhold their 
 inner and deeper emotions from the too 
 inquisitive gaze of the outsider, and to con- 
 ceal these beneath an apparent brilliancy of 
 gaiety. A Frenchman laughs and mocks 
 at sentimentality in fear of its domina- 
 tion. In reality, all the hidden strength 
 of his soul lies in sentiment, and if the 
 observer, however patient, cannot realize 
 this truth he will ever be misled. This 
 often assumed gaiety confuses the pon- 
 derous Teutonic investigator straining every 
 effort to understand the French nation ; and 
 if the apparent lightness of disposition 
 which alone is evident is the only thing 
 that impresses him, the fault lies, not with 
 the man under observation, but with the 
 observer. 
 
 All Europe has been impressed by the sub- 
 dued calm of the French nation since the 
 first hour of hostilities ; for though the super- 
 ficial emotions of the race usually express 
 themselves in noisy gesticulations, the keener 
 and profounder elation of the spirit is silent. 
 
 The attack was so sudden, and the 
 reawakening of patriotism so instantaneous, 
 
212 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 that it occupied all the forces of the 
 individual. In face of the stupendous shock 
 of the attack, the immediate necessity 
 was for action, and all the forces of each 
 individual were necessarily employed in 
 preparing for that action, the first mani- 
 festation of which was the spontaneous 
 union of all parties, of all convictions, and 
 of all tendencies, within the nation. This 
 Union Sacree was accomplished, as if by 
 magic, within the space of a few hours, as 
 soon as it was made known throughout the 
 land that war was to be. Then every 
 French man and every French woman, 
 and even every French child, felt that 
 the limitations which divided their own 
 personal convictions from those of their 
 compatriots had suddenly faded into 
 nothingness, like mountain mist before 
 the rising sun. 
 
 What mattered the mere ticketing of 
 groups in this hour of national anguish and 
 alarm ? Of what importance was it that 
 one was labelled Reactionary, another 
 Nationalist, another Republican, and yet 
 another Socialist ? What mattered all these 
 distinctions now? For was not each in- 
 
ON THE WAR 213 
 
 dividual of the nation, essentially and before 
 all other things, a Frenchman ? That is 
 what became so evident to one and all on 
 Saturday, August 1st, at the hour when 
 the news for mobilization was spreading. 
 
 It was at that moment that every French- 
 man knew that, even before he was a husband 
 and a father, he was a fervent soldier of his 
 country, and understood that the ideal of 
 la Patrie was higher still than that of the 
 family, for la Patrie is but the wider and 
 greater family. No just man of any nation, 
 who witnessed the attitude of the French of 
 all classes at that hour, would dare to suggest 
 that the men of France crowded to the flag 
 because legally they were forced to do so 
 under penalty of death. It would be most 
 unjust to the soldier-citizens of France to 
 believe that a single one of them acted 
 under compulsion. One may safely assert 
 that, in the entire nation, not a single 
 man who left his home the morning fol- 
 lowing the national appeal believed that he 
 was obeying a law. He was confident that 
 he was following his own personal impulse 
 only. 
 
 And the proof is that, although the actual 
 
214 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 call to arms was only officially made on 
 August 1st, hundreds of civil combatants, 
 besides those officers of the regular army 
 whose duty it is to be always at their posts, 
 had already voluntarily joined their corps, 
 so eager were the citizen-soldiers of France 
 to defend their country. 
 
 As soon as mobilization was decreed, 
 the French soul was immediately renewed, 
 frivolity was done away with and disap- 
 peared altogether. The people became 
 grave and serene. In Paris and the larger 
 towns, the theatres, museums, all centres 
 of amusement, and all commerces de luoce, 
 were closed, and all self-indulgent com- 
 forts renounced. It was evident that all 
 French citizens — men, women, and children 
 — had joined the army in spirit, as soon 
 as war had become the general topic of 
 thought. An implicit and utter sub- 
 servience to those who had undertaken to 
 defend the country was observable, more 
 especially to the military authorities, who 
 had immediately assumed the responsibility 
 of all arrangements. And this without 
 orders or edicts or warnings or notices 
 from headquarters, or from any directing 
 
ON THE WAR 215 
 
 authority. Perhaps for the first time in 
 their history, the French people found 
 within themselves an obscure and hitherto 
 totally unknown force, which prompted them 
 to govern themselves. They needed neither 
 leaders nor teachers. This complete observ- 
 ance of law and order was the more amazing, 
 in that the French are usually the most 
 unruly and insubordinate of races. To 
 observe each citizen discipline himself with- 
 out the sHghtest outside direction or com- 
 pulsion was almost as astonishing as to see 
 the unusual self-control of all. Truly it 
 may be said that the France of 1914 was 
 well worthy of herself in the most glorious 
 hours of her history. 
 
 This says much in favour of the personal 
 discipline which Republican ethics had in- 
 culcated. In spite of the many faults of 
 the Republic — in spite of its abuses, of its 
 nepotism, and of its egotistical parliamen- 
 tarism ; in spite of its many internal divi- 
 sions and its discrepancies — a form of 
 government which can thus inspire a nation 
 with so sane a conception of its individual 
 freedom and responsibility, carries within 
 itself some fine potential qualities. Perhaps 
 
216 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 later the historians who study our epoch 
 will agree in declaring that the magnificent 
 and spontaneous heroism of the people in 
 these days, and more especially of that 
 portion of the nation uninfluenced by reli- 
 gious ideals, was inspired by those rational 
 Republican teachings which claim to replace 
 religious faith in the hearts of so many of 
 the present generation. What is certain is 
 that the education of reason, which the 
 Republic had so earnestly extolled, stood in 
 lieu of a religious ideal to its upholders in 
 this hour. 
 
 It was this education of reason, too, 
 absorbed and assimilated by the natural 
 intelligence of the nation, which led it to 
 realize at once the danger of the situation. 
 The French people became immediately 
 conscious that they must not act as 
 quarrelsome children, but as full-grown, 
 responsible men, fully aware of the 
 gravity of the issues. Thus they proved 
 themselves to be capable of leading them- 
 selves. Each individual undertook to 
 answer personally for his own destiny and 
 for his own free will, and each man led 
 himself to a higher sense of responsibility 
 
ON THE WAR 217 
 
 than he had ever before attained. A wave 
 of heroic inspiration swept over the country 
 at that moment. 
 
 And so conscious were all citizens of the 
 intensity of the hope that had suddenly 
 dawned, that, even in spite of the terrible 
 anxiety for la Patrie, each individual was 
 happy to have lived in such pregnant hours. 
 For each man realized their importance, and 
 was conscious of existing in a transcendent 
 moment of his nation's history. On all 
 sides, at this date, one heard regrets ex- 
 pressed for the premature death of such 
 patriotic heroes as Deroulede, Picquart and 
 Jaures, who had died before the hour 
 which promised the fulfilment of so legiti- 
 mate a hope as the possibility of La 
 Revanche : and yet who had not lived to 
 see that which they had so passionately 
 desired, and in which they had so ardently 
 believed. It seemed as if Destiny had 
 thwarted them of their rights. 
 
 It was because the attack made upon 
 her was so sudden ■ and unforeseen that 
 the force which impelled France — all her 
 will aroused — against her aggressor was so 
 unanimous. And this proves that, with 
 
218 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 nations as with individuals, no impulse is so 
 efficacious in awakening them from torpor 
 as that of an immediate and dangerous 
 necessity. Like individuals, too, nations 
 are not entirely conscious of their own 
 potentialities. Even though France be- 
 lieved herself to be — and in truth was — of 
 all the civilized nations the most critically 
 inclined, prizing intellectual predominance 
 above all the virtues, yet she has proved 
 that she held within herself, in spite of the 
 contrary teachings of her education, strong 
 will, determination, and discipline in face of 
 a threatening danger. These qualities still 
 existed beneath the superficiality of mere 
 intellectual ratiocination, and the nation 
 found in her hour of danger that all 
 the old atavistic forces of the race, the 
 chivalrous and heroic instincts that had 
 remained unemployed so many years, still 
 lived, with all their strength unimpaired. 
 
 Like all nations liberated from immediate 
 fear from the outside, France had allowed 
 herself to develop a selfish egoism at the 
 expense of a more altruistic collective spirit; 
 but she now discovered within herself the 
 conception of a greater and higher duty 
 
ON THE WAR 219 
 
 and a larger scope for her activity. Thus 
 possessed of a wider vision, she set herself 
 to immediate action. 
 
 And not the least of those influences for 
 good which this stupendous and terrible 
 war has wrought will have been that it 
 forced France to realize herself once more 
 completely, as formerly she had been. As 
 I have already pointed out, she is not 
 a changed France, but the complete 
 former France re-arisen. She is not a 
 7iew France, but a very, very old France, 
 Surely that has been amply proved upon 
 the battlefields of this war ? No country 
 either of the present or of the past could 
 ever improvise any sudden heroism of the 
 quality which we see to-day. An old 
 traditional spirit of the finest valour is 
 necessary to reveal the qualities which our 
 soldier-citizens have shown since the begin- 
 ning of this war. 
 
 War time is a period of meditation com- 
 bined with intense activity, and the modi- 
 fications of character which these two states 
 of mind have achieved are disconcerting. One 
 might almost say that on August 1st of the 
 year 1914, the French people were inspired 
 
220 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 with a new religion — that of Patriotism ; and 
 the result which ensued marks a profound 
 upheaval, not only in all their preconceived 
 ideals and convictions, but also in their 
 most inveterate habits. With the tolling 
 of the tocsin, the most firmly established 
 routines, and even, one might say to a 
 certain extent, the moral values, in all 
 families and in all individuals, were instantly 
 altered. 
 
 At certain periods and in certain spheres 
 of thought humanity lives in a condition of 
 high pressure approximate to ecstatic being, 
 when all the ordinary processes of daily life 
 are unsettled and their order overthrown. 
 Such was the coming of this war, that it 
 brought about a modification of all habits 
 and feelings, as well as mental convictions — 
 all of which had to be immediately read- 
 justed. Thus the very proportioning of the 
 day's occupations was done away with. The 
 order of the three daily meals, as well as the 
 order of the sleeping and waking hours, 
 was inverted. Men had to conform to an 
 entirely new condition of existence from 
 one day to another. Those combatants 
 who were the most inveterately regular 
 
ON THE WAR 221 
 
 in their meal hours, now suddenly found 
 themselves forced to eat when they could — 
 that is to say, often only once in every 
 thirty-six or forty hours. They had to re- 
 nounce and even forget all their material 
 comforts, to lead the lives of troglodytes half 
 buried in the earth, and to fight heroically 
 without any thought of time or of the 
 limits of their own endurance. Their spirit 
 now so dominates their physical bodies that 
 they seem to have forgotten momentarily 
 that they possess bodies. Those who for- 
 merly were most fastidious with regard to 
 their food now forget that there is such 
 a thing as regular and well-prepared meals. 
 Strangely, too, their physical health seems 
 momentarily transformed by the new and 
 strenuous conditions of their daily life, 
 and many of those now at the front, who 
 before the war were constantly ailing, or 
 whose lungs were delicate, or whose pro- 
 pensity for catching cold was most marked, 
 now cheerfully, and apparently without any 
 bad results, face the dampness of the trenches 
 for days and nights in succession. The 
 weakest constitutions, which formerly could 
 not bear excessive fatigue, and who when 
 
222 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 at home were subjected to a special rule 
 of diet, now seem capable of enduring 
 any amount of strong exertion. And 
 those whose bodies were racked with 
 "nerves," and could not bear the slightest 
 jar, to-day seem possessed of limitless 
 endurance, and apparently have never felt 
 in better healtli. A recent cartoon in the 
 Guerre Sociale shows us three men dressed 
 as uncouthly as indeed only French piou- 
 pious can venture to dress, crouching down 
 inside their dug-out, drinking hot coffee 
 out of tin mugs. From their appearance 
 they have evidently undergone a fierce 
 and lengthy bout of fighting, and are en- 
 joying a few moments' respite. They are 
 talking together as comrades, and ques- 
 tioning one another concerning their life 
 before the war. One very fat and appa- 
 rently aggressively healthy combatant, 
 cosily wrapped in various woollen com- 
 forters, his face entirely unrecognizable 
 under its hirsute decoration, is sipping at 
 his mug with evident relish. ''And what 
 was your business before the war ?" asks one 
 of his comrades. " Before the war ? " laughs 
 the poilu, *' Oh ! . . . I was a neurasthenic !" 
 
ON THE WAR 228 
 
 All luxuries and comforts being forfeited 
 willingly, eagerly, joyously, the French citi- 
 zen has become a better individual. Will this 
 modification of his character be enduring ? 
 One wonders. But certainly the present 
 tendency towards self-sacrifice and hero- 
 ism can only be beneficial to the deeper 
 spirit of the nation. The entire range of 
 vision is modified during war time, when 
 the lives of nearly all the male popula- 
 tion are in peril. Since the war began, a 
 wave of self-renunciation has swept over one 
 and all ; it affects not only the combatants, 
 but the non-combatants too, in every de- 
 partment of national life. Those who are 
 the most unselfish hardly seem to realize 
 how greatly altruism makes for the better- 
 ment of the individual. The Frenchman 
 in the mass was formerly a man much 
 given to material enjoyment. He was a 
 gourmet and a lover of ease in all its 
 aspects. Now he has willingly sacrificed 
 his love of personal comfort and his en- 
 joyment of delicate fare ; and though he 
 does not realize it, yet, being for the 
 time incapable of introspection, he has 
 thus regained the moral possession of 
 
224 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 himself. Among these unconscious heroes, 
 there are many who do not yet under- 
 stand what benefits will accrue to their 
 individuality by means of the triumph of 
 the spiritual over the material. Still, 
 there are many who, even now, are aware 
 of the transformation in themselves, and 
 who inwardly have resolved that it shall 
 be permanent, for they have fully recog- 
 nized *'the conquering force of the ideal 
 over the material." It is the great and 
 ardent realization of patriotism which now 
 inspires the French nation that has revealed 
 to many that " conquering force of the 
 ideal." Let it be hoped that when peace 
 has been made the re-arisen and revitalized 
 ideals of the French will not be allowed 
 to slumber again. 
 
 Besides the new conditions of existence 
 which help in a great degree to influence 
 the individual character of each combatant, 
 there are other factors which will ultimately 
 affect the French nation perhaps even more 
 vitally than the modification of the per- 
 sonal habits of the people. One of these is 
 the union of all political opinions and the 
 bringing together of all the social classes. 
 
ON THE WAR 225 
 
 Side by side in the trenches, living under 
 exactly the same conditions and facing the 
 same dangers, men of all convictions and 
 of all classes, and of different degrees of 
 education, meet. 
 
 Before the war the political convictions of 
 the French were so split up and divided into 
 sections that there were almost more polit- 
 ical parties than could be counted. Never- 
 theless, it may be said that, broadly speaking, 
 French political thought could be divided 
 into two larger groups, which contained all 
 lesser groups. 
 
 Group 1 included Reactionaries, repre- 
 sented by Monarchists, Legitimists, Bona- 
 partists, etc. These were essentially the 
 upholders of the army and the Church 
 as the great governing forces of their 
 country. Their enemies ranked them to- 
 gether, and called them the Nationalist 
 party. 
 
 Group 2 included Republicans, Radicals 
 and Socialists, and Freethinkers of all kinds, 
 who place human reason above all other 
 ideals. 
 
 A French writer once said that a man's 
 political opinions were always based upon 
 
 15 
 
226 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 his religious convictions. That this is 
 specially true of France is proved by the 
 classification of her political parties. 
 
 These two groups may be said to have 
 divided France against herself, for, roughly 
 speaking, it may be said that all Frenchmen 
 belonged either to the one or to the other. 
 Group 1 held that war, like religion, was 
 sacred, and was a necessary force to main- 
 tain the integrity and higher consciousness 
 of the race. 
 
 Group 2 was pacific and internationalist, 
 and some of the more forward members of 
 the group not only desired peaceful rela- 
 tions with their enemies, but went so far as 
 to hope for relations of friendship and good 
 feeling with them. 
 
 Each group believed that the salvation 
 of France was to be effected by its own 
 set of ideas, and because these ideas were 
 conflicting and opposed, the two groups 
 were enemies. 
 
 In addition to their political convictions, 
 the partisans of Group 1 founded their 
 theories upon an almost fanatical adoration 
 of the past. They held that alone those 
 forces that had made France great in history 
 
ON THE WAR 227 
 
 were those which would still make her 
 stand great in the future, so that the 
 preservation of all the old chivalrous ideals 
 was necessary to France's future great- 
 ness. 
 
 Group 2 believed that the old forces were 
 eflFete, and therefore, if not to be entirely done 
 away with, might at least be transformed, 
 and that in the new era pure reason would 
 dominate the forces of tradition. The old 
 military ideals of glory and conquest were 
 to be replaced by the ideas of peace and 
 understanding among the nations. As for 
 Religious dogma, it had had its day, been 
 worn thin, and henceforth was to be replaced 
 by Science and Reason. 
 
 As a matter of fact, the coming of the 
 war proved that the two groups were not as 
 distant from one another in their ideals as 
 they might at first appear to have been. In 
 the face of war they merged together in a 
 simple and easy manner which surprised 
 them both. Group 1 was amazed to find 
 that their opponents of the weeks before 
 were as ready to die for their country as 
 they themselves were. Group 2 realized 
 that, because Group 1 had made a cult of 
 
228 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the past, its members were nevertheless 
 fully prepared to fight for the future. 
 
 It was upon the altar of la Patrie^ before 
 which they both sacrificed in communion 
 together, that the two groups amalgamated 
 and became as one, Thus, because of the 
 war, and especially during the time of hos- 
 tilities, all differences of French thought 
 and conviction were annihilated. 
 
 ^nd then France discovered that, at heart, 
 not only is she a rational country, but that 
 she is also a religious and military one. 
 For the two ideals, religious and rational, 
 sway her simultaneously. As soon as she 
 was attacked, all her citizens rose in a 
 mass as soldiers in her defence. Even the 
 fiercest Socialists, who formerly had declared 
 that in case of war they would rebel against 
 military law and fire upon their own officers, 
 forgot all their theories to follow only their 
 patriotic instincts. These led them to fight 
 with the greatest courage and bravery in 
 this war which will end war, and which they 
 declare is a war against war. 
 
 But since the mingled masses of the 
 nation have withstood the test of emotional 
 and patriotic fervour, a re-awakening of reli- 
 
ON THE WAR 229 
 
 gious feeling has also been most perceptible 
 even among those who had repeatedly de- 
 clared themselves to be free from all spiritual 
 belief. Whether this will lead eventually 
 to a permanent revival of the Catholic 
 faith itself yet remains to be proved, and 
 will only be clearly perceived after the war. 
 It is not astonishing that a renewal of faith 
 should have been manifested at the present 
 juncture, when all the units of the nation 
 are brought face to face with danger and 
 death, when each man, married or single, 
 sacrifices all family affections, all human 
 tenderness and love, upon the altar of his 
 country, and goes out to offer up his life 
 in discharge of a national duty, thus giving 
 himself altruistically for the benefit of 
 future generations whom he will never 
 know. It is not astonishing — indeed, it is 
 profoundly human — that, sacrificing so much 
 and facing death so heroically, those about 
 to die should think of the hereafter. It is 
 natural too that, while offering their life to 
 their country, they should endeavour to dis- 
 cover within themselves what is the spiritual 
 reward and sanction that urges them towards 
 this sense of sacrifice. It is at the moment 
 
230 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 when he goes out to meet an enemy that a 
 man perceives within himself the existence 
 or non-existence of a rehgious conviction. 
 Even though, hke his patriotism, it may 
 have lain dormant within him for many 
 years, he realizes, often to his own amaze- 
 ment, that it still exists. The women of the 
 French nation have, broadly speaking, ever 
 been Catholic at heart, and have conformed 
 more closely to the rites of the Church than 
 the men, who have sincerely believed that their 
 human reason was stronger and more logical 
 than faith or creed. But in a great crisis of 
 national feeling, like the actual one brought 
 about by the war, the men, like the women, 
 often urged thereto by their mothers and 
 wives, fall back upon these religious con- 
 victions as their only safeguard and comfort. 
 They are astonished to find that they still 
 believe, and their women are happy in the 
 thought that they have always preserved 
 their own comforting belief and have been 
 able to convince the men. 
 
 In the minds of most Republicans, the 
 greatest enemy of Catholicism in France 
 has ever been Clericalism. If the priests had 
 never sought to thwart Republican politics, 
 
ON THE WAR 231 
 
 the separation between the Church and 
 State in France would probably never have 
 been effected. It is possible, however, that 
 this great war, which certainly will accomplish 
 much to modify and to alter the France 
 of to-morrow, may also achieve what no 
 coercion, nor legislation, nor political action, 
 had yet ever been able to compass under 
 the Republic — that is, the frustration of 
 Clericalism as a force opposed to the 
 Government. 
 
 For the first time in history the Catholic 
 clergy have acquired a sense of citizenship. 
 The Three Years' Service Bill, divesting them 
 of their sacerdotal character, transformed 
 them legally into mere French soldiers. Since 
 the beginning of the war they have proved 
 that, even if they do not pretend to up- 
 hold the Republic, they certainly intend 
 to uphold the French nation. This has 
 become evident to one and all — even to the 
 most ardent priest-hater, since the men of 
 the Church have been seen to go down with 
 the other combatants of France into the 
 trenches and fight like citizens and soldiers. 
 This is the first time in the history of 
 Catholicism that the priests have under- 
 
232 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 taken the duties and responsibilities of 
 mere citizens, and, side by side with men 
 of the secular classes, have fought like 
 simple soldiers for their country. 
 
 It may be said that they had no choice, 
 that they were forced by law to perform 
 their military service, as, indeed, it may be 
 said of all those Frenchmen who are serving 
 as soldiers to-day, and who are not of the 
 regular professional army. But with the 
 Catholic clergy, as with all French citizens, 
 there has been no question of performing a 
 legal or compulsory duty, only of perform- 
 ing a moral obligation. The priests who 
 teach religion to the people, and whose 
 persons for that reason are regarded as 
 sacred, have momentarily put aside even 
 their priestly character to become mere 
 human men and soldiers. At certain hours, 
 however, when the occasion demands it — 
 when a combatant is dying and claims the 
 comfort and aid of a minister of religion, 
 the soldier-priest, hastily donning his sacer- 
 dotal vestments over his military uniform, 
 hurries to the bedside of the sick man to 
 perform his sacred duties. These dis- 
 charged, he returns to the ranks and again 
 
ON THE WAR 233 
 
 takes up his rifle. Often, even, he performs 
 his priestly duties without vestments, con- 
 fessional, or altar. A young vicaire, just 
 back from the front, told me lately that, as 
 the men of his regiment were marching 
 towards the trenches they were about to 
 occupy, the officers allowing their men to 
 walk in groups and to converse with one 
 another as they advanced, he found himself 
 solicited on all sides by his comrades. 
 Nearly all the men of the company came 
 up to him, each in turn, to beg to be 
 allowed to walk by his side, so that he 
 could have the solace of a few moments' 
 confession with a priest of his religion, 
 before going to face death. At the end of 
 the day's march the young priest's own 
 head officer came up to him and begged 
 the same favour that had been granted to 
 his men. " I have been trying all during 
 the march to get hold of you," he told him, 
 " to ask you to hear my confession before 
 we get to our destination. But each time I 
 have approached you I have found you 
 engaged in fulfilling your sacerdotal duties 
 on behalf of one of your comrades, and 
 have not wished to disturb you." 
 
234 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 This general attitude of the priests and 
 monks during the war has touched the 
 masses more convincingly than any words, 
 and has reconciled them to their old arch- 
 enemies the priests, and thus to the religion 
 they represent, more potently than any 
 exhortation. 
 
 I am indebted to May Barry O'Delany, 
 the Catholic writer of the Irish Rosary, for 
 the following interesting anecdotes concern- 
 ing soldier-priests in the French army : 
 
 Among the tasks allotted to one of 
 these priests, a venerable member of the 
 Diocese du Drome, was that of guarding 
 the railway between Pierrelatte and Bollene. 
 Whether in the hurry of the moment, or 
 from some other cause, this good priest was 
 unable to find a uniform to fit him ; so, 
 nothing daunted, he shouldered his rifle, 
 and, with a kepi on his head and a cartridge- 
 box at his belt, went on duty in his cas- 
 sock. He soon became a marked figure 
 on the rails, and whenever a train passed, 
 the soldiers, who were the usual occupants, 
 rushed to the doors and windows of the 
 carriages, shouting at the tops of their voices, 
 as they waved their caps enthusiastically : 
 
ON THE WAR 235 
 
 " Bonjour, Monsieur le Cti?x! Five Mon- 
 sieu7^ le Cur 6 ! " 
 
 Another instance of priestly zeal took 
 place in an ambulance at a Paris railway- 
 station, where a hundred and fifty wounded 
 were stretched on the floor on beds of straw. 
 While dressing the wounds of one of these 
 poor soldiers, the nurse, seeing that he wore 
 a religious medal round his neck, said : 
 
 " Have confidence in God, and offer your 
 sufferings to France." 
 
 " Ah !" sighed the soldier regretfully, " le 
 bon Dieu! At one time I used to go to 
 Communion regularly at all the great feasts 
 of the year. But for the last three years I 
 have not found the time. How I wish I 
 could speak with a priest now !" he added 
 in a feeble voice. 
 
 The nurse inquired whether there was a 
 priest in the place, but was told that there 
 was none. As she was turning away to 
 attend to some other wounded, she felt her 
 dress pulled, and, looking down, saw that it 
 was held by a dying man, who had raised 
 himself slightly and was gazing anxiously 
 into her face. 
 
 " Madame," he said, " I am a priest, and 
 
236 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 can give absolution. Place me near that 
 man" — indicating the soldier who had ex- 
 pressed a wish for confession. 
 
 For a moment the nurse hesitated, for 
 the priest's ribs were broken, and the least 
 movement caused him terrible suffering. 
 Seeing her hesitation, he exclaimed : 
 
 " Surely, you who have faith should know 
 the value of a human soul ! What does a 
 quarter of an hour more or less of my life 
 matter, when a soul can be saved ?" 
 
 And in his zeal the dying priest tried to 
 stand up and go alone to his sick comrade's 
 side. But his strength failed him, and he 
 had to be lifted on to a stretcher. His body 
 bent in two from pain, and the sweat pouring 
 down his drawn face, he bit his lips to keep 
 himself from moaning outright. 
 
 The confession was necessarily brief, for 
 the priest's strength was failing fast, and the 
 penitent, too, was in great pain. When 
 the moment for giving absolution came, 
 the priest asked the nurse to hold up his 
 arm, as he had not the strength to do it 
 unaided, and, thus assisted, he signed the 
 cross over the bowed head of the wounded 
 soldier. A few moments later the priest 
 
ON THE WAR 287 
 
 died, after asking for the prayers of those 
 near him, and with the word " Heaven !" on 
 his lips. 
 
 Apropos of the revival of religious feeling 
 since the war, it may be interesting to quote 
 here from an article, which appeared in 
 November, 1914, by Paul Bourget, of the 
 French Academy, who in the i^clio de Paris 
 so eloquently defends the cause of the Church 
 and Army, which he calls the Forces of the 
 Past : 
 
 '*This expression," he says, "has often 
 been used in a disdainful sense by the 
 Prophets of Progress, or, to speak the 
 pseudo-scientific jargon of the day, 'the 
 Prophets of Evolution ' ! They would have 
 us believe," pursues the Acad^micien, "that 
 a new human being has just been born over 
 whom the older discipline can have no 
 power. Such secular institutions as the 
 Church and Army are worn out, effete. 
 That these forces of the past might also be 
 the perennial forces of the future had not 
 occurred to them. To their mind there 
 were no such things as perennial forces. 
 To admit that certain conditions of human 
 nature are immutable, because of certain 
 
238 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 social conditions, would be to admit the 
 principle of traditionalism. Is the man of 
 to-day born beneath another sky, upon 
 another earth, with another body, another 
 soul, another intelligence, other passions 
 and needs, for it to be necessary to create 
 another society for him ? Has not the war 
 sufficiently proved to us how wrong these 
 enlightened scorners of the forces of the 
 past have been ? For it is to these forces 
 that the French nation appealed for help 
 when she felt herself threatened to the 
 quick. It is these forces which are now 
 working for us, that have emerged fi-om out 
 of the chaos of false ideals which had pre- 
 tended to replace them. 
 
 "Look at the France of to-day and the 
 France of six months ago. It was in May, 
 if you remember, that all men were pre- 
 paring to vote. Who would dare to declare 
 that those elections were not important ? 
 From them a Parliament has arisen. What 
 is that Parliament doing ? Where does it 
 sit ? Who troubles about it ? No one — 
 except to express a fear that it may be called 
 together some day ! That fear is expressed 
 unanimously : ' Let it meet for the sake of 
 
ON THE WAR 239 
 
 mere form, if need be, but let it remain 
 silent !' 
 
 " What has now become of the inter- 
 national fellowship of working men, which 
 at the first opportunity was expected to rise 
 in protestation, and in a great spirit of 
 unanimity was to paralyze all efforts at 
 mobilization ? What has become of those 
 programmes of a general strike and appeals 
 to arbitration ? But it is as useless to enu- 
 merate these so-called Forces of the Future, 
 which to-day are forgotten in the tragic and 
 decisive crisis we are now passing through, 
 as it would be to appeal to the Constitution 
 which rules us, and which is as indifferent 
 to us as are the politicians who repre- 
 sent it. 
 
 "Never has any theory of ideas disap- 
 peared more fantastically than theirs, fading 
 away like a transformation scene, to leave 
 in its place those Forces of the Past which 
 have proved themselves to be the only 
 living ones, and which are the Army, the 
 Church, and Eternal France. 
 
 "Firstly the Army, the real traditional 
 Army. Not that species of militia dreamed 
 of by the Utopians, who demand, like the 
 
240 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Republican Deputy under the Empire, 
 ' soldiers purified of all military spirit.' The 
 Army now fighting for us so heroically upon 
 the eastern and northern frontier is a truly 
 military Army, led and commanded by 
 professional officers, who practise passive 
 obedience. 
 
 " For our soldiers of 1914 are exalted by 
 the deepest of human sentiments, which 
 sustain them and will make them in\dn- 
 cible — the horror of invasion, the virile 
 anger at the sight of an enemy in their 
 own homes, and the heroic desire to turn 
 out the invaders. That the Belgians, our 
 companions in arms, are governed by a 
 monarchy affects our soldiers but little. 
 Neither do they care that England has a 
 King and a chamber of I^ords, nor that the 
 Czar of Russia is an autocrat. Belgians, 
 English, Russians, are on our side, and that 
 suffices. Let each use the particular form 
 of government that suits them best, so long 
 as they help us to turn out the Germans. 
 Our soldiers are soldiers, and that is all — 
 courageous men who kill their enemies and 
 brave Death themselves, according to dis- 
 cipline and for the sake of the flag and 
 
ON THE WAR 241 
 
 the frontier. You remember the hymn of 
 anarchy : 
 
 " ' We will strike down all frontiers . . .* 
 
 " Is it true that these impious words have 
 been spoken ? Yes, they have, and perhaps 
 by the very men who now fight so bravely 
 in the hne of battle. The Army has won 
 them back again, and has recast their souls. 
 The Forces of the Past have re-created a 
 new vitality for them — that true vitality, 
 filled with immortal emotion, which was 
 that of our ancestors, and will be that of our 
 descendants. So long as there shall be 
 soldiers, they will think and feel thus ; and 
 soldiers themselves will exist so long as there 
 is a mother-country to defend. 
 
 "And so long as there shall be human 
 suffering, there will also be Churches — the 
 Church ; for the Church is primordially a 
 power of the past. As soon as the tocsin of 
 mobilization had sounded, where did the 
 wives and mothers of France crowd to ? 
 To the Mairie^. To the House of the 
 People? No, to the House of God— to 
 implore Him whom their naive lips, epito- 
 mizing, in a sigh, all the fervour of suffering 
 
 16 
 
242 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 humanity, call humbly, tenderly, passion- 
 ately, ' Our Father.' To whom do they 
 appeal for strength in their sacrifice? 
 To Him who sacrificed upon Calvary, to 
 the Voluntary Victim, whose poignant and 
 sublime words are repeated each day at all 
 the altars of the Churches: * This is My Body 
 which was given for you. This is My Blood 
 which was shed for you.' And sons followed 
 their mothers, husbands their wives, and 
 military uniforms were mingled with the 
 black dresses of the women, beneath the 
 secular arches from which violent fanatics had 
 undertaken to drive away all worshippers. 
 Where is the so-called Catholic plot now ? 
 It exists in the conspiracy of all those devo- 
 tions, hungry for hope ; of all those distresses, 
 eager for consolation. And who was it who 
 had combined this so-called plot? The 
 priests? They are out there too, at the 
 front, fighting. There are hardly any left 
 for us now in the Churches and the con- 
 fessionals. You may seek no further than 
 in the human soul itself, the explanation 
 of a restored faith. It may appear discon- 
 certing to your philosophies ; but your philo- 
 sophies, like your politics, were at fault, as 
 
ON THE WAR 243 
 
 was your conception of the French nation 
 and of its future. France is Catholic, as 
 she is mihtary, because she was born so and 
 so has developed. Each time that a mortal 
 enemy has attacked her, those two ener> 
 gies — the Church and the Army — the pro- 
 foundest and most intimate of our national 
 existence, will rearise, and with reflex action 
 will leap to an instinctive and irresistible 
 defence. You may denounce the military 
 peril and the clerical peril, but the Church 
 and the Army will save you, even you, their 
 persecutors, because you are men of France. 
 They will save you in that very moment when 
 you had dreamed of resuming your abomin- 
 able campaign which has deprived so many 
 hospitals of their Sisters of Mercy and so 
 many regiments of their officers. 
 
 "But no, surely I am making a mistake. 
 . . . You only repeat those words of hatred 
 automatically ; you do not really believe 
 them. This war has taught you how deeply 
 you love your country. She possesses none 
 too many of her forces to oppose her for- 
 midable neighbours. You will not wish to 
 diminish a single one of them. You will 
 not speak disparagingly of the Forces of the 
 
244 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Past, because they are national, and they 
 are the forces, too, of the present and of the 
 future. You will let them work freely, to 
 build up a strong France for us that will 
 have no cause to fear future invasion. This 
 is not a vain theory of ideas. The ruins of 
 our northern and eastern towns and villages 
 are there to prove it. Do you not hear their 
 very stones imploring us : ' For pity's sake, 
 let us have no more civil war! No more 
 wars against religion. No more ostracism. 
 No more clannish politics of sects or of parties. 
 Let us be united, so as to be strong and so 
 as to prevent thern from ever returning." 
 
 Nevertheless, the barriers which have 
 divided French atheists and freethinkers 
 from the more convinced and practising 
 Catholics have never been so strong or so 
 invincible as rationalists have themselves 
 believed them to be. It must not be for- 
 gotten — and this is precisely the truth which 
 the war has led the more advanced Socialists 
 and freethinkers to perceive — that the very 
 civilization of France itself was established 
 upon Catholic teachings and morals which 
 throughout the generations have become 
 
ON THE WAR 245 
 
 almost innate in the race. This is abun- 
 dantly proved to the observer of France's 
 moral and ethical progiess. Even when 
 under the sway of advanced Republican- 
 ism, even when most ferociously rebellious 
 against the dominion of Clericalism used as 
 a rival political power against the Republic, 
 France retained at heart, unconsciously, 
 the religious morale first inculcated by the 
 Church, and this in spite of the fact that 
 she had outwardly rejected all religious 
 forms and dogma; for all the traditional 
 morals of the nation are based upon Cathol- 
 icism. Many of those Republican bourgeois 
 families who call themselves freethinkers, 
 and sincerely believe themselves to be 
 entirely delivered from all religious and 
 so-called fanatical errors, are often pre- 
 cisely those whose family traditions and 
 whose basic ethical convictions are estab- 
 lished upon the teachings of the Church 
 itself, even though the purely dogmatic 
 elements of the Faith have passed away. 
 That even the most advanced Republican 
 unbelievers still retain their confidence in 
 the civilizing efficacy of the Catholic re- 
 ligion is proved, too, by the fact that in 
 
246 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 those barbaric Eastern communities which 
 they seek to dominate, they still use their 
 Church and their priests as agents of civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 The inherent influence of the Catholic 
 religion is such that, even after the forms 
 and ceremonies of the cult itself have been 
 rejected, the ethics which the Church has 
 inculcated still remain. And these are suffi- 
 ciently vital in the soul of the nation, not only 
 to preserve the morale they have taught, but 
 to convince even their detractors of their 
 unimpaired power. Even so-called rational 
 civilization has progressed along the lines 
 of the moral teachings of the Church, and 
 though those spiritual forces are deprived 
 of the outward forms and ceremonies of 
 Catholic dogma, yet Catholic methods of 
 thought still subsist and prevail because 
 they have been indelibly stamped upon 
 the mind of the nation. 
 
 In this hour of her great struggle for 
 the maintenance and supremacy of French 
 civilization, it is evident that it is upon a 
 strong moral basis that the opposing strength 
 of the nation is built ; for in one and all alike, 
 whether their resistance be founded upon a 
 
ON THE WAR 247 
 
 religious faith or upon Republican and athe- 
 istic convictions, the spirit of determination 
 is the same. We are told that the Catholic 
 priests in the trenches are amazed to note the 
 fervour and eagerness of those who fight for 
 their country without religious incentive or 
 without any hope of a future life. But 
 whether he be a believer or not, the French- 
 man in the trenches feels that he is fighting 
 for an ideal. He is defending not only his 
 country, but also his home, his hearth, his 
 family ; and though he does not offer up a 
 prayer before he begins to fight, yet he gives 
 his life with the same reckless generosity 
 and with the same elan as his comrade who 
 recommends himself to God before he loads 
 his rifle. The ideal of la Patiie is the altar 
 upon which both make sacrifice. 
 
 The godless product of Republican doc- 
 trines watches with awe and respect his com- 
 rade of the trenches die with a smile upon 
 his lips, because he is so convinced that a 
 new life, more radiant and more hopeful, 
 awaits him on the other side of Death. 
 And the free-thinker's respect for his 
 comrade is increased. So, even though far 
 separated by their inner convictions during 
 
248 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 their lives, the two men are very near to one 
 another through their common heroism in the 
 hour of their death, side by side. And it is 
 because of such everyday occurrences in the 
 trenches of this war that all Frenchmen have 
 realized how far, even above all dogma, is 
 the religious cult that a man has for his 
 country. 
 
 It is evident, too, that the great union 
 between all Frenchmen at the present hour 
 is largely owing to the conditions of mili- 
 tary service now existing in France. Never 
 before had one realized how important a 
 factor in the building up of national charac- 
 ter was military service in its compulsory 
 form. 
 
 By bringing together young men of all 
 social classes and of diverse trainings, and by 
 forcing them to live the same life of work, 
 discipline, and devotion to duty, for two or 
 three years side by side, a spirit of equality 
 has been bred amongst them, which in itself 
 has been a good preparation for the work of 
 the war. In spite of the faults of which the 
 Republic is accused, even its worst enemies 
 must recognize that it has in a measure 
 attained some of its ideals of Liberty, 
 
ON THE WAR 249 
 
 Equality, and Fraternity. In spite of the 
 many errors of parliamentarism and cheap 
 arrivisme. Republican ethics have helped to 
 fashion a modern French soul that has 
 certain very fine characteristics. One of 
 these is the true and sincere spirit of 
 fraternity which we see exemplified to-day 
 in the trenches. 
 
 Even the most advanced of Socialists 
 cannot fail to be satisfied with the work 
 thus accomplished in bringing together the 
 various classes. For whatever else may 
 eventually grow out of this union, there is 
 no doubt that, at the present moment, it 
 comes near — perilously near some will say — 
 to the philosophical hopes of our good old 
 dreamers, the Anarchists and the advanced 
 Socialists. To-day, in the trenches before 
 the enemy of the nation. Frenchmen of all 
 classes, of all ideals, of all religious and non- 
 religious convictions, have learnt for one 
 another not only tolerance, but love and 
 respect, to an amazing degree. Having 
 suffered and faced death side by side, shoulder 
 to shoulder, realizing the same perils, men 
 from all classes and districts, trades and 
 callings, have grown to know and under- 
 
250 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 stand one another — and, understanding, to 
 love. This is SociaUsm in its most insidious 
 form, and even those whose sense of hier- 
 archy and mihtary disciphne demands that 
 each man should keep his appointed place 
 and position must admit that the great con- 
 cord now brought about among Frenchmen 
 will be difficult to destroy. Class hatred 
 has disappeared as if by magic ; the sale 
 bourgeois who has left his comfortable 
 home to go out and fight side by side in 
 the mud of the trenches with the ouvrier 
 employed in his own factory, cannot consider 
 him as an inferior, but as a brother, when he 
 sees the simplicity with which the working 
 man so spontaneously offers up his life for 
 his country. And the working man him- 
 self will forget all his envy and all his 
 personal grievances against the sale bour- 
 geois — his employer — when he finds him 
 shooting by his side, for he, too, admires 
 the courage and devotion of his fellow- 
 fighter. And what atheist exists to-day 
 who will seek to deny the efficiency of the 
 Catholic priests, standing in soldiers' uni- 
 forms and doing their duty, or fail to admire 
 their pious fervour ? And what priest will 
 
ON THE WAR 251 
 
 dare to doubt the ideals of the freethinker, 
 even though those ideals have been learned 
 in the godless Republican schools, when he 
 shows himself so great a hero in face of 
 death ? Will not the Gra?id Seigneur, too, 
 however convinced he may be of his rights 
 and his privileges, feel a strong impulsive 
 fraternity for his poorer brother -worker 
 who offers his life so generously? Surely, 
 after the war is over, no great noble of 
 France will dare to refuse a share of the 
 benefits of his country to his poorer com- 
 patriots who have so eagerly accepted their 
 share of the national burden of danger ! 
 To-day Frenchmen realize that their com- 
 mon love for their country has made all the 
 men of the nation equal. Surely Socialism 
 could accomplish no more ! 
 
 So far as the French Socialists, as a 
 political group, are concerned, they have 
 taken up a most noble attitude in this war. 
 Without hesitation they joined their corps 
 as a single man on the day that mobiliza- 
 tion was decreed. As Van der Welde, the 
 Belgian Socialist, explained, this particular 
 war is '' a war against war," and must end 
 all warfare for many years to come. 
 
252 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 Perhaps one of the most convmeing trans- 
 formations of the Sociahst spirit which the 
 coming of hostiUties immediately achieved 
 was that of Gustave Herve, the Sociahstic 
 anti-mihtarist, the leader of the Herveists, 
 whose articles in the Guerre Sociale have 
 become so popular among all classes since 
 the outbreak of the war. 
 
 Like so many other intellectuals, Herve, 
 before the war, held that the love of 
 humanity was a higher ideal than the love 
 of one's native land. He was an International 
 Socialist, and sincerely believed that he 
 had more in common with any German 
 Socialist than with his nearest and dearest 
 blood relation who might happen to possess 
 reactionary bourgeois convictions. His 
 record with regard to his opinions was about 
 as black as it could be. He was a University 
 Professor of History, and once, lecturing 
 before his pupils, he had gone so far as to 
 advise them to plant the national flag upon 
 the dunghill! He had also publicly an- 
 nounced his intention, in case of war, of re- 
 fusing to take up military weapons against his 
 fellow-men. For thus declaring his convic- 
 tions he had served several months in prison- 
 
ON THE WAR 253 
 
 But as soon as the great banner upon 
 which was inscribed the word La Revanche 
 was figuratively unrolled, Herve, in a pas- 
 sion of patriotism, forgot all his theories, 
 and perceived but the one great evident 
 fact: that his country was attacked, and 
 that his duty as a Frenchman was to go out 
 and defend her. 
 
 " On veut egorger ma mere : je cours la 
 defhidre ! " was the simple explanation of 
 his conduct, in the words of Theophile 
 Gautier in 1870 ; and they were almost the 
 same, too, as those of the Breton peasant I 
 have quoted, when questioned as to his in- 
 tentions, the day before mobilization was 
 decreed. 
 
 For the mere mention of the word "war" 
 immediately forged a strong chain between 
 all Frenchmen, whatever may have been 
 their previous convictions or opinions. Per- 
 haps it would be more correct to say that 
 the chain was not forged at that moment. 
 It was linked long before, but it was drawn 
 up taut and strong in these stirring hours. 
 So that the most intellectual and analytical 
 race, and the one most devoted to pure 
 psychic ideas, learned the great ancient truth, 
 
254 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 which, however, to the present generation 
 seemed almost new — that there is a force 
 in the national spirit of one's country which 
 is higher, deeper, stronger even, than any- 
 intellectual conviction. The French thought 
 they knew themselves, had probed their own 
 hidden psychology to the depths ; but now 
 they learnt that their analysis, however 
 deep, had never penetrated to its true 
 depths. This was the first great lesson 
 taught them by the war. 
 
 But what will eventually emerge out 
 of the vast melting-pot into which all the 
 national characteristics of the French nation 
 have been thrust by this war ? Will a com- 
 plete and permanent amalgamation of all 
 classes, with their diverse convictions, 
 thoughts, ideals, and principles, be achieved ? 
 No one can now say what the ultimate result 
 will be. However, what appears undeniable 
 is that, in the union of the various principles, 
 a general mean has been attained which 
 seems to bring us close to socialistic and 
 anarchical tenets, insomuch as it has so far 
 mingled the classes as to have levelled, at 
 least momentarily, all kinds and conditions 
 of men. 
 
ON THE WAR 255 
 
 Not only has the union been complete 
 between all parties, overthrowing all the 
 barriers which divided political parties and 
 the various schools of French thought, but 
 the entire spirit of the nation has been 
 uprooted. I have pointed out elsewhere a 
 peculiar French characteristic, utterly un- 
 known to the superficial outside observer, 
 to the effect that the French possess a 
 tendency to conceal what they feel the most 
 deeply, and to reveal by exuberance and by 
 gesticulation only those emotions which are 
 merely superficial. This explains the atti- 
 tude of the nation since the beginning of 
 the war — an attitude which must seem 
 enigmatic to many. That the French people, 
 usually represented as being so easily excited, 
 should reveal themselves so disciplined, and 
 so resolutely determined to await the final 
 issue, of which they have never one instant 
 doubted, must amaze Europe. One finds 
 this spirit in every section of the community, 
 from the top to the bottom of the social 
 scale. But what is most amazing is the 
 little "talk" one hears. P^or once, too, 
 the French nation seems determined to 
 abstain from judging those in power. Since 
 
256 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the beginning of the war hardly any criticism 
 of the Government has been heard. Still 
 less has one heard the military authorities 
 discussed. The whole nation appears to have 
 made up its mind to follow Asquith's advice, 
 and is resolved to " Wait and see !" 
 
 The lessons taught by the life in the 
 trenches now led by all able - bodied 
 Frenchmen are numerous and will be far- 
 reaching. To what degree they will be 
 indelibly impressed upon the minds of the 
 people remains to be seen. One can hardly 
 hope that the present level of high virtues 
 and of heroism will be sustained. It would 
 be to ask too much from any nation. For 
 at this hour even our apaches and gaol-birds 
 are showing themselves to be possessed of 
 great prowess and chivalry. 
 
 There is a very evident renewal of altruism 
 that runs through the whole French nation 
 at the present moment. The combatants 
 are not fighting for selfish and personal 
 issues, but for the happiness, comfort, and 
 success, of future generations of men whom 
 they will not live to know. But apart from 
 these higher moral qualities, the fact of 
 fighting together as comrades has developed 
 
ON THE WAR 257 
 
 qualities of endurance, of renunciation, of 
 sobriety, of strength, of suppleness, and of 
 accuracy, besides other qualities. It has also 
 developed resourcefulness to a wonderful 
 degree — that inventive resourcefulness which 
 has ever been one of the most characteristic 
 qualities of the French race. Indeed, this 
 quality, as well as the adaptability of the 
 Frenchman, always compares most favour- 
 ably with the organizing spirit of the German, 
 and leads the former to win in the end. 
 Thus, in this war all that the Teutonic brain 
 had laboriously devised before the war in 
 order to attack their unsuspecting neighbours 
 has been, not only immediately assimilated, 
 but greatly improved upon, by the French. 
 P^or it is a well-known fact that the Gallic 
 race perfects the inventions of other races, 
 although, curiously enough, they usually 
 leave the commercial exploitation of their 
 own inventions to others. 
 
 Many other virtues have been acquired, 
 too, by the French in this war. Perhaps 
 one of the most evident, and one which it 
 is hoped will be retained henceforth to 
 become a national virtue, is the collective 
 spirit. All the French people who know 
 
 17 
 
258 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 and have studied England had hitherto so 
 much admired this virtue as an Enghsh 
 characteristic. Until now the Frenchman 
 was exclusively an individualist. Even in 
 his sports he excelled only in those games 
 which he could, so to speak, play alone. 
 Thus he might show himself to be an expert 
 in executing a daring feat with an aeroplane, 
 but was inferior when engaged in a foot- 
 ball match. And why ? Because he lacked 
 that fine quality of the Englishman whose 
 sporting instinct leads him to '* play with 
 the team." So far the Frenchman had not 
 learned this. He always went off to play 
 a little game of his own, because he was 
 above all an individualist. But now, in the 
 trenches, he has gained the collective spirit. 
 Until now his isolating individualism had 
 led him to be capable of showing power 
 and talent only when he found himself 
 in opposition to another individual. And 
 because of this defect the personal valour 
 of the Frenchman was often rather detri- 
 mental than efficient. It is said that Napo- 
 leon, well aware of this national disposition, 
 was fond of declaring that he preferred a 
 bad General who commanded alone, to two 
 
ON THE WAR 259 
 
 good Generals who did not get on together. 
 But now Frenchmen are learning how to 
 co-operate, how to "fight with the team." 
 Nevertheless they retain all their spirit of 
 initiative, upon which their own officers 
 always rely. The English soldiers at the 
 front in France have all observed this 
 special characteristic of the French poilu. 
 The French soldier can never be con- 
 sidered as part of a machine. Even though 
 he is disciplined and obedient, his best 
 work is given to the officer whom he 
 feels to be in sympathy with himself. 
 The affection between men and officers is 
 another special trait of the French army. 
 The men are ready to go through fire and 
 water for the officers whom they love, and 
 these rule their men, not through discipline 
 alone, but through their feelings. Each 
 nation has its special faults and failings. 
 That of the French may be said to be an 
 exaggerated emotionalism. But, by using 
 this as a lever, the officers transform it into 
 a quality ; for French soldiers of all classes, 
 whether professional military men or soldier- 
 citizens, are mostly amenable to sentiment. 
 During the long vigils of this terrible war 
 
260 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 the French soldier has also learnt to acquke 
 a quality which, though less brilliant than 
 many others he possesses, is yet of no less 
 importance in view of the ultimate issue. 
 And this is patience. Who, some months 
 ago, would have thought that the excitable 
 Frenchman would have been capable of the 
 quiet, concentrated endurance he is now 
 showing to the world ? If one investigated 
 and discovered of what this apparently 
 newly acquired force is composed, one 
 would realize that it is based upon an 
 absolute faith in his capacity to win in 
 the end. This is no Mind unreasoning or 
 self-complacent confidence, but one that is 
 built up on deep and logical reasoning. In 
 the trenches the combatants converse with 
 one another (would they be Frenchmen at 
 all if they were not addicted to the charms 
 of la causerie?) and they know that the 
 western battle-line is no less than 600 kilo- 
 metres long. They study their maps, and 
 their favourite remark is : " The longer the 
 battle-line, the longer the battle." 
 
 So they know that it is useless to hurry, 
 because the final result will be the sum total 
 of all the separate battles won along the 
 
ON THE WAR 261 
 
 line. Not one of them believes that the 
 war will end before next year — if then ! 
 It would be as unfair to the com- 
 batants at the front as to the non-com- 
 batants who await their return at home 
 to say that they are becoming impatient. 
 On the contrary, their enduring firmness 
 and indomitable persistence seem to be 
 limitless. One hears on all sides that 
 famous phrase which, to the ordinary 
 French mind, is so conclusive, so entirely 
 unanswerable — " // faut ce quHl faut I " 
 And so to the end their patience will be 
 indefatigable and unfailing. 
 
 But though the French will have gained 
 much and learned much from the experi- 
 ences of the war, assimilating as far as 
 possible the characteristics they admire in 
 their friends, or even in their enemies, and 
 rejecting those of their own which they 
 judge inferior, that does not necessarily 
 mean that they will be entirely transformed. 
 Many of their newly acquired qualities will 
 not be permanent, and the French character 
 will eventually resume its even course. And 
 why not? Are not the men of France 
 fighting above all so as to remain French, 
 
262 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 and not to fall under the sway of Germany ? 
 And is it not from the sturdy depths of 
 a very French soul that they are drawing 
 the necessary strength and courage to brave 
 their present dangers ? In view of their 
 virtues, who w^ould wish them to possess 
 others than their own French faults ? 
 
ON THE WAR 263 
 
 IV 
 THE WOMEN'S PART IN THE WAR 
 
 The form of military service. in France is 
 such that it influences and modifies life 
 profoundly, because each Frenchman is a 
 soldier as well as a citizen, and because in 
 moments of war like the present he is called 
 upon to forsake all his duties and responsi- 
 bilities as a husband and father, and as a 
 citizen, in order to perform his duty as a 
 patriot on behalf of his country. This 
 system, of course, largely affects the women 
 of the country, and this war will prove more 
 conclusively than it has ever been proved 
 before, what extraordinarily good citizens 
 Frenchwomen become each time the chance 
 •is given to them to prove that fact. At the 
 present moment in France almost every 
 family in the nation is profoundly affected 
 by the absence at the front of its male 
 
264 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 members, and thus each family is de- 
 prived of its responsible chief. There are 
 thousands of women in France who are 
 forced to take upon themselves the dual 
 responsibilities of father and mother, and 
 in many cases those of the principal bread- 
 winner. 
 
 We had known before that, when a 
 Frenchwoman is left alone in life — a widow, 
 for instance — she has repeatedly proved her- 
 self worthy of the task that circumstances 
 have imposed on her. Thus, the mothers 
 of French families not only perform their 
 duties as vigilant and careful mothers, 
 but also take upon themselves all those 
 wider duties, concerning the direction of 
 studies and the long-thought-out prepara- 
 tion for future careers of their sons and 
 daughters, which usually constitute the 
 paternal share of responsibility in the 
 community. Almost invariably, the fore- 
 sight, prudence, and common-sense, of the 
 Frenchwoman, serves her well in such 
 undertakings. 
 
 It will be remembered, too, that in the 
 first stages of the war, when the Germans, 
 in their rush for Paris, had invaded and 
 
ON THE WAR 265 
 
 bombarded an important town, from which 
 the Mayor and Municipal Council had fled, 
 the only representative of officialdom who 
 remained in the city was the widowed wife 
 of the former Senator of the department. 
 She had been most active in organizing the 
 hospitals and ambulances of the Red Cross, 
 and had also taken in her personal charge 
 all the municipal registers, archives, etc., 
 which had been left behind by the respon- 
 sible authorities. 
 
 When the German staff entered the city 
 to demand a large war ransom, she opposed 
 them in person. 
 
 "What do you want. Messieurs?'' she 
 calmly demanded. 
 
 "We want to see the Mayor of the 
 town." 
 
 " Le Maire ? Cest moi /" was the reply. 
 
 The Teutonic officials looked amazed. 
 
 " Then kindly direct us to some member 
 of the Municipal Council." 
 
 " Le Conseil Municipal ? Cest moi /" 
 was the reply of this heroic lady. 
 
 Before her moral courage even the officers 
 of the Kaiser were forced to bow. And 
 so splendidly did she defend the interests 
 
266 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 of the town and oppose her authority to 
 the demands of the invaders that finally 
 they left her in peace, and quitted the 
 city without the sum they had demanded. 
 Such fearless heroines doubtless exist in 
 other countries, but in this land of Jeanne 
 d'Arc they always manifest themselves in 
 a crisis. 
 
 It might be truly said that there are but 
 two professions which Frenchwomen can- 
 not enter, because of their inferior muscular 
 power ; these are the callings of the coal- 
 heaver and of the furniture remover! In 
 almost all other departments the women 
 of France have repeatedly proved them- 
 selves capable experts. 
 
 It was announced in the French Press 
 about March, 1915, that the English Govern- 
 ment had made a call upon women for war 
 service, and that a State scheme had been 
 proposed to offer them some of the work 
 which had been left undone owing to the 
 absence of so many men at the front. But 
 while the English Government made this 
 appeal to women in the eighth month of the 
 war, the women of France, on the very 
 first day of mobihzation, at the beginning 
 
ON THE WAR 267 
 
 of August, 1914, had already spontaneously 
 offered to replace the men in almost all 
 departments of national activity. One is 
 happy to note that the women of England 
 not only frankly recognize this priority of 
 Frenchwomen in all fields of labour, but 
 honour their sisters of France accordingly. 
 When recently interviewed upon the subject 
 of the call of the State for women's service in 
 the present circumstances, Lady Randolph 
 Churchill declared that : " The women of 
 England will now be able to do what the 
 women of France had already done auto- 
 matically and without the necessity of a 
 State appeal." 
 
 Yes, besides accomplishing their w^oman's 
 work in the home as heretofore, and besides 
 taking upon themselves the responsibility 
 of nursing the wounded soldiers of their 
 country back to health, from the very first 
 day of hostilities, the women of France had 
 automatically and without any State de- 
 mand, or even sanction, taken up the work 
 of the men in every branch and class of 
 industrial, commercial, and agricultural 
 labour. Often, even though technical train- 
 ing or professional knowledge has been 
 
268 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 wanting, the women of France, always so 
 assimilative and adaptable, have been able 
 to replace expert workers. 
 
 And it is not only because of their adapta- 
 bility and power of assimilation that French 
 women are often able to perform the work 
 of competent and trained men, but because 
 they are always the comrades and com- 
 panions of their husbands. Seeing the men 
 at their work, observing their methods, 
 they take an intelligent interest in the 
 processes of male labour. Thus, when a 
 necessity arises, the wives can often replace 
 their husbands, not only as mere amateurs, 
 but with skilled and efficient knowledge. 
 It is rarely that a French working man 
 of any kind, whether he be a paper- 
 hanger, a carpenter, a jeweller, an electric 
 light fitter, does not speak of his work to 
 his wife, explain it to her, and discuss it with 
 her, so that French wives become used to 
 the technique of their husbands' profession. 
 Thus, lately the local paper-hanger was 
 away at the war. But I wanted my country 
 cottage repapered. His wife came and per- 
 formed the job quite as efficiently, and to 
 my entire satisfaction. 
 
ON THE WAR 269 
 
 During the winter of 1914-1915 in Paris 
 we have been forced to admit, however, 
 that male furniture removers aijd coal- 
 heavers were indispensable, for since the 
 beginning of this war the difficulty of 
 providing coal for the weekly consumption 
 of Parisian families has been great. And 
 this not only because the French and Belgian 
 coal-mines, which are the usual sources of 
 our coal provision, are under German domina- 
 tion at present, but also largely because of 
 the dearth of strong men. For in flat-life 
 in Paris few stores can be kept, and the 
 kitchen coal-box has to be replenished 
 at regular intervals throughout the winter. 
 Many cases of colds and bronchitis and 
 other ailments were therefore brought about 
 by the absence of the strong, able-bodied 
 men at the front. And the dearth of 
 furniture removers is perhaps almost as 
 tragic. The April quarter is generally 
 most fruitful in " moves," and this year, 
 alas ! a great many women who, at the 
 beginning of the war, lost their husbands, 
 the principal mainstays of their households, 
 were anxious to move at the April quarter 
 to smaller and cheaper residences. Many 
 
270 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 widows, too, wish to retire into the 
 provinces. But the initial difficulty was 
 to find furniture removers. I myself, wish- 
 ing to make a change of domicile, applied 
 to no less than ten well-known firms, who 
 all answered that, not only had they a 
 dearth of men, but that all their horses, too, 
 had been commandeered, so that they can 
 only undertake the very smallest "moves." 
 As for the transport of a piano into the 
 country, that is a piece of work which 
 is absolutely declined by all firms, as only 
 the youngest and strongest men can per- 
 form the work. On the other hand, in 
 almost every case, I discovered that the 
 offices of those establishments which still 
 remained open were entirely managed by 
 the women whose husbands were at the 
 front. All the estimates drawn up and given 
 for the removal were made by women. 
 
 But this surprises no one who knows 
 Frenchwomen well. At all times, when 
 circumstances have necessitated it and 
 brought them face to face with material 
 difficulties, Frenchwomen have proved that 
 they can be entirely depended upon. 
 
 This attitude of accepting responsibilities 
 
ON THE WAR 271 
 
 that have been thrust upon them by cir- 
 cumstances, and performing other duties 
 than their own with the same foresight, 
 activity, and thoroughness as their male 
 partners, is not a new one. Throughout 
 history a Frenchwoman has always been a 
 reliable unit. And in all the upper classes 
 of the bouj^geoisie the women have shown 
 themselves to be as adaptable and efficient 
 in performing the work of their absent lords 
 as the women of the working classes. 
 
 Not only have the women of France suc- 
 ceeded in replacing their men in mere num- 
 bers, but in many instances they have rapidly 
 assimilated the knowledge necessary to carry 
 on even those businesses requiring technical 
 knowledge. There are hundreds of widowed 
 women in France to-day who have taken 
 upon their shoulders the responsibility of 
 directing large enterprises where hundreds, 
 and even thousands, of workpeople are em- 
 ployed. And it is to be noted that French- 
 women never relinquish their more feminine 
 attributes, and even their feminine weak- 
 nesses, even when they prove themselves 
 to be remarkably efficient workers in all 
 branches. 
 
272 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 This war has shown the whole world 
 what so many of us knew before, and that is 
 that the virile quality of the Frenchwoman's 
 character is a national characteristic. 
 
 Charles Kingsley has said, 
 
 "Men must work and women must weep ; " 
 
 but in France, even when the women weep, 
 they work also. And it has ever been so, 
 though the present war has made this fact 
 more evident to the world at large. 
 
 But, alas ! the activity and the cour- 
 ageous responsibiUty of women do not pre- 
 vent them from retaining their women's 
 hearts, and the heroism demanded of 
 mothers who sacrifice their sons and of 
 wives who sacrifice their husbands is no 
 less great than that of the men who go 
 out to fight as soldiers. 
 
 At a lecture she recently gave at Rouen, 
 Mrs. Despard, the sister of General French, 
 said : 
 
 " Our soldiers, who go out to die facing 
 the enemy, are heroes. We mourn for them, 
 but we envy them also, for it is not possible 
 to meet with a more glorious death. But 
 the courage of our combatants is no more 
 
ON THE WAR 273 
 
 sublime than the courage of the mothers 
 and of the wives who mourn and whose 
 Hves have been sacrificed in the persons of 
 their dear departed." 
 
 Truly the moral courage of the women 
 who remain behind is as great as, and perhaps 
 even higher than that of the men who go 
 out to the front ; for the woman have not 
 the relative compensation of the excitement 
 of the fight. 
 
 During this war we shall have seen French- 
 women of all classes performing duties 
 which hitherto had been exclusively per- 
 formed by the men. Just as the richer 
 women have left their firesides and gone 
 out to work in the interest of the nation, 
 either to tend the sick and wounded by 
 serving in the hospitals, or by organizing 
 relief societies to aid the poorer working 
 classes and the refugees that have gathered 
 around them, the poorer working women 
 have turned out of their homes to supple- 
 ment their husbands during their absence, 
 and not only the women of the towns and 
 larger communities, but also the simple 
 peasant women, have all set to work to 
 accomplish their duty as breadwinners for 
 
 18 
 
274 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 their families. All over the country the 
 work of reaping and of gathering in the 
 harvest during the summers of 1914 and 
 1915 was performed by women. They even 
 undertook the responsibility of the harder 
 tasks which require great muscular strength. 
 Thus, it was the women who cut the corn 
 and heaved the great corn-stacks on to the 
 carts, and drove them into the farmyards. 
 Later they also conducted the threshing 
 machines to separate the corn from the 
 chaff; and if at the present hour France 
 is the one combatant country whose bread 
 prices have not risen, it can be well said 
 that this is owing to the efforts of the 
 peasant women throughout the whole land. 
 After the summer harvests come the 
 autumn ve7idanges in all the large vine- 
 growing districts of the country. Wine- 
 making is one of the richest and most 
 important industries of the nation, and in 
 spite of the war the plain red and white 
 clairet, which the French drink all over the 
 country, as well as those rarer vintages 
 which supply the whole world, had to be 
 gathered in and made. Again it was the 
 women who undertook to perform this 
 
ON THE WAR 275 
 
 duty. Not only did they gather the grapes 
 from the vines, but they also had to throw 
 the masses of them into the vats and press 
 them into liquor. This is heavy work, 
 hitherto rarely entrusted to women. There 
 was even a great popular and national super- 
 stition that the presence of women near the 
 wine- vats would turn the wine sour ! But 
 in wartime such superstitions have to be 
 set aside, for the women are no longer wives 
 and mothers only, but are the supporters of 
 the family, and they have to do the work of 
 the men for the benefit of the community. 
 
 The winter passed, and there were still 
 no male workers in the fields. The earth 
 has to be ploughed and the new grain 
 sown for the harvest of 1915. So it was 
 the women again who undertook the work. 
 One saw them in every department of 
 France, their hands upon the handles of 
 the ploughs, guiding them forward behind 
 the horses over the rich brown earth. And 
 then came the sowing time, and once more 
 the women undertook to provide the nation 
 with bread. 
 
 In Paris, not only have the women taken 
 up all the work in shops, factories, offices, 
 
276 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 but they have also supplemented men in 
 almost all branches of outside work. 
 The municipal methods of transport are 
 almost all managed by women. On the 
 tube railway-lines of Paris, the M6tro and 
 the Nord-Sud, the wives of the employes 
 are working in their stead. At lower rates, 
 however, alas ! for the unjust principle of 
 giving to women lower wages for performing 
 identically the same work as men accom- 
 plish still prevails. But the wives of the 
 Nord-Sud and Metro railways have been 
 only too glad to accept three francs a day 
 wages instead of the five fi-ancs their men 
 used to earn ! The female porter is as 
 assiduous and as reliable as her male 
 partner, and looks far more picturesque in 
 her trim black gown and overall. She has 
 no regular uniform, for Frenchwomen — 
 unlike the English — have not devised any 
 special uniform to perform their new 
 work, but a scarlet band is pinned upon 
 her right arm, bearing the initial of 
 the railway she belongs to, and a white 
 embroidered number is upon her breast. 
 A serviceable and business-like leather 
 satchel, which holds the railway tickets, is 
 
ON THE WAR 277 
 
 hung round her shoulders by means of a 
 strap. She is also provided with a mur- 
 derous-looking instrument with which to 
 clip the tickets of the travellers, which act 
 she accomplishes with a most severe and 
 martial air. 
 
 The tramway-Unes of Paris also employ 
 women conductors, and there is no proof 
 whatever that these employees are in any 
 way less efficient than their male colleagues. 
 
 It will be noted that a very great differ- 
 ence exists between the forms of feminine 
 activity in 1870 and those of the war of 
 to-day. In 1870 and during the siege of 
 Paris, we are told that women were admir- 
 able in managing with thrift, economy, and 
 foresight, and that many families were able 
 to pass through the anguishing time of the 
 siege because of the cheerfulness and good- 
 will of the women workers. Those of the 
 poorer classes did not hesitate to wait for 
 hours and hours in the queue at the butchers' 
 shops where the meat was apportioned to 
 each family, and many stories we are told 
 of the fine courageous spirit of the women 
 through all the difficulties of those days. 
 The women of 1870, too, were intrepid, and 
 
278 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 they kept up the spirits of their men hke the 
 women of to-day. But the consolation of 
 the women of a former generation was based 
 upon tenderness and sentiment, and there 
 was less reason and less common-sense in 
 it, and less science too, because the souls 
 of the women of 1870 were less virile 
 than those of the modern women. It 
 must be remembered, in the defence of the 
 woman of 1870, that feminine education 
 at that period was based upon a religious 
 faith only, which preached a doctrine of 
 self-effacement and self-sacrifice to others, 
 and did not encourage self-reliance, personal 
 initiative and energy. On the contrary, 
 these were discouraged as unfeminine 
 qualities. 
 
 But it is necessary to remember that the 
 French army in those days was not re- 
 cruited from all the citizens in the land, as 
 is the case to-day, so that the families of the 
 combatants were far less numerous. Instead 
 of every family contributing soldiers, there 
 was only one family in every ten or twelve. 
 There were, therefore, far less families vitally 
 affected, and therefore far less women called 
 upon to help in the work of the nation. 
 
ON THE WAR 279 
 
 But the women of to-day have received 
 an education which is totally different in its 
 intentions and effects from that of their 
 grandmothers. It is this newer, more 
 modern education which has in a great 
 measure helped them to refashion a stronger 
 soul for the Frenchwoman. Our contem- 
 porary wives and mothers have not been 
 reared only upon the rather narrow educa- 
 tional programme of the convent school, 
 and even though so many Frenchwomen 
 have retained their religious beliefs — and 
 this has been abundantly proved by the 
 evident revival of Catholicism during this 
 war — the intellectual education of the 
 modern Frenchwoman has been broadened, 
 and made more far-reaching, being founded 
 on a basis of science and philosophy. This 
 newer education, while not depriving them 
 of their excellent moral qualities which the 
 older religious ideals had developed, has 
 taught them independence of thought and 
 action, and has given them personal initiative 
 and awakened in them a sense of responsi- 
 bility which has transformed them into able 
 and efficient citizens. The woman of 1870, 
 exclusively educated upon an ideal of sub- 
 
280 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 serviency and personal resignation in the 
 service of others, was perhaps a creature of 
 superior sentiment, but of less character. 
 She bred sons who were less hopeful, less 
 enterprising, than those of the present 
 generation ; for the mothers had known 
 the humiliations of 1870, and from them 
 their sons had gained their pessimistic out- 
 look. But the generation of to-day is full 
 of hope and vitality, and has gained much 
 from the rational programmes of Republican 
 France. The women's lycees, inaugurated in 
 ^ 1880, have produced feminine generations 
 that have gained in character and individuality 
 that which they have perhaps lost in gentle- 
 ness and submission. Many men affect to 
 deplore this. But, in defence of the new 
 generation, one is bound to admit that the 
 mothers, the wives, and the sisters, of the 
 men now in the trenches of 1915 are more 
 responsible and conscious citizens and better 
 workers. This is proved by the fact that 
 the women of modern France are now 
 undertaking to perform their necessary and 
 responsible work in the present circum- 
 stances in a scientific and business-like spirit 
 which will result in a loftier and more per- 
 fect achievement. 
 
ON THE WAR 281 
 
 The work accomplished by the Red Cross 
 is a case in point. Many thousands of 
 women of the middle and upper classes in 
 France are now engaged in this, most effi- 
 caciously. The scientific and methodical 
 training of the modern woman has taught 
 her to be far more proficient in the work of 
 tending the sick and wounded than were 
 the excellent but ignorant women of 1 870, 
 who nursed the wounded or the sick with 
 tender and easily aroused emotions only, 
 but who knew nothing of scientific appli- 
 ances or of antiseptics. 
 
 Beside hospital work in all its administra- 
 tive and technical branches, the French- 
 woman of to day is widely occupied in all 
 kinds of social and sociological work ; and 
 in this, again, modern education has admir- 
 ably prepared them to view social questions 
 and to understand the methods of resolving 
 them successfully from quite another stand- 
 point than that adopted in 1870. Fifty years 
 ago women understood such problems by 
 means of their feelings only, so that their 
 knowledge was necessarily imperfect. Now 
 they can solve them in a more scientific, and 
 therefore in a more rational, spirit. They 
 
282 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 have realized that, to come to the aid of their 
 poorer sisters effectually, their efforts must 
 be based upon other conceptions than those 
 of mere charity as understood by the giving 
 of alms. They know now that what in their 
 turn they must teach their poorer sisters is 
 that the latter must organize and prepare 
 their scheme of labour for themselves. To 
 achieve this, all workers must realize that 
 they themselves alone can be the responsible 
 promoters of their own prosperity. 
 
 The bourgeoises of 1870 believed that to 
 help the poor was merely to give them the 
 money of charity. The women of to-day 
 understand that they must know and 
 realize the lives of the workers to be able to 
 help them efficiently. To accomplish this is 
 not to give them small sums of money now 
 and again, but to give them work. 
 
 And by inquiring into the circumstances 
 and conditions of the classes of poorer 
 workers, many of whom are now left desti- 
 tute through the departure of their bread- 
 winners to the front, the society woman is 
 brought into immediate contact with the 
 realities of the position ; and by realizing 
 much of the lives of the honest and worthy 
 
ON THE WAR 283 
 
 labouring classes, the rich and idle woman 
 learns much. Not only do such relations 
 establish between rich and poor a better 
 understanding, because all alike share the 
 same fears, anguish, and hopes, for their dear 
 ones at the front, but also because, in prac- 
 tical touch with their poorer sisters, the 
 richer women are able to realize the real 
 hardship of their lives, which the poor so 
 often bear with smiling courage. 
 
 Just as the union of all political parties, 
 of all classes of thought, has brought about 
 a general understanding between all com- 
 batants, and because Catholic priests, free- 
 thinkers, atheists. Socialists, aristocrats, 
 bourgeois, and men of all convictions, 
 now stand side by side in the trenches and 
 form but one great agglomeration of 
 Frenchmen, so has the same union taken 
 place between the women who stay behind. 
 In a recent lecture upon the union of the 
 rich and poor women brought about by 
 the present war, Madame Jules Siegfried, 
 the President of the National Council of 
 Frenchwomen, says : " Rich and poor 
 mothers alike share the same sorrows. The 
 rich woman's anguish is the same as that 
 
284 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 of the poor woman, for each have husbands 
 and sons whom they know to be in daily, 
 hourly danger of death. And when the 
 rich woman goes into the home of the poor 
 woman, she does not enter as a benefactor, 
 giving of her fulness to the poverty of the 
 other ; there is no question of charity. But 
 she takes the poor woman into her arms, 
 and they weep together like sisters. It 
 required a great upheaval like the present 
 one to bring about this result. We had 
 truly believed that we understood and felt 
 the difficulties of the poorer classes. But 
 we had not been in a position to judge them 
 accurately. Before the war it was very 
 difficult for us to penetrate into the lives 
 of workers which are so hard, and to come 
 into close touch with them. When we 
 made an effort to do this, we discovered 
 how deep was the gulf between us — so deep 
 that we could not cross it, in spite of all 
 our good intentions. Our own lives were 
 so easy compared with theirs, for the mate- 
 rial conditions of our existences precluded 
 all worry concerning the morrow. They 
 could not know our joys, eitlier, nor 
 share our intellectual or artistic interests, 
 
ON THE WAR 285 
 
 because of the necessities of their continual 
 labour. So our elan was stopped. We 
 did our best to help, but we were forced 
 to silence because there was no means of 
 making them cross that gulf of misunder- 
 standing between us. It has been this war 
 that has allowed us to mix and to mingle as 
 if we were all members of the same great 
 family." 
 
 Besides the women of the working classes, 
 the more serious-minded women of the upper 
 classes, and the women of la petite bour- 
 geoisie, there yet remains another class of 
 women in Paris — the frivolous and fasci- 
 nating society dUgante, who for some 
 lookers-on appears exclusively to typify la 
 Parisienne. She is the only woman of 
 France who is well known abroad, and 
 erroneously, in the minds of all uninitiated 
 foreigners, she alone represents the woman 
 of Paris. Whether she be of the real 
 monde or of the other, she is pre-eminently 
 the woman who stands for fashion, luxury, 
 smartness, charm, and all that goes to make 
 the elusive illusion of feminine frailty. All 
 the newest ideas, tastes, opinions, and follies, 
 she adopts at once. The very name of 
 
286 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 la Parisienne immediately evokes thoughts 
 of beautiful gowns, original hats, dainty 
 lingerie, lovely flowers and perfumes. 
 Before the war the folly of certain Paii- 
 siennes in the struggle for predominance in 
 fashion and smartness was indescribable. 
 It may really be said that the period that 
 preceded the war was a period of folly 
 and decadence. The last few great social 
 gatherings of May and June, ]914, have 
 left an indelible memory of ostentatious 
 pomp and riotous display. After the series 
 of Egyptian, Persian, and Russian fetes, we 
 had the soirees in which each woman present 
 was dressed to represent a gem. The garish 
 schemes of colours and the vehement music 
 of the Russian ballets were then most popu- 
 lar, and what was still more frantic and 
 frenzied in shape and shade was the attire 
 of the admiring women who sat in the hall. 
 These, for the most part, concealed their own 
 tresses with coloured wigs, pink, blue, green, 
 or violet hair being then thought beautiful. 
 Each woman present vied with her neigh- 
 bour in composing a striking toilette that 
 would single her out for admiration from 
 among the crowd of other toqu'ees around 
 
ON THE WAR 287 
 
 her. One with beautiful feet, anxious to 
 show them to her admirers and rivals, 
 appeared with her bare toes exhibited, 
 merely adorned with golden sandals fixed 
 to the soles of her feet with strings of pearls 
 and precious stones over her insteps. Ankles 
 and toes were painted, pencilled, and 
 powdered like her cheeks and her eyes. 
 Others, equally anxious to strike the atten- 
 tion of all beholders, were clad from top to 
 toe in sheathes of golden tissue split up at 
 both sides as far as the knees, and wore long 
 golden stockings drawn right up to their 
 thighs. Others were draped in robes of 
 the most original, striking, daring com- 
 binations of colour and design. Several, in 
 order to preserve and reveal the slimness of 
 their outlines, wore their gowns right on to 
 their skins without any intervening lingerie 
 or petticoat. And, needless to say, all 
 that it was possible to show of their bare 
 persons was liberally exposed. 
 
 And yet, in spite of these follies, all the 
 so-called civilized women of the other large 
 cities of the world were only too anxious to 
 copy the styles of this class of Parisienne. 
 
 Then came the War. . . . 
 
288 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 And suddenly from one day to the other, 
 the frivolous, smart, fashionable Parisieniie 
 was transformed —or, rather, she found her- 
 self again — and, with a courage and an 
 understanding amazing to behold, she set 
 herself to accomplish her duty thoroughly. 
 Where before all was disorder, selfishness, 
 and folly, there was now discipline, altruism, 
 and serious-mindedness. 
 
 So even the folks Parisiennes have also 
 set out to serve their country, and in the 
 hospitals, by the side of the sick and wounded 
 and dying, one finds them now, simply 
 attired in the white linen overall and long 
 flowing white veil of the Red Cross sister- 
 hood, doing their best to alleviate suffering 
 and pain, and anxious to retrieve their past 
 character. 
 
 And the domestic life of woman has 
 altered, too, since the war, for the Pari- 
 siennes of all classes have now adopted new 
 ways and customs. They dress themselves 
 in severely simple attire, and those whose 
 motors have been commandeered now ex- 
 clusively use the " tubes " of Paris as a means 
 of transits, attired in the plainest of dark 
 colours. There is not such a thing as a 
 
ON THE WAR 289 
 
 light-coloured gown or a gaily trimmed hat 
 now to be seen in Paris. Those who are 
 fortunate enough to have lost no relation in 
 the war wear black or very dark navy blue 
 clothes and simple black hats, so as not to 
 offend the taste of those in crape veils and 
 deep mourning. One of the principal dress- 
 makers in Paris told me yesterday that the 
 manufacturers have informed their cus- 
 tomers that soon the stock of dark material 
 will be entirely exhausted. As nearly all 
 the woollen manufactories of France are 
 situated in the northern and eastern depart- 
 ments, the German invaders have closed all 
 the factories ; and once the present stock 
 now in Paris is exhausted, it will be impos- 
 sible to find black or navy blue materials in 
 France. 
 
 The light-coloured materials will then 
 have to be put upon the market, and, if 
 the women still insist upon dark colours, 
 these will have to be dyed again before they 
 can be used for gowns, cloaks, etc. 
 
 The lack of money, which is the direct 
 result of the lack of work, is also largely 
 the cause of women's forced simplicity. As 
 the war wears on, one notices curious effects 
 
 19 
 
290 A FRENCHWOMAN'S NOTES 
 
 of this general and national lack of funds. 
 Women who before the war were able to 
 afford fine furs, dresses, and hats, now wear 
 their old clothes. Their penury is so great 
 that they have not been able to buy fresh 
 gloves or shoes. I met a friend of mine, 
 in the early months of hostilities, dressed in 
 a dark serge gown originally made by one 
 of the first dressmakers of Paris, and a long 
 cloak of Breischwantz, from a celebrated fur 
 emporium. With these she wore a very 
 smart black velvet toque. These were the 
 residue of her former luxury, but, having 
 no money now even to buy kid gloves 
 and black boots, she wore the white cotton 
 gloves and pale yellow kid shoes of the 
 preceding summer — and this without the 
 slightest false shame I She is far from 
 being an exception, however; for women 
 thus attired are met in dozens every day 
 in the Metros of Paris. But what do they 
 care — so long as their men win in the end ? 
 
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