THE GLORY OF FRANCE
NEVER SO GREAT AS NOW We all know something of what this dreadful war is costing France, but in the following sketch from his book, ''Behind tho Firing Line," Harold Begbio digs deep, and gives one a glimpse of lier passion, her glory, and her grief, such as few but 'ho, with his profound insight into human nature ana suffering, could give. "If it bp possible," lie writes, "I want to bring home to tho minds of those who do not yet appreciate what the French nation is enduring in this war, at least something of that enormous debt which history will certainly place at tho door of civilisation in tho name of France. "And to begin with, let me Temind tho reader that the French armies which first rushed to meet the invader, whioh first bore the shock of his ruthless onset, and which were swept away like so much chaff before a whirlwind, of flame, consisted of the noblest youth which has ever freshened the life of France with hope and gladness. This beautiful youth of.a glorious nation lias flung off tho decadence of its heredity, had broken with the destructive habits of its forefathers, and had' trodden underfoot the bad traditions of an age which corrupted ac least the great cities of France with the seeds of death. A new France was bom in this youth. The pure air of nature was'a delight to it, health and strength of body an exultation, vigorous life a passion, and to marry and to rear many children was a destiny which lield) for it not only the conscious rewards of a virile patriotism, but the truest and most lasting delights of human existence. When this war set fire to the house of life, France was singing with joy, her face glowing with the light.of a new dawn. A generation had come into being for whom life was definitely good, and over whom the glamour of a false art and the enticements of a degenerate morality exercised neither spell nor power. The whole of France was looking forward, in the joy of. this creative spirit, to a boundless future. Never. I think, in tho history of nations, had a people so apparently over-civilised sprang at- a single bound into the fullest, gladest, • and most exultant life." ,
, "The France, then, which is now.holding up the German armies over an im-« mense frontier, is a France which has seen the hope-of. life, and the joy of existence slain boforo" its very. eyes. That wonderful, vigorous, and beautiful youth swept away, only fragments of it remain, only a few battalions of those glad boys will re-form and march once more against the invader. The children of France, such children as she has never before seen playing in her fields, are scattered or slain. She mourns, as no other country can mourn, the promise of lifei Her truest and most right-' ful v heirs, _ her ' richest and most creative ' 'inheritors, aro buried in thousands of nameless graves: And sho still fights, she still faces the enemy, she still intends to drive him from her soil; and in her heart, with ■tho grief which is unutterable,- the lamentation which is inexpressible, there is a determination, a resolution so silent, so calm, and so sacred that one could almost kneel before'it, as 0110'. kneels at an altar."
"It ; is not until an Englishman, visits France and speaks with French people that he,can apprehend tho full calamity of_ this war. In England we see nothing which brings home to us the fact that this war is all interruption of life: we are aware that there is a war, ana wo feel that there is a, slight difference in the social air, but nothing we encounter reminds us that war. is a. thing of death, 'that it arrests life, that it sets a bleeding stop to tho progress of human existence. In France, on the other hand, one feels that this .war has laid violent hands upon life, and' is veritably throttling existence. And this feeling does not arise from the sight of a paralysed commerce or from the mournful spectacle in the streets of innumerable women invisible in flowing crepe; it'comes from the look on the peoples faces and from the tone of their voices. Here is a nation invaded by the hosts of a mighty and. a remorseless enemy; a nation whoso youth has been slaughtered or mainiod; a nation to whom, liberty, is even more than, a religion—a tiling unessential to spiritual life .as air is. to physical life—a nation which knows, really .knows that this war is a struggle to the death between despotism and freedom. _To know that, as Franco knows it,' is to be. in' earnest, and to bo in earnest is to acquire a certain look in. the face, a cerj'tain tone in the voice, such as one does not very frequently encounter among, the British people. How many people fin Britain definitely apprehend that this is a fight to the death between liberty, arid despotism?" , "Let us constantly remind ourselves that the French armies aro holding eleven-twelfths of tho line, that they enormously outnumber our brave soldiers, and that to feed and maintain these, vast , armies, to equip hospitals, and to wage the war to a definite vie* tory, they must. look for their revenue to a commerce thrown out of gear completely, and to a nation dreadfully impoverished by 1 death. And keeping this fact- constantly in our mind, .let us frankly and gratefully acknowledge/that Franco is ligliting not only for herself, but for the highest and holiest causes of humanity. 1 confess that I am carried away by admiration wheii I look upon this indomitable and most brilliant nation, and see it confronting, in all the disabilities ' of -democratic doni. the terrible hosts of efficient despotism. France has made many; of tho most glorious contributions to liberty,'but I think that history will pronounce her victory' over German tyranny to bo the greatest of all her glories." - : "An Englishman in Paris said to me: 'The most moving sight: in Paris is Mass at a cathedral or church frequented by - French troops. .1 was iii a cathedral a few Sundays ago,_ crammed from eud to end with soldiers in their old hut beautiful uniforms of blue and red: the priest who preached wore no surplice of any kind over his private's uniform, and in. the Mass, w'limu the priest elevated the Host, one saw that he was wearing the red trousers of a French soldier under his vestments." He paused and then he said to me: "Isn't it expressive of -the French'spirit in this/war that 110 fewer than '22,000 of t'heir priests are fighting in the ranks .of their armies?" Against this freedom-loving people, this alert, intellectual, and emotional people, comes the drilled and docile millions of tho Prussian ' War Lord, whoso national oxistenoe would fall into ruin wore the strong hand of tyranny lifted but for a moment. France, organised for peace and intellectual progress, is confronted by Gefmany, organised for war and military despotism.' But France, utterly inefficient compared with tho Germans, and tender-hearted as a woman, nevertheless is inspired by tho very breath of liberty, and something runs' through her ranks not. to be learned on a barrack square, not to be hammered into the souls of men by_ a drill sergeant; and 'she is now superior to the German armies, and will presently scatter her enemies. Freedom waxes: despotism wanes. '■/'
"To tho eye of the Englishman,the French soldier looks untidy, and' not very- mUscular; but there is that in. his heart which our noble soldiers seldom hear with quick and intelligent apprehension—the song of Liberty and the promise of Immortality. - • •' "There is a spirit in France which is invincible." . .j
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19150712.2.7
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2511, 12 July 1915, Page 2
Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,307THE GLORY OF FRANCE Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2511, 12 July 1915, Page 2
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Dominion. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.