THE KAISER AND THE CHURCH BELLS
How the French in the occupied, districts stood apart from the Bodies is clear from an account given in the "Echo do Paris." The Kaiser spent a good deal of time at Charlewlle, aud so it wiis almost inevitable that there should be a question of ringing the church bells. The first attempt was mado on the pretext of a victory over the Russians. An order was sent by the military Governor to the Vice-Chairman of tho Municipal Committee, wKb"replied that the church bells were at the disposal of the cure, to whom application should, be made. As for himself, he was a Frenchman, and could not obey an order which was revbltSig to his conscience and his patriotism. The German did not insist, and (lie bells were not rung. Some time afterwards, it being tho Kaiser's birthday, an order was sent to tho arch-priest to have the bells runs in honour of the event. lh« archpriest carried out the order in, hie own way. Instead of joy bells, the belli tolled the knell customary for a firstclass funeral. Tho people enjoyed the ioke. and the Germans ceased to give orders which only rendored them ridiculous in the • eyes of the townspeople and of their own soldiers.
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Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 244, 9 July 1919, Page 7
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213THE KAISER AND THE CHURCH BELLS Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 244, 9 July 1919, Page 7
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