Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY l3, 1919. ALSACE-LORRAINE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 1939, 13 February 1919, Page 2

Manawatu Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1919. ALSACE-LORRAINE.

.MANY people must have wondered why i( was that, although a chance reference to ALaec always broagh-, a sudden gleam into the eyes of (he Frenchman, the mention of Lorraine had no apparent effect.. A possible reason may he that whereas in 1871 the .French lost Alsace entirely, they still retained possession of pari of Lorraine. Another possible reason is (hat the Lorrainers, being of a. phlegmatic and stolid disposition, accepted the German rule Avitli some approach of philosophy, Avhereas the lively Alsatians never bowed down under (he-yoke, and were, therefore, treated in a more vindictive manner* Bo this as it may, refer-' ence to the sorroAvs of Alsace may he found throughout French literature, while similar references to Loraine are I'oav and far between. A German tourist in Lorraine might Hatter himself that he was not altogether unpopular, but it is very certain that no German tourist ever returned from Alsace Avithunt an uncomfortable feeling that, although the Avord verboten avus as conspicuous as he could Avish, the inhabitants were not as fond of him as they ought to be. It is curious that the Germans have never succeeded in inducing other nations to accept their nomenclature. In vain they describe the lavo provinces individually as Elsass and Lothringen, and collectively as a ReiclisJand; the rest of the world Avill have none of it. And jioav they are gone, a feAv weeks ago they left Metz by Avay of the Porte des Allemands, and shortly afterwards the French entered by the Porte de France. Metz is the smallest of the three chief toAvns of Alsace-Lorraine, and, on the Avhole, the least interesting, partly because it has of late years been at the mercy of German architects, who, among other things, have completely restored the cathe- '

clrul. The largest town is Strasbourg, renowned for its cathedral and its charming old buildings. Millbouse, the second town, which the French were on the point of entering early in the war, when they were obliged to retire, owing to the retreat of their northern armies, has been very largely modernised, and is the most impdl’tant manufacturing town in the two The area of Alsace-Lorraine is estimated at 5,(505 square miles, which is as nearly as possible half the size of Belgium.