MISS LOUISE MACK.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 February 1920, Page 5

MISS LOUISE MACK.

ADDRESS AT THE EMFSUtt^H theatre;

"THE OLD WORLD AND THE

There was a very good attandittosi the Empire Theatre last night, nil Miss Louise Mack, V.A.D., ana war ot respondent, gave her lecture entttl "The Old World and the New," in wjjj sh» portrayed with vivid effect gams) the most terrible happenings of the «H days of the war in Belgium, apd ft] sought to unfold for her hearers sou*' the most important lessons of tlw ■# and the changes of thought that'it' ll! brought about, particularly in relai{ to life after death and conununiartl with the spirits of the dead. lifij appeared before her hearers in the aim] uniform of a V.A.D. worker on a eta that was richly decorated with' a lai Union Jack and two British Ttnrifr and several smaller flags of soma oft allied nations. She was warmly. a piauded on mald&g her appearance. ; In relating her entry into the m which she said was brought about cUi ly through her intimate "'T'ffntM with several of the Europeanlatiguai the speaker urged the people atm Zealand to give their children the 4 portunity of acquiring a knowledge some of these languages, as the ffj waa coming, in the great changes 2 were taking place, when tiaveffl round the world would become an i2 pensive pleasure, and the beat vrtjZ tion for such time would be a knowS of the language of the countries tfc the children of the present genentti would be almost certain to visit In 4 future. Miss Mack instanced the I advantage experienced through lack r.uch knowledge by such well-knowwl journalists as Lord Northclifte, JM Uibbs, Pierrie Robinson, Max PesriN ton, and others, for all of whom she! acted the part of interpreter in A pum, proving how indispensable a knM ledge of foreign languages was to aft one going abroad. The speaker at nany amusing instances of the ties into which numerous people had M through their ignorance of the of France and Belgium. One of® most amusing waff the order of ah lish Major in Flemish to hare "BE whiskies and sodas gent up to No Vt,' Mid his desperation when ho discovon that he had really asked for "Tw«lv drinks to be sent to No. 2." was of a soldier who went to purchw some envelopes, and through ignoriiac gave the wrong vowel sound, and v* served with corsets. "Of course" «aU the speaker, "they really were m velopes after all." ADVENTURES IN BELGIUM; Miss Mack went to the front «• 4 V.A.D. worker and as correspondent fwt the London Times, and it was in the letter capacity that she gained her mast valuable experience and went thronab her most thrilling and sensational adventures. She painted a very teDtof word picture of the condition of TfciffftS towns in which the Germans had got a footing, and said the number of liqtor bottles scattered all over the place was a terrible evidence of the excessive dnnkmg of the German Army and thb said that when she realised that she could believe they were capable of all the brutalities attributed to them. They were utterly contemptuous of the fewmgg and religious scruples of their enemies Miss Maclc also told in a most touching way the deep feeling of ap-1 preciation in the hearts of the Belgians' for what the British were willing to do tor them. Their devotion to and trust in the British was beyond the power of* 1° 4 |°. ex P resß ' She also said thfet' the Belgians were worthy of all that could have been done for them. They had actually saved the world from German domination by sufficiently delaying tho German advance to enable the British and French forces to so dispose themselves as to be able to prevent the Germans from accomplishing their design.

Miss Mack's chief adventures were !n ' connection with the bombardment anil = occupation of Antwerp by the Gamuts j tr.o effect of which she described ia a 1 manner which ipade the scene* liv» in > tl.e minds of her hearers. The experience of Antwerp was a tragedy, she slid A million strangers had crowded into.ft from other towns for shelter, and believed themselves safe, and the faen« when they eventually realised that it must be given up to the Germans was one of absolute chaos. The rash of' refugees to leave the place, the tr&ffie ot soldiers, including Major Churchill'* naval brigade, to defend the last trench, . were scenes never to bo forgotten. 'No one who had not been through it could i have any conception of/ what the sur. render of such a city meant. In her disguise as a peasant she had witnessed 1 ' the scene and been subjected to the In- i suiting brutality of German officers, and i had realised how great was the German contempt for the rights and feelings of small nations. The number of spies who came to light, like rats from their holes, when the Germans occunied Antwerp, was amazing. • NEW THOUGHTS. . , Mios Mack's description of her entry' ' into Brussels to interview Burgomaster Max, her meeting with Nurse Cavell and the other English nurses who were pria* oners with her, the heroic attempts by Belgian, American and Spanish repre- ' sentatives to save the life of Nurse > Cavell, were all given in a most impressive and convincing manner, which not only interested, but thrilled her ' hearers, and the applause wi ich pujictu- . - ftted her vivid painting of word pictures; < betokened, the appreciation of those I ]■ present. ■She then went on to refer to the new ■ thought which the war had prodqjed V Mid to the breaking down thoughtful people of barrier her the depictina^^^^^^^^^^^^H in