was not allowed to mention those who were shot. It was
reported that thirty thousand of the people in these provinces were
imported into Germany. But those days have gone by and it is certain
that never again will Germany wield the sceptre over these provinces. Of
course in this brief glimpse of Alsace-Lorraine many very important
matters could not be mentioned at all, but these are sufficient to show
why they could not help hating the people who have been heartless in
their effort to subdue some of their blood relatives.

CHAPTER XIII

THE HOME OF THE PASSION PLAY--OBERAMMERGAU

Nestled at the foot of the mountains in the highlands of Bavaria, is the
little village of Oberammergau, the home of the world-famous Passion
Play. Although of German extraction, these humble people were opposed to
war with all their power, but when it came they were compelled to
submit. One of the saddest pictures during the war was that of these
people as it was given by Madaline Doty, which was published in the
Atlantic Monthly in 1917.

This writer said: "The village was silent and the people were in great
distress. There were no carriages or even push carts; no smiling people,
no laughter, and no gay voices were heard. Old people sat about as if
dazed. Five hundred and fifty out of eighteen hundred population had
gone to war." The village was bankrupt. There was no money. It was like
a plague-stricken place. The theater building was locked up. The little
stores had nothing to sell. No person was allowed more than one egg per
week and but few could get that. People were on the point of starvation.

During the season of 1910 the writer made the journey to Oberammergau on
purpose to see the Passion Play and this chapter is but a brief
description of it. Journeying from Zurich, Switzerland, to Oberammergau
a stop was made at Munich. From that place there is but one little dinky
railroad and one of the greatest mobs I ever got into was at the depot
in Munich. A thousand people were trying to get on a train that could
carry only a few hundred. Finding a porter who was persuaded to open a
compartment with a silver key a half dozen of us had a comfortable
place. The distance to the mountain village is less than one hundred
miles, but it took from five in the evening until midnight to reach it.

Having purchased a ticket for the play on the following day weeks
before, and with it lodging for two nights, a gentleman took me from the
de