n this, although the Germans may not always have realized
that they were doing so, they humiliated the people by degrading things
looked upon by them as holy. For instance, the Kaiser had a statue of
himself, upturned moustache and all, placed upon the cathedral of Metz.
He wore a Biblical cowl and was pointing impressively to a parchment
scroll. He was supposed to represent the prophet Daniel. This statue
was found headless in December, 1918.

Despite the petitions, for all those years the policy of the government
never varied. The chancellor, Bismarck, replied every time that
Alsace-Lorraine was not annexed for the sake of the people. They could
move to some section still under French control. The provinces were
taken from France only to further the interest of the German Empire.
"If this were a permanent peace," he said, "we would not have done it.
So long as France possesses Strassburg and Metz her strategical
position is stronger offensively than ours is defensively." There was
going to be another war and Germany needed these provinces for military
advantage!

But the German government did realize more and more how bitterly
opposed to the annexation were these unfortunate people, and decided to
crush out everything French in Alsace-Lorraine. The people were
forbidden to write or speak the French language; even the signboards at
the street crossings were changed to German. How the children spent
the last day that French could be taught in the schools is told by a
little Alsatian boy.

That morning I was very late for school, and was terribly afraid of
being scolded, for M. Hamel, the schoolmaster, had said he intended to
examine us on the participles, and I knew not a word about them. The
thought came into my head that I would skip the class altogether, and
so off I went across the fields.

The weather was so hot and clear!

One could hear the blackbirds whistling on the edge of the wood; in
Ripperts' meadow, behind the sawyard, the Prussian soldiers were
drilling. All this attracted me much more than the rules about
participles; but I had the strength to resist and so I turned and ran
quickly back towards the school.

In passing before the town hall, I saw that a number of people were
stopping before the little grating where notices are posted up. For
two years past it was there we learned all the bad news, the battles
lost, and the orders of the commandant; so I thought to myself without
stoppi