o undress, then, as their mother tried to
intervene, one of the soldiers, bringing his rifle to his shoulder,
fired in the direction of the group of women. The bullet, after having
struck Mme. Lhomme near the left elbow, broke the right arm of Mlle.
Marcelle Bouche at the armpit. During the following day the young girl
died as a result of her wound. According to the declarations made by
witnesses, the wound was horrible to behold.

Further, our inquiry in the Department of the Marne established other
crimes of which women were the victims.

On the 3rd of September, at Suippes, Mme. X., 72 years of age, was
seized by a German soldier, who pushed the barrel of his revolver
under her chin and brutally flung her on her bed. Her son-in-law
rushed up at the noise, fortunately for her, at the moment when the
rape was about to be consummated.

At the same place and time little ----, 11 years old, was for three
hours the prey of a licentious soldier, who, having found her with her
sick grandmother, dragged her to a deserted house and stopped her
mouth with a handkerchief to prevent her crying out.

On the 7th of September, at Vitry-en-Perthois, Mme. X., aged 45, and
Mme. Z., aged 89, were both raped; the latter died a fortnight later.

At Jussecourt-Minecourt, on the 8th of September, toward 9 in the
evening, Mlle. X. was violated by four soldiers, who broke in the door
of her room with the help of a billhook. All four flung themselves on
this young girl, who was 21 years old, and ravished her in succession.

As the bombardment of open towns constitutes without doubt a violation
of international law, we thought it necessary to go to Rheims, which
was for eighty days bombarded by the Germans. We received a sworn
statement from the Mayor, from which we learned that about 300 of the
civilian population had already been killed; we saw that in different
parts of the town numerous buildings had been destroyed, and we took
note of the enormous and irreparable damage which had been inflicted
on the cathedral. The bombardment has continued since the 7th of
October, the day of our visit; the number of the victims, therefore,
must now be very considerable. Every one knows how the unhappy town
has suffered, and that the attitude of the municipality has been above
all praise.

While we were working at the Hotel de Ville, six shells were fired in
the direction of this building. The fifth fell only a short distance
from the principal f