rench
and Belgians, hand in hand; how nicely it was all thought out; Belgian
neutrality--so solemnly pledged by all the Powers--was nothing but a
screen behind which they wrought the most devilish plans against
Germany. It was a neutrality which had long since been betrayed and sold
by the Belgian Government.

"But the German people--a pure fool-like Parsifal, who could not
conceive such treachery and knavery because it was incapable of such
things itself--toiled and worked day by day, enjoyed the blessings of
peace, was happy in its existence and ignorant of the looming clouds
gathering on its frontiers. All hail to our chosen leaders who kept
watch and ward over a dreaming people, and did not allow themselves to
be lulled into watchlessness by the lies of our enemies, who while
talking of peace intrigued for our annihilation."[115]

[Footnote 115: "Von Luettich bis Flandern" ("From Liege to Flanders"), by
Wilhelm Kotzde. Weimar, 1914; p. 5.]

The same author's opinion of the Belgians coincides with that expressed
by many of his fellow countrymen. "What did our troops find by the
roadside? On all sides haversacks, straps, cartridges, caps, tunics and
rifles. To our soldiers this was a remarkable sign of flight, for they
are accustomed to military training of a different sort. In the forts,
it is true, they found among the soldiers also civilians wearing
patent-leather shoes. Indeed, the whole Belgian campaign has shown how
badly the army was prepared and equipped.

"The lack of discipline and order is evident, however, in every
department of Belgium's national life, and these virtues they
endeavoured to replace by cunning and cruelty--at least among the
Walloons."[116]

[Footnote 116: Ibid., pp. 61-2.]

A Knight of the Order of St. John[117] is still more cynical in his
condemnation of the conquered enemy: "The greatest misfortune in this
land is unemployment; factories are inactive and shops closed. The
horrors of famine draw nearer, and we, as well as some neutral
countries, are endeavouring to relieve the tortures of want. But charity
only encourages the laziness of the inhabitants. Just as the refugees in
Holland, the Belgians who have remained in their land would like to put
their hands in their pockets and be fed. Of course, that is not
permissible, and the German Government does its best to rap these lazy
wretches on the fingers."

[Footnote 117: "Kriegsfahrten eines Johanniters," by Fedor von
Zobeltit