Now and again automobiles, once so rare a sight in Brussels, forced the dancers apart for a moment, as a swift skiff might separate bright-coloured dragon-flies dancing above the still surface of a lake, only that they may unite with more vim after its passing. In one of these cars, most of which were military, a party of young American officers with their friends were making a tour of the city after a gay supper, during which some twelve of them had sung in full, clear voices all the beautiful and original songs of their nation, much to the hearers’ delight. At the head of the car floated a large American flag, borrowed from the café where they had regaled themselves. That flag was greeted with continual outbursts of applause, especially as one of the party, a man with the voice of a ship’s siren, startled even the reigning hubbub with shouts of “Vive la Belgique! Vive le Roi! Vive la Liberté!” Hundreds of voices at once responded, screaming almost hysterically, “Vive l’Amérique!” “Vive Wilson!”—and, as though the two English-speaking nations were indissolubly united in the public mind, almost every response was accompanied by “Vive l’Angleterre!”
Allemande and the casque à pointe were forgotten. The Kaiser’s black shadow had fled before the glorious angel of a liberty crowned with the fairest laurels ever gathered from the bloody fields of battle—laurels flowering with noble loyalty and jewelled with imperishable fame.
And, but a little way beyond the borders of joyous Belgium—hiding from the rage not only of those whom he had made his foes, but from that of his own people and his own allies, lurked the man who had boasted that he would subjugate an advanced and prosperous world with his “iron fist”!
William the Second, original promoter, if not sole author, of history’s most appalling crime, cowered in Holland, bereft of sceptre and throne, muttering perhaps what Milton put into the mouth of that other great Enemy of earth: “Which way I fly is Hell—myself am Hell!”
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Transcriber’s Note:
- The original spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation have been retained, with the exception of apparent typographical errors, which have been corrected.
- Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
- Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant form was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
- The Table of Contents was added by the transcriber.