While previously soldiers of the Jewish faith have never attained any rank in the German army, now promotion is given wholesale.
In the Prussian army alone, twelve Jews have just been promoted to be officers; in the Bavarian army another twelve, and one each in the Saxon and Wurttemberg armies. Seven hundred and ten Jews have received the Iron Cross, which some have refused to wear because it is the emblem of the Christian faith.
[HORACE STIRS FRENCHMEN.]
A remarkable incident occurred, says the Paris Journal des Débats, at the opening matinée of the Comedie Française, when the old-fashioned Roman tragedy, "Horace," was presented.
Written in 1639, when France was fighting Germany, it contains numerous veiled allusions to the war and prophecies of successes afterward realized by Louis XIII. One such is the Sabine heroine's appeal to Rome to spare her country and seek conquests further afield: "Hurl your battalions against the East; plant your flags on the borders of the Rhine!"
The Journal des Débats says:
"At these words a shiver of excitement passed over the whole dense audience, which rose, cheering frantically, and continued the applause for several minutes."