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Title: The silent Baltic
or, Detained near Kiel
Author: Marcus Knox
Release date: February 24, 2026 [eBook #78033]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Academy Architecture, 1914
Credits: Shawn Carraher and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILENT BALTIC ***
THE SILENT
BALTIC
OR
DETAINED NEAR KIEL
BY
MARCUS KNOX
AUTHOR OF
“INFATUATION,”
ETC., ETC., ETC.
PUBLISHED BY
ACADEMY ARCHITECTURE,
44 DOUGHTY STREET,
LONDON, W.C.
NOTE.
The Author begs to tender sincere thanks to the lady who supplied him
with her experiences.
MARCUS KNOX.
DETAINED FOR SIX WEEKS IN A GERMAN TOWN.
We had long promised ourselves a holiday with our German friends in
Holstein, and after a rather tiring journey we arrived there in the
beginning of July, 1914.
The weather was glorious and brilliant sunshine ripened the corn in the
fields round the little town of Neustadt, near Kiel. All was peace.
Women worked indoors or in the gardens and men at their fishing nets or
in their boats. In the evening they sat on wooden benches in front of
their quaint red-roofed houses, the men smoking, the women preparing
the vegetables for the following day. Everywhere reigned contentment
and peace--peace--peace! The golden sunshine, the violet shadows, the
ripening corn impressed themselves indelibly on my memory. How plainly
I can still see it with my mind’s eye, such a picture of sweet quiet
life, perhaps for years not to be witnessed again.
Then there came a change--like the rustle of some pestilential wind
something swept over the tranquil scene--and that something was WAR.
What did it mean? Destruction, ruin, poverty, separation and death!
Men who remembered the horrors of 1870 paled as they looked on their
stalwart sons; young women wept to part from husbands and brothers,
while little flaxen-haired children clung round their fathers’ knees.
But the Fatherland called, and they knew nothing but obedience.
“Mein Kaiser ruft mich” (my emperor calls me), said one young man
with ruddy complexion and bright blue eyes, as he clasped his wife
to his breast. Then he took the infant from her arms and kissed it
passionately. A wrinkled old woman held her trembling hands towards two
youthful grandsons--mere boys--who were anticipating the glories of
battle. They were all she had left, she had brought them up and without
them her old age would be desolate. The poor woman who came to do the
washing, actually rejoiced that the invalid condition of her husband
would prevent his going to the front--afterwards she found he would be
required after all, and many tears flowed over the wash tub. She was
but one of thousands!
During the first days all was confusion and unrest. Nothing seemed
real, and we hoped the news of serious war to be only a scare. The calm
undisturbed tranquility of the Baltic seemed to deny the truth of these
hostile reports.
People catch hold of news, or the rumour of news and instantly
exaggerate. But as the long-drawn out hours crept on the rumour became
fact and the command to mobilize a reality.
We were staying at the Pastorat (vicarage) and the young girl who came
out with me had to return home on the 1st of August, via Hamburg to
England.
Conjecture about her not being able to travel alarmed us. The railways
were already crowded with anxious travellers--holiday makers whose
holiday humour the vision of coming war had overshadowed, who were
rushing to their homes; also with men who were already called to take
their respective places as defenders of the Fatherland.
We were three friends--two English and one the Pastor’s wife. On the
31st of July we walked for the last time together on the sea shore and
watched the gorgeous colours of the setting sun fade in the purple of
the distance. The waters on which the town is situated are not the
main sea, but a narrow, irregular bay that opens south-east into the
Baltic--a splendid natural harbour close to Kiel. Surely, if war had
really been declared, some of Germany’s great battleships would be
stationed here! Could it be possible that what was said in England that
we should drive them into the Kiel canal and bottle them up there on
the first suspicion of hostilities, had already taken place? The coast
is low-lying with small resorts for pleasure or industry dotted about.
Here and there a windmill turned in the breeze, but not a single mast
showed on the horizon. The path we were traversing winds round and
round, sometimes through marsh land, and sometimes fenced in by hedges
and trees; wild roses and honeysuckle bloom in great luxuriance and
little steamers ply across to the neighbouring hamlets. At one part
there is a ferry by which you can cross to a picturesquely situated
“wirthshaus,” where you can have coffee or supper if desired. These
frugal meals in the fresh air had always been a special delight of
mine; but not often during my stay here this summer could I have this
pleasure, for after the first few days all these places were closed. No
one had any wish for anything of the kind, and soon even the ferry boat
ceased to run.
On this evening of the 31st, however, some people were still able to
joke and laugh and talk on many subjects. They could not yet realize
the horror hanging over them.
We were sad at parting from our little friend. I intended staying
some time longer, but she was due at home. There was some talk about
our accompanying her as far as Hamburg, but perhaps there would be
difficulty in getting back, and there was a baby in the house to think
about.
Neustadt lies on a branch line, the main lines were sure to be
overcrowded. Oh, why didn’t I decide to leave then with her and both
get safe home together! But then we realized as little as the rest what
the future had in store. Travel has been made so easy and we have been
so spoiled by luxurious accommodations. It is utterly impossible for an
English mind to conceive the entire disruption of ordinary traffic when
an order for mobilizing a whole nation goes forth, not a mere army of
a few thousands is under consideration, but the feeding and moving of
millions.
In these early days I never dreamt that I should be practically
imprisoned in that little out of the way town, cut off from all
communication from the outside world. Let the reader try to imagine for
himself the impossibility of any news of dear ones at home reaching him
by any means whatsoever. In these modern times of every convenience
let him picture to himself that suddenly all railways and means of
transit had for him ceased to exist, then he may have a fair idea of
what happened in every town in Germany and for all the English stranded
there at the beginning of the war.
We decided to go together to Eutin, where our friend would have her
first change, and to part there. All kinds of tales were fluttered
about that we should not be able to get back. Kiel, situated at the
eastern entrance of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, had emptied itself at the
first breath of the possibility of war, and the authorities permitted
nobody to enter the town without undergoing the most searching
examination, as no doubt the fear of spies and bomb throwers was great
in their minds, besides which mines were being laid around the harbour.
Possibly they feared to disclose the fact that their ships were huddled
up in the canal for two reasons; that their position would become known
to the rest of the world, and they would also lose prestige amongst
their own people. But Kiel was not in our route, and Eutin is not an
important place, merely a railway junction.
We found our station only mildly crowded--no more than on any ordinary
holiday, the train had not arrived and the officials were not sure
whether it would come at all, however after a long time it did crawl
into the station. For some reason or other all trains went at so slow a
pace that one could almost walk along and talk to those inside.
At Eutin the crowds were dense. While waiting on the platform we saw
some curious people alight from a motor. They were perhaps Russian
spies coming from a reconnoitre of Kiel! We thought this later when we
heard that so many had been taken. But our imaginations were on the
alert to create sensations and unusual possibilities. The incoming
train was fearfully overcrowded with passengers, and our friend found
only standing room in a restaurant car. Unfortunately she could take
none of her luggage in with her, and it had to be booked to Hamburg,
where it was left, and we have since heard still is. The crowd there on
that first of August was so dreadful that no one could trouble about
luggage, and were glad to escape with their lives.
Our return journey to Neustadt was peaceful enough, but as evening
advanced events became more pronounced, and there appeared no longer
any doubt that we were on the eve of a European War such as the world
had never seen before. All countries were being called to arms and
much agitation filled all hearts. Everywhere men were being summoned
away from wives and children and women stood about at street corners
wringing their hands, but their grief was never loud or hysterical.
Silent and heroic they faced their destiny. To think of having
no choice in the matter. How contrary to our idea of liberty! In
England, I repeat again, it is impossible to have any idea of what
war really is, or what it means to those whose homes are threatened,
and where the male members of every family must leave, in many cases,
almost at a moment’s notice. It was wonderful to see how they came
out of their houses fully equipped in faultless uniform, willing,
without hesitation, to leave their all for their Kaiser and country.
With stolid fortitude they obeyed the inevitable. It appeared to my
overwrought imagination as if a soldier came out from every corner,
from every house, and from every nook, in fact from everywhere, not
singly, but in bunches.
And yet people still doubted that it could be true that war was really
imminent. They had talked of it for so long--surely it couldn’t be
true, and would France and England join? How could people fight in
this 20th century with civilization at such a height, with money and
pleasure at the head of everything? And yet the cloud darkened and the
hideous rumours became true.
The post was most uncertain, and we were told that no parcels could be
sent, and only letters if open and in German; later they went even so
far as to insist that only German characters should be used, no Latin
writing, that is the Latin alphabet was prohibited. Many of the young
people did not know how to form these characters, and writing became
very laborious. Telegrams, too, could no longer be relied upon--they
might go as usual, they might take a week, as all the appliances would
be required for the use of mobilization and ordinary correspondence
be pushed aside. During the whole time I was there, in fact, only one
letter train went each day, and that at 7.30 in the evening. Even the
newspapers were very irregularly delivered at first. Law and order,
as connected with anything besides the iron law of war, had ceased
and chaos taken its place. A blank towards the outside world settled
on us--an experience so strange and not to be remembered by even the
oldest.
The pastor, who had been away for a holiday, was expected, and we
feared for his journey--would he succeed in getting through? He was
a delicate man and might not be able to bear the strain. Everyone’s
thoughts went out to those in distant places! As far as England was
concerned, even at this early date all communications with the dear
Homeland were cut off. All the letters and cards I had written were
returned. Every protective precaution was taken by the Germans as soon
as there was any doubt in their minds about the attitude of England.
Many houses had soldiers quartered in them, for the little town was
dangerously situated, and must be well guarded against spies.
We held all in readiness in case any soldiers should be allotted to
us, and many hopes were expressed that they would not come before the
master of the house returned.
Each day the situation became more strained.
Proclamations were issued that all strangers must leave for their
respective countries. Still I stayed on. I feared to travel alone
through all the crowded stations, especially as greatly exaggerated
stories of the harrowing experiences of other travellers kept pouring
in. At that period I felt as if I would rather remain in the shelter of
my friends’ house and under their protection, and so I lost my chance.
Afterwards there was no possibility of my getting through as every
train was needed for the military.
With the German’s usual thrift and forethought everyone began laying
in a stock of provisions and especially of coal, because the supplies
from England had ceased. Many shops put up their prices, eager here
as elsewhere, to make the best of an opportunity, but soon a law was
passed by the Government to fix a standard above which no one might
charge. Hints and rules how to economise were published in the local
papers. No cakes were allowed to be baked and only a certain number of
breakfast rolls. A plentiful harvest lent its abundant yield of fruit
and grain to help the thrifty housewife prepare for a winter of need
and privation. All kinds of eatable berries were being picked to make
into syrup for the wounded soldiers soon to be brought into our midst.
About this time we heard that two Russian spies had been taken in a
cornfield, and I was warned not to attempt to sketch or I might be put
under arrest. My nerves are not over strong, but somehow I felt as if I
could trust the people, and only at times fully realized my danger.
On August the 4th the pastor returned and everywhere he received a
welcome. We were truly thankful to have someone to direct parish
business and console the miserable and over-anxious. This kind man
proved in truth a boon to the people in this time of sore distress,
but, as far I was concerned, he did not add to my comfort. A German
to the core, he could not refrain from arguing and boasting; but that
did not happen so much at first, not until England had declared war.
Our principal fear at this time was that the Russians would come
across the Baltic Sea and land troops somewhere north of Berlin, and I
was surprised that the authorities made no efforts to strengthen the
seaward defences. Every day the Baltic showed the same still, tranquil
silent surface--not a warship anywhere in sight. A motor filled with
Russian spies had attempted to pass through the town early one morning.
They were arrested and from that time a chain was put across the
bridge and all motors forbidden to enter Neustadt--in fact any person
entering the town by the bridge was stopped and examined. Soldiers were
stationed at every exposed corner and numbers patrolled the streets
daily. They were, however, not overworked and had plenty of time in
which to drink beer. So many people were foolishly sentimental about
these guardians of our safety and treated them continually at various
public houses to drinks so that they were sometimes seen the worse for
liquor, which greatly reduced our respect for the defenders of the
Fatherland.
The market place was repeatedly filled with horses to be sold for the
army. In fact they were brought in such numbers that the way was
impeded and to pass along almost impossible. They had to be tested to
see if they were fit for war, and these operations made walking in
the vicinity where they were taking place dangerous. So many horses
were sold that it was feared there would be none left to carry in the
harvest, and in many districts the corn stood in sheaves ready to be
carried home. Later school children offered to help with the harvesting
as the men were away; and it was a curious sight to see young lads and
lasses directed by old men gathering in the golden grain; but at the
time of the horse sales the corn was still standing and in many fields
not yet cut.
When the horses were all sold the town became quieter and the stillness
after the uproar struck us as almost painful. We felt as in a besieged
town so little news of the outside world could be got.
There was, however, no longer any doubt about the seriousness of
the situation, for news had been brought us that England was arming
against Germany. Soon enemies would entirely surround this land. This
news burst upon the people as they came out of church on the 5th
August. The Emperor had ordered a solemn service to be held in every
church everywhere, and our little building was crowded, while lines
of soldiers filled the benches and extra seats had to be supplied. A
powerful sermon the pastor preached and many eyes were moist, even men
bowed their heads and wept. As we came out the dreadful words “England
hat den Krieg erklärt” (“England has declared war”) were hissed from
mouth to mouth, and an awful gloom fell on all. People seemed to creep
along, shuffling their feet in the dust. “We are lost” they cried,
and then the storm burst in fearful curses against the Power which
had always been in touch with Germany. These curses were dreadful for
me to hear, and my situation became more painful than ever. I feared
someone might assault me or at least say something offensive, but
nothing happened. By this time everyone knew that an “Engländerin” was
being harboured at the Pastorat, but the pastor was much beloved and
respected and vouched for my good conduct when a burly policeman came
to enquire about me. But on this day, when England declared war, no one
noticed me. Men went about the streets with great strained eyes that
saw nothing but their inward misery.
“Three against one, the odds are fearful. England by sea and France by
sea and land on one side, Russia by both sea and land on the other.”
They muttered, “We are fighting for our existence, how will it end?”
The thought that they had been the aggressors and that their Emperor
and his party could possibly have saved the situation and the peace of
Europe, had they been so minded, never seemed to occur to them; that
there existed another side to the situation never entered their minds.
Sometimes we walked to the station, but at first I only ventured in the
company of my friends. Herr Pastor felt it his duty to say good-bye to
the streams of men going to the front, also to cheer the sobbing wives
and mothers. Harrowing sights we witnessed during these pilgrimages,
but no loud grief ever occurred; the controlled silence of the people
struck me as wonderful; and the faces! will they ever be obliterated
from my memory? Shall I ever cease to see in my mind’s eye the rigid
sentries standing at the chained bridge giving people permission to
pass. The station lies on the other side of the bridge, also the post
office, which official edifice I always felt nervous to approach.
The rigorous discipline of these civil institutions awed me from the
beginning. There exists none of the easy good nature so often found in
England, for neither here nor at the railway is ever any mercy shown
to the late comer. As the clock strikes the post office closes even
though a hurrying individual, with a bundle of letters, stands on the
threshold.
At the Pastorat all the reserve clothes connected with the Red Cross
were taken out, washed and aired to be in readiness should wounded
soldiers be sent to this town, the gymnasium turned into a hospital
and twenty beds put up; a very small number it sounds, but not in
comparison with the size of Neustadt.
There was the same eager desire to be the first to do anything which
always characterises women workers everywhere. No one is ever willing
to take the shady corners nor to do the unrecognized tasks!
I, being a foreigner and an enemy, kept myself free from the jargon of
tongues and petty squabbles connected with this branch of patriotism.
I kept to myself and stayed in the pretty vicarage garden with the
peacefully sleeping baby, or in the almshouse grounds among the
feeble and infirm poor. These unfortunate creatures, decrepit with
age, showed me great kindness and the desolate feelings of being an
alien oppressed me less here than anywhere else. I might walk in their
grounds free among the flowers or sit in the quaint old chapel and
look at the hideous Lutheran conceptions of church decorations, if I
liked, but everything there was so appallingly ugly that I preferred
to remain outside among the natural beauties created by the Almighty.
But the sensation of being in a town as if besieged was at times so
overwhelming that no personal kindness could assuage the misery of
it. The loneliness of being the one on the other side among all these
patriotic Teutons wedged me in as between huge rocks where there was no
outlet. Of course I had no sympathy with them, nor they with me; but
I was the one in the midst of many, and often and often my heart sank
at the thought of how I might be imprisoned for months and months. The
more I tried to speak German correctly the more I stammered over it.
Certainly it is like a mother tongue to me, but one can never quite
get the accent. People knew that I was not a native of North Germany,
but I was often, in fact mostly taken for a Southerner. After a while,
however, everyone in this small place recognised that I was English--an
English friend of the Pastor, and many considered that I ought to leave
this very exposed and important neighbourhood, so near to their great
naval harbours and Kiel Canal, and suggested that it would be better
for all parties were I, an English enemy, to go into the interior of
the Empire away from all temptations of spying or giving information to
my countrymen.
I was well aware that I ran considerable risk in staying, but as I had
no means of getting away there was no option. English people in times
of peace have never cared much about the procuring of passports and
other formalities, and when these were demanded my being without them
seemed to place an effectual barrier between myself and England.
Once someone had a birthday, the Germans are great on the keeping of
such ceremonies, and I was asked by my friends to go with them to the
afternoon coffee party. Here about thirty people all advised different
things. With a dazed head and utterly exhausted I crept home to shut
myself up in my bedroom and reflect what could be done. In spite of
their confusing and terrifying advice, they had all meant to be kind,
and most had offered to assist me if possible. The best help came
from the town chemist, who possessed a telephone and obliged me by
communicating with Rood & Sons in Hamburg, but the reply was most
dispiriting. It ran thus:
“It is impossible at present for an English person to cross any
frontier, and we can issue no tickets as our offices everywhere are
closed during the war.”
Someone suggested that I might travel over Denmark--through the
Skager-Rak and Kattegat, fascinating names of my geography lesson
days. In that case I should have to cross that alluringly silent
Baltic--I should be able to obtain a peep at Kiel--the invulnerable,
as the Germans consider the harbour. They could not prevent travellers
from looking into their Canal, if the Denmark bound ship passed near
enough! It would be a great venture--but how and where get the ship
when all around was shut up and silent--dead and uninhabited as in the
Beginning when the Spirit of God spread over the face of the waters?
or when Columbus stood and looked across the broad Atlantic, wondering
what enchanted region lay on the other side.
No Holy Spirit, however, was brooding here, but the Great Demon of war.
To me the blue Baltic appeared as an unhallowed pest spot, mocking the
world with its silent mystery. What hosts of evil might spring forth
from its many bays and inlets! From a distant standpoint I gazed on its
mighty waters and shuddered. I dared not venture across them.
There seemed nothing for me to do after this but to retire into the
interior of the country and hide myself either in the Black Forest or
in the Hartz mountains. But again the good Pastor came to my aid by
promising that no harm should happen to me while under his roof if I
was careful about my goings in and out, and avoided the harbour and
sea shore. Though as there was never any visible sign of life on the
waters, it is difficult to imagine how I could convey any message had I
been so minded. He here again impressed upon me that I had better make
up my mind to be quiet until the end of the war. At this my spirits
sank to the lowest ebb, and entirely crushed I kept to his restrictions
for several days, and had to be contented with the garden and going
out with an escort; but my nature being naturally bold and possessing
a hatred of confinement and control, I ventured farther afield in the
company of one friend of my own sex. At first we walked along the
dusty high roads and spotted the sites of blackberries, which were to
be picked when ripe. I engaged myself to be one at the expeditions
for picking which were being organized, although my good friends at
the Pastorat shook their heads about it. But something I must do, and
knit or work for the German soldiers went against my grain. There was
a spice of romance about shoals of people picking berries to make
syrup for the wounded; and every kind of berry was to be hoarded up
for this purpose. Boys, the natural terror of the hedges everywhere,
were strictly forbidden by the police to touch a berry of any kind or
even a nut, though what good nuts would be to soldiers I could not
quite comprehend. Afterwards it came home to me that provisions of any
description were likely to become scarce and nuts contain a good deal
of nourishment. Even potato peelings were to be saved as when washed
they could be boiled for soup.
Germany lives in fear of being starved out during the winter. As all
the holiday guests have fled from the little sea-side places around,
the various market gardeners began to moan that they could not sell
their produce. As nothing of any description whatsoever might be
wasted, beans, peas, and vegetables of all sorts were bought from these
people and preserved for winter, in ways unfortunately unknown to
English housewives.
As these walks on the inland roads and lanes were unheeded by the
police or soldiers, I began to venture nearer the sea as it was
certainly more inviting than wading through inches of dust through
country where the only interest was the harvesting children, the sight
of which was often pathetic.
One day my friend and I walked right through the inland road to a
distant strand of sea where we hoped to be able to enjoy a stretch on
the yellow sands. For miles not a soul could be seen, all the little
bungalows and villas were shuttered up and everything as dead--the
remains of sand heaps and castles made by the children and left as
they had to return hurriedly to their homes, made a sad impression
on our already heavy hearts. We sat and looked at the beautiful blue
and the foam tipped waves without a sail or boat anywhere, and were
just planning a tiny kind of pic-nic for another day, when we were
unpleasantly disturbed by two very up-to-date German soldiers, who I
must say very politely informed us that we must not sit there--that
in fact no one must sit by the shore and not even walk there without
papers to show their identity.
Silence was my game. My German friend did the talking. She thought I
was frightened, but I do not believe I was half as frightened as she
was.
Having no papers we hurried home through the inland dust.
The soldiers must have espied us through a telescope from a distant
lighthouse to which our backs had been turned, for we had not seen them
coming.
Now that no one, not even a native, was allowed to sit or walk by the
sea the sense of being in a besieged town became stronger than ever.
The quietness that began to oppress us was worse than before. Everyone
felt it, and of course I more than the rest.
Women kept coming to the Pastorat with tales that husbands, brothers or
sons had gone to fight, and that they must have support for children
and sick; and none of them looked pleasantly at me.
Whenever the good Pastor had had a heavy morning with these poor
creatures he vented his indignation on me across the dinner table, and
held forth against England until all my self control was required not
to quarrel. The opinion against England became stronger everywhere
as fresh items of infamous news arrived, while wonderful tales of
German prowess were spread about. The difficulties of my position were
augmented by my having no disposable money. When I presented my English
gold at the German bank in the town, they asked me:
“What shall we do with it? It is of no use to us. Shall we keep it
until the end of the War? No, we would rather not.”
On my mentioning the word cheque, a loud laugh greeted my ears.
I had to hoard the few marks I had left to buy absolute necessities
such as stamps, etc. I must explain why I wanted stamps. I had a few
people with whom I corresponded in Germany. My friends would willingly
have lent me as much as I required, only they themselves were in
difficulties as all their private income was held back and the Pastor’s
stipend was a very small one. So I was penniless as well as a captive.
Vague schemes of getting into clearer air floated through my mind, only
to be extinguished as soon as formed.
A small parish life too is always irritating. The backbitings and
envyings are the same here as everywhere. Oh! the intolerable dulness
of the dreary days, with the everlasting singing of patriotic songs
and the patrolling of the soldiers often the worse for drink! German
patriotism does not quench thirst, it rather encourages it!
But in spite of all they are a great people, full of sublime ideals
that I often fear we do not understand.
I think it was about at this period that we heard that all the
inhabitants of Heligoland were ordered to quit the island as it was
very dangerous and only soldiers were to be stationed there. The
accounts of these poor fisher people leaving their little homes and
wandering off into the unknown with their children and bundles of
portable possessions affected us deeply. Of course they fade into
nothingness when compared with what has been enacted in Belgium, but
they came nearer home to the inhabitants of Neustadt, because some of
the people were related to theirs.
News of one German victory after the other kept coming in. On August
17th a great victory over the Russians at Stallupönen, somewhat south
of Königsberg, then another at Namur on the French-German frontier.
News of Japan’s demand that German ships should leave the Chinese
and Japanese waters or be disarmed, also that Kioutschau should be
delivered up by the 15th September. Fearful stories of Belgian outrages
all swell our anxious fears. But in this out of the way place the news
came in by fits and starts, and to me never seemed quite reliable as
not a single English newspaper of any kind ever came to my hand.
Naturally the latest war news was posted up in many of the shops as is
done here. Little groups congregated in front of these windows, and
many remarks greeted my ears, some not altogether complimentary to the
Kaiser; some urging that war ought to be a thing of the past as it
brought only untold misery all round. I never lingered in any of these
small crowds for fear of my nationality being recognised, or even of
being personally attacked.
It seemed incredible that the English army should have been totally
annihilated at St. Quentin. Surely our great nation’s force could not
go down before a mere machine! So many have been the brave heroic deeds
of the British soldiers in the past; on so many occasions have they
upset their enemies’ best calculations, and it was unthinkable for
me, the one English woman in this town, that their very human nature
should have changed and succumbed to the first onslaught of the Teuton.
A number of German papers came daily and almost every evening an extra
“Blatt.” We used to wait for these nightly telegrams and whenever they
arrived they only told of victories, never of defeat, and I had to
retire to my room with the thousands and tens of thousands of prisoners
being shrieked into my ears, so that I dreamt of these multitudes of
humanity which the victorious Germans would have to feed from their
impoverished stores.
Then they used to laugh at our small number of soldiers being sent
to France. What use were such a handful of men against _their_
armies?--the contemptible little army so often mentioned since. All
kinds of insults were heaped against my country by these people swelled
by victory, and I was forced to be silent. How could I retort,
situated as I was, alone, defenceless and penniless, in the hands of
the enemy? Sometimes I walked up and down my room perfectly beside
myself with rage at my powerlessness to defend myself.
But once the temptation to give a smart answer overcame my usual
cautious self control. The pastor, who had never been in England, was
boasting that the Germans would never be satisfied until they marched
into London.
He asserted with great pride that one day “The Kaiser will be in your
Tower of London.”
“Yes,” I replied with a quick laugh: “I hope he will, for that is our
state prison.”
The Pastorat is close to a school and the children sang all day the
detestable Fatherland songs. “Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles,”
“Morgenrot,” and one I disliked more than any, of which I cannot
remember the words, but the tune is the same as our hymn, “Lord if now
of Sion’s city.” I have often stuffed my fingers into my ears so as to
shut out the hateful sounds. Even when the children were silent in the
evening, the servants of the house took up the strain and the eternal
ding dong went on.
Now that the victories kept pouring in, a band would often play in the
market place, and this completed the consummation of my despair.
On the 22nd of August news of an enormous victory over the French in
the neighbourhood of Metz was telegraphed, 10,000 prisoners had been
taken. At this the people put out flags from all the public buildings
and from many private windows.
The Pastor, however, thought it too soon to decorate the town. “Birds
that sing too early are caught by the cat,” he said with a grim smile.
And, alas, for Germany! his warning proved only too true, for shortly
afterwards the German loss at Heligoland occurred.
The afternoon had been rather sultry, and the distant boom of cannon
had been mistaken for thunder, but I had my doubts and shuddered
with fear as I walked over the cobble stones of the market place and
discerned through the stillness the vibration of far off guns.
“Were the Russians really approaching?”
A beautiful evening, with a primrose-coloured sky followed. I stood
at the door of the Pastorat and saw an old man with a fine face and
penetrating blue eyes rush across the little square calling out in an
agonizing voice:
“Heligoland and loss!”
I had often seen him before. He has two sons stationed at Heligoland. I
shall never forget the expression of his face.
Groups of anxious enquirers gathered round the newspaper office eager
for news, and the flags seemed to mock their sorrow.
Soon after this someone kindly showed me the prison, where if I did
anything foolish I might find myself, but this was really only a
joke, although rather an unpleasant one for me. This old prison is
now a museum and by some good chance I got inside and saw all their
curiosities somewhat to the amused indignation of the custodian and to
the startled consternation of my friends who could not believe their
ears when told where I had been.
On the 2nd September the anniversary of the victory of Sedan was
celebrated and everyone went wild with exultation. Processions paraded
the streets singing the everlasting Fatherland songs. I had nowhere to
go but to flee into the back garden and console myself with the baby.
About this time I became aware that I was not the only English person
in Neustadt, that an Englishman with his wife and child were detained
in the principal hotel of the place. Of course I felt eager to know
them. The sense of national kinship is strong, besides they might be
possible travelling companions. The Pastor and others, however, warned
me on no account to speak to them. I used to stand on the other side
of the market place and watch the young English woman with her baby
sitting on the balcony. I am sure they were well treated, but were
prisoners in a sense like myself. I wonder who paid their expenses!
To see the father and mother go out with a perambulator, closely
attended by a military escort appealed to my sense of the ridiculous.
These unfortunate people had probably no papers with them to prove
their identity and nobody to vouch for their good conduct as in my
case, therefore were doomed to military surveillance. Even when the
Englishman went for a dip in the sea, which naturally every Briton
is sure to wish to do, the German soldier walked by his side, but
significantly only the Englishman carried a towel. Whether they got
into the water together I could not see. It would have been interesting
if my countryman had been able to swim away, but what would then have
become of his poor little wife and baby?
Once I could not resist when passing her while sitting on the low
verandah, to say, without looking at her, but straight ahead as I
walked:
“Why, that is a little English baby.”
Instantly like a flash of lightning her head come over the rail, and:
“Are you English?”
“Yes,” I replied, still without looking at her, but going slowly along.
“But I am shut in this town like you are, and we must not speak to each
other.” And then I had gone too far for more. I did not dare to stop
in that public place where dozens of soldiers had their eyes on me,
but, oh, the delight of an English word, of the sense of fellowship in
danger and loneliness! It was worth much to get this consolation!
We often passed and nodded after that, but we never spoke to each other
again.
I began however to surmise, that, kind and hospitable as my friends
were, they would at heart be relieved if I left them. My repeated
ventures and the ominous threats that came from time to time about
harbouring an enemy and such like made them hint at the possibility of
a way being found to get me across the Channel to my own country. I,
too, had quite made up my mind to get away if possible. The everlasting
harangues at every meal against the English nation were beginning to
affect me seriously, and my patience reached its summit of endurance
when I was informed that the English fleet through cowardice had
sheltered itself in the Irish Sea. I remember saying on this occasion:
“I have listened to all the other epithets you have heaped upon my
nation with as much patience as I can command, but cowards you _shall_
not call them in my presence. Look at your own navy, where is it? Why,
shut up in your canal and harbours, frightened even to venture into the
waters of the Baltic.”
Although difficulties confronted me on every side, I watched
desperately for an opportunity, and soon I heard of a young
Anglo-German lady, who wanted to try to reach London, would I accompany
her? Of course I would! I must get a passport from the American Consul
at Hamburg, and this must be done in person.
The Pastor, somewhat reluctantly consented to this attempt and kindly
promised to lend me enough German money; also to drive me to a station
at some distance where there was a better connection with the main line.
So early one September morning, after a six weeks’ stay in the little
town by the Baltic, I drove through the keen air for over two hours in
an open carriage and caught the train on the direct line to Hamburg.
It surprised me much to find scarcely any travellers the whole way to
Lübeck, and I can only remember two gentlemen, who, of course, were
talking of the war, one telling the other how his eldest son, a boy of
fifteen, had begged him to alter his age by two years so that he might
go to the front.
At Lübeck all was as dead--the restaurant and catering arrangements,
formerly so excellent, had ceased to exist, and only with difficulty
could I obtain some lunch. I had three hours to wait, which I spent in
nervously walking about the roads near the station, and looking at the
disgraceful postcards and pictures concerning English and French; and
others showing the bravery and prowess of the Kaiser. One I noticed
especially; a huge poster displaying the Kaiser gallantly marching to
fight with three sons on each side of him, while our King George sat
at Windsor Castle drinking tea and sending messages of encouragement
to his men for risking their lives for him; and the Czar shut up in a
glass case afraid his own subjects would kill him.
This obnoxious caricature made my blood boil, and I longed to smash the
shop window in which it was exhibited.
The journey between Lübeck and Hamburg, though tedious was uneventful.
At Hamburg a mountain of difficulties arose. The lady who was to
travel with me met me, according to arrangements, at the station.
English by birth and education, she possessed a German name from her
father, who had been naturalized in England. She with her mother had
come to Germany in July to visit her father’s relations, and now she
wished to return to their home in London, but owing to the war and the
discomforts connected with travelling, the aged mother was to remain in
Hamburg.
The daughter had been told that morning at the American Consulate
that our passports would not be sufficient to get us across the Dutch
frontier, or rather to allow us to leave Germany; that permission
from the police authorities must be obtained. She had then repaired
to the chief police station, but the permit had been refused as
the negotiations between England and Germany, about granting their
respective people permission to leave, were not completed. She had also
been told that it was possible in the near future, if the rancour on
each side continued, that every British subject, old and young, would
be ejected from Germany--in which case her mother would have to travel
alone to London. I did not think this latter law would ever be enacted,
but I surmised that she wavered about leaving.
As the idea of travelling alone, or still worse of being obliged to
remain in Germany--perhaps to return to Neustadt--now confronted me, my
heart sank within me.
We repaired together to the Consulate to obtain my passport.
I was half dead and faint for the Englishwoman’s greatest comfort--a
cup of tea, but there was no time for this luxury, as the Consulate
closes on Saturday at 5 o’clock and it was now past 4.
Shall I ever forget the chaos at the Consulate? All kinds of peoples
and nations were collected there, and women typists ticked their
machines in the midst of the ceaseless jargon of tongues.
Of course we had to wait, and there were no chairs, while, as no
windows were open, the heat was suffocating.
When at last we did get a hearing, we were told that there was no
hurry about my passport, as I could not leave Germany without police
permission, which at present could not be granted.
But I, eager to grasp at any straw, had been listening to some men in
another room, and had heard that several women were being smuggled
through, therefore I pressed for the filling in of my papers, which,
after tedious waiting, and long after the usual hour of closing, was
completed.
I took a room in the hotel “zum Kron Prinzen” opposite the station,
and then accompanied my new friend to her relations. One glance at
the beautiful old face of the mother convinced me that if I were her
daughter I would not leave her. She sat like a marble statue, saying
nothing, determined not to persuade. Every possible chance and
difficulty was discussed, and at the daughter’s urgent request our
Sunday travelling was postponed until the Monday.
“Give me a day to think it over,” she whispered to me, looking
anxiously at the white face and thinly pressed lips of her mother.
Then I returned to the hotel and went to bed but not to sleep. (At that
hotel the things were good, the charges moderate, and the kindness and
attention which I received I shall always remember with gratitude).
I was almost the only person besides the staff in the house and the
lonely corridors were silent and desolate.
With fresh apprehension I discovered that I had caught cold during that
long morning drive, my chest felt sore and breathing was painful. I
wondered what would happen if I were taken ill. Most likely I should
be put in some German hospital where no one would know anything about
me. But, after drinking a hot lemonade and rubbing my chest with
camphorated oil, I fell asleep towards the early morning.
About 7.30 I heard a tap at my door and in a startled fright I jumped
out of bed and rushed across the room to find my proposed travelling
companion standing outside the door. She had come to say that she could
not leave her mother, and came thus early to give me an opportunity of
going by the Sunday express as had been at first arranged.
We talked a long time together, and I tried to comfort her and impress
upon her that she was acting quite rightly. But all the same I was
inwardly filled with dismay at the prospect of the long lonely journey.
She endeavoured to persuade me to remain in Germany until the
permission was given to quit the country, but I could not consent,
I had suffered too much. I so far agreed that should any question
be asked when I took my ticket to Rotterdam--England was not to be
mentioned--I would not go. As no remark was made and I found my luggage
could be booked through to Rotterdam, I left on the Monday morning at
9.15.
As far as Bremen the carriage was full of Germans railing against
England. I bought a German paper and read it, only speaking when
absolutely obliged.
At Osnabrück, where I changed first, the restaurant was closed, and I
could get only a cup of over-salted bouillon, which I dared not drink
dreading the thirst that would follow.
No porters were available to carry my hand luggage, which was heavy and
cumbrous, as I had packed enough in my hat box to enable me to stay a
few days on the frontier if detained there. I also had a bulky bag and
an umbrella case. To carry all these myself at once was not possible,
so I had to take first one and then the other, risking the stealing of
the one left. This I had to do at more than one of the many places at
which I had to change trains.
Whilst standing disconsolately on the platform at Rheine (one of these
stages of the interminable journey), with my packages around me, a
voice sounded with a hiss in my ears: “Wann fährt das Schiff” (When
does the ship sail?)
“That is no business of mine, I am going to Rotterdam,” and I pointed
to the label on my bag.
Shortly afterwards I arrived at Bentheim, the German frontier town.
Here a rigorous investigation of all luggage took place, and I, with my
heavy belongings, dragged myself wearily into the custom house.
We had to pass single file through soldiers and policemen, who looked
at our passports and asked an infinite number of questions.
I must here record the kindness I received from the chief official,
who, seeing my difficulty of luggage transit, sent me a boy to carry
my things, and also allowed me to proceed without waiting for my
registered box, which had not yet arrived. How grateful I felt towards
one who spared me weary hours of waiting and a chance of not arriving
at Rotterdam that night!
At Oldenzaal, the Dutch frontier, the same business was gone through,
the same single file through bayonetted soldiers, the same close
inspection, and added to this, a policeman came into my carriage and
demanded to see my permission to travel, as well as my passport.
“This is the climax,” I thought. “Now I am to be put out on the
frontier--stranded in a field between the two countries, miles from
any station or habitation, according to the delectable vision that had
been held warningly before me at Hamburg by the American Consul!”
Driven to my wit’s end I produced my passport and pretended not to
understand the official, when, fortunately for me, a young man,
whose papers were all wrong, diverted his attention by pushing
himself between us, while I slunk away into a corner of a third class
compartment, concealing myself behind the burly form of a Dutch woman
and a huge basket. Between the two men a lengthy altercation must have
taken place and saved the situation for me.
No proper refreshment could be obtained anywhere. At one station, where
we had to undergo another revision of customs, we saw at the farther
end a tea restaurant, with two trim maids standing outside. I, as well
as several others, beckoned eagerly to them to bring us tea, but they
never moved, only smiled and pointed. I was afraid to get out. Suppose
the train should go on! But had I known how long we were going to stop
I might have had twenty cups of tea. No one replied to the ceaseless
enquiries. Near me sat an East Prussian woman who had had nothing to
eat or to drink all day.
Suddenly we were all commanded to descend and then the cause for the
conduct of the tea girls became clear. They were guarded by armed men.
We had to walk again single file through the back part of the station
and the same minute examination took place, only no one asked me for my
police permission. Good tips helped my cause, and, oh joy! at the end
of the passage we found ourselves in the restaurant, where tea, etc.,
was being liberally consumed.
Refreshed and much relieved we crawled into Holland. How I loved every
field and dyke of this neutral land! How happily we threw open the
windows, hitherto tightly closed, and let in the free air! Red bills
were posted in all the German carriages begging us to respect the
safety of the bridges, etc., by keeping the windows shut, and thus
prevent destroying bombs from being thrown from the trains. In one
place I saw what looked like a bomb lying in a corner seat, on it was
written “Excelsior.” One may imagine I left it alone and fled to the
farthest end of the train. To be discovered even near it would have
been ruin.
As the train crept on thirst again took possession of the worn-out
travellers. Soldiers filled the corridors, and while leaning out of the
windows drank beer. I pushed one aside and asked if I could get a drink
of anything?
“We are just off,” said the conductor, and I retired to my seat,
wishing that I had even a pebble to suck.
Two or three stations off that dear man tapped me on the shoulder, I
was half asleep--to tell me that here there would be an opportunity for
getting some lemonade. God bless him, though he was a German!
And now the black windmills stood out against the red sunset on the
horizon, for the long, long day drew to its close amid the glorious
colouring peculiar to Holland, and to some extent peace settled over us.
I must have fallen asleep, wedged in as I was between odoriferous
East Prussians, for Amsterdam, with its many lights and reflections,
passed as the vision in a dream. At Rotterdam my friends met me towards
midnight, and the remainder of the journey to London was without
incident.
No one knows what freedom means until he has been a captive, nor the
value of friends and country until he has been separated from them. Oh!
the delight of again being home, of seeing old, familiar faces and
landmarks; to find that the barbed wire I had been told was stretched
all over London to catch the Zeppelin bombs was an illusion of the
German mind, or a fabrication of their mean little papers, as well as
the monstrous victories they had gained. Buckingham Palace, too, still
stands, as also all the other public buildings I had been forced to
believe were burned down. What a relief to find our dear, secure island
home still the land of the kind-hearted, the true and the free. My
heart throbs with admiration to see how the call to arms has awakened
the old British spirit and there is now no need to ask in the words of
the song:
“Where are the yeomen of England?” for from every corner of the grand
old country comes the answer from thousands of marching men:
“Here we are again!” and
“It’s a long, long way to Tipperary.”
MARCUS KNOX.
Transcriber’s Notes
A missing closing quotation mark was added to the name of Hymn on
page 43: “Lord if now of Sion’s city.”
Other printer’s errors such as odd or non-standard hyphenation,
punctuation, spelling and grammar have been retained.
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