The houses destroyed by fire were not always uninhabited.  At Maixe, M. Demange, wounded in both knees, dragged himself along and fell prostrate in his kitchen; his house was set on fire and Madame Demange was forcibly prevented from going to the rescue of her husband, who perished in the flames.  At Nomeny, Madame Cousin, after being shot, was thrown into the burning building and roasted.  At the same place, M. Adam was thrown alive into the flames.  Let us note in connection with him, to their credit, an act of comparative humanity.  Finding that the unhappy man was not being burnt fast enough, they ended his misery in the flames by shooting him.  At Monceau-sur-Sambre, where they set fire to 300 houses, they confined the two brothers S. in a shed, and the unfortunate men were burnt alive.[6]

The soldiers’ diaries are filled with descriptions of incendiarism, some of which we now quote.  “Returned by Mazerulles, which was burnt as we passed through, because the engineers found a telephone there connected up with the French."[7] “The whole village was in ablaze.  Everything destroyed in the street, except one small house; in front of the door was a poor woman with her six children, her arms raised and begging for mercy.  And every day it is the same thing.”

Parnx.  “The first village burnt (in Lorraine, on the 10th August); after that the fun began.  Villages in flames, one after the other.”  Another note-book simply states, “Sommepy—­horrible carnage.  The village entirely burnt; the French thrown into the burning houses; civilians with the rest.”  Another recalls theatrical memories.  “The village is ablaze; it reminds one of the conflagration of Walhalla in the ’Twilight of the Gods.’”

Here is a poet speaking:  “The soldiers set up the red cock (i.e., fire) upon the houses, just as they like.”  This poet is moved, and speaks of “pure vandalism” on the part of his companions in arms.  And again, a musician writes, “Throwing of incendiary grenades into the houses; a military concert in the evening—­’Nun danket alle Gott’! (Now thank we all our God).”  Finally, a Bavarian:  “The village (Saint-Maurice, Meurthe-et-Moselle) was surrounded, and the soldiers posted one yard apart so that no one could escape.  Then the Uhlans set fire to the place, one house after the other.  No man, woman, or child could possibly escape.  Only the cattle were removed in safety, because cattle have some value.  Anyone trying to escape was shot.  Everything in the village was destroyed.”  We shall see presently that they even went so far as to burn ambulances.

FOOTNOTES: 

[4] They destroyed by fire the Library at Louvain, with its 200,000 volumes and its incomparable treasures.  By means of shells and fire they have injured in one place, totally destroyed in another, wonders of art that were an integral part of our human heritage; our Cathedrals at Rheims, Arras, Ypres, &c.