A Westphalian prisoner states, “The commanding officer ordered us to shoot two women, and we did so.  One of them was holding a child by the hand, and in falling she dragged the child over with her.  The officer gave orders to shoot the child, because it could not be left alone in the world.”  At Rouves, a Government clerk refused to tell a Bavarian officer the numbers of the French regiments in the neighbourhood.  The officer killed him with two shots from his revolver.  At Crezancy, another officer shot with his own hand young Lesaint, 18 years old, “to prevent his being a soldier later on.”  At Embermenil, Madame Masson was shot for having, in absolute good faith, given some wrong information.  As she was obviously in a state of pregnancy they made her sit down on a bench to meet her fate.  At Ethe, two priests were shot “for having buried some weapons.”  At Marqueglise, a superior officer ordered the arrest of four young fugitives.  Learning that two of them came from Belgium, he exclaimed, “The Belgians are filthy people,” and without more ado took his revolver and shot them one after the other.  Three were killed outright, the fourth expired the following day.

From the crowd of fugitives which left Louvain in flames, the priests were singled out, and searched.  On one of them, a Jesuit father, by name Dupierreux, they found a note-book containing the following note in French, “When I used to read about the Huns under Attila devastating towns, I smiled.  I smile no longer now that I have seen with my own eyes the hordes of to-day setting fire to the churches and library of Louvain.”  In front of the assembled troops the priests were placed in a semi-circle round the Jesuit Father.  The incriminating phrase was read out, and then translated into German.  The lieutenant said that it constituted an incitement to murder, and that the Jesuit must be shot on the spot.  The sentence was carried out forthwith, and the other priests, his companions, were made to bury him where he fell.

At Pin, some Uhlans found two young boys on the road.  They tied them by the arms to their horses and galloped off.  The bodies of the poor lads were found a few miles away—­their knees were “literally crushed”; one had his throat cut and both had several bullets in their heads.  At Sermaize, a labourer, named Brocard, and his son, were arrested.  His wife and daughter-in-law, mad with terror, threw themselves into a neighbouring stream.  The old man broke away, and ran to try and save them.  The Germans dragged him away....  Four days later Brocard and the son, on being liberated, returned home, and after a search, found the bodies.  The two women, while still in the water, had been shot several times through the head.  A parish priest named Dergent was taken to Aerschot, stripped, and tied to a cross in front of the church; his fingers and toes were crushed and broken with the butt-end of a rifle.  The inhabitants were made to pass in front of him and were each compelled to urinate on him in turn; then he was shot and his body thrown into the canal.[10]