unquestionably the belgian above all others the germans would rid themselves of if they could, is cardinal mercier. he is the exalted prince of the church, but in the hour of decision, he stept swiftly down and, with a ringing call to courage, took his place with the people. ever since that day he has helped them to stand united, defiant, waiting the day of liberation. others have been silenced by imprisonment or death, but the greatest power has not dared to lay hands on the cardinal. he is the voice, not only of the church, but of belgium heartening her children.
malines has her cantines and soupes [84]and ouvroirs, all the branches of secours necessary to a city that was one of the centers of attack; but these are not the most interesting things about malines. it is above all as the city of the cardinal that she stands forth in this war. her “?uvre” has been to give moral and spiritual secours, not only to her own people, but to those of every part of belgium.
since under the “occupation” the press has naturally been “controlled,” this secours has been distributed chiefly through the famous letters of the cardinal sent to priests to be re-read to their people. we remember the thrill with which the first one was read in america. after the war there will be pilgrimages to the little room where it was printed. i had the privilege of having it shown me by that friend of the cardinal who was the printer of the first letter, and whose brother was at this time a prisoner in [85]germany for having printed the second. the room was much as it had been left after the search; books were still disarranged on their shelves, papers and pamphlets heaped in confusion on the tables. the red seals with which the germans had closed the keyholes had been broken, but their edges still remained. standing in the midst of the disarray, remembering that the owner had already been six months in a german prison, and looking out on the shattered fa?ade at the end of the garden, i realized, at least partly, another moment of the war.
this quickening secours, then, is distributed chiefly by letter, but continually by presence and speech in malines itself, and occasionally in other parts of the country. on the 21st of july, 1916, the anniversary of the independence of belgium, all brussels knew that the cardinal was coming to celebrate high mass in [86]sainte gudule. the mass was to begin at 11 o’clock, but at 9.30 practically every foot of standing-room in the vast cathedral was taken. in the dimness a great sea of people waited patiently, silently, the arrival of their leader. occasionally a whispered question or rumor flashed along the nave. “he has come!” “he has been prevented!” there was a tacit understanding that there should be no demonstration—the cardinal himself had ordered it. every one was trying to control himself, and yet, as the air grew thicker, and others fought their way into the already packed transepts, one felt that anything might happen! almost every person had a bit of green ribbon (color of hope) or an ivy leaf (symbol of endurance) pinned to his coat. the wearing of the national colors was strictly forbidden, but the national spirit found another way: green swiftly replaced the orange, black and red.
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we all knew that this meant trouble for brussels, and the fact that the shops (which had all been ordered to keep open this holiday) were carrying on a continuous comedy at the expense of the germans, did not help matters. their doors were open, to be sure, but in many, the passage was blocked by the five or six employees who sat in stiff rows with bows of green ribbon in their buttonholes, and indescribable expressions on their faces. in the biggest chocolate shop, the window display was an old pail of dirty water with a slimsy rag thrown near it. there was no person inside but the owner, who stood beside the cash register in dramatic and defiant attitude, smoking a pipe. there were crowds in front of the window which displayed large photographs of the king and queen, draped with the american flag. another shop had only an enormous green bow in the window. almost every one took some [88]part in the play. not a belgian entered a shop, and if a german was brave enough to, he was usually made the victim of his courage. one was delighted to serve him, but, unfortunately, peaches had advanced to ten francs each, or something of the sort!
finally, after an hour and a half, a priest made an announcement, which from our distance we misunderstood. we thought he said that the mass would be celebrated, but unfortunately not by monseigneur, who had been detained. a few of us worked our way, inch by inch, to the transept door, and out into the street. there i found an excited group running around the rear of the cathedral to the sacristy-door, and, when i reached it, i learned the cardinal had just passed through.
for no particular reason i waited there, and before long the door was partly opened by an acolyte, who was apparently [89]expecting some one. he saw me and agreed that i might enter if i wished, for was i not an american to whom all belgium is open? so i slipt in and found room to stand just behind the altar screen where all through the celebration i could watch the face of the cardinal—a face at once keen and tender, strong, fearless, devout: one could read it all there. he was tall, thin, dominating, a heroic figure, in his gorgeous scarlet vestments, officiating at the altar of this beautiful gothic cathedral.
the congregation remained silent, three or four fainting women were carried out, that was all. then the cardinal mounted the pulpit at the further end of the nave to deliver his message, the same message he had been preaching for two years—they must hold themselves courageous, unconquered, with stedfast faith in god and in their final liberation. tears were in the eyes of many, but there was no crying out.
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from the pulpit he came back to the catafalque erected in the middle of the nave for the belgian soldiers dead in battle. it represented a great raised coffin, simply and beautifully draped with belgian flags, veiled in crêpe. tall, flaming candles surrounded it. as the cardinal approached, the dignitaries of the city, who had been occupying seats of honor below the altar, marched solemnly down and formed a circle about the catafalque. then the cardinal read the service for the dead. the dim light of the cathedral, the sea of silent people, the memorial coffin under the flag and lighted by tall candles, the circle of those chosen to represent the city, the sad-faced cardinal saying the prayers for those who had died in defense of the flag that now covered them—was it strange that as his voice ceased and he moved slowly toward the sacristy-door by which he was to depart, the overwhelming tide of emo[91]tion swept barriers, and “vive le roi!” “vive monseigneur!” echoed once more from these ancient walls! we held our breath. men were pressing by me whispering, “what shall we do? we have necessity to cry out—after two years, we must cry out!” the cardinal went straight forward, looking neither to the right nor the left, the tears streaming down his cheeks.
outside, to pass from the rear of the cathedral to the archbishop’s palace, he was obliged to cross the road. as i turned up this road to go back to the main portal, the crowd came surging down, arms outthrust, running, waving handkerchiefs and canes, pushing aside the few helpless belgian police, quite beyond control, and shouting wildly now, “vive le roi!” and “vive monseigneur!” i was able to struggle free only after the gate had closed on the cardinal.
this was the day when in times of [92]peace all the populace brought wreaths to the foot of the statue erected in honor of the soldiers who died for the independence of belgium. the germans had placed guards in the square and forbidden any one to go near it. so all day long throngs of people, a constant, steady procession marched along the street beyond, each man lifting his hat, women often their green parasols, as soon as they came in view of their statue. all these things, i repeat, did not help brussels in the matter of the demonstration at the cathedral. and a few days later a posted notice informed her that she had been fined 1,000,000 marks!
but the people had seen their cardinal—they had received their spiritual secours—he had brought heavenly comfort to their hearts, put new iron in their blood. they had dared to cry just once their loyalty to him and to their king, and they laughed at the 1,000,000 marks!
