A Popular History of The Great War/Volume 1/Page 134

Proofread. The contents of this page have been proofread at least once for errors and inconsistencies.
FRANCE IN WARTIME


particularly the nervousness of public opinion. Some praised its prudence others found occasion for reproach. But when one reflects that in tragic circumstances the whole of a great nation was satisfied with the four or five lines of official news vouchsafed to it twice a day, it is hard to believe that it would not have supported at once the knowledge of the whole truth, however painful it might be. It even seems to those who at the time were in a position to feel the pulse of opinion that the people of France felt humiliated by this lack of confidence. This was the impression of those who took part in the daily life of the population both in Paris and in the provinces.

In the luxurious cafés, frequented by merchants and others of the middle class, as well as at the bars of the "marchands de vin," where the spokesmen of the humbler classes love to perorate, conversation revealed the same results; nowhere was importance attached to the acts and attitude of the government and of the Parliament. A few politicians who attempted to push themselves into notice drew upon themselves remarks that were the reverse of indulgent. Every heart was tortured by the same anxiety, and the hopes of all were centred on the army, which was at grips with a formidable enemy, and for which decisive and rapid triumph was desired with trembling fervour.

All France seemed to be listening for the echo of cannon by a kind of collective intuition, in the poverty of news allowed to her, she guessed that the day of battle was near at hand—and with it the enemy. When an official telegram made the laconic announcement that "German cavalry have occupied Brussels, public opinion was not extravagantly alarmed. For the invaded Belgians there was unanimous sympathy. In conversation stress was laid on the solid support afforded to French resistance by the existence of such strongholds as Maubeuge and Lille. Also, when at a later stage one learned that "the great battle between the bulk of the Franco-British forces and the bulk of the German forces" was in progress, the most fantastic conjectures were rife.

Ingenuity was taxed to imagine the details of a gigantic encounter on the historic field of Waterloo, where the kaiser's dream of hegemony should be shattered like that of Napoleon. An impatient public awaited the issue of the great battle, concerning which one was told nothing in vague and embarrassed phraseology. Soon uneasiness drew closer, and suddenly a communiqué announced that "the parties of cavalry which had

← 133   ·   134   ·   135 →
(page index)
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.