Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Psa. 27:14.
Seldom, in modern days, has been seen so complete a fulfillment of Isa. 19:11-16: -"Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, the princes of Noph are deceived; they have also seduced Egypt, even they that are the stay of the tribes thereof. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. In that day shall Egypt be like unto women; and it shall be afraid and fear, because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it."
From beginning to end of the late war one finds a series of ill-digested plans unaccountably carried out. Begun without reason, carried on without prudence, ended without settlement: the war has proved, if proof were needed, that man in his best estate is altogether vanity, and that his heart is set upon mischief. God lets the incapacity of the rulers espouse the corruption of society, and man casts the blame of his misfortunes on everyone but himself.
The history of the war has been so uniform that the kind of trials to which the inhabitants of the towns and villages were exposed has been almost the same throughout the north of France, or about one-third of the entire country. First, the passage of the French troops betokened a great battle-in which they generally drove back the Prussians; then it was heard that the French army was almost annihilated, and numbers of them taken prisoners; and then followed the mournful sight of the retreat of the remaining portion in the utmost disorder, and without provisions; regiments of every kind mingled together in hopeless confusion, throwing away arms and baggage in their haste to flee from the Prussians, who followed close upon their heels with the utmost calmness and precision. The details of the retreats varied a little in the neighborhood of fortresses, for then the army found shelter there, and sustained a siege more or less prolonged, giving rise to a new kind of trial for those who were shut up with them-bombardment and in some cases famine; but the general character of the war was the same everywhere.
The Prussian tactics were to present themselves at first in a body, then to retreat before the French, spreading themselves out to right and left, thus gradually surrounding the advancing French army and overpowering it by numbers: in addition to this, the French administration and commissariat being defective throughout, the result of the conflict was invariably the same and not difficult to understand, especially if one takes into consideration the mutual want of confidence, and the ill-feeling between the upper and lower classes, which exists throughout the country.
So that it is by no means extraordinary that the inhabitants generally complained that the French soldiers were not so well behaved as the Prussians during their passage. The poor French had had nothing to eat for many hours, and came crying for food without allowing time for its preparation, so precipitate was their retreat, and naturally fell upon whatever came in their way; whilst the Prussians were always well provided, and calmly demanded their exorbitant requisitions, which had to be punctually furnished. Some terrible scenes of atrocity are laid to their charge, such as the burning of Bazeilles, near Sedan, Mezieres, and other places. But however inexcusable these acts, one must remember how deeply seated is vengeance in every human heart, and when the passions are excited they are more ferocious than wild beasts. At Bazeilles a whole Prussian regiment, headed by Count Bismarck's nephew, was blown to pieces by the mitrailleuses at the moment they were quietly entering the village, in the belief that the French had evacuated it; and from that moment its fate was sealed by the Prussians. Mezieres refused to surrender when summoned to do so, whilst Charleville-which is enclosed in the same line of fortifications, and only separated from Mezieres by a long bridge, submitted at once and was scarcely touched. In other places the Francs-tireurs were the indirect cause of much calamity, as the Prussians had resolved to put every one of these guerrillas to death, without mercy, when taken: and to burn every house which had sheltered them.
The excess of misery caused by wholesale burning gave rise to remarkable efforts to alleviate the sufferings of those thus deprived of house, home, and means of subsistence. Both Sedan and Mezieres being frontier towns, much was done, both by the Belgians and English, to meet the need as it arose; and that by individuals as well as by communities. The denying devotedness of some even to death will not, we trust, soon be forgotten.
Surely we can bless the Lord for the exhibition of it which He permitted, while attending to the lesson He would teach us through that remarkable history, which is well known to many. May it lead us to the more careful contemplation of His own gracious ways, who never was unmoved by human sorrow, but sought it out and lived in the midst of it in order to relieve it, and yet would never "show Himself to the world." (John 7.)
The above sketch will enable the reader to form some idea of the circumstances, in the midst of which the Lord's children experienced anew the faithfulness of their God. A Father's care watched over them continually, and compelled them to confess that their greatest suffering, all through the history of the war, was from their own unbelieving apprehension of evil that never came upon them. In the moment of severe trial they were always sustained. Do we not find the lesson hard in practice? or are we unwilling really to admit that "we walk by faith, not by sight?"
Bouxwiller. After the taking of Wissembourg and the battle of Wœrth, the French retreated in disorder, closely followed by the Prussians, in the direction of Metz, passing the small town of Bouxwiller, where there are a few Christians. One of these families, consisting of a brother, his wife, and two sisters-in-law, occupies the last house of the town on the west side, which is rather isolated, being about three or four minutes' walk from the town itself. The Prussians formed their camp close by; and they came constantly to the house for the provisions they required, and the Prussian officers occupied almost all the rooms, but the Lord kept them from doing any violence to His children, beyond depriving them of forage and provisions; and, after all, their prolonged stay of some days was hardly so trying as the distressing sight of the misery of the half-starved French soldiers, whose sufferings there was so little possibility of relieving, both from want of time and means.
Ars sur Moselle. But beyond occupying the country the Prussians did not long remain in those parts. They advanced cautiously, surprised to find the hilly country so little defended, and gradually massing their troops, they encountered, on the 18th of August, a grand division of the French army, near the little village of Gravelotte, some six or seven miles from the fortress of Metz. It was a terrible shock. The battle extended over several miles, and thousands fell on both sides; and after the battle, the villages in the whole of the surrounding country were filled with the wounded. In one of these, Ars sur Moselle, three miles from Gravelotte, reside some of the Lord's people; one, especially, a dear sister (mother of five children), who has suffered much for the Lord's sake since she left the Roman faith some years ago. During the bombardment of Metz, whither the French retired, the Prussians had many cannons close to her house, but they did not bring these into play, and the village received a few shots only, from Fort St. Quentin, near Metz. There was plenty of occupation in tending the immense numbers of wounded; but Ars was graciously kept almost exempt from the smallpox, which was very bad in many of the other neighboring villages, and this was the more remarkable, as almost every house in the place was a temporary hospital, to say nothing of the public buildings, such as churches, &c., which were filled.
A young brother from the south of France was killed in the battle of Gravelotte, and one Prussian Christian soldier is known to have fallen there also. He who searches the hearts alone knows how many others of His own may have fallen on that terrible day, forcibly ranged one against the other in mortal conflict.
Sedan. Just a fortnight after, on 1st September, similar horrors took place around Sedan. Who would remove the veil from off those scenes which even eye-witnesses have stated to be quite impossible to describe? The facts have shown what man is, and what he is coolly preparing himself for again. On that spot, oblong, mounds of earth, scattered here and there over the country, are all that remain to show where the combat was most deadly. In some of these, hundreds lie buried together.
After Sedan, the scene of the war was spread throughout the north of France, as the Prussians advanced continually, with occasional reverses, until the beginning of February of this year, when the armistice was concluded as the preliminary of peace.
Orleans. On October 11th the Prussians entered Orleans (four hours by rail south of Paris), after a whole day's fighting, in the outskirts of the town. In one of the suburbs of the town on the same side, there lives a poor brother, D-, with his wife and six children; the youngest was born only three weeks before the Prussians came; and the shock of the fighting had such an effect upon the mother (for the French stood even in the doorway of their little house, to fire on the Prussians), that she lost all supply of food for her child. A Christian lady, however, interested herself in her, and supplied her with tins of preserved milk until she recovered, and thus the little girl was saved. Another of her children, a little girl of seven, had her nerves so shaken that skin turned yellow, and peeled off her hands and feet; this little one is now perfectly recovered, though still delicate.
The Prussians remained a month in possession of the town; they were then driven back by the French; but returned three weeks after, on the 4th of December, for the second time, and posted their cannons in the street about five hundred yards further from the town than D—'s house, so as to take advantage of some rising ground for firing upon the town. At that time, D—and his wife, with thirty-three others, hid themselves in a large cellar from three p.m. until the following morning, when all was quiet, after the entry of the Prussians. From that time forward they had continually to lodge two or three soldiers which was trying, because the Prussians were so prodigal of fire-wood, and there was very little of it; but the Lord graciously sustained them through the whole winter and spring, and no violence was done them. We shall have occasion to refer to them again in the third part of this narrative, and therefore take leave of them for the Dijon. At Dijon, a city of 60,000 inhabitants (about nine hours by rail south-east of Paris), the National Guards were called out, and amongst them our brother E-, who, being of Swiss origin, ought to have been exempted; but he was forced to exercise with the others for three months; and on Sunday, 30th of October, he had to march against the Prussians. His little house, or rather cabin, is in one of the suburbs of the town on the side where the battle was fought. The French were about 2,000 strong-of which number, one-half were regular troops; the other half, National Guards. The Prussians had ten times as many men and about sixty cannon, whereas the French had none at all. The fighting began about two miles from E-'s house, and it took the Prussians seven hours to drive this little body of French back into the town, which they accomplished at about five p.m. During all that time the Lord had watched over E-: he had not received the slightest wound, notwithstanding, the continuous and terrible fire of the enemy. At the moment of entering the town, when exhausted with so many hours' fighting, his wife persuaded him to retire quickly into his own house, which is a stone's throw of the main road, and take some refreshment. This done, he changed his clothes for a peasant's dress, and went out with her to look after the wounded French, many of whom had been lying for hours in the snow. By this time, the Prussians had advanced close to the town and one of them was posted behind each tree in the avenue which lines the main road, and which being quite straight in that part, was exposed to the whole French fire from the town; it was therefore necessary to pass by the whole of this, and into the very midst of the Prussians to search for the wounded French. E—and his wife were in this manner enabled to succor three, of whom the most severely wounded (by three balls in the left thigh) has since entirely recovered. They continued their work of mercy until prevented by the Prussians, one of whom fired at Mrs. E-, but the ball passed through her clothes, doing her no harm. The firing stopped when day closed in, leaving the Prussians masters of the place. Several houses, in that part of the town where E—lives, were very much damaged; one directly behind his was entirely destroyed; but his own was not in the least injured, all the balls and shells having passed clean over it.
The same unseen Hand of love which was so strikingly outstretched in favor of His beloved children at that time has guarded them since, when they have been exposed to other kinds of distress through cessation of work, the high prices of provisions, and the stringent military regulations of the Prussians, during their occupation of the place.
Amiens. The Prussians entered Amiens Nov. 28th. Much damage might have been done to the town, as the general in command of the citadel, which is just outside it, would not surrender it, but he was killed by a Prussian ball and there was no further resistance made; so the Prussians remained in quiet possession for eight months, until the 20th July, when they evacuated the town altogether. This long occupation was very trying-one case will be mentioned hereafter.
Paris. During this time the Siege of Paris was being carried on. Comparatively little damage was done by the bombardment, but the city, being closely shut up, suffered considerably from famine during the month of January; and it at length surrendered, when, it is said, there were only provisions for three days left. The cold was also very intense, and firewood very scarce indeed, and those who had not laid in any provision beforehand suffered very severely, so that the mortality was seven or eight times as great as usual.
The allowance per day of horseflesh was one large mouthful per person, besides two-thirds of a pound of heavy brown bread, composed of wheat, rice, beans, and other grain. That was absolutely all that could be claimed, and to obtain it every family was furnished with an order from the Mayor on the authorized butcher and baker, where each had to await his turn to be served, once in every three days. They called this "doing the tail," and it was a very trying operation, as it involved standing in the crowd and waiting for two or three hours, or even more, in the bitter cold until one's turn came to be served with the appointed modicum of bread or meat. The poor usually began to station themselves "in tail" outside the shops as early as three or four o'clock in the morning; so that those who came a little later found the tail was already very long; and the later the hour of arrival the longer became the time of waiting. One Christian brother often made use of the occasion by distributing tracts and speaking to the people. In the same way, if there was need of a little green firewood (for a few of the trees in the avenues were cut down when all the coal and coke were exhausted, and no gas was burnt in the streets), it was likewise necessary to "do the tail." Nothing was to be had without it. Many had laid in a certain stock of farinaceous food before supplies were altogether stopped, so that the children, in some cases, fared much better than their parents. Wine was plentiful all through the time of the blockade.
In every time of circumstance and trial there was the way of escape according to the faithful promise of our God. His own people felt they were sustained by the prayers of their brethren in other places, and it was a time of joy, in the sense of being cast upon God. One brother stated that he had never been so happy in all his life. During the whole time they were able to meet together every Lord's Day, and celebrate His name in peace and quietness, and with great joy in their hearts, in marked contrast to all the political excitement which reigned outside. Several of the brethren were in the National Guard, but were happily not called into active service.
But the saints in Paris, in common with many others, were destined to see fighting at their very doors, as well as to taste of famine. During the months of April and May the Communists were in power, and only yielded fort by fort, and then street by street, and house by house, to superior numbers. The brethren who had served as National Guards all hid or left the capital with one exception: he alone yielded to the force of circumstances, unwilling to leave his wife and children, who were dependent upon him, and give up the emolument which was his due as a soldier, at a time when it seemed impossible to obtain other work. In spite of his unfaithfulness, the Lord came in to deliver him, for he was taken ill just three weeks before the Versailles troops entered, and thus escaped the death which, humanly speaking, was inevitable.
The Lord brought His people through that terrible time in perfect safety. It was very trying for husband and wife to be separated at such a moment, which was the case with all who had to absent themselves, so as to escape the military service; but now all can join heart and lips to praise the Lord for His goodness.
Montbeliard. In the autumn of last year, the Prussians occupied Montbeliard, but beyond some slight skirmishing, there was very little fighting until the middle of January, when General Bourbaki, with an army said to be five times as large as that of the Prussians, made a last desperate attempt to drive them back. Up to that time the French held the south side of the river Doubs, which runs through the country, and having blown up all the bridges crossing the river, they managed to keep the enemy at bay. Of the eight gatherings around Montbeliard, only one is on the south side of the river, and there they never lodged Prussian soldiers at all, but some of the others were considerably tried.
The reports which have been spread of ruin, devastation, and pillage, caused by the Prussians in that part of the country, are almost wholly without foundation. In walking along the whole line in which the fighting of the middle of January took place, we could scarcely find other traces of damage than the burning of some twenty or thirty houses-nine in one village (Abbevillers), six in another, and a few in other places; with here and there a house, which the Prussians had used as a shooting tower, and the walls of which they had pierced, so as to fire at the French under cover. Near one village several fruit trees had been felled, evidently to tease the Protestants.
At the time of the actual fighting the snow lay on the ground, and thus all the winter crops were preserved, so that there has been very little loss as far as they are concerned. Those who suffered most were the factory work-people, who mostly live from hand to mouth. One bad year would after all be more felt by an agricultural peasant than all the evil the invaders may have caused him. One can hardly call it a hardship to have to give up a few sacks of oats and potatoes, while the cellar and granary contain more than enough for the year's consumption.
The most trying loss was the forage, which was all consumed by the immense influx of horses; and, as last year was so remarkably dry, there was only a small provision of hay at the beginning of the season, and even then scarcity was feared; so that during the spring the ingenuity of the peasants has been very much taxed to provide the necessary food for the cattle that were not butchered during the Prussian occupation. But here again the Lord came in to help in a remarkable way. During the last month of last season there was plentiful rain, and the potatoes sprouted out again in such an extraordinary way that the yield turned out to be much larger than usual, though expected to be very small indeed. One brother had nearly twice as much as in an ordinary year and in the spring they discovered the reason, when they were reduced to potatoes for feeding their cattle.
The brethren in those parts suffered considerably from the impossibility of giving or receiving tidings of one another; all communication was interrupted, and for many weeks it was impossible to stir out of their own villages, so strict were the Prussian patrols and sentinels.
For two or three days in the middle of January the fighting extended along the whole line of country intersecting Montbeliard, and extending many miles in a north-westerly direction. The French were then advancing to the relief of Belfort, which is about 12 miles north of Montbeliard. Being three or four times as numerous as the Prussians, they were victorious along the whole line, but when within an hour's march of Belfort the retreat was sounded, which resulted in the landing of 80,000 on Swiss territory in the most pitiable condition (many of them dying of hunger), on the first days of February.
Three villages, in which there are gatherings of the Lord's people, happened to lie just on the line of the engagement of the 15th and 16th January. They were Terreblanche (near Abbevillers), Bethoncourt, and Desandans. Both Bethoncourt and Terreblanche, and in some measure Desandans also, lie in valleys between the heights on which were posted the contending forces, so that the balls and shells whistled directly over the houses. Generally speaking, the inhabitants remained in the cellars during the firing, but only one or two of the houses in these villages were damaged. In another village, which did not fare so well (for one house in it was almost destroyed), a poor sister was lying ill in bed, and a ball passed across her room, just over her head, but did no damage. In a village near Desandans lives a poor widow, one of whose daughters has been bedridden for two or three years past: both mother and daughter are the Lord's. One day, when the firing was very vigorous, a ball entered at the window, passed between them and over the head of a baby in his cradle, at the end of the room, but no one was touched.
The French naturally abstained as much as possible from firing on their own villages, but the Prussians always took shelter in them, in order to gain this advantage over their foes. So that it was almost inevitable that some houses should receive balls, but these cases were rare, and, as a rule, the houses of the children of God were unmolested and untouched. Their Father's protecting hand was very manifestly stretched out in their favor, and the trial left praises, and not murmurs behind. This was as it should be. As one has said who heard the tale, "it were worth while to pass through the trial if only to experience the delivering grace of our God!"
How many a one has proved the truth of that word, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." (1 Cor. 10:13.)
We now proceed to the second part of our inquiry.