and old--tapestries, pictures, books--as Lorraine likes to have such
things about her.

But unfortunately, it occupied one of the central points of the fighting
in the campaign of Lorraine, after the defeat of General Castelnau's
Army at Morhange on August 20th, 1914. The exultant and victorious
Germans pushed on rapidly after that action. Lunéville was occupied, and
the fighting spread to the districts south and west of that town. The
campaign, however, lasted only three weeks, and was determined by the
decisive French victory of September 8th on the Grand Couronné. By
September 12th Nancy was safe; Lunéville and Gerbéviller had been
retaken; and the German line had been driven back to where we saw it
from the hill of Léomont. But in that three weeks a hell of cruelty, in
addition to all the normal sufferings of war, had been let loose on the
villages of Lorraine; on Nomény to the north of Nancy, on Badonviller,
Baccarat, and Gerbéviller to the south. The Bavarian troops, whose
record is among the worst in the war, got terribly out of hand,
especially when the tide turned against them; and if there is one
criminal who, if he is still living, will deserve and, I hope, get an
impartial trial some day before an international tribunal, it will be
the Bavarian General, General Clauss.

Here is the first-hand testimony of M. Mirman, the Prefét of the
Department. At Gerbeviller, he writes, the ruin and slaughter of the
town and its inhabitants had nothing to do with legitimate war:

"We are here in presence of an inexpiable crime. The crime was signed.
Such signatures are soon rubbed out. I saw that of the murderer--and I
bear my testimony.