, 1914, and while the army of the
invaders was within thirty miles of Paris and the big guns were shaking
the city, more than twenty artists were working on the marvelous
production.

The central figure is a woman, mounted upon a high pedestal, which
stands in front of a huge temple, and she is holding aloft the laurel
wreath of victory. Upon the first step of a giant stairway which leads
to the temple is a group of French heroes which includes Joffre, Foch,
Petain and many others, while in front of them are guns and flags
bearing marks of conflict. The only allusion to Germany in the whole
painting is in the battle-scarred flags and guns which were used in the
first battle of the Marne. Upon this gigantic stairway are life-size
figures of more than five thousand people nearly everyone of which is a
life sketch of some French hero of the war. Among them are many women
whose heroic work and influence will live forever.

Just across on the opposite side of the painting from this scene is
depicted a gigantic tomb on the top of which is a group of soldiers
holding aloft a great coffin in which is a dead companion. At the base
and on the steps is a woman dressed in mourning, kneeling in the
attitude of prayer, while nearby is a wreath inscribed to the unknown
dead. Back of the tomb in the distance you can see the rays of the
setting sun and in some indescribable way they are lighting up the faces
of those on the temple stairway like a beautiful rainbow of promise,
while the tomb itself is left in the shadows of the declining day.

In the group representing Belgium it is only natural that Edith Cavil
should have a prominent place. To be sure King Albert and his queen and
others are there. As in Belgium the first casualties occurred it is
fitting that here alone is seen a wounded man and the Red Cross workers
are caring for him as he lies upon a stretcher. Here too, are seen the
broken pieces of a cathedral tower with a chalice and altar and Cardinal
Mercier in his priestly robes, while lying on the steps between him and
the king is the torn "scrap of paper."

But it would take pages of this book to give an adequate description of
the entire panorama. Of course, all the allies are represented. In a
group representing the United States, President Wilson is one of the
chief figures. I am told that the picture of General Pershing is a
life-sized painting, which he was kind enough to sit for, to be used in
this production. Her