mpt, and who now greets him familiarly. The countryside has been
transformed by the building of a munition factory. Marcsa, Bogdan's
betrothed, works there, and has become the factory owner's mistress.
Bogdan sees red, and stabs the man, to be struck down dead himself a
moment later.--In this story the growth of the revolutionary spirit is
manifest. Bogdan, a dull conservative by nature, is inspired with it
against his will. We have a threatening vision of the return of the
soldiers from all the armies, and of how they will take vengeance upon
those who sent others to death while remaining at home to enjoy life and
to grow rich by speculation.

I have kept the third story to the last, for it contrasts with the
others by the sobriety of its emotion. It is entitled "The Victor" (Der
Sieger). In the other episodes, the tragic element is nude and bleeding.
Here tragedy is veiled with irony, and is all the more formidable.
Revolt simmers beneath the calm words; the butchers are pilloried by the
bitter satire.

The victor is His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, the renowned
Generalissimo X., universally known in the press as "The Victor of * *
*." He is there in all his glory, in the principal square of the town
which is now the military headquarters. Here he is absolute master. Here
there is nothing which he cannot do or undo at his will. The band is
playing, on a fine autumn afternoon. His Excellency sits out of doors in
front of a cafe, amid smart officers and elegantly dressed ladies. It is
nearly forty miles from the front. Strict orders have been given that no
wounded or convalescent soldier, or any man whose appearance might have
a depressing effect on the general war enthusiasm or might trouble the
comfort of those who are at ease, shall be allowed out of hospital. We
are told how much His Excellency is enjoying himself. He finds the war
splendid. People have never had a jollier time. "Did you notice the
young fellows back from the front? Sunburnt, healthy, happy!... I assure
you the world has never been so healthy as it is now." The whole company
chimes in to celebrate the beneficial effects of the war. His Excellency
meditates upon his good luck, his titles, his decorations, harvested in
a single year of war, after he had vegetated for nine-and-thirty years
in peace and mediocrity. It has been a perfect miracle. He is now a
national hero. He has his motor, his country mansion, his chef, delicate
fare, a lordly re