ISH BLOW UP A BRIDGE

At Lagny one of the sights of the town was a shattered bridge, which was
blown up by General French as soon as he got his army across it. At that
time British infantry and artillery had poured through the town and over
the bridge for several days. General French's idea was to keep raiding
detachments of German cavalry from incursions into the beautiful villas
and gardens of the western suburbs.

Fifteen minutes after the bridge had been reduced to a twisted mass
of steel and broken masonry a belated order came to save it, but the
British engineers who had received the order to destroy it had done
their work well.

The inhabitants were cleared out of all the neighboring houses, which
were shaken by the terrific explosion when the charge was set off. Every
window in the nearby houses was shattered.

The people of Lagny took the destruction of their beautiful bridge in
good part. They were too grateful for their deliverance from the Germans
to grumble about the wrecked bridge.

GERMAN LOSSES AT THE MARNE

There is no doubt that the German losses in the engagements at the Marne
far exceeded those of the Allies and were most severe, in both men and
material. The Germans made incredible efforts to cross the Marne. The
French having destroyed all the bridges, the Germans tried to construct
three bridges of boats. Sixteen times the bridges were on the point of
completion, but each time they were reduced to matchwood by the French
artillery.

"There is not the slightest doubt," said a reliable correspondent, "that
but for the superb handling of the German right by General von Kluck, a
large part of Emperor William's forces would have been captured at the
Marne. The allied cavalry did wonders, and three or four additional
divisions of cavalry could have contributed towards a complete rout of
the Germans."

The general direction of the German retirement was northeast, and it was
continued for seventy miles, to a line drawn between Soissons, Rheims
and Verdun.

A week after the battle the field around Meaux had been cleared of dead
and wounded, and only little mounds with tiny crosses, flowers and
tricolored flags recalled the terrible struggle.

The inhabitants of neighboring villages soon returned to their homes and
resumed their ordinary occupations.

FALL OF MAUBEUGE

While the fighting at the Marne was in progress, German troops achieved
some successes in other parts of the theater of war.