eanliness of the
white-washed cottages makes a pleasant contrast to the homes of the
Walloons. War and politics are never mentioned, as these delicate
subjects would prevent a friendly understanding."[158]

[Footnote 158: Ibid., p. 90.]

"A dream. An old German dream. A land full of quaintness which the rush
of modern life has left untouched. On all sides cleanliness and order
which makes the heart beat gladly. And this joyful impression is doubly
strong when one comes direct from the dirty, disorderly villages of the
Walloons.

"Just as a mother may give birth to two children with entirely different
natures, so Belgium affords hearth and home to two peoples in whose
language, culture and customs there is neither similarity nor harmony.
The Flemings are absolutely German, and in this war they treat us with
friendly confidence. Their eyes do not glitter with fanatical hate like
those of the Walloons."[159]

[Footnote 159: Heinrich Binder: "Mit dem Hauptquartier nach Westen," p.
102.]

Herr Binder's meditations on the slaughter in the valley of the Meuse
are not without interest. "A vale which has been won by German blood! In
recent days the waters of the Meuse have often flowed blood-red. Many a
warrior has sunk into these depths. Longing and hope rise in our hearts:
May destiny determine that all these dead, after a triumphant war, shall
sleep at rest in a German valley!"[160]

[Footnote 160: Ibid., p. 122.]

CHAPTER X

SAIGNER A BLANC.[161]

[Footnote 161: "To bleed white." Bismarck employed this phrase on two
occasions in addressing the Reichstag; his purpose could have been no
other than to bully France.--Author.]

It would be superfluous to review here the history of Franco-German
relations during the last half century; other writers have already
performed the task. Yet the whole trend of development in the relations
between the two powerful neighbours may be defined by two watch-words:
_saigner a blanc_ in Germany, and the _revanche idee_ in France. But
there is this difference: the former has become ever more and more, and
the latter less and less, a factor in European politics.

While the German nation has been gradually and systematically leavened
with the teaching that might alone is right, the French revenge party
has been weakened year by year by national prosperity, colonial
expansion and the growth of a powerful anti-military party. Whatever may
be said of French chauvinists, this muc