"THEY FACE A SOLID WALL!"

Paul Erco of the Paris Journal says in a message from Furnes:

"It looks as if the Germans were out of ammunition. Yesterday we spotted several of their batteries along the Yser, and as soon as the French and Belgian guns opened fire they withdrew in a hurry, declining combat.

"I asked one of General Joffre's ablest lieutenants if he thought the enemy meant to give up the Yser and Yperlee lines. His reply was:

"'For obvious reasons I can't tell you what I think on that point; but I will say that even if the Germans resume the struggle on our left wing they cannot break through. From the Lys to the sea they have a solid wall in front of them, which cannot be broken down and before which they will shatter themselves to pieces if they try it.'"

The late King Charles of Rumania left an estate of $10,000,000, of which $750,000 is bequeathed to the army and navy. The will states that the money be set apart for the purchase of quick-firing guns for the Rumanian army.

A Frenchman suggests the value of protective armor against shrapnel. He says that metallic disks attached inside the cap, so as to afford almost complete protection of the neck, back, and shoulders when soldiers are firing prone, would no doubt save seven or eight per cent. of the men. He cites the cases of two infantrymen who thus utilized zinc mess tins which showed numerous scratches where shrapnel had ricochetted and thus prevented wounds despite the feeble defensive qualities of the material.

The British Government stopped the circulation of the Irish World of New York in Ireland because of its attitude against recruiting in Ireland.

A Paris newspaper recently printed the following: "Now begins the twilight of the German gods. The Kaiser's expiation commences. It is not Napoleon vanquished by his own conquests; it is not the eagle bowing his crest, but a wretched vulture with the stomach ache. In his sleepless nights, he must see, like Belshazzar's writing on the wall, the words: 'The despicable little army of General French!'"

The tragedy of silence killed many of the women of Europe. Suicides occurred by thousands, especially in Austria. Women did not know whether their husbands and sons were alive or dead. They were given no news. Wherever they turned for light they were confronted by an impenetrable pall of silence. They were not permitted to dress in mourning, nor were the bodies of their dead brought home for burial. Insanity came to the relief of many. Thousands of others went to suicides' graves.

The German army aviators discovered a method of making clouds to hide them when shelled by the French. A French officer was watching some German aeroplanes under fire when they suddenly disappeared into a cloud of brown smoke. In a few moments they became perfectly invisible. The French gunners were unable to find them again.

A former Edinburgh newsboy in the British army was awarded the Victoria Cross for capturing a machine gun, an officer, and six men.