by public opinion, and that 'the road to church has been resumed by many who may have ceased for a time to tread it but had never forgotten the way.' This religious movement is particularly marked in the army: "Thousands upon thousands of soldiers, before starting for the front, have gone to confession and asked the blessing of the Church.'

There is nothing in this phenomenon to surprise those who have studied the psychology of modern France, who for years have watched the growth of the spirit of self-sacrifice and passionate love of country which has grown out of the trials and humiliations of 1870. In a crisis like the present, when all the surface winds of controversy are stilled and the great deeps lie revealed, when all political bickerings have ceased and social differences have been forgotten in a common fervor of patriotism, it is inevitable that the soul of the people should find courage and consolation in the practice of its ancient faith; that, in the day of supreme trial, the dross of superficial triviality should be purged and the fine gold of the national character revealed. The great upheaval of this war has brought France together, as never before, in a great brotherhood of human kindliness. Class prejudices and bitterness have been swept away on the flowing tide of duty and altruism; the body politic has been cleansed of its petty jealousies and sordid intrigues, and, in this process of regeneration, religion has escaped from the paralyzing influences of political strife and revealed itself to the nation with healing in its wings. Whatever may be hereafter the social and national results of the present revival, it is certain that, during the lifetime of the present generation at least, the relations between State and Church in France are destined to be marked by kindlier feelings than have existed in the past, by toler

ance and mutual sympathy, born of the good understanding of the present. M. Georges Clémenceau, with whom I had occasion to discuss this question, expressed, I think, the feelings which prevail among his free-thinking countrymen in a few significant words: 'Hitherto they have had nothing more than strict justice. Henceforward they are entitled to something more, to our sympathy and respect. For they have proved themselves good citizens and brave men.'

Thus, in the hour of danger, the stern realities of war, great leveler of all the artificial differences that separate man from man, have brought the nation back to the essentials of life, from surface conventions to simple sincerity of word and deed.

There can be no question as to the reality of the revival of piety which has taken place during the past three months. Before the war there were no outward and visible signs of increasing religious activity. The great mass of the people remained apparently indifferent to the perpetual strife of clericals and anti-clericals; the church-going class remained at its normal level; and this, beyond all question, because in the minds of many thinking men the practice of religion had become inextricably associated with politics. But with the outbreak of war all this was changed, and the deep-rooted religious instincts of the people, instincts as remote from dogma as they are from politics, asserted themselves throughout the entire structure of national life. Sectarian

quarrels ceased, without discussion as to the terms of truce. The government, disregarding the opposition of the extreme anti-clericals, and realizing the supreme necessity of uniting all France in a common bond of patriotism, reestablished chaplains throughout the army and the fleet, and authorized the performance of religious rites in the

field and in all military hospitals. At the funeral of the Comte de Mun a significant spectacle was seen, when all the members of the government and even many extreme radicals paid reverential homage to the memory of this aristocratic head of the Catholics of France, because, political differences notwithstanding, he stood for all that is best and bravest in public life. It was a noble and inspiring spectacle, and there have been many others, all combining to prove that, in this national crisis, love of country counts for much more in France than all the political and religious quarrels that seemed so important eight months ago. Thus, on the field of battle, Catholics and Protestants have fought and worked together as brothers, and even rabbis of the Jewish faith, remembering that they were French, have not hesitated in emergencies to administer the last Christian rites to the dying.

In establishing this truce of God, the French government have merely expressed and indorsed an unmistakable manifestation of the soul of the people, and given effect to its instinctive impulse of piety. (Admitted that this instinct may be closely connected with that of self-preservation; it is none the less admirable, in that it makes for good citizenship and courage.) Officially, of course, the government adheres to its declared principles as regards the state's complete neutrality in the matter of liberty of conscience. By his circulars of the 14th and 26th of October, M. Millerand insists on the maintenance of that neutrality, but the whole tone of these documents shows clearly that the neutrality is very benevolent. Under the supervision of the military authorities, religious services of all denominations may be held, if desired, in military hospitals, and the authorities are directed 'to work in touch with the representatives of the Red Cross so

cieties, so as to ensure the application of this circular in the spirit of concord, moderation, and tolerance which has inspired it and which should also inspire all your actions.'

The steps taken by the government to place the unity and safety of the country before all political considerations, have been warmly welcomed and supported by clericals and anti-clericals alike. It is, possibly, easier for a freethinker to be sure of himself and his patriotism in the face of the foe than for many a devout member of the church. It is undeniable that for many good Catholics modern France has been identified in its government with antichrist, and infidel persecutions of the church; yet in the hour of national danger, the church has proclaimed that its first duty is the defense of la patrie, right or wrong. There has been no sign of hesitation as to the path of duty. Priests even bishops have come straightway from their mission work in Central Africa and the Far East to take up arms for the defense of France. (One bishop has served in the ranks as a private soldier.) Not a word has been heard of all the protestations which, in time of peace, were raised against the law imposing military service on the priesthood. The sons of the church have fought, and are fighting, with splendid devotion and courage, as their long list of killed and wounded sufficiently testifies.

And therein lies the secret, revealed by the war, of 'the concord, moderation, and tolerance,' which have put an end to the strife that seemed inseparable from the relations of church and state in France. The hour of trial has proved to the French people that the church in their midst is no longer the unchanging anachronism of anti-clerical tradition; that gradually, more or less unconsciously, it has informed itself with the spirit of French national

ism, and moved with it on broader paths of intellectual freedom. While the German clergy continue to urge their Rhinelanders forward for the glory of the Kaiser in the name of an ancient feudal system, the French priesthood, forgetting in its patriotic ardor its grievances against modernism, fights under the banner of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. And in the days to come France can never forget that the priest has borne himself worthily as a citizen and as a man. Never again can any politician raise the cry that the church is more Roman than French; never again will men mock the wearer of the clerical frock; they will remember how gallantly he donned the red trousers in the hour of need. The good understanding that has been cemented by comradeship in arms will last for many a day; for the manhood of France has learned to respect the curé as a Christian and a gentleman, because they have seen him behave like one in the trenches and in many a post of danger more deadly than the battlefield.

And because of this good understanding, it would seem most probable (if one may judge from current opinion) that, after the war, a means will be found to prevent the revival of strife, by the establishment of a permanent modus vivendi between Church and State. Public opinion appears generally to recognize the expediency of renewing relations with the Holy See, as a measure likely to be advantageous to both parties; for, on the one hand, the French government can never expect to exercise its benevolent protectorate over Catholics in the Orient, except by agreement with the Pope; and, on the other, the church is well aware that it cannot hope to set back the hands of the clock in France, that the state must preserve neutrality in the matter of religion and public education, and that

the days of monasticism are gone beyond recall.

The foundations of sympathy and mutual respect now being laid are likely to stand the strain of years; France has therefore good reason for hoping and believing that the present religious revival will make hereafter for peace within her borders and good-will among

men.

IV

I have spoken of the splendid patriotism of the women of France, of their stoic submission to the sacrifices and sufferings imposed upon them by this devastating war. Their silent, matterof-course heroism, manifested alike by the women of the aristocracy, of the bourgeoisie, and of the laboring classes, their cheerful acceptance of economic conditions far harder than those which English women have to bear, their efficient thriftiness and capability in organization, all combine to present a spectacle calculated to restore one's belief in the fundamental virtue of human nature.

It is not only in the field ambulances and hospitals of France that one sees the bravery of her women; not only in the soup-kitchens and homes for refugees of Paris and the provinces that their housewifely talents are directed to the effective relief of distress. All over the country in the tilling of the fields, in the management of business enterprises, and even in the public services of the towns- women have taken the places of the absent breadwinners and have tried to carry on,' giving hardly a sign of all their burden of deadly anxiety. (One of the things which impresses one most in talking with French soldiers is their recognition of the truth that the burden which the war lays on women is heavier than that borne by men.) And even those whose activities are neces

sarily limited to the care of their own families are eager and proud to prove their patriotism by making ends meet on the meagre soldier's separation allowance of twenty-five cents a day, with ten cents for every child. The women of the thrifty middle classes consider it just as much their duty to devote their hard-won savings to the common cause as their men-folk do to bear arms against the enemy. There is only one point at which their patriotism is lacking in intelligence (and in this matter they only follow the lead of their men), namely, that they generally refuse to leave their money in the hands of the banks. Competent authorities have estimated that the total amount withdrawn from circulation by private hoarding in France is about three billion dollars.

To any American, lover of France, who would see the soul of this nation worthily confronting the greatest crisis in its history, I would say in conclusion that while traveling in most parts of the country may not afford the height of luxury, it may confidently be recommended as a most stimulating and instructive moral tonic. As a matter of fact, the conditions of travel on all the railways outside the actual zone of military operations in the North, have

been greatly improved during the past few weeks. You can reach Bordeaux from Paris in fourteen hours and the Riviera in twenty-one. Cook's offices have reopened at the most important towns, and hotel prices, generally speaking, are fifty per cent lower than those usually charged. Furthermore, because of the splendid work which the American Red Cross Society is doing at Pau, the American Ambulance in Paris, and private philanthropists in many parts of the country, citizens of the United States will find in France an appreciative welcome and a world of new and absorbing interest. There is hardly a town of any importance in all the South and West which has not either a Red Cross hospital, a community of destitute refugees, or a concentration camp for German prisoners; there is not a railway station on any of the main lines of traffic that does not present a picturesque object lesson in the economics and ethics of a nation under martial law; there is not a man or woman, from the highest to the lowest, but has something to say well worth hearing; because, in these days, artificial values have disappeared, only the human values count, and men and women have become surprisingly and splendidly human.

FRANCE! Beautiful word! Beautiful land! What a proud soul lives in that France now racked and tortured! What chimes will ring to heaven when the last defiler is pushed back over the edge of the lost provinces! France! The Land for whom, when you are hard driven, the heart most aches! Is it that you are a Woman, with a caress in your eyes, and your floating robe; with mystery in your clear, woman's smile, and that promise of eternal constancy, which Man never offers? Is it that in you we feel, as in no other Land, a Presence, such as in some houses makes life assured, and lovely; a Presence inhabiting the air of every room, more precious than its garniture? Take away the trappings, make desolate that place of all material things, and there will yet be the loved one, there will yet be the gracious, ardent spirit.

France! You, of all Lands, have the gift of Living Form, of a coherent grace, like that of your own flower of light, or such as haunts La Gioconda, listening to her inward life.

France! When I think of you there comes into my mind the image of a lime tree, in her spring garb of buds delicate, breaking to little gay leaves

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ecstatic in each wind; in her summer dress so full, so perfumed with honeycolored blossoms; in her autumn robe of few golden leaves, flat on the clear air, and trembling, trembling, with each breath of the day; and in her pale winter nakedness, ever the same essential goddess of a tree, perfect in form.

France! It is your power to see that 'soul in things' which we call Ideals, to bring to life the truths you have seen, and so to concrete and shape your vision, that it becomes the rock spiritual on which nations stand. Because you are the living incarnation of your clear, unflinching spirit, we others love you.

You stand before the world, true embodiment of your three immortal words; as your immortal tune is the true voice of a Land's ardor and devotion.

France! You have sloughed off the gross and the vainglorious flesh of nations! You are the flame in the night! In this hour we see, and know you!

Great and touching comrade! Clear, invincible France! To-day, in your grave chivalry, you were never so high, so desirable, so true to France and to Humanity!