The Brussels Post, 1918-10-10, Page 2THE "SPOTTER"
Whose Business It Is To Identify
Enemy Aeroplanes.
The majority of anti-aircraft "gun- 1
stations" possess a "sputter." He is -•---••
the eye o fthe battery, and, though
his job can be termed a "cushy' one, '
it is not all honey. He is usually ex -
Keep Car Well Lubricated. I wear is to be ohivated, For In- cused from all parades proper, and.
Properly lubricated and kept in stance, there is the steering system; does no regular turn of duty, but he
tune, there is almost no limit to the; there ie constant movement ani(mare- motifs dutt be alvisyto 111 ntifs near t astfriendly
useful life of a modern well built', cut this system, even on the smooth -
or hostile any machine whirls may a
motor car. est road. It is n of violent move- Y 1 -
Intent, but unlees a]equats lubrication pear in his vicinity. Usually the
, s c spatter is n man with much service
warn the car owner to be doubly vigi- • overseas to he tee• 111. (lie mewl-'
last naw as regards the quality of the 0ex an' edge, gained in the rough school of
And the poor hard working univer • experience, is worth having. What
1ubrieant he uses If an oil Lacking {,• ll th • r- 1
1 WJIAT CAPTURE
OF METZ MEANS
It necessary in the first place to .0 ured t.heto testi be excessl.,
sal faints, how a omuula a y a ave
certainvital essentials 's used 'n 1
ine speed "end they hearing, since inability to pick up a
1 n c t aged owner neglects them. These he must possess is good eyesight and
0'11(1 mechanical units its failure to nmchine may make all the difference.
should have their lubricant renewed On the r
parts may result in injury to the me-' , approach of aircraft ho first
provide a buffer between the moving,)oult- tura at eng
ehan.ism that will be disastrous. The
every , of all takes note of the markings,it
flake graphite is best to use here, as as+ible, then the wins or lines,
proper person to decide just what lu- oil leak out of the bast universal COY- pg'' planes,
bricunt should be used in any given the rudder, etc. This is less difficult
car is the manufacturer of the vehicle. er and moreover the centrifugal force
than one would suppose, since every
present tends to throw the oil to one type of machine has something pecu-
The car manufacturers maintain ]a- side when the ports is in operation. liar to itself.
hunatorfes and experimental depart-;
boratories` and experimental depart- The universals should with kerosene and then 0berepacked cleansed, These distinctive marks, however,
ments to make positively sure as to with fresh graphite grease. have a tendency to alter their aspect
just what lubricant is needed in each p to the height he machine is flying at.
part of the mechanism, and they are' The transmission and rear axle chi, Thus at 4,000 feet it will he noticed
in better position than any private not operate at quite the same intense to have square wing tips, but the
owner to be sure in the matter. speed as the engine parts, but they same machine at 12,000 feet appears
need regular lubrication just the same. to have rounded corners. But the
One mistake that car owners some- Both these parts should be flushed out spotter, knowing this, is able to form
,times fall into is the purchase of a' with kerosene and refilled with fresh' an opinion accordingly. Various types
quantity of oil of unknown lineage, oil every 1,000 miles of running. The of machines can be identified by the
but cheap price, which the seller as- . lubricant for use here is a semi -fluid :sound they make. Some give a dron-
aures him is just as good as any of ; or heavy cylinder oil :in summer, while ; ing noise, others "sing," and this is
the well knownbrands. It may be,' its winter a medium cylinder oil will . a great help to the man with the field
but it probably is not, Lubrication; be best. Do not use grease in the glasses is in fact, the only means
500 miles. C1rap1.]t0 grease or
is the worst possible place in which I transmission or 'rear axle, Las t'hrY , he has at night,
to attempt economies. ; gears simply cut a pathway through i The spotter has a much more try -
Of course, every marl who runs a this lubricant and thereafter run prat-ing time over in France, owing to the
ear realize that the oil reservoir must timidly dry. I great number of aeroplanes in the
be kept filled to a certain level with The wheel bearings, which need cup; air at the time, but it is very rarely
cylinder oil. If this is not done such grease or a graphite lubricant, should! that he makes a mistalce,
parts as bearings, pistons, etc., will • be cleaned out thoroughly and re-! A spotter has to go through a
run dry and burn. But there aro. packed every 2,000 miles of running.' course, during which he is taught the
other parts, such as the transmission, The braking system is more insistent. essential points to be noticed, and on
rear axle gears, universals, etc., which; of attention and should be thoroughly .his passing out he reports to White;
operate at high speed and consequent-. oiled every 500 miles, and the careful hall, where he receives his destination
ly need copious lubrication at all,driver will go over the steering pivots papers. His rate of pay is the same
times, but which are often neglected. and steering linkage every day that as he would be entitled to when with
Moreover, there are many other part; he takes the ear out. The grease cups - his own unit, usually the Royal Regi -
of the mechanism where the prove- I on the springs should be turned down, ment of Artillery.
meet is not so rapid, but whre frit -1 weekly and in the cantilever construe- :.---
tion, nevertheless, exists and whereftion the lubrication of the fulcrum' Air Heroism.
there must be lubricant if excessive must be constantly watched. I I c
SILVER 'WEDDING GIFTS
Presented to Queen Mary for the Use
of the Empire's Army.
The Picture Gallery, St. James's
Palace, never held just such a gath-
ering as met one afternoon lately, to
make a formal presentation to Queen
Mary of the innumerable gifts in
honor of the Royal Silver Wedding.
The 105 branches of Queen Mary's
Needlework Guild were represented
as well as others who had contributed
to the shower. Replying to a formal
• speech of presentation by Princess
Beatrice the Queen expressed both
surprise and pleasure at the wonder-
ful contribution for troops both in
and out of hospital. Gifts valued at
£30,025 7s. (3d. were exhibited in
Queen Anne's drawing room and
£9,268 7s. 101. was contributed in
money. In addition 66 cases are on
their way from overseas and the
beautiful pieces of silver donated for
sale has not been valued.
Magnificent stacks of blankets
pleased the Queen particularly. There
were 30,000 pairs of socks and these
reached almost to the ceiling in one
corner of the room. There was an
equally immense supply of soap
which war had made valuable enough
to be given place of honor in a King's
palace, Love for the Empire, for the
Queen and for the soldiers would
necessarily arouse no lack of senti-
ment in the assembling of these gifts.
Children and tiny tots claimed the
privilege of sealing something for
the shower and countless olrl ladies
sent their tokens of love. Among
these was an old christening spoon
from the one to whom it was given
eighty-five years ago. Anther dear
old lady of eighty-eight sent a beauti-
ful knitted set of "washers." These
gifts will be duplicated many times,
it is safe to say, in the GO cases that
are still to be unpacked. China, Be-
wail, California, Falkland Ids„ Rio
de Janeiro and Tasmania represented,
literally, the four corners of the
earth, anxious to do honor to the
Queen and the cause dearest to her
heart.
"A handful of good life is worth a
bushel of learning."—George Her-
bert.
"Duty makes us do things well, but
love makes us do them beautifully."
--Phillips Brooks.
AUSTRALIAN GOLD
Government .Holds Out Inducements
to Returned Soldiers.
Prospecting for gold is an alter-
; ing and ofttimes profitable occupa-
tion, provided one know where the
chances are favorable and can tell
gold from gravel. There are a score
of field in Western Australia where
at least a living may be made, with
always the chance thrown in of a
suckled fortune. That is why many
men stick to prospecting, even though
fighting against runs of had luck,
throughout the best years of their
lives. There is something of the
fierce joy of the successful garmbler
when the battery plates begin to look
good and when the final clean-up
proves that the ore is rich enough to
•pay dividends.
; Gold -mining and prospecting make
an irresistible appeal to the adven-
turous, and the Western Australian
Government is to be congratulated
upon its decision to anticipate the
wishes of men who have been engag-
ed in the greatest adventure of all
and who may like to take a chance
in the lottery of the underground.
The Government will place at the dis-
posal of the soldier -prospector the
most expert advice available; advice
which If it does not always lead them
to the pay -ore, will certainly save
them from wasting time on valueless
territory, The State will also pro-
vide the necessary equipment. while
the Repatriation Board will supply
sustenance to prospectors, their wives
and children. The scheme has been
favorably received by mining organi-
zations in Western Australia,
Tough Luck!
It was a balmy afternoon in spring,
and the strongest of the patients at
the naval hospital were out on the .
bread verandah. Visitors were mov- I
• int here and there, among them an;
inquisitive ole lady who seemed never
to tire of asking questions,
"I suppose you have seen some
hard times, sailor?" she addressed a
great strapping fellow who was hud-
died in a steamer chair. He looked
up at her and gravely replied:
"Lord, ma'am, I should say I had!
Why me and she pais were once on
the crest of a wave for fifteen hours
with Only one small plug of tobacco
to chew between us!"
TOM, 1 1115(4 Yo) Wotht BE A 11TTLE.
MORE SOCIABLE 1811-14 BROTHER.
tE:CiL WHILE 145 14 HERS, Now Go 114
AND TALK To HIM OR 1'ELL HiM
A FUNNY f
^TaRY J
Mar J.172:12TTAM.
VEEN WELL 1
HELEN fir'
annot refrain from mating 1
a story told by Prof. Benjamin W.
Baron in the "Hibbert Journal," be-
cause it describes one of the pluck-
iest acts that even this war can have
witnessed.
"Seated behind his pilot on their re-
latively slow-moving 'plane," says the
professor, "a British aerial observer
'had obtained negatives of the utmost
importance. Returning at top speed,
with the secret of the enemy's bat-
teries registered on the precious
plates, the pair found themselves pur-
sued by a swift Lestill battloplane.
"Only the most desperate efforts
,to speed their flight sould save their
message to the guns. Coats, instru-
ments—everything save the negatives
—were flung to the ground to lighten
the ship and gain the necessary yards
to the goal.
"Ae they swept over No Man's
Lund, the pilot felt a sudden leap
of the ship. It was a final, a success-
ful lightening of the load by the vol-
untary sacrifice of the observer's
life."
King Alfonso's Collection.
People with the collecting mania
will be interested in the odd collec-
tion
ollecttime of relics possesed by the King of
Spain, They are relics associated
with attempts on his life.
Among then ie 11 walking stick
with which a discontented servant
tried to brain him. They include also
some pieces of the bomb thrown at
him in Barcelona, the skeleton of one
of the horses killed by the bomb at-
tempt in the Rue de Rivoli, Paris, and
some fragments collected in the
street after the explosion of the in-
fernal machine hurled at the Royal
carriage 011 his wedding day.
A relic of the very first attempt on
his life is the teat ire a feeding -bottle,
with which an attempt was made to
poison him when he was eight months
old,
Very Rich.
Mr. Youngbride was reaching the
stage in his married life when a flaw
or two was visible in his beloved.
She was still pleasing to the eye, but
her efforts in the culinary art left ,
something to be desired. He said:
"Peggy, this soup seems Very thin.
What did you use for stock?"
Peggy pouted. She said:
"Why, you see, the Food Control -
leu' advises us to use the water food
has been boiled 111, so•I used the wa-
ter from the boiler} eggs."
CONTROL OF THE BRIEY IRON
MINES
Guns of Essen Depend on Iron of
Briey, Now Six-ttevenths of Ger-
many's Whole Supply.
Whether the learned cabinet strate-
gists 0v11e light the war by pins and
tape on a map admit it or not, the
•
still be able to use R. I assure you,
sire, the faulee lay not in the over-
loading. These guns are so badly
cast that they will not endure even
the smallest charge."
With this artillery "for noise only"
the duke still boldly insisted that he
could hold out for ten months, and
he wrote letters in all directions
(though how he got them through is
a mystery), begging everybody he
knew to help him.
Succored Unfortunate Germans,
In the meantime he stuffed the
breaches i11 the walls with sacks of
earth, the woolen aiding; killed the
horses and sallied them and went
from post to post slapping his men
on the bttcic and bidding them be of
erasure of the St. Mihiel salient gond courage.
seemed to point the way directly to Charles V. became so angry at the
the early investiture and downfall of ill sureees of his demoralized troop.;
Metz. that he took to his bed in a high
Nobody belittles the objective, Since 'fever.
Metz fell to Germany, October 27, Ile withdrew in the depths of cle-
1870, Germany has spent time and spondeney December 26, 1562, after
money and human labor as lavishly the loss of 330,000 men.
AS she now spends blood to create a •file' Duke of Guise pounced down
system of impregnable defences for anon the camp and found cemeteries,
the city on the Moselle, which is now groaning sick men and some frozen
under the Thor hammers of the allied to the knees in mires.
guns. • "As if by magic the French forgot
Since 1900 she has coustructed an ; their own sufferings, the dangers
outer chain of defences centering on ;they had ,lust escaped, the martial
the Gravelotte battleground, seven ardor which had animated them, and
miles west of Metz. Here on August thosue-
rsght of nothing but how these unfortunateto
cothus
• 18, 1870, the principal battle of the abandoned with their feet in the
Franco-German war was fought. 1 snow, administering all necessaries
, Marshal Bazaine from that battle fell and such comforts as poor sick for -
back on Metz, which he eo soon after- signers want."
ward evacuated. I Is it possible that the Germans,
On the north of Metz these modern who are eneed to be great histor-
defences extend as far as Diedenho- 1 fans, hate forgotten this page of
fen, which is the German name for ;history?
Thionville, twenty-two miles north of Marshal Bazaine muddled things
; Metz. The older fortifications of Thi- dreadfully at Metz in 1870. He
olivine were destroyed in 1908 and brought to the defend the devious
Ithe ground was laid out in streets, and predatory habit of a successful
This place is the capital of the iron leader of guerrillas—which was not
industry of Lorraine. , the requisite quality, He was too
The Briey 1101, Areas. ' cautious. Smallpox and other dis-
Of course the reason why the long eases were rife during a period of
arm of Germany's emplacements and inaction and indecision while the
re -enforced concrete and giant guns •: forces of Bazaine, defeated at Grave -
reaches so far to the north of Metz is lotte, wore "recuperating" within the
her profound conviction, based onunfinished fortifications. The capitu-
admantine fact, as to the value of the dation after an investment of fifty-
Briey iron basin, lying to leeward of four days is an event that a French-
; these gens and fortifications, man hates to recall. The surrender
The Briey iron area is about eight involved 173,000 men with 0,000 ofli-
miles wide and forty miles long. The cers,
deposit is about sixty feet thick. The' Bazaine in 18/8 was sentenced to
ore contains 3ti per cent. of iron. death by court-martial. The sentence
Though this is not a very high per- ; was commuted to imprisonment for
ventage, the ore is plentiful and easy twenty years. Bazaine escaped in
to mine, ; 1874 and made his way to Madrid,
The guns of Essen depend on the where 11e died fourteen years later.
iron of Briey, which is now six -ser- The Present Situation.
caths of Germany's whole supply. In 1918 the situation is reversed.
Near Pont-a-Moussou, on the Mo- , It is the Germans who are in the
selle, about fifteen miles above Metz, citadel. The defences are vastly more
where the line of the eines until late- formidable than those that sheltered
ly crossed the river, the big guns of the procrastination and incertitude of
the French have been awaiting their Bazaine. The French and the Amer -
chance; and now it looks as though icons will not allow themselves to be
they had it. Moreover, the Americans daunted by the nature of these de -
have immense guns as well, which fences. At Verdun, Forts Douaumont
are doing their share in reducing the and Vaux and the rest were soon re -
bristling insolence of the Metz en- dosed to rubble by the big guns of
vironnlent. the Germans, but the morale of the
The present operations before Metz French troops—that morale on which
in a twofold drive, from the west and Foch places his first reliance rather
from the south at once, point the dif- than on masonry and metal—held the
ference between tie obsolete modes Ilan at bay. Recent events do not
of warfare of which Metz was for. go to show that there is a similar
merly the target and the scientific invincibility of heart and soul on the
hideousness of war to -day. part of the Germans. They are fight-
( Towu Has Stirring History. ing in the wrong and they are fight-
The Romans had connected Metz by ing desperately. It is not likely that
military roads with Verdun, Stress- even German infantrymen can h
burg, Toul, Rheims, Lyons. Caesar fooled much linger by the prepos-
called it one of the most important . throne excuses Berlin has seen fit to
towns in Gaul. Attila and his com-' issue for ' e withdrawal from the St,
• paratively mild-mannered Huns pion- 14lihiel s:1.. 'ut.
derel it in the fifth century.
But even in the sixeenth century, Rabbit Skins Useful.
when Francis, Duke of Guise, de-
fended Metz against Charles V ami Millions of rabbits are killedap-
his 120,000 men, it had no fortifica- nually in the British Isles and in
tions worthy of the name. Australia for their skins, or rather,
It is significant that it was on the for their fur, which is used in making
19th of October, 1552, that Charles V felt hate,
invested the town. Under Charles's • Great quantities cif the English
primitive artillery fire the duke con- rabbit skins are sent annually to the
• tinned to build up the defences. He hat manufacturers in the United
had virtually no artillery, and on the States, but first they go to the con
29th of October he smuggled to Ring tineas of Europe to have the long,
Henry of France, through the en- useless hairs laboriously pulled out
•envy's lines, this letter: by cheap hand labor, Satisfactory
"As I have already split four of the machines to da this work are, it ap-
Iseven pieces of artillery I have been Pears, lacking,
firing I have decided after careful After the skins reach America the
consideration to load them with halfclose hair, or fur, is shaved off to be
charges only.
shall use them to terrify by the
noise rather than by the effect.
"I shall also employ falconets and
other small pieces.
"It was not my fault that the
warning was not given in good time,
so that I might have procured assist-
fi11Ce."
0f one of the cannon—a "culverin"
---he complained that a foot and a
half at the front end had burst, but
"I have had it sawn Off and I shall landages slipped."
L8
c2) ii. ark. 94
Hato cads.- 1 MUST TELL VDU WHAT HAPPENED
To ME 01.1 'NE WAY HOMS THIS EVENING—
THE CAR WAS cROWDED AND SOME. ONE KICKED
Me IN YHL LeG LIKE TRAY— i
•Tom
� t
OMMV
made into felt.
Some Slide.
A soldier whose head and :face were
heavily swathed in bandages, and who
obviously had had a .bad time of it,
wits being feelingly sympathized by
the solicitous lady.
"And were you wounded in the
head, my poor fellow?"
"No, ma'am," Tommy replied. "1
vvas wounded in the ankle, but the
co ft
(firf?7'.
+11
ACRE AND HAIFA LBO BINC BRUGES
MARK TOWNS A DEED OF BANGER
FREED) FROM Tlii: 9IALIIGNAN'I'
(RULE OF TILE TURES
Acre, Now Redeemed by the British,
Bus Had a Long and Event -
fel History.
Arnie. or Akita, 1'''ciitly captured
by the British, is a town and scapo•t
of Syria, wee, nrl•ordiug to some
authorities, 111e Aecho of the Scrip-
tures, and its great antiquity has
Wen proved by fragments of houses
that have. keen food, consisting of
that highly sunburnt brick, 0vith a
mixture of cement soul sand, which
was 0111y used in ereetlons of the re -
mutest; ages.
No town has esl'erieneel greater
changes from politic111 revolutions
and the calamities of war.
History first gives any certain
account of Acre et 1118 time 1"calemy
Soter, King of Etypt. took possession
of it, and called it Ptolemais.
When the Emnira of the Romans
began to extend over Asia. Ptolemais
carne into their possession. It is
mentioned by Strab as e.1 city of
great importance at this time.
(During the middle ages Ptolemais
passed into the bands of the Sarac-
ens. They were expelled from it in
1110 by the Crusaders, who made it
their principal port, and retained it
until 11.87, when it was recovered by
. Saladin.
Richard lst of England and
Philip of France conquered it in
1191, at the cost of the lives of 100,-
000 troops. They gave the town to
the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem,
from whom it received the name of
St. Jean ll .Arte. At this time it was
a large and extensive city.
After a bloody siege, in which the
eity suffered severely, it was finally
recaptured by the Saracens in 1291.
F-om this time its prosperity rapidly
declined. in 1517 it fell into the.
hand: of the Turkish Sultan, Selim
r,
Withstood Bonaparte's Forces. i
In the beginning of the 18th cen-'
tury it presented a vast scene of.
ruin; but toward the end of the con-;
tory it again rose to sone promin-'
once under the Turks. It is memor-'
able in modern history for the gal-
lantry with which it was defended' '
i11 171.11, by the Turks, assisted by Sir
Sydney Smyth, against Bonaparte,
who, after 61 days before it, was
obliged to retreat.
On the revolt of Mehemet Ali, the
Pacha of Egypt, Acre was captured
by his son, Inbrahim Pasha, after one
siege of five months and twenty-one
days, in the winter of 1831-32. It;
remained in Egyptian hands until!
Nov, 8rd, 1840, when the town was!
reduced to ruins by a three -hours';
bombardment from the British fleet,
acting as the allies of the Sultan. I
The Turks were again put into pos-
session of it in 1841,
The Bay of Aere is scarcely cap-;
able of containing a dozen boats. so
vessels coming to this coast generally
frequent the anchorage of Caiffa,i
on the south side of the bay.
Acre is 80 miles N. N. W. of
Jerusalem, and 27 miles south of.
Tyre! the population in .1000 was
10,000.
On the Bay of Acre, at 111e front
of Mount Carmel, and 9 nines south-
east of Acre, is the seaport of Haifa,
or as it is sometimes called .Khaifa.
The 12,000 population are mostly
engaged in the cultivation of Egyp-
tian cotton, A railway to Damascus
and the Houran has been construct-
ed recently.
The Coveted Wound Stripe.
A R.A.M.C. captain, Whom I met u ,
few days ago, says a newspaper writ-
er, told 111e many interesting yarns of •
his work in France. The chief aux-
iety of the "walking wounded," it ap-
pears, is not whether they will get
well quickly or whether they will be .
sent to "Blighty*." Nearly every ot1e,!
after their hurts have been examined
and dressed, ask—"Shall I get a
wound stripe, sir?" "The eagerness
of these boys to wear the honorable;
insignia of wounds received in action'
is almost pathetic,' said the M.0,
"They cheer up wonderfully when I
say, 'Yes, you'll get a wound stripe all ,
right. I'll see to it that your name's'
o1 the casualty List,' "
help some farmer plough more ]and
1111s fall than he ever did. it's a bit
worth mentioning.
1 LOOKED Nr THE LACI . TANDINA
AT MY .51DE AND WAS SURE 1-1-
WASN•T HER, WHEN IGOTANoTH''
LIIIE 'THQ,T•
I WAS d5'r fl c( PRETTY ettcrreD
ABOUT TIlAT TIME. WHEN
30MEONLGAVEMEATERR1Fic
60l1' JOS'C
LIKE THA -r1 r - u
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"\.1(
�CONDiiCTOR
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J UST, TReN THM
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0?P THE CAR AND
DIDN•1 FIND. our
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PERILS 1''.1C1ED BY GALLANT
AIR.11EN
Graphically Described 13y British
' Aviator ---Soar Through Whirl-
wind of Bursting Shells.
]'e1 ils risked by British airmen in
night bou:bing 01 Br',ge.e, a most
important 1 11)11an ;shift 'rine base 111
13elgatm, :u ' ;;raphicully desrrl"e,l by
Capt. Paul 13ceelie1•, • D.S,C,, of the
British Royal :lir 1 ,1,1', L]tu,'i "< 11.10
been sat l/jected to air ut.1 'l. ro , (1ra
that it is now considered one of the
beet defended eiti,•,, "" lite we.;lern
front.
"The he pilot and observer of a Bri-
tish light -bombing machine proceed-
ing to Bruges have usually no diffi-
culty in finding their way, as a haze
of light from the searchlights can be
seen twenty or thirty miles off," the
captain writes, "As they draw near-
er they see a maze of fifteen or six-
teen searchlights moving restlessly
over the town, looking for some ma-
chine whose engine lois been heard.
Suddenly they ,see the red flash of a
bursting bomb, and then another and
another. At once chains of brilliant
emerald -colored balls of fire pour up-
ward in ceaseless Lines, filling the
sky with green huhbleo of light. The
machine is not picked up, however,
and gradually the lights and shellfire
die away.
"Now they are drawing nearer rind
the observer crawls through a little
door into the nose of the machine, ex-
amines his bomb handle and adjusts
the bomb -dropping eight. As he
kneels a heavily muffled figure in his
little wooden cockpit. 10,000 feet. over
r-othing, he is absorbed ,in watching
the ground that his surroundings
fees: to hien perfectly normal. He
is entirely -at his ease,
How Bombs Are Aimed.
"Below he sees the black line of the
canal which he is using as a guide.
He turns the pilot to the left with a
wave of his hand, and then again to
the right, and stops hint with an up-
lifted arm.
"Ahead he can see the dark mass of
the town, and to the left the lone
basins of the docks. Far to the ]eft
lies the dark line of the Belgian 80111,
and over Ostend and Zeebrugge move
the sentinel searchlights, Bruges lies
dark and slim, snatching a brief rest
from its tumultuous night.
"The observer waves his hand, and
the roar of the engine (Bee away Mtn
silence, as the machine (lives toward
its tsrget. 'He unstraps his bomb
handle and leans far over the front,
looking dowel to the shining water of
the dock, absorbed in following the
course of the little metal bar of the
sight. It touches the docks and
crosses them. With a quick gesture
he guides the pilot to the left end
the bar sweeps round and crosser::". •
section of the quay he wishes t•
tack.
"1fe checks the pilot and holds his
bomb -lever in readiness. Hundreds of
Germans stand waiting at their guns
machine guns, searchlights, and
green ball machiues, but he thinks of
nothing save the passage of the 01,11 al
her across the black mass betwe''n
the two shining strips of waiter.
"Suddenly his 'sight' registers the
range. Ile pushes the lever forw:tri
slowly, pulls it bock again and again.
From behind there comes the diet
and chatter of fourteen dropping
bombs.
"He shouts to the pilot to tern.
1.ncl one huge wing climbs toward the
stare as the machine sweeps round
and away from the welter of shells
and searchlights that the exploeionl
of the bombs will bring.
Hits Registered By Plantes.
Gazing downward, the observer
sees at the edge of the quay 1 red
spurt of flame, which slowly cries
away. Two others follow, in the
water whel'e lie the destroyers lout
submarines, and then more end more
burst on the sheds 1)1 the middle. A
whits sheet of lame bursts from one
shod, and, fading slowly, iciness a
red glare, An ammunition store lies
been blown up. `Phe other bombs
burst across the wharves and crowd-
ed basins, leaving huge (donde of
v,hite smoke where they have
wrought destruction,
"Simultaneously with the bursting
of the first bomb, hundreds of green
balls cone streaming in swaying
curves from the ground and pour up-
ward past the Wings on both sides,
Like a handful of ribbons, the search-
lights have been thrown up and fill
the sky with wands of light, which
weave at string( pattern all round the
machine. Gunfire flashes round the
town, and close to the machine now
bursts the clam" ons barrage,
"It is an awe ntspieing din, but
through it the observer has heard the
thud of the leurvting bombe below,
Ile scrambles back to the pilot and
laughs. Searchiights sweep to and
fro, fantastic strings of green balls
bubble upwards, and the flash of the
shells seems to fill the whole sky.
"The machine roars on homeward
through a maelstrom of flange 'out
fire The attack lees been pr eesed
home, and on the docks of 13ruges the
ammunition sheds are shattered and
in flames, and water is pouring into
the battered sides of the submarines,
The airmen fly. glome, well content
with their consciousness of duty well
done, and leave far behind the search-
lights, still vainly scouring every
quartet of the heavens ---too late!"
:1
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