Page:Above the battle.djvu/103

Rh the name Cornélienne? Cornéille himself has given the answer:

—Albe vous a nommé, je ne vous connais plus.

—Je vous connais encore, et c'est ce qui me tue.

Certain letters, which I shall reproduce later, will show the grief, sometimes almost tragic, that such friendships mean in these moments. Thanks to them, we have at least been able to defend ourselves against a hatred which is more murderous than war, since it is an infection produced by its wounds; and it does as much harm to those whom it possesses as to those against whom it is directed.

This poison I see with apprehension spreading at the present moment. Amongst the victim populations, the cruelties and ravages committed by the German armies have brought to birth a desire for reprisals. This, when once in existence, is not for the press to exasperate, for such a desire runs the risk of leading to dangerous injustice—dangerous not only for the conquered but above all for the conquerors. France has, in this war, the chance of playing the nobler part, the rarest chance that the world has ever seen. A German wrote to me a few weeks ago: "France has won in this war a prodigious Rh