interest. It was a liberation of the oppressed ideal-
ism of the West. And that the signal should have
been given by this little nation seemed a miracle.

Men call the sudden appearance of a hidden
reality a miracle. It is the shock of danger which
makes us best understand the character of individ-
uals and of nations. What discoveries this war has
caused us to make in those around us, even among
those nearest and dearest to us! What heroic
hearts and savage beasts! The inner soul, not a
new soul, reveals itself.

In this fearful hour Belgium has seen the hidden
genius of her race emerge. The sterling qualities
that she has displayed during the last three months
evoke admiration; it should not surprise any one
who, in the pages of history, has felt, coursing
through the ages, the vigorous sap of her people.
Small in numbers and in territory, but one of the
greatest in Europe in virtue of her overflowing
vitality. The Belgians of today are the sons of the
Flemings of Courtrai. The men of this land never
feared to oppose their powerful neighbors, the kings
of France or Spain--now heroes, now victims,
Artevelde and Egmont. Their soil, watered by the
blood of millions of warriors, is the most fertile in
Europe in the harvest of the spirit. From it arose

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