The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) 📕

    They Do Not Care To Fight Any Longer,  That It Makes No Difference

    To Them What Happens To The Whole World!

    Here Is What Would Happen. Having Destroyed Our Allies In The

    West,  German Imperialism Would Rush In Upon Us With All The Force

    Of Its Arms. Germany's Imperialists,  Her Landowners And

    Capitalists,  Would Put An Iron Heel On Our Necks,  Would Occupy Our

    Cities,  Our Villages,  And Our Land,  And Would Force Us To Pay

    Tribute To Her. Was It To Bow Down At The Feet Of Wilhelm That We

    Overthrew Nicholas?

    Comrades--Soldiers! The Council Of Workmen's And Soldiers'

    Deputies Leads You To Peace By Another Route. We Lead You To Peace

    By Calling Upon The Workers And Peasants Of Serbia And Austria To

    Rise And Revolt; We Lead You To Peace By Calling An International

    Conference Of Socialists For A Universal And Determined Revolt

    Against War. There Is A Great Necessity,  Comrades--Soldiers,  For

    The Peoples Of The World To Awaken. Time Is Needed In Order That

    They Should Rebel And With An Iron Hand Force Their Czars And

    Capitalists To Peace. Time Is Needed So That The Toilers Of All

    Lands Should Join With Us For A Merciless War Upon Violators And

    Robbers.

    _But Remember,  Comrades--Soldiers,  This Time Will Never Come If

    You Do Not Stop The Advance Of The Enemy At The Front,  If Your

    Ranks Are Crushed And Under The Feet Of Wilhelm Falls The

    Breathless Corpse Of The Russian Revolution_.

    Remember,  Comrades,  That At The Front,  In The Trenches,  You Are

    Now Standing In Defense Of Russia's Freedom. You Defend The

    Revolution,  You Defend Your Brothers,  The Workers And Peasants.

    Let This Defense Be Worthy Of The Great Cause And The Great

    Sacrifices Already Made By You. _It Is Impossible To Defend The

    Front If,  As Has Been Decided,  The Soldiers Are Not To Leave The

    Trenches Under Any Circumstances_.[19] At Times Only An Attack Can

    Repulse And Prevent The Advance Of The Enemy. At Times Awaiting An

    Attack Means Patiently Waiting For Death. Again,  Only The Change

    To An Advance May Save You Or Your Brothers,  On Other Sections Of

    The Front,  From Destruction.

    Remember This,  Comrades--Soldiers! Having Sworn To Defend Russian

    Freedom,  Do Not Refuse To Start The Offensive The Military

    Situation May Require. The Freedom And Happiness Of Russia Are In

    Your Hands.

    In Defending This Freedom Be On The Lookout For Betrayal And

    Trickery. The Fraternization Which Is Developing On The Front Can

    Easily Turn Into Such A Trap.

    Revolutionary Armies May Fraternize,  But With Whom? With An Army

    Also Revolutionary,  Which Has Decided To Die For Peace And

    Freedom. At Present,  However,  Not Only In The German Army,  But

    Even In The Austro-Hungarian Army,  In Spite Of The Number Of

    Individuals Politically Conscious And Honest,  There Is No

    Revolution. In Those Countries The Armies Are Still Blindly

    Following Wilhelm And Charles,  The Landowners And Capitalists,  And

    Agree To Annexation Of Foreign Soil,  To Robberies And Violence.

    There The General Staff Will Make Use Not Only Of Your Credulity,

    But Also Of The Blind Obedience Of Their Soldiers. You Go Out To

    Fraternize With Open Hearts. And To Meet You An Officer Of The

    General Staff Leaves The Enemies' Trenches,  Disguised As A Common

    Soldier. You Speak With The Enemy Without Any Trickery. At That

    Very Time He Photographs The Surrounding Territory. You Stop The

    Shooting To Fraternize,  But Behind The Enemies' Trenches Artillery

    Is Being Moved,  New Positions Built And Troops Transferred.

    Comrades--Soldiers,  Not By Fraternization Will You Get Peace,  Not

    By Separate Agreements Made At The Front By Single Companies,

    Battalions,  Or Regiments. Not In Separate Peace Or In A Separate

    Truce Lies The Salvation Of The Russian Revolution,  The Triumph Of

    Peace For The Whole World.

    The People Who Assure You That Fraternizing Is The Road To Peace

    Lead You To Destruction. Do Not Believe Them. The Road To Peace Is

    A Different One. It Has Been Pointed Out To You Already By The

    Council Of Workmen's And Soldiers' Deputies: Tread It. Sweep Aside

    Everything That Weakens Your Fighting Power,  That Brings Into The

    Army Disorganization And Loss Of Spirit.

    Your Fighting Power Serves The Cause Of Peace. The Council Of

    Workmen's And Soldiers' Deputies Is Able To Continue Its

    Revolutionary Work With All Its Might,  To Develop Its Struggle For

    Peace,  Only By Depending On You,  Knowing That You Will Not Allow

    The Military Destruction Of Russia.

    Comrades--Soldiers,  The Workers And Peasants,  Not Only Of Russia,

    But Of The Whole World,  Look To You With Confidence And Hope.

    Soldiers Of The Revolution,  You Will Prove Worthy Of This Faith,

    For You Know That Your Military Tasks Serve The Cause Of Peace.

    In The Name Of The Hoping,  Perhaps,  For No Kindlier Hands To Greet Her

Than Those That Had Been Withheld From Her In This World! What Would The

Resurrection Mean To A Poor Little Soul Like That? What Could It Mean?

Ah! Perhaps It Had Not All Been Her Fault! Perhaps There Were Others Who

Had Helped Push Her Down,  Smug In Self-Righteousness,  To Whom The

Resurrection Would Be More Of A Horror Than To The Pretty,  Ignorant

Child Whose Untaught Feet Had Strayed Into Forbidden Paths! Who Knew? He

Was Glad To Look Up And Feel The Presence There! Who Knew What Might

Have Passed Between The Soul And God? It Was Safe To Leave That Little

Sinful Soul With Him Who Had Died To Save. It Was Good To Go Out From

There Knowing That The Pretty,  Sinful Girl,  The Hardened,  Grizzled Sot,

The Poor Old Toothless Crone,  The Little Hunchback Newsboy Who Lay In

The Same Row,  Were Guarded Alike And Beloved By The Same Presence That

Would Go With Him.

Around The Little Newsboy Huddled A Group Of Street Gamins,  Counting Out

Their Few Pennies,  And Talking Excitedly Of How They Would Buy Him Some

Flowers. There Were Tear-Stains Down Their Grimy Cheeks And It Was Plain

They Were Pitying Him,  They Who Had Perhaps Yet To Tread The Paths Of

Sin And Deprivation And Sorrow For Many Long Years. And The Presence

There! So Near Them,  With The Pitying Eyes! The Young Man Knew The Eyes

Were Pitying! If The Children Could Only See! He Felt An Impulse To Turn

Back And Tell Them As He Passed Out Into The Street,  Yet How Could He

Make Them Understand--He Who Understood So Feebly And Intermittently

Himself? He Felt A Great Ache In Himself To Go Out And Shout To All The

World To Look Up And See The Presence That Was In Their Midst,  And They

Saw Him Not!

He Was Entirely Aware That His Present Mental State Would Have Seemed To

Him Little Short Of Insanity Twenty-Four Hours Before; That It Might

Pass Again As It Had Done Before; And A Kind Of Mental Frenzy Seized Him

Lest It Would. He Did Not Want To Lose This Assurance Of One Guiding

Through A World That Was So Full Of Sorrow As This One Had Recently

Revealed Itself To Him To Be. And With The World-Old Anguished "Give Me

A Sign!" The Cry Of The Soul Reaching Out To The Unknown,  He Spoke Aloud

Once More: "God,  If You Are Really There,  Let Me Find Her!"

And Yet If Any Had Asked Him Just Then If He Ever Prayed He Would Have

Told Them No. Prayer Was To Him A Thing Utterly Apart From This Cry Of

His Soul,  This Longing For An Understanding With God.

He Walked On Through Streets He Did Not Know,  Passing Men And Women With

Worn And Haggard Faces,  Tattered Garments,  And Discouraged Mien; And

Always That Cry Came In His Soul,  "Oh,  If They Only Knew!" There Was The

Presence By His Side,  And Men Passed By And Saw Him Not!

He Was Walking In The General Direction Of The Good Samaritan Hospital,

Just As Any One Would Walk With A Friend Through A Strange Place And

Accommodate His Going To The Man Who Was Guiding Him. All The Way There

Seemed To Be A Sort Of Intercourse Between Himself And His Companion.

His Soul Was Putting Forth Great Questions That He Would Some Day Take

Up In Detail And Go Over Little By Little,  As One Will Verify A Problem

That One Has Worked Out. But Now He Was Working It Out,  Becoming

Satisfied In His Soul That This Was The Only Way To Solve The Great

Otherwise Unanswerable Problems Of The Universe.

They Had Gone For Perhaps Three Miles Or More From The Morgue,  Traveling

For The Most Part Through Narrow Streets Crowded Full Of Small

Dwelling-Houses Interspersed By Cheap Stores And Saloons. The Night

Lowered! The Stars Were Not On Duty. A Cold Wind From The River Swept

Around Corners,  Reminding Him Of The Dripping Yellow Hair Of The Girl In

The Morgue. It Cut Like A Knife Through Courtland's Heavy Overcoat And

Made Him Wish He Had Brought His Muffler. He Stuffed His Gloved Hands

Into His Pockets. Even In Their Fur Linings They Were Stiff And Cold. He

Thought Of The Girl's Little Light Serge Jacket And Shivered Visibly As

They Turned Into Another Street Where Vacant Lots On One Side Left A

Wide Sweep For The Wind And Sent It Tempesting Along Freighted With Dust

And Stinging Bits Of Sand. The Clouds Were Heavy As With Snow,  Only That

It Was Too Cold To Snow. One Fancied Only Biting Steel Could Fall From

Clouds Like That On A Night So Bitter. And Any Moment He Might Have

Turned Back,  Gone A Block To One Side,  And Caught The Trolley Across To

The University,  Where Light And Warmth And Friends Were Waiting. And

What Was This One Little Lost Girl To Him? A Stranger? No,  She Was No

Longer A Stranger! She Had Become Something Infinitely Precious To The

Whole Universe. God Cared,  And That Was Enough! He Could Not Be A Friend

Of God Unless He Cared As God Cared! He Was Demonstrating Facts That He

Had Never Apprehended