- from ‘the Times History of the War’
- 'The Execution of Miss Cavell'
The Execution of a British Nurse
Miss Cavell with members of the nursing staff
Miss Cavell's Life-Work—Her Labours in Brussels During the War—Her Arrest—First Efforts of the American Legation----The Trial---German and British Ideas of Justice---How the German Officials Planned the Execution—Mr. Brand Whitlock's Final Appeal—Miss Cavell's Death—German Excuses—Baron, Von Bissing—Feeling in England and France—American Opinion of the Crime.
While the great movements described in the last chapter were developing an event occurred in Brussels which sent a wave of horror and resentment throughout the world, equalled only by the universal indignation aroused by the sinking of the Lusitania. Miss Edith Cavell, an Englishwoman, head of a Nursing Institution in Brussels, was secretly tried by a German court-martial on the charge of aiding English, French and Belgian soldiers to escape from Belgium, and on October 12 was hastily executed. There was much in the circumstances attending this event and in the surroundings of the trial and execution to stir the wrath and pity of the world—wrath against the men who had by a military technicality done a brave woman to death, and pity for the nurse who had paid the penalty of her life for her work of mercy.
Miss Edith Cavell was a daughter of the Rev. Frederick Cavell, for forty years vicar of Swardeston, Norfolk. She received her training as a nurse at the London Hospital, entering there in 1896 and later being appointed staff nurse. After some experience in Poor Law nursing she went to Belgium, in 1900, on the invitation of Dr. Depage, a distinguished medical man who had established a training institute for Belgian nurses in a suburb of Brussels. Dr. Depage was anxious to modernize the system of sick nursing in Belgium. Up to this time the nursing had mainly been done by the nuns of religious establishments or by women drawn mainly from the domestic servant class. Catholic families when sick were nursed by the nuns; the numerous non-Catholic sections of the public had to rely upon the other class.
Miss Cavell threw herself with enthusiasm into her new mission. The Institute, whose influence was felt throughout Belgium, grew until it became the centre of a large nursing organization. When, at the outbreak of the War, Dr. Depage was called to military service and made the head of a military hospital with the Belgian Army, Miss Cavell continued the work in Brussels. Everyone who came in contact with her was agreed that she was a capable leader and a woman of fine character, worthy to take a place in the noble list of great nurses, the list with the name of Florence Nightingale at the head.
After the advance of the German armies upon Brussels in 1914 Miss Cavell was allowed to remain there. When the tide of war brought many German wounded to the Belgian capital she and her assistants nursed them equally with the Belgian wounded. The fighting around Namur and Mons, and the retirement of the French and British armies in the late summer and autumn of 1914, left one legacy for Belgium. A number of English and French soldiers, cut off from their companies during the retreat, hid themselves in trenches, in woods, or in deserted houses, attempting to avoid capture. Many were caught and in some instances, at least, were executed immediately they were caught. Others were sheltered by kindly farmers, who gave them civilian clothing, employed them on their land and allowed them to remain until opportunity arose for them to cross the frontier into Holland. Belgian soldiers whose regiments had been broken during the early fighting there also hid about the country, waiting for chances to escape. They too, in some cases, were shot when captured, and the common belief in Brussels was that this was their usual fate. When Miss Cavell was asked in Court during her trial why she had helped English soldiers to escape, she replied that she thought that if she had not done so they would have been shot by the Germans and that, therefore, she thought she only did her duty to her country in saving their lives.
The fugitives, hiding in the country, looked around to see who could help them. Miss Cavell was a prominent worker. Her care of the sick and the wounded brought her in touch with all classes. As was only natural, the men approached her. That she did help some of these men to escape from the death that would probably have been their fate had they been caught is not denied. The German authorities claimed that she enabled 130 men to leave Belgium. How far this figure was correct there is no evidence to show.
The German administration, then steadily tightening its hold upon all sides of Belgian life, became suspicious of her. The system of espionage in Belgium had by now been developed to a very fine point. Spies were put upon the track of Miss Cavell. It is said that one spy went to her as a fugitive, begged her to help him, and then betrayed her.
Miss Cavell was arrested on August 5, 1915, and sent to the military prison of St. Gilles, where she was placed in close, solitary confinement. The Germans declare that she made no effort from the first to conceal the fact that she had taken pity on some of the fugitives and had given them assistance. She knew that in doing this she was committing a military offence. Those who met her immediately before her arrest say that she anticipated a short term of imprisonment. She evidently did not dream—at that time no one dreamed— that the German authorities would shoot a woman with premeditation for taking pity on and showing mercy to the helpless.
Mr. Brand Whitlock, the American Minister in Brussels, who represented British interests there during the War, acted promptly when news was brought to him of Miss Cavell's arrest. Mr. Whitlock, who had been American Minister to Belgium for nearly two years, was well known as an author and reformer before he entered the diplomatic service. The grandson of an Abolitionist and the son of a Methodist minister, he started life as a newspaper reporter in Toledo, Ohio, and later on became a lawyer. He attracted wide attention in 1905 by his campaign as a political reformer. He was elected Mayor of Toledo in that year and was subsequently re-elected for three further terms. As a lawyer, as an author, and as Mayor of Toledo, his great characteristics were a profound human sympathy and a passion for justice. The case of Miss Cavell aroused—if acts may speak for a man's thoughts—his most intense sympathy. He at once took the matter up with the German authorities, and used every possible means to ensure that she should have a fair trial. He wrote to the Civil Governor of Belgium, Baron Von der Lancken, asking that M. de Leval, a representative of the Legation, might see Miss Cavell, and also informing him that ho had been requested by telegraph to take charge of Miss Cavell's defence without delay. The German authorities did not reply to this letter. Mr. Whitlock wrote again. The German Civil Governor then wrote back refusing to allow anyone to see Miss Cavell, declaring that she had confessed her guilt and informing Mr. Whitlock that she would be defended by a Mr. Braun. The essential parts of the reply were :
She has herself admitted that she concealed in her house French and English soldiers, as well as Belgians of military age, all desirous of proceeding to the front. She has also admitted having furnished these soldiers with the money necessary for their journey to France, and having facilitated their departure from Belgium by providing them with guides, who enabled them to cross the Dutch frontier secretly.
Miss Cavell's defence is in the hands of the advocate Braun, who, I may add, is already in touch with the competent German authorities.
In view of the fact that the Department of the Governor-General as a matter of principle does not allow accused persons to have any interviews whatever, I much regret may inability to procure for M. de Leval permission to visit Miss Cavell as long as she is in solitary confinement.
Mr. Braun, it turned out, had been prevented by some unforeseen circumstance from undertaking the defence and had handed it over to Mr. Kirschen, a Roumanian, practising in Brussels. M. de Leval, the Councillor of the American Embassy, at once communicated with Mr. Kirschen. M. de Leval stated in his subsequent narrative of events:—
I at once put myself in communication with Mr. Kirschen, who told me that Miss Cavell was prosecuted for having helped soldiers to cross the frontier. I asked him whether he had seen Miss Cavell and whether she had made any statement to him, and to my surprise found that the lawyers defending prisoners before the German Military Court were not allowed to see their clients before the trial, and were not shown any document of the prosecution. This, Mr. Kirschen said, was in accordance with the German military rules. He added that the hearing of the trial of such cases was carried out very carefully, and that in his opinion, although it was not possible to see the client before the trial, in fact the trial itself developed so carefully and so slowly, that it was generally possible to have a fair knowledge of all the facts and to present a good defence for the prisoner. This would especially be the case for Miss Cavell, because the trial would be rather long, as she was prosecuted with thirty-four other prisoners,
I informed Mr. Kirschen of my intention to be present at the trial so as to watch the case. He immediately dissuaded me from taking such attitude, which he said would cause a great prejudice to the prisoner, because the German judges would resent it and felt it almost as an affront if I was appearing to exercise a kind of supervision on the trial. He thought that if the Germans would admit my presence, which was very doubtful, it would in any case cause prejudice to Miss Cavell.
Mr. Kirschen assured me over and over again that the Military Court of Brussels was always perfectly fair, and that there was not the slightest danger of any miscarriage of justice. He promised that he would keep me posted on all the developments which the case would take and would report to me the exact charges that were brought against Miss Cavell and the facts concerning her that would be disclosed at the trial, so as to allow me to judge by myself about the merits of the case. He insisted that, of course, he would do all that was humanly possible to defend Miss Cavell to the best of his ability.
The trial opened on Thursday, October 7. Miss Cavell was one of thirty-five prisoners brought before the Court at the same time. The German authorities believed that they had discovered a widespread conspiracy for espionage and for the escape of fugitives. Among the prisoners were several women: the Princess Maria de Croy, the Comtesse de Belleville, Mile. Louise Thulier, a teacher in Lille, and Mme. Ada Bodart, of Brussels. Among the men were M. Philip Baucq, an architect of Brussels ; M. Louis Severin, a chemist of Brussels ; M. Herman Capian, an engineer of Wasmes ; M. Albert Libier, of Wasmes, and another chemist; M. Georges Derbeau.
It is interesting to contrast at this stage, the difference between the British and German methods in the trial of persons charged with military offences in war time. In England a woman, of whatever nationality, is tried, not by court martial, but by a civil court. She is brought before a tribunal which holds a preliminary enquiry, taking a summary of the evidence. She is always assisted by a lawyer, a complete record of the evidence, oral and documentary, is given to her through her lawyer, and she is allowed an interval to prepare for defence. At the trial, the lawyers for the defence have the same opportunities as are given to the accused in an ordinary case in peace time. In the last case that occurred in the United Kingdom, before the Cavell case in Brussels, a woman of German birth was charged with espionage. She had been acting in association with a male spv, and was detected travelling to various points in order to collect information about our naval defences. She was tried before three civil judges of the High Court and a jury, and was convicted, in the words of Sir John Simon, then Home Secretary, "of deliberate and persistent spying for the purpose of providing the enemy with important information." She was found guilty. For this offence, infinitely more serious from every point of view than the charge brought against Miss Cavell, she was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. She had the right of appealing against this sentence.
Contrast this method, with its ample precautions to ensure justice for the accused., with the methods employed in the trial of Miss Cavell. She was kept in solitary confinement for over nine weeks, without an opportunity of consulting even her legal advisers. During this time she was subjected to cross examination. Statements said to have been made by her, admitting her guilt, were transmitted by the German authorities to the lawyers who subsequently would have to undertake her defence. Her trial before a court martial was held in a language she did not understand— German ; the questions in her cross- examination being put in German and then translated into French. It was obviously impossible to plan any adequate scheme of defence with the lawyer, whom she saw for the first time when the trial began, a lawyer who had no opportunity of studying the documents of the prosecution. After her sentence, the fact of the conviction was kept as secret as possible and her accusers were evidently so fearful that even at the eleventh hour a plea of mercy might prevail, that they had her shot within nine hours. Had there been any outward tumult, or had the military trial taken place on the field of war, this haste might have been excused. But there was no tumult or disturbance, and the trial, so far from taking place in a military camp, occurred in a city where the Germans had for months established and maintained a civil administration.
The fullest account of the trial itself was given in the report of M. de Leval to Mr. Whitlock:
Miss Cavell was prosecuted for having helped English and French soldiers, as well as Belgian young men, to cross the frontier and to go over to England. She had admitted by signing a statement before the day of the trial, and by public acknowledgment in Court, in the presence of all the other prisoners and the lawyers', that she was guilty of the charges brought against her, and she had acknowledged not only that she had helped these soldiers to cross the frontier, but also that some of them had thanked her in writing when arriving in England. This last admission made her case so much the more serious, because if it only had been proved against her that she had helped the soldiers to traverse the Dutch frontier, and no proof was produced that these soldiers had reached a country at war with Germany, she could only have been sentenced for an attempt to commit the "crime" and not for the "crime" being duly accomplished. As the case stood, the sentence fixed by the German military law was a sentence of death.
Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code says,
"Will be sentenced to death for treason any person who, with the intention of helping the hostile Power, or of causing harm to the German or allied troops, is guilty of one of the crimes of paragraph 90 of the German Penal Code.'
The case referred to in above said paragraph 90 consists in— "... conducting soldiers to the enemy . . . (viz., "dem Feinde Mannschaften zufiihrt").
The penalties above set forth apply, according to paragraph 160 of the German Code, in case of war, to foreigners as well as to Germans.
In her oral statement before the Court Miss Cavell disclosed almost all the facts of the whole prosecution. She was questioned in German, an interpreter translating all the questions in French, with which language Miss Cavell was well acquainted. She spoke without trembling and showed a clear mind. Often she added some greater precision to her previous depositions.
When she was asked why she helped these soldiers to go to England, she replied that she thought that if she had not done so they would have been shot by the Germans, and that therefore she thought she only did her duty to her country in saving their lives.
The Military Public Prosecutor said that argument might be good for English soldiers, but did not apply to Belgian young men whom she induced to cross the frontier, and who would have been perfectly free to remain in the country without danger to their lives.
Mr. Kirsehen made a very good plea for Miss Cavell, using all arguments that could be brought in her favour before the Court.
The Military Public Prosecutor, however, asked the Court to pass a death sentence on Miss Cavell and eight other prisoners among the thirty-five. The Court did not seem to agree, and the judgment was postponed.
M. Kirsehen now apparently thought that he had done all that was required of him. The trial lasted two days, ending on Friday, October 8. On Saturday M. de Leval, receiving no report from M. Kirsehen, tried to find him, but failed. Then on Sunday he sent him a note, asking him to send his report to the Legation, or to call there on Monday morning at 8.30. M. Kirsehen did not come even then, so M. de Leval called at his house, but was informed that he would not be there until the end of the afternoon. The American Councillor at once went to another lawyer interested in the case of a fellow prisoner, and was then told—the information having apparently been given out in order to prevent outside attempts to interfere with the execution of the sentence— that judgment would be passed only the next morning; that is Tuesday morning. Mr. Kirschen subsequently declared that he had not promised to communicate with the American Legation after the trial. His action, or rather his lack of action, drew very severe censure on him.
The political department of the Governor-General of Belgium had given the American Legation positive assurance that it would be fully informed of developments in v the case. At 6.30 p.m. on Monday night Mr. Conrad, of the Political Department, had positively informed the Legation in answer to its other inquiries that sentence had not been pronounced, and he again renewed his previous assurances that he would not fail to inform the American officials as soon as there was any news. At this time the sentence of death had already been pronounced.
On Monday evening at eight o'clock M. de Leval was privately and reliably informed that the judgment of the court-martial had been passed at five o'clock that afternoon., that Miss Cavell had been sentenced to death, and that she would be shot at two o'clock the next morning. There were only six hours left in which to attempt to save her. He hurried to his chief with the news. Mr. Brand Whitlock was ill, unable to leave the house. He wrote, however, a moving letter to Baron von der Lancken, the Civil Governor, with his own hand.
My dear Baron,—I am too ill to present my request to you in person, but I appeal to the generosity of your heart to support it and save this. unfortunate woman from death. Have pity on her!
- Yours sincerely,
- Brand Whitlock.
Armed with this, and with a plea for clemency (requete en grace) addressed to the Governor-General, Mr. Hugh Gibson, the First Secretary of the Legation, and M. de Leval, hurried to the Spanish Minister, to beg his cooperation. They found him at dinner. He at once joined them, and they went together to the house of the Civil Governor to appeal for clemency. What followed is best told in the official report of Mr. Gibson :
Baron von der Lancken and all the members of his staff were absent for the evening. We sent a messenger to ask that he return at once to see us in regard to a matter of utmost urgency. A little after 10 o'clock he arrived, followed shortly after by Count Harrach and Herr von Falkenhausen, members of his staff. The circumstances of the case were explained to him and your note presented, and he read it aloud in our presence. He expressed disbelief in the report that sentence had actually been passed, and manifested some surprise that we should give credence to any report not emanating from official sources. He was quite insistent on knowing the exact source of our information, but this I did not feel at liberty to communicate to him. Baron von der Lancken stated that it was quite improbable that sentence had been pronounced, that even if so, it would not be executed within so short a time, and that in any event it would be quite impossible to take any action before morning. It was, of course, pointed out to him that if the facts were as we believed them to be, action would be useless unless taken at once. We urged him to ascertain the facts immediately, and this, after some hesitancy, he agreed to do. He telephoned to the presiding judge of the court-martial and returned in a short time to say that the facts were as we had represented them, and that it was intended to carry out the sentence before morning. We then presented, as earnestly as possible, your plea for delay. So far as I am able to judge, we neglected to present no phase of the matter which might have had any effect, emphasising the horror of executing a woman, no matter what her offence, pointing out that the death sentence had heretofore been imposed only for actual cases of espionage, and that Miss Cavell was not even accused by the German authorities of anything so serious. I further called attention to the failure to comply with Mr. Conrad's promise to inform the Legation of the sentence. I urged that inasmuch as the offences charged against Miss Cavell were long since accomplished, and that as she had been for some weeks in prison, a delay in carrying out the sentence could entail no danger to the German cause. I even went so far as to point out the fearful effect of a summary execution of this sort upon public opinion, both here and abroad, and, although I had no authority for doing so, called attention to. the possibility that it might bring about reprisals.
The Spanish Minister forcibly supported all our representations and made an earnest plea for clemency.
Baron von der Lancken stated that the Military Governor was the supreme authority ("Gerichtsherr") in matters of this sort; that appeal from his decision could be carried only to the Emperor, the Governor-General having no authority to intervene in such cases He added that under the provisions of German martial law the Military Governor had discretionary power to accept or to refuse acceptance of an appeal for clemency. After some discussion he agreed to call the Military Governor on to the telephone and learn whether he had already ratified the sentence, and whether there was any chance for clemency. He returned in about half an hour, and stated that he had been to confer personally with the Military Governor, who said that he had acted in the case of Miss Cavell only after mature deliberation ; that the circumstances in her case were of such a character that he considered the infliction of the death penalty imperative ; and that in view of the circumstances of this case he must decline to accept your plea for clemency or any representation in regard to the matter
Baron von der Lancken then asked me to take back the note which I had presented to him. To this I demurred, pointing out that it was not a "requete en grace," but merely a note to him transmitting a communication to the Governor, which was itself to be considered as the "requete en grace." I pointed out that this was expressly stated in your note to him, and tried to prevail upon him to keep it ; he was very insistent, however, and I finally reached the conclusion that inasmuch as he had read it aloud to us, and we knew that he was aware of its contents, there was nothing to be gained by refusing to accept the note, and accordingly took it back.
Even after Baron von der Laneken's very positive and definite statement that there was no hope, and that under the circumstances "even the Emperor himself could not intervene," we continued to appeal to every sentiment to secure delay, and the Spanish Minister even led Baron von der Lancken aside in order to say very forcibly a number of things which he would have felt hesitancy in saying in the presence of the younger officers and of Mr. de Leval, a Belgian subject.
His Excellency talked very earnestly with Baron von der Lancken for about a quarter of an hour. During this time Mr. de Leval and I presented to the younger officers every argument we could think of. I reminded them of our untiring efforts on behalf of German subjects at the outbreak of war and during the siege of Antwerp. I pointed out that, while our services had been rendered gladly and without any thought of future favours, they should certainly entitle you to some consideration for the only request of this sort you had made since the beginning of the war. Unfortunately, our efforts were unavailing. We persevered until it was only too clear that there was no hope of securing any consideration for the case.
"Our failure has been felt by us as a very severe blow," Mr. Whitlock wrote later. None could have done more than he and his assistants did.
How was Miss Cavell standing the strain? Fortunately there is full evidence of her bearing at this time. M. de Leval, who showed throughout the greatest energy and devotion in working for Miss Cavell, had made application on the Sunday evening that he and the British chaplain, the Rev. H. Sterling Gahan, might be permitted to see Miss Cavell in gaol. This was at first refused, but on Monday evening, after the sentence of death had been passed, Mr. Gahan was allowed to visit her. Mr. Gahan subsequently wrote a simple and moving statement of what took place :
To my astonishment and relief I found my friend perfectly calm and resigned. But this could not lessen the tenderness and intensity of feeling on either part during that last interview of almost an hour.
Her first words to me were upon a matter concerning herself personally, but the solemn asseveration which accompanied them was made expressly in the light of God and eternity. She then added that she wished all her friends to know that she willingly gave her life for her country, and said : "I have no fear nor shrinking; I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me." She further said: "I thank God for this ten weeks' quiet before the end." "Life has always been hurried and full of difficulty." " This time of rest has been a great mercy." "They have all been very kind to me here. But this I would say, standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone."
We partook of the Holy Communion together, and she received the Gospel message of consolation with all her heart. At the close of the little service I began to repeat the words "Abide with me," and she joined softly in the end.
We sat quietly talking until it was time for me to go. She gave me parting messages for relations and friends, She spoke of her soul's needs at the moment and she received the assurance of God's Word as only the Christian can do.
Then I said "Good-bye' and she smiled and said. "We shall meet again."
The German military chaplain was with her at the end and afterwards gave her Christian burial.
He told me: "She was brave and bright to the last. She professed her Christian faith and that she was glad to die for her country." "She died like a heroine."
Few details were allowed to be known of the final scene. It was reported at the time that Miss Cavell fainted on the way to her death and was shot by the officer in command of the party while lying unconscious, but it seems to be certain that the execution was carried out in the usual military manner. The place of burial was kept secret and the people of Brussels tried in vain to learn it, that they might, in some way or other, show their appreciation of Miss Cavell's great courage. The opportunity was denied them.
The story of the execution aroused the world—except Germany! Various Germans in official positions expressed the greatest surprise that people should make so much to- do about the death of one woman. This was the view of Baron von Bissing, the Military Governor of Brussels. Shortly after the execution of Miss Cavell Mr. Karl Kitchin, a staff correspondent of the New York World, visited Brussels to learn the German defence in this case. He was received with open arms and given every facility. He saw all most closely concerned in it, from Baron von Bissing to Mr. Gahan. Baron von Bissing openly expressed his astonishment that an American thought it worth while paying a visit to Brussels over such an affair. "I cannot understand why the world is interested in the case," he said, "when thousands of innocent people have died in the war, why should anyone become hysterical over the death of one guilty woman?" In the course of conversation he clearly revealed that the German authorities had hurried on the execution not merely because Miss Cavell had helped fugitives to escape, but because they wanted to make her an example to awe the Belgians. He said:
A few years in prison is not sufficient punishment for an offence of this kind. For punishment in a case of this nature is meted out to deter others from committing the same offence. If the Cavell woman had been sent to prison she would have been released in two or three years—at the end of the war. Amnesty is usually granted to all prisoners convicted of offences of this nature, espionage, and so forth, when peace is made.
We have only recently uncovered a big spy system here in Belgium. Important military matters have-been communicated to the enemy for some time. I will not go into details, but I will say that this Cavell woman was aware of their activities—had guilty knowledge of much of their work. Such a system of spying assails our very safety and we proceeded to stamp it out.
The Cavell woman was not charged with espionage. The charge of aiding the enemy's soldiers to escape which was made against her was sufficiently serious. Her death was deplorable—but I do not see why it should occasion such hysteria in America.
"I cannot understand why so much has been made of this unfortunate affair in your country," remarked the representative of the official Press Bureau to the visitor. Baron von der Lancken, the Civil Governor, declared that as the execution was purely a military affair, he did not interfere. It would hava been a breach of etiquette if he had done so. Baron von Bissing himself, it was declared, could not have pardoned Miss Cavell after her conviction by a court martial without exceeding his military function. The only appeal was to the Kaiser, who had no cognizance of the affair until after the execution. The man responsible for that execution was Major-General von Haesler, Military Commander of the district. In short it was a trivial affair. 0n& woman more or less—what difference did it make?
But this was not the view that the world took. "Sir Edward Grey is confident that the news of the execution of this noble Englishwoman will be received with horror and disgust not only by the Allied States, but throughout the civilized world," wrote our Foreign Minister to the United States Ambassador in London, when the account of the execution was forwarded to him. "Miss Cavell was not even charged with espionage, and the fact that she had nursed numbers of wounded German soldiers might have been regarded as a reason in itself for treating her with leniency. The attitude of the German authorities is, if possible, rendered worse by the discreditable efforts successfully made by the officials of the German civil administration at Brussels to conceal the fact that sentence had been passed and would be carried out immediately."
The tale of Miss Cavell's death came like a trumpet call to the British nation. It showed once again the real character of the enemy this country was fighting. To the soldiers in Flanders it gave a fresh battle-cry, and to civilians at home it served to re-emphasize the need of greater effort and greater sacrifice.
The King and Queen and Queen Alexandra wrote to Miss Cavell's mother expressing their sympathy and their horror at the appalling deed. "Men and women throughout the civilized world, while sympathizing with you, are moved with admiration and awe at (your daughter's) faith and courage in death," wrote Lord Stamfordham, for the King and Queen. Queen Alexandra sent this message: "The women of England are bearing the greatest burden of this terrible war, but by all the name of Miss Cavell will be held in the highest honour and respect. We shall always remember that she never once failed England in her hour of need."
A memorial service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral, and long before the hour of commencement the church itself was full, and a great, silent, orderly crowd thronged in St. Paul's Churchyard without. Every class was there, from Queen Alexandra to six hundred nurses, from soldiers in khaki to the representatives of the City Corporation, The beating drums and the band of the 1st Life Guards, rolling and crashing as the "Dead March in Saul" was played at the end, closed an almost overwhelmingly impressive display of national grief. Various memorials were planned and carried out, but perhaps the greatest proof of how the execution had touched the heart of our nation was the quickening of recruiting, the increase in individual service and the evidence on all sides that this example by one woman of duty well done had helped all England to realize its obligations still more fully.
The French people showed how deeply they had been touched. The Minister of Public Instruction gave orders that the teachers of the Paris schools should relate the story of the martyrdom of the heroic victim and comment on it. "The great and sublime figure of Edith Cavell stands forth among the black horrors of this war as a living image of outraged humanity," he declared. The nation found a niche for Miss Cavell in the gallery of great women who have helped France, the women who, from Jean d'Arc to Madame Roland, have given their life for la patrie. Municipalities named streets after her, and artists chose her final sacrifice for their, theme on canvas and in stone.
Mr. Frederick Palmer, the well-known war correspondent, returning to America in November, 1915, told his countrymen that when he left the trenches at the front the British soldiers, before a charge, would shout all along the line, "For Miss Cavell!". "Miss Cavell's execution did more for recruiting than all the Zeppelin raids," he said. "I happened to be with the French when the news of her death was received. Its effect on the troops was instant, electric. The woman's sacrifice had a Joan of Arc character that struck home to the French heart. Officers spoke of it as an event that had done more to cement the alliance of France and England to fight to the last man than all the speeches of statesmen and conferences of generals. Miss Cavell's picture, taken from the newspapers, is pinned on cottage walls all over France. Deep as the impression was on the civil population of both England and France, it was slight beside that made on the soldiers."
From Allies and from neutrals alike came messages of sympathy and of indignation. Nowhere, perhaps, was the emotion deeper than in the United States. The American people were aroused in many ways. Their national dignity was offended, because their representatives had been slighted when attempting to save the Englishwoman. But this resentment counted for little as compared with the genuine wrath at an act of barbarous inhumanity to a woman. Even German-Americans, who had stoutly defended the doings of their armies in the early days of the invasion of Belgium, now could do little save make excuses and express regrets.
It would be difficult to extract from the multitude of American newspaper denunciations of the crime isolated passages that would give any adequate idea of the depths and intensity of the feeling. Happily the American view was summed up in a statement by Mr. James M. Beck, formerly Assistant Attorney-General of the United States, and one of the leaders of the New York Bar. Three brief extracts will show its tenour:
Those who have regarded the Supreme Court of Civilization—meaning thereby the moral sentiment of the world—as a mere rhetorical phrase or an idlo illusion should take note how swiftly that court—sitting now as one of criminal assize—has pronounced sentence upon the murderers of Edith Cavell. The swift vengeance of the world's opinion has called to the bar General Baron von Bissing, and in executing him with the lightning of universal execration has for ever degraded him.
The laboured apology of Dr. Zimmermann, and the swift action of the Kaiser in pardoning those who were condemned with Miss Cavell, indicate that the Prussian officials have heard the beating of the wings of those avenging angels of history who, like the Eumenides of classic mythology, are the avengers of the innocent and. the oppressed.
"Greatness," wrote Aeschylus, "is no defence from utter destruction when a man insolently spurns the mighty altar of justice."
This is as true to-day as when it was written, more than two thousand years ago. It is but a classic echo of the old. Hebraic moral axiom that "the Lord God of recompenses shall surely requite."
You, women of America. Will you not honour the memory of this martyr of your sex, who for all time will be mourned as was the noblest Greek maiden, Antigone, who also gave her life that her brother might have the rites of sepulture? Will you not carry out in her name, and for her memory, those sacred ministrations of mercy which were her lifework.
Make her cause—the cause of mercy—your own!
