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Noble Woman The Life-Story of Edith Cavell

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<h2>VII</h2> <h3>THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYR</h3> At eleven o'clock that same night, while Mr. Gibson and the Marquis de Villalobar were expostulating with Baron von der Lancken, the Rev. H. S. T. Gahan, the British Chaplain in Brussels, entered the cell in which Nurse Cavell had spent the last ten weeks of her life. Even in that supreme hour when she was being hurried to the grave by her implacable foes, she knew no fear. She was calm and resigned. Upon her gentle lips was no execration of her enemies, but only sentiments that make us infinitely proud of her, that shall be repeated by[Pg 64] generations yet unborn, that shall endure in our national affection and reverence as long as British tongues have speech and words have meaning. In his report to the American Legation Mr. Gahan said that Nurse Cavell's first words were concerned with a matter concerning herself personally, 'but the solemn asseveration which accompanied them was made expressly in the light of God and eternity.' In expressing the wish for all her friends to know that she willingly gave her life to her country, she 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 realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards any one.' When the chaplain administered the[Pg 65] Holy Communion, she received the gospel message of consolation with all her heart; and when he repeated the words of the hymn 'Abide with me,' Miss Cavell softly joined in the last verse: <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. </div> </div> Afterwards the chaplain and Miss Cavell quietly conversed until the jailer intimated that the interview must end. She then gave him final parting messages for relatives and friends. 'She spoke of her soul's need at the moment, and she received the assurance of God's word as only the Christian can do'; and when he bade her 'good-bye' she smiled and said, 'We shall meet again.' Early in the morning Miss Cavell was led out to execution. As there is no official account of her last moments, we at first had to rely chiefly upon the report of the Amsterdam Telegraaf, a thoroughly reliable and influential journal; but later, additional[Pg 66] details were available from various accredited sources. The Telegraaf records that the soldiers of the shooting party were greatly impressed by the courage and fortitude of the nurse, and much distressed at their enforced participation in a dastardly crime. Each individual soldier purposely aimed high so that he might not have the murder on his conscience. The whole firing party thus being impelled by the same humane motive, the volley left the victim standing unharmed. Only in that dread moment did her physical strength refuse to respond further to her sublimely heroic spirit. She swooned and fell; and the officer in charge of the soldiers stepped forward and shot her through the head, close to the ear, as she lay mercifully unconscious of her surroundings. Whether it be true or not that the soldiers acted as described, one would like to believe it, if only because it would afford some satisfaction to think that the German rank and file can be stirred by humane[Pg 67] impulses to which their superiors are strangers. The rough soldiers would appear as veritable angels compared to Baron von Bissing and von der Lancken, his companion in crime. These ruffians consigned themselves by their conduct to everlasting loathing and contempt; to satisfy their rabid hate of England they proved themselves worthy peers of Judge Jeffreys, Robespierre, Nana Sahib, and other unnatural monsters. Six weeks after the grim tragedy three of Miss Cavell's friends returned to England from Belgium, and several of their statements correct previous errors. One of these ladies saw Miss Cavell in prison a few days before the end, but by that time the secrecy and isolation from all advice had accomplished all that her jailers desired. The visitor says that during the interview Miss Cavell was quite herself, wonderfully calm, and preferred to talk on ordinary topics. Originally it was stated that the execution took place at 2 a.m. in the prison of St. Gilles, but Miss Wilkins, who took over the[Pg 68] management of the hospital after Miss Cavell's arrest, was at the prison at five o'clock on the morning of the 12th. She was just in time to see her friend being conducted to the motor-car in which she was to be driven to the Tir National, two miles out of Brussels, which was the selected place of execution. She walked firmly, and, from the expression of her face, she was serene and undisturbed. The German military chaplain was with her at the end, and afterwards gave her poor body Christian burial. He told Mr. Gahan that '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.' But the German chaplain did not inform Mr. Gahan that, accustomed as he was to painful death scenes, the brutal end of the gentle victim so horrified him that he himself sank to the ground in a dead faint—a weakness that stands to the credit of his heart and calling. The Rev. H. S. T. Gahan was sent to[Pg 69] Brussels by the Colonial and Continental Church Society only a few months before the outbreak of the War. He was imprisoned for a few days in November, 1914, but was released when the Americans represented that they required a clergyman. All other British men were deported, but many British women and children remain in Brussels. Many of those who have contrived to escape from the stricken capital testify to the help and kindness and sympathy of the British chaplain. It has been asserted that by her own request Miss Cavell was permitted to face her executioners with unbandaged eyes and unbound hands. But more than that, according to later information, the Germans, with one of their acute refinements of cruelty, allowed her to witness the execution of M. Bancq, and it was this sight, more than fear of her own end, that caused her to collapse. The only announcement of Miss Cavell's death received by her friends and pupils was through a poster displayed on the[Pg 70] walls of Brussels baldly announcing that the execution had taken place; and letters which were addressed to them the day before she died were not delivered until a month afterwards. The body of the martyr was buried by her enemies near the prison of St. Gilles. Mr. Whitlock, on behalf of the First President of the Brussels Court of Appeals and President of the Belgian School of Certificated Nurses, asked Baron von der Lancken for the body of Miss Cavell, its directress. It was undertaken, in the removal of the body and its burial in the Brussels district, to conform to all the regulations of the German authorities. Mr. Whitlock remarked that he felt sure that His Excellency would make no objection to the request, and that the institution to which Miss Cavell had generously devoted a part of her life would be permitted to perform a pious duty. Baron von der Lancken did not send a written reply, but called upon Mr. Gibson in person. He stated that under the regulations governing such cases it was[Pg 71] impossible to exhume the body without written permission from the Minister of War in Berlin. Thus the Germans took the opportunity of crowning their foul deed with the final dishonour of a refusal of even such a last pitiful request. Really it is immaterial where Edith Cavell's body may be laid to rest, although sentiment may demand its ultimate recovery. Her memory will lack nothing. It is enshrined in glowing effulgence in the hearts of Britons and our Allies for all time. Although our story is the record of Edith Cavell, we can spare a thought for her heroic companions. M. Philippe Bancq declared his willingness to die for his country, and the Germans took him at his word. Princess Marie de Croy was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment; but the Comtesse de Belleville and Mademoiselle Thulier were condemned to death. Upon strong representations made by the King of Spain and the Pope, however, the German Emperor hastened to pardon these two ladies, because he was aware of the universal horror[Pg 72] caused by the deliberate political murder of Miss Cavell. Von Bissing, too, evidently was warned by the Kaiser to moderate his bloodthirstiness, as evidenced by a promise of their lives to all British and French soldiers still hidden in Belgium if they surrendered without delay. Verily, it was speedily proved that Nurse Cavell had died that others might live—and it is not always the case that even the greatest sacrifices bear so speedy a fruit. <hr /> [Pg 73] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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