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Show VERDUN IN HISTORY Verdun, whoso resistance hns been ono "of tho fow crumbs of comfort which havo fallen during this wnr to the believers in permanent fortifications fortifica-tions 'a llttlo more than a contury ago had acquired a different sort of celobrlty nlnong Englishmen. It wnr at Verdun that English officers captured cap-tured by tho French during tho Napoleonic Na-poleonic wars wero detained. On thj wholo thoy managed to havo. a prot; ty good and certainly an extravagant time, for though they suffered now and then from tho tyranny of sovcro governors tholr race meetings an-numerous an-numerous other facilities for gambling gam-bling wero not lntorforred with nnd, tho restrictions on their personal liberty wcro not very sevens In most cases. Ono result of their stay makes a curious story today. Whon thoy loft Verdun In 1814 nftcr Jhofirst downfall down-fall of Napoleon they left bohlnd them debts to trndcspooplo of Ver-lun Ver-lun amounting to 140,000. Very llttlo llt-tlo of this was over paid back by tho prisoners themselves. Tho Fronch government In nfter years made mnny unavailing applications to the English authorities for tho payment of theso dobts. Perhaps nn appropriate appro-priate itom in tho celebration of the Allies ultlmnto victory would bo for tho British government to discover tho lognl representatives of tho luckless luck-less Vordun tradespeople of 1814 and to discharge, as far as possible, these hundred year old debts.1 Manchester Manches-ter Guardian. |