Excerpt from Cardinal Mercier: Pastorals, Letters, Allocutions, 1914-1917 The second purpose of this edition is to give the reader a more thorough insight into the con ditions prevailing in Belgium. The reading of Cardinal Mercier's letters and allocutions creates in one's mind a perfectly clear picture of the situation in Belgium, and vivid images of the different episodes of the awful tragedy of which that unfortunate country is the innocent victim. It renders one familiar with the treatment meted out to the Belgians, as well as with the state of mind of the people In Belgium. Poor country, you will say, appalling are your sufferings, heartrending your sorrows! And still, blessed country! Blessed in your glory! Blessed in your courage! Blessed not least in your noble son and heroic leader, your immortal Cardinal Mercier! About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.