Upon Mme. Belmont-Gobert, poor, aged woman of Bertry Village, France, the British King-Emperor bestowed last week a title: "Dame of the Order of the British Empire."
His Majesty could do no more. The act was equivalent to conferring knighthood; and the King-Emperor is restricted by custom from conferring a higher title than "Dame" on a woman not already a peeress.*
On Jan. 15, 1915, German field guns rumbled and infantry tramped through Bertry Village, watched from behind drawn shutters by Mme. Belmont-Gobert and many another. Soon a fist knocked at her door, and 16 German...
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