Cologne and Amiens.

It appears that the British have at last made a small air attack on "the suburbs of Cologne." Heretofore they have flown over Cologne and left it unscathed, in spite of the fact that it is the most logical place in the German empire for reprisals for the wanton attacks on London and Paris. Of all the large German cities Cologne is nearest to the British hangars; it is much nearer than Mannheim, which has repeatedly received the favors of the Allied aerial visitors; and it is the capital of Rhenish, Prussia. It is possible that Cologne has been spared hitherto at the request of the French, out of consideration for the staunchly Catholic character of its citizens and a sort of traditional leaning that they are supposed to have toward French influence. Perhaps it has been spared out of consideration for the famous Cologne Cathedral, one of the vastest and most famous fanes of Catholic worship in Europe; and this degree of consideration is not strange on the part of the British and French, although the Germans themselves have not a shred of respect for either the sanctity or the beauty of cathedrals.

The Cologne Cathedral is not remarkable for its beauty. It was indeed planned originally along the lines of the lovely cathedral of Amiens, and in spirit it is French rather than German, but its proportions were a failure, and the recent removal of surrounding high buildings, in an intention to give to it its full value, have only had the effect to win for it the epithet of "the overgrown monster." For all that, its history, its size and some of its architectural features no doubt entitle it to the respect which the British and French aviators have hitherto paid to it. But if considerations of military advantage should render it desirable to follow up the recent small attack on Cologne with larger and more destructive raids, and in one of these the cathedral at Cologne should be wrecked, its destruction would make but a poor exchange for the Cathedral of Rheims. And now there are well grounded fears for beautiful Amiens! What ghoulish satisfaction the Germans must have--even at the moment when the British and French are sparing their great temple at Cologne--in destroying the finest piece of Gothic church architecture in France!  --Boston Transcript.