Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1859-12-30
MIS- c Il l. Il AN Y
A TRUE STORY.
M nlYARD TAYLOR.

Tor it, connection with tho battle which
6ry year. and one day before annhilA,cd
tho power Of Prussia An account OF IT,,
however. was published in most OF tho Ger.
man newspapers, aud to this circumstances
tho sequel " the story which am about to
relate WAS brough, on. A. the time Al,
which the celebration took place, ! was rs-
.lin: in Goiha. M, more than City miles
from the spot, and received the story almost
in the very words Of the ehiei actor in IL.
I am sorry tha, bis name and ,ha, Of the
village, have escaped my memory. All
other particular, made too deep an impress
SION npou me to be easily forgotten.
We must first go back TO the liih Of Oe.
iobcr, 1900. On iha, day the windy up
land, northsas; ofJcna witnessed the brief
bu, terrible combat, which resulted in the
triumphant entry Of the whole body Of
,he French army into Berlin eleven day.
aiIcrvarls-during which time Prussia had
los, co 900 men. Gj standards, and COO can.
non. \ portion Of the French army was
encamp,d on the BATTLEFIELD, or quaricrcd in
the village around. The poor inhabitants,
overwhelmed by this sudden aIAlanehs Of
war upon rlcir quiet fields whcrs for
hundred Years or more they had reapcd
their harVssis in r'icc-suhmittci with
h,lples. aTaihy while their hou''- and
barns were plundsrsd by the lawlo" 'ol'
dierv. The battle Wa. over, hat there was
no lull in the blast of ruin. Through the
cloud. Of cannon smoke which sst,lei into
the bosom Of the deep valleys A. the raw De-
,ohsr evening came on, were heard Shrek.
Of fear. yell. Of rage or triumph, and cries
Of pain or lamenia,ion.
Dayoust-the " Butcher Of Hamburg"
a, the Germans called him-took up his
quarters ior tie night in one ol the mos,
convenient and comfortable houses which
could be found in the neighborhood Of the
scene u slaughter. ll,is be rapidly Issued
orders Tor the disposition Of the iorcrs un.
der hi. commsnd, gave directions for ih.
morrow, and received reports from bis al.
iu,anu. Ilo had taken hi- cloak and was
ablu, retiring % an inner chamber Tor re-
nose. when an officer entered. pardon
me general, he said, " but there i'a case
which require. attention. Tho German
oaEaiG, must be taught - respect Us. Ten
sold,,r. Of Company - Of the Fourth
Infantry, who quartered Themselves in the
village Of Waldorf De. Us say) have been
driven away by the people, and two or
ihrcv OF them arc severely injured.
Dyoas.s cold eye glitterod, and his
mousachs eurled like the lp Ola mis,iG,
a, he halted a moment at hi. bedroom door.
e" Ssnd Lieutenant and twlnly meu to the
village. pick out ten Of the yasaboni' aud
shoot them down :" was tho brioi order.
q" Where Is Waldorf" he addci, turning
to ono Of lhosc useful creatures who are al
way. willing TO act as guides and in'srPrs.
ters for tho enemy in their own land.
There ia village called Upper Wal
dorl which lies near the head Of a small
valley to tho lsh Middle Waldorf is on
tbs other side of tie hill and Lower Wal
dorf about bali an hours distance beyond. -
The marshal not caring to annoy himself
by more minute inquiries, went to bed. II
ten men were ,hoI that was sufficient.
The next morning at sunrise, Lieutenant
Lamottc with twenty men marched over the
,rAmplcd hills 10 seek Waldorf II was
disagrs.able business, and she sooner 1t
was over the better. On reaching q ridge
which overlooked the intersection Of two
or ihreO valleys. more than one village was
visible through the cold fog now beginning
to rise. &" Qn Di Wdid0rf," inquired the
officer Of the man whom lac had impressed
by the WAY. - Das." answered the man,
" ISL o5er Waldorf" pointing toa village
on the leit, " ia GrdAf' 80 Aud IN fifteen
minutes more the Fr,nehmen marched into
tho Iiilo hamlet.
Hating iu an open space between the
church anl .he sVO principal beer houses
the officer summoned the inhabitants to-
gsthsr. The whole village was already .
awake, for few had slept during tho night. .
their ears we're still stunned by tho thund. .
ers Of yesterday, and visions OF burning
and pillage s,ill danced before their eyes.
At the command OF the lieutenant, tho sol-
tiers seized all the male inhabitants. and
flrc.by placed them IN a line before him.
Tho women aud children waited near in
terrible anxiety, for no one understood the
words which were spoken, and these omi.
nous preparations led them to imagine the
worst.
At this juncture, the con Of tho village
pastor appeared upon tho scene. IlO was a
yo.ng man Of twenty, who studied theolo.
~ in ORDER to become bis fathers successor,
and fortunately had some knowledge OF
French The appearance Of things, with
the cries and enueaiies OF the terrified peo.
pie, told him that his help was wanted. /
lie Immediately addressed himself to Lieut..
Lamo,tc, aud begged Tor an explanation Of
tho proceedings.
Z" an ordered to punish thi. village"
answered the latter. {" for your treatment
OF our soldiers las, night. The marshal or
ders that ten Of you must be shot. The on.
ly thing that can do is to allow you to
draw lots among yourselves, or to point out
those concerned in the Outrage"
d. 81. -.