The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1873-05-14
The French and the Germans

If the French misrepresent the Ger
mans in painting them as hypocrites,
the Germans have certainly gone too
far in the charges of frivoIity and licen,
tiousnpes they are 50 fond of bringing
against the French. It is often main
tanned by superficial philosophers AIM
ing at q character for %profundity that
France, if the fundamental cause be
sought out, was beaten in the wal with
Prussia by reason of her immortality,
love Of pleasure, and SO on. It would
be nearer the truth to say that France
is now accused of immortality in conse-
quence of having been beaten. The
French were always immoral but that
has not prevented them from gaining,
at various periods of their history, the
most brilliant successes in war. The
fact is, that conquerers, when their suc
cess is very great indeed, have, for q
time at least, the making of history in
own hands, and may lay to the account
of the conquered whatever they please.
The Germans circulated a report at the
very beginning Of the wal that the
French camps were full of women; and,
although when the French armies were
made captive, women were not found
among the prisoners, the story of their
constant presence with the troops is
still a subject of common belief in Ger
many. The French, on their side, were
quite prepared 20 attribute all sorts of
gross sensual vices to the Germans
and, in the occupied cities, the inhabi-
tants would hold out in the most edi-
flying manner on the coarseness and i'm
morality of their conduct. The German
views Of the French were not at that
time we'll known in France, and we re-
member meeting with an hotel-keeper
in one of the newly-occupied cities of
Lorraine who, ignorant Of the received
opinion on the subject, looked upon his
own c~ountrymen as models of austerity,
and on the German invaders as dissipa-
ted, dissolute characters. "How thev
eat, and, above all, how they drink 7"
he muttered, as he drew himself up,
napkin in hand, at the end of the room,
after the manner apart from the nap
kim of the two v~irtuous old Romans in
Centuries picture Of "La Decandencp
des Romans " standing sternIy and sor-
rowfully apart from the general orgy.
Forced by what was in him to speak to
some one, he came forward and confd-
ed to us in a whisper his opinion that
that sort OF thing did not go in En-
gland. We were obliged to confess
that the custom Of drinking wine at din
ner was not unknown "chez nous"
"No, nor in France either, I he replied;
" but dinner is now over, and the drink
ing still continues" In common fair
ness we felt bound to answer that in
England also wine was drunk after din
ner and much more generally than in
Germany. We also suggested that the
Bavarian officers the offenders were
Bavarians) had nothing to do that night;
hat early the next morning they would
be again on the march, and, before
many days could elapse, in action and
that, in the mea time, it was unimpor-
tant whether they drank a little wine or
not. At that moment a tall, well-devel-
oped, muscular Bavarian lieutenant.
of the race typiied by Rausoh
in his colossal figure of Bavaria, called
particular attention to a drink he was
preparing, which he declared possessed
highest qualities as an i~nvigorant.
He poured into a ohampagne-glass half
\ glass Of champagne, broke q couple of
eggs and threw in the yolks, added a
small glass of curacao, and finally q
small glass of oognao then, without
the ingredients, swallowed the
whole, and said complacently, but
somewhat critically, as he put the glass
"Un peu trop de cognao 7"
The hotel keeper looked on in terrorfor
l moment, and then fed from his own
iining-room.-PaU Mall Gazette.