The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1876-07-15
From Appleton's Journal
The Siege of Berlin.

We were riding up the avenue DIES Champs
Elysees with DR.. V--,reading in the houses
riddled with bullets, the pavements demol-
ished by the shells, the history of the siege of
Paris, when, just before arriving at the Rond
Point de PEtoie, the doctor stopped and
pointed out to me one of the large corner
houses that form such an imposing group
around the arch of triumph.
Do you see those four closed windows yon-
der on that balcony?" he said. SIN the be-
ginning of August, so pregnant with storms
and disasters for us, l was called to attend a
case of apoplexy in that house. The patient
wos Colonel Jouve, cuirasser of the first
empire, firm believer in the glory of his
country, who when war was first declared, took
up his reaidence on the Champs Elysees in
an apartment with balcony Guess why +?
In orner 10 witness the triumphant entry of
our tooops. Poor old man! The news of
Witsembourg reached him as he was rising
from dinner. While reading the name of
Napoleon, written at the foot of the bulletin
of defeat, he fell insensible.
/ found the old cuirassier extended on the
floor of his room, his face flushed, and as I'M
conscious as if he had been felled by the blow
of club. Standing, he must have been a
very large man; lying there he looked i'm
mass of white curling hair. eighty years old
but looking sixty. Beside him knelt his
granddaughter, weeping bitterly. She was
very like him. Seeing them side by side re-
minded one of two beautiful Greek medals,
struck from the same stamp only one antique
furnished, rather worn in the outline, while
the other was clear and distinct in all the
freshness and brilliancy of new stamp.
The grief of the young girl touched me.
The daughter and granddaughter of soldiers,
her father was on McMahon's staff and the
sight of the old man lying insensible before
her called up to her mind another sight not
less terrible. / did my best to reassure her,
but to tell the truth / had myself very little
hope. The old man had been struck down
by an apoplectic fit, and at eighty years of
age one seldom RECEIVERS from that. For three
days in fact, the invalid remained in the
same condition, motionless and insensible.
Just at this time the news of Reichsoffen
reached Paris. You remember in what a
strange fashion. Until evening we all be-
lieved in great victory, twenty thousand
Prussians slain, the prince royal captive. 1
do ot;know by what miracle, or what mag
netic current, an echo of the national rel oc-
ing reached our poor invalid in the depths of
his paralysis, but that evening, on approach
ing his bed, / found him another man. His
eyes were almost bright, his tongue less
heavy. He was strong enough to smile and
he stammered ont twice
sVictoryv
Yes, colonel, great victory!
And while related the details of McMa-
hons success, I saw his countenance bright
en-, his features relax.
When left the room the young girl was
waiting for me at the door; she was weeping
bitterly.
HE is saved" said I, taking her hands in
mine.
The poor girl had scarcely courage to re-
ply. The real news of Reichshoffen had
army routed! We looked at each other in
CONSERVATION. She was heart-broken, think
ing of her grandfather. He surely could
never stand this new and terrible shock.
What was to be done? Should we leave
him to his joy and TO the illusions that had
revived him? Then we would have to lie to
him.
well, will lie to him. said the heroic
girl, dashiDg away her tears, and with rad-
ant conference she returned to her grand
fathers room.
1t was terribly hard task that she had
undertaken. At first it was comparatively
easy. The old mans brain was feeble, and
he believed. blindly, like a child, whatever
his ideas became clearer. We were obliged
to keep him informed respecting the move-
ments of the army, and to invent military
bulletins. 1t was pitiful 10 see that fair
young girl studying day and night over the
map of Germany, prcking it with little flags,
attempting to arrange a glorious campaign !;
Bazaine advancing upon Berlin, Troissart, in
Bavaria, MacMahon on the Baltic. She
asked my advice about this, and aided her
as well as could. but the old man was our
principal assistant in this imaginary invasion.
He had conquered Germany so often under
the first Napoleon! He knew all the move
this is what they will dop and his predic-
tions were always reliable, which made him
very proud.
But, unfortunately, no matter how many
battles we won, how many cities we took,
we never went fast enough for the old man
he was Unsuitable. Every day On my arrival
learned of new victory.
Doctor, we have taken Mayence,' said the
young girl. coming to meet me with sad
smile; and heard from the adjoining room
a joyous voice that cried:
We are making great progress. In week
we shall enter BerlinP
At that moment the Prussians are within
weeks march of Paris. Our first idea
was to transport our invalid to the provinces /;
but as soon as he had left Paris the state of
the country would have told him all, and |
feared that he was as yet too feeble, too
much stunned by his great shock, to be able
to bear the truth. So we decided that he
should stay.
The first day of the siege I entered their
apartment Il remember it as if it was yes
terday) very much moved, with that sad
heart wherewith all of us saw the gates of
Paris closed, the enemy under the walls, and
our suburbs converted into frontiers. I
found the old man seated on his bed, JOYOUS
and exulting.
well, DOCTOR said he, the siege has COM
menced.'
I looked at him in amazement.
what, colonel! do you know?
His grand daughter turned to me.
Why, yes, doctor; that is the great news;
the siege of Berlin has commenced
She said that while drawing the needle
through the canvass with such a quietly de-
liberate tone! How could he suspect any
thing? The cannon of the forts-he could
not hear them! Unhappy Paris, all gloomy
and disturbed-he could not see her. A
small section Of the Arch of Triumph was
all that he could see from his bed, and in
the room, all around him, were the relics of
the first empire, well calculated to sustain
his delusions. Portraits of marshals. en-
cravings OF battle subjects, the infant king
of Rome, large consoles covered with i'm
perial relics, medals, bronzes, stone from
st. Helena under glass shade, miniatures,
all representing the same lady in ball-cos-
tune, yellow dress, leg.of-mutton sleeves,
and light eyes; and all those-the consoles,
the king of Rome, the marshals, the ladies
in yellow, with.the short waists, girdles I'M
der their arms, and that dignlfied stiffness
that was the grace of 1906. Good colonel
1t was that atmosphere of victory and Of
conquest that surrounded him, more than
anything we could say, that made him be-
lieve so implicitly in the siege of Berlin.
From that day forward our military opera
tions were much simplifed. The taking of
Berlin was only matter of patience. From
time to time, whenever the old man grew
weary ard impatient, his granddaughter
would read him letter from his son
Imaginary letter, of course-as for a
long time nothing had entered Paris,
and, after Sedan, his son, who was
MacMahon's ade-de-camp, had been sent
prisoner to a German fortress. You