The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-07-12

ESy.9S
".Well, I. will lie to him. said the
heroic girl, dashing away her tears,
and with a radiant countenance she re.
turned to her grandfather room.
lit was a terribly hard task that she
had undertaken. At first it was COM
paratively easy. The old mans brain
was feeble, and he believed blindly,
like child whatever was told him.
But with returning health his ideas
became clearer. We were obliged to
keep him informed respecting the
movements of the army, and to invent
military bulletins. 1t was pitiful to
see that fair young girl, studying over
her map of Germany night and day,
pricking it with little flags, attempt
ing to arrange a glorious campaign;
BaZalne advancing upon Berlin, TrOis-
sart in Bavaria, MacMahon on the Bal
tic. She asked my advice about this,
and aided her as we'll as could, but
the OLD man was our principal assist
ant In this imaginary vision. He had
conquered Germany so often under the
first Napoleon He knew all the move
ments in advance. Now thew will 90
here, this is what they will do! and
his predictions were always realized,
which made him very proud.
"But, unfortunately, no matter how
many battles we fought, how many
cities we took, we never went fast
enough for the old mamie was insa-
table. Every day on my arrival [
learned OF a new victory,
| "'Doctor. we have taken Nav
ence, said the young girl, coming to
meet me with sad smile; and I heard
from an adjoining room joyous voice
that cried
| "'We are making great progress,
doctor. In a week we shall enter Ber-
linz"
"'At that moment the Prussians
were within week s march of Paris.
Our first thought was to transport
our invalid to the provinces: but as
he left Paris, the state of the country
would have told him all, and I 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 entered
their apartment 4 remember it as if
| 1t were yesterday very much moved,
with that sad heart wherewith all of
us saw the gates of Paris closed, the
| enemy under our walls, and our sub
urbs converted into frontiers. Ifound
the old man seated on his bed, Joyous
and exulting.
"'Well. DOCTOR he said, the siege
has commenced
II looked at him in amazement
"'What, colonel do you know ?''
''Hls granddaughter 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 can
vas. with such {: quietly deliberate
| tone! How could he suspect any,
thing! The cannon of the forts-he
could net 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, we'll calculated to sustain
his delusions. Portraits of marshals,
engravings of battle subjects, the in
FAINT king of Rome, large consoles COW
cred with imperial relics, medals,
bronzes, a stone from St. Helena under
| a glass shade, miniatures, all represent
ing the same lady in ball costume, a
yellow dress, leg-of-mutton sleeves,
and light eyes and all those-the con.
soles, the king of Rome, the marshals,
the ladies in yellow, with the short
waists, girdles under their arms, and
that ditinifed stiffness that was the
grace Of 1906. Good colonel 1t was
that atmosphere of victory and of con-
quests that surrounded him, more
than anything we could say, that made
him believe so implicitly in the siege
Of Berlin.
''From that day forward our military
operations were much simplifed. The
taking of Berlin was only matter of
patience. From time to time, when
ever the old man grew weary and I'M.
patient, his granddaughter would read
him letter from his son-an imagin.
airy letter, of course-as for long
time nothing had entered Paris, and
after Sedan, his son, who was Mac
Mahon's aid-de-camp, had been sent a
prisoner to German fortress. You
can imagine the despair OF that poor
girl, without news of her father, know
ing him to be a prisoner, perhaps ill, |
and yet obliged to make him talk in
joyous though rather brief letters,
such alone as soldier always march
ing onward in conquered country has
time to write.tSometimes her strength
failed her and weeks passed without
news. But then the old man grew
uneasy and could not sleep. Then a
letter would arrive at once from Ger