The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-24
ed across the square ON their WAY to the case

saw our little wagon 60 by with the roll
, Of coverings and mattresses on 1t. The old
rabbi was between the Bhafts-Safel pushed
behind; sorle carried David, and Zefen Es,
dras. They were walking ia the mud, with
their hair loose as If they were escaping from
fire; but they did not speak, and went on
silently in the midst of that great trouble.
l would have given my life to go and help
them-I must stay in the ranks. Ah, the old
men of my time have seen terrible thingsi
who lives alone in the world he suffers only
for himself, he does not sec those whom he
loves. weeping and groaning, without the
| immediately after the review, detsohments
Of Citizen gunuers were sent to the armores
to man the pieces, the firemen were sent to the
OF tS 10 Ses Sa she pu%Ps and the rest
| Infantry, were sent to the guard-house on the
square, to relieve the guards and supply
patrols.
The two other battalons had already gone
| to the advancepos.s of Trois. .Maisons, of La
| Fontaine-du Chateau.-to the block-honses,
| the half moons, the Ozillo farm, and the Mai
| sops-Rouges, outside of the city.
Ouc post at the mayoralty consisted of
thlrtytwo men sixteen soldiers of the line
below, commanded by Lieutenant Schnndret,
and sixteen of the natiousi guard above, com.
manded by Desplaces Jacob. We used Burr
hus' lodging for our guard-house. 1t was @
large all with six-inch plsnks, and beams
auch as you do not find now days n our for
ests. a large round. cast-iron stove, standing
on q slab four feet equare, was in the left
hand corner, near the door the zgzag pipes
went into the chimney at the right, and piles
of wood covered the floor.
1t seems as if were now in that hall. The
melted snow which we shook Off on entering
ran along the floor. have never ssen q sad
der day than that not only because the
bombshelis and balls might rain upon us at
any moment, and set everything on fire, but
because of the melting snow, and the mud
bones, and the orders of the sergeant, who did
nothing but call out: "Such and such an one.
march, Such an one forward, it is your
turn |" etc.
In this guard house, where we burned whole
logs of wood as if they were straw, the steam
ing old rags which came in soaking wet did
every minute to the little platform behind the
hall, in order to breathe, aud the cold water
which the wind blew from the spout seut me |
ia again at once.
Aftsrward, in thinking it over, it has seem.
ed as If, without these troubles, my heart |
would have broken at the thought of Sorle |
Il Zsften, and the children sbnt mp in q cellar,
aud that these very annoyances preserved my |
reason.
This lasted till evening. We did nothing
but go in and out, sit down, smoke our pipes |
the rain, or remain on duty for hours together
at the entrance of the posterns.
Toward nine O'Clock, when all was dark
without, and nothing was to be heard but the
pacing of the patrols, the shouts of the sentries
on the ramparts: "Sentries, attention !" audd
the steps OF our men on their rounds up and
down the great wooden stairway of the ad
mira.ty, the thought Suddenly came to Tue
that the Russians had only tried to frighten
US, that 1T meant nothing and that there
would be no shells that night.
In order to be on good terms with the men, |
had asked Mon borne's permission to go and
get jog full of brandy, which he at once
granted. took advantage of the opportunity
to bite crust and drink a glass of wine at
home. Then went back, and all the men at
the station were very friendly; they passed
the jug from to another, and said that my
would give me leave to go and fill it as often
as pleased.
"Yes, since it is Noses" replied Monborne,
she may have leave, but nobody else.n
We were all on excellent terms with each
other, and nobody thought of bombardment,
when red flash passed along the high win |
dows of the room. We all turned round, and
in q few seconds the she'll rumbled on the
hill. At the same time second,
then third fash passed, one after the other
through the large dark room, showing us the
honses opposite.
You can never have an idea, Fritz, of those
first lights at night Corporal Winter, an old
soldier, who grated tobacco for Tribou, stoop-
I'D down quietly and lighted his pipe, and said:
We'll, the dance is beg inning p"
Almost instantly we heard shell burst at
the right in the infantry quarters another at
the left in the Piplinger houss on the SO uare,
and another quite near us in the Hemmerle
house.
1 can't help trembling as I think of it now
after thirty years.
some old servents who did not want to leave
their kitchens. They sorecmed, Help hrew
We were all sure that we were lost only the
Did soldiers, crooked on their bench by the
stove, with their pipes in their mouths, seemed
very calm, as people might who have nothing
10 lose.
What was worst of all, a. the moment when
, 1T cann On at the ARSENAL and powder. house
began to answer the Russians, and made very
pane of glass in The old building rattle, Ser.
geant Monborne called out: "Somme, Chev-
reUx, Moses, Dubourg: Forwsrdl"
To send fathers of families roaming about
through the mud, in danger, at every step, of
being struck by bursting shells, tiles and
whole chimneys falling on their backs, is some
thing against nature; the very mention of it
makes me perfectly furious.
Somme and the big inn-keeper Chevreux
turned round, full Of indignation also; they
wanted to exclaim 1t is abominable!"
Bat that rascal of Monborne was sergeant.
and nobody dared speak a word or even give
side-look and as Winter, the corporal Of the
round, had taken down his mnsket, and made
q signal for Us to go on, we all took our arms
and followed him.
-