The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-03-17

~
t;ons were above my comprehension, and oio
not know how to answer them.
XVII.
After this story of the land We Wese
afraid of the sergeant, though ne oiu hoI ny ~, !
it, and came regularly TO ia iaks the H evening he
would hold the bottle before our lamp ana
exolAim: ,, - "a get.
ting low! We shall soon be put up1a nail
rations and then usrter, and 30 on. IL 10 al
the same IL a drop is left. anything more
than tho smell in ak months TruDert Will 10
He laughed, and 1 thought with indigna-
lyon will be satisfied with dropl What
are vou in want Off The city storehousee arc
bomb-proof, the fires ut the gnard. mouse Sro
burning every day. the market furnishes every
soldier with his ration of fresh meat, ~nEe , re-
epeotable citizens Sre glad IL they csh s''
This ia the way felt in my ill-humor. while
| treated him pleasantly. all the same' on eo-
count of his terrible wickedness. I;
| And il wss the truth. Fritz, even our ONT
drsn had nothing more nourishing to eat tnsn
| soup made of potatoes and salt peo'' "ni'"
| capse MANY dangerous maadies.
| The garrison had 10 lack of anything but,
| no, yithstanding. the governor was ali the
time proclai ming that the Ylsite were 10 no IL
commenced. ana that those whJ ;sb.S SNU Ui,b the
| rioor of military law. Those people Wanteu 70
have everything for themselves out nopooS
minded them, everybody hid what ne coniu;
| Forunate IN those times was he VINO kept
cow in his cellar, with some hay and stra
for fodder ; milk and butter were oeSonu ntI
price. Fortunate was he who Owned 10"
hens a fresh egg, at the end OF February,
was valued at fifteen sous, and they were noE
to be had even Mt that price Inc price OF
fresh meat went mp, 80 to speak, from hour 10
/, hour, and We ulu not ASA ~ ~ "@"7 DSH ~
The council of defence had sent away the
psupers of the city before the blockade, but o
cd
MANY slipped out at night into the trenches by
one Of the posterns they would ga and dlg up
. roots from under the rnow, and cut the netties
the f9oS to but P%hs viii not
! man risk for food 1t is better 10 1901 pSi'
than to suffer with hunger.
We needed only to meet these emanoia,seu ,sa,
creatures, these women dragging themseive o.
along the walls, these pitiful children, 10 Zee
d that famine had come, and We often SAID ="
Q ourselves 40
~ | in a month we shall be like these wretchec
creatures! What good will our money 90 1 us
whom q raddish will cost hundred francsf
It Then, Fritz, we smiled no more as We s1N
E the little ones eating around the table; VI
looked at each other, and this glance wa
It enough to make us understand each other.
The good sense and good feeling or a praV
woman are seen at times like this. Sorle ha
never spoken to me about our provisions
knew how prudent she was and sdPpose
ia that we must have provisions hidden some
ri where, without bong entirely sure of it, Sc
q. at evening. as we snt at our meagre supper
ne the fear that our children might want tn
. necessary food sometimes led NE to stay
ne "Eat feast away | l am not hungry.
at want an omelet OF d chicken. Pototoes do n;
it agree with me"
what was thinking.
"Come Moses" she said to me one day
Z. 1--WE are not as badly off aS you think and
ne we should come to i, oh, well! do not
troubled, wo shall hnl some way OF Rett'i
ts' alouEl s. long as Others have something
rat live upon, We shall not perish, more thi
si- they" ,..u-
70 5hs grvo tpe- courage, and alto cheerfnlly
Ter had so much confidence ir her.
on That same evening" after Zetfen and 1
at children bad gone to bed. Sorle took the lam
rat and led me to ner hiding place.
no Under the house we had three cellars, We
nel w, separated by lattioes. Against the lf
nd Of these lattces, Sorle had thrown bundles
md straw up to the very top but after removl
BOD the straw, went in, and saw at the II
nd. ther end two bags ofpotatoes, bag OF no.
ues aud on the little oil-oask q large piece of q
ian beef
for We stayed there more than an hour, 10 io'
and calculate, and think. These provisit
,ry- ght serve for q month, and those in :,
ace large cellar under the street, which we
me declared to the commissary OF provisions
ices fortnight. SO that SOrle said to me as
went up:
in "You 3 se that, with economy, we have W
rain will do for six weeks. A time of great W
YES, Ia now beginning and If the Emperor does
,po. come before the end Of six weeks, the city '
nv sucrender. Meanwhile, we must get al
pre. with potatoes and salt meat"
joy She " as right but every day saw how
air, children were suffering from this diet.
and could see that they grew thin, especially Ii
the David his large bright eyes, his hol
hou, cheeks, his increasing detected look, made
lin heart ache.
turn held him, l caressed him 1 whispered
him that whom the winter WAS over. we VIZ
sant 90 to Saverne, and his father wonid take
q to to drive in his carriage. He would look a.
ter w dreamily, aud then lay his head upon
with shoulder, with his arm around my neck, "
oncs ont answering. At last he refused To eat
.ruoh fen, too. became dishesrtened she "
, this often sob, and take her babe from me, anC
that she wanted 30 go, that she wanted T.
Baruch! You do not know what these
-AnGO bles are, Fritz; fathers troubles 10 for
, are children they are the cruelest of all
er o: child can imagine how his parents love
hope and what they sutier ~hen no ID unhappy
n the But what was to be done in the mtds
" are such calamitiesf Many other famlle
com. Franco were still more to be pitted than
IL the Daring all this time, you must RENE
will that we had the patrols, the shells in the
passed ing reQuisition and notices, the call to