The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-03-24

Il
| caroassesl oh, what times of trial"
went home competei5 upset. -
Wa had not many Provisions lett o9t, n,',,, H.
open the shop, l said to him:
stop, my child, take this little basket o Hi'
Bnrguet; II is some potatoes and salt besi.
Take caro- that nobody sees 1t, they would take
IL from you. Say that 1t Is in remembrance Oh
the poor doserter."
The child went. He told me that Burguet
wept.
ade W here you are. attacked from day to day
This is what the Germans and spaniards had
to suffsr, and what We suffered in our turn
This is war
Even the siege ratons we're almost gone;
but Moplin the comm sndsnt OF the place, b av-
ing died Of typhus, the famine did not prevent
the lieutenant. colonel, who took his place,
from giving balls ard fetes to the ENJOYS, In
tho old Thsvenot house. The windows were
bright, music play ed, the staff officers drank
punch and warm wine, to make believe ina!
VIC were living in abundance. There WAS Rood
resson for bandaging the eyes of these ENJOYS
till they reached the very ball. room, ior, II
they had seen the look of the people, all the
punch bowls and warm wines in the world
would not have deceived them.
All this time, the grave-diRger Mouyot ana
ais two boys came every morning to take their
two three drops Of brandy. they m'Sht
say We drink to the dead!' az he veterans said
| We drink To the CosSacksw Nobody in the
city wond willingly have undertaken to bury
these who had died oftyphus; they alone, after
taking their drop, dared to throw the bodies
| frC the hu"pital npon cart. and pie them
MP in he pit, and then they passed for grave
diggers, with father Abede.
-tne urtrr-w1ss to wrap ~. aaad-i d sheet-
But " no that it was done 7 Old Monyot
himself told me that they were buried in theit
cioa.s or vests, 40 1T might be, and sometimes
| entirely naked.
For every corpse these men had their thirty
! five sons: Father Monyot, the bind mnn, can
| tell you so !; it, was his harvest
| Toward the end of Aterch, III the midst OF
| tins fearful want, when there was not u dog
| and still less u cat, to be seen in the stIeete,
tbs city was full of evil tidings; rrmors of bat
| ties lost, of marches upon Paris, etc.
| AS the ENJOYS had been received, and balls
| given in their honor, something OF our
| misfortunes became known either through the
family or the servants.
Often, in wandering through the streets
| which ran along the rsmp8rts, / mounted one
of the bastions, looking toward Strasburg, or
Metz, or Paris. l had no fear then of stray
balls. looked forth npon the Thousand
bivouac fires scattered over the plain, the SOL
diers of the enemy returning from the villages
meat, at others crouched around the little fires
which shone like stars upon the edge of the
forest, and at their patrols and their covered
batteries from which their flag was Tying:
! Sometimes ! looked at the smoke of the
ohimneys at Quatre. Vents, or BibelberS, or
Mittelbronn. Our chimneys had no smoke,
our festive days were over.
You can never imagine how many thoughts
come to you, when you are so shut up, as your
eyes follow the long white highways, and you
imagine yourself walking there, talking with
people about the news asking them what they
have suffered, and telling them what you have
yourself endured.
From the bastiou of the guard, ! cou!d see
even the white peaks of the Schneeberg;
imagined myself IN the midst os foresters
wood cutters and wood splitters. There was
~ rumor that they we're defending their route
from Schirmeck longed to know if it were
true.
| As looked toward the Maisons Rouges. OF
the road to Paris, ma gned my self to be will
my old friend LsseT ] saw him At bis hearth
in despair at having TO support 81 mauy peo
pie. for tho Russian. Austrian, and SAVarlal
, s;a.f officers remained upon this route and new
reg ,meuIs went by continually.
Aud spring came! The SNOW began to mel
in the iurrows nud bahiud the he6Hes Th
great forests of La Bonnie F&ntainO and tn
HNracls began to change their tiuts
The ihiug which affected ne most, az haV
aftep hcred MAS hear the first LARK a
tho end ot March. The sky was entirely C lear
and look ed mp to see the hird.)f though
; of little David, aUd l wep*I)I knew no
why.
Men have strange tAs6Ehts; they are affect
> ed by the song of fG~b!rd, aad sometimes, year
after, the eauleS uuts recall the same emoti IN,
80 as eveuto make them WCtp.
At Inst the house was PARTED, and fife
q aEd Syrle came back - ii.