The Indiana State sentinel., 1880-05-19

"At that very moment the Prussans were
only few days distant from Paris. We con-
suited at first as to whether it would not be
better to take our patient into The country:
but, as soon as out of doors, he must inevit-
ably discover the true state of France, and
thought him still too weak, too much over
powered by his great shock to let him know
the truth. We, there fore, decided 10 re-
main.
''The first day Of the investment assembled
to their apartments. l remember that L was
greatly agitates and full of that heart-anguish
we all felt at seeing the gates of Paris closed,
the battle at our very walls, our outskirts
become frontiers. found the old man sit
ting up in his bed, jubilant and proud.
''Well,' said he, the siege has begunP
81 stared at him in amazement.
"His granddaughter turned toward me:
"'Yes, Doctor said She 1T is great news.
The siege Of Berlin has begunl'
"She spoke these words gravely and quietly
as she piled her needle. How could he have
suspected that anything was wrong? He
could not hear the cannon Of the forts. He
could not see unhappy Paris, woe-begone
and in confusion. What he could perceive
from his bed was a section Of the Arc de
Tromphe and around him, in his chamber,
Ol DTlC VI lut lTSI 1LnplTc
we'll calculated to keep up his illusions. There
were portraits of marshals, engravings of
battles, the King of Rome in baby clothes;
also great firm brackets ornamented with
brass trophies, loaded with Imperial relics,
medals, bronzes, a Saint Helena's rock under
a glass shade, miniatures representing the
same dame with curls and bright eyes in ball
attire, in a yellow dress with leg-of-mutton
sleeves-and all these-the brackets, the
King of Rome, the marshals, the yellow
danes with well-developed busts and short
waists-displaying that cramped stiffness
which was accounted grace in 1906. Brave
Colonel! 1t was this atmosphere of victories
and conquests far more than all we could tell
him that made him believe so implicitly in
the seige of Berlin.
"From that day our military operations
were very much simpliie&. To capture Ber-
lin was now but matter of patience. From
time to time. when the old man grew too
weary of all this we read him letter from
his sOn-an imaginary letter, of course, for
nothing entered Paris, and, beside, since
Sedan, MacMahon's aide-de-camp had
been sent to German fortress.
Imagine the despair of the poor child with
out news of her father, knowing him to be a
prisoner deprived of everything, and. per-
ndI elCks Yet OUlt8tQ W JOlOuS ltb-
tiers from him, somewhat brief letters, such rs
a soldier in the field would write as he pushed
constantly ahead through vanquished
country. Sometimes her strength failed her
and we had no tidings for weeks. But the
old man when such was the case, grew uneasy
and could not sleep. Then a letter quickly ar
rived from Germany, and she read it to him
gaily at his bedside, the while forcing back
her tears. The Colonel listened attentiveiy,
smiled with a knowing air approved, criti-
cized and explained to use the obscure pas
sages But he was at his best in the answers
he sent TO his son: Never forget that you
are Frenchman, dictated he. BE generous
to those poor people. Do not make the inva-
sion too hard for them to bear And there
were recommendations without end, adorable
sermons on respecting private property and
the politeness due to ladies-an entire code
of military honor, In fact, for the use of the
conquerors- With it were also mingled some
general political observations upon the con-
ditions of peace to be imposed on the van
quished. There, i ought to say, he was not
exacting: The war indemnity, but nothing
more Of what good is it TO take their Pro-
vinces? Can we make France out of Ger
many?'
"He dictated all this in firm voice, and
there was So much sincerity, such admirable
patriotic faith in his words that it was i'm
possible not to be affected on hearing him.
During this time the siege was constantly
progressing-alas! not that of Berlinl 1t was
the period of intense cold, of the lombard
ment of epidemies. of famine. But thanks
to our care, to our efforts to the indefatigable
tenderness which multiplied itselfabout him,
the serenity of the old man was never for an
sv,cN Lrol- Trf1 II - l.
to procure white bread and fresh meat for
him. There was only enough for him though,
and you can imagine nothing more touching
than these breakfasts of the grandfather
so innocently selfsh-the old man in
bed, fresh and smiling, with his napkin
tucked under his chin, and beside him his
granddaughter, somewhat pale through prl-
vation, guiding his hands making him drink,
assisting him as he ate all those forbidden
delicacies. Then, animated by the repast
in the comfort of his warm chamber, with
the wintry wind without and the snow whirl-
ing around his windows, the aged cuirassier
recalled his campaigns in the North, and re-
lated to US. for the hundreth time, the story
of the terrible retreat from Russia, during
which there was nothing to eat but frozen
biscuit and horse flesh. Can you understand,
my child we ate horse fesh?"
"0f course she understood it, For two
months she had eaten nothing else. From
day to day, in proportion as he grew better,
our task with the patient became more diff
cult. The sluggishness of his senses and
limbs, which had been of such service to us
up to that time, began TO disappear Twice
or thrice already the terrible cannonade at
the maillot gate had made him leap up with
ear as attentive as that Of hunting dog, and
we had been obliged to invent for Bazaine
a recent victory before Berlin and salvos
fired in honor of it at the Invalides. An
other day, when we had pushed his bed up
to the windew-it was, 1 believe, the Thurs
day of Buzenval-he saw quite plainly some
National Guards massed upon the Avenue
de la Grande-Armee.
"'What troops are thOse?' asked the old
man, and we heard him mutter between his
teeth: 'Wretehed looking menl Wretched
looking meni'
Nothing further came Of it, but we real
Gzed that for the 4uture we would have to be
very careful. Unfortunately we were not
careful enough.