The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1882-05-11
Bread Cast Upes The Water,

of Jena bore melancholy witness 10 I
brief bui bloody battle which opened Z
way tor the ,Eiumphsl entry d the Prem
army into Berlin eleven days later. Du
ing this iateryal the Prussians lost six
thousand men, sirty.hye flags, and .
hapdrei pieces Of artillery. while the fer
cious and ill.disciplined French soldier
70 struck terror into the helpless peasanti
:. !. Of the districts through which they passe,
. Marshall Davous,. 'iho butcher Of Han
!. burg thus named on account Of b.
o cruel treatment Of that eity--had taken u
I. his quarters in the most comfortable hous
!, be could fisd near the field o. Jens, an
: here issued his orders regarding the dis
/, posal of hi. troops. and received the re
: ports Of his adjutants. He bad JUS
, thrown aside bis cloak, and was about 4
! retire 10 rest, when one Of bisofficers en-
terod TO submit 10 the marshal's consider
alton case demanding prompt attention
The German omaAie must, he said. b,
taught manners. Ten soldiers Of a Ger
tain company Of the lth Infantry, quar-
tered in the village Of Waldrof, have been
turned out by the inhabitants, aud some OF
them badly wounded,
Dayoust's cold eye lighted up as he curt.
y replied, Send Of lieutenant with
twenty men, aud orders to choose ten Of
these rufiians at Waldorf aud shoot them
down. Where's Woldrof? he then asked,
turning to one OF those useful creatures
always to be found ready to serve an
enemy as guide and interpreter, though to
the hurt oftheir own countrymen.
Well, there's Upper Waldorf, at the en-.
trance Of a narrow valley to the right;
Middle Waldorf, beyond the hill and
Lower Waldorf, about half-an.hour's
march farther on.
And the marshal, without troubling
himself more about the matter, went to
sleep; it was quite enough for him that ten
men were to be sacrificed
Next morning at sunrise Lieutenant La
motto, at the head of twenty men, set out
to seek the village of Waldorf. They had
to march across the battle field, which
was not pleasant task, and they all heart
| lily wished their orrand over Having
gained a height commanding a view of
two or three different valleys, the leader
asked his guide whereabouts the village
of Waldorf might be.
There, replied the man, indicating a
place to the left-there is Upper Waldorf
En- rdnh cried Lamotte, and half an hour
later the execution party entered the viii
laee, and halted on an open space near the
church, where the inhabitants were desir
ed to assemble. The villagers were all up
and doing, for the din of battle still sound
ing in the ears, few OF them had slept that |
night The soldiers compelled the men
to form line, while the women and child. |
rem stood near dreading the worst
AT this crisis the son of the parish cer-
gymen confronted the invaders. He was
a young man OF about twenty years of age,
a student of theology; and happily, was
not without some knowledge of French.
AS soon as he realized the situation, he
begged Lieutenant Lamotte for an explana.
ton Of his proceeding
I've orders to punish this village repli-
ed the officer, for the bad usage which our
soldiers experieced here yesterday. The
marshal commands ten Of you to be shot.
All that | can do is to permit you to draw
lots, or give up the offenders.
But, sir, returned the youth, your COM
mander is misinformed. You are the first
French soldiers to enter our village, which,
lying hidden in this narrow valley, has
hitherto escaped observation. There are
two other places Of the name OF Waldorf,
and it would be quite easy to convince
yourself that We are guiltless OF all provo
cation. | entreat you TO spare the inno-
cent.
| have no time for investigation. Ny
orders are to act against Waldorf and this,
am told, is the place. shall wait till
you have agreed among yourselves which !
Ten Of you are TO fall, ] can do no more
Meanwhile the villagers had been in
ormed Of the impending doom. The wo
men wept and entreated, while the men
tood pale and speechless. Even the Off /,
-, A. ~. |
oathed the task assigned them; while the
PASTORS son, in the firm persuasion that
his representations would be availing,
pleaded his cause with ieryor and ad
lress that did not fail to make an impres.
ion.
Lieutenant Lamotte now hesitated be.
geen his duty and human compassion,
While the youthful spokesm an appealed to !,
conscience and the demands OF authority =
higher than Marshal Dayeusts. At last
he officer consented to wait till sergeant. =
under the guidance OF rus tic :, !,
into the service, should have y
,rought further instructions from head
quarters.
Meanwhile the wretehed villagers stood :,
'aiting in unspeakable suspense; while !,
he lieutenant, true Frepchman, who :
Don mastered a painful emotion, even at =
be risk Of appearing heartless, asked for a :"
'reakfast for himself and men This ap. =
zeal was responded TO by several women, :,
rho brought black bread. jugs OF beer, :
nd one or two small cheeses, which =
caniy repas, the hungry soldiers. not = =
Titbo1t q sneer at Ia cuisine ARemGpide, y
agerly divided among themselves. The Y
aud Of victims looked moodily on, more - :.
han one OF them muttering. Fine work y
his, feeding our butchersl y
Even il they deserved the name, remark
d the young iheologian. we are only do = !,
ng what Christ commands. Whether !,