Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-09-27

had revcF I.sssns1 so aetenFivGy,s,oiS. and
perhans, too, that be bad never Lsfors bed
50 much patience In explaining to ra Que
would have said that before going away
from Us the poor man wanted to give rs al
his knowledge, to forcs it int ocr hsais q.
dr-b s.roka.
When tho lesson was finished wo had cur
wri.i1: net For this list day L Eamel
had raat.s new COPIES for Us, OF which were
written In a clear, ro21d hand: France,
Alsace, France, Alscce. They looked Ike
50 many Little Gurceriag Gags hanging FROM
the rail at the front Of each des&- You
should have seen bow we applied Ourselves;
and wha. silence there was! One beard
only the scra.chin. OF the pens on tie paper.
Orce Some beetles lew il ct tie window, OCT
no one paid any attention TO them, not even
the little oaes, VITO wers tracing their up
s.ro..cs ard down Strokes IS erer-eticaIly ami
as coasc.enliouSly IS il thege were something
French il Tat, too. On the roo. CT tie
school house the pigeons we've coo-nS sofr'y,
and said to myself While Listened: And
tho PIGEONS, too; will they have 70 sin: in
Gerrnaat,
From time to time, wien I raised ny eyes
to tic top Of tie page, could SEQ Il Hanael
on the things around hin, as If 10 wanted to
carry away II his mind the whole of his
Little school JUS. think of IT. For .orty
yeas he Led set t..ero il tie came Place,
loo..iry into lis Little court yard through ioe
window il front OF lin, and with eA' class
alwaTs tho sane Onl the Gesks and benches
he'd become worn and polished by usage; the
walnut trees in the court yard had grown
biS-er, and tho hop viEe taat be had planted
vita lis own hands now encircled tie win
dows and climbed u, TO the roof. Low 1t
must have made his heart ache TO think OF
leaving all these things; to hear bis SISTER
going and coming il the chamber above
while sic fastened their boxes; Tor they were
going tho next day-going away from their
country foreverl
But for ill that he had the courage to
teach Us to the end. After our writing came
our history lesson; then tho Lt.-e ones
chanted their "Ba-be-5i-bo-bu.n There CT
tho bacl; OF the room cd uauser had pu. on
his spectacles, and, holding his primer in
both hands, was spelling out tho letters W til
them. You could SEQ how earnest ho was;
his voice trcmbled with emotion, and it was
SO G.oll to hear hin that we could hardly
keep from laughing and crying, TOO. An!
shall always remember that l1s5 day.
AL at once the cloc.. in the church tower
sounded for noon, then chimed tho An
geIus" AT the same moment the trumpets
of tho Prussians, who were returni & from
their drill, rang out under our windows II.
uaIlel raised himself from his chair; Lc was
very pale, lie had never looked so tall to
me as he did then.
NY friends" he said, my friends,
LIP
Dut something. choked him. He couldn't
finish what he WIS going to sag.
He turned to the blackboard, took M
pi-ce OF chalk, and bearing on it with all his
strength, he wrote as large as he could:
"Vive n Francei'
Then he stood there leaning his head
against the wall, and, without speaking,
made a gesture with his hand:
at is a!l-Go!"-Translated from the
French of Daudet for The Evening Sun.