Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1888-11-01
,ich YVES slippin.


away from US. ,ad.,,iv
Ytaard NV name called. 1t was my turn &C
- what wouldn't ! have given TO OK
able 10 say, clear 70 the end Una. lainous -.
of participies, very loud, very cleaF' 49,
a single fault but ! stumbled AT ene ~ I
words. and stood there beside my Denchi
swaying back and forth, my heart swenins,
without daring to raise my head n' al
NJ. Halnel speaking to me-
~ will not scold you. my little fran'z' n y.
said: sthis should be punishment enough
is ALWAYS like this. Each day we say 70 our,
selves. sPshawl / have plenty OF time
will leorn tomorrow And now you sec
What has come-ah, that has been the Sreai
misfortune of our Alsace; always putting on
ber education until tomorrow. Now these
men have the right TO say TO US; no" Il
tbis Won pretend TO be French, and you
can neither sneak nor write your languaSel
You are not the most TO blame, my poor
Frantz We all have much 10 reproach our
selves for. :.
ssYour fathers and mothers haven't given
enough attention to your education. aney
like better TO send you to work IN the helus
or TO help the spinners, because It brings IN
few sous more. And /, have | no fauit 70
find with myself How often have sent
Won to water my garden instead OF making
Won sudyi And when | wanted TO go trout
fishing, how impatient have been to get RID
Of you air.
Then. running on from one thing TO another,
NJ Hamel began TO talk to us about our Ian
ruaee. saving it was the most beautiful in
~. Il a ST
and that we must guard it among US and
never forget it, for when people fell into
slavery, so long as they held fast to their
language it was as If they kept the key to
their prison Then he took up grammar
and read us our lesson. | was astonished to
see how well understood it. All that he
said seemed so easy to me. think, also, that
had never listened so attentiyely before, and
perhaps too, that he had never before bad
so much patience in explaining to us. One
would have said that before going away
from US the poor man wanted 10 give us all
his knowledge, to force it into our heads at a
single stroke
When the lesson was finished we had our
writing next For this last day NJ Hamel
had made new copies for us, on which were
written in clear, round hand: France,
Alsace, France, Alsace.. They looked like
SO many little fluttering Gags hanging from
the rail at the front Of each desk. Iou
should have seen how we applied ourselves;
and what silence there wasl One beard
only the scratching of the pens on tie paper.
Once some beetles few in at the window, but
no one paid any attention to them, not even
the little ones, who were tracing their up
strokes and down strokes as energeTically anu
as ccnseientiously as il there We're something
French in that, too. On the roo Of the
school house tho pigeons were cooling softly,
and said TO myself while listened: "And
the pigeons, too; viii they have 20 sing IN
German"
From time to time, when | raised my eyes
10 the top of the page, could SEQ NJ. Hanel
sitting motionless in his chair, fixing his eyes
on the things around him, as if he wanted to
carry away in his mind the whole Of his
little school Just think Of i'll For forty
years he had sat there in the same place,
looking into his little court yard through the
window In front OF him, and with bis class
always tho same. Only the desks and benches
had become worn and polished by usage; the
walnut trees in the court yard had grown
bigger, and the hop vine that be had planted
with his own hands now encircled the win
dows and climbed up to the roof. How it
must have made his heart ache 10 think of
leaving all these things; TO hear his sister
going and coming in the chamber above
while she fastened their boxes; for they were
going the next day-going away from their
country forever
But for all that he had the courage 10
teach US to the end. After our writing came
our history lesson; then the little ones
chanted their "Ba-be-bi-bo-bun There at
tho back OF the room old Hauser had put on
his spectacles, and, holding his primer in
both hands, was spelling out the letters with
them You could see how earnest he was;
his voice trcmbled with emotion, and it was
so droll to hear him that we could hardly
keep from laughing and crying, too. ALL
shall always remember that last day.
All at once the clock in the church tower
sounded for noon, then chimed the AN
gelus" At the same moment the tTumpets
Of the Prussians, who were returning from
their drill, rang out under our windows. NJ.
Hamel raised himself from his chair; he was
very pale He had never looked so tall to
me as he did then.
My friends" he said, my friends,
LIP
But something choked him. He couldn't
finish what be was going to say.
He turned to the. blackboard, took up
piece Of chalk, and bearing on it with all his
strength, be wrote as large as he could:
"Vive la Francel"
Then he stood there leaning his head
against the wall, and without speaking,
made gesture with his hand:
1T is gor'-Translated from the
French Of Daudet for The Evening Sun.