The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-09-15
THE LAST LESSON.

THE LAST LESSON.
Note.-From time immemorial the fertile
provinces Of Alsace and Lorraine have been
the subject Of strife between France and
Germany. As early as the Third century the
Alemanni invaded Alsace, and, after long
war, subjugated the Celtic inhabitants and
filed up the region with German settlers,
who were called Ill Sassen, or dwellers on
the River III. From this on the provinces have
changed masters frequently. In 1851 Alsace,
then in the hands Of the Germans, Louis
XIV seized Strasburg, its principal city; and
sixteen years later the whole province came
under French authority by the treaty Of Rys-
wick. A small part Of the province was
coded to Prussia in 1914, but the majority OF
the Alsatians remained Frenchmen until as
result Of the Franco Prussian war, Alsace
was given up In 1871 to tho German empire,
of which it now forms part.
Robert Louis Stevenson, In his finland
Voyage" speaking Of this same patriotism Of
the French country folk, which Daudet SO
happily illustrates in this little story, says:
I'm what other country will you find pa
triotic ditty bring all the world into the
streetp and adds: ~ have watched a for
ester from Alsace while some one was sing
ing Les Malheurs de Ia France at a baptis-
NAL party in the neighborhood Of Fontaine-
bleau He arose from the table and took his son
aside, close by where was standing. Listen,
listen,' he said, bearing on the boys shout
der, and remember this, my son. A little
after he went out into the garden suddenly,
and could hear him sobbing in the dark
ness"
was very late in going to school that
morning, and / was afraid l should get q
good scolding, because M. Hamel had told us
that,he was going to question us in the par
ticiples and I didn't know the first word of
them. For minute the idea came to mo to
run away from school and enjoy myself in
the fields.
The day was so warm and clearl You
could hear the blackbird whistling in the
edge Of the wood, and in the meadow behind
the saw mill the Prussans were at their drill.
All this was O great deal more attractive to
me than tho rule for participles, but bad
the strength to resist, and hurried along
toward the school.
AsI passed the town hall saw a crowd Of
people gathered around the little bulletin
board. For two years it had been from this
little board that all our bad news had come;
news of battles lost, Of acquisitions, of orders
from the government, and thought without
stopping:
'What is going to happen nowr
Then, as / was running across the square,
Wachter, the blacksmith, who was there, with
his apprentice at his heels, reading the pos
ter, called after me:
Don't be in such hurry, little one; you'll
get to your school soon enoughr'
thought he was making fun Of me, and
when entered NJ Hamel's little courtyard l
was all out of breath.
Usually, when school began, there was
such hubbub that you could hear it In the
street; the opening and shutting CT desks,
everybody studying their lessons out loud,
stopping their ears with their fingers SO that
they might learn the better, and then the
masters great ruler that raped on the desk:
"a little less noise!"
was counting on all this confusion to get
to my bench without being noticed but on
this particular day, everything was as still
as if it had been a Sunday morning.
Through the open window l could see my
companions all in their places, and NJ.
Hamel walking up and down with the terri
BILE iron edged ruler under his arm l had
to open the door and go in, in the midst of
this profound stiffness. You may imagine
II I blushed, and was afraid
Well then, no. NJ Hamel looked at me
without any anger at all, and said gently:
"Go to your place quickly, my little
Frantz; We were going to begin without
YOU"
straddled the bench and settled myself
at my desk as quickly as l could Then,
little recovered from my fright, l noticed
Al Il l.
beautiful green fruck coat and his plated
shirt frill, and his embroidered skull cap of
black silk that he wore only on exhibition
I days, or when he gave out the prizes. And
the others, too; every one Of them seemed to
have something unusual or solemn about
them. But what surprised me most Of all
was to see at the back of the room, on the
benches that were usually empty, the men
of the village sitting as silent as We were:
old Hauser, with his three cunered hat, the
white haired mayor the old notary, and many
others Everybody was sad; and Hauser
had brought an old primer with the corners
all chewed, which he held wide open on his
knees, with bis big spectacles lying across
the pages.
While / was wondering at all this NJ
Hamel had taken his place in his chair, and,
in the same gentle, grave voice with which
he had spoken to me, he said to us:
my children, IL is the last time that shall
teach you. The order has come from Berlin
that only German shall be taught in the
schools Of Alsace and Lorraine. The new
master comes tomorrow. Today will be
your last lesson in French. I beg you to be
very attentive"
The words set my heart to humping. All,
the wretches! this was what they had posted
at the town hall
Ny last lesson in French!
And l who hardly knew how to write!
should never learn nowl I must break of
where was How longed for the time
had lost, for the days had played truant to
hunt for birds nests, or to slide on the river
Saar. Ny books that Just now had found
20 dull, 60 heavy to carry, my Bible history,
seemed to me old friends whom should be
sorry to part with 1t was the same with n.
Hamel The thought that he was going away,
that I should never see him any more, made
me forget the punishments and The slaps OF
the ruler. Poor mani
Il was in honor Of this last lesson that he
had put on his Sunday clothes, and now I'M