The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-03-15
ROV HOFFMAN MET His DEATH.
In EHTaged PTlS8ia1 and Fatal BlOW-The
Flight From and Return 10 The Scene Of
Death-The Corpse and The Huge Rats.
4 Sudden and a Terrible Fright The
Soldiers Search for Their Missing Com
Tad8 Floating Down The River.
Written for THE SUNDAY CALL

Week III q ntu LlIuLilG tHNtl4ls ~ LIp Nte ~
to you with proper effect ought to have the
Faubourg vocabulary Of Maitre BeliSaire,
his huge cabinet-maker's apron, and two or
three glasses OF that excellent MOntmartre
white wine, capable Of giving the Paris
accent even to a native Of Marseilles. l
should then be certain to send through
your veins the Shiver I felt on hearing Bell
saire relate at a table surrounded by his
comrades this lugubrious ana truthful story:
1t was the day after the amnesty Bells
aire meant to say the armisticel. My wife
had sent us both. myself and child, to take
turn in the direction Of Villeueuvc-la-GaT-
enne, to see what had become of a little bar
rack we owned down there at the waters
edge and concerning which we had heard
nothing since the siege. 1t yeXed me to
take the boy along. l knew that we were
going to fad ourselves among the Prussians,
and as l had never Yet seen any of them
face to face, I was afraid might have words
with them. But the lads mother stuck to
her notion. Get along with you Get
along with yOun said she. 1t Will give the
child a chance to take the air.
The fact is that he needed the air. the
poor little fellow, after his six months eX-
perence Of the siege and dampneSS.
well, we both started out across the
fields I don't know whether the boy was
pleased TO see that there were still trees and
birds OF whether lie played among the cul-
tIvated lands As for ne, did not go there
with such good will; there were too many
pointed helmets upon the roads. From the
canal TO the isle helmets only were to be met
with. 1t was as much as man could DO t.
keep from striking them! But where felt
most enraged was as l entered VileneuYe,
where saw our poor gardens all in CODfu-
sion. the houses opened, sacked, and all
those Prussians installed in Our homes, call
ing to each other from window TO window
and drying their knit wooden jackets upon
cur Venetian blinds, upon our arburS. For
tunate it was that the child was walking be-
side me, for every time my hand itchvd to
give blow thought TO myself as l glanced
at him Go slow there, BelisaiGel Take
care that no harm comes to the younGster!
That alone prevented me from making fool
Of myself. Then l understood why it was
that MY wife had insisted on my bringing
him with ne.
THE FOE IN THE CELLAR.
The bGrrack was at the end of the vii
lage The last house at the right-hand side
upon the quay. / found it emptied from
top 70 bottom like the rest. MT an article
Of furniture, not q pane of glass, nothing
but few bundles Of straw, and the last re-
naming fout of my great arm-c air, that
was smolderng in the fireplace. Every
thing everywhere suggested the Prussians,
but not one of them could l see anywhere
However, it seemed to me that something
was moving down in the cellar. ! had a
little workbench there at which | amused
myself with making glmcracks on Sunday.
/ told the child TO wait for me and went
down to see what was going on.
No sooner had | opened the door than a
tall drunkard of a soldier of William arose
from a pile Of shavings and came toward
me, his eyes buging out OF his head. with
storm OF words | could not understand. He
must have awakened very wicked, for at
the first word l strOve to speak 10 him he
began TO draw his saber.
'Iustantly my blood was up. All the
anger l had been gathering for an hour past
leaped into my lace. ! tore the holdfast
from the workbench and struck. You
know, comrades, whether Beusaire had
strong wrist at ordinary times; but that
day it appeared that had Gods thunder at
the end of my arm. At the first blow my
Prussian dropped aud displayed his full
length l believed him merely stunned.
All! well, yesi Sweep away the useless
rubbish Clean up the place with potash!
ITO me, who had never killed anything in
my lie, not even a lark, it brought an ex-
ceedinglY strange sensation to see this great
body lying before NE. A handsome, flaZen-
haired fellow, ma fol, with little downy
beard that curled like ash-shaviags. 1t made
my legs lremble beneath me TO look oil him.
Daring this time the lad grow tired of wait
Ing and l heard him shouting with all his
might at the top of the stairs, 'Papal papap
HIDING THE DEAD MAN.
"Some PruSsians were passing along the
road. l saw their sabers and their long legs
through the cellar window. Suddenly this
idea occurred to ME: II they enter the
child is lost. The will kill us BOTH That
put an end to my agitation. l trembled no
longer. l quickly thrust the Prussian under
the workbench. l piled on him all the
boards, shavings and sawdust | could find.
Then | FASTENED up the stairs to the impa-
tient lad.
Here ! am said.
WHAT'S the matter, papa? How pale
you look? cried he.
Come awayl come awayp said l.
And | assure you that the Uhlans might
have oyerthr0wn me or eyed me with con-
tempt and l would not have protested 1t
constantly seemed to me that they were run
ming and shouting behind us. Once heard
horse approaching as at a rapid gallon: |
thought that l should sink to the ground
from sheer fright. However. after passing the
bridges l beg n to feel ike myself again.
ST. Denis was full Of people. There WIS
no danger Of our being caught among the
crowd, Then only | thought of our poor
barrack. The Prussians, to obtain their
revenge, would be equal to setting it on
IRE when they found their Comrades
corpse, without counting that my neighbor.
Jacquot, the hshery guard, was the only
FTenchman IN the vicinity, and that the
killing OF the soldier so near his house
might get him into trouble. Really, it was
not very plucky to run away in THIS manner!
THE PRUssIANS AT RoLL-CALL.
should, at least, have so arranged it as
TO have caused the disappearance of the
body. The nearer we got to Paris the more
this idea tormented me. l could not help it
it worried me to leave that Prussian in
my cellar. At the ramparts / could contain
myself no longer.
"'Go on ahead said to the lad & have
customer to see at Saint-Denis.'
"Ihereupon l kissed him and turned
about My heart thumped little, yon may
well believe; but that didn't matter-I felt
greatly relieved at no longer having the
child with me.
When l re-entered Villeneuve night was
beginning TO set in. l kept my eyes wide
open, you may be sure, and stealthily adj
yancrd step by step. However, the village
appeared quiet enough. / saw the barrack
still In It's place. down there by the water
in the mist At the edge of the quay stood
long paisade-the Prussans going through
rOll-call. Good occasion to find the house
empty. As / glided along the fences l
caught sight OF Pere Jacquot spreading his
sWeep-nets In his courtyard. Decidedly
nothing had yet been discovered. l entered
our Darrack. l went down into the cellar
and telt around. The Prussian was still
huge rats in the act of gnawing his helmet,
and 1t gave me sudden, terrible fright to
feel the chln-cloth move beneath my hand.
For moment thought the dead man was
aboutto revive. But, mol His head was
heavy and cold. | squatted down in a cor
ner and waited; my idea was to throw the
CORPSE into the Seine when the other Prus-
SLAMS had gone to bed.
Il don't know whether being so near
death had anything to do with it, but the
tattoo of the Prussiaas seemed fearfully
sad TO ME that evening. Great trumpet
blasts sounded three by three. Tai tai ia!
1t was like the croaking of frogs. Our SOL
diers would not like to 60 10 bed to such
music.
For five minutes I heard sabers dragging
along the ground and the sound of knocking
at doors; then some soldiers entered my
court-y ard and began to call out:
"'H0fmann! HofmannY
Poor Hofmann was lying very TRANQUILITY
under my sbayings. But / felt as if my
hair would turn gray! Every instant ex-
pected to see them GENE down into the Gel
lar. | lad picked up the dead mans saber.
and 4 sat IHHTp mniinulesg saving within