Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-11-14
ON GUARD.
n how bored l MAS chat day!

oh, how bored was that day!
It was during the second siege OF Paris,
and had been placed with my squadron
on guard at La Belle Epine, six miles from
Eotre Dame.
Poor BellesEpine! Such charming inn
rs it had been once upon time-gay,
noisy lively, full of travellers, positions
and pretty maidservants.
Louis XIV went there with Nine de
Pompadonr and planted the tree which
served as the inns sign. Since then many
other lovers had written their names on
its bark, while they drank the little wine
of the country in its shade.
Then one day silence had suddenly
succeeded to noise travellers and postll-
ions had ceased coming, and the pretty
maidservants themselves had fled away,
leaving the inn empty and deserted.
The Prussians were coming
These latter had, of course, burned up
the doors and the furniture, broken the
windows, stolen the old kitchen clock ana
smashed in the roof. On the day on which
we encamped there there remained OF La
Belle Epine only some blackened walls
behind which one could just find shelter
from the shells which the commune was
sending out from Villejuif and Hautes-
Bruyeres.
Before us the road to Italy stretched out
indefinitely, white, dusty, flooded with
sunlight The orders We're to let no one
from Paris pass, and they were easy to
carry out. Not cart, not man, not q
dog, broke the gloom of the landscape
Now and then little white cloud rose
above the paving stones. On looking clos
er you saw that it was another proJectile
that had just burst. Only the day before
we had wonderful luck. A woman selling
potatoes had tried to pass with her cart.
As she appeared to be a suspicious charac-
ter, she was ordered to turn back. She re-
fused and, in Short was arrested and sent
to the general. This important event had
certainly occupied Is minutes, and it was
anyhow distraction, but today no wom-
an selling potatoes appeared on the horl-
son.
And my companions were in a dreadful
temper The captain had just learned that
the trousers that had accompanied him
through the entire campaign of the army
of the Loire were not eternal and showed
their age by a large opening in the portion
which touches the saddle. 1t was | who
had timidly pointed this out to him, and
greatly feared the consequences of my per
spicuty. The lieutenant, who had ex-
pucted to bo married early in the spring,
was wondering whether the powers that
DC intended to keep him bachelor much
longer and also overwhclm him with colds
in the head, due to sleeping in the open
air.. To amusc himself, he was whlstling
little air between his teeth, very much
out CT time. There was also Il second lieu
tenant, but he never said q word He con-
tented himself with smoking and with
blowing great clouds from his pipe at even
intervals. Did he think about anything?
don't know, but this mute smoking gave
him an appearance Of great profundity. Ii
you spoke TO him, he fixed you with
round impassivo eye. You thought he was
about to answer-two Or three putfs OF
smoke issued from his mouth, and that
was all-he gravely continued to smoke.
These were the agreeable persons with
whom the commune forced Inc to spend
A. existence. On my way home from
Germany, where l had been a prisoner for
five months, l had all through the journey
dreamed of Paris as one dreams OF the
promised land, and l had barely arrived
when l was obliged to fight against the
city which epitoInized all the memories
and all the joys of my youth. My thoughts
were becoming gloomy. l reflected that l
was ridiculous, ard to cheer me up went
and tried to read the German verses writ
ten on the tombstone of q Prussian officer
killed at Chevilly and buried behind the
inn. l had already dcciphcrcd tho first
line, "Adec, liebe bruder Farewell, be-
loved brcther''), when I was interrupted
in my task by my three companions cries
of establishment.