Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-12-03
WOODBURY., N. J, THURSDAY DECEMBER 3, 1896

the fort, but the Prussians bar the way.
They have seen MS and are in pursuit.
They must not find us
Give me your order, / cried. Il
will take it while you hide here. No
one will suspect woman
Il had no time to finish We heard a
discharge of musketry, and neighbor
rushed in, crying
The Prussisnsl The Prussians are
herel'
Il pushed my son and his friends
into storeroom, at the farther end of
which, under some hay, was the door
leading into the cellar where | kept my
little stock of wine and cider.
'The Prussians entered in through
the open door. / saw others in the road.
There must have been about 100 of them
altogether. A young officer was in COM
mand.
HE came up to me and asked brutal
ly:
-" 1t is you who are Nine. Jambe?'
Yes, | am she, answered him.
Your son has just entered this
housef'
" My soni He is far away from here,
always supposing that he is still alive.
He is here / am sure Of it. Come.
now, where is hep
You must seek him then.
He made a sign, and l was sur
rounded and prevented from moving my
position. The soldiers ransacked the
house, / asking myself meanwhile who
could be the coward who had betrayed
my son.
''At last the brutes found him-him
and his friends - and / saw them
dragged out, covered with the hay in
which they had attempted to conceal
themselves. And my son How brave
and handsome he looked, with his fash
ing eyesl Yes; he was my own flesh
and blood, and felt proud of him.
They were vigorously searched for. the
message they were supposed to bear,
but as it was verbal one they could
find nothing.
''The officer stamped about the little
room. mad with rage. Glancing at the
prisoners, he cried:
Is your son among them?'
He is not, and, if he were, Iwould
not confess it..
''He drew his sword on me, and then
we were all dragged out into the road
way. the officer shouting:
Where is the man who gave us the
information?'
4" One of his companions has Just
killed him, Prussian sergeant replied,
pointing to corpse which | had not
seen, hidden, as it was, behind bush.
''The traitor was c-tireur, who,
to save his own life. had given up my
son to the enemy. His punishment had
not been long delayed.
' The murderer shall be shotl' cried
the officer. Then, looking fiercely at a
group Of the villagers who were COVER
ing under his mems bayonets, he con-
tinued:
Some one among you knows the
man Jambe. Point him out to me, or
will order my men to fire on you.
''Ah, they were brave, my neighbors
They made no reply.
gave an order in a low voice. His men
pinned me with my back against wall
and placed rifles in the hands Of my
son and his comrades.
"And the officer said:
On the word of command you will
fire and kill that woman. If you dis
obey. it will be your turn next. He
urged on his men, who arranged the un-
fortunates whom be was turning into
assassins in line in front Of me.
"A cry of horror ran through the
crowd, followed by dead silence. +
well, offered my soul to le bon Dieu,
telling myself that | must try to show
how Frenchwoman could die if need
be, and l waited, watching my son.
''But he did not seem to see me. His
eyes were turned to his comrades. They
seemed to be making signs to one an
other.
" Ready the word Of command
thundered.
Present. And they obeyed, cover
ing me with their rifles.
'Firep They turned suddenly to the
right about. An explosion followed, and
four Prussians, the officer among the
number, fell And, above the roar OF
the discharge, heard my boys voice
clearly:
'Firel Yes, but on you, cowardP
"A general volley on the part Of the
Prussians followed, and / fell, with q
bullet in my shoulder. Before lost con.
sciousness, however, I saw that my son
was still unhurt.
II learned afterward that, just q;
this moment, the cannon Of the Fort dc
Joux began to play. The commandant
had caught the reflection Of the sunlight
from the Prussians' helmets, and, con-
cluding-none too soon-that something
untoward was taking place, had sent q
few shells into the crowd and rapidly
dispersed the enemy. 1t was those guns
which. some hours later, covered the re.
treat of our Army Of the East across the
Swiss frontier. y
Mime. .Iambe died a few years after
these events-which l have related al
nearly as / can in her own words-took
place. Her story was recalled to my
mind the other day on hearing that the
son of this brave woman had Just beer
promoted to the command of his regi
Snonf Dooroo,,5c WaatrIv