Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-20

consulate lis Ssldences always seemed 10
him to wear that s:nguiarly uninhabited
air pecthTaf-roce-stseet scene in theater
The facade. with their stiff striped wood
awnings over the windows. were of the
regularity colcr and pattern only seen
the stage. and conversations carried on in
the street below always seemed to be in
-ycrT' With that perfect confidence and Sc
curly which surrounds the actor in his
painted desert OF urban perspective. Yet
it was a peaceful change to the other by
ways and highways of Standardization
We're always filed With an equally unreal
and mechanical solGiery, who appeared to
be daily taken out of their Jo1es of Cas-
erne' depot and loosely scattered all
over the pretty linden-hauIted German
town There We're soldiers standing on
street corners. soldiers staring woodenly
INTO shcr windows. soldiers halted sudden
ly INTO Stone. like lizards, at the approach
of otiZiere. offiziere louIging stiffiy, four
abreast. sweeping the pavement with their
trailing saDers all at one angle. There
- were eavaicades OF red husSarS. cavalcades
of blue hussars. cavalcades of Uhlans. with
glittering- Iaaces.~and pennons-with or
without band-formally paradng: there
struggling .fatgues or details
coming round the corners; there were
Dusty. busiDesS-like columns of infantry,
going nowhere and to no purpose And
they ard all seemed to Oe wound up
for that service-and apparently always in
the same place. In. the band of their caps
-iayaYi3bly OF one EatteIn-was button,
in the Center II which was a square open
ing or keynote. The consul was always
convinced that through this keyhole. OPEN
!!'As.; by nsaas ga5 Key a. the nnmn,est
mann controlled his lieutenants and nom
commissioned officers, and even the gen.
'tiral = {iinlse lf---Hearng the same cap-waS
subject Through his cap to higher NOV
ing power. III the suburbs. when the sup
ply of soldiers gave out, there were
try boxes: when these dropped off there
were .'caisSons" or commssary wagons.
And lest the military idea should ever fall
from out the Schlachtstadt's burghers
mind. there were police in uniform. street
sweepers in uniform. the ticket takers
guards and porters at the "Bahnhof We're
. in uniform-but all wearing the same kind
OF cap. with the probability of having been
wound up freshly each morning for their
daily work Even the postman delivered
peaceful invoices 10 the consul with his
SIDE arms and the air of bringing dis
patches from the field CT battle and the
onsul saluted ard felt for a few moments
me whole weight of his consular response
bility-
Yet in spite of this military precedence.
ii did not seem in the least inconsistent
with the decidedly peaceful character of
the town, and this again suggested its utter
rnrcaity; wandering COWS sometimes got
mixed up with SqHadronS of cavalry, and
didn't seem to mind it: sheep passed singly
between files of infantry. or preceded them
nothing could be more delightful and in
noceEt than to see a regiment of infantry
in heavy marching order. laden with every
conceivable thing they could want for
week, returning after cheerful search for
an invisible enemy in the suburbs, to
bivouac peacefully among the cabbages in
the market place Nobody was ever i'm
posed upon for a moment by their ire
Inendous energy and severe display. Drums
might beat trumpets blow, dragons
charge furiously all over the Exerzer platZ
eLrr Yl.AYr
the streets to the cultural command of an
officer-nobody seemed to mind it. People
glanced up % recognize Rudolf Max
doing their service nodded and went
officers always wore their side arms and
at the most peaceful of social dinners
only relinquished their swords in the hall.
apparently that they might be ready to
buckle them on again and rush out to do
battle for the --fetherland between the
courses, the other guests only looked upon
these Weapons in the light of sticks and
umbrellas, and possessed their souls in
peace And when, added to this singular
irCongruity. many of these warriors were
specialized. sIudious men, and, despite their
lethal weapons. wore slightly profession
al air and were. to a man. deeply senti-
mental and singularly simple, their atti-
tude in this eternal kriegspiel seemed to
the consul more puzZling than ever.
As he entered his consulate he was con-
fronted with another aspect of Schlacht-
stadt quite as wonderful. yet already IA
'alarun1S without" which. however, never
seemed TO penetrate beyond the town it
self. Schlachtstadt and its suburbs were
known all over the world for the manufac-
lures of certain beautiful textile fabrics
apd any of the rank and file of those
warriors had built up the fame and pros
perity of the district over their peaceful
looms in wayside cottages There Were
great depots and counting houses larger
than even the cavalry barracks where no
other uniform but that of the postman
was known Hence ii was that the con-
kufs chief duty was TO uphold the flag of
his own country by the examination and
certification of divers invoices sent to his
office by the manufacturers But oddly
enough. these business messengers We're
chiefly women-not clerks, but ordinary
household servants, and on busy days the
consulate might have been mistaken for
female registry office, so filled and pos
sessed il was by waiting madchen. Here
1t was that Gretchen, Lieschen and Ciar-
chen, in the cleanest of blue gowns and
stoutly but smartly shod, brought their
invoices in piece of clean paper or
folded in blue handkerchief and laid
thtnn. with myers more or less worn and
stubby from hard service. before the con-
sui Tor his signature. Once, in the case of
a very young madchen, that signature was
biotted by the sweep of fiaxen braid upon
" as the child turned TO go. but generally
there was a grave. serious business in
stlnct and sense of responsibility in these
girls of ordinary peasant origin. which.
equally with their sisters of France, were
az tilt fHSllSn or American
woman of any class.
Ihat morning, however, there was
shSht sur among those who. with their
knitting. were waiting their turn in the
outer office as the vice consul ushered the
ponce inspector into the consuls private
once He was in uniform, of course and
~ took MIN a moment to recover from his
haDltuai sun. military salute-a little
silHer than that of the actual soldier
III was a matter of Importance, A stranger
Tau that morning been arrested in the
Town ana identified a military deserter
ttt Chained TO be an American citizen: he
was now In the outer office waiting the
consul : Interrogation.
ne consul knew. however, that the omin-
ous accusation had only a mild Significance
mere me term military deserter" fnclud
ca any one who had in youth emigrated To
foreign county without first fulfilling mis-
hliht.ry duty TO his fatherland His f1rst
eNPeflences OF these cases had been tedious
anu unicuit-involying a reference TO his
munster AT Berlin. correspondence with
the American State Department a condj-
uon OF unpleasant tension. and finally the
prolonged detention of some innocent Ger
anan-nat NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. citizen VINO
mad forgotten to bring his papers with him
in revisling his own native country IL so
cnanced. however. that the consul entoyeo