Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-30
CHAPTER III.

and one hand shading her face. could
the exhausted infantry tramping through
the Porte Rouge between the steadily in
creas,nS throngs of people.
The crowd at first was silent, but gravely
attentive Little by little. however. they
realized what ii meant: they began to I'M
dsrstand that this entry of Blanchard's d.
vision from Mezieres, intact. was nothing
less than the first actual triumph for
French strategy since the Uhlan vanguard
gaIloped over the frontier and the Prussian
needle guns cracked across the Spichercn
in the early days of August For, when
Bi&achard's division of Vinoy's 18th Corps
stole out of MezieIes at dawn on Septem-
Der 2. 1870, with the furnace breath of
Sedan in their faces and the German cav
airy at their heels. nobody, not even Gen
ViEoy himself. dared hope TO turn re-
treat into victory or to bring back one
soldier out of ten under tine guns of Paris.
Yet row 1t was done. On September D
Blanchard's division Joined Maud'h hugs at
Laon and the 18th Corps reunited.
And here they were: it was Guilhems bri-
gade the 9Th Hussars and the AID and 35th
line infantry that surged in at the Porte
Rouge. drums beating, beating, beating,
through the pulsating dust waves, bay
onets erimsoned by the red level rays of
the setting sun
Suddenly on the forts of Issy. Vanves.
Montrouge and Bicetre the siege guns
doomed their welcome to the returning
troops Fort after fort took up the salute.
hastion after bastion. until from the Fort
G'Irvy to the battery of tee Double crown.
and from Fontenoy to the Fortress or the
East the thunder rolled in one majestic
reverberaticn. dominated by the tremendous
shocks from Mont Valerien.
When the roar from the sixteen forts
had ceased aud tine immense waves OF
sound rolled further and further away.
leaving L. the ears OF the people nothing
but tire drum taps of marching columns.
a sentiment. long unkfcwn. stirred every
heart in Paris. The sentiment was hope.
AT the Porte Rouge they We're cheering
now: Mont Farnasse heard the unaccus-
TONED sound and the streets Swarmed
from the Luxembourg to the MontrouSe
gate. They we're cheering. too. i'll the
north across The river, " here the artillery
of Maud hugs division was parking along
the Avenue de Ia Granac Armce-
Down at the Porte Rouge the huss2rs
entered a a trot. trumpeters sounding the
recirnental march. while the crowd broke
inIo frantic cheering and tear-choked
voices blessed them and tear-Stained races
were raised to the hare, bright sky, burn
ished with n fiercer radiance where the
SIN hung over the smoking Mendon WOODS
like a disk of polished copper
And so after all they had returned, tins
army given up for lost. They had return
ed singed b. the flames in the north. STAN
ed with northern rain and mud ana dust,
exhausted starving. Keeling under the
weight of their knapsacks and rifles, out
saved from annihilation-
Paris forgot everything except that-fo--
GOT the red trail Of butchery from Forbach
20 Metz: forgot the smoking debris OF bat
ties lost and battles worse than lost Tor
got Strassbourg, crumbling under German
shells forgot Metz. drenched with biood'
covering under the specter OF famine, Tor
and BelfOrt and the lInDcclle Tis-
reuvers of an ironclad fleet-all this was
forgotten in the joy of the moment What
if three German armies were even then on
the march toward Paris? Paris would he
ready. Paris would arm: nothing should
withstand her: nothing could penetrate ne:
cuirassed armor CT enormous forts-siXteen
forts strung outside the walls on cree
of lesser redoubts and batteries sixty kiiJ-
meters in circumference. necklace OF
steel. double necklace. for inside the ring
of forts lay the city fortiiications proper
the enormous enciente forty-one kiofneters
long encircling the city from the Seine to
the Marine. The forts and the ninety-four
Eastions mounted 2,3D cannon. huge pieces
of Il and L. and even a few Elton ma
rine monsters of IL and IL. The people
had heard their voices frors Mont Nalerien.
setting the whole city rocking with the
earthquake of their Welcome to the Eth
Corps And how the throngs ch4ered.
Hide and YClette leaned together from
their doo- and saw pillar OF dust, dyed
crimson in the suns last level rays, NOV
ing up the Rue Il Ypres.
They coming-they will pass here,
cried Hide. Look. YoletIe,
Il see" said Yolette, her voice unsteady
with excitement, Il am going to get all our
bread and the three bottles of wine
She dropped her sisters hand and ran
back through the shop 10 the kitchen. talk
ing all the while excitedly 10 herself.
Quick, quick, First the wine-then
glsss-no. three glasses-now the bread-a!l
of it-now a little basket-ah. mon Dieu,
where is my little basket? Oh there you
are. and there is brioche in you. too. 1t
shall be eaten by one of our brave so;-
ders. Scheherazade. the loness. sprawl
Ing on a rug in the small square parlor,
blinked arniably up into Yolettes flushed
face The girl stopped and gave her Il
hasty kiss in passing-then ran out with
the basket, closing the door quickly behind
her.
The street a turmoil. A torrent of
dust flooded with sunset light rolled and
eddied above the red caps of the passing
troops. Strange timid eyes sought hers.
strange, eager faces rose up before her and
passed on. blotted out in the whirls of
crimsoned dust. The tears sprang to her
eyes: she could not speak. but she held out
her basket to the passing troops; a soldier
somewhere In the throng cried, rs the
wine for US. madam and another close
beside her wiped the red wine from his lips
with the sleeve Of a stained overcoat and
paced the bottle TO comrade, laughing
from sheer weakness.
Our poor soldiers. Our poor soldiers
repeated Hide. holding to IOlette's apron.
See, Look. Every body is bringing them
bread and wine now, But you were the
first. lolette; YOU thought OF it first my
darlng,'
Yclette saw nothing distinctly in the
surging crowd around. but from every side
spectral faces appeared through the dust
sad. boyish eyes grew brighter as they met
hers-grimy calloused hands reached gu:
for mOrsel of bread or a drop of wine.
Already Hide had run back to the kitch-
en- and returned with big china bowl, into
which she poured their last bottles of wine:
and now the bowl passed from lip to lip
until II was lost TO sight in the dust cloud.
Everybody is bringing bread and wine
look, iolette. cried Hide: oh. the poor
things, the poor sick things, Do you be-
lieve they will all get a little wine? There
are so maHy-So many
The bowl is empty" began Yolette but
at that moment the dust cloud wavered
grew thinner whrled up in one last furry
0s mounted officer galloped by then
slowly settled and sifted back into the
roadway
The regiment had passed.
YOlette watched the vanishing column
down the street until the dust hid the las,
straggler and the tap, tap tap of the drum
died away Hide. standing beside her,