Evening star., 1898-09-17

| iciS pS1Oro tne majority Of the French
| army were aware of it.
Inus far throughout the day he had been
| r1eid, 1nscrutable, Napoleonic
BUT now he abandoned himself to white
rag. he Knew that he had failed, that his
theatrical blow would recoil upon himself.
| that a quicker intelligence than his had
read MS plans and simply awaited his move
10 checkmate him with conscious ease
III was now too late for any human inter-
medlary to stop the magnificent cavalry
| combat that forthwith took place
by common consent artillery and infantry
dtlhe were silent, and the two great bodies
| OF morse closed together with a great thud
| mat was distinctly audible above the cries
! or men, the neighing of animals and the
| clash of weapons
| 1t was not soon ended. Sixty thousand
troops cannot get at one another SO quick
! ly. Charge after charge took place, and
| the ensuing melee revealed gigantic and
diSOrganiZed mob
The Germans at first withstood the
rench, but 1t was absolutely impossible to
| make headway, and time came when
Nansittart could discern a definite move
ment backward into the dip between the
| hills.
Instantly he launched forth two big cav
| airy brigades, Montsaloy in command They
| swerved off as they rode and avoided the
| struggling hosts in the valley.
Up the hill they went and in a few
| strides were among the German gunners
! regiment after regiment followed, until
/ practically the whole of the French mount
| ell arm were in motion. The American had
also read the records of Mars la Tour 1t
was his turn to try the value of Won
| MGithcs strategy.
! The issue was never in doubt for mo-
| mcnt. By 3:1o the German center was
/ crushed. by t o'clock the village of Mars
! Ia Tour was occupied and the French SOL
! dlerS were frantically cheering a the base
/ OF the statue that looks so piteousiy toward
! the lost province of Lorraine. BY > they
| were in Grayelotte, and were only withheld
| by sheer force of discipline from pursuing
their routed foes to the very walls of Metz
simultaneously with the central advance
the French right and left wings attacked
kreuznach and the Grand Duke Albrecht
The one driven off toward Diedenhofen
and the other into the Nosges.
Wiihelm's defeat was complete and utter
y disastrous. If the mobilization of France
were only on level with that of her hered
itary enemy there was a splendid opportun-
lty for the investment of Metz and an ad-
vance to the left bank of the Rhine
Some enthusiasts did urge Vansittart to
press forward beyond Metz with two strong
them In the moment of victory the born
| tacutian knows the value of restraint.
Notwithstanding her boasted number of
! troops, France was practically lighting with
| her entire available army on the frontier
while Germany could place eight such CO.
| horts i'll the field as that overthrown at
Mars la Tour.
Now that the battle was won the million
aires anxiety redoubled. There was little
fear of effective rally in the vicinity of
| Metz for some days at least, but it was
| tickliSh question to decide how best to fol-
low up the advantage already gained
Was it possible to invest the great from
Tier fortress with the troops at his disposal
and at the same time ward off the attacks
which would surely be made from Strass-
bourg and Diedenhofen?
He must take thought. In multitude of
counselors might be found wisdom. So he
summoned an assembly of divisional COM
mander5 and the general staff at the small
inn in the center of Gravelotte the house
al which Napoleon the Third and the prince
imperial slept on the night before the bat
tie of Vionville.
Meanwhile where was Folliet? Weak
from the fierce exhaustion of the fight.
hodrse with the involuntary cries he ut
tered as he follow ed up the French advan e.
yet professional zeal came to his aid. The
aba ndonment of the conqueror yielded to
the partinacity Of the sleuth hound. Even
as he partoOk of some slight refreshment
ne piled his quest among the dazed villag-
ers.
He could not get them to collect their
scattered wits until a postman, an old SOL
der, put in an appearance. On him the
detective fastened eagerly.
w here is the house of Franz Schwartz
friend?"
Hans Schwartz. the farmer, Why, close
to the Rois des Ognons. l know it too well
confound the place and Hans Schwartz,
too
so. 'Tis a long walk, them"
"A good mile from the village, and he
had more letters than ever man needed who
only went to Metz for the weekly market"
Sayest so. Whence came these letters?'
Some from Metz, but most from Paris
and Berlin"
Have you long served in this district
pOstman?"
Ever since the war"
"A Hfetimei And not postmaster yet?''
''Ha, ha, postmaster. That's good. Who