New-York tribune., 1899-07-30

rba fret stage was the puDlc degtd1auoh
rhan came the physical sufferlngs caused Dy the
men I oo'''l, -, the tronics where even Europeans
ntoy,inq all the comforts OF nome cannot I'VE
longer than two years on end. NoDouy pene,e9
that the despised and heartproheh "Ieuch Cy.lu
r,,r,,,,,e oven so long. 1t seemS tnat many dcti-
III, ,visbed for his DEATH and now regret ms
coming back to the land OF the HvihB once
,nore and his friends maintain that the treat
birn ont of pain" SunstrOke alone and unalded
might have killed him. And seVeral ufnes ms
iailers fancied it had, as they carried ms Sehse-
iess body from under the herce rays uat peat
unon the earth in the courtyard Where ne mad
~, and dung him upOn his bed in the SunO-
eating chamber inside. But gradually ne re-
yived The strong will power tluHphcd over
The weakness Of the lacerated body, ana lent II
strength and endurance. AS ne had 10 ch"oSe
between the fiery furnace of the little courtyard
and the thick, sitting atmosphere OF MS ceIl
and often preferred the former, ne over and
over again lost consciousness, ana ieiI hea|lIy
20 the ground as il stunned by blow from a
death dealing club. And each time the Jailers
would shake their heads, and thnk ms uine
he is done for in real earnest ana they "olld
catch him by the head and feet carry him IN,
and fling him on his couch, wondering at the
rigidity Of his limbs which clearly bespoke
catalepsy or death. And thus one attack fo!-
lowed the other rendering life a terror yet
death came not His jaers themselves grew
weak and fell i'll and left one by one, but cap
tain Dreyfus endured and lived for the supreme
hour of Justice and retribution.
Of physical sufferings Fever was another The
fever which burns the very marrow Of ones
bones and causes the brain itself, as IT were, TO
melt and seethe in temporary madness per-
meated the soul and racked the solitary dweller.
Qunine the only palliative and lts ell
cheney depended on its abuse. AS 1t was
choice between sunstroke out OF doors and suho-
cation within, so ii become choice between the
maladjes caused by quinine and the blood bO.!-
ing heart gnawing fever
Anamia was one Of the most frequent and
one Of the most dangerous. 1t threatened at
last to end his torture and his life, and his JAN
ers did much 10 aid it's work. For instance,
they suddenly stopped the supply OF preserves
which he was wont to receive from Cayenne,
and at the same time abolished his rations OF
milk condemnng him the while TO live upon
forms Of food which his stomach refused 70 take.
and then at last the end hove clearly IN sight
Dreyfus was sinking But the supernumAn VIII
power Of the man triumphed again, and he still
lived on while his jailers were slckening and
going home After some months Of this wanton
aggravaton Of his hell upon earth, he was again
allowed to receive the preserves ana milk For
il is only Just to acknowledge that this treat
ment was determined upon not merely for the
purpose Of inlictng pain The captains frlends
hold that its object was the less lnhuman one
TO hasten the end and obtain for the prisoner a
happy release II so, il proved Intellectual ana
was finally given up.
A MARVELLOUS ESCAPE.
II is wonderful when one comes 10 think OF Z
that Dreyfus should have supported this unend-
ing ordeal and escaped madness and death.
Frequent attacks OF sunstroke. numerous oouts
Of fever chronic weakness and an3mla, aggra-
waited by bad food combined 10 undermine MS
constitution. yet still the man survived Nor
does that list exhaust the series OF causes that
were working to his destruction. But the most
maddenng of all, from which there was neither
remedy nor respite, were those moral tortures
which no physician can probe and no writer can
describe In his case they constituted the worm
that died not At first the prisoner used 70 re-
ceiye letters from his dearly devoted VIE. sad
missiyes those very sadness was balm to hls
blighted soul. Then some Jealous pubic ser
want suggested that these letters be copied. and
the copies alone given to him. And TINS humane
proposal was acted upon at once without any
Of the red tape delays that commonly charac-
teriZe bureaucracy
ThencefOrWard he perused letters written IN
the handwriting of some copylst, ana was ever
after deprived of the poor consolation OF con-
templating the penstrokes Of his widowed we
Of divining here tremor in the gentle hdnd tnat
formed the word of fancylng there sudden
influx of energy born of h~pe, and oi o"ellns
on the spots blurred by the tear OF pity ana OK
love Nay, he had not even true copies TO redd-
His wife's letters were mutilated changed tam
pered with till he could no longer be sure whose
words he was perusing. This may wen Seeiu
the most poignant stroke of all But II Vas hoC
There was worse conceivable, and Drey les .
executioners conceived and realized IT.
The correspondence between the lonely prs
oner on the island of the tortures and his de-
voted but helpless wife was wholly suppressed
His letters to his lawyer were likewise stopped
Thus he was isolated morally, as wei as
physically, and left alone to endure all without
even a hope to look forward 10 OF an object 70
attain Life became worse than useless Day
after day dragged slowly onward, week aiter
week passed YEARLY away, but these change 5
of times and alterations of seasons brought
no tidings from home. What further miSiotI-
une had visited those who were near ana Gear
to him? Were they dead? Would they not al
least survive long enough to witness his rem
statement in honor? And the fears and IL s.
gvings, the weird visions of death, and the fear
full perspectives Of despair that chased edc Il
other through the simmerng brain OF the
wretched man standing thus alone against esti "a