The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1899-03-01

ONCE nave met Win blniiar ttchtment
I an writing this in Paris, " re
nearly every question Of the da is
relegated TO the background, and the
Dreyfus case is still the one absorb
ing topic OF the hour. Furthermore,
have just returned to the city from
long and interesting chat with the
much-to-be-pitied, brave and true
hearted lady who is one OF the victims
OF this nineteenth century tragedy.
II is not easy accurately to picture
the situation here-the difficulty one
has in gaining even the location Of
Madame Alfred Dreyfus People are
simply afraid to say what they know,
they may be speaking to a police spy;
and whatever their own private
opinion may be, they would rather
not state it, or, in fact, r5e drawn into
any conversation on the subject.
Said o prominent French parsonage TO
me when we were discussing the mat
ter together: "Donot write to Madame
Dreyfus and trust to the post; your
letter will be opened. Go to her; or,
il you have anything you wish to say
by letter, send q trusty messenger, or
deliver it personally" This from q
country whose boast is Liberty,
Equality, fraternity"
For some time now Madame has re-
sided at a quiet little village on the
Seine, few miles out of Paris. Here
she can obtain greater. seclusion for
herself, with fresh country air and
the delights of garden for her chill
dren. The village is beautifully situ-
ated, and the house stands in charm
ing garden, bright with flower beds
and lawn, fanked by pine, acacia and
other trees. The letter which / had
carefully deposited in the hands OF q
servant Of the house two days before
had prepared Madame Dreyfus for
my visit, and in few moments after
! arrived we were engaged in an ami
mated conversation.
The fest thing of which 1 became
convinced was that the lady with
whom 1 was talking was extremely
anxious to avoid oil unnecessary pub
licity. Well aware Of the great inter-
est the countries of Europe are taking
in the painful case of her husband,
and compelled as she is by the force
OF circumstances to keep herself be-
fore the public, yet she shrinks palpa-
bly, from self advertisement, and
would prefer, if possible. to live alto
gether apart-from the world. ''For
the children's sake" a bright, cheerful
face bellies the aching heart that must
be the lot Of her who is forcibly separ-
ated from one who is dearer to her
than life itself. And for "the chill
dren's sake" the mother has an added
desire for seclusion. The bright
eyed, merry, and altogether light
hearted little ones do mot understand
the sad tragedy that has darkened
their home; they think that their
father is travelling, and talk ioyfully Of
his return, planning in their artless
way the many things to be done when
"father comes home" 1t is better to
keep thom in ignorance as long as
possible; and in response to my re-
quest for photographs, Madame Drey-
fus tells me that she is sorry to have
TO refuse, but that she does not wish
either her own or her children's feat
ures to become familiar to the public.
There are no photographs OF either Of
them in existence, and she would
rather that such continue to be the
case. One could not press the mat
ter--it would be both indelicate and
unkind+ but when L sought permis-
sion to reproduce the portrait of Cap
tain Dreyfus, I was rather. surprised
to hear that the gentleman had only
been photographed olhe in his life
that was many year, ago, when he
was young lieutenant-it was
done by. a friend and bore very
little resemblance to the clever and
energetic Captain of the Staff of more
recent days. Any portrait which
has appeared of either husband or
wife is neither authentic nor author
lied, and Is, in fact, only imaginative.
Madame has no photograph of her
husband in the house, neither has she
the remotest scrap of his writing. The
reason for the non-pCssession of the
latter is obvious; the authorities we>n
too anxious to establish the guilt Of
the captain to leave much in the house
which might be helpful to his de-
tenders.
Much is said about the monthly let
ters the unhappy prisoner at the lie
du Diable sends to his wife, but no one
need laud the leniency of the Govern
ment in this respect-these letters
never reach their destination. They
60 to the Central prison and are there
filtered. 1t is only what the authorities
are pleased to allow which ultimately
reaches Madame Dreyfus. Even then
the contents are sad beyond all ex-
preston, and though the captain de-
clares his trust in God, and believes
his innocence will be ultimately estab.
lished before the world, yet he cannot
prevent the ring Of despair at his lot
and the occasional expression OF acute
suffering becoming paramount. His
devoted love for his wife runs through
every epistle, and one cannot but feel
the deepest sympathy for the unfor-
tunate soldier in his gloomy exile when
he writes such words as the following:
"How all my love for you comes home
to me at this moment 1t is solely the
Thought OF Won. NV moor darling that