The Portland daily press., 1899-07-14

my darling for spasms take me by the
throat. No man has ever borne the mar.
tyruom that endure. No physical suffer.
that feel when my thoughts turn to
this accusation. II I had not my honor
20 DEFEND assure you that should pre-
fer DEATH at least death would be forget
all. 0AI,kREflv-r
| From the letter on the day preceding
his trial " 10 seen that he was stIil. after
two months imprlsonment, sauguine
and hopsfal, with never doubs about
his ultimate aoquittal 1t is In striking
contrast to the letter written sitter the
trial. when the worst had happened and
the nightmare had come true. We sub
join 10th letters:
AT last am coming.to the END OF my
sufferings, to the euu Of my agony.
omorrow l shall appear before my
judges, my brow high. my soul tranquil.
ihe trial have nnders one. terrible as 10
has been. has purified my soul shall
return 20 you hetter than was before !
want 70 consscrate to you, 10 my children
10 our dear families. all the time have
| yet 10 live.
''As / have told you, l hava passed
through awful crlsss. l have ha;i
moments CT furious. actual madness at
the thought OF being accused Of ufims
so monstrous.
II am ready to appear before the sol
diers as = ssoldier who has nothing for
which TO reproach himself. They will see
10 In my facs they viii real my soul
they VIII he convinced thnt am innocsnt
as all will who know me. -
The letter written after his trial reads
as follows:
81 suser mueh, but pity you stu
m ore than myself know how mrch
you love me. Your heart must bleed. On
10Y side, my adored one, my thought has
always been Of you night and day.
"To be inuocent, TO have lived a life
without q stain, and 10 zee ones self
condemned for the meat monstrous crime
| that . soldier can commit What could
be more teIribltY IL seems to me at times
that am the victim of an awful night
| mare.
''lt Is for you alone that have resisted
until today; 1t Is for you alone, my aiored
one, thst l have borne my long agony !
viii my strength hold ous to the endf I
cannot tell. No one tut you can give me
courage. IL is only from yorr love that
l can draw It.
become OF NE. eearoh for the truth; move
Eerth and Heaven to discover L., sink in
ths effort IL need be. all onr fortune, to
rehabilltate my name which now Is
dragged through ths mud. No matter
what may be this cost, we must wash out
the unmerited stain"
The following is taken from a letter 10
the same strain written few days later:
. do not sleep, and It is to Jon that
return. Am then marked by fatal
seal. that must drink this cup of bitter
nessf At this moment l aJu calm. My
sonl 10 strong. and it rise, In the silence
Of the night. How happy we were my
darlingi Life smiled on MS, fortune,
lore, adorable children, united family
--evsrythin Then came this thunder
bolt, fearful, terrible. buy, pray of
New Years Day; tell them that their
father sends them. IL must not be that
their poor souls, just entering upon life,
should suffer through our pain.
"Uh, my darling. had not l you how
gladly would diel Your love holds me
back, IL Is your love only TINT makes me
strong enough to bear the hatred of a
nation.
land the peop.e are right to hate me,
they have been told that am traitor.
Alb, traitor, the horrible word 1t breaks
my heart. -.
they couli accuse me and condemn me
for crime so monstrousi
"Cry aloud my inEocvnce; cry 1t with
all the stren 9Th of your lungs; cry it
upon the house tops, TIL the very walls
fall.
"And hunt out the guilty one. 1t is he
whom we must lind.
81 embrace you as love you:
After his fate was sealed and he had
been removed to DEVILS Island, his dster.
mination that the truth shall be brought
to light is stronger than ever. From the
island we select the following, which l.
in itself sufficient evidence of the bold
and undsunted resolution with which he
face1 mis- fate.
t''I ma ie for your sake the greatest sac
rince a man can make in resigning myself
to live after my tragic fate was uecidch.
did this because you had inculoatei In
me the conviction that the truth must
alwaJ come to light. In your turn, my
darling, do all that is humanity possible
to discover the truth. A wife and
mother yourself, try to move this hearts Of
wives and mothers, 60 that they may give
up to you the key of this dreadfnl mys-
tsry. / must have my honor II you want
me to live. l must nave 1t for our dear
children. Do not reason with your heart;
that does no good l have been convicted.
Nothing can te changed In our tragic sit
uation until thu decision shall have Eesn
reversed. Reiiect, then, and pursue the
solut-on OF THIS enigma. IENb Will De
worth more then coming here to share
my horritle life. It will be the test, the
only means OF saving my life. Say to
yourself that 1t Is question of life or
death.for me, as we'll as for our children. !"
And what could be more touching than
the following letter to his little boy, writ.
ten from DEVILS Island;
"Cher Petit PierTes
Papa sends good big kisses both to
you and to little Jeanne. He thinks very
often OF you both. trust you will show
little Jean how to make big high towers
of blocks. which 1t is suoh fun to tumble
down. Be good children, and pet your
mother when she Is sad. Also be- kinh to
your grand father and grandmother. and
play no bad tricks on your aunts. When
papa returns from his journey, you will
come to meet him at the station with
little Jeanne, with mamma, and all the
rest
''More big kisses for you and for
Jeanne.
YOUR PAPA"
The last letter but ons that is included
In the book is as follows:
ssI have written verv many Iattara dur.