The age-herald., 1899-08-08
HIS PENT UP EMOTION BURST Cried Out His Innocence Like a
 Wounded Animal. DENIED THE FATAL B0RDEREAU Five Years in the Galleys-My Wife, My Children, My God, I Am
 Innocent, Innocent, Sob-
 bed the Prisoner
DENIED THE FATAL B0RDEREAU

1 Rennes, August 7.-The proceedings of
 the courtmartial before which Captain
 Dreyfus is on trial opened at 7:10 o'clock
 this morning.
 l The scene inside the court room was most
 animated. Every inch of space was filled i a quarter of an hour before the proceedings opened.
 l The large, airy, well lighted room in which the trial takes place. is in the form of a concert hall with a stage and pro- cenium. The platform of the stage has 1 been brought forward beyond the foot
 lights. The room is painted a light brown , with the names of famous Bretons, such : as Lesage, Renan and Chateaubri and, in-
 scribed in golden letters on an ornamental 1 band about midway between the floor and 1 ceiling.
 l long table covered with dark blue cloth
 was ranged in front of the stage, behind | which were the seats of the members of
 the courtmartial. A high backed arm chair 1 has been provided for the president The
 seats were of polished mahogany and were
 upholstered in dark, red cloth.
 Behind the members of the court sat the
 supplementary judges, who must attend all
 sittings and be able to replace any member
 who may fall i'll or otherwise be unable to
 be present. Behind the supplementary 1 judges were few privileged members of l the public.
 Back of the stage hung a crucifx, before
 which the witnesses take the oath. Facing
 this at the back of the hall was bust rep
 resenting the republic with the letters "R. l F." Republique Francase) saluted Members. Of Court 1 At ' o'clock M Labori and NJ Demange 1 and Major Carriere, with their assistants, | took their seats and the witnesses follow l ed. Then sharp words from the officer l commanding the row of soldiers at the l back of the court rang out: I Garry arms!'
 Present, armsi'
 There was a rattle of arms and moment l later Colonel Jouaust, followed by the l other members of the court, walked on the | stage from a room behind and took seats | at the table.
 Deep silence fell upon the audience, who, l up to then, had engaged in abuses of con- versation.
 l Colonel Jouanst and his colleagues were l in full parade uniform with aigrettes in the l front of their peaked shakos Colonel Jou- aust's aigrette was white, the others were tri-color. 1 On the right hand of Colonel Jouaust sat | Lieutenant Colonel Brongniart, Major De l Broon and Captain Parfait, all of the ar- l tillery. On his left hand were Majors Pro- | filet and Merle and Captain Beauvaist, al- | so of the artillery.
 She Has Heard Them All An interesting figure, seated behind the | judges, was the woman known as La Dame l Blanche, the white lady who has never ab- | sented herself from any of the proceedings connected with the Dreyfus affair, includ- | ing all sessions of the Esterhazy, Zola and l Piquart trials and the proceedings of the | court of cessation.
 | All the actors in the drama are known to l her. She is a pronounced Dreyfus admir- | CT, very rich and wears splendid pearls She 1 was dressed today in black with black and l white trimmings, and a pink bodice. l The splendid gold lace uniforms of the | generals summoned as witnesses, and the l uniforms of the judges, soldiers and var | ious officers present, combined to light up | the dark tints with which the walls of the halls were painted and gave a bright ap- pearance to the court room Immediately after Colonel Jouaust was seated he gave the order to brdng in the prisoner. All eyes were then turned to the right of the stage beside which was door leading to a room in which Dreyfus was awaiting the summons.
 Almost everybody but the more promi-
 nent officers stood on their feet some
 mounted on benches to obtain better view There were subdued cries of "sit down" amid which the door opened and Captain Alfred Dreyfus. preceded and followed by
 gendarme, emerged into the court room Features Were Paliid His features were deathly pale and his teeth were set with a determined but not defiant bearing. He walked quickly with almost an elastic step and ascended the
 three steps leading to the platform in front of the judges. There he drew himself up erect brought his right hand sharply to the peak of his | kepi or military cap. giving the military salute, showing that years of incarceration on Devils Island and the terrible anguish of | body and mind had not impaired his sol l dierly instinct and bearing The prisoner then removed his kepi and | ir1