The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-14

you, to my children, to our dear FAM
lies, all the time / have yet to live
las l have told you, l have passed
through awful crises. / have had mo-
ments Of furious, actual madness, at
the thought of being accused of a crime
SO monstrous.
Il am ready to appear before the
soldiers as a soldier who has nothing
for which to reproach himself They
will see ii in my face; they will read
my soul: they will be convinced that
am innocent; as all will who know
me-"
The letter written after his trial reads
as follows:
Il suffer much. but 1 pity you still
more than myself. ! know how much
you love me. Your heart must bleed.
On my side my adored one, my thought
has always been of you night and day
ITO be innocent, TO have lived life
without stain, and to see ones sell
condemned for the most monstrous
crime that a soldier can commit! What
could be more terrible? 1t seems to me
at times that / am the victitl OF an
awful nightmare.
Fears For His Strength.
1T is for you alone that / have re-
sisted until today; it is for you alone,
my adored one, that 1 have borne my
long agony. VIII my strength hold out
10 the end? l cannot tell. No one but
you can give me courage. 1t is only
from your love that 1 can draw it.
Above all else, no matter what may
become of me, search for the truth;
move earth and heaven to discover II;
sink in the effort, if need be, all our
fortune to rehablitate my name,
which now is dragged through the
mud. No matter what may be the cost,
we must wash out the unmerited
stain"
The following is taken from a letter
in the same strain written few days
later:
II do not sleep, and it is to you that 1
return. Am l then marked by fatal
seal, that / must drink this cup of bit
terness? At this moment l am calm.
My soul is strong. and it rises in the
silence of the night. How happy we
were, my darlingi Life smiled on us;
fortune, love. adorable children, a
united family-everything Then came
this thunderbolt, fearful, terrible. Buy,
l pray of you, playthings for the chill
dren for their New Years day; tell
them that their father sends them. 1t
must not be that their poor souls, just
entering upon life, should suffer
through our pain.
"Oh, my darling, had not I you how
gladly would l die Your love holds me
back, it is your love only that makes
me strong enough to bear the hatred OF
a nation.
And the people are right to hate me;
they have been told that / am a traitor
All, traitor, the horrible word, 1t
breaks my heart.
Il E. traitor Is it possible that they
could accuse me and condemn me for
crime so monstroUS,
Cry aloud my innocence; cry it with
all the strength of your lungs: cry it
upon the house tops, till the very walls
fall.
And hunt out the guilty one. 1t is
he whom we must find.
ALFRED"
Removal to DEVILS Island
After his fate was sealed and he had
been removed to Devils island. his de-
termination that the truth shall be
brought TO light is stronger than ever.
From the first of the letters written
from Devils island we select the fol-
lowing, which is in itself sufficient evil
dence of the bold and undaunted reSo-
luton with which he faced his fate:
Il made for your sake the greatest
sacrifice a man can make in resigning
myself to live after my tragic fate was
decided. 7 did this because you had
the truth must always come TO light.
In your turn, my darling, do all that is
humanity possible to discover the truth.
A wife and a mother yourself, try to
move the hearts of wives and mothers
so that they may give up to you the
key of this dreadful mystery. / must
have my honor if you want me to live.
/ must have it for our dear children.
Do not reason with your heart: that
no /
Nothing can be changed in our tragic
situation until the decision shall have
been reversed. Reflect, then, and pur-
sue the solution of this enigma. That
VIII be worth more than coming here
TO share my horrible life. 1t will be the
best, the only means of saving my life.
Say 10 yourself that it is a 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, written from Devils island:
Cher Petit Pierre:
Papa sends good big kisses both to you
and TO little Jeanne. lie thinks very often
of You both. | trust you will show little
Jean how TO make big towers of blocks
which il is such fun to tumble down Be
good children and pet your mother when
she is sad. Also be kind to your grand
father and crandmoth her. 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"
Hope to the Last.
The last letter but one that is included
in the book is as follows:
Il have written very many letters dur
ing these last months. To add anything
10 these would be superfluOus. | have told
you concerning all the appeals which 1
have written since last November to de-
mand my rehabilitation for Justice at last
10 so many innocent victims. In one of
my last letters / told you that the last
appeal which / had just sent to the gov
eminent was stronger and more deter
mined than ever. l am expecting every
day TO hear that my restoration has taken
place, that our punishment, as terrible as
il was unmerited. is at an end, that the
day of justice has come for us. | desire
today that l may kiss you with all my
heart as | love you, as also our dear and
adored children. Your devoted
In conclusion. if there existed the Slight
est doubt of Alfred Dreyfus' innocence
the publication of these letters cannot
fail TO dispel it. As Zoia says: NO gull
ty man could have written them" One
writer is a brave and innocent man. Here
is a passage from one of the letters writ
ten from Devils Island: My mind he
writes, cannot eXtricate itself for an in
slant from the horrible drama of which
am the victim. a tragedy which has
struck a blow not only at my life-that is
the least of evils. and truly il would have
been better had the wretch who commit
ted the crime killed me instead of wound
ing me as he has-but at my honor. the
honor of my children the honor of YOU
ALL" And again. in a letter dated June 8,
1898. he writes: You remember those lines
of Shakespeare in 'Othe1lo.' / found them
again not long since among my English
books / send them to you translated: