The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-13
'Letters of Capt. Dreyfus."

The In! Letters of Capt. Dreyfus to His
Wife Translated by L. G. Moreau.
Harper & Brothers, New York. For
sale by the St Paul Book and Station
cry company.
Some writer has defined letters as
pure soul-prints," and nothing in the
world is so surely a revelation of a mans
inmost character as the letters he writes.
especially those which are written to an
Intimate
These letters by Dreyfus written from
the prison of Cherche-Midi to his. wife
give US an insight into the feelings and
temperament of the man which could be
revealed IN no other way. Within these
simple missives now filled with DESPAIR
and keenest suffering, now with some:
thing akin to hope, is read the whole
heart-Ilfe OF man, perhaps more sinned
against than any other of his time.
Yet, in the epistles before US there are
no arguments tending to prove the inno-
cence of the writer, for probably an ,+
tempted defense would not have been al
lowed to pass the censor. There is onlv
a persistent declaration of innocence-a
relterat1on that is awful and tragic in its
very monotony. There is a sympathetic
and persuasive significance that is emf
nentIy human, and convinces one that
Dreyfus was incapable of treason.
10 the letters there is a valuable in
Iouucllon Dy waiter I1ttlefield, giving
In brief the history of the crime #
concludes impressively: when In early
autumn Of 1898, he was believed to be
dying, this message was cab,ed from
Paris to Cayenne: 'Embalm him if he
dies, and send us the corpse But he
lived. And he may still live to see in his
appalling experience the cause of social
revolution in France-a revolution that
shall make the rights of the individual
paramount to the traditions of the army.
to the subtle cravings of the clericals. to
the fantastic schemes Of he Faubourg St.
Germain.'
In the Act dAccusatiOn, Dreyfus was
charged with being a gambler and liber-
tine, as well as traitor, unmindful of the
Well-being of his family, faithless to his
wife But the spirit of every one of his
letters is incompatible with such a char
acter. When he writes to his wife the
hrSt time after his imprisonment, he saws:
L will not tell you all that 1 have suf-
fered; there are not in the world words
strong enough to express it. Do YOU re-
member when I used to tell you how
happy We were? Everything in life smiled
on US. Then all at once a fearful thunder
bolt; my brain still is Keeling with the
shock. For me to be accused of the most
monstrous crime that a soldier can COM
NIT. Even today I feel that I must be
the victim of an awful nightmare"
The letter ends with affectionate terms
Of endearment.
His great grief and anxiety is for his
wife and children, fearing that to the
latter may be left unjustily a furnished
reputation.
LAS for me, fear nothing" he says. eff
I have suffered deeply, I have never
wavered nor bowed my head. The mo-
ments of my deepest anguish have been
those when I have thought of you, my
good darling, of all our family. Thank
every one for the admirable devotion
shown in my cause"
Again, he appeals to his wife and fam
lily to use every means to vindicate him,
saying, Our honor is all. Tell Mathew
Dreyfus that I count upon him for this