The Portland daily press., 1899-07-14
THE DREYFUS LETTERS.
They Have Attained the Sublime
in Sorrow.
on tpourings of the Heart to the FAITH
fuI wife.

Emile zola may be somewhat prejudiced
when 1t comes TO criticising the letters Of
Alfred Dreyfus, but 1t is certain that the
letters in many respects bear witness te
the truth of his stateaent This is how
lola described them:" They are admirable
do not know ef any pages of higher
leorception CT more eloquent. They ha Z
attained the sublime in sorrow, and
afierwa:d ds win endure like an impsrisii.
able monument when our own writings,
perhaps. shall have passed into oblivion.
For they are the sob itself OF all human
suffering. Ihe man who wrote these
letters cannot be guilty. Read them,
read them some evening. with your
family gathered around your hearthstone.
You will be dissolved in tears"
The Dreyfus affair hitherto has been
like novel without a hero-that Is, the
hero disappeared in the opening chapter,
and 1t has taken ever since to develop the
plot and work up climax which Is al
most without parallel for its dramatic
quality. Enter the hero. mete out justice
to the villain, and the world is satisfied.
These little plays with Destiny, the great
est and most artistic stage-manager the
world has ever seen, never fail OF their
effect. and there is more joy in the world
over the happy ending to this great his.
toric play, the Dreyfus affair, than could
he derived from the test novel or short
story in the world, because the degrade
ticn OF this innccsnt man was a thing
which came home with startling power TO
all peoples. The hero of the tragic story
was lost sight Of after the first chapte-.
1t was known where he was and that was
almost all. The scene of the story as told
hitherto by the newspapers was laid al
most altogether in France or the scenes
laid in PIIe du Diahls, and of the feelings
which ruled In the heart of man, torn
from his family and his honor, the news
pipers have not been In a position to
speak. 1t had been left entirely to our
imagination TO piece out that part of the
st3ry until the publication of Captain
Drsyfns's letters TO his wife closed the
gap aud completed the sad history of
l'aifaire Dreyfus.
The translation Of these letters, which
Harrer s. Brothers are about to publish
under the title of The Letters of Drsyfus
to his Wife, gives us for the FIRST time the
story In the prisoners own words; and
it is story that for pathos, tragedy, de-
spair, and true Spartan heroism is unsur-
Iassed In the annals of either history or
lotion. The arrest, which took place on
the fifteenth of October. 1894. came upon
Dreyfus like a bolt out of clear sky.
For almost two months the liberty Of
writing even to his wife was forbidden,
but on December 5th the longed-for per.
mission was obtained. and thereafter
letters passed between husband and wifs
daily. and sometimes almost hourly,
The letters published in this volume cover
the period from December 5, 1894. 10
March s, 1898.
1t goes without saying that the entire
correspondence should be read to appre-
ciate their pathos and the hopeless tragedy
Of the writer's lot. The extracts which
this article contains will give some con-
ception of their general character. They
also give for the first time an intimate
Insight into the heroic soul Of their au-
thor. 1t will be. perhaps, hest to begin
with the second letter of the series. dated
December 8, 1894, when Dieyfus as yet
had hardly realized the danger that mem
aced him,
~ am waiting with impatience for
letter from you. You are my hope; you
are my consolation; were 1t not for you
life would be burden. At the bare
thought that they could accuse me of a
crime SO frightful, SO monstrous, my
whole being trembles; my body reyolts
against 1t. To have worked all my life
for one thing alone, to avenGe my coun-
try, to struggle for her against the in
famous ravisher who has snatched from
Ms our dear Ais ce, and then to be accused
OF treason against that country--no, my
loved one, my mind refuses to compre-
hend It'll Do you remember my telling
sou how, when / was In Mulhouse, ten
years ago, In Septemi er, heard Q Ger
man band under our windows celebrating
the anniversary OF SedAnf My grief was
such that wept; bit the sheets Of my
bed with rage. and swore an oath to
consecrate al my strength, ell my tptel]i-
genoe, to the service Of my country
against those WIN thus offered Insult to
| the grief Of Alsace.
"No. no. will not speak Of IL for
my reason. Moreover my iife has hence
| forth bit one aim: to ind the wretch who
has betrayed his codhtfy. to *dnd fhe
| traitor foF whom no punishment could be
| too severe. Oh, dear France, thou that
love with all my SOUL with all nv