The Savannah morning news., 1901-04-28

events that could In any way bear upon
his case. picking up his bits OF evidence
from many and scattered sources; here
a letter to the press from some person in
a position TO know whereof he speaks,
there a speech before the chamber, again
a side issue of some minor court martial
or trial. In the altered minds of the public
it may now be said to be matter OF
common belief that at the center of the
opaque web sits Esterhazy whose hand
writing was found in the pocket of the
German, Schwarzkopf, who admitted
having been in communication with the
German embassy IN Paris, who fed to
England neither answering the open ac-
cusations of treachery nor daring to re-
turn and face the courts of his own coun-
try; that Dreyfus being a Jew, and writ
ing hand somewhat similar to that
which Esserhazy displayed in the IA
nous bordereau, was pitched upon as
fhe scapegoat, and that for
the honor of the army" the
maze of persecution and intrigue upon
which the army then entered was followed
until the entanglements of falsehood and
purtury became plain to the eyes of the
world. Dreyfus himself, / have no doubt,
knows all this, known too, that If he
could have access to all the records he
could clear himself. AS It is he must
II shall succeed he said to me proud
ly. 1T is that faith which kept me alive
and sane through my Imprisonment; 1t
would he strange If felt less hope now,
free and at home"
With regard to his enemies he had lit
tie TO say; nothing in the nature of re-
elimination. Hatred is not in the man;
revenge he does not seek, only justice for
himself and his dear ones 1 asked him
oh Sf 10 ,ff1tr
Henry? No comment. De Boisdeffre2 The
same. But of Berti.lon, he of the expert
handwriting opinions and criminal meas
urements, he said calmly and without
rancor:
"Ah, he is crank; crazy on one point,
that of his hand writing diagram.
AS to General MERCER he is a little
more outspoken.
Il have expressed my opinion regarding
him in my book" he said. People who
can estimate the value of facts we'll know
how to appreciate my statement that the
secret dossier, upon which am convicted
without either my counsel or myself
knowing that such document was even
in existence, was given to the court on
the order of Gen. MERCER. That is all
that is necessary to say in that connec-
ton"
1t will be remembered that 1t was on
this point of the dossier being withheld
from the prisoners counsel that a revis-
ion of the case was ordered.
But If NJ. Dreyfus will not talk about
his enemies he makes up for this by the
heartfelt affection with which he speaks
of his friends. Those who stood by him
when his enemies were dominant in
France. OF lola, of Clemenceau, In
whose newspaper Zolas famous "Jac-
cuse" letter appeared, of Picquart. and
of many others he talks with the greatest
warmth
Never was there greater moral heroism
than was shown by these men," he saId.
when to take the part of the condemn
ed criminal, Dreyfus was to become prac-
tically an outcast Lieut. Col. Picquart,
who knew me only officially and had no
personal feeling in the matter, dared to
stand for truth and justice and suffered
disgrace and Imprisonment for It, zoIa
and Clemenceau published that letter
with open eyes, knowing what abuse II
would bring down upon their heads. There
were manyNbthers who, in greater or less
degree underwent calumny and Insult IN
the cause of truth, and for them I reel
more than | can express. Eventually the
victory will be ours, complete and over
wheIming."
People who knew Dreyfus well before his
trial tell me that he has greatly changed
| that his long Imprisonment has ripen-
ed and sweetened his character, that he
| possesses a kindness, a tolerance, a
charity which was not part of his ear
lier character. Certain 1t is that as an
officer he was never popular either with
his superiors, equals or subordin ates. Ger
tain it is also that where he now lives he
is loved by everyone high and low. To
some extent this doubtless arises from the
happiness which the man exhales, for
happy he is, and supremely SO despite the
longing for the restoration of his honor
that possesses him. His return to liberty
and to the love of his family are still ele-
ments of active rather than passive joy.
Mentally 1 cannot see that there is any
evil effect of the strain of those hong
years of loveliness and torment. His mind
is neither weakened or dulled; but it does
show a certain quality of absorption and
concentration, evinced in his repeating any
statement which he considers important,
several times over. His weakness and Ill
ness after his pardon, however, brushed
from his memory the requirements of
years so that he has forgotten nearly all
the English which he learned from por-
ing over his SHAKESPEARE in his little hut
on Devils Island, and even his German
has left him, so that, he told me, when
the great Scandinavian poet, Bjornsen
came to see him, the other day and spoke
German NJ. Dreyfus had to ask him to
change to French as he found great diff
ficulty' i'm following him, though he was
formerly a proficient German scholar.
M. Dreyfus' great JOY is in his family
and especially in the association with his
children. Jeanne and Pierre are both
bright and exceptionally affectionate and
attractive children, and both worship their
father. To say that Nine. Dreyfus is a
wonderful woman is inadequate to the
point of banality. A former schoolmate
of hers tells me that she was a simple,
quiet girl of whom nobody would have
expected any unusual strength Of charac-
ter or depth of feeling. To
the surprise and unbounded ad-
miration Of all, this girl who had
never known a serious trouble dew
eloped at the first shock OF her husbands
arrest into a woman of tremendous force
of character. That IL was her unbending
courage and unfaltering moral support
that saved NJ Dreyfus's sanity and life
is fully attested in her letters and in the
diary from Devils Island which form