Evening star., 1901-04-27

remain in the eyes Of the law a pardoned
criminal Facts are what I must have
not kindly sentiments. Mathematics has
been always my faNorite study. This Is a
matter Of mathematics. y prob''m 10
which | must furnish the solution. Links
i'm the chain are stu missing. Nov facts
coming forth one by one. and with
them We are filling the gaps. In tho mean
time do not wish To appeal FOR sympathy
to the sentimental side of my country.
What I want is the fun list Of facts in the
case which alone car and ineNilahiN wih
prove beyond the shadow Of doubt 1" the
most prejudiced mind my absolute tnn"-
CcnCc.'
Ever the Lookout.
While NJ Ore! fus did not speak II his
endeaVors in detail il is known that n"
keeps the closest watch Of current 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 position 10
know whereof h.. speaks there a speech
before the chamber. again side issue "t
some minor court-martial or trial. IN the
altered minds Of the pubic II may now he
said to be matter of common belle thaI
at the center of the OPAQUE wen SITS EStef-
haZN, whose handwriting was 1ohNh IN
the pocket of the German. SchWarzkont'
who admitted having been In comm. MICA
tion with the German embassy IN farls'
open accusations Of treachery nor daring
to return and face the courts of his own
country; that Dreytus being a jew and
writing hand Somew what similar to that
which Esterhazy displayed In the famous
bordereau was pitched upon as the SCape-
goat. and that for the honor of the army
the maze of persecution and intrigu" upon
which the army then entered was f"ll"w"a
until the entangle ments Of falsehood ana
perjury became plain to the eye "f the
world. DreNfus himself, l have no ""uh',
l-rn., oil "a
have access to all the records n" rould
clear himself As it is he must fight IA the
dark, but he has fun faith.
Confident of Success.
Il shall succeed" he said to me proudly.
1T is that faith which kept me alive ana
sane through my imprisonment. 1t would
be strange If l felt less hope now, free and
at home"
With regard to his enemies he had little
to say: nothing in the nature of recrimina-
ton Hatred is not in the man; revenge
he does not seek. only justice for himsrlt
and his dear ones. | asked him about rs
terhaZy He would say nothing. Henry
No comment. De Boisdeffre? The same.
But of Bertillon he of the expert hand.
writing opinions and criminal measures
ments. he said calmly and without rancor;
"Ah, he is a crank; crazy on on" point,
that of his handwriting diagram.
AS to General Mercier, he is llttlc moro
outspoken.
81 have expressed my opinion regarding
him in my book" he said. People who
can estimate the value of facts well know
how to appreciate my statement that the
secret doSSier upon which L was convicted,
without either my counsel or myself KNOW
ing that such document was even IN eN@
istcnce, was given to the court on the orc
der of General Mercier. That is all that is
necessary to say In that connection.
1t will be remembered that it was ON this
point of the dossier being withheld from
the prisoners counsel that a revision of
the case was ordered.
Grateful to His Friends.
But if NJ Dreyfus will not talk about
his enemies, he makes up for this 10y tho
heartfelt affection with which he speaks
of his friends. OF those who stood 10y him
when his enemies were dominant In France,
of Zola of Clemenceau.in whose newspaper
Zolas famous "Jaccuse" letter appeared:
of Picquart and of many others hc talks
with the greatest warmth.
Never was there greater moral hcroism
than was shown by these men, he said.
When to take the part Of the condemned
criminal DreyfuS, was to become prac-
tically OutcdSt, Lieutenant Colonel
Picquart. who knew me only officially and
had no personal feeling in the matter,
dared to stand for truth and justic" and
suffered disgrace and Imprisonment for IL.
Zola and Clemenccau published that letter
with open eyes. knowing what ahHs" q
would bring down upon their heads There
were many others who, in a greater ur
less degree, underwent calumny and insult
in the cause Of truth. and for th.m | f,,I
more than ! can express. Eventually the
victory viii be ours, complete and ovcr-
whelming.'
People who knew Dreyfus We'll before his
trial tell me that he has greatly changed:
that his long imprisonment has ripcned and
sweetened his character: that he POSSESSES
a kindness, a tolerance. a broad minded
charity which was not a part of his earlier
character. Certain it is that as an officer
nif har -frl, Ia.
rors, equals or subordinates Certain In Is
also that where he now lives he is loved hv
every one, high and low. To some extent
this doubtless arises from the happincss
which the man eXhaleS. for happy he is
and supremely despite the longing for.
him.
His Mental Condition
His return to liberty and to the love. OF
his family are still elements of active
rather than passive joy. Mentally / cannot
see that there is any evil effect of the
strain OF those long years of loneliness aud
torment His mind is neither weakened
nor dulled; but it does show a certain
quality of absorption and concentration.
evinced in his repeating any statement
winch he considers important several times
over. His weakness and illness after his
pardon, however, brushed from his raa,norv
the requirements of years so that he has
forgotten nearly all the English which Ba
In his little hut on Devils Island and even
his German has left him. so that he told
me, when the great Scandinavian ro.t
BJornsen, came to see him the other dav
ana spoke German. NJ Dreyfus had 10 ask
hlm TO change to French. as he found lrear
dlfhculty in following him. though H.. wes
formerly proficient German scholar
Nj. Dreyfus great joy is in his family
and especially In the association with Lis
children. Jeanne and Pierre are both
prlGht and exceptionally affectionata and
attractlEe children. and both worship their
father To say that Nine. Dreyfus is a
wonderful woman is Inadequate 10 the
point OF banality. former schoolmate OF
hers tells me that she was a simple quiet
GIRL of whom nobody would have expected
any unusual strength of character or depth
OF feeling. To the surprise and unbouuded
admiration of all, this girl who had never
known a serious trouble developed at tho
hrSt shock of her husbands 5 arrest into "A
woman of tremendous force of character
lhat 1t was her unbending courage and un-
faltering moral support that saved NJ.
DreyfuS sanity and life is fully attested In
her letters and in the diary from Deyils