The Irish standard., 1902-09-20

ed by Nj. Nillie1s. the deputy of the
district. I'm the Hlme of an indig-
nant people," he said, Il protest
against the odious act which YOU are
about to commit. To your face l
want here and now to tell you that
the contemplate act which is i'm
posed upon you by your masters will
lower you i'll the eyes of all honest
men. You are now about to fling into
the streets the women who are guilty
of the Ministerial crime of teaching the
children of the poor. The people is
here to defend the sisters. You cannot
enter this convent except by force"
Commissioner AIoeltles hesitated,
stepped back. uncovered, and in fall
tering phrases said in substance that
he fully appreciated the protest
But" said he, "conciliation is impos-
sible. For my part l would wish"
do your duty" shouted NJ. Viii
lerS. Then in a trembling voice came
the command. Give the warnings!'
\ little pale-f;lced soldier appeared
with IL drum which Ale rallied in Il
somewhat awkward or melancholy
manner, such as one might hear ut Il
funeral. That was the first warming.
Get away from here. or force will
be used" cried Commissioner Moer-
dies. not daring to follow THE legal
formula, 'Let I'LL good citizens retire."
At that moment l expected TO see the
crowd move back. Not IL man. not Il
woman moved. The only effect If this
first order was to make the crowd rush
forward and become massed in front
of the convent door. Then came the
second summons. and the sec nd roll
of the drum. longer this time than the
first. The defenders of the sisters.
especially the women. replied to it by
closing up their ranks until they be-
came one compact block of passion
and devotion, a rampant of feeble uni
ties which proved strong enough to
check the military force for three
quarters of an hour. The third and
last summon was given, followed by
a very long roll of the drum. '"The
troops are about to charge! Retire,
say" cried NJ. Moerdes.
The answer came back from the
crowd Vive la liberte! Vive les soeurs!"
"Clarge!" The mounted police adj
vanceh slowly. evidently without any
excessive zeal. When they reached
Within ten yards of the defenders of
the sisters, a young priest bounded in
front of them, and, Selling the horse
of an officer by the bride, cried out:
You cannot lay hands upon these holy
sisters until you ride me down first!'
The entire troop fell back.
"Charge!' Now the troops. moving
at a more rapid pace. turned upon the
crowd. In the front ranks of the lat
ter the men resisted. using their canes.
The horses fell back upon their
launches and became unmanageable.
One gendarme was almost thrown
from his horse. In rage he drew his
sword, but recovering himself he
quickly sheathed it. Another charge
failed to break that mass of human
Bots, Democrat; Seventh district, NJ. }.
beings. The gendarmes We're again
repulsed.
Charger Once more they made the
attempt. but this time the crowd
opened their ranks like trained SOL
diers, as most of them We're, allowed
the ihorsemen to advance. and then
closed in behind them. in front of them
and on their TANKS. THE gendarmes
were prisoners. The infantry next
took hand in the game. They adj
vanced on the double-Quick. The Of
ticers in command cried out: Clear
away those wonlen!" \ fearful melSc
then occurred. The men used THE
butts of their guns mercilessly. One
could easily hear the sound of til,
blows mingled with the rattle of
canes upon the barrels. No doubt the
soldiers We're obliged to obey orders.
but their extreme brutality was dis
gushing. For example, Il quartermas-
ter knocked down Il young girl with
the butt of his gun: and an3tler sl-
der tore n handful of hair from the
head of an old woman.
At last the convent gate was clear
ed. but one young girl stood in frjnt
of it with folded arms. The crowd
shouted to her to get away. Her an
swer was MOI" Then with her little
white hands she clasped the bars of
the gate. The ldiers halted in front
of hea. for moment. bat at last one
of them approached aud tore her