Amador ledger., 1906-04-27

hheroica11iIy, her a11 clearing out much of the
me old tapestries and carpets, and
dawned the Count left us, going south
10 o1er MS services to the General
isslmo1a somewhat childish proceed-
ing, l thought, though 1 did not op-
pose him, as Aimee was thus left m
my care. l had conf1ded to him my
tender sentiments, and after blessing
fully and at the approach of the en-
emy to set out for Bethel, a small town
to the northwest, where Aimee had
numerous cousins.
The Meuse in front of the Chateau
Lagunay was perhaps a quarter of a
| mile wide, running swiftly beneath
high, precipitous banks in which there
tance north and south. Some three
miles, down stream the river mar.
rowed, at the town of Ramune, where
q massive stone bridge spanned the
deep waters. This point was selected
| by the Germans for crossing. Leav-
ing Aimee with strong guard of
armed servants, some of whom were
veterans of the Franco-Prussian war,
set out on horseback for Ramune,
looking like a French dandy in my
| elegant clothes.
| I found the town in great confusion.
| many persons were loading up their
| household goods and making ready for
departure; others had already fed. So
| stealthily had the Germans approached
| that their advance at that point was
unknown half a dozen hours before my
| arrival.
| hill back of the town I looked across
/ into the valley beyond. AS far as the
| eye could see stretched the ranks of
the invaders: They had risen out of
| Prussia and Baden and Saxony, out of
| Wurtemburg and Brunswick, out of
Hesse and the Mecklenburgs; and mob
| lllz1ng rapidly had swarmed across the
| fro tier of Lorraine, that ancient bone
/ neutral hIIr
AS I learned later, once they stepped
| upon French soil they swept down like
a storm; Spies preceded them cutting
telegraph. wires in all directions. The
thirty miles between the frontier and
| the Meuse River had been covered in
ten hours, the troops moving at a
swinging trot. And here they were at
| the crossing without the least show
| of opposition.
Meanwhile the French were advance
| ing with characteristic deliberation
their main force being then at and
/ around the great military camp of
Chalons, some fifty miles to. the south
| west. They had been apprised on the
previous day of the appearance at the
| frontier of several bodies of Lancers
and Hussars. There had been no
further reports, (the wires were cut
necessary to make any decided move.
| OF the detachments sent out in auto
mobiles at the time of my departure in
later, when I returned to Paris for
honeymoon with Aimee, that 1 learn
had not carried. Martini's sacrifice
! was vain. The scouts in their ma
chimes reached the rendezvous, did a
little. scouting on their own hook,
found nothing suspicious, and toured
leisurely back to Paris and Chalons,
| where they reported that the story or
a northern invasion was a canard.
Therefore the mobilizing proceeded, all
eyes being centered on Luneville, Bel
fort and Besancon, where the German
Crown Prince, with his Bavarian, army
man noeuvred at a safe distance, threat
ening, retreating, building mock forti-
fications, and steadily pulling the Ger
man wool over the French eyes.
There was no defense possible for
| Ramune, an old, provincial town with
weak fortifications. Yet the small
| garrison, with true military spirit an
nounced its presence by volley of
| cannon, which. seemed to anger the
Germans. A battery of mortars was
brought up to the river bank. Into
| the town were thrown a hundred or
more sixteen-inch shells, which broke