El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-09-22
JACOB
CBy Andre Theuriet.)

/ - UR battalion was sent on duty as
Outposts at Nttry- sur-Seine. We
~ lived IN a street running from
the main ROAD 70 me cnutcLl
not far from the fountain an which we
performed our abolutions every morn
2 Ing. do not know whether the house
! has survived the raTages OF the war
and commune, for II was very old and
I dilapidated when we took possession Of
It and we left 1t looking @ good deal
worse. It seemed to have been used as
I a storage place for, wine, for 1t had
immense cellars large lOrtss irregular
stories and a rickety, dark stairway.
( The rain went through the leaky roof,
most OF the doors could not be closed
and nearly all the window panes were
missing, But that did not matter. our
squad took possession Of two large
rooms on the first floor, which mad
been assign to US.
We Immediately set to work tearing
down the partitions TO make one large
room, stopped the windows with old
newspapers and went out to get wood
from the park for we kept a roaring
fire in the fireplace day and night
Our squad was strange mixture Of
men, a miniature Of the battalion IN
which the most various classes were
represented. There was first the cor
poral, butcher, then a young prOfes-
sor Of philosophy, a landscape painter,
scolded continually, an old actor from
MOnrpa rnasse, who was our buglers a
fanatic socialist whom We had pro-
NOTED to cook, and last Of all a man
Of about 80 a gentle, silent and mel
anchOly Individual named Jacob.
Among this bolsterOus and noisy
crowd Jacob represented the man Of
DUTY, who patiently submitted to all
the demands OF the service, who con-
scientiously polished his gun, carried
out the commands OF his superlOrs
without grumbling and did not only his
own work but often ours, too. And
asHa-H rHe.1-~ H-rHNa
lived together IN almost perfect har-
mony, and the very first night we
reached our quarters We tried TO make
them as hOmeltke and comfortable as
possible. We were not all to stay there
Teuy long, for two days later we were
sent into the trenches.
We left Immediately after our morn
Ing coffee IN heavy icy mist which
threatened to last all day. The SEN
tries were posted half way between
Nitry and ChOisy-le-ROy. We passed
through an old park whore century old
oaks, cut down BY the sappeFs, lay
meadow and reached the trenches not
far from the Seine, close TO newly
made fort We were placed about so
PAGES apart IN the trench, which was
protected by low breaStWOrks. in which
the men who had just left had dug
shallow shelters where you did not
feel the full effect Of the rain. IL was
a miserable place. and the hours seemed
20 nave L4E4 4td4 70 L--E4E MAlE1 AAGAG
was absolutely nothing TO do but TO
stand leaning on your gun and II was
forbidden TO talk aloud or make 6 fire.
Our only entertainment was the sound
Of an occasional Prussian bullet or shell
passing overhead.
The days we're not SO bad, but the
nights were dreadful You could
neither walk nor sit down; the sky was
as black as ink, the rain fell inces-
sanity and the trench was half full Of
dirty mixture Of clay and water.
Struggle as you might you could not
prevent your eyes from closing and
you slept Tor some NON ents until you
were awakened by the sound Of a shot,
silence came back, and you dOzed off
time.
We all began 70 grumbIe. Jacob alone
preserving his stOical cOmposure dur
inc the first half Of the night. Lean
ing on his gun. he stood with bowed
head and round shoulders, guaWing @
piece Of mouldy bareback. But the
most quiet men are those who give
way to the fiercest Outbursts, when
they finally rebel and at 4 IN the
morning, when he was soaked TO the
skin and shivering with cold. the pa
tient and gentle Jacob could bear Il
no longer, but gave way to a passion
his knapsack from his shoulder and
threw It down into the mud, sat down
on II and began sObbing violently.
This Is too much" he cried i can
bear 1t no longer. I have always done
my duty, I have never cursed the gov
eminent but when think how I have
left my poor old mother in Paris all