Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-27


| had been dreaming.
And yet my reverence for her was
!. not changed to antagonism. Rather.
felt for her the sympathy she had
shown for me. saw In her a noble
| soul, but one perverted. That great
sympathy which was part Of her na-
ture for the worlds unfortunate, the
poor, those who toll, yet never reach
afluence, had been turned awry. A
power for good, it had become a DOW.
er for evil.
And were not these wretches, In.
famed by hate, by despair, by a fail
ure to reach that 1gnis fatuus they
had been following, to destroy what
they could not turn to their comfort.
also to be pitied?
The next time ! saw this girl Of the
commune it was night 1 was stand
ing before n burning building. red
flame shot out, throwing bloodlike
glare over a sea of faces. Turning my
head, 1 saw slender feminine figure
standing on box addressing those i'm
mediately about her. She was the girl
/ had seen in the hospital and at the
pulling down Of the Vendome column.
1 could not hear her words, but on her
face was the expression Of one work
ing In a holy cause. And yet there
was now more of the militant than Of
the angel. Under the strain the wild
beast that turks in our natures was
coming to the front.
Meanwhile 1 had become strong
enough to do my part in re-establishing
order. took my place among the
regular troops who were fighting their
way through the streets OF the capital.
One day we were led up to a barricade
behind which the communists were
evidently bent on making desperate
stand. In the narrow street was not
room for us to deploy, though we scat
tered as much as possible, and we were
at a great disadvantage, presenting
compact target for those who fought
behind heaped cobblestones. When We
came within range we received a
storm of bullets which laid many OF
us on the street.
But we pressed on and were about
to proceed to carry the barricade By
storm when the figure Of a woman ap-
peared on its crest, a sword in one
hand, a pistol in the other She was
lu1ACu AIOAll III SAA5 lAOoC Dc-
meath her on the other side to come up
and meet our expected attack. Then
she turned and glared at US.
The figure was that Of the girl Of the
hospital; the face had become that OF
the girl of the commune. She was the
of hate. Yet she was
woman, and none Of our men would
fire on her. My reverence for her, was
gone, but in it's place had come pro-
found regret. I seemed TO see an angel
from heaven turned into a demon from
hell.
Despite her efforts-and for a time
they were successful in holding her
men to the defense Of the barricade-
we captured it, and she was among the
prisoners. There was none of that sub
nissive spirit apparent in her pertain
ng to the Christian martyr; there were
hate, the fierceness Of a IL
yress who had been defending her cubs
md seen them slaughtered. She was
ent under guard to prison, and 1, one
# her conquerors, was sent TO take
Ter there.
Short work was made of the COM
nunists once they were in the power
f the legitimate government. Those
rho were captured with arms or
whose hands indicated that they had
cen working on the barricades were
ned up against a wall and shot down
Without mercy. / was in the firing
quad that ended the career Of the
irl of the commune. She would not
eep her face to the wall, but turned
,ward us.
A he - fbo sr;4 - n,-fT haN had
rown up within her during the strug-
lie passed and was replaced by an ex-
ression Of one who was about TO die
/ noble work. She was again the
ngel of peace and good will. She had
scome at the last the martyr.
When we marched away from that
,ene. destined to remain stamped in
y mind during my life. the bullet
lat was ordered to send to the girl
the commune was still in the bar
1 of my gun.
When peace came again to Paris l
turned to my home, where l have
nee liveec in quiet. But the latter
rt OF my worldly existence has been
r different from the first. In my day
cams and in my night dreams those
enes of the struggle of a social SUD
ratum come back to me. and I won.
r whether was on the right or the
rong side. That struggle was but
e recurrence of others of its kind
at had preceded it. Is the world
coming more sympathetic with such
ovements, or is the social substratum
coming more powerful through or
nization?
But these questions are with me or
tie import compared with that one
man soul who was moved 10 ac-
n by a divine sympathy. that took
during the contest the grim ugl-
IS of conflict. and who in the face or
ath returned to its original divine
tincts.