New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-27
THE MAYOR ON THE HILLTOP

I 81 am not afraid of YOU replied.
81 believed my house would not be burned.
Il was the house where the German Emperor
William | spent four days in 1870 IL was
the house where he and Bismarck and Won
Moltke mapped out the plan of Sedan. You
see, it was the finest house in this part oil
France Each year since 1871 three or four
German officers have come to visit 1t, taking
photographs of it, because of the part II
played in their history. ! was sure 1t would
not be burned by them.
"The soldiers began their burning with the
house of a matchmaker. They burned my
house. saw it destroyed bit by bit imor-
ceau par morceau). | saw my husbands
study go, and then the drawing room and the
dining room The worries, the pictures, the
bbelots. everything that was dear to me,
everything that time had brought me, was
burned.
| 81 said TO the German doctor that il was
very hard.
"He replied IF had known it was ma
DANES house | should have ordered It to be
spared!'"
We were silent for a moment. Then Nine.
Jacquemet said:
"Come and see what we have now"
She led us upstairs to a room which the
two beds nearly filled.
"Al that own keep under the beds she
explained. "See, there are two chairs two
beds. Nothing more. And we hs such
beautiful room.
"'Why did you burn our homesT asked
German officer after the village was IN runs
"'We didn't burn the place, he answered
1T was French shells that destroyed it,
az was here answered. There were no
French shells
"The village people fred on our troops
he said.
"I was here told him. The village
people did not fire on your troops. The VII
lage people ran away
"'An empty town is town to be psssd'
he explained"
The Mayor took up the story.
"A German officer took me into his room
one day." he said. "He closed the door, and
began:
"T am French at hesrt believe th''
! your village was burned as spectacle i0'
the Crown Prince, who has his hesdqusr'e"
over yonder st-a village"
The picture he summoned was so VIVID th'
| said: "Nero, Nero, for whom the de'tra''
ton of a city and its people was speetae's
Only this is little Nero. Out Of date ana
comic, not grandiose and convincing
Under one of the oldest OF the trees -'h'
historian of our party, Lieutenant Madslei""
wondered how old: -Four, five een'u1lS
lperhspsv-we ate an open-sir luncheon ou'
hosts were the Mayor and his wife ou'
fellow guests were the Captain and the MAY,
the Major compact, ruddy sailor type v
man, with the fsr-seeing look in his blue eye
of one whose gaze comes 20 focus at the h0''
zon line. ..
. II seemed to me like the simple farm mss"
| had so often eaten on the New England n''','
in just that rapid sunlight playing thr01..
the leaves of great trees, in just that reh'''
clean life above the dust and hurt OF tA.t
! thought to myself shall always see y.
| beauty Of this little hill rising clear OF w
ruins OF its village.
Then we said goodby, and saw on the gov
| step, sitting motionless and dumb the mo'.
I Of a soldier. Her white hair was ann"
vivid against the decent sombre black OF ~.
+ hood and dress. There was a great pa"s's
in her figure, as she sat resting ne' Gnu"
l her hand and looking OF into the trees
time was nothing any more. For many ~,
the carpenters had not been able TO w0,a r,.,.
enough TO make COINS for the dead OF .''
mont. She was waiting on the Mayors ''''
step for the ce6in Of her soas >A>~1