THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES HISTORICAL ROMANCES OF FRANCE MADAME THERESE OR THE VOLUNTEERS OF '92 HISTORICAL ROMANCES OF FRANCE MADAME THERESE OR THE VOLUNTEERS OF 92 TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN ILLUSTRATED CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK:::::::::::::::::::::1911 ILLUSTRATIONS Madame Therese Frontispiece FACING FAGZ M y uncle knelt down 58 " Carry arms / " 110 Battle of Froeschwiller 246 At last I saw uncle ; he was mounted on Rappel . . . 260 INTRODUCTORY NOTE THE public interest at the present time in the classics of French literature is sufficient, in the pub- lishers' opinion, to warrant the issue of a new edition of the National Novels of MM. Erckmann-Cha- trian. These novels, indeed, belong to the compara- tively small number of literary productions of first- rate importance in their special sphere which can yet be transferred from one language to another with entire adequacy. They lend themselves es- pecially to the English idiom because their color is that of the borderland between things French and things German, and therefore often not unlike that of much English literature comparable with them. MM. Erckmann-Chatrian long since became French classics. Every one knows their Alsatian ori- gin, the peculiarly racy quality of both their style and the substance it clothes, their unique position in contemporary French literature, their long-con- vii viii INTRODUCTORY NOTE tinued, patient and finally triumphant struggle to obtain it. But the cycle of stories known as " Ro- mans Nationaux," is noteworthy in itself and of particular interest to the American public for other and more significant reasons than purely literary or romantic ones. The series of National Novels, indeed, is very much more than a series of simple and affecting tales with more form than German and more flavor than French stories of a similar sort. It comprises six chapters of familiar chronicle of the most valuable kind, concerned for the most part with one of the most interesting epochs of history that of the French Revolution and the First Empire. Each book describes public events of the first importance from the stand-point of an actor in them and, thus, together they give one a picture of the wars of the First Republic and of Napoleon of remarkable vividness and reality. But this again would not make the series as noteworthy as it is, if this were its sole or its main characteristic. The novels, in fact, are, further, so many historical pictures com- posed not at hap-hazard nor for their pictorial value alone, but in illustration of consistent and con- firmed principles of political philosophy. In these novels at all events MM. Erckmann- INTRODUCTORY NOTE k Chatrian are publicists as well as romancers. " Madame Therese," for example, preaches elo- quently the ardent proselyting republicanism of 1793. " The Conscript " shows the change in the popular feeling of Europe toward France, produced by the Napoleonic conquests, and in the popular feel- ing of France toward Napoleon by the constant state of warfare, the constant call for men and the consequent exhaustion of the country. " The Plebiscite " is a scorching exposure of the hollow- ness, corruption, and baseness of the policy responsi- ble for the disasters of 1870-71. Each is not only a vivid picture, that is to say, but a picture with a pregnant moral. Taken as a whole the six novels form one of the most powerful and persuasive pres- entations that have ever been made of French republicanism, eulogizing its early exaltation and denouncing with equal vigor its betrayal by the Bonapartes and the open antagonism of it by the Bourbons. Both picture and lesson are especially effective because both are drawn from the stand-point as well as in the interest of the people rather than from that of the literary artist or the impersonal historian. Not only is the fictitious narrator in each case an eye-witness of the events he chronicles; he is also a x INTRODUCTORY NOTE member of the class which sees the most of war and suffers most from it. In " Madame Therese " it is the little Fritzel who describes the effect of the rev- olutionary rise of the people and the warlike prop- agandism of the gospel of liberty and fraternity. In "The Conscript " it is the jeweller's lame appren- tice who tells the story of the ill-advised and ill- fated Russian expedition and of the subsequent dis- asters of the campaign of 1813. In " The Blockade of Phalsbourg " it is the shrewd Jew wine-seller who narrates the hardships of the memorable siege. In " Waterloo," the Conscript of two years before is again conscripted and relates the wide-spread dis- content with the stupid rule of the restored Bour- bons, the ill-treatment of the old soldiers, the na- tional enthusiasm over the return from Elba, the national depression on realizing that Napoleon's re- accession meant perpetual war, the dramatic events of the Hundred Days and their crowning catas- trophe. In " The Plebiscite " it is a miller, the maire of his Alsatian village and a type of the mill- ions of petites gens deceived by the epigram " the Empire is peace," who describes the cynical policy of Napoleon III.'s later days and the terrible re- verses that were the inevitable consequence of bad faith at home and ignorance of the situation abroad. INTRODUCTORY NOTE xi We learn from each volume how the people felt, and what they thought, how they were affected benefited, used, betrayed, in succession by the great changes of the century since '89. Historical archives, in consequence, contain no more important historic testimony than this fiction, and the modern democratic spirit has no finer, no more rational and elevated expression than it obtains in these stories. On the other hand, their historic worth does not at all obscure the literary attractiveness of the Na- tional Novels. They are not only admirable contri- butions to familiar history of a most convincing and conclusive sense of reality; nor are they merely besides this an eloquent exposition of the people's gospel: they are, in the same rank with such other works of their authors as " Friend Fritz " and " The Polish Jew," for example, literary masterpieces of a very high order. The depiction of character is very sympathetic and very telling. Each personage is evidently studied from the life, and illustrates a type rather than an exception. The color of each story is as delightfully harmonious as it is tenderly subdued. The sentiment supplied doubtless by the German temperament of the authors in more generous measure and more winning way than are characteristic of most French literature of the kind xii INTRODUCTORY NOTE is qualified and refined by their French training and literary traditions, with the result of a very agreeable compromise. There are evidences on every page of a simplicity which springs from this sane and contained but still penetrating senti- ment, and which is an infallible mark of the truest literary distinction. In a word, the novels are marked equally by heart and by taste. The narrative, moreover, is always admirably in character. The lucrative shrewdness of the sharp Hebrew speculator in " The Blockade of Phals- fcurg " is not dissembled; the unheroic love of peace appears as prominent in the Conscript as his domes- ticity and industry. And, through a similar recti- tude of literary conscience, there is a very note- worthy impartiality shown in places where one might reasonably expect in a " national novel " the bias of patriotism. The Conscript noting, for ex- ample, that the Prussians at Waterloo " kill with- out mercy," immediately adds, " just as we did at Ligny " ; and no opportunity is neglected of point- ing out the reasonableness of the German, Austrian, and Cossack retaliation in 1813-14 for the French treatment of themselves during the years when they were the conquered. In fine, MM. Erekmann-Cha- trian have more respect for their art than disposition INTRODUCTORY NOTE xiii to appeal to the sensibility or the prejudice of their readers; and the result, of course, is that in this way the effect is greatly heightened, and that both as literature and as history the absence of every meretricious element and the presence of an absolute candor cause the National Novels to take in their field the very highest rank. The present edition can but confer a public service in contributing to a clearer public comprehension of a great movement by a great people, described in the sympathetic but impartial terms of literary artists of the first class. " Madame Therese " begins the series, and is per- haps the most romantic. The scene is laid in a little town of the Vosges which witnesses bloody conflicts between the Republican soldiers and the Croats and Cossacks of the Allies attacking France in 1793 in behalf of the restoration of the Bourbons. It is an extraordinarily vivid picture of the events and also of the popular feeling of the time. Nowhere is there a more striking presentation of the way in which what were then called " the new ideas " were disseminated not only throughout France, but among the feudally oppressed of contiguous coun- tries. Nor is there anywhere else a more sympa- thetic account of how popular and universal was the xiv INTRODUCTORY NOTE enthusiasm which filled the Frencn armies with volunteers and enabled Carnot to " organize vic- tory." Madame Therese herself is a cantiniere of the Republican cohorts, and her adventures are as entertaining from the personal and human point of view as the events among which they took place are historically interesting. MADAME THERfiSE WE lived in profound quiet in the village of An- statt, in the midst of the German Vosges, my uncle, Dr. Jacob Wagner, his old servant Lisbeth, and I. After the death of his sister Christine, Uncle Jacob had taken me to live with him. I was nearly ten years old; fair, fresh and rosy as a cherub. I used to wear a cotton cap, a little brown velvet jacket made of a pair of my uncle's old breeches, gray linen pantaloons, and wooden shoes adorned on the top by a tuft of wool. They called me little Fritzel in the village, and every evening when Uncle Jacob returned from his visits he used to take me on his knee, and teach me to read, in French, from Buffon's Natural History. It seems to me as if I were still in our low room, with its ceiling crossed by beams blackened with smoke. I see on my left, the little entry door and the oaken chest of drawers; on the right, the alcove a MADAME THERESE closed by a curtain of green serge; in the back part of the room, the entrance to the kitchen, near the cast-iron stove, with heavy mouldings representing the twelve months of the year; and toward the street the two little windows, hung with vine leaves, that opened on the square of La Fontaine. I see my Uncle Jacob also, a slender man, his high forehead crowned with beautiful fair hair, which clustered gracefully around his prominent temples, his nose slightly aquiline, his eyes blue, with a chin rounded, and lips tender and kind. He wears black frieze breeches, and a sky-blue coat with copper buttons. Seated in his leathern arm-chair, he is reading with his elbows on the table, and the sunlight makes the shadows of the vine leaves play upon his face, which is somewhat long, and tanned by exposure. He was a kind-hearted man, and a lover of peace; nearly forty years old, and considered the best phy- sician in the neighborhood. I have learned since, that he busied himself a great deal in theorizing about universal brotherhood, and that the bundle of books which Fritz the carrier brought him from time to time treated of this important matter. All this I see, not forgetting Lisbeth, a good old dame, smiling and wrinkled, in a blue linen short MADAME THERESE 3 gown and petticoat, who sits in a corner and spins; nor do I forget the cat Roller, who dreams, seated on her tail, behind the stove, her great yellow eyes opened in the gloom like an owl's. It seems to me that I have only to cross the lane to slip into the orchard, with its delicious fragrance; only to climb the wooden staircase to reach my room where I let loose the tomtits that Hans Aden the shoemaker's son, and I, had caught in snares. Some were blue and some were green. Little Eliza Meyer, the burgomaster's daughter, often came to see them and to ask me about them. When Hans Aden, Ludwig, Frantz Sepel, Karl Stenger and I led the cows and goats to pasture, on the Birkenwald hill, Eliza always pulled my jacket and said: " Fritzel, let me lead your cow don't send me off." And I would give her my whip, and we would make a fire on the turf and roast potatoes in the ashes. Oh, the good old times! How calm, how peaceful was everything around us! How regu- larly all went on! Nothing disturbed our quiet Monday, Tuesday, "Wednesday; every day of the week passed exactly like every other day. Every day we rose at the same hour, dressed, and sat down to the good porridge prepared by Lisbeth. 4 MADAME TH^RESE Then my uncle went away on horseback, and I went out to set traps and snares for the thrushes, sparrows, or greenfinches, according to the season. At noon we met again, and for dinner had bacon and cabbage and noudels or Jcncepfels. After din- ner I went to the pasture to look after my traps, or to bathe in the Queich when it was warm. In the evening we had good appetites, and at the table thanked God for his goodness. Every day, when supper was nearly over, and it began to grow dark in the room, a heavy step crossed the passage, the door opened, and on the threshold appeared a short, thick, squarely-built, broad-shouldered man, wear- ing a large felt hat. " Good-evening, doctor." " Be seated, mole-catcher," my uncle would reply. " Lisbeth, open the kitchen door." Lisbeth pushed open the door, and the red flame dancing on the hearth showed us the mole-catcher standing opposite the table, watching our supper with his little gray eyes. He looked just like a field-rat with his long nose, small mouth, retreating chin, straight ears, and thin, bristling, yellow mous- tache. His gray linen frock only reached partly down his back, and his great red waistcoat with deep pockets hung loosely over his hips. His immense MADAME THERESE 5 shoes, covered with yellow earth, had large nails in them, which looked in front like shining claws all around his thick soles. He looked fifty years old; his hair was turning gray, his ruddy forehead was deeply wrinkled, and his eyebrows, white with streaks of yellow, hung over his eyes. He was always in the fields, setting his traps, or at the door of his apiary on the hill-side in the heath of the Birkenwald, with his wire mask and great linen mittens, and the broad sharp-edged spoon with which he took the honey from the hives. At the close of autumn he would leave the village for a month, his wallet on his back, a large pot of honey on one side, and on the other cakes of yellow wax which he sold to the clergy in the neighborhood, for their wax tapers. Such was the mole-catcher. After looking steadily at the table for a time, he would say, " There is cheese and there are nuts." " Yes," my uncle would answer, " at your ser- vice." " Thanks! I would rather smoke my pipe now." Then he would draw from his pocket a black pipe with a copper lid and chain attached; fill it with care, still looking at us, go into the kitchen, 6 MADAME THERESE take a burning coal in the hollow of his hard hand, and place it on the tobacco. I see him, now, with his rat-like face, his nose upturned, blowing great puffs before the gloomy fire-place, then coming back and seating himself in the shadow at the cor- ner of the stove, with his legs crossed. Besides moles and bees, honey and wax, the mole-catcher had another serious occupation: he predicted the future by means of the flight of birds, the abun- dance of grasshoppers and caterpillars, and certain traditions inscribed in a large book with wooden covers which he had inherited from an old aunt in Heming, and which informed him of future events. But he would not enter upon the subject unless Koffel were present, Koffel the joiner, the turner, the watchmaker, the shearer of dogs, and healer of animals; in short, the finest genius of Anstatt, and the neighborhood. Koffel was a Jack of all trades. He wired broken crockery, tinned saucepans, re- paired damaged furniture, and even the organ, when the pipes or bellows were out of order; and Uncle Jacob had been obliged to forbid his setting broken arms and legs, for he had also a talent for surgery, he thought. The mole-catcher admired him very much, sometimes saying, " What a shame that Kof- fel has not studied ! What a shame ! " And MADAME THERESE 7 all the gossips in the place thought him a universal genius. But all this did not " make the pot boil," and the surest of his resources after all was to cut cabbage for sour-krout in autumn, carrying his tool- chest on his back wallet-fashion, and crying from door to door, "Any cabbage? Any cabbage? " Such is the fate of genius. Koffel, diminutive, meagre, with his black beard and hair, and his sharp nose pointed like the beak of a teal, was not long in coming his hands in the pockets of his little short jacket, a cotton cap far back on his head, with the point between his shoulders, and his breeches and coarse blue stockings spotted with glue, hanging loosely on his thin wiry legs, his old shoes cut in several places to make room for his bunions. He came in a few minutes after the mole- catcher, and approaching the table with short steps, said gravely: " A good appetite to you, doctor." " Will you not share our meal with us? " asked my uncle. " Many thanks. We had salad, to-night; that is what I like best." Saying this, Koifel would seat himself behind the stove, and never stir until my uncle said, " Light the candle, Lisbeth, and take away the cloth." 8 MADAME THERESE Then he filled his pipe in his turn, and drew near the stove. They talked of the weather, the crops, etc. The mole-catcher had set so many traps that day, had turned off the water from such a meadow during the storm, or else he had taken so much honey from the hives; the bees would soon swarm; they were getting ready, and he was preparing be- forehand baskets to receive the young. Koffel was always pondering over some inven- tion; he told of his clock without weights, from which the twelve apostles would come out at the stroke of noon, while the cock crowed, and death mowed with his scythe; or of his plough, which would go alone, wound up like a clock, or some other wonderful discovery. My uncle would listen gravely, nodding his head in approval, but think- ing meanwhile of his patients. In summer, the women of the neighborhood, seated on the stone bench under the open windows, chatted with Lis- beth about household matters. One had woven so many yards of linen in the winter; the hens of another had laid so many eggs that day, and so on. f". For myself, I seized a favorable moment to run off to Klipfel's forge, whose fire shone far off, at night, at the end of the village. There I always MADAME THERESE 9 met Hans Aden, Frantz Sepel and several others. We watched the sparks flying from the heated iron under the strokes of the hammer; we whistled to the sound of the anvil. If a quiet old horse came to be shod, we helped to hold up his leg. Some of the older boys made themselves sick trying to smoke walnut leaves. Others boasted of going every Sun- day to the dance. These were fifteen or sixteen years old. They wore their hats on one side, and smoked with an important air, with their hands deep down in their pockets. At ten o'clock we separated, and everybody went home. Most days passed thus, but Mondays and Fridays, the Frank- fort Gazette came, and then the gatherings at our house were large. Besides the mole-catcher and Koffel came our burgomaster Christian Meyer, and M. Karolus Richter, the grandson of an old valet of Count Salm-Salm's. None of these people would subscribe for the Gazette, but they liked to hear it read for nothing. How often since then I have called to mind the burly burgomaster, with his red ears, wearing a woollen jacket and cotton nightcap, sitting in the arm-chair my uncle's accustomed seat. He seemed to be thinking profoundly, but was really intent upon remembering the news to impart to his 10 MADAME THERESE wife, the excellent Barbara, who ruled the parish in his name. And the great Karolus, a sort of grey- hound in hunting-coat and cap of boiled leather, the greatest usurer in the country, who looked down upon all the peasants from the height of his grandeur because his grandfather had been a lackey of Salm-Salm; who thought he did you a great favor in smoking your tobacco, and talked inces- santly of parks and preserves, great hunts and the rights and privileges of my Lord Salm-Salm. How many times have I seen him in my dreams, march- ing up and down our room, listening, frowning, sud- denly plunging his hand into the great pocket of my uncle's coat, for his tobacco, filling his pipe, and lighting it at the candle, saying, " By your leave." All these things I see again. Poor Uncle Jacob! how good-natured he was to let his tobacco be smoked! But he paid no atten- tion, apparently, so absorbed was he in the day's news. The Republicans were invading the Palati- nate; were descending the Rhine. They dared to defy the three Electors, King "William of Prussia, and the Emperor Joseph. Their audacity aston- ished our circle. M. Richter said this state of things could not last; these wicked beggars would be ex- terminated to the last man. "When my uncle fin- MADAME THERESE XI ished, he would make some judicious reflection. Aa he refolded the paper he would say : " Let us thank God that we live in the midst of the forest rather than in the vineyards on the bleak mountain rather than in the fertile plain. These Republicans can hope for no plunder here, this is our security. We can sleep in peace. But how many are exposed to their ravages! They do everything by force; but no good ever comes of force. They talk to us of love, equality and lib- erty, but they do not apply these principles. They trust to their arms, and not to the justice of their cause. Long ago, before their time, others came to deliver the world. They struck no blows, they took no lives, they died by thousands, and their symbol in all succeeding ages has been the lamb, devoured by wolves. One would think that not even a single memorial of these men would remain. "Well, they conquered the world; they conquered not the body, but the soul of man. And the soul is all. Why do not these men follow their exam- ple?" Karolus Bichter immediately rejoined, with a contemptuous air: " Why? because they laugh at souls and envy the powerful of the earth. And besides, these Re- 12 MADAME THERESE publicans are atheists, every man of them. They respect neither throne nor altar. They have over- turned the established order of things from the beginning of time. They will have no more nobil- ity; as if the nobility were not the very essence of things on earth and in heaven; as if it were not acknowledged by mankind that some were born to be slaves and others to be rulers; as if we did not see this order established even in nature. The mosses are beneath the grass, the grass beneath the bushes, the bushes beneath the trees, and the trees beneath the starry sky. Just so are the peasants under the merchants, the merchants under the gownsmen, the gownsmen under the military nobles, the military nobles under the king, the king under the pope, represented by his cardinals, archbishops, and bishops. This is the natural order of things. A thistle can never grow to the height of an oak; a peasant can never wield the sword like the descen- dant of an illustrious race of warriors. These Re- publicans have obtained transient success, because they have surprised everybody by their incredible audacity and their want of common sense. In denying all doctrines and all acknowledged rules, they have stupefied reasonable men hence these disorders. Just as sometimes an ox or a bull stops MADAME THERESE 13 suddenly, then flies at the sight of a rat which un- expectedly comes up from the ground before him, so are our soldiers astounded and even put to flight by such audacity. But this cannot last, and after the first surprise is over, I am very sure that our old generals of the Seven Years War will defeat ut- terly this disorderly crowd of wretches, and that not one of them will return to his unfortunate country." Having said this, M. Karolus relighted his pipe, and continued his walk up and down with long strides, his hands behind him, and a self-satisfied air. All reflected upon what they had just heard, and the mole-catcher finally spoke in his turn. " All that ought to happen, happens," said he. " Since these Republicans have driven away their lords and their priests, it was so ordained in heaven from the beginning of time ; ' God willed it.' Now, whether they return or not depends upon what the Lord God wills. If He chooses to raise the dead, that depends on Him alone. But last year, as I watched my bees working, I saw, all of a sudden, these little gentle and pretty creatures fall upon the drones, sting them and drag them out of the hive. These drones produce the young, and the bees keep them so long as the hive needs them, but then they 14 MADAME THERESE kill them. It is abominable; but nevertheless it is written! Seeing this, I thought of these Republi- cans. They are disposed to kill their drones ; but be tranquil; we can't live without them; others will come. They must be feathered and fed anew; after that the bees will get angry again, and kill them by hundreds. We think they are exterminated, but more will come, and so it goes on. It must be so! It must be so ! " Then the mole-catcher shook his head, and M. Karolus, stopping in the midst of his walk, cried: " Whom do you call drones? The true drones are the conceited reptiles, who believe themselves capable of anything, and not the nobles and priests." " Begging your pardon, M. Richter," replied the mole-catcher, " the drones are those who wish to do nothing and to enjoy everything; those who, with- out rendering any service except buzzing around the queen, wish to be generously provided for. They are cared for, but at last, it is written, they must be cast out. It has happened thousands of times and it must happen always. The working bees, orderly and economical, cannot support creatures that are good for nothing. It is unfortunate it is sad. But so it is. When we make honey we like to keep it for ourselves. MADAME THERESE 15 " You are a Jacobin ! " cried Karolus, angrily. " No, on the contrary, I am a merchant of An- statt, a mole-catcher and raiser of bees. I love my country as well as you. I would sacrifice myself for her, perhaps, sooner than you would. But I am forced to say that the true drones are those who do nothing, and the true bees those who work, for I have seen it a hundred times." " Ah," cried Karolus Kichter, " I wager that Koffel has the same ideas as you! " Then the little joiner, who had said nothing, re- plied, winking one eye: " M. Karolus, if I had the happiness of being the grandson of a servant of Yeri-Peter or Salm- Salm, and if I had inherited great wealth which would support me in abundance and idleness, then I should say that the drones are the workers, and the bees the lazy ones. But, situated as I am, I have need of everybody's help, and so I say nothing. I am silent. Only I think that every one ought to have what he earns by his labor." " My dear friends," said my uncle, gravely, " we will not speak of these things, for we cannot under- stand them. Peace! peace! that is what we must have. It is peace that makes men prosper, and puts them all in their true place. In war bad instincts 16 MADAME THERESE prevail; murder, rapine, and the rest. Besides, all men who lead bad lives love war; it is the only way they can appear to be anything. In time of peace, they would be nothing; we would see too easily through their thoughts, their tricks and their de- sires. Man has been created by God for peace, for labor, the love of his family, and the like. But since war opposes all these it is truly a scourge. The clock has struck ten; we could discuss the subject until to-morrow morning without understanding it better. I propose, therefore, that we go to bed." Then everybody rose, and the burgomaster, plac- ing his two great hands on the arm of his chair, cried: " God grant that neither the Republicans, nor Prussians, nor Imperialists pass through here, for they are all hungry and thirsty. And as it is more agreeable to drink our own wine than to see it swallowed by others, I would rather learn these things from the papers than see them with my own eyes. That is what I think." "With this remark, he moved toward the door; the others followed. " Good-night," said my nncle. " Good-night," replied the mole-catcher, disap* pearing in the dark street. MADAME THERESE 17 The door was closed, and my careful uncle said to me: " Go to bed, Fritzel. Pleasant dreams." " And you, too, uncle," I answered. Lisbeth and I mounted the staircase. A quarter of an hour afterwards perfect silence reigned in the house. II ONE Friday evening, in the month of November, 1793, Lisbeth, after supper, was kneading the dough to make bread for the household, as usual. As it was to be used for cakes and apple-pies also, I kept near her in the kitchen, and as I watched her, gave myself up to the pleasantest dreams. When the dough was kneaded yeast was added, the knead- ing-trough carefully scraped, and a thick covering was spread over it, to let it ferment. Then Lisbeth scattered blazing coals from the hearth inside the oven, and pushed into it with the poker three great dry fagots, which soon began to blaze under the dark vaulted roof. Finally, when the fire was lighted, she closed the door of the oven and turned to me : " Now, Fritzel, let us go to bed; to-morrow, when you wake up, there will be a pie for you." We went up to our rooms. Uncle Jacob had been snoring for an hour in his alcove. I went to bed thinking of pies and cakes, and fell sound asleep immediately. I had slept for some hours, 18 MADAME THERESE 19 but it was still night, and the moon was shining brightly into my little window, when I was aroused by a strange tumult. It seemed as if the whole vil- lage were in commotion; doors were slamming in the distance; many footsteps were splashing through the muddy pools of the street; and I heard, too, people moving about in our house, and saw the purple reflection of lights on my window- panes. My alarm may be imagined. After listen- ing awhile, I got quietly up, and opened a window. The street was full of people, and not only the street but the garden, and by-streets. I saw only large men with immense cocked hats, long blue coats with red facings, wide white belts, and large queues hanging down their backs, carrying sabres and cartridge-boxes, which I had never seen before. They had stacked their guns before our barn. Two sentinels guarded them. The others had already made themselves at home in the houses. In the stable three horses pawed the ground. Before Sepel's butcher shop, across the way, from the hooks in the wall on which calves were hung to be skinned, a whole ox was hanging, his head and back dragging on the ground, in the blaze of a great fire which lighted up the square. A man with his shirt-sleeves rolled up over his brawny arms was 20 MADAME THERESE skinning him. He had cut him entirely open, and the blood was running and mixing with the mire of the street. The face of this man, with his bare throat and unkempt hair, was terrible to see. I understood at once that the Republicans had unexpectedly entered the village, and while I was dressing I invoked the aid of the Emperor Joseph, of whom M. Karolus Richter so often spoke. The French had arrived during our first sleep, at least two hours before; for as I went down stairs I saw three of them, in their shirt-sleeves, like the butcher, taking the bread from our oven with the shovel. They had spared Lisbeth the trouble of baking, as their companions had spared Sepel the trouble of butchering. These men could do anything. Noth- ing embarrassed them. Lisbeth, seated in a corner, her hands crossed on her knees, watched them quite peacefully. Her first terror was over. Seeing me at the head of the stairs, she called out : " Fritzel, come down. They will not hurt you." Then I went down, and the men kept at their work without noticing me. The passage-door on the left was open, and I saw two more Republicans in the orchard mixing dough for a second or third batch of bread. Through the half -open door of the sitting-room, on the right, I saw Uncle Jacob sitting MADAME THERESE 21 at the table, while a robust man, with large red whiskers, pug nose, projecting eyebrows, ears stand- ing out from his head, and a tow-colored wig hang- ing down his back in a queue as thick as one's arm, was installed in the arm-chair, devouring one of our hams with evident relish. I could see his strong brown hands plying the knife and fork, and his muscular jaws moving. From time to time he raised his glass, took a good draught, and went on. He wore lead-colored epaulettes, a large sabre, in a leathern sheath, whose guard rose behind his el- bow, and boots which were hardly visible for the yellow mud which was beginning to dry upon them. From his hat on the sideboard, drooped red plumes which waved in the wind ; for notwithstanding the cold, the windows were wide open. An armed sen- tinel paced up and down before them, stopping oc- casionally to glance at the table. While carving the ham the man with large whis- kers spoke roughly to my uncle. " So you are a physician? " " Yes, monsieur le commandant." " Call me simply colonel, or citizen colonel. I have already told you that ' monsieur ' and ' ma- dame ' are out of fashion. But to return to our subject. You ought to know the country; a coun- 22 MADAME THERESE try physician is always on the road. How far are we from Kaiserslautern? " " Seven leagues, Colonel." " And from Pirmasens? " " About eight." " And from Landau? " " Five good leagues, I believe." " ' I believe ' ' nearly ' ' about ' is it thus a native of the country ought to speak? Listen: you look as if you were afraid. You are afraid that if the white coats should come this way, they would hang you for the information you give us. You may put that idea out of your head ; you are under the protection of the French Republic." And looking Uncle Jacob in the face with his gray eyes : " To the health of the Republic, one and indivisi- ble ! " he cried, lifting his glass. They touched glasses, and my uncle, very pale, drank to the Republic. " How is it," said the other, " you have not seen any Austrians near here? " " No, Colonel." " Are you very sure of it? Look me straight in the face." " I have not seen any." " Did you not make a journey to Keethal, lately? " MADAME THRESE 23 My uncle had been to Reethal three days before. He thought that some one in the village had told the Colonel, and answered, " Yes, Colonel." " So; and were there no Austrians there? " " No." The Republican emptied his glass, casting a side- long glance at Uncle Jacob; then stretched out his arm, and took him by the wrist, with a strange expression. " You say there were none? " " Yes, Colonel." " Well, you lie, then! " and in a slow voice he added : " We do not hang, but sometimes we shoot those who deceive us! " My uncle's face became still paler, but he held up his head, and repeated in a firm tone : " Colonel, I swear to you on my honor that there were no Imperialists at Reethal three days ago." " And I," cried the Republican, his small gray eyes flashing under their thick, tawny brows, " I tell you that they were there ! Is that plain? " There was a silence. All in the kitchen had turned round; the Colonel's manner was not reas- suring. I began to cry, and even went into the room, as if I could help Uncle Jacob, and placed 24 MADAME THERESE myself behind him. The Republican looked at us, frowningly, which did not prevent him from swal- lowing another mouthful of ham, as if to give him- self time for thought. Outside, Lisbeth sobbed aloud. " Colonel," said my uncle, firmly, " perhaps you do not know that there are two Reethals, one on the road to Kaiserslautern, and the other on the Queich, three short leagues from Landau; the Aus- trians may have been at the lower one, but at the other, they had not been seen Wednesday evening." " So! " said the Commandant, in bad Lorraine German, with a jeering smile, " that may be. But we from the country between Bitche and Sarre- guemines, are as knowing as you. Unless you can prove to me that there are two Reethals, I will tell you that it is my duty to have you arrested, and tried by a court-martial." " Colonel," cried my uncle, stretching out his arm, " the proof that there are two Reethals is that they are to be found on all the maps of the country." He pointed to our old map, hanging on the wall. The Republican turned round, and looking at it, said: " Ah, it is a map of the country ! Let us examine it a little." MADAME THRESE 25 My uncle took the map down, and spreading it on the table, showed him the two villages. " It is true," said the Colonel. " Well and good; I ask nothing better than to see a thing plainly." He leaned his elbows on the table, and with his large head between his hands, looked at the map. " Hold, hold! this is famous! " he said; " where did this map come from? " " My father made it. He was a mathematician." The Republican smiled. " Yes; the woods, the rivers, the roads, all are marked," said he. " I recognize that we passed that place it is good very good ! " Then straight- ening himself up : " You have no use for this map, citizen doctor," said he in German. " I need it, and I put it in requisition for the service of the He- public. Well, well, I beg your pardon. Let us have one drink more in honor of the Republic." We can imagine with what eagerness Lisbeth went down into the cellar to find another bottle. Uncle Jacob had recovered his confidence. The Colonel, looking at me, asked : " Is that your son? " " No, he is my nephew." " A well-built little fellow. It pleased me to see him come in just now to your aid. Come here, 26 MADAME THERESE close," lie said, drawing me to him by the arm. He passed his hand through my hair, and said, in a voice a little harsh, but kindly: " Bring up this boy in the love of the rights of man. Instead of taking care of cows, he may become colonel, or gen- eral, as well as anybody else. I^ow all the doors are open; any position can be taken. One need only have heart and luck to succeed. I, such as you see me, am the son of a blacksmith of Sarreguemines; but for the Republic, I should still hammer the anvil; our great lanky fellow of a count, who is with the white coats, would be an eagle by the grace of God, and I should be an ass. Instead of this, it is all the other way, thanks to the Revolution." He emptied his glass brusquely, and half shut- ting his eyes with a crafty expression, added : " That makes a little difference." On the table, beside the ham, was one of our short-cakes which the Republicans had baked with the first batch of bread. He cut a piece for me, and said, very good-humoredly, " Eat this boldly and try to become a man." Then turning toward the kitchen, " Sergeant Lafleche! " roared he, in a voice of thunder. An old sergeant with gray moustaches, dry as a salt herring, appeared in the doorway. MADAME THERESE 27 " How many loaves, Sergeant ? " " Forty." " In an hour we must have fifty; with our ten ovens, five hundred, three pounds of bread for each man." The Sergeant went back to the kitchen. My uncle and I observed all this without moving. The Colonel again bent over the map, his head between his hands. Day began to dawn. The armed sen- tinel was still pacing up and down before our win- dows. Silence prevailed. Many of the soldiers were sleeping, their heads on their knapsacks, around the large fires which they had kindled; others were in the houses. The clock ticked slowly; the fire still sparkled in the kitchen. But in a few moments, a great noise arose in the street; window- panes crashed; a door was thrown open noisily, and we heard our neighbor, Joseph Spick, cry, " To the rescue ! Fire ! " But no one stirred in the vil- lage. All were glad to remain quietly in their own houses. The Colonel listened. " Sergeant Lafleche ! " cried he. The Sergeant had gone to see what the matter was. He came back in a moment. " What has happened? " asked the Colonel. " It is an aristocrat of an inn-keeper, who re- 28 MADAME THERESE fuses to comply with the requisitions of the citizen Therese," replied he, gravely. "Very well! bring him to me." The Sergeant went out. In a few minutes our lane was full of people. The door reopened, and Joseph Spick, in a short jacket, loose linen panta- loons, and a cap of curled wool, appeared between four armed soldiers of the Republic, with faces yel- low as gingerbread, worn-out hats, ragged elbows, patched knees, and torn shoes, mended with twine; all of which did not, however, prevent their hold- ing up their heads high, as proud as kings. Joseph Spick, his hands in his pockets, shoulders bent, mouth open, and quaking cheeks, trembled so that he could hardly stand on his long legs. He seemed bewildered. Behind him, in the shadow, the head of a woman, pale and thin, at once attracted my at- tention. She had a high forehead, straight nose, long chin, and blue-black hair, which drooped in large bands over her temples, and was braided be- hind the ears, so that her face seemed extremely long. Her eyes were large, and black. She wore a felt hat with the tri-color cockade, and over it a red handkerchief knotted under the chin. As I had seen, in our country, only blondes or brunettes, this woman filled me with astonish- MADAME THERESE 29 ment and admiration. Young as I was, I looked at her amazed. My uncle appeared no less astonished than I, and after she had come in, followed by five or six other Republicans, dressed like the first, we could not take our eyes off of her. She wore a large cloak of blue cloth, with a triple cape falling to the elbows, a little cask, which was hung over her shoulder, and around her neck a thick black silk cravat, with long fringe doubtless some spoil of war which heightened still more the beauty of her calm, proud face. The Colonel waited until all had come in, look- ing closely at Joseph Spick, who seemed more dead than alive. Then turning to the woman, who had just raised her hat, with a movement of the head, said: " Well, Therese, what has happened? " " You know, Colonel, that at the last halting- place I had not another drop of brandy," said she, in a firm, clear voice. " My first care on arriving here, was to go through the village to find some, in- tending to pay for it, of course. But the people hid it all, and it was not until half an hour ago that I saw the fir-branch on this man's door. Corporal Merlot, Private Cincinnatus, and Drum-major Horatius Codes followed, to help me. We went in 30 MADAME THERESE and asked for wine, brandy, or anything of the kind; but the aristocrat had nothing; he was deaf. Then we searched the place, and at last found the entrance to the cellar, in the wood-house, concealed by a pile of fagots. "We might have quarreled with him; instead of that, we went down, and found wine, bacon, sour-krout, and brandy. We filled our casks, took some bacon, and came up quietly. But seeing us return thus laden, this man, who was seated tranquilly in his room, began to cry for help, and instead of accepting my money, tore it up, and seizing me by the arm, shook me with all his strength. Cincinnatus put his load on the table, and taking this great fool by the collar, threw him against the window of his old house. Then Sergeant Lafleche arrived. That is all, Colonel." When she had finished, she withdrew behind the others, and immediately a little dry man, thin and brusque, whose hat was on one side, and who held under his arm a long cane with a copper knob, shaped like an onion, came forward, and said, pompously: " Colonel, what Citizen Therese has just com- municated is an expression of the indignation which one naturally feels at coming in contact with a senseless aristocrat who thinks " MADAME THERESE 31 " Very well," interrupted the Commandant, " the word of Citizen Therese is sufficient." And addressing Joseph Spick in German, he said, f rown- ingly: " Tell me, do you wish to be shot? It will cost only the trouble of leading you into your gar- den. Do you not know that the paper of the Re- public is worth more than the gold of tyrants? Lis- ten; this time I will pardon you, in consideration of your ignorance; but if it happens that you again conceal your provisions, and refuse to accept our money in payment, I will have you shot in the vil- lage square to serve as an example to others. Go, then! march, you great idiot! " He delivered this little harangue very emphati- cally. Then turning to the cantiniere, said, " Well, Therese, you can fill your cask ; this man will make no further objections. And you, soldiers, release him." They all went out. Therese first, Joseph last. The poor devil had hardly a drop of blood left in his veins. He had just had a narrow escape. Meanwhile, daylight had come. The Colonel rose, folded the map, and put it into his pocket. Then he went to a window and looked out on the village. My uncle and I looked from the other win- dow. It was about five o'clock in the morning. m As long as I live I shall remember that silent street, filled with sleeping men; some stretched out, some coiled up, their heads resting on their knap- sacks. I can still see those muddy feet, those worn- out shoes, and patched coats, those young faces, tinged with brown, and rigid old faces, with closed eyelids; the large hats, faded epaulettes, the cock- ades, the woollen blankets with ragged red borders, the gray cloaks, and the straw scattered in the mud. Then the great silence of their sleep after the forced march this absolute repose like death. All was enveloped in the bluish light of early morning; the pale sun, rising in a fog, shed but a sickly light over the little houses with their large thatched roofs, and small black windows. In the distance, at both ends of the village, on the Altenberg, and the Ree- pockel, above the orchards and hemp-fields, the sen- tinels' bayonets gleamed among the fading stars. No, I shall never forget that strange spectacle. I was very young then, but such memories are eternal. 32 MADAME THERESE ,< >> Aa the day advanced, the picture became ani- mated. One man raised his head, leaned on his elbow, and looked round; then yawned, and went to sleep again. Then an old soldier suddenly straightened himself, shook the straw from his clothes, adjusted his felt hat, and folded his ragged blanket; another rolled up his cloak and buckled it on his knapsack; a third drew from his pocket the stump of a pipe, and struck a light. The early risers had gathered together, and were talking, and the others joined them, stamping their feet, for it was cold at that hour, and the fires which had been lighted in the streets and on the Common had gone out. Opposite our house, on the little square, was the fountain. Some of the Republicans were collected around two large moss-covered troughs, washing themselves, laughing, and chatting pleasantly, not- withstanding the cold; others were stooping down, drinking with upturned mouths from the pump. Then the houses were opened, one by one, and we saw soldiers coming out from them, stooping so as not to strike their heads against the low door- ways. Nearly all had their pipes lighted. To the right of our barn, before Spick's inn, was stationed the cantiniere's cart, covered with a large 9 34 MADAME THERESE cloth. It had two wheels, like a hand-barrow, the shafts lying on the ground. The mule was behind, covered with an old woollen horse-blanket of red and blue check, and had drawn from our stall a long wisp of hay, which he chewed gravely with half -closed eyes and a sentimental air. The cantiniere was seated at the window mending a little pair of pantaloons, and throwing a glance from time to time at the shed, where the drum- major, Horatius Codes, Cincinnatus, Merlot, and a tall, thin, dry, jovial fellow, were seated astride bundles of hay, making each other's queues. They combed out the braids, and smoothed them by spit- ting on their hands. Horatius Codes, who was the head of the band, was humming an air, and his comrades repeated the refrain. Near them against two old casks slept a little drummer, about twelve years old, as fair as myself, who interested me particularly. It was he whbm the cantiniere was watching, and doubtless they were his pantaloons that she was mending. He was stretched out, his face upturned, his mouth half- opened, his back against the two casks and one arm over his drum. His drumsticks were slipped into his shoulder-belt, and on his feet, covered with MADAME THERESE 35 straw, was stretched out a large, and very dirty spaniel, which kept him warm. Every moment this dog raised his head and looked at the boy, as if to say; " I should like very much to take a tour among the kitchens of the village ! " But the little one did not stir, he slept so soundly 1 "When some dogs barked in the distance the spaniel gaped. He would have liked to be one of the party. Soon two officers came out of a neighboring house; two slender young men in tightly-fitting coats. As they passed the house, the Colonel cried : "Duchene! Richer!" " Good-morning, Colonel," said they, turning back. " Are the posts relieved? " " Yes, Colonel." "Nothing new?" " Nothing, Colonel." " In half an hour we begin our march. Sound the call, Richer. Come in, Duchene." One of the officers went in. The other passed into the shed and said something to Horatius Codes. I looked at the new-comer. The Colonel had or- dered a bottle of brandy. They were drinking to- gether, when a hum was heard outside. It was the 36 MADAME THERESE drum-beat. I ran to see what was going on. Ho- ratius Codes, at the head of five drummers among whom, on the left, was the little boy raising his baton, initiated the performance, which continued as long as he held it up. The Eepublicans came in from all the by-streets of the village, and were ranged in two lines in front of the fountain, and their sergeants began the call. My uncle and I were astonished at the order which prevailed among these men. When their names were called they an- swered so promptly that it seemed as if there were but one reply from all sides. They had taken their guns, and held them carelessly, on their shoulders, or with the butt-end on the ground, just as they chose. After the call there was perfect silence, and then several men from each company were detached, un- der the escort of the corporals, to go and fetch their bread. Citizen Therese harnessed her mule to the strength ; eat that too, but then we will stop, for everything ought to be done in moderation." When we had nearly finished, he went out for a moment, and as I was wondering what he had gone to do, he reappeared with an old bottle with a large red seal, covered with dust. " There, Madame Therese," said he, placing it on the table, " that is one of your fellow-countrymen, who comes to wish you good health. We cannot refuse him that satisfaction, for he comes from Bur- gundy, and, they say, has a gay disposition." " Is this the way you treat your patients, Mon- sieur Jacob? " asked Madame Therese, with emo- tion. " Yes, all I order them whatever will give them pleasure." " Well, yours is true science that which comes from the heart, and cures." My uncle was going to pour out the wine, but stopping suddenly, he looked at the patient with an air of gravity, and said, expressively : " I see that we agree better and better ; and you will finish by becoming converted to the doctrine of peace." MADAME THERESE 195 Then lie poured some drops into my glass, and filled his and Madame Therese's to the brim, saying: " To your health, Madame Therese ! " " To yours and Fritzel's ! " And we drank that old wine, the color of onion- skin, which I thought very good. We became very gay. Madame Therese's cheeks took a slight rose- tint, betokening the return of health. She smiled, and said : " This wine strengthens me." Then she began to speak of rendering herself useful in the house. " I am already very strong ; I can work, I can mend your old linen ; you must have some, Monsieur Jacob? " " Oh, no doubt, no doubt," said my uncle, smil- ing ; " Lisbeth's eyes are not what they were at twenty ; she spends hours in darning one hole. You'll be very useful to me, very useful. But it isn't time for that yet. It's still necessary for you to rest." " But," said she, looking at me sweetly, " if I can't work, yet, you'll at least permit me to take your place for Fritzel, sometimes. You haven't time always to give him your good French lessons, and if you will " " Ah, that's different ! " cried Uncle Jacob ; 196 MADAME THERESE " yes, I call that an excellent idea, excellent. Lis- ten, Fritzel : in future you will take your lessons of Madame Therese. You must try to profit bj' them, for good opportunities of instruction are rare very rare ! " I had become very red, for I was thinking how much time Madame Therese had; but she, guess- ing my thoughts, said, kindly : " Don't fear, Fritzel. I'll give you plenty of time for play. We'll read Buffon together, only one hour in the morning, and one at night. Don't be afraid, my child. I won't tire you too much." She drew me gently to her, and kissed me. Then the door opened, and the mole-catcher and Koffel entered, gravely, dressed in their Sunday clothes. They had come to take coffee with us. It was easy to see that my uncle, on inviting them, in the morn- ing, had told them of the courage and great fame of Madame Therese in the armies of the Republic, for they were by no means the same as usual. The mole-catcher no longer kept his fur cap on, and Kof- fel had put on a white shirt, the collar of which rose above his ears ; he held himself very straight, his hands in his vest pockets, and his wife must have put on a button to fasten the second suspender of his breeches, for they no longer hung upon one side, but MADAME THERESE 197 were even on both ; moreover, instead of his old clogs full of holes, he wore his best shoes. In short, both had the appearance of grave personages coming from some extraordinary conference, and both bowed very impressively, and said : " We salute the company ! " " Good, it's you ! " said my uncle ; " come, sit down." Then turning toward the kitchen he cried: " Lisbeth, you may bring the coffee." At that moment, glancing by chance at the win- dow, he saw old Adam Schmitt passing, and rising immediately, tapped on the pane, saying : " Here's an old soldier of Frederic, Madame Therese ; you will be happy to make his acquaint- ance. He is a good man." Father Schmitt had come to see what Uncle Jacob wanted, and Uncle Jacob, having opened the win- dow, said : " Father Adam, will you give us the pleasure of taking coffee with us? I always have that old cog- nac, you know ! " " Willingly, doctor," replied Schmitt, " very willingly." Then he appeared in the doorway, and making the military salute, said : " Best respects 1 " 198 MADAME THERESE Then the mole-catcher, Koffel, and Schmitt, standing around the table in embarrassment, began to talk to each other in low tones, looking at Madame Therese, as if they had something very important to communicate, while Lisbeth took off the table- cloth, and spread the oil-cloth on, and Madame Therese continued to smile upon me, and pass her hand through my hair, without seeming to notice that they were talking about her. At last, Lisbeth brought the cups and the little decanters of cognac and kirschenwasser on a tray, and this sight made old Schmitt turn round, his eyes twinkling. Lis- beth brought the coffee-pot, and my uncle said : " Let us sit down." Everybody sat down, and Madame Therese, smil- ing on all these honest men, said : " Allow me to help you, gentlemen." Immediately, Father Schmitt, again making the salute, answered : " Military honors to you ! " Koffel and the mole-catcher looked at him admir- ingly, and each thought : " That Father Schmitt has just said a sensible and suitable thing." Madame Therese filled the cups, and while they drank in silence, my uncle, placing his hand on. Father Schmitt's shoulder, said : MADAME THERESE 199 " Madame Therese, I present to you an old soldier of Frederic the Great, a man who, notwithstanding his campaigns and his wounds, his courage and his good conduct, became only a simple sergeant, but whom all the honest men in the village esteem as much as a captain." Then Madame Therese looked at Father Schmitt, who straightened himself up in his chair with a feel- ing of natural dignity. " In the armies of the Republic, monsieur might have become a general," said she. " If France now fights all Europe, it is because she will not allow that honors, fortune, and all the good things of the world, should crown the heads of a few, despite their vices ; and all the poverty and humiliations the heads of others, notwithstanding their merits and virtues. The nation finds this contrary to the law of God, and to change it, we will all die, if it be necessary! " At first no one replied. Schmitt looked at this woman earnestly, his large gray eyes wide open. His lips were compressed, and he seemed to reflect. The mole-catcher and Koffel looked at each other ; Madame Therese seemed a little excited, and my uncle remained calm. I had left the table, for Uncle Jacob did not allow me to take coffee, think- aoo MADAME THERESE ing it injurious to children, and was standing behind the stove, looking and listening. In a moment Uncle Jacob said to Schmitt : " Madame was cantiniere in the second battalion of the first brigade of the army of the Moselle." " I know it already, doctor," answered the old soldier ; " and I also know what she did." Then raising his voice, he cried : " Yes, madame, if I had had the happiness of serving in the armies of the Republic, I would have become a captain perhaps even a colonel or I would have died." Then placing his hand on his breast " I was ambitious ; not to flatter myself, I wasn't wanting in courage, and if I could have risen I would have been ashamed to remain in an inferior position. The king remarked me on several occa- sions a rare thing for a common soldier and that was an honor. At Rosbach, while the captain be- hind us cried, ' Forward ! ' it was really Adam Schmitt who commanded the company. Ah, well ! all that amounted to nothing ; and now, although I receive a pension from the King of Prussia, I'm forced to say the Republicans are right. That's my opinion." Then he emptied his little glass quickly, and winking in an odd manner, added : MADAME THERESE 201 " And they fight well, I saw that yes they fight well. They have not the regular movements of old soldiers, yet, but they sustain a charge well, and it is by that one knows strong men in the ranks." After these words of Father Schmitt's they all began to praise the new ideas. One would have thought that the signal for a general confidence had just been given, and that each wished to reveal thoughts which he had long kept secret. Koffel, who was always complaining of not having received an education, said that all the children ought to go to school at the country's expense ; that as God had not given more heart and mind to the nobles than to other men, each one had a right to the dew and the light of heaven ; thus the good grain would not be choked by tares, nor the culture which would help more useful plants be wasted upon thistles. Madame Therese replied that the National Con- vention had voted fifty-four million francs for pub- lic education regretting that they could not do more at the time when all Europe was in arms against them, and they were obliged to sustain four- teen armies in the field. Koffel's eyes filled with tears as he heard this, and I shall never forget how he said in a trembling voice 202 MADAME THERESE " Well, God bless them, God bless them ! So much the worse for us, but though I should lose everything through them, it is for their success that I will pray." The mole-catcher remained silent a long time, but when he once began, there was no stopping him. Not only did he demand education for the children, but he desired the utter overturning of everything. One would not have supposed that so peaceable a man could entertain such ideas. " I say it's shameful to sell regiments like droves of cattle ! " cried he, earnestly, stretching out his hand over the table. " I say it's still more shameful to sell the office of judge, for judges, to get their money back, sell justice ; I say that the Repub- licans have done well to abolish the convents, in which idleness and all the vices flourish, and every- body ought to be free to go, to come, to trade, to work, to advance in every walk of life, without any one's opposing them. And, finally, I believe that if the drones won't go, nor work, the good God wants the bees to get rid of them, as we've always seen, and always shall see, until the end of time." Old Schmitt, then more at his ease, said his ideas were the same as the mole-catcher's and Koffel's ; and my uncle, who until then had preserved his MADAME THERESE 203 calmness, could not help approving these senti- ments, which are the truest, the most natural, and most just. " Only," said he, " instead of wanting to do ev- erything in a day, it's much better to work slowly and progressively. We must employ gentle and persuasive means, as Christ did. That would be wiser, and the same results would be obtained." Madame Therese smiled, and said : " Ah, Monsieur Jacob, no doubt, if everybody was like you. But for how many hundred years has Christ preached kindness, justice, and gentle- ness to men? And yet, do your nobles listen? Do they treat the peasants like brothers? No, no ! It is unfortunate, but war is necessary. In the three years which have just passed, the Republic has done more for the rights of man than was done in the eighteen hundred years before. Believe me, doc- tor, the resignation of good men is a great evil ; it emboldens the bad, and is productive of no good." All agreed with Madame Therese, and Uncle Jacob was going to reply, when Clementz, the car- rier, with his large hat covered with oil-cloth, and his red leather bag, opened the door, and handed in the newspaper. " Won't you take some coffee, Clementz? " said my uncle. 204 MADAME THERESE " No, Monsieur Jacob, thank you, I'm in a hurry; all the letters are late. Another time." He went out, and we saw him run past the win- dow. My uncle opened the paper, and began to read, gravely, the news of that far-off time. Al- though very young then, I remember it well. It seemed to verify the mole-catcher's predictions, and inspired me with intense interest. The old Zeit- blatt treated the Republicans as a kind of madmen who had conceived the audacious design of changing the eternal laws of nature. It recalled, at first, the terrible manner in which Jupiter had overwhelmed the Titans who had revolted against his throne ; crushing them under mountains, so that, since then, these unfortunates vomit ashes and flame from the sepulchres of Vesuvius and Etna. Then it spoke of the melting of the bells stolen from the worship of our fathers and transformed into cannon, one of the greatest profanations that could be conceived, since what ought to give life to the soul was now destined to kill the body. It said, also, that the assi gnats were worth nothing, and that soon, when the nobles should again take possession of their chateaux, and the priests of their convents, those ralueless papers would be good for nothing but to kindle the kitchen fires. It charitably warned peo- MADAME THERESE 205 pie to refuse them, no matter at what cost. After this came the list of executions, and unhappily, it was long ; so the Zeitblatt declared that the Repub- licans had changed the proverb that " wolves do not eat each other." It laughed at the new era, styled Republican, whose months were called vende* miaire, brumaire, frimaire, nivose, pluviose, etc. These madmen intended to change the courses of the stars, and to pervert the seasons, it said ; put winter into summer, and spring into autumn, so that one would no longer know when seed-time or harvest came; they had no common-sense, and all the peas- ants of France were indignant with them. So the Zeitblatt expressed itself. Koffel and the mole-catcher glanced at each other gravely, from time to time, during the reading. Madame Therese and Father Schmitt seemed very thoughtful ; no one said anything. My uncle con- tinued to read, stopping a second at each new para- graph, and the old clock went ticking on. Toward the last, the questions of the war of La Vendee came up, of the taking of Lyons, the occu- pation of Toulon by the English and Spanish, the invasion of Alsace by Wurmser, and the battle-field of Kaiserslautern, from which these famous Repub- licans had run like hares. The Zeitblatt predicted 2 o6 MADAME THERESE that the Republic would come to an end the follow- ing spring, and closed by these words of the prophet Jeremiah, which it addressed to the French people : " Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee ; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God." Then my uncle folded the paper, and said, " What is one to think of all that? Every day they announce to us that the Republic is near its end ; six months ago it was surrounded on all sides, three quarters of its provinces had risen against it. La Vendee, and we, too, had gained great victories. Well, now it has repulsed us nearly everywhere, it stands against all Europe as a great monarchy could not do; we are no longer in the heart of its prov- inces, but only on its frontiers; it advances even to our doors, and yet they say it is going to perish ! If it were not the learned doctor Zacharias who writes these things, I should entertain great doubts of their good faith." " Ah, Monsieur Jacob," replied Madame The- rese, " perhaps this doctor sees things as he wishes them. That often happens, and does not prevent people from being sincere. They don't wish to de- ceive, but they deceive themselves." MADAME THERESE 207 " As for me," said Father Schmitt, rising, " all I know is that the Republicans fight well, and if the French have three or four hundred thousand like those I've seen, I fear more for ourselves than for them. That's my opinion. As to Jupiter, who puts men under Vesuvius to make them vomit fire, that's a new kind of battery, that I know nothing about, but I'd like very well to see it." " And I," said the mole-catcher, " think that Doctor Zacharias doesn't know what he is talking about ; if I edited the paper, I should do other- wise." He stopped to take a coal from the furnace, for he felt great need of smoking. Old Schmitt fol- lowed his example, and as night had come, they went out together, Koffel last, pressing Uncle Jacob's hand and bowing to Madame Therese. xnn THE next day Madame Therese occupied herself with household duties. She visited the presses, un- folded the table-cloths, towels, and shirts, and even the old yellow linen which had lain piled up there since grandmother LehnePs time. She put aside what was worth repairing, while Lisbeth placed the large tub full of ashes in the wash-house. The water must boil till midnight to make lye for the great washing. And for several days there was still more work washing, drying, ironing, and mend- ing, and all that. Madame Therese had not her equal for needle- work. This woman, whom people had thought only fit to pour out glasses of brandy, and jog along in a cart behind a crowd of sans-culottes, knew more about domestic matters than any gossip in Anstatt. She even showed us the art of embroidering wreaths, and of marking the fine linen with red letters, a thing of which we in the mountains were entirely ignorant until then, which proves what information 208 MADAME THERESE 209 is diffused by great revolutions. Moreover Madame Therese helped Lisbeth in the kitchen, without in- terfering with her, knowing that the old servants cannot bear to have their arrangements disturbed. " You see, Madame Therese," the old woman sometimes said, " how people's notions change. At first I couldn't endure you on account of your Re- public, and now, if you were to go away, I believe all the house would go, and that we couldn't live without you." " Oh," answered she, smiling, " every one has his own ways. When you did not know me you felt distrustful of me ; anybody in your place would have felt the same." Then she added, sadly, " Nev- ertheless I must go, Lisbeth. My place is not here. Other duties call me elsewhere." She was always thinking of her battalion, and when Lisbeth cried out : " Pshaw, you must stay with us, you can't leave us now. You know that they think a great deal of you in the village ; the people respect you greatly. Leave your sans-culottes. It isn't the life for an honest person to be struck by balls and other bad weapons, following the soldiers. We won't let you go away." She shook her head, and one could easily see that a io MADAME THERESE some day she would say : " To-day, I am going ! " and that nothing could prevent her. On the other hand the discussions on war and peace continued. It was Uncle Jacob who recom- menced them. Every morning he came down to convert Madame Therese, saying that peace ought to reign on earth, that in the beginning peace had been established by God himself, not only among men, but among animals ; all religions teach the doctrine of peace ; all sufferings come from war, pestilence, murder, pillage, incendiarism ; there must be a chief at the head of governments to main- tain order, and consequently nobles to support that chief ; these things had existed in all times; among the Hebrews, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Greeks and Romans ; the republic of Rome had understood this; the consuls and dictators were a kind of kings supported by noble senators, who were themselves supported by noble knights, who were above the people. Such was the natural order, and it could not be changed without detriment even to the poorest, for, said he, the poor, in disorder, no longer find means of gaining a living, and per- ish like leaves in autumn, when they fall from the branches which give them sap. He said many more tnings equally strong ; but Madame Therese always MADAME THERESE 211 found some good reply. She declared that men have equal rights by God's will ; that rank ought to belong to merit, and not to blood ; wise laws, equal for all, establish only equitable differences among citizens, approving the actions of some, and con- demning those of others ; it is shameful and miser- able to grant honors and authority to those who do not merit them ; it is to degrade authority and honor itself, to cause them to be represented by un- worthy persons, and to destroy in all hearts the senti- ment of justice by showing that justice does not ex- ist, since everything depends upon the accident of birth ; to establish such a state of things men must be degraded, for intelligent beings would not suffer it ; such degradation is contrary to God's laws ; that we must contend in every way with those who would bring it about for their own profit, and oppose them by all means in our power, even by war, the most terrible of all, it is true, but the sin of which falls upon the heads of those who provoke it by trying to establish an everlasting iniquity ! When my uncle heard these replies he would be- come grave. If he had a journey to take among the mountains, he would mount his horse very thoughtfully, and all day he would seek new and stronger reasons to convince Madame Therese. In 212 MADAME THERESE the evening he would return more cheerful, with proofs which he considered invincible, but his belief did not last long ; for this simple woman, instead of talking about the Greeks and Egyptians, saw at once into the depths of things, and destroyed my uncle's historical proofs by good sense. Yet, Uncle Jacob was not angry ; on the contrary, he exclaimed ad- miringly : " What a woman you are, Madame Therese ! Without having studied logic, you have a reply for everything. I'd like to see what kind of a face the editor of the Zeitblatt would make arguing with you. I'm sure you'd embarrass him, in spite of his great learning and even his good cause ; for ours is the good cause, only I defend it poorly." Then they would both laugh, and Madame The- rese would say : " You defend peace very well. I agree with you ; only let us rid ourselves of those who de- sire war, and in order to get rid of them, let us wage it better than they. You and I will soon be of one opinion, for we are earnest and desire justice. But there are others who must be converted by cannon- shots, since that is the only voice they will hear, and the only reasoning which they understand." My uncle would make no answer, and what great MADAME THERESE 213 ly astonished me was that he even seemed contented with having been beaten. Next to these great po- litical discussions, that which gave him the most pleasure was to find me, on returning from his visits, taking my French lesson, Madame Therese sitting with her arm around me, and I standing, bending over the book. He would come in softly, so as not to disturb us, and sit behind the stove, stretching out his legs, and listening in a sort of rapture. Some- times he would wait half an hour before taking off his boots and putting on his loose jacket, he was so afraid of distracting my attention ; and when the lesson was finished, he would exclaim : " Very well, Fritzel, very well ! You're acquir- ing a taste for that beautiful language that Madame Therese explains to you so well. How fortunate for you to have such a teacher ! You'll realize that after a while." Then he would kiss me, much moved. What Madame Therese did for me he valued more than if it had been for himself. I must say, also, that that excellent woman did not weary me for a single moment during our les- sons ; if she saw my attention lag, she would im- mediately tell me little stories which aroused me; there was especially a certain Republican Gate- 2I 4 MADAME THERESE chism, full of noble and touching incidents, the re- membrance of which will never be effaced from my memory. Several days passed thus. The mole-catcher and Koffel came every evening as usual. Madame Therese had entirely recovered, and it seemed as if this state of things would continue forever, when an extraordinary occurrence came to disturb our quiet, and to urge Uncle Jacob to the most daring under- takings. xrv ONE morning Uncle Jacob was gravely reading the Republican Catechism near the stove. Madame Therese was sewing by the window, and I was watching for a good opportunity of making my es- cape with Scipio. Outside our neighbor Spick was splitting wood. No other sound was heard in the village. My uncle's book seemed to interest him very much. From time to time he would look up, and say, " These Republicans have good traits ; they take a large view of men their principles elevate the soul. It is really beautiful ! I can understand how the young adopt their doctrines, for all young people who are healthy in body and mind love virt- ue. Those who become decrepit before they are old, from selfishness and bad passions, are just the opposite. What a pity that such men constantly have recourse to violence ! " Then Madame Therese would smile, and he would resume his reading. This continued for about half 215 216 MADAME THERESE an hour, and Lisbeth, after having swept the entry, was going to have her share of gossip at old Basel's as usual, when suddenly a man on horseback stopped at our door. He wore a large blue cloth cloak, a sheepskin cap, and had a snub-nose and gray beard. My uncle put down his book. We all looked at the stranger from the windows. " Somebody has come after you for some sick per- son, doctor," said Madame Therese. My uncle did not answer. The man, after fas- tening his horse to the post, entered the house. " Are you Doctor Jacob? " asked he, opening the door. " I am he, sir." " Here is a letter from Doctor Feuerbach of Kaiserslautern." " Sit down, sir," said Uncle Jacob. The man remained standing. My uncle became very pale on reading the letter. For a moment he seemed troubled, and looked at Madame Therese anxiously. " I must take back your answer, if there be any," said the man. " Tell Feuerbach that I thank him, that is the only answer." Then without adding anything he went out bare- MADAME THERESE 217 headed with the messenger, whom we saw go down the street, leading his horse toward the inn of the Little Golden Pitcher. Doubtless he was going to refresh himself before returning. We saw my un- cle pass the window to go into the shed. Then Ma- dame Therese seemed disturbed. " Fritzel," said she, " go take your uncle his cap." I went out at once, and found him walking up and down with long strides before the barn. He was still holding the letter, not thinking of putting it in his pocket. Spick was looking at him strange- ly from his doorway, leaning on his axe. Two or three of the neighbors, also, were looking from their windows. It was very cold out-of-doors, and I went in again. Madame Therese had laid down her work and was sitting pensively with her elbow on the window-sill. I sat down behind the stove, hav- ing no desire to go out again. I remembered all these things during my childhood ; but what hap- pened afterward, for a long time seemed like a dream, for I could not understand it. And it is only since I have grown older, that, thinking it over, I have understood it. I remember that my uncle came in a few minutes afterward, saying that men were scoundrels, creatures who sought only to in- 2i8 MADAME THERESE jure each other ; that he sat down by the little win- dow not far from the door, and began to read his friend Feuerbach's letter ; while Madame Therese stood listening to him erect and calm, in her little jacket with its double row of buttons, her hair twist- ed at the back of her head. All this I see, and Scipio, too, in the middle of the room, with upturned head and curled up tail. But as the letter was written in Saxon German, all that I could understand of it was that Uncle Jacob had been denounced as a Jacobin, at whose house the rabble of the country assembled to celebrate the Revolution, that Madame Therese was also de- nounced as a dangerous woman, regretted by the Republicans on account of her extraordinary cour- age, and that a Prussian officer, accompanied by a sufficient escort, was coming for her the next day, and would send her to Mayence with the other pris- oners. I remember that Feuerbach advised my uncle to be very prudent, because the Prussians, since their victory at Kaiserslautern, were masters of the country, and they were arresting all dangerous men and sending them to Poland, two hundred leagues from there, into the marshes, as an example to others. What seemed most astonishing to me was the MADAME THERESE 219 manner in which Uncle Jacob, the calm man, the great lover of peace, became indignant at his old comrade's advice. Our little sitting-room, usually so peaceful, was that day the scene of a terrible storm, and I doubt whether it had ever seen the like, since the house was built. My uncle accused Feuer- bach of being a self-seeker, ready to bow to the ar- rogance of the Prussians, who treated the Palatinate and the Hundsruck like a conquered country. He declared that laws existed in Mayence, in Treves and Spire, as well as in France ; Madame Therese had been left for dead by the Austrians ; they had no right to reclaim persons and things which they had abandoned ; she was free ; he would suffer no one to lay his hand on her ; he would protest against it ; the lawyer Pf effel of Heidelberg was his friend ; he would write, he would defend himself ; he would move heaven and earth ; they should see if Jacob "Wagner would allow himself to be treated in that manner; they would be astonished at what a peaceable man was capable of doing for right and justice. As he talked he walked up and down with dis- ordered hair ; he quoted at random in Latin all the old laws that he could recall. He also spoke of cer- tain sentences on the rights of man which he had 220 MADAME THERESE just read, and from time to time he stopped, bent his knee, put his foot down with force, and cried : " I stand on the basis of law on the brazen foundations of our ancient charters. Let the Prus- sians come let them come ! This woman is mine I rescued her and saved her life. The thing abandoned, * res derelicta est res puUica, res vul- I do not know where he had learned all this ; per- haps at the University of Heidelberg, hearing his companions argue among themselves. But at that time all these old studies passed through his mind and he seemed to be replying to a dozen persons who were attacking him at once. Madame Therese remained calm, her long, thin face very thoughtful. ]STo doubt my uncle's quota- tions astonished her, but seeing things clearly, as usual, she understood her true position. It was only at the end of a long half -hour, when my uncle opened his secretary and seated himself to write to the lawyer Pfeffel, that she placed her hand gently on his shoulder, and said with emotion : " Don't write, Monsieur Jacob, it is useless. Be- fore your letter arrives I shall be far away." My uncle looked at her, turning very pale. " You want to go away, then? " he asked with trembling lips. MADAME THERESE 221 " I am a prisoner," said she, " I know that ; my only hope was that the Republicans, returning to the attack, would deliver me as they marched upon Landau ; but since it is otherwise, I must go." " You want to go away ! " repeated he, despair- ingly- " Yes, doctor, I want to go, to spare you great an- noyance ; you are too good, too generous to under- stand the strict laws of war ; you see only justice ! But in time of war, justice is nothing, force is every- thing. The Prussians are conquerors, they will come and take me away because those are their or- ders. Soldiers know only their orders ; law, life, honor, man's reason, are nothing ; their orders are above all." My uncle sank back in his arm-chair, his large eyes filled with tears, not knowing what to reply ; but he took Madame Therese's hand, and pressed it with great emotion, then rising with agitated face, he began to walk up and down, again invoking the execration of future ages upon the oppressors of mankind, cursing Richter and all scoundrels like him, and declaring in a voice of thunder that the Republicans were right in defending themselves ; their cause was just ; he saw it now ; and all the old laws, the old rubbish of ordinances, rules and 222 MADAME THERESE charters of all sorts had never benefited any but the nobles and monks, to the injury of the poor. His face was swollen, he staggered, he could no longer speak plainly, but stammered. He said that every- thing ought to be wholly abolished ; courage and virtue only ought to triumph, and finally, in an ex- traordinary kind of enthusiasm, his arm extended toward Madame Therese, and his face red even to his neck, he proposed to take her in his sleigh to the mountain, to the house of a woodcutter one of his friends where she would be safe. He seized her hands, and said : " Let us go let us go there you will' be well cared for in old Ganglof's house. He is entirely devoted to me I saved his life, and his son's they will conceal you the Prussians will not go look for you in the passes of the Lauterfelz ! " But Madame Therese refused, saying that if the Prussians should not find her at Anstatt, they would arrest him in her place; and she would rather risk perishing of fatigue and cold on the highway, than expose to such a misfortune, a man who had rescued her from among the dead. She said this very firm- ly, but my uncle would give no weight to such rea- sons. I remember that what troubled him most was the thought of seeing Madame Therese going MADAME THERESE 223 away with barbarous men, savages from the depths of Pomerania ; he could not endure this idea, and cried : " You are weak you are still an invalid ! These Prussians respect nothing they are a race full of boasting and brutality. You don't know how they treat their prisoners. I have seen it myself it is a disgrace to my country I would have concealed this, but I must acknowledge it now, it is frightful !" " ISTo doubt, Monsieur Jacob," replied she ; " I know that from the old prisoners of our battalion. We shall march two by two, or four by four, sad, sometimes without bread, often hurried and brutally treated by the escort. But your peasants are good they are honest men they have pity and the French are gay, doctor, the journey will be the only hardship ; and moreover I shall find ten, twenty of my comrades to carry my little bundle ; the French respect women. I see it beforehand," said she, smiling sadly : " one of us will march be- fore, singing an old air of Auvergne to mark the step, or else a more joyous Provengal song, to bright- en your dark skies. "We shall not be so unhappy as you think, Monsieur Jacob." She spoke gently, her voice trembling a little, and as she was speaking I could see her with her little 224 MADAME THERESE bundle in the file of prisoners, and my heart sank. Oh, then I knew how much we loved her, how it would pain us to see her go away. Suddenly I burst into tears, and my uncle sitting opposite the secre- tary, his face in his hands, remained silent, but great tears flowed slowly down his cheeks. Madame The- rese, seeing this, could not help weeping. She took me tenderly in her arms, and kissed me warmly, saying : " Don't cry, Fritzel ; don't cry so. You'll think of me sometimes won't you ? I shall never forget you." Scipio alone remained calm, walking around the stove, and understanding nothing of our trouble. It was not until nearly ten o'clock, when we heard Lisbeth lighting the kitchen fire, that we became somewhat calm. Then my uncle, blowing his nose forcibly, said : " Madame Therese, you must go, since you really wish to, but it is impossible for me to allow the Prus- sians to come here and take you away like a thief, and lead you through the whole village. If one of those brutes should speak a cruel or insolent word to you, I should forget myself, for my patience would be at an end ; I feel it, I should be capable of pro- ceeding to great extremities. Let me take you to MADAME THERESE 225 Kaiserslautern myself, before those people come. We will leave early in the morning, between four and five o'clock, in my sleigh ; we will take the by- roads, and will get down there by noon at the latest. Do you consent ? " " Oh, Monsieur Jacob, how could I refuse this last proof of your affection ? " said she, much moved. " I accept it with gratitude." " "We will do so, then," said he gravely. " And now let us dry our tears, and drive away these bitter thoughts as much as possible, so as not to sadden the last moments that we shall spend together." He kissed me, putting back the hair from my forehead, and said : " Fritzel, you're a good child; you have an ex- cellent heart. Remember that your Uncle Jacob has been satisfied with you this day. It is good to say to ourselves that we have given satisfaction to those who love ul " XV FROM that moment quiet returned to our house. Every one thought of Madame Therese's departure, of the great void that would be left in our home, of the sadness which would for weeks and months succeed the pleasant evenings that we had passed together, of the sorrow of the mole-catcher, Koffel, and old Schmitt, on learning the bad news; the more we thought of it, the more causes for grief and loneliness we discovered. What seemed to me the most bitter, was parting from my friend Scipio. I dared not say it, but when I considered that he was going away, that I could no longer walk with him in the village, in the midst of universal admira- tion, nor have the happiness of making him drill that I should be as I was before he came, walking alone, my hands in my pockets, and my cotton cap drawn over my ears, without honor, and without glory such a disaster seemed to me the height of misery. And what caused the bitter cup to over- flow, was that Scipio had just placed himself before 226 MADAME THERESE 227 me, looking at me from under his frowsy eyebrows, as sorrowfully as if he understood that we were going to be separated forever. Oh, when I think of these things even now, I am surprised that my thick, fair curls did not turn quite gray, in the midst of such distracting thoughts. I could not even cry, my sorrow was so great. I remained with head upturned, my lips trembling, and my hands clasped around one knee. My uncle was walking up and down with long strides, and occasionally he coughed a little, and then quickened his steps. Madame Therese, always active, despite her sad- ness, and her red eyes, had opened the chest of old linen, and was cutting from thick cloth a kind of bag with double straps, in which to put her things for the journey. We could hear the crunching of her scissors on the table. She arranged the pieces with her usual skill. At last, when all was ready, she drew from her pocket a needle and thread, sat down, put on her thimble, and after that we could see her hand coming and going like lightning. This was all done in the greatest silence. We heard only my uncle's heavy step on the floor, and the measured ticking of our old clock, which neither our joys nor our sorrows could hasten or delay one 228 MADAME THERESE second. Thus goes life; time as it passes does not ask, " Are you sad? Are you gay? Do you weep? Do you laugh? Is it spring, autumn, or winter? " It goes on, goes on, always; and those millions of atoms that whirl about in a ray of sunlight, and whose life begins and ends from one " tic-tac " to another, are of as much account to it, as the exist- ence of an old man of a hundred years. Alas! we are but trifles. Lisbeth having come in toward noon to lay the cloth, my uncle stopped his walk, and said: " You must cook a little ham for to-morrow morning. Madame Therese is going away." And as the old woman looked at him in amaze- ment " The Prussians claim her as their prisoner," said he, in a hoarse voice ; " they have force on their side; they must be obeyed." Then Lisbeth put her plates on the table, and looking from one to the other, settled her cap as if this news had disarranged it, and said: " Madame Therese going away? that isn't pos- sible I'll never believe that! " " It's necessary, my poor Lisbeth," replied Ma- dame Therese, sadly; "it's necessary; I'm a pris- oner they are coming to look for me." MADAME THERESE 229 " The Prussians? " " Yes, the Prussians." Then the old woman, choking with anger, said: " I always thought the Prussians were no great things a heap of scoundrels real ruffians ! Com- ing to attack an honest woman! If men had two farthings' worth of heart, would they suffer it? " "And what would you do?" asked Uncle Ja- cob, his face lighting up, for the old servant's in- dignation secretly pleased him. "I? I'd load my cavalry pistol," cried Lisbeth, " and call to them through the window, ( Leave, ruffians ! don't come in here, or beware ! ' And the first one who should pass through the door, I'd stretch out, stiff. Oh, the wretches! " " Yes, yes," said my uncle, " that's the treatment such men ought to receive. But we're not the strongest." Then he resumed his walk, and Lisbeth, trem- bling all over, arranged the dishes. We ate our dinner very silently. When we had finished, my uncle went to get a bottle of old Burgundy from the cellar, and came back, saying sadly, " Let us rejoice our hearts a little, and fortify ourselves against these great sorrows which over- whelm us. Before your departure let this old wine 230 MADAME THERESE which has strengthened you, Madame Therese, and gladdened us all with a day of happiness, sparkle again in our midst like a ray of sunlight, and scatter for a few moments the clouds that surround us." As lie said this, in a firm voice, we for the first time recovered our courage a little. But when, a few minutes after, he told Lisbeth to get a glass to drink with Madame Therese, and the poor old woman burst into tears, with her face in her apron, our firmness vanished, and we all cried together in great distress. " Yes, yes," said Uncle Jacob, " we have been very happy together such is the life of man joy- ful moments pass quickly, and sorrow lasts long. He who looks down upon us from above knows, nevertheless, that we do not deserve to suffer thus; that wicked men have made us miserable; but He knows, also, that power, true power is in His hand, and that He can make us happy whenever He wishes. This is why He permits these iniquities He will reward us. Then let us be calm and trust in Him. To the health of Madame Therese ! " And we all drank, the tears running down our cheeks. Lisbeth, hearing the power of God men- tioned, was somewhat quieted, for she was pious, and thought that things ought to be as they are, MADAME THERESE 231 for the greatest good of all in the life eternal, but she did not the less continue to curse the Prussians, and all who were like them, from the bottom of her soul. After dinner my uncle charged her particularly not to tell of what was going to happen in the vil- lage, for if she did, Bichter, and all the bad men in Anstatt, would be there the next day to see Madame Therese depart, and to rejoice in our humiliation. She understood him very well, and promised to be discreet. Then my uncle went to see the mole- catcher. All that afternoon I did not leave the house. Madame Therese continued her prepara- tions for departure. Lisbeth helped her, and wanted to crowd into her bag a quantity of useless things, saying that all would be needed on the way one is glad to find what one has put in a corner; that having gone to Pirmasens one day she missed her comb and braided ribbons very much. Madame Therese smiled. " No, Lisbeth," said she, " remember that I'm not going to travel in a carriage, and that I have to carry everything on my back. Three good chemises, three handkerchiefs, two pairs of shoes, and a few pairs of stockings are enough. At every halting-place we stop an hour or two at the spring, 232 MADAME THERESE and do our washing. You don't know what a sol- dier's washing is? How many times I have done it! "We French like to be neat, and we are so, with our little bundle." She seemed cheerful, and it was only when she occasionally addressed some friendly words to Scipio that her voice became very sad. I did not know why, but I knew later, when Uncle Jacob returned. The day wore on. At four o'clock night began to fall. All was now ready; the bag containing Madame Therese's things hung on the wall. She sat down by the stove, taking me on her lap in silence. Lisbeth went into the kitchen to prepare supper, and after that not a word was spoken. The poor woman was doubtless thinking of the future which awaited her on her way to Mayence, in the midst of her companions in mis- fortune. She said nothing, and I felt her sweet breath on my cheek. Half an hour afterward, when it was quite dark, my uncle opened the door, and asked: " Are you there, Madame Therese? " " Yes, doctor." " Good, good ! I've been to see my patients I've told Koffel, the mole-catcher, and old Schmitt. All's right they'll be here this evening to receive your adieux." MADAME THERESE 233 TTia voice was firm. He went into the kitchen to get a light, and returning, seemed much pleased to see us together. " Fritzel behaves well," said he. " Now he is going to lose jour good lessons; but I hope he will practise reading French alone, and remember al- ways that a man is worthy only in proportion to his knowledge. I rely upon that." Then Madame Therese made him examine her little bag in detail. She gmiled, and my uncle said: " What happy dispositions the French have. In the midst of the greatest misfortunes they preserve a store of natural gayety; their sorrow never lasts many days. That is what I call a gift from God, the finest, the most desirable of all." But on that day, the remembrance of which will never be effaced from my memory, because it was the first time I had witnessed the unhappi- nesg of those I loved, in all that day, what touched me most, was this: a little while after supper, Madame Therese, sitting quietly behind the stove, Scipio's head on her knees, looking dreamily be- fore her, said suddenly: " Doctor, I owe you much and yet I must ask one more favor of you." 234 MADAME THERESE " What is it, Madame Therese? " " It is that you will take care of my poor Scipio take care of him, in remembrance of me. Let him be Fritzel's companion, as he has been mine, that he may not have to endure the new trials of a prisoner's life." When she said that, I felt my heart swell, and I trembled all over with delight and tenderness. I was sitting on my little low chair before the fire. I drew my Scipio to me, and plunged my two coarse red hands into his thick hair; a flood of tears rushed down my face. It seemed to me that I had lost all the blessings of heaven and earth, and they had just been restored to me. My uncle looked at me in surprise. He must have understood what I had suffered at the thought of being separated from Scipio, for instead of speaking to Madame Therese of the sacrifice which she was making, he said, simply: " I accept, Madame Therese, I accept for Frit- zel, that he may remember how much you loved him; that he may always recollect that in your greatest sorrow you left him, as a mark of your af- fection, a good faithful creature, not only your own companion, but little Jean's, your brother's, also. Let him never forget it, and love you too." MADAME THERESE 235 Then turning to me: " Fritzel, don't you thank Madame Therese? " I got up, and not being able to say a word, from 6obbing, threw myself into that excellent woman's arms, where I remained, my arm on her shoulder, looking through great tears at Scipio, who was at our feet, and touching him with my finger-ends, with an unspeakable joy. It was some time before I could be quieted. Madame Therese kissed me, Baying: " This child has a good heart. He becomes at- tached to one easily that is good! " which in- creased my tears. She smoothed the hair from my forehead, and seemed moved. After supper, Koffel, the mole-catcher, and old Schmitt came in, their caps under their arms. They expressed to Madame Therese their grief at parting from her, and their indignation against that scoundrel, Kichter, to whom everybody at- tributed the denunciation, for he alone was capable of such an act. They sat around the stove. Ma- dame Therese was touched with the sorrow of these honest people, but nevertheless her firmness and de- cision did not desert her. "Listen, my friends," said she: "if the world were strewn with roses, and if we found every- 236 MADAME THERESE where only noble men to celebrate justice and right, what merit would there be in advocating these prin- ciples? Really, it would not be worth the trouble of living. We happen to live in times in which great things are done, when liberty is fought for. We shall at least be remembered, and our existence will not have been useless; all our poverty, all our suf- ferings, all the blood which we have shed will form a sublime spectacle for future generations; wicked men will quake when they think that they might have encountered and been swept away by us, and all great souls will regret not having been alive to share our labors. These are the teachings of events. Do not pity me then. I am proud and happy to suffer for France, who represents liberty, right, and justice, in the world. You believe us beaten? That is a mistake. We retreated one step yester- day; we will take twenty steps forward to-morrow. And if France one day is so unfortunate as no longer to represent the great cause that we defend, other people will take our places, and carry on our work, for justice and freedom are immortal, and all the despots in the world will never succeed in destroy- ing them. As for me, I may go to Mayence, and perhaps to Prussia, escorted by Brunswick's sol- diers; but remember what I say to you: the Re- MADAME THERESE 237 publicans have made only their first day's march, and I am sure that before the close of next year they will come to deliver me." Thus spoke this proud woman, smiling, with flashing eyes. We could easily see that suffering was nothing to her, and each one thought, " If these are the Republican women, what must the men be? " Koffel grew pale with pleasure, as he listened to her. The mole-catcher winked at my uncle, and said, very low : " I've known all that a long time ; it's written in my book. These things must happen it's writ- ten! " Old Schmftt, having asked permission to light his pipe, Hew great puffs, one after another, and murmured between his teeth: " How unfortunate that I'm not twenty years old! I would join those people! That's what I'd do. What could prevent me from becoming a gen- eral, like any other man? How unfortunate! " At nine o'clock my uncle said: " It's late. We must leave before day. I think we had better take a little rest." And everybody rose with emotion. They kissed like old friends, promising never to forget each 238 MADAME THERESE other. Koffel and Schmitt went out first; the mole- catcher and my uncle stopped a moment in the doorway, talking in low tones. The moonlight was superb, the earth was all white, the sky of a dark- blue, crowded with stars. Madame Therese, Scipio, and I went out together to see this magnificent sight, which makes one feel the littleness and van- ity of human beings, and overwhelms the mind with its illimitable grandeur. Then the mole-catcher went away, pressing my uncle's hand again. We saw him as if it were broad daylight, walking down the deserted street. At last he disappeared at the corner of Orties Lane, and as it was very cold, we all went in to say good- night. My uncle kissed me at the door of my chamber, and said in a strange voice, pressing me to his heart " Fritzel work work and behave well, dear child! " He went into his room, much agitated. For my part, I could only think of the happiness of taking care of Scipio. Once in my room, I put him on the bed, at my feet, between the warm feather bed and the bedstead. He lay quiet, with his head between his paws. I could feel his sides MADAME THERESE 239 dilate gently at every breath, and I would not have changed places with the Emperor of Germany. I could not sleep until after ten o'clock, for thinking of my happiness. My uncle was moving about in his room. I heard him open his secretary and after- ward make a fire in his chamber stove for the first time that winter, and I thought he intended to sit up. At last I slept soundly. XVI THE church-clock was striking nine when I was awakened by a clattering of hoofs before our house; horses were stamping on the hard ground, and I heard people talking at our door. It immediately occurred to me that the Prussians had come to take Madame Therese, and I hoped with all my heart that Uncle Jacob had not slept as long as I had. Two minutes afterward I went downstairs, and found at the entrance five or six hussars wrapped in their cloaks, great scabbards hanging below their stirrups, and swords in their hands. The officer, a small, thin, fair man, with hollow cheeks, promi- nent cheek-bones, and thick reddish moustaches, was seated on a great . black horse, and Lisbeth, broom in hand, was replying to his questions with a frightened air. Farther off, was a group of people, open-mouthed, pressing eagerly forward to listen. Among the foremost, I noticed the mole-catcher, his hands in his pockets, and M. Richter, who was gmiling, half-closing his eyes, and showing his 240 MADAME THERESE 241 teeth like a happy old fox. He had come, no doubt, to enjoy my uncle's confusion. " So your master and the prisoner went away to- gether this morning? " said the officer. " Yes, monsieur le commandant" answered Lis- beth. " At what hour? " " Between five and six, monsieur le command- ant; it was still dark. I fastened the lantern to the pole of the sleigh." " You had heard we were coming, then? " said the officer, giving her a piercing glance. Lisbeth looked at the mole-catcher, who came out from the circle, and answered, for her, with- out hesitation : " I beg your pardon, sir, I saw Dr. Jacob last evening he's one of my friends. This poor wom- an knows nothing about it. The doctor has been tired of the Frenchwoman for a long time, he wanted to get rid of her, and when he saw that she could bear the journey he profited by the first mo- ment." " But why did we not meet them on the way? " cried the Prussian, scanning the mole-catcher from head to foot. " You must have taken the valley road: the doc- 242 MADAME THERESE tor went, perhaps, by the way of Waldeck and the mountain. There's more than one road to Kaisers- lautern." The officer, without replying, sprang from his horse, entered our room, pushed open the kitchen door, and pretended to look round; then he came out and said, as he mounted his horse " Come, our work is done; the rest doesn't con- cern us." He rode toward the Little Golden Pitcher; his men followed, and the crowd dispersed, talking over these wonderful occurrences. Richter seemed con- fused and angry, and Spick looked at us askance. They went up the steps of the inn together, and Scipio, who was on our steps, ran out, barking at them with all his might. The hussars refreshed themselves at the Little Golden Pitcher, then we saw them pass our house again on the road to Kaiserslautern, and after that we heard no more of them. Lisbeth and I thought my uncle would return at night, but when that day passed, and the next, and the next, without our even receiving a letter, our anxiety may be imagined. Scipio went up and down the house, and thrust his nose, from morning till evening, in at the bottom of the door, calling MADAME THERESE 243 Madame Therese, snuffing, and crying in a lament- able way. His sorrow infected us. A thousand thoughts of misfortune came into our minds. The mole-catcher came to see us every evening, and said: " There's nothing to be frightened about. The doctor wanted to protect Madame Therese; he couldn't let her go with the prisoners, that would be contrary to good sense; he has asked an audi- ence of Field Marshal Brunswick to try to induce him to allow her to enter the hospital of Kaisers- lautern. All these steps take time, be calm; he'll come back." These words would reassure us a little, for the mole-catcher seemed very calm. He smoked his pipe by the stove, with outstretched legs, and dreamy face. Unfortunately the forest-guard, Rcedig, who lived in the wood on the road from Pirmasens, where the French then were, had just brought a report to the mayoralty of Anstatt, and having stopped a few minutes at Spick's inn, he said Uncle Jacob had passed his house three days before, about eight o'clock in the morning, and he and Madame Therese had even stopped a moment to warm them- selves and drink a glass of wine. He said my uncle 244 MADAME THERESE seemed in very good spirits, and had two long cav- alry pistols in his overcoat pockets. Then the report spread that Uncle Jacob, in- stead of going to Kaiserslautern, had conducted the prisoner to the Republicans, and that caused great scandal. Richter and Spick declared, everywhere, that he deserved to be shot; that it was an abom- ination, and his property must be confiscated. The mole-catcher and Koffel answered that the doctor had no doubt lost his way on account of the great snow; that he had taken the mountain road to the left instead of turning to the right; but everybody knew very well that Uncle Jacob was more familiar with the country than any smuggler, and the indig- nation increased daily. I could no longer go out without hearing my companions say that Uncle Ja- cob was a Jacobin; and I had to fight in his de- fence, and despite Scipio's assistance, I came home more than once with a bloody nose. Lisbeth was in despair, especially at the threats of confiscation. "What a misfortune!" said she, clasping her hands; " what a misfortune to be forced, at my age, to take my bundle and leave a house where half of my life has been passed ! " It was very sad. The mole-catcher alone pre- served his tranquillity. MADAME THERESE 245 " You are crazy to fret so," said he; "I tell you Dr. Jacob is well, and that they will confiscate nothing. Keep yourself quiet, eat well, sleep well, and I'll answer for the rest." He winked mischievously, and always ended by saying: " My book relates these things. Now they are being accomplished, and all will be well." Notwithstanding these assurances things went from bad to worse, and the rabble of the village, excited by the scoundrel Bichter, were beginning to shout under our windows, when one fine morn- ing, order was suddenly restored. Toward evening the mole-catcher arrived, with a very joyous face, and took his, usual place, saying to Lisbeth, who was spinning: " "Well, they don't shout any more, they no lon- ger wish to confiscate; they keep very quiet, ha! ha! ha!" He said no more, but in the night we heard many carriages passing, and men marching in crowds through the main street. It was worse than the arrival of the Republicans, for no one stopped they went on and on always! I could not sleep, for Scipio growled every minute. At daybreak, I looked out of the window, and saw half a score 246 MADAME THERESE more of large wagons, full of wounded men, jolting along in the distance. It was the Prussians. Then came two or three cannon, then a hundred hussars, cuirassiers, dragoons, pell-mell, in great disorder; then dismounted horsemen, carrying their cloak- bags on their shoulders, and covered with mud. They all seemed tired; but they did not stop, nor go into any of the houses, but inarched as if the devil were at their heels. The people, standing at their doors, watched them sullenly. Looking toward the Birkenwald, we could see the files of ambulances, wagons, cav- alry and infantry, stretching beyond the forest. It was Field Marshal Brunswick's army in retreat after the battle of Froeschwiller as we learned later. It had passed through the village in a single night; that was from the 28th to the 29th of De- cember, if I remember rightly; it was early in the next day that the mole-catcher and Koffel arrived in high spirits; they had a letter from Uncle Ja- tob; and the mole-catcher, showing it to us, said: " Ha ! ha ! ha ! this is good this is good ! the reign of justice and equality is beginning! Listen awhile!" He sat down by the table, spreading out his el- bows. I stood near him, and read over his shoulder, , BATTLE OF FBOESCHWILX^ MADAME THERESE 247 Lisbeth. was behind me, very pale, and Koffel, lean- ing against the cupboard, smiling and stroking his chin. They had already read the letter two or three times, and the mole-catcher knew it nearly by heart. He read what follows, stopping sometimes to look at us with enthusiasm : Wi88EMBouBo, 8th NivosE, 2nd YEAR ) OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC. ** To the Citizens Mole-catcher^ and Koffel ; to the Citoyenne Lisbeth ; to the little Citizen Fritzel, greeting and f rater' nity ! " Citoyenne Therese and I wish you joy, peace, and prosperity. " You will know by this that we are writing these lines at Wissembourg in the midst of the triumphs of war. We drove the Prussians from Froeschwiller, and fell like a thunderbolt on the Austrians at Geisberg. Thus pride and presumption are receiving their reward. When people will not listen to good reasons, we must give them better ones; but it is terrible to go to such extremities; yes, it is terrible! " My dear friends, for a long time I groaned inwardly at the blindness of those who rule the dynasties of old Germany. I deplored their unjust spirit, their egotism. I asked myself if it were not my duty as an honest man to break away from these arrogant creatures, and adopt the principles of justice, equality, and fraternity, pro- claimed by the French Revolution. This threw me into great trouble, for a man clings to the ideas that he has 248 MADAME THERESE received from his ancestors, and such internal changes are not made without great suffering-. Still I hesitated, but when the Prussians, contrary to the laws of nations, claimed the unfortunate prisoner whom I had saved, I could bear it no longer. I immediately resolved to take her to Pirmasens, instead of Kaiserslautern which I have done with the help of God. At three o'clock in the afternoon we came in sight of the outposts, and as Madame Therese looked out, she heard the drum, and cried: 'These are the French! Doctor, you have de- ceived me! ' She threw herself into my arms, and burst into tears, and I, too, began to weep I was so much moved! " All along the route from Trois-Maisons to the square of the Temple-Neuf, the soldiers shouted, ' Here's Cito- yenne Therese! ' They followed us, and when we got out of the sleigh, several embraced me with true feeling. Others pressed my hands in fact they overwhelmed me with honors. " I will not tell you, my dear friends, of the meeting between Madame Therese and little Jean; such scenes cannot be described! All the veterans of the battalion, even Colonel Duchene, who is not soft-hearted, turned their heads to conceal their tears. It was such a sight as I had never seen in my life. Little Jean is a good boy; he resembles my dear little Fritzel very much, so I love him dearly. " That day extraordinary events occurred at Pirma- sens. The Republicans were encamped around the city. General Hoche announced that they were going into win- ter quarters, and ordered them to build barracks. But MADAME THERESE 249 the soldiers refused; they wanted to lodge in the houses. Then the general declared that those who refused this service, should not march to battle. I was present at this proclamation, which was read to the companies, and saw General Hoche forced to pardon the men, in front of the prince's palace, for they were in the greatest despair. " The general having learned that a physician from Anstatt had brought Citoyenne Therese back to the first battalion of the second brigade, I received an order about eight o'clock to go to the Orangery. Then I found the general standing near a deal table, dressed like a simple captain, with two other citizens, whom I was told, were members of the convention, Lacoste and Baudot, two large, lank men, wljo looked at me askance. The gen- eral is a dark man, with golden-brown eyes, and hair parted in the middle. He came forward and looked at me a few seconds. I, remembering that this young man commanded the army of the Moselle, felt troubled; but suddenly he extended his hand to me, and said, ' Doctor Wagner, I thank you for what you have done for Madame Therese; you are a good-hearted man.' " Then he led me to the table on which a map was spread out, and made various inquiries about the coun- try, so intelligently, that one would have thought he knew more about it than I. I naturally replied, the others listening in silence. Finally he said: 'Doctor Wagner, I cannot propose to you to serve in the armies of the Republic; your nationality prevents that; but the first battalion of the second brigade has just lost its chief surgeon; the service of our ambulances is now in- cgmplete; we have only young men to care for the 250 MADAME THERESE wounded I confide this post of honor to you humanity knows no country! Here is your commission.' He wrote some words at the end of the table, and then took my hand again, saying: ' Doctor, believe that I esteem you! ' Then I went away. "Madame Therese awaited me outside; you can con- ceive her joy, when she heard that I was to have charge of the ambulance department of the battalion. " We expected to remain at Pirmasens until spring, and the barracks were being built, when on the next night but one, about ten o'clock, we suddenly received orders to march, without putting out the fires, without making any noise, without beating the drums or sound- ing the trumpet. All Pirmasens was asleep. I had two horses, riding one, and leading the other, and was in the midst of officers near Colonel Duchene. " We left, some on horseback, others on foot, cannon, wagons, ambulances in our midst, flanked by the cavalry, with no moon or anything to guide us. Only from time to time a horseman would cry at the turning of the road 4 This way! this way! ' Toward eleven the moon came out; we were in the midst of the mountains; all the peaks were white with snow. The foot soldiers, with their guns on their shoulders, ran to warm themselves. Two or three times I was obliged to dismount, I was so benumbed. Madame Therese, in her cart, covered with gray cloth, handed me the bottle, and the captains were always on hand to receive it after me; more than one soldier, also, had his turn. " But we went on, on, without stopping, so that about six o'clock, when the pale sun began to brighten the sky, MADAME THERESE 251 we had reached Lembach, under the great wooded de- clivity of Steinfelz, three quarters of a league from Wcerth. Then was heard on all sides, the command, 'Halt! halt! ' Those in the rear were constantly com- ing; at half-past six all the army was reunited in a val- ley, and set to work to make soup. " General Hoche, whom I saw pass with his two tall members of the Convention, was laughing; he seemed in a good humor. He went into the last house in the vil- lage. The people were as astonished to see us at that hour, as those in Anstatt were at the arrival of the Re- publicans. The houses here are so small and miserable, that it was necessary to take two tables out of doors, and the general held his council with the officers in the open air, while the troops cooked the provisions they had brought. This halt lasted only long enough for us to eat, and buckle on our knapsacks again. Then we re- sumed our march in better order. At eight o'clock, on coming out of the valley of Reiehshofen, we saw the Prussians intrenched on the heights of Froeschwiller and Woerth. They were more than twenty thousand strong, and their redoubts rose one above the other. " All our army understood that we had marched so quickly in order to surprise the Prussians alone, for the Austrians were four or five leagues from there, on the line of the Motter. But I cannot conceal from you, my dear friends, that this sight gave me, at first, a terrible shock. The more I saw, the more impossible it seemed to me that we should gain the battle. In the first place, they were more numerous than we; then they had dug ditches intrenched with palisades, and behind them one 252 MADAME THERESE could easily see the gunners, who were leaning ovei their cannon and watching us, while files of innumerable bayonets stretched clear up the side of the hill. " The French, with their careless natures, saw noth- ing of this, and even seemed very joyous. The report was spread that General Hoche had just promised six hundred francs for every piece taken from the enemy; they were laughing, putting their hats on one side, looking at the cannons, and shouting ' Going! Gone! ' It made one shiver to see such indifference, and hear these pleasantries. The rest of us, the ambulances, the vehicles of all sorts, the empty wagons for transporting the wounded, remained in the rear; and to tell the truth, that gave me real pleasure. Madame Therese was thirty or forty steps in advance of me; I placed myself near her with my two aids, one of whom had been an apothe- cary boy at Landrecies, and the other a dentist; they made themselves surgeons. But they already have much experience, and with a little leisure and pains, these young men will perhaps become something. Madame Therese then kissed little Jean, who was running to join the battalion. The whole valley, right and left, was filled with cavalry in good order. General Hoche, on his arrival, at once placed two batteries on the hills of Reichshofen, and the infantry halted in the middle of the valley. There was another consultation, then all the infantry ranged themselves in three columns; one passed on the left into the gorge of Reebach, the other two marched on the intrenchments, with bayonets fixed. General Hoche, with some officers, stationed himself on a little elevation to the left of the valley. MADAME THERESE 253 " What followed, my dear friends, seems to me like a dream. At the moment when the columns reached the foot of the hill, a horrible crash, a kind of frightful tear- ing sound was heard; everything was covered with smoke; the Prussians had just discharged their can- non. A second afterward, as the smoke cleared away a little, we saw the French higher up the slope; they were slackening their speed, numbers of wounded were left behind, some stretched on their faces, others seated, and trying to rise. "The Prussians fired the second time; then was heard the terrible cry of the ^Republicans, ' To the bayo- net! ' And all the mountain sparkled like firebrands when one stirs them up with his foot. We saw no more, because the wind blew the smoke toward us, nor could we hear a word at four feet distance, so loud was the firing men and cannon thundering and roaring to- gether. " Our cavalry horses on the hills neighed, and tried to rush into the fight. These animals are truly savage; they love danger; it was with great difficulty that they could be restrained. Occasionally there was an opening in the smoke, and we could see the Kepublicans climb- ing the palisades like ants upon an ant-hill; some with the butt-end of their guns trying to break down the in- trenchments, others seeking a passage; the colonels on horseback, their swords upraised, urged on their men, and on the other side the Prussians thrust forward their bayonets, and fired their guns into the heap of bodies, or raised their great cannon-rammers like clubs to beat down the men. It was frightful! A moment after, an- 254 MADAME THERESE other gust of wind covered everything- with smoke, and none could know how the struggle would end. " General Hoche sent his officers, one after another, to take new orders; they rushed through the smoke like the wind; one would have thought them shadows. But the battle continued, and the Republicans were begin- ning 1 to recoil, when the general himself came down at full gallop. Ten minutes afterward the song of the Marseillaise rose above all the tumult, and those who had retreated, returned to the charge. The second attack began more furiously than the first. The cannon alone still thundered, and struck down files of men. All the Eepublicans advanced en masse, Hoche in their midst. Our batteries, too, fired on the Prussians. It is impos- sible to describe what happened when the French were once near the palisades. If Father Adam Schmitt had been with us he would have seen what may be called a terrible battle. The Prussians showed themselves sol- diers of the great Frederick; bayonets against bayonets, sometimes one party, sometimes the other was driven back, or rushed forward. " But what decided the victory for the Republicans, was the arrival of their third column on the heights, on the left of the intrenchments. It had turned the Ree- bach, and came out from the forest double quick. Then the Prussians were obliged to give up the struggle; at- tacked on both sides they retreated, leaving eighteen pieces of cannon, twenty-four wagons, and their in- trenchments filled with the dead and wounded. They went toward Woerth, and our hussars, beside themselves with impatience, started at last, bending forward on MADAME THERESE 255 their saddles. We learned that night that they had taken twelve hundred prisoners, and six pieces of can- non. " This, nay dear friends, was the battle of Woerth and Froeschwiller, the news of which must have reached you already. It will ever remain present to my mind. Since that, I have seen nothing new. But what work we have had! We have had to amputate, to extract balls; our ambulances are loaded with the wounded. It is very sad. " Nevertheless, the day after the battle, the army moved forward. Four days afterward we were told that the members Lacoste and Baudot, being convinced that the rivalry between Hoche and Pichegru was injurious to the interests of the Republic, had given the command entirely to Hoche, and that he, finding himself at the head of the armies of the Rhine and Moselle, without losing a moment, had profited by it to attack Wurmser on the road to Wissembourg, and that we had com- pletely routed him at Geisberg, so that now the Prus- sians are retreating to Mayence, the Austrians to Gemer- sheim, and the territory of the Republic is relieved of all its enemies. " As for me, I am now at Wissembourg overwhelmed with work; Madame Therese and little Jean, and the remnant of the first battalion, occupy the place, and the army is on the march to Landau, the happy deliverance of which will be the admiration of future ages. Soon, soon, dear friends, we will follow the army, we will pass through Anstatt, crowned with the palms of victory. We shall again press you to our heart*, and celebrate 256 MADAME THERESE with, you the triumph of justice and liberty. Oh dear liberty! rekindle in our souls the sacred fire which formerly burned in the breasts of so many heroes. Cre- ate among 1 us generations which, may resemble them, that the heart of every citizen may leap at thy voice. Inspire the wise who plan; lead the courageous to heroic actions; animate the soldiers with a sublime enthusi- asm ; may despots who divide nations for the sake of op- pressing- them, disappear from the world, and may the sacred bond of brotherhood reunite all the peoples of the earth in one family! " With these wishes, and these hopes, the good Madame Therese, little Jean and I, embrace you with all our hearts. JACOB WAGNEK. " P. S. Little Jean begs his friend Fritzel to take good care of Scipio." Uncle Jacob's letter filled us all with joy, and after that you may imagine with what impatience we awaited the arrival of the first battalion. This epoch of my life, when I think of it, seems to me like a fete; every day we learned something new; after the occupation of Wissembourg came the raising of the siege of Landau, then the capture of Lauterbo-.irc^ then that of Kaiserslautern, and the occupation of Spire, where the French collected great spoils, which Hoche caused to be carried to Landau to indemnify the. inhabitants for their losses. MADAME THERESE 257 The people of the village now held us in respect as much as they had formerly abused us. It was even a question with them whether they should not put Koffel in the town council, and appoint the mole-catcher burgomaster no one knew why; for nobody had such an idea until then. But the re- port was spread that we were going to become Frenchmen again; we had been French fifteen hundred years before, and it was abominable that we had so long allowed ourselves to be held in slavery. Richter had taken flight, knowing very well what he might expect, and Spick no longer left his house. Every day the people on the main street looked toward the mountain to watch for the true defenders of their country. Unfortunately the greater part of the army had taken the road from Wissembourg to Mayence, leaving Anstatt on their left in the mountains. We saw stragglers pass who were taking the short road through the Burgerwald. We were much troubled, and were beginning to think that our battalion would never come, when one day the mole-catcher rushed in, breathless, cry- ing: " Here they are ! Here they are ! " He was returning from the fields with his spade on his shoulder, and had seen a troop of soldiers 17 258 MADAME THERESE in the distance. The whole village had already heard the news, and came into the street. I, be- side myself with enthusiasm, ran to meet the bat- talion, with Hans Aden and Frantz Sepel, whom 1 met on the road. The sun was shining, the snow was melting, the mud splashed round us like grape- shot, but we did not mind it, and ran for half an hour without stopping. Half the village, men, women, and children, followed us, shouting: " They're coming! They're coming! " People's ideas changed in a singular manner, everybody was then a friend to the Republic. Once on the side of the Birkenwald, Hans, Frantz, and I at last saw our battalion marching up the declivity, their knapsacks on their backs, their guns on their shoulders, the officers behind their companies. Farther off the wagons were defiling over the great bridge. They all came on, whistling, talking, as soldiers do on the march. One stopped to light his pipe, another gave a shrug of his shoulder to raise his knapsack. We could hear gay voices and shouts laughter, for the French when they march al- ways tell stories and make funny speeches, to keep up their spirits. In this crowd my eyes sought only Uncle Jacob and Madame Therese. It was some time before 1 MADAME THE"RESE 259 discovered them, in the rear of the battalion. My uncle was riding Rappel. I hardly recognized him at first, for he wore a large Republican hat, a coat with red lapels, and a great sword in an iron scab- bard. This costume changed him wonderfully, and made him seem much taller; but I knew him, not- withstanding, and Madame Therese also, in her cart covered with cloth, in the same hat and cravat in which I first saw her. She had rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. My uncle rode near her, and they were talking together. I recognized little Jean, also, whom I had seen only once. He was march- ing; a large belt adorned with drum-sticks crossed his breast, his arms were covered with lace, and his sword dangled behind. And the Colonel, Sergeant Lafleche, and the captain to whom I had shown the way into our garret, and all the soldiers, yes, nearly all, I recognised; they seemed to me to be one great family. It gave me pleasure to see the flag covered with oil-cloth, too. I ran through the crowd. Hans Aden and Frantz Sepel had already found comrades, but I ran on, and as I came near the cart, was going to say, " Uncle ! Uncle ! " when Madame Therese, happening to bend forward, ex claimed, joyfully: " Here's Scipiol * 2 6o MADAME THERESE And at that moment, Scipio, whom I had for- gotten and left at home, sprang into the cart, all bewildered and muddy. Little Jean immediately cried: " Scipio! " And the good dog, after passing his great mous- tache two or three times over Madame Therese's face, sprang to the ground and began to leap about Jean, barking, uttering cries, and acting as if he were wild with delight. All the battalion called : "Here, Scipio! Scipio!" My uncle had just seen me, and held out his arms to me from his horse. I seized his leg; he raised and kissed me. I saw that he was weeping, and that made me cry. He held me toward Ma- dame Therese, who took me in her cart, saying: " Good-day, Fritzel." She seemed very happy, and kissed me with tears in her eyes. Very soon the mole-catcher and Koffel came up and grasped my uncle's hand; then other people from the village, mixing, pell-mell, with the sol- diers, who gave the men their knapsacks and guns to carry in triumph, and cried to the women " Hey, good mother with your pretty daughterl this way this way! " LAST i SAW UNCLE; us WAS MOLNTSU ON MADAME THERESE 261 There was great confusion; everybody frater- nized, and in the midst of all, little Jean and I knew not which was the happiest. " Kiss little Jean," cried Uncle Jacob. " Kiss Fritzel," said Madame Therese. And we embraced, looking at each other in be- wildered delight. " II me plait" cried little Jean, " il a I'air bon enfant." " Toi, tu me plais aussi" said I, very proud of speaking French. And we walked along arm-in-arm, while Uncle Jacob and Madame Therese looked at each other and smiled. The Colonel, also, gave me his hand, saying: "Ha! Dr. Wagner, here's your defender. You're quite well, my brave fellow? " " Yes, Colonel." " So much the better! " In this manner we reached the first houses of the village. Then we stopped a few minutes to get in order. Little Jean hung his drum over his shoulder, and as the commander cried " Forward ! March! " the drums sounded. We marched down the main street in regular order, delighted at making so imposing an entrance. 262 MADAME THERESE All the old men and women who could not get out, were at their windows, and pointed to Uncle Jacob, who advanced with a dignified air behind the Col- onel, between his two assistants. I noticed Father Schmitt particularly, standing at his door; he straightened up his tall, bent figure, and watched us filing past, with sparkling eyes. At the square with the fountain the Colonel cried: " Halt! " They stacked their guns, and all dispersed, right and left. Each citizen wished to have a soldier; all wanted to rejoice in the triumph of the Republic, " one and indivisible." But these Frenchmen, with their cheerful faces, preferred to follow the pretty girls. The Colonel went with us. Old Lisbeth was already at the door, her hands raised to heaven, and cried: "Ah Madame Therese! ah monsieur le doc- teur!" There were fresh cries of joy, fresh embraces. Then we went in, and the feast of ham, chit- terlings, and broiled meat, with white wine and old Burgundy to drink, began; Koffel, the mole- catcher, the Colonel, little Jean and I, I leave you to imagine the table, the appetites, the satis- faction 1 MADAME THERESE 263 All that day the first battalion remained with us; then they were obliged to pursue their march, for their winter quarters were at Hacmatt, two short leagues from Anstatt. My uncle stayed in the village. He laid aside his great sword and large hat; but from that time until spring not a day passed that he did not go to Hacmatt; he thought of nothing but Hacmatt. Madame Therese came to see us occasionally with little Jean. "We laughed, we were happy and we loved each other! "What more shall I say? In the spring, when the lark began to sing, we heard one day that the first battalion was going to leave for La Vendee. Then my uncle, very pale, ran to the stable, and mounted Rappel; he rode off at full speed, bare- headed, having forgotten to put on his cap. "What passed at Hacmatt? I know nothing about it. But what I am sure of is that the next day my uncle returned, as proud as a king, with Madame Therese and little Jean; that there was a great feast at our house, kisses and rejoicing. Eight days afterward Colonel Duchene arrived with all the captains of the battalion. That day there were still greater rejoicings. Madame Therese and Uncle Jacob went to the mayoralty, 264 MADAME THERESE followed by a long procession of joyous guests. The mole-catcher, who had been chosen burgomaster by popular vote, awaited us in his tri-colored scarf. He entered my uncle's and Madame Therese's names in a thick register, to everybody's satisfac- tion. And from that time little Jean had a father, and I had a good mother, whose memory I cannot recall without shedding tears. There are many more things I should like to tell you but this is enough for one time. If the good God permits, we will one day continue this story, which ends, like all others, with white hairs, and the last adieus of those whom we love best in the world. T OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. Erckmann - 38 Madame Therese 6E5 11 3 1158 00625 5565 PQ 2238 M26E5 1911 UC SOUTHERN REGIWAL LIBRARY FACILITY