A few days after the passage of the last squadrons of hussars, we
learned that the Phalsbourgers had made a sortie to carry off cattle
from the Biechelberg. That night we might have captured the whole of
the garrison of our village; but the officer in command of the party
was a poor creature. Instead of approaching in silence, he had ordered
guns to be fired at two hundred paces from the enemy's advanced posts,
to frighten the Prussians! But they, in great alarm, had sprung out of
their beds, where they lay fast asleep, and had all decamped, firing
back at our men; and the peasants lost no time in driving their cattle
into the woods.
From this you may see what notions our officers had about war.
"The men of 1814," said our old forester, Martin Kopp, "set to work in
a different way; they were sure to fetch back bullocks, cows, and
prisoners into the town."
When Cousin George was spoken to of these matters, he shrugged his
shoulders and made no remark.
Worse than all, the Prussians made fun of us unlucky villagers of
Rothalp, calling us "_la grande nation!_" But was it our fault if our
officers, who had almost all been brought up by the Jesuits, knew
nothing of their profession? If our lads had been drilled, if every
man had been compelled to serve, as they are in Germany; and if every
man had been given the post for which he was best fitted, according to
his acquirements and his spirit, I don't think the Prussians would have
got so much fun out of "_la grande nation_."
This was the only sortie attempted during the siege. The commander,
Talliant, who had plenty of sense, was quite aware that with officers
of this stamp, and soldiers who knew nothing of drill, it was better to
keep behind the ramparts and try to live without meat.
About the same time the officer in command of the post of the Landwehr
at Wechem, the greatest drunkard and the worst bully we have ever seen
in our part of the country, came to pay me his first visit, along with
fifteen men with fixed bayonets.
His object was to requisition in our village three hundred loaves of
bread, some hay, straw, and oats in proportion.
In the first place he walked into my mill, crying, "Hallo!
good-morning, M. le Maire!"
Seeing those bayonets at my door, a fidgety feeling came over me.
"I am come to bring you a proclamation from his Majesty the King of
Prussia. Read that!"
And I read the following proclamation:
"We, William, King of Prussia, make known to the inhabitants of the
French territory that the Emperor Napoleon III., having attacked the
German nation by sea and by land, whose desire was and is to live at
peace with France, has compelled us to assume the command of our
armies, and, consequently upon the events of war, to cross the French
frontier; but that I make war upon soldiers and not upon French
citizens, who shall continue to enjoy perfect security, both as regards
their persons and their property, as long as they shall not themselves
compel me, by hostile measures against the German troops, to withdraw
my protection from them."
"You will post up this proclamation," said the lieutenant to me, "upon
your door, upon that of the mayoralty-office, and upon the church-door.
Well! are you glad?"
"Of course," said I.
"Then," he replied, "we are good friends; and good friends must help
one another. Come, my boys," he cried to his soldiers, with a loud
laugh, "come on--let us all go in. Here you may fancy yourselves at
home. You will be refused nothing. Come in!"
And these robbers first entered the mill; then they passed on into the
kitchen; from the kitchen into the house, and then they went down into
the cellar.
My wife and Gredel had sought safety in flight.
Then commenced a regular organized pillage.
They cleared out my chimney of its last hams and flitches of bacon,
they broke in my last barrel of wine; they opened my wardrobe--scenting
down to the very bottom like a pack of hounds. I saw one of these
soldiers lay hands even upon the candle out of the candlestick and
stuff it into his boot.
One of my lambs having begun to bleat:
"Hallo!" cried the lieutenant. "Sheep! we want mutton."
And the infamous rascals went off to the stable to seize upon my sheep.
When there was nothing left to rob, this gallant officer handed me the
list of regular requisitions, saying, "We require these articles. You
will bring the whole of them this very evening to Wechem, or we shall
be obliged to repeat our visit: you comprehend, Monsieur le Maire?
And, especially, do not forget the proclamations, his Majesty's
proclamations; that is of the first importance: it was our principal
object in coming. Now, Monsieur le Maire, _au revoir, au revoir_!"
The abominable brute held out his hand to me in its coarse leather
glove--I turned my back upon him; he pretended not to see it, and
marched off in the midst of his soldiers, all loaded like pack-horses,
laughing, munching, tippling; for every man had filled his tin flask
and stuffed his canvas bag full.
Farther on they visited several of the other principal houses--my
cousin's, the cure Daniel's. They were so loaded with plunder that,
after their last visit, they halted to lay under requisition a horse
and cart, which seemed to them handier than carrying all that they had
stolen.
War is a famous school for thieves and brigands; by the end of twenty
years mankind would be a vast pack of villains.
Perhaps this may yet be our fate; for I remember that the old
school-master at Bouxviller told us that there had been once in ancient
times populous nations, richer than we are, who might have prospered
for thousands of years by means of commerce and industry, but who had
been so madly bent upon their own extermination by means of war, that
their country became at last sandy wastes, where not a blade of grass
grows now and nothing is found but scattered rocks.
This is our impending fate; and I fear I may see it before I die, if
such men as Bismarck, Bonaparte, William, De Moltke, and all those
creatures of blood and rapine do not swiftly meet with their deserved
retribution.
The pillaging lieutenant that I told you of just now was made a captain
at the end of the war--the reward of his merit. I cannot just now
recollect his name; but when I mention that he used to roam from
village to village, from one public-house to another, soaking in, like
a sand-bank, wine, beer, and ardent spirits; that he bellowed out songs
like a bull-calf; that he used in a maudlin way to prate about little
birds; that he levied requisitions at random; and that he used to
return to his quarters about one, or two, or three o'clock in the
morning, so intoxicated that it was incredible that a human being in
such a state could keep his seat on horseback, and yet was ready to
begin again next morning; yes, I need but mention these circumstances,
and everybody will recognize in a minute the big German brute!
The other Landwehr officers, in command at Wilsberg, Quatre Vents,
Mittelbronn, and elsewhere, were scarcely better. After the departure
of the princes, the dukes, and the barons, these men looked upon
themselves as the lords of the land. Every day we used to hear of
fresh crimes committed by them upon poor defenceless creatures. One
day, at Mittelbronn, they shot a poor idiot who had been running
barefoot in the woods for ten years, hurting nobody; the next day, at
Wilsberg, they stripped naked a poor boy who unfortunately had come too
near their batteries, and the officer himself, with his heavy boots
kicked him till the blood ran; and then, at the Quatre Vents, they
pulled out of the cellar two feeble old men, and exposed them two days
and nights to the rain and the cold, threatening to kill them if they
did but stir; they pillaged oxen, sheep, hay, straw, smashed furniture,
burst in windows, day after day, for the mere pleasure of killing and
destroying.
[Illustration: THEY DREW TWO POOR OLD MEN FROM THEIR CELLAR.]
Sometimes they found amusement in threatening to make the cures and the
Maires drive the cattle which they themselves had lifted. And as the
Germans enjoy the reputation with us of being very learned, I feel
bound to declare that I have never seen one, whether officer or
private, with a book in his hand.
Cousin George said, with good reason, that all their learning bears
upon their military profession: the spy system, and the study of maps
for officers, and discipline under corporal punishment for the rest.
The only clear notion they have in their heads is that they must obey
their chiefs and calmly receive slaps in the face.
The young men employed in trade are great travellers. They get
information in other countries; they are sly; they never answer
questions; they are good servants, and cheap; but at the first signal,
back they go to get kicked; and they think nothing of shooting their
old shopmates, and those whose bread they have been eating for years.
In their country some are born to slap, others to be slapped. They
regard this as a law of nature; a man is honorable or not according as
he may be the son of a nobleman or a tradesman, a baron or a workman.
With them, the less honorable the man the better the soldier; he is
only expected to obey, to black boots, and to rub down the officer's
horse when he is ordered: a banker's, or a rich citizen's son obeys
just like any one else! Hence there is no doubt that their armies are
well disciplined. George said that their superior officers handled a
hundred thousand men with greater ease than ours could manage ten
thousand, and that, for that purpose, less talent was needed. No
doubt! If I, who am only a miller, had by chance been born King of
Prussia, I should lead them all by the bridle, like my horses, and
better. I should simply be careful, on the eve of any difficult
enterprise, to consult two or three clever fellows who should clear up
my ideas for me, and engage in my service highly educated young men to
look after affairs. Then the machine would act of itself, just like my
mill, where the cogs work into each other without troubling me. The
machinery does everything; genius, good sense, and good feeling are not
wanted.
These ideas have come into my mind, thinking upon what I have observed
since the opening of this campaign; and this is why I say we must have
discipline to play this game over again; only, as the French possess
the sentiment of honor, they must be made to understand that he who has
no discipline is wanting in honor, and betrays his country. Then,
without kicking and slapping, we shall obtain discipline; we may handle
vast masses, and shall beat the Germans, as we have done hundreds of
times before.
These things should be taught in every school, and the schools should
be numberless; at the very head of the catechism should be written:
"The first virtue of the citizen under arms is obedience; the man who
disobeys is a coward, a traitor to the Republic."
These were my thoughts; and now I continue my story.
After the passage of the German armies, our unhappy country was, as it
were, walled round with a rampart of silence; for all the men who were
blockading Phalsbourg, and the few detachments which were still passing
with provisions, stores, flocks of sheep, and herds of oxen through the
valley, were under orders not to speak to us, but leave us to the
influence of fear. We received no more newspapers, no more letters,
nor the least fragment of intelligence from the interior. We could
hear the bombardment of Strasbourg when the wind blew from the Rhine.
All was in flames down there; but, as no one dared to come and go, on
account of the enemy's posts placed at every point, nothing was known.
Melancholy and grief were killing us. No one worked. What was the use
of working, when the bravest, the most industrious, the most thrifty
saw the fruit of their labor devoured by innumerable brigands? Men
almost regretted having done their duty by their children, in depriving
themselves of necessaries, to feed in the end such base wretches as
these. They would say: "Is there any justice left in the world? Are
not upright men, tender mothers of families, and dutiful children,
fools? Would it not be better to become thieves and rogues at once?
Do not all the rewards fall to the brutish? Are not those hypocrites
who preach religion and mercy? Our only duty is to become the
strongest. Well, let us be the strongest; let us pass over the bodies
of our fellow-creatures, who have done us no harm; let us spy, cheat,
and pillage: if we are the strongest, we shall be in the right."
Here is the list of the requisitions, made in the poorest cabins, for
every Prussian who lodged there: judge what must have been our misery.
"For every man lodging with you, you will have to furnish daily 750
grammes of bread, 500 grammes of meat, 250 grammes of coffee, 60
grammes of tobacco, or five cigars, a half litre of wine, or a litre of
beer, or a tenth part of a litre of eau-de-vie. Besides, for every
horse, twelve kilos of oats, five kilos of hay, and two and a half
kilos of straw."*
* Bread, about 2 lbs.; meat, 1-1/2 lbs.; coffee, 8 oz.; tobacco, 2 oz.;
wine, 3/4 pint; or beer, 1-1/2 pints; oats, 26 lbs., etc.
Every one will say, "How was it possible for unfortunate peasants to
supply all that? It is impossible."
Well, no. The Prussians did get it, in this wise: They made excursions
to the very farthest farms, they carried off everything, hay, straw;
elsewhere they carried off the cattle; elsewhere, corn; elsewhere,
again, wine, eau-de-vie, beer; elsewhere they demanded contributions in
money. Every man gave up what he had to give, so that by the end of
the campaign there was nothing left.
Yes, indeed! We were comfortable before this war; we were rich without
knowing it. Never had I supposed that we had in our country such
quantities of hay, so many head of cattle.
It is true that, at the last, they gave us bonds; but not until
three-quarters and more of our provisions had been consumed. And now
they make a pretence of indemnifying us; but in thirty years, supposing
there is peace--in thirty years our village will not possess what it
had last year.
Ah! vote, vote in plebiscites, you poor, miserable peasants! Vote for
bonds for hay, straw, and meat, milliards and provinces for the
Prussians! Our _honest man_ promises peace; he who has broken his
oath--trust in his word!
Whenever I think on these things, my hair stands on end. And those who
voted against the Plebiscite, they have had to pay just as dearly. How
bitterly they must feel our folly; and how anxious they must be to
educate us!
Imagine the condition of my wife and of my daughter seeing us so
denuded! for women cleave to their savings much more closely than men;
and then mother was only thinking of Jacob, and Gredel of her Jean
Baptiste.
Cousin George knew this. He tried several times to get news of the
town. A few Turcos, who had escaped from the carnage of Froeschwiller,
had remained in town, and every day a few got through the postern to
have a shot at the Germans. On the other hand, as the attack on the
place had been sudden and unforeseen, there had been no time to throw
down the trees, the hedges, the cottages, and the tombstones in the
cemetery. So this work began afresh: everything within cannon-shot was
razed without mercy.
George tried to reach these men, but the enemy's posts were still too
close. At last he got news, but in a way which can scarcely be
told--by an abandoned woman, who was allowed in the German lines. This
creditable person told us that Jacob was well; and, no doubt, she also
brought some kind of good news to Gredel, who from that moment was
another woman. The very next day she began to talk to us about her
marriage-portion, and insisted upon knowing where we had hidden it. I
told her that it was in the wood, at the foot of a tree. Then she was
in alarm lest the Prussians should have discovered it, for they
searched everywhere; they had exact inventories of what was owned by
every householder. They had gone even to the very end of our cellars
to discover choice wines: for instance, at Mathis's, at the saw-mills,
and at Frantz Sepel's, at Metting. Nothing could escape them, having
had for years our own German servants to give them every information,
who privately kept an account of our cattle, hay, corn, wine, and
everything every house could supply. These Germans are the most
perfect spies in the world; they come into the world to spy, as birds
do to thieve: it is part of their nature. Let the Americans and all
the people who are kind enough to receive them think of this. Their
imprudence may some day cost them dearly. I am not inventing. I am
not saying a word too much. We are an example. Let the world profit
by it.
So Gredel feared for our hoard. I told her I had been to see, and that
nothing in the neighborhood had been disturbed.
But, after having quieted her, I myself had a great fright.
One Sunday evening, about thirty Prussians, commanded by their famous
lieutenant, came to the mill, striking the floor with the butt-ends of
their muskets, and shouting that they must have wine and eau-de-vie.
I gave them the keys of the cellar.
"That is not what I want," said the lieutenant. "You took sixteen
hundred livres at Saverne last month; where are they?"
Then I saw that I had been denounced. It was Placiard, or some of that
rabble; for denunciations were beginning. _All who have since declared
for the Germans were already beginning this business_. I could not
deny it, and I said: "It is true. As I was owing money at Phalsbourg,
I paid what I owed, and I placed the rest in safety under the care of
lawyer Fingado."
"Where is that lawyer?"
"In the town guarded by the sixty big guns that you know of."
Then the lieutenant paced up and down, growling, "You are an old fox.
I don't believe you. You have hid your money somewhere. You shall
send in your contribution in money."
"I will furnish, like others, my contribution for six men with what I
have got. Here are my hay, my wheat, my straw, my flour. Whatever is
left you may have; when there is nothing left, you may seek elsewhere.
You may kill the people; you may burn towns and villages; but you
cannot take money from those who have none."
He stared at me, and one of the soldiers, mad with rage, seized me by
the collar, roaring, "Show us your hoard, old rascal!"
Several others were pushing me out of doors; my wife came crying and
sobbing; but Gredel darted in, armed with a hatchet, crying to these
robbers, "Pack of cowards! You have no courage--you are all like
Schinderhannes!"
She was going to fall upon them; but I bade her: "Gredel, go in again."
At the same time I threw open my waistcoat, and told the brute who was
pointing his bayonet at my breast: "Now thrust, wretch; let it be over!"
It seems that there was something at that moment in my attitude which
awed them; for the lieutenant, who did nothing but scour the country
with his band, exclaimed: "Come, let us leave monsieur le maire alone.
When we have taken the place, we shall find his money at the lawyer's.
Come, my lads, come on; let us go and look elsewhere. His Majesty
wants crown-pieces: we will find them. Good-by, Monsieur le Maire.
Let us bear no malice."
He was laughing; but I was as pale as death, and went in trembling.
I fell ill.
Many people in the country were suffering from dysentery, which we owe
again to these gormandizers, for they devoured everything; honey,
butter, cheese, green fruit, beef, mutton, everything was ingulfed
anyhow down their huge swallows. At Pfalsweyer they had even swallowed
vinegar for wine. I cannot tell what they ate at home, but the
voracity of these people would make you suppose that at home they knew
no food but potatoes and cold water.
In their sanitary regulations there was plenty of room for improvement;
health and decency were alike disregarded.
That year the crows came early; they swept down to earth in great
clouds. But for this help, a plague would have fallen upon us.
I cannot relate all the other torments these Prussians inflicted upon
us; such as compelling us to cut down wood for them in the forest, to
split it, to pile it up in front of their advanced posts; threatening
the peasants with having to go to the front and dig in the trenches.
On account of this, whole villages fled without a minute's warning, and
the Landwehr took the opportunity to pillage the houses without
resistance. Worse than all, they polluted and desecrated the
churches--to the great distress of all right-minded people, whether
Catholics, Protestants, or Jews. This proved that these fellows
respected nothing; that they took a pleasure in humiliating the souls
of men in their tenderest and holiest feelings; for even with ungodly
men a church, a temple, a synagogue are venerable places. There our
mothers carried us to receive the blessing of God; there we called God
to witness our love for her with whom we had chosen to travel together
the journey of life; thither we bore father and mother to commend their
souls to the mercy of God after they had ceased to suffer in this world.
These wretched men dared do this; therefore shall they be execrated
from generation to generation, and our hatred shall be inextinguishable!
Whilst all these miseries were overwhelming us, rumors of all sorts ran
through the country. One day Cousin George came to tell us that he had
heard from an innkeeper from Sarrebourg that a great battle had been
fought near Metz; that we might have been victorious, but that the
Emperor, not knowing where to find his proper place, got in everybody's
way; that he would first fly to the right, then to the left, carrying
with him his escort of three or four thousand men, to guard his person
and his ammunition-wagons; that it had been found absolutely necessary
to declare his command vacant, and to send him to Verdun to get rid of
him; for he durst not return to Paris, where indignation against his
dynasty broke out louder and louder.
"Now," said my cousin, "Bazaine is at the head of our best army. It is
a sad thing to be obliged to intrust the destinies of our country to
the hands of the man who made himself too well known in Mexico; whilst
the Minister of War, old De Montauban, has distinguished himself in
China, and in Africa in that Doineau affair. Yes, these are three men
worthy to lay their heads close together--the Emperor, Bazaine, and
Palikao! Well, let us hope on: hope costs nothing!"
Thus passed away the month of August--the most miserable month of
August in all our lives!
On the first of September, about ten o'clock at night, everybody was
asleep in the village, when the cannon of Phalsbourg began to roar: it
was the heavy guns on the bastion of Wilschberg, and those of the
infantry barracks. Our little houses shook.
All rose from their beds and got lights. At every report our windows
rattled. I went out; a crowd of other peasants, men and women, were
listening and gazing. The night was dark, and the red lightning
flashes from the two bastions lighted up the hills second after second.
Then curiosity carried me away. I wished to know what it was, and in
spite of all my wife could say, I started with three or four neighbors
for Berlingen. As fast as we ascended amongst the bushes, the din
became louder; on reaching the brow of this hill, we heard a great stir
all round us. The people of Berlingen had fled into the wood: two
shells had fallen in the village. It was from this height that I
observed the effect of the heavy guns, the bombs and shells rushing in
the direction where we stood, hissing and roaring just like the noise
of a steam-engine, and making such dreadful sounds that one could not
help shrinking.
At the same time we could hear a distant rolling of carriages at full
gallop; they were driving from Quatre Vents to Wilschberg: no doubt it
was a convoy of provisions and stores, which the Phalsbourgers had
observed a long way off: the moon was clouded; but young people have
sharp eyes. After seeing this, we came down again, and I recognized my
cousin, who was walking near me.
"Good-evening, Christian," said he, "what do you think of that?"
"I am thinking that men have invented dreadful engines to destroy each
other."
"Yes, but this is nothing as yet, Christian; it is but the small
beginning of the story: in a year or two peace will be signed between
the King of Prussia and France; but eternal hatred has arisen between
the two nations--just, fearful, unforgiving hatred. What did we want
of the Germans? Did we want any of their provinces? No, the majority
of Frenchmen cared for no such thing. Did we covet their glory? No,
we had military glory enough, and to spare. So that they had no
inducement to treat us as enemies. Well, whilst we were trying, in the
presence of all Europe, the experiment of universal suffrage at our own
risk and peril--and this step so fair, so equitable, but still so
dangerous with an ignorant people, had placed a bad man at the
helm--these _good Christians_ took advantage of our weakness to strike
the blow they had been fifty-four years in preparing. They have
succeeded! But woe to us! woe to them! This war will cost more blood
and tears than the Zinzel could carry to the Rhine!"
Thus spoke Cousin George: and, unhappily, from that day I have had
reason to acknowledge that he was right. Those who were far from the
enemy are now close, and those who are farther off will be forced to
take a part. Let the men of the south of France remember that they are
French as well as we, and if they don't want to feel the sharp claw of
the Prussian upon their shoulders, let them rise in time: next to
Lorraine comes Champagne; next to Alsace comes Franche Comte and
Burgundy; these are fertile lands, and the Germans are fond of good
wine. Clear-sighted men had long forewarned us that the Germans wanted
Alsace and Lorraine: we could not believe it; now the same men tell us,
"The Germans want the whole of France! This race of slappers and
slapped want to govern all Europe! Hearken! The day of the Chambords,
upheld by the Jesuits, and of the Bonapartes, supported by spies and
fools, has gone by forever! Let us be united under the Republic, or
the Germans will devour us!" I think the men who tender this advice
have a claim to be heard.
The day after the cannonade we learned that some carts had been upset
and pillaged near Berlingen. Then the Prussian major declared that the
commune was responsible for the loss, and that it would have to pay up
five hundred francs damages.
Five hundred francs! Alas! where could they be found after this
pillage?
Happily, the Mayor of Berlingen succeeded in making the discovery that
the sentinels who had the charge of the carts had themselves committed
the robbery, to make presents to the depraved creatures who infested
the camp, and the general contributions went on as before.
Early in September the weather was fine; and I shall always remember
that the oats dropped by the German convoys began to grow all along the
road they had taken. No doubt there was a similar green track all the
way from Bavaria far into the interior of France.
What a loss for our country! for it always fell to our share to replace
anything that was lost or stolen. Of course the Prussians are too
honorable to pick or steal anywhere!
In that comparatively quiet time by night we could hear the bombardment
of Strasbourg. About one in the morning, while the village was asleep,
and all else in the distance was wrapped in silence, then those deep
and loud reports were heard one by one. The citadel alone received
five shells and one bomb per minute. Sometimes the fire increased in
intensity; the din became terrible; the earth seemed to be trembling
far away down there: it sounded like the heavy strokes of the
gravedigger at the bottom of a grave.
And this went on forty-two days and forty-two nights without
intermission: the new Church, the Library, and hundreds of houses were
burned to the ground; the Cathedral was riddled with shot; a shell even
carried away the iron cross at its summit. The unhappy Strasbourgers
cast longing eyes westward; none came to help. The men who have told
me of these things when all was over could not refrain from tears.
Of Metz we heard nothing; rumors of battles, combats in Lorraine, ran
through the country: rumors of whose authenticity we knew nothing.
The silence of the Germans was maintained; but one evening they burst
into loud hurrahs from Wechem to Biechelberg, from Biechelberg to
Quatre Vents. George and his wife came with pale faces.
"Well, you know the despatch?"
"No; what is it?"
"The _honest man_ has just surrendered at Sedan with eighty thousand
Frenchmen! From the beginning of the world the like of it has never
been seen. He has given up his sword to the King of Prussia--his
famous sword of the 2d December. He thought more of his own safety and
his ammunition-wagons than of the honor of his name and of the honor of
France! Oh, the arch-deceiver! he has deceived me even in this: I did
think he was brave!"
George lost all command over himself.
"There," said he, "that was to be the end of it! His own army was
those ten or fifteen thousand Decemberlings supplied by the Prefecture
of Police, armed with loaded staves and life-preservers to break the
heads of the defenders of the laws. He thought himself able to lead a
French army to victory, as if they were his gang of thieves; he has let
them into a sort of a sink, and there, in spite of the valor of our
soldiers, he has delivered them up to the King of Prussia: in exchange
for what? We shall know by and by. Our unhappy sons refused to
surrender: they would have preferred to die sword in hand, trying to
fight their way out; it was his Majesty who, three times, gave orders
to hoist the white flag!"
Thus spoke my cousin, and we, more dead than alive, could hear nothing
but the shouts and rejoicings outside.
A flag of truce had just been despatched to the town. The Landwehr,
who for some time had been occupying the place of the troops of the
line with us--men of mature age, more devoted to peace than to the
glory of King William--thought that all was over; that the King of
Prussia would keep his word; that he would not continue against the
nation the war begun against Bonaparte, and that the town would be sure
to surrender now.
But the commander, Taillant, merely replied that the gates of
Phalsbourg would be opened whenever he should receive his Majesty's
written commands; that the fact of Napoleon's having given up his sword
was no reason why he should abandon his post; and that every man ought
to be on his guard, in readiness for whatever might happen.
The flag of truce returned, and the joy of the Landwehr was calmed down.
At this time I saw something which gave me infinite pleasure, and which
I still enjoy thinking of.
I had taken a short turn to Saverne by way of the Falberg, behind the
German posts, hoping to learn news. Besides, I had some small debts to
get in; money was wanted every day, and no one knew where to find it.
About five o'clock in the evening, I was returning home; the weather
was fine; business had prospered, and I was stepping into the wayside
inn at Tzise to take a glass of wine. In the parlor were seated a
dozen Bavarians, quarrelling with as many Prussians seated round the
deal tables. They had laid their helmets on the window-seats, and were
enjoying themselves away from their officers; no doubt on their return
from some marauding expedition.
A Bavarian was exclaiming: "We are always put in the front, we are.
The victory of Woerth is ours; but for us you would have been beaten.
And it is we who have just taken the Emperor and all his army. You
other fellows, you do nothing but wait in the rear for the honor and
glory, and the profit, too!"
"Well, now," answered the Prussian, "what would you have done but for
us? Have you got a general to show? Tell me your men. You are in the
front line, true enough. You bear your broken bones with patience--I
don't deny that. But who commands you? The Prince Royal of Prussia,
Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, our old General de Moltke, and his
Majesty King William! Don't tell us of your victories. Victories
belong to the chiefs. Even if you were every one killed to the last
man, what difference would that make? Does an architect owe his fame
to his materials? What have picks, and spades, and trowels to do with
victory?"
"What! the spades!" cried a Bavarian; "do you call us spades?"
"Yes, we do!" shouted the Prussian, arrogantly thumping the table.
Then, bang, bang went the pots and the bottles; and I only just had
time to escape, laughing, and thinking: "After all, these poor
Bavarians are right--they get the blows, and the others get the glory.
Bismarck must be sly to have got them to accept such an arrangement.
It is rather strong. And, then, what is the use of saying that the
King of Bavaria is led by the Jesuits."
About the 8th or 10th of September, the report ran that the Republic
had been proclaimed at Paris; that the Empress, the Princess Mathilde,
Palikao, and all the rest had fled; that a Government of National
Defence had been proclaimed; that every Frenchman from twenty to forty
years of age had been summoned to arms. But we were sure of nothing,
except the bombardment of Strasbourg and the battles round Metz.
Justice compels me to say that everybody looked upon the conduct of
Bazaine as admirable--that he was looked upon as the saviour of France.
It was thought that he was bearing the weight of all the Germans upon
his shoulders, and that, finally, he would break out, and deliver Toul,
Phalsbourg, Bitche, Strasbourg, and crush all the investing armies.
Often at that time George said to me: "It will soon be our turn. We
shall all have to march. My plans are already made; my rifle and
cartridge-box are ready. You must have the alarm-bell sounded as soon
as we hear the cannon about Sarreguemines and Fenetrange. We shall
take the Germans between two fires."
He said this to me in the evening, when we were alone, and I am sure I
could have wished no better; but prudence was essential: the Landwehr
kept increasing in number from day to day. They used to come and sit
in our midst around the stove; they smoked their long porcelain pipes,
with their heads down, in silence. As a certain number understood
French, without telling us so, there was no talking together in their
presence: every one kept his thoughts to himself.
All these Landwehr from Baden, Wurtemberg, and Bavaria, were commanded
by Prussian officers, so that Prussia supplied the officers, and the
German States the soldiers: by these means they learn obedience to
their true lords and masters. The Prussians were made to command, the
others humbly to obey: thus they gained the victory. And now it must
remain so for ages; for the Alsacians and Lorrainers might revolt,
France might rise, and troubles might come in all directions. Yes, all
these good Landwehr will remain under arms from father to son; and the
more numerous their victories, the higher the Prussians will climb upon
their backs, and keep them firmly down.
One thing annoyed them considerable; this was a stir in the Vosges, and
a talk of francs-tireurs, and of revolted villages about Epinal. Of
course this stirred us up too. These Landwehr treated the
francs-tireurs as brigands in ambush to shoot down respectable fathers
of families, to rob convoys, and threatened to hang them.
For all that, many thought--"If only a few came our way with powder and
muskets, we would join them and try to get rid of our troubles
ourselves."
Hope rose with these francs-tireurs; but the requisitions harassed us
all the more.
The pillage was not quite so bad, but it went on still. When our
Landwehr, whom we were obliged to lodge and keep, went off to mount
guard at Phalsbourg, others came in troops from the neighboring
villages, shouting, storming, and bawling for oxen, sheep, bacon! And
when they had terribly frightened the women, these fellows, after all,
were satisfied with a few eggs, a cheese, or a rope of onions; and then
they would take their departure quite delighted.
Our own Landwehr no doubt did the same, for they never seemed short of
vegetables to cook; and these good fathers of families conscientiously
divided it with all the abominable creatures who followed them and had
no other way of living. How else could it be? It takes time to turn a
man into a beast, but a few months of war soon bring men back into the
savage state.