GENERAL MANTEUFFEL'S THREATS
At five o'clock in the afternoon of July 17th, as the general had said,
he sent to the bank a squad of eight men under the command of a
sergeant-major, accompanied by two men with wheel-barrows for the seven
million florins. His notion of the weight of the coin, which in gold
would amount to more than fifty tons, must have been a curious one.
Seeing his men return without the money, General Falkenstein declared
that if it were not forthcoming the next day he would permit pillage and
bombardment. Meanwhile the members Bernus and Speltz were arrested and
conducted to the guard-room, when, having left them in view behind the
bars for two hours to convince every one of his power over the town
authorities, he sent them off to Cologne with four soldiers and a letter
for the governor.
This act of brutality had its effect. It alarmed a great many
influential people who went to find the bank manager and urge him to
advance the seven millions demanded. The directors of the bank gave way
and the money was paid to the last florin on July 19th.
The same day the city battalion was disbanded in the presence of the
Prussian Colonel von der Goltz. The soldiers had not expected this, and
some of the oldest of them shed tears.
At the same time, the Prussians took their fill of the townspeople's
horses. They requisitioned seven hundred, including two little ponies of
Madame de Rothschild. The carriages were then seized, and if a lady
happened to take a cab she was obliged when she met an officer in search
of one, to get out in the mud and leave him to take her place.
Two orders were circulated. The first enjoined the presentation at the
police station every morning, before eight o'clock, of a list of all
travellers who had arrived in the hotels and boarding-houses.
Many societies formed for divers purposes such as gymnastics, education,
and the like, were called before the commander-in-chief and dissolved.
Such of them as had for object military exercises were invited to
deposit their arms. Finally the general addressed to the presidents of
the societies some kindly words upon the necessity of the measures
taken, and upon the actual situation in general. You ask me how kindly
words could be uttered by M. de Falkenstein. Reassure yourself, the
illustrious general had not altered his habits. Having received his
millions at two o'clock he had at once left Frankfort. General Wranzel
acted as his deputy for two or three hours and showed a smiling face
between two morose ones, for at five o'clock, General Manteuffel
arrived. He at once issued the following order:
"To assure the subsistence of the Prussian troops a storehouse will
be at once established in this town of Frankfort-on-the-Main, by
order of His Excellency the Lieutenant-General Manteuffel,
commander-in-chief of the army of the Main. It will be provisioned
as follows:
15.000 loaves of bread of 5 lbs. 9 ozs.
1,480 hundredweight of sea biscuits.
600 " of beef.
800 " of smoked bacon.
450 " of rice.
450 " of coffee.
100 " of salt.
5,000 " of hay.
"A third part of these quantities is to be placed at our disposal
in convenient places between now and the morning of the 21st. The
second third on the 21st in the evening, and the last third on July
22nd at the latest.
"Frankfort, July 20th, 1866.
"The Military Superintendent of the army of the Main.
"KASUISKIL"
The unhappy townspeople had believed themselves free from these imposts
according to General Falkenstein's promise--except, indeed, as regards
cigars, of which both the Prussian officers and men required nine
provided each day.
The next day, while at breakfast with his family towards ten o'clock,
Fellner received a letter from the new commander. It was addressed: "To
the Very Illustrious Herren Fellner and Müller, proxies of the town of
Frankfort." He turned it and turned it about between his hands without
unsealing it. Madame Fellner trembled, Herr Kugler, his brother-in-law,
grew pale, and seeing the drops of perspiration on their father's
forehead as he sighed deeply, the children began to cry. At last he
opened it, but seeing his pallor as he read, all rose to their feet
awaiting his first words. But he said nothing, he let his head fall on
his breast and dropped the letter on the floor. His brother-in-law
picked it up and read:
"To the Very Illustrious Herren Fellner and Müller, proxies of the
government in this town.
"You are invited by these presents to take the necessary measures
for a war indemnity of twenty-five millions of florins to be paid
within twenty-four hours to the pay office of the Army of the Main
in this town.
"The Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Main,
"MANTEUFFEL"
"Oh!" murmured Fellner, "my poor Fischer, you are fortunate."
Within two hours bills which Messrs. Fellner and Müller had had printed
were posted all over the town. They consisted of General Manteuffel's
letter to them with this addition:
"The Burgomasters Fellner and Müller declare that they will die rather
than assist in the spoliation of their fellow citizens."
The blow to the city was the more terrible because it was entirely
unexpected. The city had just paid more than six millions of florins,
had contributed in goods an equivalent sum, and was billeting soldiers
at a crushing expense. Some had ten, others twenty, thirty, or even
fifty soldiers. General Falkenstein had prescribed the soldiers' rations
as for the officers, they were entitled to anything they asked for. A
soldier's daily rations comprised, coffee and accessories in the
morning; a pound of meat, vegetables, bread, and half a bottle of wine
at noon; a collation with a pint of beer in the evening, in addition
eight cigars. These cigars had to be specially bought from the dealers
coming with the army. Usually the soldiers demanded and got an extra
meal at ten in the morning of bread-and-butter and brandy, and after
lunch they got coffee. The sergeant-majors had to be treated like
officers, being provided with roast meat and a bottle of wine at dinner,
with coffee to follow. Havana cigars, eight in number, were insisted on.
The citizens dared not complain, for the soldiers whatever they did were
always found to be in the right. But when they heard of this new
exaction of General Manteuffel, used as they were to theft and rapine on
the part of the Prussians, the Frankfortians, mute with astonishment,
looked at each other, not being able to grasp the extent of their
misfortune. As soon as the news was actually billed they rushed in
crowds to see it with their own eyes. Hours were spent in deploring the
enemy's greed, but nothing was done towards obeying the order.
Meanwhile, some of the chief citizens, M. de Rothschild among them, had
gone to seek General Manteuffel. In reply to their observations he said:
"To-morrow my cannon will be trained upon all the chief points of the
town, and if in three days I have not half of the contribution, and the
rest in six, I double it."
"General," answered M. de Rothschild, "you know the range of your
cannons I do not doubt, but you do not know that of the measures you are
taking--if you ruin Frankfort, you ruin the neighbouring provinces."
"Very well, gentlemen," answered Manteuffel, "the contribution, or
pillage and bombardment."
In spite of the intervention of the foreign legations, those of France,
Russia, England, Spain, and Belgium, on July 23rd, masses of troops were
put in movement with loaded cannon. These were ranged on the chief
spaces in the town. At the same time batteries were established on the
Muhlberger and the Roederberg, as also on the left bank of the Main.