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from there, while I kill the dog and finish | placed the cantinière upon the litter. We it up!"

"What is going on here?" said my uncle in a strong voice.

And all the people turned round as if they were frightened. The grave-digger took off his cap, two or three others went away, and we saw upon the steps of the fountain the cantinière stretched out, white as snow, her beautiful black hair loose in a pool of blood, her little cask still upon her hip, her pale hands thrown to the right and left upon the wet stone where the water was flowing. Several other corpses lay near her, and the poodle that I had seen in the morning with the little drummer, the hair on his back raised up, his eyes flashing, and his lips quivering, standing at her feet, was growling and shuddering as he looked at Spick.

In spite of his great courage and his mattock, the tavern-keeper did not dare to approach, for it was easy to see that if he missed his blow the animal would spring at his throat.

"What is this?" repeated my uncle. "Because that dog stays there," said Spick, sneering, "they say that the woman is not dead."

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They are right," said my uncle in a sharp tone; "certain animals have more heart and more sense than some men. Take yourself off."

He pushed him away with his elbow, and went straight toward the woman, stooping down. The dog, instead of springing upon him, seemed to be pacified, and let him do as he would. Every one drew near; my uncle knelt down, uncovered the woman's bosom, and put his hand upon her heart. No one spoke. The silence was profound. This lasted for a moment, when Spick said,

"Eh! eh! eh! Let them bury her; is not that it, monsieur doctor?"

My uncle rose up frowning, and looking the man full in front from top to toe.

"Wretch!" said he, "for a few measures of brandy, for which that poor woman paid you as well as she could, you wish now to see her dead and perhaps buried alive!"

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went on our way, the dog following my uncle, pressing against his leg. As to the tavern-keeper, we heard him behind us, near the fountain, repeat in a mocking tone,

"The woman is dead. That doctor knows as much about it as my mattock. The woman is finished; whether they bury her today or to-morrow makes no difference. We will see which of us is right."

As we crossed the square I saw the molecatcher and Koffel following us, which comforted me; for since nightfall a sort of terror had seized upon me, especially in the presence of the dead, and I was pleased to have people about us.

The mole-catcher walked in front of the litter with a large torch in his hand. Koffel, near my uncle, seemed to be grave.

"These are terrible things, monsieur doctor," said he, as he walked on.

"Ah! is that you, Koffel?" said my uncle. "Yes, yes, the genius of evil is in the air; the spirits of darkness are unchained."

We then entered the little alley, which was strewn with bits of plaster; the molecatcher, stopping on the threshold, lighted Jeffer and his sons, who advanced with heavy steps. We all followed them into the room, and the mole-catcher, raising his torch, exclaimed in a solemn tone,

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'Where are the days of tranquillity, the moments of peace, of repose, and of confidence after labour, where are they, monsieur doctor? Ah! they have flown away through all these openings."

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Only then I saw plainly the forlorn appearance of our old room, the broken glass, the sharp slivers and sparkling points of which stood out plainly against the background of darkness. I understood the words of the mole-catcher, and I thought that we were wretched.

"Jeffer, lay that woman on my bed," said my uncle sadly; "our own calamities must not make us forget that others are still more unfortunate than ourselves." And turning to the mole-catcher,

"You will remain here to hold the light for me," said he; "and Koffel will assist me."

The grave-digger and his sons, having put the litter on the floor, placed the woman on the bed at the back of the alcove. The mole-catcher, whose brick-coloured cheeks took a purple hue from the glow of the torch, lighted them.

My uncle gave some coppers to Jeffer, who went out with his boys. Old Lisbeth

had come to look on. Her chin shook, she | The mole-catcher held the arm up in the did not dare to come near, and I heard her air, and underneath, between the bosom reciting the Ave Maria under her breath.

I was catching her terror, when my uncle called out,

"Lisbeth, what are you thinking about there? In the name of heaven, are you mad? Is not this woman like all other women, and have you not helped me a hundred times in my operations? Come! come! folly has got the upper hand now. Go, heat some water; that is all I can hope from you."

The dog had seated himself in front of the alcove and watched, through his frizzled hair, the woman extended on the bed, motionless and pale as death.

"Fritzel," said my uncle to me, "shut the shutter; we shall have less air. And you, Koffel, make some fire in the stove; for we must not think of getting anything now from Lisbeth. Ah! if amidst so much suffering we could still have the good sense to remain calm! But everything must be in confusion; when the devil is on the road one never knows where he will stop."

My uncle said this as if he were troubled. | I ran out to close the shutters, and I heard him fasten them on the inside. Looking towards the fountain I saw that fresh cartloads of the dead were going off. I went in again, all in a shiver.

Koffel had just lighted the fire, which crackled in the stove; my uncle had opened his case of instruments on the table; the mole-catcher waited, looking at the thousand little shining blades.

My uncle took a probe and approached the bed, putting aside the curtains; the mole-catcher and Koffel followed him. Then, seized with violent curiosity, I too went to look. The light of the candle filled the whole alcove; the woman was naked to her waist, my uncle having just cut her clothes from her; Koffel with a large sponge washed her chest and her bosom, which were covered with black blood. The dog looked on the whole time; he did not stir. Lisbeth also had come back to the chamber. She held ine by the hand and mumbled I know not what prayer.. Within the alcove no one spoke, and my uncle hearing the old servant called out to her, really vexed,

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Will you be quiet, old fool? Come, mole-catcher, come, lift up the arm." "A beautiful creature," said the molecatcher, and very young still." "How pale she is!" said Koffel.

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and the arm-pit, appeared a bluish opening, from which flowed a few drops of blood. Uncle Jacob, with his lips compressed, probed this wound; the probe could not enter. At that moment I became so attentive, never having seen anything like it before, that my whole soul was in the depth of that alcove, and I heard my uncle murmur,-"That is strange!"

At the same instant the woman drew a long sigh, and the dog, that had been quiet till then, began to cry with a sound so mournful and so wild that one might have thought he was a human being. My hair stood on end. The mole-catcher called out, "Be quiet!"

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The dog was still, and my uncle said, "Raise the arm now, mole-catcher. Koffel, come here and support the body."

Koffel passed behind the bed and took the woman by the shoulders. The probe immediately entered very deep. The woman uttered a groan, and the dog growled.

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Good!" exclaimed my uncle; "she is saved. Hold! Koffel, see! the ball has glanced in the ribs; it is here under the shoulder. Do you feel it?" 'Perfectly."

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My uncle came out, and seeing me under the curtain, he exclaimed, What are you doing there?"

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I am looking."

That's good, he is looking now. It must be that everything is to go wrong."

He took a knife from the table, and went back. The dog looked at me with his shining eyes, which made me uncomfortable.

All at once the woman uttered a cry, and my uncle said, with a joyful tone,

Here it is! it is a pistol-ball. The poor creature has lost a great deal of blood, but she will recover."

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It must have been in the great charge of the Uhlans that she received it," said Koffel. I was at old Kraemer's on the first floor; I was cleaning his clock, and I saw them fire as they came on."

“Very_likely,” replied my uncle, who then for the first time thought of observing the woman. He took the candle from the mole-catcher's hand, and standing behind the bed he gazed thoughtfully for some moments upon the poor woman.

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Yes," said he, "she is a beautiful woman, and has a noble head. What a pity that such creatures should follow armies! Would it not be much better I went nearer, and saw the woman as to see them in the midst of a virtuous white as snow, her chest raised up, her family, surrounded by fine children, with head thrown back, her black hair loose. a kind husband whom they would make

happy? What a pity! But, after all, out what he had left and what was missing; since it is the will of the Lord-"

He went out, calling Lisbeth. "Go and get one of your chemises for that woman," said he to her, "and put it on her yourself. Mole-catcher, Koffel, come; we will go and take a glass of wine, for this day has been a rough one for us all." He went down to the cellar himself, and came up at the moment that the old servant arrived with her chemise. Lisbeth, finding that the cantinière was not dead, had regained her courage; she went into the alcove and drew the curtains, while my uncle uncorked the bottle, and opened the cupboard to take out some glasses. The molecatcher and Koffel seemed to be pleased. I, too, drew up to the table, which was still spread, and we finished supper.

The dog looked at us from a distance. My uncle threw some mouthfuls of bread at him, that he would not take. At that

moment the church clock struck one. "It is the half hour," said Koffel. No, it is one o'clock. It is time for us to go to bed," replied the mole-catcher.

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Lisbeth came out from the alcove; we all went to see the woman dressed in her chemise. She seemed to be asleep. The dog was resting with his fore-paws on the edge of the bed, and looked also. My uncle passed his hand over his head, saying,

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Come, don't be afraid; she will get well. I will answer for it."

And the poor animal seemed to understand, and gently moaned. At last they came out again.

My uncle, with the candle, accompanied the mole-catcher and Koffel quite outside; then he came back, and said to us, "Now go to bed; it is time."

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And you, monsieur doctor?" asked the old servant.

"Me? I shall watch. This woman is in danger; and beside, they may want me in the village."

He went to put a log into the stove, and stretched himself behind it in the arm-chair, rolling up a strip of paper to light his pipe. Lisbeth and I each went up to our chamber, but it was not till very late that it was possible for me to sleep, in spite of my great fatigue; for from half hour to half hour the rumbling of the cart, and the glare of the torches upon the windows, warned me that they were still passing with the dead. At last, at early dawn, all these sounds ceased, and I fell sound asleep.

V.

THE village should have been seen the next day, when everybody wanted to find

and when it was found that a large number of the Republicans, the Uhlans, and the Croats had passed through the houses from the back, and had emptied them of everything, the indignation was universal, and then I comprehended how right the mole-catcher was in saying, "Now the days of calmness and peace have flown through these holes."

All the doors and windows were open in order to see the havoc; the whole street was encumbered with furniture, with carriages, with cattle, and with people, who cried, "Ah, the scoundrels! Ah, the brigands! they have taken everything!" One was seeking for his ducks, another for his hens; another upon looking under his bed found a pair of old shoes instead of his boots; another, on looking up his chimney, where the morning before hung his chitterlings and his bacon, saw it empty, and went into a terrible rage. The women, in despair, raised their hands to heaven, and the young girls were dismayed. The butter and the eggs and the tobacco and the potatoes, and even the linen, all had been stolen; the more they looked, the more things were found missing.

The greatest anger of the people turned upon the Croats; for after the general had passed by, having nothing to fear from any complaints which might be made, they had hurried into the houses like a band of famished wolves, and God knows what it had been necessary to give them in order to induce them to go off, besides all they had taken before.

It was indeed very sad that old Germany should have soldiers more to be dreaded by her than the French. The Lord preserve us from ever again having need of their aid!

We children-Hans Aden, Franz Sepel, Nickel, Johann, and I went from door to door, looking at the cracked tiles, the broken shutters, the battered sheds, and gathering up the rags, the cartridge-papers, and the balls flattened against the walls. The finding of these things pleased us so much that we had no thought of returning home before nightfall.

About two o'clock we met Zaphevi Schmouk, the son of the basket-maker, who held his red head high, and seemed prouder than usual. He had something concealed under his blouse, and when we asked him,-"What have you got?" he showed us the stock of a great Uhlan pistol. Then the whole band followed him. He marched like a general before us, and to each one whom we met we said, He has got a pistol," and the new-comer joined himself to

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our troop. We would not have quitted | I began to think that my uncle might be Schmouk for an empire. It seemed to us anxious about me, and I went on alone, that the glory of his pistol was reflected not without turning again, for it seemed as upon us. if stealthy steps were pursuing me, and I did not dare to run.

Such truly are children, and such truly

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I considered myself worthy to have a pistol like Zaphevi, but no one would believe me. As we passed by the steps of the town-house, Schmouk cried out, • Come and see!"

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We mounted the great staircase behind him, and in front of the council-room, which was pierced by a square opening as large as the hand, he said to us, Look! the clothes of the dead are there! Father Jeffer and monsieur the burgomaster carried them there this morning in a cart."

We staid there more than an hour looking at these clothes, climbing on each other's shoulders, and gasping,- "Let me look too, Hans Aden, it is my turn!"

The clothes were heaped up in the middle of the great deserted hall, under the grey light of two high, grated windows. There were Republican hats and Uhlan caps, shoulder-belts and cartridge-boxes, blue coats and red cloaks, sabres and pistols. The guns were leaning against the wall on the right, and farther off was a row of lances. It made us shiver to see them, and I have kept the remembrance of it.

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After an hour, and as night was coming on, all at once one of us took fright and began to run down the stairs, crying with a scared voice, Here they come ! Then the whole band dashed down the stairs, running with hands stretched out, and tumbling over each other in the darkness.

It surprises me that none of us broke our necks, our fright was so great. I was the last, and though my heart beat with incredible violence, I turned round at the bottom of the steps to look again. All was grey within the vestibule; the little dormer window on the right lighted the black steps with an oblique ray; not a breath broke the stillness under the gloomy arch. At a distance in the street the sounds died away.

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In front of the inn of "The Two Kegs," the windows of which were bright in the midst of darkness, I made a stop. The uproar of the drinkers reassured me. I looked through the small, open casement window into the hall, where there was the hum of a great many voices, and I saw Koffel, the mole-catcher, Monsieur Richter, and many others, seated at the pine tables, their shoulders bent, as they leaned on their elbows, with jugs and mugs before them.

The angular figure of Monsieur Richter, with his hunting-jacket and his cap of waxed leather, gesticulated under the hanging lamp, in the greyish smoke.

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These are the famous Republicans," said he, "those terrible men who were to overthrow the world, and whom the glorious shadow of Field-marshal Wurmser is sufficient to disperse. You saw them bend their backs and stretch their legs! How many times I have told you that all their grand enterprises would end in catastrophe! Mole-catcher, Koffel, haven't I said so?"

"Yes, you said so!" replied the molecatcher, "but that is no reason for talking so loudly. Let us see, Monsieur Richter. Sit down and call for a bottle of wine; Koffel and I have each paid for ours. is the first thing."

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Monsieur Richter sat down, and I went home. It might then have been seven o'clock; the alley was swept, the windows were mended. I went first into the kitchen, and Lisbeth, seeing me, exclaimed, —“ Ah! here he is!"

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ber these things, Fritzel, to abominate them. It is good teaching; what we see when we are young remains with us all our lives." He was making these reflections to himself, and I kept on with what I was doing, with my nose in my plate. After the soup, Lisbeth gave me some vegetables and some meat, but the moment I took up my fork what did I see seated close to me on the floor but a motionless creature staring at me! This startled me.

"Don't be afraid, Fritzel," said my uncle, smiling.

Then I looked and saw it was the cantinière's dog. He sat there very sedately, with his nose up in the air, his ears hanging, watching me with an attentive eye through his frizzled hair.

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Give him some of your vegetables and you will soon be good friends," said my uncle.

He made a sign to him to come near us. The dog came and seated himself near his chair, and seemed much pleased by some little pats which my uncle gave him on his head. He licked the bottom of my plate and then began again to stare at me with a solemn air.

But at the same moment something seemed to struggle; Lisbeth, who held the lamp, drew back, and the woman, very pale, her eyes opened, raised herself up, calling out, “Jean, Jean, defend yourself; I am coming."

Then she opened her mouth, uttered a loud cry, "Vive la Republique ! " and fell back.

My uncle came out much agitated, and said,

"Lisbeth, quick, quick! go up-stairs to the closet-the grey phial with the glass stopper! Make haste!" And he went back.

Lisbeth ran. I kept close to the skirts of my uncle. The dog growled. The woman was stretched out as if she were dead.

The old servant returned with the phial; my uncle looked at it, and said in a quick tone,

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That is it,- a spoon!”

I ran to get my spoon. He wiped it, poured some drops into it, then, raising the woman's head, he made her take what he had put into it, saying with extreme gentleness,

"Come, come! take courage, my child, take courage!

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I had never heard him speak in so gentle, so tender a tone; my heart was touched by it.

Toward the end of supper I was just going to get up, when some confused words were heard from the alcove. My uncle listened; the woman spoke extremely fast and low. Those confused mysterious words The woman sighed gently, and my unin the midst of the silence moved me more cle extended her upon the bed, raising the than anything else had done. I felt my-pillow, after which he came out, looking self turn pale. My uncle, his head bent, very pale, and said to us,fixed his eyes on me, but his thoughts were elsewhere; he was listening. The dog also turned around.

In the crowd of words that this woman spoke, some were more distinct than others. My father-Jean — killed — all, all—the country!"

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Looking at my uncle, I saw his eyes were troubled, and his cheeks trembled. He took the lamp from the table and approached the bed. Lisbeth came in to clear the table; he turned round and said to her," The fever is beginning."

"Go to sleep now; leave me alone; I shall watch."

"But, monsieur doctor," said Lisbeth, "last night also—"

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"Do you go to bed," repeated my uncle, in a vexed tone. I have not time to listen to your talk. In the name of Heaven let me be quiet. This may become serious." We were obliged to obey.

As we mounted the staircase, Lisbeth all in a tremble said to me,--"Did you see that unfortunate woman, Fritzel? She is perhaps going to die. Well! see! she Lis-still thinks about her Republic of the devil. These people are true savages. All we can do is to pray that God may forgive them." And she began to pray.

Then he drew aside the curtains. beth followed him. I did not stir from my chair; I was hungry no longer. The woman was silent an instant; I saw the shadow of my uncle and that of Lisbeth on the curtains; my uncle held the woman's arm. The dog was with them in the alcove. I, alone in the dark room, was frightened. The woman began to talk louder. It seemed to me then as if the room grew darker, and I went nearer to the light.

I knew not what to think of all this. But after having run about so much and muddied myself up to my backbone, once in bed, I slept so soundly that the return of the Republicans themselves, their firing by platoons and by battalions, would not have waked me before ten in the morning.

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