Evening star. [volume], July 02, 1898, Page 18, Image 19

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
C H ?I'TKR \ Y.?Con tinned.
Inside the church the officers were at
dinner. He accepted an invitation and sat
down on the altar steps with his bit of
bn ad and morsel of dry beef.
The wavering flare from the eampfire fil
tered through the stained glass: the somber
depths of the church were tinged with vio
let and crimson?dusky clustered columns
glittered purple: the crucifix was bathed in
shadow, save where a single trembling
beam of light, red as blood, lay like an
open wound across the pierced side of our
dying Lord.
He looked up into the vaulted roof, stone
ribbed. black with the shadows of cen
turies. He heard the roar of the campfires,
the cratkie of damp logs, the scrape and
stamp anj stir of sleepy horses, the deep
breathing of sleeping men. He rose noise
lessly and crept out into the street. The
fog hung thick on the heavy flying but
tresses. on Heche and gargoyle, and on the
fluted robes of saints and martyrs, peering
down from their niches into the fire glow
where, swathed in their cloaks, lay the
martyrs to be, not saints, but men. sick,
freezing, starving things, called the IJWtfi
of the line.
They lay there like lumps on the church
steps, in doorways?they nestled in the gut
ter. they huddled against doorposts, these
clods of breathing clay?sodden and rag
ged and flithy, sinful, lustful and human,
sbepiHK their brief sleep tiil the white
dawn roused and summoned them home
foiever.
Faint cries from the sentries, fainter re
sponses. the crackle and snap of logs afire,
and the tali shadows wavering, these were
all that he saw and heard. The carved
stone gargoyles dripped water from every
fantastic snout, the reflected flames piayed
o\ er pill;>r and column, saint and martyr,
cross and crown.
All day he had driven thoughts of Hilde
from him. but now. at midnight, when the
lamp of life burns lowest and the eyes
c:tse. and death seems very near ? he
thought of her, and lying down in the
street beside the fire he questioned his
soul. At right, too. the soul, stirring in the
body?perhaps at the nearness of God
awakens conscience.
He had never before thought seriously of
death. Its arrival to himself he had never
pictured in concrete form. Jn the abstract
he had often risked it. never fearing it, be
cause mentally too inert, too lazy, to apply
such a contingency to his own familiir
body. Now. for th.- first time in his life, he
Closed his eyes and saw himself, just as he
lay, but still, wet, muddy and horribly
silent. He opened his eyes and looked
soberly at the fire. After a little- he
closed his eyes again, and again he saw
himself lying as he lay. wet. muddy, mo
tic nless. as only the dead Ci.n lie. He had
known fear, but never before the dull fore
boding that now crept Into his heart. To
open his eyes and see the fire was to live;
to shu. his eyes was to reflect the Image
of death upon his closed lids. At first he ?
disdained to shake it off?this mental
shadow that passed across his senses.
What if it were true? He had lived. It
was th^ old selfishness stiflh g the sense of
re>ponsibility?his responsii ility to the
world, to himself, to Htlde. To Hilde?
He sat up in his blanket and stared into
the tire. Slowly the comprehension of his
responsibility came to him. his duty, all
that was due to her from him. all that he
owed her. all that she should claim, one
day claim in life or in the life to come. Die?
He couldn't die?yet. There was something
to do first! Who spoke of death? There J
was too much to do; there were matters of
honor to arrange first: there was a debt to
pay that n?ither death nor hell nor hope
of paradise could cancel. Was death about
to prevent him from paying that debt?
He was walking now, moving aimlessly
to and fro under the porch of the church.
A sentry, huddled against a column, re
garded him apatnetlcally as he passed out
into the street. And always his thoughts j
ran on: !
"If I have this debt to pay, what am I
doing here? What right have I to risk
death until it is paid? Ajjd if I die?if I
die
His thoughts carried him no further.
Hilde's Pale face rose before him. He read
terrible accusation in her eyes. And he
repeated aloud, again and again. "I must '
go back." For he understood now that his
life was no longer his own to risk?that It 1
belonged to Hilde. Nor would he ever I
again have the right to imperil Ills life un
til they bad risen together from their knees
before the altar as man and wife. He look- '
ed out into the mist, ruddy with the camp- 1
flre glow. Would morning ever come? Why
should he wait for * morning? At the
thought he caught up his pouch and blank
et rolled, strapped and adjusted them and
stole out into the darkness.
Almost at once he heard somebody fol
lowing him. but at first he scarcely noticed
it. Down the main street he passed, over
the slippery cobblestones, eyes fixed on a
distant fire that marked the last bivouac
in the village before the street ends at the
ruined bridge across the Moilette. It was
as he approached this camp , lire that he
realized somebody had beeti following him
He paused a moment in the circle of flre
?ight and turned around. Nothing stirred
in the darkness beyond. He waited, then
started on again, crossing the L,ille high
way to the line of bushes that marked the
water's edge. No sentinel challenged him
he waded the ford below the wrecked stone
bridge t-limbed the bank opposite and
Started across a wet meadow, beyond which
the muddy road to Paris. Half way
lister Thhe rn,i"'"w he halted again to
listen. The unseen person was wading the
he was r"'jl'.'.h"a' him in the water, now
ne was climbing the bank; the bushes
crackled; a footstep fell on the gravel.
wal'ed. peering through the
gloom. He could see nothing; the silence
was absolute. Whoever was fallowing him
darkness ?Ut th'rt' ?"rao1*here in the
.A unnerved. Ha re wood turned again
and hastened through the meadow to the
highway. When he reached the roil he
l p *'? '',ut he <he mud
beneath h,s ,VeI anfl started on
In a moment he heard the footsteps of his
follower, not behind now, but in front? be
tween him and Paris. He stopped abrupt
n r"^' his revoIvfr. A minute passed
?>tfal7ch T"'r lhrre ram* a soft
MonsieurV' a Whlnln* ?ice:
?r" you7'" !,ai,J Harewood sharply
The Mouse, monsieur." ="?rpij.
In his astonishment the revolver almost
fell from Ha re woods hand. "What the
"In whv t'hU id?'^ her'";" "* demanded?
likea " are you s,"'aking about
you ju-ft n^'*er' I nearly shot
.ulkv l'rept u*? to Harewood as a
?u k>. Wcious cur comes to his punishmen'
Answer, repeated Harewood why ire
you following me?" y are
MoimS*"* ' 8Ur" U Was you'" ?n??tered the |
*etr,hat? Why dW yoU c"me to Le Bour- I
"I don't know." said the Mouse sullenlv
tien^e*" 8 amazem,'nt turned'to Impa
?ertainlv diV"^ anaw<'r m**" he said; "you
?ompany.'^ 1 ccme tor love of my
th"' w" exactly the reason why the
Mouse had con.e. The instinct of a sav
tlon that t"S mu*ieT- the strange attrac
the ^al,r^Lur,,h?Ura8'' have for
dwarfed it fell&T feeU ^fb? 'hat
!?5SI"H'ffssf??r?
Har wood understood this at last and ft
touched him?not that the d 1
I" He could not hiv*e e2Xn?dtt"
n if he had himself comprehended th*'"
reason of his seekln* Harewood All ?
knew was this-that he missed'
IgSjto ?*??
S diatarS" ?CSt' forcibl>' transported in
haunta H?r?? v?3 Up aeain in Us old
the haunt Sr m? compan>" had become
to it! Mouse. So he came back
starved creature was nearly
^e^be^^rroa^Tnd^ve1^ ffi
last morsel of bread and meat.
Imbecile. he whispered, while the
House gnawed the crust, squatting on his
I Pickets anvwhes; "'here may be Prussian
you kno^ nr- s the flelds" Dldnt
^ es, said the Mouse, tranquilly "there's
a picket of Uhlans Just ahead." ' b
? u-L7a-^S,!arVing news for Harewood.
"About ? dem,anded. under his breath.
ni.VH th t kilometer over that way," re
the 80^the^?tUSeHJerkln8r hls tl1umb toward
?hw ^ , e was Koing to add some
thing more when the sudden tinkle of a
horse s snod foot striking stones broke out
hiru et ",'5 ? They crushed low in the
now I J i Th? rt>ad was "ehter
trailing . i fn r?? Passed, a horseman
m tin- iS. i, te r,ode UI) mounted
on wirj little horses, all carrying tall
A^Hl?at rattled in tl>eir saddle boots.
As Harewood strained his eyes, the moon
broke out overhead?a battered, deformed
moon, across whose pale disk the tlvin"
V w hirled like shredded smoke.
^.f"tlural voice began in German:
"here are the scouts?eh?"
Then in the moonlight Harewood saw
?rtyhecaarb.nSetaUffer-,Clad in '"e uniform
or tne carbineers, salute the Uhlan officer
and hand him a thin packet of papers The
atTr^h'llf u? trembled >"?' a terrier
at a rat hoie: Harewood clutched his arm
and stared at the group in the road.
ti.n'th .na.V ,brJ,, f parie-v' a word of cau
ard' k hLan.s wheeled their horses
fX, 5.p back toward Paris, and the
two traitorous carbineers struck oft across
the meadow toward Le Bourget. then made
river v??r' and. folI?wed the bank of the
r!v?[' ^ery cautiously Harewood crept out
haJ diedaaway.en ^ *a"?P ?f the L"hlai'3
c,H^t^?us? alooA hesido him, an open
hls flst- nostrils quivering
ln the freshening wind. quivering
"WhHW^B,anCfd at the knife and said:
"hat are you going to do? Cut your wav
tool!" C?me baCk to Le Bourget. you
,,"a!? way back across the wet meadow
Speyer?"3e asked: "And lf we overtake
?. ^re y?u the public executioner'" said
!tef,reyo?u?"- Sharplj'" -Put "P thatrknlfea!I
onTlnsifencee C,?Sed h'S kn,fe and P'^ded
Bourke 'a^d ''^"a^wood asked him about
. and Hilde and Yolette Rut ho
heTad' eft TZ tha" ""ewood dW for
morning after HarewoS's^depart'in-'e 3 and
since then had been following^ ?n a"d
th^?ilol'lftteraSanTakln& a8 they forded
iiltn -r and answered the sentrv-s
Sunday^the^/th6 of' M WUS
q.mHu.r i I n of October?a desolate
through thf dr?late 'and- They hurried
Iiirougn the main street, where sleenv
ets 'alongret^arriv'1K '? Jepl,lct' the pick
reached the church,"whtre a'groip^of offi"
je?lont00<1 ?" the Steps ln attitudes of de
fil'eCnf i,artin'" cried Harewood. "send a
h m SdthlAOUrf' "5 the steps and led
h ----
fhoeseSpHabr?Uy h'to h^mudd?
partly becaoL I P""? ^If-?nhdenc.
".'j? fhis iiresenf'rVoslT/onT' ^ imp?rt"
Hr. J"1"1 an al"tiHery officer "the car
SST?ft ^
. defeated Harewood.'
Blanc-Mesnll?* th<? Hver bank <?ward
pSSSri
the same moment a shell strnrir a h*
, cpposite and burst truck a house
W S,f?.bs ?
Th'i'l5 r "?? 'ZSS ?'5w
wood s coat,'onet8hifa|dfngthlst?aceln HarC"
glnghtLMoVsed^oCarlhi,uaaryeW:^d-.draK:
prj?rr3 za
Harewood climbed the stairs, groped aboi/t'
tUo",ahetenrlf,httN-8?rIe' and ^"htmsel'f
. I North, east and west the
thT ni ?( Prussia" guns curled up from
the plain. In the north vast masses o?
troops were moving toward Le Bourget
?ong ranged ^ the 'be eaTai
saw'<that"a' th?e fi^at gVnce^He L^t^
Z'rench pickets being chased back into
Le Bourget by Uhlans, and he heard the
drumming of a mitrailleuse ln the west end
of the village where columns of smoke
arose from a burning house. Far away in
the gray morning light the fortress of the
east towered, circled with floating mist
through which the sheeted flashes of the
dtr c"oud Ilk? llfe'ht"lng behind a thun
And now began, under the guns of St
Den,a and Aubervilfcers-almoa? under the
ribleS n Par?s?that first of a series of ter
rible blows destined to reduce France to a
too uitrLbL phy?,cal condition too painful,
,,r VI k describe. For the storming
of Le Bourget made the commune a ce?.
attemDts"at alth"u?h ,he se?nd and third
attempts at anarchy were to prove abor
,i'.V fourth insurrection was inevitable
and the political triumph of M. Thiers as'
sured its success.
gJt" itJwl,?e ^l8erab!e village of Le Bour
get, it was already doomed. The black
masses of the Prussian guard gathered like
?hlen^P? iln the north, and swept across
the plain in three columns. From Duirnv
l<ZjT~'b'0n- fT B'anc-MesmluXy
t-ouied down upon Bourget, firing as
they came on. Hight through the maTn
street they burst, hurling back the Mobiles
sweeping the barricade and turning again
o hatter down doors and w.ndowsVhere
of "(he 11 blinds' the soldiers of the 128th
?h, ^ " .wefe "ring frenziedly. From
the slate roof where he crouched Harewood
saw the Mobiles give way and run In a
minute the interior of the village awarmed
with panic-stricken soldiera. The P^s
aians shot them as they ran The sheila
asrwfbrOUh*h them and whined them a^ut
aa winds hurl gayly tinted autumn leaves.
A buttery, a mass of wrecked llmbera, dy
ing horses and smashed guns choked the
ban^,rh8%a,IT Behlnd " ? company of
the lJ8th fought like wildcats until the
Prussian Queen Elizabeth Regiment" took
toeu,eTastthmananl' T* bay?"^ them
to tne last man. And now, from the west
Sthe"dp reKlmenU swept Into Le Bour
get the Emperor l-rancls" and the "Em
peror Alexandre" regiments of the Prus
guard royal?driving before them an
Une?m"n "ri."' "oblles- Franctireurs and
miesm.n. Th? massacre was frightful
The Prussian bayonets awciit the streets
aj scythes swing through ripe grass. South
and east the village was on Are. In the
rTn r M 8 ha/ended- and the Uhlans
fvP J , 'r.cm parpen to garden, spearing
the frightened fugitives and shouting
Hourra. Hourra! Mlt una 1st Gott!" In
'bt,n"rfb' however the 128th litre regiment
still held out. The men had barricaded
themselves in the stone houses lining both
sides of the main street, and were firing
from the windows into the thick of the
Germans. The street swam with smoke
through which the Prusiaans dashtd again
and again, only to stagger back under the
blaze of rifle flame.
Harewood, on the roof, was a mark now
for the German rlfleiren; bullet after bullet
thwacked against the chimney behind
which he 'clung. He waited his chance,
then crawled along the slates and dropped
into the scuttle where the Mouse stood
speechless with terror.
It was time that he left. A shell, burst
ing in the cellar, had ignited the stored
"RIGHT THHOKiH THE MAIN
fagots, and the first floor of the house had
already begun to burn fiercely.
"Come," he said, "we must make a dash
for the church!" And he seized the Mouse,
dragged him down the smoking stairs to
the street door, and out over the cobble
stones, where a group or officers and a
couple of dozen voltigeurs of the guard
were running toward the church, pursued
by Uhlans.
I'p the steps and into the dark church
they tumbled pellmell. Harewood and the
Mouse among them. They closed the great
doors, bolted and barricaded them with
ber.ches, pews and heavy stone slabs from
the floor. Already the voltigeurs were fir
ing through the stained glass across the
street; the officers climbed beside them and
en ptied their revolvers ir.to the masses o?
Prussians that surged around the church
in a delirium of fury.
Harewood, looking over the shoulder of
an officer, saw the Prussian pioneers dig
ging through the walls of the houses across
the street, saw the German soldiers pour
into the breach, saw them at the windows
bayoneting the remnants of the 128th and
flinging the wounded from the windows.
From house to house the pioneers opened
the walls. It was necessary to exterminate
the garrison of each separate cottage, for
none of them surrendered.
The house that adjoined the church was
swarming with Prussian infantry. They
fired Into the church windows, shouting,
"Hourra! Hourra! Preussen! No quarter!"
The officer next to Harewood was killed
outright. Two others fell back to the stone
floor below. At the next volley five volti
geurs were killed or wounded. A blast of
flame entered the church as a grenade ex
ploded outside a window.
The Mouse, in an agony of fright, was
running round and round the church, like
a caged creature, looking for some chink
or cranny of escape. A soldier was shot
dead beside him, and the Mouse stumbled
over the dead man with a shriek. That
stumble, however, almost pitched him
through the back of the east confessional,
which In reality was a concealed door lead
ing directly to the rear of the church. S"he
Mouse thrust his muzzle out, saw a gar
den. a dismantled arbor and no Prussians.
His first instinct drove him to immediate
flight. He crawled through the door on
hands and knees, and wriggled Into the
arbor. Then came his second instinct?to
"He Sat on the Altar Steps."
tell Harewood. Why it was that the Mouse
crept back Into the church at the risk of
his miserable life nobody perhaps can tell.
It is true that frightened animals, when
unmolested, often return to a companion In
trouble.
Harewood was standing by a high stain
ed-glass window doing a thing that meant
death if captured; he was firing a rifle at
the Germans.
How he. a non-oomtatant, a cool-headed
youth, who seldom needlessly risked his
sk;n, could do such a thing might only be~
explained by himself. In case' of capture
he would not t>e harmed If he minded his
own business. But he knew very well that
a swift and merciless Justice was ser/eri
out for those civilians who fired on German
troop*. \et there he stood, firing with the
**?t?? mere handful left now out of the
thirty. Two or three officers still kept
their feet, half a doien .soldiers were yet
firing into the 2d Dfrisiop of the Prussian
Guard Royal, numtbeningrnearly 15,000 men.
Outside the shattered windows dirty fin
gers clutched the atone, coping. Already
hel meted heads bobbed up here and there,
inflamed Teutonic faces- leered into the
church. There cams, the "scrape of scaling
ladders against the iwall; worse still, the
rumble of artillery in tl?e street close at
hand. i
One of the half doaen survivors glanced
around the church.* It ilwas a butcher's
shambles. Then from the street came a
sbout: "Our cannon are here! Surrender!"
"Surrender?" repeated Harewood, va
cantly. Then, as heisaw a wounded crea
ture stagger up from the floor holding out
a white handkerchief, he! realized what he
had done. Stunned, he stepped back to '.he
altar as the firing died away. He saw the
great doors open; he saw the street out
side, wet and muddy, choked with throngs
of helmeted soldiers, all staring up at the
door; he saw a cannon limbered up and
dragged away, the mounted cannoneers
looking back at the portal where three
dozen French soldiers had held in check
15,000 Germans.
A soldier, streaming with blood, rose
from the floor of the church and stumbled
blindly out to the steps; two more carried
a wounded officer between them on a chair.
Then, as the German troops parted and
the wounded man was borne out and down
STREET THEY HIRST."
the steps. Harewood felt a tug at his elbow
and heard a whine:
"Monsieur?there's a hole!"
The next instant he stepped behind the
confessional, crawled through the dwarf
door and ran for his life.
CHAPTER XXI.
The ttlftt October.
All day Sunday Hilde sat at her window,
looking out over the gray landscape beyond
the fortifications. Few of the forts were
firing. At long intervals the majestic re
verberations from Mont Valerien shook the
heavy air. The southern forts were mute.
At times she fancied tl^ai she could hear
cannonading in the ?north, far away to
ward L,e Uourget, bilt when she held her
breath to listen the., beefing of her own
heart was more audible. ? -
She slept badly that night, dreaming that
Harewood was dead, and she awoke In an
ecstasy of terror, calling his name. Yolette
came to her and comforted her, curling r.p
close to her in the chilly bed. Cut she
could not sleep, and when at length Yo
lette lay beside her, slumbering with a
smile on her lips, Hilde slipped from the
bed and climbed the dark stairs to Hare
wood's empty room. It was something to
be in his room?it helped her to look out
Into the darkness. For he was somewhere
there In the darkness.
Shivering, she sat down by the window.
On the fortifications below the unwieldy
bulk of the Prophet loomed up, tilted sky
ward, a shapeless monster In Its water
proof covering. Rockets were rising slow
ly from Mont Valerien. In the cast the
sky lowered, tinged with a somber lurid
light, perhaps the reflection of jome ham
let fired by the Prussians, burning alone at
midnight.
A wet wind blew the curtains back from
the open window. Her little naked feet
were numb with cold. The never-ending
desire to see his room, his clothes, his bed
again, came over her. She dared not light
a candle?It was forbidden t;o those who
lived on the ramparts?so she rosj and
passed along each wall, touching the ob
jects that had been once worn by
him. She knew them already by touch,
his gray coat, his riding Jacket, his hats
and caps and whips and spurs. She rear
ranged the brushes and toilet art'.cles on
his bureau, her light touch caressed his
books and papers and pens where !hey lay
on the little table. Then she went to the
bed and buried her head on the pillows,
crying herself to sleep?a sleep full of
vague shapes, a restless sleep thai, stoic
from her heavy lids at dawn, leaving her
to quench the fever in her eyes with tears
again.
It was the last day of October. Bourke
Wd gone away to the city before break
fast to verify an ominous rumor concern
ing Metz published in a single Journal of
the day before, and vigorously denied by
the official journal.
Yolette and Red Riding Hood wore in the
cellar storing more cases of canned vege
tables and mourning the loss of Schehera
zade, who had been sent on Saturday to
the zoological gardens In the Jardln des
Plantes. Bourke had insisted on it. Food
was becoming alarmingly scarce. There
was no fresh meat to be had except horse
meat, and even that was to be rationed
the first week in November.
The lioness had been carted ofT sorely
against her will. She snarled and growled
and paced her cage with glowing eyes, In
which the last trace of gentleness and af
fection had been extinguished.
Hilde, deep In her own trouble, scnrcoly
heeded this new one. Scheherazade had
been changing in disposition ever since the
first cannonading. Sullen, furtive, she
haunted the depths of the garden, ignor
ing Hilde's advances, until Yolette be^an
to fear the creature. i So now, when it was
necessary to send the llQpess away, Hilde
said nothing, and Yolette was not sorry.
Mehemet Ali, the part'ot.'however, screech
ed his remonstrance, Whieh amused Bourke,
because Scheherazade- wa? the first living
thing that the vicioya oH bird had ever
shown any fondness for. .
So the lioness was packed off to bo fed
by the government, and';l3ourke improved
that opportunity by sending Mehemet All
and the monkey al?p, .which made two
mouths less to feed In. cue of famine.
Down In the cellar Yolette stood, pllinc
tinned fruit and ve&etsroles against the
division wall, aided By Rted Riding Hood.
At the child's request Yd?tte was varying
the monotony of their 'toil by telling a
fairy story. Red Riding Hood listened
gravely as Yolette continued:
"And the princess wafted and waited for
her dear prince, who had gone to fight the
were-wolf. And he did not return."
"I know." said the child, "what you
mean."
"What?" asked* Yolette, absently.
"The prince Is M. Harewood and the
princess is Mile. Hilde."
"And the were-wolf?" said Yolette, faint
ly amused.
"The were-wolf ? that Is the Prussian
army."
Yolette's face sobered.
"The Prusjans are very cruel and very
fierce?like the wtre-wolf," she said.
"Come, little one, we must go to the kit
chen."
At the top of the cellar stairs they met
Bourke. His serious face changed when he
saw Yolette, but his expression had not es
caped her. ...
"Breakfast Is ready," she said quietly.
"I hare not ret breakfasted myself. Shall
we go In?"
She led the way Into the dining room and
closed the door. He put hia arms around
her and looked Into her clear eyes.
"It is bad news?" she said slowly.
"Tee, Yolette."
"Not?not about M. Harewocd?"
"No?I hope not."
"Tell me, C?cll."
"Met! has surrendered; Bazalne and his
army are prisoners."
Tears filled her eyes.
"What else, Cecil? There Is something
else." , .
"Yes, there is. Le Bourget was carried
by assault yesterday forenoon."
She sat down by the table, nervously
twisting the cloth. He took a chair oppo
site, resting his chin on his hands.
"Jim was there," he said, after a silence.
"Then?then?he "
"Yes, he will come back to Paris, because
the sortie has failed to pierce the German
lines."
"He should have come back last night,
Eaid Yolette.
Bourke nodded silently.
"And because he has not yet returned
you are worried." continued Yolette. Her
hand stole across the table and his own
tightened over It.
"He has been delayed?that's all." said
Bourke, making an effort to shake off his
depression.
"We will say nothing to Hilde about it.'
"No, not to Hilde," murmured Yolette.
Red Riding Hood entered bearing the
breakfast covers. Hilde came in a moment
later and looked anxiously at Bourke.
He smiled cheerily and began to read
from the morning paper aloud how M.
Thiers, who had been trotting around all
ever Europe to enlist the sympathies of the
great powers in behalf of France, had just
returned from Vienna arul had entered
Paris with Bismarck's kind permission, it
seems that M. Thiers had sounded England,
Russia, Austria and Italy and found them
in accord with himself that an armistice
should suspend hostilities for a while until
a national assembly could be convened and
terms of peace discussed with Bismarck
and his sentimental sovereign. Hilde scarce
Iv listened. Yolette nibbled her toast and
tried to understand a diplomatic muddle
that needed older brains than hers to solve.
Outside in the street ihe newsboys were
crying, "Extra! Surrender of Bazalne'. Fall
of Metz! Terrible disaster at Le Bourgei!
Extra! Full list of the dead and wounded!"
Bourke tried to keep Hilde's attention: she
smiled at him and held out an extra that
she had already bought and devoured.
"If he was at Le Bourget." she said, "he
was not hurt. See! Here are the names."
She kept her eyes on Bourke as he read
the long columns of dead, wounded and
missing. When he finished she said:
"Will he come back to Paris now?"
"1 hope so," said Bourke cheerily. "Per
haps the Mouse is with him. Heavens!
What a mess Trochu made of It at L>e
Bourget!- It seems that General Bellemare
was absent in Paris when the Prus
sians fell oil Le Bourget. It's somebody's
fault?that's clear?and very safe to say,"
he added with an attempt at gayety that
deceived no one.
Red Riding Hood, who now always held
herself straight as an arrow when people
spoke of soldiers?for had not her father
died In uniform??said in a clear voice: "if
the Prussians are in Le Bourget?are we
not in Paris?"
"Good for you!" said Bourke heartily.
"Let Metz fall, let Strassbourg tumble
down, let Le Bourget blow up, we are In
Paris, two young ladies, a young, man and
Red Riding Hood. Vive la France!"
They all smiled a little. Bourke went out
laughing, quite confident he had dispelled
some of the gloom. It was raining again.
He buttoned his overcoat close to the throat
and hurried away on his dally visit to the
war office.
The streets he traversed were filled with
people, the Place Saint-Sulplce was black
with a mob shouting and gesticulating,
"Down with the ministry! Resign!" It was
Impossible to approach the war office. The
Place de 1'Hotel de Ville, the square In front
of the Louvre, the gardens of the Luxem
bourg were swarming with excited crowds.
Indignant at the ministry's suggestion of
an armistice, which they considered pre
liminary to the surrender of Paris?furious
at the news from Metz and hysterical over
the disaster of Le Bourget.
At 8 o'clock that morning the carbineers
had marched Into Paris, spreading the re
port that Le Bourget had been betrayed to
i the Prussians, that they had escaped after
prodigies of heroism and that the govern
ment was responsible for everything.
Bourke, hoisting himself upon the railing
of the Luxembourg, looked out over the
vast throng toward a window, where,
hedged In by the bayonets of the carbin
eers. Buckhurst sat, pale and impassible,
beside Flourens. Mortier had Just finished
a venomous oration, and Flourens, booted
and spurred, had risen and was facing the
mob. His handsome face grew red with
excitement, his gestures became more vio
lent as the roar of approbation Increased.
"Vive Flourens! Down with the govern
ment!" The speech was a passionate plea
for the commune and a pledge that the
city would never surrender.
"What Is this senile ministry that It
should seek peace for us who demand war!
war! war! What was Its price when
Metz was sold, when Le Bourget went up
in flames? The day will come when the
government must answer to the commune,
and the day of atonement shall be terri
ble."
The uproar was frightful. The carbin
eers discharged their rifles In the air and
shouted, "Vive la commune!"
A rriob of National Guards cheered them
vociferously. In the midst of Jhe din Buck
hurst rose. Slowly his white, impassive
face bent to meet the sea of upturned faces.
The dr'ims were silenced, the explosion of
rifles ceased, the harsh yells died away.
"The ministers," he said. In a low voice,
"are at the Hotel de Vllle. The govern
ment must resign. The commune Is pro
claimed. Who will follow me to the Hotel
de Vllle?"
There came a thundering shout, "For
ward!" The throngs surged, swung back,
and burst Into cheers as the carbineers,
drums rolling, bayonets slanting, wheeled
out Into the Boulevard St. Michel.
Bourke followed the crowd, now almost
entirely composed of National Guards, mo
biles, franc-tireurs and swarms of ruffians
from Belleville. As they marched they bel
lowed the "Carmagnole," the sinister
blasts of the buglers, the startling crash
of drums, the trample and chouting com
bined In one hideous pandemonium of
deafening sound. As they poured through
the Rue de Rivoll and flooded the square
of the Hotel de Ville, Bourke saw General
Trochu come out on the marble steps
and wave back the leaders, who were al
ready smashing In the iron gate.
Buckhurst ran up the steps and faced
the governor of Paris. There was a sharp
exchange of words, a menacing gesture
from Buckhurst, then he shoved the gov
ernor aside. In a moment the yelling pack
swarmed into the splendid building. The
ministers fled to the Salle <tu Consell and
barricaded the door. Flourens set his car
bineers to guard it. Buckhurst let the mob
loose throughout the great marble building
and thft,plllage began. The splendid rooms
were looted, glided mirrors smashed, fur
nature mutilated, walls and frescoes torn
to atoms. '
(To be continued.)
HI* Hypothesis.
From the New York Weekly.
Mexican?"Big ea?thquake today."
American tourist?"Was there one? I
didn't notice It."
Mexican?"Not you see zee people rush
out from the churches?"
Tourist?"Oh. yes, I saw that: but I
thought maybe the contribution box was
going 'round."
THE SKIES IN JULY
Many Points of Interest to Amateur
'Astronomers.
TO LOCATE THE CONSTELLATIONS
Classifying the Stars According to
Their Color.
POSITION OF THE PLANETS
Written for Tie E?mlns Star.
j HE GREAT DIP
per will be found at
9 o'clock this even
ing high In the
northwest. Follow
ing a continuation of
the curve of Its han
dle we shall strike
Arcturus, well up to
ward the zenith a
little north of west.
At the same altitude
In the east Is the
equally brilliant
i Vega, In the Lyre.
Between these two stars and nearly over
head are Hercules end the Northern Crown.
In the south may be seen the sparkling
array of stars which form the Scorpion,
Sagittarius and the lower part of Ophi
uchus. In the west Leo-Is setting. In
the east are the Eagle and the Swan.
The Lyre may easily be located by means
of Its brilliant star Vega, or Alpha Lyrae.
The constelltHion has the form of a trl
rrgle, with blunted angles, each of Its cor
ners being marked by a pair of stars.
Although small, it contains several Inter
esting objects. To begin with the star
Vtga, this is one of the brightest three
stars in the northern hemisphere, its rivals
being Arcturus, just pointed out. and Ca
l-ella. cow below the horizon. It Is diffi
cult to say which of the three stars is the
brightest, because of their difference in
color. Vega being bluish-white. CapelU cf
a pale straw color, Arcturus of a decided
orange-yellow.
According to Color.
Stars are now classified according to
their colors, or rather?what amounts to
pearly the same thing?according to the
characteristics of their light when analyz
ed with the spectroscope. The white stars
?known as "Sirian" stats, Slrius being the
irost illustrious example?form the first
class. They are t'he most numerous of the
stars, more than or.e-half of the stars be
ing of this color. Their "spectra" give
evidence that they are surrounded by ex
tensive atmospheres of hydrogen, an.l they
are probably the hottest of the celestial
bodies as well as intrinsically the most
brilliant. They are regarded by astrono
irers generally as In an early condition of
world life?as juvenile suns, less adva.iced
111 development than our own luminary.
The yellow stars come next In the order of
number and fflgn the second class. The
spectra of thes?Stars very closely resemble
that of the sun. being crossed like it by
dark lines, which are now known to indi
cate that their enveloping atmospheres un
made up of various gases and vapors of
metals, hydrogen being one of the gases,
but less abundant than in the Sirinn stars.
Arcturus is a fine example of a "solar"
star. Its sprctrum indicates that It is
a sun in essentially the same condition as
our sun. though it is undoubtedly tn
enormously larger body, anil v.-e inay
Imagine, without violating probability,
that, like our sun. It is surroun.l^d with
dark planetary worlds. As for Vega. !t is
not so easy to conjecture whit would be
found to be the condition of things around
It, could we approach It near enough <0
discover.
A Multiple Star.
Close beside Vega are two stars of the
fifth magnitude, which form with it a small
equal-sided trlajigle. The more northerly
of the two is Eysilon Lyrae. sometimes
called the "Double-double." Even with an
opera glass one can see that it consists of
two stars very close together. Indeed, It
Is an exceedingly pretty opera-glass object.
If a telescope which magnifies not less
than one hundred times be directed to this
star, it will be found that each of its com
ponents also is double and a fifth star wi.l
be brought into view. A more powerful in
strument will show two other sti rs still
very faint ones?midway between the two
seen through the opera glass. That is. this
star Epsilon Lyrae. which to the naked
eye looks no different from other stars of
Its briiriancy, tarns out to be a multiple
star consisting of not less than seven com
ponents. It Is said that Sir William Hers
chel, whose eyesight was remarkably keen,
could see this star "elongated" with the
naked eye. ? ' , .
The two quite conspicuous stars which
lie at the southern corner of the Lyre are
Beta and Gamma Lyrae. Beta?the upper,
as the constellation is now posed?is vari
able, ranging from the third to the fouith
magnitude end going through its chang-s
in a period of thirteen days. It is par
ticularly Interesting to astronomers from
the fact that it has two maxima, or condi
tions of greatest brilliancy, and two mini
ma, at one of which it Is less brilliant than
at the other. This is a good star for the
amateur star-gazer to keep an eye upon.
Midway between these two stars is the
famous King Nebula of Lyra, an object,
however, which requires for seeing It more
powerful instrumental aid than the reader
la likely to have. It appears In a telescope
as a thick and slightly elliptical ring of
nebulous light, which Is quite suggestive of
?ne of those circular life-preservers that
ane may se * lashed to the rail of . a steam
t>oat, ready for an emergency. The nebula
has frequently been photographed, and it
Is found to be thickly peppered with small
itare.
Rapid Moveaseat.
As was mentioned last month, the "ape*
>f the sun's way"?the point In the heavens
toward which the "sun, the earth and all of
is ari traveling in space?has recently been
ocated by one astronomer In this, constel
ation. According to this astronomer, our
listance from tho Lyre is diminishing at
he rate of 1 BO,000,000 miles a year.
Beneath the Lyre may now be seen the
Bwan (Cygnus). Its five brighter stars are
arranged In tbe I oral of a crow, and. In
deed, the constellation is popularly known
as the Northern Cross. The northernmost
of these stars is Alpha Cygnl, known alsj
as Deneb, the ?Tail." It is much the
brightest of the five and is sometimes class
ed as a star of the first magnitude. The
remaining four are between the second and
third magnitudes. L>eneb is in the Swan's
tail, as its name indicates, and it also
marks the head of the Cross. The lieak
of the Swan?foot of the Cross?is marked
by the star Beta, on the extreme right.
The arms of the Cross form the Swans
wings. The Swan lies in the thick of the
Milky Way and is. for this reason, excep
tionally rich in stars, visible or invisible to
the naked eye.
Beta Cygni is a colored double star, wide
enough to be separated easily with a small
telescope. Its components are yellow and
deep blue. It is the most splendid object of
its kind in the entire heavens.
Of I'nrtlculnr IntereNt.
A dotted circle on the planisphere marks
the position of a star which, though of only
the tifth magnitude, has probably been
talked about more than any other star in
the heavens, unless it is Sirius, namely til
Cygni, famous as the first of the stars to
surrender the secret of its distance, or
rather as the first of which this discovery
was announced, by Bessel some sixty
years ago. Note the position of the star
with relation to the head and lert
arm of the Cross. A small triangle of star.*
will be found here, which an opera glass
will bring out very prettily. The star in
question is the uppermost of these thres
stars. Its color is deep orange.
The nearest of the stars, so far as ts
now known, is Alpha Centauri, a brilliant
first magnitude star in the southern hemis
phere, situated too far south to be se^n in
the mean latitude of the I'nited States. Its
distance from us is three and one-third
"light years." This star (>1 Cygni comes
next, at a distance, according to the latest
determination, of something over forty
million-million miles, or. in round num
bers. times that of th?* sun?
a distance traversed by light in about
seven years. It is a double star, con
sisting of two orange-colored compo
nents of about equal magnitude?a pretty
object for a smail telescope. The star's
distance from us being known, the distance
apart of its two components can be calcu
lated. and the striking fact is brought out
that, though to the naked eye and even
through a field glass the star appears sin
gle, the two suns of which it consists are
over 5,'HJO million miles apart.
The IMnnh*.
Mercury has been an evening star since
June 30. After the middle of the month it
may be looked for near the horizon, a little
north of west, twenty minutes or a half
hour after sunset.
Venus has brightened during the past
month, and, though she has not yet at
tained to her full brilliancy, she is a splen
did object in the western sky during the
early evening hours. She is still above the
horizon at 9 o'clock.
Mars is moving rapidly eastward. He
has just entered Taurus, and is nearing the
Pleiades. This planet is still a morning
star, rising shortly before 1 a_m.
Jupiter is still a magnificent evening star,
the rival of Venus in brilliancy. He sets at
about 11 p.m.
Saturn, in the Scorpion some five degrees
northward of Antares, is now south at J*
o'clock. Saturn is considerably brighter
than Antares; the planet resembles Arc
turus both in brilliancy and color?orange
yellow. It is now a fine object in the tele
scope. the rings being "open" nearly to
their widest. It is still retrograding?mov
ing westward?slowly.
Uranus is a trifie over one degree south
and west of the star Beta Scorpii?the
uppermost of three third magnitude stars
seen at the right of Antares and Saturn.
It can be seen easily with an opera glass.
Like Saturn, it is retrograding
Neptune. In Taurus, rires at about .1 a.m.
Today, July 2. the earth is in aphelion;
that is, at its greatest distance from the
sun. We are now miles farther
from the sun than we were on the 1st of
January.
?
A BftMolcM Appeal.
From Life.
Mr. Meeker?"But, Phllipena, you don't
go the right way to work with me. You
should appeal to the good and noble in
me." ^ ,
Mrs. Meeker?"You wish me. then, to be
silent."
ivi woman is
healthy i
' m rfTIl - -bust If!
7 ' U is *ene
tiV * v ? /rvi of 1
VjV'j ignorance
The country
woman is usually
and ro
she isn't
generally be
" her own
ignorance or neg
lect. She is a
ihard woi king wo
Mnan. but her sur
roundings are
healthy, and un
, TV" leas shc ha* some
hi local weakness,
# '{ she bears her
' heavy burden
llll without serious
inconvenience.
The trouble with too many country wo
men is that they do not sufficiently realize
the supreme importance of keeping healthy
in a womanly way. A woman's general
health cannot be good if she suffers from
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It cures all weakness, disorders and dis
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the little new-comer's health and an ampl?
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and many of them have cheerfully permit
ted their experiences, names, addresses
aad photographs to be printed in Doctor
Pierce's Common Sense Medical Adviser.
The "Favorite Prescription" is sold by all
good medicine stores, and * paper-covered
'Medical Adviser "of 1008 pages is mailed
free on receipt of at one-cent stataps to
cover cost of mailing. Cloth-bound 31
stamps. Address Dr. R. V. Pierce, Buf
falo, V. Y.
Mrs. Frank Camfield. at Bast Dickinson,
Franklin Co., If Y? writes: " I deem it my
doty to ixpi.ss ?y deep, heart-felt gratitude to
Cm for having been the means of restoring me
health. My treaties were of the womb-in
flammatory aad bearing-down sensations."
Don't suffer from constipation. Keep
the body clean inside as well as outside.
Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets cure con
stipation and biliousness. They never
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