The Plébiscite; or, A Miller's Story of the War

by Erckmann-Chatrian

  CHAPTER IV

  The day following this declaration, Cousin George, who could never lookupon anything cheerfully, started for Belfort. He had ordered somewine at Dijon, and he wished to stop it from coming. It was the 22dJuly. George only returned five days later, on the 27th, having hadthe greatest difficulty in getting there in time.

  During these five days I had a hard time. Orders were coming everyhour to hurry on the reserves and the Gardes Mobiles, and to cancelrenewable furloughs; the gendarmerie had no rest. The Governmentgazette was telling us of the enthusiasm of the nation for the war. Itwas pitiable; can you imagine young men sitting quietly at home,thinking: "In five or six months I shall be exempt from service, I maymarry, settle, earn money," all at once, without either rhyme orreason, becoming enthusiastic to go and knock over men they knownothing of, and to risk their own bones against them. Is there ashadow of good sense in such notions?

  And the Germans! Will any one persuade us that they were coming fortheir own pleasure--all these thousands of workmen, tradesmen,manufacturers, good citizens, who were living in peace in their townsand their villages? Will any one maintain that they came and drew upin lines facing our guns for their private satisfaction, with anofficer behind them, pistol in hand, to shoot them in the back if theygave way? Do you suppose they found any amusement in that? Come now,was not his excellency Monsieur Ollivier the only man who went intowar, as he himself said, "with a light heart?" He was safe to comeback, he was: he had not much to fear; he is quite well; he made afortune in a very short time! But the lads of our neighborhood,Mathias Heitz, Jean Baptiste Werner, my son Jacob, and hundreds ofothers, were in no such hurry: they would much rather have stayed intheir villages.

  Later on it was another matter, when you were fighting for yourcountry; then, of course, many went off as a matter of duty, withoutbeing summoned, whilst Monsieur Ollivier and his friends were hiding,God knows where! But at that particular moment when all ourmisfortunes might have been averted, it is a falsehood to say that wewent enthusiastically to have ourselves cut to pieces for a pack ofintriguers and stage-players, whom we were just beginning to find out.

  When we saw our son Jacob, in his blouse, his bundle under his arm,come into the mill, saying, "Now, father, I am going; you must notforget to pull up the dam in half an hour, for the water will be up:"when he said this to me, I tell you my heart trembled; the cries of hismother in the room behind made my hair stand on end. I could havewished to say a few words, to cheer up the lad, but my tongue refusedto move; and if I had held his excellency, M. Ollivier, or hisrespected master, by the throat in a corner, they would have made aqueer figure: I should have strangled them in a moment! At last Jacobwent.

  All the young men of Sarrebourg, of Chateau Salins, and ourneighborhood, fifteen or sixteen hundred in number, were at Phalsbourgto relieve the 84th, who at any moment might expect to be called away,and who were complaining of their colonel for not claiming the foremostrank for his regiment. The officers were afraid of arriving too late;they wanted promotion, crosses, medals: fighting was their trade.

  What I have said about enthusiasm is true; it is equally true of theGermans and the French; they had no desire to exterminate one another.Bismarck and our _honest man_ alone are responsible: at their door liesall the blood that has been shed.

  Cousin George returned from Belfort on the 27th, in the evening. Ifancy I still see him entering our room at nightfall; Gredel hadreturned to us the day before, and we were at supper, with the tin lampupon the table; from my place, on the right, near the window, I wasable to watch the mill-dam. George arrived.

  "Ah! cousin, here you are back again! Did you get on all right?"

  "Yes, I have nothing to complain of," said he, taking a chair. "Iarrived just in time to countermand my order; but it was only by goodluck. What confusion all the way from Belfort to Strasbourg! thetroops, the recruits, the guns, the horses, the munitions of war, thebarrels of biscuits, all are arriving at the railway in heaps. Youwould not know the country. Orders are asked for everywhere. Thetelegraph-wires are no longer for private use. The commissaries don'tknow where to find their stores, colonels are looking for theirregiments, generals for their brigades and divisions. They are seekingfor salt, sugar, coffee, bacon, meat, saddles and bridles--and they aregetting charts of the Baltic for a campaign in the Vosges! Oh!" criedmy cousin, uplifting his hands, "is it possible? Have we come tothat---we! we! Now it will be seen how expensive a thing is agovernment of thieves! I warn you, Christian, it will be a failure!Perhaps there will not even be found rifles in the arsenals, after thehundreds of millions voted to get rifles. You will see; you will see!"

  He had begun to stride to and fro excitedly, and we, sitting on ourchairs, were looking at him open-mouthed, staring first right and thenleft. His anger rose higher and higher, and he said, "Such is thegenius of our honest man, he conducts everything: he is ourcommander-in-chief! A retired artillery captain, with whom I travelledfrom Schlestadt to Strasbourg, told me that in consequence of the badorganization of our forces, we should be unable to place more than twohundred and fifty thousand men in line along our frontier fromLuxembourg to Switzerland; and that the Germans, with their superiorand long-prepared organization, could oppose to us, in eight days, aforce of five to six hundred thousand men; so that they will be morethan two to one at the outset, and they will crush us in spite of thevalor of our soldiers. This old officer, full of good sense, and whohas travelled in Germany, told me, besides, that the artillery of thePrussians carries farther and is worked more rapidly than ours; whichwould enable the Germans to dismount our batteries and ourmitrailleuses without getting any harm themselves. It seems that ourgreat man never thought of that."

  Then George began to laugh, and, as we said nothing, he went on: "Andthe enemy--the Prussians, Bavarians, Badeners, Wurtembergers, the_Courrier du Bas-Rhin_ declares that they are coming by regiments anddivisions from Frankfort and Munich to Rastadt, with guns, munitions,and provisions in abundance; that all the country swarms with them,from Karlsruhe to Baden; that they have blown up the bridge of Kehl, toprevent us from outflanking them; that we have not troops enough atWissembourg. But what is the use of complaining? Ourcommander-in-chief knows better than the _Courrier du Bas-Rhin_; he isan iron-clad fellow, who takes no advice: a man must have some courageto offer him advice!"

  And all at once, stopping short, "Christian," he said, "I have come togive you a little advice."

  "What?"

  "Hide all the money you have got; for, from what I have seen downthere, in a few days the enemy will be in Alsace."

  Imagine my astonishment at hearing these words. George was not the manto joke about serious matters, nor was he a timid man: on the contrary,you would have to go far to find a braver man. Therefore, fancy mywife's and Gredel's alarm.

  "What, George," said I, "do you think that possible?"

  "Listen to me," said he. "When on the one side you see nothing butempty beings, without education, without judgment, prudence, or method;and on the other, men who for fifty years have been preparing a mortalblow--anything is possible. Yes, I believe it; in a fortnight theGermans will be in Alsace. Our mountains will check them; thefortresses of Bitche, of Petite Pierre, of Phalsbourg and Lichtenberg;the abatis, and the intrenchments which will be formed in the passes;the ambuscades of every kind which will be set, the bridges and therailway tunnels that they will blow up--all this will prevent them fromgoing farther for three or four months until winter; but, in themeantime, they will send this way reconnoitring parties--Uhlans,hussars, brigands of every kind--who will snap up everything, pillageeverywhere--wheat, flour, hay, straw, bacon, cattle, and principallymoney. War will be made upon our backs. We Alsacians and Lorrainers,we shall have to pay the bill. I know all about it. I have been allover the country-side; believe me. Hide everything; that is what Imean to do; and, if anything happens, at least it will not be ourfault. I would not go to bed without giving you this warning
; sogood-night, Christian; good-night, everybody!"

  He left us, and we sat a few moments gazing stupidly at each other. Mywife and Gredel wanted to hide everything that very night. Gredel,ever since she had got Jean Baptiste Werner into her head, was thinkingof nothing but her marriage-portion. She knew that we had about ahundred louis in cent-sous pieces in a basket at the bottom of thecupboard; she said to herself, "That's my marriage-portion!" And thistroubled her more than anything: she even grew bolder, and wanted tokeep the keys herself. But her mother is not a woman to be led: everyminute she cried: "Take care, Gredel! mind what you are about!"

  She looked daggers at her; and I was continually obliged to come topreserve peace between them; for Catherine is not gifted with patience.And so all our troubles came together.

  But, in spite of what George had just been saying, I was not afraid.The Germans were less than sixteen leagues from us, it is true, butthey would have first to cross the Rhine; then we knew that atMederbronn the people were complaining of the troops cantoned in thevillages: this was a proof that there was no lack of soldiers; and thenMacMahon was at Strasbourg; the Turcos, the Zouaves, and the Chasseursd'Afrique were coming up.

  So I said to my wife that there was no hurry yet; that Cousin Georgehad long detested the Emperor; but that all that did not mean much, andit was better to see things for one's self; that I should go to Savernemarket, and if things looked bad, then I would sell all our corn andflour, which would come to a hundred louis, and which we would burydirectly with the rest.

  My wife took courage; and if I had not had a great deal to grind forthe bakers in our village, I should have gone next day to Saverne andshould have seen what was going on. Unfortunately, ever since Frantzand Jacob had left, the mill was on my hands, and I scarcely had timeto turn round.

  Jacob was a great trouble to me besides, asking for money by thepostman Michel. This man told me that the Mobiles had not yet beencalled out, and that they were lounging from one public-house toanother in gangs to kill time; that they had received no rifles; thatthey were not chartered in the barracks; and that they did not get afarthing for their food.

  This disorder disgusted me; and I reflected that an Emperor who sendsfor all the young men in harvest-time, ought at least to feed them, andnot leave them to be an expense to their parents. For all that I sentmoney to Jacob: I could not allow him to suffer hunger. But it was atrouble to my mind to keep him down there with my money, saunteringabout with his hands in his pockets, whilst I, at my age, was obligedto carry sacks up into the loft, to fetch them down again, to load thecarts alone, and, besides, to watch the mill; for no one could be metwith now, and the old day-laborer, Donadieu, quite a cripple, was allthe help I had. After that, only imagine our anxiety, our fatigue, andour embarrassment to know what to do.

  The other people in the village were in no better spirits thanourselves. The old men and women thought of their sons shut up in thetown, and the great drought continuing: we could rely upon nothing.The smallpox had broken out, too. Nothing would sell, nothing could besent by railway: planks, beams, felled timber, building-stone, all layat the saw-pits or the stone-quarry. The sous-prefet kept on troublingme to search and find out three or four scamps who had not reportedthemselves, and the consequence of all this was that I did not get toSaverne that week.

  Then it was announced that at last the Emperor had just quitted Paris,to place himself at the head of his armies; and five or six days aftercame the news of his great victory at Sarrebrueck, where themitrailleuses had mown down the Prussians; where the little Prince hadpicked up bullets, "which made old soldiers shed tears of emotion."

  On learning this the people became crazy with joy. On all sides wereheard cries of "Vive l'Empereur!" and Monsieur le Cure preached theextermination of the heretic Prussians. Never had the like been seen.That very day, toward evening, just after stopping the mill, all atonce I heard in the distance, toward the road, cries of "_Aux armes,citoyens! formez vos bataillons!_"

  The dust from the road rose up into the clouds. It was the 84thdeparting from Phalsbourg; they were going to Metz, and the people whowere working in the fields near the road, said, on returning at night,that the poor soldiers, with their knapsacks on their shoulders, couldscarcely march for the heat; that the people were treating them witheau-de-vie and wine at all the doors in Metting, and they said,"Good-by! long life to you!" that the officers, too, were shaking handswith everybody, whilst the people shouted, "Vive l'Empereur!"

  Yes, this victory of Sarrebrueck had changed the face of things in ourvillages; the love of war was returning. War is always popular when itis successful, and there is a prospect of extending our own territoryinto other peoples' countries.

  That night about nine o'clock I went to caution my cousin to hold histongue; for after this great victory one word against the dynasty mightsend him a very long way off. He was alone with his wife, and said tome, "Thank you, Christian, I have seen the despatch. A few bravefellows have been killed, and they have shown the young Prince to thearmy. That poor little weakly creature has picked up a few bullets onthe battle-field. He is the heir of his uncle, the terrible captain ofJena and Austerlitz! Only one officer has been killed; it is not much;but if the heir of the dynasty had had but a scratch, the gazetteswould have shed tears, and it would have been our duty to fallfainting."

  "Do try to be quiet," said I, looking to see if the windows were allclose. "Do take care, George. Don't commit yourself to Placiard andthe gendarmes."

  "Yes," said he, "the enemies of the dynasty are at this moment in worsedanger than the little Prince. If victories go on, they will run therisk of being plucked pretty bare. I am quite aware of that, mycousin; and so I thank you for having come to warn me."

  This is all that he said to me, and I returned home full of thoughts.

  Next day, Thursday, market-day, I drove my first two wagon-loads offlour to Saverne, and sold them at a good figure. That day I observedthe tremendous movement along the railroads, of which Cousin George hadspoken; the carriage of mitrailleuses, guns, chests of biscuits, andthe enthusiasm of the people, who were pouring out wine for thesoldiers.

  It was just like a fair in the principal street, from the chateau tothe station--a fair of little white loaves and sausages; but theTurcos, with their blue jackets, their linen trousers, and theirscarlet caps, took the place of honor: everybody wanted to treat them.

  I had never before seen any of these men; their yellow skins, theirthick lips, the conspicuous whites of their eyes, surprised me; and Isaid to myself, seeing the long strides they took with their thin legs,that the Germans would find them unpleasant neighbors. Their officers,too, with their swords at their sides, and their pointed beards, lookedsplendid soldiers. At every public-house door, a few Chasseursd'Afrique had tied their small light horses, all alike and beautifullyformed like deer. No one refused them anything; and in all directions,in the inns, the talk was of ambulances and collections for thewounded. Well, seeing all this, George's ideas seemed to me more andmore opposed to sound sense, and I felt sure that we were going tocrush all resistance.

  About two o'clock, having dined at the Boeuf, I took the way to thevillage through Phalsbourg, to see Jacob in passing. As I went up thehill, something glittered from time to time on the slope through thewoods, when all at once hundreds of cuirassiers came out upon the roadby the Alsace fountain. They were advancing at a slow pace by twos,their helmets and their cuirasses threw back flashes of light upon allthe trees, and the trampling of their hoofs rolled like the rush of amighty river.

  Then I drew my wagon to one side to see all these men march past me,sitting immovable in their saddles as if they were sleeping, the headinclined forward, and the mustache hanging, riding strong, square-builthorses, the canvas bag suspended from the side, and the sabre ringingagainst the boot. Thus they filed past me for half an hour. Theyextended their long lines, and stretched on yet to the Schlittenbach.I thought there would be no end to them. Yet
these were only tworegiments; two others were encamped upon the glacis of Phalsbourg,where I arrived about five in the afternoon. They were driving thepickets into the turf with axes; they were lighting fires for cooking;the horses were neighing, and the townspeople--men, women, andchildren--were standing gazing at them.

  I passed on my way, reflecting upon the strength of such an army, andpitying, by anticipation, the ill-fated Germans whom they were going toencounter. Entering through the gate of Germany, I saw the officerslooking for lodgings, the Gardes Mobiles, in blouses, mounting guard.They had received their rifles that morning; and the evening before,Monsieur le Sous-prefet of Sarrebourg had come himself to appoint theofficers of the National Guard. This is what I had learned at theVacheron brewery, where I had stopped, leaving my cart outside at thecorner of the "Trois Pigeons."

  Everybody was talking about our victory at Sarrebrueck, especially thosecuirassiers, who were emptying bottles by the hundred, to allay thedust of the road. They looked quite pleased, and were saying that waron a large scale was beginning again, and that the heavy cavalry wouldbe in demand. It was quite a pleasure to look on them, with their redears, and to hear them rejoicing at the prospect of meeting the enemysoon.

  In the midst of all these swarms of people, of servants running,citizens coming and going, I could have wished to see Jacob; but wherewas I to look for him? At last I recognized a lad of ourvillage--Nicolas Maisse--the son of the wood-turner, our neighbor, whoimmediately undertook to find him. He went out, and in a quarter of anhour Jacob appeared.

  The poor fellow embraced me. The tears came into my eyes.

  "Well now," said I, "sit down. Are you pretty well?"

  "I had rather be at home," said he.

  "Yes, but that is impossible now; you must have patience."

  I also invited young Maisse to take a glass with us, and bothcomplained bitterly that Mathias Heitz, junior, had been made alieutenant, who knew no more of the science of war than they did, andwho now had ordered of Kuhn, the tailor, an officer's uniform,gold-laced up to the shoulders. Yet Mathias was a friend of Jacob's.But justice is justice.

  This piece of news filled me with indignation: what should MathiasHeitz be made an officer for? He had never learned anything atcollege; he would never have been able to earn a couple of_liards_--whilst our Jacob was a good miller's apprentice.

  It was abominable. However, I made no remark; I only asked if JeanBaptiste Werner, who had a few days before joined the artillery of theNational Guard, was an officer too?

  Then they replied angrily that Jean Baptiste Werner, in spite of hisAfrican and Mexican campaigns, was only a gunner in the Mariet battery,behind the powder magazines. Those who knew nothing became officers;those who knew something of war, like Mariet and Werner, were privates,or at the most sergeants. All this showed me that Cousin George wasright in saying that we should be driven like beasts, and that ourchiefs were void of common-sense.

  Looking at all these people coming and going, the time passed away.About eight o'clock, as we were hungry, and I wished to keep my boywith me as long as I could, I sent for a good salad and sausages, andwe were eating together, with full hearts, to be sure, but with a goodappetite. But a few moments after the retreat, just when thecuirassiers were going to camp out, and their officers, heavy andweary, were going to rest in their lodgings, a few bugle notes weresounded in the _place d'armes_, and we heard a cry--"To horse! tohorse!"

  Immediately all was excitement. A despatch had arrived; the officersput on their helmets, fastened on their swords, and came running outthrough the gate of Germany. Countenances changed; every one asked,"What is the meaning of this?"

  At the same time the police inspector came up; he had seen my cart, andcried, "Strangers must leave the place--the gates are going to beclosed."

  Then I had only just time to embrace my son, to press Nicolas's hand,and to start at a sharp gallop for the gate of France. The drawbridgewas just on the rise as I passed it; five minutes after I was gallopingalong the white high-road by moonlight, on the way to Metting. Outsideon the glacis, there was not a sound; the pickets had been drawn, andthe two regiments of cavalry were on the road to Saverne.

  I arrived home late: everybody was asleep in our village. Nobodysuspected what was about to happen within a week.