'Jena' or 'Sedan'?

Presented to the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY

by the

ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE
LIBRARY

1980

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Jena' or 'Sedan? >

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From the German of

Franz Adam Beyerlein

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Cheaper Edition

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London
William Heinemann

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First published October 1904
Cheater Edition (twice) September 1914

c Jena' or 4 Sedan'?

BRITAIN'S GREAT WAR NOVELIST

RICHARD DEHAN

THE MAN OF IRON

Dealing with the Franco-German War
of 1870. To be ready shortly. 6s

THE DOP DOCTOR *

Dealing with the Boer War. 6s

BETWEEN TWO THIEVES*
Dealing with the Crimean War. 6s

* Can also be obtained in Cheap Cloth
Edition. Price 2s net

MEN AROUND THE KAISER
By Frederic W. Wile. With Por-
traits. 2s net

THE GREAT ILLUSION

A Study of the Relation of Military
Power to National Advantage. By
Norman Angell. 2s 6d net

THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLU-
TION (1789-1793) By P.A. Kropotkin.
6s net

FROM HOWARD TO NELSON
(Twelve Sailors.) Edited by Sir John
Knox Laughton. 6s

FROM CROMWELL TO WELLING-
TON. (Twelve Soldiers.) Edited by
Spencer Wilkinson. 6s

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN

Publisher's Note

THE German original of this novel had a larger circulation in
the first year of its career than any novel of our days, close upon
one quarter pf a million copies having been sold. It was praised
by some as a superb piece of imaginative literature of the realistic
\ school : by others it has been anathematised as a libel on the
great army that made Modern Germany. The truth about it is
probably best summarised in the words of a reviewer of the
"Daily Mail" : —

" The author holds up the mirror with impartiality, without
fear or passion, and with an unmistakably friendly intention,
and asks, ' Where art thou going? Towards Jena or
Sedan?'"

It is perhaps unnecessary to remind the English reader in
explanation of the title that Jena stands for French supremacy and
German defeat — Sedan for German victory and a French
debacle ; but he should be warned that in this truthful mirror of
life there may be details liable to shock insular notions. The
author could not shrink from such in the fulfilment of his task,
which was to give the truth — the whole truth and nothing but the
truth. His work must be judged not only as a novel (and
assuredly as such it is a most admirable and artistic piece of work)t
but it must be regarded also as the cry of a patriot who loves his
country above anything in the world. This is most completely
realised in the following opening sentences of a long and careful
^eview given to the original by the " Spectator " ;^

" The Englishman who is acutely distressed by the report
of shortcomings in the German Army can hardly be human.
The frank pleasure which the Germans took in our troubles is

J

too recent to be quite forgotten , even by a people so forget/Ui
as we are. But for all that, only those who crave for thtM
1 wicked joys of the soul,' which grow, the poet tells us, neatm
by the gates of hell, can lay down Herr Bey er lein' s story
without a sense of sadness. In spite of its freshness and
its humour, there breathes through it that note of disappoint-
ment, almost of lassitude, which is not seldom audible in
Germany to-day. It is as though the nation, which has
travelled such an astonishing distance in the last thirty
years, were pausing to ask, i Is this all that has come of
it?}

" Herr Beyerlein' s theme is the decadence of the German
Army. That it is decadent he has no doubt at all, and he is
a close, careful and not unfriendly observer. But the writer
who deals boldly and broadly with the German Army is in
reality dealing with a much larger subject. The British
Army is a piece cut from the stuff of which the nation is
made, and shaped to a particular end. In Germany the
whole material of the nation passes through the Armyf
and is to some extent shaped and coloured in the process ;
it does not come out precisely as it went in. German
military training is an iron pressure to which men cannot be
submitted for two years at an impressionable age and remain
unchanged. Symptoms of decay in the Army point, there-
fore, not only to possible disaster abroad, but to demoralisa-
tion at home ; and it is with this aspect of his subject that
Herr Beyerlein is chiefly concerned"
London, 1904.

The above note was written ten years ago before publication oj
the first English Edition of "Jena or Sedan f " The present war
gives fresh interest to Herr Beyerlein 's work. Are the failures of
the German army in Belgium a sign that his warning was
disregarded, and do they herald for the Allies the victory which this
author foresaw if his country pursued its course unre generate ?

London, Augufst 17, 19 14.

JENA OR SEDAN?

CHAPTER I

•• Must I go, must I go.
Away into the town ? "

{Swabian Folk-song.)

Franz Vogt was on his way home. He carried a neatly
tied-up parcel containing the under-linen and the boots that
he had been buying in the town. He had trodden this same
road a countless number of times during his life ; but now
that he must bid good-bye to it so soon, the old familiar
surroundings presented themselves to him in a new light.

Of course it was not good-bye for ever, nor was it even as
though he were going to America. At the most he would
only be away for his two years of military service, and between-
• whiles there would, he supposed, be leave now and again ;
moreover, this was not the first time he had left the village.
But there was one circumstance peculiar to this going away —
he was obliged to go.

Franz Vogt did not trouble his head much about the why
and the wherefore of this obligation. He reasoned it out
thus : Germany had enemies — the French and the Russians,
to wit — who might some day and for some unknown reason
begin a war; therefore, of course, it behoved Germany to
keep watch and ward, and for that soldiers were necessary.
Furthermore, there was a certain consolation in the thought
that this authoritative call took no respect of persons ; the
sons of the two richest peasants in the village had been called
up just like himself — they to the Uhlans, he to the field-
artillery.

2 JENA OR SEDAN?

The life, however, must be so different from anything
hitherto experienced that one could not but feel a little ner-
vous about it. For the men on leave whom he had come
across were never tired of talking about the hard words and
harder usage that fell to a soldier's lot. Never mind ' hard
words break no bones. He was strong and active ; no one
had done better than he in athletics. One must take things
as they come, and perhaps after all they won't turn out as
bad as they have been painted.

The young man pushed his hat back from his brow and
began to whistle as he stepped forward more briskly.

It was fairly warm for October. The broad dusty road that
led onward up the hill lay shining as brightly in the sun as if
it were July and the corn rising on either side, tall and golden.
But instead the stubble showed in paler streaks against the
darker ground that was already prepared for a new sowing.
Further on in the valley green meadows stretched away to the
border-line of a forest.

On the hither side of those woods, but disappearing at last
in the dense verdure, ran the straight line of the railway, A
cloud of white smoke could just be seen above the trees, and
then the train would glide out into the open. By that line
Franz Vogt must travel on the morrow to the place where he
would have to sojourn for the next two years and again the
thought, " How shall I get on there ? " forced itself upon his
mind, and absorbed his thoughts until he reached the cross-
roads where stood the paternal dwelling. Years ago, when
toll was still levied on the highway, it had been the gate-
keeper's cottage ; and Franz Vogt's father, the last turnpike-
keeper, had bought it from the State when the toll was
abolished. Nearly twenty years had gone by since the white-
painted barrier had been let down at night for the last time,
but the little house remained the same in appearance. His
father had even stuck the old barrier up in the garden, and
had nailed at the top a box for the starlings to nest in ; every
spring a pair of birds built there.

And his father himself, how little he had altered ! Only
the beard, which he wore after the fashion of the old Emperor
William, had become more and more grey and the hair of his
head had retreated from the crown in an ever-widening circle.

JENA OR SEDAN? 3

But the old man who now stepped to the door held himself as
stiff and erect as ever ; the eyes looked forth from beneath the
bushy eyebrows with a stern yet kindly gaze, and the deep
voice rang out with military precision and sharpness.

11 Why, boy," he cried, " you're looking quite dashed t
Shaking in your shoes about to-morrow, eh ? See what comes
of having a woman for your mother ! Come along in." He
preceded his son into the parlour, and made him exhibit his
purchases.

" Dear, very dear, all these odds and ends ! " he grumbled ;
but finally declared himself pleased that Franz had preserved
intact a good portion of the money entrusted to him.

"That you can keep," said his father; "for you know at
first you'll have nothing more from me. By-and-bye, perhaps,
a few groschen now and then ; but first you must learn to shift
for yourself. That's always good for one. I had to get along
on my pay the whole time, from the first year to the fifteenth.
Now go up and pack your traps, and make everything ship-
shape."

At supper the fare was no more sumptuous than usual ; but
Franz was surprised to see that his father had set out two
smoked sausages instead of one.

"To-morrow, boy," said the old man, "you'll have regi-
mental black bread. Good nourishing stuff! You'll soon
like it." And pointing to the two long fat sausages, he con»
tinued :

" And the remains of those sausages can go in your box.
You shall pack them up."

The two men ate off wooden platters, and cut up their
bread and sausage with their pocket-knives ; there was
nothing to do afterwards but to gather up the fragments and
carry the plates into the kitchen. An old woman came every
morning to do the housework and prepare the midday meal,
and every afternoon the turnpike keeper waited with repressed
impatience till the door had closed behind her. Then he felt
better.

When Franz had put the sausage in his box and come
downstairs again, he found his father with cap in hand, ready
♦o go out.

" Come, boy," he said, " let's stretch our legs a bit"

4 JENA OR SEDAN?

They went past the village, and wandered for a while in
silence under the starry heavens. Then the old man began
to speak less briskly and decidedly than was his wont.

" Look you, my boy, to-morrow you will be standing on
your own feet, as it were ; you'll be responsible for yourself.
For it's like this : before one has served one is a silly youth :
but afterwards, a man. Therefore you want something that
you can steer by ; and I tell you, you must make a rule for
yourself that you can look to. The printed ones — they're
only just by the way. Always ask yourself: is it right, is
it honest, what you're doing ? If yes, then fire away ! And
when you don't know exactly one way or the other, then just
think : could you tell your old father about it and look him
straight in the eyes ? "

He had a heavy load of cares and hopes on his mind
for the welfare of this son, the only thing left him to love ;
but he broke short off. He felt himself incapable of express-
ing clearly the result of the experience gained during his sixty
years of life. He lived himself by that gathered wisdom, and
it had passed into his flesh and bone ; but the right words
failed him when he would have imparted it to his son.

Friedrich August Vogt and his twin sister had been born in
1840, the little-prized children of an unmarried mother, who
had vanished one day and left no trace. Probably she had
died in a ditch. The children were taken into an orphanage, on
leaving which the girl had gone to service, while the boy had
become a soldier and climbed the ladder of promotion to the
rank of sergeant, receiving the silver medal for bravery, and at
St. Privat the iron cross. In command over others he proved
strict and just ; and though assuming an outwardly harsh,
bearish manner, he looked after those who were under him
with indefatigable and almost fatherly care. His whole
endeavour throughout those fifteen years had been to stand
blameless, not only in the eyes of his superiors, but, what was
more important still, in his own.

His comrades disliked the quiet, serious man, and Vogt
himself was just as little drawn to their frivolous ways ; nor had
women any attraction for him. He was sufficient unto him-
self, and looked neither for friend nor wife ; but though he

JENA OR SEDAN? 5

had grown up independent of love, he yet craved to win
for himself some modest amount of grateful recognition within
the narrow limits of the service, and he felt richly rewarded if
a reservist when bidding good-bye gripped his hand and
muttered a few clumsy words of gratitude. Of such were
many good-for-nothings whom he had saved from dangerous
follies and their inevitable punishment, not by rough words,
but by kindly counsel. When he eventually doffed his uniform
he had nothing with which to reproach himself; no neglect
and no overstepping of duty, no injustice and no improper
leniency ; he had good cause for self-satisfaction.

He was given the post of turnpike-keeper in recognition of
his good service, and could then carry out a long-cherished
wish : he took his sister to live with him. But he did not
long enjoy her companionship. She left him after but a few
years, during which she succeeded — not without difficulty — in
bringing some sort of brightness into the life of her grave
brother. She foresaw that he would in all probability lapse
into deeper and deeper gloom when she was no longer there ;
and on her deathbed she joined his hand with that of a girl
some years younger than herself, with whom she had struck
up a firm friendship. They respected the wishes of the dead,
married, and lived together happily, thinking themselves the
most fortunate of mortals when a son was born to them. But
August Vogt was doomed to loneliness, for his wife died
when the boy was just old enough to go to school.

Shortly after this Vogt inherited a small property from his
wife's father, and the toll on the highway being at the same
time abolished, he bought the now superfluous house cheap
from the State, and set up as a peasant proprietor. He had
now a new source of pride : that this land, which he watered
with his sweat, should bring forth abundantly ; that his cattle,
whom no strange hand might touch, should be the sleekest
and fattest of all. Solitary and unaided he laboured in house
and field, as if wishing to defy that fate which had torn from
him the only two people he had loved. As he could love them
no longer he had rather be quite alone, save for the little
chap who trotted after him everywhere, and — looking almost
as grave and pre-occupied as his father — copied with his tiny
gardening tools everything he saw his father do. In course of

6 JENA OR SEDAN?

time the child became a more and more useful helper, till at
last the two in equal comradeship spent their entire energies on
the land, by whose produce they were almost exclusively
nourished, with the addition of the milk from their own cow.

In the evening they sat opposite to each other, resting
after their toil. Occasionally, with a youth's eagerness for
adventure, the younger man would ask the elder to recount
those military experiences to which the decorations in the
cash-box bore testimony; but the father gave only scanty
and unwilling replies. He bethought himself how in those
days of St. Privat they had stormed a burning village, rushing
through a fine field of ripe oats, and how a man had fallen
next to him — a boyish drummer — with a bullet in his throat.
In dying he had grasped and torn up the golden ears ; and he
held a bunch of them in his dead hand, all dyed in his blood
like some red flag.

Oh yes, he was proud of his medal and his cross, notwith-
standing a sort of doubt that he could not suppress. An ever-
widening gulf now separated him from that famous past ; and
it gave him a certain sense of discomfort, in the midst of this
life of creative labour, to think of a time devoted chiefly, after
all, to death and destruction.

It was from this feeling that he had abandoned his first
intention of making his son follow his own old profession.
There was no hurry. When the youngster was serving his
time, he could decide to join on if he liked.

And now one thing was certain : it was very tiresome
that his son should be called up just at this moment. Of"
course he mustn't let the boy see it ; but he felt it hard, all
the same. The recruiting-sergeant had pointed out to him
that he could claim his son if he could show that the lad was
indispensable to his work. But August Vogt was too honour-
able for that. Certainly he was sixty years of age ; but even
had he been ninety he would have managed to keep things
going. Still, it was hard.

The father was probably heavier of heart than the son, as
they paced through the night together ; but when they stood
once more before their door, after making a somewhat lengthy
round, he only said: "Well, well, young 'un ; you'll often
think of this. Now sleep well, your last night at home."

JENA OR SEDAN? 7

And as his son went off upstairs he added softly to himself,
" My dear good boy 1 w

Early next day Franz Vogt departed.

The greater number of the recruits left the train when it
reached the capital, and it was only a small company that pro-
ceeded onwards to the little garrison town.

Two or three non-commissioned officers received the de-
tachment when it ultimately arrived at its destination. The
recruits were then formed into squads and conducted to a
large exercise-ground. The main body, hailing from the coal-
mines and factories of the neighbouring mountain district, had
already arrived by special train. There must have been about four
hundred men altogether. Two or three officers, and numerous
non-commissioned officers with helmets and shoulder-straps,
were standing about. An endless calling over of names began.
Those who were told off to the first battery were taken first,
and were led away as soon as their number was complete. Then
came those ot the second battery, then the third, and so on.
The other recruits stood looking dully in front of them, while
those whose names were called out pressed forward through
the ranks with feverish haste, jostling every one else with their
boxes and bundles.

Franz Vogt listened at first full of expectation. Each time
he thought that his name would be the next ; but when the
third battery had marched off without him his interest began
to flag, and he thought he would take a look round. What he
saw was not very encouraging. The large square exercise-
ground was strewn with a fine black dust, coke-refuse,
evidently ; on three sides it was surrounded by a wooden
paling through which bare fields could be seen, and, in the
direction of the town, miserable-looking vegetable-gardens in
all the desolation of autumn. On the fourth side was an
irregular row of buildings ; first a long shed with windows at
wide intervals, before which stood a sentry, who gazed across
at the recruits with great curiosity ; next a forge, from the
door of which a grimy blacksmith and his assistants were
watching, and a soldier in a grey jacket was leading out a
black mare that had just been shod ; then came another shed
with large gates, one of which was open, and a number of

8 JENA OR SEDAN?

men inside were busily engaged around a gun with cloths and
brushes.

At length the names of the men belonging to the last —
the sixth — battery were read out. Franz Vogt counted them
for want of something better to do—his own was the nine-
teenth on the list ; he answered with a loud " Here ! " and
hurried forward. The corporal, who was arranging his men in
ranks of six abreast, was a little man with a red face, flashing
eyes, and a heavy dark moustache over a mouth whence con-
tinually issued objurgations and reprimands. When Vogt
with quick comprehension placed himself at the beginning of
a new row he gave a nod of satisfaction, and the young
recruit felt mildly gratified that he had at any rate begun well.

As soon as the recruits told off to the sixth battery were in
order they were marched off, two non-commissioned officers in
front, one on either side, and another behind. It looked
almost as if they were prisoners with a military escort.

The road went through part of the town and then took a
curve round a corner into a street that led out into the open
Country. Broad fields stretched on either hand, those on the
right separated from the road by a stream, alongside of which
ran a branch railway line. Beyond these fields rose steep,
sparsely-wooded hills, showing in some places the bare rock.

A good way up the valley the walls of a large mass of build-
ings gleamed white in the sunshine. The little corporal in
front turned round and cried, " Those are your future quarters,
boys ! "

Vogt felt glad they were not in the town with its close alleys,
but out in the open country, where one could feel nearer the
fertile mother-earth ; where the eye had an uninterrupted out-
look, and where one could watch the sprouting and blossoming
of springtime.

A whirl of dust now issued from the barrack gates and drew
rapidly nearer. An officer, and behind him a soldier, both
mounted, came along at a trot. When he had almost reached
the detachment of recruits the officer reined in his bay horse,
and as they passed by let his eyes rest for a moment on each
one of them in careful scrutiny. He acknowledged with a curt
nod the salutes of the non-commissioned officers as they
marched quickly past. Although not a big man, he sat his

JENA OR SEDAN? 9

horse with dignity ; while a huge red moustache and piercing
eyes that flashed through his pince-nez lent him an aspect of
considerable fierceness. Vogt thought to himself, " He looks
strict, but not exactly bad-tempered," when the little corporal
turned round once more and said : " Boys, that was your cap-
tain— von Wegstetten."

The escort of armed and spurred non-commissioned officers
had already made Vogt feel as if he were going to prison, and
the entry into the barracks made it full clear that he was, at
any rate, under stringent discipline, and must henceforth
renounce a large measure of individual freedom. The opening
gates were of iron, and were adorned with sharp spikes on the
top, so as to make climbing over impossible ; a sentry, too,
stood at the entrance. The gates opened on to a spacious
courtyard surrounded by buildings. Not a green thing was to
be seen, and the gravelled yard was as naked and barren as the
buildings themselves, whose blank windows suggested deserted
rooms. Only a few were graced with white curtains, which
gave promise of habitation. Even the young chestnut-trees
that had been planted round the borders of the courtyard throve
but poorly ; now and then a yellow leaf fell to the ground,
although the woods outside were still a mass of green.

The quarters of the sixth battery were exactly facing the
entrance, but the inner yard was evidently held sacred, for the
recruits were taken round it by a paved pathway.

The little corporal now marshalled them carefully in two
rows, and announced to an older man in a green jacket
trimmed with red braid who was standing in a doorway : "The
recruits are here, sir."

" Are they all there ? " asked the other, as he came down
the steps.

"All here, sir," replied the little man.

The sergeant-major passed slowly along the ranks, and exa-
mined each recruit with a searching glance. Vogt looked him
fearlessly in the face. He reminded him of his father. He,
too, could look one through and through like that ; but one
need never cast down one's eyes if one has a clear conscience.

The recruits were next conducted into the barrack-rooms,
where to each was allotted a locker of his own, in which a white
napkin and a spoon had already been placed. After putting

io JENA OR SEDAN?

their bundles into these lockers, they were taken straight to the
dining-hall. Each gave in his white napkin through a serving-
hatch and received it back again full, almost burning his fingers
with the contents before he could put it down on the well-
scoured wooden table. Beans and bacon was the fare, and it
tasted rather good. No wonder, when the men had been
travelling ever since early morning.

Vogt's neighbour during the march came and sat next him
on the wooden bench. He wiped his short black beard, and
nodded to Vogt.

" This goes down pretty quick, doesn't it ? " he said, as he
spooned up his food.

" Rather ! " answered Vogt. And the other went on, as he
pointed to his empty napkin :

" If only our two years would go as fast ! "

They soon made acquaintance. Weise was the man's
name, and he was a locksmith from a factory in the neigh-
bouring coal-district. But they only had time to exchange
the barest preliminaries of intercourse when they had to get
up again, go and wash their dishes and spoons at a tap, and
then return.

Outside in the court-yard, in front of the quarters of another
battery, some recruits who had arrived still earlier were stand-
ing, looking hungrily towards the kitchen.

"We've come off better than they," remarked Weise.
" Things are going well with us, it seems."

Now again they had to go outside, and the reading over of
names began once more. This time the standing-orders were
given out, and during this performance their captain came
into the barrack-yard. He dismounted, and walked up and
down, sometimes behind and sometimes in front of the re-
cruits, occasionally standing still and examining a man with
special attention. It felt very uncomfortable if the little
captain paused too long behind one ; but — so much they had
learned already — it would not do to turn round.

It was a considerable time before the last standing-order
was given out, after which the sergeant-major desired those
who wished to attend to the horses and to be drivers to stand
on one side, and those who wanted to be gunners to take up
their position on the other. Vogt and his new friend Weise

JENA OR SEDAN? II

placed themselves with the gunners, Vogt in this acting after
his father's advice. "Youngster," the old man had said,
" first and foremost be a good gunner. Then if you want to
go on serving and become a corporal, you will get on faster
than you would otherwise. You will know your gun and will
only have to learn to ride."

Vogt began now to long for the end of all this. He felt
tired in every limb, and would never have believed that waiting
and standing about could take it out of one to such an ex-
tent. But what had gone before was child's play compared
with the tiresome business of getting fitted with a uniform,
which now began. Vogt himself came off rather well : the
trousers, measured according to the length of the outstretched
arm, fitted exactly, as did also the second coat he tried on ;
the leather belt with sword attached he buckled on at once,
and cap and helmet were soon forthcoming, but he had to put
on several pairs of boots before he found the right ones. Then
the corporal tossed him over a drill suit as well, and he was
ready.

But with some of the men nothing would fit. The tallest
of all found the sleeves reaching just below his elbows, and
when he tried the next size, the coat hung in folds across his
chest. Others had square heads on which the round helmets
rocked about, until they were jammed on by two or three good
blows of the fist. One sturdy, thick-set, big-bellied fellow
it seemed impossible to suit; everything was far too tight
for him.

" What have you been hitherto ? " asked one of the non-
commissioned officers.

" A brewer," answered the fat man.

" Did you drink all your beer yourself, then, eh? " inquired
the other ; and the man who gave out the clothing flung over
a fresh suit, saying, threateningly : " Well, if that doesn't fit, by
God ! you shall drill in your drawers ! "

He made the trousers meet with difficulty, and the coat
was abominably tight ; but the corporal gave him a dig in the
stomach and said : " Cheer up, fatty ! that'll soon go. They'll
get rid of your paunch here in no time ! "

When Vogt left the kit-room with his regimentals on his
arm the erstwhile perfect order of the shelves, and of the sym-

12 JENA OR SEDAN?

metrically-folded piles of clothing, had been transformed into
a scene of the wildest confusion. " A pity so much labour
should be wasted," he thought.

And in what a wretched state were the clothes he had now
to wear ! The green cloth of the coat was so shabby that in
parts it was positively threadbare ; dark patches had been put
in near the arm-holes, and the once red facings were quite
faded. He examined them dejectedly and shook his head ;
he had expected something very different, and certainly he
would not cut much of a figure in this get-up. He pulled a
stool up to his locker, and began to^take his things off. Weise
sat down near him, already a full-blown soldier. The smart
young fellow could adapt himself to anything, and had known
at once how to give just the right saucy tilt to his forage-cap.

" Fine, eh ? " he said, laughing, as he struck an attitude
and gave his moustache an upward twirl.

But now once more the little corporal's penetrating voice
recalled the recruits from their short breathing-space; those
who were ready dressed must go down into the yard again,
and then began another putting-to-rights all round. The
presiding non-commissioned officers were in despair, for one
of the men had one leg shorter than the other, another had
crooked shoulders, and a third drew forth the exclamation:
11 Why, the fellow is humpbacked ! "

The corporal called across the court-yard to his comrades:
1 We've got a hunchback here in the sixth ! ;'

And the poor devil, a firmly-knit, broad-shouldered fellow,
who had got somewhat round-shouldered from sheer hard labour,
stood inwardly raging, and letting them pull him about as they
liked ; straighten his back he could not.

*'A fellow-townsman of mine, that Findeisen there, a
stonemason," said Weise.

He and Vogt came off well in this inspection. Their things
fitted exactly

K Thank God some of them have straight bones ! " sighed
the corporal, and sent them indoors again.

4 You can be packing up your civilian clothes," he called
after them, " and getting them ready to be sent away."

In the passage Vogt stopped : " Which is our room then ? "
he asked.

JENA OR SEDAN? 13

" Oh, number nine; we're all in nine," answered Weise.
He pushed the door open, and with mock ceremony invited
his comrade to enter.

At this moment the opposite door opened, and a tall thin
soldier stepped over the threshold. Weise started. " What !
you, Wilhelm ? " he exclaimed in astonishment.

The other said, " Well, why not ? Didn't you know ?

How are you, anyhow ? "

They shook hands warmly, and it seemed to Vogt that
they looked at each other as if there were some private under-
standing between them. Curious for an explanation, he
inquired, " Who's that ? He's an old hand, isn't he ? "

Weise replied : " Oh, he's an old friend of mine ; Wolf is
his name. Yes, he has served since last autumn."

He had been speaking quite gravely ; but quickly regained
his cheerful manner, and soon after left the room.

Vogt put his civilian clothes into his box and snapped
the padlock with a click. With that he felt that the last link
that had bound him to the old life was broken. He was
a soldier now. He looked round the room that was to be his
home for two years : the floor of bare boards ; the grey-
plastered walls, hidden for the most part by the rows of
lockers, and their only decoration a portrait of the King over
the door and two unframed battle pictures fastened up with
tin-tacks. These had evidently been torn out of a newspaper.
Two large tables surrounded by stools stood in the middle
of the room ; and at one of the two windows, which were bare
except for their striped roller-blinds, a smaller table was placed
with a common chair before it, the seat assigned to the
corporal in charge of the room.

The others now began to come up from the court-yard.
They were fifteen, all told ; but as there were sixteen cup-
boards in the room, one man must be still to come. Most of
them had to finish packing their civilian clothes ; when that
was done they sat down in the darkening room, tired and silent,
hardly even caring to make acquaintance with one another.

The fat brewer had placed himself at the table next to
Vogt and Weise. He was overcome with heat, and said
he would rather hang himself than endure this horrible
drudgery for two whole years. But Weise chaffed him in his

14 JENA OR SEDAN?

genial way : " How do you know you could find a tough
enough rope, brewer ? you're no light weight ! " And pre-
sently the brewer grew less melancholy ; now that he could sit
down things did not look so formidable, and he only groaned
pathetically : " Oh, if I'd only a mug of beer — just one ! "

At last Weise suggested lighting up. The two lamps gave
but a scanty light ; yet even that helped to dispel the gloomy
thoughts of the men. And soon the little corporal appeared,
with two of the " old gang " carrying loaves of bread, of
which every man received one.

It tasted very good, this hard black bread, to which each
recruit had some little relish of his own to add — butter, or
dripping, or perhaps a sausage. Only one sat regarding his dry
loaf disconsolately : Klitzing, a pale, spare young fellow with
hollow cheeks, whose uniform was a world too wide for him.
Vogt, who sat beside him, cut a big piece from his smoked
sausage and pushed it to his neighbour : " There, comrade,
let's go shares ! "

Klitzing at first declined; but at last he took it, and
thanked Vogt shyly.

" Why didn't you pack up your clothes ? * asked the latter.

" I have no friends," replied Klitzing, " and I only came
out of hospital on Monday."

" Poor fellow ! all the more reason for you to eat. What
were you ? "

" A clerk."

" Well, we'll stick together, and you'll get along all right,"
said Vogt kindly. This pale clerk attracted him more than
did Weise. Klitzing had frank honest eyes ; one could not
but feel sorry for his pallor and languor; how was he going
to stand the hard work ?

The men were still sitting over their meal when the little
corporal brought in another recruit, a tall overgrown lad with a
pink and white boyish face, apparently several years younger than
the rest. The corporal spoke less gruffly to him, and showed
him his locker with something like politÄiess. Apparently
there was something special about this Frielinghausen, as he
was called ; even the uniform he wore was rather less patched
and threadbare than those of the others. However, the new
comrade seemed in anything but a cheerful mood ; he dropped

JENA OR SEDAN? 15

into a seat at the darkest end of the tabie, leant his head on
his hand, and did not touch the loaf which the corporal placed
before him.

Most of the recruits regarded him with unconcealed mis-
trust. What kind of stuck-up fine gentleman was this, who
sat there as if his comrades didn't exist ? He was no better
than they. Only Vogt and Klitzing looked at him with
compassion ; who could tell what trouble this Frielinghausen
was suffering from ?

Weise became only the more gay. He took on himself to
enliven the feast with jokes and drollery, and they all listened
willingly ; it kept off dulness, and the disagreeable thoughts
that assailed them.

The corporal, too, listened awhile, well pleased. Then he
called to the joker : " Hi, you black fellow ! come here a
minute 1 "

Weise sprang up, and his superior looked him up and down,
not unfavourably.

11 You're right," he said; "it's no good pulling a long face;
a soldier should be jolly. Tell me, what's your name ? °

" Weise," answered the recruit.

11 Weise ? Gustav Weise ? "

"Yes, sir."

" Oh, indeed. Well, all right ; sit down again."

Weise went back to his place, feeling somewhat snubbed.
Why had the corporal suddenly looked so glum when he heard
the name ? There was nothing peculiar about his name. He
did not trouble his head very much about it ; but his cheerful-
ness passed away.

The last thing to do on this first day of their soldier's life
was to give up their civilian clothes, with the address to which
each box was to be sent. Klitzing knew no one who could
receive his belongings ; so they remained in the custody of the
battery.

At length the day drew to a close. Shortly before ten o'clock
" Lights out and go to bed ! " was called. They hung up'
their jackets and went upstairs to the dormitory.

This was a spacious room, which extended, directly under
the roof, the whole length and breadth of the building. Vogt

i6 JENA OR SEDAN?

had the good fortune to secure a bed in one of the outer rows
close to a window, and he beckoned to Klitzing to take pos-
session of the bed next him on the right. That on the left,
in the corner, had been allotted by the corporal to Frieling-
hausen. The recruits were not long in getting to bed ; though
the " old gang " were more leisurely in their proceedings.

It was only on lying down that Vogt discovered how tired
he was. The lean clerk on the right fell asleep immediately.
Frielinghausen, however, seemed wakeful. Vogt listened.
No, he was not deceived : the tall lad was weeping. For a
moment he felt inclined to question his comrade about his
trouble ; but he feared a repulse, so turned over on the other
side. After all, it was not for a man to weep, especially a
soldier !

Once more he started from incipient slumber ; he thought
he heard the cow in her stall, clattering her chain. Surprised,
he collected his wits. " Of course," he then said to himself,
1 it is the tattoo. I am a soldier."

CHAPTER II

•• Every hour of every day,
Gunners, be ye blithe and gay ! "

(Old, Artillery song.)

There was a good deal to do in the orderly-room. This new
batch of sixty recruits meant a large amount of work that
must be seen to at once, if the wilderness of papers were ever
to be brought into some sort of order.

Three men sat bending over their writing : a bombardier,
a corporal, and the sergeant-major.

The bombardier was doggedly filling in the lists, only glanc-
ing occasionally to see if the pile of forms still to be got
through were not growing somewhat smaller.

Käppchen, the corporal, a lanky fellow with cunning eyes,
grumbled from time to time at the trouble, and consigned to
perdition the dirty rascals who caused it. Of course it was
much pleasanter for him to sit in the orderly-room than to be
messing about with the idiots out of doors ; but he had never
bargained for having to scribble away till he nearly got writer's
cramp. And to-day the sergeant-major didn't even seem to
be thinking of a pause for luncheon.

It therefore happened very opportunely when Captain von
Wegstetten, having scarcely listened to the sergeant-major's
report, " Nothing new in the battery/' said : " Sergeant
Schumann, I want to speak to you for a minute."

No further intimation was needed; Käppchen and the
bombardier disappeared from the room instantly.

Sergeant Schumann stood by his table in the orthodox
attitude of respectful attention. As on every day of the eight
years during which Wegstetten had commanded the sixth
battery, and he, Schumann, had been its sergeant-major, he
waited until the former by a gesture or a word should permit him

1 8 JENA OR SEDAN?

to assume an easier position. Nothing could alter this ; not even
the confidence that time had gradually established between them.
Wegstetten motioned him kindly to a seat, and then bent
over the records of the recruits.

"Well, Schumann," he began, " what sort of a lot have we
got this time ? "

" It doesn't seem a bad year, sir," answered the sergeant-
major ; " they've nearly all got clean sheets "

11 Hm,:> assented the officer, " nearly all, but ? "

" Two have been convicted, one of theft, the other of resist-
ing lawful authority. The first made away with a quantity of
copper wire from a building ; and the second made a row
because he was notified that he had contravened some regu-
lations as to driving. He was a cab-driver. Then there is
another who has been punished for begging, tramping the
streets, and sleeping out at nights."

" Well, he won't catch cold camping out, at any rate ! What
do you think, sergeant ? mustn't a chap like that be glad to
have a good roof over his head every night ? Well, go on !
What about political antecedents ? "

" There is only one marked for that, sir — Gustav Weise."
Wegstetten began to polish his eye-glasses ; then, " Read it
aloud, Schumann," he said.

The sergeant-major took the paper and read : " Weire has
jiore than once taken an active part in socialist propaganda ;
in spite of his youth he was for a time confidential agent fcr the
Metal Workers' Union, and sometimes spoke at meetings,
without, however, necessitating the interference of the police-
officer in attendance, as Weise's communications chiefly referred
to details of the trade."

" Nothing further ? He seems a promising fellow ! Where
have we put him ? "

" In Room IX., Corporal Wiegandt."

" Does he know ? "

" Yes, sir, I've mentioned it to him."
" Right. Call him in ; I'll speak to him, and afterwards to
Frielinghausen."
" Very good, sir."

In a few minutes the little bearded corporal was in the room
and awaiting his captain's pleasure.

JENA OR SEDAN? 19

The officer appealed to the honour of his subordinate, in
whom he was placing a special trust, and impressed upon him
in carefully chosen language the necessity for keeping a watchful
eye on the new recruit Weise, without, however, treating him
differently from his comrades.

Wiegandt thereupon felt called on to describe and commend
Weise's smartness and good humour.

Wegstetten listened, a fleeting smile once passing over his
face. At the end he said : " Well, that's another proof that
this sort often turn out good soldiers. You understand what
I have said, Wiegandt ? A sharp eye, and a firm grip on the
rein ; otherwise — just as with the rest of them."

11 Very good, sir."

« That's all then."

When Wiegandt had gone, the officer turned to the sergeant-
major and said with a sigh, " Damned nuisances they are !
Now we've got two of these fellows, Wolf and Weise, we
must see they don't get together. How is Wolf doing ? "

" No fault to find with him, sir."

Wegstetten walked to the window and looked out silently.
This was not the lightest part of an officer's duty, this super-
vision of the suspicious political element among the men. A
perfect task of Sisyphus, indeed ! After all, one could do
nothing more than prevent the fellows from spouting their
wisdom as long as they were soldiers, make them keep to the
beaten track, give them " patriotism and the joys of a soldier's
life" for their watchword. What sort of a fanatic was this
Wolf? A man who had been handed over to him labelled
" Poison ! " with four cross-bones and a death's-head ; who
put on an expressionless face when his opinions were alluded
to, and to the question "Are you a social-democrat ?" answered
with a stereotyped, almost sarcastic, "No, sir," and always
went about looking as dark as a regular conspirator !

He turned round and began again : " Do you know, Schu-
mann, I shall be glad when Wolf is off our hands. The
man strikes me as almost uncanny. And then that Sergeant
Keyser; he's a revengeful, resentful kind of fellow. He'll
never forgive Wolf the six weeks he had on his account. Just
see to it that the two have as little to do with one another as
possible. Of course he'd never really do anything to a fellow

20 JENA OR SEDAN?

like that ; but it's always as well to be on the safe side. I'm
not going to have another rumpus in my battery, with the whole
lot of them had up as witnesses for three days on end ! And
that Keyser must mind what he's about. After all, we can't
have the army turned into a big incubator for social-democrats."

" Very good, sir. And as Keyser has got charge of the kit-
room now, that's easily arranged."

Any mention of this affair of Keyser and Wolf always re-
kindled Wegstetten's anger. Had he not himself been pub-
licly shamed by it, as it had taken place in his battery ? It had
only been a trifle at bottom ; such rough words as the sergeant
had hurled at Wolfs head were daily showered on the men ;
but this social-democrat had, of course, a quite peculiar sense
of personal dignity, and the stupid thing wras that they had had
to allow him to be in the right. For these zoological com-
parisons were strictly forbidden. An inquiry had been held
about the sergeant's conduct, and then such a crowd of other
" oxen," " pigs," and " donkeys," had appeared in the witness-
box, that the commanding officer of the battery had felt quite
giddy, and the presiding judge had perpetrated the cheap wit-
ticism that the entire German army might have been fed for a
month on the cattle that the defendant had bullied into exist-
ence. He, Wegstetten, had hardly been in a humour to enjoy
the joke, when the senior major (that detestable Lischke, in
whose bad books he already stood), who was commanding the
regiment during the colonel's absence on leave, had taken him
aside and lectured him about the rough tone that seemed to
prevail in the sixth battery. Wegstetten had taken it much to
heart, and as he made the stiff little bow that formality pre-
scribed, he had sworn a grim oath that never, no, never, should
such a sickening business occur again in his battery. To
have affairs like this connected with one's name had been for
many the beginning of the end. And he was ambitious ; he
meant to go far.

He turned once more to the sergeant-major. " But it will
be all right," he said, " at any rate so long as I have you, Schu-
mann. I can depend on you. God knows, I should be pretty
furious if you thought of deserting the colours."

The sergeant-major looked somewhat embarrassed: "Forgive
me, sir. I shallhave seen eighteen years' service come Easter;

JENA OR SEDAN? 21

and however glad I might be to stop on, still — a man ought to
provide for his old age. Schmidt, of the fourth battery, left
four years ago, and he's got a good post as assistant station-
master."

Wegstetten reassured him : " You mustn't think I was serious,
Schumann. I know better than any one what you've gone
through and what I have to thank you for, and I shall wish you
good luck with all my heart when you go. But you must feel
for me, and understand how hard it will be for me to do with-
out you. If I only knew who could take your place ! "

The sergeant-major shrugged his shoulders.

11 Well, speak out ; you know the men better even than
I do."

Schumann hesitated a little, and then said : " You know
yourself, sir ; Heppner is the next in seniority."

" Of course," said Wegstetten rather testily, " I know that.
But I know, too, that you have something in your mind against
him. What's the matter with Heppner ? Isn't he steady in
his work and first-rate in the stables ? "

The sergeant-major answered slowly : " In his work, and as
far as the horses are concerned — oh, yes."

»But ?"

Schumann shrugged his shoulders again.

The captain began to be angry. " Good God, man ! so •

but he swallowed the sentence and continued more mildly
" Look here, Schumann. I'm not asking you for any gossip
about your comrades; I only speak in the interest of the
service. What is all this about Heppner ? Is it that story
about his wife and his sister-in-law ? "

" No, sir, that's his private affair. But he won't do for the
office, or to — to assist in money matters."

"But why?"

" He gambles, sir."

Wegstetten walked up and down the room for a few moments,
plunged in thought; then came to a stand in front of the
sergeant-major.

11 Thank you for being so open with me, Schumann," he
said ; " but I don't see how we can avoid it. Heppner has
served eleven years, the colonel likes him well enough, and —
he really is a capable man in all practical work."

22 JENA OR SEDAN?

He looked at the clock and went on : " Thank goodness,
you will be here another six months, and we shall be able to
get this year's recruits well started. Now it's half-past ten,
and I must be off to the riding-school. What else was there ?
Oh yes, Frielinghausen. Have him here at eleven." And
with a friendly " Good morning, Schumann," he left the room.
Schumann sat down again to his writing ; but he did not
take up the pen. What his captain had said about " deser-
tion " kept running in his head. He himself sometimes had
the feeling that it would be wrong of him to quit the service.
Especially now, when these new-fangled ways made men
of the good old stamp all the more necessary.

He had worked his way upwards through long years of
service, only getting promotion by slow degrees; and eight
years ago he had been made sergeant-major, Wegstetten
getting his battery on the self-same day. Nowadays any
young fool of a gunner might be made bombardier in a year,
in another six months corporal, and then be set to teach
others. Raw, empty-headed fellows that only thought of their
own comfort, and disappeared from barrack? the moment
their time of service had expired, without leaving a trace
behind. Chaps without the least pride or interest in the
service ; — nice sort of non-commissioned officers !

He looked round. Just so; Käppchen was still away.
Where was that lazy beggar ? and where was the bombardier ?
He shut up his book and went off on the hunt.

The bombardier was waiting outside the door : he " thought
the captain was still in the orderly-room." That might
be true, of course. He didn't know where Käppchen was.

The sergeant-major knew where to look, and went straight
to the canteen. There indeed was Käppchen, just lighting a
cigarette, after wiping from his thin black beard the froth
of a freshly-drawn glass of beer.

Schumann would not make a fuss before the other non-
commissioned officers who were standing about, so only said :
11 Käppchen, you're wanted in the orderly-room." Whereupon
the corporal was off like a shot, not even finishing his beer.

Wegstetten sauntered along the sandy road that led from
the riding-school to the barracks. Now and then he stopped

JENA OR SEDAN? 23

to switch off the dust scattered over him by the gallop-
ing hoofs. Now and then he flung an oath or so at the
riders, but on the whole he was contented enough. It could
not be gainsaid, Heppner was the man for him. Yes,
the battery was all right, and he, Wegstetten, would see to it
that it remained so. On every speech-making occasion when
the chief held it up as an example, he had rejoiced to see
the envious faces with which the commanders of the other
batteries congratulated him.

Undoubtedly on this account he was given extra hard nuts
to crack — such as this case of Frielinghausen.

Baron Walter von Frielinghausen was a second-year student,
expelled from the gymnasium for repeated misdemeanours.
His mother, a very poor widow, had not the means to continue
his education, neither was the family ready to do so. They
had therefore suggested that the young scapegrace should be
brought under strict soldierly discipline, with the view to his
eventually entering the Fire-Workers' Corps, and perhaps
being made an officer therein.

And it was the sixth battery that was selected as the scene
of action for this young man's talents ! Wegstetten resolved to
take all the nonsense out of him, and to destroy any delusions
the youth might have as to his being in any way privileged.

But when Frielinghausen stood before him, an overgrown
stripling, whose somewhat angular limbs looked still more im-
mature in the coarse, ready-made uniform ; and when he met
a pair of anxious young eyes fixed on him, his tone softened
perceptibly. There occurred to him, too, the consciousness
of another bond : Frielinghausen, like himself, belonged to
the old Thuringian nobility — possibly even to an older family
than Wegstetten's. Although this youngster had undoubtedly
caused his mother grave anxiety, yet he had not stolen copper-
wire, nor taken part in any socialistic demonstration.
Wegstetten at the moment did not know of what worse
he could be accused. Naturally he would see to it that
this sympathy with the fate of a common soldier should
not be wasted on an unworthy object. Directly Frieling-
hausen did amiss, he would be down on him ; just as
with that other sprig of nobility, Count Egon Plettau, who
had actually managed to serve nearly eight years and of that

24 JENA OR SEDAN?

time to spend, first six months, then two and then five years
confined in a fortress — always on account of insubordination.
Now this incarnate disgrace to the German nobility was near-
ing his release, and was expected to be back again soon in the
battery. Accident would determine whether he would finish
his remaining two months before he was put on the Reserve,
or would again get himself into prison.

Wegstetten had sufficient knowledge of men to recognise
the difference between the two. Count Plettau was a mere
hopeless idler and vagabond. Frielinghausen was at least
inspired with a wish to pull himself together and become
good for something.

Accordingly Wegstetten spoke to him like a father ; told
him in a few pointed words that he must try to be independent
and steady, and must not expect to be treated exceptionally ;
enjoining him by zeal and good conduct to earn promotion
as quickly as possible. But at the door he added softly, for
he did not wish the non-commissioned officers to hear : lt Be
worthy of the name you bear! That alone should be
sufficient inducement to make you try to get on."

Frielinghausen stood breathless for a moment after he had
closed the door of the orderly-room. His heart was full
of gratitude for the warm, humane words, which, after all the
dry exhortations and admonitions, put new life into his heart.
He earnestly resolved to repay his chief by his deeds, and to
take all possible pains to please him.

The boy, than whom a few weeks ago none had been more
light-hearted and careless, had been forced into serious reflec-
tions the night before. He had been a favourite with all his
fellow-students, even outdoing the others in boyish exuberance,
looking only at the sunny side of life and laughing at the
censure of his teachers. Now suddenly he found himself
banished to surroundings the misery of which made sweet by
comparison even the bitterest hours of the past, which he
could only remember with shame. He thought of the timec _
when his mother had implored him with anxious, fervent
words to be good. How ill he had succeeded as to that
"goodness " ! That dear tender mother had not grudged him
the freedom of youth ; often she had told him that she had no
wish to see him a priggish, model boy, but had urged him not

JENA OR SEDAN? 25

to lag behind the others, nor to fall short of his goal. This
was chiefly because of the stingy, well-to-do relations, whose
goodwill she had to secure in order that he might not have an
utterly joyless youth. She had borne every burden, and was
prematurely aged through her anxiety that he should attain
the object which had shone so brightly in the future : namely,
the family scholarship at the University of Jena, an endow-
ment founded by a Frielinghausen of old for the benefit of his
descendants.

Then came the catastrophe. Never in all his life would he
forget the blank dismay of his mother when the head of the
gymnasium interviewed her and told her of the inevitable
expulsion. " Levity, carelessness, lack of industry, super-
ficiality in almost every subject," thus ran the reports of his
teachers.

Hereupon followed a period of dreary inaction, and again a
feverish succession of petitions and persuasions, with the object
of obtaining means for three years' private coaching, but the
relations declined to open their purses. So they had fallen
upon this last expedient for providing him with a career as a
sort of mongrel, half officer, half non-com.

He envied the simple lads who were his comrades. They
had, it is true, entered into new and strange conditions, but
after all they remained in their natural environment. Many of
them had never been so well off as in barracks. There was no
bridge between the heights of culture to which he had aspired
and the uncivilised depths in which his comrades dwelt so
contentedly. Possibly they numbered among them fine and
loveable natures : he was most attracted by the shabby clerk
Klitzing, and by Vogt, the rough peasant-boy; but all these
men, with their scanty words and awkward gestures, fought
shy of him, fearing to be despised by an educated gentleman.

The prospect of intercourse with the non-commissioned
officers, who, on promotion, would be his comrades, promised
to be but little better than with the recruits. Among them he
met, for the most part, with the same distrustful reticence that
he had experienced among the men, though a few of them
made up to him, thinking him the protege of the captain, and
this he resented. Käppchen, in particular, a little man, with
unpleasant cunning eyes, offered to his " future comrade *

26 JENA OR SEDAN?

sundry little favours which, being battery-clerk, were in his
power to bestow.

Look at it as he would, the life of both the present and the
future had seemed to him scarcely worth living. Upon such
reflections broke the captain's hearty, friendly words, bringing
a glimmer of light into the terrible darkness. To merit the
goodwill of this man, to show him that his sympathy had not
been unworthily bestowed, was at least an object to live for.
Frielinghausen set himself to attain it.

He paused near the door sunk in thought, he hardly knew
for how long. He was startled by a hand on his shoulder and
a voice saying : " Just let me pass, my son."

Frielinghausen stood aside at the bidding of an officer who,
in full-dress helmet, with aigrette, epaulettes, bandolier, and
scarf, strode into the orderly-room. He thought sadly how he
had himself as a youngster dreamt of being an officer, until
his mother had talked him over to the safer career of letters.
Now he glanced at his own shabby uniform and compared it
regretfully with that of the other.

In the orderly-room Wegstetten rose briskly to meet the
new-comer, and held out his hand : " Delighted to have you
in my battery, Reimers ; you are heartily welcome ! " cutting
short the lieutenant's acknowledgments with : " Yes indeed,
I am pleased to have a man with me who has some actual
experience of soldiering ; of possibly something even more
severe than that of Madelung with the fourth battery in China.'

Laughingly he held up a warning finger as he added :

" Even though it was entirely contrary to orders that you
should have fought for the Boers. How did you get on in the
fortress ? "

Reimers answered, smiling:

" Pretty well, sir. I have scarcely ever been so well treated
as during that arrest."

" Very likely. And his majesty did not let you languish
there long ? "

" No, indeed, sir."

Wegstetten glanced at his watch.

" Well, I'm sorry I can't stop any longer now, for I must go
back to the riding-school again. So good-bye, my dear fellow.
But let me say once more how glad I am to have a man who

JENA OR SEDAN? 27

has really smelt powder. They are only to be found among
colonels and generals as a rule nowadays."

As soon as the captain had gone, Reimers put his helmet on
the table, and drew off his gloves.

He glanced round the orderly-room and nodded with satis-
faction as he noted that everything was as it used to be. Then
he held out his hand to the sergeant-major.

" Good-day, Schumann ! " he said cheerily. " You're still
here ? How are you ? "

" I'm well, sir, thank God. And, beg pardon, sir, but how
are you ? "

Reimers looked surprised. " I'm quite well, of course.
Why should I not be ? "

" Well, sir, you had sick-leave last year ? "

" Ah, yes, that's all gone, Schumann ; all gone — not a trace
of it left."

11 I'm delighted to hear it, sir," said the sergeant-major ;
" and, if you will excuse me, sir," he went on somewhat hesi-
tatingly, " I'm glad, very glad, you've come back to the sixth,
especially after you've fought for the Boers. I should like to go
out there myself, you know, sir."

" Oh, no, Schumann," said Reimers, " you must not think
)f that. I don't believe you would like it. There's another
side to that affair. Stay contentedly here. This is the place
for you. Besides, the poor devils have next to no artillery
ift."

Lieutenant Reimers took Schumann's familiarity in good
)art. He recognised that it was the strong love of justice which
made him espouse the cause of the weak.

" No, Schumann," he went on : " that is no place for you.
Wait ; wait quietly here. Mark my words ! There will be
work enough ! The lessons learnt over there in China, too,
will have to be worked out here, and for that we shall want our
best men. You will be wanted. If only we had more like you ! "

Reimers emphasised the last words, and heartily wrung the
sergeant-major's hand.

Then he put on his helmet again and strode out of the room ;
a man, indeed, over whom the soldier heart of Schumann
rejoiced. One could have confidence in a man like that, with
his quick penetrating glance and his easy, erect carriage. He

28 JENA OR SEDAN?

was a handsome fellow too, fair-haired and of open countenance,
only just a trifle thin from his campaigning experiences. Not
one of those young puppies, like some of the officers, who
caused the sergeant-major, notwithstanding his due respect
for his superiors, to shake his head sadly at times.

Schumann seated himself at his table. But despite all his
efforts he could not concentrate his attention on the recruiting
papers. The words of Reimers haunted him : that he, Schu-
mann, would be wanted. That was the second time the same
thing had been said to him this very day. There must be
something in it. He felt as though he had a bad conscience.

But all day long he was busy, and it was only towards even-
ing, when work was nearly done, that he had time to think.
He left what he could for the next day, and went into his own
quarters at the end of the corridor. Here he would earnestly
think it out, whether he would not remain for a few more years
with the battery;

Iwo families were quartered at the end of the corridor, that
of Sergeant-major Schumann and that of the deputy sergeant-
major, Heppner; each had a bedroom, sitting-room, and
kitchen, and they shared the entrance-hall between them.

As Schumann entered he could hear through the door the
rough, blustering voice of Heppner.

That was the worst of these quarters ; the thin walls and
doors let the faintest sound through, to say nothing of rows
and quarrelling. Unless one positively whispered, one's neigh-
bours could overhear everything one said, even though they
were not intentionally listening.

The Heppners were always noisy. It was the old story
that caused the bickerings of the ill-mated pair : a sickly wife
stricken with lung disease, drawing daily nearer to her grave,
and a husband of rough exuberant physical strength.

Heppner had married his wife when she was already with
child by him ; and he never could imagine afterwards how he
had come to tie himself to her. He had at no time really
cared for the pale, thin woman ; but she had a quiet way of
managing, inch by inch, to attain the end she aimed at. She
had caught him by appearing humble and patient ; so humble
and patient that he fancied she would make a submissive wife

JENA OR SEDAN? 29

—a wife who would let him go his own way and would wink
at his shortcomings. For he had never had the smallest in-
tention of playing the faithful spouse.

Devil take it ! Wasn't he a jolly young chap who looked
thoroughly well in his smart uniform ; tall, broad-shouldered,
strong of limb, with full ruddy face and black moustache ; a
fellow all the women ran after ; was such as he to belong solely
to a broomstick like his wife ? It would be a sin and a shame !
Lucky for her that she was so tame and yielding !

But after marriage the pliant, patient woman altered sud-
denly. She turned out a regular scold ; a perfect vixen, who
was ever at his heels, distorting his most harmless acts, and
starting a new jealousy every day. Once she went for him
with finger-nails and scissors ; but he had given her such a
drubbing that she never attempted that game again. She used
her tongue all the more ; and when, driven to extremity, he
sought to chastise her, she screamed so that the whole barracks
ran to the rescue.

In the end Heppner completely gave up troubling about
her. He went his own way, going out evening after evening,
enjoying himself after h!s fashion. He hardly ever gave his
wife money enough for housekeeping. When he did come home
it was he who was the aggressor now, and the reproaches of his
wife were indifferent to him.

Thus things went on for months. It was not exactly
pleasant for Heppner ; but one can get used to anything. He
seemed only to grow handsomer and more robust, while his
wife became daily thinner and uglier. Finally she did him an
ill turn by falling sick. The doctor declared her case to be
hopeless from the first, and gave her but a short time to live.
But even the approach of death did not silence her evil tongue.

Once the wretched wife went to Wegstetten, the captain of
J their battery, in the vain hope that he might be able to
help her.

"Just consider a little, Frau Heppner," he suggested,
11 whether you yourself may not be somewhat to blame. For
it is impossible that a man so regular in his duties, who never
has to be found fault with, can be as violent as you make out.
You exaggerate a bit, my good woman."

After this she resigned herself angrily to her miserable fate.

39 JENA OR SEDAN?

Wegstetten was not wrong in his praise of Heppner. Out-
side his own quarters Heppner was a blameless non-commis-
sioned officer ; one who knew his duties as well as any, and
was strictly obedient to rules and regulations. He handled the
men smartly, his brutal, leonine voice being audible all over
the parade-ground ; yet he never permitted himself any undue
licence of speech.

In general, if his men took the trouble to try, he got on
well enough with them. It was a satisfaction to him to com-
mand a well-drilled body of men ; if they behaved themselves
he showed them thorough good-will. Only now and then he
would fix on a man and worry him to the utmost permissible
limit in a grim, cold way almost past endurance. It would
always be one of the weaker sort ; pale-faced lads he could
never endure. And occasionally in other ways the rough
animal nature of the man would show itself. If any one got
hurt, Heppner was the first to run up — not to help, but to see
the blood ; he would watch it flow with unmistakable pleasure
in his eager eyes.

His special forte was the breaking-in of chargers. In the
riding-school he was thoroughly in his element; particularly
under cover in the winter, when the horses steamed and the
dim lamps glowed red through the dust. With the air of a
conqueror he would mount some horse which had refused a
jump. His hand could be as soft as satin or as hard as steel,
and he would always try gentle means first. Throwing him-
self back on the hind-quarters, where the weight tells most,
and thus driving the brute involuntarily forward till with his
powerful legs he had forced it up to the obstacle, with one
final squeeze he would get it over. If a refractory horse felll
with him, he would be out of the saddle in a moment, andl
would wait, rein in hand, smiling quietly, until the animal was
up again snorting. Then he would remount, and four or five)
times must the rebellious horse take the jump ; then at last his|
rider would be satisfied.

Heppner's voice would sometimes sound quite good-
humoured during riding instruction ; he would then relax some-
what. He knew that his men would ride well when it camei
to the point ; for that the sixth battery must have the besl
horsemen was an understood thing.

JENA OR SEDAN? 31

Thus it will be seen that the brutality Heppner displayed at
home he could successfully repress when on duty. But the
most remarkable thing about this man, who behaved like a
brute to his wife, and had no affection for his comrades, was
the metamorphosis he underwent if the horses were in ques-
tion. Towards those beautiful animals he showed an almost
womanly tenderness. They all knew him, and he loved them
all, though naturally he had his favourites among them. There
was Udo, a light-brown gelding, who could kneel down. And
Zulu, almost black, would shake his head when asked if he
were French, but nodded when one said, " A German artillery-
man, aren't you ? " Heppner would take them sugar every
day, or other tit-bits, which he would divide among them with
scrupulous fairness.

If by chance a horse fell ill, Heppner's devotion amounted
to actual self-sacrifice, and he would anticipate the orders of
the vet. with marvellous acuteness. Once only had he mal-
treated a subordinate, a driver whom as a rule he particularly
liked. He gave him a blow which caused the blood to spurt
from both nose and moutii. because he had, when on stable
duty, allowed Dornröschen to get caught in her chain. Dorn-
röschen was Heppner's own riding-horse, and the very apple
of his eye.

It was chiefly among these beautiful and intelligent animals
that the more human element in Heppner's nature came out,
and his love for them almost amounted to superstition. There
must always be a goat about the stables, for it was an old belief
that the strong smell of that animal was a preventive of dis-
ease, and the long-bearded Billy was the special protege of the
deputy sergeant-major. Now and then there were difficulties
concerning him ; as, for instance, when an unexpected attack
in the rear knocked the major down in the dust before the
whole corps. It was only by desperate entreaty that Heppner
succeeded in saving the life of the bleating culprit, and then a
curious chance led to his reinstatement. The very first night
that the goat was turned out of the barracks, two of the horses
began to cough ; the vet. hinted at bronchitis — four weeks
only from the manoeuvres, and bronchitis ! — Billy was at once
restored to his place in the stables, and both horses ceased to
cough.

32 JENA OR SEDAN?

The deputy sergeant-major would have found it difficult to
answer had he been asked which he preferred : to play cards
in a beerhouse with a buxom Bohemian waitress beside him,
or to be in the neat stables amid the chain-rattling, snorting,
stamping company of the horses. Both were to his taste ; but
perhaps on the whole he was really happiest walking up and
down before the stalls, with the goat trotting after him, and
the horses turning their heads to follow him with their sagacious
eyes.

But as soon as the stable-door closed behind him the soft
look would vanish ; and as he opened the door of his own
quarters an evil expression would overspread his face, as if
he were ready at once to fall upon his defenceless wife.

Through grief and illness the unfortunate woman became
at last incapable of attending to her domestic duties. She
cast about for an assistant, and at last wrote to her sister Ida,
who was in service in Lusatia. Ida willingly threw up her
situation, came to her brother-in-law's dwelling, and imme-
diately took over the management of the little household and
of the invalid.

For a time it seemed as if the loathsome atmosphere of hate
and squalor must disappear in presence of the tall fresh
country girl ; the deputy sergeant-major put a restraint upon
himself before his sister-in-law, and the sickly wife found com-
fort and relief in talking to her. But eventually the presence
of this third party transformed the house into a veritable hell.

The eyes of hatred are as keen as those of love. Julie
Heppner soon discovered that her husband loved her sister
with his usual coarse passion, as he had loved so many others
before. She recognised the ardent fixed gaze that rested lust-
fully on the young girl, following her every movement. This,
then, was to be the last, bitterest, deadliest drop in her cup ;
this betrayal, in her own home, under her very eyes.

The sick woman watched her sister's conduct in agonised
suspense. At first Ida had been honestly indifferent to the
behaviour of her brother-in-law; after a while, however, a
faint embarrassed flush would sometimes overspread her pretty
youthful countenance. From the fugitive glances which she
now and then intercepted between the two, the invalid foresaw
the most sinister results.

JENA OR SEDAN? 33

Heppner himself, not being particularly quick-witted, and
being used only to coarse associates, did not quite know what
to make of his sister-in-law. Of only one thing was he certain,
this beautiful girl must be his. He was even prepared, if he
could not otherwise succeed, to resort to violence.

One evening Heppner had been exercising Walküre, Weg-
stetten's charger, for an hour. Having seen her wisped down
in the stable and covered with a horse cloth, he went toward*
the canteen for a drink, when "he remembered that there was a
bottle of beer in his own kitchen. He strolled slowly and
somewhat stiffly towards his quarters.

Ida was washing in the kitchen. He said briefly, " Good
evening," poured out the beer, and drank it in great gulps.
Then he shook the last drops in the glass to make them froth
up, silently watching his sister-in-law the while. She had round
white arms ; and as she bent over the tub, the outline of her
hips showed broad and firm.

Through the open door came the shrill hoarse voice of his
wife.

"Ida, who is there?"

" Who else should it be but Otto ? " answered the girl.

Again the shrill voice called, yet more insistently, ' Why
does he not come in?"

Heppner finished his glass, put it down, and said : " Be-
cause I won't. Because I'm better off here. Because Ida's a
pretty girl, and you're an old crone."

At this, as though in fun, he put his arm round the girl and
pressed her to him.

Ida kept still for a moment. She shivered. Then she
shook him off: " Let go, stupid ! Go to your wife."

Heppner let her go. The single moment that she had
permitted his embrace convinced him that here, too, he would
conquer. How she had quivered in his arms ! He under-
stood such signs.

Meanwhile Sergeant Schumann, only separated from the
Heppners by a partition wall, sat at the round table by the
sofa with his wife.

Their room, with its antimacassars, its upholstered furniture,
its flower-pots and canary-bird, its sewing-machine in the

34 JENA OR SEDAN?

window, was more like an old maid's best parlour than a
soldier's sitting-room. The small, neat-featured mistress
herself, who was not very strong, and always, even in summer,
wore a little shawl round her shoulders, suited her surroundings
admirably.

She had a thousand small cares, and one great grief : that
they were childless. But she never troubled her husband
with her sorrow, taking care to bear it alone. He had
bothers enough in the service ; how often did she not hear his
voice storming outside ! He should have peace at home.
One thing only she could not bear without complaining to
him : the terrible quarrellings of their neighbours. She
shuddered whenever she heard the strife begin afresh ; and
gradually out of this had grown an aversion from all this noisy
life. She became a most zealous advocate of her husband's
plans for retiring ; and could scarcely find patience to await
the moment when he would put off the richly-laced coat
beside which she had formerly been so proud to walk. In
her heart she had always been rather against the martial
calling, and would take Schumann's sword from him as
though it dripped blood.

All this would cease when he changed his military coat
or the handsome dark uniform of a railway-official ; all
this discomfort would come to an end; above all, this
noise : the shouts and curses with which recalcitrant recruits
had to be knocked into shape, the trampling of nailed
boots on the stone stairs, the bellowing of commands on
the parade-ground, and — last, but not least — the hideous
racket next door.

The sergeant-major had almost finished his time of ser-
vice. A post awaited him as assistant at a small railway-
station in the neighbourhood; and once when Schumann
was away at the practice-camp, she had not been able to resist
the temptation to see the place for herself. It was on a
branch-line, which wound up among the hills. The station
was a little distance from the village in a green plantation.
She yearned after the peaceful spot

And now Schumann had again begun to speak of remaining
on in the army !

His wife let him talk, listening patiently. She sat quietly

JENA OR SEDAN? 35

opposite to him, giving him his supper as usual, as busy and
attentive as though he were only speaking on indifferent topics.
But when he had finished she spoke out, saying that, as a rule,
she was not the woman to meddle in her husband's affairs, but
that this was a matter which concerned herself as well. His
notion that to quit the service now would make him feel like a
deserter and a scoundrel seemed to her utter unpractical non-
sense. He would be sacrificing a couple of years to a mere
fancy.

Finally she produced her trump-card. She knew that the
rural quiet of the little station had wound itself round her
husband's heart during the week of trial he had already
passed there. So she confessed her own secret journey.

And she conquered.

Each could describe as well as the other the charms of the
unassuming little retreat. What one omitted the other
supplied. Thus the picture in the sergeant-major's mind was
revived afresh, and in such vivid colours that it regained its
old power over him, dissipating the cloud of self-reproachful
doubt. He saw before him a calm bright future in the narrow
valley between wooded heights, and it came over him suddenly
that there in the stillness where one could live in touch with
nature, he would for the first time begin really to live.

CHAPTER III

M I vow to thee my duty,
My heart and my hand,
O land of love and beauty,
My German fatherland ! "

(Massmann.}

Lieutenant Reimers had reported himself to the colonel of
the regiment and to the major.

These officers had given him a hearty welcome, each after
his own fashion.

Major Schrader, who never let pass an opportunity of
making a joke, received his report at first in a very stiff official
manner, assuring him with a frown that he was very loth
to have in his division officers who had been in disgrace ;
then almost fell on his neck, and asked him if it were true that
the Kaffir girls had such an abominable smell.

Colonel Falkenhein gave him only a prolonged handshake ;
but Reimers could read the great gladness in his eyes.

The colonel had treated the young man almost as a son ;
and a year before, when the doctors had sent Reimers to
Egypt as a consumptive patient with a very doubtful prospect
of recovery, had seen him depart with a heavy heart. Now,
looking upon him once more, he was doubly glad. Reimers
had not developed into a broad-chested, red-cheeked, powerful
man, but every trace of illness had vanished from the bronzed
face ; the thin features and the rather spare rigid figure gave
an impression of tough endurance, a characteristic of greater
value in resisting disease than mere well-nourished sleekness.

" You are well out of that, thank God ! Reimers," he
said, once more shaking the lieutenant's hand; " ar.d it looks
as if the improvement would be permanent, considering the
test to which your health has been put."

JENA OR SEDAN? 37

II It was rather va banque, sir," replied the lieutenant.
11 Either all or nothing."

II I decidedly prefer the all," said Falkenhein, in such a
hearty, affectionate tone that a rush of devotion carried the
lieutenant past the barriers of formality. He bent quickly
over the colonel's hand and kissed it. Tears stood in his eyes
— tears of grateful pleasure. Now he indeed felt himself back
in his native country.

How he had longed for it, day after day, during this year
of furlough !

At first when, in Cairo, he was again laid low by the
fatigues of the journey, he had thought of his country with
pensive melancholy. Later, as his strength returned, home-
sickness asserted itself increasingly ; he suffered from it more
than from his gradually-subsiding bodily malady, and the
aimless life of a health-resort only increased his sufferings.
He could never have resigned himself to pass long months of
such inaction in a strange land; and when he joined the
Boer forces, it was to no small extent in order to counteract
the torturing longing for Germany.

He loved his country with a passionate ardour. The ideas
of greatness, power and sovereignty were inseparably con-
nected in his mind with the name of the German Empire.
But his chief enthusiasm was reserved for the diligent, un-
ostentatious work, quietly accomplished and conscious of its
aim, which, begun by Stein, Scharnhorst and Boyen, had led
through long struggles to such a glorious result. He reviewed
the whole story with the eye of a soldier ; from the collapse at
Jena onward to the last great war he seemed to trace an un-
interruptedly ascending line, not diverted even by Prussia's
temporary political defeats. In the unparalleled siege ot
Sedan a height of military efficiency had been reached from
which no further ascent was possible. He could not
imagine anything in the whole world more honourable than to
belong to that splendid army of Sedan; and he wore his
officer's sword-knot with a pride far removed from any kind
of conceit : in fact, nearly akin to religious veneration.

As a boy, it had been his bitterest grief that his mother's
wishes and the doctor's opinion were against his becoming a

38 JENA OR SEDAN?

soldier, — an officer like his dead father, who had fought in the
great campaign. His mother and the doctor had feared that
he was too weakly for the military profession. In order to
remove this objection, the boy voluntarily subjected himself to
heroic discipline, and by strictly following a graduated system
of physical exercises inured his body to hardships, until
he was actually found fit for service. Conquered by such
persistent devotion, his mother at last yielded to his wishes ;
but she saw him wear his father's familiar old uniform only a
few times, for she died shortly after, barely forty years old.

Bernhard Reimers thus became doubly an orphan. But he
had far more than the death of a mother to deplore. With
his mother he also lost the only person who had loved him,
and the only one whom he in return had loved.

So closely was the boy encircled by his mother's love, that
the need which led his schoolfellows at the gymnasium to
form friendships was never felt by him. Whenever he wanted
to learn something, to solve a doubt or to confide a secret, he
could count on his mother's tenderness ; she would explain,
soothe, or sympathise, as the joys and sorrows of the
growing youth became ever more serious. From this relation
he retained a touch of womanliness in his character, even
after he had left home to enter the regiment : a shrinking
from everything coarse, a reserve before all that was unlovely.
This instinctive feeling did not, indeed, altogether protect
him from temptation, but it withheld him from yielding to
excess. He joined in the little drink and love follies of
the other young subalterns from a sense of comradeship ;
alone they would never have appealed to him.

As at school, so in the regiment, he had many comrades,
but no friend. He did not trouble himself about this, and
until his mother's death he felt no want. Then he recognised
tadly that he was quite alone ; but he was incapable of setting
so work to seek a friend, so he just waited for some happy
chance to bring the right person across his path.

When, at last, he found the friendship he sought, it did not
come in the way he had dreamed, suddenly, like a gift from
heaven thrown into his lap ; but was a gradual strong growth,
a slow mutual recognition.

It would be difficult to find a greater contrast than that

JENA OR SEDAN? 39

presented by Reimers and this Senior-lieutenant Giintz ;
externally and internally they differed radically. Reimers was
tall and lean, with golden-brown hair, and a noble, but some-
what melancholy expression ; Giintz was small and very fair,
with a tendency to stoutness, and with a red jovial face like
the full moon. The one was romantic and even exuberant,
slightly fantastic in his moods; the other firmly rooted in
prosaic fact.

Both were prized as able officers. Reimers was referred to
on questions of military history and science ; Giintz was con-
sidered an authority on mathematical technicalities, especially
in connection with the artillery. Thoroughness was a
characteristic of each alike ; and on the strength of this,
and despite all difference, they were daily attracted more
and more to each other. Guntz, the more expansive nature,
soon opened his whole heart to his friend ; though Reimers,
partly from a kind of timidity, still kept his deepest and
innermost feelings somewhat hidden. For Giintz, with his
sober sense and terrible logic, must necessarily, since he could
never be otherwise than sincere, destroy most of the ideals
and illusions to which Reimers passionately clung, and with-
out which he believed he could not live.

Little by little, however, the wall of separation between
them gave way, and their friendship and mutual confidence
had become almost ideal, when Giintz was ordered to serve
in the Experimental Department of the Artillery in Berlin.
This was a distinction ; but it meant absence for a year.

Reimers had thus found a friend only to lose him again.

The exchange of letters between the two was not specially
brisk. Things which could be instantly understood in con-
versation had to be treated in such detail on paper !
They would have had to write each other scientific treatises,
and for that there was no time ; Reimers was too zealous in
his garrison duty, and Giintz too much absorbed in the tech-
nical problems on which he was engaged. His loneliness
only caused Reimers to devote himself with the greater zeal
to his profession.

Even the irksome duties of the service did not trouble him
and he took special interest in his recruits, superintending
correcting, and instructing them. In times of peace this was

40 JENA OR SEDAN?

ndeed, the greatest and most important work of the young
officer, to mould this stubborn human material into soldiers —
soldiers who, after the first rough shaping, had to be trained
till finally they attained their highest end : fitness for active
service.

At the same time he had to pursue his own studies in
military science. But he would have been ashamed to call
that work ; he knew no nobler pleasure, and would gladly
have sat up the whole night over the plans of the general
staff, only refraining so that the next morning might find him
fresh with the needful, or, as he smilingly called it, the
" regulation " vigour for practical duty.

Thus, when Güntz had gone, Reimers was in danger of
becoming somewhat shy of his fellow-creatures. He had
honestly to put constraint on himself to fulfil the claims of
comradeship with a good grace, and more especially his social
obligations. He was most at home in outdoor recreations ;
he played tennis with enthusiasm, and had nothing against
excursions on foot or bicycle with a picnic thrown in, or the
regimental races, or hunting. These all meant healthy exer-
cise, and afforded a wholesome change from the confined life
of the garrison. But winter, with its obligatory dinners and
balls, was a torment to him.

On one occasion, standing in the doorway of a ballroom,
he had closed his ears so as to exclude all sound of the music,
and then had seriously doubted the sanity of the men and
women he saw madly jumping about. He felt almost ashamed
afterwards when he had to ask the no longer youthful Frau
Lischke for a dance ; but the fat lady hung smiling on his
arm, and did not spare him a single round. Reimers thought
sadly of his honest friend Giintz, and the rude things he had
been wont to say about such follies as these.

But chance threw in his way a gift which to some extent
compensated him for the loss of his friend. He and Colonel
von Falkenhein were brought together ; and, by the irony of
fate, at one of these same odious balls.

After working through his duty dances, Reimers had
allowed himself to omit a polka, and was leaning out of a
window in the end room of the suite, when Colonel Falken-
hein tapped him on the shoulder.

JENA OR SEDAN? 4r

The colonel was bored ; for those of the older men who
were not occupied with the ladies had set themselves down to
cards, and he — a widower, whose only daughter was still at
school — could not bear cards, and liked dancing still less.
This Lieutenant Reimers, standing alone gazing out into the
night, seemed a kindred spirit.

The young officer had already excited his interest ; his
behaviour as a soldier was loudly praised by his superiors ;
and then unprofessionally he was distinguished from the
average type of young lieutenant by a certain attractive
maturity of bearing, without, however, impressing one as a
prig. Priggishness was even less endurable to Falkenhein
than play and dancing.

The colonel had the gift of making people open their
hearts to him by means of a few judicious questions, and could
very well distinguish between genuine and spurious sentiment.

Reimers answered with a candour which astonished himself
most of all, and Falkenhein listened with a pleased attention.
Here was a man after his own heart, possessed by a manly
seriousness, and with a deliberate lofty aim in life ; not merely
dreaming of substituting a general's epaulettes for the simple
shoulder-knots of a lieutenant.. Here, too, was a fine enthu-
siasm, which touched the veteran of fifty and warmed his heart.
It recalled the old warlike days and the cry : " Only put us to
the proof ! and rather to-day than to-morrow ! " Ah ! since
those days he had learnt to judge such things rather differ-
ently ; but nevertheless it was the right way for youth to regard
them. Such enthusiasm was a little exaggerated, at any rate
as things stood at present, and also a trifle shortsighted. It
was now no longer as in the days of 1870 and after, when the
watch on the Rhine had to be kept for fear ot vengeance. He
could not join as heartily as he might then have done in the
proud joy of the young officer.

He felt inclined to take himself to task for this, and on no
account would he pour cold water on this fine flame of enthu-
siasm. It was the very thing in which the present time was
most lacking : patriotism as a genuine conviction rooted firmly
and deep in the breast, not venting itself in mere cheering and
hurrahs ; and accompanied by a steady comprehension of the
soldier's profession as simply a constant readiness for war.

42 JENA OR SEDAN?

From the time of this conversation, Reimers began to feet
heartily enthusiastic about his colonel. He was almols
ashamed to find that his good friend Glintz was thus slightly
forgotten ; but this was not really the case — the two might
safely share in his affection without wrong to either of them.
The honest, faithful fellow in Berlin remained his dear friend ;
the colonel he began to look on as a second father.

Falkenhein's partiality was not, of course, openly expressed ;
but by many little signs he let the young man see how much
he thought of him. Reimers, fully aware of the fatherly sym-
pathy, was happy in the knowledge of it. His comrades were,
indeed, surprised to find how lively and almost exuberant the
hitherto staid Reimers could become ; and particularly was this
so during the artillery practice and the autumn manoeuvres,
when — garrison and parade drills at an end for a time — con-
ditions were somewhat akin to those of real warfare.

Then the even course of things was broken by his illness.

When, before his enforced furlough, he took leave of the
colonel, the latter's hearty liking for the first time broke
through the barriers of official form. His clear eyes became
dim, and his voice slightly trembled as he said : " Come back
well, my dear Reimers — come back to me. Be sure and do all
you can to get cured ! "

Now, when at last Reimers found himself once more stand-
ing face to face with this honoured colonel, joy overpowered
him, and he kissed the hand of his fatherly friend.

The colonel tolerated this altogether unmilitary excess with
a good-natured smile. He would have been delighted to clasp
in his arms this young man, who was as dear as a son to him ;
but he, an old soldier, could not allow his feelings to get the
better of him as the lieutenant had done, rejoiced though he
had been by the latter's outburst.

Out on the parade-ground Reimers looked about him with
interest. Everything seemed to have become different and
delightful ; even the bare, prosaic yard of the barracks ap-
peared no longer devoid of charm. He passed through the
gate and went slowly along the high road towards the town.
Then it was that the glad feeling of being in his native country
asserted itself in full force. He realised that it was just the

JENA OR SEDAN? 43

tender green of those beeches and alders edging the brook
that he had longed to see when, in Cairo, the fan-like palm-leaf
hung motionless at his window; just this slope of meadow
land that he had remembered on the arid veldt of South
Africa. It was this mild sunshine of his native land, this
blue German sky that he had pined for in the glowing furnace
of the Red Sea. The tiny engine which puffed along asthma-
tically up the valley, dragging its little carriages and ringing its
bell from time to time when a browsing sheep strayed between
the rails, had been ever present in his mind during his journey-
ings to and fro.

As he walked along, the young officer thought of his com-
rades whom he would now meet again.

In this glad moment he could tolerate them all. Their
various defects, whether small or great, now appeared less
offensive than of yore; and in any case it was kind of them
and a great compliment to him that on this very day of his
return they should have arranged a feast. It is true he rather
dreaded this feast, which was sure to end in the usual way —
general drunkenness — but it was well-meant, and there was at
least one advantage in it, that he would at once be made
acquainted with all the details of garrison gossip ; for, though
altogether beneath contempt, they must be known in order to
avoid giving unintentional offence.

At the door of his quarters he found waiting the gunner
who had been appointed as his servant.

" Gunner Gähler, as servant to Lieutenant Reimers," he
announced himself.

Reimers took a good look at the man. The sergeant-major
seemed to have done well for him in this respect. Gähler was
a smart fellow, not exactly tall, but well proportioned, and very
clean. His hair smelt a little too strongly of pomade, and wax
had not been spared on his fashionably-stiffened moustache.

When Reimers drew his bunch of keys out of his pocket to
unlock the door, Gähler hastened to take them from his hand,
and opened the door for the lieutenant to pass in before him.
He quickly laid his bundle of clothes upon a chair, and at once
helped to take off Reimer's helmet, shoulder-belt, and scarf.

The officer smiled at such excessive zeal.

" How is it that you are so well up in this work ? "

D

44 JENA OR SEDAN?

" I was for a time servant to Captain von Wegstetten, tir."

" Indeed ? And why did you leave him ? "

Gähler hesitated a little ; then he resumed glibly : " Please
do not think badly of me, sir. There were difficulties ; the
servant-girl slandered me ; you will understand, sir."

He stood there embarrassed, polishing the chin-piece of the
helmet with the sleeve of his coat.

Reimers felt amused at his choice manner ot expressing
himself. " So you can't leave the women alone ? " he asked.
" Well, with me you will not be led into temptation."

Gähler modestly demurred : " I beg your pardon, sir ; but
in that case it was really not at all my fault."

The lieutenant laughed. "Oh, all right!" he said; "but
before that, where were you ? "

The gunner drew himself up proudly, and replied with
dignity: " I was groom to Count Vocking, in Dresden."

" Aha, that accounts for it ! "

Reimers was no longer surprised. The aristocratic cavalry-
officer was considered the richest and smartest sportsman in
Germany.

First, Reimers asked for his smoking-jacket, and then told
Gähler to help him in unpacking the case of books which had
just arrived from Suez.

Gähler handed him the volumes, and could not help re-
marking : " You have an awful lot of books, sir ! "

The lieutenant did not look offended, so he went on : " The
count hadn't so many, and none at all of this sort."

He stole another glance to assure himself that he had not
displeased his master, and then added : " The count only had
books about horses, and a few about women, and the Regula-
tions for cavalry-exercise."

At this Reimers could not help laughing, and his " Hold
your tongue," did not sound to Gähler particularly angry.

But if Count Vocking possessed fewer books than the lieu-
tenant, he apparently surpassed him greatly in other respects.

As Gähler was arranging the washhand sta,nd, he remarked :
"The count had lots of little boxes and bottles, with real
silver tops."

And when he fetched Reimers some sandwiches and a glass
of beer for lunch from the kitchen on the ground floor, he

JENA OR SEDAN? 45

informed his master, " The count had his own kitchen, and
used to drink Burgundy at lunch."

And here another result of his training in the Vocking
household came to light. In a few moments the table was
covered with a clean cloth, with knife, fork, and spoon neatly
in place ; and it was certainly not the rough maid down below
in the simple kitchen to whom it had occurred to decorate the
dish so prettily with parsley and radishes. The meal looked
far more appetising than usual, and this was Gähler's work.

" Where did you get the radishes from ? " Reimers asked.

" The cook gave them to me, sir," his servant replied.

" So you are at it again, making yourself agreeable ? "

This time Gähler was not in the least confused, but replied
frankly, " I beg your pardon, sir; the cook is very old and very
fat, I "

That evening, in the mess-house, the officers, both his seniors
in rank and those of his own age, vied with each other in
pleasant speeches. But it ended just as it had done a year
before ; when all had greeted him, he was left standing alone
in the doorway of the reading-room.

His only friend, Giintz, was still in Berlin, and the officers
chatted together in the other rooms of the mess-house, standing
in groups which in almost every case denoted circles of friends.
There was hardly any change in the composition of these
circles, which was usually due to similar length of service, but
in certain cases they were held together by some other bond.
There was the Keyl-Möller group of two senior-lieutenants
and a lieutenant, who were brothers-in-law in a double sense,
two Keyls having married two Fräulein Möllers, and a Möller
a Fräulein Keyl. There was also the trio of musical officers,
one of whom sang and played the violin and also the French
horn, while the second was an excellent pianist, and the third
only whistled, but in a most artistic manner. Then, finally,
there was the philosophic group, to which little Lieutenant
Dr. von Fröben gave the tone. He had taken his doctor's
degree in jurisprudence at Heidelberg, and had recently
become an officer, as during his year of military service he
had lost all taste for legal science. He bore his academic
honours with that dignity which often accompanies the un-

46 JENA OR SEDAN?

usual ; he was considered extremely up-to-date, and at times
rather extravagant in his opinions. Among his friends were
two officers still very young, one of whom was always reading
Prevost and Maupassant ; and the other blushingly acknow-
ledged himself to be the author of an ode, printed in a daily
newspaper, welcoming the troops just returned from China,
among whom had been Captain Madelung of the regiment.

Everything at the mess-house seemed to be just as of old ; it
seemed to Reimers as if he had not been away for a day. He
looked around him : all were as before, the elder men, with
thick moustaches and hair growing thin in places, with the
cares of a future command already on the brow ; those of his
own age, easy-going and assuming nonchalant airs ; and the
youngest of all very spick and span and extremely correct.
Just as of old the three brothers-in-law stood close together
(two of them had in the meantime become fathers, and the wife
of Keyl IL, nbe Möller, was in an interesting condition), and
chatted about their various uncles and aunts. As of yore, the
singing, violin and horn-playing Manitius was at the piano,
turning over the leaves of a pianoforte arrangement of the
"Trompeter von Säkkingen." And again, as of old, the little
red-haired Dr. von Fröben held forth learnedly to every one who
would listen. There were only two new men who had entered
the regiment during his illness, and had just got their com-
missions as lieutenants. One of them, Landsberg, had intro-
duced himself to Reimers as belonging to his battery.

Reimers was not much taken with him. This youth, with
his somewhat vacant expression, hair glossy with pomade, and
single eye-glass squeezed into his eye, was too artificial and
dandified to suit his taste. But he seemed somehow to be an
object of interest to Landsberg, though the latter was evidently
shy of addressing his elder comrade.

Reimers thought he could guess what was coming. No doubt
it was again some question about his experiences in the war,
of the kind he had already answered twenty times this evening
in a more or less evasive fashion. This curiosity did not offend
him, for such questions must be in every officer's mind, and
especially in that of one who was fresh to the soldier's calling.

Sure enough Landsberg came up. He began rather slowly.
" Excuse me, may I ask you a question ? "

JENA OR SEDAN? 47

l< Certainly, I shall be most happy," answered Reimers.

" Do tell me," Landsberg proceeded hesitatingly, " I would
like so much — in fact, the shape of your boots pleases me
immensely ; they are awfully smart, and I — in fact, you would
confer a tremendous favour on me if you would give me the
address of your bootmaker."

Reimers considered for a moment, then replied coldly :"I
bought these boots in passing through Berlin."

" Just what I expected ! They do look awfully smart,
really ! And do you remember the address of the shop ? "

« No."

" What a pity ! But, if you don't mind, I will send my
servant to you to copy it off the lining. May I ? "

Again Reimers was silent for a moment, then he F^id : " I
have no objection, if you think it important."

Landsberg brought his heels together with a click, bowed,
and murmured : " You are very kind ; I shall certainly do so."

Then he moved away with, " Thank you so much."

Reimers turned away. He suddenly found the room too
hot, and he walked up and down for a time in the cooler air
of the vestibule. All the doors were open. In the mess-room
the staff-officers and the captains were standing near the table,
which was already laid. It was a few minutes before half-past
seven. Only the colonel had not come yet.

Andreae, the senior staff-surgeon, gave Reimers a friendly
nod through the doorway. Reimers was his show patient.
The specialist had shrugged his shoulders, but he, Andreae,
had not thrown up the sponge. The thing was in reality
quite simple. It only needed, like other military affairs, initia-
tive. The right diagnosis must be made as promptly as pos-
sible, and the right treatment must follow without delay.
Then all went well, as in this case — unless, indeed, something
went wrong. Yes, indeed, this patient was a triumph which
should finally reduce to silence those civilian colleagues of his
who considered a. military surgeon competent at most to deal
with venereal diseases and broken bones.

Reimers listened in an absent-minded way to his long-
winded deliverances on the subject of acclimatisation, taking
urtive glances the while at the other officers in the mess-
room.

48 JENA OR SEDAN?

They also seemed in no way changed. Major Lischke and
Captain von Wegstetten were still at loggerheads, Lischke
blustering away in his loud voice, and Wegstetten assuming his
most ironical expression. Captain Stuckardt was listening in
a half-hearted way ; he had quite recently been put on the list
for promotion to the staff, and consequently wore a rather pre-
occupied look. Hitherto he had found the charge of one
battery difficult enough, and now he would have to command
three. Undisturbed by the dispute, the captain of the fifth
battery, Mohr, had sat down to the table by himself; he was
always thirsty, and had already disposed of half a bottle of
champagne. Madelung, fresh from the Far East, paced up and
down with short nervous steps between him and the disputing
officers. In passing, he glanced at the two fighting-cocks with
a kind of scornful pity, and at the silent toper with contempt.
Major Schrader and Captain von Gropphusen were whispering
and chuckling together in a window nook. They had one in-
exhaustible theme — women ; while forage was the favourite
topic of the two men standing beneath the chandelier — Träger
and Heuschkel, the officers commanding the first and second
batteries. The third battery had the fattest horses in the regi-
ment— " and the laziest," said the colonel ; nevertheless, it must
be allowed, that when the inspector from the Ministry of War
paid his visit, it was an uncommonly pleasant sight to see the
hind-quarters of those horses shining so round and sleek in
their stalls.

"Carrots! carrots! " cried Heuschkel. "They're the thing ! "
And Andreae, who, as a healer of men must also have some
knowledge of the inside of beasts, was called on to endorse
this view as to the excellence of carrots as fodder.

Thus Reimers felt himself rather out of it all, and was just
about to leave the mess-room and join his younger comrades,
when Madelung came towards him.

The lieutenant waited expectantly. He was interested, for
it was almost an event when Madelung spoke to any one.

This lean, black-haired man, with the thin dark face and the
deep-set penetrating eyes, was undoubtedly the most unpopular
officer in the regiment. He was characterised as an unscru-
pulous place-hunter, and gave himself not the slightest trouble
to disprove the accusation. The one excuse that could be

JENA OR SEDAN? 49

offered for him was that, his father having been ruined through
no fault of his own, he was almost entirely dependent on his
pay, and had been able to keep up his position as an officer
only by means of the strictest economy, and with the help of
an extra allowance from the royal privy-purse. It may have
been this that embittered him so that he avoided all social
intercourse with the other officers, and devoted himself entirely
to his profession. By means of relentless industry he had
now won for himself the prospect of a brilliant career; on
leaving the Staff College he had been presented by the
king with a sword of honour, and he could look forward to a
position on the general staff. Naturally he had volunteered
for the expedition to Eastern Asia, and had recently returned
from China decorated with an order, thinner and more pinched-
looking than ever, and still less amiable.

Reimers stood before him in a strictly correct attitude, for
the captain was not to be trifled with. But Madelung put him
at his ease with a nod, and said, glancing sharply at him, " So
you are the other exotic prodigy who is being feted to-day ! "

He laughed drily.

The lieutenant made no response, and Madelung went on
rapidly : " I may tell you that I envy you ! "

Reimers felt the captain take his hand and give it a quick,
hearty shake; but before he could answer, Madelung had
turned and walked away to the table.

At this moment the colonel appeared. He greeted each of
the older officers with a couple of words, and the younger with
a general nod. Reimers alone, on the day of his return, had
a special greeting and a hearty handshake.

Then they sat down to table. From the colonel in the seat
of honour, downwards, the officers were placed according to
rank and length of service. The youngest and the last was
an avantageur* who had joined the regiment on October ist.
He had been on stable duty from half-past four that morning,
and had to pull himself together now not to fall asleep ; till at
last a bottle of Zeltinger was placed before him by the orderly,
and then he became livelier.

Reimers had chosen a place near the little lieutenant oC

*A one-year volunteer who elects to remain on in the army and
await promotion. — Translator.

50 JENA OR SEDAN?

doctor's degree, who was quite an amusing fellow, and chattered
away so glibly that his neighbour hardly needed to contribute
to the conversation.

Of course Fröben had begun : " Well, Reimers, fire away !
Give us some leaves from your military diary. We are all
ears ! " But Reimers soon changed the subject. What he
had seen and gone through down there among the Boers was
still in his own mind a dim, confused chaos of impressions,
and it was repugnant to him to touch on it even superficially,
so long as he was not clear about it himself.

The little doctor began to dilate on the splendid German
East-African line ot steamers, which conveyed one for a mere
trifle from Hamburg to Naples, by way of Antwerp, Oporto,
and Lisbon, and he enlarged at great length on the educational
influence of long journeys in general and of sea-voyages in
particular. .

Reimers listened patiently, letting his eyes wander round
the table. Just as of old, the various groups still kept
together, and were continuing their conversations uninter-
ruptedly. Falkenhein, in their midst, listened with amuse-
ment as the senior staff-surgeon chaffed Stuckhardt about that
oldest and yet newest of nervous diseases — " majoritis."
Madelung was looking rather glum, and kept twirling the little
silver wheel of the knife-rest. Next to him, Mohr was staring
straight before him with glassy eyes, and Schrader leant back
in his chair laughing, while Gropphusen still kept on talking to
him.

" He's got something to laugh about ! " said Fröben to his
neighbour, interrupting his discourse.

I How do you mean? " asked Reimers.

' ' Well, to put it delicately, Schrader has got a flirtation on
wi ii Frau von Gropphusen — a very intimate flirtation ! "

II Indeed ! " Reimer responded indifferently.

Here was a fine piece of gossip, and strange to say, in this,
too, things were as before ; it was not the first time that Major
'Schrader and Frau von Gropphusen had afforded material for
conversation.

Dr. von Fröben continued : " But you must not think,
Reimers, that in such matters I am a bigoted moralist. Ideas
of morality are subject to just the same fluctuations as "

JENA OR SEDAN?' 51

And he dealt out what remained in his memory of a news-
paper article, the writer of which had entirely misunderstood
Nietsche.

After the toast of " The King," a momentary silence fell upon
the company, contrasting strangely with the clatter of voices
which had preceded it.

During this lull in the conversation the word " China " was
spoken somewhere near the colonel, and all eyes involuntarily
turned to Madelung.

He sat there stiffly with his cold face, a cynical smile on his
thin lips. " Dangers ! " he cried in his hard voice, which had
the shrillness of a musical instrument that has lost its reson-
ance, " Dangers ! I knew nothing about them."

He laughed drily.

Captain Heuschkel, who was always worrying about his fat
horses, inquired : " Well, against such an opponent, surely
cover had to be considered most of all. Wasn't it so ? that
cover was of more importance than action ? Ten thousand of
those yellow fellows were not worth a single trained soldier,
surely ? "

11 Or one of my horses," he added in his own mind. He
would probably have committed suicide if he had seen one of
his horses shot by a dirty Chinaman.

" Surely it was a question of good cover, wasn't it ? " he
insisted.

" No," answered Madelung in a loud voice. M It was a
question of keeping your fingers out of your mouth."

" What on earth had that to do with it ? " put in Captain
von Stuckardt, rather hesitatingly.

Madelung bowed with ironical politeness.

" Infection with the typhus bacillus," he replied, " was the
principal danger in China, Captain von Stuckardt."

After a little pause the shrill voice continued : " We had a
senior-lieutenant in our cantonment, belonging to some Prus-
sian grenadier regiment, a gay fellow, and, indeed, quite a
useful officer besides."

Madelung paused a moment, and again his dry, mocking
laugh resounded.

Then he continued : " He had a queer fad. He cultivated
one of his finger-nails, that of the little finger of his left hand,

52 JENA OR SEDAN?

with the greatest care. Just like a Chinese mandarin. At last
the nail was fully a centimetre long, and made holes in all his
gloves. Now, whenever a speck of dirt lodged in this nail, he
was in the habit of removing it with his teeth. It wasn't
exactly a nice thing to do ; but, you see, he had a passion for
that nail. I often said to him, ■ My dear fellow, do keep your
finger away from your mouth — it's just swarming with typhus
bacilli.' He did try, but sometimes he forgot ; and so in the
end he was caught.''"

Every one looked inquiringly at Madelung, and he added :
«' He died of typhus."

He sipped his wine, and continued, rather more gently : " I
firmly believe that it required greater self-control in that senior-
lieutenant to refrain from putting his little finger into his mouth
than to lead his men under the heaviest fire against one of
those Chinese clay and mud walls."

Then he raised his voice again, as if ashamed of the rather
gentler tone of his last words, and concluded, harshly and
shrilly : " Besides, it really is a bad habit, putting one's fingers
in one's mouth."

And again he sat silent and stiff, twirling the little silver
wheel of the knife-rest.

The feast then took the usual course.

After the table had been cleared some of the officers re-
mained in the mess-room sitting over their wine, while others
went off to the reading or smoking-rooms with a schoppen of
Pilsener. In the mess-room the! talk became more and more
noisy, while in the adjoining rooms quieter conversation was
the rule. A couple of inveterate card-players started a game
of skat; and in the billiard-room Captain Madelung amused
himself alone, making cannon after cannon. At his first miss
he put down his cue and waited impatiently for the colonel's
departure, that being the signal for the official close of the
festivity. Madelung left almost immediately after Falkenhein,
and the majority of the married men followed his example.

At last only lieutenants remained, except Major Schrader
and Captain von Gropphusen. The one other senior officer,
Captain Mohr, did not count. He had not quitted his seat
the whole evening, and still went on persistently drinking with
the assistant-surgeon, an exceedingly stout man, with a face

JENA OR SEDAN? 53

scarred by students' fights. The scars were glowing now as
if they would burst.

The subalterns could feel quite at their ease, for Schrader
and Gropphusen were no spoil-sports.

Manitius now sang his " Behüet dich Gott," rather un-
steadily, accompanied by Frommelt, who was quite tipsy. The
song was a great success, for the young avantageur was over-
come by emotion, and began blubbering about a certain
Martha whom he loved prodigiously, and whom he must now
abandon, because he would never be permitted to marry a
barmaid. On this Schrader suddenly tore open his uniform
and offered him nourishment from his hairy breast, and the boy
sank weeping into his arms.

At last the comedy grew wearisome. The avantageur was
sent off to bed, and Frommelt had to play a cancan, to which
Gropphusen and Landsberg danced. Gropphusen was supple
and agile, and, with his pale, handsome, rather worn face,
looked a perfect Montmartre type. Landsberg, on the con-
trary, cut a grotesque figure, kicking up his long shoes in the
air, and as he did so almost choking in his unduly high
collar.

The company became smaller and smaller, and at last only
two groups were left.

In the card-room half-a-dozen men still sat awhile at one of
the tables, and in the mess-room Captain Mohr and the junior
surgeon continued drinking. They had long ago given up
conversation ; but occasionally one of them would say " Prosit ! "
and then they would both drink. When at last they left
their seats they found the orderly in the ante-room half-
asleep, half drunk, fallen from his chair, and lying snoring on
the ground.

Growling " Damned swine ! " the assistant-surgeon kicked
the man till he rose, and with an erTort stood upright.

When the last two officers had left the mess-house he locked
the doors, drank the end of a bottle of champagne, and lay
down to sleep on the sofa in the smoking-room.

The sofa-cover was a sacred relic, a present to the mess-house
from an officer in the East African forces, who had formerly
belonged to the regiment. It was a magnificent specimen of
Oriental art. The orderly found the thick gold embroidery

54 JENA OR SEDAN?

very uncomfortable to his cheek ; but then it certainly was a
fine thing to scratch his head with !

When Reimers, who had left early, reached his quarters, he
was surprised to find his servant waiting up for him.

" Why on earth are you not in bed ? " he inquired.

Gähler answered respectfully, "Beg pardon, sir, on such
occasions the count used sometimes to need me ; he often
went out again."

"Well, I don't. So remember that in future," enjoined
Reimers.

Gähler still waited, and asked, " Would you like some tea,
sir ? »

Reimers looked up. Not a bad idea that ! He was too
much excited to sleep, for he had been obliged to pledge his
comrades far too often, and a cup of tea would be just the
thing. After that he would read a few pages, and only then
try to go to sleep.

" Yes, make me some tea," he assented, " but not too
strong."

He put on a comfortable smoking-jacket. Gähler brought
his tea almost immediately, and with it a plate of anchovy
sandwiches.

Reimers smiled. It certainly paid to have for one's servant
the quondam groom of an elegant cavalry officer. He gave
Gähler a friendly nod, and said, " I think, Gähler, that we
shall get on capitally together."

The gunner stood at attention.

" Any other orders, sir ? " he asked.

" No. Good-night."

" Good-night, sir."

Reimers ate a few mouthful s as he walked up and down the
room ; then he carried the green-shaded lamp to his writing-
table, and took down a volume of the official history of the
great Franco-Prussian War.

He spread out the marvellously accurate maps, and began,
as he had done so often before, to follow the various phases ot
his favourite battle, the three days' fight on the Lisaine.
That was the only great defensive battle of the campaign,
clearer and easier to follow than any other in its simple tactics,

JENA OR SEDAN? 55

almost suggesting the typical example of a textbook, and yet
what a living reality ! Almost at the same moment when the
German Empire was being proclaimed at Versailles, Bavarians
were fighting shoulder to shoulder with East Prussians, regi-
ments from Schleswig next those from Upper Silesia, soldiers
from the Rhine-provinces side by side with soldiers from
Saxony : a glorious demonstration of the newly achieved unity.
His admiration for the valiant defenders was no greater than
his pity for the tragic fate of the attacking army, which, almost
dying of starvation, had fought with the wild courage of
despair, and had deserved a more honourable reward than to
be driven along that terrible path of suffering to the Swiss
frontier. Not less tragic was the fate of its commander ; a
fate, indeed, which Bourbaki shared with the other military
leaders of the Republic. All those generals, Aurelle de Pala-
dines, Chanzy, Faidherbe, Bourbaki, who at the brave but
«omewhat futile summons of the Committee of National
Defence tried to arrest the victorious advance of the Ger-
man army, were inevitably doomed to defeat ; and even the
inspiration of a military genius could not have got over the
fundamental mistake that had been made, of considering the
impossible possible.

Reimers looked up from the book with a glowing face. He
had followed the French army as far as Pontarlier. That was
the moment in which the German forces commanded the largest
area. In the west the Rhinelanders were gazing astonished
at the winter waves on the canal, while to the east, Pomera-
nians greeted the sentinels of the Swiss frontier.

Where in all the world could a nation be found richer in
honour and in victories ?

During the next few days Reimers had to make calls on
the ladies of the regiment.

It was wearisome work, answering the same questions over
and over again ; and once more he had proof of the fact that
against certain conditions time seems powerless. Some of the
young married women had during his absence become
mothers; but most of the ladies of the regiment presided
without change over the solid domestic comfort of their house-
holds. The main thing noticeable was that they had

56 JENA OR SEDAN?

sacrificed themselves with greater or less success to fashion,
which was just now in favour of slender figures.

The course of their conversation was almost literally the
same as of yore, and in each case the curiosity shown was of
exactly the same degree, except that Captain Heuschkel's
wife, who was president of the Red Cross Society, inquired
as to the care of the wounded in South Africa ; while the lady
who presided over the Home Missions wished to know if the
Boers were really as pious as they were represented to be.

This monotony was, to a certain extent, the result of
natural selection. Most of the officers had chosen their
wives very carefully, and this had brought about a fine
similarity in their views, a similarity which even found ex-
pression in the rather unattractive arrangement of their
dwellings, in which the upholsterer's hand was but too
evident.

Only two ladies, the wives of Captains von Stuckardt and
von Gropphusen, differed from this type.

Frau von Stuckardt was unjustly considered haughty. She
was merely unfortunate in being unable to adapt herself to the
mental atmosphere of the other ladies. She had been placed
for a couple of years in an institution for the daughters of
the nobility, and was just preparing to enter a convent
when Stuckardt, who was a distant cousin of hers, proposed
to her. In her heart she regretted the worldly emotion
to which she had then yielded; she believed that, by her
marriage, she had defrauded the Church, and felt her con-
science constantly oppressed by this grave offence. The
interests of the other officers' wives puzzled her, doubly
separated from them as she was by creed and by educa-
tion ; and when, under social compulsion, she gave a
coffee-party, she sat among her guests like a being from ?_
strange world, a pale and slender figure, always dressed in dark
colours and wearing a cap of old lace upon her smoothly
parted black hair ; a striking contrast to the other fair, rosy,
lively women in their gay gowns.

Frau von Gropphusen's parties were much more amusing.
You could not be quite sure that she was not making fun of
you ; but you were certain to carry away on each occasion a
supply of gossip which would last for weeks.

JENA OR SEDAN? 57

Externally, Gropphusen and his wife were exceedingly well
matched. He was of medium height, with slender limbs and
a pale, finely chiselled face, vivacious eyes, wavy dark hair,
and a small black beard. She was one of those dainty
blondes who remind one of iced champagne, with a marvel-
lously graceful figure, a droll little nose, and steel blue eyes
under dark eyebrows.

When first married they were madly in love with each
other ; but when the fire burnt out, Gropphusen went back
to his old habits.

Truth to tell, he was a rake, who, even after marriage,
thought nothing of spending dissipated nights week after week
in the capital, returning by the early morning train. He
seemed to have cast-iron nerves ; for even the envious had to
admit that his official work did not suffer. He had a clever
head, and was an artist into the bargain, an excellent painter
of horses ; experts advised him to hang up his sword on a nail
and devote himself to the brush. But he had not yet made
up his mind to that.

Irregular in all other departments of life, he was regular
only in his excesses. He was very rich, so that he could give
the rein to almost all his whims. Indeed, reports of a rathei
fantastic kind, somewhat recalling Duke Charles of Brunswick,
were current about him, the most extravagant being of a
ballet he had had performed for him by fifty naked dancing
girls. There was a certain amount of exaggeration about this,
perhaps. In any case he troubled himself no longer about his
young wife.

Hannah Gropphusen indemnified herself in her own way by
coquetry and flirtations, and she was soon gossipped about as
much as her husband. But those that[whispered and chattered
about her felt their consciences prick them when they carried
their backbiting further ; the young wife could never be accused
of anything more serious.

It was noteworthy that Reimers had always felt more at-
tracted by these exceptions among the officers' ladies than by
the typical representatives of that class. He did not know
why exactly, but he thought he saw a certain similarity between
the position of these ladies and his own ; these two and he
were different from the average.

58 JENA OR SEDAN?

Unlike his comrades, he enjoyed visiting Frau von Stuckardt.
She never talked platitudes, she would rather remain silent,
and she was a little given to proselytising. Reimers liked to
hear her subdued voice extolling the mysteries of the Catholic
faith; he was proof against her endeavours, but a beneficent
calm emanated from this unworldly woman, and he could feel
with her that the spiritual renunciations of Catholicism offered
a quiet resting-place to the world-weary.

The Gropphusen interested him. She was considered super-
ficial and frivolous, but he did not think her really so. There
was too much system in her frivolity and superficiality.

He had purposely left these two visits to the last. But
Frau von Stuckardt was away from home ; and when he handed
his card to Frau von Gropphusen's servant he was told that
the lady was unwell, but the man would ask if she could
receive.

Reimers felt rather vexed, and was just turning away when
the gunner returned and asked him to come in.

He conducted the lieutenant along the corridor. " My
mistress is in her boudoir," he said.

Reimers was shown into a small room, the only window of
which was darkened. Frau von Gropphusen half raised herself
from a broad couch. She wore a loose tea-gown of soft silk,
and had a light covering spread over her knees.

" Welcome back, Herr Reimers ! " she said, and stretched
out her hand to him.

Reimers bent over it respectfully, and kissed the tips of her
fingers.

Then his young hostess let herself fall back again upon the
couch and drew her hand across her forehead.

"I am not very well," she resumed; "but I could not
refuse to see you."

" No, no, you must stay," she went on ; for Reimers looked
as if he meant to take leave at once. "There, sit down.
Just wait a minute; I feel better already."

Reimers took a seat and glanced round the room. The
couch almost filled it, the only other furniture being a dainty
little writing-table in the window and a couple of chairs.
Above the couch hung the only picture, a fine print of Gains-
borough's Blue Boy,

JENA OR SEDAN? 59

In the meanwhile, Frau von Gropphusen had recovered
herself. Her pretty pale face was lighted up by a somewhat
melancholy smile, and she began softly : " No, really, I couldn't
let you go ! "

She raised herself again, drew her knees up beneath their
covering, and clasped her arms round them. It was done
quite simply and naturally, without any touch of coquetry.
And then she stretched out her hand again to Reimers and
said : " You, the champion of the Boers ! " Then, sup-
porting her chin on her knees, she continued : " But now
you must tell me exactly why you fought for them ? n

As Reimers was preparing to answer, she interrupted him :
" No, I will question you. Wait a minute. Was it from love
of adventure ? "

" No. At least, that is not the right way of putting it. I
wanted for once to see something of the serious side of my
profession. But even that was not the chief reason."

" Well, then, was it in search of fame ? "

Involuntarily Reimers deviated from his usual rule of an-
swering evasively, and replied : " No ; that was not it either.
I wanted nothing for myself personally, or at most only to
prove my fitness for my profession."

" But neither was that your principal motive ? "

" Oh, no."

11 Perhaps it was indignation against the strong who were
oppressing the weak ? "

Beimers was silent for a moment. Then he said: "Per-
haps. But other things contributed; above all, boredom.
And — I wanted a decision as to whether I was to live or not.
I could not remain an invalid for ever."

" But still your chief, your final motive was the love of
justice, wasn't it ? "

" Well, yes."

Hannah Gropphusen sank back again languidly. For the
third time she stretched out her hand to Reimers : " It rejoices
me to find that such people still exist, and to know one of
them ! "

Reimers had held her hand for a moment in his own. It
was a small hand, almost too thin, with slender fingers. As
he looked at it, he was reminded of the gentle hands of his

6o JENA OR SEDAN?

mother. He respectfully touched the beautiful fingers with
his lips .and rose. Frau von Gropphusen made no effort to
detain him.

" It is perhaps better for me," she said wearily \ and as he
reached the door, she added: "But it has given me great
pleasure to see you again," and she dismissed him with a
friendly nod.

Reimers stood for a moment before the front door, thought-
fully buttoning his gloves.

It was certainly odd ; the very woman whom every one else
seemed to distrust appeared to him more worthy of esteem
than any of the others. He realised this only after the visit
just paid. To her alone had he answered frankly, and although
they had hardly exchanged a dozen words, he felt they under-
stood each other perfectly. He could not avoid the thought
that their souls were akin. Each of them yearned after what
was great and beautiful in life. This woman, indeed, deserved
pity, for she had suffered shipwreck in the greatest and noblest
end for which woman is created — in her love ; but he, thank
God, was a man ; and his ideal, Germany, still stood out
clear and definite, dwarfing mere personal aims.

In that dim room a sinister thought had seized upon him,
oppressing and paralysing him ; a vague foreboding that his
fate would resemble that of this pale woman. But he chased
the dark clouds away. His star did not vary in its light as does
the shifting and drifting human mind; it was like the sun,
steady, unchangeable, inspiring.

utii

CHAPTER IV

" For oh ! I had a comrade,
And a better could not be."

(Uhland.)

During the first days of December Corporal Wiegandt would
sometimes observe, in a pause of the drill, that the recruits
were beginning to look a little like soldiers ; and in the bar-
rack-room, after drill was over, he occasionally even went so far
as to give them some praise. .

When he was getting ready to go out in the evening, and,
with sabre buckled on and forage-cap stuck jauntily on his
head, brushed his moustache before the little looking-glass, he
would say : " Boys, I am almost pleased with you to-day. I
shall tell my Frieda."

Whereupon the recruits would laugh, as in duty bound.
They might all hate the corporal ; he would not dispense with
a fraction of their drill, and did not express himself in a com-
plimentary way during the exercises ; but he made things easy
for them as far as possible, changing about from difficult to less
difficult movements, and giving them long intervals between
those that were the most exacting. His division never had to
stand for minutes together with their knees bent, like Hepp-
ner's. Moreover, despite his roughness, there was about him a
certain kind-heartedness which took the form of good-natured
little extra lessons to the least efficient after drill.

His Frieda was a merry industrious girl who sewed muslin in
a frilling factory, and hoarded up the groschen she earned in
i?rder to save enough money to be married some day.

And Wiegandt, who, despite his martial appearance, was an
ardent lover, added the pfennigs of his pay, and deprived
himself of his evening beer, going for walks with his sweet-
heart instead, and kissing her over and over again.

6z JENA OR SEDAN?

M That tastes better than beer," he would say, " and costs
nothing."

As the pair had not much to talk of except their lover-like
wishes, Wiegandt used to tell the girl about the recruits, so
that by degrees Frieda learnt to know all their names and
idiosyncrasies, and began to take a certain interest in them.
Above all had the case of Frielinghausen appealed to her.
The sympathetic little seamstress saw in him something of the
romantic disguised prince ; and it amused her to make the
credulous Wiegandt a little jealous, until at last she would
assure him with a hearty kiss that he was her dearest and
best.

When the corporal had gone off to his rendezvous, Frie-
linghausen was left in supervision of Room IX. The sergeant-
major had arranged it thus, in order that from the very beginning
the young man might become accustomed to responsibility.
And the charge was quite an easy one. By evening none ot
the recruits had much inclination to make a noise or to get
into mischief. All the day-time, from morning till evening,
was occupied in the various branches of their duty ; and the
hours which then remained were completely filled up with the
brushing and polishing of their clothes and accoutrements. It
they could have done as they liked, they would have gone to
bed directly after evening stable-duty ; but that was not per-
mitted until nine o'clock.

So when their cleaning up was done and they sat on their
stools round the table, most of them would stretch their arms
on the top and fall asleep ; occasionally some one would scribble
a few lines home. When bedtime came at last, none of them
tarried ; but, drunken with sleep, would tramp one after the
other up the stairs to the dormitory.

Some, or course, were more fatigued by the work than
others. Vogt and Weise were among those who got on best.
Both were strong, healthy lads, and, moreover, not stupid ; so
that the theoretical instruction was as easy to them as the foot-
drill, gun-practice, and gymnastics. To be attentive and
quick — that was the chief thing.

Among the worst were Truchsess the fat brewer, the clerk
Klitzing, and Frielinghausen.

The brewer, it is true, was a strong, powerful man, but far

JENA OR SEDAN? 63

too slow in his movements. Klitzing, on the other hand, was
too weak for the demands of the drill. It was impossible for
him, in the gun-practice, to raise the end of the gun-carriage
as " Number 3," or as rt Number 5 " to direct the pole of the
carriage; in gymnastics he would hang helplessly on the
horizontal bar ; and even in the foot-drill it was difficult for
him to stand up straight.

When Vogt advised him to report himself as ill he refused.
" No, I won't go into hospital. Never ! "

" Why not ? " asked Vogt.

" I don't wish to," replied the clerk ; and as Vogt insisted,
he said, " Well, Vogt, I'll tell you : I should never come out
again; I should die there."

And with a strained smile he added : " It doesn't matter
where I die ; but I shouldn't like it to be in hospital."

Frielinghausen, though an active and agile young fellow,
seemed to be constitutionally flighty and superficial. He had
been one of the quickest to pick up a general idea of things ;
but afterwards the minute details of instruction, which some-
times appeared so unpractical and so apt to make more of the
" how ? " than of the " what ? " would not stay in his head.
What difference could it make whether one sprang forward
with the right foot or with the left, or whether in pulling the
lanyard the right hand had rested upon the left ? Surely the
essential things were that one should spring over the line and
that the shot should go off !

So, despite his honest zeal, he made many mistakes, and the
everlastingly warning calls of his name maddened j him. In
the theoretical work he was naturally far in advance of his
comrades ; for, despite idleness at school, this was mere child's
play to his practised memory. He, who had had to learn
hundreds of lines of the " Odyssey " by heart, could easily
remember facts about the bores of guns !

Klitzing also distinguished himself in these instruction-
lessons. The delicate clerk possessed another advantage, in
his own calling almost surprising, and particularly useful to an
artilleryman : that is to say, unusually sharp sight, which
found the mark in a moment and took aim with absolute
accuracy.

This somewhat atoned to Wiegandt for his other faults, and

ö4 JENA OR SEDAN?

h was only for Lieutenant Landsberg that Klitzing remained
nothing but a scapegoat.

During drill Landsberg generally stood at the end of the
parade-ground, looking utterly bored and staring at his boots,
which he had had made in the style of Reimers'. It was only
if Wegstetten was in sight that he troubled himself about the
recruits. Then he would run to Corporal Wiegandt's division,
and always began to abuse Klitzing, the " careless fellow," the
" lazy-bones."

He was constantly threatening the poor devil with extra
drill ; but he never enforced the punishment, as that would
have meant that he himself must put in an appearance at the
same time.

At last Reimers, who was commanding the battery during
a brief absence of the captain, put an end to this little game.

" Tell me, Landsberg, have you ever consulted Corporal
Wiegandt about that wretched KL'tzing ? "

" No, sir," answered Landsberg.

Reimers called Wiegandt to him.

" What's the matter with Klitzing ? " he inquired.

The corporal replied : " Beg pardon, sir ; the man means
thoroughly well and takes great pains ; but I think he is far
too delicate."

" Very good, Wiegandt," said Reimers, and dismissed him.
Then he turned seriously and officially to Landsberg. " I
think, Landsberg, you had better leave the man in peace."

Landsberg murmured : " Yes, sir," and looked out for
another victim.

During the week the recruits in Room IX. had got to know
each other better. The band of comradeship had wound
itself imperceptibly around them, and within it some closer,
more cordial friendships had sprung up.

The most varied types of men found themselves thrown
together.

If, in the evening, the fat brewer happened for once not to
be resting his tired body in sleep after the fatigues of the day,
he would squat down near Listing, who had been a wanderer
and a vagabond. He would listen with many a shake of the
head to the stories Listing related of his life on the road's
especially of the nights — the fine ones, in which one lay on

JENA OR SEDAN? 6$

the dry grass beneath the twinkling stars, or in the forest
under a beech in the branches of which the screech-owl was
calling ; and of the wretched, rainy, cold nights of late autumn.
Then one would pull a few trusses of straw out of a stack and
creep shivering into the hole, which would gradually become
wet through from the dripping rain, and through the opening
of which the east wind would blow in icily.

Then the brewer would clap his comrade on the knee with
his broad, fat hand, and say : " Well, friend, it must feel first-
class to you now when you roll into a good bed ? "

But Listing replied: "Well, no. Not exactly. But perhaps
I shall get used to it. I have often slept better out of doors ;
but worse too."

Vogt soon formed his own opinions about his comrades.

The best of them all, the one who put the whole lot into
the shade, was without doubt Klitzing. The courage with
which the weakly clerk performed his duties filled him with
an almost reverential admiration, and the honest fellow was
ready to stand by the poor, harassed lad whenever it was
possible.

During the dinner hour, if Klitzing were too much fatigued to
go to the dining-hall, Vogt would carry his rations to him, and
if possible would add his own piece of meat to the other's
portion. Then he would quickly polish up boots and buttons
for him and hand him his cap when it was time for the after-
noon drill to commence.

"Come, Heinrich, I have made you smart," he would say
with an attempt to joke. " Now we shall be all right."

And Klitzing would go down the steps with aching limbs
and fall into line.

Vogt's care for him only ceased at night and began anew
every morning. It was the source both of joy and shame to
the clerk; he deprecated it to his comrade, but Vogt shut
him up with good-natured roughness. So Klitzing let the
matter be, and thought that a mother's care for her child
must be something like this. For he had never known his
parents, but after their early death had grown up as the
adopted child of some distant relations.

Vogt himself had also the feeling that instead of a comrade

66 JENA OR SEDAN?

Klitzing was more like a child, or, rather, a younger brother to
care for ; but that suited his strength of character, and anyhow
Klitzing was a very different fellow from the gay, clever,
Weise, and a far better one.

Weise tried to make himself a favourite with all, but the
others noticed that he kept a check upon himself and never
showed himself as he really was. Moreover, even when he
was alone with them, he evidently felt a certain constraint.

One morning while washing there was almost a quarrel,
when Vogt caught him by the arm and tried to examine the
tattoo marks on his skin. Weise angrily shook himself free ;
but Vogt had seen that on the right forearm the words
" Liberty, Equality, Fraternity " were inscribed, surrounded
by a broken chain and a wreath of flame, and above them
something that looked like a nightcap.

His father had never discussed politics with him, but Vogt
had learnt enough by himself to recognise the significance of
the tattooing ; Weise was a social-democrat ! Well, that was
nothing so very bad. At home in the village there were
numbers of social-democrats, chiefly workers in the large fire-
clay factory by the river, and they were all very good sort of
people. Certainly, such tendencies were strictly forbidden in
the army, so Weise must take care of himself.

On the whole this meant nothing to Vogt. He had almost
forgotten about the tattooed arm, and the recollection of it
was only once forced upon his memory when taking the oath.
Then Weise had sworn fealty to the king, raising the arm on
which was inscribed the motto of revolution. His sleeve had
slipped up a little, so that the word " Fraternity " could be
distinctly seen.

Surely there was some inconsistency here ! But then Vogt
reflected : how could Weise help the hypocrisy ? If he had
objected to taking the oath, he would simply have been
imprisoned. Weise's swearing falsely was practically on
compulsion; he was in the same case with Findeisen and all
the others.

At Christmas the greater number of the " old gang " went
on leave. For those who remained behind there was a tree
in the large Room VII., with something on it for every one; a

JENA OR SEDAN? 67

penknife, a cigarette holder, or a wooden pipe, together with
a few cigars ; but Listing, who could not even yet be got to
wash himself properly, received a large piece of soap with his
cigars. At the same time a big barrel of lager-beer was
broached.

But before the battery Christmas-tree most of the men had
had a special rejoicing of their own. The orderly had had
the precaution to take a small hand-cart with him to the post-
office, and had brought it back full of boxes and packages.
Then the men stood round the sergeant-major, and each one
pricked up his ears to hear whether there was anything for him.

Klitzing had moved aside, he had nothing to expect.
Suddenly his name was called. There was a small box for
him, and it was not very light either when he took it in his
hand. He thought it must be a mistake, but there were his
name and address sure enough : " Gunner Heinrich Klitzing,
6th Battery, 80th Regiment, Eastern Division, Field Artillery.
He looked at the label, the sender was Friedrich August Vogt ;
and on the back was written, " To my boy's best friend, for
Christmas ! "

The clerk went to Room IX. and showed the label to Vogt,
who was already unpacking his parcel. Klitzing could say
nothing; he could cnly press his friend's hand, while tears
stood in his eyes.

But Vogt shouted cheerfully : " I say ! the old man has
done finely ! Let's see what else there is."

And when they compared their gifts — sausages, Christmas
fare, and warm woollen underclothing — it looked almost as
though his father had given more presents to his friend than to
himself. At the bottom he found a letter from the old man : —

" My dear Boy, — Herewith are a few trifles for you for
Christmas. I think I shall have done as you would wish by
sending half of what I intended for you to your friend and
comrade, Klitzing, of whom you are always writing to me.
You know I was an orphan myself, and I can understand his
feelings. I had my dear sister ; but he has nobody. So a
«uerry Christmas to you ! and keep well and hearty.

H Your loving father,

" Friedrich August Vogt."

63 JENA OR SEDAN?

Frielinghausen also had a letter, which he read with streaming
eyes and a glowing face. He held his mother's pardon in his
hands, and the love which trembled in her words poured balm
and healing on his heart, and raised his desponding spirits.

He was another man after this Christmas Eve. Duties
which before had been a burden to him, which he had, besides,
despised, he now performed willingly and zealously.

If now Wegstetten inquired about him, Corporal Wiegandt
always answered, u He could not be doing better, sir."

The captain took an opportunity of praising him ; and when
he had finished, Frielinghausen, his face quite red with pride
and joy, remained standing before him.

Wegstetten asked, "Well, is there anything you want to
ask me ? "

The tall youth choked a bit over his reply, but finally he got
it out : " Pardon me, sir — I don't know whether my request is
in order — but, sir, if you would have the goodness to write to
my mother and tell her that you are satisfied with me ? n

Wegstetten was silent with astonishment. The request did
seem a little unusual and unmilitary ; but he consented, and
wrote to "The high and well-born Baroness von Frieling-
hausen '' a letter over which a mother might well rejoice.

It seemed the more terrible for Frielinghausen when in Feb-
ruary, after the examination of the recruits, he received a
telegram briefly announcing his mother's death.

Work became lighter for the recruits after the examination.
Certainly the battery foot-drill and gun-drill was no joke; but
things went more quietly than they had done during the wild
rush of the training, and between-whiles one had occasional!/
time to take breath.

And now the recruits were gradually allotted their respective
duties. Horses to look after were given to the young drivers
and to some of the gunners. Vogt, Klitzing, and Weise,
however, were not among these. Corporal Wiegandt, who had
been promoted to sergeant after the examination, and had been
put in charge of the guns and waggons of the battery, knew
them for industrious, trustworthy fellows, just such as he needed
to assist him.

The recruits were also being trained in sentry-duty ; though

JENA OR SEDAN? 69

this was not made very much of. The field-artillery would
never be put on sentry-duty in time of war ; gunners only
equipped with swords and revolvers would not be sufficiently
armed for that work ; for it the infantry, or in case of necessity
the cavalry, must be responsible. So all that was necessary
was easily learnt, and in the peaceful garrison-town it wai>
merely a question of guarding the official buildings.

However, Vogt felt as if something very important were
taking place when he was the first recruit to be put on sentry-
duty.

The second-year soldiers, on the other hand, rejoiced over
their lazy days. They took things easy, and laughed at the
recruits, who adhered conscientiously to every detail of the
instructions, and would not take off their uncomfortable swords
while sleeping on the hard benches, even after the orderly-
officer had inspected them.

Vogt was posted inside the back gate of the barracks, through
which the road led towards the riding-school on one side, and
straight on to the wood on the slope of the hill. The first two hours
fromfive to seven o'clock in the afternoon seemed to him terribly
wearisome and purposeless ; but during the night from eleven
to one o'clock he felt stimulated by the sense of responsibility.
The sentries were then locked outside, and had to patrol
two sides of the great quadrangle surrounded by the public
offices.

The night was pitch dark, so that Vogt was unable to dis-
tinguish his narrow path. But he stumbled bravely up and
down by the buildings for his two hours. Even if he often
missed his footing, it was better than standing still. For then
one heard all kinds of strange noises, the cause of which could
not be perceived in the baffling darkness. The forest was
never quite silent ; there were always cracklings and rustlings
from its boughs and bushes. But in going the rounds these
things went unheard in the noise of one's own footsteps ; and
one passed the quarters in which comrades were sleeping, and
the stables, whose dimly-lighted windows showed small squares
in the night, and one could indistinctly hear the rattling of the
halter chains.

When Vogt went into the dormitory from the fresh, pure,
night air he thought at first that he would choke in the atmo-

70 JENA OR SEDAN?

sphere laden with stale tobacco-smoke and foul odours ; but
in the end he slept splendidly, despite his hard bed.

At five o'clock he was again on sentry-go. It was still dark,
but there was already movement in the kitchen and the stables.
At the gate there was a delay ; the watch about to be relieved
was nowhere to be found. The bombardier in charge cursed
and swore unavailingly ; finally, he consented to the suggestion
of the others and organised a search. In a small shed, which
served for the storing of hurdles and such-like, the gunner was
discovered fast asleep. He hau covered himself up with
straw, and his sword lay by his side. The bombardier kicked
him in the ribs with his heavy boots, and stormed at the rash-
ness of such conduct, when at any moment an officer might
come by.

But the sentry, a tall, strong fellow, answered crossly, "Shut
your mouth, you stupid swine ! And if you dare to report me
I'll break every bone in your body ! "

The bombardier grumbled something about " not going too
far and getting into trouble."

"Any one might happen to fall asleep," continued the
gunner. He yawned a few times, brushed the dust off his
uniform, and said laughingly to Vogt : " It is nothing unusual
on sentry-duty, you raw booby of a recruit ! Nothing for you
to gape about ! M

And he walked off solemnly behind the bombardier.

Vogt stood thoughtfully beside the sentry-box. That was
pretty bad discipline ! At the same time the case was quite clear :
if the bombardier reported the sentry, then the latter would
naturally be punished, and severely too ; but he would certainly
revenge himself on the bombardier. Despite the buttons on
his collar, the bombardier was not technically superior to the
gunner ; it would only bring about a quarrel, and in a fight it
would certainly be the bombardier who would come off worst.
It was quite the rule for the men to stick loyally together, and
never expose a comrade if it could possibly be avoided.

Vogt, however, considered that there was a limit to comrade-
ship, and that the sentry ought to have been punished. For
in such ways respect was lost for other still more important
rules. And, finally, he congratulated himself on having nothing:
to do with the matter.

JENA OR SEDAN? 71

This morning, for the first time for weeks, the memory of
his home and the longing for it overwhelmed him.

He thought of how at home in the early days of the year he
and his father had finished preparing the fields for the spring
cultivation. He remembered how the young sun, in those
fresh morning hours, had seemed to caress the long-deserted
wintry earth with his kindling rays ; and the black soil turned
up by the harrow had exhaled a refreshing odour as of incense
offered by nature's maternal heart. The daily increasing heat
of the sun, the milder air, and the grateful receptivity of earth:
all betokened the end of idle winter and the beginning of a
new year of fruitfulness, the gospel of labour and of blessing.
The ardent forces of nature welled up also in the hearts of
men ; and though his father had seemed to him old in the
short cold days of winter, the scent of spring-time always made
him young again.

He almost felt like a deserter not to be at home working.
But no ! the contrary was really the case. It was these
thoughts that were disloyal. Was he not now a soldier, called
to protect the soil of his beloved fatherland, if an enemy
threatened it ?

If — ? he reflected further. There had been peace for thirty
years now, and it might quite well last thirty more, or even a ♦
hundred. Was not this, then, mere waste of time ? But, on
the other hand, there was nothing to prevent a war breaking
out to-morrow. He knew that it was improbable, but not
impossible. The devil 1 then of course war must be prevented.
But how?

His simple mind saw no solution of these contradictions.
He gazed contemplatively at his sentry-box, and almost
omitted to present arms to his captain, who was passing to the
riding-school with the remount division.

After being relieved he watched two comrades who were
playing at skat in the guard-room with dreadfully dirty cards.
Suddenly he had a kind of waking vision. It was like the
taking 'of the oath, when each man stretched out an arm to
swear. The tattooed letters on Weise's arm, where the sleeve
had slipped ofT, began suddenly to glow as brightly and clearly
as if the sun were shining on them. Fraternity! that was
not merely an empty word, then, not simply t ilk ? If all men.

72 JENA OR SEDAN?

Germans, French, Russians, and all others, stretched forth
their arms and swore to be brothers, then — yes, then — there
would be no more war.

But would that ever happen ?

The card-players brought his reflections on the question of
fraternity to a hasty close ; they began to quarrel furiously,
and wound up by throwing the cards at each other's heads
in a very unbrotherly manner.

The recruit had to pick up the scattered cards, and
when a king and a ten were missing there was nearly a
fight. Finally the corporal in charge angrily stopped the
noise.

When Vogt returned from his sentry-duty between eleven
and one, he found his comrade Klitzing singularly depressed,
and after a time the clerk confided to him that he had
been very unlucky all the day before.

" You see, Franz," he said, " I can't get on at all without
you. If you are my neighbour at foot-drill, I know just
where I am. But yesterday you were absent, and I was a
regular blockhead. Just because of me the drill lasted
nearly an hour longer than usual."

" Well, now I shall be back again," Vogt replied.

Klitzing continued : " Yes, but this morning it was the
same thing ; and after drill the deputy sergeant-major said
that slack fellows like me should be given a lesson by the other
men, and so "

Here he was silent, and nothing more could be got out of
him, so that Vogt was quite angry over this lack of confidence.

By and by the fat brewer (who, however, was no longer
fat) joined them, and said : " Well, mate, aren't you a bit
dense to-day ? The ■ old gang,' especially the drivers, mean
to be at him, to do for him, all because of that little bit of
extra drill."

Vogt could not but smile at his comrade's good-nature.
Truchsess, the most easy-going of them all, whose clothes after
drill were as wet with perspiration as if they had been in
water, Truchsess called it " a little bit of extra drill " !

But before he could speak, Klitzing began again : " Franz,
you mustn't mix yourself up in this. If they mean to do

JENA OR SEDAN? 73

it you can't prevent it. The best thing will be for me to
submit quietly."

And with a little bitterness he added : " The most they
can do is to beat me to death."

But Vogt interrupted : " Don't talk such nonsense ! I
don't know what they are thinking of doing, but I can tell
you it shall be prevented. I promise you that. Don't be
afraid. I shall find a way out."

He began to ponder how he could protect his friend from
the roughness of the " old gang."

Should he ask Sergeant Wiegandt to give up going to see
his Frieda for one evening ? If he told him, of course not
officially, but in a sort of way privately, about the intentions of
the elder soldiers, then Wiegandt would certainly stay in. But
his feeling of solidarity with his comrades forbad this.

Only, were they any longer comrades when they could ill-
treat a poor weakling ? Surely not.

Still he rejected this plan, and in the end decided himself to
defend Klitzing regardless of consequences. If he challenged
the fellows fearlessly and cheekily they would be sure to turn
on him, and he would be able to defend himself. At any rate
he could better stand a good hard blow than the clerk could.

Evening came, and Sergeant Wiegandt went to his rendez-
vous as usual. An expectant silence lay over Room IX.
The recruits cleaned their things and glanced now and then
in an embarrassed way at the corner where Vogt had seated
himself close to Klitzing. The brewer had joined them also.

All was quiet until shortly before bed-time. Then heavy
clanking steps approached from the large Room VII. on the
other side of the corridor, and eight or nine old drivers pushed
themselves in, armed with whips, belts, and snaffle-reins.

Vogt placed himself full in front of Klitzing.

" You be off ! " they said.

u I shan't ! " answered Vogt.

" We'll soon make you ! "

" We shall see about that ! "

In a moment a dozen hands had seized him ; but the big,
strong fellow defended himself bravely. He lashed out
powerfully with fists and feet, making the attacking party
more and more furious ; but finally he was dashed to the

74 JENA OR SEDAN?

ground, dragging several of his opponents with him. As if
they had been waiting for this, the others now threw themselves
upon him, and their blows fell thick as hail.

Klitzing, with his whole body trembling, stood by as if he had
been paralysed. But the brewer bent his round head like a
furious bull, and charged, using his skull as a battering ram,
right into the middle of the scrimmage. Now there were two
against ten. The odds were still far too great ; and the brewer
also was soon on the floor. The fighters made a tremendous
noise, but whereas usually at the least sound a corporal would
come running up to enjoin quiet, to-day nobody seemed to
heed.

With a sudden effort Vogt succeeded in shaking two of his
opponents off, and in half raising himself; he just caught
Weise's eye, who, with his hands in his trousers pockets, was
looking on at the row and laughing a little. He shouted to him
goadingly : " Is this what you call liberty, equality, fraternity,
you lousy fellow ? Liberty, equality, fraternity ! "

And he gave a shrill, scornful laugh.

But, as if summoned by the words, the haggard, sombre-
visaged Wolf came to the door from the opposite room.
He had at once understood why the row was going on.
It was only to be expected, after the deputy sergeant-major's
words ! It was one of those injustices that he hated so
intensely; worse and a thousandfold more cowardly even
than a blow given to a soldier on the parade-ground by
his superior officer.

He felt he had been summoned by those three words.

" Here I am ! M he shouted, and his long thin arms brought
substantial help.

But the " old gang " also received reinforcements. The
struggle became wilder and wilder, and the combatants grap-
pled with each other more and more furiously. The shouts
had ceased, and one noticed now only the gasps of the
fighters, the grinding of their teeth, the dull sound of blows,
and now and then a grim oath.

Vogt was bleeding from a wound in his brow, in return for
which he had bitten his opponent in the hand. But now the
heavy buckle of a belt caught him full in the face. Sparks
flew before his eyes, he reeled from the force of the blow, and,

JENA OR SEDAN? 75

like an infuriated animal, his only desire was to revenge him-
self, to hit out and to kill his enemy. A newly polished sword
lay near him, where it had fallen from the table. He seized it
and struck and thrust with it in blind fury.

The recruits shrieked as they saw this development, but no
one had the courage to seize the arms of the furious man.

Then an inspiration came to one of them.

" The sergeant-major ! " he yelled at the door.

The struggling melee dispersed in a twinkling, the " old
gang " vanished from Room IX., and only a great cloud of
dust betrayed what had taken place.

The sergeant-major of course did not appear. But it was
just as well ; blood poured down Vogt's face, and when
Klitzing awakened from his torpor he was seized with a kind
of convulsive attack. He threw himself down, weeping and
shrieking before his brave comrade, embracing his knees, and
no talking could soothe him.

The other recruits stood frightened and helpless around the
two. The brewer sat down on his stool to get his breath, and
wiped the perspiration off his face.

Listing, the quondam tramp, was the most sensible. On
the roads there is occasionally a fight or an accident, therefore
one must know how to render assistance. He ran to the
water-tap, and returned with a bowl of fresh water. He
washed the wounded man's face, and then put quite a re-
spectable bandage round Vogt's head. It is true that the
folds were a little thick, as two towels were applied, and they
looked almost like a turban, but they stopped the bleeding
and held together.

The tattoo sounded over the courtyard.

It was high time to get ready for bed. The corporal in
charge came into the room and told them to be quick.
Suddenly he noticed the wounded man.

" What's the matter ? " he asked.

Listing lied fluently : " He fell down the dormitory stairs,
sir, just a little while ago, when the wind had blown out the
lamp."

" Indeed 1 " said the officer in charge. " Is he badly
hurt ? "

" No, sir," answered Vogt.

?6 JENA OR SEDAN?

" Then off to bed ! "

Vogt and Klitzing were the last to leave Room IX. Klitzing
went silently along by his wounded comrade and looked at
him timidly.

" Does it hurt, Franz ? " he asked on the stairs.

Vogt began hesitatingly : " Well, you know " but then

when he saw his friend's sad eyes he continued : " Oh, no ;
it's not a bit bad."

Tears stood in the clerk's eyes.

" Franz, what a dear good fellow you are ! " he said softly.
" I don't know how I can thank you ; but never doubt that I
shall thank you some time."

In the bedroom Listing whispered to him that the " old
gang " would beware of beginning it again. Wolf had told
them that he should at once report them if they did, and he
was known to keep his word in such matters.

When the two friends were in bed, the tall man came round
to their corner.

11 How are you ? " he asked Vogt.

" All right, thanks," he answered.

" Glad to hear it."

He stretched out his hand to the recruit, and the two men
exchanged a hearty grip.

CHAPTER V

" So pass the bottle about, hurrah !
Gaily sing and shout, hurrah !
Jolly artillerymen are we I "

(Artillery song.)

Sergeant Schumann looked once more round the two
rooms and the kitchen ; no, nothing had been left behind.
Only his overcoat and hat hung on the window-bolt, and his
stick stood in the corner.

The civilian clothes did not please him at all. Every other
minute his hand was up at his neck, feeling for a collar-band
which seemed to be much too loose, but which, in reality, was
not there at all.

His wife came in, busy as ever, in her hat and cloak, a
little leather bag and an umbrella in her hand. She was to
start at noon for the little mountain railway-station, where she
would get the house ready for the furniture, which should
arrive during the day. The sergeant-major, or rather the
station-master's assistant, had some money matters to settle in
the garrison town, and would not follow her until the next
morning.

Frau Schumann was quite out of breath. Those stupid
gunners had been so disagreeable when she wished to have
her flowers put in the furniture van. She began excitedly:
" Thank God, Schumann, the van is ready. Here arc the keys.
It's quite time for me to go to the station, isn't it ? "

Schumann looked at his watch and growled : ° Certainly,
quite ! "

" Then I'll be off," said the little woman.

But she remained standing in the middle of the room,
seemingly unable to tear herself away.

" Dear, dear 1 " she said, u for years I have wished to leave

7S JENA OR SEDAN?

this place, and now that we are really going I feel quite sad ;
don't you, Schumann ? "

The sergeant-major muttered something unintelligible. If
it had depended on him the house would not now have been
empty and the furniture-van before the door. It was his wife
who had worried him into it, and yet now probably she would
begin to snivel.

Indeed, she had just taken her handkerchief out of her pocket
and raised it to her eyes, when suddenly her face changed :
" Good gracious ! our bean-poles are still in the garden !
I'm not going to leave them behind. Fancy it's only occurring
to me now ! "

She was hurrying out. But the sergeant-major got in the
way and held up his watch in her face.

"Look here! " he said. " If you don't stir your stumps
you'll miss your train."

She was alarmed : " Good heavens, yes, of course ! I'm
going. Good bye, Schumann ! Look after everything, and —
and — good bye."

Standing on tiptoe she reached up for a kiss from her
husband and was quickly out of the door.

Schumann drew a long breath. She was his dear wife, but
now that he had to say farewell to the battery he preferred to
be alone, without her.

He stood still in the doorway.

A driver had just brought two horses out of the stable and
was harnessing them to the furniture van.

Schumann had not taken much to do with the horses
of late years ; he knew that they were thoroughly well cared
for under Heppner's superintendence, and the deputy sergeant-
major was rather apt to resent any interference with his depart-
ment. But he would have failed in his duty if he had not,
in spite of this, kept himself informed of all that concerned
the horses ; if, in fact, he had not been individually acquainted
with each one of them.

Sergeant Schumann went down the steps. He must begin
his leave-taking — so he would first say good-bye to the horses.

Slowly he passed between the stalls. At that moment the
strong smell of the stable seemed to him more delicious than
the most fragrant scent, more delicious than the resinous

JENA OR SEDAN? 79

forest breeze which blew through the valley where the little
station of the mountain railway lay surrounded by pine
woods.

There stood the beautiful creatures side by side in splendid
condition and with coats like satin. Nearly all of them were dark
bay, and according to temperament they stood stolidly staring
before them, or pawed impatiently at the straw, or playfully
bit and teased each other. Only four stalls were empty.
"Sybille" and "Achat" were drawing his belongings to the
station. Another pair had been borrowed by Major Schrader,
who had been invited to a hunting party on a neighbouring
estate.

Last he came to his own riding-horse in the loose box,
a pretty creature with four white fetlocks, who was rather
nervous, and unusually tender-mouthed. Baldwin shrank
from the man in the dark brown suit, and it was only when
the sergeant-major spoke that the animal recognised him.
Even then he was shy, and sugar and bread failed to re-assure
him. Schumann called him by his pet name, rubbing his
cheek against the velvet nostrils, and then only did the horse
become quiet. The sergeant-major could have shed tears.
But he wanted to make an end of it, and clear out from these
barracks, where he no longer had his place. Lingeringly
he quitted the stable, and going out on to the parade-ground,
stood once more before the battery's memorial tablet. The
sixth was one of the oldest batteries ; there were therefore a
goodly number of skirmishes and battles engraved upon
the tablet. Sedan was the most disastrous and at the
same time the most glorious day — the day on which the
battery had fired nearly eight hundred shots, so that by
evening the gunners had become so deaf that they could hardly
understand the orders which were shrieked into their ears.

Oh yes, it had been an honour to belong to the battery,
and it was only right that in times of peace also the sixth
should always have been an example for others.

" To commemorate the fallen ; to inspire the living ! " he
read softly.

He nodded in earnest assent ; then turned round suddenly
ind re-entered his house.

He put on his overcoat hastily, and seized his hat and

80 JENA OR SEDAN?

stick. Then he locked up, and knocked at the deputy sergeant-
major's door, in order to give up the keys.

Frau Heppner was alone.

"Are you just going, Herr Schumann ? " she asked softly.

The sergeant-major nodded, and said : "lam putting the
keys here, in front of the looking-glass."

Then he went up to the sofa on which the invalid was lying
and took her hand. " Good-bye, Frau Heppner."

"Good-bye," answered the woman; and whispering softly
she added : " And as we shall not meet again, I must thank
both you and your wife."

" But what for ? "

The invalid was silent for a moment, then she replied :
11 Well, when one's own house has always been a perfect hell,
one learns to appreciate the peace and quiet of others. At
least, it helps one to see there is something better than one's
own lot."

The sergeant was silent. What could he say to the un
happy woman ?

" So, good-bye, Herr Schumann ! " she went on. " I
sincerely wish you well ! "

Schumann breathed more freely as the door closed behind
him. He felt deeply for the poor woman, and was relieved to
have got over the parting from her.

With the giving up of the key the last cord was loosened
which had bound him to the battery and to the military life as
a whole. Everything else had already been done.

The evening before there had been a small fite, to which the
captain and the two subalterns had invited him and all the
non-commissioned officers of the battery. Then in the morning,
in the presence of the officers, including the colonel, and before
all the men of the regiment, the good-service cross, which the
king had granted him, had been handed him by the com-
manding officer ; he had also received permission to wear his
old uniform at any patriotic festivities. The colonel had
spoken of him warmly as a pattern soldier, and had concluded
with a cheer for the emperor and the king. Then the sergeant-
major had requested that he, on his side, might be allowed to
say a few words ; and with a voice which failed many times he
led a cheer for the beloved regiment, and especially for the

JENA OR SEDAN? 81

splendid sixth battery. Afterwards handsome presents were
given him : from Wegstetten and the two lieutenants a beau-
tiful gold watch j from Major Schrader a heavy gold chain for
it ; from the non-commissioned officers an album with views
of the town and the barracks, and with photographic groups of
officers, non-commissioned officers, men, and horses. Finally,
the commanding officer presented to him that service sabre
which he had worn for ten long years, to be now his own
private proverty.

He had only been able to thank them by a silent grasp of
the hand, for fear that if he spoke he would begin to cry like a
girl. Afterwards he had also said farewell to all the men. So
now he was ready and could go.

It was about half an hour before the time for the afternoon
drill. As Schumann entered the parade-ground he heard a
voice shout from the steps : " The sergeant-major is going ! "
And in a moment all came running towards him, the
drivers and gunners, old stagers and raw recruits, the
entire battery crowding round to shake hands with him once
more.

Again the sergeant-major had to clench his teeth ; he passed
silently along, shaking the hands that were stretched out to him.
Suddenly he stopped in astonishment, thinking he must be
mistaken. But no, Wolf was there too — Wolf, the social-de-
mocrat, whose whole existence as a soldier was a cynical mask,
the revolutionist who was only waiting for the moment when,
free from the green uniform, he might preach his faith again !
And he, Schumann, had never been at any pains to conceal
what he thought of such disgraceful opinions.

Wolf had not exactly run up, but had come with the rake
over his shoulder with which he had been raking the riding-
ground, and was at any rate associating himself with the
others.

"What, you too, Wolf?" Schumann involuntarily ex-
claimed.

"Yes, sir," answered the soldier. "You never were hard
on any-one. You were always just."

Schumann was just a little bit shamefaced at this obviously
sincere praise. Generally speaking, he had honestly tried to
deserve it ; but with regard to this social-democrat, he knew

Si JENA OR SEDAN?

quite well he had many times been lacking in justice. He
remembered how often, when Wolfs turn came, he had ordered
him to perform some specially unpleasant work.

Embarrassed and hesitating, he replied : " Well, well, and
you have always been a good soldier yourself, at any rate in
externals. Only that you — well, there was no getting at you
there!"

It was a good thing that after Wolf others came up to grasp
his hand in farewell ; or else, notwithstanding order, watch, and
sabre, he would have left the barracks with a bad conscience.

The last, who kept on moving further down in order to be
the very last to say good bye, was Niederlein, a smart little
gunner, who had polished his accoutrements for him during
the last year.

The sergeant-major pressed his hand with special heartiness,
and breathed freely: Thank God, Niederlein made up for
Wolf! Once when ill, and left alone in the dormitory,
Niederlein had broken open a locker and appropriated a piece
of sausage therefrom. Schumann had caught him red-handed.
Thieving from a comrade was a serious offence, entailing
severe punishment and public disgrace ; but Schumann knew
Niederlein was only thoughtless and greedy, and it had been
more a stupid prank than a crime, for the money which lay
near the sausage was untouched. So he had held the boy
across the table and given him five-and-twenty strokes with his
leather belt. He was not quite clear in his mind whether this
had been entirely in order — it might have been technically an
assault ; at any rate it turned out right. Niederlein was now
about the best soldier in the whole battery, and would have
gone through fire and water for the sergeant-major.

The lad watched awhile how Schumann went slowly out
through the back gateway and disappeared into the little
wood. Then he hurried off to his quarters, for the battery
was collecting for foot-driil.

Schumann had purposely chosen to go to the town by the
lonely way through the wood, because if he had gone by the
high road he would have met the battery officers again. That
would have meant another delay ; and then besides he felt he
belonged far more to the men than to the officers, despite his
double stripes.

JENA OR SEDAN? 83

He paused on the hill and gazed at the well-known land-
scape beneath him, where in the foreground lay the great
drill-ground at his feet.

With his sharp eyes he could even recognise individual
men. The fourth battery had just brought its six guns up to
the gate ; the fifth had not stirred as yet — Captain Mohr was
not fond of duty so soon after dinner ; and now his own
battery, the sixth, arrived on the ground to perform foot-drill.
The ornaments on the helmets shimmered in the sun, and he
almost fancied he could hear the even tread. Wegstetten and
the two lieutenants were behind.

The drill began, and the breaking up into files, the deploy-
ment, and finely the parade-march, first in file and then in
battery column — all went splendidly. It was a joy to look
down upon the smart, well-ordered straight lines as they
moved. Instead of himself, Heppner marched in the sergeant-
major's place, and Keyser, as the senior non-commissioned
officer present, led the file of drivers instead of the deputy
sergeant-major.

All was thoroughly well done, there was not a hitch any
where.

And he, Schumann, had believed that he was indispensable,
he had thought things could not go on without him !

At supper Julie Heppner said to her husband : " Otto, the
money you give us for housekeeping isn't enough. Ida
couldn't pay the milkman to-day."

" No affair of mine," replied the deputy sergeant-major,
with his mouth full. " You must manage things better."

When he had finished eating he put his coat on, buckled
on his sabre and put on his forage cap.

His wife watched him from the sofa with angry eyes as he
brushed his heavy beard and put on his gloves.

Heppner looked her straight in the face, laughed scornfully
and said : "Yes, you are thinking again: ' Now he is going to
the public-house and will spend all the bit of money ! ' Well,
as it happens, it's not so this time. But you had better
believe it all the same, and make yourself really angry."

This perpetual lack of money was, however, no joke to the
sister-in-law either, as she was always having to put off and

84 JENA OR SEDAN?

conciliate the creditors, and she joined in angrily : " It's the
truth ! You squander the money and we have to manage as
best we can."

Heppner went round behind her and mockingly retorted :
" So you're beginning to scold like your dear sister ? It
seems to be catching. But I'll tell you how it is : there was a
good lot of the farewell beer left over yesterday, and I saved
it up for myself. Now, who's right ? "

He tapped his sister-in-law's round shoulder playfully, and
added : " Who knows ? Perhaps to-morrow I may give you
quite a lot of money."

With that he left the house.

He was in a good temper. It had long been a grievance to
him that Schumann — grumbling old plodder ! — instead of
packing up his few sticks and being drafted into the civil
service, should have remained so long stuck fast to the battery,
thus preventing his own promotion. Now at last the old
man had disappeared, and he was certain of becoming sergeant-
major.

To-day was a lucky day for him, he felt sure ; and this must
be taken advantage of : a little game must be arranged for the
evening.

Therefore, he had taken care only to invite men on whom he
could rely to this second instalment of the farewell drinking
party : the sergeant-major of the fifth battery, who imitated his
chief in drinking, and Trumpeter Henke of his own, the
sixth battery, two seasoned gamblers. The two other members
of the party were to be the landlord of the White Horse,
and the fat baker, Kühn, who held the contract for the white
bread supplied to the regiment. To the baker in particular
he had allotted the role of loser, as he had the most money.

At the gate it suddenly occurred to Heppner that it would
be much pleasanter to walk the half-mile to the town in
company, and he decided to fetch the trumpeter.

Sergeant Henke was a lively young fellow, with a fresh, rosy
face, a flowing black beard and curly hair, rather beyond the
regulation length. He was of a handsome soldierly appearance,
and contrasted well with his wife, Lisbeth, a beautiful blonde,
who with her slender figure always looked like a young girl.

This fair woman was blindly in love with her husband.

JENA OR SEDAN? 85

She almost worshipped him, but he did not trouble himself
much about her. He regarded himself as a great artist,
because in the choir concerts he played the cornet solos, and
always received much applause from the female part of the
audience, and he considered that his marriage alone had
prevented him from becoming a ° celebrity." Once he had
received a passionate love letter, signed by " a lady of high
degree, who deplored with tears of blood " the dividing
difference of rank between them. It was transparently the
coarse work of a practical joker ; but Henke in his conceit
believed in the high-born heiress, and this dream quite turned
his head. He ever afterwards posed as a fine gentleman,
ogled all the elegant women of the town, and had hardly a
glance left for his wife. She worked and pinched for him in
order that he might be able to enjoy his aristocratic tastes, and
thought herself happy because he bore with her. And he
was always urging her to work and earn money, as he longed
to become rich and be the equal of really fashionable people.

Gambling was to help him to this ; besides, in itself it gave
him intense pleasure.

He was ready dressed to go out, and was only lingering
before the looking-glass, when he heard outside the signal-
whistle with which Heppner, his boon-companion, was
accustomed to call him. He soon joined the deputy sergeant-
major in the street, and after a brief greeting the two walked
rapidly towards the town.

A few steps from the White Horse the trumpeter sud-
denly stopped, felt in his pocket, and exclaimed, " Damnation !
I've left my money behind at home ! "

" Never mind ! " said Heppner, in his genial mood. " You
shall eat and drink free to-day, and I'll lend you a thaler into
the bargain. There, catch hold ! "

He gave him the piece of money before they reached the
door, and the trumpeter rejoiced : borrowed money brought
luck.

The landlord of the Horse had laid the table neatly in
the little parlour. The leavings of the previous evening had
been freshly dished up, and the barrel, which must still contain
nearly forty litres of beer, had been cooled with ice.

But only one of the five banqueters was in the vein —

$6 JENA OR SEDAN?

Blechschmidt, sergeant-major of the fifth battery. He was
still eating and drinking when the four others were already
sitting at the half-cleared table playing cards.

" Something moderate to begin with ! " the master baker
Kühn had suggested ; so each one put down three marks.

It was a long time before the last fifty-pfennig piece was
played out of the pool ; but Heppner triumphed. He had
been right in his premonition ; when he counted his money he
had won nearly two marks.

After this exertion the players took a little refreshment,
and while eating talked the game over.

Heppner swallowed his bread and meat eagerly, and the last
plate had hardly been cleared before he began, his eyes twink-
ling craftily, " And what next, gentlemen ? "

The master baker laughed pleasantly and replied, " Well,
as we've been lying low, we may afford to let ourselves go a
bit now."

Thereupon the landlord bolted the door and saw that the
shutters were firmly closed. They drew closer together, and
even Blechschmidt came nearer.

The players bent over the table, their eyes followed the
dealing of the cards with eagerness, their faces glowed. They
lighted their fresh cigars on the stumps of the old ones, and
when their throats became parched from excitement, they
gulped down rapid draughts of the beer, which was gradually
becoming flat and muddy as it flowed from the tap into the
glasses.
They had lost all thought of time.

Suddenly Blechschmidt, the tireless toper, grumbled, " No,
I shan't play with you any more. Beer's best."

The landlord looked at the clock. " It is nearly five," he
said.

None of them could believe it ; they thought they had not
been playing above an hour at most.

But late or early they must finish the game, and they all
heaved deep breaths as the last round ended. While playing
they had been quite unconscious of the terrible fatigue, which,
now that they had stopped, utterly overpowered them.

Now they had to calculate the gains and losses of the night.
The trumpeter got through quickest. He tossed Heppner the

JENA OR SEDAN? 87

borrowed thaler, and laughed contentedly to himself. He had
every reason to be cheerful, he, who had not brought a single
red pfennig with him, and who now had more than a hundred
marks — chiefly in silver, but with a few gold pieces also —
clinking in his pocket !

The other four had all lost. The deputy sergeant-major
was quite thirty marks poorer. He glanced darkly at the small
sum which still lay before him. How stupid he had been !
He had thrown away his luck with the thaler which he had
lent Henke, that was quite certain. Now, instead of himself,
this fop had hauled in the fat baker's money. That was the
reward of his good nature !

Then suddenly Henke had an idea.

" Gentlemen ! " he began, " I see that I have had tremendous
luck. I must really give some of it away."

He dug the sleepy landlord in the ribs, and shouted in his
ear, " Now then, Anton ! I want two bottles of champagne."

The landlord was quite alert in a moment. He stood to
win by this sort of play.

" Bring the most expensive ! " trumpeted the trumpeter.

" Eleven marks the bottle, Henke ! n

" No matter ! What our officers can do I can do also.
Bring it along ! "

Mine host hurried down into his cellar and fetched two
bottles of Pommery from the furthermost corner, a good dry
brand with which horse-dealers sometimes christened a con-
cluded bargain.

There was no more ice to be had ; so he opened the bottle as
it came out of the cellar. The cork sprang to the ceiling with
a loud pop, and the wine poured from the neck like a fountain.

The two sergeants had given the word of command, " Fire ! "
as the cork flew out, and the trumpeter had blown a fanfare.
All five buried their noses in their glasses and let them be
tickled by the rising bubbles. Then they drank off the wine,
which was far too warm, and could not praise it enough.

The trumpeter, who was always imitating the offiicers,
considered himself a judge of wine. He smelt the
champagne, let it lie on his tongue, while at the same time
his face took on an enraptured expression, and he shouted
enthusiastically, "Gentlemen, gentlemen 1 in this bouquet one

88 JENA OR SEDAN?

recognises the true French brand. It is utterly different from
German champagne ! "

The others imitated his action and were in complete agree-
ment with him.

Only Kühn remarked discontentedly, " The hog-wash tastes
like bitter almonds ! "

At which the landlord took offence. " Don't you know then,
baker," he snarled, " that that is just the way to know genuine
French champagne ? tf

And he looked lovingly at the two corks which he had placed
carefully in a corner.

When Captain von Wegstetten entered the orderly-room on
the morning of April ist, he at once said to the deputy sergeant-
major, " What is the matter with you ? You look quite green."

Heppner answered, " Excuse me, sir, my wife has had a very
bad night."

" Indeed ! " drawled Wegstetten. " I am sorry to hear it."

But to himself he thought : " If that is at all true, the
man must have been consoling himself with whisky ; one can
smell it five paces away from him."

However, the captain offered to let him dispense with riding ;
but Heppner objected, and begged to be allowed to take part
in the drill. He felt that would help him to shake off his un-
pleasant sensations; an hour's ride and he would be fresh
again. A fine thing if a night's dissipation could really
upset a man like himself!

His commanding officer was pleased at such enthusiasm ;
and as during the drill the deputy sergeant-major managed his
horse — the most troublesome of all the remounts — exceedingly
well, he remarked to him, " Heppner, I think I shall be able
to bring you some good news at noon."

Afterwards it occurred to him that he had intended to raise
objections to the colonel with regard to Heppner's elevation to
the rank of sergeant-major, but now that he had committed
himself to the man this was no longer possible.

He did just mention his doubts in the colloquy with Falken-
hein, but he made no impression, and in the end the colonel
himself covered the retreat.

" What do you expect, my dear Wegstetten ? " he said. " I

JENA OR SEDAN? 89

ask you, just take all your non-commissioned officers. Who
is there you cannot accuse of gambling ? It is a fatal charac-
teristic of these mongrels that they will copy the officers, and
unfortunately only in what is stupid or bad. The fine gentle-
men all play, drink, fool with women, gamble ; it's only a ques-
tion of the one a little more, the other a little less."

Wegstetten objected modestly. "Pardon me, sir, not all.
My old sergeant-major——"

He got no further. Falkenhein interrupted quickly : " You
mean Schumann ? Yes ; there you are quite correct. But
then he was the last of another generation, one of the old type
— steady, quiet, discreet, honest, and trustworthy to the last
fibre. But they are dying out, my dear Wegstetten. Such
perfect specimens of non-commissioned officers, that used to
be the rule, are now more and more the exception. I ask
you for the truth : since you entered the army, have our non-
coms, become better, or — well, less good ? What do you say ? "
" Less good, sir, unfortunately," replied the captain.
" Yes, unfortunately. Exactly my opinion."
The colonel rummaged among the papers lying on his desk,
and selected two.

" Now, my dear Wegstetten," he said, " here are the appoint-
ments. I can't settle such details. That is not my business.
I put it to you, therefore ; will you try with Heppner ? "
" As you wish, sir."
" Good ; I think you are right."

Falkenhein signed the document and gave it to the captain.

" There ! now he is sergeant-major ! " he said, and continued :

" What I most regret is, that you should partially lose him in

the active work. That was his real field. But a younger man

cannot be promoted over his head."

He took the second document and handed it to Wegstetten.
" And here, at the same time, is the other promotion. I have
followed your advice. Sergeant Heimert is to-day appointed
deputy sergeant-major and relieved of his present duty. He
will report himself to you to-morrow.
" Thank you, sir," replied the captain.
Wegstetten stuck the documents into his sleeve and took
leave. The colonel accompanied him to the door and shook
hands with him very cordially.

90 JENA OR SEDAN?

The captain reflected, however, as he went down the steps,
that every one must have at least one fault. He, like the whole
contingent, was of opinion that Falkenhein was one of the
finest officers in the army, certain to become a major-general,
if not a full general. And with an artilleryman this was
of double significance. But why, because a man had had the
good fortune to work under the sainted Moltke on the general
staff, he should, therefore, always describe anything that had
occurred since that time as "less good," — that he could never
understand.

That evening after roll-call Heppner read out his own pro-
motion to the rank of sergeant-major, and that of Sergeant
Heimert to the post of deputy sergeant-major.

Everybody was surprised. Heimert ? Who was Heimert ?
No one could say.

Ah ! It went on : " Deputy sergeant-major Heimert will
therefore be relieved from his management of the forage de-
partment of the infantry and artillery ammunition columns
and will return to his battery."

So it really was that fellow with the gigantic nose, who was
always slouching about the coach-houses and baggage sheds !

Heppner returned to the orderly-room and sat down at his
table, on which lay a mass of unfinished writing. Now the
wakeful night was making itself felt. The sergeant yawned
and took up his work unwillingly. Evidently the post of
sergeant-major had some drawbacks ! To be kept shut up in
this room ! It was not pleasant to retire from drill, riding
remounts, giving riding-lessons, and leading a line in driving
exercises — all that had been so much after his own heart. And
this eternal scribbling would be altogether against the grain.

If only he had a clever clerk, like Blechschmidt of the
fifth battery, who did not over-exert himself ! But Käppchen
was a lazy fellow ; and yet on Käppchen he must rely, asking
his advice about all kinds of things, because he himself did
not know the routine yet.

It was very late before he locked his desk and went home.

His sister-in-law greeted him with news which did not
improve his temper. " The tailor has been here," she said,
"and wanted the money for your uniform, which you have
owed for a month. He will come again to-morrow."

JENA OR SEDAN? 91

Heppner grumbled : " The fellow must wait ! " He had no
more money. It had nearly all vanished yesterday, and to-day
he had been obliged to give the greater part of what remained
to the women for housekeeping.

With a surly face he sat down to his supper.

" Have you been made sergeant-major ? " his wife asked.

He saw his sister-in-law's eyes too fixed on him ques-
tioningly. He muttered, " Yes," to her, and then turned
roughly on his wife : " What business is it of yours ? "

She lay back, and answered gently : " I am so glad."
" Really ? " he sneered. He cast a sharp glance at her and
snarled between his teeth : " Don't gush ! "

Then he pushed his plate away, tossed off two glasses
of beer, and lay down to rest in the bedroom.

The two sisters remained together, the invalid stretched
on the sofa, the other sewing near the lamp. They heard
Heppner snoring.

His wife's face was in shadow, but her eyes blazed at
her sister and rested with an uncanny expression of hatred on
the strong, well-developed beauty of the young girl.

There was a knock at the door. The battery tailor had
brought the sergeant-major's tunic, on the sleeve of which he
had stitched the double stripes. Ida took it from him and
hung it up silently.

The invalid watched her indifferently. A short time before
she had been mildly excited with joy at her husband's promo-
tion ; he had quite spoilt this feeling for her. Now she was
callous to everything.

Suddenly she pressed her lips together and clenched her
hands feverishly.

Had not her sister just handled his tunic lingeringly with a
kind of furtive tenderness ?

Had the scandal already gone so far ?

Julie Heppner believed that she would die betrayed and
forsaken by all ; but during her last days she gained a sym-
pathetic friend in the newly appointed deputy sergeant-major
Heimert.

Heimert had taken possession of the Schumanns' empty
house. True that at the time he was still single ; but as his

G

92 JENA OR SEDAN?

marriage was to take place in a few weeks, the captain had at
once allotted married quarters to him. Now the deputy
sergeant-major was furnishing the rooms and decking the
bare walls and windows with touching care. He would
arrange and re-arrange the furniture, and would drape a
curtain a thousand different ways, and yet nothing was ever
beautiful enough for him.

On holidays he was seldom able to visit his sweetheart,
Albina Worzuba. At other times he devoted every spare
hour to her ; but she was the barmaid of a small tavern in the
town, and had no time to spare for him on holidays. Besides,
Heimert did not like watching how the guests would go up to
the counter for glasses of beer, and joke with Albina, or even
dare to pinch her cheeks. He had on several occasions made
scenes about this till the landlord had almost forbidden him
the place. Albina herself, too, advised him to come as seldom
as possible. She considered that as long as she was a barmaid
she must be friendly, and not too sensitive to the chaff of the
guests ; and if it pained him to see this, it was better that he
should remain away. And with an ardent glance she added
that when she was his wife he would have her all to himself.
Heimert had constrained himself to agree to this.

On one of these Sundays it befell that Heimert was startled
from his carpentering by the sound of a groan. He went
outside and . listened ; the moaning sounds came from
HeppnePs quarters. He burst the door open and entered.

The sick woman had been left alone. Her sister had gone
for a walk, and the sergeant-major was doubtless at a public-
house. Such neglect of her had often occurred before ;
but this time she had suddenly been seized by an attack
of pain so severe that she thought she was dying.

To die alon e ! With no one even to hold her hand ;
without a ray of light from a living eye to brighten the dark
porch of death !

Between the attacks of pain she called feverishly and
breathlessly for her husband : " Otto ! Otto ! Otto ! ! "

Heimert ran to her anxiously. He gave her his hand,
which she seized and held convulsively, spoke to her sooth-
ingly, and wiped the drops of sweat from her brow with
his handkerchief. .

JENA OR SEDAN? 93

He quietly gave her time to recover from her exhaustion,
then said to her gently : " Frau Heppner, would you like me
to send to find your own people ? "

She shook her head energetically : " No, no ! " and
whispered wearily : " But if you would only stay just a little
while, Herr Heimert ! "

The sergeant nodded, and remained sitting silently beside
her.

It was some time before Julie Heppner had the strength
to explain to him what had happened to her. While so doing
she looked at him more attentively, and was almost frightened
by his ugliness. The coarse face with the outstanding ears
was made half grotesque, half repellent, by an enormous nose,
which was always red. What did it matter that two beautiful,
kindly child-like eyes shone from this countenance? Would
any one trouble to look for them in the midst of such
hideousness ?

The invalid remembered she had heard that Heimert was
going to be married. In the light of her own unhappiness
she thought to herself that this marriage could only turn out
well if the man had chosen a woman as ugly as himself,
so that in their common misfortune the pair could comfort
each other.

As she gradually became able to talk to him she inquired
about his bride, and the enamoured swain raved to her
unceasingly of Albina's beauty and charm.

Heimert now appeared to her as a fellow-sufferer ; only
she was about to lay down the heavy burden, and he was but
just going to take the load upon his back.

The two talked together as if they had known each other
for years; they were nearly always of the same opinion.
Finally, the invalid invited the deputy sergeant-major to come
over often when she was alone ; she would always give him a
sign, and he could bring his carpenter's bench with him, the
hammering would not disturb her in the least.

After this, Heimert always appeared directly Julie Heppner
called him. He gained distraction from his jealous fits in this
way, and he thought the sergeant-major's wife a really good
woman, who had been unfortunate enough to marry the wrong
man, when with another she would perhaps have been happy.

94 JENA OR SEDAN?

The brutality with which Heppner treated the dying woman
was revolting to him, and his sympathy with the injured wife
gradually inspired him with a positive hatred for the sergeant-
major.

The sergeant-major laughed at Heimert. " The Prince with
ihe Nose " he called him, and sneered at his wife about this
" lover."

" You two would have suited each other well ! " he jeered.
" You would have nothing to reproach each other with in the
way of beauty ! "

One day in passing he looked into the neighbouring quarters,
and found the deputy sergeant-major gazing at a cabinet
photograph of his betrothed. Heimert, startled, tried
quickly to hide the portrait ; but Heppner begged to see it.

He had expected to see a girl, — well, something like his
wife, or perhaps uglier, for surely it would be impossible for
any one else to fall in love with Heimert; but as he took
the picture in his hand an involuntary expression of surprise
escaped him : " By Jove ! Isn't she beautiful ! "

From that moment he was always asking Heimert to take
him with him to see his sweetheart.

" Why ? " Heimert asked suspiciously. " Do you want to
cut me out with her ? "

Heppner laughed at him. " The devil ! " he said. " I
have two women in the house myself, and that's more than
enough. Surely one may make the acquaintance of a comrade's
sweetheart ? "

11 And," he added craftily, " have you so little confidence in
her, then?"

Heimert burst out : " Oh, that's not the reason 1 "

" Well then," said the other, " you know you won't be
able to lock her up and hide her when she is your wife.
Where's the harm in my just saying good-day to her ? "

The deputy sergeant-major was forced to agree that there
was really nothing against it. Moreover he was rather proud
of having won such a beautiful girl ; he enjoyed seeing the
sergeant-major's envious eyes ; and finally he said he would
take him to Grundmann's the following Monday. Grundmann
was the name of the landlord of the tavern in which Albina
was barmaid ; and as on Monday business there was at its

JENA OR SEDAN? 95

slackest, they might hope to exchange a few quiet words with
the girl.

On the Monday evening appointed he met Heppner on the
parade-ground.

Heimert had made himself as smart as possible. He had
put on his new extra uniform, which he had meant to keep for
his wedding, and had forced his big hands into shiny white
kid gloves. The collar of his tunic was very high, and so
tight that he could hardly turn his head. Heppner, on the
other hand, had only put on his best undress uniform. He
was in a very good temper and very talkative, whereas
Heimert walked beside him depressed and silent.

They arrived at Grundmann's very opportunely. They
were the only guests, and the landlord had no objection to
Albina's sitting at their table with them.

Heppner chose a place from which he could gaze undis-
turbed at the girl's profile. She pleased him. She was just
to his taste, this full-bosomed girl with salient hips and rounded
arms. In his opinion her face was more than pretty ; her
eager, passionate eyes, and her mouth with the full, rather
pouting lips, on which one longed to plant a big kiss, seemed
to him quite beautiful. She wore her dark hair, which was
as coarse as a horse's tail, dressed in a new-fashioned way
which gave her a certain " individuality " ; and, above all, she
had some scent about her of a kind that was only used by the
most distinguished ladies.

Heppner was annoyed that she noticed him so little. She
was quite taken up with her betrothed, who was telling her
of the progress made in the preparation of the house, and she
only gave Heppner a glance at rare intervals.

At first she did not talk much ; but when, in order to say
something, he asked her where her home was, she imme-
diately began to relate her whole history.

She came from Prague, and was the daughter of a shoe-
maker— or, rather, of a boot and shoe manufacturer — and
moreover, not of an ordinary boot and shoe manufacturer, but
of a Court boot and shoe manufacturer by Royal and Imperial
appointment, who did not work for just any one, but only for
the Archdukes and for the high Bohemian nobility. And
she, Albina, had always to write down the figures when her

96 JENA OR SEDAN?

father was taking measures, and so it had come about that a
Count Colloredo had fallen in love with her. He had wished
to educate and marry her ; but she had at last refused because
the noble relations of her beloved had threatened to
disinherit him if he married the " shoemaker's daughter."
She could never have endured causing him to discard his
beautiful Thurn and Taxis dragoon's uniform.

Now came a pause in Albina's narrative, which however did
not last long. Next, she had fled from her father's house.
Why ? She kept that a secret. And finally, after many vicissi-
tudes she had found a refuge here, where she was safe from her
father. For he had wished later to marry her to a master
chimney-sweep, and although the latter was a millionaire she
would have none of him.

In reality she was the child of a miserably poor cobbler ;
and after a stormy youth she had brought her somewhat
damaged little ship of life to anchor in the small garrison
town at the bar of Grundmann's alehouse.

Heimert waited impatiently for the conclusion of her
romance, which he had heard many times before. But if
Albina had a chance of telling the story of her life, she
became like a freshly wound-up clock, which ticks on
inexorably until it runs down.

She simply left unanswered the questions her lover
interposed now and then; and when he interrupted her to
say that Count Colloredo had been in the Palatine
hussars, and not in the Thurn and Taxis dragoons, she
said crossly that he had better pay more attention the next
time she told him anything. Heppner, on the contrary, who
appeared to listen with interest, rose in her favour, and in
answer to his questions she launched still further into detail.

And now she looked at him more closely, and took his
measure with those bright eyes of hers. But having brought
her story up to the present date, she turned once more to
Heimert, regarded him tenderly, and said, " Shall I not be
happy with him, after having had such hard times in the past ? "

A few newly-arrived guests now called her to her duties at
the bar, and the two non-commissioned officers remained
behind alone at the table. Heimert felt the sergeant-major
looking at him, as he thought, with a sneering, incredulous

JENA OR SEDAN? 97

sort of expression. He was embarrassed, and began describing
figures on the table with a little beer that had been spilt.

" Well, well," he began at last, " women are always like
that. She draws the long bow, of course — as to her origin
and so forth."

11 Yes," answered Heppner ; " girls love doing that."

" But," Heimert continued, " there is some truth in it. Her
father is a shoemaker — was, at least, for he is dead now —
even if he wasn't a Court shoemaker. And he must have
been wealthy. He only left her what he was obliged to, and
yet she receives fifty crowns interest monthly. I know that
for certain."

14 By Jove ! that is over forty marks. You certainly are a
lucky dog ! Why, she's almost rich."

" Well, not quite that. But it is very pleasant, naturally.
However, I didn't choose her for that reason. I first heard
of it quite indirectly, long after I had proposed."

Heppner was almost overcome with envy as he saw sitting
opposite to him this picture of hideousness, this perfect
monster, who had succeeded — how, Heaven alone knew ! — in
winning a beautiful and also a rich woman. For he was
obliged to believe that about her income. It was plain that
Heimert was not lying.

As a matter of fact the barmaid did receive fifty crowns
every month. The money, however, did not come as interest
on capital inherited from her father, but was an annuity which
a former lover had settled on her : a good-natured, fat tallow-
chandler, who had been with great regret obliged to give the
youthful Albina Worzuba the go-by, as his wife had caught
him tripping. He had sweetened the farewell for Albina with
this annuity.

Albina was careful not to reveal this to her future husband,
Why should she ? She argued that ignorance was bliss, and
beyond everything she was weary of the unsettled life she had
been leading, now as waitress, now as barmaid, or as something
quite different, and she wanted to find rest in an honest mar-
riage. She could attract most men as lovers, but as a husband
she could only hope for one who was as simple and as much
in love as Heimert. So she had fastened upon him, and she
had no intention of endangering her plans by any unpleasant

98 JENA OR SEDAN?

communications. Prague was a long way off; and, moreover,
many years had passed since those days, and the money itself
could tell no tales as to its source.

Apparently the barmaid would have no more free moments.
So at last the two non-commissioned officers rose, paid their
bill, and then went up to the bar to say good-nigbt to her.

Now it was that Albina first noticed the full difference
between her future husband and the sergeant-major. As the
men stood side by side, Heppner was more than a head taller
than Heimert. He was strongly built, and, despite a certain
fulness, he was well-proportioned ; strength, however, un-
trammelled, powerful, raw strength was his salient characteristic.
Keimert's frame, too broad and too short, and crowned by
its mask of a comic clown, looked almost deformed by the side
of the other.

The girl's eyes rested with unfeigned admiration on Heppner's
appearance ; and when she finally turned towards her lover, a
scornful smile played about her coarse mouth. But in an in-
stant she changed it to a tender expression.

To Heppner she said : " I am glad to have made the
acquaintance of one of my future husband's comrades."

" When you are married, Fräulein, we shall be living in the
same building," replied Heppner eagerly. i; We shall be great
friends, shall we not ? "

And the beauty raised her eyes to his with a peculiar glance
as she answered softly : " Oh yes, 1 think so."

CHAPTER VI

" For now the time to pack has come,
And love is put away ;
Farewell ! I hear the roll of drum,
And may no longer stay."

{Hoffmann von Fallersieben.)

Towards the end of March Reimers was turning over the
pages of the Weekly Military Gazette before dinner, when he saw
the announcement that his dear friend Senior-lieutenant Giintz
was to rejoin his regiment on April ist. The red order of the
Eagle was to be given to him upon the expiration of his work
in Berlin.

Giintz to return ! Dear old pedantic Giintz, who had so
often and so ruthlessly opened his eyes for him ! To tell the
truth, this friend had almost passed out of his thoughts ; yet
now he suddenly felt a genuine longing for him. '

During the past winter Reimers had grown much more
at home in the regiment, feeling as a wanderer returned.
He felt himself freer and more light-hearted, and his com-
rades seemed more congenial. Never had a winter flown
by so swiftly ; and yet he counted the days till the ist.

He had made a special resolve to spend his evenings over
his books, and had plunged with renewed zeal into his studies
for the examination of the Staff College, which had been
interrupted by his illness. And then the feeling of loneliness
had suddenly returned. But now all would be well, now that
Giintz was coming back — Giintz, from whom no difference of
rank or age had ever divided him ; to whom he could speak
straight from the heart, and on whose sympathy he could at all
times rely.

Guntz's return was scarcely alluded to by his brother officers.
After all there was nothing extraordinary about it; every

ioo JENA OR SEDAN?

year .some one took up or left a post of the kind he had been
filling.

The ladies of the regiment made somewhat more of a stir ;
for one question, which had previously been theoretically dis-
cussed, now became suddenly of burning importance.

Güntz had married in Berlin, and his bride was a governess.
This much only was known : that she was not even particularly
pretty. He had, of course, obtained the requisite official
sanction, so that there could not be anything actually against
her family ; but concerning the reception into their midst of
this young person, who had formerly filled a " menial position,"
the ladies of the regiment felt somewhat troubled.

Frau Lischke laid the case before her husband, and begged
him to ask instructions of the colonel.

" H'm," answered the major, " I'll do it ; but I don't care
for the job. Falkenhein can be pretty sharp-tongued upon
occasion."

" Sharp-tongued ? " retorted his wife. " My dearest, surely
you are more than a match for him there ! And there's another
matter. While you are about it, you might just mention that
stuck-up Reimers. This entire winter he has kept away, quite
without excuse, from all society. Just tell the colonel that I
don't think that proper in a young officer."

Lischke was not as a rule shy or in awe of his superior
officer, but his wife's commission gave him an ill-defined un-
easiness, so that he boggled over his errand«

The colonel let him have his say out. Then he began, in
his somewhat nervous, quick way :

" My dear major, give my compliments to Frau Lischke, and
tell her that young Reimers is preparing for an examination, so
that she will understand his seclusion. For my part, Lischke,
if Reimers had turned up at every dance of which your wife
is patroness, or which she has helped to get up, I should have
been surprised. There may be C.O.'s who think differently ;
for my own part, so long as I have the honour of commanding
the regiment, such festivities shall only be obligatory on those
youngsters whose manners need touching up. That that is
not the case with Reimers does not, I hope, escape the pene-
tration of your excellent wife. That is my official view of the
case ; as to my personal feeling, which I give Frau Lischke in

JENA OR SEDAN? 101

strict confidence : it is that I wish the devil would take all these
everlasting balls and parties !

" With regard to Lieutenant Giintz's wife, I beg you to
express to your good lady my very respectful surprise at her
question. If the Ministry of War has found no fault with the
jroung lady, then surely the ladies here may be satisfied. Per-
haps they are afraid that one who has been a governess may
outshine them in wisdom ? Well, of course, that may very well
be ! I do not want to be disagreeable, my dear major ; so
please make my views known to the ladies as tenderly as you

Reimers met Güntz at the station. The dear fellow had
grown somewhat stouter. No wonder, considering he had been
away from duty for a good year.

As they walked away the elder officer looked keenly at the
younger.

" Reimers," he said, delightedly, " you look thoroughly well.
African traveller ! Boer campaigner ! Prisoner in a fortress !
Which has suited you best ? "

" Probably all three," answered Reimers; "the one counter-
acted the other."

"Was that so? Am I not the only destroyer of illusions ?
You must tell me all about everything, won't you ? "

"All to you certainly."

" That's right. Well, to begin with, how does the garrison
air suit you ? "

11 So-so. And you ? How will you like this after Berlin ?"

" Oh, all right, I think. If not Well, we shall see."

For a while the friends were silent ; then Güntz was about
to speak, when Reimers interrupted him.

M But I must ask you, above all things, how is your wife, and
where is she now ? "

Güntz looked at him smiling. " She is very well, thanks,
and is at the moment with her brother, a parson in Thuringia.
But you don't ask after my boy ! "

" What ? Have you got one ? n

" Rather ! A fat little cub, as round as a bullet. Ten
weeks old. You must help us christen him."

11 Güntz, you should have told me."

102 JENA OR SEDAN?

" Told you what, my son ? "

11 That you were a father."

''Why, there was time enough. Anyhow, it was in the
Weekly Military. So it is your own fault if you didn't know.
But will you be godfather ? "

"Of course, of course, gladly."

" Then next Saturday afternoon at five. Morning dress."

Reimers laughed gaily.

" Since when have you taken to talking like a telegram,
Güntz ? Are words expensive in Berlin ? "

" Expensive ? Pooh ! Cheap, cheap ! A hundred thou-
sand for a farthing," broke out the new arrival, with somewhat
unaccountable fierceness. His open, friendly face suddenly
darkened and took on a grim, bitter expression.

" Well," he said, as they parted, " we shall meet again, very
often, I hope. So long, old chap ! "

In fact, Reimers became a constant guest at the Guntzes'.
He feared at times that he came too often.

" Güntz, old boy," he said, " tell me frankly, am I not a
nuisance ? "

" How so ? " asked his host, sitting up in his easy chair.

" I am afraid I come too often."

Giintz knocked the ash off the end of his cigar, and re-
assured him; "No, certainly not, old chap. If you did I
should not hesitate to tell you."

So it came about that every Sunday at mid-day, and on
every Wednesday evening, Reimers found himself at the dinner-
table of the snug little villa, Waisenhaus Strasse No. 57.

Frau Kläre Giintz, a little lady with a fresh, pretty face, and
bright, clever eyes, called these her " at home " days.

" You see, Fatty," she said to her husband, " I am trying to
follow in the footsteps of Frau Lischke."

She lifted her eyebrows and went on, sarcastically : " When
you have only been a governess you have to be so very care-
ful. And it's difficult ! Sometimes I have my doubts whether
I shall ever attain to the standard of Gustava Lischke."

She sighed comically and nodded at her husband.

He threatened her : " Mind what you are about, Kläre.
I will not permit disrespect. Gustava ! " he added, chuckling,

JENA OR SEDAN? 103

and turned to Reimers : " We were neighbours as children,'
he explained, " Gustava and I ; but now she denies the ac-
quaintance. My old father — God bless him ! — was a builder
Gustava's papa dealt in butter and eggs ; a worthy, mos»
worthy man. But now, of course, according to the new fashion,
they must pile it on, and Gustava's papa was a merchant."

He laughed, and then went on, more bitterly : " If you
weren't present, Kläre, I should use a strong expression to set
the whole dirty pack in their true light. Gustava is unhappily
only a symptom, and one among many. And I tell you.

Kläre, if you were to behave like her, then — then "

" Well, what terrible thing would befall me ? " asked the
young wife.

Güntz checked himself. He smiled slily. " Why, then I
should make use of the right which the good old law allows
me, and administer corporal punishment."
Kläre laughed aloud.

" Anyhow," said she, " the women really aren't as bad *s you
make them out, Fatty."

The senior-lieutenant would not agree : " Now, now, Kläre,
I was within earshot when all the divinities sat together dis-
cussing whether you would have hands roughened by " service,"
by polishing glasses, washing children, and such like."

Kläre was a little vexed. " Well," she cried, " would you
have had them eat me up out of affection at the first go-
off?"

" That's just what does happen sometimes," said her
husband. "The moment Frau Kauerhof first appeared on
the scene, a perfect stranger to them all, they threw themselves
upon her neck, and hugged and kissed her, as if they had
been her adoring sisters. Of course, Frau Kauerhof was a
von Lüben, the daughter of a colonel and head of a depart-
ment in the War Office, and you, my Kläre — shame on you !
— were a governess ! "

But the young wife insisted more vehemently : " Now do
be reasonable ! " she cried. " It has really become quite an
idee fixe with you that I have not been received with due
respect. I can only assure you again and again that all the
ladies have been most polite and amiable towards me."
Güntz growled on : " Geese, a pack of stupid geese 1 "

104 JENA 0R SEDAN?

" For shame, Fatty ! " Kläre remonstrated.

But he continued to grumble. " Has a single one of them
embraced you as they did Frau Kauerhof? Has one of them
even kissed you ? Has one been really nice and friendly to
you ? "

" Look here," cried Kläre quite roused, " I don't want any
of them to fall on my neck when they scarcely know me. And
as it happens, one has been kind to me, very kind indeed ! "

"Pooh! Who, then?"

" Frau von Gropphusen ! "

" Oh, I am not surprised. I except her. She is not a
goose. But she's a crazy creature, all the same."

" Fatty ! Don't be abominable ! What has the poor woman
done to you ? "

Güntz rose from his chair. He took a few turns up and
down the room to work off the stiffness, and grumbled on :
"Done? Tome? Nothing, of course. Bin she's hysterical
out and out. That's it, hysterical ! "

Kläre warmly took up the defence of the accused woman.
" You may be right," she said, " but there's a reason for it."

«' Certainly, certainly," answered Güntz. " Her husband is
— forgive the coarse expression, Kläre — a regular hog. But an
hysterical woman is an utter horror to me."

" I can only feel sorry for Frau von Gropphusen."

" And so do I. But I don't want her to hang on to you."

She does not hang on to me," answered his wife simply.

But at this moment a subdued wailing was heard, and
Kläre instantly hastened from the room.

The men, left alone, dropped into reflection. Neither spoke
for a while.

At last Reimers broke the silence.

" I think, Güntz, that you exaggerate a bit. Senseless and
silly prejudices are not only to be found in military circles.
Anyhow, there's no good in running your head against a brick
wall."

" True," assented Güntz. " But if a dung-cart were driven
right under my nose, I should have to give it a shove."

He resumed his perambulations of the room, and lapsed for
a while into silence.

" Anyhow," he began again, smiling contentedly, " Frau

JENA OR SEDAN? 105

Gropphusen may come to Kläre for consolation if she likes to
have her. I am sure my wife is proof against the hysterical
bacillus. Eh ? "

Before Reimers could answer, Kläre returned, a little
flushed. She bore the baby on a pillow, rocking him in her
arms.

Güntz answered his own question.

" Yes, yes, she's proof," he said.

Reimers was thoroughly happy in the Giintzes' society. The
atmosphere of security and candour in which they lived influ-
enced him unawares ; it wrought as a useful antidote when his
spirit was inclined to soar too high into the realms of the
unsubstantial. He was much delighted to find that his friend
shared his admiration for his honoured and beloved Falken-
hein. Indeed, in this matter, the dry and reserved man
sometimes outdid his young fellow-officer.

"There's a man /" he would say. " Head and heart, eyes
and mouth in the right places ! A good fellow. In one
word — a man !"

This word was the highest in Giintz's vocabulary. The
opposite to it, until his marriage, had been woman. After
marriage he naturally excepted Kläre.

How sick he was of the way people went on in Berlin ! He
could hardly speak too strongly about the weaknesses of
certain officers.

Reimers did not hold it necessary to be absolutely blind to
the faults of one's superiors and comrades ; still, he thought
that his friend went a bit too far in his strictures, and he did
not conceal his opinion.

11 Dear boy," responded Güntz, " why should I not speak
freely to you ? Do you think it gives me any pleasure that
so many of our superiors and comrades do not merit the
respect which, as officers, they command ? This has nothing
to do with their personal character. The only question for
me is : are they fit for their profession ? If not, they are only
a nuisance in it, so far as I can see."

" You used to be less severe."

11 Possibly. But when one has rubbed the sleepiness of
habit out of one's eyes one sees more clearly and sharply.

io6 JENA OR SEDAN?

Besides, take an example. Stuckhardt will be a major soon
Do you consider him fit to lead a division ? "

" No, he has already made a terrible mess of his battery. He
won't stay on the staff for a year, that's certain."

" Why should he be there at all ? I tell you he should
never even have been made a captain. What about Gropp-
husen ? "

" Ah ! There you are S He has missed his vocation ! "

" Why is he still where he is then ? " Güntz laughed
grimly to himself. "What ought he to have been ? "

" A painter," answered Reimers.

The other made a grimace. " Possibly ! Well, thirdly,

what of my revered chief, Captain Mohr? What do you
think of him ? "

" He has already got a knife at his throat. I bet he'll be
sent off after the manoeuvres."

" He goes on drinking just as he has ever since I've known
him." Güntz sighed deeply. " And I tell vou, Reimers, it's
no joke to serve under such a man."

Reimers nodded. " I feel with you, old man. And yet
half the regiment envies you for being in the fifth battery."

" Pooh ! " laughed Güntz bitterly, " there you see them.
They would all like to idle under a sot. They just want to
be where they think they're least looked after. They may do
as they choose ; but I want to know what I'm here for. If I
have a profession I like to live up to it ; I consider myself too
good to be merely ornamentale I tell you, Reimers," he went
on, " I was thoroughly upset when I joined the battery. The
way things go on there you would hardly believe. I wondered
at first how it could be kept dark. But there's a regular
planned-out system of hurrying things into shape somehow
for inspection — fixing up a sort of model village. And as for
honour ! Well, one must admit that they all stand by one
another in the most infernal way, from the respected chief ol
the battery down to the smallest gunner, so that they'll rattle
along somehow. There's a show of some sort of discipline ;
but really and truly it's just an all-round compromise. A
man does a couple of days' work, and earns by that the right
of idling all the more shamelessly afterwards. And that /
should be let in for this sort of thing ! Dear boy, you know

JENA OR SEDAN? 107

how few palpable results, naturally, an officer can show in
time of peace ; but still it's too much that one should do one's
duty with no possible chance of any kudos. Old man, it's
too bad ! I can't stand it. I know this, that if it goes on I
shall quit the service, dearly as I love it."

He glanced with deep sorrow at his dark green coat, and
strode up and down the room.

" This is my only hope," he went on, with grim satisfaction,
11 that my beloved captain will soon succumb to D.T."

Reimers reflected. "You must allow that this battery's
unfortunate condition is quite exceptional. Let me make a
suggestion. Provoke Mohr to a quarrel ! You'll be sure to
be backed up. Every one knows he can't control himself when
he is drunk. And you can go to Madelung, or, still better,
come to us under Wegstetten."

"That's an idea," observed Güntz. " But it won't do. For,
in confidence, Falkenhein has let it transpire that in the
autumn I shall get my captaincy ; and probably — indeed cer-
tainly— I shall succeed Mohr."

Reimers jumped up, delighted.

" But, dear old chap, then it's all right ! You'll bring the
fifth out of the mud. You're just the chap to do it ! And
your reward will be the greater in proportion to the wretched
state of affairs now. Jerusalem ! What a splendid division
it will be ! Madelung, Güntz, Wegstetten ! The best heads
of batteries in the whole corps ! Without any flattery, old
chap ! "

But the other did not join in his rejoicing. " Dear old
fellow," he answered, " you may think so. But I confess
that it seems to me as if we had got a bit off the right track
with our whole military system ; as if Madelung's and Weg-
stetten's and my own work were bound to be labour in vain."

He stopped suddenly. His usually cheerful face had grown
careworn and gloomy.

" How do you mean ? " asked Reimers.

The other sighed, and answered, " Dear boy, I cannot say
more as yet ; I have not fully thought it out. I will first
make an attempt to settle down to the work here. I promise
you, as soon as my own mind is clear, I will tell you honestly
what is bothering me."

H

io8 JENA OR SEDAN?

Reimers suspected moisture in the eyes of his friend, as
they clasped hands.

Güntz went on softly : " Dear old boy, it's pretty hard
when a man finds, or thinks he finds, that he has devoted his
life to a fruitless, hopeless business ! What is such a man to
do ? But it is possible that I am right in my fears — and of
that I cannot bear to think."

" What fears do you mean ? "

" I can't help myself. I am often forced to remember that
we've had a bad time before."

" Before when ? "

" Before Jena."

Reimers started. The ominous word struck his pride like
a lash. He drew himself up stiffly. " Why not before
Sedan?"

The other calmly answered : " Sedan ? Jena ? Perhaps
you are right, perhaps I am. No one knows."

After this conversation Giintz avoided such topics with his
friend. If Reimers tried to draw him again on the subject,
he answered evasively, " I have told you I must fight it out
with myself. Until then I don't want to talk at random."

But for all that he grew calmer and more equable. The
biting, sarcastic tone he had adopted gradually disappeared ;
and it almost seemed as if the mood had been merely a sur-
vival of his Berlin experience.

At Easter a small event occurred in the little garrison.

During Holy Week Colonel von Falkenhein took a short
leave of absence in order to fetch his daughter Marie home
from school at Neuchatel. After Easter she was to come out
into society.

Reimers debated whether he ought not to pay his respects
to the Falkenheins during the holidays. Most of the un-
married officers had gone away on leave, and on Easter
Monday he was alone in the mess-room at the mid-day meal.

Finally he decided to pay his visit that afternoon.

He was not in the least curious about the young lady. He
remembered her as Falkenhein's little Marie, three years ago,
before she went to school ; a pretty, rather slender little girl,
with a thick plait of bright gold hair down her back, blushing

JENA OR SEDAN? 109

scarlet when one spoke to her and responding quickly and
daintily with the regulation childish curtsey.

She was now just seventeen ; still slender, and her
little face framed by the same bright golden hair, that
seemed almost too great a weight for her head. Beautiful
clear grey eyes she had also; and Reimers particularly re-
marked her delicate straight nose, by the trembling of whose
nostrils one could judge if the little lady were excited about
anything. She bore the dignity of being the colonel's daughter
with modest pride. She handled the tea-things with the style
of an accomplished matron, and led the conversation with a
sort of old-fashioned self-possession.

Falkenhein never took his eyes off his child. Sometimes
he smiled to himself, as he noted how unconcernedly she did
the honours to her first "guest, knowing well her secret anxiety
to play her new part with success.

When Reimers rose to go, the colonel invited him to
supper. The lieutenant accepted with pleasure. He was
sure that intercourse with his commander would be of a
thousand times more value to him than the dry wisdom of books.

Hitherto when Reimers had supped at the colonel's, after
the meal, as they sat smoking, the senior officer would dilate
on his reminiscences and experiences.

This time, however, there was a little alteration. Before a
young girl the two men could not discuss specially military
matters. Nevertheless, Reimers was not bored.

When Fräulein Marie showed symptoms of beginning
again in her quaint universal-conversationalist style her father
interrupted her.

" Little one," he said, " leave that sort of chatter alone !
Keep it for others. Lieutenant Reimers does not care for that
kind of thing. And I know him well, I assure you, my child ;
he is one of my best officers."

The little lady opened her eyes wide on the young soldier
" If papa says that," she said gravely, " I congratulate you,
Herr Reimers."

The colonel laughed aloud. Conversation flowed fast and
free after this. The young girl could talk brightly of her little
life, and asked intelligent questions.

no JENA OR SEDAN?

She began confidentially to question her guest about the ladie:
of the regiment, whereupon Falkenhein said abruptly : " Tell
me, Reimers ; you often go to the Güntzes', don't you ? M

" Yes, sir."

11 Of course Güntz is an old friend of yours. Do you know,
I am much taken by his wife. She seems to me to be amiable,
straightforward, sensible. We are neighbours; I should like
Marie to see something of her. But they keep themselves to
themselves rather, don't they ? "

" Oh, not altogether. Only Güntz finds ordinary shallow
society uncongenial."

11 So do I, and so do you ; eh, Reimers ? But I see what
you mean."

Next day Lieutenant Güntz and Frau Kläre called at the
colonel's, and regular intercourse soon established itself
between the neighbours. Marie von Falkenhein was secretly
enraptured with Kläre Güntz and her " sweet baby " ; while
Kläre took to her heart the fair young girl who had so early
lost a mother's love.

From this time the social status of the former governess
was completely changed. Frau Lischke invited that " de-
lightful " Frau Güntz to her select coffee parties. But Kläre
excused herself on the plea that she was nursing her baby and
could not be away from him for more than two hours
together.

Later in the year, when the evenings were warmer, and it
was tempting to linger in the open air, the neighbours took to
meeting together for supper in one garden or the other. The
occupants of Waisenhaus Strasse No. 55 and those of No. 57
alternately provided the comestibles.

Reimers was always free of the table. Once he trium-
phantly contributed a liver sausage with truffles ; but he was
ruthlessly snubbed by Kläre for bringing such a thing in the
dog-days.

The little clique was much censured by the regiment.
Such familiar intercourse, it was thought, undermined the
authority of the colonel. Nevertheless, people were eager
for the goodwill of Frau Güntz.

Thus it came about that Güntz had the satisfaction of seeing

JENA OR SEDAN? ill

his wife one of the most popular ladies of the regiment, and
was able to tease her with the new discovery that she was
" exclusive, not to say stuck up and proud."

In reality Kläre had only become intimate with two of the
ladies. After Marie von Falkenhein she foregathered chiefly
with Hannah von Gropphusen.

The latter was a real puzzle to her new friends. She was
always alternating in her moods from one extreme to the other.
Sometimes she would not appear for weeks at a time ; then
she would come down day after day, each time seeming
unable to tear herself away. Now she would be full of
nervous, overwrought vivacity, and again would sit perfectly
silent, staring gloomily before her.

Güntz fled from her presence ; ne said she made him feel
creepy. Once he whispered mysteriously in his wife's ear :
" Do you know, I believe she and Gropphusen have committed
a murder between them : and this terrible bond holds them
together, although they fight like cat and dog."

But Kläre strongly objected to such jokes. c{ How can you
tell what that poor woman may have to bear ? There may have
been a murder in her history ; but it was done by Gropphusen,
and on her soul. Joke about something else, Fatty."

The happy young wife entertained the warmest sympathy
for the other unhappy one, who always had the look of being
pursued by some terrible evil. More than once a sisterly
feeling impelled her, not from curiosity, but from genuine sym-
pathy, to put a question to Hannah about her sorrow ; but she
read in the sombre, hopeless eyes of the sufferer that the
burden must be borne alone ; so she left Frau von Gropphusen
in peace. She listened patiently when the nervous woman
talked ceaselessly about a thousand different things, in short,
jerky sentences as if to drown some inner voice ; neither would
Kläre interrupt with a single question the heavy silence in
which, at other times, Hannah would sit for hours, watching
her as she busied herself with her little housewifely tidy-
ings and mendings. It was only in watching this peaceful
activity that Frau von Gropphusen recovered her equanimity.
Her face would then lose its unnatural fixity of expression, and
she would draw a deep breath, as though eased of a heavy
burden.

ii2 JENA OR SEDAN?

" It is so peaceful here with you, Frau Kläre," she said
sometimes. " It does one good."

Giintz shook his head over her weird conduct. One thing
gratified him concerning her, however : it was that she
admired his little son unreservedly, and could be given no
greater treat than to be allowed to hold the boy on her lap.
She would sit as though worshipping the child, who, indeed,
was no angel, only a quite ordinary, fat, chubby infant. At
such times her small finely-chiselled features would light up
with a glorious beauty ; so that Giintz one day whispered to
his wife, " Do you know what the Gropphusen needs? A child ! "

And in his open-hearted way he once said jokingly to
Hannah : " Wouldn't you like a beautiful boy like that for
yourself, dear lady t "

At that Hannah Gropphusen sprang up wildly. Her
hands shook so that she could scarcely hold the baby, whom
Kläre snatched from her only just in time.

" I, a child ? " she cried. " For the leve of God, never,
never ! "

A look of horror was in her eyes. She held her hands
before her face as though to shut out something horrible.

Giintz drew back shocked, and stole softly from the
room, taking with him the baby, who had set up a mighty
howling. Kläre put her arm round the trembling woman,
led her to a seat, and soothed her like a child.

Sitting motionless, Frau von Gropphusen listened to the
gentle, comforting sound of the words, without taking in their
meaning. Suddenly she sprang up and said in a voice of
enforced calm :

" Forgive me, dear kind Frau Kläre, for having caused such
a disturbance. It is wrong of me not to be able to control
myself better. Don't be vexed, or angry with me, but please
just forget what has happened."

She began hurriedly to prepare for leaving. Her hands
still shook as she pinned on her hat before the mirror.

11 Let me go with you, dear Frau von Gropphusen," urged
Kläre.

Hannah von Gropphusen, however, was smiling once more ;
though in sooth on her pallid countenance the smile had some-
thing of a ghastly look.

JENA OR SEDAN? 113

" No, no, Frau Kläre," she assured her ; " I am better
alone."

Once more saying, " Forgive me, won't you ? " she departed.

Güntz meanwhile had not been able to quiet the little
screamer, and was glad enough when Kläre took the child
from him.

11 What is the matter with her ? " he asked.

Kläre shrugged her shoulders. " She did not tell me ; per-
haps she could not. The trouble may be too profound, too
terrible."

" You have left her alone ? "

11 She has gone."

The senior-lieutenant looked out of window. His wife, with
the baby in her arms, came and stood beside him.

" See ! " he cried. " There she goes ! Young, beautiful, rich,
fashionable — has she not everything to make her happy ? "
And shaking his head he added, " Poor, poor woman ! "

He vowed to himself not to make depreciatory remarks
about the Gropphusen in the future. One thing, however, he
felt he must impress on his wife : " Look here, Kläre," he
cautioned her, "you won't let her hold the boy often, will
you ? "

With the returning spring Hannah von Gropphusen seemed
to awaken from her depression. She had one great passion, to
which she eagerly resorted as soon as the days became fit for
it : this was tennis.

In their small garrison she had no real match ; the only
person who came anywhere near her was Reimers. He had,
of course, been absent from the tennis club for a whole year,
and she was all the more delighted at the approach of fine
weather.

Frau von Gropphusen and Reimers were always the last to
leave the ground, when the balls were often hardly discernible
in the gathering twilight. She soon found that her opponent
had, during his absence, come on very much in his play.
At Cairo he had played with English people, acknowledged
masters of the game j whilst she herself, through playing with
indifferent performers, had lost much of her former facility ;
so now they were well matched.

114 JENA OR SEDAN?

Feeling this, Reimers played more easily and surely than
of old, and consequently had greater leisure to remark what
he had formerly been indifferent to — the beauty and grace of
his opponent.

Meeting her during the winter in society, when she was as
though bowed down by her secret sorrow, and took little part
in the gay life around her, he had thought her looking older.
But now, in the budding springtime, in the warm sunshine,
animated by the game, she seemed to have bathed in the
fountain of youth.

Her tennis costume — with which, of course, she wore no
corset, but only a narrow belt — was very becoming : a light
blouse, a mouse-coloured skirt, close fitting over the hips and
not reaching to her ankles, grey silk stockings, and white
suede shoes guiltless of heels.

The ladies of the regiment pronounced this attire
" indecent " ; though not one of them would have hesitated
to dress similarly, if it had suited her as well as it did Frau
von Gropphusen.

Frau Kauerhof (ne'e von Liiben) had indeed once attempted
to appear in a like toilet, only her skirt was navy-blue. It was
difficult to say wherein the difference consisted, — perhaps her
skirt was a little longer than the other's, — but the whole effect
was not so successful. And yet Frau Kauerhof was a pretty
creature enough; not exactly slim, but rather of a blonde
plumpness, and this was somewhat noticeable in her loose
shirt. The glances of the young lieutenants dwelt rather
insistently thereon. They were also able to make another in-
teresting discovery. Frau Kauerhofs calves began immediately
above her ankles. They were very fat calves.

Furthermore, Frau Kauerhofs white shoes advertised the
fact that her feet were enormous. This the ladies decided
with absolute unanimity ; and they begged Frau Wegstetten,
the highest in rank among the women tennis-players, to
give her a hint.

That lady shrank from the commission. It was unpleasant
to offend one whose papa was in the Ministry of War ; and
the situation might therefore have continued, perhaps to the
satisfaction of the younger officers, if a fortunate chance had
not brought Kauerhof himself to the tennis-ground.

JENA OR SEDAN? 115

He escorted his wife chivalrously home, and led her,
without a word, to the mirror.

Her starched shirt was crumpled, and wet through with
perspiration, also her shoes were trodden all out of shape.

" Dear Marion," he said, " I have no objection to your
going to balls as decolletee as ever you please, for you are
beautiful . ." and he kissed her neck ; " but I do beg you not
to exhibit yourself like this again."

Marion coloured and answered : "Yes, you're right, Hubby !
Now I know why Fröben and Landsberg were staring at me
so."

Then she pouted : " But Frau von Gropphusen looked
nice dressed like this ! "

Her husband answered quietly: " My child, ' quod licet J ovi,
non licet bovi.} "

" What ? What does that mean ? "

Kauerhof translated gallantly, " You are prettier than the
Gropphusen, my Marion ; but she is thinner than you."

For one must be polite to a wife who is by birth a von
Liiben, and the daughter of the head of a department in the
War Office.

Reimers was not, like his comrades, accustomed to spend
the greater part of his leisure in frivolity and flirting. It
therefore never occurred to him to conceal his admiration for
Frau von Gropphusen.

It often happened that he missed the easiest balls, fascinated
in watching the movements and graceful attitudes of his oppo-
nent. Her feet, which even in the unflattering tennis-shoes
looked small and dainty, seemed merely to skim over the
ground like the wings of a passing swallow; and the most
daring bounds and leaps, which in others would have been
grotesque, she accomplished with the easy agility of a cat.

Reimers asked himself where his eyes had been that all this
should hitherto have passed him unnoticed. He thought he
had never seen anything so exquisite. But Hannah Gropp-
husen would scold him when he stood gazing thus in naive
admiration.

11 Herr Reimers," she would cry, "how inattentive you are .
You must really look after the balls better ! "

n6 JENA OR SEDAN?

But when she noted the direction of his admiring glances,
a delicate flush would overspread her face and mount to her
white brow, on which a single premature furrow was curiously
noticeable.

"You see, Herr Reimers," she said, one evening in May.
fi we are the last again."

The sun had just set. A light mist rising from the river
was faintly coloured by the last red rays.

Frau von Gropphusen rested her foot on a garden chair and
refastened the strap of her shoe. Reimers stood watching,
with his racquet in his hand. The stooping posture, though
unusual, was so graceful, that he said simply and with convic
tion, but without the least passion or sentimentality in his
voice : " Dear lady, how wonderfully beautiful you are J "

Hannah von Gropphusen bent closer over her shoe-lace.
She wanted to say something in reply just as simple as his own
words had been; but she could find nothing except the banal
rejoinder : " Please do not flatter me, Herr Reimers ! " and hei
voice rang a little sharply.

They walked silently side by side towards the town, by the
footpath across the meadows, and then along a little bit of the
high-road until they came to the first houses.

Reimers was under a spell. He could not speak. He
listened to the light rapid footfall that accompanied his longer
stride to the rhythm of her silk-lined skirt as she walked ; and
as the evening breeze from the river wafted a faint perfume
towards him, he thought of the lovely slender arm he had seen
through the transparent material of her sleeve. This perfume
must come from that fair soft skin. He felt a sudden longing
to kiss the beautiful arms.

Frau von Gropphusen avoided looking at her companion.
Once only she stole a glance at him with a shy, questioning,
dubious expression. It chanced that Reimers was looking at
her. Their eyes met, and parted reluctantly.

At the garden gate he kissed her hand in farewell. She
started a little and said with an assumption of gaiety, "Heavens!
what can have come to us ? On a warm spring evening like
this our hands are as cold as ice ! "

Reimers hastened homewards, much perturbed in spirit. He
was due at the Guntzes' to supper at half-past eight. It had

JENA OR SEDAN? 117

already struck the hour/and he had yet to dress ; for the colonel,
who would probably be there too, objected to see his officers in
mufti, except when shooting or some great sporting occasion
was the excuse.

He found everything leady to his hand. Gähler was very
satisfactory and most thoughtful, even to setting a bottle of red
wine and a carafe of cool spring water on a table. A glass of
water with a dash of wine in it was the best thing to quench
one's thirst after playing tennis.

He hastily tossed off a glassful. It cooled him wonderfully.
He poured out a second and drank it more slowly. The water
was so cold as to dew the glass, yet it seemed powerless to
quench the fire which consumed his throat, his breast, his head.

He began to dress hurriedly. He had but a few minutes.
He was ready but for his coat, when suddenly everything
around him seemed to vanish into endless distance. He felt
loosed from time and space.

Mechanically he let himself slip into a chair, covering his
face with his hands and closing his eyes.

He thought of Hannah von Gropphusen. How beautiful she
was ! How marvellously beautiful ! He thought of that one
look she had bestowed on him ; of the silent question spoken
by her lovely shy eyes. He guessed it to be : " Shall I really
be happy once more ? Dare I hope it ? Is it indeed you who
will bring me happiness ? " Out of an unfathomable abyss of
doubt and misery she appealed to him thus.

How unhappy was this woman ! and how beautiful !

The door opened. Gähler came in.

" What do you want ? " demanded Reimers.

" Beg pardon, sir," stammered the fellow, u I thought you
were ready."

He held in his hand his master's cap and sabre.

" All right, give them to me ! "

The lieutenant quickly completed his toilet, and hurried
away to Waisenhaus Strasse.

His passion for Frau von Gropphusen increased day by day.
He took no pains to combat it. True, his beloved was
the wife of another, of a brother-officer ; but he did not even
in thought desire to draw nearer to her, and, should ever the
temptation arise, he believed himself strong enough to resist it.

Ii8 JENA OR SEDAN?

Indeed, no words passed between them that might not have
been overheard by a third party. At their meeting and parting
there was no meaning pressure of the hand ; only their glances
betrayed the secret understanding of a mighty, burning love :
the deep sorrow of the one, and the sweet, tender consolation
of the other.

Needless to say, the gossips of the garrison were soon busy
over such a welcome morsel. Since the Gropphusen's flirtation
with Major Schrader a winter ago, she had furnished no cause
of scandal. All the busier now were the evil tongues.

It was not long before the subalterns began to make more
or less pointed remarks, half jestingly, to Reimers.

Little Dr. von Fröben shook his finger at him, and let fly a
solitary shaft : " Aye, aye, still waters run deep ! " he said.

Landsberg actually congratulated him. " Happy you ! " he

cried with mock sorrow, " as for me " And he proceeded

crudely to extol the physical charms of Frau von Gropphusen
— " that rattling fine woman," as he called her.

Reimers shut him up sharply.

These attacks ended by opening his eyes to the compara
tive jejuneness of his own outlook on life.

" You are an extraordinary young idealist," the colonel had
said to him not long before; Reimers began to think so too.
Concerning a woman whose favours were to be bought, one
might think as did Landsberg ; but not concerning a lady of
social standing. It never occurred to him to think whether
Frau von Gropphusen was or was not high-bosomed ; he
only knew that she was lovely.

He would dearly have liked to knock down that reptile
Landsberg. But that would only have caused a scandal, which,
for the dear woman's sake, must not be.

He avoided her somewhat. No one should speak ill of
her on his account. He absented himself from the tennis-
ground, and when he appeared there did not play exclusively
with her.

Hannah Gropphusen felt crushed. She did not understand
him. What matter if the gossips did amuse themselves at her
expense ? And with falsehoods, too ! She was used to it,
and had a sufficiently thick skin not to feel the stings of such
insects. Was he going to turn from her for such a reason as

JENA OR SEDAN? 119

this ? From her, who would gladly have thrown herself at
his feet, saying, " Leave me your love ; I only live through
you"?

A choking sob clutched at her throat. In order not to
feel herself utterly overcome, she went to all the biggest
parties, and mingled in the gayest company. She would be
talkative and noisy, merely to make him aware of her presence.
A wild desire seized her to make him notice her at any cost,
even at the risk of wounding him ; yes, she wished to wound
him.

She flirted outrageously ; uttering in shrill, tremulous tones
loathsome things which were monstrous in her mouth.

One evening she lingered on the recreation-ground with
Reimers and Landsberg, to the latter of whom she, by pre-
ference, directed her unnatural merriment during this miserable
period — just because she knew that Reimers hated him. And
the booby Landsberg was deeply flattered by it.

They were resting a little before turning homewards. Lands-
berg had thrown himself down on the grass, and was gazing
fixedly upwards.

Reimers disapproved of the attitude, thinking it too cavalier
altogether, and glowered at him. Unintentionally he followed
the direction of his brother-officer's gaze.

Hannah von Gropphusen had seated herself upon a chair,
carelessly crossing her legs so that the grey silk stockings were
visible from ankle to knee. Presently she became conscious
of Landsberg's regard ; she moved disdainfully, and slowly
re-arranged her skirt.

Reimers felt furious. He longed to kick the offending
youth. He sprang to his feet. He felt he must break some-
thing, destroy something, dash, something to pieces. Tremb-
lingly -he swung his racquet, as if to hurl it at the fellow's
head. But suddenly his arm dropped to his side ; he had
twisted his wrist. The racquet fell from his hand.

11 What's the matter?" asked Frau von Gropphusen.

" Nothing," he answered roughly. " Excuse me, I must say
good-night."

He bowed stiffly. All grew dark before his eyes. He saw
dimly that the lady had risen.

For a moment she stood perplexed. Then she said in a

120 JENA OR SEDAN?

much softer voice : " But won't you see me home to-night,
Herr Reimers ? "

" I am at your service," he answered.

Landsberg hastened to take his departure, and the two
followed him slowly.

Black clouds lowered overhead; now and then a gust of
wind swept over the fields.

Reimers quickened his pace.

Once only Hannah Gropphusen broke the silence : " You
have hurt your hand ? " she asked.

" Yes — no — I don't know."

It was almost dark when they reached her garden gate.

" Show me your hand," she said gently.

Reimers held it out to her in silence. His wrist was a good
deal swollen.

Hannah bent down suddenly and breathed a hasty kiss on
the injured member. When she raised her head again tears
were running down her cheeks.

Reimers stooped a little. He seized her cool white fingers
and kissed them lingeringly. " Hannah ! " he murmured.

She tenderly stroked his brow and bent her head sadly.
Then he left her. .

When he had gone some distance he looked back. All
was dark. A flash of lightning shimmered on the horizon. It
revealed an indistinct figure, which was instantly swallowed up
again by the darkness.

" Nothing much, old man," pronounced the surgeon-major,
when he had examined the injury. "You have strained it a
bit. A tight bandage and an application of arnica. You can
go on duty, but you will not be able to play tennis for the
present."

In any case there would have been an end to that, as the
order to start for the practice-camp had already been issued.

Reimers learnt from his comrades that Frau von Gropp-
husen appeared no more at the tennis club. It was said that
she was not well and was going away to some watering-place or
other. There was much chuckling over the news. "There
has been a split," opined the gossips.

Reimers did not care. He knew better.

JENA OR SEDAN? 121

But the quartette at the supper-table in Waisenhaus Strasse
did not seem displeased with the way in which things had
turned out.

Formerly, if he came late to supper, and excused himself on
the plea of having been detained at tennis, the-e had been a
fatal air of constraint, which would only gradually wear off;
sometimes even lasting the whole evening.

Now they received him at once with their old cordiality ;
they did not believe in his sprain, taking it to be but a con-
venient pretext. He made as much of it as he could. He
showed the swelling ; but, to be sure, it had nearly gone down,
and he still was not believed.

Finally, an amazing thing happened. Frau Kläre had been
taking a turn in the garden one evening with Marie Falkenhein,
when she was called in to her baby. On his way out, Reimers
encountered the colonel's daughter alone. He said good-
night to her politely.

The young girl looked him full in the face with her clear
grey eyes, and said : " I am very glad, Lieutenant Reimers,
that you have put an end to that hateful gossip. It distressed
me, on Frau von Gropphusen's account, and also on yours,
to have to hear horrid things said, and not to be able to
contradict them."

Reimers bowed and withdrew, in his astonishment for-
getting to take leave of Frau Kläre. Marie Falkenhein had
spoken so warmly and heartily, had looked at him so kindly
and honestly, that he felt quite overcome.

It struck him that the man who should win this maiden for
his bride would find through her an assured and tranquil
happiness ; there was a sense of security in her steady gaze.
Yet behind the clear placid eyes of the young girl he saw the
sorrowful orbs of the unhappy woman he loved. He saw the
heavy tears coursing down her white cheeks, as she stood
motionless in the fleeting gleam of the lightning ere she
vanished in the darkness of night.

CHAPTER VII

11 Now off and away, lads,
With merry sound of horn ! "

(Methfessel.)

The lithographed regimental orders for May 31, the Saturday
before Whitsuntide, contained the following announcement :

" On June 3, at 6.30 a.m., the regiment will be ready in the
Waisenhaus Strasse to march to the practice-camp in the follow-
ing order: Batteries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Corps of trumpeters
and band.

11 On no pretext whatever will leave be granted for Whitsun-
tide. It is to be duly notified to the troops that their
Whitsuntide leave — cancelled for official reasons — may be
made good, so far as they deserve it, after the gun-practice.
. . . Night-passes may be granted for Whitsun-Day.
(Signed) "Von Falkenhein,

M Colonel and Commandant."

The news that no leave would be granted for Whitsuntide
drew deep curses from many of the recruits. They would
have liked to go home and exhibit themselves in uniform to
their friends and relations. But what was the good of swear-
ing ? they had to submit.

The two friends, Vogt and Klitzing, were much upset in
their calculations. They had got on so well together that
Vogt had asked his father if he might bring his friend home
with him. Still, it was only put off; better luck next time!
They did not apply for night-leave on the Sunday, as neither
of them found any pleasure in spinning round hot dancing-
saloons with any women they could pick up. Weise, on the

JENA OR SEDAN? 123

contrary, was quite at home under such circumstances, and
had managed to find himself a sweetheart directly permission
was granted the recruits to go into the town. It is true she
was neither pretty nor particularly youthful ; but then she
never failed to pay for all his drinks, and when he had
promised to marry her she had even bought him new regi-
mentals.

Vogt had taken a favourable opportunity of begging
Sergeant Wiegandt to put him and Klitzing together, when,
on the completion of their preliminary training, the men were
grouped into detachments. Wiegandt had not only acceded
to the request, but had taken them both to serve on his own
gun, the sixth ; Klitzing, with his sharp eyes, as gun-layer, or
No. 2 ; Vogt as No. 1, whose duty it was to fire.

And now they sat, this Whitsun-Tuesday, side by side on
the gun-carriage, with the muzzle of the gun between them ;
and when Wegstetten called out in his clear, strident voice,
" Battery, mount ! " Vogt whispered gaily across to Klitzing,
"Now we're off!" as the long procession of thirty-six guns
and six ammunition-waggons began slowly to move.

It was not half bad to be riding along like this. Certainly,
the gunners' seats were not provided with cushions, and the
guns were not mounted on C-springs ; but the shaking and
jolting were not very great on the smooth high-road, it was
only when the wheels crunched over newly-strewn rubble that
their seats vibrated roughly under them.

There had, fortunately, been a heavy thundershower on the
previous afternoon, and it had washed the roads clear of dust.
Now the sun shone mildly, the air was fresh after the rain ;
what could be better than to get out into the country on such
a day ? Vogt and Klitzing rolled along contentedly on their
hard-seated chariot, between the white-blossoming cherry-trees
which bordered the highway.

Their halting place for the night was a large farm, where
were quartered the fifth and sixth guns and the ammunition
waggon, one sergeant, one trumpeter, two corporals, twenty-
one men, and twenty horses. The farmer's entertainment left
nothing to be desired. The litter for the beds was thick and
soft } clean sheets were laid over the straw ; and there were warm
blankets for covering. For supper there were two gigantic

124 JENA OR SEDAN?

hams and many other dainties, a meal for the gods ; and the
noble peasant had even provided beer and cigars. The second
day's march had a no less successful ending. Vogt and
Klitzing were quartered together on a cottager, and though
the poor fellow did not even own a cow, the older men proved
right who had told them that the poor were generally bettei
hosts than the rich.

On the third day the regiment was to arrive at the practice
camp. The country now became more level. The black soil
gradually lightened in tint ; green copses gave place to pine-
woods ; stretches of barren sandy waste land appeared more
and more frequently between the cornfields. At last a flat
table-land was reached, bounded in the far distance by an
immense forest ; and on a still nearer approach isolated white
houses could be descried on the forest's edge, while on one
side a tall water-tower reared itself high above the level
ground.

Captain von Wegstetten ordered his men to halt and dis-
mount. The sixth battery had arrived the first.

Further back along the road just traversed and also on a
neighbouring highway the other batteries were seen slowly
approaching. At length the commandants of the two divisions
arrived with their adjutants, and finally the colonel with his
staff. He received the reports of the staff-officers, and then
after a short interval placed himself at the head of his regi-
ment.

The long line of men, horses and vehicles, with the band
preceding them, then entered the encampment. The sentry
at the gate had to present arms so incessantly that he became
quite exhausted. A considerable time elapsed before the last
officer had passed in.

The guns and carriages were taken to the gun-park. The
horses were unharnessed, and the knapsacks unfastened from
the guns. Then the drivers made their way to the stables,
and the gunners to their barracks. The quartermaster had
pointed out his place to every one, so that each man had only
to take possession of his cupboard and his bed.

The young soldiers, who had never been in camp before,
gazed about with much interest. Things, on the whole,
looked very inviting. A wide road with broad footpaths on

JENA OR SEDAN? 125

either side traversed the whole camp, almost further than the
eye could see, and along it stood the barracks on the left, and
the stables on the right. The houses were all alike ; in the
middle a square one-storied building, and running out from it
a wing containing lofty, airy rooms for the men, open to the
wooden rafters that supported the slated roof. At the back
were covered verandas, in which, during bad weather, in-
struction could be carried on and the roll called. Beyond
these outbuildings began the outskirts of the wood, beautiful
stately pines growing thick and close. The resinous scent of
pine-needles was wafted into the rooms through the open
windows.

"Heinrich," said Vogt to Klitzing, "this is just like a
summer holiday for us, isn't it ? Isn't this air splendid ? "

The clerk stopped his unpacking for a moment and drew
in a deep breath of the invigorating odour.

" Oh yes," he answered ; " we can do with this all right ! "

However, it was not a c< summer holiday " by any means,
and the two friends found that out soon enough. There was
a lot of real hard work to do during these weeks ; but it
was all done with a good will. Actual gun-practice was a
very different thing from that dull work in garrison with blank
cartridges.

The magazine where the ammunition was stored lay at some
little distance from the other buildings, near the gun-park,
and was surrounded by a thick high wall of earth. One
realised from this how dangerous were its contents. But
the store-men, who gave out the shrapnel-shells and the fuses,
went about their work as if regardless of the fact that in each
one of these lurked death and destruction. And yet in every
shrapnel-shell were a couple of hundred bullets that could
easily put a whole company hors de combat.

The beginning of the gun-practice did not, however, seem
likely to be very dangerous. Only twenty-four shrapnel, i.e.,
six shots for each gun, were given out next morning. It
was a first experience, meant especially for the younger officers,
and Lieutenant Landsberg was to command the battery.

The men were very curious to know what he would make
of it. The affected young dandy was extremely unpopular
with every one. Besides which, he was clearly not blessed

126 JENA OR SEDAN?

with much intelligence ; for at garrison-drill more reproofs
and reprimands were showered upon him alone than upon all
the rest of the battery put together. Again and again would
Wegstetten's trumpet-tones ring across the parade-ground:
" Lieutenant Landsberg, you are not in your right place ! "
" Lieutenant Landsberg, you are allowing too much distance ! "
The little captain had sworn many a fierce oath as he galloped
to and fro on his long-legged "Walküre": " Lieutenant Lands-
berg ! attention, please. What in thunder are you about ? "
or " Good God, sir ! don't go to sleep ! Time's getting on ! "

And to-day he was to command the whole battery.
Wegstetten took the precaution of accompanying the young
man himself, so that he might be able to come to the rescue
in case of necessity.

He was soon needed. The battery started from the
gun-park and left the camp, turning off the road and crossing
the heather towards the broad level stretch of the exercise-
ground.

Suddenly Landsberg's snapping voice crowed out : " Battery
halt ! " and immediately afterwards : " Open with shrapnel ! "

The men grinned at one another.

Two or three of the gunners got down and stood there,
quite at a loss. They ought to load ; yet the word of com-
mand, " Prepare for action ! " had not been given. And
how could they load when the seats and the limber-boxes
were still locked, and when the gun was still covered ?

The clever lieutenant had forgotten the word of command
that should properly have been given before leaving the gun-
park. And the best of it was that he didn't even now notice
what was wrong.

Wegstetten, close at hand, kept quite still. He had taken
his feet out of the stirrups and was swinging his short legs
carelessly to and fro. His eyes flashed scorn as he looked
at the hapless lieutenant.

"Well, Lieutenant Landsberg," he said, shrugging his
shoulders, " if I were one of the men myself I shouldn't know
what to do either."

The lieutenant raised his spotlessly gloved hand to his helmet
and replied, "Yes, sir." But as yet no solution of the riddle
had dawned on him.

JENA OR SEDAN? 127

Then at last the captain sat upright in his saddle, and his
clear voice rang out over the battery : " Prepare for action 1 "

It put life into the men at once, and all set about their
various duties with the utmost zeal.

Wegstetten turned to the subaltern, who stood stupidly
looking on, and said, " Well, Lieutenant Landsberg, you may
take over the command again now."

Truchsess, the brewer, as No. 4 of gun six, brought out the
shrapnel very gingerly. How easily such stuff as that might
go off!

The old hands had gruesome tales to tell of accidents that
had happened during gun-practice. Once while being loaded,
a gun had prematurely exploded backwards, making a great hole
through gunner No. 3, right through his chest, a hole just the
same size as the bore of the gun. As the corpse was being
carried away afterwards the sun shone right through it ; so
that in the middle of the shadow cast by the body was a bright
round spot exactly the same size and shape as the bore of a gun.

The brewer could not help thinking of this as he very
cautiously pushed the shrapnel into the bore. Klitzing,
however, shoved it vigorously with the rammer, so that its
metal casing clinked against the inside of the gun.

" Now then, old fellow, easy on ! The thing might go off ! "
whispered Truchsess.

But Klitzing only smiled, and the brewer sullenly thought
to himself, " Well, if that clerk has no use for his life, I have
for mine, anyhow ! "

Carefully he pushed in the cartridge, and heaved a sigh of
relief as the lock slipped back once more. At any rate, it
couldn't explode at the back now and hit him.

The battery now started again and went on at an easy trot
to the exercise-ground. In the midst of a luxuriant growth of
heather they unlimbered. It was a wonderful picture, the guns
and the scattered gunners on that peaceful sea of purple. The
waves of blossom reached nearly to the axles of the blue
wheels and above the knees of the men, and closed over the
trail of the gun-carriage as it passed. The men had to make
their way through the heather almost as if it had been a wood.

" Open with shrapnel ! Straight in front ! At the battery
before the guide-post at the edge of the wood. Third gun 1

128 JENA OR SEDAN?

Two thousand eight hundred ! " commanded Lieutenant Lands-
berg. " Fire from left flank ! Fire from left flank ! " — that
meant that gun six should begin ; that of the whole regiment it
was to have the honour of firing the first shot in this year's
practice.

Klitzing, as gun-layer, set the sight in a twinkling to 2800
yards, got astride the box, and laid the gun in the right direction.

The enemy's battery was not very hard to find. The young
officer had not been given too difficult a task. Far away over
the heath, where the sand gleamed yellow in the distance, six
dark, rather broad patches showed up against the light ground,
each surrounded by smaller objects. They were the six guns
that were to be attacked, with the dummy men belonging to
them. It was Sergeant Wiegandt's duty to verify the aim ; he
gave a satisfied nod, and then the word of command, " Gun
six, fire ! "

Upon which the men sprang out of the way of the backward
recoil of the carnage, and Vogt, with a jerk of the body,
pulled the lanyard and fired.

There was a loud report, and the gun rolled heavily back
quite eight paces. In another moment it was moved into its
original place again.

After a few seconds, far away on the heath, a light cloud of
dust rose into the air, as if a giant's hand had stirred up the
sand, and immediately afterwards — almost at the same moment
— all the dark patches disappeared in a dense grey cloud of
smoke. When this had cleared away, the dummies on the left
of the gun had vanished, and the gun itself appeared to have
been damaged, as it was leaning over on one side.

The first shot had hit the mark full. This simply showed
that excellent aim had been taken. The actual distance had
corresponded exactly with the calculation. Still, it caused
great satisfaction.

Colonel von Falkenhein, on his big chestnut, was stationed
near by. He had been watching the target through his field-
glasses, and a scarcely audible exclamation had escaped him as
he saw the splinters flying about through the smoke.

Turning to the battery he called out a short "Bravo, gun-
tayer ! "

Wegstetten, who had dismounted near him, smiled. Well,

JENA OR SEDAN? 129

at any rate, battery six was all right, even when commanded
by a noodle !

The shooting went on steadily. Now the distance had been
ascertained the shrapnels were fired off by means of time-fuses ;
and they exploded regularly each time over the mark, the little
clouds of smoke showing up picturesquely against the dark
background of the wood. Over there it was as if heavy raindrops
were falling on a dusty road ; everywhere little columns of sand
were spurting up into the air.

After the first shot the men lost all nervousness. Even
Truchsess took hold of the shells quite courageously ;
and when the twenty-four that had been served out to
them were used up, the men would willingly have gone on
longer.

In the criticism of the result Landsberg came out well. He
had had four good hits from one shrapnel — a very fair result ;
mainly due, of course, to the luck of the first shot, which by
itself would have placed all the men belonging to one of the
enemy's guns /tors de combat.

The lieutenant's face took on a seif-satisfied expression,
which seemed to say : " Of course from me nothing less
could have been expected."

Falkenhein, who always kept a watchful eye on each one of
his officers, and *vho up to that moment had not heard much
in favour of this young man, thought it best to take down his
pride a little.

II You know, Lieutenant Landsberg," he said, " your com-
manding officer made things very easy for you. As the
youngest officer in the regiment you had the lightest task.
Remember that in taking credit to yourself; and let me tell
you that they won't build such barn-doors for you to aim at
next year ! "

Upon which he turned pleasantly to Wegstetten and asked :
11 Did you ride over and see that target, my dear Wegstetten ?
— I mean the one that was hit full ? "

" Yes, sir ; the shrapnel must have exploded almost inside
the gun."

II I thought so. Capital thing, the very first shot of the
year being such a good one. No one like you for that,
Wegstetten I "

130 JENA OR SEDAN?

The captain smiled, much gratified, and modestly answered,
" A bit of good luck, sir ! "

But the colonel continued, more seriously : " Well, partly
'uck, perhaps. Just one thing more, my dear Wegstetten.
That gun-layer who made the lucky shot — has he been ill?
He looked pretty bad to me — like a perfect death's-head."

Wegstetten gave as many particulars about the man as he
himself knew, and Reimers added some information, Lands-
berg meanwhile standing by in silence.

"It is really you, Lieutenant Landsberg, who ought to be
telling me all this," said Falkenhein with some warmth. " You
trained the recruits, and therefore ought to know all about
them." Then, turning to Wegstetten : "If the man is as
capable as I hear," he continued, " you might manage to make
things a bit easier for him."

" Yes, sir," the captain hastened to reply. " I had been
thinking of employing him in the autumn as assistant
clerk."

This was not true. To think of such details so long before-
hand was impossible, even for the commander of the most
efficient battery in the whole army-corps. But it served its pur-
pose. Falkenhein nodded pleasantly : " Quite right, my dear
Wegstetten. Yoo have hit the bull's-eye again ! You see
one can never deal with men all in a lump ; you must take
them separately. Some best serve the king with their sturdy
arms and legs, but your gun-layer with his eyes and pen."
He then raised his hand to his helmet, and the two men
parted.

As they all repaired to their respective quarters they had
very different thoughts in their minds. Reimers was full ot
admiration : " What a man is that," thought he, " who, with
all his heavy duties, yet occupies himself with the insignificant
destiny of a poor devil of a gunner ! "

Wegstetten's face wore a rather self-satisfied smile. " One
must speak up for oneself, and not hide one's light under a
bushel ! Better say too much than too little. In doing one's
superior officer a small service, one may be doing the greatest
of all to oneself."

Landsberg said to himself, with a sneer : " The man prates
about that whipper-snapper of a gunner nearly as much as

JENA OR SEDAN? 131

about my splendid firing. And so that's the celebrated
Colonel von Falkenhein ! "

Next day almost all the men would have liked to go on
with the shell-firing ; but the subsequent cleaning of the guns
was not at all to their taste. The smokeless powder left in
the bore of the gun a horrid, sticky slime that must not be
allowed to remain there. This meant sousing with clean
water again and again, washing out with soft soap, and then
going on pumping and working with the mop until the water
came out again as clean as it had gone in.

" Now, boys," Sergeant Wiegandtjused to say, "it you don't
feel inclined to drink the water as it comes out of the gun,
then that means it isn't clean enough yet. So go ahead ! "

And then the drying afterwards ! They had to wrap rags
and cloths round the mop until it was so thick that it would
scarcely go through the muzzle of the gun. If this were not
done the inside edges and corners remained wet; and one
spot of rust on the bright metal — well ! that would be almost
as bad as murder ! So they had to push and to twist, to
pull and to drag, till the perspiration streamed from their
foreheads. Finally the barrel was thinly oiled ; and the next
day the firing took place once more, and then there was the
drudgery of the cleaning all over again.

Yet the men- 'endured these 1 exertions far better than
the garrison life. This was partly owing to the variety
of the work; but, above all, the greatest torment of a
soldier's life had been left behind, — that monotonous drilling
under which all groaned, and the object of which no one
could ever pretend to understand. Even the dullest — to
say nothing of Vogt with his simple, sound common-sense —
could see that the gun-practice here in the practice-camp was
the most important part of the whole training. What the
men had already learnt was now found out practically.
But where did the parade-marching and all the other display
drill come in ?

Here was Klitzing, who in the garrison had been looked on
as the most feeble boldier of the lot, now all at once distin-
guishing himself! Vogt shook his head as he thought it
over.

132 JENA OR SEDAN?

He often felt glad that at any rate he was an artilleryman,
for others had a much worse time of it. A few days earlier
an infantry regiment had moved into the neighbouring
barracks ; and looking through the palings of their parade-
ground they could see the battalions exercising.

There was a yellow, dried-up looking major who was never,
never satisfied. He would keep his battalion at it in the sun
till past noon ; and then after a short pause for refreshment
the same cruel business would begin all over again. The
devil ! How could a couple of hundred men be as symme-
trical as a machine ?

The artillery-drivers had climbed on to the fence. They were
polishing their curbs and chains, and laughed at the spectacle
before them. But to Vogt it did not seem amusing. What
was the use of making those two hundred men do such
childish things there on the parade-ground ? Would they
ever march into battle like that ? He thought of how those
dummies had all been riddled by the bullets when a single
shrapnel burst in front of them. Why, it would be sheer
madness ! They would have to crawl, to run, to jump — then
to crawl again ! That wasn't what they were doing when
every morning on the parade-ground one heard a continual
tack — tack — tack — tack, as if a thousand telegraph clerks
were hard at work. What was the good of all this senseless
show, which only aggravated the men ?

Their comrades of the infantry looked very far from
cheerful, and darted glances full of suppressed hatred at the
yellow-faced major. And when, dead-tired, they had finished
the drill, and were putting away their guns in the corner, they
would curse the very uniform they wore as if it had been a
strait-waistcoat.

Certainly it was not necessary to agree in everything with a
social-democrat like Weise; but there was no doubt what-
ever that he was perfectly right about some things. In the
evenings, when, the non-commissioned officers were sitting in
the canteen, the men took their stools out on the open veranda
that looked over the forest ; and then Weise would begin to
hold forth, his comrades, either smokir>g or cleaning their
clothes and accoutrements, grouped round him listening to
his orations. When some of the men, fresh from the country,

JENA OR SEDAN? 133

complained of the hard work there, the endless long hours,
and the small pay, he laughed outright.

"Why do you allow your landed-proprietors to treat you
so ? " he scoffed. " Why are you so stupid ? Of course if
you won't utter a word of protest you don't deserve anything
better."

And he explained how things were managed in his trade,
at the factory. If one of the workmen was unfairly treated,
or if the pay was considered too small, then they had a
thorough good strike. They took care to choose the best
possible time for it, when the manufacturers had the most
pressing work to do. The trade-union, to which of course
they all had to belong, kept blacklegs at a distance, and they
went on doggedly fighting until new terms had been won.
Certainly the workmen did not invariably carry all their
demands ; but a strike seldom ended without their gaining
some solid advantage. Yes, the workers had only to show
the world that they were a power ; that they were not going
to be trampled on for ever j that they intended henceforth to
have their share of the profits which they had hitherto been
putting into the pockets of the rich, although earned by their
own toil and sweat.

Or Weise would reckon how much was spent in one day's
gun-practice. Each shot cost about fifteen marks ; and the
sixth battery alone had fired about a hundred and twenty shots
that morning. There were six batteries in each regiment, four
regiments in each army-corps, and twenty-three army-corps in
the whole of Germany.

" Any-one who likes can reckon it up," said Weise. " In
any case the money would be enough to give every poor devil
in the whole world one happy day ! "

He pulled out a sheet of paper and read from it the sum
that Germany spent annually on her army. It made the men
open their eyes pretty wide. An incredible sum, truly, of
which they could form no clear idea at all.

Sometimes one of them would say! "But look here,
old man j suppose there was war, and we had no
soldiers ? "

"War! war!" said Weise. "What is war, pray? Who
is it that makes war ? Do you want war ? Do you want to

134 JENA OR SEDAN?

have to go and stand up like those targets out there and be
hit on the skull or in the belly by the shrapnel ? "

« Not I."

"Perhaps you would, Findeisen?"

"I? God damn me — no ! "

" Or you, Truchsess ? "

The brewer thought a moment, and answered :

" No, certainly not. I wish for peace. But the French
might want to fight us, or the Russians."

11 Ha, ha ! " laughed Weise. " Well, now, think about it a
moment. Over there in France are sitting together just such
poor simple fellows as we are here. Ask them if they want to
let themselves be shot dead in a moment without rhyme or
reason ? 'Do you expect them to say yes ? "

" No, of course not. But — but — then who is it who really
does want war ? "

Weise did not speak for a moment, but laughed softly.
Then he answered, shrugging his shoulders : " Ah, that I
dont know. Probably nobody. So much onlV| is clear : we
don t want it."

D'uring these conversations, Wolf, the lean gunner of the
" old gang," was always careful to hold aloof. He listened to
the talk, but never joined in it. When his comrades had
gone in to bed, he would stay on, gazing out into -.the beautiful
night of the woods. No one longed as fervently as he did for
the end of the term of service. He, who had been wont to
grudge every day on which he had done nothing to further
the cause of revolution and social-democracy, was forbidden
for two long years to allow a word to pass his lips about what
lay nearest his heart ! Yet he was all the more cautious not
to commit any indiscretions that might perhaps entail a pro-
longation of the hateful restraint.

Hitherto he had had but a vague comprehension of the
idea of freedom ; now he felt that he grasped it. Freedom !
It meant the time after his discharge — the time when he would
no longer wear the soldier's uniform ! When, during these
weeks, Wolf had been an auditor of Weise's covertly inflam-
matory speeches, he had longed each time to step forward and
speak out too. He knew that his own words would have
flowed far more convincingly and more passionately than

JENA OR SEDAN? 135

Weise's. But he knew also that in such case he would only
have the greater difficulty in restraining himself afterwards ; so
he kept silence.

However, the end was attained without his help. It was
quite remarkable how after such conversations these peasant
lads and the others, who up to now had heard nothing of
socialism and labour movements, rapidly assimilated the new
and palatable wisdom, although no word of direct propaganda
had been spoken. And if this result was so marked in their
own corps, where the work was not very irksome or heavy, what
must it not be among the infantry over yonder, where any
small spark of liking for the soldier's life must be quenched by
the deadly monotony of eternal parade-drill !

Not long before, a man had suddenly gone mad in the middle
of drill. What was responsible for this calamity ? The sun, over-
exertion, perhaps an inherited tendency that would in any case
sooner or later have resulted in such a catastrophe ? No one
could say with any certainty, ^ut the men who had seen and
heard how the poor fellow writhed and shrieked, gripped their
rifles tightly, and the same thought could plainly be read in the
eyes of them all.

No wonder that the period of military service was extremely
favourable to the spread of social-democracy ! Such sen-
sational object-lessons were not necessary ; the circumstances
of every-day life all pointed towards socialism.

Wolf understood the part that Weise played in the battery.
It was always the same. Each batch of recruits was a
mixture of men from towns and men from the country. The
city- bred, even if fewer in number, immediately established an
ascendancy over the country yokels. They were quicker-
witted, and their town bringing-up had developed their intelli-
gence more. And just because of this they adapted themselves
more easily to the requirements of military service, so that
they often made better soldiers than the country recruits with
their slower comprehension. Most of them were entirely
unaware that they were socialistic agitators ; they quite un-
consciously imparted to their fellow-soldiers ideas that to them
appeared self-evident, but that for the others meant an
upheaval of their whole way of thinking.

What was the use of searching every hole and corner of the

136 JENA OR SEDAN?

barracks at regular intervals for socialistic literature ? They
could confiscate red rosettes and pamphlets ; but how could
they control transient, intangible thoughts ?

On Sundays the camp was as quiet as it was full of life
on week-days. The boundary-lines beyond which the men
were not allowed to pass without leave, were drawn round
a considerable area. Within it were three large villages;
and on Sundays their taverns were thronged by soldiers
quartered in the camp. The enterprising innkeepers had
made ample provision for such crowds of visitors. They
had erected wooden platforms in the open air where dancing
went on without intermission, regimental bands supplying
the music ; and the amount of beer consumed in one
Sunday was greater than that drunk by the entire village
the whole winter through. Of course there were strong
patrols set to keep order at the dancing-platforms and
licensed houses. As there were too few partners for the
soldiers quarrels were of constant occurrence, and were
seldom amicably settled; a brawl was the usual result, and
at times a regular fight.

It was Jthe custom in these villages to hire maidservants
only by the month, as sufficient work could hardly be found
for them during the winter ; and there were also other
members of the female sex — not servants, but ladies who had
taken up their summer quarters here. They were the cause
of much perplexity to the officers in command of the troops.
The soldiers would stand in queues at the doors of these
summer residences, like people at a baker's shop in time
of famine; and then if any of them were drunk and got a
little impatient there was sure to be a row. Censorious
tongues passed severe comments on such proceedings.
The commanding officers were most anxious to rectify the
evil; but they could hardly post sentries at those particu-
lar houses, and finally they got over the difficulty by bringing
a little moral pressure to bear upon the local authorities.
These worthy civilians achieved the desired end by the simple
means of administrative expulsions.

As the two comrades were getting ready to go out, Vogt

JENA OR SEDAN? 137

asked the clerk : " Well, Heinrich, what shall we do with our-
selves ? Shall we go along and drink a glass of beer and look
on at the racket for a bit ? "

" If you like, Franz," replied Klitzing.

" Then we won't," said Vogt. " You ought to say at
once when you don't like a thing. I don't in the least
want to go myself, and we can always get beer in the canteen.
We'll just walk a bit through the wood as far as the butts,
shall we ? "

Klitzing assented, and they waited till their comrades were
off, then strolled slowly into the cool forest. Troops of men
were leaving the camp gates to walk by the hard high road
towards the villages that could be seen in the distance.

Vogt looked after the cloud of dust they made.

11 Can you understand what they see in women ? " he
asked.

" No, indeed I can't."

" You don't care about women ? "

The clerk shook his head. " And you, Franz ? " he
inquired.

" Not I. At any rate, not yet."

Walking on in the shade of the forest's edge they came at
last to the butts. The black, tarred, wooden target had been
put up ready for the next day, and cheerfully awaited the
terrors of the firing that lay before it. A little to one side
of the principal erection a ruined village stood out against the
blue of the summer sky. It had been purchased by the
Government and left standing to be used for testing the effect
of shots upon buildings.

The shells had certainly done their work. Substantial
walls had gaping fissures right through them ; gables and
chimney-stacks had been laid low. Some of the houses
seemed to have been set on fire by the shots, and any wood-
work spared by the devouring flames had been stolen and
harried away by some-one or other. No stairs were left
leading to the upper storeys, nor boards to any of the floors.
Rafters and beams had been hewn down ; doors and windows
with their frames had been torn out. On some of the walls
rude drawings had been scrawled in paint or red chalk, with
facetious inscriptions and obscene jokes ; but from most of

138 JENA OR SEDAN?

them the whitewash had fallen, leaving bare the rough
masonry. It was a depressing picture of desolation. One
could almost imagine that the smell of burning still hung
about.

Vogt gazed gloomily at the ruins and said : " And that's
what things look like in war ! By God, it's true ! we must do
away with war ! "

Klitzing smiled quietly to himself : " Yes, but who'll be the
first to begin ? " he asked.

The regiment stayed fully three weeks at the practice-camp,
and then accomplished the return journey to the garrison in
three days.

The two friends were anxiously looking forward to the
leave that had been promised the men after the gun-practice.
They were to start on the first Saturday in July, and had
eight days' leave granted to them. Only very few had been
allowed as much, and their captain did not fail to point out
in a little speech that this favour was due to their blameless
conduct at the practice-camp.

It was one of Wegstetten's little methods, when he found
good qualities in his men and wished to spur them on, to
make the meagre rewards that the service held out to them
appear in a specially brilliant light. Regardless of exaggera-
tion, he spoke of that week's leave as if it were an extremely
rare mark of distinction unheard of for years. And on the
whole he gained his object. As Vogt and Klitzing stood
before their commanding officer blushing with pride, they
had the feeling that they must thank him, and promise to
go on doing their duty. They only did not know how.
At length Vogt plucked up courage and stammered a few
words*

Captain von Wegstetten listened kindly. He had soon
perceived that he had to do with two worthy, honest
lads ; and, with his own ends in view, he proceeded to
inquire in a condescending way about their homes. When
it then came out that the one had invited the other to
stay with him, he praised them for their faithful comrade-
ship, and took the first opportunity of relating this instance
of the fraternising of town and country to the colonel, who

JENA OR SEDAN? 139

liked such proofs of an individual interest being taken in the
soldiers.

The first Saturday in July was a day of excitement for the
turnpike-keeper, Friedrich August Vogt. He was rather
annoyed with himself for losing his usual calm. Why ?
because his son — his only son — was coming home for
the first time ? Really, that was not such an event as to put him
beside himself in this way ! And then next he blamed him-
self for having thought it unbefitting an old soldier, and too
soft-hearted altogether, to go and fetch his son from the
station. He could not remain in the house, so he went to
a spot on the highway whence he could watch the railway.
He could see the train coming in, and the clouds ot
white smoke from the engine rising up from behind the
station ; then he heard the whistle — but still nothing was
to be seen of the two holiday-makers. Could Franz be
stopping to have a glass of beer ? No ; now the two men
could be seen emerging from the village on to the broad high-
road, their helmets and uniform buttons glistening in the sun
— it must be they ! The turnpike-keeper drew back a little,
so that he was out of sight. Why should the boy know that
he had been staring the eyes out of his head in order to catch
the first glimpse of him ?

When Vogt and Klitzing arrived at the house he looked
out of the window as if quite by chance. " Ah, here you
are ! " and with a hearty grip of the hand he bade them both
welcome.

But it was no use fighting against it, he could not take his
eyes off his son. What a well set-up, vigorous young fellow
his Franz had grown ! Yet he was still the same good
honest lad ; that was written in his face.

And Franz's friend, with his frank open countenance,
inspired confidence at once. He looked, to be sure, as if he
had never in his life had enough to eat. He must be properly
fed up for once. While he was on leave, at any rate, he
should not want for anything.

The two gunners settled down very quickly, and nothing
could prevent Franz from going round the fields the very first
evening while his father milked and fed the cows. He had

K

i4o JENA OR SEDAN?

almost hoped to find something or other left neglected because
he had not been there when it was put in hand. But no, his
father had allowed nothing to go wrong anywhere.

And now in the company of the two young soldiers the
old turnpike-keeper became quite a different creature. He
realised suddenly that the quiet, sluggish peasant's blood had
not quite replaced in him the old, quick-flowing blood of
the soldier. He listened, fascinated, to the tales told by
the two gunners about their soldier's life. How things had
changed since his time ! He could never hear enough
about it all.

Then Franz came to tell of his reflections during the gun-
practice : how through the fence he had seen the infantry
battalion tormented with drill for hours at a time ; how the
dried^p looking major had foamed with fury ; and how the
poor devil of a private had been struck down bodily and
mentally in the middle of it all.

Old Vogt quietly heard his son out, although he was burn-
ing to speak. Then he began : " Look here, youngster, you
as a simple soldier can't understand it all. But depend upon
it, this drill is the most important thing that every soldier
must first be made to learn. For it alone teaches military
obedience, soldierly subordination, discipline. It alone can
give that unity which preserves a company from utter de-
moralisation if one of your horrible new-fangled shrapnel
bursts among them. But for drill the cowards would turn
tail without further ceremony, and take to their heels ; and in
the end even the brave ones would follow them. It is the
drill that teaches them to stay on and stick together."

He held to it, in spite of all his son could say about what
he had seen of the kind of drill that the troops were kept at.

" You could not have seen aright," said his father.

The elder Vogt would not allow his son to put his hand to
anything in the afternoons. He always insisted on sending
the two young fellows out by themselves.

" Be off with you, youngsters," he would say. " Take a
walk, drink a glass of beer somewhere or other — whatever you
like. Enjoy your few days of freedom ! "

Then the two young men would march off and let the hot
sun and the fresh air burn them and brown them. Vogt had

JENA OR SEDAN? 141

shown his friend his favourite spot, whence they could look out
over the river to the castle in the neighbouring town. There
they lay in the grass.

The peasant felt impelled to get up every now and then. He
was restless ; he felt that he must keep looking at the fields
that lay around them. But the clerk lay quite still in the short
grass, and with blinking half-closed eyes gazed up into the
summer sky.

\

CHAPTER VIII

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Reveille

Baron Walther von Frielinghausen was made bombardier
on July ist.

He had now got his foot on the ladder of military distinc-
tion, but he felt no special elation at the fact. What signified
this little piece of promotion in a career which had now no
attraction for him ?

Wegstetten had arranged that he should at once begin doing
some of the work of a corporal ; but this, too, had its incon-
venient side. When merely a gunner he had always imagined
that he knew better than those uneducated fellows the non-
coms. ; and he had occasionally looked forward to the moment
when he would be put in authority, and would be able to show
off some of his knowledge. But now to command had become
more difficult than to obey, and there was certainly just as
much blame going. One was scolded as if one were a silly
(boy, and the men always took notice of the fact.

JENA OR SEDAN? 143

Only one thing caused him pleasant anticipations : he would
have riding lessons. But this, too, proved unlike his expecta-
tions. Heppner, after his fashion, kept him hard at it. Like
every recruit, he had to begin with riding bareback ; then after
a time came the more difficult task of balancing on the slippery
saddle without stirrups ; and only after considerable practice
would the sergeant-major occasionally allow him to let the
stirrups down. There were days on which he had more than
twenty falls from his horse ; and at last it was always in fear and
trembling that he went to riding instruction. Whenever his
horse dashed away riderless after a jump, Frielinghausen re-
joiced in the few minutes' respite that shortened by that much
the hour of his lesson. He could never manage to go over a
hurdle with his hands placed on his hips ; at every jump they
snatched at the horse's mane. Heppner raged over this
cowardice ; but storm and shout as he would, Frielinghausen's
hands were forever clutching at his only means of safety.

At last the sergeant-major left the long-limbed youth alone
in his incompetence. He had an impression that Wegstetten
wished to hear good of the bombardier, and after all, in the
fire- workers, it would not be necessary for Frielinghausen to
be a proficient at riding. But the less Frielinghausen knew
about horses the more he boasted of his acquirements, when
once the riding instruction had come to an end.

As soon as he was made bombardier he was removed from
Room IX. to the non-commissioned officers' quarters.

Wegstetten thought to do his prot'eg'e a. favour by this ; but
Frielinghausen felt no happier in his new surroundings than
in the company of the recruits. The mental atmosphere was
hardly more enlightened than that of his former room-mates.
The service, horses, and women : these were the chief subjects
of conversation. They all appeared to be great riders before
the Lord, though had Heppner been questioned in the matter
he might have expressed a contrary opinion; but every
mounted non-com. thinks it necessary to be a bit wf a Mun-
chausen. He would far rather be called a blockhead than be
told he cannot ride. Though, of course, Frielinghausen con-
tributed his mite to such conversations, on the whole he felt
very much in doubt which he preferred : the narrow interests
of the common soldiers in Room IX.. or the well-meant rough

144 JENA OR SEDAN?

good nature of the non-commissioned officers. He rather
inclined to Room IX.

All this was changed when the non-commissioned officers'
room received a new inmate, the one-year volunteer Trautvetter.

Captain von Wegstetten fully intended that his one-year
volunteers, like his whole battery, should be distinguished above
all the others in the regiment. If they behaved well he was
most charming to them ; if not, then he was all the more strict,
because he considered them young people whose superior
education laid them under the greater obligation«.

All his labour had been in vain with Trautvetter. The one
year volunteer was a ne'er-do-weel, a drunkard, a debauchee,
and a useless fool on duty into the bargain. And he had com-
mand of considerable supplies of money, which, being an
orphan and of age, he could spend as he pleased.

All means had failed with him : punishment drill, being
reported, deprivation of leave, and being put under arrest
So at last Wegstetten decided to send him to live in barracks.

Trautvetter, a bull-necked, square-shouldered man, with a
broad chest, took this punishment with great equanimity.
He arranged his belongings complacently in his locker and
looked calmly round the bare room. His little eyes had
a bleary look of perpetual drunkenness, which obscured the
hearty, good-humoured expression really natural to them.

It was all one to him where he lived : was there not beer
in the canteen ? and if one paid for it the canteen-keeper,
despite the prohibition, would let one have a case of bottled
ale. The non-coms, of course would drink with him ; then
they would all be a pleasant company together.

He was right in his calculations : none of them could with-
stand the good cigars and drinks which he distributed freely.
Even the sergeant-major took to joining them ; such a chance
was not to be let slip. But the deputy sergeant-major,
Heimert, kept his distance ; he was occupied with preparing
for his approaching marriage. And Sergeant Wiegandt pre-
ferred walking with his sweetheart Frieda in the quiet evenings.

A special relation soon established itself between Frieling-
hausen and the one-year volunteer. Trautvetter had been a
couple of terms at Breslau, and the education they had both
received gave them something in common.

JENA OR SEDAN? 145

Frielinghausen had a good time now. Trautvetter paid for
him and let him take part in his amusements and pleasures.
It even seemed as though Trautvetter had some honourable
feeling towards the young baron, for he sternly refused ever
to let him join in the gambling with which the drinking-bouts
soon came to be enlivened.

The one-year volunteer had his reasons for this. His luck
remained faithful to him with almost puzzling persistency.
His little swimming eyes seemed to hypnotise the dealer when
they were playing cards, and his big fat hands had nothing to
do but to rake in the winnings.

He had not the least scruple in taking monev from the
sergeant-major and Trumpeter-sergeant Henke, who were usually
his adversaries — why else did the fellows play with him ?
but he did not like winning from Frielinghausen.

When the two non-commissioned officers had lost all their
money, Trautvetter had no objection to lending, and let them
give him notes- of-hand, which at last amounted to very con-
siderable sums.

He had not, indeed, any real intention of claiming repay-
ment; but these I.O.U.'s were very useful weapons in his
hand, and it was not long before the sergeant-major had to
dance to his piping.

Every night when an inspection was not expected,
Trautvetter and Heppner would slip out of barracks. As
soon as the sentinel had gone round the corner, they would
creep out of the window, and make off to a neighbouring
tavern, where gambling and drinking went on into the early
morning hours.

Heppner ground his teeth as he bowed beneath this uneasy
yoke; but there was no help for him. He already owed
Trautvetter more than a thousand marks ; and the one-year
volunteer now became less willing to lend, and caused the
sergeant-major endless vexation and trouble. He would
suddenly demand to be made corporal, or to be given a couple
of weeks' leave : demands which it was quite impossible to
grant. But if Heppner pointed this out to him, he would
flourish the notes-of-hand under the sergeant-major's nose and
threaten to lay them before Wegstetten.

Heppner could think of no other way of escape than the

146 JENA OR SEDAN?

chance of a sudden stroke of luck. Of course, however, he
needed money in order to go on playing. He himself had
no more, and nobody would lend to him.

At last he fell back on the cash-box of the battery. From
time to time he replaced a portion of what he had taken, but
the deficit nevertheless became greater and greater.

One morning, in the beginning of August, Wegstetten said
to him : " Sergeant Heppner, have the one-year volunteers
paid their board-money ? "

"Yes, sir."

" All right. Then get your cash-box ready for settling up
accounts. I am just going over to headquarters, and you can
have the money and the books for me when I return."

Heppner hardly had the strength to reply with the usual
" Very good, sir."

More than a hundred marks was missing from the box. Time
pressed ; Wegstetten might be back again in half an hour.

He went to find Heimert. Heimert was no friend to him,
he knew ; but he had always been a good comrade.

The deputy sergeant-major was away at the big parade-
ground with the pioneers. That was half-an-hour's distance.

Trautvetter, where was Trautvetter ?

At last he discovered him in the canteen.

11 Trautvetter, you must lend me a hundred marks ! " said
the sergeant-major breathlessly.

" Must ? " asked the one-year volunteer sarcastically.
" Must ? Not if I know it ! "

Heppner had dragged him out of the canteen into the
empty vestibule.

" Yes, yes, you must, Trautvetter ! " he repeated.

Trautvetter now perceived the disturbed mien of the
sergeant-major. Something very particular must have hap-
pened, that was clear; and in such case he could not refuse
to help. For it was no part of his plan to push this man to
extremity.

" What's up ? " he asked.

Heppner murmured, with some confusion : " Settling up
accounts, all of a sudden — there is some money missing; ot
course 1 had meant to replace it."

JENA OR SEDAN? 147

Trautvetter understood, and was beginning to pull out his
purse, but he suddenly hesitated.

14 Why, I have got no money left ! " he cried in dismay.
" Must it be at once? To-morrow afternoon you can have as
much as you want."

" No, no, at once ! Wegstetten has only just gone over to
headquaiters for a minute."

" Damnation ! What are we to do ? "

The sergeant-major believed Trautvetter was doing this on
purpose. He became more insistent, and implored : " Traut-
vetter, for heaven's sake help me just for once ! I beg of
you ! I beg of you ! lend me the money ! "

With a shrug the volunteer held out his open purse. There
were only a few silver pieces in it.

"You can see for yourself, Herr Heppner," he said.
"I am not the sort of fellow to leave you in the lurch like
that."

B it Heppner could not yet believe him. He begged and
threatened. At last the great big fellow threw himself on the
ground and clung round Trautvetter's knees : " Just this
once, just this once ! "

The volunteer pushed him roughly away. The sight of
the blubbering giant revolted him.

" Stand up, Heppner ! " he insisted. " All this is no
good. I would give you the money, but God knows I have
none at the moment. Let us consider how we can get out of
this."

The sergeant-major stood up again, and looked at him in
suspense.

Suddenly Trautvetter pointed to the canteen : " He must
lend us something," he whispered.

But the canteen-keeper objected to this. Even when
Trautvetter offered him ten, twenty marks for the loan, he
remained obstinate.

The volunteer struck the counter furiously.

" Pig-headed fool ! " he cried. " Will you do it for fifty ? "

The canteen-keeper hesitated. He had settled up the
day before ; there was not much risk for him, and fifty
marks !

" Give me your note-of-hand," he demanded.

148 JENA OR SEDAN?

And Trautvetter wrote him an I.O.U. for one hundred and
fifty marks.

Heppner took the money, and when Wegstetten came into
the orderly-room he found the sergeant-major counting over
his cash.

This event made a powerful impression on the one-year
volunteer. From the moment when Heppner had lain
grovelling on the ground before him a thorough change came
over Trautvetter. The whole scene had been unspeakably
revolting to him ; he was seized with a grim horror on his
own account too. Half unconsciously the sight of the big
imposing-looking man clamouring and petitioning on his knees
made Trautvetter suddenly realise how near he himself stood
to a similar degradation.

The next morning he gave the sergeant-major back his
notes-of-hand.

Heppner coloured. " Why is this ? " he asked. " Perhaps
I shall be able to pay them up."

But Trautvetter answered quietly, " No, never mind ! I
only won the money from you in play, and gambling debts are
not legally reclaimable. I ought never to have lent you the
money in the first place." Then suddenly Trautvetter assumed
a severely respectful manner, and added, " I should like to
ask you something, sir ; and that is that you would promise
me never to play again."

Heppner looked at him, astonished. Was all this irksome
dependence on one of his subordinates, this degradation
before the whole battery, really to come to an end? He
could scarcely believe that any one could be so generous.
But he could see that the one-year volunteer was in earnest,
not simply making fun of him.

" Yes, I promise you, Trautvetter," he said firmly. " I will
not play any more."

And for the moment he meant what he said ; he felt that
this was the right minute for making good resolutions and
turning over a new leaf.

Some days later Wegstetten asked him : " How is the one-
year volunteer Trautvetter behaving ? I have been quite
pleased with him on duty these last few days."

JENA OR SEDAN? 149

And Heppner answered : " He has been much more steady,
sir ; there has been no fault to find with him."

The commander of the battery nodded, well pleased.

" You see, sergeant," he said, " my plan has been a success.
I think we will let him out of barracks again. You can tell
him so."

Trautvetter had also returned all his notes-of-hand to his
other debtor, Trumpeter-sergeant Henke.

The cornet-player did not feel constrained to any special feel-
ing of gratitude for this. He had never had the smallest inten-
tion of repaying the money, some hedge-lawyer having advised
him of the fact that gambling debts were not legally recoverable.

Why ther *fore should he be grateful ?

Lisbeth, >n the contrary, his pretty fair-haired wife, was
profoundly touched by Trautvetter's generosity.

"Dear, dear!" she sighed, "what a kind good man that
volunteer must be, to give away such a lot of money ! "

The trumpeter laughed at her : " Silly goose ! " he said,
" haven't I told you that they were gambling debts, and he
could never have claimed them ? "

" Well," remarked Lisbeth, " there were others too. Your
new uniform was bought with the borrowed money, your
beautiful patent leather shoes too, and half-a-dozen pairs of
white gloves."

Her husband did not care to remember this : " Hold your
tongue ! " he growled ; but his pretty wife insisted : " No,
no, he must be a good kind man ! "

" A drunken fat pig, that's what he is ! " said Henke.
" You can see that at a glance."

" That's as may be," replied Lisbeth calmly ; and she pro-
ceeded to set forth to her wondering husband a plan she had
conceived for increasing the financial resources of the house-
hold.

She would do fine washing and ironing for the one-
year volunteers; and he, Henke, should arrange it with
them.

Henceforth the young wife spent her days over the wash-
tub and the ironing-board. She found plenty to do ; for the
young men liked to have their things brought home by a

150 JENA OR SEDAN?

lovely little person like the trumpeter's wife, in her neat fresh
attire.

A special friendship soon established itself between her and
Trautvetter. She looked upon the plump volunteer as a
good-natured person, who did not, at any rate now, show any
of the evil characteristics imputed to him by her husband.
He looked rather embarrassed when she thanked him heartily
for giving back the notes-of-hand ; and as he was acquainted
with her husband's weaknesses it came to pass that they often
talked about Henke. The woman felt a need of speaking out
to some one about her husband, and Trautvetter gave her the
best advice he could.

The young woman pleased him with her industrious, in-
telligent ways. Formerly he would probably have thought-
lessly tried to seduce her ; but now he felt an involuntary
respect for her diligent activity, and her love for her husband
impressed him.

The trumpeter soon became aware that his wife had a certain
influence over the one-year volunteer, and he immediately used
this discovery to make Lisbeth a means of obtaining further
small loans of money.

Lisbeth was ashamed of the deception this entailed upon
her ; she always refused to undertake the commission, but on
each occasion Henke managed to prevail upon her to do so.
Then when she brought him the money he would laugh
sarcastically. It was capital to have a pretty wife who could
manage things so nicely. He had no need even to be jealous ;
she was helplessly in love with himself !

But in the course of time his wife's eyes were opened.
She learnt to examine her husband more closely, and saw
through him more clearly every day. How blind she had
been ! Now that her perceptions were sharpened her fondness
suddenly disappeared, and nothing remained but a dim
feeling of duty towards him. She would at any rate make
good the wrong she had done to Trautvetter in her foolish
adoration for her husband, and would not conceal the truth
from the one-year volunteer. She said nothing about a new
request for money with which Henke had charged her, but
confessed to him instead that all he had already given her for
housekeeping and such-like had been appropriated by her

JENA OR SEDAN? 151

husband, who had used it to buy himself a gold watch-chain,
an extra sword, and silver spurs.

Trautvetter looked down upon her fair head. She had
hung down her blushing face and would not look up at Lim.

11 1 thought as much," he said.

Without raising her eyes she asked : " Then why did you
do it ? "

Trautvetter hesitated a moment, then he said gently : " I
thought I was doing you a pleasure, Frau Lisbeth."

The young woman looked him full in the face for an instant.
Then she stood up quickly, took her washing- basket, and
departed.

Henke had been awaiting her at home anxiously. He had
just engaged in a love-affair with a music-hall singer, who had
been entertaining the country people of the neighbourhood
with her ditties during the August cattle-market season.
0 Countess Miramara " was a great success on the boards,
for her costume reached upwards and downwards only just as
far as was absolutely necessary ; but she repelled the advances
of the farmers, though they jingled persuasively the coin they
had received in exchange for their oxen and pigs. She pre-
ferred to distinguish with her favour the handsome black-
bearded trumpeter.

Henke now wanted to show himself a gallant lover. He
intended to present the countess with a bracelet.

" Give me the money ! " he cried to Lisbeth when she
entered.

"I have none," she replied. "Trautvetter won't give me
any more."

Henke tugged at his beard. This was a fatal upset to his
calculations. What would the countess say if he broke his
promise ?

He began quietly : " Oh, yes, he'll give you some ! You
must just be a bit nice to him."

Lisbeth looked surprised. "What do you mean?" she said.

" Well, you women can always manage a man if you only
want to, don't you see ? Just be really nice to him. It's all
the same to me." And he left the room, much put out.

His pretty wife shook her head thoughtfully. What had
he meant by " a bit nice " ?

152 JENA OR SEDAN?

Going into the town on an errand she met the one-year »
volunteer. They walked part of the way together. Lisbeth
had forgotten her embarrassment, and chattered away gaily.

Suddenly she remembered her husband's incomprehensible
words, and she began, smilingly ; " Do you know, Herr
Trautvetter, what my husband has just been saying to me, that
I was to be really nice to you. Have I not been nice then ? "

" What did he mean by that ? " Trautvetter asked sharply.

" Well," she laughed, " I ought to have taken back some
more money to-day. But I never mean to do that again,
And then he said that if I were only really nice to you,
you would give me lots of money."

She started, so violently had the man struck his sword upon
the ground, and he looked at her quite red and angry.

" Just like the low brute ! " he cried.

" What ! What do you mean ? "

Trautvetter could not contain his wrath. He blurted out :
" Don't you know, Frau Lisbeth, what he meant ? — that you
should take me for a lover ! "

She met his glance with a straight look ; then she hung her
head, and walked dumbly beside him.

" I will go back," she said suddenly.

He took her hand and begged : " Forgive me, Frau
Lisbeth ! please ! "

She nodded silently and turned back on the road they had
just traversed.

In her little sitting-room she sank limply into a chair. The
windows were wide open ; she heard the rippling of the brook,
and the insects humming and buzzing in the big willow. At
last she roused herself. She must be certain if Trautvetter was
right in his suspicion, and that would need cunning. Her
plan was soon made ; it was very simple : she need only
behave as if she had been following her husband's hint, then
he would have to declare himself.

" Henke," she began that evening, " Trautvetter has made
t proposal to-day. As soon as he has finished his service he
is going to buy a place in the country, far away from here, and
he wants me to keep house for him. If you agree, then you
shall have a hundred marks a month."

Henke was silent for a time ; he was in some doubt what

JENA OR SEDAN? 153

he should say to this. Lisbeth was so queer and cold, almost
uncanny ; but on the other hand she did not seem to be the
least annoyed.

In a tone of would-be resignation he said at last : " Well,
Lisbeth, if you don't love me any more, if you think it's for
your happiness, and you like to leave me " he stopped.

His wife was suddenly standing before him, deathly pale.
She shook her trembling clasped hands in his face, and spat
contemptuously on the boards in front of him. Then she fled
from the room.

He looked after her stupefied.

'* So she's gone ! " he muttered. Well, it was no use being
too tragic over it. Either Lisbeth would be reasonable again,
or he was free of her.

There was a third possibility.

Countess Miramara had assured him that he could make an
enormous fortune if he would go on the stage as a cornet-
player. To-morrow she was going off to Bohemia. Suppose
he were to join her? He did not trouble himself about
desertion : he had got his papers all right, and desertion was
not a crime for which one could be extradited. Austria was
a big place and a merry ; so the countess asserted. And
there was Hungary too.

Really that would be the best thing to do.

Next day Henke was over the border. He had already
converted all his property into gold, and only took his trumpet
with him. In place of his artilleryman's coat he wore a
gorgeous fancy uniform, which showed off to the best advan-
tage the excellences of his person. Evening- after evening
he performed his most admired pieces.

And he became a favourite with ail the ladies.

Frau Lisbeth, however, obtained the dissolution of her
marriage on the ground of malicious desertion.

At first she thought of furnishing a little shop in the town
and setting up a laundry j but Trautvetter begged her rather
to go into service for a time.

" Why ? " asked she.

He found some difficulty in answering her. At last he came
out with :

154 JENA OR SEDAN?

" I am very fond of you, Frau Lisbeth ; and if you could
make up your mind to it I should like to ask you if you
would have me."

Lisbeth smiled a little, and then said, " You may ask me
that now ! "

Her voice sounded honest and friendly.

Trautvetter took her hand in his and said : " Then that's all
right ! "

But she continued gaily and cheerfully : " Besides, in any
case, I should have ended by being your mistress."

" Oh, no ! " said Trautvetter. " Under certain circumstances
I prefer a wife."

Despite the warmth of the August sun, Julie Heppner
grew worse day by day ; but this was nothing to her in com-
parison with the burden of mental suffering which almost
overwhelmed her.

She watched her husband and sister with a gaze that never
faltered. She saw with horror how Ida became less shy
of her and abandoned herself more and more to her passion.
Nor was this hidden from her husband. He noticed with
cynical satisfaction how the young girl's power of resistance
diminished. The desired fruit must soon fall into his hands
almost of itself.

Soon, under cover of the playful teasing which went on
between the sergeant-major and his sister-in-law, even in the
presence of the invalid wife, he began to indulge in passionate,
lustful touches and covert embraces which brought the blood
to the girl's face and made her shiver.

She resented Julie's reproaches with the hard, insensitive
egoism of one in love. What ! Did this wretched moribund
creature still think to claim the man whom she, the fresh,
young girl, loved, and who loved her in return ?

Julie laughed bitterly to herself. Would it not be best to
resign herself to it, to close her eyes, and to await the deli-
verance of Death ?

Oh, no ! She could not endure this shameless insult which
they both, as it were, hurled in her face. She racked her
brain as to how she could revenge herself on them ; but in
vain. Most terrible of all was it to feel that though still alive

JENA OR SEDAN? 155

she was virtually dead already, as powerless and helpless as a
corpse !

Then the worst happened.

The sergeant-major and his sister-in-law were invited to a
fete which the military society, M The Fellow-Soldiers of
1 870-1," were arranging in memory of the battle of St.
Privat.

The programme included music, theatricals, and dancing.

Towards evening a fanfare of trumpets summoned the
guests to the festival-play. Even in the garden under the
lime-trees the heat of the summer sun had been great, and in
the confined space of the overcrowded hall it became un-
bearably intense. The rows of chairs were placed much too
close together, in order to accommodate the large audience.
Once seated, it was impossible to move ; one remained wedged
in between one's neighbours.

Shortly before the curtain was raised, Heppner and Ida dis-
covered two empty chairs. The sergeant-major sat down first.
The narrow space then left on the neighbouring chair was far
too small for the girl's fully-developed hips.

Consequently his sister-in-law was almost sitting on his
knee. He felt the warmth of her blood and her firm limbs
through her thin cotton skirt. They were pressed close
to one another in the darkened room. Drops of sweat
gathered on their brows, and their breath came gaspingly
and with difficulty. But, as if by mutual consent, they did
not move a limb. They were hearing nothing but the voice
of their blood, and in the close contact they-could distinctly
feel the pulse-beats.

Neither of them took in a word of the play which was being
performed on the stage.

At last the singing of the National Anthem announced the
end of the piece. The spectators breathed sighs of relief and
pushed patiently and slowly through the narrow doors out
into the evening air of the garden, wiping and fanning their
hot faces with their handkerchiefs.

Ida looked pale, and sank down exhausted on a chair.
" I would rather go home," she said.

" Why not ? " he agreed, and held out her jacket for her to
put on. But the girl took it from his hand and hung it over

156 JENA OR SEDAN?

her arm. A rush as of fire streamed through her Dody,
making her skin prick and tingle.

Walking silently side by side they left the restaurant
garden.

A house stood half-way up the hill, whence two roads led
to the barracks : the high-road down through the valley, and
a footpath which led to the little wood at the back of the
barracks, and then went on further. Heppner chose the
footpath.

The evening had not brought coolness. The leaves hung
motionless on the branches. The twilight began to give way
to night. The girl felt the tepid breeze like a warm bath on
her bare neck and arms.

At the edge of the little wood the pair turned and looked
back. The lights of the garden gleamed through the dark-
ness. The noise of the merry-making was hardly audible ;
only a trumpet and the rumble of a double bass, marking the
dance measure, could be heard distinctly.

In the shadow of the trees Heppner put his arm round
his sister-in-law's shoulders. She shrank slightly, and shud-
dered as if at a touch of frost. Pressed closely to each other
they walked on slowly, and still in silence. The man's hot
hand weighed heavily on the woman's shoulder; his throat
was parched ; his arms were as if paralysed ; he could not
turn his head and look her in the face.

They had reached the end of the wood. Fields stretchec
away on both sides of the path ; the darkness of night sur
rounded them.

In the valley a train was passing. A cloud of sparks
streamed from the funnel of the engine j on the dark grounc
the windows of the lighted carriages threw illuminated squares
which flashed along beside the train and vanished with it ii
the dim distance of the night. Not a glimmer remained t<
show the trail of man.

Suddenly the girl stood still, and with a wrench freed hei
self from the man's arm. She gave a stifled cry, like th
wail of one vanquished after a hard struggle — then flun
herself on his breast.

After a night of terrifying visions and dreams Julie Hepjl *

JENA OR SEDAN? 157

ner had become quieter. She fought against the belief that
her horrible suspicions could have become truth. It was too
monstrous ; they could not have been brutal enough to inflict
this last injury on her as she lay dying !

But her doubts became certainties as she observed the
altered demeanour of her husband and sister. The restless
yearning had vanished. They were more at ease ; there was
a complete understanding between them ; and their glances
no longer desired and hungered, but rather told of a happi-
ness already feasted.

From this time the invalid's mind was filled with schemes
of vengeance, and she gradually conceived a mad determina-
tion to kill the guilty pair. She felt that she had no time to
lose. Her life was nearly spent. She could now only take a
few tottering steps ; and increasing weakness would soon pre-
vent her leaving her bed.

From under her eyelids she watched the girl's every move-
ment. Oh, how she hated her, this healthy, blooming crea-
ture, with her splendid stature, her round white arms, and her
magnificent bust ! How she hated her ! Her freshness, her
youth, her beauty, her soft young body with which she had
seduced the man, which he had caressed !

And Ida never suspected that vengeance was imminent, that
death was near her — nearer even than to the dying woman
herself !

The sands ran unceasingly through the hour-glass of the
nearly expiring life. Constant and violent attacks of coughing
kept the invalid from sleep, until the staff-surgeon prescribed
morphia for her in fairly large doses. The poor woman was
near death ; why should not her last days be lightened, her
last sufferings relieved ? He cautioned the sergeant-major
as to the danger of the drug, warning him to be careful in
pouring out the doses.

Julie did not know how to praise the staff-surgeon enough ;
the rest was such a wonderful refreshment. True that on
awaking her limbs felt rather heavy ; but at the same time she
felt the strengthening effect of the long undisturbed night's
sleep. Sometimes she even thought she might begin to hope
again ; and when she felt particularly well she regained a faint

158 JENA OR SEDAN?

desire for lite. That would indeed be the most perfect venge-
ance, if she could live to spite them both, perhaps for years !

Then her illness once more overcame her ; she despaired
anew, and hourly planned revenge.

One morning, as she lay on her bed in a kind of stupor, she
tried to recall the events of the night. Something had hap-
pened which she had seen vaguely through the veil of her
torpor. Despite her drowsiness, she had been frightened,
horrified by it \ yet afterwards the incident had vanished from
her memory, and now she was endeavouring to bring back
the faint trace into consciousness.

It was just before she had fallen completely asleep, when her
senses were becoming dulled, and the final action of the
morphia was about to set in, that a slight cough had brought
her back from the void, partially arousing her. While in this
condition she had perceived that Otto, her husband, had
softly raised himself in bed. Sitting up he had listened awhile,
then had crept cautiously towards her, and had remained
standing by her bed for a long time.

Now she remembered : she had been horribly afraid that he
would do her some injury; that with his big strong hands he
would take her by the throat and strangle her. She was far
too weak to resist him ; indeed, she had felt that she had not
even the strength to cry out. But nothing of this had hap-
pened. He had only stood there motionless by her bedside,
looking into her face. She had felt his gaze through eyelids
that had closed with fatigue. Then she had gradually sunk
into sleep ; and just at the very last she fancied she had beert
aware that her husband was moving away from her bed.

She pressed her hands to her brow as if to prevent the
thoughts from escap.'ng. She closed her eyes and forced
herself to live again through the events of the night. At last
they came back to her, and the memory struck her like a
stinging lash, so that she cowered on her bed, clutching the
coverlet with her hands, and biting her handkerchief to keep
herself from shrieking with horror and hatred.

When he left her side her husband had turned towards the
door — towards the door beyond which her sister slept. And
thus it was that the shameless pair took advantage of that sleep
for which she, poor invalid, had been so thankful ! Even this

JENA OR SEDAN? 159

relief, this wretched remnant of happiness, they embittered
for her !

Never again should the healing, sleep-giving drug cross her
lips, to give the opportunity for such abominations ! Never !
Not if it cost her her life ! For that life was no longer worth
having.

But stay ! She would dissemble ; would appear to take
the drug and then pretend to go to sleep, in order to gain a
chance of revenging herself on the adulterers — how, she did
not know ; but it must be soon. In two days the regiment
would be off to the autumn manoeuvres, and by that time her
vengeance must be consummated ; she felt her strength would
not last much longer.

On the following morning there was much work and bustle
going forward in the battery, as early the next day they were
to start for the manoeuvres. The sergeant-major had barely
time to throw together the few things that he intended to take
with him.

" Ida," he shouted through the door, " cut some bread and
butter for my breakfast, and send it over to me in the orderly-
room."

Julie was as usual on the sofa, which was pushed close up
to the table. Her sister was sitting doing some needlework.

Rather annoyed at the interruption Ida got up, and fetched
bread and butter out of the kitchen. With a large bread-
knife she cut two slices, buttered them, and carried them off.

The bread and the knife had been left lying close to the
edge of the table. The knife swayed a moment on the round
crust, then it slipped slowly off the loaf, and fell flat upon the
rug in which the invalid was wrapped.

At first Julie let it lie there unnoticed ; Ida could take it
away when she returned. Suddenly, however, an inspiration,
as it were, flashed through her mind. It was fate that this
knife should have fallen on her sofa ; it was to be the instru-
ment of her revenge ! She took it quickly in her blanched
hand and examined it. It had a sharp, pointed blade, fit to
go through flesh and bone; it seemed to have been freshly
sharpened She felt the edge, and in so doing cut her finger
slightly. A few drops of blood spurted on to the shining
steel, and near them were the marks left by the bread which

160 JENA OR SEDAN?

it had cut. Julie felt as though she could not take her eyes
off the blade.

But she heard the outer door close, and swiftly hid the
knife under her coverings.

Ida came in, and began to get her own breakfast. She
looked about the table.

" Have you the bread-knife, Julie?" she asked. "It was
certainly here."

The invalid answered sullenly : "I ? — No."

" Didn't you see it lying here, Julie ? " Ida asked again.
" Just here on the bread ? "

" No," replied the invalid, " It wasn't there. I should
have seen it if it had been. Perhaps you took it with you to
the orderly-room by mistake."

" Perhaps I did," said Ida ; and in the afternoon she asked
her brother-in-law : " Otto, can you tell me whether I left the
bread-knife lying in the orderly-room this morning ? '

The sergeant-major answered : " Perhaps so. . I'll see."
After which nothing more was said about the missing knife.

Julie Heppner felt strangely strong and well as she held the
formidable weapon in her hand. Now at last the hour had
come in which she would be revenged for years of suffering,
and for the accumulated disgrace of her married life. And
she regarded her husband and sister with triumphant glances,
as two victims who must fall under her hand without chance
of escape.

There was so much to pack up and arrange during the
evening that no one thought of giving the invalid her morphia.

"Otto, will you give me the medicine? " she requested at
last. " I can prepare it for myself."

The sergeant-major started, and glanced at his sister-in-law,
smiling cynically. The devil ! In all this silly excitement
they might have sacrificed the last night before their long
separation, if the very person they were deceiving had not
herself come to the rescue.

Ida smiled back at him.

He gave the bottle and a spoon to his wife with a " Mind you
don't take too much." But he thought to himself, "Perhaps
she will take a little more than is ordered, and so sleep the
sounder."

JENA OR SEDAN? 161

Then he went back to his sister-in-law and the packing.

" There ! " said Julie, as she held out the spoon. " I
believe I did take just a little more than usual. Ida, will you
help me to bed ? I begin to feel tired already ! "

Just then it struck ten o'clock. The tattoo sounded.

" So late already ? " exclaimed the sergeant-major. " I
must be off at once with this to the baggage- waggon."

He took up his box and turned to go. In the doorway he
paused once more and said, " I shall only just go through the
battery and then come back to bed, for I must be up betimes
in the morning."

The sick woman lay waiting. She had taken the knife with
her into the bedroom hidden under her shawl, and now held
it grasped convulsively in her hand.

Close by in the sitting-room her sister was bustling about.
The door had remained half open, so that her movements and
occupations could be plainly perceived from the bedroom. At
last she undressed herself hurriedly, as if forced to hasten.

Through the half opened door she called softly into the
dark bedroom, " Julie, are you asleep ? "

Then again, louder and more insistently, "Julie, are you
asleep ? " ^

She stood listening awhile at the door, and then got into
bed. The door was still open and the sick woman heard how
restlessly she tossed about.

An hour later the sergeant-major opened the outer door:
He took his spurred boots off in the corridor, and slipped
cautiously into the bedroom.

Once more came a whispered, " Julie, are you asleep ? "
and the woman felt as if she could have laughed aloud at the
fools who let themselves be thus led by the nose.

Heppner stripped his uniform off rapidly. Then he moved
again to the side of her bed and listened — as on that other
night.
• The invalid lay motionless.

The deceived wife suffered the tortures of the damned ; and
it seemed to her that her agony must be as eternal as hell itself.
She clutched so hard at the knife-handle that her nails were
driven into her flesh, and she bit her lips until they bled

IÖ2 JENA OR SEDAN?

to keep herself from shrieking with frenzy. A thousand
times she thought that morning must be breaking ; yet still the
shameless pair were together.

At last came an end to the horror.

The woman was asleep already when the man left her. She
did not reply to the farewell which he whispered to her trom
the door. Then he lay down, breathing heavily, and in a
moment had fallen into a deep sleep.

Julie waited a little while. Then she got up, her husband's
snores and heavy breathing drowning the slight noise of her
movements. Now she was standing with her bare feet on the
boards. She had the knife in her right hand.

Which of the two should she punish first ?

She must kill them both, that was certain. But before she
died that shameless creature should know the truth. A flood
of abusive words, the most obscene and filthy she could
conjure up, lay on her tongue. She would shriek them into
the ears of her dying victims, would shout for joy, would
exult over them ! Oh, how she would triumph ! After all
the shame, after all the sorrow, she would at last remain the
conqueror !

She dragged herself along by the bed carefully. With
trembling steps she crossed the threshold and went into the
sitting-room. The feeble light of breaking day struggled in,
just clearly enough to enable her to distinguish things. The
room looked dreary, clothing was strewn about, the chairs
were out of their places, and the remains of the evening meal
were still on the table. A moist heat pervaded this scene ot
disorder. The suffocating air seemed laden with a sense ot
the horrible, unnatural crime.

The sick woman staggered. There was a mist before her
eyes. But with an effort she pulled herself together and
moved towards the bed.

Her sister was asleep, her face hidden by her loosened hair
and pressed into the pillow.

Suddenly she stirred, and as she stretched herself slowly
the coverlet fell rustling to the ground.

In the dim light her white skin gleamed.

The woman fixed her burning eyes on this beauty. Sud-
denly a mad smile distorted her lips, and she raised the knife.

JENA OR SEDAN?

163

She would plunge the blade into her sister's adulterous bosom ;
and thus deal out justice, measure for measure.

But there came a rush of blood to her throat that choked
her. She swayed, and grasped at the empty air with clutching
fingers. The knife slipped from her relaxing hand and
clanged on the floor. The dying woman collapsed with a dull
thud.

The sleeping girl turned over lazily.

" Be quiet, Otto ! " she murmured.

Suddenly she gave a shriek of horror, rushed into the
bedroom, and shook the man, who could hardly be aroused
from his sleep.

He followed her, still half dazed.

Julie Heppner lay dead, bathed in her own blood.

The husband and sister gazed at her horror-stricken, and
shuddered as they saw the knife lie gleaming near the corpse.

Death had passed over them.

Outside the trumpeter on duty blew the joyful fanfare of
the reveille : —

JUL.

H

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jnsry—f-

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Reveille

CHAPTER IX

M The bullets are all of iron and lead;
But it's not every bullet will strike a man dead. "

(Old Soldier-song. )

Kläre Güntz was nursing her child. Through the thick
drooping branches of the pear-tree the sun shone on the
mother's breast and on the infant's little round head. She
bent over him with a happy smile, and held him close.

Sheltered on one side by a high wall, and on the other by the
thick leafage, the little garden seemed a haven of joy and
peace far removed from all turmoil and tumult of the outside
world. The stillness of the summer morning reigned un-
broken.

A few more sucks, and then, sleepy and satisfied, the little
head sank back on its cushion. Kläre laid the baby-boy in
his perambulator.

'In the heavenly quiet of this secluded corner of the garden,
in the presence of her sleeping child, a picture of health, and
from whose lusty sucking her breast still ached a little : in the
fulness of this bliss she felt so overwhelmed with thankfulness
that she could not help shedding a few holy tears of joy
over the blessedness of life.

Suddenly she checked herself.

Kläre Güntz did not exactly regard such moments of tender
emotion as inadmissible ; but one should not give way to
feelings of this sort too long. Recognition of great happiness
should always manifest itself in cheerful activity. So she
sat up, and began stitching energetically.

But the work was almost mechanical. Like Caesar, Kläre
Güntz could do two things at once : mend, darn, sew, or
anything else of the kind, and think at the same time.

She was anxious about her husband.

JENA OR SEDAN? 165

Not on account of his health ; she tended and cared for
him too wisely, with her housewifely watchfulness and \<
But he, who usually stood so firmly before the world, was
suffering now from inward uncertainty. His moods were
unequal; and sometimes the cheerful, determined man would
be quite overcome by irresolute depression.

This depression was connected with the service. Kläre had
found that out at once. The eternal disputes with a disagree-
able superior were probably to blame. For Captain Mohr, who
feared a rival and a successor in the senior-lieutenant, opposed
tooth and nail every improved regulation that Güntz en-
deavoured to introduce in the battery, thus causing endless
discussion and unpleasantness.

At last Frau Kläre had made a move. She came to the
conclusion that she must appeal to the colonel, who at once
agreed to her request that Güntz should be transferred, and
Kläre was not a little proud of her success. In reality,
however, she was only responsible for it in the very smallest
degree.

True, Falkenhein had heard her attentively, whereas he
usually only listened to ladies out of pure courtesy. He
had a very high opinion of this clever, capable woman. But
he would have refused even her request without hesitation had
he not himself been convinced of the necessity for the measure
demanded. The discipline of the fifth battery, loose enough
already, suffered more and more from the constant friction
between the two officers. He regarded Mohr as a very harm-
ful element in the service. The captain, through some outside
influence — a very influential relative of high position, it was
said — had managed so far to retain his post ; but he, as
colonel of the regiment, would see to it that the undesirable
officer should receive his dismissal in the spring at latest.
And meanwhile Güntz must be transferred from the fifth
battery. It fell out conveniently that Wegstetten should be
ordered away just then to the Austrian manoeuvres. Güntz
was put in charge of the sixth battery ; and the affair had a
perfectly natural appearance, since the command properly fei
to the senior-lieutenant of the regiment.

Güntz had no idea of his wife's little intrigue. He assume:'.
his new position with fresh courage, and it seemed to please

1 66 JENA OK SEDAN?

him ; but nevertheless he did not regain his former happy
balance.

Something still troubled him ; and the young wife, pleased
as she was at her successful assumption of the good fairy's
part, was again at her wits1 end to discover the cause.

The fact was that Güntz felt himself daily less and less
satisfied with an officer's career, and he almost began to believe
that he had missed his vocation. It was very hard to realise
this only after he had devoted the twelve best years of his life
to soldiering. But he did not think it was yet too late to make
a decisive change, and he was earnestly elaborating a plan to
send in his resignation and devote all his time to mastering
the technique of engineering, his former favourite study.

He now determined to command the battery for a year,
and then to decide definitely whether to adopt this course
or no.

On August 15 he took over the command of the sixth
battery. He felt easier in the more congenial atmosphere of
his new department ; yet his full zest for a soldier's life did
not return.

Wegstetten's battery seemed to be in excellent order ; the only
exception being Lieutenant Landsberg. That young man had
positively raved with joy when Wegstetten's temporary absence
was announced. The captain's hand had pressed heavily on
him, and Landsberg thought that now he would be able to live
his life more as he pleased. Senior-lieutenant Güntz, who
was to be in command, was after all virtually his equal, and it
was quite impossible that he should be as strict about duty as
the full-blown captain of a battery.

So he at once began to behave with a self-satisfied inde-
pendence which under Wegstetten's rule would have been
regarded simply as high treason. He did not appear punctually
on parade, and sometimes he would remain away altogether,
even when it was his week to be on duty.

But Güntz shook off his doubts and depression of spirits,
and said to Reimers :

" Look here, my boy, I shall have to make that Landsberg
eat humble-pie ; there's more than one way of doing it. The
worst of it is, *Jaough, that the fellow is not an exception, but

JENA OR SEDAN? 167

just a representative of the whole species of decorative officers ;
and in the end it will be little enough use if one of them is
brought to book for once in a way. Directly a more lenient
officer is in command the whole thing will begin over again.
And just consider the prospect, my dear boy; if this slack,
unenthusiastic crew increases in number, what will happen
then ? Now and then, perhaps, one of them gains a little
sense by the time he is promoted to captain. With the greater
number the chances are that during the ten or more years
that they are subalterns, utter superficiality will have become
their rule in life; from which, despite responsibility, they are
unable to break loose, and according to which, therefore, they
act. Then, when they are found to be good for nothing, they
are either retired, and eat the unearned bread of pensioners
(unearned, of course, only in such cases as theirs), or, if they
have a cousin or great-uncle anywhere, who can put in a good
word for them, or if they belong to the best families, or if they
are very religious — why, then God Almighty intervenes, and
the scandal waxes still grosser ; for the useless captains become
staff-officers."

Reimers tried to reply, but Giintz waived off his objection
with an impatient gesture, and continued : " As to the young
officer of whom we are speaking, the disinclination which he
manifests for the actual duties of his profession is a fact, and,
unfortunately distinctly typical. I assure you that most of our
lieutenants look at their life and work from the point of view
of mere schoolboys. They lounge about, do just the duty
they are positively obliged to do, laugh in their sleeves if
they get rowed, and swear at every short hour demanded
by the service. Nothing but continuous lazing ! Then in
the end, every one who has not been arrested for some piece
of sheer stupidity is made captain, — of course always sup-
dosing he has not been positively dishonest, or done
something criminal."

Reimers interrupted him : " Come, you know, the thing's
not quite so simple as all that ! "

But Giintz replied : " Oh yes, it is ! To master the elemen-
tary formulae according to which the service is regulated, suffi-
ciently to satisfy the mere requirements of inspection — that is
child's play. And yet on that the superior has to found his

1 68 JENA OR SEDAN?

judgment ! But to work them out so thoroughly that one has
them at one's finger-ends at any moment and on every emer-
gency (for that alone can prove their efficiency) that is really
difficult, demanding long and exhaustive study. And who has
the patience or the inclination to do it ? Everything is sacri-
ficed to making a good show at the reviews. If only one
has been able to cut a good figure then, one has got out
of it well ! A teacher must have good and bad pupils in his
class, of course ; but woe to the commander of a battery who
is disgraced by having a bad officer under him ! He has not
been able to educate him ! So, instead of an incapable man
being got rid of when he deserves it, an enormous amount of
pains and trouble is wasted on him — absolutely wasted ! Dis-
gusting love of show ! Instead of our holding forth everlastingly
to these young people about upholding the honour of their
position in the eyes of the world, they should rather have it
brought home to them that they ought to win their own self-
respect by honest and conscientious attention to duty."

" You exaggerate ! " murmured Reimers.

" I wish indeed that I did ! " rejoined Giintz. " But just
you go to every individual brother-subaltern and say : Is
drilling recruits a pleasure to you? Do you get up early,
determined to work hard all day and to endeavour to train
good soldiers for the king ? or, do you on awakening growl
that the devil may take the whole dirty pack of recruits ? "

11 Why don't you rather ask with what thoughts they awake
during gun-practice and the manoeuvres ? "

" Because the one depends upon the other, my dear fellow.
Without the training of recruits there would be no gun-practice
and no manoeuvres. It is just as if we were military teachers.
Well, gun-practice is to a certain extent an examination for the
men • while the manoeuvres, as you know, don't teach the
men anything new, but are rather a test for the higher officers.
But the teacher who only wants to make a show at the
examination, and who does not expend all the enthusiasm and
inspiration of his calling upon the teaching itself, — I have no
use for him ! "

" You really are unjust ! " exclaimed Reimers.

" Well, perhaps so M

" You see, you allow it yourself! "

JENA OR SEDAN? 169

" But in a different way from what you mean. I say that
the subalterns themselves are only in part answerable for their
faults, the other part of the responsibility is borne by the entire
system."

" What system ? "

" Why, the system of our entire army service, of our
military education."

" Has it not been tested in three campaigns ? "

Güntz was silent for a time, and then he answered, turning
away : "Yes, certainly. But you are not unaware of the fact
that a system can go on being tested until the moment when
it collapses? "

" And anyhow," he continued, " all this refers to private
thoughts of my own, about which I can't tell you just yet. I
am now going to make the final experiment, and then I shall
have to decide."

'< What ? "

" Whether I remain an officer or not."

This struck Reimers like a blow. " Güntz, you are mad ! M
he cried.

His friend shook his head gravely, and said, " We shall see."

Meanwhile, Güntz coolly took up the glove which Landsberg
in his presumption had thrown down. He had decided that,
if possible, he would only meet the young man's impu-
dence with the weapons which stood at his command as the
head of the battery.

One day Güntz had ordered Landsberg to superintend the
checking of the stores ordered by the regiment, and found
him instead fast asleep and carefully covered up on a sofa.
This was a gross breach of duty ; for according to the rules
the officer in charge should have himself supervised the check-
ing of the stores by one of the sergeants. But this was not
all ; Landsberg had had gunners posted on the watch, so that
he should not be surprised by his commanding officer, and
that was misappropriation of the service staff.

When called to order, he coolly excused himself : " I beg
your pardon, sir; but I really thought it could not matter
much about a few dozen horseshoe nails more or less."

Güntz felt it would have been trouble wasted to explain

170 JENA OR SEDAN?

to the lieutenant how it was perfectly possible that the
lack of " a few dozen horseshoe nails M might be the cause of
a battery's immobility in time of need. He simply rebuked
him briefly and sharply.

Landsberg took the punishment in strictly correct style.
But a most unreasonable anger gleamed in his eyes. He made
up his mind in all seriousness that he would complain of Giintz,
and tried to get his fellow-subaltern, Reimers, to associate
himself with him. Reimers, however, refused politely and
decidedly, and moreover spoke to Landsberg for his good,
strongly advising him to submit to discipline and amend his
behaviour.

Landsberg was apparently convinced, and for a time his
behaviour rarely gave occasion for blame. But in the
circle of the younger officers he let fall dark insinuations that
he would be revenged for the " insult " which the hateful
martinet Giintz had inflicted on him. He gradually worked
up a genuine hatred of Giintz, and this hatred took an important
place in his previously empty life. He vowed Giintz must stand
in front of his pistol, even if it cost him his officer's sword-knot.
With every reprimand this fury increased, till Landsberg deter-
mined to pick a quarrel with Giintz and somehow positively
insult him, when a duel would be unavoidable.

At last an accident brought things to a climax.

The officers of the second division of the regiment were in
the habit of going occasionally to the Auer, a lonely forest
tavern, during the summer months, to play skittles. The
Auer was about an hour's distance from the garrison, and
lay nearly in the middle of the pine forest, which extended
over the mountains and beyond the frontier. The younger
men bicycled there and back, while their elders either rode
or drove. Major Schrader arranged these excursions, and
bore the expenses himself. They were partly intended to
provide opportunities for personal intercourse between him
and his officers.

He declared himself a lover of rural life, and the party
always fell in with country ways quite contentedly. Pilsener
beer was the tipple, or, at most, a little brandy or gin ; and in
the way of food, fresh eggs and butter, black country bread
and strong ham, played the principal parts. Scandal-mongers

JENA OR SEDAN? 171

of course wanted to know whether the Auer's landlady
had been a former sweetheart of the major's, and Schrader
defended himself laughingly against the insinuation j although
he need not have been ashamed of the dignified, buxom
woman, so scrupulously neat and clean. It certainly was a
fact that no one ever saw the landlord of the Auer, and that
the landlady's two smart boys, who helped so cheerfully in
picking up the skittles, bore a striking resemblance to the
major.

It was in the courtyard of the Auer tavern, when, after
one of these excursions of Major Schrader's, they were getting
their bicycles out of the shed, that Landsberg's rancour broke
out.

He had not been thinking about his grievances at the
moment. He had preferred a stronger drink than the light
beer, had almost emptied a half bottle of gin, and was more
inclined for sleep than for anything else, so that he did not
find his bicycle quickly. Giintz made some harmless chaffing
remark, and a violent quarrel broke out.

Finally Giintz turned away, shrugging his shoulders. He
considered that Landsberg was drunk. But the lieutenant
suddenly ran after him and aimed a blow at him, striking
him on the arm. The other men at once threw themselves
between the two, and held Landsberg fast. The young
fellow, perfectly mad with rage, kicked out with his feet and
literally foamed at the mouth.

Schrader had him taken home in a carriage by his adjutant
and Captain Madelung. To Reimers he said : " My dear
Reimers, you will see that your friend Giintz goes home
quietly, won't you ? " And Reimers replied : " Yes, sir."

Giintz signed to his friend to remain behind. From the
dark skittle-alley they could watch their comrades starting for
the town, all much depressed by the untoward occurrence,
speaking in undertones, and accompanying their whispered
words with restrained gestures.

For a few minutes Giintz walked silently up and down the
gravel-strewn skittle-alley. Reimers sat down in a small
arbour, where the empty barrel still lay upon a bed of ice.
When Giintz stood still, Reimers could hear the drops of the
melting ice falling into the earthen basin. Otherwise all was

M

172 JENA OR SEDAN?

silent, until the steps on the crunching gravel approached
once more.

11 1 think we can go now," said Güntz, in his calm voice,
which only sounded a little harder than usual.

Reimers answered : " All right, if you like."

" Yes. Let us go."

In the courtyard the senior-lieutenant suddenly stood still.
* The devil ! I am horribly thirsty ! " he said, clearing his
throat.

" Shall I fetch you a glass of beer from the bar ? " suggested
Reimers.

" No, don't bother. Water will do me more good," replied
Güntz.

He returned to the arbour, fetched a glass, and went to the
well. The pump creaked discordantly in the stillness of the
night.

In the moonlight Reimers saw how his friend drank the
clear water with eager gulps, filled the glass again, and again
emptied it.

Then they went towards the shed in which the bicycles had
been stored.

" That was delicious water," said Güntz, with a sigh 01
satisfaction. " The strength of the forest and of the earth ! "

The shed was badly lighted by a miserable oil lamp. The
two machines were leaning against the wall. Outside was a
third — Landsberg's. Güntz pushed it in under cover.

" It would be a pity," he said, " for the night dew to spoil
the nickel."

They wheeled their bicycles slowly through the gate, and as
they were starting Güntz said : " Look here, dear boy ; will
you go to Landsberg early to-morrow morning and take him a
challenge ? I will see about the announcement to the court
of honour myself."

Reimers answered simply, " Yes." And then he added :
" But what are the conditions ? "

The senior-lieutenant considered for a moment.

" Oh, well," he said at last, " the court of honour will
decide as to that. Meanwhile, say fifteen paces, and three
exchanges of shots."

» Right."

(i

JENA OR SEDAN? 173

" Well, off then ! But look out, it's horribly dark."

The two friends rode in silence until they reached the
garden gate of Güntz's house. The senior-lieutenant would
have said a mere brief farewell, but Reimers held him fast.

" Giintz," he said, " I can't help thinking that a challenge
on grounds connected with the service is incorrect. And — I
believe that it is so in the present instance."

11 Yes," replied Giintz, " the private reason is undoubtedly
connected with the service. Landsberg wishes to revenge
himself because I reprimanded him sharply. But overtly the
affair has arisen quite otherwise. I have no alternative but to
challenge him."

"Yes, you are right," acknowledged Reimers.

He stood awhile leaning against his bicycle, deep in thought,
until Giintz pressed his hand, and said, u Good night, dear
boy ! "

And Reimers answered, " Good-night, my dear Giintz."

Giintz put his bicycle carefully away, and then quietly went
upstairs. During the summer months, when his duty so ne-
times began at five o'clock or even earlier, he occupie 1 a
small bedroom next to the larger one in which his wife and
child slept. But the door of communication between the
two rooms was always open.

In a few rapid movements he took off his sword and his
spurred boots. Then he went to the door of the bedroom and
listened in the darkness. A slight breeze came from the garden
and moved the lowered window-blind with the regularity of a
pendulum. Somewhere in the grass a cricket was chirping ;
and through the slight noises the deep contented breathing of
the two sleepers could be heard, slow and deep the mother's,
and the child's soft and light.

Giintz leant against the lintel and listened lovingly to the
sweet, regular sounds. This room contained a world of
happiness for him j and the breathing of his sleeping dear
ones was to him the most priceless music.

Suddenly he shivered in the warm August air. An over-
powering fatigue almost paralysed his limbs, and one single
horrible thought filled his mind.

Wearily he pulled off his clothes, and was soon wrapped in
heavy sleep.

174 JENA OR SEDAN?

The court of honour endorsed the challenge ; but it modi-
fied the terms, arranging that instead of three interchanges of
shots there should be two, at fifteen paces. The duel was to
take place early the next morning, at half-past five, on the
pistol-practice ground of the regiment.

After Reimers had presented the challenge to Landsberg,
he made all the necessary arrangements to act as his friend's
second. He whispered the time and the place to Güntz whiie
at the table in the orderly-room signing despatches.

The senior-lieutenant nodded curtly, and answered : " Right ;
I'll speak to you later."

Sergeant-major Heppner approached him, and said : " At
what time to-morrow morning do you wish the battery to be
ready for the tactical exercises, sir ? "

Güntz was at once on the spot. He signed the order and
leant back.

" To-morrow? H'm ! " he murmured.

The duel was to take place at half-past five. He con-
sidered; in a quarter of an hour one could easily cover the
short distance between the shooting-ground and the barracks.

" Six sharp," he then answered decisively.

Heppner replied : " Yes, sir, six o'clock ; '• and wrote the
time in the order-book.

"Yes, six o'clock," repeated Güntz.

If it were no longer possible for him» then Reimers would
command the battery.

It was Wednesday, the day on which Reimers was engaged
to dine with the Güntzes. He would have excused himself, so
that his friend should devote himself undisturbed to his wife
and child, but Güntz refused : " Nothing of the kind, my boy.
Why, Kläre might smell a rat ! No, no ! you must come. But
you'll have to put on another expression, you know ! "

So Reimers went, but left unusually early, and when he
returned to his quarters Gähler handed him a letter from
Falkenhein.

The colonel wrote as follows :

" My dear Reimers, — I return from Kühren about eleven
o'clock, and I beg of you to look me up this evening without
fail. " Yours,

" v. F."

JENA OR SEDAN? 175

Here was a glimmer of hope ! Perhaps this wretched duel
might yet be avoided ! The colonel of a regiment had in
certain cases the right to suspend the judgment of the court of
honour, and to refer the matter directly to the throne for a
decision.

Frankly, Reimers could not think on what, in this case,
such interference could be based. The affair seemed just as
clear and distinct as could well be j a verbal quarrel whence
resulted the actual insult, which, though not serious, left not
the smallest loophole for a revocation. The duel seemed
utterly inevitable.

Falkenhein was already waiting for him. The firm, clear-
headed man was in a state of almost feverish excitement. He
walked restlessly up and down the room, constantly buttoning
and unbuttoning a button of his coat.

" Thank you for coming, my dear Reimers," he said in a
voice of forced steadiness, and speaking in jerky sentences.
11 Tell me, you are his second to-morrow, are you not ? "

" Yes, sir," answered Reimers.

11 It is a good thing that you will be there. Yes, it is a good
thing. I — I felt I must speak to you about it. It is true
that a commander should come to his decisions alone, and
I have done that — but now I must speak to some-one. I
have not been to Kühren ; I sent the carriage away, and
have been walking in the forest for a long time, and alone.
This duel — it is a mistake, a terrible mistake ; that's certain.
But my hands are tied. I can do nothing to prevent it.
And yet if things go badly, I shall be partially responsible.
My best officer, one of the best, most excellent of men, against
a lazy ne'er-do-weel ! God knows that laws are sometimes
utterly unreasonable, and many of our ideas are equally sense-
less. I have racked my brains to find a way out of this
difficulty, and it seems impossible. I know that Landsberg's
real reason is military antagonism; but despite that, I dare not
interfere."

The colonel stopped suddenly right in front of the lieu-
tenant, and looking him squarely in the eyes, asked : " Do
you really think that Güntz's honour is affected ? "

Reimers was silent. A " yes " seemed to him quite con-
trary to reason, and yet he could not say "no,"

176 JENA OR SEDAN?

Falkenhein had again begun to walk up and down the room,
not awaiting a reply.

At last he turned again to Reimers.

" Well, the matter must take its course," he said, in a some-
what calmer tone. " One thing, however, I ask you to do for
me. Directly all is over to-morrow, will you come and tell me
— quite privately ? I shall hear officially from Kauerhof. He's
to be umpire, isn't he ? And be quick, won't you, even if all
has gone well ? — a ■ three-cross ' ride ! " *

He held the lieutenant's hand in his, and pressed it warmly.
His depression seemed to have partly passed away.

" But you must not break your neck," he concludes,
smiling slightly. " And now let us hope for a happy
meeting ! "

In passing Reimers glanced at the Güntzes' villa. It was
all in darkness, save for the window of his friend's study on
the ground floor, whence a light was still gleaming.

Within, Güntz sat at his writing-table, with several sheets ot
paper lying before him. For more than an hour he had been
staring at the white sheets and reflecting.

Shortly after ten Kläre had fed her baby; and then, the
sleeping child tenderly clasped in her arms, she had gone up-
stairs. Her husband had watched her through the half-open
door, and the nursery-lullaby with which she hummed the
child to sleep sounded in his ears for long after.

Now he sat there, not knowing whether he would ever again
see his wife's honest, sensible eyes, or the droll, wondering
gaze of his child.

A hard battle was going on within him, and once or twice
he raised his hand as if to push a heavy weight from his brow.

The cuckoo-clock in the corner by the stove cuckooed
twelve times, and then from without sounded the deep, full
tone of the parish- church clock. The new day had begun.

With a strong effort Giintz raised himself, bent over the
white leaves, and with swift- moving pen filled page after page.

He had decided to send in his resignation.

Jö'

* The necessary speed in conveying military despatches is indicated
by crosses. Thus, one cross signifies walking and trotting alternately ;
two crosses, a quick trot ; and three crosses, as fast as the strength of
the horse will permit.

JENA OR SEDAN? 177

The request should go up to the regiment before the due),
and now he was explaining to Reimers the reasons which had
decided him to take this sudden step. To Reimers alone.
But if he wished he might show the letter to the colonel. The
opinion of any one else was immaterial to him.

At the outset he begged his friend not to think that he had
withdrawn from the duel out of cowardice. He could point to
his whole previous life in support of this — the life of a quiet,
resolute man, always consistent with his principles. And,
after all, Reimers knew and trusted him.

This duel was utterly senseless, brought about as it had been
by a laughably trivial occurrence ; and, moreover, it was in the
highest degree unfair, despite the fact that both duellists
would face each other under similar conditions, with similar
weapons, and with the same sun and the same wind. It
was unfair, because the stakes were of such totally unequal
value. A man in his prime, who had done good work in his
profession and promised to do still more, must pit himself
against an irresponsible young fellow, who up to the present
had shirked everything serious. And then Giintz's position as
husband and father must be compared with his opponent's
irregular life. An absolute cypher was opposed to a number that
counted ; and, moreover, to a number doubled in its capacity.

Güntz said roundly that he regarded his life as too valuable
to be thrown into the balance of this quarrel.

Then he went more into detail with regard to the doubts
which for weeks had been harassing him and driving him
towards the decision to renounce his right to wear the uniform
of an officer ; the strong doubts as to whether, under existing
conditions, German officers were not undertaking work of no
benefit to the future.

He did not mean to say that the calling of an officer was an
altogether unproductive vocation. The yearly training of a
large number of soldiers, who supported the credit of the
kingdom, and thereby insured peace, was, no doubt, a positive
factor in both political and social life.

But was this bulwark, which year by year was rebuilt and
strengthened anew, really secure enough to withstand storms
and assaults?

That was just what he doubted.

178 JENA OR SEDAN?

The organisation of the German army rested on foundations
which had been laid nearly a hundred years ago. Prussian
institutions, tested by many victories, had been transferred to
the new empire, and were still continued. Since the great war
they had never seriously been put to the proof ; and during the
three last decades they had only been altered in the most trifling
details. In three long decades ! And in one of those decades
the world at large had advanced as much as in the whole
previous century !

The system of the military training of the men, evolved in
an age of patriarchal bureaucratic government, had remained
pedantically the same, counting on an ever-present patriotism.
Meanwhile, in place of the previous overwhelming preponder-
ance of country recruits, a fresh element had now been intro-
duced : the strong social-democratic tendencies of the industrial
workers, who, it is true, did not compose the majority of the
contingents, but who, with their highly-developed intelligence,
always exerted a very powerful influence.

Now, instead of turning this highly-developed intelligence
to good account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of
an everlasting drill, which could not have been more soullessly
mechanical in the time of Frederick the Great. And they
expected this purely mechanical drill to hold together men
from whom all joyful spontaneity was taken by the stiff,
wooden formalism of their duty, and not a few of whom
cherished the very opposite of patriotism in their breasts ! Drill
was to maintain discipline among them ? It held them together
as an iron hoop holds together a cask, the dry staves of which
would fall asunder at the first kick !

Confronting the men stood their officers, who, although many
of them actuated by the most honourable intentions, were quite
incompetent to guide the recruits to a convinced and conscious
obedience, a voluntary patriotism. The officer, as a consequence
of his origin or education, was separated by a veritable abyss
from the sensations and thoughts of the common soldier ; and,
on the other hand, the soldier was unable to understand the
spirit in which he was treated by the officer. It thus came
about that the officer for the most part had a pretty low opinion
of the privates, while the private did not fail to form his own
conclusions as to the officers.

JENA OR SEDAN? 179

The constancy with which the German corps of officers clung
to the old principles of army organisation was worthy of a
better cause. Pinning their faith to their glorious traditions,
all criticism was set down as malicious gossip, even if it came
from their own midst. To an ideal of such doubtful value
they devoted their industry and strength. And it was
strange ho w little the analogy of the miserable year 1806
shook military self-confidence, despite the startling points of
resemblance. Now, as then, the complaint was of the one-
sided reactionary training of the officers, which must separate
them from the forward movement of the people ; now, as then,
there was a kind of hidebound narrow-mindedness, too often
degenerating into overweening self-conceit, making them a
laughing-stock to civilians ; and, finally, now as then, there
were the same stiff, wooden regulations, the mechanical drill,
which, despite all "personal bravery, failed utterly before the
convinced enthusiastic onrush of the revolutionary army. But
worse than defeat in battles was the cowardly capitulation
of strongholds which ensued. The commanders of those
days certainly understood how to command the evolutions of
a battalion, how to direct a parade march, and how to ensure
that all pigtails were of the regulation length; but despite all
the drill and all the pedantry, they remained strangers to the
inspiration which inaugurated a new era of military service —
the new patriotism, the love of one's country. They had stood
in a strongly personal relationship to their king j but it no
longer sufficed to save them. They had shouted " Long
live the king ! " thousands of times ; yet they betrayed the
king when they presumed he had lost — because they knew no
better.

They had played too long at being soldiers to be able
really to be soldiers.

Subsequently such men as Scharnhorst, Boyen, and Gnei-
senau directed the military service into the new paths of alle-
giance to the nation ; a work which was crowned by the
unexampled successes of the years 1870-71. But since that
epoch, while the foundation of the system — the people them-
selves— had with each new year altered and progressed in
every relation of life, yet the system itself had remained un-
changed, and the German officer's devotion to duty, similarly

i8o JENA OR SEDAN?

unchanged, was largely wasted by being directed into worn-out
channels.

Again, it must be deeply deplored that promotions were no
longer due to military efficiency alone, but also to victories
achieved at the courts of princes. To this circumstance,
opening up, as it did, an anything but reassuring view of the
good faith of the authorities, was to be added yet another, also
tending to undermine the soundness of the army : the ever-
increasing luxury apparent in military circles. Of necessity,
and in the true interests of the army, the best material in the
corps of officers — the members of the old noble and gentle
"army nobility" — were careful to shun this vice. These officers,
whose families had often served the king as soldiers for four or
five generations, held fast to a Spartan simplicity of life, and to
the old Prussian independence of material comforts, and with
them were alt those who regarded their vocation as something
loftier than an amusement. Otherwise, a most unsoldierlike
luxury was spreading unhindered in all directions, causing
the young subalterns especially to neglect their duties, and
rendering them in great measure absolutely unfit for real
hard work and privations. And despite the numerous
orders levelled against them, these tendencies continued
to increase, because of the lack of a good example in high
quarters.

The plain and simple uniform in which so many great
victories had been won no longer sufficed. New embel-
lishments— medals, cords, trimmings, or what not — were
eternally being devised. As though such mere external
trumpery could create anew the now waning love for military
service !

In what striking contrast stood the magnificent goblets
of delicate porcelain and other costly materials, in which the
officers of the Chinese Expedition offered champagne to their
French comrades, to that broken-footed glass cup out of which
— and in abominably bad wine — King William drank to the
victors of St. Privat !

All became clear to Giintz as he wrote, and he felt as though
a heavy burden were being lifted from his shoulders.

He concluded : " I can no longer regard as valuable the
work which as an officer it is my duty to perform, and have

JENA OR SEDAN? 181

therefore decided to resign my commission. Although I am
only one small wheel in a large and complicated machine, I
have still the right to give my opinion ; and I am making use
of that right because I recognise that the mechanical power
which drives this machine is threatened with paralysis, and will,
in my view, infallibly succumb unless there is an entire recon-
struction of the whole fabric. That, I fear, is not to be ex-
pected within any reasonable time."

He laid down his pen, and looked thoughtfully at the closely
written sheets.

Everything that he had set down had been well considered
and frequently thought over ; but was it right, after all, to send
in his application just at this moment ? Was it right for him
to break the vow he had made to himself that he would test
himself carefully, that he would pass a year in command
of the battery before making his final decision ? Ought he
not to stand by the calling to which his life had been dedicated,
until he could resign quite voluntarily, fully convinced, and
without any extraneous considerations ? Without, for instance,
the danger of losing his life through the custom of this calling
— a custom, just or unjust, but which at any rate was in opera-
tion and perfectly well known to him ?

The lamp under the green shade began to burn less brightly,
and flickered with a quick hissing sound. The hands of the
cuckoo-clock pointed to half-past four.

Giintz got up and stretched himself. He walked firmly to
the window, pushed the curtains far back, and opened both
sides of the casement.

Outside the warm summer's night was giving place to the
dawn of day. A cool morning breeze blew into the room,
fluttering the curtains, and extinguishing the lamp's weak
flame. It cooled the man's eyes and filled his lungs with
fresh air.

Giintz drew himself up. He returned to the writing-table,
placed the loose leaves carefully is order, and locked them in
a drawer.

Right or wrong he would keep is word.

He scribbled a few words on a sheet of paper : " My
Kläre, I love you unspeakably. You and the boy. Be
brave ! "

182 JENA OR SEDAN?

He glanced round to see where he should lay the paper* j
In the end he folded it up, and put it under a meteoric stone,
shaped like a fungus, which during their honeymoon he had j
found on the sand-dunes of the Heligoland coast.

The servant knocked, and brought in the coffee. He had
found the senior-lieutenant's bed untouched, and his face
showed his surprise.

The coffee was too hot, but the water in the carafe was
deliciously cold. Güntz damped his handkerchief and wiped
the ravages of the night from his brow and eyes.

Then he went again to the window and the refreshing morn-
ing breeze. He was in good spirits. He felt as if nothing
untoward could happen to him that day.

There was a sound of hoofs in the street outside. The
groom had brought the brown mare. He held the animal
before the garden gate and carefully took a piece of straw out
of her mane.

Güntz told him to walk her quietly up and down. He
must wait for Reimers, who would be sure to come directly.

Soon in between the measured paces of the led horse came
the sound of a quicker step. Güntz recognised the fidgety
trot for that of Reimers horse " Jay." He went out of the
house and through the iron gate into the street.

" Morning, my boy ! " he said, and offered his hand to
Reimers. Then he mounted, and both trotted down the
street in silence.

Once outside the town Güntz let his mare slow down.
" We are in plenty of time," he said.

Suddenly he stopped and listened. A horse's trot and
the rumbling of a carriage could be heard coming from the
town.

" The others," said the senior-lieutenant. " Let us get
on."

The pistol practice-ground lay half way up the incline
upon a shelf-like terrace of the hillside, a smooth grassy space,
surrounded on both sides by high bushes ; at the lower end
there was a shed built of strong boards, in which tools and
targets were stored.

Güntz and Reimers dismounted at the shed, and fastened
up their horses by the bridle. Reimers pressed his friend's

JENA OR SEDAN? 183

hand once more, gazing at him with anxious eyes. He could
not speak.

They stood side by side on the edge of the terrace, whence
they could look down upon the country road in the valley
below. A carriage was approaching, followed by three riders :
Landsberg, little Dr. von Fröben, his second, and Gretzschel,
who was brought chiefly to look after the horses.

The carriage stopped at the foot of the hill. Kauerhof got
out, with the pistol cases in his hand, and after him the
surgeon-major and his assistant, both with instrument cases.
The three other men rode slowly behind them up the steep
incline.

Before the shed, brief polite greetings were exchanged,
Gretzschel remaining there with the horses.

There was a singular expression of shyness on the faces of
all. One might have fancied that these men were assembled
for some guilty purpose. Giintz alone looked frank and un-
embarrassed.

The prescribed attempts at reconciliation were unsuccessful.
Giintz shook his head in refusal.

Then Kauerhof began to measure the distance. He had
long legs, and he made the fifteen paces as lengthy as possible.

Just at this moment the sun rose above the mountains on
the other side of the valley.

Kauerhof loaded the pistols, and the seconds carried them
to their principals. Giintz nodded cheerfully to Reimers as
he took his weapon.

The umpire then took up his position and convinced him-
self with a glance that all was prepared. The duellists were
standing at their marked lines, the seconds at a little distance
alongside of them. He took out his watch, and glancing ai
it said : " I shall count : ready, one, — then three seconds ;
two, — and again three seconds ; then, stop ! Between one
and stop, the gentlemen may fire."

He glanced round once more. The four officers stood
motionless in the clear light of the sun, Landsberg sideways,
Giintz withhis broad chest facing his opponent. The junior
surgeon wiped the moisture from his brow ; Andreae tugged
nervously at his hair.

The umpire counted.

iS4 JENA OR SEDAN?

Landsberg raised his pistol at once and fired. Güntz heard
the bullet whizz past on his left. He had directed his barrel
a little to the side of his opponent's shoulder, and pressed the
trigger. The shot missed fire. He had forgotten to cock the
pistol.

The second attempt at reconciliation was also unsuccessful.

Again Kauerhof gave the word.

Güntz saw Landsberg's pistol aimed directly at his breast.
Then Landsberg looked up, and for the hundredth part of a
second caught his opponent's gaze.

Landsberg's aim was unerringly directed on his man, when
suddenly his hand began to shake, and he fired blindly, just
as he heard Güntz's bullet whistle past him.

Güntz stood unharmed, a happy smile on his good-natured,
open face.

Reimers hastened up to him and seized his hand. He
would have liked to throw his arms round the dear fellow's
neck.

Now the reconciliation took place, and when the opponents
shook hands Landsberg's glance fell before the honest eyes of
the senior-lieutenant.

All traces of embarrassment vanished from the men's
faces. There were sighs of relief, and hearty congratulations ;
the two doctors packed up their grisly instruments again ;
all were anxious to get away, and to report the fortunate
result of the duel to their comrades. Reimers was on his
horse and already starting off at a trot, when Güntz called to
him : " Where are you going in such a hurry ? "

And Reimers shouted back gaily : " The colonel's waiting.
Three crosses,' my orders say ! '

The senior-lieutenant rode slowly down. He himself had
plenty of time to spare. It was only ten minutes after the
half hour, and it was not until six o'clock that he was due at i
the tactical exercises.

The carriage and the three riders overtook him. Dr. von
Fröben and Gretzschel greeted him with candid joy in their
faces ; Landsberg was a little stiff. The surgeon-major blew
him a kiss from the carriage. Güntz responded cordially,
and continued at his leisurely pace.

The colonel was looking out into the street from his high

JENA OR SEDAN? 185

summer-house in the garden. Reimers recognised him from
a distance, and as nothing better occurred to him he took off
his cap and waved it in the air.

Falkenhein checked him energetically when he was preparing
to dismount. " Stay where you are ! Stay where you are ! "
he cried. " So all has gone well ? "

"Yes, sir," answered Reimers, still out of breath with his
quick ride.

The colonel heaved a sigh of reliet.
• I am glad ; very, very glad ! " he said.

In the barrack-yard Gähler was waiting for his master. He
handed him his helmet and bandolier and took the forage-cap
in exchange.

The battery was ready to move on. Reimers set his horse
to a short gallop and rode up to Giintz.

" I beg to report myself, sir," he said.

Giintz nodded to him smilingly, and gave the words ot
command in his clear, resonant voice.

In the midst of the exercises two riders suddenly approached
from the town. At first it was difficult to recognise them in
the thick dust ; but Sergeant-major Heppner announced that
he saw the colonel's big sorrel horse. It was in fact the
colonel and his adjutant.

Giintz galloped up to them and gave his report.

Falkenhein thanked him.

" I only wanted to watch you for a little," he said simply.
And his eyes shone joyfully on seeing the officer he had learnt
to love stand unhurt before him.

He approached the battery and greeted them with his
powerful voice : " Good morning, sixth battery ! "

And the many-voiced reply was shouted back : " Good
morning, sir ! "

Falkenhein rode slowly along the ranks, taking stock ot
everything with his sharp eyes ; then he spoke : " Senior-
lieutenant Giintz, be kind enough to continue ! "

It was a lucky day. Everything went like clockwork ;
there was not a hitch, not the smallest oversight.

At the conclusion of the exercises the colonel ordered the
officers and non-commissioned officers to come to him. His

1 86 JEKA OR &EDAN?

criticism contained nothing but approbation, and he crowned
his praise by saying : " I rejoice that the sixth battery, though
under new leadership, has again proved its excellence. And
I am proud of commanding a regiment to which belong such
admirable officers and non-commissioned officers and such a
faultlessly trained battery."

He shook hands with Giintz, and whispered to him softly :
" I rejoice doubly — threefold — a hundffedfold, my dear
Giintz."

Giintz gave the order to march.

He rode thoughtfully beside Reimers at the head of the
battery. The colonel's unstinted praise was a great joy to
him ; but besides that he had found a still higher prize : for
the first time during many months he had a heartfelt con-
viction of his vocation as an officer. He had done his
duty this morning as if rejuvenated; all doubts had left
him, and it did not seem as if a tinge of bitterness remained
behind.

He thought of all those written sheets which he had locked
in his desk during the night. When had he found his way
through the wood ? At the writing-table, or here in the rye-
stubble in which the tracks of the gun-carriage wheels had
made deep ruts ?

Well, in any case he had done right not to break away
suddenly from the time of probation on which he himself
had determined ; for it was certainly strange how a calm, stead-
fast man, such as he believed himself to be, could be so swayed
backwards and forwards in opposite directions in such a short
time. During the night he had been firmly resolved to
retire ; a few hours later this step seemed an impossibility to
him.

Was there really so little, then, in his imagined calmness
and steadfastness ?

But he was glad that the time of probation, though not
shortened, would, on the other hand, not have to be extended.
He would command the battery for a year ; by then he must
have made his decision.

And for to-day he was determined to put no check on his
joy and good humour.

Frau Kläre wondered at her husband, who would not leave

JENA OR SEDAN? 187

her a moment in peace with his teasing and nonsense, and
even waked the baby up from a sound sleep.

And Güntz stood beaming before the mother and child,
laughing heartily at the angry howl set up by his little son,
and lighted his cigar with a spill until the whole piece of
paper was reduced to a cinder.

He had made that spill out of the farewell note he had
placed under the fungus-like letterweight.

CHAPTER X

'• Morning red, morning red,
Light me to my dying bed ! "
(Hauff.

(Hauff.)

Room IX. was still to remain " aristocratic " — as Weise
satirically remarked — even after Baron Walther von Frieling-
hausen had moved over to the non-commissioned officers'
quarters. A few days before the regiment left for the
manoeuvres, Count Egon Plettau arrived and took possession
of Frielinghausen's locker.

All kinds of wild reports had been circulating in the battery
about Plettau. Judging from these he appeared to be a per-
fect terror. A lieutenant who had had his ears boxed, and a
sergeant who had been flung against a wall, played the chiet
part in these reports. But, as a matter of tact, of the whole
battery only Heppner and the senior non-commissioned
officers knew the mad count personally, and during the five
years' detention in a fortress that Plettau had had to undergo,
two sets of recruits had already come and gone without having
made his acquaintance.

The inmates of Room IX. expected to see a pale man, bent
and bowed with long imprisonment ; but the new comrade
bore a tolerably healthy appearance, and had a good-tempered,
friendly face.

The count was handled very tenderly by the non-commis-
sioned officers. They had received an intimation that as far
as their duty permitted they were to do all they could to
enable this child of misfortune at last to complete his military
service.

Count Egon Plettau received these attentions with calm
complacency. " Children," he used to say — for so it was his
habit to address his comrades — " people know quite well that

JENA OR SEDAN? » 189

they owe me respect. To have been eight years accomplishing
a two-years' term of service, and not to have finished it yet —
that is a performance that cannot be sufficiently appreciated.
Really, I ought to be shown at a fair ! Strive, therefore, to
follow my example ! "

He looked forward to the manoeuvres with a real and almost
child-like pleasure ; for, in spite of his eight years' service, he
had never taken part in them. " Something " had always
come in the way.

Even Güntz had often to bite his lips to keep himself from
laughing at Plettau's absurdities. He, too, had been curious
to make the acquaintance of the notorious gunner-count, and
he, too, was agreeably surprised. Plettau seemed to him to
be a very good fellow, terribly frivolous, no doubt, but not
bad by any means. He was glad to find he had not been
mistaken in his judgment : viewed impartially, the cause of
Plettau's first two acts of insubordination had been malice on
the part of his superior almost amounting to cruelty; and
even the last five years had been added to his term of impri-
sonment simply because he had knocked down a sergeant who
was proved to have ill-treated a comrade. All things con-
sidered, the gay placidity of temper with which the count had
borne his fate was really remarkable.

For the autumn manoeuvres the men and horses were all
re-distributed to serve the various guns. Vogt and Klitzing
remained in their places, and for the rest gun six was served
as follows :

Gun Six.

(Horses)

Gun-leader . . Corporal Vertier . Christine

Lead-driver . . Driver "Howack . . Zenobia, Egon
Centre-driver . . Driver ^noslavsky . Viper, Eidechse
Wheel-driver . . Bombardier Sickel . Turk, Cavalier
Gunners . . . Count Plettau, Wolf,

Truchsess, Klitzing, Vogt.

The leader of the third column was Ensign Gysinger, who
had just joined the regiment from the Military Academy, and
had exchanged with Lieutenant Landsberg, transferred to the
first battery. Heimert had for the first time taken over the

190 JENA OR SEDAN?

distribution of the horses. But when Heppner saw how the
six horses for gun six had been placed, he shook his head.

" That won't do," said he to Heimert. " The lead and
centre horses are all right, but the wheel-driver must have
another beast under him. The Turk is too old ; especially as
gun six has always the longest way to go on the march."

" That's just what I told the captain," put in Heimert.
" It's all Wegstetten's doing. I wanted Cyrus for the wheel,
and old Turk for the baggage- waggon, but as the other
five are light bays, Wegstetten insisted on having the Turk,
That's why he has put Sickel on him, our best driver. He
thought he'd make him go, at any rate, if the worst came to
the worst."

Heppner remained thoughtful. At last he said, " Yes ; but
then old Turk hasn't much more go left in him. Don't you
think we could arrange it differently ? "

" No," answered the deputy sergeant-major ; u you know
that when Wegstetten has once got a thing into his head there's
nothing more to be done,"

The sergeant-major shrugged his shoulders. " We two, at
any rate," he said, " won't have the responsibility. I only
hope it will turn out all right ! We've got some damned
hilly country for the manoeuvres this time, as it happens.
One part lies close to the frontier, and is over 2000 feet high.
Downright mountain-artillery I call it ! " he growled in
conclusion. But it was impossible to oppose the express
orders of the captain.

On August 30 the battery was ready in the barrack square
at six o'clock in the morning to start for the manceuvres.

Shortly after reveille various rumours had been current in
the stables and in the barrack-rooms that something had
happened at the Heppners' ; and just as the men were getting
into their places the news spread from one to the other that
the sergeant-major's wife was dead. As this was a private
and personal matter, it could not give cause for the slightest
delay. Heppner, of course, remained at home for the funeral,
and Käppchen meanwhile took over his duties as sergeant-
major. However, it considerably damped the spirits of the
men in setting out; and a fine rain which began to fall did

JENA OR SEDAN? 191

not tend to restore their good humour. The sixth battery
marched just behind the corps of trumpeters ; but the
inspiriting strains of the Hohen friedberger March were
entirely out of harmony with the moody faces of the men and
the dismal weather.

Klitzing again sat next to Vogt on the limber of gun six.
How unlike the day on which they had started for the gun-
practice at Whitsuntide !

" It's a bad beginning," said he to his friend ; and half to
himself he added, " Who knows how it will end ? "

The rain gradually became heavier, and at the first halt the
colonel ordered the men to put on their cloaks. The gunners,
huddled up in their seats, kept fairly dry ; but the riders got
their high boots full of water, so that as they went up and
down in their saddles their feet splashed with a sound like
butter in a churn. During the longest halt the drivers lay on
their backs in the grass, and as they stretched their legs up
in the air, the water trickled down out of their boots in streams.

The manoeuvres began, and continued their course, one
day very much like another, only the scene changing. The
brigade would assemble in the early morning. Cavalry scouts
told off for the purpose, had generally gone on in advance and
sent back their reports. These hussars or Uhlans were
marvellously clever fellows, who never failed to find out the
enemy. Then the advance-guard was set in motion, and after
a certain time the main body followed. The batteries were
usually ordered to the front during the march. If they reached
the scene of action unnoticed by the enemy and wanted to open
fire upon him unawares, the men had to crawl almost on all-
fours in line ; then there was a mad gallop forwards over
hedges and ditches when they found themselves within range
of the hostile fire; and when the gunners were almost
jolted out of their seats the men of the infantry would burst
into loud peals of laughter as they lay sideways on the ground.
It was all very well for them to laugh then ; but when the
manoeuvres were over, and they were on the march back to
their quarters, they cast envious glances at the artillerymen
as they took their seats and were driven home on their hard-
seated chariots.

192 JENA OR SEDAN?

In the skirmishes, too, during the manoeuvres, it was the
artillery who got the best of it. The infantry had to be
always on the march, then firing off their blank cartridges
either stooping or lying down, and at last making a bayonet
charge on the disorganised foe. The batteries, on the other
hand, generally remained in the same position, and only now
and then fired a shot, reserving their ammunition for doings
on a larger scale during the last few days of the manoeuvres.
In this way they had a splendid view of the fighting, and
could quietly look on as the dark lines of rifles approached
nearer and nearer j or when an officer commanding a squadron
of cavalry, thirsting for fame, made an impossible, but very
daring attack.

On off-days Vogt lent a sturdy helping hand in gathering in
the harvest. It delighted him to be able, as of old, to reach
up and put the sheaves on the top of the well-loaded waggons,
and to find that he could still wield a scythe with the same
vigorous strokes, mowing the scanty second crop of grass on
the mountain meadows just as close to the ground as ever.
While Klitzing lay down after his exertions and rested his
weary limbs, Vogt would spend hours over such field-work;
and the fatigue after this heaven-blest labour was far more
grateful to him than the idle, lazy time a soldier often enjoys
directly the arduous period of his early training is over. In
the evenings after bugle-call, out he would go again to mow a
strip of grass before dusk; and when returning, scythe on
shoulder to the court-yard of his »quarters, he would some-
times quite forget that he still wore the uniform of a soldier.

The sight of the various couples who, lovingly entwined,
promenaded the green lanes, suddenly appearing and as sud-
denly disappearing behind the thick hedges, would recall him
to actuality. He would then bethink him how odd it seemed
that he himself cared so little about womenfolk. Now and
then a pretty fresh girl would take his fancy, and he might
have liked well enough to take her face between his hands and
give her a hearty kiss ; but he was too bashful, and he felt no
desire to put himselt under the tutelage of the painted ladies of
the garrison town who smiled so engagingly at all the lads.
The rough village maidens suited him better ; but one evening

JENA OR SEDAN? 193

he had an experience which raised grave doubts in his mind as
to the virtue of even those rustic beauties.

A woman's voice shrieking for help had suddenly resounded
from a little shady hollow not far from where Vogt was
strolling, smoking his evening pipe. He instantly ran forward,
crying out in clear tones the first words that came into his
head : " Halt ! halt ! Who goes there ? " Drawing nearer he
saw first a couple of soldiers in hasty flight through the trees,
and afterwards a curious something which he could not at once
make out.

When he came closer he discovered that some of his com-
rades had been playing off one of their jokes upon a village
girl. They had gathered up her skirts above her head and
tied them together with string; this they called "making a
tulip." She was running round in a comical enough fashion,
her lower limbs being entirely exposed, as she wore no under-
clothes ; while her arms and the upper part of her body were
imprisoned in the woollen skirts, whence issued her muffled
protests.

Vogt said, very politely : " Wait ; I will set you free ; " and
pulling out his knife, cut the string, whereupon the petticoats
fell down, and a touzled head made its appearance. The girl
hid her face in her hands, as if ashamed ; but through her
fingers she peeped expectantly up at the soldier. Then she
let her hands fall, making manifest her hard and coarse but
yet undeniable beauty ; and her rather large, full mouth smiled
tenderly at the gunner.

But the doughty champion stood dumb and unresponsive ;
so after a moment the girl swung sharply round, muttering
" Stupid ass ! " and departed through the gathering dusk.

It was on the Monday of the third week after leaving the
garrison that the two divisions of the army-corps began
manoeuvring against each other. The troops, now doubled in
number, presented a gay and lively picture as they assembled
at the meeting-place in the brilliant sunshine. Summer
seemed to have returned that day for a short while, so hot
were the rays that poured down upon the earth from the deep-
blue vault of heaven. The heat, however, was not oppressive,
modified as it was by the cool mountain breezes.

194 JENA OR SEDAN?

The sixth battery of the 8oth Regiment, Eastern Division
Field Artillery, had been told off to join the advance-guard,
and was awaiting the signal to start. Gunners and drivers
stood behind the guns, or close to the horses, all ready to
mount at the word of command. Vogt was lost in amazement
at Klitzing's demeanour, for he had never seen his friend in
such high spirits. His eyes shone and his cheeks were
slightly flushed. Vogt thought to himself what a good-looking
fellow the clerk was with this touch of animation. His
appearance had certainly been much improved by soldier-
ing. Vogt was quite pleased; shaking his finger good-
naturedly at him, " Hullo, Heinrich !" he asked, "haven't you
been liquoring up a bit on the sly ? or is this one of your
lucky days ? "

And Klitzing answered, " Ah ! I feel to-day — I don't know
myself how I feel. I feel so strong, so well — I that am
usually so shaky, I feel as if some great piece of luck were
going to happen to me to-day. Do you know, if I had ever
lelt like this at home I should have bought a lottery ticket
and should certainly have won the biggest prize ! "

" Well," rejoined Vogt, " mind you don't miss the oppor-
tunity the next time such a day comes ! "

The clerk shook his head. " Ah, no ! ' he returned ;
" such days only come once, and then never again. I shall
just have to give up the Great Prize and die a poor devil
But it's good to feel so jolly for once ! "

He took Vogt by the shoulders and looked into his face
with happy eyes.

Suddenly, a gruff voice called out from beyond the horses :
" You fellows have far too good a time of it ! I don't know
what you're always grinning about ! "

Bombardier Sickel was looking round at them with a surly
expression, and he shook his head contemptuously. He,
being a driver, did not think much of the gunners. What an
easy life fellows like them had ! While he — what had he not
got to see to ? He went up to his team and looked anxiously
at Turk, the horse he was to ride. With drooping head the
gelding stood there limp and spiritless. He had refused his
food that morning. What could one do mounted on a sick
wheeler? Sickel had told the gun-leader about this ; but it was

JENA OR SEDAN? 195

too late to replace the horse, as the baggage-waggon was already
under weigh. Poor Turk must do for to-day somehow.

The advance-guard began to move, a battalion of infantry ir.
front, then the battery, and behind it the two other battalions
of the regiment. They made their way upwards from the
bottom of the valley along a moderately steep road, on each
side of which was very hilly ground.

They had proceeded for about an hour or more when at
last the cavalry-scouts bringing further orders were seen re-
turning ; coming not from in front but from the left, down a
hill covered with undergrowth. They seemed in a great
hurry, and their horses were covered with foam. The fore-
most portion of the advance-guard at once, therefore, wheeled
round, and leaving the road took the nearest way up the hill :
a steep zig-zag, and a stiff piece of work. The gun-teams
strained every muscle and took short, quick steps, trying to
overcome the weight of the guns. Sergeant-major Heppner,
who was riding behind the last gun, growled out : " I tell you,
it's downright mountain artillery, this ! " and he trotted a few
steps on in front to find out how the Turk was getting on.
The light bay was panting with exhaustion and dripping
with sweat. Heppner scratched his head : little more could
be expected of the poor beast that day. But worse was to
come.

The battery had scarcely accomplished the climb up the
hill when the order came to form line. A gentle slope of
even ground had still to be covered, and the battery was to
get into position as quickly as possible behind the crest of
the hill. The words of command rang out in quick succes-
sion : " Trot ! " and " Gallop ! M The ensign wheeled his
column much too far to the right, just where the lie of the
land was steepest ; and Corporal Vertier, the leader of gun six,
thinking it too near, took a circuit twice as great as was
necessary. To get to the crest of the hill in this way was
utterly impossible.

Heppner looked anxiously across. With swift determina-
tion he gave over his duties as sergeant-major to Sergeant
Wiegandt, then galloped to the right flank to try and mend
matters somehow if possible. But the disaster had already
begun.

196 JENA OR SEDAN?

Gun six had from a gallop dropped into a trot, and from a
trot into a walk. At last the six horses could not drag the
gun one inch further.

The ground was covered with smooth coarse grass that
gave the horses very little foothold. Trembling and snorting,
the animals just managed to support the weight of the gun,
while, straining forwards and pawing the ground, they tried to
get a firmer footing. The gunners had got down, and grasp-
ing the spokes of the wheels did what they could to assist.

The sergeant-major kept close by and tried especially to
egg on the wheel-driver.

" Buck up, Sickel ! " he cried. " Show us what you can
make of this ! You want to be thought our best driver, and
you can't get up a little hill like this ! Get on ! Put your
back into it ! "

The bombardier almost hung on the Turk's neck so as to
release the weight on his haunches, while the gun actually
moved forward two or three fractions of an inch. But
suddenly Turk's hind legs gave way under him, the animal
collapsed and slid down upon the slippery ground.

The jerk caused by the fall made the other five horses also
lose their hold. They began to tread backwards.

" Put on the dag-chain ! " roared Heppner.

Vogt darted forward, quick as lightning, and slung the
chain on he spokes of the wheel. It bore the strain for a
moment, then there was a sharp metallic sound : the chain
had snapped.

The gun began to roll down the hill, faster and faster,
dragging the six powerless hordes behind it. One after the
other they stumbled, slipped down, and were whirled away,
kicking wildly, or entangled in the drag-ropes.

The sergeant-major swore a terrible oath when he saw what
had happened. Springing from his horse he threw the reins to
Plettau, who was standing near, and ran down the hill.
Chance had prevented the worst from happening. At the
upper edge of the precipice there was a hollow where for-
merly stones may have been broken after having been quarried
below ; the surface was now level, and here the gun had come
to a standstill.

But the scene was terrible enough. The six horses lay

JENA OR SEDAN? 197

together in a heap. Again and again they tried to raise
themselves, but in such close proximity one hindered the
other. Amidst the panting and snorting of the frantic
animals could be heard the groans of Sickel, who was lying
somewhere under one of them.

Heppner had recovered his self-possession in a moment.
He called the four gunners to him, and was himself the first
to jump down into the hollow. Vertier, the gun-leader, was
close by on his horse, but scarcely seemed able to grasp what
had happened. Heppner caught sight of Sickel at once.
He lay with his left leg under the Turk's body, and was
shielding himself behind the neck of the gelding to avoid
being struck by the hoofs of the centre horse, who was kick-
ing furiously.

" Here ! Vogt and Truchsess ! " commanded Heppner.
" We'll pull him out." They grasped the bombardier under
the arms and tried to drag him out from under the horse.
But it was not so easy, and at the very moment when they
stooped for a second attempt, one of the lead horses made a
sudden movement which knocked Vogt down. The gunner
got entangled in the drag-ropes and could not get up again.

Eidechse, the centre horse, again began to kick. She had
a yawning wound in the buttock from which the blood
streamed, and she writhed, mad with pain. Lying on her
back she turned herself to and fro, and the gleaming iron
shoes flashed nearer and nearer to Vogt's head, at last striking
him so that his helmet flew off and the blood gushed from
beneath his fair, close-cropped hair.

Klitzing saw the increasing peril, and of a sudden flung
himself blindly beneath the infuriated, plunging hoofs.

Like lightning it had flashed across his brain how Vogt had
once shed his blood for him. Was not this the time to show
his gratitude ? This was perhaps the object of his existence —
to save the life of that other, stronger than he. And was not
this his lucky day ? He felt in him the strength of a giant.
Yes, he would stop those terrible hoofs until his friend could
get free. And in an ecstasy of confidence he threw himself
like a shield between his friend and danger.

The next moment he had received a furious kick in the side.
He was hurled to a distance, and fell lifeless to the ground.

198 JENA OR SEDAN?

Vogt in the meanwhile had freed himself and risen quickly,
only to turn faint a moment later. He sat down on the hill-
side and supported his aching head in his hands.

Again the sergeant-major swore violently. In despair he
looked up for a moment from the terrible medley and noted
the gun-leader still staring down into the hollow with vacant
eyes.

11 You fellow ! " he shouted, " it's no time to go to steep, at
any rate ! " With admirable clearness he gave his orders :
11 Ride as fast as your beast will go, and fetch the doctor and
the veterinary surgeon ! And ambulance-orderlies as well ! "
And immediately afterwards he added : " And send the team
belonging to gun five here, and report the mess we're in ! "
For the service must not suffer, and the gun should be brought
up to the line of fire as soon as possible.

The corporal galloped away and was soon out of sight.

Heppner now approached the entangled heap of bodies
from the other side. He then set himself to extricate the
lead horses from the different parts of the harness that
trammeled them, and helped them to get up. They appeared
to be uninjured, shook themselves and moved restlessly to
and fro. He made the lead-driver take them to one side, and
then turned to the centre horses. Inoslavsky gave him a
helping hand. The near centre horse was uninjured, but
Eidechse had a gaping wound in the buttock. Wolf had to
hold her by the snaffle, and found it difficult to manage her.
The near wheele got up readily ; but the Turk, beneath
whose body Sick was writhing in ag ony, was badly hurt.
The near hind fetlock seemed to be crushed. At last the
gelding managed to raise himself a little on his fore-legs, and
at the same moment Truchsess dragged out the whc^l-driver
from under the saddle. Sickel made a weak attempt to stand
up, but fell back in a swoon.

That segeant-major wiped the perspiration from his brow.
Da mnat on ! That had been a bad piece of work ! He
looked round him : three men and two horses knocked out of
time. Well, it might have been even worse.

Klitz ng's was the most serious case. The clerk still lay
there motionless, and only the blood-stained froth at his
mouth, stirring as he breathed showed there was still life in

JENA OR SEDAN? 199

the motionless body. The sergeant-major went up to the
unconscious man and carefully placed his head on the haver-
sack. He had never been able to endure this sickly fellow,
but, by Jove, what he had done that day was first-class ! It
was grand ! Would he never recover from his swoon ?
Heppner took a brandy-flask from his saddle-bag, and gently
moistened the gunner's forehead with the spirit. He tried to
force a drop between his lips, but in vain ; there was no
sound or movement in response.

The sergeant-major looked impatiently for some sign of the
doctor's arrival. The other two wounded men seemed in less
serious case. The bombardier regained consciousness as the
brandy torched his lips ; he took a good mouthful, and
answered the sergeant-major's question as to his condition
with : " All right, sir. Only my left leg feels a bit queer. I
must have given it a wrench."

Vogt even tried to stand up and assume the regulation
attitude in speaking to the sergeant-major ; but he staggered
back again, and said faintly that his head was going round,
otherwise there was nothing wrong with him.

From the heights above was now heard the sound of
horses' hoofs and the clanking of harness. It was Corporal
Vertier with the team belonging to gun five ; he announced
that a trumpeter had gone to find a doctor, and that the am-
bulance-orderlies would soon be here.

The sergeant-major had now no more time to bestow on
the wounded men, who could be left to wait for the doctor.
He busied himself with the harnessing of the gun.

Vogt leaned against the slope of the hill, resting his dizzy
head in his hands.

The blood trickled through his fingers and dropped upon
his knees. Although he tried to think it all over, he could
not understand what had happened to him. The horse had
kicked him on the forehead — that much he was able to recol-
lect, and he also clearly remembered that afterwards he had
again seen the hoof coming in his direction ; but from that
moment his memory was a blank.

Sliding and slipping, the hospital-orderly now came hurry-
ing down the hill. He saw that three men were lying there ;
two of them had their eyes open, but not the third, so he

200 JENA OR SEDAN?

addressed himself to the latter. He gave him ether to smell,
tried to administer a stimulant, and moistened his forehead.
He unfastened and opened his coat and shirt, and slapped the
palms of his hands. All in vain ; but at least the poor devil
still breathed, though with a gurgling and rattling in his chest.

The orderly then turned to the two others. He gave Vogt
a piece of medicated cotton-wool to press on his wound, put
the bottle of cordial to his lips and made him drink. Vogt
took a good mouthful ; the liquid tasted acid and refreshing,
and cleared his head wonderfully.

Sickel declined the draught with impatience. " Get away
with your slops, you bone-breaker ! " he said ; " but if you've
got any brandy I'll have it."

The hospital-orderly had none. " Well, what's the matter
with you, then ? " he asked.

" Something's wrong with my pins," answered the driver,
and pointed to his leg.

"Is that it?" said the orderly. "You don't seem very
bad on the whole. But what's wrong with this one ? I can't
get him to come to," and he pointed to the motionless form
of Klitzing.

" Perhaps cold water would bring him round," said Sickel.
" Down there to the left there must be a stream. You can
hear it running."

" Then I'll just go down there,'' returned the orderly. He
laid the bottle of cordial at Vogt's feet and climbed down
through the brushwood.

Vogt slowly raised his head and looked about him in sur
prise. The draught had revived him wonderfully. Where
was he? A horse was standing near him bleeding from a
gaping wound in the flank. Not far off lay one of his com
rades stretched out like a corpse, and pale as death, with eyes
closed and blood-stained froth on his lips. Why, it was
Klitzing ! He clutched at his forehead, and all at once the
curtain that had clouded his memory parted. He realised
what had happened after he had seen the hoof coming in the
direction of his skull. A dark body had thrown itself between
him and the glistening iron — and then the blow had been
struck. There had been a terrible, hollow sound, and then —
then that body had been hurled into the air.

JENA OR SEDAN? 201

Suddenly he understood it all : Klitzing had sacrificed
himself for him, his friend had saved him from the death-
dealing blow of that iron-shod hoof, and there he now lay
upon the grass, pale, unconscious — perhaps dead.

At this moment the unconscious man's eyelids opened at
last with difficulty, his dull gaze went searching round, then
rested upon Vogt with an expression of boundless devotion.
Vogt darted to the clerk's side, threw himself down, and took
the pale face between his hands.

11 Heinrich ! " he cried. " My dear good Heinrich ! What
have you done for me ? "

Bright tears ran down his cheeks, and through his sobs he
could only stammer again and again : " Heinrich ! my dear
good fellow ! "

Klitzing tried to speak. His lips moved slightly, but
no word came from them. A feeble hand was raised to his
friend's shoulder, stroked it languidly, then fell heavily back.
Again the eyes closed and remained shut, although Vogt went
on earnestly begging and praying : " Heinrich ! Heinrich !
Tell me what is the matter ! Can't I help you ? "

Sickel gazed thoughtfully at the two friends. He remem-
bered the moment of departure, and how gay and merry the
two gunners had been together. Suddenly he turned his
head to one side and listened.

" The doctor is coming," he said.

Immediately afterwards the portly assistant medical-officer,
Rademacher, came down into the hollow. " Well, what is the
matter here ? " he asked.

He turned first of all to the driver, but Sickel motioned
him away ; " Excuse me, sir, but there's plenty of time for
me. The other man there needs you more."

Rademacher bent down over Klitzing. When he saw the
blood-stained froth on the lips his face involuntarily put on
a grave expression. He laid his ear to the chest and listened
for a long time.

" What happened to the man ? " he inquired.

Vogt pointed to Eidechse, who was gazing across at them
with dull eyes, and answered : " She kicked him in the
chest."

" Badly ? "

202 JENA OR SEDAN?

" Yes, sir. He threw himself between, so that I should
not be kicked again.""

The fat doctor looked up surprised. This was an unusually
touching incident in the rough life of a soldier. He saw the
tears in the young man's honest eyes, and he understood.

" Then you were great friends ? "

" Yes, sir. And — and — how is he now ? "

Rademacher looked hesitatingly down at the mortally
wounded man, and answered evasively : " Well — we must
wait and see."

Once more he listened to the breathing, then stood up.
According to his diagnosis the injured man had but a few
hours to üve, at the most — perhaps even only minutes.

" Has he recovered consciousness at all ? " he asked.

"Yes, sir; but only for a very short time."

The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

"But what's wrong with you ? " he said, turning to the
bombardier.

" My leg's rather queer, sir. Old Turk fell on it, and
it's sprained, I suppose. But I expect you can soon put it
right, sir."

Rademacher removed the driver's riding-trousers with the
aid of the hospital-orderly.

His examination was soon over.

" You have a double fracture of the thigh," he said. " But
we'll soon set it for you."

Sickel listened open-mouthed.

"/Then I shall be ready to leave when I get my discharge?"
he inquired.

The medical officer smiled. " No, my friend, it will take
from four to six weeks."

This was too much for the driver, and he grumbled loudly.
He would cheerfully have been more hurt, although, as it was,
he had had a narrow shave — but not to be able to get his
discharge — it was hard lines indeed !

Meanwhile the ambulance-orderly had put a bandage round
Vogt's head. Rademacher gazed thoughtfully down on Klit-
zing. At last he turned away ; it was a hopeless case. He
sent the trumpeter, who had come with him for an ambulance
waggon. He had seen one standing in the road not far off.

JENA OR SEDAN? 203

Restlessly he walked up and down, trying to shorten the
time of waiting. Every time he passed the clerk he looked
at the lips through which still came that heavy breathing. It
was a perfect marvel that the man still lived. Three ribs
were broken, and they had wounded the lung so severely that
a violent haemorrhage had ensued.

Four stretcher-bearers came down the hill at last, carrying
two stretchers. Klitzing was first placed on one of them.

" Where is he to go ? " asked the foremost stretcher-bearer.
Rademacher considered a moment, and then answered :

" Up yonder, right on the brow of the hill, there's a farm,
manor-house, or something of the sort. Take him there.
On my responsibility."

The stretcher-bearers set out, Vogt joining them. The
doctor had nodded assent to his beseeching glance.

Sickel was just going to be carried away when two veterinary
surgeons arrived to look after the injured horses.

" Beg pardon, sir," said the driver, " but I should like so
much to know what's wrong with my beast."

Rademacher told the stretcher-bearers to wait. The case
of the horse was diagnosed as quickly as that of the rider.
The vet. raised himself and said to his colleague : " The off
hind-pastern is fractured."

" Can anything be done ? " asked the* driver.

The other shrugged his shoulders : " No, it's all up with
him," he said.

Sickel looked across at the Turk. " Poor old fellow ! " he
muttered to himself. Then he made them carry him up to
the bay's head, and gently took hold of the tuft of hair on his
forehead, caressing him. Turk raised himself with difficulty,
and rubbed his nose against his driver's leg. Then the bom-
bardier turned himself impatiently en to the other side, and
cried to the stretcher-bearers to make haste. " Now get me
away quickly ! " Turk gazed after the stretcher with his
large, mournful eyes, and as it disappeared behind the edge
of the declivity he snorted piteously.

Soon after the hollow was just as peaceful and deserted as
it had been early that morning, with blackbirds building
their nests in the wild luxuriance of the beech-trees. But
the grass and the bushes were trampled down everywhere;

o

204 JENA OR SEDAN?

the spot looked like the scene of a fight, and in the middle of
the battle-field lay the carcase of poor Turk. Late that even-
ing some soldiers came with lifting apparatus and took the
ponderous dead beast to the nearest knacker's yard.

When Vogt and the stretcher-bearers had climbed to the
top of the hill and saw the building to which the doctor had
directed them, they stopped short. Dr. Rademacher had
spoken of a manor-house or farm ; but what they saw before
them looked more like a castle. However, as there was
not another roof to be seen near or far, they could not be
making any mistake.

The stretcher-bearers looked through a gate surmounted by
a count's coronet, and saw the front door of the building.
Not a sign of life was anywhere visible. Vogt pulled the bell ;
but a considerable time elapsed before there was any move-
ment on the other side of the grating. Just as he was about
to ring a second time, a white-haired old woman appeared on
the threshold of the door at the top of the front steps. She
was dressed like any other old peasant woman of the neigh-
bourhood. She walked slowly to the gate along the paved
pathway, a bunch of keys in her hand.

One of the soldiers addressed her :

" Tell us, please, can you give this man here a bed, and let
us have one for another as well ? They have both met
with an accident, and for the present cannot be moved any
further."

The old woman looked at the unconscious corpse-like form
on the stretcher for a time without speaking, then said, in a
tranquil voice :

" Oh, yes, there is room enough here."

She unlocked the gate, and let Vogt and the stretcher-
bearers in.

" Where is the other ? " she then asked ; and the soldier
answered : " He will soon follow."

The woman nodded silently. She locked the gate behind
them, and then turned towards a wing of the building. The
stretcher-bearer, walking close behind her, whispered : " This
one won't be a burden to you long. The end must soon
come." Again the old woman gazed thoughtfully at the face
that looked so deathly pale on the grey linen cushion of the

JENA OR SEDAN? 205

stretcher. She hesitated ; then all at once she turned right
round and went up the front steps of the main building.

" We can find him a bed here," she murmured.

The three soldiers stepped into a lofty hall. A softened
mellow light from without fell through a stained-glass window,
and the floor was paved with shining tiles, on which the
soldiers' nail-studded boots clattered discordantly. Vogt and
the other two men opened their eyes in wonder ; but the
woman went on further, threw wide open two high folding-
doors, and ushered them into a spacious room. "I will bring
sheets," she said, and did not herself enter.

The stretcher-bearers put down their burden and gave a
deep breath, gazing round them in surprise. The room was
square. The bright daylight streamed in through two windows
that reached to the ceiling. The floor was beautifully inlaid
with wood of different colours, and carved oak panelling
covered the walls. Against a side wall stood a broad, low
bed, over which a faded quilted silk coverlet was spread, and
there was a carved wooden canopy fixed to the wall above, from
which curtains had formerly hung. The design of the wood-
work was surmounted by a royal crown.

The old woman soon returned with a pair of fine snow-
white linen sheets.

" He's to go in there ? " asked the soldier, pointing to this
bed of state. She assented with a nod of the head, and made
haste to prepare the bed, which she had ready in a few
moments.

The loud, clear sound of the bell was heard once more.
" That's the other one." said the soldier ; and the woman left
the room with her quiet, shuffling steps.

The two stretcher-bearers now began to undress Klitzing
with their practised hands, and the clerk was soon lying
beneath the silken coverlet, the royal crown over his head.
Then one of the men asked : " What shall we do now ? " and
the other answered : " Well, we'd better go back to the
ambulance waggon, anyhow. The doctor will have arrived by
this time. You can stop here," he said to Vogt, and they left
the two friends alone.

Vogt had been standing still in the middle of the room,
his head feeling quite clear again but suddenly once more

206 JENA OR SEDAN?

all became dark before his eyes, and he had to sit down on
one of the huge armchairs that stood against the wall. Was
this not all a bad dream ? There on the white pillow lay
Klitzing, still unconscious, looking more dead than alive.
Vogt went and knelt down beside him, and pressed his hot
face against the cool silk of the coverlet. Would his faithful
friend never wake again, not even for a moment, so that he
might thank him ? - But Klitzing's eyelids remained closed,
and there was no movement of the body, only the rapid,
stertorous breathing.

The shrill sound of the bell broke the silence for the third
time, and immediately after the senior staff-surgeon, Andreae,
entered the room, followed by Dr. Rademacher and a hospital
orderly. He gave a rapid glance of surprise at the unusual
surroundings, and went at once to the bed.

Vogt had risen at his entrance. Andreae nodded to him,
and pointing to Klitzing, asked : " Has he never recovered
consciousness ? "
" No, sir."

The medical-officer then bent his head to the injured man's
chest, and listened to his breathing for some time. Finally
he felt his pulse. The hand fell back as if lifeless upon the
coverlet.

"Unfortunately you are right," he said to Rademacher;
and as the other looked questioningly at him he added,
shrugging his shoulders, " Nothing can be done."

So saying he went up to Vogt, and laid his hand
kindly upon the young man's arm : " Dr. Rademacher has
told me," he said, " how the poor fellow sacrificed himself
for your sake. It grieves me very much to have to say it,
but I cannot hide the truth from you. Your friend has
indeed given his life for yours ; he has but a short time to
live."

Vogt remained fixed in the stiff soldierly attitude he had
assumed; otherwise he felt he would have fallen to the
ground. "Then, sir," he stammered, "will he never wake
up again ? "

"That no one can tell," answered the surgeon. "I hardly
think so."

" But I may stay with him ? "

JENA OR SEDAN ? 207

"Yes, certainly. You are quartered here for to-night.
You yourself are invalided in any case, and to-morrow —
your friend will not last till then, I fear, probably not even till
this evening. So pull yourself together, my man, and be
proud that you have had such a brave fellow for a friend.
Friendship even unto death ! There are not many like
that nowadays. God knows, I wish we could help the poor
fellow ! "

Andreae was quite affected by the unusual circumstances of
the case ; but he had other duties, and dared not indulge his
feelings. He drew himself up, and continued in firm tones :
" We must dress your wound for you too, Vogt ; but first I
ought to set the driver's leg."

11 We must go," he said, turning to the others ; " the gunner
will remain with his comrade for the present."

Vogt followed the doctor with his eyes. When the door
closed he turned them towards the pale face of his dear friend.
It was true then ? Klitzing had given his life for him. And
no one could do anything to help. There was a hot sensa-
tion in his throat, and then at last his sorrow found relief in
a flood of tears.

After a time he looked again at his friend. How white hz
looked as he lay there ! And how thin the face appeared
against the white sheet ! Klitzing had indeed refined, dis-
tinguished-looking features, and one could easily take him
for a real gentleman lying in that magnificent bed, if the
shabby dust-covered uniform were not hanging over the back
of the chair close by. Vogt remembered how he had some-
times teased his friend about his sickly pallor; he racked his
brains to think whether he had not wounded his feelings in other
ways, and reproached himself for every harsh word he could
remember using towards Klitzing. How much more friendly
and affectionate he might often have been !

The doctors left the castle at last, having givei., the
hospital-orderly the necessary instructions to carry out during
their absence. As Rademacher was the medical officer on
duty, he went the rounds once more before leaving j and
Vogt, whose head had been re-bandaged and who had scarcely
thought ot meat and drink, now took some milk-soup at his
desire

2o8 JENA OR SEDAN?

Nerve-exhaustion and loss of blood soon made themselves
felt. Ensconcing himself on a hard sofa that stood at the
head of Klitzing's bed, he fell into a heavy sleep.

The sound of voices roused him. He opened his eyes, and
it was a considerable time before he realised where he was.
Again the voices spoke. A conversation was evidently going
on in the garden outside between two people, a man and a
woman. Vogt went to the window and looked out. Close
to the wall of the house vegetables had been planted. A
bearded man was digging the beds with a spade ; the old
woman was assisting him by breaking up the clods of earth
with a hoe.

" But I can't understand, mother," said the man, " why you
gave him the Princes' Room."

The old woman stopped her work for a moment and leant
upon the handle of her hoe. Then in her quiet monotonous
voice she replied : " They told me he would soon die, and the
dead are the greatest kings on earth. They are free. They
have no more desires, no more cares. No one can help or
harm them any more."

The son said nothing, and both worked on busily.

Without thinking what he was doing Vogt watched
them for a time at their digging and hoeing, and when
he turned back into the room the heavy atmosphere of the
long unventilated apartment gave him a momentary sense of
oppression.

But in the meantime something had happened, something
that made him suddenly stand still, speechless. Klitzing had
awakened.

The sick man had moved his head to one side ; his eyes
were wide open, and he was looking through the long window.
His gaze wandered till it rested on his friend, and apparently
recognising him brightened with intense pleasure ; then it
returned to the picture framed by the window. Undazzled,
his eyes looked out upon the radiance ot the setting sun,
already half below the horizon. The face of the dying man
was lighted up by quiet happiness. He stood on the thres-
hold of Paradise, and seemed already to behold it in that fair
vision of distant landscape bathed in the departing glow of
daylight. The sun's rays kissed the eyes of the dying man,

JENA OR SEDAN? 209

and he appeared to live but by their light. He gazed fixedly on
the vanishing disk until it sank out of sight. When he could
see it no longer an expression of fear passed over his counten-
ance, as though he dreaded the darkness and sought something
that had disappeared from view,

Then he closed his eyes, and found Paradise.

CHAPTER XI

"Reservists they may rest,
Reservists may rest ;
And if reservists rest may have,
Then may reservists rest."

(Song of the Reserve.)

Thursday. September 19th, four p.m., was fixed for the funeral
of Gunner Heinrich Karl Klitzing, H accidentally killed on
September 16th, and to be buried in the nearest convenient
churchyard." The order ended with the words: "The cost
of the funeral shall be provisionally defrayed by the regiment."

During the intervening three days the manoeuvring force had
moved on to the plain, so that they lay at a distance of nearly
fifteen miles from the castle. On foot this would mean a march
of four hours, and it was therefore impossible to allow many
of the men to take part in the funeral. On Wednesday even-
ing the sergeant read out the order that " those who wished to
attend the ceremony, and felt able to undertake the fatiguing
march there and back, should come forward."

The men looked grave. Nearly all of them would have liked
to show this last sign of respect to the comrade who had died
so honourable a death ; but to be on their feet for eight hours,
and that after the fatigue of the manoeuvres, was too much.

Only three gave in their names : Count Plettau, Wolf, and
Truchsess.

Senior-lieutenant Giintz looked surprised. He had never
expected it from the first two, and such a decision from the fat
brewer certainly showed great devotion. But, in any case,
their intentions were excellent, and so they must have their
way.

He himself would see to Vogt, who was again on duty, the
wound on his forehead covered with plaster ; the gunner should

JENA OR SEDAN? 211

ride on the box of his own carriage. For he, as the officer
commanding the battery, Reimers as its lieutenant, and the
sergeant-major, were, in a way, obliged to attend the funeral.
Besides these, Sergeant Wiegandt was to go with them as repre-
sentative of the other non-commissioned officers ; while from
head-quarters Colonel Falkenhein and Major Schrader had
notified their intention of being present with their adjutants.

At the end of one of the wings of the castle there was a
small room arranged as a chapel, and an enclosure which
adjoined the park was used as a graveyard.

A fine drizzle was falling, so the short service was held in
the chapel.

Nothing was lacking in the obsequies of the poor clerk.
The major, from his private means, had doubled the sum to
be spent on the funeral. A beautiful oak coffin therefore stood
in the centre of the little chapel, covered with the wreaths sent
by the battery comrades of the dead man, by Schrader on the
part of the division, and by Falkenhein on that of the regi-
ment. They were thick wreaths of laurel, adorned with simple
ribbon bows. The white-haired widow of the keeper of the
castle had also picked all the flowers she could find still spared
by autumn, and had made wreaths of many-coloured asters
and dahlias, with which she had decorated the coffin, some-
what fantastically. While rummaging in the attics, she had
found in some corner a chest, forgotten for perhaps a hundred
years, full of old-fashioned moulded candles, and with these
she had filled two many-branched candelabra.

The pastor stood at the head of the coffin and began the
service ; behind him the sexton had taken up his position with
folded hands. On either side sat the officers and men, holding
their helmets on their knees and looking on with serious coun-
tenances. The old woman knelt crouching on a prie-dieu, and
hid her face in her hands. When the pastor had pronounced
a final " Amen," the four gunners raised the coffin on their shoul-
ders and bore it to the little graveyard. The sexton preceded
the coffin, and behind it followed, in order, the pastor, the two
staff officers, Giintz and Reimers, the two adjutants, Heppner
and Wiegandt, and last came the woman and her son.

At the grave the pastor pronounced the blessing and prayed.
Then the four soldiers lifted the coffin up by the black straps,

212 JENA OR SEDAN?

the sexton removed the supporting boards, and the dead man
was slowly lowered to his place of rest.

The colonel now stepped forward and spoke a few simple
words in remembrance of the dead. He recalled his genuine
loyalty to his comrades, proved even by his death, and pro-
nounced happy that prince and that country in whose army so
brave a soldier was counted.

Every man present threw three handfuls of earth on the
coffin, and the funeral was at an end.

The little procession left the graveyard at a quicker pace than
when it came. Vogt remained alone at the graveside.

The carriage drove up, but Vogt was still missing, and they
had to fetch him from the grave. As he sat on the box, he
looked back wistfully at the spot where his dear friend lay
buried.

The last day of the manoeuvres had come. A light mist
which veiled the autumn sun made the heat bearable. The
exercises ended in the early forenoon, and, after a final parade,
the troops marched off to their garrisons. The infantry were
despatched in long rail way- trains, while the mounted branches
of the service covered the ground by moderate marches. The
8oth regiment was lucky ; its garrison could be reached by
a four hours' march.

In order to avoid the inevitable stoppages of an immode-
rately long marching column, the colonel had appointed
different roads for the separate batteries, and had fixed on a
meeting-place at a short distance from the barracks, whence
they could march in together.

The sixth battery had trotted down a slight incline on the
high road, and afterwards climbed the next rise at a slow pace.
The horses no longer tugged at their traces. They drew the
guns patiently and bravely, but with subdued spirits. Ser-
geant Heppner looked on thoughtfully ; the animals were
certainly more used up this time than on former occasions of
the kind. Their sleek sides had fallen in ; and a couple of
them looked very rough in the coat, too. This in addition to
the facts that away somewhere in a bone-mill poor old Turk's
bones had perhaps already been ground into dust, and that
Eidechse was not exactly improved by that gigantic wound in

JENA OR SEDAN? 213

the buttock, which had been sewn up by the farrier with
innumerable stitches.

But this was all because the officers would not listen to
such an experienced counsellor as himself. His contention
against Wegstetten in pronouncing the six light bays too weak
to drag gun six had indeed been proved correct. That, of
course, afforded him a certain amount of satisfaction ; but to
have one horse dead and another disfigured was paying too
high a price for it !

They had now reached the top of the ridge, and the bar-
racks could be descried far below in the valley. There was
plenty of time before the rendezvous, so the battery might
still keep to their easy pace. Nevertheless, the time of the
march was gradually accelerated ; the horses of course could
not yet scent the nearness of their stables ; but the men were
impatient, and involuntarily urged the animals on. Having
once seen the barracks, they wanted to be home as soon as
possible.

Half of them, it was true, were only to sleep one more
night within these walls ; then they would doff the green coat
and be once more their own masters. To these men it felt
as if their time of service had ended with the parade which
closed the manoeuvres. When they had marched past the
commanding general they had still been soldiers ; but if now
they received orders, they would not carry them out with the
prompt, alert movements to which they had been trained
during the last two years. They took things more leisurely
now. The drill which had been thrashed into them already
began to be forgotten ; only a perfunctory obedience re-
mained.

It was as though a^spirit of revolt had taken possession of
the men. There were many among them who had never
thought of concerning themselves with the aims of Social-
Democracy ; who might perhaps have returned to their ploughs
and their spades in a docile and dutiful spirit. But now it
dawned upon them all at once how the little they as soldiers
had been obliged to learn had been made quite unnecessarily
difficult for them. They stripped off, like a troublesome
strait-waistcoat, the superfluity of petty rules to which they
had been subjected ; and the recognition of the needless

214 JENA OR SEDAN?

compulsion they had so long endured produced, as its inevit-
able consequence, a violent reaction, which quite naturally
manifested itself in a hasty change of opinion. Many
of those who, on their discharge the next morning, would
have to join in the cheers for the Emperor and the King,
had, no doubt, already on their lips the socialist song which
would be sung after midnight in the taverns of their native
places.

And the rest, who, from either stupidity or laziness, were
not completely converted to such political views, were never-
theless not entirely free from their influence. There would
remain in their minds some vestige of these ideas, and this
seed would be carried back by the peasant lads to their remote
villages, where the new wisdom from the city would bring
forth fruit an hundredfold, sounding as it did so pleasantly to
the ear. And yet the mighty lords of the soil wondered at
the growth of the socialist vote among the purely agricultural
electorate ! Of course it continued to grow and to increase
every year, because the army, under its present conditions
simply constituted a school of Social-Democracy.

Vogt sat on his gun-carriage and cast sad glances at the man
next to him, who had taken Klitzing's place : the blue-collared
hospital-orderly On the outward march his friend had been
his neighbour, and the talk between them had been hearty,
merry, and familiar; it had been almost snug on the gun-
carriage. But now that dear old comrade lay away there
in the hills, and Vogt had to shift for himself during this last
year of his service. He kept thinking how lonely it would be
for him now in the barracks with the excitement of the autumn
manoeuvres a thing of the past, and with the monotonous
winter work beginning again.

Above, on the limber, Wolf sat between Truchsess and
Plettau. The nearer the wished-for day of freedom approached
the more nervous Wolf became. He tried not even to think of
life after his discharge, always fearing that some slip might still
occur to detain him longer in his fetters. There was now only
this one last day and this one last night to endure — then he
would be free. He felt a» if now he might dare to breathe
freely. What could possibly happen amiss ? There was no
more duty, merely the formal giving up of his kit. Then he

JENA OR SEDAN? 215

would take his certificate of discharge and would be able to go
wherever he wished.

And so it came about that Wolf was filled with joy as they
passed in through the barrack gates.

That very afternoon the men whose time was expired handed
over their packing materials and all that could be spared of
their outfit and uniform, only retaining the suit they had on.
Of course, until the morning of the day of their discharge,
they remained soldiers ; but it was impossible to keep up the
usual discipline, and the authorities gave every one, from first
to last, a loose rein.

After the orders of the day had been read, the half-
demoralised crew dispersed themselves through the town. They
stood at the doors of houses, clasping servant-maids round
the waist. When a superior officer passed by they assumed
the regulation attitude slowly and carelessly, and the officers
and non-commissioned officers took pains not to see the
incipient insubordination. Rebellious phrases passed from
mouth to mouth, and many a one boasted how he would
thrash this or that corporal or sergeant — when once he was in
civilian dress.

11 When once one is in civilian dress " — that seemed to be the
noisy pass-word given out for the evening. It was as though
these swaggering men could no longer endure the last hardly
perceptible signs of the discipline to which they had so long
obediently submitted ; as though this evening would end in
open mutiny.

Wolf took no part in these noisy demonstrations ; he was
perhaps the only reservist in the whole regiment who held
aloof. He could not stand the noise and the drunkenness.
The whole of that free afternoon he stayed in the barrack-
room, dreaming away comfortably, and looking at the first-
year men, who now, when the " old gang " had left, would
suddenly have about twice as much to do as hitherto. If a
non-commissioned officer crossed the threshold, he jumped up
and stood at attention, quickly and accurately, just as he
had done at any time during these last two years. Why not
still continue to play the comedy for these few remaining
hours, after having been an actor so long ?

2i6 JENA OR SEDAN?

With almost affectionate zeal he cleaned and polished the
accoutrements he had to hand over ; and he had the satisfaction
of having his kit held up as an example by Sergeant Keyser,
his former enemy, to others who gave in things insufficiently
cleaned. The sergeant, it is true, promptly ceased his praises
when, seeing the name marked on the various articles, he
realised who the exemplary gunner was ; however, that was no
matter.

After the orders of the day had been read, Wolf walked
restlessly up and down the courtyard of the barracks. Would
this day never end ? The sun had set behind the heights in
the west some time since, but a dull glow still overspread that
part of the sky. He quitted the barracks by the back gate
and walked round the great quadrangle of the drill-ground.
The vast space had been freshly strewn with that fine coke
refuse which, in the wet seasons of the year, works up into
such an ugly black slush. In an absent-minded way he stirred
the loose grit with the toe of his boot, then smoothed the
surface with the sole, and dug little channels m it.

When he looked up from this amusement it was growing
dark ; and then the last evening was succeeded by the last night.
Most of the men slept the heavy sleep of drunkenness ; Wolf
never closed his eyes. He heard every stroke of the clock,
and the intervening half-hours seemed to him of infinite
duration.

Half an hour before the reveille he rose. A cold sponge
waked him up thoroughly, and after this sleepless night he felt
a thousand times fresher and stronger than at other times after
enjoying his full sha re of rest. He opened the window of the
bathroom, and let the cool air of the grey morning fan his
chest. A fine autumn day was dawning for this feast-day of
freedom, so long desired. A thin haze still veiled the prospect,
but was retiring shyly before the approach of the conquering
sun.

With sparkling eyes he gazed over the opposite roofs towards
the hills, from behind which the lord of day must soon emerge.
He stood erect and stretched his arms out wide.

Now for the first time he dared to believe in his happiness.

He took his civilian clothes from the chest as if they had
been precious treasures. The trumpet was just sounding the

JENA OR SEDAN? 217

reveille while he dressed himself. The white shirt, the clean
collar, the comfortable jacket, and the soft slouched hat — how
light they were and how easily they fitted ! Another sign that
this cramping restraint was at an end !

He stood there ready, as his comrades came yawning and
rough-headed from the dormitory. They looked at him in
surprise.

" You're in a damned hurry," said one of them.

And Wolf answered gaily, " Yes, indeed, I've waited long
enough ! "

Now came the last falling into line as a soldier, and the
handing over of the clothing and kit which had been used at
the last.

Sergeant Keyser went into each room and superintended the
counting over of the separate articles. Then he threw them
over the arm of a gunner who was to carry them to the kit-
room.

He had intentionally left Wolfs room to the last, and had
despatched all the other reservists before him. For he meant
to pay out the socialist fellow who had let him in for six
weeks' arrest ; Wolf should have to wait about as long as pos-
sible before being finally released from military discipline.

At last, however, his turn came. He counted out just the
right number of articles ; the buttons of the jacket shone again,
and not a rent was to be found anywhere. He folded the
trousers and beat them with his hand — not a particle of dust
rose from them. The leather things also were unimpeachable, and
the boots were in the exact regulation condition — not brightly
polished, but merely rubbed over with grease to prevent the
leather from drying up.

Keyser muttered a surly " all right," and turning away threw
the things over Findeisen's arm and put the boots into his
hand. But the gunner, who was already holding four pairs by
the tags, let them fall to the ground.

Sergeant Keyser picked them up, scolding furiously. The
dust from the floor had stuck in thick streaks on the greasy
leather.

Then a bright idea occurred to the sergeant. He held
the boots up before Findeisen's face and bellowed at him, " Lick
that off, you swine ! "

2i8 JENA OR SEDAN?

It was not really meant literally, that was plain ; but an un-
governable fury began to glow in his eyes.

Findeisen had drawn back. He ground his teeth and looked
defiance straight into the sergeant's eyes.

This maddened Keyser. His face became purple with pas-
sion, and again he hissed out, u Dog, lick it at once ! "

Suddenly the resolute spirit of opposition died out of Fin-
deisen's eyes. The strong, broad-shouldered man bowed as if
under the lash; he became pale as death, and actually
touched the boot with his tongue.

The sergeant rubbed the leather roughly over his face, leaving
patches of dirt and grease on the skin. Then he turned and
looked Wolf straight in the eyes. " Do you see that, fellow ? "
the triumphant challenging look seemed to say : " Your com-
rade must abase himself to the level of the beasts, if we so
will it, — we, who have the power ! "

Wolf hit him full in the face with his clenched fist.

The sergeant staggered. He uttered a gurgling cry and tried
to throw himself upon the reservist.

Then something unexpected happened, taking place so sud-
denly and so quickly that afterwards Wolf was hardly able to
picture it. Findeisen had thrown to the ground all that he
carried — the boots and the outfit. In a flash he seized the
sergeant, held him raised for an instant in his powerful arms,
and then flung him head forwards against the wall.

The skull struck the wall with a dull thud, and the body fell
heavily to the ground.

There was a cry of " Stop that ! " Deputy sergeant-major
Heimert rushed through the doorway and flung himself upon
Findeisen. The gunner defended himself wildly, hitting, biting,
and scratching ; he felt that he was fighting for his life, but
Heimert was a match for him.

Others soon came, too, — non-commissioned officers and men. I
They dragged the raving soldier to the ground and bound him. |

Wolf stood motionless, and let them tie his arms behind'
his back. His head was in a whirl, and it all seemed a con-
fused dream.

It really was quite ludicrous that his first dream, of happy!
release from the service, should have such a horrible sequel.
This was certainly a nightmare.

JENA OR SEDAN? 219

He shook his head and tugged at the cords which bound
his hands, trying to awake from the hideous delusion. The
cords pressed deeper into the flesh, and the pain brought him
back to reality.

He gazed round, not trusting his eyes.

This was indeed the old dormitory in which he had slept
these two years. A lot of people were standing together and
speaking with excited gestures. The air was thick with dust,
as if from a fight; and just by the press, near a bundle of
clothing, lay a man, his arms tied behind his back, his face
deadly pale, and his chest heaving. It was Findeisen. And
four soldiers were lifting another — Sergeant Keyser — who lay
stretched out by the wall near the window. The sergeant's
face was quite white, and his limbs hung limply down from
his body.

" He's done for !" said the voice of Sergeant-major Heppner.
" Carry him to his room and lay him on his bed."

And four soldiers carried the dead man past Wolf out
through the door.

The sergeant-major sent away the other loitering gunners,
and only the non-commissioned officers remained in the room
with the two bound men.

Heppner stepped up to Wolf and looked him over from
head to foot.

11 Your fine civilian clothes, my lad," he said, " will have to
lie a bit longer in the chest."

He picked out Wolf's things from the bundles scattered
about the room, and threw them over the reservist's shoulders.

" There," he said mockingly, " that will suit your complexion
better. And what'll suit you best of all is a convict's grey
suit. In the meantime, just get yourself up as a gunner again,
my son."

He ordered two of the non-commissioned officers to put
Wolf and Findeisen under arrest.

" Look out ! " he warned the corporals. " These two
scoundrels are capable of anything. And if they utter a word,
then you know why you've got swords dangling at your
sides ! "

The two prisoners were led across th& yard to the guard-
house. The reservists were just collecting before the barracks

220 JENA OR SEDAN?

Most of them went about arm in arm, and in their uproarious
spirits made passes in the air with their betassled walking-
sticks.

As the little procession passed the noisy crowd, the merry
songs ceased. The reservists, taken aback, stepped aside, and
amid startled whispers looked after the prisoners.

Findeisen walked with bowed head. They had put his cap
on right over his forehead, so that he could hardly see from
under it. Wolf looked straight ahead, but walked as if in a
fog. He saw nothing of what was passing before him, and
stumbled as he stepped across a gutter.

The corporal on guard was going to unlock two contiguous
cells for the prisoners, but one of the men in charge of them
objected.

" They might communicate with each other by knocking or
somehow," he said. " Better lock them up as far apart as
possible."

So Wolf was put into the cell nearest to the road, and
Findeisen into one at the other end of the corridor."

The corporal placed the reservist's uniform on a stool, and
near by the pair of boots which had caused the dispute, still
bearing traces of dust.

11 Change your clothes quickly," he said. " I must take
back your plain clothes with me at once."

But Wolf stood there motionless.

He heard the key turn in the lock without realising what
was happening. Then the steps retreated from his door,
once more the great bunch of keys jingled, another door was
opened, creaked unwillingly on its hinges, and was slammed to
and locked.

The voices of the non-commissioned officers resounded in
the stone-paved corridor as they returned to the guard-room.

" What have the fellows done ? " asked the soldier on
guard.

The answer was almost lost behind a corner of the passage:
" Murder — Sergeant Keyser."

The reservist still stood motionless beside the stool. He
was trying in vain to think why he was here. What was he
doing here, when it was to-day that he was at last released
from the hated discipline? He passed his hand over his

JENA OR SEDAN? 221

eyes, as it to remove something that was covering them, and
mechanically he pressed down the latch of the door.

It was indeed true; he was locked in.

Again the key sounded in the lock, and the corporal on
guard entered. Behind him a gunner brought a jug of water
into the cell, set it down, and at once retired.

" Why haven't you changed yet ? " asked the corporal.

The reservist stared at him blankly, without comprehension.

" Damnation ! " thundered his superior. " Change your
clothes this moment, do you hear ? "

And Wolf sat down obediently on the stool. Automatically
he took off his coat and trousers, undid his collar, and pulled
off his shoes. Then he took off his hat also ; and in the same
mechanical way dressed himself again in uniform.

The corporal had bidden him a couple of times to make
haste, and now he threw the civilian clothes over his arm.

" Everything must be taken away from you," he said as he
went.

Wolf nodded, and dully looked on. Once he moved as
though to seize at something — the corporal's fingers were not
clean, and were dirtying his white collar ; he might at least
hold it by the edge — but the outstretched hand sank back
languidly.

Such behaviour made the corporal look serious. When in
the guard-room he handed over the clothes to the non-com-
missioned officer who had brought in the prisoners, he pointed
with his thumb back over his shoulder, and said : " That
fellow there's not quite right in his head."

" Do you think not ? " asked the other.

" Yes, I do. So I took away his braces, and now at least
he can't hang himself."

Wolf had involuntarily stood - at attention as the corporal
left the cell, and when the door closed he put forward his
right foot and relaxed his position just as if the order " Stand
at ease " had been given.

He looked down at his worn uniform, the green cloth of
which was grey and threadbare, while the madder-red facings
had faded to a dirty pink. The well-polished buttons
shone, and a darker patch in a corner of the tunic showed up
clearly against the shabby material.

222 JENA OR SEDAN?

By that patch he recognised the coat which he had worn for
two endless years, and which he still wore ; and all at once
he understood his fate.

Under the horror of the revelation he broke down. He
sank helplessly on the stool, and hid his face in his hands.

He was still incapable of ordered thought. Only one thing
could he grasp, that his dream of freedom lay shattered
and destroyed before him. This single, fearful, desperate
certainty so entirely filled his mind, that his capacity for
other thought seemed paralysed. His senses received external
impressions, but did not transmit them to the brain.

Wolfs cell was situated in the outermost corner of the
guard-house. At a distance of about ten paces the high-road
ran past the brick wall, which was none too thick. Besides
this, a small pane of the window was open ; so that the
crunching of the wheels as they turned on the freshly-laid
metalling, the encouragements of the drivers to their horses,
and the cracking of the whips, could be distinctly heard
Even the steps of the passers-by were audible, and a word
here and there of their conversation.

Wolf still sat upon the stool. All these noises reached his
ear, but he paid no heed to them.

Suddenly he raised his head.

An indistinct sound of distant singing came in snatches
through the little window, borne by gusts of wind. Nearer
and nearer it approached. Now the singers seemed to be
turning a corner, their measured tread became audible, and
their hearty voices rang out :

" Reservists they may rest,
Reservists may rest,
And if reservists rest may have,
Then may reservists rest."

The song of the reservists who were leaving the barracks and
marching to the station.

From time to time the rough joke of some passing wit
interrupted the song. Then the reservists would break out
into a loud laugh and call back some still more spicy retort.
But they always took up their jingling refrain, repeating the
childish words again and again, and jogging along clumsily,
keeping time to the song.

JENA OR SEDAN? 223

Wolf heard the harsh sounds gradually retreating, till finally
they died away in the direction of the town.

Once more he buried his face in his hands.

When at last he sat up again, he had conquered himself.
He had determined to wage war against fate.

Upright and with firm steps he paced up and down his
cell. He thought over everything that could serve for his
defence : how he had held himself in check, so as not in any
way to prolong by his own fault his time of service ; how he
had even looked on quietly when Findeisen obeyed the
sergeant's humiliating order; but how Keyser's provocative
look had made his blood boil and had driven him to his
unlucky deed. He had, it is true, raised his hand against a
superior ; but the sight of the gunner licking the dust off the
boots had seemed to him an insult to humanity itself.

The judges would not be able to disregard this, and at least
they would judge his offence leniently. Even if their outlook
on life were diametrically opposed to his own, surely in
pronouncing their verdict on him that could not prevent their
taking into consideration the purity of his motives.

And he thought out a speech of defence which must pene-
trate the hearts of the judges, a speech full of eloquent, in-
spiring words about that dignity of man which none should
wound with impunity, and about that justifiable wrath which
is not only excusable, but even praiseworthy.

He intoxicated himself with his thoughts. Hope dazzled
him, and already he saw himself acquitted. He piled up
argument after argument, and planned artistically-turned
periods and effective antitheses, concluding his apology with
a sublime appeal to the sense of justice of his judges.

The hours passed. He paced incessantly up and down
the narrow cell, with a glowing face and sparkling eyes. The
bowl of food which had been brought in for his dinner stood
untouched. What had he to do with food and drink ? He
was contending for something higher — for his freedom.

In the afternoon he was taken before the officer who was to
conduct the inquiry, who had been summoned by telegraph
from the divisional head-quarters.

The proceedings took place in barrack-room VII. of
the sixth battery, the scene of the fatal incident. At the

224 JENA OR SEDAN?

table sat the presiding officer, a stout man, whose head rose
red and swollen above his tight collar. He had a couple of
sheets of paper before him, and while interrogating constantly
fidgeted with a pencil. A clerk waited with pen to paper.

The hearing began.

Findeisen, when questioned, maintained a stubborn silence.
The examining officer tried by reasoning and by scolding to
get something out of him ; the gunner remained dumb.
He kept his eyes on the ground, from time to time glancing
furtively at the door. But two non-commissioned officers
were posted on the threshold.

Wolf gave an accurate and connected account of what had
occurred. The clerk's pen flew swiftly over the paper. Then
the examining officer read the report aloud.

" Is that correct ? " he asked Wolf.

"Yes, sir."

He turned to Findeisen : " I ask you also, is that correct ?
If you have any objection to make, out with it ! For as it
stands, the account is not exactly favourable to you. There-
fore I ask you if you have anything to say against this
version ? "

Then Findeisen gave his first answer during the proceed-
ings, he shook his head.

" Nothing, then ? " asked the examining officer.

The gunner repeated, " Nothing."

Deputy sergeant-major Heimert, as the only witness, had
nothing else to depose beyond what Wolf had already said ;
and Findeisen again persisted in his silence.

After this, the officer closed the judicial examination He
gave orders that Wolf should be conducted back to his cell,
while Findeisen was to be confronted with the corpse of the
sergeant.

Keyser's death had resulted from fracture of the skull, due
to its forcible impact against the wall. The medical report,
however, stated that fatal consequences had resulted on
account of the unusual thinness of the skull.

The two orderlies took Findeisen between them and
escorted him to the infirmary. Wolf went with the soldier on
guard diagonally across the yard back to the guard-house
He mounted the steps composedly. Before the door he

JENA OR SEDAN . 225

stopped for a moment, drew the fresh air deep into his
lungs, and looked all round him. Then he was locked into
his cell again.

The examination had opened his eyes ; he had been on
quite a wrong tack when he had hoped to convince his judges
by a fiery speech. In the midst of this cold calm procedure,
his words would sound distorted and fantastic, and his eloquent
tongue would fail him. The views of these men were separated
from his by an impassable gulf. However good a will they
might have, they were absolutely incapable of understanding
him.

No, he would undergo his examination quietly and without
any attempt at eloquence. Would not the naked facts speak
loudly enough in his favour ?

He no longer had any hope of an acquittal. On the con-
trary, he knew he would be condemned ; but his punishment
could not be severe. He called to memory all the similar
cases that he had known. They had almost always resulted
in less than a year of imprisonment. It was true that in none
of these had there been an actual assault on the person of a
superior, such as he had committed. But could that make
a very great difference ?

On the whole he thought it most likely that he would get
off with about six months, and he already began to arm him-
self with patience to bear the hundred and eighty dreary days.
It was quite certain that even one hundred and eighty days
must have an end.

Suddenly he felt hungry, greedily hungry, and he hastily
attacked the food he had hitherto left untouched. The
meat lay in the cold gravy surrounded by congealed fat. The
first mouthful gave him a strong feeling of disgust j neverthe-
less, he swallowed the meat down quickly, and finished the
gravy to the last drop.

It was soon disposed of, and then he began to take stock of
his surroundings : the grey walls, the water jug, and the stool in
the corner ; the plank bed, strapped up to the wall during
the day. The grated window was high above the ground ;
but he could reach it by standing on his stool. Even that,
however, was not of much use ; for all view was cut off by a
wooden screen, so arranged that the light only penetrated

226 JENA OR SEDAN?

from above, and he had to twist his head considerably in
order to catch the least glimpse of the sky.

Wolf remained in this cramped position as if fascinated,
gazing upward, with his cheek against the cold stone of the
wall. Grey clouds were passing over the tiny bit of sky
visible to him. Occasionally the whole of the narrow space
was filled in with a clear deep blue.

One of the panes of the window was open, admitting a
breath of fresh pure air. It seemed to the prisoner that
without this mouthful of free air he would not be able to
breathe, and he pressed his face against the woodwork of the
window as if suffocating.

Gradually it grew dark outside. The wind rose, and a few
heavy drops of rain pattered on the boards of the screen. In
the yard outside the trumpeter sounded the call to stable-duty.

The poor fellow in the narrow cell remembered that this
evening he should have rejoined the circle of his socialist
comrades. Instead of which, here he was twisting his neck to
see even a little bit of the sky, rather than the ghastly grey walls
of his prison.

As the evening went on even that comfort failed. Every-
thing was grey in the grey light around him.

As a gust of damp air blew in he once more drew a deep
breath and got down from the stool.

Within the cell it was quite dark ; but suddenly a square of
light appeared in the door, — the little window through which
the prisoner could be observed from without. The gas had
been lit in the corridor, and the unsteady light of the unpro-
tected, flickering jet penetrated the gloom of the cell.

At the same moment the corporal on guard appeared on
the threshold. He brought with him the third of a loaf of
bread, and he proceeded to let down the bed from the wall.

" Shall I shut the window ? " he asked.

Wolf answered hastily, " No, no, sir."

The corporal nodded, looked round once more to see if
everything was in order, and quitted the cell, turning the key
twice in the lock.

The reservist heard him go along the passage to Findeisen's
cell. Shortly after the click of the spurs was again audible
passing his door, and then everything was as still as before.

JENA OR SEDAN? 227

Wolf lay on the bed and munched hard lumps of bread,
from time to time taking a drink of water. After that he fell
into a soothing reverie, more and more forgetting his position,
till at last he settled himself down comfortably on the hard
wood, and fell fast asleep.

In the middle of the night he began to feel very cold.
Instinctively he tried not to awake, as if even in sleep he knew
how comfortless his surroundings were. He thrust his hands
up his coat-sleeves and curled himself up on the bed ; but at
last the cold waked him completely.

More benumbing still than the frost of the autumn night
was the consciousness of his misery. He shivered with cold,
and yet could not rouse himself sufficiently to get up.

In the darkness of the night, the clear light of the hopes
which had so heartened him grew pale. An unspeakable fear
assailed him that he might be condemned to long years of
imprisonment, and the darkness which engulfed him now
seemed like a symbol of that terrible time, — an endless
horror.

Through the window could be heard the monotonous
pouring of the rain. The night wind was caught in the
wooden screen, sent a damp breath into the cell, and swept on
with a low moan.

In the intervals between these sounds, Wolf thought he
could hear an indistinct scraping and scratching. From time
to time it ceased, then began again. Could it be rats in the
drain under the cell ?

In the morning he started up suddenly. The key was
thrust hastily into the lock, and the door opened violently.

The corporal on guard appeared on the threshold.

" Is this one here, at any rate ? " he cried.

The dawn only lighted the cell faintly ; but he could make
out the form of the prisoner, and gave a sigh of relief.

" Thank God ! " he said. " I am spared that, anyhow.
They aren't both gone."

He called a gunner in, and searched every corner with a
lantern.

While he was on his knees lighting the space under the
bed, the gunner whispered furtively to Wolf, " The other ma»
has escaped."

228 JENA OR SEDAN?

At first the reservist did not understand. Escaped ? How
was that possible ?

He looked round the cell, and was unable to imagine how
any one could escape from such a place.

Suddenly he remembered the scratching and scraping in
the night, and his eyes sought for some tool with which it
might be possible to break a hole through a wall. He noticed
the strong iron trestles which supported the bed when it was
let down ; it might perhaps be done with one of them. But
no. Up by the window the thickness of the wall could be
seen ; it must be close on twenty inches.

And yet Findeisen had escaped !

Necessity had quickened the wits of the dull lad, and
had made him inventive. When they confronted him with
the corpse of the sergeant, he realised that he had com-
mitted a murder ; and from that moment he felt his head no
longer safe on his shoulders. The fear of death lent him a
subtlety of which he would never otherwise have been
capable.

He had, as Wolf guessed, used the iron bed support as an
implement. He had at once recognised that it would be im-
possible to break through the principal external wall ; the
other walls, however, might be expected to be considerably
less strong, and they sounded hollower when he tapped them.
Findeisen knew that one of them merely divided his cell from
another, and so was useless for his purpose. But beyond the
other wall lay a shed in which the fire-engine was kept. Its
window, he knew, was only covered with wire-netting, and
opened on to a field.

And as soon as all was quiet in the guard-house he had set
to work, listening anxiously in the direction of the corridor
during the pauses of his boring and levering. The wall was
only the length of a brick thick, and after the first stone had
been broken out bit by bit, it cost but little labour to widen
the hole enough to let a man pass.

The night sentinels declared that they had not remarked
anything unusual. Besides, they had an excuse in the regu
lations ; for in such pouring rain they were permitted to take
shelter in the sentry-boxes. So it was not even known wher
the prisoner had escaped.

JENA OR SEDAN? 229

A warrant for his arrest was sent out, but in vain. Gunner
Findeisen had disappeared.

Later during the same morning on which Findeisen, avoid-
ing all frequented paths, had slipped away through under-
growth and thickets to the frontier, Wolf, a prisoner await-
ing trial, was removed to the house of detention in the capital.

The train in which he and the soldier who guarded him
travelled passed another at an intermediate station. Reservists
were looking out of every carriage ; men from every branch of
the service were mixed together, and all were alike in the wild-
ness of their spirits.

The two trains started again at the same moment, and the
reservists began to sing :

11 Reservists they may rest,
Reservists may rest,
And if reservists rest may have.
Then may reservists rest. ' '

Wolf kept his eyes fixed on the dusty floor of the compart-
ment.

As the song died away in the distance, he lifted his head
courageously. The bright light of day gave him new con-
fidence. Looked at from a truly enlightened standpoint, and
regarded fully and clearly, his act had indeed been of the most
excusable kind.

Perhaps in six months he would be free again.

A week later, Gunner Heinrich Wilhelm Wolf, of the Sixth
Battery, 80th Regiment, Eastern Division Field Artillery, was
condemned by the military tribunal of the 42 nd Division, for
actual bodily assault on a superior officer, to three years'
imprisonment.

CHAPTER XII

Sergeant-major Heppner married his sister-in-law * Ida very
quietly during Christmas week. It was quite necessary, unless
there was to be a christening before the wedding.

Theterrible death of his wife had somewhat chastened the
coarse recklessness ot the man's bearing. Throughout the
autumn and far into the winter he seemed entirely changed.
He restrained himself, his harsh voice being seldom heard in
the corridors of the barracks ; and he attended scrupulously
to his duties, so that the inner wheels of the battery ran
smoothly in perfect order.

Captain von Wegstetten sometimes took himself to task. He
could not but be pleased with his sergeant-major, and yet he
could not quite overcome the antipathy he had hitherto felt for
Heppner. The certain degree of intimacy that otherwise might
be expected to arise from their common care of the new
recruits appeared to him quite impossible. He could not bring
himself to feel complete confidence in Heppner's uprightness.

The sergeant-major, however, was unaware of anything lack-
ing in their relations ; when he felt he had discharged his duty
thoroughly his heart glowed with satisfaction, and he resolved
never to fall back into his old follies.

He felt very awkward about his compulsory marriage; but
happily no one seemed to think the worse of him for it. People
considered it natural enough that a healthy young couple under
one roof, with only a dying woman between them, should have
been carried away by their passion,

The peace which now reigned in his dwelling seemed to him
something unwonted and delightful. He began to change his

* Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is legal in Germany.—
Translator.

JENA OR SEDAN? 231

manner of life completely, and, instead of frequenting public-
houses, spent his evenings cosily at home. In order to save
fuel, Ida had made the kitchen more habitable ; and the ser-
geant-major, luxuriously ensconced in Julie's armchair, would
watch the fire glowing through the stove door, and Ida bustling
about her household tasks. Then, before turning in, he had
to go once more through the stables, between the ranks of
sleeping horses, the stable-guard emerging from the darkness
of some corner to make his report. The sharp frosty air of
the nights, after the moist aromatic warmth of the stables, would
make the sergeant-major shiver and draw his cloak closer
around him. He would settle himself anew by the stove, watch-
ing his young wife, whose quick, clever hands were busy with
baby-clothes ; and at such moments, tired by an honest day's
work, Heppner felt himself to be a thoroughly good fellow.

During the course of the summer, Albina Worzuba had been
brought home as a bride by Deputy sergeant-major Heimert,
to the Schumanns' old quarters next door.

The married life of the young pair began happily. Albina
was brimming over with affection for her husband, and Heimert
felt he could not show his wife too much attention.

Ere long Frau Heimert played a leading role in the little
world of the barracks. The wives of the non-commissioned
officers listened more or less dubiously to the romantic tale of
her origin, and envied her the all-powerful money at her
disposal. For not only did she give one pure coffee from the
bean, — no chicory mixture, — but she was also extremely fashion-
able in her attire, rustling about in silk-lined skirts, so that folk
turned to look as she passed them. The good women con-
sidered her gowns altogether too noticeable. And such under-
garments as she possessed ! Red and yellow silk chemises
and drawers, trimmed with the finest lace. Such lovely jewel-
lery, too ! Yes, indeed, Frau Heimert must come of well-to-
do people. That was obvious in everything belonging to her,
her house, her clothes, her linen. Her expensive musk scent
penetrated even into the men's quarters.

Albina accepted the honour paid her with the airs of a little
queen. She spared neither her good coffee nor her good
nature ; she wore her dresses, which she said came from one of
the leading firms, with an easy grace. In reality, she bought

232 JENA OR SEDAN?

them from an old " friend," part of whose business it was to
be always in the latest Paris mode.

The non-coms.' wives envied Frau Heimert's taste, and tried
to copy her manner and deportment. Only the fair-haired
little Berlin seamstress, Frieda, Sergeant Wiegandt's sweetheart,
found fault with her. Once at the non-commissioned officers'
summer fete, that young person — who, by-the-by, was almost
suspected of being a red-hot little social-democrat — saw Albina,
and had the courage to declare, " That creature ? — Otto, she's

a no ! I won't soil my mouth with the dirty word. But I

know that sort of truck ! In some matters you men are just
as blind and as stupid as new-born kittens."

Seeing Albina surrounded by lieutenants and non-coms.,
dancing first with one and then with another, Frieda grew
quite excited.

11 Otto," cried she, M if you dare to dance with that bag-
gage, all is over between us. It's like flies buzzing about a sugar-
cake."

Wiegandt had fully intended to dance the next dance with
Frau Heimert ; but he dutifully abandoned the idea, and con-
ducted Frieda into a secluded little plantation, where other
couples wandered lovingly entwined like themselves.

They chatted about the future, which now lay plain before
them. Wiegandt had not again signed on, and by the follow-
ing autumn he would have a good position in the town-police,
with thirteen hundred marks a year, free quarters, and a
hundred and twenty marks allowance for clothes. The burgo-
master of the little town, being a senior-lieutenant of the
reserve, had been present at the performance of some exer-
cises by the sixth battery, and had personally chosen out his
man. Wegstetten was furious at losing his best non-commis-
sioned officer, and pressed Wiegandt to stick to the flag ; but
the sergeant was not to be prevailed upon, for he was impa-
tient now to quit the service. With such a noble competency
in view, therefore, he might well venture on marriage.

" All right, even when the children come," he whispered to
his sweetheart; and Frieda nodded sagaciously, whispering
back : " They'll come, sure enough ! "

Albina Heimert never noticed that such a humble and
inconspicuous little person gave her the go-by. As the wife

JENA OR SEDAN? 233

of the deputy sergeant-major, she felt herself at last on firm
solid ground. She carried her head high in the barrack-yard,
and ordered her house with a fine matronly dignity.

She met the admiring glances of her neighbours, even if
only prompted by some matter of domestic economy, with an
indescribable little smile. No word might be spoken, but it
would be quite evident that she was gratified by the admira-
tion. It was Venus triumphing over Mars.

The person who was least affected by the beautiful Frau
Heimert's charms was, curiously enough, Sergeant Heppner.
Once, when Albina chanced to meet him in the corridor,
she said : " When I first met you, Herr Heppner — you re-
member that day at Grundmann,s — you were perfectly different
— ever so much smarter and livelier ! Really, I almost think
you must be ageing, Herr Heppner ! " And she burst into a
shrill, affected laugh, which rang rather unpleasantly in his
ears.

As Heppner sat in his armchair by the stove he contrasted
his pretty, healthy, buxom Ida with the woman next door, and
would be seized with a veritable horror of the all-pervasive
odour of the scent she used.

He would make a disdainful grimace when Albina, in a
huge hat, rustled past him, and would greet her carelessly,
almost discourteously.

But with the spring the old spirit of restlessness possessed
the sergeant-major.

Ida was expecting her confinement in May, and had no
thoughts but for the child. Heppner began to marvel at him-
self for having been so domestic all the winter. Surely his
limbs must have been benumbed and this brain addled ! He
really must rouse himself now and ge t a few new ideas into
his head. So he easily slipped back into his old wild ways of
life, and could less and less understand how he had come to
live otherwise during so many months.

His former boon-companions welcomed him back joyfully,
and it was not long before he was once more at cards with
them. The promise he had given to Trautvetter he should
construe after his own views ; he would be careful to keep
within bounds, under all circumstances.

It happened, nevertheless, that he lost at times ; and to meet

234 JENA OR SEDAN?

such little reverses he was obliged to borrow from the battery
«cash-box, for Ida kept a tight hand on the purse-strings, and
he could not bring himself to cut down her housekeeping
money. Of course, to balance these bad days there were
runs of good luck, when he had a considerable surplus; but,
like a true gambler, he did not set his winnings against his
losses, considering them as so much pure gain, which enabled
him to indulge in extravagances. He made new holes in
order to stop up the old ones.

About this time Frau Albina Heimert spoke to him again
one day.

" Thank heaven ! " she said. " You seem to have roused
up a bit, Herr Heppner ! I quite began to fear you were
becoming a hopeless rustic."

The sergeant-major watched her thoughtfully as, with her
provoking little air, she disappeared into her own quarters.

The devil ! How utterly absurd ! He had actually posi-
tively disliked this beautiful creature all the winter ! He was
astonished at his own bad taste. Before him stood his wife
on the kitchen hearth, her figure rendered shapeless by her
advanced state of pregnancy. And he had once thought her
prettier than Albina !

From this time he oegan to show Frau Heimert small
attentions. He would walk with her if they met in the bar-
rack-yard, would carry her parcels, or stand aside politely to
let her precede him up the stairs, and then open the door for
her. He would inquire earnestly after her health ; and once,
when she complained of a headache, he brought her all sorts
of remedies, besides enjoining the men to be very quiet and
to tread softly as they passed her door.

But Albina played the prude. She received the sergeant-
major's attentions very coolly, and cut short his conversational
efforts so as to excite him the more. At the same time her
mockingly triumphant and provocative glances would contra-
dict the virtuous compression of her lips.

Heppner did not at all despair. Unobtrusively he gradually
multiplied the proofs of his gallantry ; and by slow degrees the
object of his attentions suffered her demeanour towards him
to soften.

Suddenly Heimert noticed their intercourse, and, stirred by

JENA OR SEDAN? 235

suspicious jealousy, tried hard to put a stop to it. But was that
possible ? The deputy sergeant-major was often detained for
hours at the exercise-ground half a mile away. Heppner, as
sergeant-major, could order it so; and thus he and Albina
could be together undisturbed as often and as long as they
pleased.

Heimert would learn from the other men who had been on
duty at the barracks what Heppner had been about during
the morning. He always tried to find out stealthily and
without exciting comment; but his comrades knew very well
what was up, and enjoyed playing on the jealousy of the young
husband.

At last the deputy sergeant-major hit on a curious plan.
This was to bring the two together in his presence. He
thought that if there really was a secret understanding between
them they would betray themselves in a moment of thought-
lessness. So he invited Heppner to drop in now and then, iu
a neighbourly way, for a cigar and a bottle of beer.

The sergeant-major accepted. Once or twice he brought
Ida with him ; then, as the time for her lying-in approached,
he came alone.

Heimert watched them closely ; every word, every move-
ment, almost every look. But his suspicions were not justified.
Heppner was polite, easy, and perfectly unconstrained ; while
Albina chatted easily and naturally, and accepted the homage
of their guest with a kind of haughty tranquillity. Towards
her husband she displayed quite unusual tenderness, so long
as the sergeant-major was present.

Heimert was somewhat reassured by this. When Heppner
rose to take leave Heimert would fling his arm confidently
about Albina's waist, with a gesture which seemed to say :
" You see, my wife is my own. I have her and hold her, and
you won't get her, however much you may covet her. That's
the right of possession. And so it will be, no matter how
much you may hate and envy me. And when you have gone
I shall claim my rights, and this woman must obey my will."

The sergeant-major read this defiance plainly in Heimert's
face, and it had the effect of causing him to swear inwardly
that he would seduce his comrade's wife.

In the middle of May Ida bore a child, — a fat, strong,

236 JENA OR SEDAN?

healthy boy, weighing nine pounds. A splendid weight for a
new-born baby !

At first the sergeant-major rather fancied himself as a father.
Every one said that the fine boy was his living image. Cer-
tainly there was no need to be ashamed of being seen with
such a child. Of course this son of his should be a soldier,
an artilleryman. He should learn to ride as soon as he
could sit on the saddle, and woe to him if he showed any
fear !

Ida was happy beyond measure, and there could not have
been a tenderer or more careful mother. Motherhood awoke
in her much that had hitherto been unapparent in her some-
what stolid nature.

Heppner thought her little occupations silly and tiresome.
The first sight of his boy at the healthy young mother's breast
seemed to him charming enough. But before long he was
continually scolding Ida for her over-indulgence of the child,
telling her he would grow up a milksop, always hanging on to
his mother's skirts.

And it soon bored him to be much with the child. If
one wanted to rest the youngster was sure to start whining
and squalling ; or if one felt inclined to play with him, to
tickle his fat sides and toss him in the air, he was certain to
have just dropped off to sleep, and Ida would stand sentinel
over him, not suffering him to be disturbed at any price.
She, indeed, seemed now to be nothing but mother, and to
have forgotten altogether that she was also a wife.

Heppner consequently redoubled his attentions to Frau
Heimert.

Albina could not endure little children, and took no interest
whatever in his remarkable baby. This he thought rather
stupid of her; nevertheless the Bohemian girl completely
turned his head.

Uninvited, he constantly dropped in now on the Heimerts
11 to smoke a cigar with the deputy sergeant-major," as he
said. Almost shamelessly he pursued his object, grossly
flattering Albina, and making risky jokes with her.

Heimert sat by nearly choking with rage. He hardly knew
why he did not seize the seducer by the throat. But the
culprits would have a complete defence ready. Was it not all

JENA OR SEDAN? 237

mere harmless iesting ? Whatever anguish of jealousy he
might feel, he must wait for fuller evidence.

And into the midst of the laughter would come through
the thin walls now the cry of the infant, and then the low
singing of Ida as she lulled her little one to sleep.

Albina wished to enjoy her revenge to the full. During
the winter the sergeant-major had treated her as a cast-off
love ; he should suffer awhile for that. She exercised all her
arts to augment his pain; it gave her a half fearful, half
delicious pleasure to note his impatience.

One evening Heppner seized an opportunity when he
imagined himself alone with her. He caught her head in
his hands almost savagely and pressed a wild, passionate kiss
on her lips. Albina's defiant resolution broke down; she
returned his kiss with equal passion.

Heimert, standing in the dark kitchen, screened by the
door, saw it all.

He had been to fetch a bottle of beer, now he suddenly
re-entered the room.

"There's no beer, Albina," he said; "you must have been
mistaken."

He sat down slowly at the table, and drummed gently with
his fingers on a plate. The guilty pair were as if stunned by
the fervour of their embrace ; though little suspecting that the
betrayed husband had witnessed it. They did not respond to
his remark, and seemed lost to time and space. Neither did
they notice that a long, oppressive silence had fallen on them,
that the lamp was burning low, and the room darkening.

At last Heimert drew out his watch. " It's time to go to
bed," he said ; " we've got to get up to-morrow morning."

Heppner and Albina awoke suddenly from their entranced
condition, and the sergeant-major hastened to say good night.

Quickly Albina prepared for bed. Usually she went through
many ceremonies with a view to preserving her beauty : she
rubbed her skin with lanoline, or sprinkled it with powder, to
keep it soft and smooth ; she spread a perfumed emollient on
her hands, afterwards drawing on gloves to prevent them from
losing their whiteness with rough work. But to-night she
merely loosened her hair, and was between the sheets in a
trice.

238 JENA OR SEDAN?

Heimert lay sleepless. Hour after hour he heard strike ;
the short May night seemed to him an eternity.

The woman beside him had sunk into a deep slumber.
Now and then her breathing quickened, and she gave almost
a gasp, flinging herself about as though in a troubled dream.

With the dawn of morning Heimert came to a decision.
He would not allow himself to believe in Albina's guilt.
He had noticed that when Heppner threw his arm around her
she had shrunk from him. (This was true enough ; Albina
had winced ; but it was on account of her artistically dressed
hair.) She had submitted, he forced himself to think, in the
paralysis of surprise. In such a case Heppner, no doubt,
would have scolded his wife for not confessing. By right she
ought certainly to have told her husband. But Heimert
found a thousand excuses for her. Albina knew his jealousy,
and desired, possibly, to avoid scandal, which would have
been inevitable had she told him. Or perhaps she would
speak to him about it after she had thought it over quietly
by herself. Or, again, she might intend to deal with the
sergeant-major in her own way. Or, once more, perhaps she
was just beginning to yield to the temptation.

That was as might be. Anyhow, the affront was there : his
wife had been insulted, and he, Heimert, must obtain satis-
faction. He would set about it quite quietly, so as to
avoid the gossip ; but between men such an injury must mean
a duel.

The officers always acted on that principle, and what was
right for them must be right for the non-coms., who also wore
swords at their sides. But all the ceremonial of a court of
honour and seconds was not necessary among common folk
like Heppner and himself. Alone, without witnesses, as man
to man they would fight it out.

Heimert thought at first of selecting swords as the weapons ;
but their swords were not sharpened, and it might attract
attention if he had them put in order. Besides, he thought
it more becoming to use pistols when such a weighty matter
as the honour of a husband was in question.

It was a piece of good luck that some years before he had
picked up a couple of live cartridges after a shooting-
practice.

JENA OR SEDAN? 239

Now he handled the little things with a grim satisfaction
They were not quite so small as those of the infantry, for
the regulation revolver had a range of ten millimetres. The
brass cases had grown a little dull, so he rubbed them unti.
they shone.

Nothing more was wanting. The duel could take place.

The only remaining difficulties were locality and time ;
but concerning these also Heimert soon decided. Sloping
up behind the barracks, the road led straight to an open bit of
overhanging ground. There could not be a better spot. And
of course the affair could only take place at night. He
consulted the calendar : in two days there would be a full
moon, so they would have light enough to see each other clearly
at ten paces. The moon rose shortly before ten o'clock;
she would be high in the heavens by midnight.

At daybreak the deputy sergeant-major went about his
duty, cool and punctual as usual, only taking pains to
avoid meeting Heppner. He did not wish to see him until
the evening, — or, better still, till night, — so that the duel
might follow immediately upon their interview. He knew
the sergeant-major would not flinch, but would fall in with
his arrangements. Heppner was no coward.

Albina behaved just as usual during the day, and said
nothing to her husband about the kiss. But that, of course,
made no difference to Heimert's plans. He learned from
the stablemen that Heppner would be at the White Horse
with Blechschmidt, the sergeant-major of the fifth, that evening.
That was capital. He would catch him as he came home, and
the affair would be arranged in two minutes.

Heimert ate his supper in silence. Albina imagined that
he had had words with the captain or somebody, and did
not bother him with questions. After she had cleared the
table, she sat down to read the sensational feuilleton of the
local daily paper, eating pralines all the while. Then she
performed her evening toilet and went to bed. It was not yet
nine o'clock ; but that did not matter. She liked lying in bed.

On the stroke of nine Heimert heard the sergeant-major
go out. In the corridor he caught some of the men larking
about without their caps, and rebuked them sharply. Then he
clanked down the stairs and all was stilL

240 JENA OR SEDAN?

Heimert carried the lamp to the table in the window and sat
down to write. In order to pass the time until Heppner
should return, he was going to check the shoeing account in
his register by the entries in the ordnance books. In his slow,
neat handwriting he inscribed one careful entry after another,
and became so absorbed by his task that he never even heard
the tattoo. When he looked up from the books it was already
past eleven ; but that was all right, for the sergeant-major was
safe not to be going home till midnight.

Heimert opened the window and looked out.

It had rained during the day, and now all nature seemed to
be sprouting and budding. The odour of the young fresh
green things was wafted in by a breath of wind, which gently
swayed the cotton curtains. Forest and hills were illuminated
by the brilliant moonlight ; and like a white ribbon the foot-
path climbed the steep ascent behind the barracks, till it lost
itself in the shadows of a thicket. On the grassy slope stood
a group of young birches, their white stems gleaming, and
their shimmering leaves — still wet from the rain — shining as
though made of silver.

Heimert gazed at it all with no thought for the beauty of the
May night. He was glad that the moon shone so brightly, as
he would be able to see his man with ease in such a light.

He fetched his revolver, and returning to the window looked
across at the notice-board opposite, which threatened trespassers
in the barracks or parade-ground with " a fine of sixty marks
or five days' imprisonment." The white-lettered notice-board
was fixed to the trunk of a beech-tree by a huge nail, and at
the head of this nail Heimert took careful aim.

Satisfied, he laid down the pistol and returned to the table.
But almost immediately he jumped up again and took a light
out into the corridor. Yes, Heppner's revolver was in its usual
place on the rack. He took the weapon with him into the
kitchen, and sat down once more. Just midnight ! The
twelve strokes were sounding slowly from the great clock of the
barracks.

Heimert still waited. After a little his head sank down on
the table, and he fell asleep.

At half-past two Heppner came home. He had had a run
of bad luck at the White Horse, had lost over a hundred

JENA OR SEDAN? 241

marks, and that amount was now missing from the battery cash-
box. He was quite overcome by this sudden misfortune. As
if stunned he groped his way home to the barracks, scarcely
seeing where he was going, stumbling at times over his sword,
or entangling himself with his spurs.

When he rang at the gate for admittance he was ready to fly
into a passion. He thought he had not heard the ringing of
the bell, and he began to rage at somebody's carelessness in
not having a broken bell mended on the instant. But the
corporal on guard opened to him ; so the bell was all right,
and the sound must have escaped him. He stumbled over
the threshold.

The corporal gazed after him in astonishment. Was the
sergeant-major asleep or awake ? He had staggered past with
wide-open, staring eyes, like a sleep-walker. Perhaps he was
simply drunk.

In the passage Heimert came to meet him. He looked dis-
traught, as though just awakened out of sleep. He beckoned
Heppner into the kitchen. Heppner entered and shut the
door behind him. The light blinded him ; he blinked stu-
pidly, and thought he saw in the lamp-light two shining
revolvers lying on the table.

11 You kissed my wife yesterday," said Heimert, in a half
whisper. ** Isn't that so ? "

Heppner nodded. " Yes, yes." What had the silly fellow
got in his head ? Of course he had kissed the woman ; and
he meant to do it again, and again too.

11 And so you have got to fight it out with me," continued
the other. " Man against man. Are you agreed ? "

Again the sergeant-major nodded stolidly. Why not?
Their betters acted thus.

" Shall we settle the thing now at once ? "

Heppner nodded for the third time. It was all one to
him, so long as he could get to rest at last

Heimert took up the two revolvers in one of his big hands ;
with the other he pointed over his shoulder out of the
window.

" We'll go up there," he said. " There's plenty of room
there. And we'll take our own two revolvers with us. Look
here I will load them, each with one cartridge."

242 JENA OR SEDAN?

Under Heppner's eyes he placed the cartridges in the
chambers of the revolvers, the shining brass gleaming beside
the dull steel. He gripped the pistols by the barrel, and held
out the butt-ends to the sergeant-major.

11 Now choose," he said.

Heppner languidly took with his right hand the revolver
which the other was holding in his left. Heimert held the
remaining pistol in the lamp light, and read off the number.

" I have got yours," he said, " and you have mine. And
now we'll wait till the sentry has gone round the corner.

He leant out of the window cautiously, and took a look
round. The moon was in the zenith; houses, trees, and
bushes cast but short shadows. The sentinel was strolling
along by the hedge of the jumping-ground. His sword was in
the scabbard, and he had buried his hands deep in his
breeches-pockets. Every now and then the lubberly fellow
would whistle a stave, or stand still and kick a stone from his
path, or gape so loudly that the moon shone into his open
mouth. At last he disappeared round a corner of the
buildings.

11 Now ! n whispered Heimert. w You go first, but take of!
your sword."

Obediently Heppner unbuckled his belt and laid it down.
He pushed the revolver carefully into his coat-pocket, and
swung himself out of the window. The deputy sergeant-major
extinguished the lamp and followed him.

Side by side, like two good friends, the two men climbed
the path that led up the hill-side; Heimert striding on with
quiet even pace, and Heppner, with unsteady knees and pant-
ing breast, trying involuntarily to keep step with the other
man.

They vanished into the deep shadow of the wood, and after
a short time stepped out again into the bright moonlight above.
The moon was almost exactly overhead.

The deputy sergeant-major went thoughtfully along the path
till he arrived at the spot where the ascent ceased and the
ground became quite level.

"This is the best place, I think," he said.

With the spurred heel of his riding-boot he drew a deep
furrow in the clayey soil.

JENA OR SEDAN? 243

11 Will you stand here ? " he said to the sergeant-major.

Without a word Heppner walked up to the mark. He
carefully placed his feet with the toes against the marked line.

Heimert went on another ten paces, not the leaping strides
that are usually taken in rranging a duel, but fairly long
ordinary paces.

At the tenth he paused, and again dug his heel into the
earth.

The two men stood opposite to each other, separated by
the terribly narrow interval of scarcely nine yards.

11 Cock your pistol, Heppner ! " cried Heimert to him.
And the sergeant-major did as the other desired. He seemed
quite unaware of its being a matter of life and death; he
moved as in a dream.

Suddenly Heimert let out a curse. A difficulty had pre-
sented itself at the last moment, and threatened to upset his
whole plan.

How were they to shoot ?

By counting, of course. He had intended to count "one,"
then, after a couple of seconds by his watch, " two," and
then again, after another couple of seconds, " three." Be-
tween " one " and '■ three " they were to fire. But, damn it
all ! how could he take aim if he was holding the watch in
his hand and counting the seconds on the dial ?

Irresolutely he looked down at his watch. This was like a
bad joke, and perfectly maddening.

Suddenly an idea came to him. The minute-hand showed
just two minutes to the hour. In two minutes then the
barrack clock would strike three. That would be as good as
counting.

In a clear voice he called out to his opponent : " Listen
to what I say, Heppner. In two minutes the clock down
there will strike three times. At the first stroke we must lift
our revolvers, before that they must be pointed to the ground.
Between the first and the third strokes we may fire, but not
after the third. Do you understand, and are you agreed ? "

For the first time the sergeant-major made an articulate
sound. "All right," he said. His voice sounded husky, and
he cleared his throat.

" Very good," said Heimert ; " then it's all settled."

244 JENA OR SEDAN?

He took up his position, and looked coolly before him.
The moon shone down from a clear sky. A single light
cloud floated against the dark background, looking like a
little white skiff.

Heppner watched the cloud. He tried to think how he
came to be in this place, up on the hill in the wood, in the
middle of the night, like this. He could not quite make it
out. More than all there weighed on him a leaden feeling
of weariness. He would have liked to throw himself down
on the bare earth.

The seconds dragged on slowly.

Suddenly a night-bird screamed loudly from a neighbouring
tree- top, and immediately afterwards sounded the first stroke
of the hour.

The sergeant-major pulled himself up. With suddenly
awakened senses he looked about him. Opposite him stood
Heimert with his revolver, and he himself felt the butt-end of
a weapon in his right hand.

But this was all madness. It was a crime. He wanted to
cry out, " Stop ! " This folly was impossible. If anything
happened to him he was lost. There was money missing
from the battery cash-box ; at least he must put that right.

Then came the second stroke. Stop ! Stop ! Why was
his tongue tied?

Heimert saw him draw himself up. He thought his adver-
sary was going to fire, and he raised his revolver hastily. His
forefinger pressed the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed
through the air, and almost simultaneously the clock struck
for the third time.

Heppner remained a moment standing. His revolver
rattled to the ground, his left hand clutched at his breast.
Then the tall upright figure lurched forward, and fell like a
lifeless mass. A violent shudder ran through the limbs ; the
body contracted, stretched itself again, turned over on itself,
and fell on its back.
Then all was still.

Heimert stood in his place. The hand with the revolver
had slowly sunk, and hung down limply. His glance wandered
from the corpse to the boundary line at his feet. He had not
stepped over it. Everything was according to order.

JENA OR SEDAN? 245

At last he aroused himself from his stupor. He forced
himself to pass the little furrow in the ground, and went to-
wards his opponent. His footsteps were heavy and uncertain;
it felt to him as if his soles adhered to the earth.

The sergeant-major was dead ; there was no doubt about
what. On the left breast were a slight blood-stain and a quite
diminutive hole. His head was thrown back. The wide-open
eyes of the dead man stared into the moonlight.

Heimert gently closed the eyelids. He paused for a time
beside the corpse with folded hands, and softly muttered the
Lord's prayer. Then he began to descend the hill.

But he seemed to bethink himself of something. He dived
again through the shadow of the trees and knelt beside the
sergeant-major. With great care he laid his own discharged
revolver in place of the loaded weapon which Heppner had
dropped.

When he stood up again a shifty, vague, cunning expression
passed over his face.

Between the white stems of the young birch-trees he looked
out for the sentry, who must have heard the shot. Redoubled
precautions would be necessary in regaining the barracks.

The sentry was staring fixedly up into the wood whence he had
heard the firing. With his head still turned towards the heights
he walked up to the gates, and waited to be relieved. When
the bombardier and the relieving sentry appeared he made his
announcement. He pointed several times to the wood. The
bombardier shrugged his shoulders and asked questions ; finally
he disappeared through the gateway with the sentry who had
been relieved. The gates clanged together, and the keys
rattled as the lock was turned.

The new sentry listened awhile to his comrades' retreating
steps ; then he strolled along his beat at a leisurely pace, occa-
sionally looking up the hill. He took his time, but at last he
turned the corner of the officers' quarters.

Heimert made use of the opportunity. He ran hastily down
the pathway to the barracks. He drew himself up with the
aid of the lightning-conductor till his feet reached the top of
the wall, and soon after was standing, breathing heavily, in his
own kitchen.

A moonbeam fell on something shining that leant against a

246 JENA OR SEDAN?

kitchen chair. It was Heppner's sword. Heimert took it up
and carefully hung it on its nail in the passage.

For a moment he stood listening. The Heppner baby was
crying ; the soothing murmurs of its mother could be plainly
heard : « Sh, sh ! "

He stepped back on tiptoe, drew the door gently to, and
began hastily to undress. Then he lay down quietly in bed,
taking pains not to make the bedstead creak.

His precautions were superfluous ; Albina slept soundly.
An earthquake would hardly have awakened her.

The deputy sergeant-major lay and listened. He could only \
hear the beating of his own heart, and through the wall the
muffled sound of the child's crying.

" Widow and orphan," he thought.

The wailing voice subsided by degrees. The child had
fallen asleep, or the mother had taken it to her breast.

Its father was lying up there on the hill-side, his huge body
blocking the pathway.

Schellhorn, the fat paymaster of the regiment, whom Sur-
geon-major Andreae sent every spring to Carlsbad for a cure
found the corpse during his early morning constitutional.

He hastened to the barracks and gave the alarm.

After all particulars had been noted, the dead man was
carried away. Four gunners bore the heavy body down the
hill oln a stretcher, and laid it on the bed in the Heppners'
dw el ing, the poor wife looking on with bewildered eyes.

There was no doubt as to the case being one of suicide.
The direction of the shot, as shown by the post-mortem exami-
nation, was not against this theory ; but the most unmistakable
proof lay in the motive for the deed, which was only too clear
From the various cash-boxes under the charge of the deceased
one hundred and twenty marks were missing.

Sergeant-major Heppner, in dread of this being discovered,
had shot himself.

The colonel, Major Schrader, and Captain von Wegstetten
unanimously decided to hush up the affair, in view of the
certain censure of the higher authorities ; and Schrader replaced
the missing sum without more ado.

Heppner's gambling companions were seriously warned.

JENA OR SEDAN? 247

Sergeant-major Blechschmidt, who was most to blame, re-
ceived an official intimation that he must not count upon a
further term of service.

Finally the widow was informed that her husband had
committed suicide in a moment of temporary mental
aberration.

A few days after the funeral Heimert was installed in
Heppner's place.

It gave him an immense deal of trouble to fulfil his new
duties, and yet no man could have set himself to the task more
zealously and conscientiously.

Captain von Wegstetten sometimes raged with impatience
when his new sergeant-major could not meet his requirements.
Mere indications and suggestions were not sufficient for the
dull and somewhat limited understanding of Heimert. Every
detail had to be pointed out to him and explained at length ;
but once he comprehended them he showed himself capable
of carrying out orders punctually and carefully.

From the time of his promotion Heimert troubled himself
little about Albina. His behaviour towards her became shy
and odd ; he avoided as much as possible being alone with
her. He preferred to sit at his desk in the orderly-room,
while she on her side felt no regret in being relieved from the
too particular attentions of her unloved husband.

Käppchen came to the conclusion that the sergeant-major
must have a screw loose somewhere. Heimert exhibited
certain strange whims. He would become perfect ly furious
if the many-coloured penholder which Heppner had used were
offered him, and he strictly forbade the corporal ever to put
it on his desk. Käppchen would sometimes for fun hand
him this penholder " by mistake " if a signature were wanted
in a hurry. The sergeant-major looked so comic with his
blazing eyes and crimson face, his nose shining reddest of all.

But the days were always too long for the sergeant-major.
Even his writing came at last to an end, and there was still
time left on his hands. He was not long in finding an
occupation.

In the mounted exercises he had hitherto led the third
column, but as sergeant-major he now had to take an entirely

248 JENA OR SEDAN?

different place in the formation. His work was, as a matter
of fact, much easier than formerly ; but he seemed to find it
twice as difficult to understand. He often did not know
where he ought to be, and when Wegstetten found fault with
him he took it much to heart. What sort of an impression
would it give, if even the sergeant-major did not know his
work, the senior non-commissioned officer of the battery ?

When he went over his book, puzzling out the regulations
with his fingers in his ears, his thoughts seemed to become
more and more wildly confused. He could form no clear
picture of all these evolutions, He therefore took his pen-
knife, and with endless trouble made little wooden figures,
roughly representing the guns, the ammunition waggons, and
the individual mounted men. He coloured these figures so
that they might be perfectly distinguishable : the commander
of the battery, the leader of the column, the sergeant-major,
the trumpeter, and the corporal in the rear. And then he
made them exercise on the table, advance and retire, form
into line, and wheel round ; but his chief care was always to
keep the yellow-striped sergeant-major in his right position.

Soon Wegstetten had no complaint to make of his sergeant-
major, but Heimert still went on playing with his little figures.
For these wooden guns and horsemen he was now the com-
mander of the battery, and he would not be contented till his
miniature troop was brought to as great a state of perfection
as reigned under the captain of the sixth battery.

Albina shook her head over her husband's conduct. The
man was ill, of that she was convinced. She spoke to him once
of consulting the doctor, but Heimert repulsed her roughly.

" Thank God ! " he said ; " there's nothing the matter with
me. I wish everybody were as healthy as I am ! "

After this she left him in peace. In her opinion some
insidious disease was advancing upon him, and sooner or later
the trouble would break out

Heimert's appetite began to fail at last ; he hardly ate any-
thing. He had always been extremely ugly, but people now
shrank back at the sight of his face. His eyes had become
sunken, and had acquired an unnatural brilliancy, while his
hideous nose jutted out prominently from the middle of his
ashy countenance.

JENA OR SEDAN? 249

Albina sighed. What sort of show could one make with a
husband like that ? It was fortunate that he kept out of the
way so much.

But the time began to hang very heavy on her hands.
From sheer ennui she took to having her hair curled.

The barber who shaved the sergeant-major every morning
had already offered his services, commenting in a most flatter-
ing manner on the magnificent hair which he said she did not
show off to the best advantage.

Albina had hitherto passed him proudly by. She despised
barbers. But now she began to observe him more closely.
He appeared to her a polite, agreeable, young man ; he was
good-looking too, even elegant. And he was entertaining.
He could tell her the most interesting things about all sorts ot
people.

11 You see, madam," he used to say, " a barber is one ot
the family almost. He sees people in deshabille, as it were.
And sometimes one learns all manner of strange things. Of
course the honour of the profession forbids gossiping. But
there is no harm in repeating little trifling occurrences. Don't
you think so? It amuses one's clients; and that is quite
permissible."

Albina entirely agreed with him.

Here was at least a man with whom one could have some
rational conversation.

During the exercises one morning the captain came riding
up to the sergeant-major.

"You must go back home at once, Heimert," he cried.
" The major wants the regulations that were in force at the
last manoeuvres. Look them out, and send them over to the
division at once, will you ? "

" Now, at once ? " asked Heimert.

" Yes, yes ! Make haste and get them ! "

The sergeant-major hastened back to the barracks. With
helmet on head and sword by his side he set off at once on
the quest. He gave Käppchen the regulations to carry over
to the orderly-room of the division, and he himself returned
home.

In the bedroom he found Albina and the barber together,

250 JENA OR SEDAN?

The shameless woman had felt so secure that she had not
even troubled to bolt the door.

Her gallant lover disappeared through the window like a
shot.

Albina was not so quick. Heimert seized hold of her and
dragged her through the doorway just as she was, clad only in
a dressing-jacket and a thin petticoat.

The jacket tore in his hands. Then he seized her by her
thick hair. She screamed, but he pushed her before him
down the passage.

A heavy riding-whip was hanging on a nail ; as he passed he
tore it down, and the leathern thong descended in furious
blows on the woman's head, and on her bare shoulders and
bosom.

She gave a loud yell of pain. The few men who had re-
mained away from the exercises came running, and stared
open-mouthed. The whip made deep red marks on the
smooth skin, and the shrieks of the woman became more and
more piercing. But Heimert drove her down the steps into
the barrack-yard. She stumbled, and lost a shoe. No
matter ! on she must go !

If she stopped for a moment the whip lashed round her
feet, her ankles, her knees. She cowered, shrieking. With
outstretched arms she tried to parry the blows. Her husband
pulled her upright ; she staggered, but was again dragged along
by her hair under the pressure of that remorseless hand. The
blood ran from her shoulders, but the blows still rained down
like hail.

At last, on reaching the back gate the iron grip was loosened.
One last furious stroke tore her garments and dyed the white
linen red. She stood there for a moment, with bleeding
hands pressed to her head, with shut eyes and trembling
knees.

Suddenly she realised that she was free, and with wild
leaps she fled towards the forest. On the slope of the hill
she turned. Her bare skin gleamed in the bright sunshine,
and her dishevelled hair hung down over her brow. She
shook her naked arms with furious gestures towards the
sergeant-major, and screamed a hideous curse in . his face.
Then she disappeared into the wood.

JENA OR SEDAN? 251

Heimert looked after her with a dull expression of coun-
tenance, till no trace of her white garments was to be seen
among the green bushes. Then he returned home with firm
footsteps.

Wegstetten gave orders that the sergeant-major should not
be disturbed that day. Under such circumstances a man had
better be left to himself. But when Heimert did not put in
an appearance next morning, Käppchen was sent to look
him up.

The battery-clerk came back much disturbed, and an-
nounced : " Excuse me, sir, I think the sergeant-major's gone
mad."

" Mad ? You are mad yourself, man ! " was the captain's
reply ; and he went in person to the sergeant-major's quarters.

Heimert was sitting at the table, his little wooden guns and
horsemen before him. With smiling looks he was drilling
them, giving the words of command in a soft voice.

He did not seem to recognise the commander of his battery,
but gazed stupidly at Wegstetten when he spoke to him.

" Don't you know me, sergeant-major?" asked the captain.

Heimert smiled at him, and pointed to the little horses.

" I ask you, Sergeant-major Heimert, don't you know your
captain ? " demanded Wegstetten once more.

The sergeant-major shook his head, grinning. Then he
set to work again, and the guns were made to advance, each
at an equal distance from the other, with the leaders of the
columns and the mounted men all in their places.

Heimert was taken to the lunatic asylum of the district.
In general he was a very manageable patient, and it was only
if a woman approached him that he began to rave. His
greatest delight was to play with some wooden toys that were
given him, — mimic guns and mounted soldier«? of all descrip-
tions.

m

CHAPTER XIII

5^3=?:

Ll_

(" Das Ganze— halt ! ")

Shortly before Christmas Senior-lieutenant Güntz was
promoted to be captain, and was placed in command of the
fifth battery, vice Captain Mohr, discharged from the service
for incompetence.

New brooms sweep clean, and Güntz set to work with
ardour at the difficult task of bringing order and efficiency into
the neglected troop. By means of stringent discipline, and
even severity, he succeeded in this more easily than he himself
had expected, and soon began to notice with satisfaction that
his labour was gradually bearing fruit.

After a time the fifth battery could be ranged alongside the
pattern fourth and sixth batteries. Major Schrader rubbed
his hands cheerfully : to have three such excellent officers
commanding batteries in one division at the same time was
indeed unusual good fortune, and he well knew how to make
use of them.

At the spring inspection he received a string of compliments
at least a yard long from the commander of the brigade, and
in his joy showered thanks upon Güntz for having helped him
to achieve such a success. Güntz himself was greatly pleased
that the inspection had gone so smoothly. He had not been
sure that this would be so, as he did not feel his battery quite
well enough in hand even yet.

"Yes, it went off tolerably, didn't it, sir?" he replied
modestly.

" Faultlessly ! faultlessly ( " said the major.

JENA OR SEDAN? 253

"Well, sir, it was partly good luck. The officer in com-
mand of a battery is right in the middle of it all, and sees
lots of things which look as if they might go wrong. Then
some happy accident occurs, and the situation is saved."

The major, however, seemed to have something more on his
mind, and stood stroking his whiskers in embarrassment.

11 Certainly, certainly,1' he answered. " A man must have
good luck, or he will have bad ! But your merit is there all
the same, my dear Giintz."

And then he continued, rather haltingly : " And therefore,
you know, it is all the more painful to me. But there is
something more behind. These superior officers never seem
to give unstinted praise."

Giintz's hand went up to his helmet, and he said, in a level
voice : " Of course I am at your orders, sir."

"No, no, my dear Giintz," said Schrader, deprecatingly ;
"the colonel is kind enough to undertake the unpleasant
part of my duty for me, and I am glad of it ; for it would
have been very much against the grain with me. Well, well !
just you go quietly to the colonel, and don't worry about it
at all. Thank you, my dear Giintz. Good morning, good
morning ! "

He turned towards his quarters, and from the steps nodded
in friendly fashion to the captain.

Giintz did feel a little anxious about the interview which lay
before him. He was conscious of having performed his duty
to the best of his ability. But heaven knows what command-
ing officers won't sometimes get their backs up about !

Colonel von Falkenhein received him very cordially.

" My dear friend," he said, " I congratulate you ! You
could not have wished for a better debut as the youngest
officer in command of a battery."

" Thank you very much, sir," replied Giintz ; and then
went straight to the point about the mysterious affair. His
curiosity was surely pardonable.

" Excuse me, sir," he continued, " Major Schrader informs
me that "

Falkenhein interrupted him : " Yes, quite right. You will
take it to heart, but you must know that our esteemed briga-
dier has still something in petto. As you have heard, he was

254 JENA OR SEDAN?

highly satisfied with your direction of your battery to-day;
but he considers that in regard to discipline you do not seem
to be quite at home yet in your new position."

This was just what Güntz had not expected. He had
imagined his best work to have been precisely in this direc-
tion.

Falkenhein smiled at his puzzled look as he asked for
further explanation, and shrugging his shoulders went on :
" Yes, so the general said. But, my dear Güntz, I have only
formally repeated this to you as I was commanded to do so.
Now let us talk it over as colleagues. I can understand your
astonishment, and you will soon be more puzzled than ever.
The reason the general gives for his strictures is that there
has been so much punishment in your battery — more than
double as much as in the fourth and the sixth together."

Güntz restrained a gesture of impatient surprise. This
was rather beyond a joke !

11 But, sir," he said, " you know under what circumstances
I took command ! "

" Know ? why, of course I do ! " answered Falkenhein ;
" and of course I explained to him. But he regarded my
description as exaggerated. I may tell you in confidence
that he belongs to the very clique who managed to keep
Mohr in the service so long. And he regards his opinion
as infallible — namely, that too many punishments in a troop
are the consequence of a lack of discipline. He con-
siders that a certain similarity in the punishment-registers
of the batteries should be aimed at unconditionally. Other-
wise unfavourable conclusions as to the capability of individual
captains must be drawn, he says."

Güntz was honestly indignant, and when anything struck
him as unjust, it never mattered to him in whose presence he
was ; he must speak his mind, even to his colonel.

' ■ Pardon me, sir," he began, "but the general has surely
lost sight of the fact that for similar results similar previous
conditions are necessary. I consider, with all respect, that
even in normal batteries the material on which we have
to work is different ; and that in the very same battery per-
haps the new year's recruits may effect an enormous difference
in the punishment-register. To say nothing of such circum

JENA OR SEDAN? 255

stances as there were in my case. If my punishment-register
were not greater than those of the fourth and sixth batteries,
then that would reflect unfavourably upon me. And I most
respectfully hope that it is not a more important matter to
the general to receive punishment -registers of the same
length, than that the discipline of a battery should suffer."
Almost out of breath, he added ! " Pardon me, sir, I beg ! "

Falkenhein had become very serious.

"I take nothing you have said amiss, my dear Giintz," he
replied. " I cannot but admit that you are perfectly right.
And exactly what you have just argued I myself said very
plainly to the general, very plainly indeed. He became
damnably cold to me at the end of it."

The colonel paused, and smiled a little to himself as he
thought over the conversation. The general had been nearly
bursting with rage, and would not have permitted such oppo-
sition from any one else to go unpunished. But Falkenhein
was a recognised favourite of the old monarch ; he had been
the king's hunting-companion for days together, and was
surer in his position than even the general in his. So he
could not cut up too rough.

" Nevertheless," continued the colonel more cheerfully,
" he regarded it as desirable that a greater similarity should
gradually be obtained."

Giintz answered firmly : " Forgive me, sir, I cannot pro-
mise the general this in anticipation. I could not bring it
into harmony with my conception of the duty of an officer."

" Good," answered Falkenhein. " You have given me that
answer as your friend and colleague. As your commander, I
have perfect confidence that you will do all you can that is
useful and desirable for the king's service, and that in this
sense you will accede to the general's wish."

Giintz bowed, and answered : " Certainly, sir."

In the orderly-room he asked the sergeant-major whether
Zampa had been exercised that day.

" Not yet, sir."

" Then please have him saddled, and I will take him out for
a little myself."

He rode down towards the valley. Yonder on the left
among the fresh green plantations lay the pistol-practice

256 JENA OR SEDAN?

ground, on which a few months ago his duel with Lieutenant
Landsberg had taken place. He thought less of that episode
itself than of the night before it, during which he had written
down his reasons for contemplating resignation.

To-day he felt himself enriched by a fresh argument.

Deuce take it ! Was not this passion for similarity enough
to madden one ? Must everything be tainted by this damned,
regular, grinding drill, this parade-march sort of principle ?
Must things everywhere run smoothly and according to rule,
just in order that the authorities might be convinced of the
excellence of the whole system ?

So even the punishment-register should be carefully edited 1
No one must lift his head above his fellows ! It was really
laughable. Teachers might have bad pupils ; but it seemed
to be against the rules for the captain of a battery to have bad
soldiers in his troop !

Luckily for him, he happened to be in very favourable
circumstances. He had a colonel who stood up for him, and
who could dare to express a difference of opinion from his
superior officer, because he himself chanced to be in the good
books of the king. So that this affair would pass by all right
and do nobody any harm. But what would have happened
if the colonel himself had felt uncertain of his position ? Would
he have found the moral courage to oppose his influential
superior, even if only by a modest remonstrance ? Would he
not rather, for the sake of his career, have said, merely :
" Certainly, sir ! "

And then the pressure would have gone on downwards ;
and among a hundred captains there were certainly but few
who, in the struggle between their better knowledge and their
future career, would remain true to their convictions. Most
of them would bring the punishment-register up to the
"desirable" regularity, and just do as best they could with the
bad elements in their batteries : the men who sneered at all
discipline, and whom nevertheless their captain dared not punish
properly; who spoilt the good soldiers, and increased the
dislike of the reservists for the service. Otherwise the punish-
ment-register might exceed the average demanded, and " that
would cause unfavourable conclusions as to the discipline of
the battery and the capability of the captain."

JENA OR SEDAN? 257

Güntz rode slowly back along the grassy lane. He looked
around him. Yonder the white walls of the barracks gleamed
in the sunshine ; a fresh wind gently shook the budding
branches, and all around everything was sprouting, filled with
the vigour of youth. He guided his horse carefully round a
patch of primroses, which covered the whole width of the path
with a sheet of yellow blossoms.

He bade dull care begone. Could he not at any time quit
the service directly he became convinced of its ineffectiveness ?
To-day 'sexperience was simply a fresh weight in the scales of
his doubt.

He had once more determined to apply all his strength to
the solution of a problem, which had been in his mind even
at the time of his employment in Berlin.

There seemed to him no doubt that the French field-
artillery with its anti-recoil construction had gained a great
advantage over all other armies ; an advantage which could
only be prejudiced if the utility of the invention were proved
on the field of battle to be less than was expected. Up to the
present time the French gun-carriage had only been tested on
tea small sale inpeace manoeuvres, and it had not been abso-
lutely demonstrated that its construction would stand the con-
tinuous high pressure of a campaign. He was now absorbed
in a scheme for simplifying and strengthening the anti-recoil
attachments in such a way that they would keep in working
order under the severest test. And at the same time he had
been directing his attention to the steel shields used in
the French field-artillery for the protection of the men who
served the guns. German military authorities were for the
most part opposed to the introduction of this method of
protection ; but the shield seemed to him very worthy of
adoption. In the battles of the future the percentage of
probable. losses must be computed quite mathematically; and
it would be a great advantage if, by virtue of the shield, a
large number of the combatants could be considered safe.
The opponents of the measure gave it as their opinion that
the men would shirk quitting the protection of the shield ;
or that, at any rate, they would take aim so hurriedly that
their accuracy must necessarily suffer. Well, one might
equally well argue that the infantry would refuse to leave their

258 JENA OR SEDAN

trenches. The other objection was more convincing : shooting
would become too difficult if this steel shield were associated
with the anti-recoil construction. It was a question ot
mobility ; therefore Güntz set to work to find out some
method of lightening the gun. Why should the gun-carriage
be loaded with such a large quantity of ammunition as was
customary — more, probably, than would ever be needed ? He
was constructing the model of a carriage in which the quantity
of ammunition carried was to be diminished by one-third ;
so that the extra weight of the anti-recoil construction and
the steel shield should be more than counterbalanced.

When he was in Berlin he had gone into the details of his
invention with the head of a large Rhenish gun-foundry.
This man proposed that Güntz should send in his resigna-
tion and enter the service of the firm at a handsome salary.
Güntz at that time was not prepared to decide in the matter ;
but at the close of the interview the manager had said : " Who
knows ? perhaps we shall see each other again."

Had the man been right ?

In any case, Güntz felt strong enough to make his own
way through life.

The servant took his horse from him at the garden gate.

" Well, did it go off all right? " asked Kläre.

The captain answered, " Yes, first-rate." He did not
conceal the "but," however. The calm good sense of
his wife always helped him to test his own impressions.
Kläre was, indeed, a woman whose like was not to be found
in the whole world; a woman who had been created just
for him.

She had her own methods in everything. If, at dinner, her
husband were worried with thoughts of the black sheep in his
battery, and would keep introducing such topics at their com-
fortable board, then she would snub him quite severely. But
when he came to her with his real doubts and anxieties she
was ever ready to comfort and advise him. She knew all about
his plan of testing himself for a year in the command of a
battery; and sometimes she was inclined to advise him to
shorten the period of probation. She was shrewd enough
to foresee that within a year and a day he would have discarded
his officer's uniform.

JENA OR SEDAN? 259

Lieutenant Reimers continued as hitherto to be a welcome
guest in the Giintz household.

He had realised that his frequent visits were in no way a
bother to his friend ; and when Frau Kläre, with the amiability
of a careful hostess, considered his little idiosyncrasies of taste,
he could but protest feebly : " Really, dear lady, you spoil me
too much ! What shall I do if, for instance, I have to go to
the Staff College next year ? "

To Giintz he once said, " I must say that in contem-
plating you and your wife, one realises what a half-man a
bachelor is."

The stout captain laughed good-naturedly.

" Kläre," he shouted to his wife, who was just coming into
the room, " it appears that I wasn't making a mistake when
I chose you for mywife."

u How's that, my Fatty ? " asked his wife.

11 Reimers has just been saying that the sight of our wedded
life gives him an appetite for matrimony. What do you say
to that?"

11 A very sensible remark, Herr Reimers," laughed Kläre.

Reimers blushed a little and rejoined : " Well, then, I shall
soon go bride-hunting. For your advice is always good, dear
lady."

" Now then, flatterer ! " growled Giintz. " Don't make my
wife conceited."

But when Reimers had bidden them good-bye he said to
Kläre : " I really believe it would be a most sensible thing for
Reimers to marry ; he is not the sort to become a mere mess-
house or tavern habitue. He ought to go about and study
the daughters of our country a little."

" Why go about ? There's good enough near at hand," said
Frau Kläre.

The captain looked up : " Eh ? "

Smilingly his wife pointed over her shoulder to tbe neigh
bouring villa.

" Marie Falkenhein ? " asked Giintz.

Frau Kläre nodded.

" You don't want to earn a match-maker's reward, do yon
now ? " inquired her husband.

" Oh, Fatty, darling ! don't you know me better than that ? "

26o JENA OR SEDAN?

his wife protested. " No, no, nothing of the sort ! But
seriously, I do mean that those two young people would suit
each other very well. With regard to Marie, I know positively
this much, she thinks Reimers very nice ; and that is, at any
rate, something to go on, until our dear Reimers opens his
eyes."

" But let him open them quite by himself, please ; no
assistance, I do beg ! " the captain interrupted.
" Of course, Fatty, quite by himself."

" But, Kläre, how about that episode of the Gropphusen ?
That was a bit off the rails, wasn't it ? "

" Nothing of the kind. Nothing but a mere passing
flirtation/

Giintz shook his head thoughtfully.

" No, Kläre," he replied. " I understand Reimers. He
would never have anything to do with mere passing flirtations.
It is just the dear fellow's misfortune that he takes everything
so damned seriously. It went pretty deep with him that time
with the Gropphusen ; you can believe me as to that."

" Still, one does not cling for all eternity to such a useless
sort of business."

Giintz was not quite convinced.

" Well, we must hope not," he said. " And, really, the two
would suit each other excellently."

Walking up and down the room he continued : " Yes, in all
respects. Reimers has an income of about seventy thousand
marks, and the colonel would certainly be able to give his
daughter a bit of money without having to pinch himself. I
should say about twenty thousand. True, he is no Crcesus ;
but then he will soon be made a general. Our dear Reimers
will have to keep his passion for books in check. Yes, yes 1
The thing would answer admirably."

He stood still and knocked the ash off his cigar.
" Why are you laughing, you sly little woman ? " he asked,
glancing down at her.

11 How funny you are, Fatty ! " Kläre answered. " You
accuse me quite sternly of the worst intentions, and then
you make plan after plan, and even begin to reckon up their
oint income ! "

But Giintz parried the accusation gallantly :

JENA OR SEDAN? 201

" Just another compliment for you, my Kläre. Only happy
couples try to bring about other marriages."

A short time afterwards, without any prompting from the
Güntzes, Reimers said to his stout friend : " Giintz, doesn't it
strike you that Mariechen Falkenhein is a very nice girl ? "

Giintz leant back in his chair reflectively, and answered :
" A nice girl ? how do you mean ? Certainly she has a pretty
face, her eyes are especially sweet, and she has a good figure.
Just a little too slight. For my taste, of course I mean."

" No," replied Reimers, " I don't mean that so much.
Certainly she is pretty. But, after all, that's a secondary
matter. I mean more the effect of her personality. There
seems to be something so sure, so comfortable, so restful about
her. Don't you think so ? "

" Well, you know, I have not made such detailed observa-
tions. But I daresay you are right. And I should say that
she will make a splendid wife some day. Quick and accurate,
without a trace of superficiality, with a strong instinct for
housewifely order ; a simple, clear, shrewd intellect — the man
who wins her for his wife will be a lucky fellow ! "

Reimers unconsciously drew himself up a little, and he said
doubtfully :

" But surely she is still much too young."

" Not a bit," replied Giintz. " She will be eighteen in the
autumn, and she is not even engaged yet. And after that
there would be the betrothal time of the educated European
— not less than six months. Well, that would bring her
nearly up to twenty, and at twenty a woman in our geogra-
phical area is quite eligible for marriage."

Reimers appeared to meditate upon this. Finally, how-
ever, he only replied by a prolonged " H'm," and dropped
the subject.

But the ladies of the regiment had soon a fresh subject for
gossip. Lieutenant Reimers was paying his addresses to
Marie Falkenhein. There was no doubt that his intentions
were serious. Well, he had no rivals to fear. Falkenhein
was poor — every one knew that. He could have very little
income beyond his pay. And his daughter ? Oh, yes, she
was a pretty, graceful creature; but she was not brilliantly

262 JENA OR SEDAN?

beautiful, and therefore could not have any very great expecta- Ö
tions. No question of anything beyond just a suitable and j
satisfactory marriage in the service.

From this time onward the matter was almost regarded as
settled ; and in the garrison gossip Marie von Falkenhein and |
Lieutenant Reimers were soon spoken of as though their |
betrothal had been already announced.

Naturally the interesting news was eagerly carried to Frau
von Gropphusen, and she was narrowly watched for the effect
of the communication ; but nothing could be detected. No
flinching, no pauses in the conversation, no alteration in the
expression of her face or of her voice. What a pity that there
was no theatre in the town, when they so thoroughly enjoyed
such little dramas !

Hannah Gropphusen did not discontinue her visits to Frau
Güntz. She came neither more rarely nor more frequently.
She seemed to have regained self-control.

Frau Kläre's birthday was celebrated in the arbour of the
Falkenheins' garden, by the second Maibowle of the season.
They had drunk to the health of the birthday-queen, and
were just sitting down again when there was the tinkle of a
bicycle-bell outside in the street. The soft sound of the
quick wheels came nearer, and just in front of the garden
there was the thud of a light pair of feet jumping to the
ground.

A clear voice, which would have sounded merry, but that
for the moment it seemed a little breathless, called up to
the arbour: "Hurrah! hurrah! And for the third time
hurrah ! Can one get anything to drink here ? "

Güntz hurried to the balustrade.

" My dear lady ! " he exclaimed astonished. " Certainly
you can ! There's still lots left."

He turned round : " Pardon me, sir, but here's Frau von
Gropphusen."

Falkenhein went quickly to his side : " Do give us the
pleasure of your company, dear Frau von Gropphusen. I will
have your bicycle taken in at once."

He went to the gate and conducted Frau von Gropphusen
to the arbour. Güntz had already placed a chair at the table
for her and poured out a glass of Maibowle.

JENA OR SEDAN? 263

"Who rides so late through night and wind?" asked
Kläre merrily, holding out her hand cordially to the new
arrival.

Hannah Gropphusen greeted the festive circle with a bright
smile, and replied : " Do forgive me, Colonel von Falkenhein.
The lights and the festivity in your arbour were too
inviting."

She raised her glass, and drank to Kläre Güntz : "To your
happiness, dear Frau Kläre, from the bottom of my heart."

11 1 have been delayed at Frau von Stuckardt's," she then
said ; " or, rather, Frau von Stuckardt would not let me
leave."

" Stuckardt told me," interrupted the colonel, " that his
wife was not well."

" Yes, she has got the old pain in her face back again,
which no doctor can relieve, and that was why I had to stay
so long. I had to keep my hands on her cheeks. She says
I have soothing hands and can do her good."

Reimers looked across at her. She was sitting a little in
the shadow, so that her white straw hat and light blouse stood
out distinctly. On her bosom sparkled a small diamond.
Only the tip of her foot was visible in the lamplight, a beau-
tiful, narrow, elegantly- shod foot, which was swinging rapidly
backwards and forwards.

To avoid catching her eye, Reimers turned to Marie Falken-
hein, his neighbour. The Maibowle had got into his head a
little. He chatted away cheerfully, the young girl listening
with flushed cheeks and radiant eyes, and answering laughingly
from time to time. They neither of them noticed that mean-
while Frau von Gropphusen had emptied her glass and was
preparing to go.

" Many thanks," she said. " I was nearly fainting. The
Maibowle has done me good. But it's getting late ; I must go
lome."

" Of course they are expecting you at home ? " asked
Falkenhein.

Hannah Gropphusen laughed rather bitterly.

" Expecting me ?" she replied. "Who? Oh.no, I don't
suppose my husband is at home. But pray, colonel, don't
>unish him for that ! "

264 JENA OR SEDAN?

This was rather painful. However, Frau von Gropphusen
afterwards said good-bye to them so simply and naturally that
no one thought anything more about it.

The colonel accompanied her to the gate, and the four in
the arbour went over to the balustrade. Giintz had put his
arm tenderly round Frau Kläre, and Reimers was standing
beside Marie Falkenhein. They watched Hannah Gropphusen
mount her bicycle and ride slowly away. She turned round
in the saddle, waved her right hand, and shouted out a laugh-
ing " Good-night."

A little further along she looked back, and the white-gloved
hand waved again, but they could no longer distinguish her
features.

Then the rushing wheels disappeared in the darkness.

Frau von Gropphusen rode quietly home.

The servant was waiting at the door. He took the machine
from her, asking if she would take tea.

" No," she answered. " I have had it. You can clear the
things away."

She threw herself on the couch in her room just as she was,
in her bicycling costume. She drew up the rug and wrapped
herself in it.

And Hannah Gropphusen lay thus till far into the
night, staring with wide-open eyes into the darkness of the
room.

A few days later Marie Falkenhein came through the
garden gate to Kläre Güntz's house.

" Kläre," she said, " I am going into the town to inquire
after Frau von Stuckardt. Would you like me to call in at
the chemist's and tell him he is to send you the sugar-of-milk
for the baby ? "

Frau Kläre took stock of the young girl, and shook her
finger at her laughingly.

"Mariechen! Mariechen!" she said. "I never would
have believed you could become such an accomplished
hypocrite, my child."

Marie turned crimson.

" Yes, yes," continued Kläre. " Because you have heard
me call vanity a vice, you were ashamed to show off your

JENA OR SEDAN? 265

new dress and hat to me. But you hadn't quite the heart to
pass by your old friend's house. Isn't that the way of it ? "

The young girl nodded, her face scarlet.

Kläre stroked her cheek caressingly, and went on : " You
silly little goose ! But really, you know, when one's as
pretty as you are, a little vanity is excusable. And now tell
me, where in the world did you get these things ? "

" Oh, Kläre," replied the girl, " not here, of course. Frau
von Gropphusen went with me and helped me to choose them.
I can tell you, Kläre, she does understand such things."

The young woman stood in front of her friend and looked
her over from head to foot. It would have been impossible
to find any costume which lent itself more happily to Marie's
dainty appearance than this of some light-grey soft silken
material, trimmed with white, and with a little hat to match,
the shape of which softly emphasised the delicate beauty of
the young face.

Kläre gave the girl a hearty kiss, and said : " You are as
pretty as a picture, little one. Quite lovely. Well, and what
did the stern father say to all this ? "

Marie was quite flushed with pride.

"At first he said, ■ By Jove!"' she answered. "Then I
made him give me a kiss ; and next he got quite anxious and
wanted to know whether I hadn't been running into debt. I
had to swear to him that the whole turn-out didn't cost me
more than what he had given me for it."

" And is that the truth, dear child ? "

11 Well, I had just to add four marks from my pocket-
money."

Kläre shook her head smilingly. " Dear, dear ! So young
and already so depraved ! Hypocrisy and perjury ! Well, at
least it is worth it."

Frau von Gropphusen now made quite a business of helping
Marie von Falkenhein about her clothes. Hannah's slender
hands were quicker and cleverer than those of the deftest
maid, and she knew how to transform the young girl's plain
boarding-school frocks into something quite pretty and
Driginal.

She did all this with a soft motherly tenderness, hardly in
accordance with her own youthfulness. Marie Falkenhien's

266 JENA OR SEDAN?

school-girl stiffness disappeared gradually, and a dainty young
woman blossomed out.

" By Jove ! ,; said Giintz to Frau Kläre. " How Marie-
chen is coming on ! She is getting a deuced pretty little
girl ! "

And Reimers looked at the young girl with eyes which no
longer contained the brotherly indifference of past months.

Shortly before the departure of the troops for the practice"
camp the regimental adjutant, Senior-lieutenant Kauerhof,
had a fall from his horse, and injured one of the tendons of
his knee-joint. This would probably keep him away from
duty for about six weeks, so Lieutenant Reimers was appointed
to take his work. Being the eldest lieutenant in the regiment
his promotion to senior-lieutenant was expected any day.

The young officer was in the seventh heaven of delight at
this mark of distinction. He embarked on his new duties
with boundless and untiring zeal. He almost divined the
wishes of Falkenhein ; and sometimes it was not even neces-
sary to give explicit directions as to the manner in which this
or that order was to be carried out. The colonel knew that
Reimers, with his powers of intuition, would do the right
thing.

Falkenhein could not imagine a more painstaking adjutant,
nor one who, when off duty, on the march, or at the practice-
camp, could have looked after his colonel's comfort with more
tender consideration. He had noticed that Reimers had ot
late paid his daughter attention, and the idea of some day
entrusting his child to the care of this excellent young man
— already like a beloved son to him — gave him real pleasure.
This gratifying prospect made him more unreserved than was
usually his custom. It was well known that the colonel was
not exactly delighted with the hundred and one innovations
that had been introduced into the army at the accession of the
young emperor. And now, feeling that he could trust his
acting adjutant implicitly, and that not a word of misrepre-
sentation or misconstruction would ever reach the ears of any
evil-disposed person, he freely unburdened his mind of the
cares and anxieties that weighed upon it. 0

Some of these confidential communications struck Reimers

N

JENA OR SEDAN? 267

with amazement. He had expected to find in Falkenhein an
officer who would entirely dissipate all the doubts that Giintz
had awakened in his mind; and now he discovered that this
honoured superior also was filled with the gravest views as to
the thoroughness and efficiency of the organisation of the
German army. The more important of these conversations
he noted down each evening in the following manner : —

June 2nd.
The colonel happened to talk about the supply of officers
for the German army. In his opinion, the best material
to draw from is the so-called " army nobility " — that is
to say, those families (not necessarily noble) members of
which have in many successive generations been German
officers — German meaning Prussian, Saxon, Hanoverian, &c.
— (examples : the colonel himself, Wegstetten, and also my
humble self). These families are mostly of moderate means,
and often intermarry. That conscientious devotion to their
calling as officers is thus ingrained in their flesh and blood
must be self-evident. It is born in them ; and by their
simple, austere up-bringing, with their profession ever in
view, they become thoroughly imbued with it. But there is
a danger that in such a mental atmosphere their range of
observation may be so restricted that they cannot view the life
of the world around them with intelligence or comprehension.
Therefore it is of immense importance that the corps of German
officers should be strengthened by the infusion of fresh blood
from the middle and lower-middle classes, whose members,
having been brought up and educated according to modern
ideas, are of great service to the other officers in enlarging
their range of view. They provide unprejudiced minds and
clear intellects capable of dealing with the more advanced
technical problems of modern warfare (Giintz, for instance).

The most unsatisfactory material consists of those officers
vho, on account of inherited wealth, look upon their profession
is a kind of sport, attractive, abounding in superficial honours,
tnd for that reason very agreeable. They generally spring from
vell-to-do middle-class families (Landsberg), or, in the smart
egiments of Guards, from the families of large landed pro-
>rietors and wealthy manufacturers. These latter are apt to

s

til

0

268 JENA OR SEDAN?

regard court ball-rooms and racecourses as more important
fields of action than drill-grounds and barracks. They are
wholly without ambition, because they only intend to spend a
few years in the army, and then retire to the comforts of private
life on their own estates. They are neither good officers — ■
because to be that demands a man's whole attention and
energies ; nor, subsequently, good citizens — because the proper
management of a large estate needs training and experience,
which cannot be acquired during their years of military life.

" Yet sometimes these very officers become generals in com-
mand, or something of the sort ! * said he. " That's the worst
of it ! "

June yd.

The colonel continued the conversation of yesterday. We
talked about the aristocracy and the middle -class in the army.
He admits without hesitation that the middle-class element is
despised, from the staff-officers downwards, owing to causes
originating in the reflected glory of the old personal relations
between the monarch and his feudal lords, now somewhat
modified by the indiscriminate giving of titles — the acceptance
of which titles, moreover, on the part of the middle-classes,
he utterly condemns. He wound up by saying : "If only it
were always members of the aristocracy who were really the
most efficient, and attained the highest eminence ! "

Just as the colonel had argued before that there was danger
of one-sidedness from the prevailing influence of the " army
nobility," he now pointed out that, on the other hand, an advan-
tage arose : a kind of accumulation of specific military qualities
of a bodily as well as of a mental kind. He may be quite right.

June 6th.

Yesterday and to-day the Crown Prince lunched at the mess.
He came for these two days in order to inspect the regiment
of dragoons here, which belongs to his brigade. An amiable,
good-tempered fellow (although our cooking did not give him
entire satisfaction), and one who likes to sit over his wine a
little.

As we rode after dinner his Highness told us some most racy
and amusing stories in capital style. Then the conversation
turned upon questions of tactics during the last campaign, and

JENA OR SEDAN? 269

at this juncture the colonel became quite grave. These visits
of exalted personages to regimental officers, which are to a
certain extent of a social character, may, he says, bring about
serious consequences. Such exalted persons are apt to regard
any intellectual cypher as a great military genius if he happens
to be an agreeable and versatile talker, and then the military
authorities have not always the courage to disturb the precon-
ceived notions of their sovereign. Result : Society-generals for
dinners and balls; after whom rank next the petticoat-
generals. And then he referred to the female ascendency in
the reign of the third Napoleon.

June 1 ith.

There is in the Reuss regiment of infantry an amusing
little adjutant, Senior-lieutenant Schreck. Ke was with the
expedition in China, and for that was awarded a medal. He
is never to be seen without his little red and yellow ribbon.
In fun the colonel asked him : " Have you got a ribbon like
that on your night-shirt too ? "

" You are pleased to jest, sir ! " answered the little fellow
indignantly, from the back of his long-legged bay mare.

11 After all," said Falkenhein to me later, " I was just as
proud of my first medal in the year 1870 ! "

"But this deluge of orders/' he continued, "that was
showered upon the China Expedition leads to a lot of self-
delusion. It magnifies an insignificant event to an un-
natural degree. Trivial successes stand out as if they were
great victories, and cause exaggerated notions of individual
infallibilty. This was exactly what happened in the Dutch
campaign of 1787, upon which followed the disasters of Valmy
and Jena."

Jena ! Güntz said that too. Moreover, the colonel does

not deny that the Expedition achieved all possible success.
But he considers most objectionable that self-asserting pro-
pensity to boast about it — associated as it so often is with an
unctuous piety. " Of course," he said, " it's only one of
the signs of the times ; and it is just these times that don't
please me. All this outward show in religion is detestable.
It was just so in Berlin and Potsdam in the time of Bischoffs-
werder and Woellner."

That again was before — Jena.

270 JENA OR SEDAN?

June i$tk.

For the first time the colonel asked me about my experi
ences in the South African War. He was reminded of it
because a lieutenant belonging to the South- West African
Defence Corps happened to call upon him at the practice-
camp. I could only say that I had brought away with me
from the Transvaal an unspeakable abhorrence of war.

" Of war in general ? " asked Falkenhein.

"Yes, indeed," I answered; and then it suddenly struck
me what a preposterous reply this was for an officer to make.
I qualified the assertion by saying I had assisted at the most
unfortunate period of the Boer War, during the panic that
followed Cronje's capture, and had got to know only the
seamy side of warfare : demolished farms, trampled-down
fields, no real steady fighting, scarcely any skirmishing even,
but just one continual rout.

The colonel listened to my torrent of words in silence.
Then at last — " Good God ! " he said, IC a thoughtful man
must detest war — all war. But it does not do to be senti-
mental. Sentimentality ic this m&tter is synonymous with
stupidity." He spoke of this for a long time, then about
other topics, and finally wound up by saying : " There are
many such enigmas in this world that must remain unsolved
for the present, and with which men are yet forced to deal in
a practical manner, even at the risk of making mistakes. So
that we just have to choose a sensible middle course. We
must be neither too superficial nor too profound. And above
all, we must not think too much ! " Unfortunately, I am not
the man for such compromises.

June 1 6 th.

The colonel lunched with me in the canteen, sitting on
benches in the middle of the wood ; our fare being bread,
sausage, and some excellent lager-beer. Close by were several
one-year volunteers, and two or three non-commissioned
officers with them. They looked uncomfortable, for they are
forbidden to be on familiar terms with the non-commissioned
officers. The colonel, however, did not mind it much.

" I believe," he said, " that it cannot always be avoided."
Then he spoke of the one-year volunteer system, which in his
opinion is a two-edged sword. It furnishes most efficient

JENA OR SEDAN? 271

reserve-officers, — it has that advantage, certainly. But the
drawbacks are as follows :

It is apt to demoralise the non-commissioned officers.
True, bribery is strictly forbidden ; but that is a mere
empty form, a prohibition which is daily infringed, such in-
fringement being purposely overlooked, whether for good or
evil. The non-commissioned officer then ceases to depend
on his pay alone ; and that puts temptations to dishonourable
conduct before many a perhaps otherwise conscientious man,
besides inevitably engendering dissatisfaction with his pro-
fession. Furthermore, the one-year volunteer system takes
away just those men who, with their higher intelligence and
culture, might most effectually oppose the socialistic pro-
paganda that goes on in the ranks, and who might in a certain
sense exert an enlightening influence on those around them.
The colonel regards all prohibitions and regulations against the
inroads of the revolutionary spirit in the army as more or less
futile. The only practicable expedient is the influence over the
privates ot thoroughly trustworthy elements in their midst.
The fact that the one-year volunteers live in barracks among
the privates certainly makes severe demands on the patriotism
of the younger ones ; but then it renders careful surveillance
possible, and affords a valuable insight into the life of the
common soldier, into his ways of thinking and his views of
the world in general. Falkenhein maintains that for the
same reason this arrangement, although in some respects
inconvenient, is highly desirable for the avantageur as a future
officer. The French military authorities, who have lately in-
stituted a similar system, have, in his opinion, done perfectly
right.

The hardships of the life serve both to sift out the incapables,
and to produce officers who are more mature, more manly, and
who do not look upon their inferiors as utter aliens.

The inspection of the regimental shooting went off without
a hitch. In his subsequent criticism the general spoke of the
pleasure it invariably afforded him to inspect the 80th
Regiment of the Eastern Division Field-Artillery, — a pleasure
of which he had never been disappointed. He ended by
saying : " I congratulate both the regiment and yourself,

272 JENA OR SEDAN?

Colonel von Falkenhein. The regiment, because it has such
an excellent commanding officer at its head ; and you, because
you have made your regiment such a splendid body of men."
Hardly a very brilliant or very witty remark, this ; but it
sounded pleasantly, and one could not reasonably expect
higher praise.

Falkenhein was in the best of good humours. " Come,
Reimers," he said after lunch, when he had accompanied the
general to his carriage, " We'll give my two bays a little
exercise. They've had none yet to-day."

The two officers started off at an easy trot towards the
butts, chatting as they went.

" Here's something that will interest you, my dear Reimers,"
said the colonel presently. " Wednesday, the day we arrive
home, is your day to go to the Güntzes. Mariechen has written
to say there will be a surprise in the evening — vegetables of her
own growing and poultry of her own rearing. The child makes
one's mouth water, after our fare at the mess ! The ladies
promise us asparagus, home-bred chickens, new potatoes,
salad, rhubarb shape, and a bowl of strawberries, too —
everything home-grown. They drew lots as to which of the
fowls were to be sacrificed, and are anxiously awaiting the
arrival of the men, because not one of the kitchenmaids will
consent to wring the neck of a chicken. My daughter also
thanks you very much for your kind message ; and I was to
give you her kind remembrances, and to thank you heartily
for taking such excellent care of her old papa."

Reimers thanked him in a low voice.

" It is wonderful," continued Falkenhein pleasantly, " what
a change a little creature like that girlie of mine can make in
one's home. It used to be quite immaterial to me where I
slept — whether here, in barracks, or in my own house. After
my dear wife died I never cared to be at home. And now
this little girl makes things so pleasant again that I once more
enjoy being within my own four walls."

The lieutenant did not think this at all extraordinary. And
as the colonel went on chatting gaily about his little daughter,
Reimers, so silent hitherto, became quite talkative. Falkenhein
turned and glanced at him now and then. The young man
threw his heart and soul into his subject, and his eyes shone

JENA OR SEDAN? 273

as he related various little instances of Marie Falkenhein's
amiability and charm.

Suddenly Reimers paused. It was on the tip of his tongue
to ask the colonel at once for this jewel of a girl. It would,
indeed, be the most natural end to their conversation, and he
felt sure that he would meet with no rebuff. But then he had
not meant to approach the colonel on the subject so long as
he was a mere simple lieutenant. He would at least wait for
his promotion to senior-lieutenant. Therefore he held back
the proposal he had so nearly made.

It fell out that the very next day an official telegram
arrived, promoting Reimers to the rank of senior-lieutenant.
Colonel von Falkenhein was the first to congratulate his acting
adjutant, and it astonished him that an event of the kind, bound
to occur in the natural order of things, should throw the
sedate Reimers into such a state of excitement.

The new senior-lieutenant, too, was surprised at himself,
having hitherto imagined that he regarded such externals
with considerable equanimity. The delight with which he now
fastened the stars upon his epaulettes was little less than that
with which, seven years earlier, he had attached the epaulettes
themselves to his uniform, feeling himself the happiest man in
the whole world.

When Senior-lieutenant Reimers reported himself to the
colonel, Falkenhein made him an unexpected proposition.

" My dear Reimers," said he, " you know that Kauerhof is
now the eldest senior-lieutenant in the regiment. Before he
gets his captaincy he will have to return to ordinary duty for a
time, and I must therefore look about for another adjutant.
So I thought of you, my dear Reimers. You have been so
entirely satisfactory as acting adjutant that I cannot wish for a
better man. But what do you think of it yourself ? "

Reddening with pride and pleasure, Reimers replied : " If
you are kind enough to think me worthy of such a mark of
distinction, sir, I can only promise to do my best."

The colonel nodded, and continued : " I can well believe in
your good intentions. But now, how about the Staff College ? "

" Under these circumstances," replied Reimers quickly, " I
will of course gladly give up the Staff College."

274 JENA OR SEDAN?

" That's just what you shall not do ! " returned Falkenhein.
" You shall go to the Staff College. It is my wish, in your own
interests and in that of your career, my dear Reimers. Per-
haps the matter could be arranged by your postponing your
examination for a little while. You will probably in any case
have to wait patiently for quite six years to come before you
get the command of a battery. Be my adjutant for the first
two years of that period, and then go in for your examination.
By that time I shall probably be no longer in the regiment.
Well, what do you say ? "

Reimers agreed with pleasure. There seemed nothing but
good fortune for him that day. Apparently all his wishes
were to be fulfilled. Would it not perhaps be best to pro-
pose at once for the hand of Mariechen ? Was not this just
the right moment, after receiving such a conspicuous proof of
Falkenhein's esteem and goodwill? But finally a piece of
pure punctilio prevented him from carrying out his inten-
tions. It was not at all correct to make a proposal of marriage
at the time of receiving an official notification.

At luncheon that day it was continually, "Your health,
Reimers ! " " Good luck to you, Reimers ! " or the orderly
would be at his elbow with a message : " Captain Blank, or
Lieutenant So-and-so, would like to drink a glass of wine with
you, sir." And Reimers pledged his friends gaily across the
table. He had invited Güntz and little Dr. von Fröben to a
bottle of champagne, and grew more reckless as time went on.
When lights were brought for the cigars Güntz said to him :
" You're a bit screwed, my boy. You'd better go and sleep it
off."

But Reimers had become exceedingly jovial. " Oh, it's
nothing at all ! " he declared. " I'm going for my ride now,
It was postponed on account of the announcements to-day."

" That'll do nicely, my son," said Güntz ; " that will put
you right again." And he looked on smiling as the new senior-
lieutenant swung himself into the saddle. The first attempt
miscarried, and even the successful one was accomplished with
difficulty ; but the rider sat firmly enough in his seat when he
got there and Dorothy had no tricks. Güntz waved merrily
to his friend as he turned off into the forest.

JENA OR SEDAN? 275

The mare's hoofs sank deep into the soft sand ; she soon
allowed herself to fall into a lazy pace, and Reimers did not
press her. Dorothy stretched out her neck and drew the bridle
through her rider's fingers ; he let it hang loose.

Reimers now became aware for the first time that the glasses
and half-glasses in which he had answered his friends' con-
gratulations must have amounted to a considerable number. If
he tried to concentrate his thoughts on any particular subject,
they slipped away from him in the most perverse manner. He
reflected vaguely that this was the kind of mood in which he
had of old committed all manner of pleasant follies and youth-
ful indiscretions. And why not ? Was he not young, and a
free man ?

How delightful was this solitude after the noise and smoke
of the mess-room ! It was now about six o'clock, and a
heavenly June evening. The sun was still high, but the heat
was no longer oppressive ; the air felt soft and caressing. The
dense forest on either hand was wrapped in stillness ; no sound
penetrated between the slender stems of the trees ; the horse's
tread in the soft sand made only a slight swishing noise.

At a crossing of the ways the mare came to a standstill,
stretching out her nose towards a narrower lane, and snuffing
the air. Finally she turned off the sandy road on to a grassy
bridle-path. Reimers gave her her head ; this was probably a
short cut to the neighbouring village.

Now the wood became thinner. Cleared patches or young
plantations alternated with the groups of tall pine-trees, and
presently a fairly large meadow appeared on the left. The hay
had already been carried ; but in one corner the last remains
of tne crop had been collected and heaped together. This
little haycock exhaled a penetrating fragrance, the essence of
forest, grass, and sunshine, which the mare sniffed at longingly.

Suddenly there came over Reimers an irresistible desire to
stretch himself out in the hay and rest there for a little. With-
out further thought he dismounted, pushed some hay to the
mare with his foot, passed the bridle round the trunk of a pine
that stood solitary at the edge of the field, and threw himself
down on the soft grass. He pillowed his head on his cap, and
buried himself deep in his rustling couch. He drew out a long
stalk and chewed at it ; it still retained the sweet grassy taste.

276 JENA OR SEDAN?

Thin wisps fell across his face, and between them he looked up
into the blue sky, lazy and contented. Perfect stillness reigned
around him ; only as from time to time he turned his head the
dry grass crackled and rustled, sounding in his ears like the
snapping of twigs and branches.

At last his eyes became painful from staring so long into the
dazzling blue of heaven. He shut them ; all now was red
instead of blue, and to lie with closed lids was grateful and
delicious after the blinding light. He cast one sleepy glance
at the mare. She stood there flicking her sides with her tail,
and kept trying vainly to get some hay from the ground into
her bit-encumbered mouth. Ae thought of slackening the
curb for the poor beast, but was too lazy to stir.

While he was dozing off it seemed to him as if something
light and fluttering passed him by ; and for a moment he
became aware of another perfume added to the scent of the hay
— something faint, yet distinct. But he kept his eyes closed :
nothing external mattered to him.

Reimers was awakened by a gentle pricking and tickling.
It felt as though a wisp of hay were passing lightly over hi«
mouth, backwards and forwards. He snatched at it, and
long stalk remained in his hand. His eyes were slightlj
dazzled ; he was gazing straight at the sun, already considerably
lower in the sky.

Lazily he looked around him. Thank goodness, he mare
was still there, her head turned towards him, her ears prickec
attentively.

And here — close beside him ? A woman sat there
dainty little figure, dressed in some light silken fabric,
her fashionably-curled golden hair an enormous straw ht
above which nodded brilliant scarlet poppies. She sat wit
her back to him, and was trying to pick out the longest stall
from a tuft of grass that grew at the edge of the meadow.

Reimers rubbed his eyes. Devil take it all ! was he stil
dreaming ? A subtle odour came wafting from the rustlinj
silk of her attire, a breath of depravity, as though hailing fron
the corrupt life of some big city; a bewildering, insinuatini
atmosphere, that had of a sudden overpowered the deliciou
freshness of hay and pine-trees.

JENA OR SEDAN? 277

He shut his eyes dizzily. His senses were still somewhat
dazed from his potations; he could not rouse himself to a
clear awakening.

The woman turned towards him. A charming, rather bold
face bent down over him, and a pair of hot, eager lips were
pressed to his. And Reimers, after the space of years behind
him, was once again in that mood in which he had of yore
committed acts of folly.

A few weeks later Senior-lieutenant Reimers had a consul-
tation with the surgeon -major, Dr. Andreae.

" What you tell me, doctor," he said at the end, " is very
much like a death-sentence, so far as a man's domestic happi-
ness is concerned. He must never hope to found a family ? "

11 No," replied Andreae ; " a decent man does not marry
under such circumstances. If he does, he commits a crime,
consciously or unconsciously, not only upon a woman, but
upon his children."

"Thank you, doctor." And Reimers would have taken
eave, but Andreae stopped him at the door.

" I beg of you, my dear Reimers," he said, " not to take
too tragic a view of your case. I assure you, many men in
ike circumstances make out a very tolerable existence.
Among the younger men of the present generation the average
is enormously high, though fortunately most cases are not so
serious as yours. Quite alarmingly high, the average, to us
doctors.

" But after all, life is not entirely concerned with this one
relation to the other sex. Those who find themselves cut off
from domestic happiness in this particular are often most
excellent officers. In peace they can devote themselves
entirely to their profession without other distractions ; so that
it benefits somewhat, as does the Catholic Church by the
services of her celibate priesthood. And in active warfare it
seems to me that such men must enjoy something of the fatalism
Df Islam. All is not lost, my dear fellow ! I hear everywhere
the greatest praise of your capacity and talents as an officer.
So be brave, and throw the other as mere ballast behind you I
jSfou have a guiding star in your profession — is it not so ? "

Reimers nodded.

278 JENA OR SEDAN?

" You are right, doctor," he said, "and I am much obliged
to you."

He looked weary and broken as he went out at the door.
In a thoughtless moment he had destroyed his one chance of
happiness. That moment he must expiate, and he knew he
v.ras strong enough to bear the burden.

But it seemed to him that it was not this alone that had
decided his fate. He felt as though a grey veil had descended
over his whole future ; even over all that in his imagination
had elevated him above the more sordid chances of destiny.

Could this be because that star to which the doctor hac
pointed him was losing its brilliancy ?

Gloomily he trod the woodland path to the town. Dowr
below in a field behind the barracks an old sergeant was giving
the assistant trumpeters a lesson. The lads blew forth
horribly ill-tuned unison. Then the sergeant set his owr
trumpet to his lips, and the notes of the dismissal rang clearly
through the air : —

—X o..

^=j=rf

= ÜI

The signal that in the manoeuvres indicated the close 0
each evolution.

CHAPTER XIV

After eighteen months of service Gustav Weise was made
bombardier. Captain von Wegstetten thought this would now
be a safe experiment with the erstwhile social-democrat.

But more non-commissioned officers were still required.

Sergeant Wiegandt had gone away on April i : Wegstetten's
best non-com., and now the blissful husband of the beaming
Frieda. He would have been made deputy sergeant-major
very shortly ; but not even this prospect had been sufficient to
retain him. At Michaelmas two more non-commissioned
officers would obtain their discharge; Heppner was dead;
Heimert was in a mad-house ; there were strange faces every-
where, instead of the old tried experienced men. And even
so there were not enough of them.

In this embarrassment Wegstetten bethought himself of
Vogt. He was an honest steady lad, on whom one could
depend. All his superiors praised him, and, besides, he had
good blood in his veins, inherited from his father, the brave
old sergeant, with his iron cross and his medal for bravery.

Vogt did not prove to be particularly willing. Every plough
in its furrow, every mower deftly at work, awakened in him
longings for his old agricultural pursuits. He wore his
uniform with a good grace; there was no help for it, and
grumbling would have only made the life harder. But to
stay on longer than necessary — for that he had no han-
kering.

Wegstetten knew how to tackle his men. He talked
glibly to the gunner about the honour and distinction to be
won as a non-commissioned officer, not forgetting to observe
how much the father at home would rejoice to see the son
following in his footsteps.

Vogt asked his father's advice, and the turnpike-keeper

28o JENA OR SEDAN?

wrote back: "Jump at your captain's offer, my lad. As ar
old soldier, I am very glad to think of my boy as a non
commissioned officer. Never mind about me. The pleasure
you give me will make me young and strong, so that I shal
be able to keep the place going till you come home again at
last."

So Vogt signed on for another year.

But directly he found himself committed he began tc
regret his decision.

He had been very lonely in the battery since his comrade
Klitzing's death. He had not felt inclined to strike up a
friendship with any one else; none of them were quite his
sort. Despite his good nature, Truchsess was a lazy obtuse
kind of fellow. Count Plettau, to be sure, was different j for
though one never quite knew whether he was in jest or
earnest, still one could have something like rational conversa-
tion with him. And Plettau took a real interest in the sturdy
peasant lad, in whom he recognised an outlook on life so
different from his own as to fill him with constant amazement.
He told Vogt about the peasants of his own Westphalian
home, who in many cases had lived on their land from genera-
tion to generation, and knew no higher source of pride than
to call themselves peasant-farmers.

Then Vogt's eyes would brighten up. These men of the
red mother-earth were people after his own heart.

" Yes," he said, •• so it should be everywhere in Germany:

Peasant farm by peasant farm,

Then shall none have hunger or harm ! "

Vogt was grateful to the count for talking to him so
sensibly and kindly ; but still things were totally changed :
he could not find any one to replace his faithful friend
Klitzing. The poor fellow felt more and more lonely every
day.

In addition to this he had many vexations to bear when on
duty. Captain von Wegstetten and Lieutenant Reimers, who
certainly both knew their business well, had always shown
themselves satisfied with him ; but a new senior-lieutenant
was imported into the battery, a certain Brettschneider, who
was always pulling Vogt up and finding fault with him.

JENA OR SEDAN? 281

Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider came from the Staff
College, and the non-commissioned officers whispered it
about that he was considered no end of a swell. Well, he
might be clever and smart enough j but, nevertheless, the
new officer was not infallible. When the exercises were going
on he could make mistakes like every one else. One thing
was certain : he was tremendously well-set-up. He always
stood as straight and stiff as a ramrod, and he could scarcely
turn his carefully groomed head, so high was his collar !
Moreover, his pink, clean-shaven face never for one moment
lost its expression of haughty disdain. The men avoided him
as far as they could, for one seldom came near him without
being called back and found fault with ; and everybody — non-
coms, and all — felt exasperated by the young man's conceited
behaviour.

Devil take the fellow ! Wegstetten and Reimers certainly
did not make themselves cheap with the men. But when
things were going right, they always had time for a word of
praise and an appreciative smile. Even the sharp eyes of
little Wegstetten could look quite good-humoured on
occasion. But Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider always
remained stand-offish, looking as if he had swallowed a
poker.

All this incensed our honest Vogt. Of course it was true
— confound it ! — that a soldier was only doing his duty ; still,
one is but human, and one deserves a little recognition for
hard and faithful service. And isn't that the right way to
knit a lasting bond between officers and men, one that should
prove valuable when hard times come ?

During the gun-practice Vogt had been several times called
over the coals by Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider. The
bombardier did his duty in a cheerful spirit, and sometimes let
fall half-audible jokes and chaff for his comrades' benefit This
much annoyed the officer in question, and he spiced his
rebuke with the remark that he didn't know how a man who
couldn't observe the first rudiments of discipline could aspire
to being a non-commissioned officer !

Vogt laid this scolding to heart. He had meant no harm
when he had called out " Hurry up ! " to that dilatory old
Truchsess. On the other hand, it could not be denied that

232 JENA OR SEDAN?

Brettschneider was in the right : they were forbidden to speak
unless it was absolutely necessary, and " necessary " his ad-
monition had certainly not been.

Nevertheless, a bitter feeling of having been unjustly treated
remained in Vogt's mind.

When they came back from the practice-camp he rejoiced to
be once more doing ordinary drill ; for at this he knew he was
especially good, particularly in the gun-drill. He would be
able now to show the senior-lieutenant what a capable fellow he
was. And this time they would have to be more than usually
particular over the exercises ; the colonel himself was going to
review the sixth battery.

The mantling and dismantling of the guns needed great
promptitude and dexterity. Imaginary accidents were therefore
said to have happened, and the men keenly competed together
to see who should remedy them most quickly and satisfactorily.

The pole of Vogt's gun was supposed to be broken. In a
second he had put on the spare iron bands that should in
reality be fixed with nails, and then he wound coil after coil
of stout rope round the join, till the pole was as if held in a
strong web of cordage, and would be more likely to break in a
new place than to give way again where it had broken before.

He had just finished this piece of work, when a gunner
came running to say that the off-wheel of the gun-carriage had
been destroyed by a shot, and must be replaced by a new one.

This was a serious piece of business. Three men would
have to hold the heavy carriage while the two others fixed
the scarcely less heavy wheel on to the axle. To make
things worse, that blockhead Truchsess had hurt himself
in removing the wheel that had been " destroyed," so that
only four men were left. Vogt rolled up the spare wheel, but
it was almost impossible to fix it ; the heavy wheel was too
cumbersome for a single man.

The sweat ran in streams down Vogt's forehead into his eyes,
making them smart terribly ; but he would not give up, and at
last with a tremendous effort managed to lift the wheel into
place and slide it on to the axle. There was nothing to do
now but to run the linch-pin through the axle and screw on the
nave to keep all safe. This he did with trembling fingers.

Vogt raised himself. Thank God 1 Neither of the other

JENA OR SEDAN? 283

five guns had got as far as his, and yet his had been the
heaviest job. He told his men to keep still, and ran over to
Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider to report the completion of
his task.

Brettschneider was standing at the edge of the parade-ground
in the shade of the baggage-shed, talking to Senior-lieu-
tenant Reimers.

It was only while he was running that Vogt first noticed
how severely he had strained himself. His heart hammered
as though it would burst from his body, and his legs were
trembling. With the back of his hand he wiped the sweat
from his brow, and drew himself up in the prescribed fashion
as he reported : " Gun six ready, sir. Pole mended and
spare wheel fixed."

As through a mist he saw that Senior-lieutenant Reimers was
smiling a little, probably at his over-heated appearance. Then
suddenly he heard the sharp high voice of Brettschneider.

"Please stand in a more respectful attitude, Bombardier
Vogt, when you have something to say to me," the voice
snapped out.

Vogt pulled himself up and repeated his announcement.

But now the senior-lieutenant began to correct him and
find fault with him : he was to put his right shoulder higher,
his cap was not straight, he must place the tip of his little
finger on his trouser-seam, and put his feet wider apart.

" Straighten your knees ! " commanded he at last.

Vogt felt how his legs were trembling. He might have
been able to obey ; but he was at the end of his patience.

Brettschneider again and in a louder tone commanded :
j Bombardier Vogt, straighten your knees ! "

But Vogt did not care ; a mad resentment surged up in
him. He would not obey this idiot at any price. He
raised his head, and looked the officer straight in the face
with eyes full of open mutiny.

Brettschneider shouted again : " Bombardier Vogt, I order
you to straighten your knees. Do you know that you are
being guilty of disobedience to orders, and that that is a
military crime ? "

But Bombardier Vogt remained unmoved, with his
mutinous eyes fixed on the senior-lieutenant.

284 JENA OR SEDAN?

Brettschneider waited a few seconds, then he called quietly
to one of the corporals : " Put Bombardier Vogt under
arrest ! "

The corporal looked blankly, first at Brettschneider, then at
Vogt.

The senior-lieutenant repeated his order, whereupon the
corporal took the bombardier by his right arm and marched
away with him through the gate into the courtyard of the
barrack.

When they were out of hearing, Reimers turned to his
companion : " Were you not a little hard on him, Brett-
schneider ? "

The clean-shaven face turned towards him languidly, and
Brettschneider asked coolly : " How do you mean, my dear
fellow?"

11 Well, you must know yourself ! " pursued Reimers. " The
man had just done a good piece of work, he came running to
you and expected a word of recognition, — he deserved it, Brett-
schneider, — and you let him be taken off like that ! I don't
think that's the way to make men love their work."

" One must preserve discipline, and prevent these rascals
from getting thoroughly demoralised."

Reimers shrugged his shoulders. " Vogt was the best
soldier in the whole battery," he declared.

" Then the battery is in a bad way ! " retorted Brett-
schneider impatiently. " The man commits an undeniable
piece of disobedience before your eyes and you defend him ?
I am much obliged ! " Brettschneider put on his haughtiest ex-
pression, smiled with the utmost politeness, and said amiably :
" You must confess, my dear Reimers, that I am entitled to
my own opinion about the matter."

In Room IX. that evening the conversation was of a heated
description. Truchsess swore that he would not put up with
that low fellow, that Brettschneider. All of them were furious
with the stuck-up young man ; and though they had hitherto
gone through their duty without much fuss or grumbling, they
were now filled with a thorough repugnance for the soldier's
uniform and a perfect hatred for military life in which one had
to knuckle under to idiots like that. You half killed yourself.

JENA OR SEDAN? 285

and what did you get by it? More kicks than halfpence,
or perhaps you even get clapped' into prison !

" Keep your hair on, brewer ! " said Count Plettau to
Truchsess ; and putting on a superior tone : " We don't
understand all this, you see ! this is the higher kind of
patriotism ! Lieutenant Brettschneider ought to have a medal,
instead of being blamed by such as you ! "

He also was beside himself with rage over the exasperating
piece of folly he had witnessed. Hang it all ! if he had not
been so seriously concerned to get to the end of his long
years of service he would certainly have put a spoke in the
wheel of this young gentleman, the senior-lieutenant. But no ;
that would be too foolish. Only a few days more and he
would be free at last ; he could not play tricks with his
chances.

Suddenly he laughed aloud.

"You keep your mouths shut, boys ! " he said, " otherwise
you may get into trouble yourselves. But don't worry ! When
I have got over the next few days I'll give the senior-lieutenant
the lesson he wants I "

The turnpike-keeper, Friedrich August Vogt, was gazing
in surprise on a letter which the postman had just pushed in
at the little window. The superscription was in the hand-
writing of his son, but the post-mark bore the name of the
capital.

What was the boy doing there ? He had written nothing
as to any prospective change. Well, the letter itself must
explain.

At first the old man could not understand the written
words. He read them through a second and a third time.
At last he comprehended what had happened. He sat on his
chair as if paralysed, and read the last page of the letter over
and over again without attaching any meaning to it.

His son wrote from the prison where he was now detained
as a prisoner awaiting trial. He related all that had passed
traightforwardly and without excusing himself.

"To-day I have been shown the charge against me," he
T; concluded. " It is a case of wilful disobedience before all the

Jpther men. I believe it is an offence that is rather severely

isep

2S6 JENA OR SEDAN?

punished, and I know, too, that I am not without blame.
But perhaps, dear father, you will not condemn me altogether ;
perhaps you will be able to imagine what my feelings must
have been. For your sake alone I ought to have been able to
control myself, and I beg you to forgive me for not having
done so."

The turnpike-keeper jumped up suddenly from his chair.
He flung the letter violently down on the table and struck it
with his fist. He felt full of uncontrollable anger against this
boy, who had brought shame upon him in his old age at the
end of an honourable and blameless life. And why ? be-
cause my gentleman did not choose to obey orders ! because
he had chosen to feel injured ! A soldier to feel himself
" injured " by the blame of his superior ! So these were the
new-fangled times of no discipline and no respect for one's
betters !

And this was the reward of his trouble in bringing up the
boy to be loyal and true : that he had now got a son in prison !
When the neighbours asked : " Your son is in the artillery,
isn't he ? " he must reply : " Oh, no ; he was once ! Now he
is carting sand." "What! carting sand?" " Oh, yes ; he
is carting sand, dressed in a grey shirt, and with a lot of
other gentlemen in a long row. Oh, very honourable gentle-
men, all of them ! A thief on one side of him, and on the
other a person who did not quite know the difference between
mine and thine." " Your son ! " " My son, neighbour."

The turnpike-keeper seized the letter again to see how the
thing went exactly.

Nice sort of business this ! There it was right enough :
H Wilful disobedience before all the other men ! " Nothing
else was to be made of it.

But this Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider — by God ! — he
was not one of the right sort, if the boy was telling the truth.
With all due respect for an officer, he seemed to be a perfect
popinjay. There were people like that here and there whc
were ready to burst with pride and conceit, and who looked
apon an inferior as scarcely a human being.

And again he snatched up the letter.

What the boy wrote was all very clear and straightforward
honestly and truthfully put. One could not help believing

JENA OR SEDAN? 287

what was there on the paper ; and, of course, it was easy to
understand how the thing had come about. After all, every
man has his feelings, whether he be a gunner or a senior-
lieutenant. The devil ! he himself would have done exactly
as Franz did ; though, of course, in his case life in a charity-
school had made him used to giving in to people. But the
boy had always been so independent, no one could help
feeling for him.

And after all, when one looked at it rightly, it was a clumsy
thing for Lieutenant Brettschneider to have done, and his son's
fault had been the outcome of an unfortunate set of circum-
stances,— not a very serious fault either, though the poor lad
would have to pay for it dearly enough !

Wilful disobedience — what sort of punishment would there
be for that ? It had such an imposing, ceremonious sound !
He racked his brains to think whom he could ask about it. But
there was no one in the village who would be of any use.

After a sleepless night he rose from his be*i with his decision
made. He milked the cow, and asked a neighbour to see to
the animals during the day. Then he put on his old-fashioned
black Sunday coat and the top hat which he only wore on great
occasions, such as the king's birthday. On his breast he
fastened his medal and cross. Over all he wore his old cloak,
and he put some pieces of bread and sausage in his pocket.
He was ready for travelling.

On the way to the station he passed a field of barley. It was
ripe for cutting, and he had meant to begin reaping that morn-
ing. But what did it matter about the barley ? He had got
to see after his boy and petition for him. He would go straight
to the right person : he would go to the garrison and seek out
the head of his son's battery, Captain von Wegstetten.

Throughout the whole journey he was alone in the railway
carriage ; other people did not travel so early. He looked
stupidly out of the window. It was all one to him to-day
what the fields looked like and how the harvest was getting on.
He could only think of what he should say for his boy. Perhaps
it was still possible to make them give up the charge against
him.

In the capital he sat for an hour and a half in the waiting-

288 JENA OR SEDAN?

room, waiting for his train. He got a cup of coffee, and ate
his breakfast from the provisions in his pocket.

It was close and hot in the big room. He felt uncomfortable
in such an atmosphere, as every one must do who is accus-
tomed to work in the open air, and at last he threw back his
cloak to relieve his oppression. People stared at his medals
nudged one another, and would not take their eyes off him.
looking curious but respectful.

The turnpike-keeper sighed and buttoned his cloak againt
Oh, if people only knew in what trouble he was !

It was just eight o'clock when he reached the garrison town.
Of course that was somewhat early to be making such a visit
as his ; but he had no time to lose, and he knew that an officer
must always begin the day early.

The porter at the station did not know where Captain von
Wegstetten lived. But the turnpike-keeper had a piece of luck :
outside the station he met a gunner, who readily told him the
address — «' 1 1 Markt Strasse, up two flights of stairs" — and
showed him the way to go.

The two flights of stairs tried the old man sorely. He
had to wait on the first landing in order to get his breath.
" Have I grown old all of a sudden ? " he asked himself in
surprise.

A soldier in a red coat opened the door to him.

" Is the captain at home ? " asked the turnpike-keeper.

11 Sorry, but he's not," answered the lad.

11 Can you tell me where I can find him ? "

" That would be no good. The captain's gone away — to a
court-martial."

The turnpike-keeper started violently.

" Is the court-martial on Bombardier Vogt ? " he asked.

The soldier answered in the affirmative, and inquired in
surprise, " Who are you, then ? "

" Vogt's father. I — I wanted to talk to the captain about
my son. But it is too late, I see."

He turned about, saying, " Thank you all the same," and
went towards the stairs. In the dark he missed the first step
and stumbled ; the lad ran after him. He led the old man to
the banister and said, " Take care you don't fall ; it is rather
dark here. And you know, Herr Vogt, the men of the battery

JENA OR SEDAN? 289

al' say it is a mean shame, what's happened to Vogt, a mean
shame."

But the turnpike-keeper did not seem to understand him.
He only nodded and said, "Thank you, thank you," and
tramped slowly down the stairs in his heavy boots.

Whilst Friedrich August Vogt waited for his train in the
station of the little garrison town, the trial of his son was
taking place before the military court of the district.

There was no doubt about the circumstances of the case.
The two eye-witnesses, Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider and
Senior-lieutenant Reimers, were unanimous on the subject, and
he accused gave his assent to the correctness of the particulars.

The trial would therefore have come to an end very quickly
had there not been a number of witnesses for the accused.

Captain von Wegstetten, as head of the battery; Captain
Giintz, who had commanded it during Wegstetten's temporary
absence ; Senior-lieutenant Reimers and Lieutenant Landsberg,
as officers in the battery ; the sergeant-major and other non-
commissioned officers : all united in giving Vogt the very best
possible character. Wegstetten had had a violent altercation
with Brettschneider, not only from personal feeling for the bom-
bardier, but also from annoyance that his best candidate for a
non-commissioned officer's post was lost to him through a piece
of such tactless mismanagement. Brettschneider had com-
plained about this reprimand, but no notice had been taken of
his complaint, and that in itself spoke volumes foi the accused.
Giintz and Reimers were very warm in their praise of Vogt,
and even Lieutenant Landsberg remembered the man as being
particularly willing and diligent on duty.

Things looked favourable for the accused.

One of the officers present, a captain of the pioneers, asked
Vogt: "You had just been working very hard, had you not?
had fixed the heavy wheel single-handed, and had run very fast
to tell Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider? — were you not very
much exhausted and out of breath ? "

" Yes, sir."

" I mean, you were rather over-tired and your eyes were
dazed ? "

"Yes, sir."

290 JENA OR SEDAN?

" Perhaps you did not quite know what you were doing ? "

The accused hesitated a moment.

Wegstetten and Reimers had remained in the room. The
former moved restlessly from one foot to the other. If Vogt
were only to say "Yes," then the whole thing would be put
down to a temporary aberration of mind due to hurry and
fatigue, and the affair would end with his acquittal.

But the bombardier answered : " No, sir, I knew quite well
what I was doing."

Now that was honest, but distinctly stupid.

The countenance of the prosecutor lightened up. He was
a very young man, with many scars on his face. He sat stiffly
on his chair, tightly buttoned into an immaculate brand-new
uniform; and hitherto he had been regarding with a bored
expression a silver bangle that he wore on his right wrist.

The hearing of witnesses was at an end. The president of
the court-martial, a fat, good-humoured man of mature years,
.asked : " Is there anything that you wish to say, Bombardier
Vogt ? "

" No, thank you, sir."

" You acknowledge your guilt, then ? "

" Yes, sir."

But the president wanted to give the man a chance, and
asked another question, to which an affirmative answer would
be a matter of course.

" But you are sorry for your conduct? " he asked.

The accused, however, again hesitated. Naturally every ona
expected him to say " yes," so that people were not listening
very attentively. But when this " yes " did not appear to be
forthcoming, all eyes were suddenly fixed upon Vogt.

" No," said he firmly.

The president looked amazed. " You cannot have under-
stood me," he said. " I asked you if you were not sorry for
your conduct ? "

But the answer came, clear and decided : " No, I cannot be
sorry."

Every one present looked dumfounded. Wegstetten thrust
his sword angrily against the ground. God in heaven ! was
the fellow an ass ? Now his fate was sealed !

Those who were assisting at the court-martial looked

JENA OR SEDAN? 291

ndignant ; the chief of them, a major of dragoons, tapped
impatiently on the table with his gold pencil-case, and gave a
condemnatory shake of his head. The youngest of his
colleagues, a senior-lieutenant in the grenadiers, twirled his
moustache briskly ; the expression of his face said plainly :
" Just wait a bit ! we'll give you a lesson ! "

The public prosecutor beamed. He rose with an air of
triumph, and demanded, " having full regard for all the
extenuating circumstances of the case, but also in considera-
tion of the obstinate persistence of the accused n his offence,"
a punishment of nine months' imprisonment, i

Vogt turned as pale as death when he heard these words.
This was impossible ! It could not, it ought not to be !

The court was not long in coming to its decision, and its
judgment was read out by the president in a quiet even tone
Df voice.

The accused hung on his lips with anxious expectation. At
ast, after all the formalities, came the verdict : " five months'
mprisonment." He leant against the railing that separated
lim from his judges. The wood gave a creak. Long after
he fat gentleman had sat down again Vogt went on listening.
Surely something more was coming; some mitigation of this
errible sentence? But the trial was at an end.

The condemned man was taken away by a non-commissioned
)fficer ; he walked with unsteady steps, his eyes staring into
•acancy. In the passage outside he caught sight of Weg-
tetten. The captain was talking to an old man in civilian
lothes. Vogt felt a thrill when he saw the white hair that
urrounded the old man's face. But it was only after he had
one round the next corner of the passage that the recognition
truck him : great God, it was his father !

Involuntarily he stopped and tried to turn back ; but the
on-com. took his arm and pushed him forward, not roughly,
et in such fashion that the prisoner gave up his attempt.

f* You fool, you ! " said his companion j " if you had said
ou were quite sick with shame for your silly behaviour, you'd
ave got off with a month ! "

After endless questions the turnpike-keeper had managed
) find his way to the court-house of the army-corps. He had

292 JENA OR SEDAN?

been wandering through street after street ; the busy traffic c
the capital had made his head spin, and he was tired to deati
with this unwonted tramping over hard stone pavements.

He had arrived before the court-room door just as th
witnesses were leaving. He had recognised Captain vo
Wegstetten immediately — his boy had so often described th
little man with his gigantic red moustache and sparkling eye
— and he was not afraid of addressing him on the spot.

Wegstetten was at first not particularly pleased at this er
counter; but the honest troubled face of the old soldk
touched him, and he listened patiently.

The turnpike-keeper had not much to say ; it only amounte
to an earnest representation of how well-conducted his so
had always hitherto been ; of how glad he had been to be
soldier; and he ended with a bitter lamentation that all th:
should have happened to such a good, brave lad; the bo
must have gone clean out of his senses. The old man said
all with the most touching self-restraint. He took great pair
to preserve a soldierly bearing, and omitted none of th
customary tokens of respect, just as if he had been still cla
in his old sergeant's uniform, and standing before an office
of the most severe type. Yet all the time the tears ran dow
his weather-beaten furrowed cheeks and his snow-white bean
and as he tried to draw up his bent shoulders the meda
clinked together on his breast.

Wegstetten had but little comfort for the poor old mai
He told him how favourably all the witnesses had spoken <
his son, both officers and non-commissioned officers ; how h
as captain of the battery had always been glad to have such
capable man under him ; and how the whole wretched busine:
had come about through the mismanagement of an officer wh
had only lately returned to the regiment.

The face of the turnpike-keeper lighted up as he listene
to the captain's words. He breathed again. Thank God
things could not go so badly with the boy. A few weel
under arrest — and the affair would be at an end.

But Wegstetten proceeded to tell him of the continue
obstinacy of his son, and at last was forced to impart to th
old man the severe sentence that had been passed.

Five months' imprisonment ! It struck the old turnpike

JENA OR SEDAN ? 293

keeper like a blow. He staggered, and the captain was obliged
to support him. But the weakness soon passed, and Vogt
begged the officer's pardon. He could not, however, listen to
Wegstetten's explanation of the harsh verdict. This was a
terrible, a crying piece of injustice ; on the one side was an
offence, a perfectly trivial offence, committed by a brave well-
behaved soldier (as by common consent his boy had been
pronounced), who had been driven into it moreover by the
f mismanagement " of his superior ; and on the other side was
this heavy punishment of five months' imprisonment ! The
disproportion between crime and sentence was incomprehen-
sible to his mind.

He walked in silence beside Wegstetten, who was speaking
to him earnestly the while. At the door of the court-house
the old man stood still and saluted, meaning to take leave of
the captain.

Then the officer asked him : " Would you not like to speak
to your son? I will get you a permit."

"Thank you, sir," said the turnpike-keeper, "if you would
have the kindness, sir."

This was soon done. Wegstetten exchanged a few words
with the superintendent of the military prison and returned
with the pass. He himself conducted the old man to the gate
of the prison building.

" Don't take all this too hard, Herr Vogt," he said in
farewell. " Your son has committed an excusable offence, and
has been very severely but not unjustly punished. He remains
an honourable sold er all the same."

"Yes, sir," answered the turnpike-keeper. He looked
darkly after the little officer. What sort of talk was that ?
Was it any comfort to be told that his boy was not a dis-
honourable rascal? He knew himself what his boy was;
none knew better 1 Bravery and honour, that was Franz all
over. Nobody need tell him that.

And the poor lad had been punished as if he had stolen
something ! Many thieves, indeed, got off easier. They had
condemned his boy to a dishonourable punishment, — and
why ? — because he had too much sense of honour !

He rang violently at the entrance gate of the prison. A
sentry opened the door, took the permit, and ushered him

294 JENA OR SEDAN?

into the waiting-room. "I will tell the inspector you are here,"
he said, and left the room.

After a few moments the door of the waiting-room opened
again and an inspector appeared on the threshold, a dried-up
looking man with a leathery complexion. He looked at the
permit through his spectacles, and turned curious eyes towards
the medals on the breast of the veteran. He shook his head
deprecatingly, and called out an order from the door.

Shortly afterwards a grenadier announced : " Bombardier
Vogt is here, sir."

" Let him come in," said the inspector. Then he turned
away, and stood looking out of the window.

Franz Vogt went quietly up to his father and looked into
his face with his frank honest eyes.

"Good-day, father," he said simply.

The turnpike-keeper took his son's hand in both his own.
The tears came into his eyes and he looked at him as through
a veil. Thank God, the boy still wore his artillery uniform !
The old man was spared the sight of him in the grey prison
garb.

As the father was silent the son began to speak. He
described in his plain hearty way how the whole unfortu-
nate business had played itself out, and related truthfully every-
thing that was in his own favour, while acknowledging his
fault without further excuse. " Do you know, father,'" he
concluded, " what the sentence is ? "

The turnpike-keeper nodded. Franz cast his eyes down and
said in a troubled voice : " It seems to me very hard, father."

He felt a spasmodic pressure of his hand, and his father
nodded his head in assent.

" The corporal said I had only myself to thank for it," the
prisoner went on. " They asked me if I was sorry, and I said
1 no.' The corporal said that was stupid. But I couldn't say
otherwise. And I should have to say the same if they
asked me again."

Then the turnpike-keeper opened his mouth for the first
time since he had entered the room.

" You were right ! " he said, so loudly and emphatically
that the inspector at the window started and gave a warning
cough.

JENA OR SEDAN? 295

Now that he had seen his son again, this brave honest lad,
a change seemed to have come over the old man. The boy
had been a willing dutiful soldier, — everybody said so, —
and yet they were going to shut him up in prison for five
long months, all because of a piece of fiddle-faddle !
Devil take them all ! What was the use of being a good
soldier? And at a stroke every trace disappeared of the
obedient and respectful old sergeant who had worn the
uniform so proudly ; he was peasant pure and simple, hard-
headed and stiff-necked, a peasant who would stand up for
what he thought right and defend it through thick and thin.

" You are right" he said, " and you were right all along."

But the son was more discriminating than the father,
even though the punishment affected himself.

" You are not in earnest, father," he remonstrated ; " I know
I was in fault. But the punishment is too hard, even so ; and
I can appeal."

The turnpike-keeper laughed softly.

" Yes, you can be a fool," he said, M and get yourself into a
worse mess ! No, boy, if you take my advice you will leave
appealing alone. If they have been unjust to you then you
must put up with the injustice proudly, it won't last for ever !
but never beg for justice ! "

Franz Vogt looked disappointed. He had hoped that the
higher courts might mitigate his sentence, but his father's
advice must be best.

The inspector turned round from the window. The visitor's
time was up.

Once more the son regarded with loving pride the
venerable appearance of his father.

" Why, you have put on all your medals, father ! " he said,
smiling a little.

" Yes," replied the turnpike-keeper. " I put on all my
medals when I came to see you." And, in a loud voice, that
the inspector might hear, he repeated : " I put them on for you,
my dear good boy, and for you only." And for the first time
in his life he embraced his son, took the boy's head between
his hands, and kissed him on the forehead. Franz Vogt felt
the trembling of the old man's lips, and choked back his own
tears. As the warder was taking him back down the long

296 JENA OR SEDAN?

passage he looked round once more. His father was just going
out of the door, and a ray of sunlight fell on the venerable
white head. Then the folding-doors closed, and shut in the
grey twilight of the corridor.

The villagers had always regarded the turnpike-keeper as
rather an eccentric person ; but henceforth they began to
look upon him as downright crazy. The old widow who had
hitherto done his housekeeping was the first to spread this
rumour.

The old man took to shutting himself up more and
more. Nobody was ever allowed to cross his threshold.

The peasants, however, let him go his way. Every one
has a right to do as he likes ; and the turnpike-keeper's
manner of life was beginning to be looked on as a matter of
course, when suddenly he drew upon himself universal
attention.

There was to be a fresh election for the Reichstag in the
district, the conservative candidate's victory having been
disallowed. He had only been successful after a second
ballot, in which the votes of the two parties had held the
balance almost even; and the election had just been de-
clared null and void, in consequence of the protest made by
the social-democrats. The two rival parties, social-democrats
and conservatives, were now preparing anew for battle.
Every single vote was of consequence, and canvassing went
on busily. Election literature flooded the constituency; it
was thrown in at open windows and pushed under door-sills.

The turnpike-keeper had hitherto always placed himself at
the disposal of the conservative candidate.

The conservative party liked to display names of the " small
people " of the neighbourhood on the list of their supporters, in
addition to signatures of councillors of state, burgomasters,
landlords, &c.

And now suddenly Friedrich August Vogt came and
demanded to have his name taken off' the list.

The president of the election committee, a cavalry officer in
the reserve and the lord of the manor, attempted to make him
reconsider his determination. He wanted to know the
reasons for this sudden change of conviction, and asked

JENA OR SEDAN? 297

pathetically if the old soldier was going to be unfaithful at this
time of day to the motto : " God, King, and Country " ? Vogt
stuck to his demand, but he declined to give any reasons.

On the day of the election the turnpike-keeper was troubled
with a feverish unrest. Ten times and more he put on his hat
and stood at the house door with his big stick in his hand,
but he always turned back again.

The polling was to end at six o'clock. Shortly before that
hour he strung himself up to a resolve. He left the house
hastily, and hurried to the ale-house, in the garden of which
the polling-booth had been erected.

Before the door stood the two men who were distributing
voting-papers. Tired with their day's work, they were leaning
against the paling in front of the tavern. One of them,
employed by the conservatives, was a superannuated farm
labourer from the manor; the socialist was an invalided
stonemason, who had lost a leg in consequence of a fall from
some scaffolding. They were chatting together in a friendly
fashion, notwithstanding the antagonism of their employers.

The one-legged man did not even give himself the trouble
to offer Vogt one of his voting-papers. Everybody knew old
Vogt. The blood of an old soldier ran in his veins, he was
conservative to the bone.

The farm labourer held out a conservative roting-paper,
and said :

" You are nearly too late, Herr Vogt. Here is your
vote."

But the turnpike-keeper turned away with a lowering look.
He stretched out his hand to the other man and demanded a
voting-paper, with which the stonemason hastened to furnish
him ; and Friedrich August Vogt stumped heavily up the steps
into the polling-station.

The magistrate of the district was taking charge of the
proceedings. Beside him sat the schoolmaster of the church
schools, and the inspector of the manor. A few peasants and
a workman from the fire-clay factory, his clothes covered with
lime, were standing about.

The schoolmaster announced the name : " Vogt, Friedrich
August, retired turnpike-keeper, registered number 41."

The old man stretched out the folded voting-paper with a

298 JENA OR SEDAN?

hesitating movement ; the magistrate took it and placed it in
the tin-box which served as a receptacle for the votes. He
nodded familiarly to the elector; this was a certain vote for
the conservatives.

But the turnpike-keeper did not respond to the greeting.
Ke stood stiffly by the table looking at the box that contained
the voting-papers; suddenly his erect figure seemed to col-
lapse, and the old man slunk out of the polling-station almost
like an evil-doer.

The results of the election were known in the village by
seven o'clock. One hundred and fifty-three votes had been
registered : seventy-seven for the social-democrats, seventy-six
for the conservatives. It was the first time there had been a
socialist majority in this place. The social-democrats had,
therefore, every reason for rejoicing. They sat in the little
inn at the end of the village, which was only able to maintain
itself through the political disagreements of the villagers, and
drank success to their party in the ultimate result of the
election throughout the whole constituency. The peasants in
the bar of the big inn were not less hopeful ; they comforted
themselves by declaring that the result in such a small place
was of no real consequence. Nevertheless, it was a disgrace
to think that there were now in the village more red revolu-
tionists than loyal subjects.

The morning of August the 10th dawned bright and glorious ;
the day on which Plettau, after so many long years, came
once more under the jurisdiction of civil law. It was one of
those mornings when it is a joy to be a soldier ; when every
wearer of the uniform feels heartily thankful that his day's
work is to be done out in God's free open world of nature,
and not behind a desk or in some overheated factory.

The inspection of the battery was fixed for half-past seven.
Lieutenant Brettschneider had had his men out since six, and
had already robbed them of their last remnants of good
temper. Here he had discovered a helmet the polish of
which was not bright enough to please him, there a coat the
sleeves of which were too long ; or he had waxed wroth over
some head of hair that he considered insufficiently cropped
And all this, while " stand at attention" was the order; sc

JENA OR SEDAN? 299

that the men got cramp in their legs, and sneezing fits from
staring the whole time in the face of the morning sun.

At last the battery was drawn up on the parade-ground,
and Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider was ready to do himself
credit. The colonel was seen slowly approaching, accom-
panied by Major Schrader on one side, and by Captain von
Wegstetten on the other. Brettschneider hastened towards
them to report that the battery was in position.

The colonel received his announcement graciously. " Let
the men stand at ease," he commanded. And when Brett-
schneider had called out the order, he returned to his place
to begin the parade.

Then occurred something very startling.

A shout was heard : " Holdrio, hoho ! " And then again :
" Holdrio — yoho — hoho — o ! " And again a third time :
" Holdrio — yoho — yoho — hoho — o — o ! "

The yodel was evidently sounding from the slope of the
opposite hill. Every one looked that way ; and, behold, on
the hillside appeared the figure of Count Egon Plettau, still
dressed as for his discharge, in the grey drill trousers and
much-patched coat.

He waved his cap to the battery; then he lowered his
hands, while the eyes of the onlookers followed in suspense
his every movement.

He let down the grey drill trousers ; and there in the full
blaze of the morning sunshine he went through a certain
performance which even the Scythians — suggesting though
they did to Greek art the original conception of the centaur —
could certainly not have achieved without descending from
horseback.

If Plettau, like Janus, had had eyes in the back of his head,
down below in the parade-ground he would have seen an
array of wide-open eyes and gaping mouths.

After a short interval he arose, picked up a big piece of white
cardboard from the ground, and pointed to it as he brandished
it in the air. Then he laid it down again, and once more he
yodelled gaily : " Holdrio — yoho — yoho — hoho — o — o ! " He
then bowed politely, and vanished precipitately among the
bushes.

Down on the parade-ground every one was speechless

u

3oo JENA OR SEDAN?

The men looked sheepish ; they longed to burst into peals of
laughter, but were afraid of getting into trouble. So they
took great pains not to commit themselves, and tried to look
as if something perfectly ordinary had been happening.

Wegstetten was beside himself with anger and resentment.
" I beg you will allow me, sir," he said to the colonel, " to
" send a couple of non-commissioned officers to arrest that
fellow. This is an unheard-of insult to the whole army — a
scandal — a disgrace ! "

Falkenhein's lips twitched. He, too, thought this piece ot
impudence quite beyond a joke. But he held the same
opinion as did the Grand Duke of Oldenburg concerning lese-
majesty : that the insult of a fool is no insult.

" Be calm, my dear Wegstetten," he said. " Let your
count take himself off. But you had better just send some
one up there — one of the non-coms, upon whom you can rely
— to fetch down that placard before any of the men can get
hold of it. Who knows what impertinence the fellow may not
have scrawled ? "

Corporal von Frielinghausen was charged with the mission,
and ascended the hillside. The exercises were begun mean-
while.

Frielinghausen found the piece of cardboard neatly placed
against a bank beside the last traces of Count Egon Plettau.
Carrying the placard with its back carefully turned to the
battery, he descended the slope again, and returned to
the three officers. With the tips of his fingers the colonel
took the document from him. The inscription was short
enough :

" Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider," cried Major Schrader
suddenly, "please be good enough to come here for a
moment."

Brettschneider advanced in haste : " You called me, sir ? "

Schrader pointed to the placard. " A few words in eluci-
dation of the demonstration up yonder ! " he said, shaking
with suppressed laughter.

On the cardboard was neatly written in gigantic letters,
coloured artistically with red and blue ; " A farewell greeting
to Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider ! "

" A reminiscence of ' Ekkehard,' " said the colonel. " This

JENA OR SEDAN? 30r

Count Plettau has read a certain amount. One must give the
devil his due ! "

But Major Schrader, who in his leisure hours occupied
himself with modern literature, who had seen " Die Weber "
and " Seine Kleine " in Berlin, and was even acquainted with
11 Rosenmontag," murmured softly to himself : " A farewell to
the regiment 1 M

CHAPTER XV

" Freedom, that I sing — "

{Von Schenkendorf.]

In August Corporal von Frielinghausen was ordered to the
Fire- workers' College in Berlin. The young fellow made a good
appearance in his neat uniform ; his figure had filled out and
become more manly, and on his upper lip a slight moustache
had begun to show. But his bronzed visage had retained
the old frank boyish expression, and altogether he was a
fine-looking lad, after whom the women already turned to
gaze.

After two years had passed, his friends received a formal
notification of his marriage; it was sent with the greetings ot
Baron Walther von Frielinghausen and Baroness Minna Vic-
toria von Frielinghausen, nee Kettke.

Frielinghausen had obtained his discharge from the army.
Minna Victoria was the only child and heiress of the manager
of a large place of entertainment, and Baron Walther von
Frielinghausen played the part of manager in place of his
father-in-law, the rather impossible Papa Willy Kettke. He
went about attired in an unimpeachable black coat, and with
a well-bred little bow would himself usher into their places any
specially distinguished-looking guests. Then he would stand
with the air of a young prince in the neighbourhood of the
bar, and the waiters and cooks, barmaids ana kitchenmaids,
had a mighty respect for him. He waxed portly in figure, and
Minna Victoria often felt herself obliged to call him over the
coals for paying too much attention to some one of the elegant
ladies who patronised the establishment.

The sixth battery of the 8oth regiment, Eastern Division of
the Field Artillery, had occasion, however, to send another non-

JENA OR SEDAN? 303

commissioned officer to the Fire-workers' College — Gustav
Weise.

Captain von Wegstetten was very well pleased with Weise ;
he considered he had made him a permanent convert to the
cause of king and country, But Weise was rather inclined to
domineer over his subordinates — which was not what might
have been expected of a former social-democrat — and on that
account his captain had hit upon the idea of persuading him
to be a fire-worker. The non-commissioned officer had a clear
head, and it might be hoped he would make a career for
himself.

Under these circumstances Weise began more and more to
curse the day when he had had tattooed upon his arm that
ridiculous jingle about Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. It
caused him serious annoyance if one of his comrades noticed
a scrap of the motto peeping out from under his sleeve, and
wanted to see the whole inscription.

One day when he was out walking in the town he noticed
on a, door a brass plate bearing the announcement : " Dr. Büch-
senstein, specialist in skin diseases, &a" It occurred to him
that this gentleman might be of assistance to him, and he put
in an appearance at the hour of consultation.

The little dark-haired doctor could not entirely restrain his
intense amusement when the patient bared his arm and came
out with the request that the tattooing might be scraped away.

" Well, my good man," he said, " I can't do that for you !
You can't have it scraped away ! Anyhow, you're wearing the
sieeve of the king's uniform over the watchword of revolution ;
and if you want to do more, you can put on a thick coating of
lanoline and dust it with rice-powder. Then nobody will
see it."

"Thank you, doctor," said Weise, standing up. "What do
I owe you for your trouble ? "

" Nothing at all, my man ! " said the little doctor, laughing.
" It's been no trouble ; only a pleasure ! "

And the non-commissioned officer went off to the nearest
druggist's, where he bought the largest tube of lanoline in the
shop and half a pound of rice-powder.

The military prisoner Wolf could hardly believe his eyes

304 JENA OR SEDAN?

when he saw his former comrade Vogt dressed in the grey
prison clothes. The prisoners had been ordered out for open-
air work and were standing in the corridor, but at some dis-
tance from each other j it was quite impossible to get nearer
together, and speaking was strictly forbidden. The guard
stepped into their places around the little band, and it was as
usual well rubbed into the minds of the latter that these armed
sentries carried loaded weapons, and were not supposed to hold
their hands in any case of attempted escape. " Halt ! " would
be called three times, and they would fire if the word of com-
mand were not obeyed. The non-commissioned officer in
command made this announcement, and then the doors were
unlocked and thrown open.

Out in the yard the sunlight only touched the upper storey
of one of the wings, and within the high walls the air felt icy
cold. As from the bottom of a shaft they looked up to the
clear sky overhead, and then stepped out into the real sun-
shine and felt the warmth of the bright rays.

During the time of the autumn manoeuvres, and until the
early part of the new year, the enormous parade-ground was
deserted. The drilling of the troops went on in the barrack-
yard, and it was only after the inspection of recruits was com-
pleted that exercises took place in the big ground.

The prisoners were ordered to get the place tidy for the
spring and repair any damages that had occurred during the
summer. The principal work, however, was the banking up of
a high obstacle wall, and beyond it to dig a deep ditch ; both
for use in the artillery driving-exercises. This was an un-
speakably fatiguing business. The soil, to a depth of several
feet, consisted of light fine sand. In this they stood ankle
deep, loading their wheelbarrows ; yet the ditch never seemed
to grow any deeper, nor the wall any higher. It was like work-
ing with water which continually flowed in again.

Whilst work was going on it was easy for one man to
approach another. When Vogt and Wolf passed each other
for the first time, one pushing his wheelbarrow before him, the
other trotting with his empty barrow down into the ditch,
they exchanged melancholy nods. Later it came about
that they were standing next each other shovelling the loose
sand into their barrows. True, speaking was forbidden ; but

JENA OR SEDAN? 305

it was possible to murmur words almost without moving the
lips, yet so as to be perfectly intelligible.

" How do you come to be here ? " was Wolfs first
question.

Vogt related his story, often interrupted by the progress of
their work; but when he had deposited his barrowful up
above, he always managed to return to the neighbourhood of
his erstwhile comrade in the regiment, and at last he had told
the whole history of his crime.

Wolf gave a short bitter laugh. He was heartily sorry for
this poor fellow, but was not this a new example of the fact
that socialists had no need to work hard at propaganda ? The
ripe fruit was ready to drop into their laps without any
co-operation of their own. This Vogt, the bravest of soldiers,
the most amenable of men, fitted for a post in the royal body-
guard, was wheeling his barrow here amongst thieves and
ruffians of all sorts. And beside him the blood-red social-
democrat !

And then he listened as Vogt went on to tell of his other
acquaintances in the battery ; each day, of course, his narrative
was interrupted, and sometimes they had only time for a few
words.

Weise had been promoted to be non-commissioned officer !
That everlasting chatterer, who only owed it to his gift of the
gab that he had been able to boast of himself as confidential
agent of his union !

Was not this a topsy-turvy world ?

But no. Weise fitted his position to a nicety. His fluent
adaptability was in its right place. Little Captain von
Wegstetten would have no non-commissioned officer under him
better calculated to satisfy his desires than Gustav Weise. If
he had remained a social-democrat, thought Wolf to himself,
he would simply have been a pliant tool in the hands of some
stronger member of the party. He was not to be relied on
either here or there.

How different was Vogt, the peasant ! Honour and stead-
fast faith looked out of his quiet grey eyes.

Wolf began to take him in hand.

The echoes of those hastily whispered words as to the great
injustice and oppression of the present, and the glorious

3o6 JENA OR SEDAN?

equality and freedom of the future, rang the clearer and
the more insistently for being awakened within the walls of a
prison. Two men, who could with a clear conscience acquit
themselves of any guilty intention, were here herding with
common criminals and carting sand like them.

The peasant yielded this point at once. Wolf and he
were both being punished unjustly. And the world was full
of injustice.

" Then you belong to us," said Wolf.

11 How do you mean ? " asked Vogt. " To you ? "

" Why, you are a social-democrat ! "

" Am I ? " said Vogt. " Perhaps. I don't know."

" If you think like that you must be."

M Well, but I don't want a revolution, or anything of the
kind ; though it is all the same to me whether we have a king
or a republic. I only want to have my work, and to do it as
I like, and to be left alone."

" The one leads to the other," said Wolf. " If things are
to become better there must be a different form of govern-
ment."

He went on further to speak of the brotherhood which
should include all nations of the earth, so that there should be
no more war and no more soldiers. Who else was it but the
princes and rulers that hindered the coming of this fair unity
of hearts ? The people certainly desired ever-enduring peace.

The oppressive sense of captivity stirred him to eloquence
that fired his own imagination, and finally even inflamed the
sober judgment of Vogt.

The peasant nodded : " Yes, yes. That would be fine ! "

He could form no clear picture of that brilliant future. All
men brothers ? No more quarrelling and no more war ? No
one who would give orders to others ? No one who would
demand taxes and rent ? Was this really possible ?

But the other man spoke in such a convinced manner, he
seemed so certain, that there was hardly room for doubt. And
these were the aims of those social-democrats of whom
people were so afraid, thinking they wanted to destroy and
annihilate everything !

Of course they were right. Everything would be better
then, and more beautiful. And to work for that would be

JENA OR SEDAN? 307

worth one's trouble ! One could give one's life for it if need
be.

They were on the way back to the prison after their work.
Vogt and Wolf stepped along side by side in the ranks. The
long lean man seemed to be merely skin and bone ; his cheeks
had fallen in, the grey prison clothes hung loosely on his limbs.
But his eyes glowed and sparkled as though with an inward
fever, and a proud smile was on his lips. Vogt nodded to
him. The gesture was the expression of a solemn vow.

The troop of prisoners arrived at the gate. A heavy shower
of rain drove them to take shelter in the arched doorway, and
they stood pressed closely together waiting for the door to
open.

Suddenly Vogt felt Wolfs hand seize his own in a firm grip.

" I think we are now at one about this, comrade ? " he heard
him whisper. And the peasant returned the strong pressure,
and answered, " Yes, comrade."

Each day in prison resembled every other ; they passed
slowly by like a chain of exactly equal links.

When the ground became frozen and neither spade nor
pickaxe could be used, the prisoners were given straw mats to
plait or sacks to sew.

Then Vogt used to swear to himself. " Damn it all !
Why didn't I straighten my knees ? What did it matter to me
that the lieutenant had such a stuck-up way with him ?" Thank
God the first three months of the five had passed by, and in
January he would return to the garrison. Then there would
be two more months to serve ; till in March, in the first days
of spring, he would be free.

But before that, when December was just beginning, bad
news came to him from outside.

His father was dead. And, worse still, he was already
buried when the son first heard of the occurrence. But that
had been the old man's wish.

It all sounded like an old story, this that was told to the
military prisoner Vogt, as he stood in the office by the super-
intendent of the prison, a little sickly-looking captain of
infantry.

The village-elder from home had come himself all this long

308 JENA OR SEDAN?

way to inform the son of his father's death. There he stood,
big, fat, and strong, in his sheepskin cloak ; a freer breath ol
air seemed to have come in with him, and he related all there
was to tell. It was not even certain when the turnpike-keeper
had died.

With the departure of summer the old man had seemed
gradually to decay. In spite of that, however, he steadily
refused to have any one to help him ; and when the cold
weather put a stop to work in the field he was seen no more
by the neighbours.

The little house looked lifeless with its closed shutters, and
only the thin line of smoke which ascended from the chimney
at morning and midday betrayed the presence of a living
creature.

Then came the hard frost at the beginning of winter. The
boy who daily fetched away the milk that Vogt sold reported
one day that the pitcher of milk had not been left in the yard
for him as usual. But there was nothing extraordinary about
that. Perhaps the queer old man had wanted to make butter.
The peasants thought it was just some new fancy of his. At
midday some one drove past the turnpike-keeper's house,
taking corn to the mill, and observed that no smoke was
coming from the chimney. Why had old Vogt got no fire ?
Even if he didn't want to cook food for himself, the cows
ought to have their warm meal. On his way home the same
peasant heard the cows mooing incessantly in a troubled
manner, and he related all this at the ale-house in the
evening.

Then the villagers put their heads together. Possibly the
old turnpike-keeper was really ill. The more curious among
the neighbours left the warm parlour of the inn, and tramped
along the high-road in the biting east wind. They knocked
at the door of the turnpike-keeper's little house, and tapped
on the window shutters. Nothing could be heard but the
sighing of the wind ; and at last they turned away home-
wards. But next morning the milk-pitcher was still absent,
and there was no smoke from the chimney. The village-elder
was then informed. He ordered out the gendarme, and sent
a locksmith to force the door. Half the village went after
them and crowded round the turnpike-keeper's cottage, so

JENA OR SEDAN? 309

that the gendarme had some trouble in keeping the women
and children at a distance.

The village-elder banged on the door with his fist and
rattled the handle. " Herr Vogt! " he cried, "Herr Vogt!
open the door ! " And again : M Herr Vogt ! turnpike-
keeper ! open the door ! " Then the gendarme, an old com-
rade in arms of the turnpike-keeper, called loudly ; " August !
open the door ! or let us know if you are ill ! "

All was silent. The shutters were closed ; the whole house
seemed asleep.

Only the lowing of the cows sounded from their stable, and
the rattling of their chains, as if they had heard the cries that
could not awaken their old master.

Then the village-elder turned to the locksmith ; " We must
break the door open."

The lock was soon forced, but the door would only open
an inch or two ; an iron bar had been fixed across it, but that
was soon lifted.

A couple of young men were posted at the door to keep out
the crowd, which thronged around the house in silent breath-
less curiosity.

The two officials stepped into the passage. The gendarme
pushed the kitchen-door open ; the room was cold as ice.
On the hearth a handful of broken sticks had been placed, and
the match-box lay beside them ready for kindling the fire.

The front room was darkened by the closed shutters, and
a close smell as from a vault met them when the door was
opened. There sat the turnpike-keeper at the table — dead.
His head had fallen forward ; the body sat stiff and stark in
the narrow arm-chair, and his hand, which had evidently been
supporting his chin, was still raised, stiffened by the paralysis
of death and by the icy cold. Papers of various kinds were
spread out before the dead man : account-books, and gilt-
edged testimonials dating from the turnpike-keeper's time in
the army. Beside these were cardboard boxes filled with
money, each neatly labelled : " Money for milk," " Money for
corn," " Money for cattle." The old man had evidently taken
them out of a cash-box which stood open before him, and at
the bottom of which lay his medals and cross of honour.

The gendarme laid his hand on the shoulder of the dead

3io JENA OR SEDAN?

man and said : " You were just looking at your cross again
old comrade, were you, and then you fell asleep ? "

The two men put the money and the papers back into the
cash-box, which the village-elder placed in a cupboard thai
stood open. This he locked, and took possession of the key.

"There is something else," cried the gendarme suddenly:
and he pointed to a folded paper lying on a little table by the
door.

" My last will and testament. To be opened immediately,'1
was written on the document in the rather shaky but distinct
handwriting of the turnpike-keeper. The " immediately " was
underlined three times.

Well, the injunction was plain enough ; and the two officials
did, not hesitate to compljr with it. They had the legal right
to do so, and besides they were extremely curious.

The paper was not even sealed up. It contained nothing a\.
all extraordinary. Old Vogt desired in case of his death that
the crippled neighbour who had sometimes helped him to look
after the place should keep everything in order until his son
returned from his military service. He was to have the money
obtained from the sale of the milk as a reward for his trouble.
Then the will continued : " Everything I have belongs, of
course, to my dear son Franz. The expenses of my burying
are to be defrayed from the money contained in the box labelled
' funeral money.' I wish to have a very simple funeral, and
desire particularly that my son shall only be informed of my
death after the ceremony is over, in case it should happen
before February 3rd next year."

" We shook our heads over that," said the village-elder to
Franz. " It seemed so funny that he should have fixed upon
a date." He coughed and went on in an embarrassed way.
" Now of course we know that your father did not want us to
hear of your — misfortune, at least as long as he was still above
ground. Well, well, it has not been so bad after all, accord-
ing to what your captain told me."

The superintendent of the prison cut him short rather ner-
vously : " That has nothing to do with the case, sir, has it ? "

Thereupon the peasant proceeded with his narrative. After
they had left the dead man, of course the first thing was to
see to the cows. The pigs had eaten all the straw in their sty

k

JENA OR SEDAN? 311

and the poultry had rushed like mad things upon the grain that
was given them.

Everything was in order, and he, the village-elder, would see
to it that it was kept so. Besides, old Wackwitz was an honest,
stupid sort of fellow , he was quite to be trusted.

For the funeral, of course, everything had been arranged
according to the dead man's desire. But the old sergeant was
not buried without having the three salutes fired over his grave.
And the lord of the manor, in his uniform, with two old war-
riors of 1870-71, headed the procession of mourners.

Franz Vogt sat on the bench in his dark cell and wept hot
tears for his father's death. The poor fellow had indeed
grounds for lamenting his fate. Death had taken from him
first his friend and then his father. Was he always to be
lonely ?

During the frosty days of winter Vogt had hardly set eyes
upon his regimental comrade Wolf. But now a few days of
damp weather brought the severe frost prematurely to an end.
There was a sudden change one night at the end of January,
and next morning the smiling sun beamed down from a clear
blue sky upon the surprised, drowsy earth.

The military prisoners at once began their daily work again
upon the big parade-ground. The snow had to be removed
before it could melt and settle in pools upon the ground they
had so carefully levelled. In the grey morning twilight, there-
ore, a little troop of prisoners, with old cloaks over their prison
:lothes, were set to work as usual, surrounded by the armed
»entries.

For Vogt and Wolf it was a meeting after a long separation.
The peasant recounted the particulars of his father's death ;
10t without a certain pride in the unusual circumstances
ander which the old man had met his end in self-appointed
oneliness.

" A true man to the last ! " said Wolf. But he could not
2ven press his friend's hand in sympathy.

Then Vogt began to speak of the day of release. For him
:hat would soon come. He knew that every word must cut
,iis comrade to the heart, for poor Wolf had still to endure
.ong years of martyrdom in prison ; but he could not help it.

312 JENA OR SEDAN?

He could not restrain himself from expressing the great joy
that filled his breast. He counted the hours and the minutes
as they passed, and could scarcely sleep at night.

Vogt walked with uplifted head and bright eyes ; he handled
his spade with cheerful zeal, and pushed his heavily-loaded
wheelbarrow energetically. Would he not be a free man in a
few days ?

But Wolf compressed his lips together, and the brighter the
sunshine the darker grew the cloud on his brow. His cheeks
had fallen in more and more, and at the slightest exertion the
sweat poured down his thin face. He looked ready to break
down, and his eyes glowed with a feverish light.

" I shall never last it out," he whispered to Vogt one morn-
ing. " I shall go all to pieces. I would rather break away
altogether and escape."

" You are rnad," said Vogt. " Do you not see the sentries ?
You would not be able to get a hundred yards away."

Wolf looked at him. The chance of escape out of this
narrow circle was indeed small. But he stuck to his project,
adding : " What does it matter if I am shot down ? Would
that not be better than going on in this way for three more
long years ? "

Of a sudden his plan appeared to him in a new light. If
his flight were unsuccessful, if a sentry's bullet put a stop to it,
would he not equally have suffered for his opinions ? Would
not this bloody sacrifice to the cause of revolution win new
adherents ? And would that not be better in the end than if
he got free and lived out a painful existence in some foreign
country ?

Though formerly he had longed to be free at any price, death
now shone before him as a desirable goal. Better that than to
be crippled merely.

Next day he whispered to Vogt, " Next time that the Jägers
are on duty I shall try it."

Vogt shook his head emphatically with a gesture of protest.
His comrade must have gone clean out of his wits. And why
should Wolf want to make the attempt just when the Jägers
were mounting guard, the troops that were most proficient
in shooting ? It looked as if he were courting death.

The kind-hearted fellow set it before himself to dissuade his

•

JENA OR SEDAN? 313

comrade from his intention. It would never do to let such a
brave man commit suicide in a fit of despair. But he must
manage it soon ; in five days he himself would be free, and
before that Wolf must give him his promise to abstain from his
folly. Unfortunately the Jägers would be mounting guard the
very next day.

As he pushed his loaded wheelbarrow before him he sought
to meet Wolfs eyes; his comrade also had just filled his barrow.
Vogt passed close by him, and signed to Wolf to come with
him. But Wolf purposely remained behind and shook his
head, smiling.

Soon afterwards they were called in. The prisoners put
away their tools and their barrows, and Vogt stood waiting in
the half-dark shed till the others were ready.

Suddenly he felt his hand gripped, and Wolf whispered in
his ear : ft Farewell, comrade, and keep true ! "

Next minute the tall lean man had glided past him, and others
had crowded between ; it was impossible to get near him again.
On their way back to the prison he again intercepted
a glance from Wolf. His comrade looked cheerful and
triumphant, like one who has shaken off a heavy burden, and
sees his future lie clear before him.

The guard that came on duty next morning in the parade-
ground wore the green Jäger uniform. One of the sentries, a
smart young fellow with a carefully waxed black moustache
and quick eyes, had on his breast the mark of distinction for
shooting. He was doing this duty evidently for the first time,
and he looked the prisoners up and down with a curious
glance, as if they were some queer sort of wild beast. Then
he took up his position, and marched stiffly beside the pro-
fession as they left the gate.

A thin mist covered the broad expanse of the big ground,
but the sun soon dispelled the damp vapour, and shone down
ivarm and unclouded.

Vogt looked anxiously at Wolf. But his comrade seemed
:o have given up his intention ; he was bending diligently
)ver his work, and had not even taken his place in the out-
ride rank of workers, but was digging busily among the others.
^.t a little distance from the prisoners the sentries strolled up
ind down their beat.

314 JENA OR SEDAN?

Presently an orderly from head-quarters came riding by on a
dark-brown horse, which he was making step high in a stately
manner as if on parade.

The Jäger with the black moustache held his gun negligently
on his shoulder and looked on with an interested expression.
It was very boring to be always watching the prisoners messing
about in the dirt.

Suddenly a lean figure detached itself from the little group
of workmen — it was Wolf. With long strides he fled behind
the sentry in the direction of the forest. The Jäger had not
even remarked his flight, and it was only the cry of the sergeant
that drew his attention.

Then he hastily took the gun from his shoulder, made
ready to fire, and cried the first " Halt ! "

Wolf ran on without stopping. Then something happened
which decidedly bettered the chances of the fugitive : the
mounted orderly felt called upon to give chase. He set his
horse to a gallop and dashed after the escaping prisoner.

Wolf heard the hoofs behind him and glanced round hastily.
The rider was between himself and the sentry. Only a few
more steps and he would be in the forest and under cover, if
the horse did not reach him before that. At a stroke the
despairing wish for a martyr's death had vanished. He no
longer wished to die ; he wanted to live and be free. Freedom
was awaiting him, there in the forest towards which his
hurrying feet were carrying him. How would they ever be
able to find him in that thick labyrinth of young pine-trees ?
He would break through the undergrowth at the forest's edge
and take a lateral direction ; then he would lie crouching on
the ground and let the bullets whistle over his head.

From behind him sounded the second " Halt ! " The
sentry's voice rang more sharply and insistently.

Yes, shout as you like ! He was only a few paces from the
forest's edge ; a little ditch separated it from the parade-
ground, but it was only about a yard wide and easy to leap.

Wolfs plan was made.

He knew that the forest extended to the outskirts of the
town. The first houses of the suburb were built among
the trees. Workmen dwelt there — iron-founders and metal-
workers— members of his party. They or some compassionate

JENA OR SEDAN?

315

woman would certainly give the fugitive some cast-off clothes,
and then he thought he could make for the frontier.

From behind came the third warning " Halt ! "

The mounted orderly had apparently perceived the hope-
lessless of his efforts, and had reined in his horse j the sound
of hoofs was no more to be heard. Now for the ditch !

He sprang. He thought he could smell already the power-
ful odour of the fir-trees. There, a little to the left, was an
opening in the thicket ; he could slip in there and be safe.

Then, midway in his leap, a bullet struck him in the nape
of the neck. He stumbled forward with his face buried in the
haven of the undergrowth, his eyes gazing forwards towards
the land of freedom.

Some weeks later the head physician of the military hospital
n the capital gave a lecture, with illustrations, before the
Medical Society, "Upon an interesting case of the effects of
;mall bore ammunition."

CHAPTER XVI

3£z2l:

Feierlich

|iq=i=^"-^-

-sj„;

gT*

— i 1-

:z£d

verhallend
(Trumpet-call at tattoo.)

Senior-lieutenant Reimers sought an interview with his
colonel, and frankly confided his trouble to him. In a sad,
hopeless voice he told the whole story, concealing nothing.

There was, in fact, nothing to hide. The thoughtless
behaviour which had had such serious consequences was in
itself one of those offences which society looks upon as venial.
But he reproached himself chiefly with the breach of faith
towards Marie Falkenhein, to whom he considered himself to
have been virtually betrothed, in allowing himself to be carried
away by the impulse of a moment's folly.

When Reimers had finished the colonel sat for a long time
silent. He leant his cheek on his hand and looked gloomily
before him. During this confidential interview his daughter
had not been alluded to in a single syllable, but in every word
that the young officer spoke sounded an echo of painful regret
for a much-desired happiness now lost to him. Of a sudden
those fair prospects that the colonel had thought based on such
a solid foundation had fallen to the ground. It was a bitter
grief to him to see the pleasant vision destroyed, and he knew
that a heavy sorrow was in store for his child.

At last he broke the silence.

JENA OR SEDAN? 317

11 My poor boy," he said, " I wish I knew what I could say
to comfort you, for I do not want to reproach you. You have
enough to bear already in payment for a moment of thought-
lessness. You have gambled away one of your best chances
of earthly happiness. Nevertheless, be brave ; set your teeth
and do not let your feelings overcome you. You have a proud
and honourable calling, and have a real vocation for it. Let
that be your consolation." His voice broke off short, trembling
with inward emotion.

Reimers murmured in some confusion : " I am very much
obliged to you, sir." And the two men sat for awhile opposite
each other in silence.

11 After this," the colonel continued with some hesitation and
difficulty, " you will probably wish to get away for a change.
I therefore advise you to go up for the winter examination at
the Staff College. There is no doubt about your getting
through. The work will prevent you from brooding over your
thoughts, aC<i afterwards there will be Berlin and entire change
of surroundings. All that will be helpful to you."

Falkenhein's voice became softer, and shielding his eyes
with his hand, he continued in a scarcely audible whisper :
" It would be advisable that you should withdraw a little from
society ; and of course to any unavoidable questions it will be
necessary to invent an answer of some sort. It seems to me
it will be best to say that your old lung-trouble obliges you to
take certain precautions. Is that agreed ? "

With a sob the senior-lieutenant stammered out, " You have
always been like a father to me, sir."

He had stood up and was about to depart without another
word. Then suddenly the colonel took him in his arms. This
seasoned, clear-headed man had great difficulty in restraining
his emotion.

" I have long looked on you as a son, Reimers," he said.
" And that all this has turned out so differently from my expec-
tations is a grief to me, a very great grief. I cannot tell you
how great."

Reimers took his departure. The colonel looked after him
till the portiere fell.

Whose fault was it that the young man left the room with
hanging head and miserable face, instead of with the beaming

3i8 JENA OR SEDAN?

eyes of an accepted lover? Whose fault was it that the
happiness of two young people had thus«« been shattered to
pieces ?

The colonel sat down before his writing-table and let his
clenched fist fall in helpless anger upon the desk. He had not
even the satisfaction of being able to direct his wrath against
anybody or anything. The fault lay in something uncalled-for
and apparently unavoidable, an evil, and at the same time
necessary, outcome of the existing order of things.

Then he began to reflect, How should he break the bad
news to Mariechen ? By many little scarcely noticeable signs
he had become convinced that she loved the unfortunate young
officer. There was a delicate understanding, an unspoken
engagement, between the two. How should he explain to her
Reimers' sudden withdrawal?

This talk about the examination at the Staff College, and
Reimers' necessary care of his health, was not sufficient to
break off an honourable attachment. He must rather think of
some means for effecting a permanent, even if painful, cure,
and put an end once for all to his daughter's dream of love.

The colonel made out a regular plan of campaign. Among
his relations there had been a cousin, Otto von Krewesmühlen,
the owner of a large property in Franconia. The poor wretch
had passed more of his lifetime in Meran and Cannes than on
his own estate ; but he had married in spite of that for the sake
of the entail, and unfortunately had married an acquaintance
in the Riviera who also was not on the shores of the Medi-
terranean solely for pleasure. Two boys had been born to them,
but Otto von Krewesmühlen had not long survived their birth.
The eldest child had followed the father not only in the entail
but also in the manner of his death, and the widow and the
second son were only like two feeble flames which the wind of
life permits out of charity still to flicker tor a while.

This cousin must serve to point the moral for his poor
Mariechen, and help her to forget her young love in as painless a
manner as possible. It happened fortunately that Marie kept
up a correspondence with her Franconian relations.

11 1 had something to ask you, Mariechen," began Falkenhein
at supper. " Oh yes, of course ; have you had any more
lews from your Aunt Krewesmühlen ? "

JENA OR SEDAN? 319

" No, father," answered the girl, " not since the last letter,
which you remember."

" I do not recollect quite well. Where was she then ? "

"At Cannes, I think. Or it might have been San Remo."

" They have gone back again then ? "

11 Yes, unfortunately. And my aunt wrote in perfec*
despair."

The desired point had been reached ; but his carefully-
thought-out plan now seemed to the colonel inexpressibly
clumsy and cruel. Nevertheless, he could not let the oppor-
tunity go by.

" I am really very much grieved," he said. His voice
sounded to himself hollow and flat, like an ill-tuned instru-
ment. But he went on speaking painfully and with difficulty,
whilst his fingers kept clutching his collar. "As a matter of
fact, Otto von Krewesmühlen committed a crime in marrying
at all. He is responsible for an enormous amount of trouble
and sorrow. He would have done a better and a nobler thing
if he had renounced the idea of happiness in marriage. We
cannot but ask ourselves : Was not this marriage simply a
source of misery ? "

He stopped. Marie looked at hi ; thoughtfully.

Everything was very still in the lofty dining room. The
colonel felt as if his words must re-echo like a trumpet-call
from the walls, and he lowered his voice almost to a whisper.

" Of course it requires strength and self-control to give
everything up when one is in love. But an honourable man
should have both ; he is equally to be pitied and respected.
And imagine, Mariechen, dear Mariechen — one of our best
friends — Senior-lieutenant Reimers — that's how it is with him
— just as with poor Otto Krewesmühlen j but he — will re-
nounce his happiness. He is a brave man."

Falkenhein breathed more freely. Thank God ! the mis-
chief was out.

He looked anxiously across at Marie. Her face had become
as white as the table-cloth. He was afraid she misiht faint.
But no, the child pulled herself together ; the trembling hand
laid down the fork, which rattled gently against the plate and
fell on the table.

The colonel went round the table softly to his daughter and

320 JENA OR SEDAN?

stroked her fair golden hair with a gentle hand. Marie's
shoulders began to heave, and suddenly she threw herself
on his breast, weeping bitterly. The colonel was not quite
sure what was the best way to meet this outburst. He did
not like to touch too pointedly upon the cause of his child's
grief. Then he fell back on a method with which he had
quieted Marie in days of old, before she had ever gone to
school.

When the motherless child was weeping her heart out over
some trouble that had possessed her, even when she was quite
a big school-girl, he would take her in his arms and carry her
up and down the room, consoling and comforting her, till the
wild sobbing ceased at last. She was now nearly twenty years
of age ; but the old method might still be effective. Unre-
sisting she let him take her in his arms, and leaned her face
against her father's cheek ; bright tears ran down from his own
eyes as he whispered to her over and over again : " Yes, cry,
my little girl ; cry, Mariechen ! "

And the first great sorrow of the woman calmed itself, even
as had the school-girl's trivial griefs. The colonel carried his
daughter tenderly to her room and laid her down on the sofa.
With a shy gesture she buried her face in the cushion. Once
more the father's hand passed lightly over her brow, then he
went out on tip-toe. Time must be the physician that would
heal this wound.

Falkenhein listened for a second at the door : Mariechen
was still weeping ; but he could hope that the tempest would
subside. That tearful outburst, uncontrolled as it was, showed
still the unruly grief of a child. The blow that strikes deepest
into the heart and embitters a whole life-time is otherwise
met and parried, with a grim, silent, enduring pain. Traces
of such pain he had seen in Reimers' hopeless eyes ; for his
child he might expect a cure.

The best thing would be to take Marie away into entirely
new surroundings.

As usual, each year during the partridge-shooting, the
colonel one day received an invitation to join the royal party.
At breakfast the old king asked him : " Well, Falkenhein,
what do you say? That longlegged Friesen in the War

JENA OR SEDAN? 321

Office has obtained command of the Lusatian brigade. How
would you like to be chief of the department ? "

The colonel hesitated with his answer.

11 1 know quite well," the old gentleman went on, " that you
have a disinclination for anything that smells of the office,
even though fifteen hundred others would lick their lips over
it."

11 Your Majesty is very good," said Falkenhein. " I will
do whatever your Majesty desires."

The king looked at him searchingly.

"Really?" he said.

" Certainly, your Majesty. Only, if you will allow me to
say so, not for too long a period ! "

11 Very well, very well ! — till you get the command of my
household brigade."

His Majesty was holding in his hand a silver cup full ot
corn-brandy. " Your health, Falkenhein ! " he said. " I loo*
forward to having you by me at court."

The appointment was gazetted after the manoeuvres on
October 1.

• There was certainly no officer in the regiment, even except-
ing Captain Güntz and Senior-lieutenant Reimers, who did
not hear of Falkenhein's prospective departure with real
regret. But that did not last long ; some one's departure must
always be taking place in military life. How else would room
be made for successors ? And besides, without this appoint-
ment in the War Office, the colonel would in any case have
obtained his brigade in another two years, and the regiment
would have had to do without him. It was much more
important now for the officers to know who was to be their
new chief.

Major Mohbrinck was appointed to command the regiment ;
he had hitherto commanded the mounted division of the
artillery guard. He was an unknown quantity in the Eastern
Division, for he belonged to a different army-corps ; but
military gossip gave a not very favourable account of him.

Little Dr. von Fröben received from an old chum of his,
who was in the mounted division, a telegram which ran thus :
"Hymn No. 521." The hymn indicated is the translation of

322 JENA OR SEDAN?

the Ambrosian hymn of praise, commencing : " Lord God, we
praise thee ; Lord God, we thank thee."

Well, this was a piece of subaltern wit.

It was more significant that Captain von Wegstetten had a
letter from his brother-in-law, the head of the first mounted
battery, also written in a remarkably Ambrosian vein. " I
can tell you" — it ran — " we two heads of batteries thank God
on our knees that we are rid of Mohbrinck. My joy thereat
is no doubt damped somewhat by my brotherly sympathy for
you in having now to put up with that scourge of God.
However — you can keep calm, as I might have done. We sit
too tight in our places for him \ thanks to our favourable rela-
tions with the powers that be. Mohbrinck only seeks out
absolutely defenceless victims whereon to prove his capacity.
He considers it a commander's chief task in time of peace ' to
purify the army from all incapable people.' In confidence, he
should himself have been purified away first of all. As those
who know assert, he has always from the first made it his
business to shove aside any one who stood in front of him.
We of the cavalry heartily wish never to set eyes on him
again."

Mohbrinck arrived.

He was overflowing with graciousness, and expressed his
sense of " his good fortune in having to devote his poor efforts
(supported of course by such able assistants) to so excellently
trained a regiment."

The speech with which he greeted the regiment held the
happy mean between theatrical gush and a sermon. It was
adorned with pompous imagery, and contained numerous
eulogiums of the reigning family. il Christian humility " a*nd
" God's assistance " played a great part therein, and it dealt
rude thrusts at those who waged war in secret upon the sup-
porters of throne and altar. The acidulated vituperative voice
of the major gave the whole performance an indescribably
comical effect ; the bold artillerymen, standing at attention, got
stiff necks, aching knees, and dizzy heads from listening so
ong to these flowers of speech.

After this Major Mohbrinck had all the officers ot the
regiment brought up and introduced to him.

JENA OR SEDAN? 323

One thing was to be noted : he had a nice perception for
everything that was useful and paying. He bad taken care to
be well instructed in all particulars before his arrival in the
garrison.

He seemed at once to be hand in glove with the adjutant,
Kauerhof. This was, of course, because the adjutant's wife,
Marion Kauerhof, nee von Lüben, was the daughter of an
important personage in the War Office. The adjutant presented
the other men according to their seniority in rank. First
came the two majors. Lischke received a studiously polite
greeting ; Schrader was far more graciously treated — was not
the smart bachelor a notable waltzer at court balls ? He was
often commanded to dance with the princesses, and, people
said, regaled the royal ladies with many little stories which
they would never otherwise have had a chance of hearing.

Next approached Staff-Captain von Stuckhardt. He found
himself very coolly received by the new chief. What was the
use of troubling much with any one who was known to be a
predestined dead man? Stuckhardt stepped back feeling
considerably snubbed.

Träger, Gropphusen, and Heuschkel got rather neutral
pressures of the hand ; Gropphusen, perhaps, being of noble
family, was greeted rather more warmly than the others.

Kauerhof proceeded with his introductions : " And now, sir,
here is the head of our sixth battery, Captain von Wegstetten."

Mohbrinck twisted his lips into a honied smile. For
Wegstetten had a cousin, about seven times removed who
was something of a celebrity, not so much on account of his
martial exploits as because he was ninety-eight years of age,
the oldest soldier in the army, and a former adjutant-general
of his late Majesty. Uncle Ehrenfried, dried up like a
mummy, had some difficulty in even sitting upright in his
wheel-chair ; and for years it had been impossible to carry on
an articulate conversation with him. But his immense age
lent a certain cachet to his nephew, the chief of the sixth
battery. If the mummy were really to attain his century, or
were to die on some marked day — a royal birthday or funeral
— the services of a Wegstetten to the reigning family would
show in a dazzling light, the reflection of which could not be
disregarded by an acute man like Mohbrinck.

324 JENA OR SEDAN?

Little Wegstetten smiled a contented smile under his big
red moustache. Before a commanding officer like this he felt
he had no cause to tremble.

" Captain Madelung, head of the fourth battery," proceeded
Kauerhof.

Mohbrinck greeted him with something like effusion : " Ah ! "
he cried, " our celebrated warrior from China. I am delighted
— delighted — to have the honour of meeting you." He put
on a rallying expression : " But you must not go to the Far
East now, my dear sir. I hear you have just made happy
domestic arrangements that will keep you at home."

Madelung bowed ; just before the manoeuvres he had mar-
ried the eldest maid-of-honour.

The youngest captain of the regiment, Güntz, was now
presented. Major Mohbrinck assumed his would-be-agreeble
smile, and said jokingly : " Dear, dear ! our youngest captain,
and so stout already ! "

Güntz looked at him. Well, of course he was not exactly
one of the slim ones, but why should this rather uncompli-
mentary remark be fired in his face ?

Major Schrader saved him the trouble of answering. He
patted him good-humouredly on the back, and said : " Well,
yes, he has got something of a corporation, like Dr. Luther ;
but that does not prevent him from shining brilliantly in the
constellation of my commanders of batteries."

Mohbrinck turned to him, and remarked sweetly ; lf Oh, I
should never have suggested such a thing, my dear sir. I am
quite well aware of the merits of Captain Güntz." And he
touched Güntz's little red eagle; his own breast was still
undecorated.

It was the common talk of the army that the 8oth Regiment,
Eastern Division, Field Artillery, had, under Falkenhein's com-
mand, become a perfect pattern to all the troops. It would
therefore have seemed most expedient to carry on the methods
of its former chief. But Mohbrinck considered that to do so
would make him appear an officer without military distinction
or views of his own. He posed as having studied to a nicety
every little whim and peculiarity of the major-general com-
manding the brigade, and had made up his mind that at the

JENA OR SEDAN? 325

w his regiment should have no fault found with it, not

if for months everything more important should be set
! in order to drill into the men every little fancy of the
idier.

I tell you, sir, I have heard the last word of the major-
ral on this subject or that," was his ever-recurring refrain,
hroughout the batteries this caused a certain sense of ner-

insecurity. The captains were instructed to lay stress on
ianner of insignificant details, and it was difficult to get on

the regular training. Only such remarkably active and
imspect officers as Wegstetten and Madelung could manage
,tis fy both claims upon them : their ordinary military duties,
the merely personal likes and dislikes of the commander
e regiment and the brigadier. Gropphusen let his battery
5 it pleased ; he was in one of his wild fits. But Träger
Heuschkel quite lost their heads. Was the new corn-
ier going to turn the world upside down ? And yet they
thought they were fairly good at their work ; Falkenhein
elf had told them so from time to time.
iintz got sick of the whole affair. Under Mohbrinck's
m the battery might cut a very dashing figure before the
nander of the brigade at the review, and yet be worth the

only knew how little in sober reality. Güntz, for his part,
d not bother about it ; it was his business to train capable
ers for his king and country, but not for Major Mohbrinck
Major-general Hausperg.

iptain Güntz had commanded the battery for a year ; his
of probation was over. Already he had brought his plans
ch a point that he could lay them in practical shape before
lirectors of the gun-foundry in the Rhine provinces,
fter serious counsel with Frau Kläre, he concluded his
: to the manager with the following sentence : " Therefore
; you, sir, to give my work your most serious consideration,
ise you find my plans workable, please remember that I
Id be very glad personally to superintend the carrying of
. out."

[Fatty," said Frau Kläre, " that last sentence is shockingly

kissed ! "

[iintz sat before his letter and looked down reflectively at

I

*

326 JENA OR SEDAN?

his signature — " Giintz, captain commanding the sixth ba
in the 80th Regiment, Eastern Division, Field Artillery."

" Do you know, my Kläre," he said, " I don't quite lib
look of it myself."

The answer to this letter was very long in coming, unre;
ably long, Kläre thought. Her husband comforted her :
you think people can come to a decision in a week ab<
matter over which I pondered for many years ? "

At last came a letter bearing the stamp of the gun-foui

Giintz was just changing his coat for his smoking-ja
He skimmed through the document, and read aloud to I
the most important phrase : "... . . plans extremely promi
. . . their construction must certainly be undertaken at oi

Then followed a most dazzling proposal for Giintz to
the factory and occupy a leading position there. Comj
with the modest pay of a captain, the suggested salary of fi
thousand marks seemed positively fabulous.

Frau Kläre's was an eminently practical nature, and sh<
often lamented over the miserable income on which the i
of an officer's position made such serious inroads; but
these words escaped her : " Good God, Fatty ! Isn't th:
too much ? "

Giintz had not heard her exclamation. He had just t
off his coat ; he held it for a moment in his hand and str
the epaulettes caressingly. Then he hung it carefully ove
back of a chair.

" Of course I shall accept," he said, in a voice which
meant to be calm, but in which strong emotion was evl
" I hope I shall be able to serve my country and my
better than I could in that dear old coat."

Kläre stretched out her hand to him in silence; ther
went softly out of the room. It is better for a man to
that sort of thing out with himself alone.

What might have taken an enormous expenditure of
and writing proved, as a matter of fact, to be very simply
easily accomplished. Captain Giintz sent in his papers,!
they were accepted before Easter.

At the farewell dinner, Major Mohbrinck spoke o:|
heartfelt concern with which the regiment must lose si
charming companion and promising officer, and of the j

JENA OR SEDAN? 327

ies with which all the officers would follow him to his new

important sphere of activity. All this came from the
rt. Who could know whether, as retired lieutenant- colonel
olonel, a man holding such a post in a gun-foundry might
be a very useful acquaintance ?
Wien Güntz took his departure from the little station he

got over all his regrets. He only left behind one man for
•m he cared — Reimers.
le looked out of the window ol the railway-carriage and

his friend standing on the narrow platform, gazing after
departing train. That thin face, with its sad eyes, became

egrees undistinguishable, and at last he could hardly recog-

the slender, slightly bent figure.

le waved his handkerchief for the last time ; but his friend
bably did not see, for he stood motionless,
"hen the train ran round a corner of rock; the carriage
yed slightly, and the little station was out of sight. Güntz

back sighing in his corner. He had been able to give

friend no consolation, and only one piece of good advice
d work.

jittle Dr. von Fröben accompanied Senior-lieutenant
mers to the examinations at the Staff College.
One can only be plucked," he said in excuse when he was
ed about his presumption. Of course if he compared his
wledge with that of his companion, Reimers, his candi-
lre seemed to himself an unwarrantable piece of bravado.
1 Reimers went on studying with an indefatigable, almost
;rish energy.

■ My dear Reimers," said the little doctor, " there will be
ling more for you to learn at the Staff College, if you work
this. You had better slack off, dear boy ! "
Weimers smiled a little half-heartedly. The good progress
vas making gave him no joy. He no longer prosecuted his
lies with the inspired devotion that had formerly possessed
; and only the strong feeling of duty, which had become
itual with him, spurred him on to further efforts. He often
. to himself: " After all, what is the good of it? "
"here was no sign of any obstacle in his path ; despite all
; had happened he was in a very fair way to achieve a dis»

328 JENA OR SEDAN?

tinguished military career. But he could not rid himself o
oppressive feeling that all his labour was in vain.

And then again after a moment of hopeless depression
would be possessed anew by the old fair vision, his enthusi,
for the wonderful German army, to belong to which had b
his pride and his salvation. With eyes full of rapture he pc
over the pages of the military history, and for the thousan
♦ime followed the army on its path of conquest.

Then suddenly he checked himself. Was the army of
day, of which he was a member, really that old victori
army ?

Giintz had handed over to him the justification for
resignation which he had written out before the duel <
Landsberg. It had been unnecessary to add or to ei
anything.

Reimers had often in old days wished to have his friei
opinions in black and white before him, in order to o1
throw them singly, point by point, brilliantly to overth
them. He now held in his hand Güntz's views, succin
and definitely expressed ; but whither had flown his for;
keen spirit ? He could no longer summon up the old
petuous dash with which he had meant to fall upon his op
nent's arguments one after another, raze them to the groi
and trample them underfoot like the entrenchments
fortifications in some mock combat.

He compared Güntz's statement with the notes he
taken of his conversations with Falkenhein, during the si
period of his adjutancy. There was much in which t
agreed, and this agreement staggered him. Here were
men of fundamentally different nature whose judgm
concurred ; both of them were distinguished by clarity
perception and exhaustive knowledge of the circumstan
with which they were dealing, and both were entitled to tl
opinions by a past record that excluded all idea of bias.

Were they both right, then ? The one with his va;
uneasiness, the other with his heavy disquietude ?

Reimers could not dismiss the doubts of these two m
At most he might reply to Giintz that this unsatisfact
state of affairs was not so widespread as his friend asserted

This inclination to outward show was a universal sign of

JENA OR SEDAN? 329

times, and was not confined to Germany. In France a cavalry
charge had been made upon the grand stand where the Presi-
dent was seated beside the Tsar. Was that not more
theatrical than some of the impossible evolutions undertaken
in the German manoeuvres ?

But to this consolation was opposed the old teaching of
experience, that a nation in extremity is capable of the most
unheard-of exertions in reparation of its errors. The cheer-
ful self-sacrifice of Prussia in 18 13 was almost without
parallel in the history of the world ; and yet the sensitive,
heavily-chastened French nation was effecting a similar arduous
work, the more striking by reason of its long persistence.

France had, besides, this advantage ; in actual fact a great
number of the French people, through an artificially nourished
feeling of embitterment, were keen for war with their eastern
neighbour. Germans, on the contrary, thought no more of the
"hereditary enemy" of 1870; in the progress of science and
the development of art they felt themselves closely connected
with France. Germany had linked herself to France that they
might march together arm-in-arm in the forefront of civilisa-
tion.

Germany desired peace. It was not exactly that the
German had become unwarlike ; but, because of his Teutonic
thoroughness and sobriety, he was deeply impressed with
the necessity and utility of peace, as the most truly rational
condition of things. Once the danger of vengeance from the
west had blown over, any and every war would have been un-
popular in Germany, — except perhaps one with England,
which, as a naval war, would less immediately affect the masses
of the people, — and everybody in Germany held the convic-
tion that warlike developments would never arise from an
irresistible outbreak of popular feeling, but only from political
or dynastic mismanagement.

In this way — that is, as a failing in warlike ardour — did
Reimers account for the want of patriotism which Giintz
pointed to as the most significant inward danger of the
present military system.

Reimers had never interested himself particularly in parlia-
mentary or political controversies, — an officer should hold aloof
from such matters, — he was therefore not inclined to lay so

330 JENA OR SEDAN?

much stress as his friend did on the influence of revolutionary
politicians.

The evil was great enough without that. Was not an army
that went into the field without enthusiasm beaten beforehand ?
And the thoughts suggested to him by the reflections of the
colonel and of his friend all pointed to a similar conclusion.
They seemed to stand like warning signposts beside the road
on which the German army was marching ; and all, all, bore
upon their outstretched pointing arms the ominous word —
Jena.

The sinister idea haunted Reimers like a ghost. If he sat
down to his books it was there ; and it fell across his vision
like a dark shadow when the sun shone its bravest on the
imposing array of the batteries at exercise.

His old friends had gone far away ; and if Reimers looked
into his own mind he was obliged to admit that he could not
greatly regret this. It was indeed better so. The delightful
intimate relations between himself and those dear people had
already been destroyed by scarcely perceptible degrees.

The thought of Marie Falkenhein weighed on him the least
heavily. When he had once got over the first bitter sorrow
at his ill fortune he thought of her, strangely enough, with no
desperate longing, but rather with a feeling of shame. The
young girl did not represent the immediate necessity of his life
which he now found lacking. That lay in a different sphere.

For this reason he was glad that Falkenhein and Giintz
had left the garrison. No one should be there to see how the
guiding star which he had followed so ardently all his days was
now setting in diminished glory : no one should be by when
his whole life suffered shipwreck.

The regiment was now under orders to march to the
practice-camp. A few days before the departure Reimers
ordered his man to bring him his portmanteau.

He wanted to see if the faithful old trunk, which had accom-
panied him on all his travels, was still in proper condition. It
needed no attention.

" Shall I take off the labels ? " asked his servant. " Then
perhaps, I could freshen it up a little with varnish."

The trunk displayed a vast number of hotel and luggage

JENA OR SEDAN? 331

labels. His journey to Egypt, in particular, had left brightly-
coloured traces.

Reimers stood buried in thought. Suddenly he observed
the waiting servant.

" Yes, of course," he said ; " see to it."

He had been thinking of his return from that long
furlough.

What renewed vigour he had then felt in every limb ! With
what exhilaration he had set foot on the quay at Hamburg, his
first step on German soil after a whole long year in foreign
lands ! He would have liked to fall on the neck of the first
gunner he met ; and he could hardly wait for the moment
when he might again don the unpretending coat that outshone
in his eyes the most gorgeous robe of state in the world,
attired in which he might again perform the dear old weari-
some duty.

Were those high hopes to end in this sordid fashion ?

He recollected how, amidst the jubilation of his home-
coming, he had been disquieted by a presentiment of evil, a
visionary dream that now confronted him in such cruel reality.

It was during his first visit to Frau von Gropphusen that
the shadow had fallen upon him. He saw the room again
before him in the dim light from its darkened window, and it
seemed to him filled with gloom and hopelessness.

The suffering woman lay wearily on the big sofa under the
picture of the " Blue Boy." She drew up the silken covering
with her fair white hands, leant her chin on her knees, and
gazed at him with her wonderful sad eyes.

Suddenly he became aware of the reason why he only
thought of Marie Falkenhein with gentle resignation, with that
fugitive feeling whieh seemed to himself scarcely compatible
with grief for a real attachment : he had never ceased to love
Hannah Gropphusen.

Had his eyes been struck with blindness ?

His passion now revived in him as with the throes of an
intermittent fever. His spirit was free from all other pre-
possession. Enthusiasm for his country, for his calling, had
been driven out of him. His whole being was defenceless
against the might of this love, and he was carried away by it
as on the wings of a tempest.

332 JENA OR SEDAN?

He now only lived in the thought of Hannah Gropphusen.
How long was it since he had seen her last ?

He had to go far back in his memory to the beginning of
the past winter. She had been the fairest at one of the first
balls of the season. Her face had shone with seductive
charm ; a black dress, glittering with sequins, had enveloped
her slender form, leaving bare the tender whiteness of her
arms and shoulders. She bore the palm of beauty, and every
one had acknowledged her sovereignty. And as he had sat
idly in one of the most distant rooms, a morose observer of
the gay throng, she had come gliding up to him like some
dazzling messenger of joy. She had spoken to him, few words
only and on indifferent topics, with a hasty, excited voice ;
but in her eyes had been once more that expression of utter
self-abandonment which had made him so happy on their
return from the tennis-ground during the previous spring.

He had stood before her, his shoulders bowed beneath his
adverse fate, and had not dared to raise his eyes to hers.

Since the night of that ball, Frau von Gropphusen had
been absent for the whole winter ; she had gone on a visit to
her parents, after (so the gossips whispered) a terrible scene
with her husband. And on this occasion even the women
had taken the side of their own sex. For Gropphusen had
been getting wilder and wilder ; it could hardly fail that legal
proceedings would before very long be undertaken against him
for his scandalous behaviour.

The injured wife had returned only a few days ago, probably
for a last painful attempt to preserve appearances. Gropphusen
himself would be leaving the garrison for the gun-practice,
and she would at least remain there during that time ; but
she did not go out, and nobody had yet seen her face to face.

Reimers was possessed with a restless impatience to meet
the woman he loved ; he had wasted too much time already to
brook delay.

Then again he was thrown into dull inaction by an agonis-
ing doubt. How could he think of approaching Hannah
Gropphusen — he, a marked man, a condemned man ? He set
it before himself a thousand times, and dinned it into his own
ears : he desired nothing, he wanted nothing but to be allowed
to live in her soothing presence.

JENA OR SEDAN? 333

He racked his brains to discover a pretext for visiting her
but could find none. He directed his goings from day to day
so as to pass by the Gropphusen villa as often as possible.
He sauntered near the house by the hour together, possessed
by the foolish hope of catching sight of his beloved. Perhaps
she would come to the window to breathe the fresh air of the
night, to cool her burning forehead in the soft breeze, or to
refresh her tear-stained eyes with a sight of the starry heaven.

He waited in vain.

On the morning of their march to the practice-camp,
Captain von Gropphusen, the head of the second battery, was
missing.

Major Lischke sent his adjutant to the Gropphusens' villa
to ask for news. The lieutenant came back with the answer
that Captain von Gropphusen had as usual gone to town the
evening before, and had not yet returned.

Lischke grumbled. " The dissipated scoundrel has missed
the early train, of course. He might at least have tele-
graphed."

Naturally Gropphusen could not be waited for. Senior-
lieutenant Frommelt took charge of the battery, and the
regiment set off on its march.

But even at their first halting-place the missing man failed
to put in an appearance, and now came some enlightenment
as to his proceedings.

The police had made a raid upon the club to which
Gropphusen belonged. Rumours were spread abroad of
unlawful and immoral practices carried on there. A certain
number of the members, Gropphusen among them, had
managed to escape ; the rest were already in custody.

Thereanent the regiment received an official letter, in
which it was pointed out to the authorities that Captain von
Gropphusen was accused of desertion, and was to be reported
at once in case of his reappearance. This was, of course,
only a matter of form, for Gropphusen had no doubt left the
kingdom long before.

Senior-lieutenant Frommelt was entrusted with the com-
mand of the battery, and as Lieutenant Weissenhagen, the
other officer belonging to the detachment, had already been
sent on to the practice-camp to look over the barracks and

334 JENA OR SEDAN?

stables, Senior-lieutenant Reimers was attached to the second
attery during the march, and until further orders.

Reimers rejoiced that a fortunate turn of events had
released the woman he loved from her tormentor ; he was
glad also that this alteration in the arrangements for the
march would withdraw him from surroundings in which his
thoughts had now become so completely and dizzily changed.

Finally, a faint hope sprang up in his mind : perhaps at the
practice-camp, where the capacity of the army was put to its
sharpest test in time of peace, he might regain some of his
old belief in the unimpeachable superiority of the German
forces.

He greeted the open expanse of heath with joyful eyes.

The battery had crossed a river, one of those quiet waters
of the flat country that glide along lazily between their sandy
banks, and conceal beneath their harmless-looking surface
deep holes and dangerous under-currents.

From the rear came riding a troop of hussars, apparently
engaged in scouting-practice. The bridge was supposed to
have been destroyed, and they were trying to find a place for
fording the river. The officer first drove his horse into the
water, and the animal sank at once up to its neck, but then
began to swim, and soon reached the opposite side. The
hussars followed smartly and quickly, and the troop proceeded
onward from the other bank, leaving wet traces on the light
sandy soil. The officer galloped up closer to the marching
battery.

Reimers recognised an old companion from the Military
Academy.

" You, Ottensen ? " he cried. " What a strange chance ! "

11 Isn't it ? " said the hussar. " Pity I've no time to stop.
I must teach my chaps to scout ! "

They exchanged a pressure of the hand ; then the cavalry
officer spurred on his horse, and disappeared in a cloud of
yellow dust.

Shortly after this the battery came upon the hussars for a
second time. The riders had dismounted at the edge of a fir
plantation. One hussar after another was being made to
buckle on the climbing-irons and climb up a tree-trunk in
order to survey the surrounding country with a telescope.

JENA OR SEDAN? 335

The lieutenant was examining them, and testing their re-
ports by the map.

" Not seen you for a Jong time, Reimers 1 " he laughed, as
the battery marched by. " Just look; these chaps climb like
monkeys ! "

Reimers nodded gaily to his lively friend. It was indeed a
pleasure to watch the agile hussars.

"Wait a bit! " said Ottensen, "I'll ride a little way with
you." He asked Senior-lieutenant Frommelt politely for per-
mission, and sent his men back in charge of a sergeant. Then
he joined the battery, chattering away gaily in his droll, staccato
fashion, and making his horse leap the ditch from time to
time. He sat his magnificent steed splendidly, and with his
slender, neatly-made figure, looked the perfect model of a
cavalry officer.

Reimers looked at him with honest admiration and pleasure.

" Your hussars are smart fellows ! " he said.

Ottensen smiled, well pleased, and said : " Well, perhaps
so 1 "

" They climb the trees well," continued the artilleryman.

" I should think so !" said Ottensen. " Trees, corn-stacks,
church-towers, roofs of houses, telegraph-posts, and devil
knows what besides — mountain-tops too, only there aren't
any hereabouts."

" Perhaps there will be during the manoeuvres."

The hussar let his single eye-glass fall, and showed an
astonished face.

" Manoeuvres, my dear fellow ? Why, all's plain sailing
in them ! "

11 How do you mean ? Plain sailing ? "

11 The rendezvous all fixed up beforehand, with friends on
the enemy's side ; simultaneous luncheons arranged for when
possible. Every detail settled in advance."

The little hussar suddenly burst out laughing : " Reimers !
my dear fellow ! " he cried, " don't pull a face like a funeral
march ! Do you mean to say you didn't know it ? You
didn't ? Well ! "

Reimers asked him : " But what do you take to be the
object of the manoeuvres ? "

" Object ? Oh, there is plenty of object ! "

336 JENA OR SEDAN?

11 Surely the object of the manoeuvres is to get the nearest
possible approach to the conditions of actual warfare ? "

"All rot!" declared the hussar. " You're still just the
same old bookworm as ever; an incorrigible old wool-
gatherer ! The object of the manoeuvres is the most deadly
punctuality in the meeting of the two opposing parties, and
not the training of young cavalry lieutenants in scouting. The
object is attained by careful consultations beforehand. Oh,
yes ! I was once just such another innocent youth as you,
dear boy. Shall I ever forget it, my first scouting expedition,
with no rendezvous ? On and on I rode till it was perfectly
dark. Couldn't see a single wicked enemy. Didn't I just get
a rowing ! A whole winter practice thrown away ! Two
infantry regiments with a mile of transport, and behind them
four batteries and four squadrons of horse. All had marched
gaily past each other at about half an hour's interval ! Not
a shot fired ! No, thanks — never again ! "

At a cross-road Ottensen took leave of them. From afar
he waved once more his immaculately-gloved right hand.
Reimers rode on in silence.

On the horizon appeared the white walls of the barracks
and stables, and the water-tower of the practice-camp.

It was an unwelcome thought this that his old companion
of the Military Academy had suggested to him. Here was
another proof of how everything in the army was worked up
simply to present a smooth outward appearance. How he
would laugh now if any one spoke to him of a similarity
between the conditions of real warfare and those of the
manoeuvres ! It was a thoroughly planned-out game, in which
no ill-timed mischance was allowed to disturb the pre-ordained
harmony of the arrangements.

But what a crying shame that such splendid material should
be spoilt by this dangerous system ! Ottensen was not a
highly -gifted soldier; he was no model military instructor;
but he was a fine horseman, had a cool head, plenty of dash,
and some keen mother-wit to boot : a born leader of scouts.
And yet these brilliant qualities were sacrificed to outward
show, and were let go to waste for want ot use ! One good
cavalry officer the less; that was bad enough. But had not
Ottensen spoken as though these were quite usual practices ?

JENA OR SEDAN? 337

It looked as though this purely external unwarlike training ot
the army were being erected into a principle.

The first day at the practice-camp was entirely taken up by
settling into quarters. The tables were laid at six o'clock in
the evening. Most of the officers were perfectly exhausted
with standing about and running hither and thither; and
directly the meal was over they retired to their rooms to get
half an hour's nap before their evening duty.

Reimers left the camp by the back gate and went slowly
along the edge of the forest towards the butts.

The sun was setting, and the rim of the red disk seemed
to be just resting on the dark line of the tree-tops. The
heath glowed with colour in the evening radiance.

Some men with pickaxes and spades over their shoulders
met him; behind them a waggon laden with planks toiled
heavily through the sand. Even the drill coats of the soldiers
were tinted red by the sunset light. Reimers strolled on
further A sandy pathway cut across the pink blossoms of the
heather ; without thinking he turned into it. This was the
road which had formerly led from the forest towards the
ruined village; there was now no use for it, and it was being
allowed to fall into disrepair.

The solitary wanderer approached the dilapidated dwellings.
In the village itself the perilously inclined walls of the ruins
threatened to fall into the roadway. Reimers stepped through
a doorway into the courtyard of one of the largest houses.
A rose-tree spread its branches over the wall. Everything
was bathed in the red light of the setting sun. Through the
empty casements Reimers seemed to be looking at the fierce
glow of some incendiary fire. The white roses gleamed pink,
and a pool of water that had run down from a gutter shone
like newly-shed blood. The deserted garden, the empty
casements, the smoke-blackened walls, the glowing colour
in the sky, and the red pool on the ground : this was
a picture of war, in which men were laid low beneath
blossoming rose trees, whose roots were drenched in their
hearts' blood.

Reimers stumbled down the dim mud-stained passage and
over the broken threshold into the village street, and wandered

338 JENA OR SEDAN?

back again to the camp, gazing with thoughtful eyes into the
gathering dusk.

The picture of the ruined cottages had recalled his South
African experiences to his memory.

He saw the cosy farm-houses burst into flames behind the
fleeing riders. The men shook their clenched fists as they
looked back, and sent up grim but child-like petitions to a
patriarchal God on whose help they had too confidently relied. I
But they made no stand, possessed by the irresistible panic
which had seized upon them after the unfortunate episode of |
Cronje's capture.

It was but now and then that a handful of brave men,
together with a few from the foreign legion, had made a short
resistance at some pass or ford ; and these were the only
experiences, during the time of that gradual break-up, to which
he could look back with any satisfaction.

Like the others he had lain in the high grass or behind a
jutting rock, and had picked out his man ; while beside him a
twig would occasionally be snapped by a bullet, or splinters of
stone strewn over him. This had been sharp, honest skirmish-
ing, and he had had no scruple about doing as much injury
to the English as possible. He never knew whether he had
killed his man or merely wounded him. Either was possible ;
and did not war necessarily involve this ?

At last, however, he had an experience that weighed more
heavily on his mind.

It was near the Portuguese frontier on an open grassy ex-
panse, somewhat resembling the heath by the practice-camp.
They were hurrying onwards, hoping to reach neutral territory
and escape capture by the English. Between them and the
pursuing lancers lay only the deep channel of a river, whose
waters lapped idly and languidly on the shore in the peaceful
summer stillness.

An English officer came riding carelessly up to it, a fresh
young lad. He had slung his carbine on his saddle, and was
gaily flourishing a switch in the air and flicking at his brown
leather gaiters. He was within speaking distance, his men
were trotting far behind him.

Then one of the foreigners, a lean Irishman, reined in his
flying steed. With a wild expression of hatred he raised his

JENA OR SEDAN ? 339

loaded weapon, took aim and fired. The Englishman fell
heavily backwards on his horse and plump into the shallow
water.

The Irishman galloped up to Reimers' side. His ragged
coat and brown, weather-beaten face proclaimed the seasoned
fighter.

11 A good shot, mate ! " he said. Reimers looked sideways
at him and answered nothing.

The other waxed indignant, and began fiercely :

" Damn it, sir ! Thirty years ago my father rented a farm
in county Waterford that one of yon fellow's breed coveted.
My father died in Philadelphia, with nothing but a torn shirt
to his back and his bones coming through his skin. It's an
old debt that I have just paid off! "

Reimers nodded in assent ; he could do nothing else. The
man was one of the many Fenians who had entered the ranks
of the Boer army, instigated by the age-long hereditary hatred
of Irishman for Englishman; from his point of view he was
justified. This was warfare, and why had the young officer
ridden ahead in that boyish, foolhardy way ?

Nevertheless, the deed had filled the German with inexpres-
sible disgust.

And suddenly, in this evening hour among the blossoming
heather, within view of the ruined village now fast becoming
indistinguishable in the twilight, the recollection of that nearly
dry river-bed on the frontier of the Transvaal Republic drove
in upon his mind clearly and definitely all the terrors of war :
men falling upon each other like ravening beasts, blood and
fire, death and destruction.

Innumerable thoughts conflicted in his brain. Whose was
the guilt that these immemorial horrors still existed, that they
were even protected by law ? Who was it that desired war ?
Was it the nations, incensed against each other by race-hatred ?
Was it their rulers seeking renown ? Was it greedy, self*
interested diplomatists ? Secret, but so much the more
effectual, under-currents of Jesuitical intrigue ? Fire-eating
generals, pining to justify their existence? Who was it that
dared assume responsibility for such a colossal crime against
humanity ?

Reimers was loth to press such considerations further. By

340 JENA OR SEDAN?

so doing he might be led to conclusions before which he shranl
because from his youth up they had been pictured to him i
detestable and criminal ; he turned from them in alarm.

One thing he saw clearly and distinctly : war, which seeme
to be a necessity in the life of a nation, demanded strong
minded men, hard as steel. Men like himself, broken in spirii
were useless and unfit for the profession of an officer. A soldie
without fresh living enthusiasm for his calling was nothing bu
a figure of straw.

It was borne in upon him that he was a mere caricature o
an officer, such as he had hitherto despised ; perhaps but i
more thoughtful, melancholy variation from the whole brainles:
type.

But what had he to look for in the world beside ?

Next morning Senior-lieutenant Frommelt, the temporar)
commander of the second battery, came to Reimers in a hurry.

" My dear Reimers," he said, " I must ask you to do me a
kindness. After the exercises to-day will you drive back at
once to the garrison ? Somewhere in Gropphusen's house the
punishment-book of the battery must be lying about, and a few
important orders with it. The sergeant-major sent it over to
him the evening before our departure, and now we want it.
Will you go ? "

And Reimers answered, " Of course I will, Frommelt."

The commander of the battery continued, quivering with-
the anxiety appertaining to his new dignity : " You know, I
would have sent Weissen hagen, as he is the youngest officer ;
but he is a little flighty, and I don't quite like to trust him
with such a delicate matter as conversing with a lady about the
failings of her absent husband."

" But is that necessary ? " asked Reimers.

" I think so. You see we have not been able to find the
things anywhere. You must describe the books — you know
the usual binding — and then they must be sought for very
thoroughly."

" Very good. I will go."

Reimers went through the shooting-practice (in which, by-
the-by, the " flighty " Lieutenant Weissenhagen seemed to give
a very good account of himself), buiied in a deep reverie. At

Ol

JENA OR SEDAN? 341

?very shot he started in his saddle, and when the battery took
up a change of position he entirely forgot to ride into his place.
But the good brown mare moved correctly of herself. Her

1 rider patted her neck in praise, and drew himself up erect.
The joy which had at first stupefied him made him now feel
glad and proud. Happiness smiled upon him once more,
before the consummation of his evil fortune — he would see
Hannah Gropphusen again.

It was noon when he arrived in the garrison town. All the
good citizens were at their midday meal. The streets were
deserted, and the little colony of villas that formed the officers'
quarters showed no sign of living inhabitants.

The Gropphusens' house, with its closed shutters and
lowered blinds, looked half asleep; but Hannah's windows
were as usual draped in their pale pink curtains. Reimers
went through the garden and into the porch. He hesitated a
moment and listened ; not a sound was to be heard.

Then he rang. The electric bell echoed sharply in the deep
stillness ; but everything remained quiet. He could only hear
the beating of his pulses.

He rang for the second time, but silence still reigned. Had
the unhappy wife returned to her parents ? Was the house-
hold broken up ?

Then a door banged within the house, and light steps
approached. The chain was taken down and the key turned
in the lock.

Hannah Gropphusen stood on the threshold, a weary expression
on her pale face ; she was clad in a loose flowing gown of thin
white silk. Her shoulders scarcely seemed fit to bear the weight
of anything heavier than this light airy texture. Her small head
was bowed as though unable to support the burden of her hair.

Her eyes expressed the astonished query: M How come you
here ? " And she stepped back hesitatingly.

" I have come on business," stammered Reimers.

Hannah opened the door and signed to him to enter. Her
noiseless steps preceded him as she led him into her own little
sitting-room.

She seated herself on the edge of the sofa and pointed to a
chair.

.

el

i
I

342 JENA OR SEDAN?

" Won't you sit down ? " she said gently.

But Reimers remained standing, gazing down upon th
woman he loved. At last he was near her ; he could see he
and hear her voice.

She raised her eyes to his, as if asking why he would not b
seated. Their glances met, greeting and caressing each othe
in the first shy emotion of love.

The man threw himself down before the woman, covering '
her feet, her dress, her hands, her knees with kisses, and sob
bing out the irrepressible confession of his love, over and ovei
again, in unceasing repetition : " I love you ! how I love you
I love you ! how I love you ! "

Hannah suffered his protestations silently. An unspeakable
bliss weighed upon her and paralysed her. Tears streamed
down her cheeks, and as though in the far distance she heard
the soothing call of love : " I love you ! how I love you ! "

She bent over him with a glad, loving look. Her deep blue
eyes shone darkly and protectingly, like the night sky.

" Hannah, I love you. I have always, always loved you.
Only you, Hannah, only you ! "

Her beautiful hand cooled his burning forehead.

11 1 know," she whispered.

And he asseverated : " Even when I was hovering round
Marie Falkenhein, it was you, you that I loved. You, only
you ! Hannah, do you believe me ? "

She nodded : " I know."

Suddenly her aspect changed, and instead of the overpower-
ing happiness came a hard, bitter expression.

" I know, too," she continued, in a low voice, " why you
have broken off with Marie Falkenhein."

The words struck Reimers like a blow. He started back
and tried to disengage himself from her. But the slender
fingers held his hand with a spasmodic grasp which almost
hurt him.

" You ! " he cried. " How can that be ? "

Hannah had become calm. She stroked his hair tenderly.

11 How can that be ? " she repeated. " Dearest ! a woman
can always find out anything she really wants to know. I
wished to know this, and I know it."

In bitter shame the man broke down completely. He

JENA OR SEDAN ? 343

ssed the hem of her robe, and would have turned to the

00 r.

"Forgive ! forgive me ! " he murmured.

But the fair hands would not let him go, and close in his

r a trembling voice whispered : " Stay, my beloved ! For
belong to each other. I am — what you are. We are

mned together, both of us. Stay ! "

Reimers gazed up at her speechless, his eyes full of a

rrible question.

Hannah rose. All signs of weariness had fallen from her ;

e stood erect, a sombre dignity in the expreession of her

untenance. She pointed back to that part of the house

rmerly inhabited by her husband.

" Through him,' she said, in accents of denunciation, " I

ve been ruined. He has destroyed my life, so that I am —

lat I am.'

She looked down upon the kneeling man before her, and

ddenly the wild look of hatred and unrelenting sternness

ed out of her face.

" And now," she went on softly, " as things are, I could

nost bless him for what he has done." Bitter irony invaded

r tone. " Besides, he has bidden me adieu now like a man

honour. He is in Paris, and is going henceforth to devote

nself entirely to art."

But then again lamentations burst from her lips, and

ig pent-up confessions, which she poured forth with a self-
using candour.

" Listen, beloved," she said. " When he took me for his
e, a sort of dizzy enchantment overwhelmed me. We lived

in a mad whirl of intoxication. The hours that were not

ssed together we counted lost; and there was nothing
could have asked of me in vain. He set my foot on
neck and called me queen, goddess. And I — I gave him

7 beauty."

She lifted her head with an imperial gesture, and a proud

tile curved her lips.

" I was a spendthrift," she went on. " Undraped I have
ced before him ; and down in the garden he had a tent
ted — people never could guess the purpose of those

nvas walls, but there I sat to him, naked, on his dun-

344 JENA OR SEDAN?

coloured Irish mare, Lady Godiva. And he fell weeping on
his knees and worshipped me. He longed for a thousand
eyes, that he might drink in the twofold beauty — mine, and
the noble animal's. He boasted that he would not repine if his
eyes were stricken with blindness after having looked upon us."

She paused for a moment. The eternal might of beauty
illumined her brow as though with an invisible crown. Then
she bowed her head, and her voice lost its resonance.

" All that I gave him. I was no miser. The day came in
which I repented my generosity. I suffered when he turned
from me ; but jealousy I felt none. Perhaps I was to blame
for not recovering my pride at once. But through my love
he had taught me that it is bitter indeed to love in vain."

She was silent. Her features hardened, and a deep furrow
was graven in her smooth forehead.

" And then," her voice continued ; " then came the moment
of that terrible revelation. I do not know how I bore it. I
was struck as by a lightning-flash ; I was shattered. I wanted
to leave him ; but my people at home would not consent, and
I — I could not tell him. Unresisting I let them do with me
what they would. I would lie like a corpse, without move-
ment or sensation ; then I would rave, needing the most
careful watching. And he — he came to me again, as the
culmination of his misdeeds. I had become changed for
him, more desirable. But I spat in his face. He came
crawling and begging to me on his knees, and I struck him in
the face and spurned him."

She raised her clenched hand to her brow, and shook it as
against an invisible enemy. Her eyes glowed with resentment,
and her breath came pantingly.

Then again the unnaturally excited bearing relaxed ; she
sank gently down on the couch, and bent over her lover, who
hid his face in the silk of her gown.

" Beloved," she whispered, in an infinitely softened tone;
" it was then, just when I had recovered from my delirium,
that you returned. When I saw you again, here in this room,
it was borne in on me that we belonged to each other, and I
thought you must feel as I did."

Reimers looked up at her, and made a movement to seize
her hand.

JENA OR SEDAN? 345

11 1 know now that I already loved you," he said, " but I
fought against it, because I feared unhappiness for you."

Hannah gently shook her head.

" Do not speak of unhappiness, beloved," she exhorted
him. " Do I not love you, and do you not love me ? Are
we not happy ? "

She stooped to him, and pressed her lips to his in a long
kiss.

" I could not see clearly through my dreadful doubts," she
went on. lt What could I be to you — impure, defiled, ruined ?
There was only in me the longing that you should love me.
What was the mad intoxication of my girlish folly to the
happiness that possessed me when I became certain that you
did love me ? I could have denied you nothing, dearest.
How happy I was ! "

She smiled softly to herself, sunk in tender recollection, and
Reimers felt her light hand touch his hair gently with a
caressing motion. He grasped that fair hand and kissed it
reverently.

" Ah, how happy I was ! " repeated Hannah, with a sigh.
" But the serpent lurked in my Paradise. I came to know
the pangs of jealousy, and I hated Marie Falkenhein — hated
her from the bottom of my soul. Ah, beloved ! it hurts, hurts
deeply, to see the glance of the man one loves passing one
over for another woman. Do you remember the night of
Kläre's birthday, when you sat in the Falkenheins' garden ? I
did not exist for you. I could have knelt before you, begging
and imploring, l Can you not even see me here ? ' But you
had eyes only for Mariechen, and when I went away into the
night, you and she were standing together by the railing like
a betrothed pair. Happiness shone in your eyes. Yes ! in
yours too, dearest."

Reimers kissed the hand of his adored lady. "Forgive
me ! " he sobbed. " Forgive me ! darling, my poor darling !
My eyes were drawn to follow you ; but I turned them by force
to Mariechen. I know now that I loved you alone even then.
In dreams, and when half awake, when I let myself go, it was
you only for whom I longed. Dearest, forgive me ! "

Hannah shook her head gently, and looked fondly into his
petitioning eyes.

34.6 JENA OR SEDAN?

"Be content," she whispered ; " it was wrong of me, and I
conquered it. In the night, after I had seen you both like
that, I fought it out with myself. I recognised that it was
hateful egoism that made me grudge you your happiness, and
that my love for you should be quite otherwise — more unselfish.
From thenceforth Marie Falkenhein became dear to me ; it
was as though I were you, — I felt an involuntary yearning
towards her, warmer, apparently, than your own. I would
have liked to endow her with all that you found clever and
charming in my speech or actions ; I would have given her all
that remained to me of beauty ; above all, I longed to pour
into her veins the fire of my own great love, that you might be
entirely happy and blest. I would have decked your bride
with my own hands, and have brought her to you ; I would
have kept watch, that nothing profane should disturb your
bliss."

Tenderly her arms encircled her lover's neck, and her words
flowed faster.

" Suddenly all this was changed, and I was not less so.
I could not be sad when I saw Mariechen's tear-stained
eyes. I guessed that something terrible had occurred ; but
I was groping in the dark till I got the truth out of that
good Andreae. Then I wept for grief that your happiness
was blighted ; and I wept for joy that you were now wholly
mine. For you are mine ? "

Reimers clasped her to him passionately; she nestled
quivering in his arms. Their lips met, and she whispered :
" If chance had not led you to me to-day — then I should have
gone to you. I love you so."

Late in the afternoon Frau von Gropphusen rang for the
maid ; but the girl had been allowed to go out, and had not
yet returned. The groom from the stable came hastening tc
answer the second ring. He stood still in the doorwi^
astonished. His mistress had let down her hair and was stand-
ing in the sunshine as though wrapped in a golden mantle.

" Is Betty not here yet ? " she asked.

" No, madam."

" Well, it does not matter. Saddle Lady Godiva for me."

" Very good, madam. But excuse me, madam ; you will

JENA OR SEDAN? 347

remember that Lady Godiva has not been ridden for three
days ; she will be very fresh."

Frau von Gropphusen smiled : " Do not be afraid. I shall
be able to manage her."

" Shall I go with you, madam ? "

" No, I am going alone."

Languidly she put up her hair before the mirror. Her pale
cheeks were faintly coloured, and her lips shone moist and red.
She slipped on her riding habit and settled her hat firmly.
When the hoofs of the mare clattered on the pavement outside
she was quite ready.

The maid met her at the garden gate, and was profuse in
her apologies.

Frau von Gropphusen replied lightly : " All right, all
right."

Lady Godiva was fidgeting about impatiently. She whinnied
joyfully as her mistress's hand stroked her delicate nostrils.

The groom helped Frau von Gropphusen to mount, and
inquired if he should tighten the curb a little.

His mistress nodded.

The mare resented not being given her head at once ; but
finally trotted off with a coquettish gait that showed her fine
breeding and her graceful proportions. And the beautiful
woman on her back was like a bride going forth to meet her
beloved.

Hannah Gropphusen chose the road that led to the big
exercise-ground of the regiment. Lady Godiva neighed
with pleasure as she cantered along the well-known path ;
the gentle ascent which she had to traverse in no way
exhausted her long-restrained impatience.

The great level quadrangle of the exercise-ground lay at
a high elevation ; in the valley below the air had felt hot and
stifling, but up here a soft breeze was blowing, and with gentle
caressing touch it brushed back the golden tendrils of hair
from the rider's white forehead.

Upon the scantily growing grass of the plain Hannah
Gropphusen gave the mare her head, and the animal bore her
at a light even gallop to the far end of the ground. From
thence ran a narrow cart-track, by which their sluggish teams
drew the loaded harvest-waggons down to the high road. The

348 JENA OR SEDAN?

track led straight on to the edge of the plain, the chalky
surface being there broken up by deep quarries. Here a
strong rough paling had been erected as a barrier, in case any
stubborn horse should prove unmanageable. This was no
impediment to an unerring fencer like Lady Godiva. She
went over it easily at full stretch.

After her landing Hannah Gropphusen gave the mare a
touch of the whip. The animal laid her ears back and
increased the pace. At a little distance a second obstacle
showed itself, a whitethorn hedge that looked like a hurdle.

Lady Godiva scarcely seemed to touch the ground with her
hoofs. Her mane and tail gleamed golden as they streamed
on the mild evening breeze. A pair of quails started up from
amid the ripe corn.

The mare rose on her hind legs for the jump, then made a
sudden violent movement as though to avoid it. Behind the
whitethorn yawned an abyss.

But the impetus of her motion carried her on, and a firm
grip kept her head forwards.

Early next morning when the stone-breakers came to their
work they found at the bottom of the precipice a dead woman
and a dead horse.

There were no external injuries either to the animal or her
rider. The force of the fall must have killed them both.
The terrified eyes of the mare were staring into vacancy, but
those of the woman — indeed she was but a girl — were closed,
and her small delicate hands still gripped the bridle firmly.

The foreman sent a boy to inform the village-elder ; the other
workmen stood in a silent circle round the unfortunate pair.

"Mates," said the foreman at last, "it's quite clear there is
nothing to be done. We'd better be getting back to work."

A lean, bearded man protested : " We might as well say a
prayer first for the poor creature." For the stone-breakers are
a pious people ; they stand always with one foot in the grave.
A loosened mass of chalk, a collapsing wall, a mine exploding
prematurely, may threaten their lives ; and the chalk-dust
chokes their lungs so that they die early.

The bearded man took off his hat and began to pray. All the
others bared their heads.

JENA OR SEDAN? 349

After the " deliver us from evil " he inserted another
petition : " And grant to this poor lady, who has met with
such a terrible and sudden death, Thy eternal rest, we beseech
Thee, O Lord ! For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the
glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

One only had gone back to his work, an aged man who, with
trembling knees, was pushing a loaded wheelbarrow before
him. He was himself too near death for the sight of a corpse
to strike him as anything out of the common.

When he saw the others praying he set down his burden.
His toothless mouth stammered out his words with difficulty.

" What are you praying for 3 M he said. " That the Lord
will grant her eternal rest ? Look at her, then ! Isn't eternal
rest written on her face ? "

Reimers reached the practice-camp again when his brother
officers were at mess.

It was only on alighting from the carriage that he remem-
bered Frommelt's commission. He was staggered a little at
this neglect ; but after all what did such trifles matter ? He
smiled to himself that he should trouble about it now.

In his own room he threw himself upon the hard camp-bed.
The bare place felt stifling, although the window was wide
open. The white-washed walls seemed narrowing about him,
and he felt as if he would be suffocated.

He shut his eyes wearily. Then the troubled vision
disappeared, and he had a feeling of freedom and deliverance,
a grateful sensation of release from the limitations of matter, as
though borne aloft into the unconfined regions of cosmic space.

The mounted sentry patrolling the forest passed by the
window. The man had settled himself comfortably on horse-
back, and his hanging bugle and accoutrements jingled. As
he came near the creaking of the saddle could be heard.
By degrees the sounds subsided, though the metallic tinkling
was perceptible for a long time.

Perhaps, however, that gentle sound was but the prelude to
some illusion of the senses.

Then voices sounded from the mess-room : the high crowing
tones of Wegstetten and the mellow bass of Major Lischke.
The little captain was grumbling about the food.

35o JENA OR SEDAN?

11 No, no, major," he piped. " The mess-steward sets
disgusting stuff before us, and that's the truth. Now,
to-day — beef and potato-soup ? Pah ! It was lean old
cow, as tough as shoe-leather ! And soup ? hot water and
Liebig!"

11 But, my dear Wegstetten," Lischke] tried to appease him,
" think of the difficulties of transport ! A wo-hours' drive,
and we're not to run up the expenses ! "

Wegstetten's reply was lost in the passage.

Reimers rose quickly from the bed. Hei was afraid that
Frommelt might seek him out, and that he would have to
invent some kind of excuse.

He took his little revolver out of the drawer and examined
the chamber; it was loaded with five cartridges. He had
often thought rof unloading the weapon, but had then said to
himself: " Why ? Who knows if it might not be wanted ? "

He hastened down the steps of the officers' quarters and
ran quickly along the camp-road to the gate. The sentry
stared after him in surprise ; he had not expected to have to
present arms at such an hour. Then he stepped into his
place beside the sentry-box, and performed the neglected
salute ; for so the regulations prescribed.

At a little distance from the camp Reimers moderated his
pace ; at last he walked quite slowly. His footsteps were
hesitating, as if groping in the dark. He could not hear his
tread upon the ground, and his eyes gazed into space like those
of a sleep-walker. Everything seemed to him far remote :
the sandy path beneath his feet, the dark forest, and the
blossoming heather beside the way. And he felt strangely light,
as if he were floating or flying.

Night was beginning to sink over the ruins of the deserted
village. Reimers found his way among the dilapidated dwell-
ings and into the courtyard of the big house where he had
lingered the previous day.

The white roses of the creeper on the wall still glimmered
faintly through the gloom. He bent aside a straggling piece of
a box-tree and sat down on the broken masonry of the smoke-
blackened wall. Somewhere in the corner of the ruins a
screech-owl shrieked. The cry sounded quite close.

Reimers smiled. There is an old wives' superstition that

JENA OR SEDAN? 351

where a screech-owl cries there will soon be a corpse. This
time the old women would be right.

He rested his head in his hands and reflected.

Before him passed with bewildering rapidity many recol-
lections and impressions from his life's history : vague boyish
impulses ; enthusiasms of youth ; exalted strivings and ambi-
tions of manhood ; the disenchantments and doubts of these
latter days. It was as though he had been already lifted into
a clearer light, above all the errors of earthly experience.

The restless ineffectual arguing to and fro with which he
had tormented himself the day before was absent from this
calmer mood. What was the use of struggling against inex-
orable necessity ? Certainly war was one of the most terrible
evils to which the world had ever been subjected, and he who
should deliver mankind from this curse would be a new
Saviour. But when would the Messiah come ? Till then one
must have patience.

The nations groaned under the weight of their armaments;
but none would set the example of throwing off the oppressive
burden. And the German people, who seemed to furnish an
object-lesson in the world's history, whose destiny had been
fuller than any other of changes and contradictions — the
German people, at once so large-minded and so petty, so
admirable and so despicable, so strong and so weak ; who had
done so much for the advancement of culture, and yet were so
unconscious of their great work; hated by the rest of the
world, yet divided amongst themselves — the German people
had least call of all to make a beginning. They must, like
every other nation, look to a strong army as their safeguard.

But then came the crushing thought : that army was no
longer the same that had in one famous struggle forced the
whole world to unwilling admiration.

"Reimers took a mournful farewell of the beloved heroes of
that mighty epoch. Every name connected with it thrilled his
memory : Saarbrücken, a skirmish still scarcely imbued with
the gravity of war, and assuming rather the character of playful
bantering provocation ; Weissenburgh and Worth, where Bava-
rians and North Germans met as comrades in arms ; Spicheren,
where a slight encounter with the rear-guard grew into a seri-
ous conflict ; Metz, which cost the enemy one of his two armies

352 JENA OR SEDAN?

in the field, and was the cause of weeping to countless German
mothers ; Beaumont, the prelude to the huge tragedy of
Sedan ; and lastly, Paris, and the grim tussle of the seasoned
fighters with the young enthusiasm of the republican army of
relief at Orleans, Beaune la Rolande, Le Mans, St. Quentin,
and on the Lisaine. He saw the army returning from the
campaign crowned with victory ; and then began that steady
persevering activity which, not content to rest on its laurels,
proceeded with the work of strengthening and protecting
what had been won.

Then he thought of the present, and, still more gravely, oi
the future.

A good part of that modest, quiet devotion to duty was still
alive in the army; but was not the new-fangled, shallow,
noisy bustle of show and glitter every day displacing the good
old feeling that recognised its power without any big words ?
A proud self-denying asceticism had given way to trivialities
and superficialities. And that in a time when such follies were
more than ever dangerous !

And in proportion as the army pursued this course did
disintegration go forward within its ranks. The ever-increasing
spread of socialistic opinions among the men, and the growing
disaffection for military service, perfected the work which was
already loosening the structure from without. This army,
lacking in martial ardour, and educated more for parade than
for war, was rushing with blinded eyes towards its doom. The
flames of annihilation already shone ahead; the heirs of
Sedan's conquerors marched straight onward, firm and erect
in grand ceremonial array — and the sign-posts by the way
pointed to Jena.

Reimers groaned in bitter distress of mind.

Was there no salvation ?

He looked around him and gazed into the blackness of
night. All about him was gloom. A light breeze was blowing ;
it bore on its wings the scent of the blossoming heather and
the resinous odour of pine-trees. And from the beds of the
wasted garden arose another smell that mingled with the per-
fume of the breeze : the invigorating smell of the soil, of the
mother-earth. It infused courage into the despairing heart of
the lonely man, and elevated his drooping spirit.

JENA OR SEDAN? 353

The soil of their native land was the inexhaustible source
from which the strength of the German people constantly
renewed itself. Thanks to their love for the soil they could
never utterly perish.

To this was owing the continual unconscious longing that
drove the workmen out of the great cities on holidays, so that
the green of woods and meadows was dotted with colour by
the gay summer attire of women and children ; a longing
that made the lower classes crave to possess a few roods of
land, if only to stand on their own soil and cultivate fruit
whose flavour would be sweeter to them than any food that
money could buy : the mighty living love for the soil of their
native land.

And suddenly Reimers had a waking vision.

He looked down upon the earth from some point of vantage.
Germany lay beneath him as though viewed from the car of a
balloon, with the familiar outlines pictured in the maps ; yet
he seemed to distinguish every roof in the cities and every
tree in the woods. All parts of the country bore harvest ;
moors, marshes, heath-lands, had been converted into orchards,
fruitful fields, or stately forests. But the extended boundaries
of the large estates had vanished.

From the Baltic to the Vosges, from the marches of
Schleswig to the Bavarian highlands, one peasant-farm neigh-
boured another. The towns had grown no larger, for a new
and happy race of men cultivated the soil : a lusty race,
who flooded the cities with fresh vigour ; a free race,
loving its fatherland with a jubilant, willing, conscious love.
And the sun shone down joyfully on this land of peace and
plenty.

The pleasant picture vanished, and once more his eyes
stared into the gloom.

From the distant camp came borne on the night wind the
sound of the tattoo. He listened vaguely. Distance muffled
the clear trumpet-call, and the final majestic roll of the drum
was alike lost in the deep melancholy of the darkness.

The tattoo. All must now go to rest.

He thought of the beautiful pale woman whom he loved,
who had given him one last moment of ecstatic joy in life
before death claimed him.

354 JENA OR SEDAN?

Had she too gone to her rest?

The little weapon gave a faint report.

The screech-owl fluttered out of its cranny in the wall.
With an apprehensive beat of its wings it sailed off over the
deserted village and sent forth its piteous cry.

CHAPTER XVII

" Love of the fatherland,
Love of the freeborn man, — "
(German National Anthem.)

Franz Vogt had calculated that his release from prison would
take place at the beginning of February. He had hoped for a
clear sunshiny day, a blue winter sky, a hard frost, and crack-
ling snow beneath his feet.

Everything turned out according to his wish ; yet when the
heavy prison-gates opened, Vogt never noticed the beauty of
the winter day. He thought of Wolf, whom they had shot
down in his attempt to escape. He himself had helped to
lift the dead man, whose skull had been shattered by the
shot.

Vogt was escorted back to the garrison by a sergeant. He
would have had about two months more to serve, as the five
months of his imprisonment were not counted ; but on account
of his father's death he had in any case to be given his dis-
charge, in order that his little property might not suffer by
neglect.

He had to wait a few days till all the formalities were gone
through. Gunner Vogt did everything he was told punctually
and obediently, though hardly with that cheerful frank readi-
ness which had of old proved him such a good soldier. During
his punishment the fresh open-hearted lad had become a
gloomy, self-contained man.

One evening Käppchen, the clerk, who among all the
changes in the battery seemed to be the only person who
remained in his place, announced to him : " Vogt, your papers
are made out. To-morrow you can go."

And Vogt answered him respectfully: "Very good, sir."

He was alone in Room IX. on the morning of his release,

356 JENA OR SEDAN?

putting on his civilian clothes. The battery had gone down
to the big exercise-ground for general foot-drill. He took his
time over his dressing. What need was there to hurry ?
Nobody was waiting for him outside; and nobody would miss
him here. He was quite alone in the wide world.

At the door he gave a last look round the bare barrack-room.
Once these grey walls had seemed almost home-like to him;
once, when the faithful Klitzing had the locker next his own.
But that was long ago.

He went down the steps and out towards the back-gate,
In the drill-ground the battery, just returned from exercise,
was drawn up.

Vogt pulled off his hat and the captain slightly touched his
cap. The greeting looked almost embarrassed.

This was a topsy-turvy world. Wegstetten's eyes chanced
to rest on Gustav Weise, who was in his place in the right
wing as corporal in charge of the first column. It would be
unjust to complain of him ; Weise did his work very well.
But the captain would have preferred to see a Corporal Vogt
in his stead.

In front of Weise stood Senior-lieutenant Brettschneider as
leader of the first column. With his stiffened neck and
proudly erect carriage he gave the impression of wishing to
point out what an immense gulf separated him from the men.
Between this officer and his subordinates there was no kind of
sympathy.

And at that sight the commander of the battery looked still
more glum. Brettschneider might have been quite brilliant at
the Staff College in tactics and military history, but he was of
no real use as an officer ; still less could he instil into the men
either military efficiency or convinced patriotism.

When Vogt arrived at the station the train he had meant
to take had already gone.

Well, that couldn't be helped. He must wait for the next.

The dull February day was drawing towards its close when
he stepped out upon the road that led to his native village.
Joylessly he saw the familiar details of the neighbourhood
appearing out of the fog, and he gave a casual, uninterested
glance over the fields that bordered the highway.

JENA OR SEDAN? 357

Before the turnpike-keeper's cottage he stood still a moment.
The dusty windows looked strange and dead ; and the closed
door over the well-worn threshold seemed to warn him off.

The little side-gate into the yard was not locked. Franz
Vogt entered by it upon his paternal inheritance.

Just then old Wackwitz came hobbling with his wooden leg
across the yard, carrying a pot of steamed potatoes.

" Nobody has any business here ! " he cried out to the
intruder.

Then he recognised " young Herr Vogt." He took him at
once across the yard, and pointed out to him, in his clumsy,
babbling way, the fine glossy appearance of the cows and the
appetising sleekness of the pigs. Who could be found to take
more trouble with the beasts than he ? And he had been very
economical with the food, although the local authorities had
not given him too liberal an allowance !

Vogt listened perfunctorily. He nodded assent to all the
garrulous old man said. It was quite true, the beasts looked
well cared-for.

He patted the strawberry cow, who was in calf; and she
turned her head towards him as she lay in her stall comfort-
ably chewing the cud. Yet he could not feel easy. With his
foot he pushed aside some straw that was littering about the
place, and he carefully avoided the dung that lay on the stones
of the yard.

He went down to the village and got the keys. A stuffy,
chilly atmosphere met him in the passage and exhaled
from every room. Thick dust lay everywhere on floors and
furniture.

Nothing had been moved from its place, and every picture
hung as usual on the wall. But it seemed to Vogt as if the
rooms were empty and the walls bare. He shuddered with
cold and with the sense of loneliness.

In the living-room his father's plain easy-chair was pushed
up to the table, and beside it the stool on which the son had
usually sat. It looked as if they had both only been out into
the field for a moment and would return immediately \ but yet
he could not feel at home.

Franz Vogt looked about him sadly. All else was as of
old ; but his father lay in the churchyard beneath the heaped-

358 JENA OR SEDAN?

up clay of his newly -made grave, and the son stood like a
stranger in his father's house.

The lowing of the cows aroused him from his dismal brood-
ing. He had sent away old Wackwitz after rewarding him
liberally : for he meant to do as his father had done, and
manage all the work himself.

He gave the beasts their food, which had already been pre-
pared for them. There was not a scrap of bread nor of butter
in the house for himself. He made his way down to the village
in the dark, and was glad to find that the baker's shop was not
yet shut, and that a neighbour could provide him with some
butter.

And when, dead tired after the varying experiences of the
day, he went upstairs, there were no sheets on his bed. He
could not take the trouble to rummage in the linen-chest, and
crept heavy-heartedly between the rough woollen blankets.

Early next morning he was aroused by the uneasy mooing
of the cows. He sprang from bed and scarcely gave himself
time to wash. He had to bestir himself, and the fagging and
worry lasted without intermittence from morning until night.
He had hardly time to go down to the village inn in the middle
of the day and get a hot meal.

He would not allow himself to fall short in any way, and
was unremitting in his exertions.

But was this the condition on which, while a soldier, he had
looked back with such longing ? This haste and breathless
labour, this hurrying from one thing to another without pause
or rest ?

He smiled bitterly to himself, and looked about him with
dull, joyless eyes. He was tired with his day's work, and his
back ached with fatigue ; where was that joy of labour, which
had formerly sustained him, and had lightened the burden on
his shoulders ?

Seed-time was coming on; when the young leaves of the
lime-tree began to show as tender brown buds on the twigs,
then the corn must be sown for the summer's harvest. But
before that the fields, which had lain fallow through the winter,
must be ploughed and harrowed.

Franz Vogt yoked the two dun cows, the strawberry remain-
ing in her stall. Wintry weather persisted obstinately this year.

JENA OR SEDAN? 359

As he followed the plough the hail lashed in his face, and the
icy wind penetrated to the skin through his jacket and warm
knitted vest. He turned his back to the storm in order to get
breath, and hid his face behind a sheltering arm. More than
once he broke off work half-way, and took back his team to
their warm stable.

He would then spare no trouble with the beasts, and the
two cows would soon be standing contentedly with their feet in
the plentiful straw. But he himself would crouch before the
cold hearth, trying to blow up the smouldering turf into a bright
flame. He would throw his damp frieze coat over the back of
a chair, and wait shivering for the fire to burn up and warm
him. Sometimes he would dally with the thought that it might
be best for him to sell up the whole place — house, stock, and
field, and go into the town. Was he not living the life of a
beast of burden ? Worse, indeed ! He had not had a single
day of rest since his release : not one, among all these days of
labour on which he had toiled till his bones ached. Wolf had
told him how easily any poor devil could get on in town if he
only had a fairly level head, how free and independent one
could be there; how much more, then, a man with a few
thousand thalers in his pocket !

It so happened that at this moment the lord of the
manor made a rather advantageous offer for the land. He
wanted it to " round off " his estate.

Would it not be his most prudent course to seize this
opportunity ? Certainly the very least he could do was to
turn the matter over carefully.

Perhaps the lord of the manor would offer more if one
seemed unwilling to sell.

At last the bad weather came to an end, and it seemed
possible to begin to think about the sowing.

A suggestion of a warmer spell to come mellowed the fresh-
ness of the morning air when Vogt came out of the yard with
his team. The eastern horizon was gaily tinted. The rising
sun shone clear and bright, sending forth prophetic rays that
foretold fair weather.

The young peasant glanced into the cow-house, where the
strawberry seemed scarcely able to sustain her heavy burden,

36o JENA OR SEDAN?

though she was not due to calve for another fortnight. For
the first time Vogt began to feel some return of joy and content.
This strawberry cow was a magnificent animal. She brought
gigantic calves into the world; lively little creatures too, that
made the funniest leaps and bounds, and were always beauti-
fully marked. One could not but feel sorry when the butcher
fetched them away.

The two dun cows lowed with pleasure when they came
briskly out into the yard, as though they already scented
summer, with its mild air and green grass. He yoked them
to the small wooden cart. Then he brought the sack of seed-
corn from the barn. He had laid it in some time before, and
the sack had not been disturbed. But he opened it to con-
vince himself that all was right. He took up a large handful,
and let the grains of wheat run through his fingers. The seed
lay plump and heavy in the palm of his hand.

Then a current of joy made his heart beat higher. He saw
the crop growing green, then ripening; the stalks crowded
thickly together, and as the summer breeze passed over the
field the heavy ears bowed and swayed like ripples upon the
sea.

With a happy glance he looked about him ; house and yard
were in good order, the harrow lay waiting in the field, all was
ready. And he drove his team merrily onwards.

The dun cows stopped of themselves when they reached
their destination.

Franz Vogt smiled. Yes, this must be a thorn in the flesh
for the lord of the manor ! The corn-patch was small ; but it
stretched out amid the turnip-fields like a long arm that could
hold its own, and that would not brook encroachment.
Rich fruitful soil it was, that scarcely needed the manure he
gave it.

Pride awoke in the heart of the young peasant-farmer. Oh
no, it was not so simple as the lord of the manor thought !
It might be a good while yet before the big estate was
" rounded off."

Franz Vogt opened the mouth of the sack and shook out a
portion of the seed-corn. The two cows stood chewing the
cud by the wayside. He turned to the field.

The sun shone gaily as it mounted upwards. The black

JENA OR SEDAN? 361

earth lay ready and receptive ; above the furrows hovered a
light mist, and an invigorating aroma ascended from the soil,
like incense offered by the maternal earth to the engendering
sun to celebrate the new year of fruitfulness that was just
beginning.

The untiring force of nature was in this fragrance, shedding
courage and strength into the hearts of mankind with the full
benediction of spring.

An overpowering sensation made the young peasant fall on
his knees, and he touched the earth with reverent caressing
hands as though it were something sacred.

He had found his home again.

A troop of hired labourers, strangers from Galicia, were
approaching a field in the neighbouring property of the manor.
They followed each other wearily like a band of slaves, un-
willing and half asleep. Behind them came the inspector.

" Avanti, avanti!" he cried, supposing, apparently, that this
was Polish.

And the strangers set to work. Their heads were bowed
wearily, and their movements resembled the automatism of a
machine.

But Franz Vogt stepped out into the broad sunshine with
head erect, and strewed the seed into the furrows of his land
with a free sweep of his outstretched arm.

PRINTED AT

THE BALLANTYNE PRESS

LONDON

c

BINDING SECT. MAR 1 3 iqft?.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

IT Beyerlein, Franz Adam

2603 'Jena* or 'Sedan1?

E94J413

1914 (Hfl