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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1925-12-10, Page 7ere Little Cit. ckniakcr's 13Y OTTO FEIiMANN, The Germans were marching on thought I was $afe the orator epied Isarie. Already there were rumors in me. the city that French cannon had been 'taken at Beauvais and Gisort, to the hor'theast of the city, and .gossip has 'it that those very guns would be pre gently thundering before the very Walls of the city. It was a of time orrow and despair of the French end of utter terror for we Germans in the city. Most of my .eountrymen had left 4aris when war became a certainty, '�•d..xnane' more had emigrated at the arising of the two governments, but was not able to go at the time, being 11 in the hospital of St. Michel. Wheal recovered from my illness it was too ate to go, for the lines of the mill- ty were drawing closer about the nvrrons, and railroad communication as practically cut off. Besides, although I was born in Ber- in, I had lived in Paris since I was 4 years old, and I had built up •a nerous trade as a elockm•aker. I. was widely known to persons of , es.lth and .standing, who would glad-; vouch for my character, and I had YY}}othing to fear from the authorities.' Although in my heart I was in sym-1 pathy witheethe Fatherland, I was hysdcally not fit for service in the eld and 1 am sure that I could"have ought only half-heartedly against, the people from whom had been' tinaking,a comfortable living. 1 ''' But as the German lines converged; • end began to • contract around tiro : French capital like a giant rubber: rand, the people of the city pew to ate the Germans in their midst more. end more. As I passed through the streets, bent on business, I saw surly; kiances cast at me, and flushed, ex-1, cited Frenchmen jostled me, then started after me, trying to pick a. quarrel. At the corners and on the boulevards groups of men and women athered, and as I passed them I could hear them denouncing the Prussians and all the brood of Bismarck. Insultsmust_^would be hurled at me and I must stand for them, for a man could not live a span of seconds against the Mob that would have fallen. on him. Hoe and there about the city riots broke out, and several Germans were. badly, mauled, but the gendarmes broke up these fights before they re- sulted fatally. Gendarmes and a diery were vigilant, always prevent- ing bloodshed, and protecting us who had harmed the French in no manner save by the fact that we were Ger- mans. But the rage of the rabble smoldered, although it dared not break forth into flames, and as bul- letin after bulletin Of discouraging news came from the front the mutter- ings grew louder, the attacks more bold and the police and soldiers were more sorely put to it to preserve order. Shops throughout the city were being closed, the windows board- - ed up and the Germans were barri- cading their stores and homes and keeping off the streets. I lived in the rear of my little shop in the Rue de la Cborche, and, like others, I gave over trying to conduct my business; and boarded up. the win Mows of the store. I cooked my own meals in those daysand so I laid in a big store of provisions to be ready for the time when I could not venture on the streets at all. I had lived thus for a day and a half when an old i Frenchman for whom I had done a great deal of work called on me and advised me to go to the house of some' of my friends, where I should not be all alone. I decided to take his advice, and that night, after boxing up and pack- ing away much of my valuable stock, I started on my way to the home of a friend who lived in the neighborhood Of St. George's Church. In the streets I encountered many groups of ill- looking ll looking hien and women, who regard- ed me with no friendliness. I paid no attention to then and- hurried on my way, keeping close to the walls of the houses. When I reached the Conseil de Guerre "I found a small mob col- leeted, and a wicked -looking fellow was addressing them. I tried to slip round the corner of the tomb -like building` without at- tracting any attention, but just aa I An accusing, skinny finger was lev- elled at me. "There is one of the skulking Ger- mans!" cried the man in French, `,Ile is • spying on us now. It is such as he and his breed who will turn our city -over to the brutal Prussians." More, he said, but I. did�not hear it, A woman who was near me had aimed a knife blow at my chest, but I dodged it and managed to wrench the weapon from her. "See!" shrieked half a dozen voices,. "He fights women and children!" "Down with the murderer) He has a knife!" The air was filled with such mils and threats, and a score of hands reached out for me. Into the Rue de Four I rushed, hatless and my coat torn half from my body. The mob, was howling at my heels. I ran as I had never run before, and for a space I drew away from them, but the clamor in my rear struck cold terror to my heart. The screams of the woman thirsting for blend 'sounded shrill above the shouts of the men, and with each scream my speed in- creased. 1 I dared not show myself on the i Boulevard St. Germain, so I doubled from the Rue de Four into the Rue Bonaparte, skirted the St. Sulpice and tore through a garden into the Rue cle Tournon. Running toward the river, I encountered another crowd at the corner of the Boulevard St. Ger:. main, but it was too far from me to interfere with rue. A single burly fellow stood in my path and aimed a blow at my face, but I caught him be- neath the chin with the hilt of my knife and sent him sprawling. The fresh mob followed me into the Rue de Seine and, with the whole pack at my heels, I dashed toward the Bridge of Art, but at the farther end I saw a band of rowdies moving to- ward ine, The cries of the rabble were heard by them and they rushed. in my direction. Now because of the wall along the quay I dick not believe the mob on the bridge had seen me as yet, for it was near the opposite end of the bridge.. I knew -I was out of sight of my pur- suers for the moment, for they had not yet rounded the corner of the In- stitute of Art. It was a cold night, but it was life against discomfiture, and I leaped the wall along the water front. Not a boat in sight. Another second and the crying of my angry pursuers drove me to des- peration. I plunged into the icy waters and struck out downstream. The shouts of my baffled pursuers rang in my ears, and although I could see that they were searching every- where for me, they had lost the trail. In my heavy clothes and shoes I found it hard to swim, and the chill water almost numbed me. I could not last long in the river and I knew it. At that time of night the Pont Royal was likely to be deserted, and I struck in near the shore as I neared that bridge. As nearly as I could make out, there was not a soul on the bridge. Half exhausted, I dragged myself up the bank and managed to scramble on to the broad quay be- tween the river and the gardens of the Turneries. The Rue des Turner- ies was dark and vacant and I hur- ried through it to the Rue de Rivoli, where I tried to mingle with the crowds, but my dripping clothes at- tracted attention and •persons who looked at ane recognized nil as a Ger- man, which was just what I did not want. Finally I reached the Rue de Lafayette into safety, and was hurry -1 ing toward the Rue Bolivar, which wound take use to my friend's house. All seemed to be going well with nil,1 but suddenly, at the corner of the Rue d'Hautoville, I was caught in a swirl- ing wirling mass of humanity which seethed out'`of a narrow alley just off the main street. o A fight of some kind was in pro g•' ems, and in a moment I was :carried by the freakish eddies of human units into the very midst of the group. There a tiny. band of Germans were protecting themselves against the crowd, and niy arrival with a weapon Adventure was a godsend to them. How I ewer came to be eatapulted into their midst I do not know. It was nothing short of a miracle, for heal any of the Frenchmen in the crowd recognized no as a German I would have been beaten and kinked into unconsciousness, It was only one of those strange .exhibitions of the fortunes of battle. There were five of us in the centre of this seething crowd, and we stood back to back and fought off five times our number. "There's no use standing here to be butehered in the end!" I shouted to my new-found companions. 'We've got to fight our way,outof this. If we don't we're lost." Just then a single gendarme app peered round a corner and, shouting at the crowd to disperse, charged into it. For a second the rabble wavered, :then the brave policeman was moth. ered under a dozen ruffians, who left us to attack him. But it gave us our chance, and while he was wielding his rapier and fighting off his opponents, who seemed to be getting the better of him, despite his arms, we formed,, wedge-like, and smashed our way through our tormentors. I am a small man, but the others had evidently been fighting for a long time and lacked initiative or were ex- hausted, and so it chanced that I led them, I still" held the knife I had snatched from the French 'woman en the Boulevard St. Germain, and I must confess that there was murder in my heart. The first man I encoun- tered dealt me a blow beside the ear before I could parry it, and in blind rage T sank the knife into his side while his arm was raised. He drop Ali this flashed acrose my mind AS stood for perhaps a fraction of a min.- ate beneath the tree and pondered on what next to do, Thee there came to my oars the murmur of the mob, part of it turning into Atte Rue de Perens, Another Moment and they. were scal- ing the was of the gardens along the`^ street and I could hear them thrash- ing about in the bushes and shrub- bery. There was no more time for reflee- tion, Windows were thrown open noisily and the neighborhoodwas be- ing aroused.by the racket of the chase. The house near which I was crouch- ing had a piazza which was covered by a roof on a level with the second - storey windows. This was my only chancre, and I ran to one of the pillars and, with my knife in my teeth, climbed to the top of the piazza. All the time I was wondering what would bethe thought of any person who might throw open a window just as nay battered face, knife and all, should jut above the covering. I had hardly dragged my aching body onto the piazza roof before I heard my pursuers clambering over the wall. There was a light in the window before me, but the curtains. were drawn, and stealthily I crept to the water main and shinned up to the roof. It was not much of climb, but there was danger of the pips pulling loose or the enemy discovering me from the clatter. By the time I had gained my place of vantage the master of the house was demanding of the crowd what they wanted in his ,garden. With seant ceremony they told him and con- tinued the search. For a long time the night was filled with the cries of the searchers, and lanterns Moved to and fro below me. I was beginning to feel safe when J. learned from the messages shouted about that the roofs were to be search - CRAMPED AND ACHING IN EVERT' MUSCLE. ped log -like, nearly wrenching the ed, for apparently some one bad seen weapon from my hand, and I ,made me enter one of the gardens and the ready for the next scoundrel. i searchers were sure I had not escaped. It was the first serious wound dealt 1 Then 1 thanked heaven I, had been by either side, and for what seemed a made small and thin, almost to ema- fraction of a second it stunned our ; elation. On the roof where I was opponents. It was as though they hiding was an old-fashioned chimney, paused to gasp in astonishment at the; with a spacious flue, and into this I fate of their comrade, then with a Iclimbed, although it was a tight howl of anger they fell on us anew. I squeeze and I could not descend very A big, 'clumsy fellow made for me, far. but I was ahead gf him and cracked I had not been there long when I his skull with a blow from the hiltbegan- ..to choke and almost cough. of the knife. We fought like demons � Then the realization came that a fire there in the flickering light from the; was being built beneath ane. Smoke street lamps, and the rabble, who had was all about me, stinging niy nostrils hitherto encountered only defensive and but •suffocating me. If the opposition, was soon swept from its fire was built on purpose to smoke ane feet, ( out, should I be in the chimney, there I am not a fighting man, but by was little doubt that I would be forced sheer mad fighting, guided only by, from my haven. If it was only a'case instinct, I slashed my way to the gen-' of starting a new fire, it might be darme, who was all but .ii'verpowered. that I could stand the smoke long It surprised ine, the very strength in: enough to elude my pursuers. Even any arms, and I found time to wonder yet I might be able to fight my way at the joy I found in giving and telt- to fredom, I thought. ing blows. Three of us fought clear Then came voices on the roof, and and dragged the gendarme to his feet, I knew that ladders had been placed and he stood tottering, but fighting`' and men were already on top of the bravely against the heavy odds, house. I heard them tramping over We were too few to attempt to routthe shingles. the mem y, so, once free from them, I "Look in the chimney," shouted a we lied into the Rue de Ilautevilie, 1 voice. but another crowd was marching to E I heard the heavy tread of a man us, singing and flaunting banners. In walking straight to my last refuge. the excitement we scattered, and I With a monster effort I restrained found myself alone, fleeing through, inyself from crying out and scranib•1- the Rue do Paradis. The street was ing from the chimney to meat them lined with houses set in gardens, and there on the roof fate to face. It there were low walls about the would be better than being slain like grounds. I did not know when I a rat in that hole. The footsteps might encounter another rabble, no 1'• ceased at my very ears. Tho last leaped at the wall, just under the moment had come. Ir 'vas torture to branches of a tree which grew' the keep from coughing, other side of it. 1 . I believe some ono triad to look into My fingers barely clutched the top, the chimney. I heard him cough vie - of the - coping, but I managed to lently and stamp away cursing. scramble lip, and swinging frons the, "The scoundrel can't be in there!" branches of the tree, dropped to the he shouted. "If bees, he's dead," ground beorr. I found myself in a It was silent on the roof, but 1 spacious garden surrounding e largo: dared not leave my dirty hiding place. house three storeys high. There were, For what seemed an hour I remained lights shining from the window, and there,'and the smoke had ceased to at first I thought to rouse the tenants:: rise. The sottnds of the mob had died and ask for protection, but I could not away, but I waited long before draw- ]snow whether even a respectable fan- ing'myself into the fresh air, cramped "fly would 'are to harbor a fugitive and aching in every muscle. It was German, and besides, 1 feared to risk dark and few windows shower.] lights. my terrible appearance, My clothes Taking off my shoes, I tiptoed to the were all but torn from my back. I, water main end slid down to the pi - still clutched the bloody_ knife which' azza roof. Once over -.the garden wall had served me so well, and I could i and in the street, I darted among the not hazard throwing it aside. My shadows and by devious ways found face was covered with dirt and bleed- the RUG Bolivar, on which any friends ing, and my clothes were drenched lived,' from the bath in the Seine. 1 I 'reached there more dead than alive, but foe( and n dioggl Pane fie,'+ vived me, and Although it was stone days bolero we Germans ventured into; the streets, the city fell again under + the authority of the police and the military, and there was little further rioting, T SaveM rney an Parka Buildings. You can save a lot in the cost of building stone foundations and stone walls for the first story of barns and other farm buildings if yea have atones on your farm, You can build the walls at less than one-third "df the ordinary cost, if you do the work at odd times and with ordinary farm, labor, s , Forms of two-inch planks are put up to the height of about two feet and. far enough apart to make the wall of the desired thickness, Common stone, either fiat or round, is used, Fill in the larger ones against the planks on each side, and throw in smaller ones to fill up the interstices. After the stones are put into the depth of about a foot, the wall is slushed on top with concrete or cement, sand and gravel. Skilled labor is not required to Tay the stone, as the planks keep the sides straight. The stone occupies more than half of the space, so that less than half the usual amount of con- crete is required for the wall. When the walls set, the planks can be shoved up; thus, two feet more of wall can be built without going to the expense of buying plank for the entire height of the wall. The wall can be smooth- ed up by pointing up the holes, if any are left after the planks are removed. Rabbits in Winter. Are the winter quarters cozy? Rab- bits, like any other kind of stock, must be comfortable to do well. Their. hutches must be steemproof. It is best to house rabbits indoors during ' cold weather, ' not only because- the animals are better -protected, but it is more .comfortable to get about and look out for the stock. With plenty of food on hand—such as hay and roots, which are the prin- cipal foods during winter—as many rabbits can'be quartered as can easily be handled. In estimating the num- ber that can safely be quartered, one should count upon the spring being backward. Some rabbit keepers do not breed for several months during the winter in order to,be able to keep more breeding stock for spring work. The matter of bedding is also worth considering. The wise man gathers all the leaves he can find in the fall and stores them away. Leaves make a very satisfactory and cheap litter, but they must be stored where they do not become damp; for leaves take up moisture very quickly. In selling carcasses, it, is best to move the skins before delivering to the customer. The customer not only prefers it, but the skins are worth taking care of nowadays. These should be carefully dried, stored and sold in bulk to some firm paying good prices. Field Husbandry, The report of the Dominion Field Husbandman (Mr. E. S. Hopkins, B. S.A., M.S.,)for 1924 just published at Ottawa is replete with interest, It supplies meteorological records for the past thirty-five years and goes largely into the cast of producing oats, hay, silage, corn, =angels, po- tatoes and other crops, It then fur - niches particulars of crop yields at the Genteel Experimental Farm, the methods of cultivation followed, how weeds are controlled, improvement of silage from legume ,crops, respective yields of sunflowers and corn on dif- feont soils, rotation of crops, farm manure and commercial fertilizers and the work generally of the field hus- bandry division. An account of soil moisture investigations in the Prairie Provinces is of special interest to that immense section of the country. Graphs are also given showing at a chauce the average yield of various crops at the Central Experimental Farm compared with Ontario gener- ally and of the relative yields of corn and sunflowers an heavy clay and fer- tile sandy loam, indicating at the same time the respective quantities of water, dry matter and green weight in tons. Save Trees From Mice. Remove groes from around the young fruit trees. It is now time for the mice to build their nests, and the grass about the trees provides an ideal place for them. Shield the trees from these pests by using galvanized screen- ing, wood veneer protectors, or ordi- nary newspapers. The last named protection should be removed in the spring but the wire may be left on all year. What 'Us! Sze the Use? "If only we could eel oureelves as others See us." "Well, we wouldn't believe what we saw." A bridge made entirely of porcelain stands near Pekin, in China. THE BOUFFANT MODE. Blue taffeta makes this extremely bouffant frock for edance wear. Two huge medallions composed of silver ribbon, tiny flowers and taffeta, are placed slightly to the left side at the raised waistline. Silver ribbon out- lines the round neck and short kimono sleeves, and helps to accent the effect of fulness at the lower edge of the short skirt. The flower adorning the right shoulder, and the medallions may be purchased at any shop, and make it possible for the home sewer to fashion one of the smartest frocks of the season from this pattern. The diagram pictures the simple design, and No. 1112 is in sizes 16, 18 and 20 years (34, 36 and 38 inches bust only) . Size 18 years (36 bust) requires 2% yards 36 or 40 inch material. Price 20 cents. The designs illustrated in our new Fashion Book are advance styles for the home dressmaker, and the woman or girl who desires to wear garments dependable for taste, simplicity an economy will find her desires fulfille in. our patterns. Price of the book " cents the copy. HOW TO ORDER"FATTERNS. Write your name and address plain - !y, giving number and size of such patterns as you want. Enclose 20c in stamps or coin (coin preferred; wrap it carefully) for each number, and address your order to Pattern Dept., Wilson Publishing Co., 73 West Ade- laide St., Toronto. Patterns sent by return mail. To Get Good Photos Expose Film Uniformly, To get good pictures with your camera, all exposures on a single roll] of film should be uniform. If each pie. tare is made under different condi- tions of light, length of exposure and shutter opening, poor pictures are al- most sure to be the result, The photographer develops a roll of film as a unit. The length of time it takes to develop pictures depends a great dead on the length of time they were exposed or the amount of light reaching the ,sensitive fihn surface. If a roll of film is so exposed that a different amount of light has reached each exposure on the fihn, one or two are likely to be developed' just right, while the others will be either unde- veloped or overdeveloped. If you are developing your own films, and there are pictures of dif- ferent exposure on the sante film, cut the film apart and develop each pia ture separately. This is too much. trouble for the commercial photo- grapher, however, in view of the ex- tremely low prices charged for film development and picture printing. It is usually hest, therefore, to set the time of exposure and lens opening and not change these adjustments until a whole roll of film is exposed, making all pictures, of course, under the seine conditions of light. In this case, the only adjustment necessary for individual pictures is for distance, or focus. If you have a fixed -focus camera, even this is unnecessary; This arrangement will not do when you are "hunting" with a canner,, for some shots will require different time and shutter opening. In that case, take your filmes to a shop where they will be developed with special care. —P. T. H. In tying and wrapping a parcel so' it will stay wrapped there are several. essentials to keep in mind: Use enough paper and wrap well. Pull, the wrapping string tightly at each turn, taking up all slack and not letting it slip. Then make a loop or half-hitch eery time the string' crose+es. Finally, tie eecurely evfth a knot that wilt stay tied. If this be done, there will be no complaints, nor will the pacicnges be, come undone before they calm be de- livered.