My First Years as a Frenchwoman, 1876-1879 | Page 4

all through the trial. He was dressed in full
uniform, with the grand cordon of the Legion of Honour. It was
melancholy to hear the report of his career when it was read by his
counsel,--long years of active service, many wounds, often mentioned
for brave conduct under fire, having the "Medaille Militaire"--the grand
cordon of the Legion d'Honneur, the baton de Marechal de France,--all
the honours his country could give him--to end so miserably, judged
not only by the court but by the country, as a traitor, false to his trust,
when his country was in the death-throes of defeat and humiliation. His
attitude at the trial was curious. He sat very still in his armchair,
looking straight before him, only raising his head and looking at the
Duc d'Aumale when some grave accusation was made against him. His
explanation brought the famous reply from the duc, when he said it was
impossible to act or to treat; there was nothing left in France--no
government, no orders--nothing. The due answered: "Il y avait toujours
la France." He didn't look overwhelmed, rather like some one who was
detached from the whole proceedings. I saw his face quite well; it was
neither false nor weak--ordinary. It is difficult to believe that a French
general with a brilliant record behind him should have been guilty of
such treachery, sacrificing his men and his honour. His friends (they
were not many) say he lost his head, was nearly crazy with the utterly

unforeseen defeat of the French, but even a moment of insanity would
hardly account for such extraordinary weakness. W. and some of his
friends were discussing it in the train coming home. They were all
convinced of his guilt, had no doubt as to what the sentence of the court
would be--death and degradation--but thought that physical fatigue and
great depression must have caused a general breakdown. The end every
one knows. He was condemned to be shot and degraded. The first part
of the sentence was cancelled on account of his former services, but he
was degraded, imprisoned, escaped, and finished his life in Spain in
poverty and obscurity, deserted by all his friends and his wife. It was a
melancholy rentree for the Duc d'Aumale. His thoughts must have gone
back to the far-off days when the gallant young officer, fils de France,
won his first military glory in Algiers, and thought the world was at his
feet. His brilliant exploit, capturing the Smala of Abd-el-Kader, has
been immortalised by Vernet in the great historical picture that one sees
at Versailles. There are always artists copying parts of it, particularly
one group, where a lovely, fair-haired woman is falling out of a litter
backward. Even now, when one thinks of the King Louis Philippe, with
all his tall, strong, young sons (there is a well-known picture of the
King on horseback with all his sons around him--splendid specimens of
young manhood), it seems incredible that they are not still ruling and
reigning at the Tuileries. I wonder if things would have been very
different if Louis Philippe and his family had not walked out of the
Tuileries that day!
I often asked W. in what way France had gained by being a republic. I
personally was quite impartial, being born an American and never
having lived in France until after the Franco-Prussian War. I had no
particular ties nor traditions, had no grandfather killed on the scaffold,
nor frozen to death in the retreat of "La Grande Armee" from Moscow.
They always told me a republic was in the air--young talents and
energy must come to the front--the people must have a voice in the
government. I think the average Frenchman is intelligent, but I don't
think the vote of the man in the street can have as much value as that of
a man who has had not only a good education but who has been
accustomed always to hear certain principles of law and order held up
as rules for the guidance of his own life as well as other people's.

Certainly universal suffrage was a most unfortunate measure to take
from America and apply to France, but it has been taken and now must
stay. I have often heard political men who deplored and condemned the
law say that no minister would dare to propose a change.
I went often to the Chamber in the spring--used to drive out and bring
W. home. Versailles was very animated and interesting during all that
time, so many people always about. Quite a number of women
followed the debates. One met plenty of people one knew in the streets,
at the Patissiers, or at some of the bric-a-brac shops, where there were
still bargains to be found in very old furniture,