There was also some talk of a proposed proclamation forbidding and finally abolishing the conscription in the districts occupied by the German troops. We also heard from Madrid that the Montpensier party, some politicians belonging to the Liberal Union such as Rios Rosas and Topete, as well as various other party leaders, were exerting every effort to bring about the immediate convocation of the representative assembly in order that the Provisional Government should be put an end to by the election of a King. The Duc de Montpensier, whom they had in view as a candidate, was already in the Spanish capital. The Government, however, obstinately opposed this plan.
Early next morning we broke up our quarters and started for the small town of Falquemont, which we now call Falkenberg. The road was thronged with long lines of carts, artillery, ambulances, military police, and couriers. While some detachments of infantry marched along the highway, others crossed the stubble fields to the right, being guided by wisps of straw tied to poles stuck in the ground. Now and then we saw men fall out of the ranks and others lying in the furrows, fagged out, while a pitiless August sun glared down from a cloudless sky. Thick yellow clouds of dust raised by the marching of the troops followed us into Falkenberg, a place of about two thousand inhabitants, where I put up at the house of the baker, Schmidt. We lost sight of the Minister in the crowd and dust, and I only afterwards ascertained that he had gone on to see the King at the village of Herny. The march of the troops through the town continued almost uninterruptedly the whole day. A Saxon regiment, which was stationed quite near us, frequently sent their caterers to our baker for bread, but the supply was soon exhausted owing to the enormous demand.
In the afternoon some Prussian hussars brought in a number of prisoners in a cart, including a Turco who had exchanged his fez for a civilian’s hat. In another part of the town we witnessed a brawl between a shopman and one of the female camp-followers who had stolen some of his goods, which she was obliged to restore. So far as I could see, our people always paid for what they asked, sometimes doing even more.
The people where I lodged were very polite and good humoured. Both husband and wife spoke a German dialect, which was occasionally helped out with French words. From the sacred pictures which were hung on the walls they appeared to be Catholics. I had an opportunity later on of doing them a small service, when some of our soldiers insisted willy nilly upon a supply of bread, which the baker was unable to give them, as there were only two or three loaves in the shop. But I must do my countrymen the justice to say that they wanted the food badly, and were willing to pay for it. I proposed a compromise, which was accepted; each soldier was at once to get a good slice and as much as ever he required next morning.
On Sunday, the 14th of August, after luncheon, we followed the Minister to Herny. He had taken up his quarters in a whitewashed peasant’s house, a little off the High Street, where his window opened upon a dung-hill. As the house was pretty large we all joined him there. Count Hatzfeldt’s room also served as our office. The King had his quarters at the parish priest’s, opposite the venerable old church. The village consisted of one long wide street, with some good municipal buildings. At the railway station we found everything in the wildest confusion, the whole place littered with torn books, papers, &c. Some soldiers kept watch over two French prisoners. For several hours after 4 P.M. we heard the heavy thunder of cannon in the direction of Metz. At tea the Minister said: “I little thought a month ago that I should be taking tea with you, gentlemen, to-day in a farmhouse at Herny.” Coming to speak of the Duc de Grammont, the Count wondered that, on seeing the failure of his stupid policy against us, he had not joined the army in order to expiate his blunders. He was quite big and strong enough to serve as a soldier. “I should have acted differently in 1866 if things had not gone so well. I should have at once enlisted. Otherwise I could never have shown myself to the world again.”
I was frequently called to the Minister’s room to receive instructions. Our illustrated papers were to publish pictures of the charge at Spichernberg, and also to deny the statement of the Constitutionnel that the Prussians had burnt down everything on their march, leaving nothing but ruins behind them. We could say with a clear conscience that we had not observed the least sign of this. It was also thought well to reply to the Neue Freie Presse, which had hitherto been well disposed towards us, but had now adopted another policy, possibly because it had lost some subscribers who objected to its Prussophile tone, or perhaps there was something in the rumour that the Franco-Hungarian party intended to purchase it. The Chancellor, in giving instructions respecting another article of the Constitutionnel, concluded as follows: “Say that there never was any question in the Cabinet Council of a cession of Saarbrücken to France. The matter never went beyond the stage of confidential inquiries, and it is self-evident that a national Minister, inspired by the national spirit, could never have dreamt of such a course. There might, however, have been some slight basis for the rumour. A misunderstanding or a distortion of the fact that previous to 1864 the question was raised whether it would not be desirable to sell the coal mines at Saarbrücken, which are State property, to a company. I wanted to meet the expenses of the Schleswig-Holstein war in this way. But the proposal came to nothing, owing to the King’s objections to the transaction.”
On Monday, August 15th, about 6 A.M., the Minister drove off in his carriage, accompanied by Count Bismarck-Bohlen, and followed on horseback by Herr Abeken, Herr von Keudell, and Count Hatzfeldt. The rest of us remained behind, where we had plenty of work on hand, and could make ourselves useful in other ways. Several detachments of infantry passed through the village during the day, amongst them being three Prussian regiments and a number of Pomeranians, for the most part tall, handsome men. The bands played “Heil dir im Siegerkranz,” and “Ich bin ein Preusse.” One could see in the men’s eyes the fearful thirst from which they were suffering. We speedily organised a fire brigade with pails and jugs and gave as many as possible a drink of water as they marched by. They could not stop. Some took a mouthful in the palms of their hands, whilst others filled the tin cans which they carried with them, so that at least a few had some momentary relief.
Our landlord, Matthiote, knew a little German, but his wife only spoke the somewhat unintelligible French dialect of this part of Lorraine. They were thought not to be too friendly towards us, but the Minister had not observed it. He had only seen the husband, and said he was not a bad fellow. “He asked me as he brought in the dinner if I would try his wine. I found it very tolerable, but on my offering to pay for it he declined, and would only accept payment for the food. He inquired as to the future frontier, and expected that they would be better off in the matter of taxation.”
We saw little of the other inhabitants of the village. Those we met were polite and communicative. An old peasant woman whom I asked for a light for my cigar led me into her room and showed me a photograph of her son in a French uniform. Bursting into tears she reproached the Emperor with the war. Her pauvre garçon was certainly dead, and she was inconsolable.
The Councillors returned after 3 o’clock, the Minister himself coming in a little later. In the meantime we were joined by Count Henckel, a portly gentleman with a dark beard, Herr Bamberger, a member of the Reichstag whom Count Bohlen was accustomed to call the “Red Jew,” and a Herr von Olberg, who was to be appointed to an administrative position of some kind. We began to feel ourselves masters of the conquered country and to make our arrangements accordingly. As to the portion which we at that time proposed to retain permanently a telegram to St. Petersburg which I helped to cipher said that if it were the will of Providence we intended to annex Alsace.