of the assassin, and who were forced in some places to dig graves for
their victims, and in others to hold a light for the executioners while
they were finishing off the wounded,--these poor wretches are despatched
to Germany.[19] What a journey, and what a place of residence!

Let us quote one story among a thousand. "Our escort was commanded by
two German officers. They were unapproachable. Anyone who tried to speak
to them was threatened with a revolver. In order that we might get a
drink, we were made to collect empty meat tins which served as our
drinking cups until we reached Cassel. We were abused and threatened
wherever we went. Sometimes they made signs to us that they were going
to shoot us, or hang us, or cut our heads off. They threw filth at our
heads and spat in our faces. We were not going to stoop before them; the
disgrace was not ours. It is they, not we, who are degraded. An officer
who was present when our march-past took place aimed blows with a
riding-whip at everyone within his reach. Until we arrived at the
railway, it was the same at every place where we met soldiers. We
reached Marche after a nine hours' journey. We were conducted to a room
marked as having accommodation for 100 soldiers, but they put 400 of us
in there. The people of the place sent us slices of bread and butter,
but it was the Germans who ate them. The latter gave us crusts of bread
to eat. We were abominably cramped; a few managed to stretch themselves
out, but the air was so poisonous that they could not remain in that
position. At Melreux station we changed guards. They drove us with the
butt-ends of their rifles to a spot where a train of cattle trucks was
standing in the yard, and we had to get in. The previous occupants had
been cattle, and the trucks had been cleaned in a very perfunctory
fashion. There was neither straw nor seats. Off we went. Every time we
stopped at a station the soldiers on guard there insulted us. It was
even worse when once we arrived in Germany. They opened the doors on the