ught a large squad of
foresters from the Tyrol, and had to provide several new teams.

We heard that Schweitzer-Schmalz had, at first, declined the proffered
offer; but when he found the election was not to cost him any money,
only some little condescension towards the poorer people, a few casks
of beer, and, more than all else, strong language against military
dictation, he declared his readiness. He was plain spoken, and yet
cunning enough to declare, at the valley tavern, that, if he should be
defeated it would be more of an honor than a disgrace to him. People
would then always say, "Here is the man who ought to have been our
deputy at the Reichstag. He is a man of the right sort."

The movement continued. It was a sorrowful spectacle for me, to see how
the domestic enemies of the Empire inscribed our Frankfort Constitution
on their flag, and cried that it must be accepted without debate. What
should be done in case it was not accepted, they would not say; they
knew as well as we did, that the adoption of the constitution of 1848
was an impossibility. But they wanted to start an opposition, and to
surround it with a halo of glory.

On the last day of February, we received the news that the
preliminaries of peace were agreed upon, and our German Emperor
announced, "We have arrived at the end of the glorious but bloody war
which was so wantonly and wickedly forced upon us."

We who lived on the borders were delighted beyond measure to know that
Alsace-Lorraine had been brought home to us again; and when I was
speaking with my folks about it, Rothfuss remarked:

"Now I know how it worked. Those who live along the Rhine, from Basle
downward, felt the way you do, when you lie abed in winter time and
have too narrow a blanket. Whenever you move, you are uncovered and get
cold. Now we have a good double bed; now we can stretch ourselves, and,
over there, stand the Vosges mountains; that is a good solid wall; no
draft gets through that."

CHAPTER VIII.

The ides of March had returned as they had twenty-three years before,
but how different now! We stood on a basis of real power, which had
been wrested in battle from our restless neighbor.

The armistice with the enemy without was concluded, but at the polls we
had to struggle against adversaries within.

The best men of our district came and explained to me how false a game
was being played. "They are electioneering for Schwei