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138 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
for ever with this calamitous day ! A picture of the Corsican
hangs on the wall, and the great Emperor seems to cast a
reproving look on the unfortunate general. The countenances
of his companions express sorrow and dejection for which
language has no words. No less grave is the expression of the
Prussians standing on the other side. Their features betray
admiration for the heroism of the French army and its daunt-
less courage, which should have deserved a better fate. The
artist has created a scene which suggests to us that all those
present were conscious of the fact that this day would live
in memory as one of the greatest in Prussia’s history and one
of the most tragic in that of France.
Some parts of Donchery have been destroyed by the shells
of the present war, but the Church of St. Onesimus still
remains standing amid the desolation and has not suffered
any damage to speak of. The chancel with the high altar dates
from the twelfth century, the nave from the fifteenth. In
front of the altar-piece stands a crucifix of ivory, and filtering
in through the beautiful stained-glass windows, a multi-
coloured light plays upon the pillars. The priest who accom-
panies us, assures us that not a single shot has been fired from
the windows of Donchery and that the punishment which was
inflicted on the town was therefore unmerited. But the
German documents tell a different tale. A careful investiga-
tion in France and in Belgium will reveal, in due course, where
the root and origin of the participation of the civilian popula-
tion in the warfare is to be found. Until the result of this
investigation lies before us, it will be wise to abstain from
pronouncing judgment.
On the return journey to Sedan we also stopped for a whUe
at the little house by the roadside where Napoleon and
Bismarck had an interview on the morning of the 2nd of
September. Accompanied by his suite of a few horsemen, the
Emperor drove over from Sedan in a landau. He had alighted
and stood, broken and prematurely aged, leaning on his stick,
when Bismarck came up alone on horseback. This incident,
too, has been immortalised by Werner in one of his pictures.
The victor and the vanquished then entered the house together,
ascended the steep and narrow stairs and seated themselves
in the inner of the two larger rooms. The host, the weaver
Fournaise, withdrew ; his wife, twenty-seven years of age,
stayed in the outer room. And Madame Fournaise is still
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