1.In 1871the province of Alsace was cede.to Germany，after the Franco-Germa War.The people were mostly French，and had the greatest dislike to becoming subjects of Germany-a feeling which was strengthened by the efforts of the German Government to force the German language on them.The following sketch gives an example of the popular dislike of the conquering nation.]
2.This morning I was late in going to school，and Iwas very much afraid of a reprimand，as Mr.Hamel hadsaid he would question me on the participles，and I had not prepared a single word.For a moment I thought of playing truant；the day was warm and bright，theblackbirds were whistling，and the Prussiansoldierswere at drill in the park.I managed to resist all these attractions，however，and hurried on to school.
3.In passing the mayor’s house，I saw that a new notice was posted up on the board，which every onestopped to read.Many a sad notice had been posted up there during the last two years-news of battles lost，and orders for men and money for the war.As I passed on，the blacksmith，who was standing there，called to me，“Don‘t hurry，my boy；you will be at your school soon enough to-day.”I thought he was making fun of me，and ran on.
4.When I reached the playground，I did not hearthat buzz of noise which I had counted on to enable me to get to my place unnoticed.Everything was quiet.You may imagine how frightened I was at having to open the door and enter in the midst of this silence.But Mr.Hamel only looked at me，and said in a kindly voice，“Hurry to your place，my little Franz；we were about to commence without you.”
5.When I was seated at my own desk，I had time to notice that the master had on his handsome greencoat，his finely-embroideredshirt-front，and his blacksilk skull-cap，all of which he wore in school only on examination days and at the distribution of prizes.But what surprised me most was to see the benches at the end of the room，which were usually unoccupied，filled by the old people of the town all sitting silent like ourselves.
6.Mr.Hamel took his seat，and in a grave，sweet voice he said，“My children，this is the last time I shallteach you.The order has come from Berlinthat noth-ing but German is to be taught in the schools of Alsace.The new master will come to-morrow.To-day is your last lesson in French.Be very attentive，I pray you.”
7.Now I understood why he had put on his fine Sunday clothes，and why the old men were seated at the end of the room.My last French lesson！Why，I could hardly write.How I regretted the time I had wastedin bird-nesting，and in sliding on the Saar！My books，that I had found so wearisome，now seemed old friends that were about to leave me.
8.I heard my name called.What would I not have given to be able to recite all those rules of the participles without a blunder！But I could only stand silent，with a swelling heart，not daring to look up.
“I will not scold you，my little Franz，”said Mr.Hamel，in a sad tone；“you are punished enough.Every day you have said，’I have time enough-I will learn to-morrow；‘and now what has happened？This putting off instruction till tomorrow has been the fault of us all in Alsace.Now the invaders say to us，’How can youpretend to be French，when you cannot read and write your own language？‘“9.Mr.Hamel went on to speak of the French language，saying that it was the most beautiful，themost polished，and the richestlanguage in the world，and that we must now watch over each other and see that we never forgot it；for even when a people become slaves，while they keep their own language it is as if they held the key to their prison.
10.Then he took up a grammar，and went over our lesson with us.I was astonished to find that I could understand it quite easily.I had never listened so eagerly，and the master had never explained so patiently.It seemed as if he wished to make all his knowledge enter our heads at once.
Next we passed to writing.He had prepared an entirely new exercise for us，to be written in round hand：“France，Alsace；France，Alsace.”How eagerly each one applied himself！Nothing could be heard but the scratching of the pens upon the paper.A butterfly entered，but no one stopped to watch it.The pigeons cooed on the roof，and I thought，“I wonder if they will be required to sing in German.”
11.Mr.Hamel sat silent in the chair he had occupied for forty years.To-morrow he would leave the country forever；even now we could hear his sister in the roomabove packing the trunks.Yet he had the courage to go through the school work to the end.
Suddenly the clock struck noon.At the same time the bugles of the Prussian soldiers sounded under our windows，where they had come to drill.
12.Mr.Hamel rose，pale，but full of dignity.
“My friends，”he said in a low voice-“my friends，I-”But he was not able to finish the sentence.
He turned to the blackboard，and with a piece of chalk wrote，in letters that covered the whole board，“Vive la France ！”
Then he stopped，leaned against the wall，and without saying a word，he waved his hand as if to say，“The end has come；go！”