"Les Oberlés," or "The Children of Alsace," possesses all the elements necessary for a real drama, for a great tragedy, namely, the clash of conflicting passions, emotions, and duties. And these conflicting passions arise where one has a right to expect peace and goodwill. The author introduces us to a divided family, and we see the husband rise against his wife, the son against his father, and the brother against the sister. Their different modes of thinking and of feeling, their ambitions and dreams, turn these beings, united by the ties of blood, into enemies. But "Les Oberlés" is not only a family drama, tragic, irreparable, but also depicts the love of the native soil, a love almost physical, in conflict with the love for the Greater Fatherland. It also shows the clash of two civilisations, the Latin and the Teuton, which for forty years have now been waging war on the soil of conquered Alsace. All these elements make "Les Oberlés" a really tragic novel--a novel full of dramatic incidents, of poignant scenes, but also full of life and love. A. S. RAPPOPORT. LONDON, _November 1911_. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE A FEBRUARY NIGHT IN ALSACE 9 CHAPTER II THE EXAMINATION 36 CHAPTER III THE FIRST FAMILY MEETING 55 CHAPTER IV THE GUARDIANS OF THE HEARTH 75 CHAPTER V COMPANIONS OF THE ROAD 88 CHAPTER VI THE FRONTIER 102 CHAPTER VII THE EASTER VIGIL 112 CHAPTER VIII AT CAROLIS 137 CHAPTER IX THE MEETING 150 CHAPTER X THE DINNER AT THE BRAUSIGS' 163 CHAPTER XI IN SUSPENSE 180 CHAPTER XII THE HOP-PICKING 184 CHAPTER XIII THE RAMPARTS OF OBERNAI 216 CHAPTER XIV THE LAST EVENING 232 CHAPTER XV JOINING THE REGIMENT 238 CHAPTER XVI IN THE FOREST OF THE MINIÈRES 255 THE CHILDREN OF ALSACE CHAPTER I A FEBRUARY NIGHT IN ALSACE