FIVE YEARS OF MY LIFEiA SKETCH OF MY LIFEIWAS born at Mulhouse, in Alsace, October 9 1859. My childhood passed happily amid the gentle influences of mother and sisters, a kind father devoted to his children, and the companionship of older brothers.My first sorrow was the Franco-Prussian War. It has never faded from my memory. When peace was concluded my father chose the French nationality, and we had to leave Alsace. I went to Paris to continue my studies.In 1878 I was received at the Ecole Polytech-nique, which in the usual order of things I left in 1880, to enter, as cadet of artillery, the Ecole d'Application of Fontainebleau, where I spentTable of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS; Page; I A Sketch of my Life I; II The Arrest 5; III The First Court Martial of 1894 15; IV After the Condemnation 25; V The Degradation 49; VI The He de Re Prison 73; VII The Journey to the lies du Salut 99; VIIL Devil's Island Diary 103; IX Devil's Island from September, 1896, to; August, 1897 219; X Devil's Island from August 25, 1897, to; June, 1899 251; XL The Return to France 291; XIL The Rcnnes Court Martial 307About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org --This text refers to the Paperback edition.