It was the last lesson of Mr. Hammel before the new master for German arrives the next day. So it was a very special occasion for him and he was dressed in his finest Sunday clothes. Along with the students many villagers were also sitting at the back of the classroom, their presence as a token of respect to the language teacher. Mr. Hammel started his lesson by asking each student the rule of participles. Contrary to his usual practice, he did not scold Franz when he was unable to recite it. But humbly and sadly, he said that all of them, including he himself has not paid enough attention to their native tongue and its learning, because they had not considered it important enough until now, when they are being forced to abandon it. He told the students that even if enslaved people hold on to their own language they will have a solidarity which no one can destroy, it will be like having the key to their prison. Then he started a grammar lesson and taught it with all his prowess and skills. He poured his soul into his teaching that day and the students also felt it. They too, became so attentive that they understood the lessons easily. They savoured the class because it was their last French lesson. After that Mr. Hammel gave them some writing to do. He had bought new copies for this sad but special occasion, and written on them in beautiful handwriting was “France, Alsace”. Everybody worked diligently as Mr. Hammel sat looking at the class, as if to imprint it forever in his memory. After that , they had a lesson in history. At the end, he became very emotional and as he heard the marching and trumpets of the foreign soldiers pass by, he wrote “Vive la France” on the blackboard in large letters. Thus, Mr. Hammel’s last lesson was a memorable one, both for himself and his students as well.