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 THE RISE AND FALL 
 
 OF 
 
 THE PARIS COMMUNE 
 
 IN 1871; 
 
 WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OF 
 
 THE BOMBARDMENT, CAPTURE, AND BURNING 
 OF THE CITY. 
 
 By W. PEMBROKE "FETRIDGE, 
 
 EDITOR OF "HARPER'S GUIDE-BOOK TO EUROPE AND THE EAST," "HARPER'S 
 PHRASE-BOOK," &c. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH A MAP OF PARIS AND PORTRAITS 
 FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS. 
 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 HAEPER & BEOTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 1 SVl. 
 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871 , by 
 
 W. Pembroke Fetridge, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 
 
 'THE LIBRA JfeTl 
 
 01^ congress! 
 
 || WASH! NGTOW I 
 
 ,F4\ 
 
J2I I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A S accuracy is tlie principal merit in a "work of this 
 description, tlie autlior, who remained in Paris 
 from March 6 th until after the capture of the city by the 
 Government troops, which was completed May 29th, 1871, 
 has diligently examined and carefully sifted all reports 
 published by the different writers in the Paris journals, as 
 well as those of foreign correspondents, with whom he was 
 brought in hourly contact. Naturally, there was much 
 discrepancy in the various accounts given, as the scene of 
 action covered so large a space of territory. Each succeed- 
 ing day corrections were made in the original reports, of 
 which readers in the United States could never be thor- 
 oughly informed through the newspapers. Three days in 
 succession three different first-class Paris journals gave the 
 last dying words of General Dombrowski, one of the chiefs 
 of the insurrection, all entirely different. So it was in 
 every instance connected with the arrest or execution of 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 the different members of the Commune, the storming of 
 the different barricades, and the multitude of heroic and 
 daring actions performed throughout the city. These 
 accounts have been corrected by facts since brought to 
 Hght ; and this material, with what the author personally 
 saw, is now brought before the pubHc. The record is 
 probably the saddest which has ever appeared on the 
 page of history. 
 
 Paeis, August, 1871. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGIi 
 
 Causes of tlie Insurrection — War ■with Prussia — Fall of the 
 Empire — Clause in the Treaty of Brussels, leaving the 
 National Guard in Arms — Letter of Prince Napoleon to 
 Jules Favre — Mistake made by Jules Favre in Signing 
 the Treaty — Fears entertained regarding the Return of the 
 Soldiers — "Weakness shown by the Government — Council 
 of Ministers held at Versailles — Meeting of National 
 Guards at Montmartre — Election of Members for the 
 Central Committee — A Prefect of Police appointed by 
 the Government — Protest of the National Guards — They 
 Insist upon their Right to Elect Municipal Officers — They 
 Protest against the Introduction of Regular Troops into the 
 City — Organization of the National Guard — Necessity for 
 its Dissolution — Refusal of the Guards to deliver up their 
 Guns — The Government proposes to Stop their Pay — 
 Prussian Sentry killed by a National Guard — Arrest of 
 the latter — Arrest of two Germans by the Malcontents — 
 Their Trial and Condemnation by the Central Committee 
 — Their Release— Conditions of their Release unfulfilled 
 by the Prussians — Proclamation of M. Thiers — Proclama- 
 tion to the National Guards — Determination of the Govern- 
 ment to subdue the Insurrection — Attempt made to 
 secure the Guns in the Place des Vosges — They are 
 removed to Belleville — Erection of Barricades — Occupa- 
 tion of Montmartre by the Troops — Mismanagement shown 
 — Hostile Attitude assumed by the National Guard — They 
 oppose the removal of the Guns — Refusal of the Soldiers 
 
Vi CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 to Advance — The 88tli Eegiment of the Line fraternizes 
 with the Insurgents — Withdrawal of the Troops who 
 remain faithful — They are fired upon by the In- 
 surgents 15 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 Elation of the National Gu.ards — Erection of new Barricades- 
 Battery surrendered hy its Escort to the Insurgents — 
 ; Arrest of Generals Lecomte and Thomas — Their Assassi- 
 nation — Brave attitude of the murdered Officers — Two 
 Aides-de-Camp of General Lecomte narrowly escape the 
 same fate^-The Central Committee assume the direction 
 of Affairs — Excitement at Montrouge — Barricades erected 
 in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine — Gendarmes dismounted 
 and disarmed — Proclamation of the Government — Events 
 at the Hotel de Villa — Ail Access to the Buttes Chaumont 
 forbidden by the National Guards — Two .Regiments of 
 the Line Surrounded and Disarmed — The Insurgents take 
 possession of the Place Vendome — Evacuation of the llth 
 Arrondissement — Meeting of Paris Deputies, Mayors, and 
 Adjoints — Concessions proposed to the Government and 
 accepted, but withdrawn after news received of the 
 Murder of Generals Lecomte and Thomas — The Central 
 Committee take possession of the Hotel de Ville — Arrest 
 of General Chanzy — Official Journal seized by the In- 
 surgents — Proclamation of the Central Committee — City 
 entirely abandoned by the Troops — Public Buildings 
 occupied by the Insurrection — Decree for the Elections * 
 — Communication cut off with the Provinces — The Gov- 
 ernment Officials summoned to Versailles — The Prussians 
 return to St. Denis — Their Despatch to M. Jules Favre — 
 His Reply — Great Military Preparations — Sitting of the 
 Assembly — The Department of the Seine declared in a 
 state of siege — Children of General Lecomte adopted by 
 the Country — Prussian Communication to the Central 
 Committee — Reply of Paschal Grousset 33 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Admiral Saisset appointed Commander-in-Chief of tlic National 
 Guai'ds — The Law and Order Party endeavor to overcome « 
 the Insurrection — Concessions obtained by Admiral Saisset 
 from the National Assembly — His Proclamation — The In- 
 surrectionists still unsatisfied — The Elections postponed 
 by Decree until March 26th — Declaration of the Press — It 
 calls forth a Threat from the Central Committee — Pro- r 
 cession of the Order Party — Passage through the Place 
 Vendome — Citizen Tony-Mollin appointed Mayor of the 
 6tb. Arrondissement — M. Leroy takes possession of the 
 Mairie — Is ejected by Citizen Lullier — Warehouses broken 
 into by the Mob — Chassepots sold for ten francs — Deputa- 
 tion sent to Valerien — Second Procession of the Order 
 Party — Endeavor made to disperse the crowd — Shots ' '4- 
 fired — Frightful Massacre — Ambulances collect the dead — 
 Diflferences of Opinion with regard to which Party fired 
 the first Shot — Account given by the OflScial Journal — 
 General Bergeret's view of the question — Requisitions — 
 Executions at Montmartre — Deputation of Mayors to the 
 Assembly demanding a Compromise concerning the day 
 of the Elections — Hostile Attitude of the Assembly — Ad- 
 dress of M. Arnaud — Tribune assigned to the Mayors — 
 Their Entrance — Their Observations resented by the 
 Right — ^Violent agitation — The Meeting dissolved — Even- 
 ing Sitting — Resolutions presented by the Mayors for 
 Approval — Several Mayors on their return to Paris make 
 an Arrangement with the Central Committee — The Citizens 
 exhorted to Vote — Discrepancy in the Statement of the 
 Mayors and that of the Central Committee — The Resolu- 
 tions of the Mayors rejected in the Assembly by a large 
 majority — Decrees in the Official Journal — Insurrectional 
 Movement in Lyons — In Marseilles — Toulouse — St. Etienne ' 
 — Fusion of the Mayors and Central Committee — Version 
 of the Committee — That of the Mayors — Proclamation of 
 the Deputies of Paris — Resignation of Admiral Saisset — 
 Proclamation of the Central Committee 55 
 
YIU CONTEiq-TS. 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Successful Results obtained by tbe Committee on the Elections 
 — Small number of Voters — List of tbe Commune — Deles- ' 
 cluze resigns bis seat in tbe Assembly, and becomes 
 Member of tbe Commune — Ceremony at tbe Hotel de Ville 
 — Commissioners appointed by tbe Commune — Proclama- 
 tions — Decrees^Tbe Eed Flag floats from tbe Tuileries — 
 Absolute Power of tbe Commime — Sub-Committee of 
 eleven members — Garibaldi — Opinions of tbe Communist 
 Journals — Post-office Director appointed by tbe Commune 
 — Imprisonment of Lullier — Situation of Paris — Prepara- 
 tions of tbe Insurgents — Concentration of tbeir Troops — 
 Plan of Attack — Engagement at Meudon — Cbatillon — 
 Sortie by tbe Porte Maillot— ^be Insurgents met by tlie 
 Versailles troops — Bearer of a Flag of Truce sbot by tbe 
 Insurgents — Tbeir precipitate Eetreat — Cbarge of tbe 
 Gendarmes — False Bulletins of tbe Commune — Arrival of 
 tbe Insurgents, commanded by Flourens, at Eeuil — Barri- 
 cades erected in tbe Streets — Arrival of tbe Gendarmes 
 and Capture of tbe Barricades — Utter Eout of tbe Federals 
 — Searcb for Flourens — He is discovered and killed — His 
 Aide-de-Camp taken prisoner. 85 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Proclamation of tbe Marquis de Gallifet — Tbreat of tbe 
 Communists — Imprisonment of Assi — Grade of General 
 abolisbed — Dombrowski appointed Commandant of Paris 
 — Attack on Cbatillon — Deatb of General Duval — Decree 
 rendering Military Service obligatory for all men between 
 tbe ages of nineteen and forty — Pretexts adopted for 
 escape from tbe City— Eocbefort instigates tbe demolition 
 of M. Tbiers' bouse — .Letter of Garibaldi — Decree relative 
 to Prisoners — Cluseret's Eeport — Note of Pascbal Grousset 
 to tbe Foreign Eepresentatives-^Bergeret's Letter — Cap- 
 
.CONTENTS. IX 
 
 FAGB 
 
 ture of Courbevoie by the Versailles Troops — The Bridge 
 of Neuilly takeu— Shells fall at the Arc de Triomphe — 
 Persecution of the Clergy — Imprisonment of the Arch- 
 bishop of Paris — Conflict of the Commune and Central 
 Committee — Bergeret Incarcerated — Despatch of Dom- 
 browski — The fight at Courbevoie — Attack on tlie In- 
 surgent Outposts at Issy — Account given by General 
 Cluseret — The Committee of Conciliation 105 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 M. Jules Favre at Prussian Headquarters — Letter of Paschal 
 Grousset to the Prussian Commander — Proclamation posted 
 at St. Denis — Sacrilege of the Communists — Religious 
 services discontinued — Decree ordering the destruction 
 of the Column Vendome — Article in the Mot d'Ordre — 
 Shells fall far into Paris — Report of General Cluseret — 
 Battery at Trocadero — Marshal de McMahon appointed 
 Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Versailles — Forma- 
 tion of that Army — The Army of Reserve — Fighting on 
 the 15th — Elections of the 16th — Fighting at Asnieres — 
 The Chateau de Becon carried by the Troops — The Govern- 
 ment accused of Procrastination — Deputations to Ver- 
 sailles—Address of the Republican League — Programme 
 of the Commime — Severe firing on the 19th — Losses of the 
 Insurgents — Attack of the Insurgents on the Bridge at 
 Neuilly— Their Defeat — Letter from the Archbishop to 
 M. Thiers — Damage caused in Paris by Shells— Engage- 
 ment at the Bridge of Clicky — Explosion of a Powder 
 Magazine — Convents and Nunneries invaded — Atheism of 
 the Communists — The Executive Committee — Suppression 
 of Journals — Insurgent Batteries at Lavallois and Clichy — 
 Attack on tke Park of Neuilly — Proclamation announcing 
 an Armistice at Neuilly — Expectation of a grand attack — 
 Attack on Levallois by the Troops— Repulsed by Dom- 
 
 browski 131 
 
 1* 
 
COKTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Armistice — Unliappy Condition of the Inhabitants of 
 Neuilly — Sitting of the Commune — OflScial Circular from 
 Versailles — Cannonade of Fort Issy — Reconnaissance on 
 the Boulevard Bineau — Meeting of Freemasons at the 
 Chatelet — English Journals — L'es Moulineaux captured 
 by the Troops — Attack on Neuilly — Reported Cruelty of a 
 Versailles Captain — Speech of M. Thiers in the Assembly — 
 Combats on the Boulevard du Chateau — Proclamations of 
 General Cluseret — ^Meeting of Freemasons — Speeches at 
 the Hotel de Ville — ^Procession to the Eamparts — Deputa- 
 tion to Versailles — Evacuation of Fort Issy — Re-occupied 
 by the Insurgents — Versailles Circular— Deposition of 
 Cluseret — His Arrest — Rossel appointed to the War 
 Department — His History — Issy summoned to Surrender 
 — Rossel's Reply — Committee of Public Safety — Letter of 
 Rossel — Capture of the Chateau of Issy — Heroic Defence 
 of the Fort — Cannonade of Fort Vanves — Redoubt of 
 Moulin — Jaquet taken — Fighting at Neuilly — Deputation 
 of the Republican League — Decree of the Committee of 
 Public Safety— Military Appointments — Brilliant Success 
 of the Troops— The Mont-de-Piete 169 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 Concert given at the Tuileries for the Benefit of the wounded 
 National Guards— Appeal of M. Thiers to the Inhabitants 
 of Paris— Battery of Montretout — Evacuation of Fort Issy 
 — Occupation by the Troops — Engagement at Moulin- 
 Saquet — False Reports given by the Official Journal — 
 Rossel's Report — His Letter — His Imprisonment and 
 Escape — Delescluze appointed Delegate of War — Fort 
 Vanves evacuated — The Insurgents again take Possession 
 
CONTEl^TS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 — Differences of tlie Commune and Central Committee — 
 Government Despatch — Decree ordaining the Demohtion 
 of M. Thiers' house — Camp in the Bois de Boulogne — Pro- i 
 cession of Troops at Versailles— Sinking of an Insurgent 
 Gunboat — Capture of Fort Vanves — Villas in the neigh- 
 borhood of Paris plundered by the Insurgents — Threat of 
 the Communists with regard to Paris — Dissensions of the 
 Commune — Fall of the Column Vendome — Its Description 
 — Guns captured at Vanves presented by a Deputation to 
 the National Assembly — Marshal de MacMahon's Order of 
 the Day — Explosion of the Cartridge Manufactory in the 
 Avenue Eapp — The blame thrown upon the National 
 Assembly by the Commune — Sacrilege at Notre Dame des 
 Victoii'cs — Cluseret tried and set at liberty by the Com- 
 mune — Arrest of Rochefort at Meaux — His entrance into 
 Versailles 233 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Porte St. Cloud — Communication of M. Ducatel — Entrance of 
 the Troops into Paris — Fourth Army Corps — Army of 
 Reserve — General Ladmirault at the Gates of Passy and 
 Auteuil — Entrance of General de Cissey — Arrest of Assi — 
 Entrance of the Troops long unknown in the City — Plan 
 of Attack — March of the different Corps — Occupation of the 
 Park Monceaux — Confusion at the Hotel de Ville — Erec- 
 tion of Barricades— Violent Proclamations — Melancholy 
 appearance of the City — Deputations to the Hotel de ViEe 
 — Orders given by Delescluze — Evacuation of the Palais 
 de rindustrie and Ministry of the Interior — Fighting in 
 the Faubourg St. Honore — At the Rue d'Anjou — In the 
 Boulevard Haussman — Investment of Montmartre — Left 
 bank of the Seine — Barricades constructed — Manifestation 
 in favor of the Government 281 
 
Xil - CONTEJSTTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Attack on tlie Place Clicliy — Tlie Rue Lepic — Manner of At- 
 tack — Assault of the Moulin-de-la-Galette — Volunteers of 
 the Seine — Capture of Montmartre — The Barricades of the 
 exterior Boulevards taken — Boulevard Magenta — Death 
 and burial of Dombrowski — Place de la Concorde — Chapelle 
 Expiatoire carried by the Troops — Fighting in the Boule- 
 vard Malesherbes — Places de la Madeleine and Concorde 
 taken — Conflagration in the Eue Royale — Persons smoth- 
 ered in the flames — Ministry of 'Marine — Ministry of 
 Finances — Conflagration of the Tuileries — The Louvre 
 saved — Barricade of the Place de I'Opera — Church of the 
 Trinity — Chaussee d'Antin — Place Vendome taken — The 
 Bourse saved — Bank of France bravely defended — Cruelty 
 of the Insurgents — Combat at Montparnasse and in the 
 Rue de Rennes — Defeat of the Insurgents — The Croix 
 Rouge taken — Place Saint-Salpice — Conflagrations on the 
 left bank — Montrouge — Frightful Slaughter at the Church 
 of Saint-Pierre — Government Circular — The Expiatory 
 Chapel — Barricades erected during the night — Assassina- 
 tion of Chaudey — His Funeral — Attempt made by several 
 Communists to Escape 300 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Paris on the Morning of the 34th — Incendiary Orders — Pro- 
 clamation to the Soldiers — M. Thiers' Speech in the As- 
 sembly — Porte St. Denis — The Theatre of the Porte St. 
 Martin set on flre — Massacre of Women and Children — 
 The Hostages transferred to La Roquette — Massacre of 
 the Archbishop and five other persons — Monseigneur Dar- 
 boy — M. Duguerry — President Bonjean— Visit to the Arch- 
 
. COITTENTS. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 bishop — Progress on the right bank — Saint Eustache — 
 The Palais Eoyale in flames — Occupation of the Faubouro- 
 Saint-Germain — The Pantheon taken — Explosion of a 
 Powder Magazine — Arrest and Execution of Raoul Rigault 
 — His Character — His Extravagance — Cannonade from 
 Montmartre — Night of the 24th — Conflagration of the 
 Palace of Justice — The Prisoners of the Conciergerie 839 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Government Circular — Capture of the Butte-aux-Cailles— The 
 Gobelins taken, but in flames — Fall of the Forts Bicetre 
 and Ivry — Massacre of Dominicans — Death of MilHere^— Of 
 Valles— General de Cissey — His brilliant Career — Capture 
 of the Hotel de Ville — The building in ruins — Advance on 
 the Place de la Bastille — Attack on the Ansterlitz Bridge 
 — The Mazas prisoners released — Their ^ death — Citizen 
 Vincent — The Grenier d'Abondance in flames — Despatch 
 of Ferre to Delescluze — The Chateau d'Eau — Artifices of 
 the Commune — The Boulevard Magenta — Capture of the 
 Chateau d'Eau — Death of Delescluze — Papers found on 
 his Person — Large number of Prisoners taken — Prepara- 
 tions for blowing up the neighborhood — Place du TrSne — ' 
 More victims at La Roqnette — The remaining Prisoners 
 erect Barricades within the building — Some of them leave 
 the Prison and are murdered — Announcement made by 
 the Minister of War in the National Assembly — Circular 
 of M. Jules Favre to French Representatives at Foreign 
 Courts — Answer of the Belgian and Spanish Governments 
 — ^Protest of M. Victor Hugo— He is Ejected from Belgium 
 — Conflagration of the Docks of La Villette — Offers of 
 Firemen made by the English and Belgian Govern- 
 ments 393 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Line of Battle — Boulevard Eicliard-Lenoir — Capture of 
 .the Buttes Chaumont — Resistance at Pere-Lachaise — Ap- 
 pearance of the Cemetery — Taking of La Villette — Govern- 
 ment Circular — Hostile attitude of Belleville — Rage of the 
 Insurgents — Belleville Conquered — Circular issued by M. 
 Thiers — Proclamations of Marshal de MacMahon — ^Vicar 
 Lamazou's Letter — Military Decrees — Arms taken from 
 the Insurgents— Paris divided into four Military Depart- 
 ments — Aspect of the City — The Louvre — The Tuileries — 
 The Palais-Royal— The Hotel de Ville— Escape of the 
 Archives — The Bank of France — The Palais de Justice — 
 The Legion of Honor — The ConseU d'Etat and the Cour 
 des Comptes — Cost of the Commune to the City of Paris — 
 Strangers of the Commune 435 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Projet de loi concerning the Hostages — Funeral Services of the 
 Archbishop and the other victims, celebrated at Notre- 
 Dame — Immense number of Prisoners captured by the 
 Government — Description of the Camp at Satory — Audacity 
 of a Communist — Fate of the Members of the Commune — 
 Billioray — Gambon — Eudes — Okolowitch — Mathieu — ^Var- 
 lin — Jourde — Johannard — La Cecilia — Treilhard — Paschal 
 Grousset — Regere — Vesinier — Verdure — Courbet — Rossel 
 — ^Vermorel — Cluseret — Dufil — Langelle — Razoua — Roche- 
 fort — His Ingratitude to his Father — Letter of Henri V. — 
 M. Ducatel made Knight of the Legion of Honor — The 
 American Minister in Paris — His Letter concerning the 
 Archbishop — First Condemnation of the Councils of War — 
 Conclusion 483 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Causes of the insurrection— War -with Prussia— Fall of the Empire— Clause in 
 the Treaty of Brussels, leaving the National Guard in arms— Letter of Prince 
 Napoleon to Jules Favre- Mistake made hy Jules Favre in signing the 
 treaty— Fears entertained regarding the return of the soldiers— Weakness 
 shown by the Government— Council of Ministers held at Versailles— Meeting 
 of National Guards at Montmartre— Election of members for the Central 
 Committee— A Prefect of Police appointed by the Government— Protest of 
 the National Guards— They insist upon their right to elect municipal oillcere 
 —They protest against the introduction of regular troops, into the city— Or- 
 ganization of the National Guard— Necessity for its dissolution— Eefusal of 
 the Guards to deliver up their guns— The Government proposes to stop their 
 pay — Prussian sentry killed by a National Guard— Arrest of the latter — ^Arrest 
 of two Germans by the malcontents— Their trial and condemnation by the 
 Central Committee— Their release— Conditions of their release unfulfilled by 
 the Prussians— Proclamation of M. Thiers— Proclamation to the National 
 Guards— Determination of the Government to subdue the insurrection- 
 Attempt made to secure the guns in the Place des Vosges— They are re- 
 moved to Belleville— Erection of barricades— Occupation of Montmartre by 
 the troops — Mismanagement shown — Hostile attitude assumed by the Na- 
 tional Guard— They oppose the removal of the guns— Eefusal of the soldiers 
 to advance— The 88th regiment of the line fraternizes with the insurgents — 
 Withdrawal of the troops who remain faithful— They are fired upon by the 
 insurgents. 
 
 THE unfortunate war which France declared against 
 Germany in the month of July 1870, was indirectly 
 the cause of the late insurrection, the most formidable and 
 criminal the world has ever seen. The head that had so 
 long controlled the ruthless desperadoes of Paris, most of 
 whom have by this time expiated their -fearful crimes, was . 
 in exile — the defeat of Sedan had set them at liberty. 
 
 Although the insurgents had always been strictly op- 
 posed to the Empire, they were the first and loudest in 
 their shouts of ''On to Berlin" when marching through 
 the boulevards, although the last to try and get there ; 
 and happy were they at the defeat of the brave and gallant 
 army, overmatched by numbers and military organization. 
 
 After the overthrow of the Imperial dynasty, September 
 4th, 1870, by a greater coiip d'etat than that practiced by 
 
16 - THE PARIS COMMTI^E. 
 
 the Emperor, the chiefs of that movement, many of whom 
 were leaders in the late insurrection, proclaimed to the 
 world that JSTapoleon III was the prime mover in the 
 declaration of war. Most people, residents of France, 
 knew to the contrary; the English Grovernment knew 
 to the contrary when Lord Lyons' dispatches were read in 
 the House of Commons, declaring that the French people 
 had taken the reins out of the Emperor's hands. The 
 armies of the Empire were defeated, the Eepublic was 
 proclaimed, its armies defeated, its military and political 
 leaders overpowered by the surrender of Paris and the 
 treaty of Brussels — then was committed the crowning 
 error of leaving armed a National Guard, a large portion 
 of which was the refuse of France, and the scum of dif- 
 ferent European countries, who, getting the uj)per hand 
 of the more respectable portion of the Eepublicans in the 
 city, loosened the hagne of some thirty thousand of its 
 frequenters, and, led by instigators of murder and rebellion 
 — assassins like Eudes and Megy — released from prison 
 by the Committee of National Defence, in which they had 
 been confined under the Empire, committed, under the 
 name, and for the purpose of protecting the Eepublic, 
 every species of crime and blasphemy. 
 
 Prince Napoleon, cousin of the Emperor, and who, in 
 the event of the death of the Prince Imperial, would be 
 the next heir to the Imperial crown, addressed the follow- 
 ing letter to Jules Favre, in which he accused that states- 
 man with all the misery lately brought upon France. Its 
 publication will throw considerable light on the origin of 
 events proposed to be illustrated : 
 
 PEIIfCE NAPOLEOI^'S LETTEE. 
 
 " London, May, 1871. 
 
 " Peace is signed with the conqueror. Paris, the great 
 capital, burns — its finest edifices, which have existed for 
 
PKINCE NAPOLEON"'S LETTER, 17 
 
 centuries, are reduced to aslies — blood flows in torrents — 
 your work is complete. 
 
 " The affliction which oppresses every French mind 
 ought not to obscure one's reason, which has the right to 
 demand from you an account of the disasters which you 
 have accumulated. 
 
 " The 4th September — the armistice discussed at Fer- 
 rieres — the defence of Paris — the preliminaries of Ver- 
 sailles — the 18th March — the peace of Frankfort — the 
 burning of the metropolis; — such are your ill-omened 
 dates. History will call you Vliomme fatal, and will find 
 in you only one motive — hate for the name of Napoleon. 
 
 "The disastrous war commenced the 19th July, 1870, 
 by the Empire, terminated on the 10th of May by the 
 government without name, to which you belong. What 
 is that regime? Is it the national defence? No; — for 
 you only capitulated. Is it a national restoration ? No ; 
 for disorganization and anarchy have seized on France. 
 Is it a Monarchy? No. Is it a Eepublic? Still less. 
 Is it liberty ? Certainly not. Look at the elections op- 
 pressed by decrees of ostracism, withdrawn at the last 
 hour, after having perverted the choice of the citizens. 
 
 " All those are the evils accumulated on one another by 
 the absence of order, security, liberty, and strength. 
 
 " Let us go over the steps by which you conducted us 
 to the bottom of the abyss. 
 
 " On the 4th September you proposed the deposition of 
 the Emperor. The insurrection, led on by you, drove 
 away your colleagues; you violated your oath, and you 
 usurped power at the Hotel de Ville against universal 
 suflrage. 
 
 " The Empire had committed faults, our defeats were 
 great, but our disasters date from you — to each, his share. 
 Doubtless the error was most unfortunate to count too 
 much on the forces of France, and to commit in 1870 the 
 
18 THE PABIS COMMUNE. 
 
 mistake made by Prussia in 1806 ; to think too mucli of 
 the victories of the great Republic and the first Empire ; 
 to forget too much the powerful enemy we had to combat; 
 to contemplate the Crimea of 1854 and the Italy of 1859, 
 instead of looking firmly at the strength of Germany* 
 in 1870, and the remarkable men whom she had at 
 her head. 
 
 " I do not wish to deny, nor can I, those faults which 
 the Napoleons pay still more dearly for by their heart-felt 
 grief than by their exile ; but the Emperor did not seek 
 to cling to the throne by a peace which might save his 
 power in imposing heavy sacrifices on France. 
 
 "At all events, we have one consolation, that of having, 
 fallen with the country, whereas your elevation dates from 
 her misfortunes. 
 
 " Better than any one, you know the conditions which 
 Napoleon III could have obtained from Prussia at Sedan ; 
 certainly they were hard, but incomparably less so than 
 those accepted by you. Our sacrifices were not to be 
 compared to those which you signed, without reckoning 
 that we should have avoided the months of disorder 
 entailed by the government of the non-defence of Paris, 
 and by the dictatorship of those of your colleagues who 
 emigrated in balloons to pillage and o]3press our provinces. 
 Down to the fall of the Empire, we had suffered great 
 misfortunes, but capable of being repaired, as may be 
 found in the history of many great nations. Since the 
 4th September, on the contrary, those which have occurred 
 can no longer be so termed — they are disasters unexampled 
 in history. 
 
 " To the Empire falls the responsibility of faults, to you 
 that of positive disasters; and I ask, if, amongst the 
 former, the greatest is not to have tolerated your criminal 
 attempts in the interior. 
 
 "The inevitable consequence of your usurpation was 
 
THE PRINCE'S SARCASM. 19 
 
 the revolution of tlie 18tli March, which you now accuse, 
 and the burning of Paris, for which you are responsible. 
 
 To defend Paris, you confined yourself to proclaiming 
 fictitious successes. You did not utilize those terrible 
 but vigorous elements which you have unchained, and 
 which lately held the soldiers of France in check during 
 two months; and, however they were the same men, 
 misled since by democratic folly, amongst whom you 
 could have excited the patriotic passion, they were the 
 same national guards, cannons, muskets, forts, ramparts, 
 barricades, all those forces which remained paralyzed in 
 your weak hands, and which might have been sublime 
 against the foreigner. 
 
 " Know this fact, that the Napoleons would have been 
 patriotic enough to have blessed your triumph and their 
 fall, if you had freed France, but history will say that 
 having promised to save the country, you destroyed it. 
 
 " In the interval, you went to Ferrieres to shed tears ! 
 and I really pity you. You pronounced there the danger- 
 ous words which are not those of a statesman: 'Not a 
 stone of our fortresses, nor an inch of our territory.' 
 Your conscience ought to feel oppressed by them. For 
 the honor of a French Minister, you should have had the 
 modesty to place some other name than your own at the 
 foot of the act recording the grievous sacrifices rendered 
 indispensable by often-repeated faults. 
 
 " At Versailles the conqueror proposed the disarming 
 of the National Guard or of the army, and you chose that 
 of the soldiers, because you feared Bonapartist tendencies 
 among the troops; at the same time that you never paid 
 the slightest attention to the elements of disorder in 
 an irritated crowd, dissatisfied with itself, badly led, 
 humiliated, and unfortunate, all of which causes were 
 destined to lead to that terrible explosion of the Commune. 
 
 '•' You sold France to the representative of the enemy. 
 
20 THE PARIS COMMUl^E. 
 
 in exchange for your personal Eepublic. "Why did you 
 give way ? I will tell you — because the Foreign Minister 
 hinted at the possibility of assembling the former Legis- 
 lative Body. Then you signed everything. 
 
 " To continue. Your incapacity led to the triumph of 
 the Commune in Paris, and to daily increasing demands 
 on the part of the Germans. The negotiations languished 
 at Brussels, and nothing was accomphshed. You went to 
 Frankfort, but what was done there? You signed an 
 aggravation of the preliminaries of peace, first, by shorten- 
 ing the time for the payment of the indemnity ; secondly, 
 by prolonging until December, 1871, the occupation of 
 the northern forts, which were to have been evacuated 
 after the payment of the first 500 millions ; and, thirdly, 
 by not making Prussia take to her charge so much of the 
 former national debt of France as belonged to the depart- 
 ments ceded, in proportion to the territory and the 
 number of the inhabitants, which is a principle of public 
 law, and which was admitted on the cession of Lombardy, 
 Savoy, Mce, and Venetia. 
 
 "Did not Prussia in 1866 accept the liabilities of Hanover, 
 Electoral Hesse, and the G-rand-Duchy of Nassau ? The 
 Prussian negotiators, even in their victorious ascendency, 
 could not openly refuse you that point. You bowed your 
 head because you feared an appeal to the French nation. 
 You then conceded everything ; and again at Frankfort, 
 as at Versailles, you sacrificed France to your inveterate 
 hatred. The mode of proceeding never varied to obtain 
 everything from your government; all that was required 
 was to show you the possibility of the triumph of the 
 national will. 
 
 " I do not condemn those who, in a terrible conjuncture, 
 accepted the preliminaries, perhaps inevitable, of Ver- 
 sailles, and still less the Assembly which ratified them ; I 
 do not consider I have the right to do so. But you are 
 
A liTEW EL AG HECESSAEY. 21 
 
 inexcusable for having brought about the 4th September, 
 badly defending Paris, engaging the country by empty 
 phrases, maintaining an excited population in arms, which 
 were useless against the foreign enemy, and a danger to 
 itself; for haying aggravated the preliminaries by the 
 .treaty of peace; and, lastly, for having ended by the 
 destruction of Paris. 
 
 " You have filled up the measure. France is indignant, 
 and posterity will judge you. In the darkness in which 
 the country is now plunged ; in presence of those maniacs 
 who, in their fury, burn our public buildings, throw down 
 the column, and break up that glorious bronze, the frag- 
 ments of which inflict a wound on the heart of each of 
 our soldiers, some issue of safety must be found. It is 
 not in the intrigues of pretenders, but in the will of the 
 country ; apart from that, there can be only conflict and 
 confusion. 
 
 " The wished-for haven is not to be found in a principle 
 which is the negation of modern society; in the white 
 flag which Prance knows no longer, nor in a denial of 
 universal sufirage ; in a white terror succeeding the red ; 
 in the fusion of the contending claimants, and the return 
 of the French Stuarts. No; — to a new society a fresh 
 symbol is necessary. "What is required, and modern right 
 demands it, is the abdication of all before the will of the 
 people, freely and directly expressed. Once more I say, 
 apart from that, there is only chaos. 
 
 "Monarchical faith cannot be decreed. The only basis 
 on which a government in France can establish its prin- 
 ciple, and the only source from which it can derive force 
 and legality, is an appeal to the people, which we demand, 
 and which France ought to exact. 
 
 " Napoleo:n" ( Jeeome.)" 
 
22 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Many who are not the political opponents of Jules Favre 
 blame him much for his course of action while he remained 
 in power ; it would certainly have been in better taste, had 
 he permitted some other Frenchman to sign his name to 
 a treaty of peace which gave away many inches of terri- 
 tory and numerous stones of fortresses ; but he was fond of 
 power and wished to retain it — so fond of it, that at his 
 request, the Germans permitted the National Guards to 
 retain their arms, most of whom were the same men who 
 attempted to overthrow the government during the funeral 
 of Victor K"oir, and who were ignominiously defeated in 
 their attempt to establish a commune during the siege ; 
 but these men were Favre's electors and the electors of 
 Gambetta and Eochefort, and they must be armed, as the 
 soldiers of the empire would soon be back from Germany, 
 and they must be prepared to meet them. It is to be 
 hoped that the result of the late struggle will prove to the 
 advocates of socialistic and communist ideas that the good 
 sense of the people of France will never permit a repeti- 
 tion of the past lamentable events ; and should an attempt 
 again be made, the recollection of the destruction of prop- 
 erty and loss of life, of the blasphemy and horror, will 
 cause every citizen with a social position to maintain and 
 a dollar to lose, to rise and crush the monster in its in- 
 fancy. Had this been done by the government of M, 
 Thiers, how different would have been the result ; but M. 
 Thiers was old and tender-hearted, and Favre had too 
 much consideration for his friends ; and as late as March 
 16, two days before the outbreak, a council of ministers 
 was held at Versailles, when it was determined, " seeing 
 the state of affairs at Montmartre, to let matters take 
 their natural course and not interfere," and the Cotisti- 
 tutionnel, a leading Paris journal, in alluding to this resolu- 
 tion, observed : " The majority of the Paris population 
 will applaud this resolution, and the provinces also, when 
 
GENERAL VALENTIN. 23 
 
 better informed as to the scope of manifestations which 
 haye caused too much alarm, will shortly admit that tem- 
 porization was, after all, the best course to adopt. 
 
 On the same day a meeting was held, in the open air, 
 by the ]N"ational Guards at Montmartre. The principal 
 business was the election of members of the Central Com- 
 mittee ; Garibaldi was unanimously elected general-in- 
 chief of the National Guard ; Flourens also was elected to 
 an important office ; and all present pledged themselves to 
 obey in future no orders but those of the Committee. 
 Generals Paladine and Vinoy were declared to be dis- 
 missed from their functions, and these were generals 
 commanding the French army then stationed in Paris; 
 and still M. Thiers, the veteran statesman, the head of the 
 Erench executive, who had shown such temper, prompti- 
 tude and adroitness in all his transactions, who had 
 steered the country through its recent crisis, did not have 
 the courage to grapple with the rising difficulty. 
 
 The executive government now determined to appoint 
 a Prefect of Police, and their choice fell upon General 
 Valentin, a former colonel of gendarmerie, a man of fine 
 abilities, who had distinguished himself during the siege. 
 The National Guard, encamped at Montmartre, protested 
 against this appointment — they wished not only to exercise 
 military but political rights, and insisted in electing their 
 own municipal officers. They also protested against the 
 introduction of regular troops into the city — rights which 
 neither the city of New York nor London possess — and 
 aspired to revive the days of the Eevolutionary Commune. 
 Their organization represented the various districts and 
 wards of the city, and was originally intended to assist in 
 defending the capital against the Prussians. Upon the 
 ratification of peace by the National Assembly and the 
 withdrawal of the enemy, this organization should have 
 been dissolved ; but the chiefs, having the power in their 
 
24 THE PAEIS COMMUl^E. 
 
 own hands, felt the regular government was not suflficiently 
 strong to enforce their surrender, consequently refused to 
 break up, and held their own on the heights of Montmar- 
 tre and in the quarters of Belleyille and Vilette, the first 
 at the north, the other two quarters at the east of the 
 city, the residence of the lowest classes of Paris and the, 
 hot-hed of insurrections ; and the red flag, the symbol of 
 the Commune, remained hoisted on the column of July 
 in Place Bastille. The authorities tried to coax them to 
 deliver up those cannon of v/hich they had over four hun- 
 dred pieces, with an endless stock of ammunition ; but 
 they would not be coaxed— they maintained that they were 
 Paris, and that Paris v/as Prance, and that an ultra-social 
 republic was the only government possible in the country. 
 
 The mutineers had thus organized a Eepublic within a 
 Eepublic, setting the authority of the National Govern- 
 ment at defiance. It was argued by many of tlie advisors 
 of the government that by withholding the pay of thirty 
 sous (thirty cents), on which the National Guard had 
 been supported from the beginning of the siege, a blood- 
 less victory might be obtained, as they Avere still receiving 
 this pay from the government against which they were 
 almost in open rebellion. Had this been stopped, many 
 thought that the workman would be obliged to return to 
 his ordinary avocations, from which the government 
 allowance had weaned him, or be starved into submission ; 
 but the pay was not stopped, and 40,000 men, well 
 armed and well fortified, remained at the call of a few 
 reckless and desperate individuals, with 100,000 more 
 ready to join them on their first success against the 
 established authorities. The latter had not long to wait. 
 
 During the first few days of the armistice, a National 
 Guard passed the French lines, and fired a revolver at 
 a Prussian sentinel, who was mortally wounded. The 
 National Guard, who was an officer, was immediately 
 
THIEES APPEALS TO THE PEOPLE. 25 
 
 arrested, and conyeyed to the fort of Aubervilliers. Some 
 time after, two Germans were arrested in Paris by the 
 malcontent National Guards, and taken to the Central 
 Committee, by which they were tried, and sentenced to 
 death the following morning. The Prussian military 
 authorities, on learning this fact, demanded the immediate 
 restoration of the condemned men. General Paladines 
 sent a captain of the staff of the National Guard to claim 
 the prisoners ; but the application was refused, the enyoy 
 was dismissed, the chiefs declaring that they refused to 
 recognize the authority of the General. A Commissary of 
 Police was then deputed to continue the negotiation, and 
 finally the committee offered to give up the Germans on 
 condition that the National Guard above mentioned, who 
 was an officer in the 147th battalion, should be set at 
 liberty. The offer was accepted by the French authorities, 
 and the prisoners were handed over to them. The officer 
 was still retained by the Prussians ; and the commander 
 of the fort declared that he should be tried by a court- 
 martial, and, if found guilty, shot ; whereas the National 
 Guards declared they «nly gave up their two prisoners on 
 condition that their officer should be set at liberty, and 
 were loud in the denunciations of the Government. 
 Whereupon M. Thiers, chief of the Executive Power, 
 issued, March 17th, the following proclamation : 
 
 " Ii^THABiTANTS OF Paeis, — We address ourselves to 
 you, to your reason, to your patriotism, and we hope to be 
 heard. Your great city, which can only live by order, is 
 being deeply disquieted in some districts. This state of 
 things, without spreading to other districts, is, however, 
 sufficient to prevent the resumption of labor and comfort. 
 For some time past some ill-intentioned persons have, 
 under the pretense of resisting the Prussians, who are no 
 longer before your walls, constituted themselves masters 
 
 2 
 
20 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 of a part of the city, have constructed fortifications on 
 whicli tliey keep guard, and on which they force you to 
 mount guard witli tliem by order of au unknown commit- 
 tee. They pretend alone to command a part of the Na- 
 tional Guard,- and do not recognize the authority of Gen- 
 eral d'Aurelle des Paladines, who so nobly deserves to be 
 at your head. Their wish is to institute a government in 
 opposition to the legal government instituted by universal 
 suffrage. Those persons who have already done you so 
 much harm — those persons who on the 15th of December 
 last you yourselves scattered, after they had pretended that 
 it was their intention to defend you against the Prussians 
 who did but appear inside your walls, and whose final de- 
 parture is only delayed by these disorders — those persons 
 have turned their guns so that, if they fired, they would 
 reduce your homes to ruins, kill your children and your- 
 selves. Finally, they have compromised the Eepublic in- 
 stead of defending it, because if it once becomes the 
 opinion of France that tlie Eepublic is necessarily ac-- 
 companied by disorders, the Eepublic is lost. Do not be- 
 lieve them. Hear the truth which we tell you in all 
 sincerity. The government, established by the entire 
 nation, could have retaken the cannon robbed from the 
 state, and which actually threaten you. It could have re- 
 moved these ridiculous intrenchments which stop your 
 commerce, and have placed in the hands of justice the 
 criminals who do not fear to make civil war succeed foreign 
 war ; but it has wished to give to the deceived time to 
 separate from those who deceive them. Still, time is 
 granted to the good men to separate from the bad, and 
 you are entreated by your love of peace, by your own well- 
 being, by the well-being of all France, not to prolong in- 
 definitely the duration of this state of things. Commerce 
 is stopped ; the shops are deserted ; large orders, which 
 would arrive from all parts, are suspended ; your arms are 
 
A.THIERS 
 
 CKef du PouvQir Execulif 
 
NATIOliTAL G0VER]Sr3IENT PROCLAMATION. 27 
 
 paralyzed ; credit will not revive in capitals, the govern- 
 ment of which, while the territory of the country needs to 
 be delivered from the presence of an enemy, hesitates to 
 come forward. 
 
 " In your interest, and in that of the city, and in that 
 of France, the Government has resolved to act. The 
 criminals, who affect to institute a government, must 
 be delivered to regular justice, and the cannon taken 
 away must be restored to the arsenals. To carry out this 
 act of justice and reason, the Government counts upon 
 your assistance, and that the good citizens will separate 
 from the bad, that they will support instead of resist pub- 
 lic opinion, that they will thus hasten to restore peace in 
 the city, and render a service to the Eepublic which, in 
 the opinion of France, must be ruined by disorder. 
 Parisians ! we speak to you thus, because we esteem your 
 good sense, wisdom and patriotism, but having given you 
 this warning, we shall proceed to have recourse to force, 
 because there must be peace at all hazards without a day's 
 delay, so that order, the condition of well-being, may re- 
 turn — order, complete, immediate, and unalterable." 
 
 The following proclamation, signed by all the members 
 of the National Government, was posted during the day 
 on the walls of Paris : 
 
 " National Guards of Paris, — An absurd report is 
 being circulated that the Government is making prepara- 
 tion for a coup d'etat. The Government of the Republic 
 neither has nor can have any other object than the safety 
 of the Republic. The measures it has taken were indis- 
 pensable for the maintenance of order ; it intended and 
 still intends thoroughly to put down the Insurrectionary 
 Committee, whose members are almost all unknown to 
 the inhabitants of Paris; they represent nothing but 
 
28 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Communist doctrines, and would hand over Paris to pillage 
 and send France to lier grave, if the National Guard and 
 the army did not rise to defend with one common accord 
 their country and the Eepublic." 
 
 The government now feeling with justice that they 
 could no longer countenance the presence in Paris of a 
 party which openly defied them and held the city in ter- 
 rorism, resolved on the morning of the 18th of March to 
 take possession of the cannon planted on Montmartre, and 
 reduce to obedience the National Guard who presumed to 
 dictate to the authorities. An attempt had been made the 
 evening before to obtain possession of fifty-six guns in the 
 Place des Vosges by a number of artillery-drivers with 
 horses, protected by a detachment of the Eepublican 
 Guard, but the National Guard refused to open the gates 
 leading to the square, and the regular troops, not wishing 
 to assume the responsibility of shedding blood, withdrew. 
 These cannon were removed in the night to Belleville and 
 the Buttes Chaumont — an elevated portion of the city, in 
 the vicinity of P^re la Chaise, and in possession of the 
 National Guards — and the Committee of Direction at 
 Montmartre were advised of the attempt; so when the 
 troops appeared, the sentinels on guard over the artillery, 
 were fully prepared to meet them. 
 
 It became absolutely necessary after this failure, and in 
 view of the meeting of the National Assembly to be held 
 on Monday, to adopt at once a more vigorous course. It 
 was accordingly decided, at a meeting of general ofiicers, 
 to bring into requisition the whole military force of the 
 government, and put an end at once to the existing state 
 of affairs. 
 
 At 4 o'clock A.M. the rai^pel was heard in all the 
 streets, a sound indicative of barricades and murder. An 
 attack was to be simultaneously made, on Montmartre by 
 
THE SIGNAL OF I K S IT EKE CTI N . 29 
 
 General Sasbielle, of the 2d army corps; another by 
 General Faron, on Belleville ; a third by General Wolff, of 
 the 1st army corps, on the Place de la Bastille ; and a 
 fourth, under General Hanrion, of the same corps, on the 
 cite. At 4 o'clock the Buttes of Montmartre were com- 
 pletely surrounded by the 88th, 137th and 122d regiments 
 of the line, a battalion of the 17th cJiasseurs a pied, and 
 a few guardians of the peace. Mitrailleuses were in bat- 
 tery in Eue Houdon, Eue "Durantin, Eue des Martyrs, 
 and Eue Virginie, seven-pounder guns were planted in all 
 streets leading up to Montmartre, and soldiers of the line 
 were posted in the streets as sentinels to prevent pedes- 
 trians from going towards the Buttes. The windows were 
 crowded with spectators, and groups of women and chil- 
 dren were formed in the streets discussing, some with 
 frightened and others with angry looks, the events which 
 were transpiring. 
 
 A regiment of the army of Faidherbe, the 88th of the 
 line (since disbanded for fraternizing with the insurgents, 
 and never more to exist in the French army), which had 
 only arrived the day before in Paris, made its appearance 
 at the base of Montmartre, and separating into different 
 columns, arrived by the Eue Lepic, Chaussee Clignan- 
 court, and Boulevard Ornano, forming their junction at 
 the Tour of Solferino, the culminating point of the Buttes, 
 which was occupied by some fifty National Guards, who 
 were disarmed before they had time to give the understood 
 signal. 
 
 This signal consisted in three discharges of cannon, 
 fired in quick succession. From this moment the heights 
 were occupied in a military point of view. 
 
 The women of the neighborhood were loud in their 
 denunciations against the National Guards who had sur- 
 rendered, declaring, if they had been left in charge, the 
 canaille of Versailles would have met with some resist- 
 
30 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ance. One immense yirago was gesticulating in a most 
 fearful manner, calling the regular officers of the line 
 scoundrels, assassins, and dogs. 
 
 There seems to have been some mismanagement in the 
 organization of the plan of attack, as it is evident that 
 many of the cannon seized at Montmartre as early as 5 
 o'clock A.M. were still guarded by the troops at 8 a.m. ; 
 no horses, or not sufficient in number, had arrived to re- 
 move them all. At this hour the National Guards began 
 to show themselves, one at a time, crawling out of all 
 sorts of places, to mix with a crowd of other guards and 
 soldiers of the line coming up the hill with their muskets 
 la crosse en Tair (reversed), shouting " Vive la Ligne,'' and 
 " Vive la Garde Nationale" while others, who had captured 
 a lieutenant-colonel of the line, were shouting " a raort ! 
 amort!" and not a soldier came to succor him. Seeing 
 matters were assuming a serious aspect, the regulars in 
 charge of the cannon commenced harnessing the horses 
 to the gun-carriages, and some twelve pieces began mov- 
 ing down toward the city by the Eue Lepic, but at the 
 corner of the Eue des Abbesses another crowd opposed 
 the passage of the guns. Men, women and children 
 caught hold of the bridles of the horses, and the artillery- 
 men, not wishing to run over them, desisted in their at- 
 tempt to make a passage. A moment after, a company of 
 sixty infantry arrived to protect the artillerymen and 
 force a passage. They had hardly commenced to move 
 when a heavy column of the National Guards of Belle- 
 ville arrived to help their friends of Montmartre. At the 
 same moment General Susbielle, appearing with an escort 
 of gendarmerie and Chasseurs d'Afrique, gave them an 
 order to form in sections and occupy Place Pigalle. The 
 National Guards commenced now to arrive in great num- 
 bers, fraternizing with troops of the line who had either 
 reversed their muskets or abandoned them altogether. 
 
THE PIEST CO]SrFLlCT. 31 
 
 The General gave the order to the troops of the line to 
 advance and open a passage for the guns ; the soldiers re- 
 fused to move, shonting "Vive la Garde Nationale!" The 
 Chasseurs cVAfrique received the order to " draw sabres," 
 but the line refused to open for them, and several shots 
 were fired from the body of insurgents, when the captain 
 gave the order "En avant!^' and all the swords 
 issued from their scabbards. " Vive la Bepublique ! " cried 
 the crowd, " La Ligne et la Garde Nationale!" The 
 chasseurs hesitated, as before them were many men of the 
 regular army, and in the end they sheathed their swords. 
 " E71 avant!" repeated the captain, when several balls 
 whistled past his head. Five or six men only followed 
 him, but they were received with blows from the soldiers' 
 muskets ; one of the insurgents seized the reins of the 
 captain's horse, but he fell, his head cleft in two ; another 
 grasped the reins on the other side, and in an instant the 
 arm was severed from the body, and for a moment still 
 hung quivering to the reins ; two others shared the fate 
 of the first, when the rider and horse both fell pierced by 
 a shot at the same time, the insurgents discharging their 
 IDieces in the midst of the chasseurs and gendarmes, kill- 
 ing and wounding great numbers. The attack of the 
 regular troops on the crowd was repulsed, the fraternizing 
 soldiers firing on the former without hesitation, the 
 crowd shouting " Vive la RepuUique!" 
 
 The excitement of the masses was now extreme. The 
 152d battalion of the National Guards arrived, having 
 forced a post of the line and captured a mitrailleuse. 
 Two other posts in that vicinity were also forced, and the 
 crowd received the insurgents with "Vive la FepuMique!" 
 The 88th regiment of the line, which was stationed at the 
 corner of Boulevard Ornano and Eochechouart, withdrew 
 their bayonets from their muskets, shouting " Vive la 
 Garde Nationale!" The officers endeavored to resist, 
 
32 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 but were made prisoners and carried off. The soldiers 
 then fraternized with the new comers, and seizing two 
 mitrailleuses, were joined by a portion of the 87th of the 
 line, to whom the pieces had been confided. The officers 
 then, in consequence of the wavering of the troops who had 
 up to this time remained faithful, or in consequence of the 
 menacing appearance of a large and compact body of 
 insurgents from Belleville, issued the order to retire, and 
 thus permitted the new comers to occupy the place with- 
 out firing another shot. At the same time the artillery- 
 men at the corner of the streets removed their pieces 
 rapidly towards the Place de Clichy. This retrograde 
 movement began between eight and nine o'clock ; and the 
 calm and sensible citizens of this quarter had commenced 
 to congratulate themselves that the horrors of the morning 
 had subsided, when from the Place Pigalle a mitrailleuse 
 was heard belching out wounds and death. Belleville 
 representatives were firing on troops of the line who 
 refused to fraternize. A panic now seized the crowd, and 
 the masses fled in every direction. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Elation of the National Guards— Erection of new barricades— Battery surren- 
 dered by its escort to the insurgents— Arrest of Generals Lecomte and 
 Thomas — Their assassination — Brave attitude of the murdered offlcere- Two 
 aides-de-camp of General Lecomte narrowly escape the same fate — The Cen- 
 tral Committee assume the direction of affairs— Excitement at Montrouge — 
 Barricades erected in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine — Gendarmes dismounted 
 and disarmed — Proclamation of the Government— Events at the Hotel de 
 Ville — ^AU access to the Buttes Chaumont forbidden by the National Guards 
 — Two regiments of the Une surrounded and disarmed— The insurgents take 
 possession of the Place Vendome — Evacuation of the 11th Arrondissement — 
 Meeting of Paris Deputies, Mayors and Adjoints— Concessions proposed to 
 the Government and accepted, but withdrawn after news received of the 
 murder of Generals Lecomte and Thomas— The Central Committee take pos- 
 session of the Hotel de Ville — Arrest of General Chanzy— Official journal 
 seized by the insurgents— Proclamation of the Central Committee— City en- 
 tirely abandoned by the troops— Public buildings occupied by the insurrec- 
 tion—Decree for the elections — Communication cut off with the provinces — 
 The Government officials summoned to Versailles — The Prussians return to 
 St. Denis — Their despatch to M. Jules Eavre- His reply — Great military 
 preparations— Sitting of the Assembly — The department of the Seine de- 
 clared in a state of siege — Children of General Lecomte adopted by the 
 country — Prussian communication to the Central Committee — Eeply of 
 Paschal Grousset. 
 
 PLACE PIGALLE, the centre of the Montmartre 
 insurrection, had now commenced to assume its 
 ordinary movement. The corpse of the brave but un- 
 fortunate officer of chasseurs had been deposited in one 
 of the wooden huts constructed for the lodgement of 
 soldiers, and a crowd of idlers passed in to see the victim. 
 Some women cried " Vive la ligne!" to soldiers of the 
 88th who had fired on the staff and the chasseurs, to 
 which one of them responded that he would sooner shoot 
 himself than shoot his countrymen; and what cowards 
 and canaille his officers were. 
 
 What a change since the morning. The streets so 
 deserted, except an occasional red-trousered soldier of the 
 
34 THE PAEIS C0MMU2TE. 
 
 line, "were now swarming with National Guards flushed 
 with victory, swaggering round superintending the con- 
 struction of "barricades, erecting batteries in which to 
 place the captured cannon. Instead of the government 
 blocking up every street, and placing a cordon of soldiers 
 around Montmartre, with cannon pointing up, the in- 
 surgents were blockading them now with barricades and 
 batteries, in which v/ere guns pointing down! Drums 
 were beating, trumpets braying, with every indication of 
 very serious work. 
 
 Several pieces of the artillery of General Susbielle were 
 lost while the cannon were being removed from the 
 Buttes. Some boys had cut the traces, unseen by the 
 drivers, and a number of National Guards suddenly fell 
 on the guns and carried them off. 
 
 By two o'clock the troops had all been withdrawn from 
 the vicinity of Montmartre. Several cannon which the 
 artillerymen had retaken were abandoned by them near 
 the Mairie, where the women and children precipitated 
 themselves on the pieces to preserve them. 
 
 At this moment the Butte Montmartre and the artillery 
 in the intrenched camp were completely in the power of 
 the insurgents, who continued the erection of barricades 
 in view of a renewed attack. The horse of the captain of 
 chasseurs was cut up by the soldiers of the line who had 
 mutinied, and sold on the Place, the proceeds of which 
 they used for the purchase of liquor to cement their 
 criminal union with the insurgents, who assured them 
 the committee had plenty of money, or would soon have ; 
 and that the continuance of their pay, or better, was a 
 certainty, with less to do and better food. The 100th and 
 181st battalion of the National Guard now arrived by 
 the Rue des Martyrs, to take possession of the Heights 
 of Montmartre. They were received with the loudest 
 applause. 
 
LECOMTE AND THOMAS ARRESTED. 35 
 
 Captain Douradon, of the artillery, had been sent the 
 previous night "vvitli a battery to the Boulevard Eoclie- 
 chouart. General Lecomte sent to liim in the morning 
 for two pieces to place them nearer to the Butte. The 
 guns were escorted by a company of the line to sup- 
 port them. When the insurgents appeared, these soldiers 
 raised the butts of their muskets in the air, and the 
 cannons were taken by the rioters. The General, who 
 occupied the Tour of Solferino, was arrested by some 
 National Guards, and conducted to the Chateau Eouge, 
 his only crime being that he refused to cry " Vive la 
 RepuUique ! " on compulsion. A short time after General 
 Clement Thomas, lately commander-in-chief of the National 
 Guards of Paris, was also made prisoner. He was passing! 
 in an inoffensive manner through the Eue Marie- An- 
 toinette, when one of the insurgents having recognized 
 him by his large white beard, went straight to him, saying, 
 
 " You are General Clement Thomas ? I don't think I 
 can be mistaken. That beard of yours betrays you." 
 
 " Well, supposing I am General Thomas. Have I not 
 always done my duty ? " 
 
 "You are a traitor and a miserable!" said the in- 
 surgent, grasping the old man by the collar. He was 
 immediately assisted by others, who helped to drag the 
 General in the direction of Eue des Eosiers, in No. 6 of 
 which street the Eepublican Central Committee of Mont- 
 martre was holding its sittings. After the parody of a trial, 
 he and General Lecomte were both hauled along the 
 garden, and being tied together, were placed against the 
 wall to be shot. An officer of the Garibaldian Legion im- 
 plored to have the execution suspended, but his entreaties 
 were drowned in shouts of '^A mort!" "A mort!" In 
 this supreme and horrible hour General Thomas exhibited 
 proofs of heroic bravery. He stood facing his murderers, 
 holding his hat in his hand. Instead of firing in a body. 
 
3G THEPAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 according to military usage, tliey fired one after the other. 
 Each ball that struck him, some in the arms, others in 
 the legs, caused a convulsive tremor of the body. The 
 only words he uttered were '^ Laches ! laches ! " (" Cowards ! 
 cowards!" — a word of much stronger significance in the 
 French than in the English language). At the end of 
 the fourteenth shot he was still standing erect — still hold- 
 ing his hat in his hand, regarding his executioners with a 
 look of horror. The fifteenth shot struck him under the 
 right eye, when he fell to the ground. 
 
 General Lecomte was very pale. He stood erect — his 
 arms crossed over his breast. Ho uttered a few words of 
 expostulation, but fell almost instantly, pierced by a bullet 
 behind the ear. It is said that both their corpses were 
 then mutilated with bayonet thrusts. 
 
 There is a question whether General Lecomte had even 
 a mock trial. Some say yes — others, no; but the fact 
 that a lieutenant of the 269th battalion, who was present 
 at these massacres, cried out, " To be shot without being 
 heard! 'tis too horrible!" makes one incline to the latter 
 report. 
 
 The two aides-de-camp of General Lecomte were about 
 to undergo the same fate as their General, when they were 
 saved by the intervention of a young man of seventeen, 
 who cried out that what was taking place was horrible, 
 and that no one knew the men who were ordering them 
 to be put to death. He succeeded in saving the lives of 
 the two young oflScers. 
 
 Towards four o'clock, the National Guards of Mont- 
 martre, who had collected since the forenoon, commenced 
 a descent on Paris. About three battalions took the Eue 
 des Martyrs, where the groups cried out, without much 
 enthusiasm, " Vive Garibaldi!" "Vive la RepuUique ! " 
 The first body of these men marched very well, the second 
 worse, and the third carried their weapons with a careless- 
 
TnE INSURGENT H E A D Q U A E T E R S. 37 
 
 ness and indifference Avhich had nothing terrifying, except 
 to those in the rear. 
 
 At two o'clock the Central Committee of Montmartre 
 had assumed the entire direction of affairs — ^had appointed 
 committees of defence and of barricades — many of which 
 were erected there and in other parts of Paris. A body 
 of men, protected by a line of National Guards, raised a 
 barricade at the end of the Eue des Martyrs, at the 
 junction of that street with the Bouleyards Rochechouart 
 and Clichy. Behind it was placed a cannon on its car- 
 riage. Other barricades were erected on Rue Germain- 
 Pilon, as also on all the different strategic points in that 
 quarter of Paris. 
 
 The quarter Montrouge was also up and stirring ; and 
 though it had surrendered its cannon to the authorities a 
 few days before, at two o'clock p. m. the Barriere-d'Enfer 
 was in the hands of its battalions ; the women and 
 children were all in the streets; the walls were covered 
 with proclamations from a committee stating that the 
 National Guards were the protectors of the Republic; 
 and that their oflBcers ought to be appointed by them, 
 and them alone. The streets were crowded with the 
 insurgents coming and going to the headquarters of their 
 commander-in-chief, which were situated in a shop in 
 Rue Rochefoucault ; and their appearance was anything 
 but encouraging to the friends of law and order. They 
 all carried chassepots, but that was the only thing in 
 which they were all alike. They mostly wore slouched 
 hats, with long hair. Your true insurgent favors that 
 style; and in the absence of cartridge-pouches, stuffed 
 that needful article in their pockets. Many wore high 
 boots, with a brace of pistols stuck in vtlieir belts; and a 
 line soldier who had become demoralized was a small 
 deity among them. The beer and wine shops were all 
 doing a thriving business, but their customers did not 
 
38 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 have the appearance of men "bent on sustaining the 
 proper authorities. 
 
 In the Faubourg St. Antoine numerous barricades were 
 raised. One of the largest was in the Eue de Charonne, 
 near tlie fountain ; it was defended by several cannon 
 from La Eoquette, and was manned by National Guards. 
 All circulation was prevented, and well-dressed people 
 were obliged to shoulder a musket or be sent to work on 
 some barricade ; mounted gendarmes were obliged to sur- 
 render their horses and sabres. Barricades were erected 
 on Rue Piat with one piece of cannon, on Eue Delamarre, 
 Eue Godfrey, Eue de la Eoquette, Eue de Plandres, Eue 
 Vincent de Paul, Faubourg du Temple, Faubourg Saint 
 Martin, Place de la Barriere Blanche, and several other 
 points of importance. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon the following proclama- 
 tion, addressed to the National Guards of the Seine, was 
 posted up in Paris : 
 
 Paeis, 18th Marcli 1871. if 
 
 " The Government calls on you to defend your city, 
 your homes, your property, and your families. Some mis- 
 guided men, placing themselves above the law and obeying 
 only a secret authority, are pointing against Paris the 
 guns which have been saved from the Prussians. They 
 are resisting by force the National-Guard and the army. 
 Will you permit such an act ? WiU you in sight of the 
 foreigners, ready to take advantage of our disorders, 
 abandon Paris to sedition ? If you do not stifle it in the 
 bud, the Eepublic will be lost, and perhaps France also ! 
 You have your future in your hands. The Government 
 has allowed you to retain your arms. Take them up reso- 
 lutely to re-establish the regime of the law, and to save 
 the Eepublic from anarchy, which would be its ruin. Eally 
 
DEPUTATIONS AT THE HOTEL DE VILLE, 39 
 
 round your chiefs, for it is the only means of escaping 
 ruin and the domination of tlie foreigner. 
 
 "Eknest Picaed, 
 
 "Minister of the Interior. 
 
 " D'aueelle, 
 
 General Commanding-in-Chief of the National Guards of the Seine." 
 
 Events of great importance were occurring in other 
 parts of the city, away from tlie principal scene of dis- 
 turbance. As early as nine o'clock A. il, groups were 
 formed in the square before the Hotel de Yille,. discussing 
 the events of the morning. The words " treason " and 
 " coup d'etat '* being frequently heard. At about half past 
 eleven a battalion of the line and one of the National 
 Guard, headed by their drums and carrying their muskets 
 upside down, arrived to protest against the attack at 
 Montmartre. Cries of " Vive la ligne ! " " Vive la Rejm- 
 llique ! " were heard on all sides, when suddenly a shot 
 was fired by an individual in plain clothes. The mob 
 rushed on the aggressor, who was at once seized; some per- 
 sons were for throwing him into the river, but moderate 
 counsels prevailed and he was removed in custody. An- 
 other well-dressed person, about sixty, took advantage of 
 a moment of silence to raise the cry of " Vive VEmpereur ! " 
 "Alasla RejmUique!" In an instant he was knocked 
 down and maltreated by the mob, his clothes being torn 
 to shreds. The Office of Public Assistance and the Octroi 
 were occupied by regiments of the line, whilst artillery 
 and cavalry were massed in the Place of the Hotel de 
 Ville. But when calm became re-established General Vinoy 
 ordered them to be sent to other points. Later in the 
 afternoon another deputation, of about 200 officers of the 
 National Guard, line, and franc-tireurs, and accompanying 
 several individuals, wounded in the Eue Legendre, came 
 to protest against the " surprise" and " treason " of Mont- 
 martre. 
 
40 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 At tlie junction of the Boulevards Voltaire (formerly 
 Prince Eugene) and Eicliard Lenoir, women and children 
 were at work constructing a barricade. All circulation was 
 stopped, and about one hundred soldiers who were stationed 
 here withdrew to the Bataclan cafe-concert. The entire 
 district comprised between the Faubourg St. Martin, Eue 
 Lafayette, the outer boulevards and Rues de Flandres, 
 d'Allemagne and de Puebla, was entirely closed by double 
 barricades, constructed of omnibuses and artillery- wagons 
 filled with, paving-stones. All access to the Buttes Chau- 
 mont was forbidden by the National Guards, to whom the 
 protection of the guns there was confided. 
 
 The regiments of the line, among others the 35th, 
 which had occupied the outer boulevards in the morning, 
 "were surrounded and confined between the barricades 
 until they had given up their arms, when they were set at 
 liberty. On the other hand, bodies of well-affected Na- 
 tional Guards held various posts of importance. At 5 
 o'clock the 6th battalion guarded the Eue Drouot ; the 
 10th and 327th the Place de la Bourse ; the 149th the 
 Mairie of the Bank Quarter; the 1st and 5th the Place Ven- 
 dome ; the 13th on the Eue de la Paix, on the side of the Eue 
 Eivoli ; the 12th the Eue de Marengo. Toward six o'clock 
 a considerable affluence was to be seen on the Place de 
 la Concorde ; several battalions arrived there in succession, 
 and among them the 81st, 82d, 131st, 156th, 165th and 
 178th ; the reason for their presence was not clearly ex- 
 plained, and most of the men were themselves ignorant of 
 what they were about to do. 
 
 During the whole day the gates of the Louvre, those of 
 the Pavilion de Eolian looking on the Palais Eoyal as well 
 as those of the Tuileries, were completely closed. The 
 89th of the line guarded, the Place du Carrousel and the 
 Tuileries. During the evening, among the groups formed 
 at different points, the principal topic of conversation 
 
llXn ARRO]SrDISSSEMEN"T ABANDONED. 41 
 
 was the abominable act perpetrated in the afternoon at 
 Montmartre, and of which Generals Lecomte and Clement- 
 Thomas were the victims. 
 
 Early in the "evening a body of some three thousand 
 National Guards, composed of the 64th and 172d bat- 
 talions, belonging to the Montmartre quarter, approached 
 the Place Vendome without having encountered the 
 slightest resistance in the way. Arriving at the Eue de 
 la Paix, they found themselves confronted by the 1st bat- 
 talion, Commandant Barre, who ordered the Montmartre 
 men to halt ; but as they manifested the intention of con- 
 tinuing their march, the 1st were ordered to load. This 
 show of firmness brought the others to a stand-still, and 
 they raised the butts of their muskets in the air, asking 
 the 1st to do the same. The latter, however, remained 
 resolute and awaited the orders of their chief. After 
 having argued for some time and taken the instructions 
 of the superior officers of the staff, the commandant of 
 the 1st gave his men orders to retire, and the Place Ven- 
 dome was abandoned to the others, who shortly after oc- 
 cupied the Etat-Major and the headquarters of the first 
 military division. 
 
 The eleventh arrondissement, which is populated by 
 most advanced republicans, who were positive that a coup 
 cVetat was intended, seeing the streets occupied by cavalry, 
 infantry and artillery, was spared a scene of bloody strife 
 by the action of M. Mottu, Mayor of the arrondissement. 
 He immediately waited on Ernest Picard who assured him of 
 his republican sentiments, " Then do not defy the people. 
 Why and against whom this display of force ? I answer 
 for the maintenance of order and peace in my arrondisse- 
 ment, if you do not yourselves ofier provocations to dis- 
 order and civil war." " The . general command," was the 
 reply, "is in the hands of General Vinoy." M. Mottu 
 went to the General and represented to him in warm Ian- 
 
42 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 guage the graye responsibility lie was iucurring. Already, 
 no doubt, the first account of the dispositions' of the 
 troops had reached the General, as, after a little hesitation, 
 he decided on signing an order for the evacuation of the 
 arrondissement, which was immediately executed. 
 
 Later in the day a meeting of Paris Deputies, Mayors 
 and Adjoints was convened at the Mairie of the Second 
 Arrondissement. The gravity of events gave to this as- 
 sembly an unusual importance. After discussion, a depu- 
 tation was sent to M. Picard to come to an understanding 
 Avith him on the modifications to be introduced into the 
 government system. Several proposals were made, but 
 without any result ; as the Minister of the Interior could 
 not come to any decision without the assent of his col- 
 leagues. The deputation next waited on General De 
 Paladines, who declared that he could not apply any rem- 
 edy to the situation, which, besides, was not of his creating. 
 The General declared that the fate of France was in the 
 hands of the municipalities, and that he abandoned all 
 initiative. Jules Favre afterward received the deputation, 
 who proposed the following as the bases of the concessions 
 claimed — 1. The nomination of M. Langlois as the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the National Guards ; 2. M. Edmond 
 Adam as Prefect of Police ; 3. M. Dorian, Mayor of Paris ; 
 4. M. Billot, member of the JSTational Assembly, com- 
 mander of the army of Paris. M. Jules Favre replied 
 that he would submit those propositions to the govern- 
 ment. On that declaration the delegates returned to the 
 Mairie of the Second Arrondissement, where they found a 
 letter from Jules Ferry, declaring to the mayors of Paris^ 
 that he abandoned the Hotel de Ville and delivered up his 
 powers into the hands of those elected. He accordingly 
 withdrew during the night to Versailles. The acceptance 
 of these conditions were sent in the evening to the oflQcial 
 
nOTEL DE VILLE TAKEN". 43 
 
 journal of the goveniment, but on hearing of the murder 
 of the two generals, it was withdrawn. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville was taken possession of about 4 
 o'clock, the Mayor of the 24th Arrondissement, wearing 
 his scarf, presented himself at the building and demanded 
 admission, which was refused; a crowd collected and 
 cheered him, and at last the doors were opened and he en- 
 tered. The people then went to the Napoleon barrack 
 and cheered the soldiers of the 109th regiment who were 
 at the windows. The latter replied with cries of " Vive la 
 Republique ! " The commanding officer ordered the win- 
 dows to be closed, and the troops disappeared. The mob 
 then tried to break open the gates, and seizing a sentry- 
 box, used it as a battering-ram. At this moment a door 
 of the Hotel de Ville opened, and a company of gendarmes 
 fell upon the crowd with the butt-ends of their muskets. 
 An indescribable scene of tumult occurred. Women, 
 children, and ISTational Guards fled in every direction 
 amidst screams and cries. The gendarmes afterward en- 
 tered the building, and at a later hour, on the resignation 
 of Jules Ferry becoming known, the doors were opened 
 and the Central Committee took possession. 
 
 General Chanzy, Commander of the Army of the Loire, 
 returning from Tours in the afternoon, was totally in the 
 dark as to the events that had taken place during the 
 day. The insurgents, evidently forewarned of his arrival, 
 took possession of the Orleans station, and when the train 
 stopped, a number of individuals, armed with revolvers, 
 presented themselves at the door of the compartment in 
 which the General was seated in full uniform, and ordered 
 him to alight ; resistance was useless, and he was carried 
 off to the Chateau-Eouge and there confined, a prisoner 
 in the hands of the Central Committee. 
 
 The evening of this eventful day was perfectly calm, 
 although the crowds were great on the streets and 
 
44 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 boulevards, every one in search of news. The omnibuses 
 had ceased to run, fearing they would be requisitioned 
 for barricades; but in the centre of the city circulation was 
 nowhere impeded. 
 
 In the morning of the 19th March the following proc- 
 lamation was posted on the walls of Paris, addressed to 
 the National Guards of the city, signed by all the mem- 
 bers of the government present : 
 
 March 19, 1871. 
 
 " A body, assuraing the name of Central Committee, 
 after having seized on a certain number of cannon, has 
 covered Paris with barricades, and has taken possession, 
 during the night, of the Ministry of Justice. It has fired 
 on the defenders of order ; it has made prisoners and has 
 murdered in cold blood Generals Clement-Thomas and 
 Lecomte. Who are the members of that committee ? No 
 one in Paris knows them ; their names are new to every 
 one. No one can even say to what party they belong. 
 Are they Communists, Bonapartists, or Prussians ? Are 
 they the agents of a triple coalition ? Whoever they may 
 be, they are the enemies of Paris, for they are giving it up 
 to pillage ; of France, for they are handing her over to 
 the Prussians ; and of the Eepublic, for they are abandon- 
 ing it to despotism. The abominable crimes they have 
 committed deprive of all excuse those who would dare to 
 follow them or to submit to them. Will you accept the 
 responsibility of their murders, and of the ruin they are 
 bringing on the country ? If so, remain at home. But 
 if you have any regard for your most sacred interests, rally 
 around the Government of the Eepublic and the National 
 Assembly." 
 
 During the night the office of the Journal Officiel had 
 been seized by the insurgents, and that paper appeared in 
 the morning as the exclusive organ of the Central Com- 
 
CENTEAL COMMITTEE PEOCL AM ATI OK S . 45 
 
 mittee, holding its sittings at tlie Hotel do Ville, with the 
 following heading : 
 
 " Repudlican Federation of tlie National Guard. 
 Organ of the Central Committee" 
 
 Hotel db Ville, March 19. 
 
 " CiTiZEKS : — You had charged us with organizing the 
 defence of Paris and of its rights, and we are convinced 
 that we have fulfilled this mission. Aided by your gener- 
 ous courage and your admirable sangfroid, we have ex- 
 pelled the government which was betraying us. 
 
 "At this moment our mandate has expired, and we 
 again deliver it up to you, inasmuch as we do not pretend to 
 take the place of those whom the popular breath has just 
 overthrown. Prepare yourselves, and immediately make 
 your communal elections, and give us for recompense the 
 only one we ever hoped for — the true Eepublic. In the 
 meantime we retain, in the name of the people, the Hotel 
 de Ville. 
 
 "Assi, Bilho7'ay, Ferrat, Baliclc, Edouard, 
 Moreau, C. Dupont, Varlin, Boursier, 
 Martier, Gushier, Lavalette, Fr. Jourde, 
 Rousseau, Cli. Lullier, Blancliet, J. 
 Grollard, Barroud, H. Geresme, Fahre, 
 PougerotP 
 
 The following proclamation was also posted on the walls 
 of the city, addressed to the people, and signed by the 
 same names as above : 
 
 " CiTiZEisrs :— The people of Paris have shaken off the 
 yoke sought to be imposed upon it. Calm, impassible in its 
 strength, it awaited without fear as without provocation 
 the shameless madmen who would destroy the Eepublic. 
 
 " This time our brothers of the army were unwilling to 
 lay a hand on the sacred ark of our liberties. Thanks be 
 to all, and let Paris and France together establish the basis 
 
46 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 of a Eepublic, acclaimed with all its consequences the 
 only government that will forever close the era of inva- 
 sions and civil wars. 
 
 " The state of siege is raised. The population of the 
 capital is convoked in its sections for its communal elec- 
 tions. The safety of the citizen is assured by the assist- 
 ance of the National Guard." 
 
 At 10 o'clock in the morning the last of the regular sol- 
 diers had quitted the caj)ital, and were on the way to Ver- 
 sailles. The Ministry of Finance had been abandoned in 
 the morning by the soldiers who there kept guard, and 
 was occupied about noon by the National Guard. The 
 specie on hand, which amounted to two and a lialf millions 
 of francs, had been removed in the night to Versailles. 
 
 About the same hour the Ministry of the Interior, Min- 
 istry of Marine and Prefecture of Police were all occupied 
 by the insurgents, and the entire public service was in the 
 povv^er of the Central Committee, who drew up the follow- 
 ing explanation which was posted on the walls and ap- 
 peared in the ofi&cial journal : 
 
 "If the Central Committee of the National Guard were 
 a government, it might, out of respect for the dignity of 
 its electors, di«dain to justify itself ; but as it does 'not 
 pretend to take the place of those whom the popular 
 breath has overthrown,' but, in its simple honesty, desires 
 to remain exactly within the express limits of its powers, 
 it remains a compound of individualities which have the 
 right to defend themselves. 
 
 "A child of the Eepublic, whose motto is the great 
 word 'Fraternity,' it pardons its detractors; but it wishes 
 to convince honest men who have accepted the calumny 
 through ignorance, it has not acted in secret, for the 
 names of its members were on all its proclamations. If 
 the individuals were obscure, they did not shun the 
 
EXCUSE THEIR OBSCURE :N"AMES. 47 
 
 responsibility, which was great. It was not unknown, for 
 it was the free expression of the suffrages of 215 battahons 
 of the National Gruard. It has not proYoked disorders ; 
 for the National Guards, which haye done it the honor to 
 accept its direction, have committed neither excesses nor 
 reprisals, and have owed their strength to the wisdom and 
 moderation of their conduct. 
 
 ".And yet provocations have not been wanting; the 
 Government has not ceased, by the most shameful means, 
 to attempt the most horrible of crimes — civil war; it has 
 calumniated Paris, and has excited the provinces against 
 the capital ; it has drawn up against us our brothers of 
 the army, and has left them to perish with cold in the 
 streets while their homes were waiting them; it has 
 attempted to impose on you a General-in-Chief; it has, 
 by nocturnal attacks, tried to disarm us of our cannons, 
 after having been prevented by us from delivering them 
 up to the Prussians ; in fine, with the aid of its affrighted 
 accomplices of Bordeaux, it has said to Paris : ' Thou hast 
 just been heroic ; therefore we are afraid of thee, and tear 
 from thy brow thy crown of capital.' 
 
 "What has the Central Committee done to reply to 
 those attacks? It has founded the Federation; it has 
 preached moderation and generosity. At the moment 
 when the armed attack commenced it said to all : ' Refrain 
 from aggression, and defend yourself only at the last 
 extremity.' It summoned to its aid all men of intellect 
 and capacity ; it invited the co-operation of the corps of 
 officers; it opened its door to whoever knocked in the 
 name of the Eepublic. On which side, then, was right 
 and justice, and on which deception ? 
 
 " One of the greatest causes of anger against us was the 
 obscurity of our names. Alas ! how many were known — 
 too well known, and that notoriety has often been fatal to 
 us. One of the last means they employed against us was 
 to refuse bread to the troops who preferred to allow them- 
 
48' THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 selves to be disarmed rather than fire upon the .people; 
 and they who punish by hunger the refusal to murder, 
 call us assassins ! In the first place — we say it with in- 
 dignation — the sanguinary filth with which they attempt 
 to sully our honor is an ignoble infamy. ISTo order of 
 execution was ever signed by us; the National Guard 
 never took part in the execution of the crime. What 
 interest would it or ourselves have had in doing so ? fbe 
 charge is as absurd as it is base. 
 
 "We are indeed almost ashamed to defend ourselves. 
 Our conduct shows what we are. Have we ever sought 
 after emoluments or honors ? If we are unknown, although 
 we have obtained the confidence of 215 battalions, it is 
 because we have disdained to make any propaganda. A 
 few hollow phrases or a little cowardice is sufficient, as is 
 shown by recent events. 
 
 "We who were charged with a task which imposed on 
 us a terrible responsibility have accomplished it without 
 hesitation and without fear; and now that we have 
 arrived at the goal, we say to the people who have esteemed 
 us suflficiently to listen to our counsels: 'Here is the 
 authority which thou hast confided to us; where our 
 personal interest commences our duty ends ; do this well ; 
 Master, thou hast recovered thy liberty. Obscure a few 
 days back, we are about to return obscure to thy ranks, 
 and show to those who govern that we can descend proudly 
 the steps of the H6tel de Ville, with the certainty of find- 
 ing at the bottom the grasp of the loyal and robust hand.' 
 " Aoit. Arnaud, Assi, Billioray, Ferrat, BaMcTc, 
 Ed. Moreau, C. Dupont, Varlin, Bour- 
 sier, Mortier, Gouliier, Lavahtte, Fr. 
 Jourde, Rousseau, Oh. Lullier, Henri 
 Fortune, G. Arnold, Viard, Blanchet, 
 J. Grollard, Barroud, H. Geresme, Fcibre, 
 Pougeret, Bouit — Les mernbres du Comite 
 centred." 
 
DECREE OF CEJSTTRAL COMMITTEE. 49 
 
 The following decree was also issued : 
 
 '• Tlie Central Committee of the National Guard, seeing 
 there is urgent necessity for immediately constituting the 
 communal administration of the city of Paris, decrees — 
 
 " 1. The elections of the Communal Council shall take 
 place "Wednesday, March 22. 
 
 " 2. The vote shall he taken by ballot and by arrondisse- 
 ment, a councillor being named for twenty thousand 
 inhabitants, or fraction in excess of ten thousand. 
 
 "3d. The voting shall take place from eight in the 
 morning to six in the evening, the examination being 
 made immediately after. 
 
 " 4th. The municipalities of the twenty arrondissements 
 are charged as concerns each with the execution of the 
 present decree. An ulterior notice will indicate the 
 number of councillors to be elected." 
 
 Signed as before. 
 
 Several other important decrees were published on the 
 same day, abolishing military tribunals in the army, 
 granting full amnesty for all political crimes and offences. 
 Nearly all crimes were construed to be political ones, and 
 directors of prisons were instructed to set at liberty all 
 persons detained on political grounds. 
 
 The members of the Central Committee met on Monday 
 morning, March 20th ; the tricolor flag had been hauled 
 down, and the red hoisted in its place. The Place de la 
 Mairie de Paris was filled with National Guards, who dis- 
 cussed the state of affairs in front of their piled arms. All 
 the shops were shut at that part of the Eue Eivoli. 'Bar- 
 ricades were raised with paving stones in the Avenue 
 Victoria, Rue de Eivoli, on the quay. Place Lobau, and 
 all the environs. After the National Guard had taken 
 possession of the Prefecture of Police, they established 
 pickets on the Place Dauphine, and numerous detach- 
 3 
 
50 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 ments were posted on the Quais des Lunettes and De 
 I'Horloge, the Rue Sainte Chapelle, the Boulevard Sevas- 
 topol, and the Rue de Jerusalem. In the interior, senti- 
 nels were placed at every door, and in all directions 
 National Guards were to be seen armed, many with two 
 muskets. 
 
 The Etat-Major and Ministry of Justice in Place Ven- 
 dome were occupied by the 91st battalion from Mont- 
 martre and the 174th from Belleville. The sentinels were 
 doubled, and a duplicate supply of cartridges distributed 
 to the men. 
 
 All the members of the government had left on Sun- 
 day, the 20th, for Versailles. M. Thiers left about noon. 
 One of the first acts of the government installed at Ver- 
 sailles v/as to interrupt, by cutting the telegraph wires, 
 all communication between Paris and the departments. 
 The prefects in the provinces were also informed that any 
 one of them who should publish the acts emanating from 
 the Central Committee would be immediately arrested. 
 The Ministers met in council under the presidency of M. 
 Thiers, at the Hotel of the Prefecture, and decided that 
 Paris must be left to itself until further orders, and that 
 the government would remain on the defensive until the 
 well-disposed National Guards made an energetic mani- 
 festation against the new power installed by the revolt at 
 the Hotel de Ville and the Ministries. 
 
 M. Thiers telegraphed to all the different staffs at the 
 Ministries to go and resume their posts at Versailles. 
 
 The Prussians, on hearing of the revolt in Paris, ad- 
 vanced nearer to the capital, and re-occupied St. Denis, 
 which they had evacuated. They also telegraphed Jules 
 Favre from Rouen the following despatch : 
 
 " Rouen, March 21, 1871. 
 
 " I have the honor to inform your Excellency that, in 
 in presence of the events which have just taken place in 
 
THE PRUS'felAK THREATS. 51 
 
 Paris, and which appear no longer to ensure the execu- 
 tion of the conventions as regards the future, the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the army before Paris interdicts aU 
 approach to our lines in front of the forts occupied by us, 
 demands the re-establishment, within twenty four hours, 
 of the telegraphs destroyed at Pantin, and declares that 
 he will treat the city of Paris as an enemy if it shall still 
 adopt any measures in contradiction to the negotiations 
 engaged, and the preliminaries of peace, which circum- 
 stance would lead to an opening of the fire from the forts 
 in question. 
 
 " Fabeice." 
 
 To which Jules Fayre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, re- 
 turned the following answer: 
 
 " Veesailles, March 21. 
 
 " I received only very late this evening the telegram 
 which your Excellency does me the honor to address to 
 me this day at 12 h. 20 m. The insurrectional movement 
 triumphant in Paris has been only a surprise, before 
 which the Government has momentarily retired to avoid 
 a civil war. It is the work of a handful of factious men 
 disavowed by the great majority of the population, and 
 energetically combated by the mayors, who resist with 
 courage. The departments are unanimous in condemn- 
 ing the movement and in promising their support to the 
 Assembly. The government will make itself master of 
 the situation ; and if it does not do so to-morrow, the 
 reason is that it desires to spare the effusion of blood. 
 Your Excellency can therefore be assured that our 
 engagements shall be kept, and you will doubtless be un- 
 willing, in presence of these facts and of our formal 
 declaration, to inflict on the city of Paris, protected by 
 the preliminaries of peace, the calamity of a military 
 
52 THE PAEIS Ct)MMU]SrE. 
 
 execution. To do this would be to make the dying 
 expiate the crime of a few perverse enemies of their 
 country. As to the damage done to the telegraph at 
 Pantin, the government, unfortunately, has not at pre- 
 sent the means of repairing it. Notice has been sent to 
 the mayors, who perhaps will be able to do what is 
 demanded. But I have the honor to repeat to your 
 Excellency, that, owing to the good sense of the great 
 majority of the Paris population, to the firmness of the 
 Assembly, and the support given by the departments, 
 the cause of right will prevail, and that in a few days I 
 shall have the power of giving entire satisfaction to your 
 Excellency in respect to the claims justified by our 
 engagements. 
 
 "Jules Favee." 
 
 The streets of Versailles soon became filled with soldiers 
 from Paris, and no great alarm was manifested by the 
 population at what was transpiring in that ill-fated, city. 
 Great military preparations, however, were being made, 
 and arms and artillery were demanded from the depart- 
 ments. 
 
 The provinces were firmly determined to resist what 
 was taking place in the capital, and to support their 
 deputies. The Mobiles of the departments, stimulated 
 by their representatives, commenced arriving by all the 
 lines of railway. 
 
 A stormy debate took place at the sitting of the Na- 
 tional Assembly on the 20th, on a motion brought up for 
 the purpose of putting the department of the Seine and 
 Oise in a state of siege. Louis Blanc violently opposed 
 the measure, which he stated to be one of most aggressive 
 character. He thought a policy of conciliation should 
 be adopted with respect to Paris, the situation of which 
 was extremely grave. 
 
THE PEUSSIAKS ADDRESS. 53 
 
 General Trocliu declared the bill was not one of aggres- 
 sion but protection, and said that he was astonished, with 
 respect to the measure, that no one had spoken of the 
 murder of Generals Lecomte and Thomas. The execu- 
 tioners of these two brave men had repeatedly endeavored, 
 during the siege, to get the Prussians into Paris, and it 
 was that step which they were now again endeavoring 
 to compass. He added further that General Lecomte, 
 who has left six children, died a victim to duty, and the 
 other officer had devoted his whole life to the Republic in 
 the most courageous and generous manner; that the As- 
 sembly should, by a solemn vote, declare the country 
 adopted the family of the first, and that the murder 
 of the second was a cause of public mourning, in which 
 all France took part ! His expressions were received with 
 the most enthusiastic applause by the entire Assembly, 
 and the state of siege was declared almost unanimously. 
 The Assembly declared it would make itself respected, 
 and would succeed in founding the Eepublic which was 
 now compromised by nefarious insurgents. 
 
 In the meantime the Central Committee received the 
 following communication from the Prussian headquarters 
 at Compiegne : 
 
 " Compiegne, 31st March. 
 
 '•' The undersigned, commanding-in-chief, takes the 
 liberty to inform you that the German troops wliich 
 occupy the forts to the north and east of Paris, as well as 
 the environs of the right bank of the Seine, have received 
 orders to maintain an amicable and passive attitude so 
 long as the events of which the interior of the city is the 
 theatre shall not assume— with regard to the German 
 armies— a hostile character, and of a nature to place them 
 in danger; should- such be the case, they will observe the 
 terms determined by the preliminaries of peace. 
 
54 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " But, in the case these events should have a character 
 of hostility, the city of Paris will be treated as an enemy. 
 
 "For the Commander-in-Chief of the 3d corps of the 
 Imperial armies. 
 
 "VOISr SCHLOTHEIM, 
 
 Major- Oeneraiy 
 
 To which Pasqual G-rousset, Delegate for Foreign Rela- 
 tions, returned the following answer : 
 
 " Paris, 22d March. 
 
 " The undersigned, delegated by the Central Committee 
 to the department of Foreign Affairs, in answer to your 
 despatch, informs you that the revolution accomplished 
 here having a character essentially municipal, is not in 
 any way aggressive against the German armies. 
 
 " Furthermore, we have no authority to discuss the 
 preliminaries of peace voted by the Assembly at Bor- 
 deaux." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Admiral Saisset appointed Commander-in-Chief of the National Guards— The 
 Law and Order Party endeavor to overcome the insurrection— Concessions 
 obtained by Admii-al Saisset from the National Assembly— His proclamation 
 —The insurrectionists still unsatisfied— The elections postponed by decree 
 until March 26th— Declaration of the press— It calls forth a threat from the 
 Central Committee — Procession of the Order Party— Passage through the 
 Place Vendome— Citizen Tony-MoUin appointed Mayor of the 6th Arrondisse- 
 ment — M. Leroy takes possession of the Mairie— Is ejected by citizen LuUier 
 —Warehouses broken into by the- mob— Chassepots sold for ten francs- 
 Deputation sent to Valerien— Second procession of the Order Party— En- 
 deavor made to disperse the croved- Shots fired— Frightflil massacre— Am- 
 bulances collect the dead — Differences of opinion with regard to which party 
 fired the first shot— Account given by the ofiicial journal — General Bergeret's 
 view of the question— EecLuisitions — Executions at Montmartre — Deputation 
 of Mayors to the Assembly demanding a compromise concerning the day of 
 the elections — Hostile attitude of the Assembly— Address of M. Amaud— 
 Tribune assigned to the Mayors— Their entrance— Their observations re- 
 sented by the Eight — ^Violent agitation— The meeting dissolved — Evening 
 sitting— Resolutions presented by the Mayors for approval— Several Mayors on 
 their return to Paris make an arrangement with the Central Committee— The 
 citizens exhorted to vote — Discrepancy in the statement of the Mayors and 
 that of the Central Committee— The resolutions of the Mayors rejected in 
 the Assembly by a large majority— Decrees in the oflacial journal — Insurrec- 
 tional movement in Lyons — In Marseilles — Toulouse — St. Etienne— Fusion 
 of the Mayors and Central Committee — Version of the Committee— That of 
 the Mayors— Proclamation of the Deputies of Paris— Eesignation of Admiral 
 Saisset — Proclamation of the Central Committee. 
 
 THEEE were now published daily two official journals, 
 one emanating from the Hotel de Ville in Paris, the 
 other published in Versailles by order of the National 
 Assembly. The last-named, after publishing an announce- 
 ment that Admiral Saisset had been named Commander- 
 in-Chief of the National Guards of the Seine, a leader 
 who, the goyernment thought, would rally the men of 
 order, published the following declaration : 
 
56 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 "The Government wished to avoid bloodshed, even 
 T/hen provoked to it by the unexpected resistance of the 
 Central Committee of the National Guard. That opposi- 
 tion, skilfully organized, and directed by conspirators as 
 audacious as they were treacherous, was carried into effect 
 by the invasion of a mass of National Guards without 
 arms, and of the population, rushing on the soldiers, 
 breaking their ranks and depriving them of their arms. 
 Led away by those guilty manoeuvres, many of the men 
 forgot their duty. The National Guard which had been 
 convoked, also held back, and during the whole day only 
 came out in insignificant numbers. In that serious con- 
 juncture the Government, not wishing to engage in a san- 
 guinary encounter in the streets of Paris, and considering 
 that it was not strongly enough supported by the National 
 Guard, decided on withdrawing to Versailles, near the 
 National Assembly, the only legal representation of the 
 country. On leaving Paris, the Minister of the Interior, 
 at the request of the Mayors, delegated to a commission 
 to be appointed by them the power of provisionally ad- 
 ministering the affairs of the city, but the authorities met 
 several times without arriving at any understanding. 
 While those events were going on, the insurrectionary 
 committee installed itself at the Hotel de Ville, and pub- 
 lished two proclamations — one, to announce its assump- 
 tion of the chief authority ; and the other, to convoke the 
 electors of Paris to appoint a Communal Assembly. 
 
 " This shameful state of anarchy is, however, beginning 
 to move the good citizens, who are perceiving too late the 
 fault they have committed in not immediately giving 
 their material aid to the Government appointed by the 
 Assembly. Who can, in fact, without a shudder, accept 
 the consequences of that deplorable sedition, descending 
 on a city like a sudden tempest, irresistible and inexpli- 
 cable ? The Prussians are at our gates, and we have 
 
ADMIRAL SAISSET TO COMMAND. 57 
 
 treated with them. But if the Government which signed 
 the preHminaries of peace, is overthrown, the convention 
 is broken. The state of war recommences, and Paris is 
 fatally condemned to an occupation. Thus the long and 
 painful efforts by which the Government succeeded in 
 avoiding that irreparable misfortune will be rendered fruit- 
 less ; but that is not all — with this lamentable disorder 
 credit is destroyed and labor suspended. France not being 
 able to meet her engagements Avill be abandoned to the 
 enemy, who will reduce her to a cruel state of servitude. 
 Such are the bitter fruits of the criminal folly of some, 
 and of the deplorable supineness of others. The tnne has 
 come to return to reason and to take courage. The Gov- 
 ernment and the Assembly do not despair. They appeal 
 to the country and lean on it, decided as they are on follow- 
 ing it resolutely, and on striving boldly against sedition.'' 
 
 The law and order men of the National Guards, with 
 several of the leading citizens of Paris, encouraged by the 
 government, made for a few days a spasmodic exertion to 
 overthrow the insurrection, and bring back affairs to their 
 old state. Admiral Saisset was popular, a true republican 
 and a patriotic man, his only son had been killed during 
 the late siege, and it Avas thought tliat he stood well with 
 all the different elements of the National Guard ; he had 
 obtained, in conjunction with the Mayors and Deputies of 
 Paris, very important concessions from the National As- 
 sembly, concessions which ought to have satisfied any true 
 republican, concessions that were all which the Central 
 Committee at one time wanted — the recognition of its 
 municipal franchise and the election of the officers of the 
 National Guard. Much importance was therefore attached 
 to the following proclamation, which was thought would 
 serve as a base for a compromise : 
 
 3* 
 
58 THE PABIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " Pabm, March 23, 1871. 
 
 "Dear Fellow-Citizeks : — I hasten to inform you 
 that, in accord with the Deputies of the Seine and the 
 Mayors of Paris, we have obtained from the Goyernment 
 of the National Assembly : 
 
 " 1. The complete recognition of your municipal fran- 
 chise ; 
 
 " 2. The election of all the officers of the National 
 Guard, including the Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 " 3. Certain modifications of the measure in commercial 
 bills; 
 
 " 4. A law of rents favorable to tenants paying any sum 
 as far as and including 1,200 francs. 
 
 " Until you have confirmed my nomination or shall have 
 replaced me, I remain at my post of honor to watch over 
 the execution of the conciliatory measures which we have 
 obtained, and thus contribute to the consolidation of the 
 
 Eepublic. 
 
 Saisset, 
 
 Vice-Admiral, Prov. Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard of the Seine. 
 
 What more could the chiefs of the revolt have demanded. 
 If they had been sincere, as they declared themselves to 
 be, they v»^ere bound to adhere to these dispositions which 
 would have given satisfaction at once to the interests of 
 law and order— but they were not sincere, neither did 
 General McMahon, nor the other military leaders, believe 
 them ; but M. Thiers was willing to go to any length to 
 prevent the effusion of more blood. 
 
 The Central Committee sitting at the Hotel de Ville 
 issued the following proclamation relating to their forth- 
 coming election : 
 
 "Hotel de Ville, 22d March, 1871. 
 
 " Citizens : — Your legitimate anger placed us on the 
 18th of March at the post which we will only occupy 
 
THE DECLARATION OF THE PRESS. 59 
 
 until the necessaiy arrangements can be made for the 
 forthcoming communal elections. 
 
 "Your mayors and your deputies, repudiating the 
 engagements they had just made as candidates, have tried 
 to fetter the elections, which we wish to hold in the 
 briefest possible time. 
 
 "The reaction raised by tbem declares war against us. 
 " We will accept the struggle, and will crush all re- 
 sistance, that you may proceed to the vote in the serenity 
 of your will and your power. 
 
 "In consequence, the elections are postponed until 
 Sunday next, March 26 th. 
 
 "Up to that time the most energetic measures will be 
 
 taken to cause to be respected the rights you have assumed. 
 
 " Avoine fils, Ant. Arnaud, G. Arnold, Assi, 
 
 Andig7ioux, Bouit, J. Bergeret, Bdbick, 
 
 Boursier, Baron, Billioray, Blanchet, 
 
 Castioni, CJioiiteau, C. Dupont, Ferrat, 
 
 Henri Fortune, Fabre, Fleury, Pougeret, 
 
 C. Gaudier, Gouhier, Guiral, Geresme, 
 
 Grollard, Josselin, F. Jourde, Maxime 
 
 Lishonne, Lavalette, Ch. Lullier, Mal- 
 
 journal, Moreau, Mortier, Prudliomme, 
 
 Rousseau, Ranvier, Varlin, Viard — Le 
 
 Comite Central de la Garde Nationdle. 
 
 In the meantime, the principal Paris journals entered 
 into a combination to resist the holding of the elections 
 by the insurgents, and issued the following 
 
 "DECLARATION OF THE PRESS. 
 
 " To THE Paris Electors : — Seeing that the convoca- 
 tion of electors is an act of national sovereignty ; 
 
 " That the exercise of this sovereignty appertains to the 
 powers emanating from universal suffrage ; 
 
60 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " That, in consequence, the comniittee which is installed 
 at the Hotel de Ville has neither the right nor the quality 
 to make this convocation. 
 
 " The representatives of the undersigned journals con- 
 sider the convocation announced for the 22d of March as 
 mill and void, and request the electors to regard it in that 
 
 light. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 ^^ Journal des Debats, Co7istitutio7inel, Elec- 
 teur Libre, Petite Presse, Verite, Figaro, 
 Oaulois, Paris Journal, Petit National, 
 Bappel, Presse, France, Liberie, Pays, 
 National, Univers, Cloche, Patrie, Fran- 
 ^ais, Bien Public, Union, Opinion Na- 
 iionale. Journal des Villes et Campagnes, 
 Journal de Paris, Moniteur Universel, 
 France Nouvelle, Gazette de France, 
 Messagcr de Paris, Soir:' 
 
 This collective declaration of the Paris journals does 
 them great honor, as they embody every shade of politics. 
 The committee, however, threatened with severe repression 
 any resistance to its authority, and announced that the 
 reactionary journals had recourse to falsehood and calumny 
 to cast a slur on the patriots who had ensured the triumph 
 of the people's rights. " We cannot attack the liberty of 
 the press," it said ; " only, the Government of Versailles 
 having suspended the ordinary course of the tribunals, wc 
 warn all badly-intentioned writers to whom would be 
 applicable in other times the common law on slander and 
 insult, that they will be immediately tried by the Central 
 Committee of the National Guard." 
 
 Assi, one of the chiefs of the insurrection, a leading 
 member of the International Society, the instigator and 
 promoter of nearly all the " strikes " that have occurred 
 
UNIOif OF THE MEN OF "OKDEE." Gl 
 
 throughout Europe, made his appearance in the streets in 
 one of the late Emperor's carriages ; it had passed, inside 
 the year, through the hands of Napoleon III., Gambetta, 
 Glais-Bizoin, Rochefort, Etienne Arago, Jules Ferry, and 
 Assi. Nearly all the other carriages had been sent to Ver- 
 sailles for the use of the government. 
 
 Soon after a numerous column of peaceable citizens, 
 which increased at each instant, composed of National 
 Guards without arms, artisans, tradesmen and soldiers, 
 trayersed the boulevards and descended the Eue Vivienne 
 as far as the Place de la Bourse. They carried a tricolored 
 flag, with an inscription " Union of the Men of Order ^^ 
 '• Vive la RepuUique ! " On their arrival at the Place, the 
 battalion on guard there had an instant's hesitation, but on 
 hearing shouts in favor of order and the National Assem- 
 bly, they turned out and presented arms. The manifesta- 
 tion, which became more important every instant, then 
 resumed its march, and passing by the Eue Montmartre 
 and the boulevard of that name, came to the Eue Drouot. 
 At the Mairie, in that street, the guard, which was com- 
 posed of the 117th battalion (one of the insurgent bat- 
 talions) attempted to prevent the procession from passing; 
 but its members held firm, and insisted on pursuing their 
 way to the Eue Lafayette. In the end the malcontents 
 gave way, and the others went on with the same cry of 
 " Vive V Ordre ! " They afterward traversed another part 
 of the boulevard and went down the Eue de la Paix. On 
 arriving at the entrance of Place Vendome, they found all 
 passage barred, but they went in resolutely and passed 
 unmolested through the guard. A man who strove to 
 speak from the balcony of the Etat-Major in the name of 
 the insurgents, was hooted down with cries of "A has le 
 Comite!" The guardians of the place put themselves in 
 position near their guns, and a panic took place among the 
 crowd. Fortunately the procession took a prudent course 
 
63 THEPAEISC03I3IUKE. 
 
 and proceeded on its route, avoiding the horrible massacre 
 which took place at the same point on the following day. 
 At 5 o'clock, when the cortege descended the Boulevard 
 St Michel and passed before the Palais de Justice, the 
 numbers exceeded five thousand, and the people who 
 thronged the steps manifested open sympathy, partic- 
 ularly at each cry of " Vive VAssemhUe Kationale ! " 
 
 After the passage of the friends of order, the battalions 
 in charge of the Etat-Major in the Place Vendome took 
 formidable precautions. Two pieces of cannon threatened 
 the Eue de la Paix, and two more the Eue Castighone ; the 
 circulation was also stopped, and piquets were placed at 
 the comers of the streets leading to those localities. 
 
 The Central Committee now commenced to make many 
 arbitrary arrests and requisitions, among the latter one 
 million francs from the Bank of Prance ; also to occupy 
 the different posts by K"ational Guards, strangers in the 
 districts ; in consequence of which the men of order be- 
 longing to the Guards, held public meetings in the various 
 arrondissements, and decided upon energetic measures for 
 the protection of their respective quarters. 
 
 The Central Committee had delegated the citizen Tony- 
 Mollin as Mayor of the 6th Arrondissement, in place of 
 M. Herisson. A short time after M. Herbert Leroy, one 
 of the Adjoints of the Mairie, accompanied by a numerous 
 crowd, arrived and took possession of Ms municipal cabi- 
 net, Tony-Mollin being at that moment absent. But this 
 success was of short duration ; for shortly after. Citizen 
 Lulher, one of the chiefs of the insurgents, presented him- 
 self with three battalions of the National Guard and re- 
 instated M. Tony-Molhn. 
 
 A large storehouse of arms, belonging to the Govern- 
 ment, in the Eue St. Dominique, and another on the 
 Boulevard de Latour-Maubourg, was broken into by a mob 
 in sympathy with the insurgents, and completely plan- 
 
THE PAETYOF "OKDER." 63 
 
 dered of all their contents. Several oflBcers of the Na- 
 tional Guard attempted to introduce some order in the 
 appropriation of the objects belonging to the state ; but 
 each individual took the article he pleased, and carried it 
 off to sell or give away, and then returned to the depot to 
 make a fresh selection. Boys of thirteen or fourteen were 
 seen marching off with pistols, revolvers or muskets. On 
 the Avenue de Latour-Maubourg, in the building of the 
 Invalides, which lately served as the arsenal for the Garde 
 Mobiles, the chassepots left by a regiment of the Line were 
 taken, and might be purchased in the evening for from 
 one to ten francs each. The stock of arms was soon ex- 
 hausted, and the late-comers had to content themselves 
 with belts, cartridge-boxes, and other articles of equipment. 
 A serious danger of explosion existed for a long time, as 
 many of tl^e people who had made the irruption did not 
 take the precaution of putting out their pipes or cigars, 
 while open cases of cartridges were lying about in all direc- 
 tions. The rush was so great that one National Guard had 
 his leg broken, and several were almost squeezed to death. 
 
 The forts on the south of Paris being all in the pos- 
 session of the National Guards, they sent a deputation 
 of three thousand men to demand the delivery of Mount 
 Yalerien, the greatest stronghold in the vicinity of Paris, 
 situated at the west, and dominating nearly the w^hole 
 city. The regular troops in the fort were much irri- 
 tated at the demand. The colonel in command having 
 consented to parley with three of the National Guard, 
 dechned their advances, ushered them through the gates, 
 and the 3000 men returned to the city. Had the in- 
 surgents gained possession of Valerien, the situation of 
 Paris would have been much more grave. 
 
 On the following day, March 22d, a large mass of 
 people belonging to the party of " Order," many of whom 
 •were probably the same persons who had paraded the 
 
64 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 streets on the previous day, assembled on the Place de 
 I'Opera about one o'clock. They were without arms, and 
 most respectable in appearance — few blouses, if any, were 
 to be seen. Their intention was the same as the day 
 before, viz., to promenade the boulevards in crying " Vive 
 la Bepubliqice!" "Vive VOrdre!" "Vive TAssembUe 
 Rationale!" Between one and two o'clock a picket of 
 insurrectionary National Guards advanced by the Eue de 
 de la Paix, with an order to disperse this peaceable multi- 
 tude. At sight of the menacing attitude of these armed 
 men, the crowd commenced to shout: "Vive VOrdre!" 
 "Vive VAssemUee Nationdle!" and succeeded by their 
 words in causing the National Guards to retire towards 
 Place Vendome. "When it was seen that these guards 
 thus gave way before words of conciliation, the crowd 
 entered in a body, with the object of passing through the 
 Place. Among the multitude no other cry was heard but 
 " Vive V Ordre ! " " Vive la RepuUique ! " " Vive VAssemUee 
 Nationale!" It thus proceeded to the entrance of Place 
 Vendome, a distance of about three hundred yards, when 
 it was opposed by the National Guards, who stood at 
 "charge bayonets," drums beating "to arms;" but the 
 noise was drowned in the continued cries of " Vive 
 VOrdre!" "Vive VAssemNee Nationale!'' A group of 
 citizens, who had arrived by the way of Eue Neuve des 
 Capucines, carrying a tricolored flag, advanced to the 
 front, where the Guards barred the passage. As they 
 advanced, the cries of " Vive VOrdre!" were redoubled, 
 and a general waving of handkerchiefs and hats, hoisted 
 on the end of sticks, took place — and every one looked 
 forward to a happy denoument of the affair. Vanquished 
 by this pacific and patriotic manifestation, some of the 
 guards raised the butt-end of their muskets, others peace- 
 ably crossed their bayonets ; and it was seen and felt that 
 in a few more minutes the insurrection would melt away 
 
A BRAVE SAILOR. 65 
 
 before the right and legality of conciliation ; but, alas ! at 
 the corner of Place Vendome a shot was fired. The 
 crowd remained impassible. This first shot was im- 
 mediately followed by five others, which caused the multi- 
 tude to retreat ; but on the exhortation of several men of 
 decision and courage, it again advanced, holding firm its 
 original position, when a fearful discharge of musketry 
 took place, causing a general flight of the masses. In the 
 twinkling of an eye Eue de la Paix was covered with the 
 bodies of the wounded, dead, and those overthrown in the 
 panic. The flight of the crowd did not arrest the fire of 
 the National Guards, who continued to shoot on every 
 side of the street, in many instances killing their own 
 men. One splendid looking fellow, dressed in the costume 
 of the French navy, bravely stood his ground, holding the 
 tricolor in his left hand, and striking his breast with his 
 right, crying " Vive la ReinihUque ! " " Tirez done, tas 
 d' assassins." A rush was then made by the National 
 Guard, who arrested all who had not run away, and con- 
 veyed them inside the Place Vendome. In an instant the 
 greatest alarm prevailed everywhere in the neighborhood, 
 and all the shops were at once closed. Groups collected, 
 and the words "Assassins!" "Brigands!" were heard on 
 every side. The men of the Place Vendome then cleared 
 the Rue Castiglione, and posted sentinels at the end 
 towards the Eue Rivoli, to prevent any one from passing. 
 Half-an-hour afterwards a strong body escorted the per- 
 sons made prisoners to the end of the street, and then set 
 them at liberty. The excitement was everywhere intense, 
 and fear was entertained of further bloodshed before the 
 morning. 
 
 The ambulances soon began collecting the bodies which 
 were lying in the Eue de la Paix and in the adjoining 
 streets. They were mostly carried inside the Place Ven- 
 dome, and ranged in a row upon a long table in the build- 
 
66 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ing of the Credit Mobilier; others, that were at once re- 
 cognized, were carried off on brancards in different direc- 
 tions. Two workmen in blouses carried off one poor 
 fellow who was screaming in the most horrible manner, 
 the blood having completely saturated his clothes and the 
 mattress upon which he was lying ; he was dead before 
 they had arrived at his home, which was in the immediate 
 vicinity. On their return for more wounded, as they 
 passed in front of the American Club on the Place de 
 I'Opera, they met a body of the ISTational Guards coming 
 from Place Vendome; the brave fellows set down the 
 brancard in such a position that the Guards were obliged 
 to make a detour in order to pass, and turning over the 
 mattress they pointed to the gory bed of the murdered 
 man, and shouting " Look there ! murderers and assas- 
 sins! Look at the blood of Place Vendome!" the sol- 
 diers seemed sobered and scared at the terrible tragedy 
 their folly had brought about; but two or three loaded 
 their chassepots, pointing them at the men, when the 
 ofiQcer in command stepped in front, and, waiving his 
 sword, ordered his men to advance. 
 
 There has been considerable debate and altercation as 
 to which party fired the first shot, the Men of Order or 
 the ]^ational Guards. The defenders of the National 
 Guards (when they have defenders) say that the Order 
 party, under pretence of a friendly unarmed remonstrance, 
 attempted to force the ranks of the National Guards and 
 get possession of their rifles, some of which had actually 
 been thus carried away, and that one or two of their men 
 had been shot before they fired a gun. Lieutenant-General 
 Sheridan, who was stopping at the time in the "Westminster 
 Hotel, situated in Eue de la Paix, and Avho saw tlie whole 
 affair, says the crowd fired first on the National Guard ; 
 but another American gentleman, who was standing on 
 his balcony in the same hotel, thinks the National Guard 
 
THE FIGHT OF MARCH 32D. 67 
 
 fired first on the crowd. The official journal of the Com- 
 mittee published an account of the unhappy affair after 
 an inquiry into the matter, the translation of which is the 
 following • 
 
 "The Central Committee at once ordered an inquiry 
 into the events which occurred on the Place Vendome on 
 the 22d. It was unwilling to publish an immediate recital, 
 which might have been accused of being influenced by 
 foregone conclusions. The following are the facts as they 
 result from the evidence taken on the investigation : 
 
 " At half-past one the manifestation, which had been 
 collecting since noon on the Place du Nouvel Opera, 
 descended the Eue de la Paix. In the first ranks an ex- 
 cited group, amongst whom the IS^ational Gruards assert 
 that they recognized MM. de Heeckeren, De Coetlegon, 
 and H, de Pene, former supporters of the Empire, was 
 violently agitating a flag, bearing no inscription. On 
 arriving at the Eue Neuve-Saint-Augustin, the demon- 
 strators surrounded, disarmed, and maltreated two men 
 detached as advanced sentinels. Those citizens only 
 owed their safety to retreat to the Place Vendome, and 
 without their muskets, their clothes torn. Immediately 
 the National Guards seized their arms and advanced as 
 far as the Rue Nel^ve-des-Petits-Champs. 
 
 " The first rank had received orders to raise the butt- 
 ends of their muskets in the air if it was broken, and to 
 fall back behind the third ; the same for the second ; whilst 
 the last of all was to cross bayonets, but expressly recom- 
 mended not to fire. 
 
 " The foremost amongst the crowd, which amounted to 
 about 800 or 1,000 persons, were soon face to face with the 
 defenders. The character of the demonstration was then 
 clearly defined. Cries were raised of 'A has Us Assassins ! 
 A las le Comite!' and the nationals were grossly in- 
 
68 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 suited. They were called ' IMurderers ! ' ' Co-wards ! ' 
 ' Briffauds ! ' Some furious individuals seized their mus- 
 kets, and an officer's sword was wrenched from him. The 
 shouts were redoubled, and the affair became, instead of a 
 manifestation, a veritable riot. In fact, a revolver shot 
 wounded in the thigh Citizen Maljournal, Staff-Lieutenant 
 of the Place, member of the Central Committee. General 
 Bergeret, commander of the, forces, hastened at the com- 
 mencement to the front rank and summoned the rioters 
 to withdraw. During nearly five minutes the roll of the 
 drum was to be heard. ' Ten times the order was repeated, 
 and was replied to by cries and abuse. Two National 
 Guards fell seriously wounded ; but, however, their com- 
 rades hesitated, and fired in the air. The agitators strove 
 to break the lines and disarm the N^ational Guard. Some 
 shots were heard, and the crowd suddenly dispersed. 
 General Bergeret instantly ordered the firing to cease, 
 and his ofiicers aided his efforts. However, other detona- 
 tions were heard in the interior of the Place, and the fact 
 is only too true that the National Guards were fired upon 
 from the houses. Two of them were killed : the citizens 
 Wahlin and Francois, belonging to the 7th and 215th 
 battalions; eight were wounded: namely, Maljournal, 
 Cochet, Miche, Ancelot, Legat, Eeyer, Train, and La- 
 borde. 
 
 " The first of the dead taken to the ambulance of the 
 Credit Mobilier was Viscount de Molinet, struck at the 
 back of the head, in the front rank of the crowd. He fell 
 at the corner of the Rues de la Paix and Neuve-des-Petits- 
 Champs, on the Place Vendome side, with his face to the 
 ground. The fact is clear that he was struck by his com- 
 panions, for had he fallen in flying the body would have 
 lain in the direction of the New Opera. On the corpse 
 was found a poignard attached to the waist-belt by a 
 chain. 
 
GENEKAL BEKGERET'S REPORT. G9 
 
 " A large number of revolvers and SAVord-sticks were 
 picked up in the Eue dc la Paix and taken to the Etat- 
 Major. 
 
 "Doctor Eambow, formerly surgeon at the camp of 
 Toulouse, living 32 Eue de la Victoire, and a number 
 of other medical men, hastened to attend the wounded 
 and sign the oflBcial reports. 
 
 The valuables found on the rioters were placed in 
 sealed packets and deposited at the Etat-Major. 
 
 " Owing to the coolness and firmness of General Ber- 
 geret, who was able to restrain the just indignation of the 
 National Guards, more serious accidents were avoided." 
 
 Most of the men killed and v/ounded, judging from 
 their appearance, were men of respectability, and not 
 likely to take part in an ordinary street row. Nearly 
 all had been struck in the upper parts of the body, about 
 the heart or head, and in the back, as if they were turning 
 to escape. A great deal of the firing had evidently been 
 aimed at the windows, as many of the panes of glass in 
 the Eue de la Paix and Place Vendome had been shivered 
 by bullets. 
 
 General Bergeret, who figured later as a conspicuous 
 member of the Commune, gave the following account of 
 the affair: 
 
 '' For some days we were endeavoring to overthrow the 
 illegal government of Paris, and establish one founded on 
 universal sufirage. This effected, the elections will ap- 
 prove everything we have done. We intend to ratify 
 the peace made with the Prussians, and heal the wounds 
 of France. The mad population are ready to take advan- 
 tage of the situation to rob and murder. On Tuesday a 
 large crowd approached the Place Vendome, shouting 
 and hissing the government of the Central Committee, 
 
70 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 and showed a disposition to driye the National Guards 
 from their position. 
 
 " I wished to parley with them, hut they refused, with 
 characteristic monarchical intolerance, and hissed and 
 shouted. They retired, threatening to return the follow- 
 ing day. On Wednesday they again prepared a demon- 
 stration, and some were armed. I placed men in the 
 Eue de la Paix to keep back the mob, if any attempted to 
 invade the Place Vendome, with orders not to fire. At 
 one o'clock a large crowd of ten thousand advanced and 
 overpowered the first line, wrenched the rifles from the 
 troops, beat and maltreated them. I ordered the second 
 line to retire slowly on Place Vendome, and to keep back 
 the crowd, without violence. The guns were taken from 
 more soldiers, upon which I ordered the line to take up a 
 position across the road in sufiicient numbers to resist the 
 crowd by force ; but I told them to throw up their rifles, 
 so as to show the people that we wished to avoid an 
 effusion of blood. They remained face to face some 
 minutes. The crowd tried to break the cordon; and, 
 yelling against the Government and the National Guard, 
 at last they commenced using their revolvers, so that four 
 of our men fell. One died immediately, shot through the 
 brain, and the others are very seriously wounded. The 
 National Guard, finding that the mob meant bloodshed, 
 fired first in the air. Some, enraged at seeing their com- 
 rades fall, fired at the crowd, and killed five and wounded 
 fifteen or twenty. The mob then dispersed in great con- 
 fusion, and I hope will attempt nothing of the kind in 
 future. We do not want war, nor do we want to kill each 
 other ; for our enemies are scarcely out of the city. What 
 can we do ? The Government attempted to take our 
 cannon, and to prepare for a monarchy. The Assembly 
 has a fixed determination to force a king upon us. We 
 will avoid further bloodshed." 
 
KEQUISITIONS. 71 
 
 The situation in Paris remained for several days about 
 the same. The supporters of the law had taken up arms, 
 and were occupying the principal quarters of the capital. 
 All parts of France were rallying round the National 
 Assembly and the Government. A proposition had been 
 passed in the Chamber that the National Guards of 
 France should be summoned to assist in the defence of 
 the representatives of the country. The army at Versailles 
 was hourly being reinforced, and the head of the Executive 
 Power was accused of lack of energy in not at once attack- 
 ing the insurgents; but he, or the generals in command, 
 knew their duties better. It would have been sheer mad- 
 ness to make an attack on 100,000 men fighting in forts, 
 defended by ramparts, or behind barricades, even if the 
 25,000 National Guards who remained loyal could have 
 opened the gates. The army did not yet muster over 
 50,000 men, many of whom had probably not yet been 
 cured of their fraternizing propensities. 
 
 In the meantime the requisitions of the Committee 
 kept increasing. The insurgents had used up one million 
 three hundred thousand francs, which were on deposit at 
 the Comptes d'Escomptes to the credit of the International 
 Society, in addition to the loose change they had found 
 lying at the different public offices. Many of the shop- 
 keepers were hesitating about laying in further supplies, 
 and all of them manifested the intention of defending 
 their property. The following is a specimen of one of the 
 orders issued by the Committee of the Hotel de Ville : 
 " Liberty, Equality, Feateenity. 
 "IiT THE Name of the Republic. 
 " Eequisitiois'S. 
 " MoKEY — Peovisions. 
 
 "In case of refusal, Citizen Albert, charged with the 
 commission, may get himself assisted by the National 
 Guards of the quarter. (Signed) " Lullien", 
 
 " Memtier of the Federation." 
 
72 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 There were tvv^o stamps on this paper — one with the 
 words " RepuUiquG Frani;aise" and the other "Federation 
 RepuUicame." Thus had a revohition of blood and 
 violence fully commenced. The insurgents were now the 
 declared enemies of peaceful Paris, and must succeed, in 
 order not to be called to account for the blood shed and 
 robberies committed. They now held Paris in their 
 grasp, utterly despising the National Assembly and its 
 power. 
 
 The following is a copy of a report made by the General 
 in command (formerly a dealer in old iron), at Montmartre. 
 
 "Eeport from 20th to 21st. ISFothing new. I have 
 received communications from the chief of ports. At 
 five minutes past ten, two sergeants-de-ville, disguised as 
 simple citizens, were brought up by some franc-tireurs, 
 and immediately shot. At twenty minutes past twelve, a 
 gardien-de-la-paix, accused of firing off a revolver, was 
 also shot. At seven in the evening a gendarme, brought 
 in by some Guards of the 28 th battalion, was similarly 
 put to death." 
 
 Seeing the danger of allowing matters to proceed in the 
 above manner, the principal mayors of Paris, in conjunc- 
 tion with the deputies of the city, most of whom were 
 advanced Eepublicans, desired to make a compromise with 
 the Committee, and hold the elections at once; but the 
 Government of Versailles refused to sanction this com- 
 promise, and issued a decree to hold the elections on the 
 3d of April, the day on which they were to be held 
 throughout France. The Committee insisted they should 
 be held in Paris on the 26th of March ; consequently, a 
 deputation, consisting of fourteen of the mayors of Paris, 
 visited Versailles, to represent to the Assembly the advan- 
 tages of compromising with the insurgents; but their 
 
DEBATE IN THE ASSEMBLY. 73 
 
 arrival was ill-timed — the Assembly -vvas in no mood for 
 compromising with rebels. M. Sarget, a member of the 
 Chamber, had just finished a speech, in which he said 
 that " General Trochu lately proposed to the Assembly to 
 declare General Clement- Thomas' death a cause of public 
 mourning, and to adopt the family of General Lecomte. 
 Yesterday an infinitely more tragical event took place 
 near the Place Vendome, where a number of inoffensive 
 citizens, without arms, and crying ' Vive la France ! ' ' Vive 
 VAssemUee JSfationale!' were fired at by pretended National 
 Guards, and mercilessly slaughtered" (great agitation). 
 " I propose that France should adopt the families of the 
 unfortunate victims who thus lost their lives when pro- 
 testing in favor of order" (renewed approbation). A 
 voice replied "that the whole budget would not suffice 
 at the rate the insurgents were going on." 
 
 M. Arnaud, who, in addition to being a mayor of Paris, 
 was also deputy, rose and said that, " in common with his 
 colleagues, mayors in Paris (Paris is divided into twenty 
 arrondissements, each having its mayor appointed by the 
 government), he had, in consequence of the gravity of 
 existing circumstances, come to Versailles to place him- 
 self in communication with the Assembly. He was 
 quite sure that none but members had a right to take a 
 seat there, but he thought his duty required him to ask 
 that an exception should be made in favor of the muni- 
 cipal functionaries. (Protests on the Eight.) The fact 
 would be sufficient that one of them, who was a Deputy, 
 should make the communication, so as to prevent any 
 idea of disorder. The Assembly would decide as it 
 thought proper. He had been charged with a commis- 
 sion, which he had fulfilled conscientiously. He wished 
 to observe, as they had all come together, and been jointly 
 delegated — 
 
 On the Eight. — " By whom ? " (Great noise.) 
 4 
 
74 THEPAEISCOMMUlJrE. 
 
 Several Voices. — " Was it by the existing executive ? " 
 
 M. Flouquet. — " You desire, then, the continuation of 
 the civil war ? " (Eenewed disturbance.) 
 
 M. Arnaud believed he had no occasion to give any ex- 
 planations, as, in speaking of delegation, he recognized no 
 other power than that issuing from universal suffrage. 
 He was anxious to state that he and his friends had come 
 to state the results of their common efforts, and that they 
 hoped to triumph ; but they were anxious to be strength- 
 ened by the sentiment and assistance of the Assembly. 
 He left the matter in the hands of the President, and 
 asked at least that a tribune should be assigned to the 
 various representatives of the municipal bodies of Paris. 
 
 The President. — Nothing could be more simj)le than to 
 reconcile the rights, prerogatives, and interests of the As- 
 sembly, which must never be sacrificed, with the defer- 
 ence due to the mayors of Paris. M. Arnaud had said 
 that they had a communication to make. Amongst them 
 were several members of the Chamber ; let one of them 
 read the document. As to the respect due to the muni- 
 cipal functionaries, that would receive full satisfaction. 
 A tribune should be placed at their disposal, and he be- 
 lieved that the questers had already taken the necessary 
 measures. 
 
 M. Baze, a member, said he would give the mayors the 
 most distinguished places in the house. 
 
 At that moment fourteen members of the municipality 
 of Paris entered, each wearing the tricolored scarf, which 
 forms the insignia of their oflSce. The whole Assembly 
 at once rose and welcomed them with loud applause, the 
 Left with cries of " Vive la France ! " and " Vive la Re- 
 puUiqiie ! " and the Right with the former alone. The 
 mayors responded with some exclamations for France and 
 the Eepublic, when fifty or sixty members of the Eight, 
 pointing to them, called out : " Order ! order ! They do 
 
A STOEMY SESSIOIT. 75 
 
 not respect the Assembly ! Have the hall evacuated ! 
 They have no right to speak ! they are only admitted as 
 spectators ! " The members of the Left protested in favor 
 of the mayors, and for a time the tumult was so great 
 that the words used in the altercation going on between 
 the two sides of the Chamber could not be heard. About 
 thirty deputies put on their hats, although the President 
 was still sitting. The Left cried out, "Hats off! Ee- 
 spect your President ! " 
 
 M. Floquet, to the Eight. — " You are insulting Paris ! " 
 
 A Voice. — " And you are insulting France ! " 
 
 The agitation, instead of calming down, continued to 
 
 increase, and the President, despairing of being able to 
 
 restore order, declared the sitting to be at an end, but that 
 
 the members would again meet in the evening. 
 
 The Deputies met again at ten o'clock in the evening 
 — the mayors were not present, having returned to Paris. 
 
 M. Arnaud presented a series of resolutions agreed upon 
 by the mayors of Paris, who were convinced that the 
 re-establishment of order required the following measures : 
 
 1. That the Assembly should place itself in more fre- 
 quent and closer communication with the municipalities 
 of Paris. 
 
 2. That it should authorize the mayors to adopt such 
 measures as circumstances might require. 
 
 3. That the elections of officers in the ISTational Guard 
 should take place before the 28th inst. 
 
 4. That the municipal councils should be chosen before 
 the 3d of April, if possible, and the qualifications for 
 being elected should consist merely in six months' resi- 
 dence. 
 
 A number of the mayors, immediately after their return 
 to Paris, without waiting for any action to be taken on 
 
76 THE TARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the above propositions, entered into an arrangement with 
 the Central Committee that the election should take 
 place on the 26th. 
 
 The walls of Paris were covered with placards exhorting 
 all citizens to go and vote at the municipal elections. At 
 the first glance it would appear that all parties were 
 unanimous in giving this advice. The Central Com- 
 mittee stated that the mayors and deputies had rallied to 
 it. On the other hand, these last, in a rival notice 
 entitled, " The only authentic text of the Convention," 
 whilst endeavoring to show it was not they who had gone 
 over to the Committee, but the latter to them, also came 
 to the conclusion that all ought to take part in the ballot. 
 But in looking a little more closely, it was seen that 
 this unanimity was much less perfect than at first ap- 
 peared. 
 
 Louis Blanc made it known to the Assembly that it 
 had been decided to hold the elections on Sunday, March 
 26th, notwithstanding that body had as yet taken no ac- 
 tion in the matter; but he had thought there was danger 
 in postponing that proceeding, and in consequence asked, 
 in the name of the Deputies of the capital, the Assembly 
 to declare that the mayors and adjoints, in consenting to 
 that course, acted like good citizens. The Chamber re- 
 jected the proposal by a large majority. 
 
 The official organ of the Central Committee continued 
 to publish daily decrees of more or less importance. Fol- 
 lowing the announcement of the municipal elections on 
 the 26th, there was one encouraging the National Guard 
 to persist firmly in their service, although they were op- 
 posed by several battalions of that body and a portion of 
 the press, which stigmatized the movement of the Com- 
 mittee as the act of communists, pillagers, and insur- 
 gents ; another implored the citizens of Paris to repair in 
 crowds to the voting places; another appointing com- 
 
GAKIBALDI TO COMMAND. 77 
 
 manders of their forces, which said : "Considering that the 
 situation exacts rapid measures; that on all sides the su- 
 perior commanders, continuing the routine of the past, 
 have by their inaction produced the present state of affairs ; 
 that the monarchical reaction has hitherto prevented, by 
 riot and falsehood, the elections which would have consti- 
 tuted the sole legal power in Paris ; the Committee decrees 
 that the military powers of the capital are placed in the 
 hands of the Delegates Brunei, Eudes, and Duval. They 
 have the title of General, and will act in concert while 
 waiting the arrival of General Garibaldi, acclaimed as 
 General-in-Chief, Courage now and always, and the trai- 
 tors will be foiled. ' Vive la RepuUique ! ' The Com- 
 mittee learns that some men wearing the uniform of the 
 National Guards, and who have been recognized as former 
 gendarmes or sergeants-de-ville, have fired on the Prussian 
 lines. Should a similar circumstance again occur, the 
 Committee will itself take the necessary measures for seiz- 
 ing on the culprits, and having them shot immediately. 
 The security of the whole city demands vigorous measures. 
 
 " The fugitive government at Versailles has sought to 
 create a void around you, and the provinces are entirely 
 deprived of all news from Paris. But that attempt has 
 not succeeded in preventing a revolutionary sentiment 
 from forcing a passage through all those precautions. The 
 Central Committee has received delegations from the cities 
 of Lyons, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Eouen, &c., which came 
 to know what was the nature of our movement, and which 
 have left in haste to give the signal for an analogous one, 
 already prepared everyrv^here. ' Vive la France ! ' ' Vive 
 la RepuUique ! ' " 
 
 The Central Committee was perfectly correct in its 
 proclamation that many other cities of France had been 
 prepared, and were acting in concert with Paris. An in- 
 surrectionary movement now commenced in Lyons, which 
 
78 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 has always been the hot-bed of riots and revolutions. 
 A number of delegates from different political groups 
 proceeded to the Hotel de Ville on the afternoon. of the 
 22d of March, and demanded that the Prefect should 
 recognize as the legal government the Central Committee 
 installed in Paris. That injunction not being obeyed, the 
 malcontents left, declaring that they could, if necessary,, 
 carry their point by force. Crowds having begun to 
 assemble on the Place des Terreux, the authorities ordered 
 the National Guard to be called out. During the evening 
 cries of " Vive la Commune ! " and " Vive le Comite de 
 Paris ! " were raised in the streets, and the Marseillaise 
 was sung. One or two companies of a battalion from La 
 Guillotiere also went over to the rioters. About midnight 
 a delegate of the Committee was introduced into the Hotel 
 de Ville, then occupied by three battalions, and proclaimed 
 from the balcony the insurrectionary government of Paris. 
 Many of the National Guards protested, biit abstained 
 from offering any opposition to the movement, in order to 
 avoid a collision. One shot was fired, but apparently by 
 accident, and no person is known to have been wounded. 
 Great incertitude existed in the minds of the population, 
 and the insurgents took advantage of the hesitation to 
 impose their own will. The red flag was hoisted the fol- 
 lowing morning on the Hotel de Ville. The Prefect was 
 made prisoner, and the Municipal Council dissolved and 
 replaced by a Provisionary Committee. This Committee, 
 after pronouncing numerous decrees and several capital 
 condemnations (which fortunately were never executed), 
 finding themselves gradually abandoned by the very Na- 
 tional Guards who had at first supported them, decided 
 to retire, which they did after drawing up a paper declar- 
 ing that, being no longer supported by the National 
 Guards, they considered themselves as released from all 
 engagements with their constituents, and threw up all 
 
A PEEFECT MUEDERED. 79 
 
 their powers. Tlie next morning a battalion devoted to the 
 cause of order came to take possession of the municipal 
 edifice, and re-estabHsh the tri-colored flag, in the midst 
 of cries, a thousand times repeated, of " Vive la Repub- 
 lique ! " " Vive V AssemUee Nationale ! " 
 
 At Marseilles the same attempt was made with rather 
 more serious results. The insurgents took possession' of 
 the Prefecture, hoisted the red flag, and for some time 
 controlled the destinies of the city; but they were finally 
 put down by the regular forces. 
 
 Toulouse and St. Etienne also followed the lead of Paris, 
 both declaring the Commune, but both were convinced of 
 the error of their ways by more or less loss of life. 
 
 At St. Etienne the Prefect of the Loire was most basely 
 murdered in the night, at a moment when all was sup- 
 posed to be over. The murderer, however, was immedi- 
 ately executed. 
 
 The fusion between the Central Committee and some of 
 the Mayors and Deputies of Paris in regard to holding 
 the elections, took place on Saturday night, March 26th, 
 the day before the elections were to take place. This fu- 
 sion, however, was by no means unanimous. Out of the 
 twenty Mayors of Paris there were only seven who adhered 
 to the manifesto, and out of sixty adjoints only thirty-one. 
 Some of them were absent and could not be called upon 
 to take any decision. Others had protested publicly against 
 this convocation of electors, in which they persisted in 
 seeing a serious encroachment on the rights of the National 
 Assembly, and consequently on the sovereignty of the peo= 
 pie. Out of forty-three deputies nominated in Paris on 
 February 8th, there were only ten, or less than a fourth, 
 who consented to unite with M. Assi, his comrades, and a 
 portion of the elected municipalities. 
 
 A proclamation was prepared in common between the 
 
80 THE PAEIS COMMTNE. 
 
 fusionists. The committee, however, in publishing their 
 version, modified and changed the wording, without giving 
 any notice to tlie mayors, making it read : 
 
 "The Central Committee of the National Guard to 
 wliicli the deputies, mayors, and adjoints of Paris have 
 rallied, being convinced that the only way to avoid civil 
 war, and also strengthen the Eepublic," etc. ; whereas the 
 proper wording and the one agreed to, read: "The deputies 
 of Paris, the mayors, and the elected adjoints, reinstalled 
 in the mairies of their arrondissements, and the members 
 of the Central Federal Committee of the National Guard, 
 convinced that in order to prevent civil war and the 
 effusion of blood, as well as to strengthen the Eepublic, it 
 is necessary to proceed immediately to the elections, con- 
 voke the electors for Sunday in their respective colleges. 
 
 " Signed by the representatives of the Seine present in 
 Paris— 
 
 '' K LocTcroy, Cli. Floquet, 0. Clemenccau, 
 Tolain, and Greppo — also ty some of tlie 
 mayors and adjoints" 
 
 A deputation was sent to inform the Government of 
 this resolution, and a notice was forwarded to the National 
 Printing Office, and posted up in the evening. 
 
 M. Tifaud, mayor of the second arrondissement, also 
 issued from Versailles an address, in which he announced 
 that being convinced of the imminent necessity for the 
 measure, he had just signed, with several deputies for 
 Paris, a demand presented by M. Louis Blanc to obtain 
 from the Assembly a declaration to justify the course 
 adopted by the mayors and adjoints. We have seen in 
 what manner this demand was rejected by the Assembly. 
 
 Six deputies of the Assembly, nominated from Paris, 
 published the following proclamation to the electors on 
 the eve of the election : 
 
APPEAL POR A VOTE. 81 
 
 " Paeis, March 25th, 1871. 
 
 "CiTizEKS: — The question of the moment in Paris, 
 where the legislative power has refused to sit, and from 
 which the executive is absent, is whether the conflict 
 which lias arisen between citizens equally devoted to the 
 Republic should be decided by material or moral force. 
 We have the consciousness of having done all that wo 
 could for the ordinary law to bo applied in the exceptional 
 crisis through which we are passing. We have proposed 
 to the National Assembly all the measures of conciliation 
 of a nature to appease the public mind, and avoid civil 
 war. Your elected mayors have gone to Versailles to con- 
 vey the legitimate complaints of those who wish that 
 Paris should not be at the same time deprived of its situa- 
 tion as capital and of its municipal rights, which belong 
 to all the towns and communes of the Eepnblic. Neither 
 your elected mayors nor your representatives in the Assem- 
 bly have succeeded in obtaining a reconciliation. To-day, 
 placed between civil war for our fellow-citizens and a 
 serious responsibility for ourselves, decided on anything 
 rather than permit the shedding of one drop of that 
 Parisian blood which you lately offered for the defence 
 and honor of France, we say to you, Let us terminate the 
 conflict by a vote, and not by arms. We shall thus be 
 investing with the municipal authority honest and ener- 
 getic Eepublicans, who, by preserving order, will spare 
 France the terrible danger of an offensive return of the 
 Prussians, and the rash attempts of dynastic pretensions. 
 We said yesterday in the National Assembly that we 
 would take on ourselves the responsibility of all measures 
 that could prevent an effusion of blood. We have done 
 our duty in opening to you our minds. Vive la France ! 
 Vive la RepuUique! 
 
 " Schcelcher, Floqiiet, Lochroy, Glemenceau, 
 Tolain, Greppo — the Representatives of 
 tlie Seine present in Paris'' 
 4* 
 
82 THE PARIS COMMUIsTE. 
 
 Admiral Saisset, in whom so much hope was centered, 
 resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the 
 National Guards of Paris. He had seen the immense 
 organization of the insurgents, and the lukewarmness 
 with which the National Guard rallied round his standard. 
 The mayors also, who were specially lukewarm on the 
 question of law and order, thought it better that he 
 should resign, before doing which he issued the following 
 order : 
 
 " I haye the honor to inform the chiefs of corps, officers, 
 and National Guards of the Seine, that I authorize them to 
 return to their homes, from Saturday the 25th, at seven 
 in the evening. 
 
 " Saisset, 
 
 " Vice-Admiral, Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 All the inhabitants of Place Vendome were obliged to 
 leave their apartments in the charge of domestics. The 
 National Guards or insurgents of the Place turned out 
 these latter at two hours' notice on the 25th March, and 
 took up their quarters in the houses, at the same time 
 issuing a notice that, guided by a desire for conciliation, 
 and happy in bringing about a union, the incessant object 
 of all their efforts, they frankly offered a fraternal hand to 
 all who were opposed to them ; but that the continuance 
 of certain manoeuvres, and especially the removal by night 
 of mitrailleuses to the mairie of the first arrondissement, 
 obliged them to maintain their first resolution. The 
 elections will positively take place to-morrow, 26th March. 
 If they have mistaken the intention of their adversaries, 
 they invited them to prove their error, and to join them 
 in the general vote to-morrow. 
 
 On Sunday morning the voting places were opened at 
 eight o'clock, but at that hour scarcely any one attended. 
 At the same time the following proclamation from the 
 
PROCLAMATION OP COMMITTEE. 83 
 
 Central Committee attracted crowds of readers in the 
 streets : 
 
 " PaPvIs, 26tli March. 
 
 "At the moment we write the Central Committee will 
 have cle jure, if not de facto, ceded its place to the Com- 
 mune. Having fulfilled the mission imposed upon it by 
 necessity, it will reduce itself to the special functions for 
 which it was called into existence ; and which, violently 
 disputed by the Executive, obliged it to struggle to con- 
 quer or to die with the city, whose armed representative 
 it was. 
 
 "Expression of the municipal liberty legitimately, 
 judicially, insurgent against governmental arbitrariness, 
 the Committee had no other task than to prevent, at any 
 price, that Paris should be deprived of the primordial 
 right it had triumphantly conquered. The day after the 
 vote it may be said to have done its duty. 
 
 " As to the elected Commune, its part will be very dif- 
 ferent, and perhaps its means also. Before everything it 
 will have to define its mandate and determine its attri- 
 butes. That constituent power which is accorded so wide, 
 so indefinite, so confused to a French National Assembly, 
 it will have to exercise for itself, that is to say, for the 
 city of which it is the representative. 
 
 "Therefore, its first work will be the discussion and 
 preparation of a Charter, of that act which our ancestors 
 of the Middle Ages called their commune. That accom- 
 phslied, it will have to consider the means of making 
 recognized and guaranteed by the central power, what- 
 ever that may be, this statute of municipal autonomy. 
 This portion of its task will be none the less arduous if 
 the movement, localized in Paris and one or two large 
 cities, permits the present National Assembly to prolong a 
 mission which good sense and the force of things limited 
 to the conclusion of peace, and which has already been 
 some time accomplished. 
 
84 THEPAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 '•'To a usurpation of power the new body will not have 
 to respond by a similar step. Federated with the com- 
 munes of France already freed, it will have in its own 
 name, and those of Lyons, Marseilles, and perhaps soon 
 of ten large towns, to study the clauses of the contract 
 which will unite them to the nation and to draw up the 
 ultimatum of the treaty they intend to sign. 
 
 " What will the terms of it be ? First of all ihe fact is 
 clear that it will have to contain the guarantee of the 
 autonomy and sovereignty reconquered by the munici- 
 pality. In the second place, it will have to assure the free 
 play of the relations between the Commune and the repre- 
 sentatives of the national unity. 
 
 " Finally, it will have to impose on the Assembly, if it 
 consents to negotiate, the promulgation of an electoral 
 law such that the representation of the towns shall not in 
 future be absorbed, and as it were drowned in that of the 
 country districts. So long as a measure conceived in 
 that spirit shall not have been applied, the broken na- 
 tional unity, the destroyed social equilibrium, cannot bo 
 re-established. 
 
 " On those conditions, and those only, the insurgent 
 city will again become the capital. Its spirit, circulating- 
 more freely throughout France, will soon become that of 
 the nation itself, the sentiment of order, progress, justice, 
 that is to say, of revolution. 
 
 " Avoine Fils, Ant. ArnaucJ, G. Arnold, 
 Assi, AncUgnoux, Bouit, J. Bergeret, 
 Bdbick, Barou, Billioray, Blanchet, 
 Castioni, Cliouteau, C. Buipont, Ferrat, 
 Fabre, Fleury, Fougeret, O. Gaudier, 
 Gouliier, Guirdl, Geresme, Grolard, Jos- 
 selin, F. Jourde, Bavalette, Ifdljournal, 
 Ed. Moreau, Prudliomme, Rousseau, 
 Ranvier, Varlin, Viard — Le Comite de 
 la Garde Nationale." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Successful results obtained by the Committee on the elections— Small number of 
 voters— List of the Commune — Delescluze resigns his seat in the Assembly 
 and becomes member of the Commune— Ceremony at the Hotel do Villa — 
 Commissioners appointed by the Commune — Proclamations — Decrees — The 
 red flag floats from the Tuileries — Absolute Power of the Commune— Sub- 
 Committee of eleven members — Garibaldi — Opinions of the Communist 
 Journals— Post-offlce Director appointed by the Commune — Imprisonment of 
 Sullier — Situation of Paris — Preparations of the insurgents — Concentration 
 of their troops — Plan of attack — Engagement at Meudon — Chatillon— Sortie 
 by the Port Maillot— The insurgents met by the Versailles troops— Bearer 
 of a flag of truce shot by the insurgents— Their precipitate retreat— Charge 
 of the gendarmes— False bulletins of the Commune— Arrival of the insur- 
 gents, commanded by Flourens, at Reuil— Barricades erected in the streets 
 — Arrival of the gendarmes and capture of the barricades — Utter rout of the 
 Federals— Search for Flourens— He is discovered and killed— His aide-de- 
 camp taken prisoner. 
 
 THE elections passed oJBf quietly throughout the city, 
 except in one or two quarters where the contro- 
 versy between the adherents of the Commune, or insur- 
 gents, and the Order party was exceedingly bitter, and 
 even blows were resorted to — a very unusual thing in 
 Paris or among the French people. The Committee can- 
 didates were returned by large majorities. The Conserva- 
 tive or Order party were only successful in the 1st, 2d, 
 and 16th arrondissements. These represent the quarters 
 of the Louvre, the Bourse, and Passy. Two arrondisse- 
 ments elected candidates representing the fusion between 
 the Committee and the Advanced Kepublicans ; the other 
 fifteen returned Committee candidates. The number of 
 votes cast was comparatively small — 180,000 only voting. 
 At the elections on the 12th of February, 620,000 electors 
 were inscribed. Out of the 180,000 votes the Commune 
 received 120,000, or less than one-fifth of the whole 
 
86 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 number of votes. Thus the party of Order having refused 
 to vote, or fled their posts, the authority of the city was 
 left in the hands of an insurrectionary minority, vs^ho, 
 taking advantage of this parody of an election, sought 
 not only to control the destinies of Paris, but the rest of 
 France. 
 
 The triumph of the Committee was most decisive in 
 Vilette, Montmartre, Belleville, and Montrouge, where 
 the voting was unanimous. 
 
 With the exception of Felix Pyat, Delescluze, Blanqui, 
 Flourens, and Gambon, the successful candidates were 
 mostly unknown to fame, but known to be men belonging 
 to different international societies, or societies of " Trades- 
 Union." As all these societies in Europe are political, 
 the ambition of their chiefs is the primary object ; the 
 benefit of the workingman (if he ever receives any 
 benefit from his connection with such a society), the 
 secondary. The leading members of the Commune, or 
 International, wished to introduce into society what is 
 called " Socialism," supposed to be founded in a love of 
 liberty, equality, and respect for human life. This So- 
 cialism is a misnomer, which the actions of its adherents 
 has always proven ; it is an empty sound full of wickedness 
 and deceit, and may be summed up in this axiom : " The 
 right of those who have not, to take from those who 
 have." What the Commune or Committee wanted was to 
 keep the power in their own hands. Their disinterested- 
 ness was as pure as their love of liberty, which consisted 
 in arresting citizens on the slightest provocation. 
 
 Out of thirty-seven members of the Central Committee 
 twenty were elected as members of the Commune. The 
 Committee were supjjosed to withdraw and leave the 
 Hotel de Yille to the newly constituted authorities. Such, 
 however, was not, it would seem, their intention, as every- 
 thing remained on Monday morning guarded as before. 
 
MIOT 
 
 CominiLne of Pans, 
 1871 
 
ROLL OF THE COMMUNE. 87 
 
 The day after the Commune was elected it composed 
 one hundred and six members. At the end there were but 
 fifty. One by one they had retired, some from disgust, 
 others from horror, the greater part from prudence. Many 
 gave their demission at once, and are noted in the following 
 list as cUmissiomiaires : 
 
 Adam, demissionnaire ; Amouroux ; Arnauld (Antoine); 
 Arnould (Arthur) ; Alix, a Mazas ; Andrieux ; Arnold ; 
 Assi; Avrial. 
 
 Babick ; Barre, demissionnaire ; Brelay, demissionnaire ; 
 Blanchet, 4 Mazas; Beslay, demissionnaire; Brunei; Billi- 
 oray ; Bouteiller (de), demissionnaire ; Blanqui, detenu ; 
 Briosne, a refuse ; Bergeret. 
 
 Cheron, demissionnaire ; Clemence ; Champy ; Chardon ; 
 Clement (J. B.) ; Chalain ; Clement (Victor) ; Cluseret, a 
 Mazas ; Courbet ; Clement (Emile) ; Cournet. 
 
 Demay; Dupont; Desmaret, demissionnaire; Duval, 
 mort; Decamp; Dereure; Durand; Delescluze; Dupont 
 (Clovis). 
 
 Eudes. 
 
 Ferry, demissionnaire ; Fortune (Henry) ; Fruneau, de- 
 missionnaire ; Frankel (Leo); Ferre; Flourens, mort. 
 
 G-erardin ; Goupil, demissionnaire ; Gambon ; Geresme ; 
 Gerardin (Charles), en fuite avec Eossel ; Grousset (Pas- 
 chal) ; Garibaldi (M.), a refuse. 
 
 Jourde; Johannard. 
 
 Loiseau, demissionnaire; Lefrangais; Ledroit; Leroy, 
 demissionnaire ; Lefevre, demissionnaire ; Langevin ; Lon- 
 clas; Longuet. 
 
 Meline, demissionnaire ; Murat, demissionnaire ; Mor- 
 tier; Meillet (Leo); Martelet; Marmottan, demission- 
 naire; Malon; Miot (Jules). 
 
 Nast, demissionnaire. 
 
 Ostyn; Oudet. 
 
88 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Protot ; Puget; Pillot; Pyat (Felix); Philippe ;. Parent 
 (Ulysse), demissionnaire ; Parisot ; Pettier ; Pindy. 
 
 Eanc, demissionnaire ; Eanvier ; Eogeard, a refuse ; Po- 
 chard, demissionnaire ; Eegere ; Eobinet, demissionnaire ; 
 Eossel, en fuite ; Eigault (Eaonl) ; Eastoul. 
 
 Serrailler; Sicard. 
 
 Tirard, demissionnaire ; Tridon ; Theisz ; Trinquet. 
 
 TJrbin. 
 
 Vaillant ; Verdure ; Varlin ; Vall^s (Jules) ; Vermorel ; 
 Vesinier; Yiard. 
 
 These individuals formed the Commune, which was 
 only a new name for the Central Committee, whose mem- 
 bers, instead of retiring into private life, as was inferred 
 from their official announcement the day before the elec- 
 tion, evidently intended to stay where they were. On the 
 Place -Vendome the precautions taken were considerably 
 more minute and searching than previously, and an im- 
 mense barricade was erected at the southern end, furnished 
 with pieces of cannon pointed against the Eue Castiglione, 
 and the Eue St. Hon ore, both to the east and west. 
 
 Delescluze, one of those few who formed part of a sort 
 of secret committee for the Central Committee, was elected 
 in several arrondissements. He wrote to the President of 
 the National Assembly resigning his seat in that body, 
 where he declared he had only remained to impeach the 
 dictators of the 4th of September. He added that being 
 unwilling to associate himself with the insanities and 
 passions of the Chamber, and having been returned by 
 several arrondissements of Paris to the Commune, he had 
 decided upon giving the preference to the latter delegation. 
 
 The announcement of the vote for the Commune was 
 made at the Hotel de Ville on the 28th with considerable 
 ceremony. The gate below the clock-tower was hung with 
 red, blue, and green drapery, whilst the statue of Henry IV 
 
THE VOTE FOR THE COMMUNE. 89 
 
 above was concealed with a crimson curtain. A plat- 
 form ornamented with a bust of a female figure repre- 
 senting the Eepublic, had been erected in front of the 
 building, and on it were placed arm-chairs for the accom- 
 modation of the Committee. Cannon were drawn up on 
 the square, which was also occupied by about 20,000 Na- 
 tional Guards in close ranks. Other battalions waited in 
 the adjacent streets and on the quay. At four o'clock 
 Citizen Assi rose and announced that the power of the 
 Central Committee had transpired and Avas now trans- 
 ferred to the Commune. He then read aloud the names 
 of the Councillors elected. Cries of " Vive la RepuUique! " 
 were raised, the trumpets sounded, drums beat, and caps 
 were waved in the air. About four o'clock salvos were fired 
 from the Hotel de Ville, and answered by the guns at 
 Montmartre. This cannonade created considerable alarm 
 among the inhabitants, who imagined that the troops of 
 Versailles had arrived at Paris, or that the Prussians had 
 returned to restore order. All the National Guards pres- 
 ent, to the number of 60,000, then marched past the dais 
 on which the Committee was seated. In the evening the 
 Arc de Triomphe, barracks, and principal public buildings 
 were illuminated. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Committee had solemnly 
 promised to retire on the new election ; that it had repre- 
 sented such precipitate resignation as one of its highest 
 titles to glory. However, after reading the official organ 
 of the insurgents, one was led to believe that the occu- 
 pants of the Hotel de Ville had already reconsidered their 
 determination. In fact that body, after having declared 
 that it ceded its place to the Commune, added : " Having 
 fulfilled the extraordinary mission imposed upon it by 
 necessity, it will reduce itself to the special functions for 
 which it was called into existence." Thus admitting that 
 it had at the same time an extraordinary mission and a 
 
90 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 special function. It abdicated the first, but retained the 
 second. What did that mean, and in what consisted that 
 attribution which escaped the Commnne? The sequel 
 will illustrate. 
 
 The Communists were divided into the following com- 
 mittees, the record of which is taken from the first 
 number of the ofl&cial Journal of the Commune, pub- 
 lished the 30th of March, 1871. 
 
 COMMISSION EXECUTIVE. 
 
 Les citoyens: Eudes, Tridon, Vaillant, Lefran9ais, 
 Duval, Felix Pyat, Bergeret. 
 
 COMMISSION DES FINANCES. 
 
 Les citoyens : Victor Clement, Varlin, Jourde, Beslay, 
 Eeg^re. 
 
 COMMISSION MILITAIRE. 
 
 Les citoyens : Pindy, Eudes, Bergeret, Duval, Chardon, 
 Flourens, Eanvier. 
 
 COMMISSION DE LA JUSTICE. 
 
 Les citoyens : Pane, Protot, Leo Meillet, Vermorel, 
 Ledroit, Babick. 
 
 COMMISSION DE SUKETE GENEEALE. 
 
 Les citoyens : Paoul Eigault, Eerre, Assi, Cournet, 
 Oudet, Chalain, Gerardin. 
 
 COMMISSION DES SUBSISTANCES. 
 
 Les citoyens : Dereure, Champy, Ostyn, Clement, Pari- 
 zel, Eniile Clement, Henry Fortune. 
 
 COMMISSION DU TEAVAIL. — INDUSTEIE ET ECHANGE. 
 
 Les citoyens : Malon, Frankel, Theisz, Dupont, Avrial, 
 Loiseau-Pinson, Eug. Gerardin, Puget. 
 
MEGY 
 Loininurie of Pans 
 
 18 71 
 
PROCLAMATION OF THE COMMUNE. 91 
 
 COMMISSION" DES RELATIONS EXTERIEUEES. 
 
 Les citoyens: Delescluze, Eaiic, Paschal Grousset, 
 Ulysse Parent, Arthur Arnould, Ant. Arnauld, Ch. 
 Girardin. 
 
 COMMISSION DES SERVICES PUBLICS. 
 
 Les citoyens: Ostyn, Billoray, J. B. Clement, Mar- 
 delet, Mortier, Eastoul. 
 
 COMMISSION DE l'ENSEIGNEMENT. 
 
 Les citoyens: Jules Valles, Docteur Goupil, Lefevre, 
 Urbain, Albert Leroy, Verdure, Demay, Docteur Robinet. 
 
 Also the following proclamations : 
 " The Central Committee has remitted its powers to the 
 Commune. 
 
 "COMMUNE OF PARIS. 
 
 Hotel de Ville, 29tli Mar., 1871. 
 
 " Citoyens : — Your Commune is constituted. 
 
 "The vote of the 26th of March has sanctioned the 
 victorious revolution. 
 
 "'A cowardly aggressive pov/er had taken you by the 
 throat. You have in your legitimate defence repulsed 
 from your walls this Government which wished to dis- 
 honor you by imposing upon you a king. 
 
 " To-day these criminals, whom you have no desire to 
 pursue, abuse your magnanimity in organizing, even at 
 the gates of your city, a monarchical conspiracy. They 
 invoke civil war ; they set at work every corruption ; they 
 accept all accomplices ; they have dared even to ask aid 
 from the foreigner. We cite these execrable underhand 
 plotters to judgment before France and before the world." 
 
 " Citoyens : — We are about to confer on you institu- 
 tions that will defy all attacks. 
 
 "You are masters of your destinies. Strong in your 
 
93 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 support, the representatives whom you haye just elected 
 are about to repair the disasters caused by the forfeited 
 Government. Compromised industry, suspended labor, 
 paralyzed commercial transactions, will all receive a 
 vigorous impulse. 
 
 " To-day the awaited decision on rents — to-morrow, 
 that of payment of bills due. 
 
 " All public service re-established and simplified. 
 
 " The National Guard reorganized without delay, will 
 remain the only armed force of the city. 
 
 " These will be our first acts. 
 
 "The elected of the people only wish the confidence of 
 their electors to assure the triumph of the Eepublic. 
 They will be sure to do their duty. 
 
 "La Commune de Paris." 
 
 " Hotel di: Velle, 29th Mar., 1871. 
 
 "The Commune of Paris decrees — 
 
 " 1st. The Conscription is abolished. 
 
 " 2d. No military force other than thp National Guard 
 can be created, or can enter the city. 
 
 " All valid citizens will form a part of the National 
 Guard. "La Commune de Paris." 
 
 "Hotel de Vellb, 29tli Mar., 1871. 
 
 "The Commune of Paris— 
 
 " Considering that labor, industry and commerce have 
 supported all the changes of the war— that it is only just 
 that property should make some sacrifice to the country, 
 
 " Decrees — 
 
 " Art. 1st. A general remission is made to the tenant 
 of the three-quarters rent due October 1870, January 1871, 
 and April 1871. 
 
 " Art. 2. Any sum paid by the tenant during these nine 
 months will be deducted from future payments. 
 
THE RED FLAG HOISTED. 93 
 
 " Art. 3. Equally are remitted any sums due for 
 furnished apartments. 
 
 " Art. 4. All leases are renewable only at the pleasure 
 of the tenant (they could be renewed only on his terms, 
 whether unexpired or not), which may be done any time 
 during six months from date of present decree. 
 
 " Art. 5. All notices to quit may be prorogued for three 
 months, at the pleasure of the tenant. 
 
 "La Commune de Paris." 
 
 There were seyeral other decrees issued the first day of 
 more or less importance : one prohibiting goyernment 
 officials from receiving orders from the Versailles govern- 
 ment ; another prohibiting any proclamation emanating 
 from Versailles being posted on the walls ; another ap- 
 pointing General Bergeret Commandant la Place de 
 Paris, Etat-Major at Place Vendome, whence all military 
 orders, watch-words, etc., must emanate. 
 
 One of the first acts of the Commune was to display the 
 red flag from the Palace of the Tuileries. Hearing also 
 that the Duke d'Aumdle was in France, the official 
 journal, speaking on the subject, said : " Society has only 
 one duty towards princes — death ! It is only bound to 
 observe one formality — the proof of identity. The 
 Orleans are in France ; the Bonapartes desire to return ; 
 let all good citizens te learned and act ! ! ! " 
 
 In reading the official organ of the Commune, one can- 
 not be mistaken as to the scope of the movement of which 
 Paris had taken the initiative. The business of the newly 
 elected members was to discuss and draw up, like French- 
 men in the middle ages, their charter and constitution, 
 and to devise means for getting them recognized and 
 guaranteed by the central power. Thus France, without 
 suspecting the fact, and without the movement having 
 been prepared or indicated by any book, journal, speaker. 
 
94 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 meeting, club, or tendency, just on the morrow of a war 
 of invasion which ravaged her territory, — France was in- 
 vited to pass from unity, the work of so many ages, to the 
 federation of mediseval times! Strange indeed are the 
 surprises in the lives of nations, and above all, in the 
 movements of great cities ! 
 
 The working engineer Assi, one of the chiefs of this 
 great revolt— a man without instruction or judgment, but 
 of an energetic character, has avowed that he never read 
 but one book — the " Revolutions of Italy,'' a work by 
 Edgar Quinet, which he was incapable of understanding 
 by reason of his inadequate information, but by which his 
 imagination was much affected. Italy, which in three 
 hundred years up to the time of Charles V, presents the 
 spectacle of seven thousand revolutions, must most assur- 
 edly have offered to Citizen Assi the complete model of an 
 entire system. The elected Commune had to draw up 
 its charter. The watchmaker Tirard, the dyer Loiseau- 
 Pinson, sat side by side as members of the Central Com- 
 mittee, and disposed of Paris, the capital of a great 
 nation, as Congress would have disposed of a nuisance in 
 the District of Columbia. 
 
 In a word, the new Commune was constituent, and 
 acknowledged no other authority than its own — a spec- 
 tacle unique in the world. Neither in the United States 
 nor Switzerland, where communal liberties are so great, 
 has anything of the kind ever existed. Such was the 
 situation — a return to the middle ages — a retrogression 
 of eight centuries — federation substituted for unity — 
 universal suffrage become a dead letter — the Prussian 
 invasion considered as one of those accidents from which 
 Paris had to disengage its responsibility, as the Assembly 
 at Versailles only existed on condition of being an annex 
 to the Commune. 
 
 It has been well said of the newly elected Commune 
 
A PROTEST FOR GARIBALDI. 95 
 
 what Emile de Girardin said in 1848 to the orators of the 
 Socialist School and to Louis Blanc : " You are agitators, 
 but will never be reformers/' 
 
 A Central Sub-Committee was formed at the Hotel de 
 Ville, on the proposal of Assi, and was composed of him- 
 self and eleven other members, viz., Cluseret, Bergeret, 
 Henry, Gasnier, Babick, Avoine, Jr., Avrial, Maljournal, 
 Duval, Geresme, and General Garibaldi as honorary presi- 
 dent. That body took the direction of the National 
 Guard, the elections of which it prepared, and was charged 
 with the protection of the -Municipal Council, the main- 
 tenance of order in the city, and the payment of the civic 
 force. All accusations of treason against the Eepublic 
 were also referred to it. 
 
 As the Central Committee had, and the Commune was 
 making, considerable capital by invariably associating the 
 name of Garibaldi with the insurgent National Guards, M. 
 Jules de Precy, editor of the XiJer^e, published the fol- 
 lowing, for which and other articles in opposition to the 
 Commune that journal was sup^essed : 
 
 "The journal official of the Commune has confided the 
 military powers to three delegates, ' hi aioaiting the arrival 
 of General Garibaldi, proclaimed General-in-Chief ! Now, 
 men of the Committee, we say to you. Never — Never! 
 Do you hear ? Garibaldi will never associate himself 
 with this civil war, of which you are the authors. 
 
 "We, who know him — we, who have on so many occa- 
 sions admired his resignation, his patriotism, his abnega- 
 tion, his tolerance — we proclaim it before the world that 
 he execrates as much as we your bloody dictatorship. 
 The great citizen, whom you trumpet in all your faubourgs, 
 marching on Eome, found himself at Aspromonte, in the 
 midst of inaccessible mountains, surrounded by 10,000 
 volunteers ready to the last man to die for their beloved 
 
96 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 General ; he could with a gesture, with a single word, 
 have stirred uj) to rebellion Sicily, Naples, and Central 
 Italy; all this he could have done, but he scorned the 
 action ; he surrendered himself and his volunteers after 
 having received, without returning it, the fire of the royal 
 troops. 
 
 " One month later, Garibaldi, wounded, lay upon his bed 
 in the prison of Eort Varignano. We ran to shake him by 
 the hand ; he gave us a lengthy account of this unfortunate 
 epoch, and, with sparkling eye and beating heart, he ter- 
 minated his narrative with these words : ' I have yielded ; 
 civil war . . . .never ! never ! ' Garibaldi will never come ; 
 your works to him are horrible. 
 
 " Not only will he never come, but we defy you to draw 
 from him a single line — a single word — which will not be a 
 disavowal of your acts, a reprobation of your indulgences." 
 
 The different Communist journals which were started 
 in Paris for the support of the insurrection, demanded 
 the immediate dissolution of the National Assembly. 
 The Vengeu7', on the gmiind that it was incomplete, in 
 consequence of the resignation of the deputies of Paris — 
 that it no longer represented the country, and, therefore, 
 its pretensions to enact laws and govern France was 
 usurpation and high treason. The Cri du Peuple recom- 
 mended the "rurals" of Versailles to go and die in their 
 cow-houses. The Nouvelle RepuUique considered that 
 the accession of the Commune would revive confidence ; 
 and expressed the opinion that a "timid capital" would 
 reappear if the " rurals " of the Assembly would permit 
 it ; but as they were not disposed to do so, these " fugitives 
 must be run to earth" in the indispensable interest of 
 labor and commerce. The Mont-Aventin, in its turn, 
 urged the Chamber to " depart," under penalty of being 
 " thrown out of the window ; " however, it consented to 
 allow the "peasants of Versailles" a week to pack up 
 
PARIS ON APRIL FIRST, 1871. 97 
 
 their trunks. The Pere Ducfiene advised the Commune 
 to dissolve the Assembly, which, " after having subscribed 
 to the shame of France, was conspiring for the destruction 
 of the Republic." 
 
 The Commune, wishing to take possession of the Post- 
 office, sent word to the director that, considering the dis- 
 order that prevailed in the postal service, it was necessary 
 to make a change in the administration, and that Citizen 
 Theisz was charged with the direction. 
 
 The postal service was the best managed in France, but 
 the director was obliged to give place to the insurrection. 
 The director, chifef clerk, and all the heads of offices, left 
 the next day for Versailles. 
 
 Internal dissension had already commenced among the 
 members of the Commune ; and M. Lullier was sent to 
 the Conciergerie, whence he wrote a long protest to the 
 journals, complaining of the treatment he had met with 
 from the Central Committee. According to his account, 
 the entire defence of Paris was organized and successfully 
 carried out by him ; but that when his colleagues had no 
 further need of him, and he had recommended them to 
 exercise moderation in their conduct, they had thrown 
 him into prison, where he still remained. 
 
 It would be necessary to go back some fifteen centuries 
 to find in the celebrated city of Syracuse a case parallel 
 to that of Paris on the first day of April, 1871. The 
 Prussians held the northern and eastern forts, the in- 
 surgents were masters of the southern forts, the city, and 
 its walls; and the regular Government was reduced to the 
 possession of Mont Valerien, situated at the west, but the 
 most powerful of all the forts. 
 
 The insurgents, emboldened by their success, com- 
 menced to make most important preparations, with a view 
 of attacking the Assembly at Versailles. They disarmed 
 all the National Guards suspected of any attachment to 
 
98 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 the cause of order. They reorganized the fr.anc-tireurs, 
 created twenty war battalions, twenty batteries of cannon, 
 and fifteen of mitrailleuses. They requisitioned horses, 
 pillaged the arsenals, gave orders for immense supplies of 
 powder, petroleum, gun-cotton, and nitro-glycerine ; and 
 on the 30th of March the preparations were completed, 
 and active operations commenced. They had 70,000 Na- 
 tional Guards in marching order, furnished with rations 
 for eight days, and excited to the highest possible pitch 
 of enthusiasm. 
 
 On the 31st their plans were developed, and on the 
 1st of April they had concentrated tKeir troops to the 
 south and northwest of Paris. On the morning of the 
 3d the whole army of the insurgents set out for Versailles 
 by three different routes — one column by the St. Germain 
 road, a second by that of Sevres and a third, commanded 
 by Duval, by that of Chevreuse. Three simultaneous at- 
 tacks appear to have been contemplated in the plan devised 
 by the Commune. The first commenced toward Sevres, 
 early in the morning ; a^d the musketry fire was so sharp 
 that as the Versailles train arrived the passengers were 
 obliged to put up the cushions against the windows to 
 protect themselves from the shower of balls. The train 
 from Paris was obliged to put back. 
 
 Numerous battalions of National Guards issued from 
 the forts of Issy and Vanves, but on that side the engage- 
 ment was one principally of artillery. The insurgents, in 
 advancing on Meudon were fired on by the cannon of the 
 regulars, and much damaged. The first moment of sur- 
 prise being passed, the battalions formed themselves in 
 line of battle along the road ; but the palace battery on 
 the heights of Meudon raked the valley, and obliged them 
 to fall back on the reinforcements arriving by the gates 
 on the south of Paris. An attempt was then made to 
 open fire with the pieces of cannon brought with them, 
 
BRAVEKY OF THE INSURGENTS. 99 
 
 but the shot was found to be not of the right calibre, so 
 that the guns were useless. Fort Issy replied with con- 
 siderable vigor, and in a short time a fire of musketry 
 became general from Meudon to Chatillon, where a second 
 column attempted to gain Versailles by the road through 
 Clamart and Velizy. 
 
 The first battalions, engaged towards Meudon, had, liow- 
 eyer, started too early and in too small numbers, and were 
 in a yery short time completely disorganized. At 8 o'clock 
 reinforcements arriyed and raised the number of the insur- 
 gents to 20,000 men, with thirty-six guns. They re-formed 
 ranks by degrees, and again assumed the offensiye. Scat- 
 tered bands concealed in the woods, in gardens, behind 
 walls, and in the old Prussian trenches, kept up a desul- 
 tory fire on the regular troops, who continued to increase 
 in numbers as they advanced, and eventually became mas- 
 ters of the ground. But towards four o'clock new rein- 
 forcements having been sent to the insurgents, who had 
 fallen back on the village of Issy, the latter resumed the 
 offensive, and advanced in their turn to scale the heights 
 of Meudon. In this attack they gave proof of the greatest 
 amount of courage and personal daring; but the Ver- 
 sailles troops were in admirable order and admirably com- 
 manded, and numbers were compelled to give way before 
 discipline. For the second time they were driven back 
 behind the fortress of Issy, exasperated beyond all.bounds 
 at their defeat, putting to death wounded men whom they 
 found on the field of battle. Meudon and Issy kept up 
 an artillery duel more or less violent until seven o'clock. 
 The ambulance service had not been prepared, and the 
 wounded were not all brought in until late in the night. 
 Until four in the afternoon the gates were closed to all 
 who wished to enter, but after that hour the different bat- 
 talions and fugitives entered the city pell-mell. 
 
 The column commanded by General Eudes (a liberated 
 
100 THE PARIS COMMIJN"E. 
 
 murderer in the service of the Commune), numbering 
 some 35,000 men, passed by Fontenay-au-Eoses and 
 Plessis-Piquet, and entered the road Irom Sceaux to Ver- 
 sailles. They arrived without difficulty at Lo Petit Bi- 
 c^tre, where the road is joined by that of Choisy-le-Koi, 
 Here they were met by some other battalions coming from 
 La Croix de Berney. They were about to proceed, as they 
 thought, in an uninterrupted manner to Versailles, when 
 they Avere . suddenly attacked by the regular troops from 
 the woods of Verrieres on the left, and Meudon on the 
 right. The road was well guarded, and it was impossible 
 to proceed further. They immediately began a precipitate 
 retreat, and at four o'clock had arrived at the plateau of 
 Chatillon in a complete state of disorder. During the 
 whole of that evening and night a stream of tired, dusty 
 and desperate men passed the different draw-bridges, many 
 without arms and with torn clothes, and all demoralized, 
 declaring that they had been betrayed — that their leaders 
 were cowards or traitors, and ought to be shot. 
 
 Early on Tuesday morning the whole plateau of Cha- 
 tillon was evacuated by the insurgents, and later in the 
 day occupied by the regular troops without a blow being 
 struck ; and on that prominent position the batteries were 
 planted which, with the help of Meudon, eventually 
 silenced the forts of Vanves and Issy. 
 
 The column commanded by General Bergeret, a master 
 mason, with Gustave Flourens, a hot-brained traitor, origi- 
 nator and stirrer-up of revolutions, second in command, left 
 Porte Maillot on the night of the 'M of April, intending 
 to pass through ISTeuilly, Nanterre and Eueil, and attack 
 Versailles in the rear. It was thought by some that it 
 intended to take Mont Valerien on its route, the men 
 having been informed that the commandant of that fort 
 was more anxious to deliver it up to the insurgents than 
 they were to take it. This column had made itself most 
 
MURDER OF DR. PASQUIER. 101 
 
 talked about. It was not the one, however, on which the 
 most reliance was placed. If it were successful, it was to 
 push its advantage — if not, to return in good order. 
 
 The column started headed by Bergeret in a victoria 
 drawn by two horses. He was surrounded by his staff, 
 dressed up in the most gorgeous and theatrical costumes, 
 their belts filled with immense revolvers, and brandishing 
 large sabres, shouting "« Versailles!" "a Versailles!" . 
 
 The Government of Versailles, which had been informed 
 on the previous day that the insurgents were having large 
 bodies of men concentrated at Puteaux and Surennes 
 preparatory to marching on Versailles, decided to send a 
 division of men to meet the battalions from Paris and 
 summon them to lay down their arms. In consequence, 
 some troops, under the order of Captain Bruat of the 'Na\j, 
 and composed of two regiments of the line, some sailors, 
 mounted gendarmes, chasseurs d'Afrique, and two mitrail- 
 leuses, were sent in the middle of the night to Mont 
 Valerien. 
 
 About six in the morning some shots were exchanged 
 between the outposts. At seven, General Vinoy arrived at 
 the fort and gave his orders. Soon after Dr. Pasquier, of 
 the mounted gendarmes, preceded by a trumpeter and 
 accompanied by two men, presented himself with a flag 
 of truce at tlie bridge of Courbevoie. Two of the insur- 
 gents met him, and after a few words had passed, one of 
 the latter drew a revolver and shot Dr. Pasquier dead on 
 the spot. Fire was immediately opened on all sides, and 
 the news that the bearer of a flag of truce had been killed 
 caused extreme indignation. 
 
 The gendarmes, especially, swore to avenge their doctor, 
 whom they adored, and when the order was given to charge 
 they did so with the greatest fury. At first the combat 
 was one of skirmishes. The sailors and the regular troops 
 formed one long line of constant fire, which closed in 
 continually and directed its aim on the head of the 
 
102 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 columns of the Commune, whicli were effecting a move- 
 ment toward Oourbevoie. At the same time Mont Va- 
 lerian sent at them a few shell and hoite-d-mitraille (grape- 
 shot). About nine o'clock the action became general along 
 the line of the insurgents, when the mitrailleuses were 
 brought forward, and a few well-directed discharges threw 
 confusion into their ranks. Their retreat commenced in 
 the greatest disorder, soon becoming a total route. The 
 mounted gendarmes charged in pursuit, engulfing one 
 portion of the insurgents in the ravines of Malmaison, 
 and driving the other toward the city in the wildest con- 
 fusion. After entering the city the fugitives described the 
 battle as a great success, and the official organ of the 
 Commune, in its issue of the 4th April, says : " Gene- 
 rals Bergeret and Flourens liave effected their junction. 
 They are marching on Versailles. Success is certain." 
 And again at 2 p. m. the following official announcement 
 was issued : 
 
 " Towards four this morning the columns of General 
 Duval and Colonel Flourens made their junction at the 
 rond-point of Courbevoie. Just as they had arrived they 
 sustained a heavy fire from Mont Valerien. The troops 
 sheltered themselves behind walls and houses. Thus pro- 
 tected, the commanders were able to organize a movement 
 which completely succeeded, and the two columns passed 
 the lines and resumed their march on Versailles. General 
 Bergeret, who led them on with shouts of ' Vive la Be- 
 publique ! ' had two horses killed under him. The fire of 
 the Versailles army has not caused us any appreciable loss.'* 
 
 Notwithstanding these official reports, there was an air 
 about the conquerors who had returned that did not 
 savor strongly of victory. 
 
 At 3 o'clock a courier passed by the Arc de Triomphe 
 
FATE OF FLOUEENS' COMMAND. 103 
 
 on his way to the Hotel de Ville, announcing to the crowd 
 that Flourens had entered Versailles at the head of 40,000 
 men — that they had captured one hundred deputies, and 
 M. Thiers was a prisoner ! 
 
 Some one suggested that " there were not over 30,000 
 men who went out this way." 
 
 '•' Where did he get the men ? " 
 
 " Oh, he has them I " and " General Bergeret fought 
 like a tiger. He liad two horses killed under him." 
 
 " Before him you mean," shouted one of the crowd ; " as 
 he went out in a yictoria." 
 
 That portion of the advancing column of insurgents 
 which had passed Valerien under the command of Flourens 
 amounted to 5,000 men. Accelerated considerably in their 
 motions by the retreat of the larger portion of their troops, 
 they arrived at Eueil, which was guarded by only a small 
 post of cavalry, which at once fell back in the direction of 
 Versailles. The National Guards spread through the town, 
 some occupying the barracks, others entering the wine- 
 shops and private houses ; the bread and provision shops 
 were requisitioned, the dealers receiving tickets of the Com- 
 mune in payment for their wares. Barricades were con- 
 structed in the streets and across the \vide avenue in the 
 direction of St. Germain ; scouts were thrown out along the 
 Seine, and Flourens took up his headquarters near the rail- 
 way station. They were, however, suddenly attacked by 
 some detachments of mounted gendarmes and regiments 
 of the line, and defeated on every side. The barricade in 
 the direction of St. Germain, which was armed with two 
 pieces of cannon and strongly defended, was captured by 
 the gendarmes sword in hand. They took 200 prisoners ; 
 among them there were several soldiers — deserters — who 
 were at once shot, and the I^ational Guards were con- 
 ducted to Versailles as prisoners. 
 
 At 4 o'clock p. M. of this eventful day, as the mounted 
 
104 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 gendarmes were searching the Tillage of Chdtou for run- 
 away or secreted insurgents, the celebrated Flourens was 
 tracked to his hiding-place by some soldiers. On enter- 
 ing the room where he had taken refuge, the first gen- 
 darme received a bullet in the shoulder, fired from a 
 revolver by Flourens. Before he could draw again, an 
 ofBcer of gendarmes. Captain Desmerest, ran forward and 
 cut the insurgent leader through the skull with a single 
 stroke from his sabre. His aide-de-camp Oypriani, a young 
 Garibaldian, also received a sword-cut on the thigh, and 
 was made prisoner. He was in plain clothes, but wore 
 the kepi of a chef-de-bataillon. Flourens was still in 
 military dress, but had with him a leather bag containing 
 private clothes for the purpose of disguising himself. 
 
 Thus while the Commune at Paris were posting an ac- 
 count of the success of this leader, his body was being 
 taken to Versailles, where it was deposited in the hospital 
 — a melancholy example of universal repiiilicism, cosmo- 
 politan revolutions, and misdirected intellect. 
 
CI-IAPTER V. 
 
 Proclamation of the Marquis de Gallifet — Threat of the CommuTiistB — Imprison- 
 ment of Assi— Grade of General abolished — Dombrowski appointed Com- 
 mandant of Paris— Attack on Chatillon— Death of General Duval— Decree 
 rendering military service obligatory for all men between the ages of nine- 
 teen and forty — Pretexts adopted for escape from the city — Eochefort insti- 
 gates the demolition of M. Thiers' house — Letter of Garibaldi— Decree relative 
 to prisoners— Cluseret's report — Note of Paschal Grousset to the Foreign 
 Representatives — Bergeret'a Letter — Capture of Courbevoie by the Ver- 
 sailles troops— The bridge of Neuilly taken— Shells fall at the Arc de Tri- 
 omphe— Persecution of the Clergy — Imprisonment of the Archbishop of 
 Paris— Conflict of the Commune and Central Committee — Bergeret incarcer- 
 ated — Despatch of Dombrowski — The fight at Courbevoie — Attack on the 
 insurgent outposts at Issy— Account given by General Cluseret— The Com- 
 mittee of Conciliation. 
 
 THE sliooting of Dr. Pasquier and some soldiers who 
 fell into the hands of the insurgents caused the 
 Marquis de Gallifet to issue the following proclamation in 
 the village of Chatou : 
 
 "War has been declared by the bands of Paris. Yes- 
 terday, the day before, and to-day, they have assassinated 
 my soldiers. 
 
 " It is a war without truce or pity that I declare against 
 these murderers. I have had to make an example this 
 morning ; may it be a salutary one ! I do not desire to 
 be again reduced to such an extremity. 
 
 " Do not forget that the country, the law, and right are 
 at Versailles and in the Assembly, and not with the gro- 
 tesque body at Paris which calls itself the Commune. 
 
 " GrALLIFET, 
 
 " General of Brigade." 
 
106 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 This proclamation was made known to the inhabitants 
 of Chdtou by the public crier, who, after each beat of the 
 drum, added; . 
 
 " The President of the Municipal Committee of Chatou 
 warns the inhabitants in the interest of their own safety, 
 that those who offer an asylum to the enemies of the Re- 
 public will render themselves subject to the laws of war. 
 
 " Laijbeuf, 
 
 " President," 
 
 None of the three columns had been successful. The 
 sortie en masse had failed ; a few thousand insurgents had 
 reached Versailles, but in a character totally different from 
 that in which they had hoped to arrive. Compared with 
 the number of troops engaged, the losses in killed and 
 wounded were small ; but it was the commencement of 
 a furious strife, and one of the most inauspicious and 
 saddest days in the history of France — the beginning of 
 fearful civil war, brother literally fighting against brother; 
 and well might the poor old lady of Neuilly say, " Thank 
 God my poor boy was killed by the Prussians; this 
 would have been too dreadful." Still the Commune, in- 
 stead of stopping this bloodshed at the beginning, stimu- 
 lated its adherents by reports of success or of deeds of 
 murder and retaliation supposed to have been committed 
 by the Versaillists. 
 
 The official journal of the Commune, published the 7th 
 of April, contains the following : 
 
 " CiTiZEif s : — The Journal Officiel of Versailles contains 
 the following : ' Some men recognized as belonging to the 
 army and seized with arms in their hands, have been shot, 
 in accordance with the rigor of military law which con- 
 demns to death all soldiers fighting against their flag.' 
 
 "That horrible avowal requires no commentary, and 
 
CLIJSERET DELEGATE OP WAR. 107 
 
 each word of it cries loudly for justice and vengeance, 
 which will not be delayed. The violence of our enemies 
 proves their weakness. They murder whilst the Republi- 
 cans combat. The Republic must conquer ! " 
 
 " The people of Versailles murder the Republican pris- 
 oners and mutilate the corpses in a horrible manner, eye 
 for eye, and tooth for tooth. The gates of Paris are closed, 
 and no one can leave. We have hostages in our hands. 
 Let the Commune issue a decree, and let its men act. 
 For every head of a patriot which falls under the hands 
 of the Versailles authorities, let that of a Bonapartist, 
 Orleanist, or Legitimist of Paris roll in the dust as a re- 
 ply. Well ! So be it. The Assembly wills it. A reign 
 of terror ! " 
 
 In the mean time Citizen Assi, the late President of the 
 Central Committee, had been committed to prison for 
 having made a speech at one of the sittings of the Com- 
 mune, in which he declared that that body was going be- 
 yond its legal powers, and that it had no right to march 
 on Versailles ; that they should not give way too much to 
 the ignorant masses, and that the better class of men were 
 becoming alienated, instead of converted by their decrees. 
 For this intemperate speech he was quietly placed in 
 prison, where he remained several days before it was 
 known outside the Commune. General Cluseret's star 
 was now in the ascendant, and, as delegate of war, he 
 covered the walls of Paris Avith decrees emanating from 
 the War Department. He issued an address to the Na- 
 tional Guards, in which he blamed the increasing use of 
 gold bands, stripes, etc., on their uniform ; pointed out to 
 them, that as working men, who have accomplished a 
 great revolution, they should not blush for their origin ; 
 the movement had been made in the name of virtue 
 against vice, of duty against abuse, of honesty against 
 corruption, and had triumphed for that very reason, and 
 
108 THE PA II IS COMMUNE. 
 
 concluded by announcing that any officer who added em- 
 bellishments to the regulation dress, should be sent before 
 a council of discipline. He also issued the following 
 decree : 
 
 " Considering that the grade of General is incompatible 
 with the democratic organization of the National Guard, 
 and can only be temporary, the members of the Commune 
 decree as follows : 
 
 " Art. 1. The rank of General is suppressed. 
 
 "Art. 2. Citizen Ladislas Dombrowski, commandant 
 of the 12th legion, is appointed commander of the gar- 
 rison of Paris, in the place of Citizen Bergeret, summoned 
 to other functions." 
 
 On the 4th of April, the day following the combined 
 moyement for the capture of Versailles, numerous fresh 
 battalions were sent out to reinforce those which had 
 been dispersed by the panic, and the struggle recom- 
 menced, but without being more fortunate. Notwith- 
 standing an obstinate resistance, the insurgents were 
 obliged to give way in every direction. 
 
 Fourteen pieces of cannon placed in battery at Issy, 
 and protected by earthworks thrown up during the night, 
 opened fire iipon the heights of Chatillon, and v/ere an- 
 swered by a strong battery on the terrace of Meudon. At 
 four in the afternoon considerable reinforcements having 
 arrived from Belleville, a strong attack was made on 
 Chatillon, but unsuccessfully. The fort of Vanyes kept 
 up a vigorous fire during the rest of the day. Towards 
 night the insurgents brought in a mitrailleuse, which they 
 had captured, but left 250 men in the hands of the Ver- 
 sailles troops, in addition to the commandants of the 
 127th and 104th battalions. Their loss in killed was 
 about one hundred. 
 
 No other military operations took place with the ex- 
 ception of those on the side of Clamart and Meudon. 
 
RESULT OF THE THREE DAYS. 109 
 
 Tlio Versailles troops confined themselves to a defensive 
 attitude, having had no intention at this time to marcli 
 on Paris. They were satisfied at stopping the offensive 
 movement of the battalions of the Commune, "vvhich had 
 attempted in every direction to force a passage to Ver-' 
 sailles. 
 
 The fire on Chatillon having produced but little effect, 
 the Communist generals adopted another plan, namely, to 
 turn the position by Clamart and Bagneux, instead of 
 attacking in front ; but this movement also failed, as at 
 night the regular troops still held the strong positions of 
 Chatillon and Meudon, which kept np during the day a 
 continuous artillery fire on the forts of Vanves and Issy. 
 Thus the march on Versailles proved a complete failure, 
 as, after three days' fighting, the troops of the insurgents 
 were thrown back on Paris, and the regular army held 
 the three positions which commanded the road to Ver- 
 sailles, viz., Mont Valerien, the Chateau of Meudon, and 
 the plateau of Chatillon. Of the three columns of attack, 
 the first directed on Eueil by Mont Valerien, was dis- 
 persed on the first day ; the other two, sent by Chatillon 
 and Sevre^^ were effectually checked on the two following 
 days. 
 
 General Duval was killed the first day at Chatillon, and 
 his colleague. General Henry, captured and sent to Ver- 
 sailles. The Versailles journals spoke very highly of the 
 heroic manner of the former's death. 
 
 About this time the great desire in life among the 
 better class of young and middle-aged men was to get out 
 of the city, produced by the following proclamation of 
 General Cluseret: 
 
 " Considering the patriotic reclamations of a large num- 
 ber of ISTational Guards who are anxious, although married, 
 to share in the honor of defending their municipal inde- 
 
110 THE PARIS COMMU^STE. 
 
 pendence, even at the price of their life, the decree of the 
 5 th instant is modified thus : 
 
 " From the age of seventeen to nineteen service in the 
 war companies will be voluntary; and from nineteen to 
 forty obligatory for the National Guards, married or not. 
 
 "I urge all good patriots to themselves perform the 
 police of their quarters, and to force the disobedient to 
 serve. G. Cluseeet, 
 
 " Delegate to the War Office." 
 
 This continual menace of an armed requisition was to 
 all men of a certain age a veritable punishment. The 
 Octroi gates and railway stations were held by the in- 
 surgents, and every sort of ruse was invented to escape 
 this danger or vexation — the most common one, until 
 discovered, was that of hiring a fiacre with an old driver, 
 changing clothes and putting the coachman inside, then 
 changing back when outside the walls. Another — still 
 more ridiculous — was that of buying a return ticket at 
 the station. The stupid blockheads sometimes at the 
 door thought one would never buy a return ticket unless 
 he intended coming back ! 
 
 The poet Bergerat passed through the gate in a charcoal 
 cask. 
 
 The Belgium and Swiss legations were invaded by 
 young men with all their papers in order, showing they 
 were citizens of those countries. As for our own legation, 
 it was next to an impossibility to catch a glimpse of Mr. 
 Washburne. His doors were always surrounded by a 
 crowd of from five hundred to a thousand Alsatians or 
 Lorrainians. The German authorities having claimed these 
 provinces, the officer in command of the Prussian forces 
 at St. Denis had notified the Commune that these citizens 
 must be exempt from all military service; and it was 
 truly surprising .what a number of young men spoke 
 
INFLAMMATORY ARTICLES. Ill 
 
 French with an accent peculiar to the borders of the 
 Rhine. 
 
 The insurgents now commenced making requisitions 
 upon different schools and theological institutions. Among 
 others, they entered the establishment of the Jesuits in 
 the Eue Lhomond, and placed all the fathers under arrest. 
 They then searched the house from top to bottom, break- 
 ing the furniture and sacking the cupboards ; and finally 
 descended to the cellars, where they gorged themselves 
 with wine destined for the use of the estabhshment. 
 They then carried off the Superior and seven others to the 
 Prefecture of Police in an omnibus requisitioned for the 
 purpose. Similar outrages were also committed amongst 
 tlie fathers of the Saint-Esprit and the Dominicans, who 
 were also taken to prison. 
 
 These and similar acts of plunder were the result of 
 Eochefort's articles in the 2Iot cV Ordre, which, abandoning 
 the comparative moderation which it had lately observed, 
 now stimulated to pillage in every number which it issued, 
 at one time saying : 
 
 " M. Thiers possesses in the Place St. George a marvelous 
 hotel, full of works of art of all sorts. M. Picard possesses 
 in the streets of Paris, which he has deserted, three houses, 
 which bring him in a large income ; and M. Jules Favre 
 occupies in the Rue d' Amsterdam a sumptuous habitation, 
 belonging to him. What would these statesmen pro- 
 prietors say if, to their destruction outside, the people were 
 to respond by the blows of a pickaxe ; and if each time a 
 house at Courbevoie was touched by a shell a wall was to 
 be knocked down of the palace in the Place St. George, or 
 the hotel in the Rue d' Amsterdam ?" 
 
 It was only necessary in moments like those, to indicate 
 certain proceedings to an excitable people, to produce the 
 most deplorable consequences. 
 
113 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The Central Committee received a letter from Garibaldi 
 thanking the members for the honor done him in offering 
 him the command of the army of Paris, but declining the 
 proffered post. In his letter he pointed out that a Com- 
 mander of the National Guard, a General-in-Chief of the 
 forces, and a Directing Committee, as they existed, were 
 incompatible with the present situation of France ; the 
 advantage possessed by despotism was the concentration of 
 power ; and in a crisis like the existing one, a similar central- 
 ization should be opposed to the enemies of the Republic. 
 He recommended them to choose a citizen such as Victor 
 Hugo, Louis Blanc, Felix Pyat, Edgar Quinet, or some 
 other of the democratic leaders — or even Generals Cremer 
 or Billot, who appear to possess the confidence of the 
 people ; and to place the supreme power in a single hand. 
 He added, that if France had the good fortune to find a 
 Washington, she would speedily rise greater than ever. 
 
 The ofiicial organ of the insurgents published the fol- 
 lowing proclamation : 
 
 " Whereas the Government of Versailles is openly tram- 
 pling under foot the rights of humanity and the laws of 
 war, and has been guilty of atrocities such as have not 
 even been perpetrated by the foreign invader, the Com- 
 mune decrees as follows : 
 
 "Art. 1. All persons charged with complicity with the 
 Government of Versailles shall be incarcerated. 
 
 "Art. 2. They shall be deferred within twenty-four 
 hours to a jury of accusation. 
 
 "Art. 3. The jury shall give its judgment within 
 twenty-four hours. * 
 
 " Art. 4. All accused retained in custody by the ver- 
 dict of the jury will be made the hostages of the people 
 of Paris. 
 
 " Art. 5. The execution of a prisoner of war or of a par- 
 
DECREE FROM DELEGATE OF WAR. . 113 
 
 tisan of the regular Government of the Commune shall 
 be followed by that of a triple number of the hostages. 
 
 "Art. 6. Every prisoner of war shall be sent before a 
 jury of accusation, which shall decide whether he is to be 
 set at liberty or kept as a hostage." 
 
 The Delegate of War also published the following 
 report, addressed to the members of the Executive Com- 
 mission : 
 
 " CiTiZEisrs : Since my entrance into the Department 
 of War, I have sought to render an exact account of the 
 military situation, the cause of the aggression, which 
 nothing can justify, and its results. 
 
 " The motive seems to be, in the first place, to frighten 
 the population ; in the second, to cause iis needlessly to 
 waste our ammunition, and to mask a movement on the 
 right for the purpose of occupying the forts on that side 
 of the river. 
 
 "Up to this day, the culpable hopes of the enemy have 
 been frustrated, and his attempts repulsed. 
 
 " The population has remained calm and dignified, and 
 if our munitions have been wasted by some of our young- 
 est soldiers, they acquire each day, in the practice of firing, 
 the coolness and steadiness indispensable in war. 
 
 " As to the third it will depend more upon the Prussians 
 than upon us ; however we shall be on our guard. 
 
 " The active point of view may be summed up as fol- 
 lows: Excellent soldiers, with officers— some very good, 
 others very bad. Much dash, but little firmness. When 
 the war companies are formed, and separated from the 
 sedentary element, we shall have a select body of troops 
 of more than 100,000 men. I cannot too much recom- 
 mend the ISTational Guards to direct all their attention to 
 the choice of their chiefs. At present, the respective po- 
 sitions of the two armies may be thus described : The 
 Prussians of Versailles occupy the positions of their con- 
 
114 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 geners from beyond the Ehine. We hold the trenches, 
 Molineaux, and the Clamart railway station. In fine, our 
 position is that of men who, strong in their rights, await 
 patiently for the attack, contented with defending them- 
 selves. In concluding, Citizens, I believe that if our 
 troops preserve their coolness and husband their ammu- 
 nition, the enemy will be tired out before we are. There 
 will then only remain, of this mad and criminal attempt, 
 the widows and the orjjhans, the recollection of an atro- 
 cious action, witii the contempt which it involves. 
 
 GrE]S"ERAL E. ClUSEEET, 
 
 "The Delegate of War." 
 
 The following note was addressed to the representatives 
 of the foreign powers then in Paris by the Citizen Paschal 
 Grousset, member of the Commune and Delegate of Ex- 
 terior Eelations: 
 
 "Paeis, April 5, 18T1. 
 
 " The undersigned Member of the Commune of Paris 
 and Delegate for Foreign Eelations, has the honor to no- 
 tify you officially of the constitution of the Communal 
 Government of Paris. He begs you to inform your Gov- 
 ernment of it, and takes this opportunity of expressing 
 the desire of the Commune to draw closer the ties of fra- 
 ternity which unite the people of Paris to the 
 
 nation. 
 
 "Accept, &c., &c., 
 
 " Paschal Geoijsset." 
 
 It has been thoroughly demonstrated that the illusions 
 fostered by the portion of the Paris population which 
 supported the Commune were vain. That body could do 
 nothing against Versailles. Such was the truth. Never- 
 theless, the struggle still continued, and the army of Ver- 
 sailles, remaining on the defensive, Paris, as every one 
 knew, could only subsist materially by commerce and 
 manufactures. The city not producing any objects of 
 
PASCHAL GROUSSET 
 CommuRe of Pans 
 1871 
 
RESOURCES OF PARIS. 115 
 
 consumptiou was obliged to draw them from without, and 
 to furnish in exchange the produce of its own handicraft. 
 But Paris could neither work nor barter; so that com- 
 merce and industry were both at a stand-still. 
 
 Paris, already more than half exhausted by five months 
 of blockade, subsisted only by expending the relics of its 
 savings. Every day that passed constituted a dead loss 
 for the city, and involved the destruction of a capital 
 which was not replaced. The most sanguine of the par- 
 tisans of the Commune could not contradict it when it 
 was affirmed, that the prolongation of the situation dis- 
 carded absolutely all hope of a resumption of labor. To- 
 tal ruin and famine was therefore at the end. Against 
 this fatal consummation it was useless to contend. If 
 Paris was not subjected to the material blockade of the 
 siege, the reason was, that the Government of Versailles 
 did not choose to have recourse to that extremity. An 
 order would have sufficed to stop the arrival of all pro- 
 visions. The military impotence of the Commune re- 
 duced Paris to subsisting only at the good pleasure of 
 Versailles. - . 
 
 Early on the morning of the 7th of April, Mont Vale- 
 rien awoke the inhabitants of Paris with its thunder, and 
 crowds rushed towards the Arc de Triomphe, from which 
 spot the fort was visible. The National Guards who had 
 supported the Commune had been continually worsted by 
 the regular troops. The latter had gradually advanced, 
 and had, during the last twenty-four hours, gained some 
 decided advantages, particularly at Courbevoie and Neuilly, 
 both in a direct line with the Champs Elysees, and both 
 distinctly visible from the Arc de Triomphe. It was evi- 
 dent that no defeat was anticipated by the Commune in 
 that quarter, as, on the preceeding day, the General com- 
 manding the troops in Paris addressed the following letter 
 to the Executive Committee: 
 
116 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " Deae Citizens :^The fears of certain persons are 
 exaggerated. I am aware that our brave National Guard 
 requires a new organization ; but the situation of our be- 
 loved Paris is excellent ; our forts are provided with am- 
 munition, and valiantly resist the insensate and criminal 
 attacks of the men I am ashamed to call the French of 
 Versailles. As for Neuilly, the great aim of our adver- 
 saries, I have fortified it formidably, and I defy any army 
 to take it. I have placed there a firm and intelligent 
 man, Citizen Bourgoin ; he maintains there with a firm 
 hand the flag of the Commune, and no one will come and 
 tear it from him. Therefore, dear citizens, let us organize 
 our battalions in the calm and vigilant security of oiir 
 strength, and leave to time — a few days only — the task of 
 showing to our enemies their weakness and our force. 
 
 "Jules Bergeeet." 
 
 It will be seen, however, that Bergeret was laboring 
 under a most erroneous idea of the strength of the posi- 
 tion. 
 
 The village of Courbevoie had been confided to four 
 battalions, numbering about 2,500 men, whilst two others 
 occupied the houses in the Avenue of Neuilly. The Na- 
 tional Guards were stationed on the demi-lune, at the 
 head of the avenue, with their arms piled, when suddenly 
 a detachment of regular troops appeared, and Valerien 
 commenced to throw grape-shot into the place, which 
 was precipitately evacuated by tlie insurgents. 
 
 The holders of the village were without cannon, and 
 had no serious defensive works, and, as usual, at the mo- 
 ment of combat, were without orders and without a chief 
 The companies soon rallied in the adjoining avenue and 
 fell back slowly, sheltering themselves as well as they 
 could behind the trees, and firing on the Versailles forces 
 as the latter arrived on the plateau. When these last had 
 
NEUILLY ABANDONED. 117 
 
 taken up their position, Mont Valerien ceased firing, but 
 the cannon and mitrailleuse supplied its place. 
 
 The insurgents then tried to protect themselves behind 
 the barricade at the end of the bridge, but ineffectually, 
 as that construction, badly put together, and made up of 
 timber and paving-stones, could not resist cannon-balls, 
 and was speedily demolished. At that moment the men 
 of the Commune experienced their severest losses, the 
 mitrailleuses making fearful havoc in their ranks, and a 
 moment of indescribable confusion ensued. Several pieces 
 of cannon had stood for a long time behind ths bridge, 
 but could not be used, as the road was encumbered v/ith 
 fugitives. At last some artillery-men arrived to remove 
 the pieces, but a shell, dropping in their midst, killing and 
 wounding large numbers, they were compelled to drag 
 their guns into the side-streets. 
 
 The insurgents being obliged to abandon the bridge, 
 took refuge in the houses, and continued to fire on the 
 soldiers who had adopted a similar measure on the other 
 side of the river. Eight pieces on the ramparts around 
 the Porte Maillot (the gate of the barricade connecting 
 the Avenue de la Grande Armee Avith the Avenue Neuilly) 
 then commenced to shell the Avenue I^Teuilly, and for a 
 long time prevented the troops from reconstructing the 
 barricade. Gradually the insurgents abandoned the com- 
 bat, and some companies re-entered Paris. At five o'clock 
 the fusillade recommenced, the soldiers issuing in force 
 from the houses, and, covered by the fire from the demi- 
 lune, restored the barricade, and established themselves 
 behind it, though not without considerable loss. 
 
 At the close of the day, Neuilly was completely aban- 
 doned by the National Guards. Colonel Bourgoin, who 
 was intrusted with the defence of the barricade by Berge- 
 ret, died bravely fighting behind it. This officer was 
 formerly an aide-de-camp to Flourens, when he was fight- 
 ing the Turks in the Cretean insurrection. 
 
118 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 During the afternoon, while the combat was taking 
 place at the bridge of Neuilly, all the space between the 
 Ai'c de Triomphe to within a short distance of the Mail- 
 lot gate was filled with a crowd of men, women, and chil- 
 dren, probably ten thousand people, all looking at the 
 fight with the greatest anxiety. Telescopes, field-glasses, 
 tables, chairs, and benclies, were for hire, as for fireworks, 
 or at public fetes. The gratification of this feeling of 
 curiosity was not, however, accomplished without some 
 risk. During the afternoon a shell burst in the Avenue 
 de la Grande Armee, which caused a considerable scatter- 
 ing of the crowd, but they all returned. Another burst 
 within three hundred yards of the Arc de Triomphe, and 
 prudent persons were thinking it advisable to leave, wlien 
 suddenly an immense ohus came screeching through the 
 air, and passing five feet above the heads of the immense 
 mass, exploded with a fearful noise on the Arc de Tri- 
 omphe. Five feet lower, and there would have been five 
 hundred victims. One-half of the crowd fell on their 
 faces, another portion fell long after the explosion, when 
 all danger was over, and the remainder made a rush for 
 the side-streets. Men on horseback, cabs, and carts, pub- 
 lic and private conveyances, every thing that was left 
 standing, started over the fallen masses, and in an instant 
 sabots, canes, umbrellas, and cloaks were the only things 
 visible on the avenue. The Prussian bombardment had 
 taught the Parisians that the danger from shells is les- 
 sened three-quarters by falling on the face as a shell ar- 
 rives ; but many forget until all danger is over, and then 
 it appears most ridiculous to see them drop. The ex- 
 perience is one of which it is to be hoped few readers will 
 ever be compelled to avail themselves. A battery placed 
 at two and a half miles distant, as was Valerien from the 
 Arc de Triomphe, may be seen to fire some twenty seconds 
 before the sound arrives, and there is an interim of four 
 
PERSECUTIOK OF THE CLERGY. 119 
 
 or five seconds between the sound and the arrival of the 
 shell, giving one plenty of time to dodge ; but it is neces- 
 sary that both eyes and ears be kept wide open. 
 
 The shells fell for some time in quick succession in 
 the vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe, Avenue de I'lmper- 
 atrice, and Champs Elysees, killing and wounding great 
 numbers. 
 
 A belt of insurgents was stationed midway up the 
 Champs Elysees to prevent the people from advancing, 
 and it was necessary to make a long detour to arrive at 
 the Arc de Triomphe. Numerous battalions of insur- 
 gents were encamped on the Champs Elysees. 
 
 During the following day the regular troops continued to 
 strengthen their positions outside the fortifications on the 
 west of the city. On the soutliAvest the forts of Vanves 
 and Issy continued to send shells on the plateau of Cha- 
 tillon, which did not reply. The insurgents, thinking 
 they had dismounted the guns of the regular troops, were 
 on the point of making an attack, when a sharp fusillade 
 was heard in the direction of the viaduct ; in an instant 
 after the Versailles outposts had passed Le Val and dis- 
 lodged the insurgents from the slope nearest Issy. 
 
 A veritable persecution had now commenced against 
 the churches and clergy of Paris by order of the Com- 
 mune. Monseigneur Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris; 
 M. Deguerry, cure of the Madeleine, the cure of Nbtre- 
 Dame-des-Victoires, the cure of Saint Severin, the cure 
 of Saint Eustache, and a number of other respectable 
 ecclesiastics in Paris, were all arrested, the object being to 
 hold them as hostages. The Archbishop's sister was also 
 arrested, and the following notice stuck up in many of 
 the churches: "Boutique d hue"—" This shop to let." 
 Not only was the wealth of the different churches declared 
 the property of the Commune, but also the private prop- 
 erty of the clergy was confiscated, and no ecclesiastic 
 
120 THE PAKIS COMMUHE. 
 
 could consider himself safe from the unjustifiable violence 
 of the Commune. It was rumored that one million 
 francs were demanded as ransom from the Archbishop. 
 
 A serious conflict had arisen between the Central Com- 
 mittee and the Commune, in consequence of the attempt 
 of the former to seize the Hotel de Ville, also on account 
 of conflicting authority in the War Department. On the 
 night of the 7th of April several orders of General Clus- 
 eret's (Delegate of War) had not been executed by the 
 staff; and General Bergeret, substituting his authority 
 for that of his colleague, had sent to the battalions orders 
 so different from those which he had received, that there 
 was much confusion in the military operations. In the 
 morning Bergeret was replaced by General Dombrowski, 
 a Polish citizen formerly an officer in the Russian service, 
 and the ex-commander was sent for by General Cluseret, 
 who addressed to him such violent reproaches that the 
 interview soon degenerated into a sharp dispute. Citizen 
 Bergeret then raising his voice, told General Cluseret that 
 he (the speaker), a Frenchman and a patriot, could not 
 consent to obey a man who had fought in America for the 
 cause of slavery against liberty, and who had repudiated 
 his quality of Frenchman to become a citizen of another 
 country. — Bergeret was in error as to the side on which 
 Cluseret fought during the American civil wai', the error 
 at that time being very prevalent in Paris. He fought on 
 the Northern side, and was for some time attached to the 
 staff of General Fremont. Bergeret "was immediately 
 arrested and thrown into prison, and the Polish exile or 
 convict was appointed to his place. It was said that the 
 new commander, Dombrowski, was much feared by the 
 Eussian authorities. He had been transported to Siberia 
 and escaped, after having traversed all Eussia at the peril 
 of his life, arriving in France in 1865. 
 
 A despatch from the new commandant, Dombrowski, 
 
LOSSES AT THE NEUILLY 33EIDGE. 121 
 
 was received on the morning of the 10th of April, an- 
 nouncing that his men had occupied Asnieres and that 
 the enemy was in flight, adding that his own loss was 
 small, the enemy's great. This was followed by the fol- 
 lowing announcement : 
 
 " April 10. 
 
 "The troops have definitely installed themselves in 
 their positions at Asnieres. Iron-plated wagons are com- 
 mencing their operations, and by their movement on the 
 lines of Versailles and Saint-G-ermain, cover that between 
 Colombes, Garennes, and Courbevoie. 
 
 " Our posts at Villiers and Levallois have advanced, 
 and we are in possession of the whole of the northeast 
 part of Neuilly. I have executed with my whole staff a 
 reconnaissance by Levallois, Villiers, and IsTeuilly, as far 
 as the Eond-point of the Boulevard du Eoule, returning 
 by the gate of the Ternes. The situation at the Porte- 
 Maillot is much improved, in consequence of the diminu- 
 tion of the bombardment during the night. 
 
 " "We have been able to repair the damage caused by 
 the enemy's fire, and we have begun the construction of 
 fresh batteries in front of the gate in question. 
 
 "Perfect order prevailed during the night at all the 
 posts; and the rumors about the abandonment of the 
 different positions are only inventions of the reaction, 
 devised for the purpose of demoralizing the population. 
 
 " DOMBROWSEI." 
 
 According to the Mot d'Ordre, Eochefort's paper, the 
 losses of insurgents at Neuilly bridge amounted to 225 
 killed and 435 wounded, although officially the insurgents 
 announce only a few wounded, and instead of a defeat a 
 very decided victory. It was easy to be seen from many 
 points in the vicinity of the Arc de Triomphe that the 
 6 
 
133 THE PARIS COMMUl^E. 
 
 Oommunists had met with a decided defeat, and the fol- • 
 lowing correspondence from the Versailles army Yerifies 
 the yiew as seen from Paris : 
 
 " At none of the encounters between the Prussians and 
 the French around Paris did I see more seyere fighting 
 than on Friday eyening at the Courbeyoie end of the 
 bridge of Neuilly. There was one barricade there and 
 another on the middle of the bridge ; it had been resolyed 
 to carry those barricades on Friday, with the yiew of 
 opening a way to Paris by the Ayenue de l^euilly. The 
 diyision of General Montaudon was marched to Courbe- 
 yoie for the purpose, and that General directed the moye- 
 ments. Generals Pechot and Besson were also on the 
 ground. I saw the action from the glacis of Yal6rien. 
 At 3 o'clock the enemy opened fire, Valerien throwing 14 
 and 38 pound shells from 7 and 14 pound guns against 
 Porte Maillot and the insurgents' batteries on the ram- 
 parts close to that gate. At the same moment the fire 
 of eight 7-pounders and of four 13-pounders was directed 
 on the tete de pont at the right bank of the riyer from the 
 Courbeyoie road and open space to the left, and the can- 
 non and mitrailleuses of Montaudon's diyision enfiladed 
 the avenue leading down to the enceinte. 
 
 " The insurgents vigorously replied with heayy guns 
 from Porte Maillot and the ramparts, and with a mitrail- 
 leuse battery on the banks of the riyer close to the island. 
 The troops possessed themselves of the houses at the 
 angles of Puteaux and Courbeyoie, and from these, at 
 half-past three, commenced a chassepot fire on the in- 
 surgents. Dreadful was the thunder of artillery, the 
 running scream of mitrailleuses, and the shrill whizzing 
 of chassepots for a quarter of an hour ; the whole of the 
 region of Courbeyoie and Neuilly was enveloped in a 
 smoke so thick that one could see the fire blaze from the 
 
THE VERSAILLES ACCOUNT. 123 
 
 cannon's mouth and from exploding shells as if it had 
 been night. Insurgents were seen collecting in the Bois 
 de Boulogne. Valerien shelled them, hut they got under 
 cover. 
 
 " Troops entered the wood and gave them chase ; they 
 ran across towards the Porte Maillot. The JSTational 
 Guards there fired, and so stopped the pursuit, but the 
 shots from the fort brought down friends and foes alike. 
 When the terrific din had somewhat abated, and the 
 smoke partially cleared away, I saw a body of troops, each 
 furnished with a sand-bag, approach the barricade at the 
 end of the bridge. The insurgents had retreated to the 
 second barricade. Putting the sand-bags on the top of 
 the barricade, the infantry crouched behind it and fired 
 volley after volley along the bridge, while Valerien and all 
 the military batteries kept sweeping the avenue. In half 
 an hour the troops were on the bridge. A column of 
 them was marched over it, and proceeded to occupy the 
 houses at St. James on the right and at Neuilly on the 
 left. A caisson left by the insurgents on the bridge ex- 
 ploded and killed G-eneral Besson on the spot. The firing 
 of artillery was still very hot ; but at four o'clock the fusil- 
 lade had ceased near the bridge. 
 
 " General Pechot was found to be badly wounded. He 
 died in the Press Ambulance a short time after he was 
 carried in there. It was nearly six o'clock when the 
 artillery fire slackened, and the struggle came to a con- 
 clusion for the day. Just then two rifled 24-pounders 
 arrived at Valerien, and were at once placed in position. 
 
 "During the fight no fewer than twenty-one officers 
 were killed or wounded on the Government side. The 
 bridge and the entrance of the Avenue were strewn with 
 dead and wounded insurgents. At eleven at night the 
 division of General Grenier was marched out from Ver- 
 sailles to supply the place of the division of General 
 
134 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 Montaudon, who had been wounded. By some bad 
 management, the insurgents were allowed to regain pos- 
 session of a barricade on the Neuilly side, but they were 
 driven from it again yesterday morning. It was reported 
 that Porte Maillot was to be taken. I was near tlie 
 ground from morning till night, but no attempt at storm- 
 ing the insurgent position was made. The artillery com- 
 bat was renewed early and continued till dark, and the 
 troops succeeded in occupying the houses in the Avenue 
 de ISTeuilly as far as the church ; but the infantry opera- 
 tions were confined to firing from windows and from behind 
 walls. The batteries at Porte Maillot and close to the 
 ramparts on the right of the gate shelled Courbevoie and 
 the other positions of the troops. Valerien, with 48-pound 
 shells, kept up a constant fire on Porte Maillot and its 
 redoubts, and the field batteries of the Grenier Division 
 swept the Avenue up to the Arc de Triomphe. One shell 
 struck the Arc itself. On both sides hundreds of spec- 
 tators were out to witness the performance. I saw a large 
 body of l!^ational Guards prepare to march down from the 
 Arc de Triomphe at about four o'clock. They were 
 arrested by the shelling of the troops." 
 
 The following morning a warm fusillade took place in 
 the Bois de Boulogne, and soon extended along the river 
 to Clichy and Asnieres. Mont Valerien continued to 
 throw shells from time to time into the wood, and in the 
 direction of the Bois de Colombes and Gennevilliers. The 
 guns on the rampart kept up a continual fire on Cour- 
 bevoie and the bridge at Neuilly. The insurgents were 
 busily occupied in fortifying Asnieres, which place seemed 
 likely to become the base of future operations. The gate 
 of the fortifications in that direction was open, and vehicles 
 laden with ammunition and stores were passing out. The 
 villages of Levallois and Champerret were strongly occu- 
 
A ITIGHT ATTACK. 125 
 
 pied by National Guards. To the south of Paris the Ver- 
 sailles troops had opened a murderous fire from the plateau 
 of Chatillon, which had remained entirely silent for two 
 days. They had profited by the leisure allowed them by 
 the forts of Vanves and Issy to place naval guns in the 
 works established by the Prussians. The first battery 
 unmasked was on the right of the Moulin, and fired on 
 what remained of the barracks of Vanves. The insurgents 
 were obliged to retire to the casemates. Later in the day 
 the fusillade commenced from the advanced posts, and 
 the mitrailleuses were heard resounding in the woods of 
 Clamart. The action extended to Montrouge and Bag- 
 neux and the left, whence the insurgents were seen re- 
 treating. They soon halted, however, Cluseret having 
 sent large reinforcements to their aid. There seemed to 
 be a mutual lull on both sides, but soon after dark there 
 suddenly broke out a furious discharge of musketry, 
 cannon, and mitrailleuses, such as had not been heard 
 even during the siege by the Prussians. For nearly two 
 hours the peals succeeded each other at intervals of only 
 a few seconds ; and as the clouds were dark and low, the 
 sky was lit up each moment with flashes of light like 
 summer lightning. A serious attack had been made by 
 the Versailles troops on the insurgent outposts before 
 Issy. Some battalions were surprised, and were obliged 
 to retreat precipitately behind the forts. In the meantime 
 a severe contest ensued between the outposts of both 
 parties. After a desperate struggle in the village of Issy, 
 all* the approaches to which were barricaded or pierced for 
 musketry, the insurgents fell back under cover of the 
 forts, which kept up a strong fire to protect their retreat. 
 The mitrailleuses, with which the barricades were armed, 
 also opened fire on two strong columns of troops which 
 were marching on Issy. 
 A despatch from the Commander Dombrowski, received 
 
126 THE PAEIS COMMTJKE. 
 
 during the action, stated that the situation presented no 
 gravity; that Paris could preserve its confidence; that 
 the attack of the Versailles forces, which had heen ex- 
 pected for two days, would not succeed. 
 
 A despatch from the commander of Fort Issy, dated one 
 o'clock, April 13th, states that the Versailles troops made 
 three successive attacks, but were repulsed with heavy 
 loss. The plateau of Chatillon, he wrote, was covered 
 with dead which the enemy could not remove. A similar 
 report was also sent from Fort Vanves. There the troops 
 appear to have attacked the insurgents in the trenches. 
 General Cluseret, Delegate of War, issued the following 
 official report of the engagement on the evening of 
 the nth: 
 
 " The enemy, profiting by the obscurity of the night, 
 unmasked all his batteries, and attempted a violent attack 
 on the gates of the southwest, but was repulsed with dis- 
 grace. Our losses are two wounded and one killed (there 
 were seldom more than that number killed in any action, 
 according to the Commune) as far as is known at present. 
 In this nocturnal assault — an operation always difficult to 
 be repelled by very young troops — there was not a moment 
 of hesitation, and the Enfants de Paris behaved most 
 bravely. I mention in the order of the day the 208th and 
 179th battalions on account of their ardor." 
 
 The official Journal of the Commune, commenting on 
 the attack, says : 
 
 " The cannonade of Monday evening against the forts 
 of the south was as useless as it was furious. The attack 
 was vigorously repulsed, and the fire of the enemy soon 
 ceased. Much noise and little work; but certainly no 
 small loss for the assailants. The Ministry of War is of 
 
A DELEGATIOif TO VERSAILLES. 127 
 
 opinion that this grand demonstration is meant to cover 
 a surprise towards the Porte Maillot and ISTeuilly, which 
 will not have any better success. We are ready here as 
 elsewhere. Versailles is void of troops. The whole royal 
 army is said to be under the walls of Paris, which expects 
 them with the calmness and confidence of right and force." 
 
 The same organ adds: 
 
 "The attack of Tuesday evening took place between 
 the forts of Issy and Van^s. The Versailles troops ad- 
 vanced to within a hundred yards of the trench, but they 
 were vigorously repulsed, and in their flight sustained 
 considerable loss." 
 
 The Commune having accused the Government of Ver- 
 sailles of introducing agents into the National Guards for 
 the purpose of propagating disorder, published a decree 
 instituting a Council of War in each legion, to be com- 
 posed of seven members — a president, two officers, two 
 sub-officers, and as many privates. A Council of Disci- 
 pline was also formed in each battalion, composed of as 
 many members as there were companies, nominated by 
 election, and revocable on the proposition of the Delegate 
 of War. The Council of War could pronounce all pen- 
 alties en usage, subject to the ratification of a Court of 
 Eevision. 
 
 The Chambers of Commerce of Paris, representing 
 nearly eight thousand merchants, manufacturers and tra- 
 ders, appointed a delegation to proceed to Versailles and 
 endeavor to bring about some amicable settlement of the 
 conflict now dividing the insurgents of Paris and the 
 legal Government. The bases on which the envoys were 
 to endeavor to bring about a reconciliation were these : 
 
 "The maintainancc and affirmation of the Eepublic. 
 
138 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The possession by the city of Paris of the most extended 
 municipal liberties, distinct from all action or interference 
 from the central power." These delegates state that they 
 arrived at Versailles, and placed themselyes in communi- 
 cation with a committee of seven members of the Left, in 
 conjunction with whom they drew up the following out- 
 line of the compromise : 
 
 "The formation of a Committee of Conciliation, the 
 functions of which would be to place in communication 
 the members of the Government and of the Commune of 
 Paris, each preserving entire freedom of action, and to 
 seek in that exchange of ideas the means of a pacific solu- 
 tion. The course by which that result is to be arrived at 
 appears to consist principally in these dispositions : ' The 
 acceptance by the city of Paris of the Municipal Bill 
 which is about to be voted by the Assembly ; elections in 
 Paris in conformity with that law, that is to say, in a few 
 days, under the direction of t:ie Committee of Concilia- 
 tion ; recognition of the right of the Municipal Council 
 thus chosen to submit to the Assembly certain proposi- 
 tions relative to the particular conditions of the city of 
 Paris, the necessity of which the bill already admits in 
 certain respects ; and consequently, in order to facilitate 
 the negotiations, the suspension of military operations 
 immediately after the acceptance of those preliminaries 
 at Paris, without prejudice for the present to the question 
 of the arming or organization of the National Guard, 
 which subject shall be reserved for the subsequent ex- 
 amination of the Municipal Council, and for«fche decision 
 of the National Assembly, when the latter body shall have 
 under consideration the reconstitution of the armed force 
 in France. A general political amnesty ! " The report 
 of the delegates then goes on to say : " We waited on M. 
 Barth61emy Saint-Hilaire, who manifested the greatest 
 
Iiq"TERVIEW WITH THIERS. 129 
 
 sympathy with the object of our mission, and procured for 
 us an interview with M. Thiers. The Cliief of the Ex- 
 ecutive Power, to whom the terms of the powers we had 
 received from the Syndical' Chambers had been communi- 
 cated, replied very categorically to the two points men- 
 tioned above. With respect to the maintenance of the 
 Eepublic, he affirmed to us, ' on his honor,' in the clearest 
 and most positive language, that never, he living and in 
 power, the Eepublic in France should fall ! He reminded 
 us that he had already said the same in the Chamber, and 
 authorized us to repeat it, in his name, to the persons who 
 had sent us and to the public. He added that, notwith- 
 standing the personal tendencies of certain individuals or 
 groups in the Chamber, 500 deputies at least would sup- 
 port him in that orJ.er of ideas ; and that, in fine, the Re- 
 public, if it had reason to mistrust the excesses of factions, 
 had nothing to fear from the disposition of the Chamber. 
 These assurances, which we received with joy, were besides 
 on every point in conformity with the confidence testified 
 on the previous evening by the deputies of the Left. On 
 the second point, that of the municipal liberties of Paris, 
 the Chief of the Executive Power declared to us that the 
 city could not expect anything more from the Govern- 
 ment than the application of the common law, as estab- 
 lished by the municipal bill which the Chamber was 
 about to vote. On that subject we avoided entering on a 
 discussion which could not lead to any result, for we did 
 not hope to convert to municipalisfc or federalist ideas 
 the well-known centralism of M. Thiers. We, however, 
 thought right to communicate to him the note drawn 
 up with the deputies of the Left. M. Thiers listened 
 attentively to the reading of the paper ; he neither rati- 
 fied explicitly any of its dispositions, nor formally con- 
 tested any of them; and the explanations exchanged 
 on various paragraphs, especially on that relative to the 
 
 6* 
 
130 THE PAEIS COMMUi^E. 
 
 armistice, left us under this impression — that the terms 
 of the note in question might, so far as the executive 
 power was concerned, serve as the basis for the ulterior 
 discussion of an arrangement." The delegation not pos- 
 sessing any authority to treat further, thought fit to return 
 to Paris and report progress. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 M. Jules Pavre at Prussian headquarters— Letter of Paschal Gronsset to the 
 Prussian Commander— Proclamation posted at St. Denis— Sacrilege of the 
 Communists — Religious services discontinued — Decree ordering the destruc- 
 tion of the Column Vendome— Article in the Mot (T Orc^z-fi— Shells fall far 
 into Paris— Eeport of General Cluseret— Battery at Trocadero -Marshal de 
 McMahon appointed Commander-in-Chief of the army of Versailles— Forma- 
 tion of that army— The army of reserve— Fighting on the 15th— Elections of 
 the 16th— Fighting at Asnidres— The Chateau de Bccon carried by the troops 
 — The Government accused of procrastination— Deputations to Versailles- 
 Address of the Republican League— Programme of the Commune— Severe 
 firing on the 19th— Losses of the insurgents— Attack of the insurgents on 
 the bridge at Neuilly— Their defeat— Letter from the Archbishop to M. Thiers 
 —Damage caused in Paris by shells— Engagement at the bridge of Clichy— 
 Explosion of a powder magazine— Convents and nunneries invaded— Athe- 
 ism of the Communists— The Executive Committee— Suppression of jour- 
 nals— Lisurgent batteries at Lavallois and Clichy— Attack on the Park of 
 Neuilly— Proclamation announcing an armistice at Neuilly— Expectation of 
 a grand attack— Attack on Levallois by the troops— Repulsed by Dom- 
 browskl. 
 
 JULES FAVEE, Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 passed the entire day of the 9th of April with 
 General Fabrice in the German headquarters at Eouen. 
 The object of his journey was to ascertain for the Govern- 
 ment of Versailles the nature of the communications 
 recently made by the Commune of Paris to the German 
 military authorities at St. Denis, and he at once obtained 
 all the information he required. It appeared that on the 
 4th of April, Paschal Grousset, acting for the Commune 
 as Delegate of Foreign Affairs, sent to the German head- 
 quarters at St. Denis a note in these words : 
 
 " The Commune wishes to know at what point have 
 arrived the negotiations between Germany and the Gov- 
 
132 THE PARIS COMMLNE, 
 
 ernnient of Versailles for the execution of the prelimi- 
 naries of peace, and in case the latter should have effected 
 the payment of a sum of 500 millions of francs, the Com- 
 munal delegate delnands the CYacuation by the Prussians 
 of the forts on the north side, which are dependencies of 
 the territory of Paris." 
 
 This document is a specimen of the stupid arrogance of 
 some of the members of the Commune. They did not 
 recognize the Versailles Government, but if that Govern- 
 ment had paid any portion of the war debt, they wished 
 to take advantage of it. 
 
 M. Jules Favre, in communicating to the National As- 
 sembly the result of his mission, added that the German 
 authorities sent no reply ; and the Minister then, refer- 
 ring to the attitude of Prussia relating to the events 
 then going on in Paris, declared that the Cabinet at 
 Berhn had repeatedly offered its service to the Government 
 of Versailles for the re-establishment of order in the 
 French capital, but that those overtures had been declined. 
 
 The commander-in-chief of the 3d army corps had the 
 following proclamation posted at St. Denis : 
 
 " CoMPiEGNE, April 6, 1871. 
 
 " Art. 1. The state of siege is declared in those parts 
 of the departments of the Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et- 
 Marne, and Oise, occupied by the troops of the 3d army. 
 
 " Art. 2. The powers with which the civil authority was 
 invested for the maintenance of order and police, are con- 
 sequently transferred entirely to German military com- 
 manders. The civil authority will, nevertheless, continue 
 to exercise those functions of which it has not been de- 
 prived by the military governors. 
 
 "Art. 3. The German military tribunals are compe- 
 tent to try crimes and offences against the safety of the 
 German troops, or against public order, whatever may 
 
SACRILEGIOUS CONDUCT. 133 
 
 be tlie position of the principal accnsed or their accom- 
 plices. 
 
 " Art. 4. The German military authority has the right — 
 1. To make perquisitions by day or by night in the dwel- 
 lings of the inhabitants ; 2. To remove released conyicts 
 and individuals not having a residence in the localities sub- 
 ject to a state of siege ; 3. To order the delivery of arms 
 and ammunition, and to search for and remove them ; and 
 4. To prohibit such publications and meetings as may seem 
 to it of a nature to produce or protract disorder. 
 
 " Albert, 
 
 •' Prince Royal of Saxony." 
 
 The disgraceful and sacrilegious conduct of the Commune 
 became more and more disgusting to that respectable por- 
 tion of the citizens who were compelled to remain in Paris. 
 A number of its soldiers went on the morning of the 9th 
 of April to the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, and, 
 after blocking up the approaches, proceeded to make re- 
 quisitions under the pretext of seeking for mitrailleuses. 
 They also arrested one of the priests, and seized on the 
 papers of the cure. The search lasted several hours, 
 during which time some of the party were playing cards 
 in the vestry, others proceeded to dress up the figure of 
 the Virgin Mary as a vivandiere, w^aile that of Jesus was 
 clothed in the uniform of a Versailles soldier, a j)ipe stuck 
 in his mouth, and then shot at by the insurgents present. 
 
 All the clergy of Montmartre, including M. Protot, the 
 venerable cure of St. Pierre, were also arrested. The mo- 
 tives may be seen from the following curious placard, 
 posted on the closed doors of the church : 
 
 "April 10,1871. 
 
 " Whereas priests are thieves, and churches are haunts 
 where the masses have been morally assassinated in drag- 
 ging France under the heels of the scoundrels Bonaparte, 
 
134 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Favre, and Trocliu, the delegate of Les Carrieres at tlio 
 ex-Prefecture of Police orders the church of St. Pierre to 
 be closed, and decrees the arrest of the ecclesiastics and 
 ignorantins. — Le Moussu." 
 
 Two Commune seals were affixed to the paper. 
 
 One of the venerable fathers was conducted to the ex- 
 Prefecture of Police and brought before the citizen dele- 
 gate, the notorious atheist, Eaoul Eigault, who demanded 
 his name. 
 
 " My children," replied the yenerable man, whose hair 
 was whitened with the frost of eighty winters. 
 
 "Citizen," interrupted the delegate Eigault, who was 
 not quite thirty years old, " you are not before children, 
 but in presence of a magistrate." " What is your pro- 
 fession ? " 
 
 " I am a servant of Cod." 
 
 " Where does he live ? " interrogated Eigault. 
 
 "Everywhere," responded the pious old priest, noted 
 for his deeds of charity for over half a century. 
 
 " Send this man to the Conciergerie, and issue a war- 
 rant for the arrest of his Master, one called Cod, who has 
 no permanent residence, and is consequently, contrary to 
 law, living in a perpetual state of vagabondage," replied 
 the infamous blasphemer. 
 
 The following day the Commune ordered the religious 
 service to be discontinued in all the prisons. It also 
 ordered the destruction of the Column Vend6me. This 
 decree was probably the most remarkable, as well as the 
 most dastardly, of all the proclamatiotis of th'ese vandals : 
 
 " Paris, AprU 12, 1871. 
 
 " The CoMMFifE of Paris — Considering that the im- 
 perial column in the Place Venddme is a monument of 
 barbarism, a symbol of brute force and false glory, an 
 affirmation of militarism, a negation of international lav/. 
 
THE COLUMIT VEN"d6mE, 135 
 
 a permanent insult cast by the victors on the vanquished^ 
 a perpetual attack on one of the great principles of the 
 French Eepublic Fraternity, decrees the column of the 
 Place Vendome shall be demolished. 
 
 This beautiful column took its name from the hotel of 
 Duke Vendome, the illegitimate son of Henry IV., which 
 formerly stood here. The form of the Place is a perfect 
 octagon, 420 by 450 feet. The buildings bordering on the 
 Place are very beautiful, and of Corinthian architecture. 
 In the centre formerly stood an equestrian statue of Louis 
 XIV ; this was demolished by the people during the first 
 revolution, the base only being saved. In 1806, the Em- 
 peror Napoleon I. gave orders for the erection of a tri- 
 umphal monument in honor of the successes of the French 
 armies. The column was of the Tuscan order, and copied 
 after Trajan's Pillar at Eome. Its height was 135 feet ; 
 in circumference at the base, 35 feet; the base was 21 feet 
 high and 20 square. The summit was reached by a wind- 
 ing staircase of 176 steps. The column was covered with 
 bas-reliefs in bronze, composed of 276 plates, made out of 
 1200 pieces of cannon taken from the Eussians and Aus- 
 trians, representing the victories of the French armies in 
 the German campaign of 1805. There were over 2,000 
 figures of three feet high, and the metal used weighed 
 1,800,000 pounds. The column was surmounted by a col- 
 lossal bronze statue of Napoleon I, 11 feet high, in a 
 Eoman toga ; this was erected by Napoleon III, in 1863, 
 replacing the old familiar statue with the cocked hat and 
 military surtout. The Emperor's statue was hurled to the 
 ground during the revolution of 1814, but France was not 
 satisfied until a finer one was placed upon the summit. 
 The whole cost was about 1300,000. 
 
 The Commune did not decide the destruction of the na- 
 tional monument without some opposition. A small mi- 
 
136 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 nority argued that it was not the moment to waste time 
 on such trifling questions* The reasons which preceded 
 the text of the decree were also the subject of a long dis- 
 cussion. Although monuments commemorative of yicto- 
 ries are of a nature to perpetuate insatiable animosities 
 between nations, if they are to disappear, the national 
 representation of the whole of France ought to order their 
 suppression, the whole of France having contributed to 
 their erection. 
 
 Paschal Grousset, in his paper, the Vengeur, says: 
 
 "At last that Column Vendome is to be removed — a 
 ridiculous and monstrous trophy, erected at the command 
 of a blind despot, to perpetuate the remembrance of his 
 insensate conquests and his culpable glory — a monument, 
 moreover, destitute of all artistic value — a cantata in 
 bronze, a daub in metal instead of on canvas — in short, a 
 wretched imitation of Trajan's column. Art will lose 
 nothing by its destruction ; good sense and patriotism will 
 gain. For the fact is injudicious to leave under the eyes 
 of the ignorant and the simple the stupid glorification of 
 a cursed past. That Column of Vendome . . I have 
 never been able to look at it without my heart bounding 
 with indignation and disgust. In the time of the Empire 
 there was always to be seen hanging on the railings and 
 rotting in the rain, innumerable wreaths of a flaunting 
 yellow or a dirty white : Souvenir, Eegrets, Gloire, Yictoire. 
 Without the sentinel who watched over this rubbish with 
 jealous care, one might have taken the place for the tradi- 
 tional shop always to be found next door to the marble- 
 mason's at the gates of the cemeteries." 
 
 The seizure of the public treasures of the Paris churches 
 created an intense excitement, and most of the respectable 
 journals which still remained unsuppressed were loud in 
 their complaints against Eochefort, a supporter of the 
 
SEIZURE OF CHURCH PROPERTY. 137 
 
 Commune and editor of tlie 3fot cVOrdre, for having de- 
 nounced the treasures, and indicating where different 
 sacred vessels were hid away for safety. In his turn he 
 rephed that, not only was it proper to make the seizures, 
 but he gloried in having been the means of assuring that 
 result. His reasoning was characteristic of the men with 
 whom he associated at the time — men whose blasphemous 
 words and atheistical opinions were far in advance of the 
 revolutionists of 1789, and of such a character as to make 
 all true Frenchmen weep for their country. His article 
 on the subject ran thus : 
 
 "Not only does the Mot cTOrdre refuse to disavow the 
 co-operation which it gave for the seizure in question, but 
 it declares that if it knew of any other treasure belonging 
 to the clergy elsewhere, it would again hasten to inform 
 the Commune. Our eternal creed will be, that as Jesus 
 Christ was born in a stable, the only treasure that Notre- 
 Dame ought to possess is a truss of straw. As to the 
 sacred vases studded with emeralds, or the emeralds en- 
 riched with finely-chased vessels, we do not hesitate to de- 
 clare them national property, from the simple reason that 
 they are derived from the generosity of those to whom the 
 Church promised Paradise ; and that an assurance of 
 imaginary blessings, given to extort money or articles of 
 value, is designated in all codes as swindling. "Why is a 
 physician interdicted from inheriting from his patient? 
 Because the supposition is that he may have been able, by 
 the dread of death, to turn the brain of the sick man and 
 induce him to put the doctor's name in his will in ex- 
 change for the preservation of his life. The priests, and 
 the church which enrolls them, are just in the same case. 
 "We cannot say how the first Christians understood religion, 
 which has been since so strangely revised, corrected, and 
 augmented ; but at this hour, and for many centuries past, 
 
138 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 it has become the pretext for all sorts of extortions and 
 intimidations. Por that reason we infinitely prefer seeing 
 the Commune make requisitions on the churches rather 
 than on merchants and manufacturers."' 
 
 The Moniteur, of Versailles, made the following com- 
 ment on the above article : 
 
 "Where did M. Eocheforfc learn that the crucifixes 
 carved by Bouchardon, and the sacred vessels chased by 
 the most celebrated artists, were swindled, as he elegantly 
 puts it, out of the dying, by working on their fears? 
 "When Philippe-le-Bel, after his victory of Mons-en-Puelle, 
 Louis XIII, after the glorious combats of Pont-de-Suse, 
 Conde, Turenne, and Luxemburg, whom the Parisians 
 jaroudly named the Decorator of Notre-Dame, enriched 
 our temples with their voluntary offerings, or with stand- 
 ards taken from the enemy, was their conduct caused by 
 terror or cheating? And if those recollections do not 
 touch M. Eochefort, let him at least respect in those works 
 of art, so admirably executed, the glory of the artists. 
 The handicraftsman has also his glory, often more durable 
 than that of conquerors, pretended legislators, and self- 
 called politicians ; he transmits it to posterity in the mas- 
 terpieces which, if a painter, he has fixed on canvas; if a 
 sculptor, he has created from the shapeless block of marble ; 
 or, if a goldsmith, he has hammered or chiselled out with 
 delight. In the name of industry and its glorious inher- 
 itance, respect at least those so-called treasures of the 
 churches, which are, in reality, only magnificent works of 
 art, and which, at least, unlike those carefully preserved 
 in the cabinets of celebrated collectors, are open to all. 
 Democrats, respect democratic art, which, perhaps, the 
 Christian religion alone has placed at the service of the 
 poor as well as of the rich." 
 
PROGEESS OF THE FIGHTING. 139 
 
 The advantage round tlie walls of Paris, for one or two 
 daj^s, was not decidedly with the Versailles troops. Nearly 
 all their attacks on the southern forts of Issy, Vanyes and 
 Montrouge had been repulsed. On the morning of the 
 13th, the engagement became general along the west side 
 of Paris. The object of the regular troops was to release, 
 by a flank movement, a detachment which had been driven 
 on the G-rande Latte, an island in the Seine, between the 
 bridges of Asnieres and Neuilly. This was a body of men 
 who had recently arrived at Versailles from Breton. At 
 the same time a severe encounter of infantry was going 
 on in the streets of Neuilly and Levallois; the National 
 Guards were obliged to give way, and General Dom- 
 browski was under the necessity of sending for reinforce- 
 ments. The Avenue de la Grande Armee, and the neigh- 
 borhood of the Arc de Triomphe, continued to receive its 
 share of projectiles from Mpnt Valerien and from the 
 bridge at Neuilly. One shell fell as far down the Champs 
 Elysees as the corner of the Eue de Morny, smashing a 
 lamp-post and the butt and truck of a water-carrier. It 
 fortunately did not burst ; and a group of spectators, who 
 were standing near, escaped unhurt. Another shell fell 
 in the midst of a battalion of insurgents in Place do 
 I'Etoile. The soldiers were on their way to Port Maillot, 
 beating drums and wa-\dng several new flags. Seven men 
 were killed and twenty wounded with the single shell. 
 From that moment spectators were not allowed to go 
 nearer the firing than the Eond-Point on the Champs 
 Elysees. The fusillade continued during the afternoon, 
 but it was difficult, from the ramparts, to form any idea 
 of the result of the fighting near the barricade of the 
 Pont de Neuilly. Later in the day the engagement ex- 
 tended to the left side of the Avenue de Neuilly, which 
 district was still occupied by the Versailles troops. 
 
140 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 M. Eossel, chief of the insurgent staff, published the 
 following military report : 
 
 "April 13th. 
 
 " The fighting has continued all day at Neuilly. The 
 troops of the Commune have preserved an offensive 
 attitude, and the town is attacked and defended foot by 
 foot. At Asnieres the struggle is less obstinate. 
 
 " On the side of the southern forts, the day has passed 
 without any remarkable incident. General Eudes is 
 making active dispositions for the night, as the move- 
 ments of the enemy seem to presage an attack. Eeinforce- 
 ments have been sent to the points already assailed. The 
 morale of the troops is excelletit. 
 
 " The progress of organization admits of a gradual 
 diminution of the excessive fatigue imposed on the troops." 
 
 General Cluseret's report, the same day, addressed to 
 the Commune, says : 
 
 " I return from an inspection of the southern forts, and 
 of the general line of defence from Montrouge to La 
 Muette, and my impression is most favorable. 
 
 " The attacks of Tuesday and Wednesday, made with a 
 great number of men on the enemy's side, were repulsed 
 with so much ease and so little loss that they ought to 
 inspire an entire confidence in the future. 
 
 " The battery of 24, on the Trocadero, has sent balls 
 into the barracks of Mont Valerien. That range was all 
 we wished to obtain for the moment. 
 
 " I invite the attention of the Commune to the manly 
 aspect of the troops, and the exceptional order prevailing 
 at the Point du Jour. Both men and materials are in 
 good order, and denote energy, activity, and competence 
 on the part of the commander. Van-^s and Montrouge 
 are in good condition. On the side of the enemy there is 
 the same disposition of artillery as in the time of the 
 
CLUSERET'S FALSEHOODS. 141 
 
 Prussians. As to their infantry, it is not numerous, and 
 witliout mucli consistence. When the critical moment 
 arrives, I have every reason to believe that the resistance 
 of the Versaillaise will not be found superior to onr efforts." 
 
 General Cluseret in his reports did not deem it neces- 
 sary to be controlled in any measure by the facts in ques- 
 tion. A proposition had been made in the Commune to 
 abolish the French Grammar, leaving to citizens the 
 privilege of spelling as they pleased ; also expunging from 
 the dictionary such words as king, duke, sir, servant, 
 equipage, conscription, etc.; it would have been as well 
 to have included truth, veracity, etc. 
 
 The large guns in position on the Trocadero (the 
 heights above Passy at the extreme west of the city), and 
 pointed at Mont Valerien, commenced firing during the 
 afternoon of the 13th. The fort replied feebly; and, not 
 being able to discover the exact position of this new 
 battery, which was concealed behind the wall of the Passy 
 Cemetery, threw a few shells on the neighboring houses. 
 A crowd of idlers, who had collected in the rear of this 
 battery, immediately dispersed. About half-past four the 
 guns there ceased firing, probably because none of the 
 shot had reached high enough up the mountain to touch 
 the fort at the top. Of the eighteen shells, the flight of 
 which was observed, some fell in the Bois de Boulogne, 
 one at Suresnes, some in the vineyards at the foot of 
 Valerien, and four were not followed by any explosion, 
 and probably dropped into the river. The fort, being at 
 a higher elevation, had the neighborhood of the Trocadero 
 within range, and its projectiles damaged houses in the 
 Eues Scheffer, Petrarque, and Vineuse. 
 
 The military operations being about to assume a new 
 and more important phase, to assure their success, M. 
 Thiers, by an official decree, appointed Marshal de 
 
142 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 McMahon commander-in-chief of the army of Versailles, 
 an appointment that gave the greatest amount of satis- 
 faction to all lovers of law and order in France. The 
 illustrious Duke of Magenta, ever since the fatal day of 
 Froeschwiller, was the most popular man in France, and 
 the prestige of his name was immense. He had not yet 
 thoroughly recovered from the wound received at the 
 battle of Sedan when he was called to this new command. 
 
 The composition of the army of Versailles, placed under 
 the command of Marshal de McMahon, was as follows: 
 The active army consisted of three corps — two of infantry 
 and one of cavalry — commanded respectively by Generals 
 Ladmirault, De Cissey, and Du Barail. General Borel was 
 chief of staff; General Princeteau, commandant of artillery ; 
 and General Brettevillois, commandant of engineers. 
 
 The 1st corps was formed of three divisions, commanded 
 by Generals Grenier, Laveaucoupet, and Montaudon. Its 
 chief of staff was General Saget ; General Laffaille, com- 
 mandant of artillery; and General Dubost, commandant 
 of engineers. 
 
 The second corps, as the first, numbered three divisions, 
 commanded by Generals Lavasson-Sorval, Susbielle, and 
 Lacretelle. Its chief of staff was General de Place; 
 General de Berckheim, commandant of artillery; and 
 General Sere de Eiviere, commandant of engineers. 
 
 The third corps was composed of three divisions of 
 cavalry, commanded by Generals Halna du Fretay, De 
 Preuil and Eessayre. Its chief of staff was Colonel Bal- 
 laud. It had also a battery of artillery attached to each 
 division. 
 
 Tlie Army of Eeserve was under the immediate direc- 
 tion of General Vinoy. It was formed of three divisions, 
 under the command of Generals Faron, Bruat, and Verge. 
 Its chief of staff was General de Valdan ; General Eene 
 commandant of artillery; General Dupouet, commandant 
 
MCMAnON IN" COMMAND. 143 
 
 of engineers. To which force was added, towards the end 
 of April, two other corps, viz., those of Generals Douay and 
 Clinchant. 
 
 It was thus, wibh six army corps, that Marshal de 
 McMahon commenced active operations for the suppres- 
 sion of the insurrection of Paris. 
 
 The morning of the loth commenced with a sharp can- 
 nonade, which lasted about four hours. The Versailles 
 batteries then ceased firing, but for a considerable time, 
 the insurgent guns continued to batter the defences at 
 Neuilly and Courbeyoie. In the meantime rapid mus- 
 ketry firing was kept up in the Bois de Boulogne and 
 and Levallois, where the combatants, posted at the win- 
 dows and concealed in the streets and gardens, kept up a 
 constant fusillade. In the afternoon the batteries of Mont 
 Valerien and Courbevoie recommenced their fire. 
 
 The guns of Trocadero were tried during the morning, 
 not on the fortress, as before, but on Longchamps, where 
 reserved troops were encamped. From the Trocadero to 
 Mont Valerien the distance is a little over three miles 
 and a quarter, which was quite within reach of long range 
 guns. Shells had already fallen at Chaillot which is in 
 the rear of Trocadero. Passy also commenced to suffer 
 from the fire in this new direction, as the projectiles in- 
 tended for the battery on the Trocadero frequently fell 
 there. The fighting was very obstinate during the after- 
 noon at Levallois, a part of which village was occupied by 
 the troops and part by the insurgents. At four o'clock two 
 iron-clad locomotive batteries lefb the BatignoUe's station 
 in the direction of Levallois, and shortly after the noise 
 of the mitrailleuses, with which they were armed, could be 
 heard. Two heavy ship guns placed on the bastion at 
 the Porte St. Ouen also took part in the combat, which 
 terminated by the insurgents falling back behind their 
 barricades. 
 
144 THE PAEIS COMMUHE. 
 
 On tlie morning of the 16tli the cannonade recom- 
 menced at four, and continued without intermission until 
 eight in the evening. The firing was chiefly from the insur- 
 gent batteries. An incident occurred during the morning 
 at the station of Colombes beyond the Seine. The insur- 
 gents had advanced up the line to see whether it was cut, 
 in order to manoeuvre the iron-clad railway batteries. A 
 body of Versailles cavalry made a dash to cut off the 
 retreat of the National Guards, but the locomotive which 
 was waiting toward Asnieres came to the rescue, and, 
 sending a volley from a mitrailleuse among the mounted 
 troops, drove them back. The insurgents then retreated 
 under cover of the engine, but without ascertaining how 
 far beyond the station the line was open. 
 
 The elections held on the 16th, for the purpose of filling 
 up the vacancies in the Commune caused by resignations, 
 was a strong rebuke to those who had usurped the power 
 of the capital. The partisans of the Commune had an- 
 nounced that the ballot on the 16th would be a striking 
 triumph for them, that all Paris would rush to the urns 
 in crowds, and nominate by acclamation the Communal 
 candidates. They found themselves in front of a pitiable 
 result. In most of the arrondissements the persons who 
 had come forward had not received one-eighth of the 
 number of voters on the electoral lists. This government 
 had been at work nearly a month, and the people had 
 been able to judge of its merits. General Cluseret, who 
 gave orders to 150,000 men, had difficulty in obtaining 
 1,968 votes ; General Dombrowski, in spite of the aid of 
 the biographies in the official organ of the Hotel de Yille, 
 presents himself escorted by 65 ; M. Courbet, the patriotic 
 promoter of the demolition of the Vend6me Column, 
 recruited as many as 2,418 supporters ; and Colonel Eazona 
 is obliged to avow that with his 972 he had fewer electors 
 than soldiers. 
 
PvAZOUA 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 1871 . 
 
KEWSPAPEES SUPPEESSED. 145 
 
 The comments of yarious journals on these elections, 
 produced the following decree from the Commune : 
 
 The Commune, "which cannot possibly tolerate in he- 
 sieged Paris journals which openly preach up civil war, give 
 military information to the enemy, and propagate calumny 
 against the defenders of the Republic, has decided that the 
 Soir, the Cloche, the Opinion Nationale, and the Bien 
 Public are hereby suppressed." 
 
 One of the most important engagements of the siege 
 took place on ths 17th between the regulars and the ad- 
 vanced jDOsts at Asnieres. During the morning the troops 
 from Versailles attacked the federal outposts on the rail- 
 way, guarded by the 7' 7th battalion, which at once re- 
 treated, abandoning the barricades and trenches. Four 
 other battalions on the farther bank of the Seine, seeing 
 their comrades fall back, and being attacked by mitrail- 
 leuses, fled to the bridge of boats ; a detachment of cavalry 
 made a dash, cutting off a large number and making them 
 prisoners. The insurgents then endeavored to bring their 
 locomotive batteries into action, but a shot from a bat- 
 tery established at the Chateau de Becon seriously damaged 
 one of those engines, and drove it off the rails ; the line 
 in consequence became blocked, and the other locomotives 
 had to return to Paris. The insurgents on the right 
 bank, fearing that the troops might cross the pontoon 
 bridge, severed it in the middle; but at that moment 
 many insurgents still remained on the opposite side. 
 Some of these men threw themselves into the river to 
 endeavor to cross the gap in the chain of boats by swim- 
 ming ; others tried to climb up the slope of the railway 
 bridge, on which they were exposed to ths fire of the 
 troops ; whilst many were carried away by the stream and 
 drowned. 
 
 7 
 
14G' THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 By noon the "vvhole of Asnieres b'^'' been evacuated by 
 the insurgents, leaving 150 killed and 50 prisoners in 
 the hands of the regular troops, who contented themselves 
 with strengthening their positions in the vicinity of Gen- 
 nevilliers. The insurgents stopped in their retreat before 
 arriving at the ramparts, and the ojSicers reformed their 
 companies as well as they could. During the afternoon 
 they advanced again to the river, and a fire was kept up 
 between them and the troops until evening. During the 
 day the Chateau of Becon, a most important position, was 
 carried by the young Colonel Davoust, at the head of the 
 36th regiment. This ofiBcer is a grandson of the celebrated 
 Marshal of the first ISTapoleon of the same name, M. Thiers 
 made the action the subject of the following despatch to 
 the Sub-Prefects : 
 
 " April nth, T.SO P.M. 
 
 " Our troops to day executed a brilliant feat of arms in 
 the direction of Courbevoie. The division of General 
 Montaudon captured the Chateau of Becon after a sharp 
 cannonade. The young Colonel Davoust, Due d'Auerstaedt, 
 rushed forward at the head of his regiment and carried 
 the place. Our engineers immediately commenced an 
 epaulement with sacks of earth, in order to establish a 
 battery. The position of Asnieres thus attacked will no 
 longer be able to disturb our tete de pont at Nenilly; we 
 have no other object, and still persist in avoiding small 
 actions, until the decisive engagement which shall restore 
 the authority of the law. The event of to-day, executed 
 under a cross fire from Asnieres and the ramparts, is 
 nevertheless a remarkable act of skill and energy. 
 
 '•'A. Thiers." 
 
 The victorious troops did not at once follow up their 
 successes; and the insurgents, rallied by Dombrowski, 
 endeavored by repeated charges to recover lost ground, 
 
WHY THIERS DELAYS. 147 
 
 but iu vain, as th'^~-^were again driven from Colombes 
 across tlie river. 
 
 The Chief of the Executive Power has had a singular 
 fortune. He attacked the fortifications of Paris which he 
 constructed, and ordered an assault on the Chateau of 
 Becon, where he passed the whole of the summer of 1835 
 consecrated to peaceful studies. 
 
 "M. Thiers issued to the provincial authorities the 
 following proclamation, in answer to complaints of pro- 
 crastination made by country journals : 
 
 "We persist in onr system of temporization for two 
 reasons, which we can avow; first of all, to collect forces 
 so imposing that resistance will be impossible, and there- 
 fore not sanguinary ; and secondly, to leave misled men 
 the time to return to reason. 
 
 " They have been told that the Government desires to 
 destroy the Eepnblic — a statement absolutely false; the 
 sole occupation of the Executive being to pnt an end to 
 the civil war, to re-establish order, credit, labor, and effect 
 the evacuation of the territory by the fulfilment of the 
 obligations contracted with Prussia. 
 
 " Those misguided men have been told that we wish to 
 shoot them all; another falsehood, as the Grovernment 
 pardons all who lay down their arms, as it has done with 
 the 2,000 prisoners it supports at Belle-Isle without exact- 
 ing any service from them. 
 
 "Finally, they have been told that, deprived of the 
 subsidy which enabled them to live, they will be forced to 
 die of hunger — an assertion as untrue as all the rest ; for 
 the Government has promised them to continue their 
 pay for some weeks yet, in order to provide them with the 
 means of awaiting the resumption of work which is certain 
 to arrive as soon as order is re-established and submission 
 to the law obtained." 
 
14:8 . THEPARISCOMMUKE. 
 
 M. Thiers was also seriously embarrassed by the Cabinet 
 of BerHn. The execution of the preliminaries of peace 
 was delayed, and the dissatisfaction of Prince Bismarck 
 was very manifest. Thiers made the same reply to the 
 Germans that he had made to the proyinces and the 
 Assembly. He asked them to wait and let him act, other- 
 wise he preferred to resign. Neither the Federal Ghan- 
 cellor nor the Ghamber wished to see him leave, as he was 
 necessary for the re-establishment of order. The Prince 
 desired him to remain, and he troubled himself little 
 about the means. He likewise wished him to retain office 
 because the restoration of tranquillity could alone guar- 
 antee the debt due to Prussia. The process of re-estab- 
 lishing order concerned the German minister nearly ; and 
 had the Versaillais not moved speedily, he would probably 
 have taken the matter into his own hands. 
 
 Deputation after deputation continued to arrive at Ver- 
 sailles, mostly emanating from the Union RepuUicaine, for 
 the purpose of inducing the Ghief of the Executive Power 
 to treat with the Gommune. A considerable movement 
 also took place in several large towns for the same pur- 
 pose. The Lyons delegation had an interview with M. 
 Thiers ; and, in the name of their fellow-citizens, presented 
 considerations in favor of the Gommunal movement in 
 Paris. The head of the Executive received them kindly, 
 and gave them a safe conduct to the capital, where they 
 had an interview with the Gommune; but the result 
 proved that the Gommune wanted what Thiers would not 
 concede, viz., power. 
 
 The lighting commenced at daybreak on the morning 
 of the 18th, although followed by no important movement 
 of troops. Mont Valerien was never more active. 
 
 The regular troops unmasked a new battery in the Park 
 of liTeuilly, and from that point and the Ghateau of Becon 
 kept up an incessant discharge on the village of Levallois 
 
EFFECT OF BUESTING SHELLS. 149 
 
 and tlio bridge of Asnieres, where the insurgents had 
 accumulated extensive works of defence. 
 
 A large number of guns had been sent from Paris 
 during the previous day, but they were still lying on the 
 road to Asnieres. The insurgent officers appeared not to 
 know what to do with them, and had heaped them up on 
 the banks of the Seine. Six 12-pounders were lying 
 behind a barricade, and numerous others were scattered 
 on the railway embankment. Several iron-clad locomotives 
 were also lying on the line hard by, on one of which a 
 serious accident had just occurred. The gun, a breach- 
 loader, worked by live artillerymen, being overcharged, 
 blew out the movable plug, killing two of the men, and 
 wounding the three others. 
 
 The regular troops had iron-clad locomotive batteries 
 on its side also, but they were still kept in reserve. 
 
 Numerous accidents were occurring daily near Porte 
 Maillot, at the Ternes and Arc de Triomphe, which were 
 the quarters most exposed to the shots from JSTeuilly and 
 Kond Point. At No. 11 Eue Bayen a shell entered a room 
 where a woman was seated at table with two children ; 
 the mother was killed, and the others wounded. Another 
 fractured both legs of a man who was walking by the side 
 of a cart. A gentleman was crossing the Avenue de I'lm- 
 peratrice on horseback, and a shell cut off both the horses' 
 forelegs, throwing the man on his face without injuring 
 him in the least. 
 
 On the 18th of April, the Eepublican League published 
 the following address : 
 
 "M. Thiers' statements to our delegates afforded us 
 guarantees neither for the maintenance of the Eepublic 
 nor the establishment of Communal liberty, in fact for 
 none of the things we demanded. That which we pre- 
 dicted has come true — civil war which it depended upon 
 
150 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the JSFatioual Assembly to stop has hrokeii out T/ith fresh 
 fury. On the other hand, the Commime, by putting for- 
 ward no programme, and by refusing to explain its views 
 with regard to ours, has depriyed the defenders of the 
 rights of Paris of the advantages they would possess in 
 having the ground they take up clearly marked out. In 
 the presence of the foreigner, who watches our move- 
 ments, we hold to the conviction that the only possible 
 issue from the present conflict is to be found in a com- 
 promise, of which we have indicated the essential ele- 
 ments. In this position of affairs we have a duty to per- 
 form, namely, to maintain the whole of our programme 
 and to take such resolutions as, following the various 
 phases of the struggle, shall appear to us best calculated 
 to ensure the triumph of our principles. We have de- 
 cided from the present moment to place ourselves in com- 
 munication with the municipal councils of the principal 
 towns in France, and to make known to them the legiti- 
 mate Avishes of Paris, to which we shall lend a powerful 
 support. Lyons, which has obtained its Commune ; Lille, 
 Macon, and other towns which understand that the cause 
 of Paris is the cause of all the Communes of France, have 
 anticipated our appeal. Their intervention is a sign 
 which it would be imprudent in the National Assembly 
 to misunderstand. Let the Assembly comprehend at last 
 that all the great cities of France have resolved to xiphoid 
 towards and against all, the Eepublican form of govern- 
 ment, and to give it as an unshakable basis. Communal 
 liberties in their integrity?' 
 
 The Commune finally issued its programme so fre- 
 quently called for and so long delayed. The document 
 is of such an eccentric character that it well deserves to 
 be reproduced. It was published in the official journal 
 of the Commune, April 19th : 
 
TKOGEAMME OF THE C M M UST E . 151 
 
 '' It is the duty of the Commune to confirm and ascer- 
 tain the aspirations and wishes of the people of Paris. 
 The i^recise character of the movement of the 18th of 
 March is misunderstood and unknown, and is calum- 
 niated by the politicians at Versailles. At that time Paris 
 still labored and suffered for the whole of France, for whom 
 she had prepared by her battles an intellectual, moral, ad- 
 ministrative, and economic regeneration, glory, and pros- 
 perity. "What does she demand? The recognition and 
 consolidation of the Eepublic, and the absolute autonomy 
 of the Commune extended at all places in France, thus 
 assuring to each the integrality of its rights, and to every 
 Frenchman the full exercise of his faculties and aptitudes 
 as a man, a citizen, and a producer. The autonomy of 
 the Commune has no other limits but its rights. The 
 autonomy is equal for all Communes who are adherents 
 of the contract, the association of which ought to secure 
 the unity of France. The inherent rights of the Com- 
 mune are to vote the Communal budget of receipts and 
 expenses, the imposing and alteration of taxes, the direc- 
 tion of local services, the organization of the magistracy, 
 internal police, and education. The administration of the 
 property belonging to the Commune, the choice by elec- 
 tion or competition with the responsibility and permanent 
 right of control and revocation of the communal magis- 
 trates and officials of all classes, the absolute guarantee of 
 individual liberty and liberty of conscience, the permanent 
 intervention of the citizens in communal affairs by the 
 free manifestation of their ideas and the free defence of 
 their interests ; guarantees given to those manifestations 
 by the Commune who alone are charged with securing 
 the free and just exercise of the right of meeting and pub- 
 licity ; tlie organization of urban defence, and of the Na- 
 tional Guard, which elects its chiefs and alone v/atches 
 over the maintenance of order in the city. Paris wishes 
 
153 THE PAEIS OOMMUlsrE. 
 
 nothing more under the head of local guarantees, on the 
 well-understood condition of regaining, in a grand central 
 administration and delegation from the Federal Com- 
 munes, the realization and practice of those principles ; 
 hut in favor of her autonomy, and profiting by her liberty 
 of action, she reserves to herself to bring about as may 
 seem good to her administrative and economic reforms^ 
 which the people demand, and to create such institutions 
 as may serve to develop and further education. Produce, 
 exchange, and credit have to universalize power and prop- 
 erty according to the necessities of the moment, the wishes 
 of those interested, and the data furnished by experience. 
 " Our enemies deceive themselves, or deceive the coun- 
 try, when they accuse Paris of desiring to impose its will 
 and supremacy upon the rest of the nation, and to aspire 
 to a dictatorship which would be a veritable attempt to 
 overthrow the independence and sovereignty of other 
 Communes. They deceive themselves when they accuse 
 Paris of seeking the destruction of French unity estab- 
 lished by the Eevolution. The unity which has been im- 
 posed upon us up to the present by the Empire, the Mon- 
 archy, and the Parliamentary Government, is nothing but 
 centralization, desjDotic, unintelligent, arbitrary, and oner- 
 ous. The political unity, as desired by Paris, is a volun- 
 tary association of all local initiative, the free and spon- 
 taneous co-operation of all individual energies with the 
 common object of the well-being, liberty, and security of 
 all. The Communal revolution, initiated by the people 
 on the 18th of March, inaugurated a new era in politics, 
 experimental, positive, and scientific. It was the end 
 of the old governmental and clerical world, of military 
 supremacy and bureaucracy, of jobbing in monopolies, 
 and privileges to which the proletariat owed its slavery, 
 and the country its misfortunes and disasters. The strife 
 between Paris and Versailles is one of those that cannot 
 
ABSUKDITY OE ITS CLAIMS. 153 
 
 be ended by an illusory compromise — the issue should not 
 be doubtful. The victory fought for with such indom- 
 itable energy by the Commune will remain with the idea 
 and with the right. We appeal to France, which knows 
 that Paris in arms possesses as much calm as bravery, 
 where order is maintained with as much energy as enthu- 
 siasm, which is ready to sacrifice herself with as much 
 reason as energy. Paris is only in arms in consequence 
 of her devotion to liberty, and the glory of all in France 
 ought to cause this bloody conflict to cease. 
 
 " It is for France to disarm Versailles by a solemn mani- 
 festation of her irresistible will. Summoned to profit by 
 our conquests, she should declare herself identified with 
 our efforts ; she should be our ally in the contest which 
 can only end by the triumph of the Communal idea or 
 the ruin of Paris. As for ourselves, citizens of Paris, we 
 have a mission to accomplish, a modern revolution, the 
 greatest and the most fruitful of all those which have il- 
 luminated history. It is our duty to fight and conquer." 
 
 It might have been alleged that the title of the Com- 
 mune to rule the country was quite as good as that of the 
 government that preceded it ; but well established as was 
 their unscrupulousness, it was amusing to find the men 
 who were daily arresting dozens of harmless citizens talk- 
 ing of their fighting for individual liberty, and after 
 arresting priests wholesale, forcibly closing their churches, 
 and brutally expelling nuns from their convents, having 
 the incredible impudence to describe themselves as the 
 champions of the rights of conscience. The appeal to the 
 people of France to join them against the Assembly at 
 Versailles was too extravagant to be seriously examined. 
 The only thing serious, indeed, in the whole proclamation, 
 was that these men meant to fight to the bitter end, and 
 ruin Paris, unless France acceded to their insane terms. 
 
154 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The fighting was commenced at five o'clock on the 
 morning of the 19th, with great obstinacy. Prom that 
 hour there was a constant roar of cannon, musketry and 
 mitrailleuses all along the line, from the extreme left to 
 the extreme right. Shells flew through the sky over the 
 doomed quarters to the west of Paris, shrieking like birds 
 of ill-omen, and they fell in scores about the Ternes and 
 the Champ Elysees. Clichy and the northern parts of 
 Levallois were, however, the objective points, and the 
 damage was severe at the right side of the bridge of Asni- 
 dres, and all about the space between the Versailles rail- 
 way and the Avenue de Clichy. The insurgents suffered 
 very heavily, for they had a habit of clustering together 
 behind walls, and under what they considered to be the 
 protection of street corners, the consequence of which was, 
 when a shell burst near them it did fearful execution. 
 The heavy fire of musketry was due chiefly to men sta- 
 tioned in the houses and on the house-tops. The walls of 
 every dwelling from whence the bridge and the railway 
 could be commanded were loop-holed with utter disregard 
 to the rights of property ; and mattresses, pillows, and even 
 feather beds stuffed into the windows to do duty as sand- 
 bags. The insurgents thus intrenched, and further pro- 
 tected by a strong barricade, kept up an incessant musketry 
 fire on Asnieres, and the guns at the Porte d'Asnieres and 
 the Porte Bineau were each firing in the direction in 
 which the enemy was supposed to be. Of course the shells 
 and bullets must fall somewhere, but as the position of 
 the regular troops was very imperfectly known, and those 
 few that were known could be seen from the walls, the 
 execution they did among the Versailles troops was not 
 very formidable. On the other hand the insurgents occu- 
 pied a narrow zone outside the walls, and did not even 
 occupy the banks of the river, so that the fierce shelling to 
 which their positions were subjected did great havoc in 
 
A BOLD ATTEMPT, 155 
 
 their ranks. Many, probably, would have run away if 
 they had had a chance; but the fortifications behind them 
 barred the waj, and whenever a party came up to the 
 gates, they were rigidly excluded. Numbers, however, 
 congregated all along the covered way behind the glacis, 
 and whenever a party of wounded came in, they made a 
 rush to get inside the city with the convoy. 
 
 At Neuilly the firing was quite as heavy as at Asnieres 
 and Clichy. In the evening, a body of insurgents made 
 their way through the partition walls of the various 
 houses on the left side of the old Neuilly road, and suc- 
 ceeded in penetrating, unawares, as far as the Eue des 
 Huissiers, within one hundred yards of the bridge of 
 ISTeuilly, built up a couple of barricades, and armed them 
 with six guns. They immediately opened fire on the Ver- 
 sailles troops in the Avenue de Neuilly, and the movement 
 was executed with great vigor and courage ; but it was 
 not likely to be attended with success if large reinforce- 
 ments could be brought up. The consequence of this 
 manoeuvre, brilliant as it was, proved disastrous to the 
 troops of the Commune. 
 
 The Versailles forces stormed the barricades with so 
 much impetuosity that the insurgents had no time to get 
 out of the way. Numbers of them were killed, wounded, 
 or taken prisoners. Their six guns were captured and 
 turned against them. They fled in disorder to the gates, 
 volleys of grape being fired into them as they went. The 
 soldiers then made another dash forward, and carried a bar- 
 ricade on the Boulevard Bineau, inflicting serious loss on its 
 defenders. Thereupon the guns on the ramparts began to 
 thunder, their covering parties fired volleys, and an awful 
 din was kept up till daybreak, when the Versailles artillery 
 replied in right earnest, and shelled all the positions, as well 
 as the quarter of the town immediately behind the walls. 
 
 This engagement was one of the most sanguinary yet 
 
156 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 fought. The 27th, 74th and 76th battalions lost one-third 
 of their effective force. 
 
 On the .events of the day the official journal of the 
 Commune published the following reports : 
 
 ''After a sanguinary engagement we have retaken our 
 position. Our troops, the left wing in advance, seized on 
 a store of the enemy's provisions, consisting of sixty-nine 
 casks of hams, cheese and bacon. The combat continues 
 furiously ; the enemy's artillery at Courbevoie covers us 
 with projectiles and grape ; but in spite of the vivacity of 
 his fire, our right wing is at this moment executing a 
 movement with a view to surrounding the troops of the 
 line who have advanced too far. I require five battalions 
 of fresh men, two thousand at least, because my adver- 
 saries are in considerable force. 
 
 " DOMBEOWSKI." 
 
 April 19th, morning. — We were attacked at daybreak 
 by strong columns of the line ; and our men, deceived by 
 friendly signals made by the soldiers, were surprised ; but 
 I have promptly re-established order. 
 
 " DOMBEOWSKI." 
 
 The Archbishop of Paris having written a letter from 
 his prison to M. Thiers on the subject of pretended cru- 
 elties to the Communist prisoners, the chief of the execu- 
 tive power replied through the Paris journals, indignantly 
 denying the charge. He said that the hospitals at Ver- 
 sailles contained a large number of insurgents who are 
 attended to with the greatest kindness; that the sixteen 
 hundred prisoners who had been sent to Belle-Isle or 
 elsewhere were treated with far greater consideration than 
 any of the soldiers would have been if taken by the Com- 
 munists ; and concluded by reiterating his offers of par- 
 don to any of the insurgents who should lay down their 
 arms, and by promising assistance to the necessitous until 
 
ACCURACY or THE PIEIJTG. 157 
 
 a revival of commerce sliould enable them to earn their 
 own living. 
 
 The firing was continued on the morning of the 20tli 
 on every side, esioecially between Mont Valerien and Porte 
 Maillot, the insurgents at the latter position sticking to 
 their guns with a daring worthy a better cause. The fire 
 of Valerien was extremely correct, hardly ever missing its 
 object, and probably during the entire bombardment not 
 over fifty shells thrown from that fort passed one hundred 
 feet beyond the gate. The batteries of . Courbevoie, the 
 Park of Neuilly, and bridge of Neuilly, were those that 
 did all the damage to the western part of the city. Their 
 guns being directed at the Porte des Ternes or Porte 
 Maillot, and being nearly level with those points, if the 
 shells passed the gates they fell in the vicinity of the Arc 
 de Triomphe or Champs Elysees. Many and loud were 
 the curses during these days from the partisans of law 
 and order in the city at the careless firing from these 
 points ; but the firing was not so bad as it seemed to be. 
 When standing at the Arc de Triomphe and looking at 
 the Porte Maillot, it seemed as if the descent to that point 
 was very great, at least ten degrees. This is an optical 
 delusion, for standing at the Porte Maillot, and looking 
 at the Arc, they appear to be on a dead level. 
 
 A rather sharj3 engagement took place during the 
 morning near the bridge of Clichy. A strong reconnais- 
 sance of troops from Gennevilliers had advanced to the 
 insurgents' outposts, when the latter commenced firing, 
 and brought on themselves a general discharge which 
 killed some of their men. The insurgents then fell back 
 on their reinforcements, which had arrived on hearing the 
 musketry. The troops continued the fire for about an 
 hour, when they spread out as skirmishers, and retired with 
 some loss. The regulars also made an unsuccessful at- 
 tempt to seize the bridge of Asniercs, and open communi- 
 
158 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 cations with the right bank. They commenced by bom- 
 barding the village for an hour with extraordinary yiolence 
 from Becon, Courbevoie, and Neuilly. A strong force 
 occupied the railway station, and a regiment was massed 
 near the bridge, but the insurgents on their sides brought 
 up two mitrailleuses and two iron-clad locomotive batte- 
 ries, and discharged three volleys at the station, driving 
 out the enemy. An attack by the soldiers of the line 
 against the bridge also failed under the fire of the guns 
 brought up by the insurgents. 
 
 In the meantime a shell fell into a powder magazine of 
 the insurgents near the Porte d'Asnieres, and blew up a 
 large building occupied by a number of families of work- 
 ing people, and which crumbled to the ground like a 
 house of cards. A large number of men immediately 
 commenced to clear the ruins, and between twenty-five 
 and thirty men, women, and children were got out, many 
 dangerously injured. While this work was going on, the 
 Versailles batteries suspended their fire. 
 
 The forts of Vanv'es, Issy, and Montrouge on the 
 southern side exchanged frequent cannon-shots with the 
 Versailles batteries of Chatillon and Brimborion, whilst 
 the redoubt of Montretout and the battery at Meudon 
 also sent occasional shells on Issy and the lower part of 
 Clamart ; but nothing of much importance was done in 
 that direction. Everything, however, presaged a general 
 attack, and the insurgents had received orders to hold 
 themselves ready to march at a moment's notice. 
 
 The following oflicial despatches were received from 
 Dombrowski during the day : 
 
 " 20th, half-past twelve in the day. 
 
 " During the night the enemy did not attempt anything 
 against us, and we were merely cannonaded by the bat- 
 teries at Courbevoie and Valerien. Our troops are fortify- 
 
SEAliCIIING THE CONVENTS. 159 
 
 iug themselves in their positions, and taking a little rest 
 after the great fatigue of the day." 
 
 " AsNiERES, 20th, four in the afternoon. 
 
 " Colonel Olokowietz has been wounded in the head 
 and arms, and received a contusion in the side. Captain 
 de Gournay was overturned by the colonel when falling, 
 but escaped without hurt. A rumor prevails that three 
 houses have toppled down, and that some men have been 
 taken out dead from under the ruins. 
 
 " The store of ammunition placed in one of the cellars 
 is all safe. This morning, in front of the ambulance at 
 Paul Dupont's printing-office, Captain Culot had his head 
 carried away by a shell. The Versailles troops continue 
 their fire on the spot. 
 
 " The spirit of the ISTational Guards is excellent. The 
 enemy does not fire much." 
 
 "Neuhxt, 20th, half-past four. 
 
 "Two barricades abandoned last evening at nightfall 
 were . occupied by the enemy, but have been retaken by 
 the federals. The others are intrenched on the left bank 
 of the Seine. The cannonade continues." 
 
 The Commune this day searched all the convents and 
 nunneries, and shut up some thirty churches, arresting 
 the priests. A universal feeling of uneasiness pervaded 
 all classes of society, arising from the tone of the ultra 
 journals of the Commune. The following specimen is 
 from the Montagne, one of the most rabid of the Socialists' 
 organs : 
 
 "In 1848, when Monseigneur Affre was shot, we be- 
 lieved in a divine mission, and fancied that a bishop's 
 cope was of greater value than a workman's blouse. 
 Education has made sceptics of us ; the revolution of '71 
 is atheistic ; our Republic wears a bouquet of immortelles 
 in her bosom. We take our dead to their homes and our 
 
160 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 wives to our hearts without a prayer. Priests, throw aside 
 your frocks, turn up your sleeves, lay your hands upon 
 the plow; for a song to the lark in the morning air is 
 better than a mumbling of psalms ; and an ode to spark- 
 ling wine is preferable to a chanting of hymns. Our 
 dogs, which used only to growl when a bishop passed, 
 will bite him now ; and not a voice will be raised to curse 
 the day which dawns for the sacrifice of the Archbishop 
 of Paris, "VYe owe it to ourselves — we owe it to the world. 
 The Commune has promised us an eye for an eye, and has 
 given us Monseigneur Darboy as a hostage. The justice 
 of the tribunals shall commence, said Danton, when the 
 wrath of the people is appeased — and he was right. 
 Darboy ! tremble in your cell, for your day is past ; your 
 end is close at hand." 
 
 The Communists' writers published such documents as 
 the above, and the masses were harangued by club orators 
 in the following strain: "Down with the proprietors! 
 Let us thank heaven that most of them are gone^ — having 
 fled like cowards before the gathering anger of the people. 
 Let their property be sequestered for- the universal good ; 
 let their houses be sold, and the money divided among 
 the working classes. "We are poor and hungry. Shall 
 our wives be forced upon the streets, and our brothers 
 driven to robbery for the sake of our starving little ones ? 
 No! let us take possession of the palaces that seem to 
 smile at our woe ; let us seize the goods of the masters 
 that are away, and even take their wives and children as 
 hostages in case of further need." 
 
 The official organ of the Commune published a decree 
 suppressing all night- work in bakeries, also one re-estab- 
 lishing the practice of sending letters by balloon, and 
 organizing a system of civil and military aeronautics. 
 
 On the proposition of Citizen Delescluze, the Commune 
 
EXECUTIVE OF THE C0MMU2TE. 161 
 
 modified the composition of its Executive Committee, 
 which was to consist in the future of a delegate from each 
 of the nine Commissions. The decree said nothing in 
 regard to the duration of the Committee — declaring that 
 the body was to exercise its powers provisionally. The 
 following were the delegates named : 
 
 Delegate of War — Cluseeet. 
 
 Finance — Jourde. 
 
 Su hsisten ce — Vi AU d. 
 
 Exterior Relations— VasceaIj Grousset. 
 
 Lalor and Exchange — Frakckel. 
 
 Justice — Protot, 
 
 PuUic Service — Andrieu. 
 
 Information — Valliant. 
 
 General Surety — E. Eigault. 
 
 The Commune also reminded its members that they 
 . were bound to attend the sittings with exactitude. If 
 prevented, they were to send notice to the President, or 
 give a satisfactory explanation on the next occasion. 
 
 In addition to the four journals already named as sup- 
 pressed by the Commune, twelve others were stop]3ed, 
 thus depriving some six or seven thousand persons directly 
 or indirectly connected therewith of their daily bread. 
 
 A committee of practical jewelers met to-day at the 
 Ministry of Finance to examine and estimate the value 
 of a number of sapphires and fine pearls found in the 
 cellars of that building. Among other things, there were 
 two pearls as large as pigeons' eggs, and, in the opinion 
 of all present, worth several millions of francs; also an 
 inestimable collection of sapphires, which were to be sold 
 at auction in France or England. 
 
 Throughout the whole day of the 21st the cannonade 
 and the rattle of the mitrailleuses continued in the vicinity 
 of Asnieres and ISTeuilly. The musketry, however, was 
 
162 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 silent, on account of the distance of the barricades from 
 each other. A short engagement occurred in the direc- 
 tion of Levallois, which turned to the advantage of the 
 regulars. 
 
 The Versailles troops opened during the day a new 
 battery near the island of the Grande Jatte, and sent some 
 shells to the Porte Bineau, which had been spared until 
 then, although guns were mounted there. From noon to 
 three in the afternoon the district of the Ternes receiyed 
 from two to three shells per minute. 
 
 The establishment of insurgent batteries at Levallois 
 and Clichy had placed these villages in an unfortunate 
 situation, as the cannon of the Chateau Becon and the 
 redoubt of Gennevilliers in returning the fire had crushed 
 them with shells. Some of these projectiles had even 
 reached as far as the ramparts. Most of the inhabitants 
 were obliged to take refuge in the city. An attack was 
 made during the day on the Park of Neuilly, by order of 
 Dombrowski. Two battalions advanced along the road 
 at double-quick, took three barricades by escalade, and 
 planted red flags among the stones, in high delight at 
 their easy victory. Onward they rushed, intoxicated with 
 success, until they arrived at the park wall, when suddenly 
 a murderous fire was poured upon them from the mouths 
 of a row of Gatling guns, which showered such a con- 
 tinuous and merciless hail of bullets upon the unprotected 
 throng as only that terrible engine can inflict. They fled 
 in wild disorder, leaving the road literally piled with dead, 
 only to find at the furthermost barricade a company of 
 their own men, who stood with bayonets fixed to check 
 their flight. Thus driven forward again, they recoiled 
 once more from a renewed volley ; and then commenced a 
 panic-stricken rout which no human power could control. 
 They ran from gate to gate clamoring for admittance, 
 which was persistently refused, and at length forced their 
 
II E A VY SLAUGHTER. 163 
 
 way over tlie drawbridge of St. Oiien, which happened to 
 be down at the time. 
 
 Numerous omnibuses were requisitioned during the day 
 for the conveyance of the wounded, who appeared to be 
 very numerous. The ambulance service was almost com- 
 pletely disorganized, and the wounded would often lie in 
 the streets and die without receiving any surgical attend- 
 ance. Many insurgents could be seen lying dead in the 
 gardens at Levallois, or were buried near the spot where 
 they fell. Others were carried into the city, and an eye- 
 witness counted seventeen omnibuses, on the 21st, filled 
 with dead bodies being brought into Paris by the gate of 
 Asnieres. Funeral processions, following cars surmounted 
 with the red flag of the Commune, were also passing every 
 moment along the Boulevard de Clicliy, on their way to 
 the cemetery of Montmartre. The insurgents began to be 
 somewhat affected at the death of so many of their com- 
 rades, and complained that they were not sufficiently sup- 
 ported. 
 
 An immense shell entered, on this day, the window of the 
 house of Eev. Dr. Lamson, Pastor of the Episcopal Chapel, 
 and passing through a thick stone wall, dropped on the stair- 
 way unexploded ; had it burst, the house would have been 
 shattered to atoms. Ten minutes later, a man, woman 
 and two children were killed while passing across the 
 Avenue Josephine. Several other persons in the vicinity 
 threw themselves on their faces at the same time, and were 
 saved. The shells came from the bridge of Neuilly. 
 
 On the 23rd of April, the following proclamation ap- 
 peared in the official journal of the Commune : 
 
 "After having conferred with the Executive Com- 
 mission, and in the strict end of humanity, I authorize a 
 suspension of arms at ISTeuilly, for the purpose of per- 
 mitting the old men, women and children to enter Paris — 
 
164: THE PARIS COMMUIfE. 
 
 in a word, all non-combatants surrounded at Neuilly, wlio 
 are the innocent victims of this struggle. 
 
 " General Dombrowski, in accord with Citizens Bonvallet 
 and Stupuy, of the Union RepuUicaine des Droits de 
 Paris, will take the necessary military dispositions, that 
 the suspension of arms and statu quo may be strictly 
 maintained. This suspension will take place during the 
 day. 
 
 " As soon as a resjaonse from Versailles is received, the 
 day and duration of the armistice will be arranged. 
 
 " Cluseret, 
 
 " The Delegate of War." 
 
 For three weeks the inhabitants of Neuilly had been 
 obliged to live in their cellars, in a starving condition. 
 
 On the night of the 22d of April, the movement of the 
 regular troops in the peninsula of Gennevilliers was so 
 marked that all Paris believed a general attack was about 
 to be made from that side. The rappel was beaten at the 
 Ternes and Batignolles. The cannon that had been con- 
 veyed for the last few days to the ramparts were put in 
 position, and directed on Gennevilliers. The night, how- 
 ever, was calm — more calm than the preceding ones, its 
 silence only being broken by the battery of Asnieres, 
 which continued its duel with the Chateau of Becon. 
 
 At seven in the morning the columns of Versailles sol- 
 diers took the route along the Seine, in the direction of 
 Clichy and St. Ouen. ' A bridge of boats had been thrown 
 across the Seine above Clichy, at the narrowest point of 
 the river ; and, favored by the fogginess of the morning, 
 the soldiers of the Assembly were advancing on the village. 
 The plan was clear. Clichy taken, Levallois could be 
 surrounded, and the insurgents who remained on the right 
 side of the river, in front of Asnieres, were cut off from 
 the rest of the army. 
 
 Dombrowski, informed of the movement, hurriedly col- 
 
NO AEMISTICE YET. 165 
 
 lected fiye battalions of his men, and arrived the first at 
 Levallois. The march of the troops was much delayed by 
 the fire of the ramparts, which were armed in this quarter 
 by the largest pieces. The obstinacy was great on both 
 sides. Having placed some flying artillery to counteract 
 the fire from the ramparts, the soldiers of the Assembly, 
 after being shut up in Clichy, attempted twice to pass. 
 They were kept back more by the fire from the bastions 
 than from that of Levallois ; but they were obliged to re- 
 cross the Seine to gain their intrenchments. 
 
 This was one of the few operations deliberately sketched 
 for this part of the campaign. It was a plan worthy of 
 success, and did honor to the Versailles generals, as also 
 to Dombrowski, by whose vigilance it was defeated. 
 
 The 23d passed without any remarkable engagement, 
 the situation remaining unchanged. Mont Valerien and 
 the batteries of Rond Pont continued to fire on the insur- 
 gents' positions at Olichy, Levallois, Porte Maillot, and 
 Ternes. An artillery duel was still kept up between the 
 forts and the Versailles troops at Meudon and Clamart. 
 Soldiers were being moved to different positions round the 
 city, and the general impression was that the decisive mo- 
 ment was approaching. 
 
 A proclamation of General Cluseret announced the 
 armistice for the 24th; but the morning dawn left no 
 illusions on that point. Valerien, Courbevoie, and all the 
 Versailles batteries, saluted the rising sun with more than 
 usual noise. Neuilly, the Avenues de I'lmperatrice, Fried- 
 land, Wagram, and that of the Eeine Hortense, were 
 covered with projectiles. 
 
 It was supposed that the authorities of Versailles had 
 violated the armistice, or that there was some mistake 
 on their part ; it turned out, however, that General Cluse- 
 ret had only fixed the day without waiting for a reply 
 from the other side. 
 
166 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 In the early part of the day a great movement of troops 
 had taken place between St. Oiien and Genneyilliers. 
 Numerous battalions had been massed within the ram- 
 parts of Olichy and BatignoUes, the artillery-men were at 
 their guns, and mounted orderlies were hurrying through 
 the streets, and calling on the inhabitants to keep their 
 doors and windows closed, and not to yenture into the 
 streets. The insurgents waited thus until eight o'clock, 
 when General Dombrowski arrived, and finding the 
 enemy did not attack, sent two battalions in the direction 
 of the Isle des Eavageurs. But in reaching the Seine they 
 were received by a heavy fusillade from the left bank of 
 the river. The troops were concealed in houses at As- 
 nieres, and keeping up a musketry fire ; but the Federals 
 continued to advance to the island which was then occu- 
 pied by a small body of soldiers. These latter, however, 
 were dislodged after a sharp engagement. 
 
 About one in the afternoon the army opened a fresli 
 battery, which had been put in position on the Oourbe- 
 voie side of the Chateau Becon ; the one in the mansion 
 was too much exposed, and had suffered considerably 
 from the fire of the guns below the bridge of Asnieres. 
 The troops had in consequence removed their guns be- 
 hind a small ridge about three hundred yards from the 
 Demi-Lune. The commander of the 207th battalion of 
 the insurgents was killed on the bridge of Asnieres, but 
 his body lay two days where it fell, and could not be re- 
 moved, the spot was so exposed to the fire of both parties ; 
 and in the midst of the animosity excited by this horrible 
 civil war, no person had an idea of advancing with a flag 
 of truce to bring in the corpse. 
 
 The troops had a slight success near the market place 
 at Neuilly; the insurgents were defending a barricade, 
 and as the attack was made without spirit, they imagined 
 they had little to fear from their adversaries, when a part 
 
RAOUL RIGAULT RESIGKS. 167 
 
 of the soldiers jjassing through some gardens took them 
 in the rear, and the latter finding themselves between two 
 fires, surrendered to the number of fifty. 
 
 The official journal of the Commune printed the fol- 
 lowing despatches on the events of the day : 
 
 "IssT, Headquarters, 24tli April. 
 
 " The night has been tranquil. Our bombs have dis- 
 quieted the enemy's workmen. The Versaillese ap- 
 proached to within fifty metres; a discharge of mitrail- 
 leuses routed them." 
 
 " Neuillt, 4 o'clock, morning. 
 
 An attack by the Versaillese repulsed the 27th bat- 
 talion ; we had tvw killed and seven wounded." 
 
 " Afternoon, 4 o'clock. 
 
 " The action continues, Versaillese in retreat." 
 
 "ASNEEKES. 
 
 "The Versaillese give way; no losses on our side." 
 
 The official organ also announced that Citizen Eaoul 
 Eigault, Delegate for Public Safety, had resigned and 
 been. succeeded by Citizen Cournet. He was, however, 
 appointed a member of the committee at the head of the 
 same service. The cause of this important change was 
 explained in the account published of the last sitting of 
 the Commune, Citizen Eigault, adverting to a decision of 
 that body on the preceding day, when he was absent, that 
 " all members could visit prisoners," declared that for the 
 interests of justice such a course was impossible for per- 
 sons in secret confinement ; unless the vote was annulled, 
 he should be obliged, he added, to give in his resignation. 
 A long and stormy discussion ensued, and at the end" of 
 which the former vote was maintained by 24 to 17. In 
 consequence. Citizen Eigault persisted, and his successor 
 was appointed at once. 
 
168 • THE PAKIS COMMUNE, 
 
 M. Thiers visited St. Denis on the 24th, and had a long 
 interview with the Crown Prince of Saxony and General 
 Fabrice ; he informed them that the Versailles army num- 
 bered 150,000 men, and that they would all be thoroughly 
 prepared by the 1st of May. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The armistice — Unhappy condition of the inhahitants of Nenilly— Sitting of 
 the Commune— Official circular from Versailles— Cannonade of Fort Issy— 
 Reconnaissance on the Boulevard Bineau— Meeting of Freemasons at the 
 Chatelet— English journals — Les MoulLneaux captured by the troops— At- 
 tack on Neuilly— Reported cruelty of a Versailles captain— Speech of M. 
 Thiers in the Assembly— Combats on the Boulevard du Chateau— Pro- 
 clamations of General Cluseret— Meeting of Freemasons — Speeches at the 
 Hotel de Ville— Procession to the ramparts— Deputation to Versailles — 
 Evacuation of Fort Issy — Re-occupied by the insurgents— Versailles Cir- 
 cular — Deposition of Cluseret — His arrest — Rossel appointed to the War 
 Department — His history — Issy summoned to surrender — Rossel's reply — 
 Committee of Public Safety — Letter of Rossel — Capture of the Chateau of 
 Issy— Heroic defence of the fort— Cannonade of Fort Vanves — Redoubt of 
 Moulin — Jaquet taken — Fighting at Neuilly— Deputation of the Republican 
 League— Decree of the Committee of Public Safety— Military appoint- 
 ments—Brilliant successes of the troops— The Mont-de-Piete. 
 
 ON the morning of the 25th April the suspension of 
 arms took place, in order to permit tlie inhahitants 
 of IsTeuilly to leave their houses where they had been hid- 
 den in the cellars for weeks. At nine in the morning, a 
 number of vehicles accompanied by some members of the 
 League of the Eepublican Union, arrived from the Palace 
 of Industry to assist the population in removing their 
 goods. A large number of Paris people took advantage 
 of this opportunity to try and visit the scene of destruc- 
 tion. The armistice nominally commenced at nine ; but 
 for several minutes by Paris time shots continued to fall 
 in the vicinity of Porte Maillot, greatly to the indignation 
 of the committee appointed by the Commune to receive 
 the refugees, who thought time should have been given 
 them to reach the gate by nine o'clock. 
 
170 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Idle curiosity-seekers were much disappointed at not 
 being- allowed to pass through the Maillot gate. Some 
 who approached too near were compelled to fill sand-bags, 
 and assist the insurgents in repairing the fortification, 
 which they continued to do during the whole day. Not- 
 withstanding this their journals on the following morning 
 were loud in their complaints against the Versailles troops 
 for doing the same. 
 
 The armistice was under the surveillance of four mem- 
 bers of the Eepublican League. Two were delegated by 
 the insurgents and two by the army of Versailles. The 
 first were M. Bonvalet, ex-mayor of the third arrondisse- 
 ment, and M. Stupuy, homme de lettres ; the second were 
 M. Adam and M. Loiseau-Pinson, both former members 
 of the municipality. Tlieir mission was to denounce any 
 movement of troops breaking the essential conditions of 
 the armistice. 
 
 The inhabitants of Neuilly, who consisted mostly of 
 women and children, timidly ventured into the outer 
 world, anxiously inquiring if an armistice had really com- 
 menced. Most of them knew nothing of what had taken 
 place, not having seen daylight for three weeks, and only 
 venturing out in the night to procure some bread and 
 wine ; all were suffering from a fearful state of mental ex- 
 citement. One day the insurgents were in possession of 
 the houses over their heads, the next day the Versailles 
 troops. Nearly all the ruins were filled with dead insur- 
 gent troops, more or less in a state of decomposition; 
 most of them had received bullet-shots through the head, 
 killed in the act of firing over barricades or through loop- 
 holes. 
 
 The feeling of the troops was one of great irritation 
 against the Parisians. 
 
 Scarcely a house in the Grand Armee had escaped, 
 those nearest the ramparts being all in ruins. Beyond 
 
QUAREELS OF THE COMMUNE. 171 
 
 the gate the destruction of property was even greater, for 
 in that part the houses were not only damaged, but most 
 of them were literally levelled with the ground. 
 
 The troops from Versailles formed a lino across the 
 Avenue de Neuilly, at the point which marked the por- 
 tion of the village they occupied, and beyond which the 
 inhabitants residing in that direction were not allowed to 
 go. On the other hand, those living beyond the line of 
 demarcation could only return to Paris through the lat- 
 eral streets and the gates of Bineau and Ternes. 
 
 At half-past four in the afternoon the insurgents formed 
 a cordon across the Avenue de la Grande Armee, and ad- 
 vancing in the direction of the Arc de Triomphe, pushed 
 before them the crowd, as the armistice was to cease at 
 five. The spectators were reluctant to retire, anxious to 
 hear the first shot announcing the recommencement of 
 hostilities. At eight o'clock the guns of Porte Maillot 
 and Ternes were again heard. The southern forts con- 
 tinued to fire during the day. A reconnaissance made 
 from Fort Yanves discovered that a new battery had been 
 established by the Versailles troops 300 yards below the 
 plateau. Several small engagements occurred on the side 
 of Billancourt, but without any definite result. 
 
 The sittings of the Commune were becoming daily 
 more boisterous. The " Citoyen " E^gere had given the 
 " Citoyen " Vermorel the lie. The " Citoyen " J. B. Clem- 
 ent had demanded the arrest of Citoyen Felix Pyat, be- 
 cause the latter had threatened to resign. A sharp quar- 
 rel had also arisen between Pyat and Vermorel, and hard 
 names were not spared on either side ; the epistles inter- 
 changed being alike remarkable for their bitterness and 
 difi'aseness. The Cri du Peuple gave a letter from the 
 last-named member accusing the former of cowardice, and 
 aflBrming that the failure of the attack on the Hotel-de- 
 Ville the 31st of October, arose solely from his being afraid 
 
173 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 to come forward and assert liis position manfully. After 
 relating several incidents in Pyat's conduct in latter times, 
 the writer said, " Your game is easily^ divined ; you were, 
 on the one hand, endeavoring to preserve your popularity, 
 in case the people should prove victorious ; and, on the 
 other, you reserved to yourself a hack-door hy which to 
 escape prosecution, should Versailles have the supe- 
 riority." 
 
 The letter terminated by declaring that the writer 
 would not abuse his advantage so far as to defy his adver- 
 sary to place himself at the head of the tenth legion the 
 first time that it went out to fight, but challenged him to 
 appear before a meeting of electors. Pyat, in consequence 
 of the pressure brought to bear upon him, determined to 
 keep his seat. 
 
 The following ofiicial circular was addressed to the 
 Prefects of the various departments in France : 
 
 " Veesailles, April 2G, 2:50 p. m. 
 
 "Active operations were commenced yesterday. Three 
 great lines of batteries opened their fire against Forts 
 Vanves and Issy. The line on the right, having to bear 
 the fire of both Yan^s and of Issy, sustained the loss of 
 some lives and some injury to embrasures, but its contin- 
 uous working was not affected. The line of the centre, 
 which mounted seventeen guns of heavy calibre, had no 
 wounded nor any of its pieces injured, and maintained a 
 formidable cannonade against Fort Issy. From midday 
 its fire assumed a marked superiority over that of Fort 
 Issy, which at five o'clock ceased to send in return more 
 than a few shots at rare intervals. On the left the action 
 was less warm on both sides. The main contest rested 
 with the centre line, and there was every reason to believe 
 that Fort Issy would soon be reduced to silence and ren- 
 dered powerless. It is for the moment an artillery com- 
 
THE GUNBOATS AT WORK. 173 
 
 bat, of which the issue cannot be doubtful, and of the 
 progress of which we will give exact accounts. 
 
 "A. Thiers." 
 
 The interest of the fighting was once more transferred 
 to the left bank of the Seine. The Versailles batteries 
 had heretofore replied but feebly to the continued provo- 
 cations of the southern forts, and had remained on the 
 defensive, or fired only to cover the movement of their 
 troops. On the 26th, however, they commenced the 
 offensive, and by a converged fire upon Issy reduced it 
 to silence. The cannonade was kept up from seven bat- 
 teries — one at Chatillon, three in the woods beyond the 
 railway, and three others around the Palace of Meudon. 
 The insurgents attempted in vain to reply from the sta- 
 tion of Clamart, from the Molineaux, and from several of 
 the bastions ; the ghells continued to rain down on the 
 parapets of the fort, and each explosion could be seen to 
 raise up clouds of dust and smoke. The gunboats on the 
 Seine, however, rendered efficient aid to the insurgents. 
 Six of these vessels were at anchor beneath the arches of 
 the railway viaduct, which almost completely sheltered 
 them from the Versailles artillery. A seventh, the Lib- 
 erty, smaller than the rest, of a light draught of water, 
 and carrying an enormous cannon, advanced in the di- 
 rection of Bas-Meudon, discharged its gun, and then 
 retired beneath the viaduct to reload. 
 
 The regular forces, during the day, pushed forward their 
 outposts on this side of Bagneux, and below Chatillon to 
 Clamart. On all points were engineers at work, advancing 
 step by step, piercing holes for musketry in the houses 
 and walls, digging trenches, and constructing redoubts. 
 All the previous attacks against the forts were evidently 
 intended only to mask the works of approach. The 
 troops were repairing their batteries, and had now leisure 
 
174 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 for a serious attack. One important point •whicli they 
 occupied was the Moulin-de-Pierre, where they had put 
 heavy guns in position, Avithin five hundred yards of fort 
 Vanves. 
 
 To the west of Paris, the firing became quite sharp 
 during the afternoon, especially between the insurgent 
 batteries at Clichy and the redoubt of Gennevilliers. The 
 troops of the Commune evidently appeared to fear a turn- 
 ing movement towards Argenteuil, and occupied the banks 
 of the Seine opposite the island of St. Ouen. 
 
 A most amusing incident occuiTed on the Boulevard 
 Bineau, while the insurgents were employed in making 
 the reconnaissance of a barricade. A young bugler, fifteen 
 years of age, marched some fifty feet in advance of a com- 
 pany of insurgents. He was full of life and fun, and 
 as he marched would often turn somersets, still j^laying 
 his fantastic airs. Thinking the barricade deserted, he 
 leaped upon the top, continuing to play, when suddenly 
 he felt himself dragged down by the legs on the other 
 side. He had fallen into an ambuscade of regular soldiers. 
 They immediately wrenched from him his clarion to pre- 
 vent his giving the alarm to the approaching insurgents ; 
 but quick as lightning the young athlete was on top of 
 the barricade, leaving everything but his shirt in the 
 hands of his captors. 
 
 " Halt ! " he cried to the approaching soldiers, " I am a 
 prisoner!*^ The troops, finding themselves discovered, 
 opened fire on the advancing victims. The captain, who 
 marched at the head, fell mortally wounded. Several 
 others met with the same relentless fate, while the balls 
 rattled like hail around the young scamp, who sometimes 
 with his head in the air and sometimes his feet, reached 
 an open door in the neighborhood, and disappeared. They 
 had hardly arrived at the door of the house, which was 
 six stories high, when they heard a voice from the roof: 
 
LOISTDOK JOURNALS OK THE WAE. 175 
 
 ^' Eh! let-has! mon clairon, s'il vous plait !" ("Hollo, 
 down there ! — my bugle, if you please ! ") 
 
 He liad saved the lives of nearly his whole company, 
 and was now disappearing along the roofs like lightning. 
 
 The Commune held a secret sitting on the 27th, and 
 the meeting was said to be a most stormy one. The actual 
 situation was under discussion. Several members affirmed 
 that the position was no longer tenable, and that the last 
 elections had superabundantly proved the small amount 
 of confidence inspired by the Commune. Other members 
 manifested a desire to abandon the rude task which they 
 had undertaken, whilst not a few spoke of the disastrous 
 condition of the municipal strong-box, and of the finan- 
 cial embarrassments about to rise. 
 
 A meeting of the Freemasons was also held in the 
 Chatelet theatre, and a resolution voted declaring that, as 
 the Government of Versailles had refused to accord the 
 Communal liberties of Paris, the brotherhood would em- 
 ploy every means in its power to obtain them. 
 
 Tlie Temps, a newspaper appearing at St. Germain, 
 published an excellent series of remarks on the severity of 
 the London journals with respect to the Government of 
 Versailles and the conduct pursued against the Commune. 
 It also explains why so much delay had been absolutely 
 necessary for the success of M. Thiers' plan. 
 
 " "We were curious," says the writer, " to see how the 
 English journals would judge the Paris insurrection. "We 
 have just read them, and that sentiment has been quickly 
 changed into one of disgust. It would be diflEicult to 
 show more ignorance of facts, more incapacity to compre- 
 hend a situation, and, at the same time, more presumption 
 and malevolence of judgment. "We could conceive that 
 foreigners should feel embarrassed in presence of a crisis 
 of which the causes have no analogy with the state of any 
 
176 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 other people ; but what we do not understand is the assu- 
 rance with which the journahsts of London explain to us 
 what is taking place in our own country, and point out 
 to us the best means of getting out of the difficulty. The 
 w^hole, watered with crocodile tears, forms a picture at the 
 same time melancholy and burlesque." 
 
 After some shai*p comments on the language of several 
 organs published in London, the article proceeds thus : 
 
 "We are indebted for this bright school of literature to 
 the military correspondents. A civil war is a war like 
 any other, and so a journal dispatches to Paris or Ver- 
 sailles a man who has perhaps taken out his university 
 degree, who has even travelled on the Continent, but who 
 carries about everywhere with him that thick armor of 
 British notions by means of which he is sure of never 
 entering into real contact with the spirit of the nations 
 he visits. That gentleman displays the most praise- 
 worthy activity ; he shrinks from no fatigue, or even dan- 
 ger, to obtain information for the paper which he repre- 
 sents ; but he necessarily remains outside the political 
 world ; he only sees the external and military side of events, 
 and the same individual who might have been well placed 
 for the siege of Paris by the Germans, is completely 
 bewildered amidst the events now passing on the same 
 theatre. But what is most remarkable in the journals to 
 which we refer, is the absence of sj'mpathy for the party 
 of order and for the Government of France, all having a 
 weakness for the Commune. 
 
 '•' All agree to cover M. Thiers with contempt and ridi- 
 cule for not having long ago put an end to the insurrec- 
 tion. He should have crushed it in the bud, they say; 
 his weakness and indecision has given strength to the 
 rebellion ; all his policy consists in waiting for he knows 
 not what ; he has no fixed object in view. M. Thiers has 
 
A DEFENCE OF M. TIIIEES. 177 
 
 a plan, but one like Trochu's, so profound and so secret, 
 that not the smallest trace of it is ever perceived. The 
 journalists who write thus prove only one thing — that 
 they are ignorant of the very rudiments of the question. 
 The insurrection from the commencement was formidable 
 and irresistible, because from the first it was supported by 
 an armed force, ready organized, namely, the National 
 Guard of Paris ; whilst the Government, on its side, had 
 at its command but few troops, and these were of a class 
 which events have proved could not be relied on with en- 
 tire confidence. For that reason, it became necessary to 
 withdraw to Versailles, weed out the disposable forces, 
 assemble those which the country could spare, await the 
 return of the prisoners from Germany, amalgamate all 
 those elements in new cadres, provide for the equipment 
 and armament of the men, and gradually re-establish dis- 
 cipline and confidence. All this had to be done, and was 
 done, with a rapidity for which it would be unjust not to 
 give the Government credit. The siege of Paris, since 
 the city had to be taken by force, could not be effected 
 with thirty thousand men, nor even with fifty thousand. 
 It is only now, after five weeks of incessant organization, 
 that the army has attained the strength considered neces- 
 sary, and it is only now that the Government is in a 
 position to strike a decisive blow." 
 
 The morning of the 27th opened with a most violent 
 attack on the forts south of Paris, and continued all day 
 without interruption. The cannonade was most terrific 
 from Moulin-de-Pierre, Chatillon, and Meudon ; and the 
 bombardment of Montrouge and Issy was commenced 
 with a violence of which the first siege gave but a faint 
 idea. Issy, although dismantled, and, in spite of its 
 escarpes tumbling into the ditch, and its ruined barracks, 
 still fought with desperation, throwing shells on the 
 
178 THE PAEIS C0MMr2>rE. 
 
 Tour-des-Anglais, Clamart, and Meudon. Fort Mont- 
 rouge, although not yet reduced to silence, was very near 
 that extremity. It was abeady seriously damaged by the 
 Prussian bombardment, and the batteries of the regular 
 army were completing the ruin. The insurgents, how- 
 ever, continued to hold out, although the position was 
 scarcely tenable, as they knew that its fall Avould inevitably 
 lead to that of Vanves and Iss3^ 
 
 The Versailles Government had in position on the 
 Terrasse de Meudon, Chatillon, at the station Meudon, 
 Bellevue, and vicinity, 150 guns of large calibre. These 
 different batteries were placed under the charge of General 
 Berckheim, an artillery officer of the first rank, and served 
 by artillerymen of the 2d corps. On the night of the 
 26th and 27th, while a fearful cannonade was going on. 
 General Faron, with four companies of the 35th infantry 
 and 300 men of the lOOtli and 110th Marine Fusiliers, 
 carried the station and callage of Les Moulineaux iia a most 
 brilliant manner. This important position immediately 
 to the west of Issy, and just under the fort, was one of 
 the highest importance; as it stood not over 900 yards 
 distant from the walls and from the Moulineaux, it was 
 possible to reach the Park of Issy, which inclined towards 
 the Seine, and escape the fire of the fort. The regulars 
 had already occupied Bas Meudon and Bellevue; and 
 from this new position musketry fire could be brought to 
 bear on the garrison of the fort. Hitherto the position 
 had been held by two battalions of insurgents, and with 
 two pieces of field artillery they were able to cause con- 
 siderable annoyance to the troops. 
 
 The insurgents made an abortive attempt during the 
 day on Choisy-le-Eoi. They advanced under cover of a 
 fire from Fort Bicetre, but were received with mitrailleuses 
 and musketry from the soldiers under General Barrail. 
 
 The attack on Neuilly was again resumed with increas- 
 
DESPERATE FIGHTING. 179 
 
 ing violence. A new battery from Mont Valerien opened 
 fire on the ramparts of Maillot and Ternes. The former 
 received about a dozen projectiles, which enlarged con- 
 siderably the breach in the left bastion. While shots 
 were being continually exchanged between the outposts, 
 laborers were engaged on the additional works of defence 
 in Neuilly and Levallois. The barricades held by the 
 soldiers, however, impeded seriously these counter ap- 
 proaches; and frequent attempts had been made on pre- 
 ceding days to drive the troops beyond the bridge. A still 
 more serious attack was attempted in the afternoon. Ten 
 battalions v/ere engaged, and advanced, six from Les 
 Ternes, and four from Clichy. For three-quarters of an 
 hour the noise of the cannon and fusillade was intense 
 along the whole line of the Seine from the Bois de 
 Boulogne, v/here the sentinels of the two armies were 
 shooting each other down at fifty paces distance, to the 
 bridge of Clichy, where the insurgents had established a 
 battery. The Communists attacked the barricade boldly; 
 but each time the troops found that they were in danger 
 they retreated into the houses, and then going along the 
 passage made by openings in the walls, reformed two 
 hundred yards in the rear, and with their mitrailleuses 
 rendered the captured barrier untenable. The insurgents 
 at length were, as usual, fatigued with this fruitless 
 struggle, and retired to their former positions. Great 
 concentrations of troops were made in the villages to the 
 west of Paris ; and the soldiers finding no longer quarters 
 in the houses, were encamped in the streets and gardens. 
 Further to the north a cannonade was carried on warmly 
 by the iron-clad locomotive batteries on the right bank on 
 the Chateau of Becon, and the bastions at the Fortes de 
 Clichy and de St. Ouen on Gennevilliers. The Versailles 
 troops, however, only replied from the guns at Becon, 
 which had for their aim the insurgent batteries at the 
 
180 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 bridge of Asnieres. The projectiles from the Porte de 
 Clichy were directed sometimes to the battery at the 
 junction of the St. Germain and Versailles railways, and 
 sometimes to the neighborhood of the Moulin de la Tour. 
 
 The official organ of the Commune published a decree 
 commanding the various railway companies to pay Avithin 
 forty-eight hours two millions of francs, which, according 
 to the Commune, was due the State. An order was also 
 published declaring that in consequence of the gallant 
 conduct of the battery at the Porte Maillot, the delegate 
 of the Commune at the War Department accords to the 
 men composing it thirty revolvers. It was also announced 
 that the gates for the victualling of Paris would be opened 
 at five in the morning, and closed at seven in the evening. 
 
 At the sitting of the Commune, Citizen Vesinier read a 
 report from Citizens Langevin, Gambon, and himself, who 
 were all three delegated to Bicetre to make inquiry about 
 four National Guards of the 185th battalion. He and his 
 two associates Avent there accompanied by Citizen Raoul 
 Eigault, Procurator for the Commune, and Leo Meillet. 
 They all paid a visit to Scheffer, of the above-mentioned 
 battalion. The man — who was in the sick-ward — declared 
 that on the 2oth instant, at Belle-Epine, near Villejuif, he 
 was surprised, with three of his comrades, by some 
 mounted chasseurs, who summoned them to surrender. 
 As resistance was useless, they accordingly threw down 
 their arms, and the soldiers surrounded and took them 
 prisoners without any violence or menace. Only a few 
 moments had elapsed Avhen a captain of chasseurs came 
 up and threw himself upon them, revolATT in hand. He 
 fired at one of them without saying a word, and killed 
 him on the spot; he then discharged another barrel at 
 Scheffer, who received a ball in the chest, and fell by the 
 side of his comrade. The two remaining guards recoiled 
 with horror from this assault ; but the ferocious captain 
 
COURBET 
 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 187 1 
 
THIERS STATES HIS POSITION?-. 181 
 
 rushed on the prisoners, and killed them with two other 
 shots. 
 
 The chasseurs, after these acts, withdrew with their 
 chief, leaving the victims on the plain. 
 
 After their dej)artui-e SchefFer rose, and with a desperate 
 effort succeeded in reaching his battalion, encamped at 
 some distance. His state was such as to warrant hopes 
 of ultimate recovery. 
 
 The writers of the report proposed to use reprisals, and 
 to kill all the officers that fell into their hands. After 
 some discussion, the decision was taken to ascertain the 
 number of the regiment to which the officer belonged, 
 and the name of the officer) and publish them in Paris. 
 
 Citizen Courbet called on the Commune not to delay 
 the demolition of the column in the Place Yendome. 
 The pedestal, he thought, could be preserved, as the sub- 
 ject represented there concerned the first Republic. Citi- 
 zen Clement insisted on the total destruction of the mon- 
 ument. Citizen Andrieu stated that the Executive Com- 
 mittee was occupied with the matter, and the operation 
 of destroying the pillar would commence in a few days. 
 
 The charge having been brought against M. Thiers 
 that he wished to destroy the Eepublic, establishing in 
 its place a monarchy, his remarks in the Chamber on the 
 27th will be most appropriate in this place : 
 
 M. Thiers. — " At the present serious conjuncture, and 
 at the moment when the country is about to elect its 
 Municipal Councils, I think right to briefly describe the 
 situation to this Assembly, its only legitimate and com- 
 plete representation. Our state is no doubt most painful, 
 as the blood of Frenchmen is flowing, but, in one respect, 
 it is consolatory, as showing that all are doing their duty — 
 the army especially — and thus is foreshadowed a not dis- 
 tant termination of the crisis. (Applause.) Our first task 
 
182 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 was to create a strongly-organized military force wliicli 
 should be influenced as little as possible by the strange 
 circumstances in which we are placed. We took the men 
 who have shown themselves superior to the hazards of 
 fortune, and who have proved that if they had been well 
 commanded, France would not have been vanquished, but 
 victorious. (Hear, hear.) In accord with my colleagues, 
 I did not hesitate to call to the head of the army that brave 
 Marshal who in our time may be called also the knight 
 without fear and without reproach, and who, even in mis- 
 fortune, has been able to defy calumny. (Applause.) I 
 should fail in my duty, were I to disclose the plan of the 
 military chiefs who direct the'army. I therefore only say 
 that it has been decided on in concert with all the generals 
 who surround our illustrious chief The investment of 
 Paris occupied the first period ; but now that it is com- 
 plete, active operations have been commenced before Fort 
 Issy. Our artillery, although opposed by the powerful 
 guns abstracted from the country, is continuing its works 
 of approach, and only last night, the brave General Faron, 
 at the head of 100 naval fusileers, 300 soldiers of the 110th 
 Eegiment of the Line, and four companies of the 35th, 
 carried the important position of the Moulineaux with 
 such rapidity, that the loss they have suffered was ex- 
 tremely small. (Applause.) I should be rash, were I to 
 try and fix a date for the result at which we aim — the 
 pacification of the country. Whatever may be the means 
 employed, they will be painful ; and whether we impede 
 the victualling of the capital, or fire on that Paris which 
 is always so dear to France, our heart will bleed. But 
 we appeal to the judgment of the ' country : Are we 
 the authors of this cruel war? (No, no.) Even in at- 
 tacking, we defend the law, public order, and society. 
 (Applause.) Each day the word conciliation is addressed 
 to me, as your representative. Ah ! if it only depended 
 
WUO A HE THE REPUBLICANS? 183 
 
 on me ; if oulj my pride or my personality was in ques- 
 tion, what sacrifices would I not make to put an end to 
 this terrible war ! (Here the yoice of the speaker faltered 
 with emotion — Sensation.) But to those numerous en- 
 voys who come from Paris and other great towns, what 
 reply can we make hut this : You wish for liberty ; but 
 are we not defending it against an odious despotism, with- 
 out authority, originating in disorder, and doing evil with 
 a disastrous ignorance. (Applause.) I have said to those 
 men, in the belief that I was expressing your ideas : — You 
 wish for the maintenance of the Kepublic ; in the Assem- 
 bly there is not at this moment any preconceived decision 
 or mental reservation, and being invested with all the 
 constituent powers, it has respected what it found estab- 
 lished. Appointed by electors, the greater part of whom 
 are partisans of the Monarchy, has it made the slightest 
 attempt to change the form of Government ? No. It 
 It has had the wisdom to respect what it found ; its mem- 
 bers are occupied with only one idea — to aid the Govern- 
 ment in pursuing its mission, which is, not to constitute, 
 but to organize France. I give to the insurgents the most 
 formal denial when they say that we are plotting against 
 the Eepublic. There is but one conspiracy against it, 
 that which is at Paris. (Loud applause.) We are also 
 told to be clement ! I have said. Let the insurgents lay 
 down their arms, and all chastisement will at once be 
 stayed. The only exception will be for the criminals, 
 happily few in number. (Murmurs on the right.) Am I 
 wrong ? Do you regret that the guilty men. are not more 
 numerous. (No ! no !) Is there not, in our misfortune, 
 reason for satisfaction that such men as those who shed 
 the blood of Generals Clement-Thomas and Lecomte are 
 rare in our country." (Hear, hear ! ) 
 A Member. — " And the army ?" 
 
184 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 M. Thieks. — " I am glad of this interruption, for it al- 
 lows me to certify a fact. The army is calumniated by 
 those who say that there are many soldiers in the ranks 
 of the insurgents, as the number, we are certain, is very 
 inconsiderable. Certain of the insurgents had found in 
 the warehouses soldiers' uniforms, and dressed up a great 
 number of their own followers in them, so as to lead the 
 world to believe that the number of troops deserting their 
 duty was important, whereas there were few. (Applause.) 
 There are also several foreigners, and many wretches who 
 watched for every oj)portunity of creating disorder ; but 
 they were isolated, and would not, in the end, find any 
 honest man to follow them. I have need to examine my- 
 self when forced to give orders, not cruel, but such as are 
 required by a state of war ; and I am sometimes obliged 
 to ask if you think with me — (yes, yes!) — and if reason 
 is really on ray side, (l^oise on the Eight.) If any of 
 my colleagues are ill-disposed enough to prevent me from 
 explaining my ideas, let them put forth their own plans — 
 (applause) — and if they think they are surer of success, 
 let them take my place, which I will readily resign. (No, 
 no ; speak, speak.) I feel no want of confidence, but I 
 may be allowed to express my affliction, and indicate the 
 cause of it. 
 
 " You may, perhaps, imagine that I preside over the 
 horrors of a civil war with sang-froid. I do so with a 
 firm resolution, but with a sentiment of grief whicli 
 equals my determination. As to the matter of right, I 
 believe that we are all agreed on the great principles that 
 we defend. (Assent.) This Assembly is the most liberal 
 one that I have ever seen ; it is, I confess, more liberal 
 than I am myself. But what do we see arrayed against 
 us ? A few odious dictators v/ho dominate a short-sighted 
 and besotted multitude, and lead it under fire. Yes — the 
 right is with you ; and against you there is only a detested 
 
THE DEMANDS OF THE COMMUNE. 185 
 
 usurpation. If we have had different opinions on certain 
 questions, we have sacrificed them to the exigencies of the 
 moment; and as to our opponents, I defy them to say 
 what they want. They are forced to conceal their aims. 
 They require that the Commune should be sovereign ; that 
 every town should have its republic, its army, and its gen- 
 eral — 36,000 republics! This is the most absurd contra- 
 diction ever given to the French Eevolution and national 
 unity, the work of ten centuries. Our object, on the con- 
 trary, should be to conciliate that unity with the greatest 
 share of liberty possible. I repeat that there is no other 
 conspiracy than that which has led to such sanguinary 
 results in Paris. As to those who shall lay down their 
 arms, their lives will be safe ; and they who shall be in 
 want of bread will receiA^e it till work can be resumed. If 
 the malcontents have not sense enough to understand my 
 words, we shall accomplish our duty to the end, however 
 bitter may be the task." (Great applause.) 
 
 The bombardment of Fort Issy was continued on the 
 28tli with still more severity. A battery of naval guns 
 had been opened at Breteuil, and of 24-pounders near 
 Moulin-de-Pierre. The insurgents had done their best 
 during the night to repair the damage of the previous day, 
 but the fort could reply but feebly. The guns in the 
 Park, however, being well protected, kept up a brisk fire 
 on the positions of the Versailles artillery, which, in its 
 endeavor to reach the battery, concealed by a clump of 
 trees, sent several shells into the village ; one unfortu- 
 nately entered the asylum and killed an old woman in her 
 bed. The fort of Vanv^s, which was less seriously dam- 
 aged, also exchanged shots with the plateau of Chatillon, 
 and fired from time to time on the terrace of Meudon. A 
 sharp engagement of outposts took place early in the 
 morning at Clamart, where the insurgents were strongly 
 
186 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 intrenched around the railway station. A yast barricade 
 armed with several cannon protected the building which 
 commanded the line ; smaller defences were raised on each 
 side of the embankment ; the walls were pierced for mns- 
 ketry, and all the openings were filled up with mattresses 
 or bags of earth. The centre of combat was, however, at 
 the station. The afiair ended without any perceptible 
 results on either side. 
 
 The most severe fighting to the west of Paris was on the 
 Boulevard du Chateau. Three successive combats took 
 place there at six in the morning, and at three and five in 
 the afternoon, but without any positive advantage to 
 either side, only entailing a useless sacrifice of life. The 
 number of victims in these incessant encounters was diffi- 
 cult to ascertain, as the gates were closed so that no fugi- 
 tives should spread the alarm to the city ; the killed and 
 w^ounded were only removed at night, and the battalions 
 which returned from the villages outside were confined to 
 the barracks, and not allowed to mention what had taken 
 place. The bastions at the gates of Clichy and St. Ouen, 
 continued their fire on Grennevilliers with the object of 
 impeding the movement of the troops. An iron-clad loco- 
 motive battery on the railway was also firing at the Chateau 
 de Becon. 
 
 A barricade was erected on the Boulevard Malesherbes 
 to support the Porte d'Asnieres in case of attack. During 
 the whole of the 28th Mont Valerien kept up a fire on the 
 Porte Maillot, sending shells at the rate of two a minute. 
 
 Citizen Bergeret, who had been released from prison, 
 was appointed a member of the War Committee as a 
 deputy to Citizen Delescluze. 
 
 As General Cluseret's power approached its zenith, so 
 did his orders and proclamations increase. By one he 
 divided the insurgent forces into two chief commands — 
 one extending from St. Ouen to the Point-du-Jour, under 
 
A MEETIKG OF FEEE M A S NS. 187 
 
 General Dombrowski, who had his headquarters at I^a- 
 Muette ; and the other reaching from the Point-du-Jour 
 to Bercy, and commanded by General Walbrewski, whose 
 headquarters were at Gentilly. The two armies were each 
 subdivided into three sections. 
 
 Another, that as constant changes in the officers of the 
 National Guard were most unfavorable to strict discipline, 
 each person regularly elected would be provided with a 
 commission guaranteeing to him his post. Any person 
 wearing an officer's uniform and not provided with such 
 an authority, would be arrested and imprisoned. 
 
 Another order said that certain abuses, expensive for 
 the Commune, must be put a stop to. Various officers, 
 thinking of nothing but handsome swords and gold lace, 
 when afterwards rejected by their men, withdraw with 
 their arms, which, however, no longer belong to them. 
 Heads of legions are charged with having such property 
 returned to the central storehouses. 
 
 On the evening of the 28th of April a meeting of the 
 Presidents of the Freemason Lodges was held at their 
 usual place of assembling, Kue Cadet, to come to some 
 understanding on the subject of the public demonstration 
 announced for the next morning in favor of the Commune. 
 Thirty-four persons were present, and the great majority 
 decided that the proceedings of certain brothers of the 
 order of the Chdtelet were altogether personal, and in 
 direct opposition to the principles of Freemasonry ; that, 
 in the absence of any former decision either of the Grand 
 Orient of France or of the Supreme Council, the mani- 
 festation fixed for the next day was in like manner 
 irregular, and that the responsibility of the incidents 
 which might occur was completely individual. A notice 
 to the above effect was published by the Presidents in the 
 various journals, as well as a letter from Ernest Hamel, 
 ex-venerable of the Lodge Avenir, expressing his surprise 
 
188 THE PAEIS COMMUJSTE. 
 
 and affliction that any body of Freemasons should have 
 presumed to declare that " Masonry would plant its banner 
 on the ramparts of Paris, and in case of its being pierced 
 by a ball would in a body take part in the struggle." 
 Such a declaration, the writer affirmed, was in entire 
 opposition to the tenets of the order, the mission of which 
 always was to forward conciliation and peace. 
 
 The following letter, from the highest dignitary of the 
 Masonic order in the French capital, was sent to several 
 of the journals : 
 
 "You have announced that the Supreme Council of 
 Freemasons would hold a meeting on Monday. If you 
 had specified the hour and place, I should have felt that 
 my duty required me to attend. But no convocation 
 having been made, /, as guardian of the general regula- 
 tions, protest against all resolutions taken independently 
 of the Grand Central Lodge of France ; and I remind my 
 brothers that Masons are hound to fight only against a 
 foreign invader. 
 
 " Accept, etc., 
 
 "F. Malapeet, 
 
 " Orator of the Supreme Council." 
 
 This document emanated from the sole voice that had 
 a right to be heard, and was a warning to the brother- 
 hood, and a piece of useful information to the public. 
 
 Notwithstanding the above, a large number of adherents 
 of the Commune met at the Hotel de Ville on the morn- 
 ing of the 29th, whence it had been announced that the 
 entire body of Freemasons would start on a last pacific 
 demonstration, to plant the banner of that body on the 
 ramparts ; and should the Versailles troops dare to fire on 
 it, the whole order would take up arms in defence of the 
 Commune. 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning a cortege with flags and 
 
FELIA PYAT 
 CommuRe of Pans 
 1871 
 
RECEPTION or FREEMASON'S. 189 
 
 music, led by five delegates of the Commune, left the 
 Hotel de Ville to be joined on their way by the Free- 
 masons, who were to return with them to the seat of 
 government, which had been decorated for a solemn re- 
 ception. At eleven o'clock the deputation returned with 
 the Freemasons, and made their entrance into the Court 
 of Honor of the Hotel de Ville, prepared in advance to 
 receive them. The insurgent soldiers were formed in 
 lines between which the procession passed. All the mem- 
 bers of the Commune were placed at the top of the 
 Escalier d'honneur, before the statue of the Eepublic. 
 They were decorated with red scarfs, trimmed with gold. 
 The galleries were adorned with trophies, flags, and olive 
 wreaths, whilst the staircases and Court of Honor were 
 fitted out with crimson carpets. The masonic banners 
 were placed upon the stairway, where could be read the 
 different humanitarian mottos. Among others was a 
 large white banner, carried by an artilleryman, with the 
 motto of " Love one another" As soon as the Court was 
 full, immense shouts arose from every side: " Vive la 
 franc-MaQonnerie ! " " Vive la Commune ! " " Vive la Re- 
 puhlique Universelle ! " The Citizen Felix Pyat, member 
 of the Commune, then pronounced, in a strong voice, the 
 following address : 
 
 "Brothers, citizens of the great country — of the uni- 
 versal country — faithful to our common principles. Liberty, 
 Equality, and Fraternity, and more logical than the Ligue 
 des Droits de Paris. You, Freemasons — you follow your 
 words with actions. 
 
 " To-day words mean nothing — acts, everything ! Thus, 
 after having posted your manifesto — manifesto of the 
 heart — on the walls of Paris, you go now to plant your 
 banner of humanity on the ramparts of our besieged and 
 bombarded city. 
 
190 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 "You go to j)rotest thus against homicidal balls and 
 fratricidal bullets, in the name of right and of universal 
 peace. (Unanimous bravos, and shouts of ' Vive la Re- 
 'publique!^ ^ Vive la Gommune!') 
 
 " You go to stretch out to the men of Versailles a dis- 
 armed hand — disarmed, but only for the moment — and 
 we, the mandataries of the people and the defenders of its 
 rights; we, the elected by yote — we wish to join ourselves 
 with you — ^the elected by ordeal in this fraternal act. 
 (New ajjplause : ' Vive la Commune ! ' ' Vive la Repiiblique ! ') 
 
 " The Commune had decided to choose five of its mem- 
 bers who should have the honor to accompany you, and 
 it was proposed that this honor should be drawn for by 
 lot. Five favored names were thus designed to follow 
 you, to accompany you in this glorious, victorious act. 
 (Marks of approbation.) 
 
 " Your act, citizens, will remain in the history of France 
 and of humanity. 
 
 " Long live the Universal Republic 1 " 
 
 (Loud cries of " Vive la Commune ! " " Vive la Repub- 
 lique!") 
 
 The Citizen Beslay, member of the Commune : — " Citi- 
 zens, I have associated myself, as you have done, with the 
 words we have just heard, with those fraternal words 
 which have caused all the Freemasons to assemble here. 
 
 "Fate was not favorable to me yesterday, when the 
 name of those members of the Commune who should go 
 to receive the Freemasons, were drawn. We wished that 
 the names should be drawn by lot, as from the very be- 
 ginning the whole Commune of Paris wished to take part 
 in this great manifestation ; I had not the honor of being 
 designated, but I asked, nevertheless, to go before you as 
 senior of the Commune of Paris, and also of the Freema- 
 sonry of France, of which I have had the honor to be a 
 member during fifty-six years. 
 
PEESEKTATIOK OP FLAGS. 191 
 
 " What can I say to you, citizens, after the eloquent 
 words of Felix Pyat ? You are about to commit a great 
 act of fraternity in j)lacing your banner upon tlie ram- 
 parts of our city, and in placing yourselves in the ranks 
 against our enemies of Versailles. (Yes, yes! — bravos.) 
 
 ''Citizens, brothers: Permit me to give to one of you 
 the fraternal embrace.*' 
 
 (The Citizen Beslay embraces one of the Freemasons 
 placed near him. Applause — " Vive la Commune I " " Vive 
 la RepuUique ! ") 
 
 A Freemason, banner in hand : — " I claim the honor of 
 planting the first banner on the ramparts of Paris, the 
 banner of Perseverance, which has existed since 1790. 
 (Bravos.) 
 
 The music of the battalion played La Marseillaise. 
 
 Citizen Leo Meillet : — "You have just heard the only 
 music to which we can listen before a definitive peace. 
 
 "Here is the red flag which the Commune of Paris 
 offers to the Masonic deputations. 
 
 " This flag should accompany your pacific banners ; it 
 is the flag of universal peace, the flag of our federative 
 rights, around which we should all group ourselves to 
 prevent, for the future, any hand, however powerful it 
 may be, from throwing us one upon the other, except for 
 an embrace. (Prolonged applause.) 
 
 " It is the flag of the Commune of Paris, which the 
 Commune is about to confide to the Freemasons. It will 
 be placed in front of your banners, and before the homi- 
 cidal balls of Versailles. 
 
 " When you bring them back, these banners of Free- 
 masonry, be they torn or intact, the flag of the Commune 
 will not have failed. It will have accompanied them in 
 the midst of the fire — it will be the proof of their insep- 
 arable union." (Fresh applause.) 
 
192 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The Citizen Terifocq took the red flag from the hands 
 of Citizen Leo Meillet, and addressed to the assembly the 
 following words : 
 
 " Citizens, brothers : I am of the number of those who 
 took the initiative to go and plant the standard of peace on 
 our ramparts, and I have the happiness to see at our head 
 the white banner of the Lodge of Yincennes, on which 
 are inscribed these words : ' Let us love one another.' 
 (Bravos.) 
 
 " We will go and present first this banner to our ene- 
 mies' ranks; we will stretch our hands to them, since 
 Versailles will not hear us ! 
 
 "Yes, citizens, brothers, we will address ourselves to 
 the soldiers, and we will say : ' Soldiers of the same coun- 
 try, come and fraternize with us; we will have no bullets 
 for you so long as you send us none of yours. Come and 
 embrace us, and let peace be made.' (Prolonged bravos — 
 sensation.) 
 
 " And if this peace is accomplished, we will return to 
 Paris convinced that we have gained the most glorious 
 victory — that of humanity ! 
 
 " If, on the contrary, we are not heard, but are fired 
 upon, we will call every vengeance to our aid. We are 
 certain that we shall be heard, and that the Masonry of 
 all the provinces of France will follow our example. We 
 are sure that in whatever part of the country our brothers 
 see troops directed upon Paris, they will go to meet them 
 and call upon them to fraternize. 
 
 " If we fail in our attempt for peace, and if Versailles 
 gives the order not to fire upon us, but to kill only our 
 brothers of the ramparts,. then we will mingle with them; 
 we, who until now have taken service in the National 
 Guard only as a service of order ; those who have hitherto 
 not belonged to it; as well as those already in its ranks, 
 and all together* we will join the companies of war, to 
 
A MASONIC DEPUTATION. 193 
 
 take part in the battle, and to encourage by our example 
 the brave and glorious soldiers — defenders of our city." 
 (General adhesion — Applause — "Vive la Commune!" 
 " Vive la Franc-ma^onnerie I ") 
 
 The Citizen Terifocq, waving the flag of the Commune 
 which he held in his hand, then cried : 
 
 " Now, citizens, no more words — to action ! " 
 
 The deputation of Freemasons, accompanied by the 
 members of the Commune, then left the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 While they defiled, the orchestra played La Marseil- 
 laise. 
 
 The procession having made the tour of the boulevards 
 in a pouring rain, advanced to Port Maillot via the Champs 
 Elysees and the Avenue de la Grande Armee, and planted 
 their flags on the ramparts. A balloon was sent up at the 
 same time with a proclamation from the Paris Masons to 
 the provincial lodges, after which a body of their delegates, 
 about forty in number, passed through the Porte Maillot, 
 and advanced with a flag of truce to the barricade held by 
 the Versailles troops at the bridge of Courbevoie. There 
 they were met by General Leclerc, who conducted them 
 to General Montaudon, commander of the operations at 
 that point. He received them courteously, but declared 
 that he was only the arm which executed orders given ; as 
 he was, he added, a brother of the craft, he had taken it 
 on himself to stop the fire when the Masonic banners 
 were seen ; but he could only accord a brief delay. He 
 thought their best plan would be to send forward a depu- 
 tation to Versailles, and he would himself place a carriage 
 at their disposal. The proposal having been accepted, 
 three of the body immediately set out, and the others re- 
 turned to the Porte Maillot, where a sort of an assembly was 
 held, after which the Freemasons decided on not return- 
 
194 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ing to Paris, but to remain and guard their flags on the 
 fortifications. 
 
 The delegates were received by M. Thiers, who repHed : 
 "There will be a few more houses shelled, and a few more 
 men killed, but force must remain to the law." In answer 
 to a communication afterwards sent to him, he declared 
 that he had nothing to add to his previous reply. 
 
 They were obliged to return to Paris on foot, owing to 
 the impossibility of procuring fresh horses, and did not 
 reach the gates until six in the morning. After making 
 their report, the Freemasons decided that the banners 
 should remain planted on the ramparts, and, if necessary, 
 that the men who guarded them should fight for the 
 Commune. 
 
 On the following day, the Freemasons of all rites were 
 invited to assemble in the Place de la Coucorde, at two in 
 the afternoon, in order to go and take away their flags 
 from the ramparts, the fire of the Versailles troops not . 
 having shown them any respect. 
 
 The army of Versailles followed up its advantage on 
 Fort Issy. At about ten o'clock in the evening of the 
 29th, the batteries of Meudon, Chatillon and Moulineaux 
 commenced a most terrific converging fire on the fort, with 
 scarcely any reply, as it Avas then only a mass of ruins. 
 The casemates had been crushed in, and the walls levelled 
 with the ground. Towards one o'clock the Versailles bat- 
 teries stopped firing, and the regular troops suddenly fell 
 upon the insurgents, who, surprised by the rapidity and 
 fierceness of the attack, immediately fled in wild disorder, 
 abandoning cannon, mitrailleuses and muskets. 
 
 The losses on both sides were considerable, according 
 to the insurgents' reports. The 161st battalion was nearly 
 exterminated. At midnight, when the firing had nearly 
 ceased, the Versailles troops were occupying part of the 
 Park of Issy, and the station of Clamart. To the occu- 
 
ISSY REPORTED EVACUATED. 195 
 
 pants of the fort the momentary respite was of little service, 
 for their commander had disappeared, and all was confu- 
 sion. Some officers endeavored to give directions for the 
 repair of certain points, but they were not listened to. A 
 few of the insurgents attempted to place sacks of earth in 
 the gaps, but a discharge of chassepots wounded some and 
 forced the rest to retire. It was in this state that the day 
 broke. The whole morning was spent in altercation, some 
 proposing an evacuation — others persisted in holding out 
 to the last. 
 
 After a violent altercation, the j>arty advocating the 
 evacuation carried the day. There were about three hun- 
 dred men in the fort. At ten o'clock another and final 
 council was held in the midst of a shower of shells, and 
 the final resolution was taken at eleven. The sailors 
 spiked the guns, the northern gate was opened, and the 
 insurgents, artillerymen and workmen, set out on their 
 return to Paris. 
 
 Some insurgents still remained, it was supposed v/ith 
 the intention of blowing up the fort, as there was an 
 abundance of powder. At half past eleven three superior 
 officers left Paris by the Vaugirard gate, evidently with 
 the intention of reoccupying the fort. The red flag was 
 still flying above the ruins of the barracks. Several bat- 
 talions of insurgents were now massed in the village of 
 Issy, which lies between the fort and the Vaugirard gate, 
 while fresh barricades were erected. Holes for musketry 
 were pierced in the walls, and passages were made from 
 house to house. The troops, in the mean time, were not 
 inactive. Not venturing to penetrate into the fort, which 
 they knew to be mined, they passed between it and Moli- 
 neaux to a small wood on the right, while the light bat- 
 teries were advanced to a spur of the plateau on which 
 the fort is situated, and at three in the afternoon were 
 ready to open fire on the ramparts. The cannonade soon 
 
19G THE PAKIS COMMUiTB. 
 
 commenced, the guns bearing on the bastions sixty-eight 
 and seventy-two. The inhabitants of Vaugirard, in fear- 
 ful alarm, were quitting their houses to come into the 
 city. 
 
 The following official circular in regard to the affair 
 was immediately telegraphed to the Prefects of the dif- 
 ferent Departments. 
 
 " Veesailles, 2:20 p. m. 
 
 " The works of approach towards Fort Issy have con- 
 tinued. The Government has received the following des- 
 patches, which it hastens to publish : — ' Belair, 5:5, A.M. — 
 General de Cissy to the Chief of the Executive. — A coup 
 de main has been effected against the farm of Bonney, in 
 front of Chatillon, by a company of the 70th regiment 
 and the light company of the 71st. Two officers on the 
 side of the insurgents were killed or wounded ; 71 prison- 
 ers were taken, of whom four were officers. On our side 
 two sergeants and two men were killed, and six wounded. 
 Too great praise cannot be awarded to the troops engaged, 
 especially to Captains Dumouchel, of the 70th, and Bro- 
 issier, of the 71st. Details later.' 'Belair, 6:55 A. m. — 
 Cissy to the Chief of the Executive Power and to Mac- 
 Mahon at Versailles. — I have this moment received from 
 General Faron the following despatch : — Eleury, 6 A. m. — 
 The operations have been very successful. The cemetery, 
 trenches, excavations, and the park of Issy were carried 
 with great spirit by battalions of the brigades under Deroja, 
 Paturel, and Berthe, with the aid of the Marines. We 
 occupy in force positions in close contiguity to the main 
 entrances to the fort. The park is connected with the 
 railway by a trench passing in front of the cemetery. On 
 our side there have been few killed. About 20 wounded. 
 The insurgents, who were very numerous, retired with 
 precipitation, leaving 100 prisoners, 8 pieces of artillery, 
 and 8 horses.' A. Thiers.'^ 
 
GEKERAL CLUSEKET AE RESTED. 197 
 
 The official journal of May 2d announced the astound- 
 g intelligence that General Cluseret had been arrested 
 
 by order of the Executive Committee, and approved by 
 
 the C( 
 
 ment 
 
 ing intelligence that General Cluseret had been arrested 
 
 y 
 
 the Commune. The following was the official announce 
 
 " Paris, May 1, 1871. 
 
 " The negligence and want of precaution shown by the 
 Delegate of the War Department having very nearly com- 
 promised our possession of Fort Issy, the Executive Com- 
 mittee determined to propose to the Commune the arrest 
 of Citizen Cluseret. The arrest has been decreed. 
 
 " The Commune, in addition, has taken all the mea- 
 sures necessary for maintaining its possession of that 
 stronghold." 
 
 General Cluseret was thus dismissed from his command ; 
 and that was not all — his arrest was ordered by the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee and approved of by the Commune. 
 But there was still something more. The public was in- 
 formed that steps had been taken to appoint some one 
 else in his place, and that measures of security had been 
 adop.ted. That word gave rise to the wildest suppositions. 
 Measures of security did not mean warlike preparations 
 against an assault, but simj)lo precautions against treason. 
 
 Many supposed it was Cluseret's intention to' betray the 
 Commune ; but the real facfc no doubt was that the recent 
 failure at Issy demanded a victim, and that that victim 
 should be the Minister of War. On the night of the 30th, 
 when the fort was on the point of surrendering, Megy, 
 tlie commandant, was desirous of leaving the mass of 
 ruins to its fate ; but General Wroblewski appeared upon 
 the scene in time to relieve M6gy of his command. He 
 was exasperated at what he called an act of treachery, 
 and threatened to resign his command if the important 
 ground of Issy was not confided to trusty hands. 
 
198 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 General Eudes was then appointed commandant of the 
 fort, with strict orders not to leave his post, to receive no 
 flao- of truce, and to defend himself till death. 
 
 It was General Clnseret, however, who first came to the 
 rescue of the abandoned fort. When he heard of the 
 panic he immediately sent forward the "Avengers of 
 Paris " and other battalions which had not seen service . 
 for some days. It was too late, however ; Generals Dom- 
 browski and Wroblewski both sent in their resignations 
 on account of Cluserefs mismanagement, but on hearing 
 of his arrest withdrew them. 
 
 The arrest took place at the Ministry of "War at G o'clock 
 in the evening. The insurgent soldiers were all posted at 
 the different outlets to the building. Two men without 
 any other insignia than the red scarf entered his cabinet, 
 one being the bearer of a warrant from the Commune. 
 On seeing them the General is reported to have said: 
 "For the last week I have been expecting this step, and 
 am rather surprised that it has not been taken sooner. If 
 I, had been guilty of what I am accused, that is to say, 
 treason, I should not have waited for your coming." He 
 was then taken in a carriage to the Conciergerie. His 
 action threw the Commune into the greatest state of per- 
 plexity, although the official organ announced the fact 
 without commentary, as dryly as if General Cluseret had 
 not been, during nearly a month, generalissimo of the 
 armies of the Hotel de Ville. Had he been meditating a 
 capitulation? Had he come to an understanding with 
 the chiefs of Versailles ? Had he conceived, in fine, a 
 coui^ d'etat 9 Did he wish to have himself proclaimed 
 Proconsul, Protector, perhaps Emperor? These were 
 questions which helped to agitate the already excited 
 brains of the Parisians for several days. His arrest, how- 
 ever, was in the natural order of things ; first M. Lullier, 
 then M. Bergeret, and after the latter M. Ckiseret. One 
 more victim, and the list was full. 
 
CLUSERET 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 1871. 
 
CHARACTER OF CLUSERET. 199 
 
 The following description of General Cluseret is decid- 
 edly true in regard to the feeling of security entertained 
 by all Americans in Paris while he remained in power : 
 
 " Cluseret, though, it is said, a naturalized American, 
 is a soldier of a. very different type from such as Dom- 
 browski. He has less of the capacity, probably, required 
 by a general on the battle-field handling troops, but in 
 the closet he is immeasurably superior. He is indefati- 
 gably active, and of insatiate ambition, greedy of power to 
 such excess that, as was said of Sir Eobert Walpole, he 
 has preferred to risk losing it all rather than to sacrifice 
 ever so little of it, and would rather see a too able man 
 among his opponents than among his friends. He has 
 gradually and steadily gathered all power into his own 
 hands, and has made no secret of his resolution to resist 
 and resent all interference on the part of laymen in what 
 he considers the all-absorbing question of tlie moment — 
 the effectual defence of Paris. He has rare firmness of 
 character and few scruples. A Frenchman, who had the 
 honor the other day of being his prisoner, narrated to me 
 a very characteristic conversation which Cluseret had held 
 with him. The General rather ridiculed the notion of 
 private hostages being wanted by the Commune, when it 
 held such infinitely more valuable hostages as, say, the 
 banks of Paris, and professed his readiness to release all 
 the prisoners, though he took care to guard himself against 
 all suspicion of hesitating to take their lives. ' I don't 
 want to take one life unnecessarily; but if at the last 
 moment I should be called on to kill 10,000 people, I 
 would rather make arrangements for killing 15,000, in 
 order to be on the safe side, than run the risk of 
 not killing the 10,000." He is, in fact, what one calls a 
 thoroughly practical man, somewhat of the shrewd Yankee 
 type ; and there is, perhaps, some foundation for the sus- 
 
200 THE PARIS COMMUIsrE. 
 
 picion that at the last moment he would have been as 
 ready to pocket $100,000 by surrendering Paris as to kill 
 15,000 men in a desperate defence. Many people haye 
 for some time been expecting a sorfc of coup cVetat on a 
 small scale from him, and to see him for a few days abso- 
 lute Dictator of Paris, with all our liyes and purses at 
 his mercy. He is too sensible a man to have wantonly 
 abused such power, though no doubt he would have used 
 it freely enough for his own private advantages. We 
 foreigners resident in Paris have some reason to regret 
 him, as he has always displayed an extremely liberal 
 policy towards us ; and since the war with Germany com- 
 menced, foreigners, or at any rate. Englishmen and Amer- 
 icans — about the members of other nations I know less — 
 have never gone about Paris with so little annoyance or 
 fear of arrest — except, indeed, from drunken ]^ational 
 Guards, in violation of their duty — as during the last few 
 weeks. With Frenchmen I need scarcely say the case has 
 been reversed, but even they will have some reason to 
 regret Cluseret's fall, except so far as it denotes the decline, 
 through internal dissensions, of the power of the Com- 
 mune." 
 
 General Cluseret's vacant place was given to Colonel 
 Eossel, formerly a captain of engineers, afterwards a com- 
 mandant in the army of the Loire. He was only twenty- 
 eight years of age, slight figure, pale, with light hair, 
 and, like General Dombrowski, wore spectacles. He was 
 a pupil of the Polytechnic School, and came out second 
 in his class. He served General Cluseret as head of the 
 staff, and was remarked for his activity and great intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 He acted as President of the Court-Martial, and was 
 considered extremely severe. 
 
 The following letter, sending his resignation to the Min- 
 
EOSSEL NOT A DESERTER. 201 
 
 ister of War, only appeared in the Paris joiirnals July 19tli, 
 although written on the 19th of March. It throws a new 
 light on the character of the Generalissimo of the Com- 
 mune, who, during the reign of that body, and long after 
 his capture by the Versailles Government, was considered 
 as a deserter. 
 
 " Camp of Nevbks, March. 19, 1871. 
 
 " A M. le Ge7ieral Ministrc de la Guerre a Versailles : 
 
 " Geisteeal : — I have the honor to inform you that I 
 am going to Paris to place myself at the disposition of the 
 Government forces which may be constituted there. In- 
 structed by a despatch of Versailles, rendered public to- 
 day, that there are two parties at war in the country, I 
 place myself Avithout hesitation on the side of those who 
 have signed no peace, and who do not count in their ranks 
 generals guilty of capitulation. 
 
 '• In taking such a grave and sorrowful resolution, I 
 have the regret to leave suspended the engineer service of 
 the Camp of ]!S[evers, confided to me by the Government 
 of the dth of September. I have placed this service, which 
 consists at present only of orders for expenses and remit- 
 tances of accounts, in the hands of Mr. Pinat, auxiliary 
 commandant of engineering, an honest and experienced 
 man, who remained under my orders by command of 
 General Vergne, in virtue of your despatch of the 5tli of 
 present month. 
 
 " I inform you summarily, by a letter addressed to the 
 bureau of war-materials, of the state in which I leave the 
 service. 
 
 " I have the honor to remain. General, your devoted 
 and obedient servant, 
 
 « EossEL." 
 
 General Eossel received notification of his appointment, 
 9* 
 
202 THE PARIS COMilUNE. 
 
 and responded to the Executive Committee in the follow- 
 ing letter : 
 
 "Paris, 30tli April.* 
 
 " Citizens : — I have the honor to acknowledge the re- 
 ceipt of your letter charging me provisionally with the 
 functions of Head of the War Department. 
 
 " I accept the difficult task thus imposed upon me, but 
 I require your most absolute co-operation in order not to 
 succumb under the weight of present circumstances. 
 " Salutation, and Fraternity, 
 
 '•' KOSSEL." 
 
 The new functionary at once issued two orders, one di- 
 recting General Wroblewski to extend his command to the 
 whole of the left bank of the Seine, both for the troops 
 and the forts from Ivry to Issy ; and the other declaring 
 the Citizen Gaillard, sen., was charged with the construc- 
 tion of a second line of barricades immediately inside the 
 fortifications, as well as a third at the Trocadero, Mont- 
 martre, and the Pantheon. New barricades were also to 
 be erected at four points on Place de la Concorde ; those 
 at the corner of Rue Royale and Eue Eivoli to be veritable 
 fortresses. Every one was put to work, and Eossel seemed 
 to imbue the waning spirit of Paris with new life. 
 
 The following remarkable correspondence was exchanged 
 between the major commanding the trenches of the army 
 of Versailles and Commandant Eossel, and posted on the 
 walls of Paris, May 1st : 
 
 " Tkenches before Fort Isst, April 30, 1871. 
 
 " In the name of the Marshal commanding in chief, we. 
 Major of the Trenches, call on the head of the insurgents 
 collected in the Fort of Issy to surrender, with all his 
 men, within the space of one quarter of an hour. 
 
 " If the said commander declares, in writing, that he 
 
A SPIRITED LETTEK. 203 
 
 and the rest submit without any other condition than to 
 have their lives spared, and to be alloAved to live where 
 they please except in Paris, that favor will be accorded 
 them. 
 
 " Should the said commander not reply affirmatively 
 within the time mentioned above, the whole garrison 
 shall be put to the sword. 
 
 " E. Leperche, 
 
 " Colonel of the Staff, Major of the Trenches." 
 
 The insurgents demanded a half-hour to deliberate, at 
 the end of which time they had not yet agreed ; a large 
 majority indicating visibly a desire to put down their 
 arms. The close of the day interrupted any further nego- 
 tiations. The night was occupied by the insurgents in 
 repairing the damage done and occupying the fort with 
 fresh troops. 
 
 In the morning the white flag was again hoisted from 
 the fort, and the officers of the staff, in responding, found 
 themselves in the presence of the famous Eudes, who de- 
 clared that he would continue the resistance to the last — 
 that the Commune did not wish to treat with "assas- 
 sins." He also forwarded the subjoined mission from the 
 new Minister of "War : 
 
 Paeis, May 1, 1871. 
 
 " To Citizen Leper die, Major of the Trendies before Fort 
 
 Issy : 
 
 " My Dear Comrade : — The next time that you ven- 
 ture to send us so insolent a communication as your letter 
 of yesterday, I will have your messenger shot, in conform- 
 ity with the usages of war. 
 
 " Your devoted comrade, 
 
 " EOSSEL, 
 " Delegate of the Commune of Paris." 
 
 Eossel and Leperche had served together at Metz. The 
 
204 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 oflficial journal of the Commune announced on the 1st of 
 May that a Committee of Public Safety had been organ- 
 ized, composed of fiye members, who would possess the 
 most extended powers over all commissions, and all the 
 branches of the Government, and that the persons ■ com- 
 posing it could not be called before any other jurisdiction 
 than that of the Commune. 
 
 Citizens Antoine Arnaud, Leo Meillet, Eanvier, Felix 
 Pyat, and Charles Gerardin were appointed on this im- 
 portant commission. 
 
 What was to be the duration of this new power, or its 
 particular attributes, was not known. The decree seemed 
 to indicate that it was to replace the Executive Committee. 
 The Delegate Eossel had asked the Commune for its most 
 absolute co-operation as the price of his inestimable ser- 
 vices. Doubtless the proof of that assistance was to be 
 found in the creation of a Committee of Public Safety. 
 Such a step was to be expected — first, because at the Hotel 
 de Ville dictatorship was liked ; and second, because, fatally 
 vowed, to an imitation of 1793, the natural result was that 
 this word, and the thing itself, equally sinister, should be 
 exhumed. 
 
 The garrison of Fort Issy Avas noAV three times as strong 
 as at the moment of the evacuation. The fire from the 
 fort was, however, very feeble, as only four 24-pounders 
 remained mounted. A barricade at the foot of the slope 
 in front was also armed with two guns, and two American 
 mitrailleuses, but it was of little avail except to defend the 
 access to the village. The officers of the Commune, how- 
 ever, appeared to be so sensible of the weakness of the 
 whole position, that they established three guns on a small 
 eminence outside the gate of Yaugirard. The re-occupa- 
 tion of Issy was only temporary, to enable the insurgents 
 to establish their heavy artillery on the ramparts. In the 
 meantime, two of the insurgent gunboats were cannon- 
 ading the heights of Meudon and Brimborion. 
 
SERIOUS JESTING. 205 
 
 The new Delegate of War sent the subjoined letter to 
 several Paris journals, the publication of which raised 
 him considerably in the estimation of the populace : 
 
 " I read with great regret the complicated fable which 
 you had received relative to the retaking of Fort Issy. 
 General Oluseret first entered it, accompanied by General 
 Cecilia and Colonels Eobart and Wetzel, conducting there 
 the 137th battalion, about three hundred strong, and 
 which had lost a dozen men during the march. I must 
 also formally deny the assertion that my predecessor at- 
 tempted to excite some corps against the Commune. The 
 General, who has always been friendly towards me, was 
 absolutely incapable of doing anything of the sort, or even 
 of thinking of it. 
 
 " I feel bound not to make myself, by my silence, an 
 accomplice in the malevolent rumors to which General 
 Cluseret may be exposed 'in the imfortunate position in 
 which he is placed, until the justice of the Commune has 
 pronounced on his acts. 
 
 " Accept, etc., etc., 
 
 " ROSSEL." 
 
 The bearer of Rossel's noted reply to the summons to 
 surrender Fort Issy was a young man — an officer in the 
 insurgent forces. 
 
 " Do you know what this letter contains ? " asked Colo- 
 nel Leperche. 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Well, it is an order to have you shot." 
 
 " How is that ? " exclaimed the other. 
 
 " Eead. According to Eossel, the bearer of an insolent 
 letter is to be shot, and if ever one merited that qualifica- 
 tion, it certainly is this. Therefore — " 
 
 The unfortunate officer protested that he was ignorant 
 of the contents ; but he was taken to General de Cissy, 
 
206 THE PARIS COMMUN"E. 
 
 who, after having read the document, declared that, in 
 fact, he could not help shooting the person who had 
 brought it. The General, however, consented to have the 
 young man sent to Versailles, where the cruel jesting 
 which was to he his punishment was continued for some 
 time. In the eAd, however, he received a good dinner, of 
 which he stood greatly in need, and was afterwards offered 
 his liberty, which he refused, preferring to remain in Ver- 
 sailles sooner than return to Paris. 
 
 The night of the 1st of May was witness to two very 
 important affairs, namely, the capture of the station of 
 Clamart and the Chateau of Issy by the Versailles troops. 
 The station is an imj)ortant position, because it completely 
 dominates the fort of Issy. 
 
 At 11 o'clock, p. M,, the 22d battalion of chasseurs a 
 pied of General Berthe's brigade, which had been lying 
 in ambush since 8 o'clock, approached the station in deep 
 silence.- " Qui vive?" cried the sentinel. " Tlie 22d lat- 
 talion of National Guards ! " they replied, and rushed in 
 with fixed bayonets. Two battalions of insurgents, and a 
 company of Francs-Tireurs were in and about the sta- 
 tion. The carnage for a short time was dreadful. Nearly 
 two hundred insurgents were left dead on the spot, all 
 killed by the bayonet and. sword. Little quarter was 
 given, as there were numerous deserters found among 
 their number. 
 
 Almost at the same hour, two battalions of infantry 
 belonging to the brigade of General de la Mariouse retook 
 the Chateau of Issy. At this point the resistance was 
 much more energetic than at the station of Clamart. The 
 Chateau was first taken by the troops on the morning of 
 the 30th, but during the negotiations of May 1st the in- 
 surgents managed to repossess themselves of it. The 
 Communists defended themselves with the most determ- 
 ined bravery, and succeeded in making two hundred 
 
A DEFEAT OE IDSTSUKGENTS. 207 
 
 and fifty prisoners. They also prepared to attack a bat- 
 tery situated between the Chateau of Issy and the fort. 
 The insurgents, with a considerable number of guns, im- 
 mediately began to shell the station at Clamart and the 
 Chateau of Issy. In consequence of this movement, 
 which was calculated to inflict much damage on the 
 troops, no time was lost in giving orders that all those 
 batteries which were engaged against the Point du Jour 
 should direct their fire in such a manner as to embarrass 
 the insurgents in their attempt on the station and the 
 Chdteau. General Faron sent forward the engineers, and 
 he was soon able to announce to Marshal de MacMahon 
 that all the new positions were in a state of defence. 
 
 On the following morning, at daybreak, a column of 
 three battalions issued from their intrenchments, and 
 advanced against the Versailles outposts. The soldiers 
 being in small numbers, fell back, and the insurgents con- 
 tinued to push forward in the direction of Clamart, turn- 
 ing all the obstacles, and avoiding the mitrailleuses. 
 Reinforcements of the regular troops at length came up, 
 and the insurgents, finding themselves in danger, com- 
 menced a retreat, in which they were much hurried by 
 the Government troops. Many of them tried to enter 
 Paris by the Vaugirard gate, but the guard there refused 
 to admit them, as the instructions given were not to 
 allow any National Guard to pass. The fugitives outside 
 threatened to fire on the insurgents at the gate, but did 
 not carry out their menace, and were obliged to disperse 
 in different directions. 
 
 The news of this defeat soon becoming knov>^n at head- 
 quarters, a much more powerful force was directed towards 
 this point, where the resistance shown was truly re- 
 markable, and of incomparable energy. The defenders 
 of the fort used mat,tresses made of seaweed to resist the 
 bullets which now had become more annoying than the 
 
208 THE PABIS COMMUNE. 
 
 shells. On their side the troops of Versailles having 
 passed the Seine at S^vre, occupied the Isle of St. Germain, 
 and there established a hattery for the purpose of cutting 
 off the retreat of the insurgents from the fort. The 
 fusillade continued the whole night, and the artillery 
 commenced its work of destruction at the break of day. 
 
 On the 3d of May Fort Vanves was severely shelled ; it 
 being the intention of the Versailles generals to cripple 
 that fort in such a manner as to make it unable to render 
 Issy any protection during the time employed in com- 
 pleting the trenches for its investment. 
 
 The shelling of Montrouge continued simultaneously 
 with that of Vanves. The insurgents commenced raising 
 new works in the part of the village near the cemetery 
 which they occupied; and the regulars continued their 
 works of approach, against which the bastions kept up an 
 incessant fire. The proximity of the assailants, and the 
 difficulty of ascertaining the respective positions of the 
 two parties in the houses, prevented, however, the in- 
 surgents on the ramparts from rendering efficient aid to 
 their colleagues outside. 
 
 The bastions of the Porte de Meudon and of the Point 
 du Jour were also fired on by the Versailles batteries, so 
 that Grenelle and Auteuil were considerably damaged, 
 and all the villas in the neighborhood evacuated. 
 
 The two gunboats belonging to the insurgents moored 
 beneath the railway bridge continued to shell the batteries 
 at Meudon, and were replied to by the Versailles batteries, 
 which, however, did more harm to the bridge than to the 
 gunboats. 
 
 The line of attack of the regular troops on the insurgent 
 positions became more and more extended to the left — 
 that measure, by rendering combats between the two 
 parties more frequent, appeared to have three objects in 
 view .• First, to close on all points the circle of investment 
 
PARIS EXPECTANT. 209 
 
 which "u^as already so near the forts and ramparts ; next, 
 to wear out by an incessant struggle the insurgent bat- 
 talions, which, with a sensible diminution in their effects, 
 were forced to oppose, day and night, and over a vast front, 
 troops which might be constantly renewed; and, lastly, 
 to open to the army a field of operation so wide that it 
 might choose the most favorable opportunity for a general 
 action, and aid their attack by numerous diversions or 
 demonstrations. In this manner a decisive action might 
 be fought to the greatest advantage. 
 
 The insurgents on the south, after having fought the 
 whole of the 2d to resist the successful attacks of the 
 army agamst the fortified positions on the Vanves road, 
 and in the village of Issy, and, after having to resist a 
 vigorous movement against the outworks of Bicetre and 
 Issy, passed a very unquiet night. The fort of Issy was 
 now so far surrounded, that reinforcements had to be sent 
 by tlie gate of Van-v^es. In fact, after that engagement, 
 the troops, already masters of Moulineaux and the park 
 of Issy, situated to the right of the fort, seized on the 
 left a powerfully armed barricade, which defended the 
 strategical road from the fort of Issy to that of Vanves ; 
 then, by a clever flank movement, they advanced from 
 those two points on to the village itself, in which they 
 occupied positions which commanded it completely. The 
 only point which assured the communication of Paris 
 with Issy was the cemetery, still held by the insurgents. 
 Late in the evening there was every expectation that the 
 army of Versailles would be in Paris by daylight next 
 morning. In consequence of something that had trans- 
 pired, three divisions of the army advanced towards the 
 enceinte through the Bois de Boulogne, and an entire 
 army corps was under orders to follow. Marshal de 
 MacMahon, attended by his staff, left Versailles for the 
 advanced posts at eleven o'clock, after an interview with 
 
210 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 M. Thiers. Unfortunately, and for reasons not yet fully 
 known, the National Guards of Passy and Auteuil, 38tli 
 and 72d battalions, did not make the signals agreed upon, 
 and the affair fell through. This was the second time in 
 ten days that an enterprise of this kind had failed. The 
 non-success of this undertaking was counterbalanced by a 
 great success on the evening of the 3d. The commandant 
 of the 2d corps telegraphed to the Chief of the Executive 
 Power as follows : 
 
 " Complete success of our attack on the right. 
 
 "The redoubt of Moulin-Saquet has been taken by 
 assault with great gallantry by the troops of General La- 
 cretelle. 
 
 " Two hundred dead insurgents remained on the ground. 
 We have carried off three hundred prisoners, eight cannon, 
 and se\eral /anions. 
 
 " Two of the enemy's cannon, overthrown in the fosse, 
 have been abandoned." 
 
 M. Thiers, in his report, said, "This is the victory that 
 the Commune will celebrate to-morrow in its bulletins." 
 
 About seven o'clock in the evening of the 3d of May, 
 four companies of the 39th Eegiment de Marche, sup- 
 ported by the eclaireurs of the 41st and 71st Regiments, 
 left the environs of Plessis-Picquet and arrived at the 
 upper Seine by Hay, Chevilly, and Thiasis. There meet- 
 ing the advanced posts of the 3d cavalry corps, they fol- 
 lowed the route from Choisy-le-Eoi to Vitry. Then 
 traversing that village in haste, they advanced in silence 
 on the enemy's outposts. 
 
 Moulin-Saquet was a position of the utmost import- 
 ance to take and to liold ; it was one of those redoubts 
 that, during the former siege, held head against the bat- 
 teries of Hay and Thiasis, and was situated a little in 
 advance of Bicetre. Its new works had rendered it very 
 
CAPTUEE OF MOULIN SAQUET. 211 
 
 formidable. One account says that the attacking party 
 had obtained the password of the insurgents, and, causing 
 itself to be preceded by a small drove of bullocks con- 
 ducted by soldiers disguised as peasants, penetrated into 
 the redoubt, the sentinels allowing the supposed convoy 
 to pass without molestation. Another account says that 
 the redoubt fell into the hands of the Versailles troops 
 by means of treason ; that the commandant, Gallien, 
 either gave or sold the password ; that his disappearance 
 during the combat, and the presence in the Versailles 
 army of all the necessary material for the transport of the 
 captured guns, proved this treachery. Nothing of the 
 kind is mentioned, however, in the official despatches at 
 Versailles, and the inference is, that the men who be- 
 longed to the 55th and 120th battalions, having been on 
 the alert the two preceding nights and greatly fatigued 
 and overcome by sleep and strong drink, could offer little 
 resistance. Before they were thoroughly awake, the troops 
 were masters of the redoubt. 
 
 Few of the defendants had even time to take up their 
 arms, and the greater part were made prisoners without 
 firing a shot ; others, who attempted to resist, were killed, 
 wounded, or captured, and but few of the eight hundred 
 men succeeded in escaping. The soldiers then seized 
 the flags, seven pounders, and mitrailleuses, all of which 
 were carried off. 
 
 As soon as Haute-Bruy^re and Ivry had received the 
 alarm they commenced firing heavily, and the troops, find- 
 ing themselves too much exposed to the fire of those forts 
 in addition to that of Bicetre, abandoned the position, 
 taking with them their prisoners and their trophies. During 
 the following day great discouragement prevailed in the 
 quarter of the Gobelins, to which the surprised battalions 
 belonged. A number of women and children had assem- 
 bled around the Mairie, crying " Treason ! " 
 
213 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The Commune, in its proclamations, boasted of having 
 retaken the redoubt with great dash. They certainly- 
 made it untenable, as also the Clamart station, the scene 
 of the other surprise and slaughter. The shells from 
 Fort V^nves inflicted great injury on the regular troops, 
 and Chateau Issy suffered greatly from the splendid firing 
 of the insurgents at the Point-du-Jour. The insurgents 
 about this time seemed to be inflicting as much damage 
 on the regulars as they themselves were suffering. 
 
 Colonel Eossel, Delegate of War, in his military report, 
 stated that during the night of the 3d, detachments of 
 Versailles troops presented themselves at Moulin-Saquet 
 as a patrol, and were admitted after giving the correct 
 parole. They then charged the garrison, taking them by 
 surprise, and driving them from the redoubt. The enemy 
 carried off six guns with teams, which had been kept in 
 readiness. 
 
 The result of an inquiry was that the commander, 
 Gallien, was accused of having sold the countersign to the 
 enemy, or, at all events, of having publicly divulged it in 
 a cafe. The redoubt was almost immediately retaken by 
 the 133d battalion. 
 
 The insurgents notified the inhabitants of St. Ouen, 
 Clichy, and Levallois, that they must evacuate their 
 homes, as some operations were about to take place. 
 
 The official journal of the Commune contains the 
 subjoined report of the last sitting of that body : 
 
 " In reply to a demand of M. Courbet, that M. Paschal 
 Grousset, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, should address 
 a manifesto to the European Governments asking for the 
 recognition of the Commune as a belligerent power, M. 
 Paschal Grousset said : 
 
 " ' The delegation for Foreign Affairs feels that 
 there would be something offensive in having to make 
 
COLOKEL WETZEL EEMOVED. 213 
 
 lilurope the judge iu a civil war, and in soliciting a Euro- 
 pean A^erdict, which could not hut condemn Frenchmen. 
 It is necessary at any price to avoid foreign intervention, 
 and it would he peurilg to demand the character of helli- /"-^ 
 gerent when the Commune de facto possesses it. The 
 verdict of Europe and the world has heen given. ISFo one 
 can reproach the Commune and its defenders with having 
 committed a single act which is not in harmony with the 
 usages of war among civilized nations. We wage war 
 honorably ; we do not employ any means which we can- 
 not publicly avow ; we do not disguise police agents and 
 gendarmes in the garb of troops of the line ; we do not 
 bombard women and children ; we do not load our guns 
 with incendiary bombs, or our rifles with steel-pointed 
 balls ; we do not summarily execute prisoners." 
 
 The members approved of the response of the Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 The official journal also published a decree declaring 
 that political and professional oaths should be abolished. 
 Also one appointing Citizen Henry Director of the Organ- ,,, 
 ization and Movements of the Ministry of War ; and one 
 to Colonel Wetzel, at Issy, as follows : 
 
 " Citizen : — You have several times addressed applica- 
 tions for reinforcements, either to the military com- 
 mandant at the Hotel de Ville, or to the commander of 
 the seamen, without sending through your direct chief, 
 the General La Cecilia, or even through the Delegate of 
 War. That mode of acting, altogether irregular, forces me 
 to withdraw from you your command. You will return 
 to Paris, and place yourself at my orders, after taking the 
 directions of your superior officer for giving up your 
 service. " Salutation and Fraternity, 
 
 '• EOSSEL." 
 
214 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 It was currently reported among the adherents of the 
 Commune . that there was a growing opposition to the 
 maintenance of Citizen Rossel as Delegate of War. 
 
 It was said that Citizen Jourde, Delegate to the Finances, 
 believed himself called upon to resign because, as he said, 
 ofiicials in his position would henceforth be nothing but 
 clerks of the Committee of Public Safety. The Commune, 
 however, refused to accept that resignation. M. Jourde 
 then resumed his mission ; but he declared that, in the 
 existing organization at the Hotel de Ville, conflicts ap- 
 peared to him inevitable between the functionaries at the 
 various ministries and the Committee. These debates 
 did not precisely announce very tranquil days for the men 
 who ruled the capital. 
 
 In the meantime the Versailles batteries kept up a 
 regular fire on Issy and the gate of Vaugirard. At the 
 Point du Jour, the gunboats Estoc, Sabre and Perrier 
 cannonaded Meudon, and were replied to by the battery 
 at Brimborion. The bastions 68 and 69 also took part 
 in the contest. 
 
 The fighting at Neuilly was of the same unvarying 
 character, consisting of continual struggles in the streets, 
 houses, and barricades, there being on both sides an 
 incessant noise of cannon or musketry, varied by the 
 rattle of the mitrailleuses. At one moment of the day 
 the insurgents had succeeded in capturing the barricade 
 of the Rue des Huissiers, but on the arrival of reinforce- 
 ments of troops by the Avenue Sainte-Foy, they abandoned 
 the position, and took refuge in the houses. The guns 
 of Coiirbevoie were then brought to bear on their retreat, 
 and the insurgents were at length forced to retire behind 
 their own barricades. 
 
 Several shells had fallen far down the Champs Elysees, 
 in front of the Palais de ITndustrie, and deaths were 
 numerous on that avenue. Notwithstanding this, it was 
 
CURIOSITY OF THE FRENCH. 315 
 
 nearly always crowded. Curiosity is a prominent trait in 
 a Frenchman's character, and he Avould run to see a dead 
 man if he were positive a second shell would immediately 
 follow the one that caused the accident. Above all, the 
 inevitable individual sprinkling the streets was always at 
 his post, hose in hand, performing his avocation between 
 the shots. 
 
 A new deputation from the Union Repiiblicaine arrived 
 at Yersailles on the 4th, and had an interview with M. 
 Thiers, to propose a new basis of conciliation — the step, 
 however, was not attended with any success. A similar 
 result attended the deputation to the Commune. 
 
 The official journal of the insurgents published on 
 May 6th, the following proclamation : 
 
 " Pakis, May 5, 1871. 
 
 " Tlie Members of the Commune, Delegates of Public Safety: 
 
 "Considering that pending the duration of the war, 
 and as long as the Commune of Paris is obliged to fight 
 the bands of Versailles who besiege it, and shed the 
 blood of the citizens, it is not possible to tolerate the 
 culpable manoeuvres of the auxilliaries of the enemy ; 
 
 " Considering that amongst the number of these manoeu- 
 vres should be placed in the first rank the calumnious 
 attacks directed by certain journals against the population 
 of Paris and the Commune, and although both one and 
 the other are above such attacks, they are not less a per- 
 manent insult to the courage, devotedness, and patriotism 
 of our fellow-citizens ; 
 
 " That it would be contrary to public morality to let 
 these journals continue to spread defamation and outrage 
 on the defenders of our rights, who are shedding their 
 blood for the safety and liberty of France and the 
 Commune ; 
 
 " Considering that the Government, seated at Versailles, 
 
216 THE PAEIS COMMU:frE. 
 
 interdicts in all parts of France tlie sale of any journal 
 which defends the principles of the reyolution represented 
 by the Commune ; 
 
 " Considering that the journals the Petit Moniteur, 
 the Bon Sens, the Petite Presse, the Petit Journal, the 
 France and the TemjJS, excite to civil war in each of their 
 numbers, and that they are the most active auxiliaries 
 of the enemy of Paris and of the Eepublic, 
 
 "IT IS DECEEED, 
 
 "Art. 1. The journals above mentioned are suppressed. 
 
 " Art. 2. Notification of the present decree will be given 
 to each of the journals and their printers, who will be 
 responsible for all further publications. Citizen Le Moussu, 
 Commissaire of the Delegations, is charged with the execu- 
 tion of the present decree. 
 
 " F. COURNET, 
 " The Memlier of ttie Commune, Delegate of Public Safety." 
 
 ■ " Paeis, 16 Floreal, year TO. 
 
 " Committee of Public Safety : 
 
 " Considering that the House known under the name 
 of Chapelle Expiatoire of Louis XVI is a prominent in- 
 sult to the first revolution, and a perpetual protestation 
 of the reaction against the justice of the people, 
 
 "IT IS DECEEED, 
 
 " Art. 1. That the chapel called Expiatory shall be de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 " Art. 2. The material shall be sold to the public for the 
 . profit of the Administration of Public Lands. 
 
 " Art. 3. The Director of Public Lands will cause to be 
 executed the present decree within eight days. 
 
 "Ant. Arnaud, Ch. Gerardin, Leo Meillet, 
 "Felix Pyat, Ranvier — The Committee 
 " of PuNic Safety:' 
 
ALLOTTIKG THE COMMANDS. 217 
 
 Colonel Eossel, Delegate of War, in accordance with the 
 injunctions of the Committee of Public Safety, to allot the 
 military commands as soon as possible, has issued the fol- 
 lowing orders : 
 
 " General Dombrowski will go in person tb Neuilly, and 
 take command on the right bank ; General La Cecilia will 
 direct the operations between the Seine and the left bank 
 of the Bievre, and will take the title of General of the 
 Centre ; General Wrobleski will remain at the head of the 
 left wing ; Generel Bergeret will command the first re- 
 serve brigade, and General Eudes the second. Bach of 
 the aboye-named generals will retain headquarters in the 
 interior of the city : 1. Dombrowski at the Place Ven- 
 dome ; 2. La Cecilia, Ecole Militaire ; 3. Wrobleski, Elysee ; 
 4. Eudes, Legion of Honor ; and 5. General Bergeret, Le- 
 gislative Body." 
 
 The same functionary published the following circular 
 to the inhabitants of the suburbs : 
 
 " Citizens : — Since I held the post I now occupy, I have 
 received several letters informing me that inoffensive per- 
 sons had been struck by fragments of shells in our villages. 
 
 " Until the war shall be brought to a close, I will do all 
 in my power to prevent useless suffering ; but, in order 
 that I may stop the fire of the batteries directed on such 
 or such a point by individual commanders, I must be 
 informed in time, and in a positive manner, that the ene- 
 my does not occupy the spots indicated. On the other 
 hand, it is necessary that I should receive the contrary in- 
 formation when the soldiers are present. 
 
 " The communes or hamlets which can offer me such 
 guarantees shall be assured against these regretable and 
 useless cruelties. You see what I ask is not simple neu- 
 trality, but a sort of alHance. 
 
 " Salutation and fraternity, 
 
 10 " ROSSEL." 
 
218 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 On the morning of the fifth considerable skirmishing 
 took place in the Park of Bagneux, and at the entrance to 
 the village. The insurgents, who were only a short dis- 
 tance from that locality, and had barricaded the approach 
 to Montrouge, made a reconnaissance in advance. The 
 army had, however, considerable forces in the neighbor- 
 hood, and some guns at Chatillon opened fire on the Com- 
 munists, who were compelled to retreat to their trenches. 
 Issy continued to receive a convergent fire from the bat- 
 teries of the Orangery, the Tour-aux- Anglais, Val-Fleury, 
 Clamart, and the Moulin-de-Pierre. The insurgents had 
 repaired the fortifications with mattresses of dried sea- 
 weed and heaps of stable manure, but the straw had be- 
 come dried by the wind and sun, and was set on fire by 
 shells. The troops continued their works along the rail- 
 way embankment, with the object of isolating the Fort 
 of Issy from that of Vanves. About four in the afternoon 
 an engagement, without result, took place before the first 
 houses at the Moulineaux. 
 
 A large number of naval gunners arrived from Toulon 
 by express, and were to be sent to new positions recently 
 fortified by the Government. The marine pieces were 
 those which they had been accustomed to work. 
 
 The insurgents kept continually losing ground on the 
 west of the city, the regular troops having taken all the 
 houses on the Avenue Neuilly to within three hundred 
 yards of Porte Maillot. The army of Versailles was also 
 working its way along the right bank of the river in the 
 direction of the bridge of Asnieres, in order to completely 
 cut off the Communists from the Seine. 
 
 The arrival of ofiicial information from Versailles was 
 more than acceptable to the large majority of the Paris- 
 ians, and occasionally an outside journal from Versailles 
 arrived with news which roused their drooping spirits. 
 The subjoined communication from M. Thiers, vdiich was 
 
SUCCESSES OF THE NATIONALS. 219 
 
 telegraj^hed to the Prefects of the different dei3artnients in 
 France, was the first correct news the law and order party 
 received of this very important affair : 
 
 "Versailles, May 6, 7:30 p.m. 
 
 "Those who have followed the operations which our 
 army is executing with admirable devotion, in order to 
 preserve social order, vv^hich is so gravely menaced by the 
 Parisian insurrection, must have perceived that the object 
 was to reduce Fort Issy by silencing its fire and cutting 
 off its communications both with Fort Yanves and the 
 
 A 
 
 enceinte. These operations are approaching completion, 
 notwithstanding the obstacle which is presented by the 
 batteries of Fort Vanves. At this moment our troops are 
 engaged in forming the trench which will separate Fort 
 Issy from Fort Vanves. The railway, which is crossed by 
 a vaulted passage, is the line which has been disputed for 
 three days. Last night 240 sailors and two companies of 
 the 17th Battalion of Chasseurs a Pied, led by General 
 Paturel, boldly rushed upon the railway and the arched 
 passage. The sailors, being met with a heavy fire, were 
 bravely supported by the two companies of the 17th, and 
 the line of railway, as well as the arched passage, remained 
 in our power. The garrison of Vany^es, seeking at that 
 moment to take our soldiers in the rear, were held ready 
 to issue from their positions, when Colonel Vilmette, at 
 the head of the 2d Provisional Battalion, fell upon them, 
 carried the insurgents' trenches, took the Redan in which 
 they were collected, killed and captured a considerable 
 number, and finished the brilliant engagement by a de- 
 cisive coup do main. 
 
 " The Redan was immediately turned against the ene- 
 my, and a quantity of arms, ammunition, and sacks of 
 provisions abandoned by the Vanves garrison were taken, 
 as also the flag of the 119th Insurgent Battalion. 
 
230 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " Thus it is seen that not a day is being lost ; each hour 
 "brings us nearer to the moment when the main attack will 
 terminate the anxieties of Paris and of all France. 
 
 " We have had several distinguished ofBcers placed hors 
 de combat in these operations. Colonel Leperche, Lieu- 
 tenants Panet and De Broglie have been severely but not 
 dangerously wounded. It is hoped that they will soon be 
 restored. 
 
 ■ "A. Thiees." 
 
 The first notice the Parisians had of the above combat 
 was at six o'clock on the morning of the 6th of May. 
 About two hundred insurgents, bareheaded, and without 
 arms or equipm.ent, entered Paris in disorder by the gate 
 of Italy, crying out : " The fort of Vanves is taken ! " 
 They were in such a state of excitement that for some 
 time no exj^lanation of their panic could be obtained from 
 them. From their confused accounts, the following cause 
 of their retreat was gathered : For three days the fort 
 had been under a constant fire from the batteries of the 
 Tour-aux- Anglais and from the redoubts of Chatillon and 
 Moulin-de-Pierre. Both artillerymen and National Gruards 
 were almost worn out with fatigue. They were, moreover, 
 exposed to a fire of riflemen, from trenches constructed 
 by the enemy at a distance of only five hundred yards, 
 and many gunners had been killed or wounded at their 
 pieces. The troops had also obtained possession of the 
 barricade at the point where the railway intersects the 
 military road, and the insurgents were consequently in 
 danger every moment of finding themselves completely 
 isolated. 
 
 The evening of the 5th had been comparatively quiet, 
 when about midnight the troops issued from the trenches 
 and made the first sentinels prisoners before these latter 
 could raise the alarm. What followed was not very clear. 
 
TAKIC AT FORT VAKVES. 221 
 
 According to the insurgents, a party of marines, waving a 
 wliite flag, adYanced np to a trench occupied by the insur- 
 gents in front of the fort, crying out "Vive la Commune!" 
 and then rushed on the Communists and bayoneted them. 
 It is, however, more probable that this was another well- 
 planned surprise, like that which succeeded at Moulin- 
 Saquet. Many of the insurgents were killed or made 
 prisoners, and the others retreated into the fort. The 
 battery of Chatillon then opened a heavy fire of shell and 
 canister shot, which fell on the parapet like hail. 
 
 The panic became general, and the insurgents, believing 
 that a general attack was to be made, and that their re- 
 treat might be cut off, fled in confusion. 
 
 The fugitives, pursued by the fire of the troops, first 
 endeavored to enter Paris by Porte Yanves, but were re- 
 fused admission, as well as at several other gates at which 
 they applied. Some attempted to pass by the gap in the 
 fortifications made by the river Bievre, but there the sen- 
 tinels, who had strict orders to allow no one to pass, 
 threatened to fire on them. They finally reached the 
 Porte d'ltalie, where, after waiting an hour, they were able 
 to enter with the carts of the market-gardeners. The fort 
 was reoccupied early m the morning, but soon became 
 almost untenable, as the soldiers had advanced to within 
 two hundred yards, and formed a semicircle of investment 
 extending from the station of Clamart to the point where 
 the railway intersects the military road, between the forts 
 of Vanves and Montrouge. About fifty of the fugitive 
 insurgents were afterwards disarmed by order of the Del- 
 egate of War, Colonel Eossel, and subjected to the military 
 degradation of having the right sleeve of their overcoats 
 cut off. 
 
 The ofiicial organ of the Commune published a decree 
 declaring that on and after the 12th of May all articles of 
 wearing apparel, linen, books, bedding, and working tools 
 
322 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 pledged at the Mont de PieU, for a sum not exceeding 
 twenty francs, could be taken out without any payment, 
 provided the person who received the money on them 
 could prove his identity. The Delegate for Finance was 
 to arrange with the administration which advanced the 
 money, for the mode of repayment. From a report of the 
 last sitting held by the Commune, the expense of this 
 measure would be about eight million francs. 
 
 A notice was issued by the Delegate of War that not 
 more than two men could be admitted together in any 
 fort or redoubt, unless in the case of a troop previously 
 announced and expected. He also visited the Commune, 
 and protested against all orders given directly by the Com- 
 mittee to generals and superior oflQcers under his com- 
 mand, and repudiated all consequences which might 
 result from that course. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Concert given at the Tuilerics for the benefit of the wounded National Guards — 
 Appeal of M. Thiers to the inhabitants of Paris— Battery of Montretout — 
 Evacuation of Fort Issy— Occupation by the troops — Engagement at Moulin- 
 Saquet— False reports given by the Official Journal— Rossers report— His 
 letter— His imprigonment and escape — Delescluze appointed Delegate of 
 War — Fort Vanves evacuated — The insurgents again take possession — Dif- 
 ferences of the Commune and Central Committee— Government despatch — 
 Decree ordaining the demolition of M. Thiers' house— Camp in the Bois de 
 Boulogne— Procession of troops at Versailles- Sinliing of an insurgent gun- 
 boat—Capture of Fort Vanves— Villas in the neighborhood of Paris plundered 
 by the insurgents— Threat of the Communists with regard to Paris— Dissen- 
 sions of the Commune — Fall of the Column VendCme — Its description — Guns 
 captured at Vanves presented by a deputation to the National Assembly — 
 Marshal de MacMahon's order of the day— Explosion of the cartridge man- 
 ufactory in the Avenue Eapp— The blame thrown upon the National Assem- 
 bly by the Commune— Sacrilege at Notre Dame des Victoires— Cluseret tried 
 and set at liberty by the Commune— Arrest of Eochefort at Meaus— His en- 
 trance into Versailles. 
 
 ON tlie niglit of tlie 7tli of May, a grand concert was 
 given at the Tuileries, for the benefit of the fami- 
 lies of the insurgents killed or wounded. It took place 
 in the Salle des Marechaux. That is, it was annoujiced 
 to take place there; hut it really took place in several 
 halls at the same time. While a prima donna was singing 
 Trovatore in one hall, a band was playing the Marseillaise 
 in another. As the halls all opened into one another, the 
 confusion and noise was fearful ; but the sight Avas one 
 never to be forgotten, and well repaid standing in line for 
 more than an hour, as all were obliged to do, before being 
 able to gain admission, although tickets had been en- 
 gaged in advance. The receipts amounted to over twelve 
 
224 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 thonsand francs. A correspondent gives the following 
 amusing account of the affair : 
 
 "In consequence of a large placard jDosted over the 
 walls of Paris this morning, I passed through the gate of 
 the private garden of the Tuileries, and made my way, in 
 company with a crowd of citizens of all classes, through 
 the apartments occupied but a few months ago by the 
 ex-Emperor and Empress. The printed invitation an- 
 nounced that we might see the rooms in which the 
 'tyrant' had lived for the modest sum of 50c., but that, 
 should we think proper to take tickets for the concert, 
 ' whereby these saloons might be at length rendered use- 
 ful to the people,' we should be permitted to enjoy the 
 extra show gratis. I took a ticket, and joined myself to 
 a hot stream of people who belonged to every nationality 
 and rank of life, and whose remarks and criticisms were 
 most edifying. There were shopkeepers and their wives, 
 only too delighted to take advantage of the mildest dissi- 
 pation ; gentlemen whose National Guard trousers were 
 rendered respectable by the gray jacket or blouse of a 
 citizen ; humdrum housewives who approved everything, 
 and gaped their admiration of so much gorgeous wall- 
 coloring; there were flaunting ladies in bonnets of the 
 latest fashion and marvellous petticoats, who criticised 
 the curtains and pointed the parasol of scorn at faded 
 draperies ; people who felt the heavy hand of the spectre 
 of departed glory, and people who exulted at beholding 
 the hidden recesses of an Imperial mansion laid bare to 
 the jokes and ribaldry of Belleville and La Villette. Every 
 class of Parisian society was represented in the throng 
 that swayed and hustled through the rooms ; but the sad- 
 dest sight of all was the knot or two of decrepit veterans 
 from the Invalides who leant against the balustrade of the 
 grand staircase, and gazed with pinched-up lips and dry 
 
COKCEET AT THE TUILEEIES. 225 
 
 eyes at the National Guards on duty, lounging and car- 
 ousing down below. 
 
 "The stairs were littered with bedding and cooking 
 utensils, shirts and stockings hanging to dry over the gilt 
 railings, while in the square at the stairs' foot were ranged 
 benches and boards on trestles, and there the soldiers of 
 the Guard sat in groups picturesque enough, contrasting 
 in the carelessness and dirt of their general appearance 
 with the lavish ornaments of marble and gilt work which 
 served as a background to their figures. Marching orders, 
 more or less thumbed and torn, hung in fragments from 
 the panelled walls ; names in pencil and names in ink, 
 and names scrawled with a finger-nail, defaced the doors 
 and staircase wall. A sentry stood at every door to see 
 that the citizens behaved themselves — a precaution by 
 no means unnecessary, the outward aspect of certain 
 members of the crowd being taken into consideration. 
 
 " In the Salle de la Paix a number of women were busy 
 uncovering a number of chairs for the promised concert, 
 and in the Salle des Marechaux beyond, where the con- 
 cert was to be given,-velvet benches were already occupied 
 by old ladies in white caps with baskets in their hands, 
 who presented a stern aspect of endurance, as though 
 they were determined to sit there through the prepara- 
 tions as well as the promised entertainment, and still to 
 continue sitting until turned out by sword and bayonet. 
 The ' Salle des Marechaux ' exists no more except in 
 name, for men on ladders were employed covering up the 
 portraits which decorate the hall with screens of red silk 
 — I suppose lest the past glory of French heroes should 
 pale the brilliancy of the National Guard, just as the bas- 
 reliefs of the Venddme Column act as an outrage upon 
 the susceptibilities of the Commune. White cloths were 
 being tied over the busts of Napoleon's generals, and 
 everything relating to the past carefully obliterated — a 
 
 10* 
 
23G THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 rather foolish proceeding, considering that the bee-span- 
 gled Imperial curtains still hang over the doors, and 
 festoons of the same drapery decorate the gallery above. 
 The brocaded panels of the Salle du Tr6ne were objects 
 of much remark among the ladies, as were the tapestries 
 of the Salle des Gobelins; but the bareness and total 
 absence of furniture were commented on freely on all 
 sides. Not a chair or a window-blind, or even a door-plate 
 or handle, is to be seen in any of the rooms, except in 
 those used for the concerts, and the question arose, natur- 
 ally enough, ' Where is it all gone to ? ' The same de- 
 mand was made so often of an elderly bourgeois on duty 
 at the end of the Salle de Diane that he was fairly bewil- 
 dered, and looked round for help, and, hailing the gold 
 stripes on my cap as a haven of relief, he forthwith seized 
 upon me as a superior officer, and insisted on an explana- 
 tion. ' You know there were quantities of cases carried 
 off during the time before Sedan,' he said ; ' but, with all 
 their cunning, they can't have dismantled a whole palace 
 of this size, can they?' And the crowd stood round 
 endeavoring to account for the nakedness of the land, 
 until a remark that the Commune had been feathering 
 their nests with the chairs and tables dispersed them 
 laughing. 
 
 " The Empress's bedroom was a great attraction, Chaplin's 
 charming decorations being subjects of sufficient interest, 
 independent of the absent furniture. The looking-glasses 
 which spring from the walls called down ejaculations of 
 delight from a party of dressmakers, who carefully took 
 notes of the mechanism, ' in order to imitate it, my dear, 
 when Paris becomes itself again.' There was a large 
 placard upon the wall of a kind of library, inviting the 
 attention of the public to the secret arrangements in a 
 recess whereby the Empress obtained her dresses and linen 
 from some manufactory of garments above, and an old 
 
CONTllASTS. 227 
 
 lady, after having carefully examined the elaborate 
 details, turned away with a sigh and a shake of the head. 
 ' How foolish of them, after all, not to have done a little 
 for us in order that they might have continued to abide in 
 this paradise ! ' How different was the Empress's apartment 
 this morning, bare and crowded with the dregs of the 
 Paris population, from the night when I last saw it, the 
 night of her ilight, when bed-clothes still littered the 
 floor, and gloves and little odds and ends of female finery 
 told of recent occupation ! All was silent then with the 
 stillness of a coming storm ; now the walls re-echo with a 
 stir of unhallowed feet, and. the spring sunshine streams 
 in at the open window accompanied by whiffs from the 
 garden below, while a distant cry reaches us from the 
 street beyond of ' Le Vengeur,^ ' Le Cri du Peuple,^ ' Le 
 dernier ordro du ComiU du Salut PuMic' and we detect 
 curls of smoke about the Arch, of Triumph, which remind 
 us that the bombardment still goes on. 
 
 " A reflective sentry at the door of the cabinet de travail 
 begged me to remark the portraits set round above the 
 doors. ' These are the Empress's favorite ladies,' he in- 
 formed me ; ' are they not salojnnes, one would say, of the 
 period of Montespan ? And those were the ladies who 
 were models for the women of our land — no wonder that 
 Paris should have become the Gomorrah that it is ! ' In 
 the evening the concert was given, and a wonderful bear- 
 garden the Imperial Palace presented. Members of the 
 Commune flitted about in red draperies and tried to find 
 room on the already crowded benches for the struggling 
 mob, who rubbed their hot faces with their unaccustomed 
 white gloves, and used such language to each other as, it 
 is to be hoped, those august walls have seldom heard. 
 Meanwhile the crowd increased in numbers, and by eight 
 o'clock the reception rooms were full, and some 2,000 
 people still stood in a long string in the garden outside. 
 
228 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 They behaved with the wondrous good nature which char- 
 acterizes a French crowd, laughing oyer the absurdity of 
 their predicament and waving the tickets, which tliey 
 would never he able to present, jestingly at one another. 
 In course of time the whole of Vaejardin prive was full of 
 people, who looked up at the lights streaming from the win- 
 dows, and sat about on chairs quietly smoking their cigars 
 and enjopng the lovely evening, listening to the occasional 
 boom at the other end of the long alley, where a bright 
 flash which bore death upon its wings appeared in the sky 
 from time to time, in mockery of the gas-light chandeliers 
 and feeble attempts at revelry that were going on" above 
 our heads." 
 
 The construction of barricades in the interior of Paris 
 was now carried on with great activity, the object of the 
 Commune being to establish a series of redoubts in the 
 principal centres of the city. The most considerable were 
 those in the Place de la Concorde, whose deep embank- 
 ments, with a wide ditch in advance, were raised at the 
 Eue Eoyale, Eue Eivoli, and at the gate of the Tuileries, 
 facing the Champs Elysees, and at the corner of the quay. 
 These works were constructed chiefly of bags filled with 
 sand, and the angles and faces were carefully finished, so 
 as to resemble masonry work. The barricade at the 
 corner of the Eue de Eivoli reached almost as high as the 
 terrace of the Tuileries, against which it abutted. It was 
 pierced for five pieces of cannon, and a small passage was 
 left open on one side. 
 
 The other open places thus defended were the Place 
 Vendome, Place Pereire, and Hotel de Ville. Similar 
 T/orks had also been commenced on the Trocadero. Some 
 of the barricades were made in two sections, one behind 
 the other, so as to leave a passage for vehicles between. 
 Works were also raised across the main thoroughfares 
 which lead to the city gates ; that in the direction of the 
 
THIEKS' FINAL APPEAL. 229 
 
 Porte Maillot was before the triumphal arch at the top of 
 the Champs Elysees. The most formidable, however, was 
 that on the Place d'ltalie. Those at Montmartre and Belle- 
 ville had their guns pointed on the interior of the city, 
 instead of being turned to the exterior, showing that in 
 that quarter more fear was entertained of an attack from 
 within than from without. 
 
 The Chief of the Executive Power determined, before 
 commencing the finishing stroke for the subjection of the 
 insurgents, to make a final appeal to the Parisians ; 
 he caused, therefore, the following proclamation to be 
 circulated : 
 
 " PAEisiAisrs : — France, freely consulted, elected a Gov- 
 ernment which is the only legal one — the only one which 
 can command obedience, if Government be not an empty 
 word. This Government has given to you the same 
 rights which are enjoyed by Lyons, Marseilles, Toulouse, 
 and Bordeaux. Without departing from the principle of 
 equality, you cannot demand greater rights than are 
 X30ssessed by the otlier cities of the territory. It is the 
 government of the Commune — that is, of the minority — 
 which oppresses you; and, while daring to cover itself 
 with the infamous red flag, claims to impose its will upon 
 France. By its works you can judge of the regime which 
 it proposes to inflict upon you ; it violates the rights of 
 property, imprisons citizens to use them as hostages, con- 
 verts your streets and public places into deserts, puts a 
 stop to all work in Paris, paralyzes it throughout all 
 France, arrests tlie prosperity which was about to revive, 
 retards the evacuation of our territory by the Germans, 
 and exposes you to a renewed attack from them, which 
 they declare they are ready to commence without mercy 
 if we do not contrive by ourselves to put down the 
 insurrection. We have ourselves listened to all the delega- 
 
230 THE PAEIS C0MMU2TE. 
 
 tions which have been sent to its, and not one but has 
 presented to us as a condition the obedience of the national 
 sovereignty to the revolt — the sacrifice of all liberties and 
 of all interests. We have repeated to these delegations 
 that we would continue to pay the subsidy to necessitous 
 workmen. We promised, and we promise it still, but the 
 insurrection must cease ; for it cannot be prolonged with- 
 out causing the ruin of France. The Government which 
 speaks to you would have preferred that you should 
 liberate yourselves from a few tyrants who are playing 
 with your liberties and your lives ; but since you cannot 
 do so, it must itself undertake the duty; and for that 
 purpose it has collected an army beneath your walls — an 
 army which comes, at the price of its blood, not to con- 
 quer, but to deliver you. Up to the present time it has 
 confined itself to attacking the outer works. The moment 
 has now arrived when, to abridge your sufferings, it must 
 attack the enceinte itself. It will not bombard Paris, as 
 the people of the Commune and Committee of Safety will 
 not fail to tell you it intends. A bombardment threatens 
 a whole city, and renders it uninhabitable, and has for its 
 object to intimidate the citizens, and constrain them to a 
 capitulation. The Government will not fire a cannon 
 except to force one of your gates, and will endeavor to 
 limit to the point attacked the ravages of war of which it 
 is not the author. The Government knows, and would 
 have understood, even if you had not on all hands informed 
 it, that immediately the soldiers shall have entered through 
 the enceinte you will rally round the national flag, in 
 order to contribute with our valiant army to the destruc- 
 tion of a sanguinary and cruel tyranny. It depends upon 
 yourselves to prevent disorders which are inseparable from 
 an assault. You are a hundredfold more numerous than 
 the Communist sectarians. Unite, then ; open your gates, 
 which they have closed against law, order, your prosperity, 
 
BATTEEY OP MONTKETOUT. 231 
 
 and that of France. The gates once opened, the cannon 
 will cease to be heard ; order, plenty, peace, will reappear 
 within your walls ; the Germans will evacnate our terri- 
 tory, and the traces of our misfortunes will rapidly dis- 
 appear. But if you do not act, the Government will ho 
 obliged to adopt for your deliverance the most energetic 
 means, the most prompt, and the most certain. It is 
 bound to do so for your sakes, and especially for the sake 
 of France, because the cessation of productive labor, which 
 is ruining you, has extended to it, and it has a right 
 to save itself if you know not how to save yourselves. 
 Parisians ! think over these things quietly. In a very fcAV 
 days we shall be in Paris. France desires to put an end 
 to this Civil War. She will, she ought, and she can do so. 
 She is marching to deliver you ; and you can aid and save 
 yourselves by rendering an assault useless, and by resuming 
 from to-day your place among your fellow-citizens and 
 brothers. 
 
 "A. Thiers." 
 
 It was on Sunday, the 7tli of May, that this document 
 was given to the public. The following day, at ten o'clock 
 in the morning, the great battery of Montretout opened 
 its fire on the bastions between 63 and 72. This battery, 
 which will remain celebrated in the history of the siege of 
 Paris in 1871, was not installed, as most of the other 
 batteries were, behind epaulements of forraer date. As 
 the Prussians had nothing constructed in this vicinity, it 
 was all entirely new, and had occupied but six days in its 
 formation, viz., from April 29th to May 4tli. M. Thiers 
 came every day to watch the progress of the work, which 
 was being executed by 600 ouvriers and carpenters, under 
 the direction of M. Hunebelle, well known in Paris for 
 his intelligence and patriotism. In this short space of 
 time 150,000 cubic feet of earth had been moved, the 
 
233 THE PARIS COMMUifE. 
 
 powder magazines, the abri, and the covered communi- 
 cations constructed. It was situated between the railroad 
 from Paris to Versailles and the route from Ville-d'Avray 
 to Mont Valerien. It consisted in reality of a collection 
 of eight distinct batteries, yiz., two at the park of Pozzo 
 di Borgo, one on the road to Mont Valerien, the battery 
 of Du Puit, two of the Vignes, one at the Chalet Mathieu, 
 and one at the Maison Vivier, which was used as a powder 
 magazine — the whole covering nearly a mile in extent. 
 The arming of these batteries commenced May 4th, and 
 was terminated on the morning of the 8th. Its material 
 consisted of seventy pieces of large calibre, each piece sup- 
 plied with 500 shells. Eight were called pieces of eighty, 
 on account of the weight of the projectile, eighty kilo- 
 grammes, equal to 160 pounds. When these seventy pieces 
 opened fire on the bastions of the city, it remained as if 
 dumb with astonishment, with the exception of bastion 
 72, which from time to time sent a harmless shell. The 
 bombardment of Point du Jour was perfectly furious, 
 while Valerien kept howling its shower of iron on the 
 Porte Maillot. As to Port Issy, the incessant bombard- 
 ment had reduced it to such a deplorable state that, to 
 hold it any longer, became impossible, as the casemates 
 were crushed in, and the men hardly dared to show 
 themselves on the ramparts. The regular troops were 
 masters of the church and a part of the village, and their 
 tirailletirs could arrest and destroy the convoys on the 
 route from Vanves to Clamart. 
 
 A decision had been come to in the morning to aban- 
 don the fort, and the 209th battalion first set the example, 
 and were followed by the 106th and the 261st. This 
 latter from Montmartre had gone out 200 strong the 
 previous morning, and returned 95 only. The companies 
 of engineers were the last to quit, offcer making every pre- 
 paration for blowing up the fort. 
 
FOET ISST EVACrATED. 233 
 
 ToTvarcls ton o'clock in the morning, tlio fort being 
 dumb and having the appearance of being evacuated, the 
 chef do hatallion, Barillon, wishing to know the cause of 
 this strange silence, followed by several sappers of engi- 
 neers, advanced towards the gate. . The drawbridge was 
 down, he. entered; the fort was evacuated. 
 
 The batteries having ceased to fire, the 38th regiment 
 of the line ran to take possession of the defences which 
 had been so horribly battered for the last eight days, and 
 Lieutenant Biadelli received the recompense due to Com- 
 mandant Barillon. Contrary to their expectations, the 
 soldiers found in the abandoned fort a considerable quan- 
 tity of provisions, ammunition, and a large quantity of 
 spirituous liquors. In the greater quantity of the barrels 
 was a strong mixture of tobacco and spirits. This decoc- 
 tion had the effect of exciting the courage and rendering 
 the men v/hat would be called in slang terms "figlitiiig 
 drimh" but producing also most fatal results caused by 
 the nicotine. Every man wounded was a man dead. The 
 members of the Committee of Public Safety had but little 
 care for these inevitable accidents, for they professed for 
 human life but a very moderate respect. 
 
 The firing from Chatillon and Val Fleury was extremely 
 heavy on Fort Vanves throughout the day, and the shells 
 fell incessantly there and on the ramparts of Yaugirard. 
 About eight in the evening a fire broke out in one of the 
 buildings of the fort, and was blazing till midnight. The 
 cannonade of the Versailles batteries did not, however, 
 cease, and the shells exploded in the midst of the burning 
 mass, raising up clouds of sparks like a firework. 
 
 During the day an engagement occurred near the 
 Moulin-Saquet. The insurgents still held the mill, but 
 the regulars occupied some houses near, which a de- 
 tachment of Communists attempted to take. The com- 
 bat lasted nearly an hour; the soldiers shot from the 
 
234 THE PAEIS COMMTNE. 
 
 windows and from the cellars through air-holes. Eyentu- 
 ally the insurgents had to retire, having succeeded in cap- 
 turing only one of the buildings, which they were obliged 
 to "abandon. The position was of some importance, as, 
 being united to the village Thiais by trenches, the soldiers 
 were able to advance to it and annoy the insurgents in 
 the redoubt. The troops made a faint attack during 
 the day on the great barricade of the Route de Chatillon, 
 but did not persist in it, and withdrew when reinforce- 
 ments arrived to the insurgents. About five in the even- 
 ing a more serious assault was made on the Haute-Bru- 
 yeres, and the advanced trenches were carried by the 
 troops. 
 
 It was generally supposed that the news received by the 
 Paris journals of the results of the fighting going on out- 
 side the walls was meagre in the extreme ; but the Com- 
 mune still wished to make it more so. A proposal was 
 consequently brought before that body by Citizen Mortier 
 to the efiect that any journal yenturing to touch on mili- 
 tary matters should be suspended, and its proprietors and 
 printer prosecuted before the tribunals. The examples of 
 military news in the ofiicial and other Communal journals 
 were certainly most amusing for their brevity. The sub- 
 joined were published the morning after Fort Issy sur- 
 rendered : 
 
 First.—" Night." « Tolerably calm." 
 
 Second. — " Day ; entirely quiet." 
 
 Third. — " Bas-Fontenay attacked the Fort of Mont- 
 rouge, which replied vigorously, and reduced the Ver- 
 saillese to silence." 
 
 Fourth. — " Morning quiet." 
 
 Fifth. — "Night quite calm;" then, "Evening tran- 
 quil," etc. 
 
BRIEF Alf NOUNCEMENT. 335 
 
 When one had read these announcements, he would say 
 to himself. There is evidently an armistice. So much 
 calm evidently indicates that the situation is quieting 
 down. All at once is heard a most frightful cannonade ; 
 fighting is going on everywhere ; men are being killed, 
 wounded, and made prisoners, and blazing houses light 
 up the besiegers from a distance. Every one was aware 
 of the fact, except the official organ of the Commune, 
 which knew nothing about it. 
 
 According to the official journal, " the citizen who fights, 
 or whose relatives do so, will know at the end of the war 
 whether the combatants are victorious or vanquished." 
 
 The Delegate of "War, however, occasionally sent a des- 
 patch direct to the journal, and the astonishment of the 
 Commune can be imagined, when, on the morning of the 
 loth of May, the following four despatches appeared offi- 
 cially, one under the other : 
 
 "Montrouge, Bicetre. 
 
 " Respective positions maintained. Bas-Fontenay con- 
 tinually attacking." 
 
 "Vautes, Issy. 
 
 " The ' rurals ' don't like to advance in this country." 
 
 "12:30 p.m. 
 
 "The tricolor flag floats on the Fort Issy, abandoned, 
 yesterday evening by the garrison. 
 
 " EOSSEL, 
 " The Delegate of War." 
 
 " One o'clock. 
 
 " General Brunei, Commandant of the Village of Issy, 
 is charged to occupy the position of the Lycee, and to 
 connect it with Fort Vanves. 
 
 " ROSSEL, 
 " The Delegate of War." 
 
 These were the last official announcements of Colonel 
 
236 THE PABIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Eossel, and it "vvould certainly seem, from the style of that 
 one in which he announces the fall of Issy, that he was 
 the conqueror, and not the conquered. He was evidently 
 much annoyed concerning the orders giTen directly by 
 the Committee of Public Safety, and complained bitterly 
 of the disastrous surprise of Moulin-Saquet, which he at- 
 tributed to the absence of General "Wrobleski, sent to Issy 
 by the Committee of Public Safety. That body denied in 
 the most positive manner, through Felix Pyat, that it had 
 ever sent any despatch to that officer ; but the next day 
 the original, signed, strange to say, by Felix Pyat himself, 
 was produced. A discussion, anything but pleasant, then 
 ensued, when Felix Pyat gave in his resignation as mem- 
 ber of the Committee. 
 
 The next day, when Eossel's despatch was seen posted 
 on the walls of Paris, and published in the official journal, 
 a hurried meeting was held by the members of the Com- 
 mune, and the following proclamation appeared : 
 
 " Paeis, May 9, 1871. 
 
 " It is by a regrettable error that the announcement has 
 been made, that the Fort of Issy had been taken and oc- 
 cupied by the Versaillese. Nothing of the sort has oc- 
 curred, happily, and the flag of the Commune still floats 
 on its ramparts ! " 
 
 This contradiction was ordered to be posted and sent to 
 all the Mairies by Citizen Vesinier, member of the Com- 
 mune. The official journal, however, never published the 
 contradiction. 
 
 " The following morning Colonel Eossel sent the sub- 
 joined letter, resigning his position as Delegate of "War : 
 
 "Paeis, May Oth. 
 
 " Citizens, members of the Commune : — Being charged 
 by you with the provisional direction of the war-opera- 
 
EOSSEL'S RESIGNATION. 237 
 
 tions, I feel myself incapable of any longer supporting the 
 responsibility of a command where every one deliberates 
 and no one obeys. 
 
 " When a necessity existed for organizing the artillery, 
 the Central Committee of that arm discussed but did not 
 order anything. After two months of revolution, the 
 Avhole service of your cannons was still dependent on 
 the energy of a few volunteers, whose number is insuffi- 
 cient. 
 
 " At my arrival at the Ministry, when I desired to 
 facilitate the concentration of arms, the requisition of 
 horses, the pursuit of men evading service, I asked the 
 Commune to turn to useful account the various Munici- 
 palities of arrondissement. 
 
 " That body deliberated, but came to no resolution. 
 
 " Later, the Central Committee of the Federation came 
 and offered, almost imperiously, its assistance in the ad- 
 ministration of the war. Consulted by the Committee of 
 Public Safety, I accepted that aid in the clearest manner, 
 and I transferred to the Central Committee all the in- 
 formation I possessed relative to the organization. Since 
 that time that body has been debating, but has not yet 
 acted. During that delay the enemy enveloped the fort 
 of Issy with adventurous and imprudent attacks, which 
 I should punish if I had the smallest military force dis- 
 posable. 
 
 " The garrison, badly commanded, was seized with 
 panic ; and the officers, having debated, drove away Cap- 
 tain Dumont, an energetic man who arrived to command 
 them, and while consulting, evacuated their fort, after 
 having foolishly spoken of blowing it up, a thing more 
 impossible for them than to defend it. 
 
 "That- was not enough. Yesterday, while every one 
 ought to have been at work or under fire, the chiefs of 
 legions deliberated in order to substitute a new system of 
 
238 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 organization for tlie one I had adopted, in order to make 
 up for the improYidence of their authority, always uncer- 
 tain and badly obeyed. The result of their meeting was 
 a project, at the moment when men were wanted, and a 
 declaration of principles, when acts were necessary. 
 
 " My indignation brought them back to other thoughts, 
 and they promised me for this day, as their final effort, an 
 organized force of 12,000 men, with which I undertook to 
 march against the enemy. Those men were to assemble 
 at half-past eleven ; it is now one, and they are not ready ; 
 instead of being 12,000, they are about 7,000, which is not 
 at all the same thing. 
 
 "Thus, the nullity of the Committee of Artillery pre- 
 vented the organization of that arm; the incertitude of 
 the Central Committee arrested the administration ; and 
 the petty preoccupation of the chiefs of legions paralyzed 
 the mobilization of the troops. 
 
 " I am not a man to recoil before repression, and yester- 
 day, while those officers were deliberating, the execution- 
 company awaited them in the court-yard. But I am un- 
 willing to assume alone the initiative in an energetic 
 manner, to take on me the odium of the executions neces- 
 sary to extract from their chaos organization, obedience, 
 and victory. Again, if I was protected by the publicity 
 of my acts, I might retain my command. But the Com- 
 mune has not had the courage to make its proceedings 
 known. Twice already I have given you the necessary 
 information; and on both occasions, in spite of me, you 
 have held a secret committee. 
 
 " My predecessor was wrong to struggle in the midst of 
 this absurd situation. Enlightened by his example, and 
 knowing that the strength of a revolutionist consists 
 solely in the precision of his position, I have two lines to 
 choose from — either to crush the obstacle which hinders 
 my action, or to withdraw. 
 
ROSSEL'S ARREST AND ESCAPE. 239 
 
 " I sliall not do the former, for the obstruction is you and 
 your feebleness ; and I am unwilling to make an attack 
 on the public sovereignty. 
 
 " I therefore retire, and I have the honor to ask you for 
 a cell at Mazas. 
 
 "EOSSEL." 
 
 Citizen Eossel, ex-Delegate of War, was arrested the 
 following morning by order of the Committee of Public 
 Safety, and being brought to the Hotel de Ville, was con- 
 fided to the safe-keeping of Citizen Gerardin, a member 
 of the Commune. At five in the afternoon. Citizen Av- 
 riel announced to the Commune that the prisoner had 
 fled, and, strange to say, in company with the citizen ap- 
 pointed to guard him. "Warrants were at once issued for 
 the arrest of both fugitives. Citizen Gerardin was, two 
 days back, one of the five members of the Committee of 
 Public Safety. Many were astonished that, after having 
 so proudly demanded " a cell in Mazas," M. Eossel should 
 have fled precisely at the moment when his request was 
 about to be complied with. The ex-Delegate evidently 
 knew wherein his safety lay. 
 
 The official journal published the next day, at the head 
 of its columns, an address to the people of Paris from the 
 Committee of Public Safety : 
 
 " Hotel de Villb, May 12, 1871. 
 
 " To the People of Paris v 
 
 " Citizens : The Commune and the Eepublic have es- 
 .caped a mortal peril. 
 
 " Treason has glided into our ranks. The reaction, 
 despaimng to triumph over Paris by force of arms, has 
 attempted to disorganize the defending body of the capi- 
 tal by corruption and gold. This has been flung about in 
 handfuls, and has found amongst us consciences to pur- 
 chase. 
 
240 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ■ " The abandonment of the fort of Issy, announced in 
 an impious placard by the wretch who delivered it, was 
 only the first act in the drama. A monarchical insurrec- 
 tion inside, coincident with the delivery of one of our 
 gates, was to follow and plunge us into an abyss. But 
 this time again victory remained with right, and all the 
 threads of this sinister plot are at present in our hands, 
 and most of the guilty parties in custody. 
 
 "If their crime has been frightful, their punishment 
 will be exemplary. The court-martial will sit in perma- 
 nence, and justice will be done. 
 
 "CiTiZEi^s — The Eevolution cannot and will not be 
 conquered. But it is necessary to show to monarchism 
 that the Commune is prepared for every emergency, 
 rather than see the red flag crushed in its hands. It is 
 necessary that the people should well know that upon the 
 Commune, and it alone, and upon its energy and its vig- 
 ilance, definite success depends. 
 
 " That which the reaction attempted yesterday it will 
 attempt again to-morrow. 
 
 " All eyes must watch its actions. 
 
 "All arms must be ready to strike the traitors without 
 pity. All the living force of the Eevolution must group 
 together for a supreme effort. Then, and then only, will 
 triumph be assured. 
 
 "Ant. Arnaud, E. Eudes, F. Gamlon, 
 G. Ranvier — The Committee of 
 Piiblic Safety" 
 
 There were only four names to this document, Deles- 
 cluze having been appointed Delegate of War. 
 
 Delescluze issued a proclamation addressed to the !N"a- 
 tional Guard, announcing his appointment as Delegate of 
 War. He declared the situation to be extremely grave, 
 and that if he consulted his own strength he would decline 
 
THE NEW DELEGATE OF WAR. 341 
 
 the dangerous functions; but that he counted on their 
 assistance to render his task more easy. The question 
 seemed to he no longer one of tlie municipal franchise of 
 Paris, hut of social equality and the enfranchisement of 
 France and the world. Delescluze's first order in the 
 official journal ran thus : 
 
 " Every officer coming from the exterior or interior who 
 presents himself at the Ministry of "War, or at the Place 
 (Place Vendome), without being the bearer of orders from 
 his hierarchical, will put himself in a position to be imme- 
 diately arrested. 
 
 " Delescluze, 
 
 " Civil Delegate of War." 
 
 On the 10th of May the firing was continuous along 
 the whole south-west line. The fort of Vanves, however, 
 was the principal point of attack, and shells were thrown 
 on it without cessation. The garrison feebly replied, but 
 preparation was being made to answer the fire from the 
 ramparts. Four guns had already been put in position at 
 !N'o. 76, between the gates of Vaugirard and Montrouge, 
 and three others were waiting to be mounted. Some of 
 the iron-clad locomotives which had been used on the 
 western line opposite Asnieres were brought round to this 
 side. The batteries of Montretout still continued to bom- 
 bard the Point-du-Jour. 
 
 Auteuil and Passy suffered considerably, and the in- 
 habitants were moving out in all haste. The headquarters 
 of the insurgents had been removed to the Muette gate, 
 but the soldiers on duty there could scarcely show them- 
 selves outside the ramparts. 
 
 General Dombrowski had a narrow escape from a shell 
 while passing along the Quay d' Auteuil. One fell at the 
 same time into a manufactory at Grenelle, and went 
 through a boiler of a sixty horse power engine, which was 
 fortunately not in use at the moment. 
 11 
 
242 THE PAEIS COMMUISTE. 
 
 Courbevoie, l^euilly Bridge, and Valerien continued to 
 fire into Porte Maillot, des Ternes, and St. Ouen, while 
 the insurgents kept up a continual fire on the villages of 
 Asnieres and Gennevilliers. 
 
 The fort of Vanves was evacuated on the 10th by the 
 insurgents, and remained for several hours completely 
 abandoned. The bombardment of the past week had 
 reduced the works to almost as critical a situation as 
 those of Fort Issy; the garrison was reduced to about 
 two hundred, and the demands for reinforcements had 
 remained unattended to. The stores of provisions and 
 ammunition had become seriously reduced, and could not 
 be replenished, as the fire of the troops covered the only 
 road that remained open. The men were comjiletely dis- 
 couraged, and were' only retained at their post by the 
 energy of their Commander, Durassier, who gave his 
 orders with his revolver in his hand, and who appeared 
 to have no idea of surrendering the place. The garrison 
 seemed to have at length decided on getting rid of this 
 troublesome officer; and an artilleryman had been desig- 
 nated to shoot him with a pistol, when they were spared 
 the crime by a shell from Chatillon, which wounded the 
 intended victim seriously enough to compel him to give 
 up his command. The garrison then prepared to retreat, 
 but the shells continued to fall so heavily that they feared 
 to venture outside. They then hoisted a white flag, and 
 the fire ceased. An officer, followed by a detachment of 
 troops, came out from the trenches to parley, and the 
 insurgents asked to be allowed to march out unmolested. 
 " No conditions can be granted to insurgents — you must 
 surrender," replied the other. 
 
 An insurgent then discharged his musket at the officer, 
 but without hurting him ; the soldiers returned the fire, 
 and the first rank of the insurgents fell. A few of them 
 succeeded in escaping by the ditch, others returned to the 
 
PKOGKESS OF THE SIEGE. 243 
 
 fort, and the rest were made prisoners. The troops did 
 not attempt to occupy the place, believing it to be mined, 
 and in the evening two battalions of insurgents arrived, 
 and again took possession. The place, however, remained 
 quite at their mercy, as it was so far isolated that the only 
 communication open was by a trench between the fort 
 and Petit- Vanves. The village of Vanves itself was 
 entirely occupied by the soldiers, and their outposts were 
 in the first houses of Malakoff at less than musket-shot 
 distance from the ramparts. The progress of the army at 
 Issy was also very apparent, as the insurgents held only 
 the Parc-des-Oiseaux, the barricades at the head of the 
 convent, and the asylum of Petit-Menages. The in- 
 surgent government, however, sent its best troops in that 
 direction, as it expected that the assault would be made 
 there at the same time as at the Point du Jour. Its 
 Zouaves and Turcos, and most devoted battalions, were 
 being concentrated in the houses between the gate of 
 Vaugirard and the outposts. The Fort of Montrouge 
 was completely silent during the day, and the only battery 
 that supported Vanves was bastion 'No. 73. 
 
 The greatest confusion seemed at present to prevail in 
 the intercourse between the Commune and the Central 
 Committee. The conflict which had arisen a short time 
 back between those two powers seemed to have terminated 
 by the triumph of the latter, which was admitted to 
 possess the jurisdiction of the whole National Guard. It 
 was generally thought that the order of the Committee 
 of Public Safety, entrusting to the Central Committee the 
 war administration, had put an end to all competition of 
 authority ; but as the co-existence of two such bodies was 
 not only totally irregular, but certain to promote rivalry, 
 a further disagreement was certain to speedily arise. 
 
 Accordingly, a new transformation of the War Depart- 
 ment, evidently directed against the Central Committee, 
 
244 THE PARIS COMMUI^E. 
 
 had just been decreed. The Commune, after having lately 
 consented to all that the other body desired, now brought 
 in the Commission of the War — one of its own creations — 
 and confided to it the task of regulating the relations of 
 the Central Committee with the War Department. On 
 its side the Commission of War interdicted in the most 
 absolute manner the Central Committee from nominating 
 to any employment, and left it only the faculty of present- 
 ing candidates. 
 
 The bearing of these two decisions, so indicative of 
 antagonism, was clear to every one ; and the most super- 
 ficial observer could at once perceive the great difference 
 that existed between these restrictive measures and the 
 decision of the Committee of Public Safety, confiding the 
 war administration to the Central Committee. Subjoined 
 are the two decrees — the first being from the Commune : 
 
 " The Commune of Paris : 
 
 " Considering that the co-operation of the Central 
 Committee of the National Guard in the War Department 
 established by the Committee of Public Safety, is a mea- 
 sure necessary and useful to the common cause ; 
 
 "Considering, moreover, that an important point is 
 to have its attributes clearly defined, and that for such 
 purpose the Commission of War shall be called on to fix, 
 in concert with the Delegate of War, the limits of such , 
 intervention ; 
 
 " Decreed : 
 
 "Article Unique. — We, the Commune, do hereby de- 
 cree that the said Commission and the War Delegate shall 
 regulate together the relations of the Central Committee 
 with the War Department." 
 
 The Commission of War, on its side, carried out the 
 views of the Commune in issuinsr the following order ; 
 
AIT OFFICIAL REPOET. 245 
 
 Paeis, May 8. 
 
 " The Commission of War : 
 
 "Whereas the decree which gives to the Central Com- 
 mittee the administration of war contains the following 
 restriction : 
 
 " ' Under the direct control of the Commission of War ; ' 
 
 "We, the said Commission, ordain that the Central 
 Committee shall not appoint to any place, hut shall 
 merely suggest names upon which we will decide. 
 
 " Accounts concerning the conduct of each service shall 
 be sent to us regularly every day. 
 
 " Arnold, Avriel, Delescluze, Tridon, Yarlinr 
 
 The Government of Versailles addressed the following 
 despatch to the civil and military authorities throughout 
 France : 
 
 " May 9th, 1871, 7 p. bi. 
 
 " The able direction of our operations, seconded by the 
 bravery of our troops, has to-day obtained a brilliant 
 result. The fort of Issy, after an attack of a week only, 
 was occupied this morning by the 38th regiment of the 
 line. A considerable quantity of artillery and ammuni- 
 tion was found there. We can praise the successful 
 audacity with which, our generals conducted the ap- 
 proaches under a cross-fire from Vanves, the ramparts, 
 and Fort Issy itself. A large share of those prompt and 
 decisive results are due to the engineers. Vanves is also 
 in such a state that it cannot hold out long. 
 
 " The capture of the fort of Issy is, however, sufficient 
 to ensure the success of the plan of attack now under- 
 taken. Last night General Douai, after a vigorous can- 
 nonade from the formidable battery of Monfcretout, also 
 favored by a dark night, crossed the Seine and took up a 
 position before Boulogne, facing the bastions 67, ^^, and 
 65, forming the Point-du-Jour. Fourteen hundred men 
 
246 IHE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 from the 18tli foot-cliasseurs, 26th line, 5th provisional 
 regiment (Gandil's brigade, division of General Berthaut), 
 26th foot-chasseurs, and 37th marching regiment (Da- 
 guerre's brigade, division of General Verge), opened the 
 trenches about ten in the evening and worked all night till 
 daybreak, when they were forced to suspend their labor. 
 Their right is on the Seine and their left at the extremity, 
 of Boulogne. By means of their activity and courage 
 they were at four in the morning sheltered from the 
 enemy's fire. They are now at only three hundred yards 
 from the fortifications of Paris, that is to say, at a dis- 
 tance from which they might, if they pleased, already 
 establish a breaching battery. 
 
 "We have now every reason to hope that the hard trials 
 of the well-meaning portion of the population of the capi- 
 tal are drawing to a close, and that the odious reign of 
 the infamous faction which has adopted the red flag for 
 its emblem, will soon cease to oppress and dishonor the 
 capital of France. It is also to be desired that what is 
 now taking place will serve as a lesson to the wretched 
 imitators of the Commune, and prevent them from expos- 
 ing themselves to the legal severities which await them if 
 they dare to carry any further their criminal and ridicu- 
 lous enterprise." 
 
 The new Committee of Public Safety was evidently 
 much enraged at the above and previous despatch, and 
 signalized its entry into military functions by the follow- 
 ing most infamous decree published against the " Sieur 
 Thiers," declaring that his house, situated in Place Saint 
 George, should be razed to the ground : 
 
 " Paeis, 21 Floreal, An. 79. 
 
 "The Committee of Public Safety, considering the 
 posting-bill of Sieur Thiers calling liimself Chief of the 
 Government in the French Republic ; 
 
THIERS' HOUSE TO BE DESTROYED. 247 
 
 "Considering further that the said notice, printed at 
 Versailles, has been posted on the walls of Paris by order 
 of the said Sieur Thiers ; 
 
 '•' That in that document he declared that his army is 
 not bombarding Paris, Avhilst each day women and chil- 
 dren are victims of the fratricidal projectiles of the Ver- 
 sailles troops ; 
 
 " That in it an appeal is made to treason in order to 
 obtain au entrance into the city, he being sensible of the 
 absolute impossibility of overcoming by arms the heroic 
 population of Paris, decrees as follows : 
 
 '' Art. 1. — The furniture and effects on the properties of 
 Thiers shall be seized by the Administration of Domains ; 
 
 " Art. 2. — The house of Thiers, situated on Place George, 
 shall be razed to the ground; 
 
 '•Art. 3. — Citizen Fontaine, Delegate for the Domains, 
 and L. Andrieu, for Public Service, are charged, each in 
 so far as he is concerned, with the immediate execution of 
 the present order. 
 
 "Arnaud. Eudes, Gambon, Ranvier, — Mem- 
 bers of the Comm,ittee of Public Safety." 
 
 It has been seen that the Committee declared war to 
 the Gregorian calendar and the French dictionary. As 
 will be seen by the text of the decree, the word Saint was 
 suppressed from the vocabulary. The Committee were 
 bringing matters back to the peurilc and absurd eccentri- 
 cities of 1793. 
 
 M. Thiers' house was situated on Place Saint George. 
 The only journal in Paris that supported the above decree 
 was Eochefort's paper, tlie Mot d'Ordre, which contained 
 the subjoined remarks : 
 
 " We publicly affirm that the decree of the Commune 
 announcing that M. Thiers' hotel shall be immediately 
 razed to the ground, is a necessary satisfaction given to 
 
248 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 public opinion. Nothing could be more just than that 
 this old fugitive should see his house fall by such an order, 
 since he has the infamy to knock down ours with his 
 bombshells. We may add that the resolution taken by 
 the Government of Paris will open a new horizon to that 
 chief of bombarders, at the same time that it relieves 
 him from a great weight. The perverse beings who at 
 present compose the population of Paris, in perceiving 
 that hitherto not one projectile has arrived at the Place 
 Saint George, began to suppose that this ferocious but 
 economical inhabitant of Versailles was thinking more 
 especially of sparing his own dwelling." 
 
 The official journal of the Commune announced that 
 Citizen Billioray was elected member of the Committee of 
 Public Safety, to fill the vacancy caused by the appoint- 
 ment of Delescluze Delegate of "War. The last named 
 citizen proposed to the Commune to place the 128th bat- 
 talion of the National Guard on the order of the day 
 for gallant conduct, in clearing, under the direction of 
 General Dombrowski, during the night, the park of Sa- 
 blonville of a party of Versailles troops. 
 
 General Bergeret again appeared on the scene, and was 
 ordered by the Commune to place 20,000 earth-sacks at 
 the disposal of Colonel Henry. The latter was ordered 
 to place thirty large mortars on bastions 59, 60, 61 and 62, 
 to bombard Neuilly and Boulogne. 
 
 The Commune also received the following letter: 
 
 " May 13, '71. 
 
 " Citizens : — The troops quartered at the village of Issy 
 quitted their positions yesterday during my absence in 
 Paris on an order from the Minister of War, and returned 
 to their homes. As this fact is the result of a succession 
 of causes all more or less connected, and concerning which 
 the public ought to be instructed, I demand to be placed 
 
HEAVY PIGHTIIsrG AT MONTROUGE. 249 
 
 under arrest, and I propose that an investigation be at 
 once opened. 
 
 " Eeceive, etc., etc., 
 
 " Colonel Beukel." 
 
 The bombardment of Yanves and Montronge was ex- 
 ceedingly heavy during the 11th and 12th. About seven 
 on the morning of the 12th, an attack was made by a con- 
 siderable force of infantry and gendarmes on the former 
 place. Breaches were effected in the walls of some houses 
 occupied by the insurgents, and an assault being made, a 
 hand to hand fight took place, first in the gardens, and 
 then in the houses; but the insurgents were forced to 
 abandon the first line of houses, and a constant fusillade 
 continued throughout the day. 
 
 At Montrouge the attack commenced by the advance of 
 some detachments of cavalry, which were received with a 
 sharp fire from the insurgents and forced to retreat. The 
 infantry then advanced in a semicircle, with a mitrailleuse 
 on each flank, so as to attack the position known as the 
 Maison Millaud. The insurgents made several attempts 
 to break through their line, but without success, as the 
 troops were supported by the batteries of Ohatillon, which 
 continued to bombard the village of Montrouge. Some 
 shells even fell inside the ramparts. At about ten the 
 insurgents were forced to abandon the barricade and fall 
 back upon Petit-Montrouge. In the afternoon the troops 
 made another advance, and, after some severe fighting, 
 drove the insurgents from their new position; but on the 
 regulars attempting to occupy the houses of Petit-Mont- 
 rouge, they were fired on from the fort, and were forced 
 to retire. 
 
 The cannonade was particularly severe to the west. The 
 great redoubt at Montretout continued to send its shells 
 into Auteuil and Passy, and on to the Point-du-Jour. 
 
 11* 
 
250 THE PARIS COMMUIsrE. 
 
 They even reached as far as the quay. Others from 
 Meudon fell on the bridge of Grenelle, circulation over 
 which was now suspended. The concentration of troops 
 in the Bois de Boulogne was increased. The army also 
 occujDied the village of Boulogne, which, however, was in 
 a most pitiful state, as for two weeks before its evacuation 
 by the insurgents it was bombarded by two batteries in 
 the Park of St. Cloud. 
 
 The insurgents having learned by a reconnaissance that 
 a strong barricade had been constructed by the troops at 
 the gate leading into the wood, opened fire in that direc- 
 tion from two field batteries ranged on the bastions at the 
 end of the Avenue de I'Imperatrice. Mont Valerien re- 
 plied, doing considerable damage to the drawbridge and 
 railway station. 
 
 A new battery, constructed under Fort Issy, and be- 
 tween that position and Meudon, assisted in the attack 
 against the Point-du-Jour and the position of the bastions 
 between it and Vaugirard. 
 
 The insurgents commenced to build up a direct com- 
 munication between Fort Vanves and the enceinte, with 
 the object of facilitating the retreat of the garrison, in 
 case the fort should be taken by the troops. 
 
 The regulars now commenced to arm the bastions of 
 Fort Issy with ship-guns for the purpose of directing 
 them against the insurgents. They also continued to 
 push forward their parallels in the Bois de Boulogne, 
 thousands of men being at work on them. Perhaps a 
 more imposing camp never was seen than that on the 
 Bois. It positively realized the idea of the poet, an army 
 encamped and waiting for battle. All visitors to Paris 
 know what a magnificent park that is stretching from 
 the Allee de Boulogne, at one extremity of the Bois to 
 Bagatelle near the other, the river forming the boundary, 
 the whole surrounded by a beautiful background of rich 
 
A DISPLAY AT VERSAILLES. 251 
 
 and luxurious foliage. Here were to be seen thousands 
 of white tents in semicircular rows, the headquarters at 
 the Longchamps race-course ; the troops seen marching, 
 and going through drill, had the appearance of a magnifi- 
 cent review, such as took place nearly two months later 
 on the same spot, when 150,000 conquerors were reviewed 
 before the same civil and military chiefs who now directed 
 the active operations of the siege. The air, however, was 
 rent by shrieking shells, and the ear pained with the con- 
 tinual sound of mitrailleuses and chassepots, and dreadful 
 events were drawing near. 
 
 About the time at which the ex-Delegate of War dis- 
 appeared from the scene, after having bade the Commune 
 adieu in such a singular manner, a patriotic f^te took 
 place at Versailles, of which the entire population were 
 spectators. 
 
 A cortege, composed of delegations from the different 
 branches of the service which had assisted at the opera- 
 tions under Fort Issy, passed through the town. Their 
 muskets, drums, and twenty-eight of the 109 cannon taken 
 at Issy, were covered with flowers and foliage. The flags 
 of the 5th, 99th, 94th, and 115th insurgent battalions 
 were also carried in the procession. 
 
 At three o'clock the column arrived at the hotel of the 
 Prefecture, clarions sounding and drums beating. The 
 Chief of the Executive Power, accompanied by the Gene- 
 ral-in-Chief, received the deputation of chiefs on the steps 
 of the hotel, and felicitated them on their great success. 
 The troops responded by shouts for M. Thiers and Marshal 
 de . MacMahon. The cortege proceeded to the palace, 
 where the soldiers were addressed by M. Leon de Malle- 
 ville, Vice-President of the National Assembly, who 
 warmly thanked them, in the name of France and her 
 representatives. Marshal de MacMahon also issued the 
 following order of the day to the army : 
 
352 THE PARIS COMMTITE. 
 
 " Headquaetbes, Versailles, May 12. 
 
 "Soldiers: — You have responded to the confidence 
 which France has placed in you. By your bravery and 
 energy you have overcome obstacles opposed to you by an 
 insurrection disposing of all the means prepared by us 
 against the foreigner. 
 
 " You have successively carried the positions of Meudon, 
 Sevres, Eueil, Oourbevoie, Becon, Asnieres, Moulineaux, 
 and Moulin- Saquet, and, finally, you have entered the 
 fort of Issy. In these different combats, more than 3,000 
 prisoners and 150 pieces of cannon have remained in 
 your hands. 
 
 " The country applauds your success, and sees in it the 
 presage of the end of a struggle which we all deplore. 
 
 " Paris calls us to deliver it from the pretended govern- 
 ment which oppresses it ; and before long we shall plant 
 the national flag on the ramparts, and obtain the re-estab- 
 lishment of order, so imperatively called for by France 
 and the whole of Eurojae. 
 
 " Soldiers, you have deserved the gratitude of the country. 
 
 "Duke de MacMahojst, 
 
 " Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 The insurgent gunboats on the Seine had for several 
 days been causing considerable annoyance to the Govern- 
 ment batteries at Meudon ; and as they remained partly 
 concealed under the arches of the Viaduct, they presented 
 only a small point of aim for the Versailles guns. The 
 shells which fell in the water around them were, of course, 
 quite harmless. The regulars, however, established a bat- 
 tery of 7-inch guns on Fort Issy, which crosses its fire 
 with that of Montretout de Breteuil and Brimborion, in 
 cannonading the Point^lu-Jour. From this new position 
 a cannonade was opened on the 13th with such effect on 
 the gunboats, that one, the Estoc, was pierced through 
 
GUNBOAT ESTOC FOUNDERS. 253 
 
 the hull by shells in three places, and went down. The 
 Commune gives the following report of the occurrence : 
 
 " On Friday morning early, shells began to fall around 
 our gunboats, which replied with great courage. The fire 
 continued at intervals during the day, and, towards five in 
 the evening, the fort of Issy, the battery on the Isle Saint- 
 Germain, suddenly unmasked, and another of mortars, 
 directed a terrible fire on the boats. These latter, after a 
 horrible cannonade, were obliged, by the precision of the 
 enemy's aim, to abandon the dangerous post which they 
 had occupied for more than a month, but did not move, 
 until one of them, the Estoc, got almost split open by the 
 Versailles shells, and foundered gloriously, to the cry of 
 the sailors, 'Vive la Commune!' All the equipage was 
 received on board a smaller vessel, which was in attendance. 
 We have to deplore one man severely wounded and several 
 contusioned. The citizen delegated to the naval force 
 places on the order of the day all the brave seamen of the 
 flotilla who, during the space of a month, supported at 
 the viaduct of the Point-du-Jour the deadly fire of the 
 adverse party." 
 
 The insurgents immediately constructed a strong barri- 
 cade on the Quay de Passy, at the angle of the Eue 
 Guillon, mounted with guns to command the river. 
 
 On the morning of the 14th the Versailles troops 
 attacked simultaneously the insurgents entrenched be- 
 tween the forts of Issy and Vdnves. The Communists, 
 surprised by a heavy fire of musketry and mitrailleuses, 
 abandoned their posts, and fled to Paris. Those who 
 occupied the college remained firm. The troops then 
 advanced and took possession of the houses, from which, 
 during the rest of the day, they kept up a constant fire 
 upon the insurgents on the ramparts. 
 
 At Montmartre the cannon on the Butte commenced 
 
254 THE PAEIS COMMU])q-B. 
 
 firing on the evening of tlie 13th, and continued until 
 four o'clock next morning, keeping the population in that 
 district in the greatest state of alarm. The aim there 
 seems to have been very bad, as many of the shells, instead 
 of reaching the Chateau de Becon and Gennevilliers, at 
 which points they were aimed, fell at Clichy, and other 
 places occupied by the insurgents, who suffered many 
 casualties from their own men. The railway station at 
 Asnieres was also burnt by the insurgent shells. 
 
 The following is the official announcement of the affair 
 of the 12th : 
 
 " Versailles, May 13, 4:33. 
 
 " While our troops undertook, in the Bois-de-Boulogne, 
 to open trenches of great length, and the formidable artil- 
 lery of Montretout protected the works of approach, the 
 2d corps (General Cissey) accomplished, on the side of 
 Issy, a most brilliant feat of arms. 
 
 " Yesterday, at noon, the soldiers of General Osmont 
 occupied the houses situated at the point where the strat- 
 egical road meets that from Chatillon to Montrouge. 
 This operation, which was executed by a body of marines, 
 a company of the 4th battalion of foot-chasseurs, and a 
 detachment of the 113th regiment of the line, had for 
 result to cut off all communication between the forts of 
 Vanves and Montrouge. 
 
 "A few hours later, Commandant de Pontecoulant, 
 with a battalion of the 46th of the line (brigade Bocher), 
 carried with the bayonet the Couvent-des-Oiseaux at Issy. 
 
 " In that attack, executed in the most admirable man- 
 ner, the men displayed wonderful dash and spirit. The 
 losses of the enemy are considerable. We took eight' 
 pieces of cannon, several flags, and some prisoners. 
 
 " After that affair, the insurgents, comprehending that 
 they could not any longer maintain themselves outside 
 
FORT V ANTES CAPTURED. 255 
 
 the ramparts, abandoned successively all the parts of the 
 village which they still held, again leaving in our hands a 
 large number of prisoners. 
 
 " The occupation of the college of Ydnves, effected last 
 night, brings our troops to within a few hundred metres 
 from the fortifications. 
 
 " Thus, on all sides, we are approaching the final term 
 of our operations and tlie deliverance of Paris. 
 
 " Thiers." 
 
 The demolition of M. Thiers' residence was commenced 
 on the 13th ; by the evening the roof was off, and the 
 workmen had attacked the tops of the walls with their 
 pickaxes. 
 
 The house originally belonged to Madame "Dosne, 
 mother-in-law of M. Thiers, and now deceased. It was 
 left in equal shares to her two daughters, Madame Thiers 
 and Mademoiselle Felicie Dosne, and was therefore the 
 property of two women, eminently respectable, and en- 
 tirely strangers to political affairs. Moreover, Madame 
 Thiers has no children, and Mademoiselle Dosne employs 
 a handsome fortune in works of charity ; so that the poor 
 would have been the greatest losers by this unjustifiable 
 act, had not the National Assembly decreed to replace the 
 mansion. 
 
 On the afternoon of Sunday, May 14th, the Minister of 
 the Interior received at Versailles a telegram announcing 
 that the fort of Vdnves had been captured at half-past 
 twelve. Since the morning the investment had been com- 
 plete, but the operation had been attended with serious 
 loss. Amongst others. Captains Eosheim and Durand de 
 Yillers had been killed. The insurgents evacuated the 
 fort through the quarries and underground passages 
 which communicated with the Porte de Montrouge and 
 the military road inside the fortifications, between the 
 
256 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 gates of Vdnves and Vaugirard. Some of tlie insurgents 
 appear to have lost their way, and to have wandered about 
 the catacombs with which the caves were connected, until 
 they found an issue. Several remained under ground for 
 twenty-four hours, and there were probably others still 
 lost in the labyrinth of arched ways which extend an im- 
 mense distance to the south of the city. The men who 
 arrived by those galleries were in a miserable condition, 
 being covered with dirt and worn out with fatigue. It 
 was this incident that probably gave rise to the rumor 
 that a number of gendarmes, disguised as National 
 Guards, had attempted to enter Paris by the sewers. 
 The army of Versailles occupied the fort during the after- 
 noon, and at once opened trenches to cut off all communi- 
 cations with the interior, and prevent a surprise. 
 
 The cannonade during the day from Montretout and 
 Mont Valerien on the Point-du-Jour was fearful. The in- 
 surgents were compelled to abandon entirely the bastions 
 at the ramparts, and they could only now await the as- 
 sault. The shells continued to fall on the quay at Passy 
 and around the Pont de Grenelle, making fearful havoc 
 among the houses. The villas there were besides pil- 
 laged in a most barefaced manner by bands of individuals, 
 many wearing the uniforms of National Guards. They 
 were accompanied by women, and trucks, in which they 
 carried off everything portable. 
 
 On the night of the 14th the regular troops succeeded 
 in throwing a bridge across the Seine below Asnieres ; in 
 this work they were lighted by the glare from two houses 
 which were burning near the river. The insurgents at- 
 tempted to oppose their passage, but were driven back to 
 the ramparts by the fire from Be con and the redoubt of • 
 Gennevilliers. The soldiers then spread to the right and 
 left along the banks of the river. Exchanging shots with 
 the insurgents, they finally advanced to the gate of Clichy 
 
^ MOEE J0UR2^ALSPE0HIBITED. 257 
 
 and siTrrounded the village. Later in the day a strong 
 force of insurgents was concentrated on the Asnieres 
 road, and an attempt was made to drive back the troops ; 
 but fresh regiments crossed the river, and the attack of 
 the insurgents was repulsed. 
 
 A decree was passed by the Commune ordering each 
 person in the city to carry a card of identity, which any 
 insurgent National Guard could demand to see whenever 
 he thought fit. This decree was turned into ridicule by 
 most of the Paris journals ; in fact, those in favor of the 
 Commune reprehended the order most seriously. All 
 the male inhabitants were now National Guards; the 
 result was that everybody had a right to arrest everybody 
 else. However good, charitable, and peaceful a man may 
 be, he has always one or more enemies about, who, in this 
 case, could stop him at any street corner, and if per- 
 chance he had forgotten his card, carry him away to 
 prison. 
 
 Another decree immolated a large number of journals — 
 the National, Siecle, Discussion, Corsaire, Avenir Na- 
 tional, and Journal de Paris. It was only journals like 
 the Cri du Peuple that could survive in the atmosphere of 
 Paris. That journal published on the 15th the following 
 mysterious article, which at the time was .much derided. 
 The said article hinted very strongly at the cherished 
 project of blowing up the capital, which eventually turned 
 out but too true ; had the Versailles Government given 
 the Commune three more days, half the city would have 
 been in ruins. 
 
 "We received some days since information of the 
 greatest gravity, and of the correctness of which we are 
 now completely certain. Every measure has been taken 
 to prevent the entry into Paris of any soldier of the 
 enemy. The forts may be taken one after the other ; the 
 
358 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ramparts may fall. Not a man ivill penetrate into the city. 
 If M. Thiers is a chemist, he will comprehend us! ! !" 
 
 A delegation was sent from the Hotel de Ville to the 
 banking establishment of the Societe Generale to examine 
 the books of that immense establishment. Those contain- 
 ing the private accounts of the pretended enemies of the 
 Commune received especial attention. The amounts 
 standing to the credits of those persons were added up, 
 and the sum demanded to be paid immediately. 
 
 The sub-director protested against this act of brigand- 
 age, but the only reply made was, the Commune wanted 
 money, and could not do better than take it from its ad- 
 versaries. At one moment the delegates demanded all the 
 shares, inscriptions oi rente, and other securities deposited 
 in the strong room. The money claimed was paid under 
 protest, which made but little difference to them. 
 
 Paschal Grousset published in the ofiicial organ an ad- 
 dress to the great towns of Trance, assuring them that, 
 after two months' contest, Paris was neither Avearied out nor 
 weakened, and calling on them to come to its assistance. 
 He specially appealed to Lyons, Marseilles, Bordeaux, 
 Toulouse, Nantes, and Lisle. 
 
 There was also an order from Delescluze forbidding all 
 officers of the National Guard to appear in their battalions 
 with a musket in hand, as for the j)leasure of firing on 
 the Versailles troops they neglected their command. The 
 Delegate also published the following note : 
 
 "We point out to public indignation the conduct of 
 the colonel commanding the 39th of the line. When the 
 Versailles troops took possession of the Park of Neuilly, 
 that infamous butcher ordered eighteen federal prisoners 
 to be shot, swearing that he would do the same with 
 every man from Paris that fell into his hands. Let him 
 beware on his side of falling into theirs." 
 
A PROTEST FROM THE MINORITY. 259 
 
 There was also an order from Citizen Fontaine, Direc- 
 tor-General of Domains, directing that in reply to the 
 tears and menaces of Thiers, the " bombarder," and to the 
 laws passed by the rural Assembly, his accomplices, all 
 the objects of art and valuable books found in his hotel 
 should be sent to the national museums and libraries. 
 The furniture was to be sold by auction, and the proceeds 
 distributed amongst the families of the" National Guards 
 killed defending Paris. A similar destination was assigned 
 to the moneys arising from the sale of the house materials. 
 This, with numerous other decrees of a similar character, 
 created considerable dissensions among the members of 
 the Commune. The minority, or more respectable por- 
 tion of that body, resolved at the sitting that was to take 
 place the following day, to read a declaration intending to 
 put an end to the misunderstandings existing; but the 
 absence of the majority prevented the transaction of any 
 business. In consequence, they published the following 
 manifesto : 
 
 " By a special and precise vote the Commune of Paris 
 abdicated its power into the hands of a dictatorship, to 
 which it has given the name of ' Committee of Public 
 Safety.' 
 
 " The majority, by its vote, declared itself irresponsible, 
 and abandoned all care of our situation to the new body. 
 
 " The minority, to which we belong, asserts, on the 
 contrary, that the Commune owes to the political and 
 social revolutionary movement the duty of accepting 
 every responsibility and not declining any, however 
 worthy may be the hands to which they might be con- 
 fided. 
 
 " As for ourselves, we desire, like the majority, the ac- 
 complishment of the political and social renovation ; but, 
 contrary to its idea, we claim, in the name of the suffrages 
 
360 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 we represent, the right to answer ourselves to our electors 
 for our acts, without sheltering ourselves behind a su- 
 preme dictatorship which our mandate does not permit 
 us to recognize. 
 
 " We shall not, therefore, again appear in the Assembly 
 until the day when it shall constitute itself into a court 
 of justice to try one of its members. 
 
 " Devoted to our great Communal cause, for which so 
 many citizens die every day, we shall withdraw to our. 
 arrondissements, which have perhaps been too much 
 neglected. 
 
 " Convinced, morever, that the question of war at this 
 moment takes precedence of all others, the time left us 
 from our municipal functions we shall go and pass in 
 the midst of our brothers of the National Guard, and we 
 shall take our part in this decisive struggle, sustained in 
 the name of the people's rights. 
 
 "There still, we shall usefully serve our convictions; 
 and we shall avoid creating in the Commune those dis- 
 sensions which we all censure ; for we are persuaded that, 
 majority or minority, notwithstanding our political diver- 
 gences, we shall pursue the same object — 
 
 "Political liberty; and emancipation of the working 
 classes. 
 
 " Vive la RepuUique Sociale ! Vive la Commune ! " 
 
 " Charles Beslay, Jourcle, TJieisz, LefranQais, 
 Eugene, Gerardin, Andrieux, Vermorel, 
 CUmence, Serrailler, Longuet, Arthur 
 Arnould, V. Clement, Avrial, Ostyn, 
 Franckel,Pindy, Arnold, Voiles, Tridon, 
 Varlin, G. Courdet." 
 
 The day following the publication of the above mani- 
 festo there was a stormy sitting of the Commune, at 
 which sixty-six members were present, including the 
 
A . ARNOULD 
 ComrRune of Pans 
 187 1 
 
HOSTAGES TO BE SHOT. 261 
 
 greater rmmTber of the seceders, who had come to defend 
 their conduct. Citizens Pyat, Miot, Amouroux, and 
 Grousset strongly condemned the manifesto published, 
 the majority blaming the minority in the harshest terms. 
 Citizen Urbain proposed that, in consequence of the con- 
 duct pursued by the Versailles troops in shooting a yivan- 
 diere, five hostages should be at once shot in Paris. After 
 a long discussion, the following order of the day was pro- 
 posed and voted : " The Commune referring to its decree 
 of the 7th April, 1871 " (concerning hostages) " calls for its 
 immediate execution, and passes to the order of the day." 
 
 The advance of the Versailles forces on the morning of 
 the 16th was more and more apparent, although the in- 
 surgents kept up a strong fire from Bicetre and the 
 Haute-Bruyeres, on Bagneux and Thiais. The bastions 
 70 to 74 still continued to harass the works of the regu- 
 lar engineers at Issy. The college there was almost en- 
 tirely destroyed, but the fort was opening new batteries 
 daily, and was, on the 16th, cannonading the ramparts at 
 Grenelle and the Point- du- Jour, from three different posi- 
 tions. On the west the insurgents had again the rash 
 idea of erecting a battery on the Trocadero. During the 
 morning it opened a fire on Mont Valerien, and, as before, 
 provoked from that fortress such a shower of projectiles 
 that the guns had to be abandoned, while the houses 
 around suffered severely. Montmartre once more opened 
 fire on Gennevilliers, this time with more success ; but, as 
 at Trocadero, it resulted in drawing a fearful bombard- 
 ment from the Versailles batteries. 
 
 In the interior of Paris, the Commune meanwhile was 
 preparing to amuse its adherents by an entirely new spec- 
 tacle. 
 
 The decree had gone forth — the column must fall. The 
 monument erected to glorify the deeds of the Grand Army 
 was declared incompatible with the era of peace and good- 
 
262 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 will, which was to date from the yictory of Communal 
 doctrines. As though France had not need of all her 
 souvenirs of military glory ; as though her humiliation 
 and defeat of the preceding months had not been com- 
 plete ; as though the remembrance of former victories did 
 not raise a Frenchman's hopes, proving what his country 
 might yet be, by comparison with what she had been ; as 
 though the "very Communists themselves were not proving, 
 each moment, by arbitrary arrests, cruel executions, and 
 fratricidal war, their utter want of anything resembling 
 fraternity or good-will — proving, in fact, the utter false- 
 hood of their lying doctrine — ^the column was condemned. 
 On Monday, May 15th, a large crowd assembled in the 
 Rue de la Paix and Place de I'Opera, to see, some their 
 hopes, others their fears, realized. Faint protests had 
 been raised in several of the Parisian journals against this 
 act of vandalism, but the Commune had established too 
 firmly its iron yoke upon the neck of the people to fear 
 much opposition in carrying out its projects. For many 
 days men had been working hard, sawing through the 
 base of the column, and loosening the bronze that coiled 
 around it. The grand ceremony of its overthrow was an- 
 nounced for Monday. The crowd in the streets was dense ; 
 one could have walked upon the heads of the multitude, 
 so close did they stand ; the balconies of the Eue de la 
 Paix were filled with ladies, and all the windows, mirrors, 
 etc., of the houses, were pasted, with paper to neutralize 
 the expected concussion. A long, narrow bed of dung, 
 sand, and branches, had been spread on the square to 
 deaden the shock of the falling mass. Three ropes were 
 fastened around the top of the column, just beneath the 
 statue, which communicated with a windlass and anchor 
 placed in the centre of the road at the entrance of the 
 Rue Neuve des Capucines. The excitement was intense. 
 Fears were entertained that old houses in the neighbor- 
 
THE TRICOLOR OK THE COLUMN". 263 
 
 liood miglit be overthrown by the shock, that balconies 
 would fall, slates tumble from the roofs, or that the rush- 
 ing mass would fcrash through the vaulted arch into the 
 sewers beneath the road. At four in the afternoon a 
 cordon of National Guards pushed back the crowd as far 
 as the Eue Neuve St. Augustin, leaving an empty space 
 along the Eue de la Paix. This was watered in true 
 Parisian style, and all prepared themselves for the great 
 event. Movements were distinguishable on the small 
 balcony running round the top of the column ; two men 
 were busily engaged in tying something to the hand of 
 the gTeat Emperor. Impossible to understand their oc- 
 cupation, when a breath of wind unfurled the tricolor, 
 many murmurs were to be heard in the crowd ; people, 
 whose hatred of the author of Sedan had extended back- 
 wards to his great ancestor, were yet loth to see their 
 glorious flag brought low. The intended insult of the 
 Commune was the most overwhelming tribute to the 
 great man's memory ; a thrill of joy shot through many 
 hearts at his association with the flag. A prayer rose to 
 heaven, " God, let their fall be as great and as com- 
 plete," and the prayer was answered in God's own time. 
 
 As the windlass was about to be turned, and when the 
 moments of the column seemed numbered, a gust of wind 
 overthrew the flag. Unwilling to be foiled in its malicious 
 design, the Commune, owing to the lateness of the hour, 
 and the time required to re-erect the flag, postponed the 
 ceremony to the following day. 
 
 On Tuesday morning the Officiel announced the cere- 
 mony for that day at two p. m., and the concourse was 
 greater than ever. The arrangements were all so bad that 
 hopes were entertained that this second attempt would 
 also prove a failure. The ropes attached to the column 
 were very slender, while two beams, one on either side, 
 were to give it the proper inclination as it fell. The col- 
 
264 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 limn had always leant a little towards the Minist^re des 
 Cultes, and many feared it would take the wrong direc- 
 tion, and were uncertain where to place themselves for 
 safety. It was expected, also, that the bronze Emperor 
 would become detached from his base, and be shot into the 
 air to a great distance, carrying terror and danger in his 
 track. The members of the Commune were seated on the 
 balcony of the Ministry of Justice, to witness the specta- 
 cle. At half -past three General Bergeret arrived on horse- 
 back with his staflF, and passing through the crowd, sta- 
 tioned himself, with his escort, in front of the spot where 
 the column was to fall. At a given signal several bands 
 struck up a medley of patriotic airs, the men at the wind- 
 lass began to move, and all eyes were anxiously turned to- 
 wards the column's height, when one of the ropes snapped 
 suddenly, overthrowing, in its whirl, several men at the 
 windlass. Two or three of these were seriously hurt, and 
 succumbed to their wounds on the following day. 
 
 The attempt had failed, and it was hoped that the 
 Commune had abandoned its project ; but no — more ropes 
 and apparatus were sent for, the bands continued to play, 
 horsemen galloped round the square, while the great figure 
 still looked down on the life and turmoil below, smiling 
 on his baffled enemies. 
 
 It was long after four o'clock before the new ropes 
 arrived, and some time passed before they were finally 
 hoisted to their places. They were not attached to the 
 capstan like the others, but were held on each side of the 
 road by sailors, fifty at each rope. As the windlass turned, 
 these ropes were to be alternately jerked. These prepara- 
 tions were regarded with great contempt, and it was vdtli 
 difficulty that the crowd could be kept out of the way of 
 immediate danger. Suddenly a cry of horror .burst from 
 the multitude — all hearts stood still — the great mass tot- 
 tered and fell, breaking, as it reached the ground, into 
 
ROUSSELLE 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 1871. 
 
FALL OF THE COMMUNE. 265 
 
 uumberless fragments. A cloud of dust rose for a mo- 
 ment and obscured the scene. When it melted away, red 
 banners were seen floating from the base where once had 
 stood the mighty monument. The bands struck up the 
 Marseillaise, and the crowds rushed towards the square. 
 Many succeeded in effecting their entrance, and mo anted 
 on the ruins of the column. A company of marines, 
 drawn up across the Eue de la Paix, soon succeeded, how- 
 ever, in checking the mass. 
 
 Bergeret, meanwhile, decorated with his red scarf and 
 tassels, mounted on the pedestal, and thus addressed the 
 crowd : 
 
 " CiTizEisrs : — The 2Gth of Floreal will be memorable in 
 our history. Thus we triumph over military despotism — 
 that bloody negation of the rights of man. The first 
 Empire placed the collar of servitude about our necks — 
 it began and ended in carnage, and left us a legacy of a 
 second Empire, which was finally to end in the disgrace 
 of Sedan." 
 
 The Emperor's statue was separated from the column, 
 and had fallen a little beyond the heap. It lay a wreck, 
 with the head severed from the body, and one arm broken. 
 
 The equestrian statue of Louis XIV once stood on the 
 site of the column, but was overturned by the sans-cu- 
 lottes. The spot remained vacant until 1806, when Napo- 
 leon determined to consecrate it to the glories of the Aus- 
 terlitz campaign. The first stone was laid on the 18th of 
 August. The foundations were the same that served for 
 Louis XrV's statue. The bas-reliefs were cast by Launay. 
 The column was of Doric order, built of stone, coated 
 with four hundred and twenty-five plaques of bronze, 
 moulded in bas-reliefs, which wound round the shaft from 
 pedestal to lantern. These bas-reliefs represented the his- 
 tory of the campaign of 1805. 
 12 
 
266 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 We cannot do better than to quote here a well-known 
 description of the column and the history it represents : 
 
 " The inscription was by Visconti, and ran as follows : 
 
 " ' Neapolio -. Im'p. Aug. 
 
 " ' Monumentum . Belli . Germanici, 
 
 " 'Anno . MDOCCV. 
 
 6i i Trimestri . Spatio . Ductu . Suo . Prqfligati. 
 
 " 'Ex . ^re . Capto. 
 
 " ' GloricB . Exercitus . Maximi . Dicavit.' 
 
 "The bas-reliefs were three feet eight inches high, and 
 circled the column 22 times, making a spiral 840 feet long. 
 They were a series of tableaux, 76 in number, having for 
 their subjects the principal incidents of the Austerlitz 
 campaign. These were selected by the Emperor himself, 
 and the inscriptions which accompanied them, and were 
 engraved on a cordon under the bas-reliefs, were written 
 by ^e savant Denon' and the Prince of Wagi-am. 
 
 "Napoleon's first intention was that the statue upon 
 the lantern of the column should be, not his own, but 
 Charlemagne's. After Jena, Eylau, and Eriedland, how- 
 ever, he changed his mind, or allowed his flatterers to 
 change it for him, and a statue of himself by Chaudet 
 was placed upon the column. This gave way, in 1844, to 
 another by Seurre, in which the great Emperor was repre- 
 sented standing on a heap of cannon-balls, dressed in his 
 ' costume de lataille.' The hat, the epaulettes, the boots, 
 the ' redingote a revers,' the lorgnette, and the sword worn 
 at Austerlitz, were copied exactly. The statue was cast 
 in gun-metal taken from the enemy, ' under the Empire, 
 let it be well understood,' adds the writer of the year, 'for 
 if we make war uow-a-days we do not take cannon.' The 
 present figure succeeded M. Seurre's, and is one of Napo- 
 leon Ill's tributes to the memory of his uncle. 
 
DESCEIPTION or THE COLUMiq". 267 
 
 " The bas-reliefs begin with the breaking up of the 
 Camp de Boulogne. The first represents the troops in 
 review, and the Havre flotilla rounding Cape d'Alpreck. 
 The commentator construes the appearance of the ships 
 while Napoleon was inspecting his army into a desire 
 on the part of Ocean to pay also its tribute to the Em- 
 peror. Then we have the departure of the various corps 
 from Boulogne, Brest, Utrecht, and Hanover on the great 
 converging march, which, until last year, was perhaps 
 the finest campaign opening ever planned. The troops 
 are represented taking farewell of the sailors who were to 
 have ferried them over to a battle of Dorking ; we see them 
 on the march, crossing rivers, entering towns, etc., and in 
 their various arms of artillery, cavalry, and infantry. In 
 the sixth tableaux the Emperor appears before his servile 
 Senators at Paris^ and informs them that the war against 
 the third coalition has begun. The will of the eternal 
 enemies of Europe is accomplished (said the Emperor on 
 that occasion), the peace I hoped would continue is 
 broken ; blood will flow, but the Erench name will win a 
 new lustre. A few words like these were quite enough to 
 cover the demand for 80,000 men of the next year's con- 
 scription. The tableaux continue ; the soldiers are still 
 on their road, crossing the Ehine at Mayence, Mannheim, 
 Spires, Dourlach, Strasburg— no less than five different 
 places. Then comes the Emperor himself, riding over the 
 bridge of Kehl, with his headquarter staif, on the 1st of 
 October, exactly one month after the breaking up of the 
 camp. The submissive Electors of Baden and Wurtem- 
 berg, who were rewarded with crowns after Austerlita, 
 receive their benefactor ; and in the 15th tableau the 
 first blow is struck at Donowerth by the 4th corps, thirty- 
 six days from Boulogne. Then we have Murat clearing 
 the road to Augsburg and Ulm by the combat at Wertin- 
 gen, and the passage of the Danube at Neuburg by the 2d 
 
268 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 and 3d corps. The plot tliickens, Augsburg is entered, 
 and the Emperor harangues the troops, ' after the manner 
 of the Eoman Emperors/ upon the position of the enemy, 
 and the imminence of a great battle. The 34th tableau 
 depicts Soult's success at Menningen ; a spirited relief and 
 a long inscription told how TSTey forced the bridge of El- 
 chingen, which gave him his title of Due ; the enemy are 
 driven back on their intrenchments before Ulm, and the 
 Emperor arrives at headquarters on the 15th of October. 
 Two days afterwards (31st tableau) Berthier, surrounded 
 by his staff, receives General Mack's capitulation. The 
 panorama continues ; the garrison of Ulm file out and lay 
 down their arms ; the Emperor receives General Mack, in 
 tableau 33, and then came what the legend calls ' a sujoerb 
 and ingenious allegory, dedicated to the glory of the Em- 
 peror Napoleon.' The allegory is as simple as it is superb, 
 for it is nothing more nor less than Victory writing on a 
 shield the words, ' Capitulation d'Ulm.' This is, or was, 
 succeeded by the entries into Munich and Brannan, the 
 key of Austria, and by passages of the Inn and Traun; 
 a little further on the 76th regiment regain the colors 
 lost in a former campaign, and now found in the captured 
 arsenal of Innspruck. A few more scenes, among which 
 is the desperate fight at Krems, near Durnstein (where 
 Frenchmen met Russians in a narrow defile and were so 
 crowded together that they could not use their muskets 
 and fought with unfixed bayonets), brought the spectator 
 to the quarters at Schonbrunn, the entry into Vienna, 
 and the surrender of the keys of the capital. A deputa- 
 tion from Paris arrive with felicitations, and then the 
 Emperor is seen quitting Vienna with many of his Gen- 
 erals for Braun. The great blow is impending ; a recon- 
 naissance is pushed as far as Olmutz ; Presburg is entered ; 
 a strong position is taken up, and the heights of Sauton 
 are occupied by the artillery. On the night of the 1st of 
 
AKOTHER FETE AT VERSAILLES. 209 
 
 December the Emperor, wrapped in his cloak, visits the 
 advanced posts; it is the anniversary of his coronation, 
 and the soldiers light pine torches till the whole camp is 
 illuminated. 
 
 " High up the column began the series of bas-reliefs in 
 which its climbing glories culminated. The sun of Aus- 
 terlitz rises, and the Emperor was to be seen seated on 
 horseback giving orders to the Marshals and Generals. A 
 furious cavalry charge breaks a column of the enemy's 
 infantry, captive Generals surrender their swords and 
 Oudinot's footguards drive a body of Eussians into the 
 icy lake of Augerd. In the next scene the battle is won, 
 the Emperor of Austria has craved an interview, and is 
 asking his Ion frere to grant an armistice. Further on 
 still French soldiers carry off cannon and other arms from 
 the Vienna Arsenal. Talleyrand arrives at Presburg to 
 negotiate the treaty, which is signed by ISTapoleon the day 
 after Christmas-day. St. Mark's Lion and some richly- 
 decorated gondolas denote the cession of the Venetian 
 States, the Electors of Bavaria and Wiirtemberg receive 
 their Crowns, the Imperial Guard enter France bearing 
 captured standards, the Emperor returns to Paris, and 
 passes under the Arc do Triomphe, a car laden with 
 spoils of war follows, and, last of all, hundred- voiced Fame 
 proclaims the high deeds of the campaign of 1805, while 
 old Seine, reclining on his flood, listens to the story of so 
 many glorious battles." 
 
 At the same time the insurgents were committing the 
 insensate and odious crime of overthrowing the Venddme 
 Column, another public fete was taking place in Versailles 
 similar to the preceding one. The cannon captured at 
 Vanves were being presented to the National Assembly. 
 The President, M. Grevy, harangued the soldiers. Marshal 
 de MacMahon complimented the engineers, and issued 
 
270 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the following order of the day in regard to the Yendome 
 Column : 
 
 "Soldiers: — The Yenddme Column has just fallen; 
 the foreigner had respected it. Persons who call them- 
 selves Frenchmen have dared to throw down before the 
 eyes of the Germans, who are watching us, that testimony 
 of the victories of our fathers over combined Europe. 
 
 " Did they hope, the miserable authors of the outrage 
 on the nation's glory, to efface the memory of the mili- 
 tary virtues of which that monument was the glorious 
 symbol ? 
 
 " Soldiers ! if the recollections which the Column 
 
 brought to mind are no longer engraven on bronze, they 
 
 will nevertheless remain living in your hearts ; and taking 
 
 our inspiration from them, we shall know how to give to 
 
 France a fresh pledge of bravery, devotedness, and 
 
 patriotism. 
 
 "Marshal de MacMahon", 
 
 " Duke de Magenta." 
 
 M. Thiers was exceedingly moved when he heard of the 
 fall of the Column, and exclaimed in the Assembly, 
 " Now I am ashamed of leing a FrencJiman ! " but his 
 cry of grief was soon drowned in a concert of patriotic 
 outcries ; and on the 22d of May the National Assembly, 
 by a unanimous vote, decreed the following law : 
 
 " The Column of Place Yend6me shall be rebuilt at the- 
 expense of the State, and surmounted by a statue of 
 France." 
 
 The following day, and as if to punish Paris for its 
 crime, a horrible explosion was heard about six o'clock in 
 the evening, which struck terror and dismay into the 
 hearts of the inhabitants. Several hundreds of women 
 and children were victims to this terrible calamity. 
 
CAETEIDGE EACTOEY EXPLODES. 271 
 
 The cartridge factory, situated between tlie Champs-de- 
 Mars and the Avenue Eapp, blew up. The concussion 
 was felt over nearly the whole of the city, but in the 
 immediate vicinity the effect was lamentable in the ex- 
 treme. As soon as the first dreadful detonation had been 
 heard, it was followed in the space of a few seconds by 
 thousands of smaller ones in every direction, arising from 
 the combustion of cartridges — many millions of which 
 were stored on the premises — and of boxes of grape-shot, 
 which burst in the air, and descended in a perfect storm 
 of blackened lead. An immense column of smoke rose 
 over the spot in majestic form, and floated slowly away to- 
 wards the southwest. Its disappearance was, unfortunate- 
 ly, followed by another mass, which rose more rapidly, and 
 which, by its crimson reflections, showed that a conflagra- 
 tion had arisen. Such was in fact the case, as the wooden 
 huts in the Champs-de-Mars were burning fiercely. 
 
 The agitation in the quarter was indescribable — men, 
 women, and children rushing about in the wildest dis- 
 order in search of parents or relatives, absent at the 
 moment from their homes. Their terror was increased by 
 the fact that at first no one knew what had occurred, 
 every one believing that a bombshell had fallen in his 
 own house. ISTor was the alarm by any means allayed, 
 when the real nature of the accident became known, as 
 the rumor spread rapidly that all danger was not over, 
 and fears were entertained that a store of shells near the 
 building destroyed might also blow up. In fact the in- 
 surgents, who hastened to the spot as soon as possible to 
 maintain order, told all the inhabitants to retire to their 
 own houses, and even recommended them to seek tempo- 
 rary shelter in their cellars. Happily, that second horror 
 was spared the district ; and after a short time the people 
 began to reappear, and turned their attention to assisting 
 the wounded, large numbers of whom might be seen being 
 
272 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 transported tlirougli the streets, many bleeding profusely, 
 principally from cuts received by fragments of glass, 
 almost every windov?" within a considerable radius having 
 been demolished. In many houses the sashes, frames, and 
 doors were blown out, and iron-shutters twisted into the 
 strangest forms. In some places the morsels of glass were 
 lying on the pavement to the depth of more than an inch. 
 
 The hospital of Gros-Oaillou was seriously injured on 
 its roof, through which, a large shot had fallen. The 
 patients rushed out in the greatest alarm, those able to 
 walk hurrying off with the first garments they could lay 
 hold of — many of them with only a dressing-goWn on, 
 and with bare feet. They were all sent to the Hotel-des- 
 Invalides, as well as their companions, who had to be 
 removed in vehicles. 
 
 Ordinarily about 800 women were employed at the 
 establishment; but fortunately they had left at five in- 
 stead of seven o'clock, their usual hour. 
 
 The population at first believed that the disaster was 
 the work of an incendiary, and the report spread that it 
 had been caused by an agent of the Versailles Govern- 
 ment. JSTumerous persons were arrested as being im- 
 plicated in the matter. The general idea, however, pre- 
 vailed that it was either caused by an accident or the fall 
 of a sheU. The insurgents wished to convey the idea that 
 it was caused by the Government ; and the official organ 
 of the Commune published the following note, throwing 
 on the authorities of Versailles the odium of this terrible 
 explosion : 
 
 " Paris, S7 Floreal, an. 79. 
 
 " The Government of Versailles has just disgraced itself 
 with a fresh crime, the most frightful and the most 
 dastardly of all. 
 
 " Its agents set fire to the cartridge manufactory on the 
 Avenue Eapp, and produced a frightful catastrophe. 
 
NUMBER OF THE WOUNDED. 273 
 
 " The number of yictims is estimated at more than a 
 hundred. Women were blown to pieces as well as a child 
 at the breast. 
 
 "Four of the criminals are in custody." 
 
 The official journal also says: "Certain officers of the 
 staff of the National Guards who failed in their service in 
 order to indulge in an orgie at Peter's Restaurant with 
 women of light character, were arrested yesterday by order 
 of the Committee of Public Safety. They have been sent 
 to Fort Bicetre with shovels and pickaxes for service in 
 the trenches, and the women sent to St. Lazare, to make 
 earth-bags." 
 
 The Commune, one of the organs of the insurgents, had 
 been for some days sneering at the action of the authorities 
 at the Hotel de Ville, becoming more and more indignant 
 at their decrees. It said, on the morning of the 18th : 
 
 "Have they lost their heads at the Hotel de Ville? 
 Are they going to play at parliamentarism ? What ! the 
 intelligent minority is withdrawing, not to Mount Aven- 
 tine, but under the tent of inaction. It is abandoning 
 the citadel to the ignorant, material, and grotesque element, 
 to the brawlers of the clubs, the mountebanks of 1793, 
 the popes and canons of fusionism, to the believers in 
 Robespierre and the Pere Toureuil, to ghosts and reverends, 
 and to the carnival of the revolution ! What remains of 
 the Commune? The upright Gambon and the stoical 
 Delescluze ; with Diog^nes-Pyat seeking in vain at noon 
 with his lantern for an honest man, and in the evening, 
 having become a rag-gatherer, turning over the heaps of 
 rubbish to find some useful scraps. To-morrow he will 
 blow out his candle, convinced of the perfect uselessness 
 of his search. What so unusual has then taken place ? 
 The pedants, hair-brained men, and ambitious nullities, 
 
 12* 
 
274 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 without science or knowledge, are in a majority. And 
 that result is in no way extraordinary. Considering the 
 state of our early instruction, education, and prejudices, 
 and our infatuation especially, for every one intelligent 
 man to be found, there are a hundred idiots." 
 
 The devout and religious portion of Paris attributed 
 the fearful explosion on the Avenue Eapp to a judgment 
 on the insurgents for their sacrilegious violation of the 
 Church of Notre-Dame des Victoires. This church, sit- 
 uated in the Place des Petits Peres, was founded in 1629 
 by Louis XIII. It was used during the Eevolution of 
 1789 as an exchange, and was, on the 17th of May, about 
 five o'clock, or one hour before the explosion, entered by 
 a Commissaire de Police by the name of Le Moussu, at the 
 head of the 159th battalion of National Guards (insur- 
 gents), belonging to the Bellev.ille Quarter. The priests 
 were about finishing the service of the " Mois de Marie " 
 when they were expelled in the most brutal manner, and 
 with much difficulty, the worshippers protesting in the 
 loudest manner ; the women fled to the Chapel of the 
 Virgin. The Abbe Delacroix saved the consecrated arti- 
 cles, which he conveyed to the Church of St. Eoch. The 
 Citizen Le Moussu, after having arrested two vicars of the 
 parish, the Abbes du Courroy and Amodru, and two mem- 
 bers of the Council, gave the order to sack the church. A 
 rage truly infernal was exhibited in this Communal orgie. 
 The tabernacles were torn up, the altars demolished, the 
 confessionals overturned, the marble slabs of the temple 
 broken. The body of Saint Aureha, which reposed under 
 the altar of the Virgin, and that of the venerable Des 
 Genettes, former curate of the parish, and founder of the 
 Archi-Confrerie, buried at the foot of the same altar, were 
 profaned. The vaults enclosing the dried remains of the 
 Augustines, who died in the old convent, were violated. 
 
BILLIORAY 
 Cammune of Pans 
 
 187 1 
 
A PRIGnTFUL ORGIE. 275 
 
 At the same time the contribution boxes were robbed, the 
 church was despoiled of all its ornaments, without excep- 
 tion, and the fury of the miserable creatures only ended 
 when the sanctuary presented an aspect of complete ruin. 
 
 Then commenced an orgie not less revolting than the 
 other. The money found in the church was divided be- 
 tween these pillaging heroes, and served to pay the ex- 
 pense of a bacchanalian feast, at which the cmitinieres and 
 other women of doubtful habits took part. Then returning 
 to the revolutionary habits of '93, they clothed themselves 
 in the sacred vestments of the church, and went through 
 the religious ceremonies, such as administering the sacra- 
 ment, etc. This saturnalia only ended when, overpowered 
 with drunkenness and fatigue, they fell asleep on the floor 
 of the sacred edifice. 
 
 The next day they made an exhibition of the remains 
 found in the vaults, showing from a distance, to the people 
 in the Place, a wax head of St. Aurelia, covered with hair, 
 which they pretended was the head of a young girl lately 
 murdered by the priests, and, to complete the hideous spec- 
 tacle, they administered the communion to one another, 
 using the bread not consecrated found in the sacristy, and 
 scattering the rest to the winds. 
 
 An arrangement had been entered into between 'the 
 Government at Versailles and four members of the Com- 
 mune, viz., Billioray, Cerisier, Mortier, and Pilotell, to 
 open the gate at the Point-du-Jour, for which service they 
 secured 25,000 francs each. These honest Communists 
 were to appear at the gate at half-past one o'clock at night, 
 disguised as National Guards; but, in the meantime, 
 Cerisier took fright and refused to act, and when the 
 troops appeared, they were forced to beat a precipitate re- 
 treat under a murderous fire from mitrailleuses. 
 
 The cannonading raged along the whole line on the 
 evening of the 18th with a violence hitherto unequalled 
 
276 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 since the commencement of the siege. The fusillade was 
 also continuous in the Bois de Boulogne, while in the 
 south the greatest alarm prevailed during the whole day. 
 Two batteries were unmasked on the north front of the 
 fort of Vdnves, one to take the village of Montrouge ob- 
 liquely, the other to attack the gate of the ramparts lead- 
 ing to Issy. The heavy cannonade was supposed to be 
 the prelude to an assault, and several battalions were 
 under arms in the Avenue d'Orleans, to be sent to rein- 
 force any point on which the attack might be made, l^o 
 attempt was however made^ and the terrible cannonade 
 of the whole day and night left both parties in the same 
 positions. 
 
 The insurgents attempted a sortie during the day, but 
 were repulsed 'with great loss. Various battalions re- 
 turned to Paris apparently much dispirited. They at- 
 tacked the regulars with a force 6,000 strong, and at first 
 were successful ; but reinforcements coming up, they were 
 attacked in turn, and defeated with frightful slaughter. 
 
 The insurgents continued to carry out the conscription 
 with increased vigor, death being threatened to those who 
 refused to serve. 
 
 The decrees of the Commune became more and more 
 severe as their hour approached. The Committee declared 
 its intention to blow up Paris sooner than capitulate. A 
 decree arrested all prostitutes and drunkards; another 
 suppressed nine more journals ; another, from the Cen- 
 tral Committee, stated that all inhabitants of Paris must 
 return to their homes within forty-eight hours, after that 
 time the claims in the Eentes standing in their names in 
 the state funds would be destroyed. 
 
 Cluseret was tried by the Commune and set at liberty 
 on the 20th. The command of the important post at 
 Montmartre was also given him. 
 
 The court-martial presided over by Colonel Gois also 
 
SERIOUS FOEEBODINGS. 277 
 
 tried the Lieutenant-Colonel, Daviot, and Commandant 
 Vanostat of the 115th battahon of the National Guard, 
 for having, without any superior orders, abandoned their 
 posts at the Convent of Issy, thereby allovs^ing the po- 
 sition to be occupied by the enemy. It appeared that 
 the battalion was seized with a panic and took to flight 
 towards Paris ; it had lost twenty-six men the night be- 
 fore in an attack badly conducted, and had become sadly 
 disorganized. The two prisoners attempted to stop the 
 men, but without effect ; and, finding that they could not 
 induce them to return, had at last yielded to the current, 
 and proceeded themselves towards the gates of the city. 
 Several witnesses deposed to the general good conduct and 
 courage of the prisoners, but the court condemned Daviot 
 to fifteen years, and Vanostat to ten years imprisonment ; 
 further, it ordered that the 115th battalion be struck off 
 the list/rand the men drafted into other bodies of the 
 same force. 
 
 A proclamation was published announcing that the 
 Central Committee had, on the proposition of the Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety, and with the approval of the 
 Commune, undertaken the Administration of War since 
 the 19th. 
 
 M. Mortier, a member of the Commune, proposed the 
 abolition of religious '^ worship in all churches, and ex- 
 pressed the wish that they might be only opened for lec- 
 turing on Atheism and annihilating old prejudices. 
 
 Eeports were spread throughout the city on the even- 
 ing of the 20th that Fort Montrouge had been evacuated. 
 The Central Committee ordered larger numbers of troops 
 and quantities of materiel to be dispatched to the threat- 
 ened points. Several members of the Commune had also 
 left for the advanced posts among the troops. There was 
 something in the air which presaged immediate danger. 
 
 While the Commune of Paris was excited by a forebod- 
 
278 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ing of evil, Versailles was excited by great good news. On 
 the evening of the 20th M. Thiers issued a circular, dated 
 noon of the same day, in which he said : 
 
 " Several prefects have demanded that news should be 
 published ; the following answer has been sent them :— 
 Those persons who are uneasy are greatly mistaken. 
 Our troops are working at the approaches, and at the 
 moment of writing the breaching batteries continue their 
 fire upon the walls. Never have we been so near the end. 
 The members of the Commune are busy making their 
 escape. Henri Eochefort has been arrested at Meaux ! " 
 
 Rochefort arrested ! the demagogue, the falsifier, and 
 coward arrested with the lie in his mouth ! arrested escap- 
 ing from Paris on the 20th of May! It seems some few 
 days before a letter, written by him to his mistress in 
 Arcachon, had fallen into the hands of the Prefect of 
 Bordeaux, who sent it to M. Thiers. In this letter, he 
 said, " Leave at once for Brussels, and engage the same 
 apartment as iefore ; I will meet you there on the 20th" 
 The Gaulois of Versailles published this letter, which 
 Eocheforfc repudiated in the most indignant manner ; and 
 in his journal, the Mot dWrdre, of date the 20th of May, 
 printed on the 19th, the last number published, he said: 
 " I would not have condescended to notice this con- 
 temptible invention, but several journals have reproduced 
 it. I have only at Arcachon my sister, my daughter, and 
 little boy, who came to see me when I was sick. I wrote 
 them some days since, not to invite them to retain an 
 apartment at Brussels, but to join me at Paris, where I 
 have but little fear of the entry of the Versaillese. The 
 only dread the publication of this note gave me was that 
 my letter had fallen into the hands of the Prefect of Bor- 
 deaux, because it contained a check addressed to my 
 family to pay their expenses from Arcachon to Paris ; and 
 
H^ ROCHEFQRT 
 W of Mot d'Qrdre: 
 
 187 1, 
 
ARREST OF ROCHEFORT. 279 
 
 it is possible that, faithful to the traditions of the Empire, 
 that functionary has at the same time kept my letter 
 and pocketed my money." 
 
 As soon as the Minister of the Interior had read Eoche- 
 fort's denial in the Mot dIOrdre, he supposed with reason 
 that tlie ex-president of barricades would leave for Brus- 
 sels the same day. The Minister immediately sent tele- 
 graphic despatches to all the departments, ordering the 
 surveillance to be doubled. At two o'clock in the morn- 
 ing he received a despatch from Meaux stating that 
 Eocheforfc had been arrested in the act of getting into the 
 railroad train. He had left Paris in a carriage accom- 
 panied by his secretary, Mouriot, and was travelling 
 under the name of Le Comte de Saint Luce, a respectable 
 souvenir of his true name — Comte Henri de Kochefort 
 Lugay. 
 
 Previous to Eochefort's departure from Paris, and to 
 hide his flight, which must have been discovered the fol- 
 lowing day if his journal ceased to appear without notice, 
 the following letter was sent to the editor of the Poli- 
 tique : 
 
 " MoKSiEUR LE Eedactetjr : — I would be much obliged 
 if you would announce to your readers that in presence of 
 the situation of the press the Mot d'Ordre believes it in 
 keeping with its dignity to cease to appear." The dignity 
 of a " Lanterne." 
 
 Eochefort was brought into Versailles in an omnibus 
 drawn by two horses, escorted by a squadron of gendarmes 
 and Chasseurs d'Afrique. He was accompanied by his 
 secretary, Mouriot,, and four policemen in plain clothes. 
 He had had his moustache cut oflf before leaving Paris. 
 
 When the cortege entered the Eue Eeservoirs every one 
 ran into the street, and shouts of execration were raised 
 on every side. Citizens of all classes joined in the de- 
 
280 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 monstration. ''A has l' assassin ; a 2^ied h brigand; a 
 mort ! " The people were indignant that he was riding 
 in an omnibus, and it was with difficulty the cavalry pre- 
 vented them from dragging him out and inflicting sum- 
 mary execution. He was, however, safely lodged in jail, 
 and but for the precaution taken by the Government, the 
 world would have been spared the infliction of his name 
 having been brought again before it. The coward had 
 continually poured oil on the smouldering mass, and 
 when it flamed he fled. . 
 
 Madame Tussaud, hearing of his arrest, sent an agent 
 immediately to Versailles, and made a very liberal offer 
 to the Government for his clothes. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Porte St. Cloud— Communication of M. Ducatel— Entrance of the troops into 
 Paris— Fourth Army Corps— Army of Reserve— General Ladmirault at the 
 gates of Passy and Auteuil — Entrance of General de Cissy— Arrest of Assi— 
 Entrance of the troops long unknown in the city— Plan of attack— March of 
 the different corps — Occupation of the Park Monceaux— Confusion at the 
 Hotel de Ville — Erection of barricades— Violent proclamations — Melancholy 
 appearance of the city— Deputations to the Hotel de Ville— Orders given by 
 Delescluze— Evacuation of the Palais de Tlndustrie and Ministry of the In- 
 terior—Fighting in the Faubourg St. Honore— At the Rue d'Anjou— In the 
 Boulevard Haussman— Investment of Montmartre — Left bank of the Seine- 
 Barricades constructed— Manifestation in favor of the Government. 
 
 ON Sunday the 21st of May, the troops between the 
 gates of St. Cloud and Auteuil were actively engaged 
 at the works of approach, endeavoring to render a breach 
 practicable for an assault. The fire from the ramparts 
 had been gradually decreasing, and finally ceased entirely. 
 The commandant, Treves, who was overseeing the work 
 in the trenches at St. Cloud, determined to reconnoitre to 
 discover the cause of this silence. He advanced to the 
 drawbridge, the chain of which had been broken a few 
 days before by a cannon-ball, when a civilian appeared at 
 the bastion on the left, and raised a white flag, making vio- 
 lent gesticulations, and shouting something which, owing 
 to the cannonade of Montretout and Breteuil, it was difii- 
 cult to understand, but which seemed to be " Come, there 
 is nobody." Commandant Treves immediately jumped 
 into the trench, and, followed by Sergeant Constant of the 
 3d battalion, 91st regiment, ran toward the bastion, crossed 
 
882 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the drawbridge, of whicli only a small beam remained, 
 and joined his interlocutor, who said : " My name is Du- 
 catel — a former officer of the infantry of the Marine, 
 You can have confidence in me. Paris is yours, if you 
 wish to take it. Bring in your troops immediately, as you 
 see everything is abandoned." In fact, no troops were 
 visible in any direction, and the bastions on the right and 
 left were entirely evacuated. 
 
 M. Ducatel was invited to leave Paris by the command- 
 ant, to render an account of the situation to the General- 
 in-Chief The following despatch was sent immediately 
 to the Generals Douay and Verge at Villeneuve I'Etang, 
 and Sevres, dated from the trench : 
 
 "I have just entered Paris with M. Ducatel by the 
 Porte St. Cloud. Everything is abandoned. I have or- 
 dered the torpedo wires to be cut." 
 
 Half an hour afterwards the firing had ceased along the 
 entire line. Commandant Treves, accompanied by M. 
 Ducatel and Captain Garnier, with a body of engineers, 
 returned to Paris. The commanders. of the 37th and 91st 
 battalions followed with their troops to secure the position 
 against an offensive return of the insurgents. It was 
 then half-past four in the afternoon. 
 
 Immediately after the reception of the above despatch. 
 General Douay, commanding the Fourth Army Corps, 
 advanced his troops, and occupied strongly the Porte St. 
 Cloud and the Eue du Eempart. He was followed by 
 General Vinoy, commanding the reserve, who entered the 
 same gate, and took possession of the important position 
 of Trocadero. 
 
 In the meantime, General Ladmirault (First Army 
 Corps), entering by the gates of Passy and Auteuil, con- 
 tinued along the ramparts, and surprised the insurgents 
 at the Porte de la Muette, where he took five or six hun- 
 
AS SI 
 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 1871 
 
ASSI IS AEKESTED. ' 283 
 
 dred prisoners. Advancing along the Avenue de la 
 Grande Armee, he took possession of the barricades, driv- 
 ing the insurgents before him, and thus became master 
 of the Arc de Triomphe, where the tricolor was first dis- 
 played inside the walls. 
 
 Finally, General de Cissey, commanding the Third Army 
 Corps, entered during the night by the gates of Vaugirard 
 and Montrouge, and thus the whole line of ramparts, 
 from Vaugirard to the Porte Dauphine, was in the power 
 of the Versaillese. General de Cissey proceeded with his 
 troops in the direction of the Champs de Mars, where an 
 energetic resistance was expected; but the whole move- 
 ment had been so sudden that time was wanted to organ- 
 ize the defence. The Ecole-Militaire was taken possession 
 of without opposition, the staff of the National Guard 
 having quitted the building, in a precipitate if not undig- 
 nified manner. 
 
 In the meantime, an important arrest had taken place. 
 Towards midnight Citizen Assi made his appearance in 
 the neighborhood of the Point-du-Jour. His carriage was 
 escorted by half a dozen cavaliers with red vests and caps. 
 
 A sentinel called : 
 
 " Who goes there ? " 
 
 " Staff officer," replied Assi. 
 
 "Advance in order." 
 
 Assi leaned forward to reply, when seeing the uniform 
 of the sentinel, he threw himself back in the carriage, 
 exclaiming : 
 
 "The line! We are lost!" 
 
 His escort was already secured, and a quarter of an hour 
 later. Citizen Assi was rolling along the road to Versailles. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ringing of the tocsin, and the 
 beating of the generaU in the occupied quarters, the en- 
 trance of the troops was not known throughout Paris un- 
 til late on Monday. During the previous evening an im- 
 
284 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 mense crowd promenaded the boulevards, and filled the 
 cafes until long after midnight. Delescluze himself, to 
 whom the news was brought at four in the morning, re- 
 fused to credit it, and even when convinced of the truth 
 of the statement, issued the following proclamation : 
 
 " The observatory of the Arc de Triomphe denies tlie 
 entrance of the Versaillese; at least, nothing has been 
 seen which resembles it. 
 
 "The Commandant Eenard, of that section, has just 
 left my cabinet, and he affirms that there has only been a 
 panic, and that the gate of Auteuil has not been forced ; 
 that if the Versaillese presented themselves, they were 
 repulsed. 
 
 " I have sent eleven battalions of reinforcements by as 
 many officers of the staff, who will not leave them until 
 they have conducted them to the posts they are to occupy. 
 
 " Delescluze." 
 
 At about four o'clock Monday morning the vast move- 
 ment for the occupation of Paris really began. This great 
 and difficult strategic combination, conducted with as 
 much energy as ability, and with unhesitating unity of 
 action, was but the continuation of the plan followed 
 from the beginning of this horrible civil war. Outside, 
 the insurgents, from Asnieres to Montrouge, had been 
 made to recede step by step toward the ramparts — their 
 principal positions had been successively taken from them. 
 The fortifications once passed, the same operation was 
 continued on a concentric line, almost parallel with the 
 outer line of investment. 
 
 The troops marched always in advance, enclosing the 
 Communists in an immense semicircle, which gradually 
 narrowed, until the insurgents were thrown back on their 
 last places of refuge — on the' left bank towards the Gobe- 
 lins and the Salp^triere, and on the right toward the 
 
INVESTMENT OF THE CITY. 285 
 
 heights of Meuilmontant, of Charonne, and the upper 
 end of the Faubourg St. Antoine. 
 
 This attack, directed and constantly overseen by Mar- 
 shal de MacMahon, whose headquarters were established 
 first at Trocadero, and afterwards at the Ministry of 
 Foreign Affairs, enclosed the city from the southwest to 
 the northwest in advancing to the northeast and southeast. 
 
 But while continuing the exterior movement, the opera- 
 tion within the city produced new and serious obstacles 
 owing to the multiplicity of the transversal streets, which 
 at one time discovered the march of the army to the insur- 
 gents, and at another suddenly separated the different 
 corps, and by interrupting their communications, rendered 
 it difficult for them to make their attacks in concert. 
 
 The army of France numbered from 90,000 to 100,000 
 men, commanded in chief under the orders of Marshal de 
 MacMahon, by Generals Ladmirault, Douay, De Cissey, 
 De Clinchant, Du Barail, and by General Vinoy at the 
 head of the army of reserve. General de Cissey specially 
 conducted the operations on the left bank, where he was 
 seconded by General du Barail, who took with his cavalry 
 the forts of Montrouge, Bicetre, and Ivry. 
 
 The movements on the right bank were developed 
 under the directions of Generals Ladmirault, Clinchant, 
 Vinoy, and Douay, the first two acting at the begin- 
 ning of the attack in the northern quarters (Batig- 
 noUes and Montmartre), while the other two occupied the 
 Champs Ely sees and its neighborhood. According to the 
 necessities of the action, they supported each other re- 
 ciprocally. 
 
 This investment, by successiYe zones, was executed with 
 so much precision, that as the army advanced from one zone 
 to attack another, the one just quitted was cleansed of every 
 element of insurrection. The inhabitants could circu- 
 late freely without meeting a single Federal uniform, and 
 
286 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 without incurring any danger but from spent projectiles, 
 which sometimes passed beyond the line of battle. During 
 the seven days which the taking of Paris occupied — from 
 Sunday the 31st, to Sunday the 28th — there was not a 
 single offensiye return or any attack made in the rear of 
 the assailants by the National Guards. Nothing more 
 clearly proves the excellence of the plan. 
 
 In the beginning of the day. Generals Ladmirault and 
 Clinchant solidly established the base of their opera- 
 tions by the occupation of Passy and La Muette. Gen- 
 eral Ladmirault then advanced towards the Arc de Tri- 
 omphe, as already described, and carrying the barricade 
 in front of the monument, planted the tricolor on its 
 summit. From that moment bombs, directed by the 
 insurgents from Montmartre, endeavored vainly to over- 
 throw the flag. 
 
 Meanwhile the 5th corps, under General Clinchant, 
 entering by the gates of Auteuil and Maillot, continued 
 along the ramparts as far as the Place Pereire, taking 
 possession of the Ternes and the gate of Asnieres, and 
 then descended the Faubourg St. Honore. 
 
 General Montaudon, commanding the third division of 
 the 1st corps, followed this movement outside the walls, 
 taking Neuilly, LcYallois, Perret, and Clichy, and carry- 
 ing the gate of St. Ouen, where he took 105 cannon from 
 the insurgents. 
 
 The Arc de Triomphe being taken, the troops descended 
 simultaneously to the Place de la Concorde, and towards 
 the New Opera, by the Avenue Friedland and the Boule- 
 vard Haussmann. 
 
 At Neuilly, Levallois, the Ternes, and Courcelles, the 
 National Guards were very much surprised to find that, 
 though they had no serious combats the night before, 
 many of their men were wounded by balls coming from 
 the Bois de Boulogne, the gate of Neuilly and its neigh- 
 
NUMBERLESS BAERICADES. 287 
 
 borliood. These balls Avere fired by sharpshooters, who 
 had spread along the ramparts and taken possession of the 
 gates abandoned by the Federals. 
 
 The evacuation was immediately decided, and all the 
 battalions hastened to enter Paris by the gates of Bineau, 
 Asnieres, and Clichy. They were closely followed by the 
 regular troops along the Boulevards JSTeuilly and Males- 
 herbes, and were obliged to turn many times during the 
 retreat and discharge their pieces to check the heat of the 
 pursuit. 
 
 The ardor of the Versaillese, however, was not to be 
 restrained ; balls whistled in every direction, losing them- 
 selves at the extremities of the great avenues in the very 
 heart of Paris. Men and women ran about distractedly, 
 and in a few moments the streets were deserted by all 
 but the combatants. 
 
 The regular troops advanced thus as far as the 
 Park Monceau, of which they took definitive possession, 
 while the retreat of the Federals became more and more 
 accelerated. 
 
 On his side, General Vinoy held the heights of Troca- 
 dero, and the troops of General de Cissey extended from 
 the depot of Montparnasse to Grenelle, occupying the 
 Champs de Mars, the Ecole Militaire, and the Invalides. 
 
 Meanwhile, at the Hotel de Ville, orders had been issued 
 by the Committee of Public Safety, which was sitting 
 there en permanence, to erect barricades in every direction, 
 and the injunction was most faithfully and extensively 
 executed. Along the Boulevards from the Madeleine to 
 the Chateau-d'Eau barricades cropped up on every side, 
 and every passer-by was forced to give his aid and 
 place a stone ; indeed, as the troops advanced and the 
 danger became more imminent, many unfortunate indi- 
 viduals were pressed into the service, and obliged to work 
 for several hours, finally to have a rifle forced into their 
 
288 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 hands, with orders to defend the barricade which they 
 had only helped to erect a contre-coeur. Women and 
 children worked just as actively as the National Guards 
 themselves, and formidable barriers were soon to be seen 
 at the Rue de la Ohausee-d'Antin, the Eue Eichelieu, the 
 Rue Drouot, and the Porte St. Martin. The neighbor- 
 hood of the Hotel de Ville was defended by immense con- 
 structions, and the Rues St. Denis, St. Martin, and many 
 of the side-streets were strongly fortified. The same was 
 the case in the neighborhood of Montmartre, and on the 
 left lijank of the river in the Faubourg St. Germain, Rues 
 du Bac and des Saints-Peres, along the quays, and at the 
 entrances of the different bridges. 
 
 The members of the Commune withdrew to their several 
 arrondissements to organize the defence and to encourage 
 their men to a desperate resistance. The unexpected and 
 easy entrance effected by the Versaillese had at first greatly 
 demoralized the Federal troops. The old cry, " Nous 
 sommes traliis ! " was raised, and numberless stories were 
 told of gates which had been opened by traitors within 
 the walls. 
 
 A few hours, however, gave the Communists time to 
 recover themselves, and by nightfall a complete change 
 had come over the spirit of the scene. The large number 
 of extempore barricades which had at first sprung up too 
 quickly to be worth much, had been made strong enough 
 to be really formidable, and the men in charge of them 
 seemed not only pretty cool, but even in good spirits, with 
 little about them of the air of beaten troops whose last 
 hope has gone. 
 
 When the members of the Commune departed for the 
 various arrondissements, Delescluze, the Delegate of War, 
 the Military Commission, and the Committee of Public 
 Safety, remained at the Hotel de Ville. As to the Central 
 Committee, no one could say what had become of the 
 
FRANTIC APPEALS. 289 
 
 persons composing it, and at the final struggle they had 
 entirely disappeared. Tlie Committee of Public Safety 
 chiefly employed its time in issuing a yariety of proclama- 
 tions. The following appeal was made to the National 
 Guards : 
 
 " Pabis, May 22, 1S71. 
 
 " Rise up, patriotic citizens ! 
 
 " To the barricades ! The enemy is within our walls ! 
 'No hesitation ! 
 
 " Forward, for the Eepublic, the Commune, and Liberty ! 
 "To arms! 
 
 " Ant. Arnaud, Billioray, Eudes, Gambon, 
 Ranvier' — Committee of Public Safety:' 
 
 To the assailants, the following was addressed : 
 
 "Pakis, May 22. 
 
 *' Soldiers of the Army of Versailles: 
 
 " The people of Paris can neyer believe that you will 
 direct your arms against them, when their breasts touch 
 yours. On the contrary, your arms will shrink from such 
 an act, which would be positive fratricide. 
 
 " Like us, you are proletaires ; and like us, you have an 
 interest in not allowing to the conspiring monarchists the 
 right to drink your blood as they profit by the sweat of 
 your brow. 
 
 " The course which you followed on the 18th of March 
 you will rej)eat once more, and the people will not have 
 the affliction of fighting against men whom they regard 
 as brothers, and whom they would be only too delighted 
 to behold seated with themselves at the civic banquet of 
 Liberty and Equality. 
 
 " Come to us, therefore, brothers ! Come to us ! Our 
 embrace is ready for you ! 
 
 "Ant. Arnaud, Billioray, Eudes, Gambon, 
 Ranvier — Committee of Public Safety." 
 13 
 
390 THE PARIS COMMUiTE. 
 
 To the inhabitants of Paris it issued the following : 
 
 " Paeis, May 23. 
 
 " The Porte de Saint Cloud, attacked from four sides at 
 the same time, by the fire of Mont Valerien, the Butte- 
 Mortemart, Les Moulineaux and the fort of Issy, has been 
 forced by the Versailles troops, who have now si^read 
 themselves over a portion of the territory of Paris. 
 
 " That misadventure, far from depressing us, ought to 
 be an energetic stimulant. The people that dethrones 
 kings and destroys Bastilles — the people of '89 and '93 — 
 cannot lose in a single day the benefit arising from the 
 emancipation of March 18th. 
 
 " I'd arms, then! Let Paris be covered with barricades, 
 and from behind those defences let it shout to the assail- 
 ants its war-cry, its defiance, and its promise of victory, 
 for Paris with barricades is impregnable! Let all the 
 streets be torn up, and the paving-stones be carried to the 
 balconies of the houses. 
 
 " Let the city do its duty ! The Commune and the 
 Committee of Public Safety will do the same ! 
 
 "Ant. Arnaud, BilUoray, Eudes, Gamhon, 
 Ranvier — Committee of Public Safety P 
 
 In the meantime, Cluseret, who had been acquitted at 
 the sitting of the Commune and released from prison the 
 previous day, was nominated commander of the forces at 
 Montmartre, and the command at Belleville and La Villette 
 was given to Dombrowski. 
 
 While these preliminaries of the great struggle were 
 taking place, the appearance of Paris was most melan- 
 choly. Everywhere the shops were closed, the cafes and 
 restaurants shut, and in many cases the persiennes drawn 
 to, as though all inhabitants had departed. Later, shots 
 having been fired at the National Guards from a house on 
 the Boulevard Rochechouart, strict orders were given for 
 
JULES VALLE S 
 CominurLe of Pans 
 
 18 7 1 
 
P A n I S I A N A M A Z 2T S . 291 
 
 all -window shutters to be opened, and, in many cases, the 
 agents of the Commune had the doors of apartments 
 forced and the shutters thrown back. Ho yehicles were 
 to be seen, with the exception of ammunition and ambu- 
 lance wagons, which clattered along making fearful echoes 
 in the vacant streets, and sending a thrill through the ter- 
 rified hearts of the inhabitants. Few persons ventured 
 out, and wherever the circulation existed, the passers-by 
 were forced by the National Guards to contribute to the 
 construction of the barricades. It has already been stated 
 that in this work the energy of the women exceeded that 
 of the men. The Hotel de Ville was continually invaded 
 by deputations of these citoyennes exalUes, who wished to 
 take their part in the defence. 
 
 At one time thirty women came with a demand for a 
 mitrailleuse to arm the barricade in the Place du Palais- 
 Eoyal. They all wore a band of crape round the left 
 arm ; each one had lost a husband, a lover, a son, or a 
 brother, whom she had sworn to avenge. Horses being at 
 this time scarce in the service of the Commune, they har- 
 nessed themselves to the enormous machine, and dragged 
 it off, fastening their skirts round their waists lest they 
 should prove an impediment to their march. Others fol- 
 lowed, bearing the caissons filled with munitions. The last 
 carried the flag. • 
 
 Citizen Valles, a delegate of the Commune, delivered to 
 them the mitrailleuse and the flag, together with an order 
 written and signed by Delescluze, commissioning the 
 above mentioned citoyennes to aid in the defence of Paris. 
 One of them received the embrace of Citizen Yalles in 
 the name of all, and they then departed, bearing with 
 them the engine of destruction. 
 
 They were immediately followed by another deputation 
 of women, mistresses of the schools of primary instruc- 
 tion established by the Commune in place of the religious 
 
292 THE PAEIS COMMUiTE. 
 
 houses in which children were formerly educated. These 
 women offered to employ the children under their charge 
 in making linen bags necessary for the barricades, that 
 they also might haye their glorious part in the defence of 
 Paris. 
 
 A commission was signed authorizing the citizens to 
 transform their schools into workshops. The little girls, 
 assimilated with the Federal soldiers, were to receive rations 
 of food and wine. The young boys were ordered to aid 
 in the erection of the barricades. 
 
 Towards evening, an order was placarded giving the 
 National Gruards full permission to enter private apart- 
 ments, and take possession of any objects likely to aid in 
 the defence. This authorization caused great alarm to 
 the wealthy inhabitants, as it opened the door to every 
 kind of pillage ; but the rapid advance of the Versailles 
 troops rendered it, fortunately, of little avail. 
 
 The following is one of many orders of the same pur- 
 port given by Delescluze : 
 
 " Commune of Paris : 
 
 " The Citizen Jacquet is authorized to requisition' all 
 inhabitants, and all objects necessary to him, in the con- 
 struction of the barricades in the Kue du Chateau-d'Eau 
 and of the Eue All^ouy. 
 
 " Wine and whiskey alone are and remain excepted. 
 
 " All citizens, men or women, who refuse their aid, shall 
 be immediately shot. 
 
 "The citizen chiefs commanding the barricades are 
 charged to assure the security of the different quarters. 
 
 " Domiciliary visits are to be made to suspected houses, 
 and, during the perquisition, all doors and windows must 
 be opened. 
 
 " All window-shutters must be open ; all v/indows 
 closed. 
 
PROGRESS OF THE FEDERALS. 293 
 
 "The gratings of the cellars must be guarded with 
 particular care. 
 
 " No lights are to be allowed in any quarter attacked. 
 
 " Suspected houses arc to be set ou fire at the first sig- 
 nal. 
 
 " Delescluze, 
 
 " CMef of the Legion of the X Arrondissement. 
 
 " Brunel." 
 
 While the Commune was thus devoting all its energies 
 in exciting the people to a strenuous resistance, the Ver- 
 sailles troops were steadily advancing. Batteries were es- 
 tablished at the Arc de Triomphe, which fired on the 
 Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, and Tuileries Gar- 
 dens. Other batteries, placed on the terrace of the Tuil- 
 eries by the insurgents, replied from time to time to this 
 fire. 
 
 The Palace of Industry, becoming untenable, was aban- 
 doned to the Government troops. 
 
 While the soldiers of General Douay were thus keeping 
 the insurgents at the Place de la Concorde and the Tuil- 
 eries in check, a portion of the troops under General Clin- 
 chant, advancing down the Paubourg St, Honore, found 
 the Ministry of the Interior, Place Beauveau, and the 
 Palace of the Elysee abandoned by the Federals. These 
 last had retreated at five in the morning to the Mairie of 
 the Arrondissement Eue d'Anjou. One man, left on 
 guard at the comer of the Ptue Duras, hastened at the 
 sound of the approaching chassepots to implore a civil- 
 ian's dress from the inhabitants, which was accorded him 
 from pity. 
 
 The troops were received with loud acclamations and 
 every manifestation of joy, by the people whom they had 
 delivered from the hated rule of the Commune. The red 
 flag which dishonored the Ministry was torn away by a 
 
294 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 boy, and preset ted to a lignard amidst the applause of the 
 crowd. 
 
 The fighting in .the neighborhood was beheved to be 
 ended. The inhabitants were professedly anti-Commun- 
 ists, but, unfortiyiately, the quarter had been occupied 
 two days previously by three battalions from Belleville^ 
 charged with executing the famous ordres formels, or the 
 chase after refractory National Guards. 
 
 These battalions erected three barricades, one in the 
 Faubourg St. Honore, at the corner of the Eue d'Anjou, 
 and two in the Eue de Suresnes ; one at the corner of 
 the Eue d'Anjou, and the other at the corner of the 
 Eue Boissy-d'Anglas ; behind which they were now en- 
 trenched. 
 
 The soldiers, masters of the Elysee and the Eue des 
 Saussaies, immediately opened their fire. Sharp-shooters 
 mounted on the roof of the Elysee, and reported to the 
 spectators below the success of their shots. 
 
 Several officers, standing at the gates of the Palace, 
 borrowed arms from their men, giving them an example 
 of address and self-possession — courage they did not lack. 
 The attack was not at first pushed very rapidly, as the 
 time for the movements in the Eue Eoyale and Place de 
 la Concorde had not arrived ; but at about five o'clock in 
 the afternoon two detachments of infantry entered a house 
 in the Eue Aguesseau, separated from the Mairie by a 
 slight partition, forced the wall, and thus gained posses- 
 sion of the building, where they took numerous prisoners. 
 These were all decorated with the armlet of the Geneva 
 Convention, which they had probably stolen from th"B 
 ambulance next door. At the same time the two barri- 
 cades in the Eue d'Anjou were taken. Meanwhile, in the 
 Boulevard Haussmann the troops had carried the Caserne 
 Pepiniere, and advanced on the Gare St. Lazare ; while 
 General Ladmirault, advancing from the Park Monceau 
 
MOKTMAETRE SURROUNDED. 295 
 
 along the exterior boulevards, carried successively the de- 
 fences of Batignolles, thus opening the way to the ceme- 
 tery of Montmartre, already reached by the division under 
 General Montaudon, who had followed the same route 
 outside the walls as far as St. Ouen. The object on the 
 right was to attack Montmartre by its most accessible 
 side. Here the insurgents had gained their victory of 
 the 18th of March. The place was now strongly fortified, 
 and regarded by them as the citadel of the town. To at- 
 tack it in front would have been folly. It was necessary 
 to envelope it, rapidly to concentrate great masses of 
 troops, and to scale the heights at the mouth of the can- 
 non ; these, happily, could not do much to annoy the in- 
 vaders, owing to the steepness of the hill, which pre- 
 vented their being employed on assailants passing close 
 to the base. 
 
 While Montmartre was thus being surrounded pre- 
 paratory to the attack on the morrow, the troops of 
 General de Cissey, on the left bank of the river, were 
 equally successful. 
 
 Early on Monday morning, a body of troops was sent 
 to occupy the Gare Montparnasse, which they succeeded 
 in doing, after carrying several strong barricades in the 
 quarter of Plaisance. Several companies penetrated into 
 the dep6t by the entrance at the junction of the streets 
 Armorique and Cotentin. At their approach, the National 
 Guards who occupied this important post, and who were 
 entirely unprepared for so sudden an attack, hurriedly 
 evacuated the spot. It was immediately placed in a state 
 of defence, and occupied by the troops in great numbers. 
 
 The insurgents meanwhile hastened to construct two 
 strong barricades in the Eue de Eennes, at the corners of 
 the Eue du Vieux-Colombier and the Place St. Germain- 
 des-Pres. These barricades were armed with cannon, to 
 reply to the fire from the dep6t, and to prevent the troops 
 
396 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 from descending towards the Seine by the Eue Bonaparte. 
 They were supported by barricades in the latter street, 
 also by those in the Rue du Four. and Du Vieux-Colombier, 
 which protected the Place St. Sulpice. On the other 
 side of the depot was the formidable barricade of the 
 Croix Eouge, protecting the streets of Grenelle, Seyres, 
 and Cherche-Midi. 
 
 Finally, to complete this system of defence, and entirely 
 cover the Luxembourg, two barricades were erected in 
 the Rue Vaugirard, near the Eue Madame and the Eue 
 Bonaparte, and a third was established in the Eue Fleurus. 
 
 All these ramparts were defended by artillery. Less 
 important obstacles, accumulated in the side-streets, per- 
 mitted the Federals to establish posts of observation, 
 and facilitated the communications between the di£ferent 
 centres of operation. At about eleven in the morning the 
 soldiers, sheltered by a stone balustrade in front of the 
 dep6t, opened a violent fire of musketry on the barricades 
 in the Eue de Eennes; and bombs from cannon, estab- 
 lished at the corner of the Place, were sent whistling 
 through the air every ten minutes during the entire day 
 and most of the ensuing night. 
 
 Meanwhile, a manifestation in favor of the Government 
 troops had taken place in the Eue du Bac. At three 
 o'clock in the morning, the news of the entrance of the 
 Versaillese having reached this quarter, seven ISTational 
 Guards of the 16th battalion, among whom were M. 
 Duronchoux, colonel of a legion, and two ofl&cers, advanced 
 sword in hand to the corner of the streets of Grenelle and 
 Du Bac, where the Federals, headed by M. Sicard, member 
 of the Commune, were erecting a barricade. While M. 
 Duronchoux cried "Down with the Commune !" an oflBcer 
 tore down the red flag, and stamped it under foot. At 
 the same time the tricolor was planted at the corner of 
 the Eues du Bac and Varennes amidst shouts of " Vive la 
 
ATTEMPT TO CATCH BERGERET. 297 
 
 RepiiUique ! " ISText penetrating into the Eue cle G-renelle, 
 the Party of Order were fired upon by the insurgents, and 
 the Colonel Duronchoux severely wounded. 
 
 The example thus given was followed by all the National 
 Guards hostile to the Commune, who, grouping around 
 their comrades, preserved this quarter from the occupation 
 of the insurrection. A barricade was erected for this 
 purpose on the corner of the Rue Babylone, where the 
 Order Party entrenched themselves until they were joined, 
 at about one o'clock, by the 39th of the line. 
 
 The soldiers were received with clapping of hands and 
 shouts from all the windows of "Vive la ligiie!" Many 
 Communists were taken prisoners, among others a com- 
 mandant of artillery and a staff ofiicer, who v/ere taken to 
 the Babylone Barrack and immediately shot. 
 
 The troops of General Vinoy had meanwhile descended 
 along the banks of the Seine, and taken possession of the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 It was known that on the 21st of May, the day of the 
 entrance of the troops, the Citizen Bergeret had passed 
 the night at the palace of the Presidency of the Corps 
 Legislatif. M. de Lanzieres de Themines, oflBcer of the 
 2d regiment of the Infantry of Marine, received an order 
 to go and arrest him. 
 
 His means of resistance were not known, but it was 
 expected that he would sell his life and liberty dearly. 
 The young oflBcer took with him twenty men, passed by 
 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, broke the gates of the 
 Hotel of the Presidency, and entered the court. It was 
 deserted. They then entered the apartments. 
 
 Bergeret had slept in the bed of the President, after 
 having passed the great part of the night in an orgie, the 
 remains of which were scattered round the room. Many 
 arms were found, besides many papers and portraits which 
 the General had not had time to destroy. As for finding 
 
 13* 
 
298 THE PARIS COMMUjSTE. 
 
 "himself," all searcli was vain. Ho had prudently de- 
 camped at the approach of the marines. 
 
 M. Hottot, chief surgeon of the ambulance of the Corps 
 Legislatif, lent his aid to the ofScer and soldiers in mak- 
 ing the necessary perquisition. 
 
 Among the different papers diseoyered we will insert 
 two letters from members of the Commune who have 
 rendered themselves particularly conspicuous. The first 
 is written by Paschal Grousset, and addressed to Bergeret 
 personally. We here find the buffoon-like coating with 
 which the Delegate of Foreign Affairs surrounded all his 
 acts. 
 
 " FOBEIGH " LiBESTT, EqUAI.ITT, 
 
 Affaiks. Fkateknity. 
 
 Delegation. '. Commune of Paris. 
 
 " Mt Dear Bee^eret : — I beg you to give a certain 
 parade in sending a mission to the Commandant-in-Chief 
 of the 3d Prussian Army Corps. 
 
 " It is necessary to know officially at what date the Ger- 
 mans will evacuate the forts on the right bank, so as not 
 to let them fall into the hands of the Versaillese. 
 
 " The despatch should be delivered by a staff' ofiicer sent 
 
 en 2JarUmentaire, and followed at least by a large guard. 
 
 " Saint et Egalite. 
 
 "Paschal Geoiisset, 
 
 " Delegate of Foreign Affairs." 
 
 The other letter is from Eaoul Kigault : 
 
 Prefecture of Police. 
 
 Cabinet of the Prefect. 
 
 " Pabis, 23a March 1871. 
 
 " Mt Dear Bergeret : — I send you Bouillon, who is 
 an intelligent and energetic fellow. 
 
 " He was Commissary of Police from September until 
 the 31st of October, when he was discharged. For this 
 reason I have named him Commissary to the Staff. This 
 
EIGHTIKG AT DISADVANTAGE. 299 
 
 position exists, and while rendering yon other services, 
 his title will permit him to execute any arrest or sum- 
 mons which might be useful to you. 
 " I press your hand. 
 
 " Eaoul Eigault." 
 
 Other letters were from Lullier, Lefran9ais, and Ber- 
 geret himself. 
 
 It has been seen that in all the fighting throughout the 
 day, the National Guards were in every instance forced 
 back, and to such an extent that they repeated their 
 usual declaration of being betrayed and abandoned by 
 their oflBcers. Nevertheless, they enjoyed extraordinary 
 advantages over their opponents in the struggle, who 
 were obliged to attack vv^ithout any protection, while they 
 fought behind solid barricades. 
 
 In the centre of the city shells fell without any inter- 
 mission during the entire day, rendering circulation 
 almost impossible, and doing a great deal of damage. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Attack on the Place Clichy— The Rue Lepic— Manner of attack— Assault of the 
 MouIin-de-la-Galette— Volunteers of the Seine— Capture of Montmartre— 
 The barricades of the exterior boulevards taken— Boulevard Magenta— Death 
 and burial of Dombrowski— Place de la Concorde— C'hapelle Expiatoire car- 
 ried by the troops— Fighting in the Boulevard Malesherbes— Places de la 
 Madeleine and Concorde taken — Conflagration in the Rue Royale— Persons 
 smothered in the flames— Ministry of Marine— Ministry of Finances — Con- 
 flagration of the Tuileries— The Louvre saved— Barricade of the Place de 
 rOpera— Church of the Trinity— Chaussee d'Antin— Place VendSme taken— 
 The Bourse saved— Bank of France bravely defended— Cruelty of the insur- 
 gents — Combat at Montparnasse and in the Rue de Rennes — Defeat of the 
 insurgents— The Croix Rouge taken— Place Saint-Sulpice— Conflagrations on 
 the left bank— Montrouge— Frightful slaughter at the Church of Saint Pierre 
 —Government circular— The Expiatory Chapel— Barricades erected during 
 the night— Assassination of Chaudey— His funeral— Attempt made by several 
 Communists to escape. 
 
 A T early dawn on Tuesday, the troops attacking the 
 -LJL 9th Arrondissement were directed against the ^ew 
 Opera, the Eue de la Chausee-d'Antin, the Place de la 
 Trinite, and the barricade at the Place Clichy, driving 
 towards these different points the Federals who had not 
 yet taken refuge there. 
 
 The attack of the barricade of the Place Clichy was the 
 first serious movement of the day. Early in the morning 
 a violent combat of artillery was begun between the Pare 
 Moriceaux and Montmartre, while t.he batteries placed in 
 front of the barricade defended the approach by the Place 
 de I'Europe, But the patriotic energy of the soldiers 
 triumphed over these obstacles. Towards seven o'clock a 
 part of the corps of General Clinchant, headed by the 3d 
 regiment of the line, Colonel Breard, crossed with their 
 
FORMIDABLE BARRICADES. 301 
 
 cannon the Place de I'Enrope, and established a barricade 
 under the enemy's fire, which soon silenced the guns of 
 their opponents. Soon, by a combined movement, these 
 troops, with those established in the College Chaptal, 
 rushed on the barricade and carried it rapidly amidst a 
 perfect rain of bullets and bombs. 
 
 The Federals then retreated towards the barricade at 
 the junction of the Avenues Clichy and Saint Ouen, but 
 the soldiers by a rapid detour, stopped them on the way 
 and took many prisoners, while the others escaped into 
 the side-streets leading towards the cemetery of Mont- 
 martre. 
 
 A little before this successful attack, another column 
 had taken possession, at about nine in the morning, of 
 the Mairie of Batignolles, which had been abandoned by 
 M. Malon, member of the Commune. He had taken 
 refuge at Montmartre, directing all the munitions to the 
 same place. 
 
 It was now that the investing march on Montmartre 
 was begun which, by the promptitude and ability with 
 which it was executed, saved the city from so much 
 misery. 
 
 During the attack of the Place Clichy, a column skirt- 
 ing the streets Cardinet and Balagny executed a flank 
 movement, taking Montmartre in the rear, while the 
 troops of General Ladmirault attacked the barricade of 
 the Rue Lepic and the boulevard de Clichy. 
 
 This was one of the most formidable of all the barri- 
 cades, both from its position and the manner in which it 
 was constructed. It was composed of two lines at right 
 angles, one crossing the Boulevard de Clichy, and the 
 other the entrance to the Rue Lepic (formerly Rue de 
 I'Empereur), which mounts to the Heights of Montmartre. 
 Five 12-pounders defend the latter, which alone remained 
 in the power of the insurgents, raking with their fire the 
 
303 THE PAEIS COMMUiq"E. 
 
 Eue Blanche, the Kue Fontaine, and theRue de Bruxelles, 
 which open on the Boulevard de Clichy. 
 
 During the imperial rule large avenues had been opened 
 in every part of Paris, which, in a military point of view, 
 were considered favorable to the suppression of any insur- 
 rection, always on the hypothesis that the troops alone 
 would be possessed of artillery. Unfortunately in this 
 case the insurgents possessed cannon — indeed, a great 
 many cannon — together with mitrailleuses of every size 
 and description. It, consequently, became very difficult 
 to take barricades thus defended without an enormous 
 loss of life. Long cannonades and numberless flank 
 movements were the result. 
 
 The attack was ordinarily begun by two guns firing 
 alternately at the barricade from the corner of the nearest 
 street. The cannon being charged, was pushed rapidly 
 forward, with the mouth a little beyond the angle of the 
 wall, quickly pointed and discharged, and then withdrawn 
 by means of cords into its former sheltered position. 
 Solid shot was generally employed, it being more efficacious 
 in making a breach in a wall of paving-stones. Bombs 
 and grape-shot were only used by the artillery in the 
 large squares and avenues. 
 
 When a sufficient breach was made, the soldiers ran one 
 by one along the sides of the streets, stopping in the doors 
 to fire, and then advancing as before. Others entered the 
 houses, and fired from the windows. The insurgents 
 executed the same manoeuvres, hiding in the windows 
 and alleys. These skirmishes often lasted very long, but 
 an assault was rarely necessary ; for the insurgents, seeing 
 themselves about to be surrounded, generally abandoned 
 the barricade. One hundred insurgents defended the bar- 
 ricade in the Rue Lepic, while others occupied the houses 
 on the corner, and fired from the windows on the troops. 
 From the manner in which the Federals fought, it was 
 
A BAEEICADE SUKPRISED. 303 
 
 very difficult to put many of them liors de conibat. It was 
 necessary that a ball should just graze the top of the 
 barricade in order to strike one of them. Their bodies 
 being protected by a thick wall of stone, they were only 
 to be touched on the forehead or the hands, which they 
 were obhged to leaye unprotected. 
 
 The cannonade and musketry fire lasted from nine 
 o'clock till twelye, when four soldiers of the line, crawling 
 across the boulevard, in spite of the bullets and the 
 menacing mouths of the cannon, rose suddenly in front 
 of the barricade, and fired upon the terrified insurgents, 
 who, believing themselves assailed by an entire regiment, 
 fled in every direction. At the same time two columns 
 advanced from the Eue Blanche and the Eue de Bruxelles, 
 and the tricolor was planted on the barricade. 
 
 The red flag of the Commune, pierced with balls, had 
 been transported by one of the insurgents to the barricade 
 in the Place Pigalle, the attack of which was immediately 
 begun. 
 
 The r61es were now changed. The troops entrenched 
 behind the barricade of the Eue Lepic opened fire on the 
 insurgents, but the contest was very unequal. Although 
 the Federals had been unable to carry with them but one 
 of their guns, those remaining were rendered useless by 
 the want of artillerymen and ammunition, the attacking 
 column being entirely composed of soldiers of the line. 
 The combat had lasted two hours, when a body of troops 
 suddenly appeared in the Eue Houdon, opposite the barri- 
 cade, and the Federals hastily retreated. 
 
 Amongst the number of their dead, the body of a poor 
 baker-boy was found, who had been forced by them to aid 
 in the defence of the barricade. 
 
 The quarter being thus entirely conquered, a search for 
 arms was immediately instituted, when a woman, leading 
 an officer into a cellar — where, she said, several guns were 
 
304 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 hidden — suddenly drew a revolver, and shot him through 
 the head. The woman was immediately arrested, and 
 the body of the oflQcer was carried to the cemetery of 
 Montmartre. 
 
 Meanwhile, after the capture of the Place Clichy, a 
 second column had penetrated into the Kue des Carrieres, 
 where another barricade had been raised. Here the in- 
 surgents held out until the troops, masters of Saint Ouen, 
 had turned the cemetery, and placed the Eue des Carrieres 
 between two fires. 
 
 A dozen National Guards remained alone on the barri- 
 cade, and refused to surrender. They were taken, and 
 immediately shot. 
 
 The troops now advanced to the assault of the Moulin 
 de la Galette, the highest point of the Buttes Montmartre. 
 After an active engagement of twenty-five minutes, the 
 72d and 51st regiments, aided by the Volunteers of the 
 Seine, carried the place, and planted the tricolor on the 
 heights. 
 
 The Volunteers of the Seine, who took so active a part 
 in the capture of Montmartre, belonged to the brigade of 
 General Pradier, in the 1st army corps. This battalion 
 consisted of 300 ofiicers who had volunteered their services 
 to the Assembly at tlie outbreak of the insurrection, and 
 who heroically fulfilled their engagements. Out of the 
 three hundred, sixty-two were killed or wounded. 
 
 One of these, the Commandant Durrieu, rendered him- 
 self particularly remarkable for his courage. 
 
 The 1st corps advanced toward Montmartre. The fire 
 from the barricade in the Rue Marcadet troubled the march 
 of the column. Twenty-five volunteers, with a company 
 of soldiers, carried the position. Durrieu proposed imme- 
 diately to assault the heights : 
 
 ''AUons-y!" replied the captain, simply. 
 
DEATH OF ABKAVE OFFICER. 305 
 
 Before advancing, officers and men, heated by the march, 
 took a glass of wine at a cafe in the avenue. 
 
 " The cross was given me a few days ago," said Dnrrieu, 
 " bat I do not wear it, because I have not received the 
 embrace. I feel that if I had it on my breast, it would 
 bring me good fortune," and he drew from his pocket a 
 cross which a friend had given him. 
 
 A captain, who was decorated, immediately advanced, 
 fastened on the cross, and gave him the embrace. Tears 
 of joy stood in the eyes of the brave Durrieu, when, sud- 
 denly, his face grew clouded, and taking a pencil, he wrote 
 on the shutter of the house these words : 
 
 " In case of accident, carry Durrieu, 21 Eue de Torcy." 
 
 The assault was commanded, and the height captured. 
 A barricade in the Rue Fontenelle was also carried. Dur- 
 rieu was left with seven men to guard it, while the plateau 
 of Moulin-de-la-Galette was attacked and taken ; when his 
 comrades returned, Durrieu was dead. He was thirty-five 
 years of age. 
 
 Meanwhile, another column, skirting the Rue du Rem- 
 part, mounted the heights by the Rue Fontaine-du-But, 
 on the opposite side, and took possession of the Chateau 
 Rouge. 
 
 The two columns met on the top, where they found 
 the guns still loaded as they Avere abandoned by the Fed- 
 erals. 
 
 During this time all had been confusion at Montmartre. 
 Early in the morning the Federals were informed by their 
 General that they had been betrayed ; that ammunition 
 and reinforcements had been refused them, and that the 
 gates of Saint-Ouen and Clignancourt had been opened to 
 the Versailles troops. 
 
 The movement executed by the soldiers along the Rue 
 du Rempart had led the insurgents to suppose that they 
 had entered those gates. 
 
306 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The heights were soon almost abandoned, and the troops 
 met with but a slight resistance. The different columns 
 having united at Montmartre, a part descended the hill 
 and attacked the Mairie of the 11th Arrondissement, 
 from the windows of which, as well as from the surround- 
 ing houses, the insurgents kept up a quick musketry fire, 
 The combat, however, was not of long duration ; many 
 of the insurgents made good their retreat, while a great 
 number were taken, or surrendered themselves prisoners, 
 leaving without defenders the barricades in the Rues-Ger- 
 main-Pilon and Houdon. 
 
 The latent opposition to the Commune which had 
 reigned in the greater part of the Parisian population 
 soon made itself manifest, even at Montmartre. As soon 
 as the people discovered that the regulars had occupied 
 definitively all" the important positions, they hastened to 
 applaud the soldiers. The search for arms immediately 
 began, and, after laying their guns and bayonets on the 
 pavements, the inhabitants threw from the windows cart- 
 ridge-boxes, uniforms, and every war-like accoutrement. 
 
 At the capture of Montmartre the Government gained 
 possession of 150 cannon and mitrailleuses. The batteries 
 menacing Paris were removed, while others were estab- 
 lished above the Chateau Rouge to command the heights 
 of the Buttes Chaumont and Pere-Lachaise, where it 
 was foreseen the insurgents would entrench themselves 
 strongly. 
 
 The taking of Montmartre was the principal event of 
 the day, and indeed we might add, of the occupation of 
 Paris. It was universally believed that the insurrection 
 would here make its strongest resistance. In the eyes of 
 the defenders of the Commune it possessed a certain pres- 
 tige, for here the movement of the 18th of March had had 
 its origin and decisive success. Montmartre, supported 
 by the Buttes Chaumont and Pere-Lachaise, assured to 
 
MONTMARTRE CAPTURED. 307 
 
 the defenders a position most dangerous for the rest of 
 Paris, which tlie heiglits entirely dominated, particularly 
 the richer quarters. From the disasters which everywhere 
 marked the retreat of the Federals, it is not to be doubted 
 that, had they remained in possession of the heights, the 
 portion of the city lying on the right bank of the Seine 
 would have been one mass of ruins. 
 
 This bombardment was foreseen, and had excited most 
 cruel apprehensions in the central quarters. If it did not 
 take place, no honor is due to the conscientious scru- 
 ples of the chiefs of the Commune, who have sufficiently 
 proved their utter want of any feelings of humanity. 
 This important success was chiefly due to the divisions, 
 uncertainty and divergency of action, which were manifest 
 in all the military operations of the Commune, and also 
 to the sudden entry of the army into Paris, it being ex- 
 pected that the troops would be kept in check a long time 
 at the ramparts. 
 
 Montmartre taken, and the quarters belov/ it occupied, 
 the barricades of the exterior boulevard retained little 
 power of resistance. That of the Place Blanche, attacked 
 by the Eue Vintimille and the boulevard, was abandoned 
 as soon as its defenders recognized the regular troops in 
 the interior of Montmartre. They retreated to the Place 
 Pigalle, where a desperate struggle took place, lasting 
 three hours, at the end of which time the troops became 
 masters of the barricade. 
 
 When the army had thus taken Montmartre and several 
 other important points of the same zone, it remained 
 necessary to gain possession of Belleville, Pere-Lachaise, 
 the Buttes Chaumont, and Menilmontant. To invest 
 these points, which were all strongly occupied by the in- 
 surgents, it was necessary first to take the Boulevard 
 Magenta, and next the Place du Chateau-d'Eau, a stra- 
 tegic position of first importance, commanding, as it 
 
308 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 does, the Bastille, Belleville, the Faubourg Saint Antoine, 
 the Boulevard Prince-Eugene, and the Place du Trone. 
 
 The Boulevard Magenta, about a mile and a quarter in 
 length, was defended by four formidable barricades estab- 
 lished across the avenue, and by about twenty others built 
 in its transversal streets. 
 
 These four barricades were situated at the entry of the 
 Boulevard Ornano, at the corner of the Eue Eochechouart, 
 before the church of Saint-Laurent, and the last at the 
 junction of the streets Magnan, Dieu, and Chateau 
 d'Eau. 
 
 The corps of General Ladmirault, advancing along the 
 Boulevard Eochechouart and the Avenue Trudaine, met 
 with a stubborn resistance at the College Eollin. After 
 gaining possession of this building, an attack was made 
 on the barricade of the Boulevard Ornano, which was car- 
 ried after a long and severe effort. The capture of this 
 barricade was of great importance in enabling the army to 
 make use of the artillery of the insurgents, and with it to 
 attack the other defences of the Boulevard Magenta. 
 
 The barricades Eochechouart and Saint-Laurent fell in 
 their turn, and the attack was immediately directed 
 against the fourth barricade, which was the- key of the 
 position. Here, however, the insurgents held good until 
 Friday at noon. 
 
 It was during the attack on the Boulevard Ornano that 
 Dombrowski, commander-in-chief of the army of the 
 Commune, received his death-wound. 
 
 Dombrowski did not escape the fate of all those whom 
 the Commune exalted to eminent positions, who were ap- 
 plauded one day, imprisoned the next. Accused of trea- 
 son in abandoning Neuilly, his arrest was decided upon 
 Monday evening, and immediately executed. 
 
 Military events demanding a supreme effort on the part 
 of the Commune, he was set at liberty, when he replied to 
 
DOMBROWSKI 
 
 Commune of Pans . 
 18 7 1 
 
DEATH 01" DOMBROWSKI. 309 
 
 their suspicions by courageously confronting the enemy 
 at the Boulevard Ornano. 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon, during the attack, he arrived at 
 the barricade. He was on horseback, followed by several 
 aides-de-camp. He had hardly been five minutes on the 
 scene of battle when a ball struck him in the abdomen, 
 inflicting a mortal wound. 
 
 Placed on a litter, he was carried by four insurgents to 
 the hospital of Lariboisiere, where every effort was made 
 to save him by Dr. Cusco, the surgeon-in-chief. An hour 
 after, he expired amidst most horrible sufferings. His last 
 words were these : " Kill me at once, I suffer too much." 
 
 This was at about seven o'clock Tuesday evening. At 
 half-past eight, the regular troops being still advancing, 
 Dombrowski's chief of the staff. Commandant Brioncel, 
 arrived at the hospital followed by the escort of the 
 General. 
 
 " Is the General dead?" asked Brioncel. 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied the attendant. 
 
 " Then give me his body." 
 
 The corpse of Dombrowski was placed in a cab and 
 delivered to his staff. 
 
 At this moment the Director of Lariboisiere arrived. 
 
 " Why are you taking away this body ? " he asked from 
 the soldiers of the Commune. 
 
 " It is our General ; we don't wish the Versaillese to 
 have this corpse," they replied, in giving the order " To 
 the Hotel de Ville." 
 
 As the carriage started, an artilleryman threw himself 
 precipitately from his horse, and approaching Dom- 
 browski, kissed him on the forehead and said, " General, 
 I will avenge you ! " 
 
 He then withdrew, but, as he mounted his horse, a 
 baU struck him in the forehead, killing him on the spot. 
 The carriage left immediately for the Hotel de Ville. 
 
310 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 In tlie court of the Hotel, Dombrowski's remains were 
 taken from the carriage and carried into the building, 
 where they were exposed until midnight. His portrait 
 was taken in crayon by Pilotell. At midnight the body 
 was transported to Pere Lachaise, under the direction of 
 Brigadier Cheron, of the 254th battalion, where it remained 
 unburied until Thursday morning, forgotten by the Com- 
 mune in the confusion and terror of that time. On 
 Thursday morning, however, one of the members, accom- 
 panied by the Colonel, brother of the General, and several 
 ofiicers, repaired to the cemetery. 
 
 The body was exposed on a litter, dressed in a Polish- 
 jacket, with the limbs enveloped in linen. An oaken 
 coflRn had been prepared ; the blankets of two National 
 Guards present were folded in the bottom of the cofiin, 
 and the body placed upon them wrapped in a red flag. 
 
 Commandant Brunereau then called in the artillery- 
 men, marines, and all who were on guard in the cemetery. 
 Each kissed in turn the forehead of the General, and the 
 coffin was closed. 
 
 It was then carried to an empty vault, in which it was 
 placed, after the brother of Dombrowski had written a few 
 words in pencil on the lid. 
 
 Citizen Vermorel then delivered an address, in which 
 he expressed himself with great rage, not against the reg- 
 ular army, but against the horde of drunkards and cow- 
 ards who had deserted their chief, leaving him to die alone 
 on the barricade. 
 
 While the corps of Generals Ladmirault and Clinchant 
 were engaged in taking Montmartre, the Place de la Con- 
 corde had been the scene of a strange struggle. The 
 Versailles troops were in possession of the Palais de ITn- 
 dustrie, and of the Palais Bourbon, seat of the Corps 
 Legislatif, which stands on the other side of the river, fa- 
 cing the Ministry of the Marine, which was held by the 
 
EFFECTS OF THE FIRING. 311 
 
 insurgents. The latter were also strongly fortified in the 
 Tuileries Gardens. 
 
 A contest was conducted for hours across the four sides 
 of this square, and had the insurgents retained possession 
 of Montmartre, the position would have been untenable 
 for the troops. As it was, they were for some time little 
 able to do more than hold their own. The enthroned 
 cities of France suffered severely in this artillery battle, 
 Lille being entirely destroyed, and all the others receiving 
 some damage. The Egyptian obelisk, though attained by 
 several shells, remained uninjured, while the ruins of stone 
 balustrades and beautiful fountains of bronze covered the 
 ground. 
 
 In the Boulevard Haussnmnn an attack was begun early 
 in the morning on the Expiatory Chapel, held by the in- 
 surgents, which lasted with more or less intensity until 
 four in the afternoon, when an order was given to the 
 troops to advance down the Boulevard and force the 
 position. 
 
 This was effected most gallantly, and the insurgents 
 fled. 
 
 In the Faubourg St. Honor e, the attack on the barri- 
 cade of the Eue Boissy d'Anglas was commenced at an 
 early hour. At five in the afternoon an advance was 
 made, and the position carried. The barricade of the Eue 
 Eoyale was thus taken in the rear. 
 
 In the Boulevard Malesherbes the contest was most vio- 
 lent, and lasted many hours. The troo]3S, having gained 
 possession of the barricade in the Eue Ville I'Eveque, at- 
 tacked from there the Eue de 1' Arcade, where the insur- 
 gents were in great force, both behind the barricade and 
 in the houses. The traces left by the battle were number- 
 less. Trees were cut down, and houses riddled with bul- 
 lets and shells, while the columns and steps of the Made- 
 leine were covered with many scars. 
 
312 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Late in the afternoon the defences of the insurgents 
 were carried, and the terrace of the Tuileries snccumbed, 
 at the same time leaving the Place de la Concorde and the 
 Place de la Madeleine in the possession of the troops. 
 
 The insurgents, in retreating, spread fire and desolation 
 in their path. In the Eue Eoyale, the houses were forci- 
 bly entered by the Communists, petroleum was flung on 
 all the furniture and woodwork, and in some cases thrown 
 on the upper stories by means of fire-engines, so that in a 
 short, time the whole range of buildings from the Fau- 
 bourg St. Honore to the church (on the left, looking to- 
 ward the Madeleine), was a mass of ruins. In the Fau- 
 bourg, several houses were totally destroyed, and others 
 greatly injured, while on the opposite side of the Eue 
 Eoyale, on the corner of the Eue St. Honore, two or three 
 houses were also made a prey to the flames. 
 
 Any attempt to extinguish the conflagration was pun- 
 ished by the insurgents with instant death, and many 
 persons who had taken refuge in their cellars, to escape 
 the dangers of shot and shell, were smothered by the 
 smoke. 
 
 In 'No. 1 Faubourg St. Honore, seven persons thus be- 
 came the victims of death, and their bodies were after- 
 wards taken from beneath the ruins. This building was 
 entered early in the morning by several National Guards, 
 who informed the proprietor, M. Aurelly, that they were 
 about to set fire to his house, but that, as he had been 
 always kind to them, they would allow him to escape. He 
 begged leave to inform his servants and some friends who 
 had taken refuge in his cellars, but was told that if he did 
 so he should be burned with them, and he was forced to 
 leave the unhappy victims to their fate. 
 
 The story of two of these, man and wife, was very sad. 
 Early in the morning, their son, a lad of eighteen, being 
 wounded by the bursting of a shell, was carried to an am- 
 
INCENDIARISM. 313 
 
 bulance in the Faubourg St. Honore. He called so in- 
 cessantly for his parents that they were finally sent for. 
 
 They set out immediately to join him, accompanied by 
 their daughter, a young girl of twenty. The bullets were 
 falling like rain. The young girl was shot through the 
 heart, and the agonized parents were obliged to hasten on, 
 leaving the dead body of their daughter in the streets. At 
 the Eue Eoyale, it seemed madness to proceed, and the 
 poor people took refuge in the cellar of No. 1, until the 
 firing should have somewhat abated. Here Death over- 
 took his prey, while the son called wildly for the parents 
 who would never answer. 
 
 Among the victims were three young men who had 
 hidden here to prevent being forced to join the forces of 
 the Commune. 
 
 The design of the insurgents had been to fire the whole 
 quarter, but time was wanting; and when the troops forced 
 the barricades near the church, the incendiaries were obliged 
 to take flight. 
 
 It is not to be doubted that the immense building on 
 the Place de la Concorde, the Ministry of Marine, had 
 also been doomed by the insurgents to destruction. The 
 following order was addressed to the Commandant Brunei, 
 who was lodged in the Ministry : 
 
 In d quarter of an hour the Tuileries will be on fire. 
 Remove the wounded from the Ministry and Uoio it up. 
 
 " I like that,'' said Brunei. 
 
 The inner court was filled with materials to aid in the 
 defence of the adjoining barricades, large cases filled with 
 cartridges and shells, together with eight barrels of gun- 
 powder and two large carboys of petroleum. 
 
 The barricades on the Place de la Concorde and the Eue 
 de Eivoli having been defended to the last extremity, the 
 Federals began their retreat and the Marine was evacuated. 
 14 
 
314 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 Orders were given to one of the men to empty, as soon 
 as all had gone, the vessels of petroleum near the ammu- 
 nition. The man was fortunately somewhat the worse for 
 drink, and while seeking for some rope or tow to commu- 
 nicate the fire to the combustible material, he was accosted 
 by the superintendent-in-chief of the hotel, who, partly by 
 argument and partly by threats, induced him to abandon 
 his undertaking. 
 
 In the Eue St. Florentin, a cantiniere while requisition- 
 ing linen, sugar, and wine from the concierge of one of 
 the houses, said to him on leaving, " Take care of your- 
 self, for all this quarter is to be burnt to ashes." This 
 proved too true with regard to the Ministry of Finance, 
 which was set on fire in the morning. All day long pieces 
 of blackened paper, debris from the archives of the city, 
 were wafted through the air, showering down in the 
 streets, and in many cases falling far out in the country. 
 
 The following order was found on the body of an insur- 
 gent killed fighting in the Eue Oastiglione : 
 
 MiKiSTEEE Paris, le . 18 
 
 de la Gruerre. 
 
 CABINET Catoinet du Ministre 
 du ministre. de la Cruerre. 
 
 Ai>^ citoyen Lucas 
 
 Faites de suite jiamber Finances et 
 venez nous retrouver. 
 
 Timbre : 4 Prairial, an. 79. 
 
 iministere ^ 
 
 DE LA GUEKKE. TH. FEEEE. 
 
THE TUILEEIES IN" FLAMES. 315 
 
 This was not the worst disaster. At about nine in 
 the evening a strong volume of fire rose high in the 
 air, revealing to the stupefied inhabitants the pavilion 
 of the Tuileries in flames. The fire spread fast and 
 soon embraced the entire building, while every possi- 
 bility of checking the flames had been prevented by 
 the Commune, they having smeared the principal parts 
 of the structure with petroleum. This, added to the 
 dryness of the weather, which had rendered the tim- 
 ber-work dry and inflammable, caused a most terrible 
 conflagration. Had a breath of air been stirring, the 
 whole of the beautiful Eue de Kivoli would have been 
 in flames. 
 
 Meanwhile every efibrt had been made to save the Louvre. 
 On Monday night all the guardians of the Louvre had been 
 taken prisoners and kept as hostages at the mayoralty of 
 Saiht-Germain-l'Auxerrois, where they were several times 
 on the point of being shot. 
 
 All day Tuesday, numerous carriages charged vdtli pow- 
 der passed through the court of the Louvre on their way 
 to the Tuileries. In the evening the guardians who had 
 been taken prisoners were allowed to return to their homes 
 exhausted with fatigue. 
 
 In the night a terrible explosion was heard, and the 
 Louvre shook to its foundations. The central portion of 
 the Tuileries, where the combustible matter had been 
 accumulated, had just blown up. Soon the palace was 
 but an immense furnace, the flames colored here and 
 there in a fantastic manner according to the mineral oils 
 and ingredients which were burned. 
 
 What souvenirs and riches lost ! 
 
 The evening before, eleven wagons, bearing a portion 
 of the collections of M. Thiers, had been brought here, 
 and all were consumed. 
 
 The flames were approaching with rapidity the Library 
 
316 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 of the Louvre, and it was time that every effort should be 
 made to save it. 
 
 M. Barbet de Jouy caused the delegates of the Artistic 
 Federation then in the Louvre to be seized. Iron chains 
 were placed across the gates to prevent the entrance of the 
 Federals into the court, they having already stolen the 
 keys. 
 
 Unhappily the flames attacked the Library, where, not- 
 withstanding the efforts of the guardians, the fire was not 
 extinguished until after the arrival of the Division Verge, 
 when the firemen, aided by a company of engineers, finally 
 mastered the conflagration. 
 
 Thus, with the exception of the Library, the rich collec- 
 tions contained in the Louvre have been saved. The 
 building itself has suffered some damage from shells, all 
 of which, however, can be easily repaired. The fire in the 
 Tuileries continued to smoulder for several days. 
 
 After gaining possession of the barricade of the Eue 
 Eoyale, a portion of the troops of General Douay advanced 
 along the Boulevard de la Madeleine, where they took pos- 
 session of the barricade in the Eue Luxembourg after four 
 hours' hard fighting. The Maison Griroux was occupied 
 in force, and the surrounding houses suffered severely in 
 consequence. Over sixty dead were left upon the ground 
 after this engagement. 
 
 While this success was being achieved by the soldiers 
 of General Douay, the troops on the Boulevards Hauss- 
 mann and Malesherbes advanced to attack the strong 
 barricades on the Place de I'Opera and Chaussee d'Antin, 
 preparatory to an assault on the Place Vend6me. 
 
 The first of these barricades, which commanded the 
 Boulevard des Capucines, and the Eues Auber and Halevy, 
 was guarded by the 117th battalion of !N"ational Guards. 
 The attack was begun about noon, and conducted on both 
 
PROGBESS OF THE FIGHTIKG. 317 
 
 sides with great fury, the click of the musket and the roar 
 of the cannon, never ceasing for a moment. 
 
 The barricade was defended vaUantly, and during sev- 
 eral hours the troops were unable to make the assault. 
 They first gained possession of all the streets opening on 
 the boulevards, and at the corners of those on the north- 
 ern side soldiers were posted, who aided the attack in 
 the Eues Auber and Halevy, where it was chiefly con- 
 ducted. 
 
 At about five o'clock the troops penetrated into the 
 New Opera, The doors were forced, and Lieutenant 
 Ziegler, who commanded the first detachment of the 
 attack, entered the building and summoned the in- 
 surgents to surrender, under penalty of being instantly 
 shot. 
 
 He was answered by shouts of defiance ; and an ofiicer, 
 who appeared to be the chief of the band, instantly drew 
 his revolver and aimed it at his head. The lieutenant, how- 
 ever, was too quick for him, and in the act of firing he 
 fell dead upon the ground. The remaining insurgents 
 were thrown into confusion, and soon surrendered their 
 guns. 
 
 Several soldiers then mounted to the roof, where one, 
 half enveloped in a huge tricolor, crawled cautiously up 
 the balustrade and planted the flag on an angle of the 
 building. The most difficult part of his task, however, 
 had yet to be accomplished. On the 15th of May, the 
 day on which the first attempt was made to overthrow 
 the Column Vendome, the red flag of the Commune had 
 been planted above the great bronze statue of Apollo, who 
 stands on the highest pinnacle of the Opera, holding his 
 gilt lyre above his head. The red banner had to be re- 
 moved from the lyre, by no means an easy task, the figure 
 being thirty feet high, and within direct range of the in- 
 surgents below. 
 
318 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 Several attempts were made by the soldiers to shoot it 
 down with their chassepots ; but this, though repeated 
 many times, proved a failure. One man, more daring 
 than the rest, began the ascent of the gigantic figure, and 
 climbing from limb to limb, reached the top in safety. 
 He tore down with his two hands the blood-red banner, 
 while bullets whistled round him, striking every mo- 
 ment the pedestal of the statue, but leaving him un- 
 touched. 
 
 The Opera House being taken, the position was fast 
 becoming untenable for the insurgents, when a column 
 of the line debouched along the boulevard from the Eue 
 Drouot, and advanced in the direction of the Place de 
 I'Opera, thus taking the barricade in the rear. 
 
 The insurgents hastened to make good their retreat by 
 the neighboring streets. Two officers of the 117th bat- 
 talion, not wishing to leave their cannon and ammunition 
 in the possession of the army, harnessed themselves, with 
 several of their men, to the gun and the artillery caisson, 
 and dragged them away, notwithstanding a perfect shower 
 of bullets and shells. One of the officers carried in one 
 hand the red flag, while with the other he helped to draw 
 the cannon. 
 
 Meanwliile a neighboring street, the Rue de la Chaussee 
 d'Antin, had also been the scene of a long conflict. 
 
 Early in the morning of Tuesday, the troops, who had 
 become masters of the Depot St. Lazare the night before, 
 advanced to the assault of the Church of the Trinity, 
 feebly defended by barricades at the foot of the Rues 
 Blanche and Clichy. 
 
 Two or three hundred insurgents had established them- 
 selves in the church, and were not dislodged without a 
 violent effort. Cannon were brought to bear upon them, 
 and after a valiant assault on the part of the soldiers, they 
 
HATE TOWARDS GENDARMES. 319 
 
 were obliged to surrender. The prisoners were marched 
 out in file surrounded by soldiers, and nothing could be 
 more wretched than their appearance. 
 
 At the head marched a delegate of the Commune, well 
 dressed, and with a resolute air, but the remainder was a 
 pell-mell of individuals with every kind of costume. 
 They all seemed ready to drop with fatigue. 
 
 A large crowd collected as they passed, manifesting the 
 most profound indignation, when an incident occurred 
 which shows with what regretable facility the Parisian 
 population will pass from one extreme to another. 
 
 As the prisoners advanced, two gendarmes were seen 
 approaching in an opposite direction, and were received 
 with loud acclamations by the crowd. One of them re- 
 marked, philosophically, " Three days ago these same 
 people would have helped to cut us to pieces." In fact, 
 the whole body of gendarmes had been the object of the 
 most violent vituperation and the greatest cruelty during 
 the reign of the Commune, and woe to the unfortunate 
 member who fell into his enemies' hands. He was shown 
 no mercy. 
 
 The Church of the Trinity being taken, a violent con- 
 test ensued for the possession of the barricade at the end 
 of the Eue de la Chausee d'Antin. Cannon were placed 
 on the porch of the church, which commanded the street, 
 and were fired during the entire afternoon without inter- 
 mission. The insurgents replied with a cannon and mit- 
 railleuses, considerably damaging the church and neigh- 
 boring houses. One shell pierced the steeple j another 
 penetrated through the dome into the interior ; while a 
 third left its mark just below the gilt face of the clock. 
 By a chance which seems almost miraculous, not one of 
 the three beautiful statues which decorate the staircase 
 leading down to the square, was touched. 
 
320 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 While the combatants were thus cannonading each 
 other with violence, several companies of the Line, ad- 
 vancing along the roofs of the houses from the Eue St. 
 Lazare to the Eue de la Victoire, and from there to the 
 Eue de Provence, approached the barricade, and firing 
 down upon the insurgents, obliged them finally to re- 
 treat. 
 
 During the previous night an attempt had been made 
 to erect a barricade at the corner of the Eues de la Vic- 
 toire and Taitbout, but this was not seriously defended, 
 and sooii fell into the hands of the troops. 
 
 At six o'clock the fighting near the Chaussee d' An tin 
 was entirely finished, and a crowd was soon collected in 
 the streets, eagerly looking for traces of the combat. 
 
 The soldiers were everywhere cheered with the greatest 
 enthusiasm. Eefreshments and wine in abundance were 
 pressed upon them, the inhabitants seeming unable suffi- 
 ciently to show their great joy at their deliverance. 
 
 After a short period of rest, following the successes in 
 the Chaussee d'Antin, the troops prepared to attack the 
 Place Vendome. Batteries were established on the Place 
 de rOpera, which fired at regular intervals during the 
 night, doing considerable damage to the houses in the Eue 
 de la Paix. Towards morning, finding their fire unan- 
 swered, they dashed forward, and mounting the bar- 
 ricade, found the Place Vendome almost entirely aban- 
 doned. 
 
 An advance was also made toward the Bourse, by the 
 Eue du 4 Septembre, in order to flank the Hotel de Ville 
 on the right. Artillery was brought to bear on the barri- 
 cade which guarded the end of the street opening on the 
 square, and toward morning the barricade was carried by 
 assault. 
 
 The following order was found on the body of an in- 
 
INCENDIARY ORDERS. 321 
 
 surgent killed a few days later. He was, happily, unable 
 to carry it into effect : 
 
 Incendiez le quartier cle la Bourse 
 ne craignez pas. 
 
 
 
 The Bank of France had also happily escaped its de- 
 signed destruction. 
 
 About a month before the entrance of the troops, the 
 Bank was surrounded by National Guards, and M. Beslay, 
 member of the Commune and delegate to the Bank, took 
 up his residence in the apartments of M. Eouland. The 
 latter, Governor of the Bank under the Assembly, had 
 
 14* 
 
322 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 quitted Paris immediately after the nomination of this 
 delegate by the Commune. Later, several amicable at- 
 tempts were made by the Guards, under various pretexts, 
 to enter the court of the Bank with their arms, but this 
 was invariably opposed by the 12th battalion, consisting 
 of five hundred men, who, since the 18th of March, had 
 not left the building. Each day half of this number was 
 on guard, while the other reposed. 
 
 The Federals also made several attempts to gain pos- 
 session of the post at the corner of the Rues La Vrilliere 
 and Eadzirvill, but they always failed before the energetic 
 attitude of those by whom it was occupied. 
 
 The defenders of the Bank Vt^ere kept always on the 
 alert. They could rarely go to their homes to sleep, and 
 frequently were unable to go out for their meals. The 
 shutters Avere crenelated, and every man had his place 
 assigned him in advance in case of combat. 
 
 Happily they were not reduced to this extremity, which 
 would have been fatal to the employees of the Bank, who 
 would have been burned, not attacked. General Douay 
 arrived in time to prevent this disaster. The Place Ven- 
 dome, which was considered an impregnable fortress, being 
 taken with but little difiiculty, the troops were able to 
 cross directly from the New Opera to the Bank. 
 
 The Federal battalions cantoned in the Eue d'Aboukir 
 had received orders to set fire that day to the four corners 
 of the building, and the guards within would have been 
 powerless to prevent them from accomplishing their in- 
 famous design. 
 
 It is due to M. Beslay, the delegate of the Commune, 
 to state that he opposed, by every means in his power, the 
 exactions of the Federals ; and it is generally believed that 
 he effected his escape from Paris only because he was un- 
 molested by the Government. 
 
 Meanwhile General Clinchant advanced his troops to 
 
SAVAGE CRUELTY. 323 
 
 attack the barricades in the Enes Chateaudun, Notre- 
 Dame-de-Lorette, and Drouot, whence the soldiers pushed 
 forward to the Place Cadet by the Rue Lafayette and the 
 Faubourg Montmartre. The barricade erected in the Eue 
 Montmartre was carried the same night, as well as another 
 built at the intersection of the Eues d'Aboukir and Petit- 
 Carreau. Here the engagement was long and violent, 
 and all the energy of the soldiers was required to carry 
 the position. At the Place Cadet the resistance of the 
 insurgents was equally desperate. 
 
 The battle was gradually approaching the headquarters 
 of the insurgents ; their despair and hatred increased as 
 their hopes of success became diminished, and every day 
 the contest assumed a more bloody and revengeful aspect. 
 
 At Montmartre, on the previous day, twelve unfortu- 
 nate soldiers, who had been made prisoners and conducted 
 there, had their two hands cut off at the wrists, when 
 they were set at liberty. 
 
 Similar acts of cruelty were of frequent occurrence 
 during the death-struggle of the Commune, which ended 
 in exciting greatly the passions of the soldiers, and ren- 
 dering them more cruel in their retaliation. 
 
 To non-combatants, however, they were lamb-like in 
 their demeanor, being evidently well pleased with the joy 
 and enthusiasm their arrival had created. 
 
 " On est content de nous voir, eh ? les Parisiens ? " a 
 lignard would ask jocosely, too confident of what he 
 would be ansAvered to await any reply. While on the 
 right bank of the river the troops were everywhere suc- 
 cessful, the movements of General de Cissey were marked 
 by equal energy and success. 
 
 The night between Monday and Tuesday had been rela- 
 tively calm, but at eight in the morning two furious 
 combats had begun at different points, which lasted 
 throughout the entire day. 
 
324 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 The first took place at the Dep6t Montparnasse. The 
 insurgents, repulsed the previous evening, profited by the 
 darJiness to arm with cannon the barricade in the Eue de 
 Eennes at its intersection with the Eues Cassette and Du 
 Vieux-Colombier. From this position they bombarded, 
 at a distance of 860 yards, the depdt which stood opposite. 
 Shot and shell rained upon the building, rendering it soon 
 a mass of ruins, while the surrounding houses were hor- 
 ribly maltreated. 
 
 While the battery of the barricade was thus bombard- 
 ing the depot, six battalions of Federals advanced to 
 attack. The firing of musketry and the rattling of the 
 mitrailleuse was then added to the already horrible din, 
 and for five hours the troops within sustained this violent 
 attack with energy and sang-froid. 
 
 Two detachments of the Chasseurs d'Afrique then ad- 
 vanced, one to the right and one to the left of the Eue de 
 Eennes, turning the insurgents, who, assailed in front 
 and on two sides, beat a retreat and rapidly disbanded. 
 They were furiously pursued by the troops, and obliged to 
 abandon their dead and wounded by hundreds. 
 
 An attack had been made meanwhile on the formidable 
 barricades at the Croix Eouge. This place is formed by 
 the intersection of six roads — Eues du Dragon, Du Four, 
 Du Vieux-Colombier, Du Cherche-Midi, De Sevres, and De 
 Grenelle, and had been formed into a veritable entrenched 
 camp. 
 
 The barricade of the Eue de Grenelle being forced, the 
 troops by whom they were carried divided into two 
 columns — one leaning towards the left continued to 
 operate in the Eue du Bac, while the other pushed 
 directly forward. They were received near the Eue des 
 Saints-Peres by a violent fire of musketry from the 
 Croix Eouge, and turned to shelter themselves in that 
 street; but hardly had they appeared^ when they were 
 
THE SOLDIEES WELCOMED. 325 
 
 again assailed by a fire from the barricade Saints-Peres- 
 Taranne. 
 
 Fired upon on every side, and not wishing to fall back, 
 the soldiers forced the doors of the houses on the left side 
 of the street, and advanced through the interior courts 
 to the foot of the barricade, which they carried at the 
 point of the bayonet. The barricade in the Eue St. 
 Dominique was taken at the same time. Continuing the 
 same movement through the houses of the Eue du Dragon, 
 the soldiers gained possession of the Croix Eouge, while 
 the National Guards hastily retreated through the streets 
 Gozlin and Bonaparte. 
 
 The troops then advanced by the Eues Jacob, De I'Ab- 
 baye, and Gozlin to the Place de I'Abbaye, which they 
 found defended by a solidly-constructed barricade. Here 
 the combat, which was commenced at half-past ten, 
 threatened to last an indefinite time, when the marines 
 were informed that the position might be turned by pass- 
 ing through the garden of the abbey which stood on the 
 Place. A small framework in the wall built above a well 
 permitted an entrance into the narrow passage of the 
 Petite-Boucherie. 
 
 The 2d fusiliers of the Marine effected this perilous - 
 entrance, and penetrating into one of the houses, fired 
 from the windows on the insurgents, who fell back quickly 
 to the barricades in the Eue de Seine. These, however, 
 were but slightly defended, as the marines followed up their 
 success, and the quarter was soon delivered from the 
 presence of the Federals. 
 
 As soon as the inhabitants perceived the soldiers, the 
 doors were all opened, and they hastened to offer them 
 bread and wine. Domiciliary visits were immediately 
 made, and, among other captures, that of a Federal 
 named Gilbain was effected, who the day before had 
 traversed the quarter threatening to blow it up. Barrels 
 
336 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 of powder had been placed in the sewers connected by 
 wires, to which, at the proper time, the electric spark was 
 to be communicated. After a short interrogatory, in 
 which Gilbain plainly avowed his participation in the 
 insurrection, he was led out and shot, together with eigh- 
 teen other National Guards taken with arms in their hands. 
 A few days later his wife, who had been left at liberty, was 
 discovered throwing petroleum on a house in the neigh- 
 borhood, and was immediately led a prisoner to Versailles. 
 , The successive occupation of the barricades De Buci, 
 Saint-Andre-des-Arts, and the Eue Christine, against 
 which it was. necessary to employ cannon, led the troops 
 as far as the Boulevard Saint Michel. The Place Saint- 
 Sulpice was taken at the same time ; and here we may 
 mention a curious incident. The officers of the Marine 
 having installed themselves in the telegraphic bureau of 
 the Mairie, sent a despatch to the Hotel de Ville, leading 
 the Federals to believe that they were still in possession 
 of the quarter. Having asked what they should do if the 
 Versailles troops continued to advance, they received the 
 following laconic answer : 
 
 " Faites sauter la loite." 
 
 One of the delegates of the arrondissement was instantly 
 shot. 
 
 The streets in the neighborhood of the Seine had also 
 their part in the combat. Early in the morning the 
 Federals had fortified themselves in the passage Sainte- 
 Marie, and had occupied the neighboring houses. Towards 
 noon, two regiments of the line, supported by three pieces 
 of artillery, appeared before their defences. These pieces, 
 placed in position, kept up during the afternoon a vigorous 
 cannonade, directed against the passage Sainte-Marie, 
 which, added to the fire of the infantry, rendered towards 
 evening the position untenable for the insurgents. At 
 the close of the 23d of May the army was mistress of all 
 
HEAVY SLAUGHTEK. 327 
 
 the portion of the left bank bounded by the Seine, the 
 Boulevard Saint Michel, as far as the School of Medicine, 
 and back of this by the Eue Bonaparte, including the 
 Place Saint-Sulpice and the Eue de Eennes, to the Dep6t 
 Montparnasse. 
 
 All the quarters in the centre of this large zone had 
 suffered severe damage from heavy projectiles, but this 
 did not satisfy the fury of the insurgents. While their 
 accomplices on the right bank were setting fire to the 
 Tuileries and the Palais-Eoyal, they, from a pure spirit 
 of vengeance, lighted a conflagration in the streets of 
 Lille, Verneuil, Du Bac, and on the Quai d'Orsay. 
 
 Many private hotels, and the vast and beautiful edifices 
 of the Legion of Honor, the Conseil d'Etat, and the Caisse 
 des Depots et Consignations, became during the evening 
 a prey to the flames. The second great scene of battle on 
 the left bank was at Montrouge, before the church of St. 
 Pierre, and in the Avenue d'Orleans, before the barricade 
 at the corner of the Eue Brezin. A frightful struggle 
 of four hours took place at each of these barricades before 
 they were captured. 
 
 At the barricade in front of the church, cannon were at 
 first used to make a breach. This was followed by a rapid 
 musketry fire, which lasted two hours. Finally, it was 
 charged with the bayonet. 
 
 Entrenched behind the houses, and even in the steeple 
 of the church, the insurgents made frightful ravages in 
 tlie ranks of the troops, who stood entirely unprotected in 
 the centre of the square formed by the intersection of the 
 Avenues d'Orleans and Du Maine. Their attack was 
 truly heroic, and their impassibility under the balls which 
 rained upon them from the steeple, the barricade, and the 
 surrounding houses, was more heroic still. 
 
 After three hours combat, the colonel of the 114th 
 regiment, placing himself at the head of his men, called : 
 
328 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 '^ En avant!" Officers and soldiers threw themselves on 
 the insurgents who defended the barricade, and, after a 
 frightful slaughter, carried the position. 
 
 The movement of attack was so precipitate, that the 
 insurgents in the steeple began ringing the tocsin for aid ; 
 hardly had the last sound been heard, when the barricade 
 was carried. The insurgents who had fired on the troops 
 from above, were forced to descend, and instantly shot. In 
 this action the army made four hundred prisoners. The 
 dead and wounded were to be counted by hundreds. 
 
 The attack on the barricade of the Eue Brezin, carried 
 .at three o'clock in the afternoon, was as bloody as that 
 on the barricade of the church. In one, as in the other, 
 several dramatic things occurred. 
 
 At the barricade of the Eue Brezin, a soldier of the line, 
 calling to an insurgent who was aiming at him to surren- 
 der, avoided the ball, and while on the point of returning 
 the fire, recognized his father. Two artillerymen and a 
 marine who pointed the pieces placed in battery on the 
 barricade of the church, were recognized as deserters and 
 killed beside their guns. 
 
 One of the most furious defenders of this barricade was 
 a woman dressed in the uniform of a ISTational Guard. 
 She was killed during the action, and in clearing away the 
 bodies her sex was discovered. A hair-dresser, who had 
 fired from the interior of his house upon the troops, was 
 shot before his own door. 
 
 At four o'clock the tri-colored flag floated from the 
 Mairie of Montrouge, and the people received with ac- 
 clamations the soldiers of France, whose presence in their 
 midst filled them with joy. The 114th regiment was 
 everywhere feasted by the inhabitants, who looked upon 
 them as their deliverers. From this moment the insurrec- 
 tion in the 14th Arrondissement was ended. 
 
EVEHTS OF MAY 32. 329 
 
 The following despatch relating to the military eyents 
 of the day was forwarded by M. Thiers to the Prefects of 
 the several Departments : 
 
 " Versailles, May 23, 2 p.m. 
 
 " The course which events are taking justify our expec- 
 tations. We have now 90,000 men in Paris. 
 
 " General De Cissey has taken up his position from 
 the railway-station at Montparnesse to the Ecole Mih- 
 taire, and is proceeding along the left hank toward the 
 Tuileries. 
 
 " Generals Douay and Vinoy are enclosing the Tuileries, 
 the Louvre, and the Place Yendome, in order subsequently 
 to advance on the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 " General Clinchant having made himself master of the 
 Opera, the St. Lazare Eailway Station, and the Batignolles, 
 has carried the barricades at Clichy. 
 
 " General Ladmirault is approaching the foot of Mont- 
 martre with two divisions. 
 
 " General Montaudon, following the movement of Gene- 
 ral Ladmirault, has taken N"euilly, Levallois-Perret, and 
 Clichy, and is attacking St. Ouen. He has taken 105 guns 
 and a quantity of prisoners. 
 
 " The resistance of the insurgents is gradually declin- 
 ing, and there is every ground for hoping that if the 
 struggle is not finished to-day it will be over by to-morrow 
 at the very latest, and for a long time. 
 
 " With respect to the killed and wounded it is impossi- 
 ble to fix the numbers, but they are considerable. The 
 army, on the contrary, has suffered but very slight loss. 
 
 "A. Thiees." 
 
 Later in the afternoon a second circular was issued : 
 
 " 3:30 P.M. 
 
 *'The tri-colored flag waves over the Buttes Montmartre 
 
330 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 and the Northern Eailway Station. These decisive points 
 were carried by the troops of Generals Ladmirault and 
 Clinchant, who captured between 2,000 and 3,000 pris- 
 oners. General Douay has taken the Church of the 
 Trinity, and is marching upon the Mairie in the Rue 
 Drouot. 
 
 " Generals de Cissey and Vinoy are advancing towards 
 the Hotel de Ville and Tuileries. 
 
 "A. Thiees." 
 
 Although later events did not justify M. Thiers' 
 expectations with regard to the length of the struggle, 
 the army had every reason to be proud of its achieve- 
 ments throughout the day. Its arrival had saved, 
 among many other objects of value, the Chapelle Ex- 
 piatoire. 
 
 This building, erected at the Restoration to the mem- 
 ory of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, had been 
 doomed to destruction by a decree of the Commune. 
 The fulfilment of this decree, which appeared at about 
 the same time as that ordaining the destruction of the 
 Column Venddme, and which was peremptory, like all 
 the decrees of the Commune, was unaccountably post- 
 poned. 
 
 Immediately after the publication of this decree in the 
 Journal Officiel, M. Libmann, a gentleman to whom many 
 members of religious communities pursued by the Com- 
 mune owed their safety, presented himself to M. Fontaine, 
 Communal Director of Domains, and proposed to buy the 
 sacred vessels, linen, and all the objects used in divine ser- 
 vice belonging to the chapel. 
 
 The estimable delegate of the Commune fixed, after a 
 great deal of bargaining, on the price of 5,000 francs, 
 which M. Libmann paid from his own pocket, and for 
 which he received the following receipt : 
 
THE CHAPELLE EXPIATOIRE. 331 
 
 "Pakis, Mayl8, 1871. 
 
 " Eeceived from Citizen Libmann, 13 Eue Lavoisier, the 
 sum of five thousand francs, amount of the sale, for the 
 benefit of the Commune, of the following objects : 
 
 2 boxes (church-silver). 
 
 1 " (silver-gilt). 
 
 1 pyx " 
 
 1 censer, holy-water sprinkler, etc. (silver). 
 
 All ornaments of the church, such as albs, chasubles, in 
 a word, all the linen, missals, and crosses. 
 
 For the Director of Domains. 
 (Signed) Laboede. 
 
 This was not all. The. material was saved, but there 
 remained the monument. M. Libmann did not hesitate, 
 but opened immediately new negotiations, to which the 
 Citizen Fontaine, enticed by the five thousand francs 
 already paid, lent himself with all the good grace of which 
 he was capable. 
 
 The following estimate was the result of these negotia- 
 tions : 
 
 CHAPELLE EXPIATOIRE OP LOUIS XVL 
 
 Estimate of the Value of Materials. 
 
 fr. c. 
 
 Masonry 813,480 20 
 
 Granite 39,703 00 
 
 Marble.. 16,480 00 
 
 Metals (copper, lead) 13,403 10 
 
 Woodwork 2,830 00 
 
 Iron 32,900 00 
 
 Sculpture on tlie building 15,000 00 
 
 Artistic sculpture (2 groups, bas-relief) 150,000 00 
 
 Two stands for boly water 1,000 00 
 
 Two altars 1,500 00 
 
 Furniture of the cburch 50,000 00 
 
 Chasublery 15,000 00 
 
 Sacred vessels 50,000 00 
 
 1,300,295 30 
 
332 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 This amount was more difficult to realize than the 
 former. M. Libmann accepted in principle, but reclaimed 
 valuation after valuation, for to gain time was everything. 
 The attack on Paris came to interrupt the negotiations, 
 and proved that the foresight of the courageous defender 
 of the monument had been correct. 
 
 The building is to-day intact, with the exception of a 
 little damage received during the attack made against it 
 by the troops. 
 
 The night of the 23d passed with a sinister tranquillity, 
 scarcely troubled by the works of defence, which were 
 being actively continued, or by an occasional report of a 
 distant cannon. 
 
 The time, however, was not lost by the insurgents. 
 Federal officers, passing in the Rues Saint-Jacques, Gay- 
 Lussac, and the Boulevard Saint-Michel, gave orders for a 
 new disposition of barricades, and, following their indica- 
 tions, several squads of barricade-makers set immediately 
 to work. Women were there in great numbers, calling, 
 with threats and imprecations, on all the citizens, male 
 and female, to aid in pulling up the paving-stones, in 
 digging the ditches. 
 
 The barricade of the Rue Royer-Collard was composed 
 of three defensive works : one at its entrance into the 
 Boulevard Saint-Michel ; another at its intersection with 
 the Rue Gay-Lussac ; and a third in the middle of the 
 Rue Royer-Collard itself 
 
 Meanwhile, at the prison of Sainte-Pelagie, was perpe- 
 trated the first of the many horrible murders which leave 
 such a stain on the memory of the Commune. 
 
 M. Gustave Chaudey, one of the editors of the Steele, 
 had been arrested in the middle of April, at the instiga- 
 tion of Citizen Vermesch, editor of a scurrilous paper 
 called the Pere Duchesne. M. Chaudey was accused of 
 having, while adjoint to the Mayor of Paris, ordered the 
 
EFFECTS OF RIGAULT'S HATRED. 333 
 
 repression, by force of arms, of the riot of the 22d of 
 January, which was the sequence of the 31st of October. 
 
 After inquiry upon inquiry. Citizen Protot, grand 
 judge, himself acknowledged that there was no ground 
 for continuing the prosecution. 
 
 As Chaudey was still, however, retained in confinement, 
 M. Eousse, advocate, took the necessary steps to obtain 
 his release. 
 
 " Tl^To formal requisitions will be made against Gustave 
 Chaudey," said Citizen Protot ; " only, what would you 
 have? Kaoul Eigault is fort monU contre lui, and wishes 
 absolutely to have him shot. But no. Leave him in 
 prison and nothing shall be done to him." 
 
 Having first been confined in the Mazas Prison, he was 
 later removed to Sainte-Pelagie, where, on Tuesday night. 
 May 23d, at eleven o'clock, his cell was brusquely entered 
 by Eaoul Eigault, who said : 
 
 " Well, you are to be shot to-day . . . now . . . instantly ! " 
 
 After the first moment of surprise, Chaudey replied : 
 
 " You know that I have only done my duty. You come 
 to kill me without any mandate, any judgment. It is not 
 an execution but an assassination." 
 
 Eaoul Eigault, however, interrupted him with impreca- 
 tions, and Chaudey was dragged outside. 
 
 There, while awaiting a platoon of Federals, for whom 
 Eigault had been obliged to send, the National Guards in 
 the prison having refused to execute the odious work 
 demanded of them, a few more words were exchanged be- 
 tween the butcher and his victim, Chaudey remem- 
 bered that he was both husband and a father. 
 
 "Eigault," said he, "I have a wife and child; you 
 know it." 
 
 These words producing no efiect upon his enemy, 
 Chaudey had nothing to do but resign himself manfully 
 to his fate. He was then led out to a road near the 
 
334 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 chapel, where, in a corner, by the light of a lantern fast- 
 ened to the wall, and another carried by the oyerseer Ber- 
 thier, the procession halted. 
 
 Either by design or hazard, the old employees of the 
 prison, who were regarded with suspicion, and themselyes 
 destined to a near execution, were absent on that eyening. 
 Eigault only had with him the trusty followers of the 
 Commune, the jailor Clement, Brigadier Gentil, and a 
 friend, Preau de Vedel, a yolunteer for the assassination ; 
 also the platoon for execution. 
 
 Vermesch, who had denounced Chaudey, and Pilotell, 
 who had robbed and arrested him, were not at the rendez- 
 vous. 
 
 The Federals seeming to hesitate, Eigault drew his 
 sword, and commanded them, with threats, to fire. The 
 men aimed at first too high, and Chaudey was only 
 wounded in the arm. Clement then fired two shots, 
 when he fell, crying ''Vive la RepuUique!" 
 
 " I will give you enough of a Eepublic ! " cried Gentil ; 
 and rushing forward, he fired, breaking his jaw in frag- 
 ments. Preau de Vedel then advanced and shot him 
 through the head. 
 
 Gustaye Chaudey was an advocate of talent, and pos- 
 sessed of ardent democratic sentiments. He had been 
 formerly proscribed, was the executor of P. J. Proudhon, 
 the advocate of G. Courbet, and the defender of the 
 Courrier FranQais; and had thus given sufficient pledges 
 to the cause of the revolution, and of such a nature, as it 
 would seem would have obliged it to spare him. " But 
 the revolution," says Eivarol, " kills above all those who 
 wish to serve it." 
 
 The body of Chaudey was found shortly after the entry 
 of the Versailles troops, and his funeral attended by all 
 the emineut journalists and chief notables of Paris. The 
 following address was delivered by M. Etienne Arago, 
 
ARAGO'S DEFENCE OF CHAUDEY. 335 
 
 Mayor of Paris, after the 4tli of September, to whom M. 
 Chaudey was adjoint : 
 
 "My dear Chafdey, — After the admirable remarks 
 we have just heard, I will restrict myself to addressing a 
 few words to the friend. 
 
 " In times of revolution, every one does his duty accord- 
 ing to his courage and his faith. Fortune decides the 
 event, often fatal to the men most worthy. Chaudey, of 
 this you are the proof — you, whose tragic end honors 
 your great heart. 
 
 " When I called you to the Hotel de Ville as my adjoint, 
 you did not hesitate, although the horizon was already 
 dark, and you saw that the perils were growing greater ; 
 but you were both patriot and republican, and no danger 
 caused you to stop. 
 
 "The task which fell to your share at the Hotel de 
 Ville was principally that of humanity. Yours, the sub- 
 sistence of the poor, the ambulances, and all services of 
 charity and fraternal zeal. 
 
 " Of all the heads which our discords could menace, 
 yours, it would seem, should have been most protected by 
 the remembrance of so many services, of so much aflFec- 
 tionate devotedness. 
 
 " And yet you have succumbed — victim of an atrocious 
 vengeance — which erred in striking you. Who can be a 
 better witness than I, who was present at your side from 
 the very beginning of the discussion which took place 
 between you and a representative of the insurrection 
 about to break forth. You had certainly the right to 
 reply to the shots from the Place by shots from the Hotel 
 de Ville; but — I declare it on my honor — the just re- 
 pression came from other than your orders. History will 
 attest it, as she will also tell of your family virtues, your 
 sincerity, and your constancy in friendship ; she will not 
 
336 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 forget the force of examination which you brought to 
 bear upon our laws, nor j^our recent studies to reform 
 them according to the republican idea. 
 
 " Shall I speak of your genius ? Before this tomb it is 
 no time to praise the ingenuity, amenity, and originality 
 of the French mind. 
 
 " A higher thought impresses itself upon my heart. It 
 is of a duty accomplished, of a martyrdom generously 
 suffered for principle ; it is of your heroism that I ought 
 to speak. 
 
 " Defender of the law, you have perished for her ; and 
 against her was struck a blow of premeditated fury in 
 assassinating you ! 
 
 " Adieu, my friend ; adieu, Chaudey." 
 
 Chaudey's death is belieyed to have been caused at the 
 instance of Delescluze, Delegate of "War. The latter had 
 in his youth committed a theft on a M. Denormandie, 
 which lie had been obliged to avow. He knew that the 
 written proof of his fault was in the hands of M. Ohaudey ; 
 and this explains the fury with which he pursued the 
 man whose revelations he feared. 
 
 While this frightful crime was being perpetrated in one 
 portion of the city, in another several members of the 
 Commune, wishing to save their heads, had determined 
 to attempt an extreme means of escape. 
 
 A carriage arrived at about ten o'clock in the evening 
 in the neighborhood of a gas manufactory, situated on 
 the Boulevard de Vincennes, and orders were given to 
 inflate a balloon which was in readiness there. 
 
 The National Guards established in the neighborhood 
 were rather surprised at these preparations, but they were 
 informed that the balloon was to be sent with proclama- 
 tions from the Commune to the provinces. 
 
 At two in the morning, the balloon was ready to leave. 
 
AH ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT. 337 
 
 Four carriages, filled with people, arrived at the gas- 
 works. 
 
 The National Guards, who did not eyen recognize the 
 persons wishing to make their escape, opposed their 
 departure, menacing to make holes in the balloon with 
 their bullets if the gas was not immediately discharged. 
 One National G-uard even added, " You have brought us 
 to the pit, and you must remain in it with us." 
 
 Seeing that flight was impossible, the members of the 
 Commune, with the four carriages, retook the road to the 
 Hotel de Ville. 
 
 Although, as has already been stated, M. Thiers, in his 
 proclamation, outstripped in his desires the course of 
 events, still it is certain that the day of the 23d was de- 
 cisive. In a moral relation, it showed on all the points of 
 attack the energetic decision of the troops, their strong 
 discipline regained more firmly than before, and now un- 
 changeable in all contacts with an insurrectional popula- 
 tion. Advances and fraternal proclamations had as little 
 influence upon them as the abuse which, for the last two 
 months, the Commune of Paris had showered upon the 
 army of investment — upon that army of France which, 
 as Marshal de MacMahon so well said, was now pene- 
 trated with a sentiment of its duty and its national 
 mission. 
 
 In a strategic point of view, the consequences were not 
 less important. The army was master of all the great ar- 
 teries which penetrate to the heart of the capital; the 
 communications had been strongly established, and were 
 perfectly secure ; and, finally, the position of Montmartre 
 was in possession of the Government, the occupation of 
 which delivered Paris from a most menacing danger, 
 while at the same time it was able to concur, in a most 
 efiQcacious manner, in the succeeding operations of the 
 army. 
 
 15 
 
338 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Also, the uncertainties which had been conceived, not 
 with regard to the result of the struggle, but as to its 
 length, and the dangerous turns of fortune which it 
 might present, were entirely set at rest ; and seeing the 
 precision and connection of the movements of the army 
 of occupation, the moment of definitive success was gen- 
 erally regarded as very near — a matter, at most, of one or 
 two days. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Paris on the morning of tbe 24th— Incendiary orders— Proclamation to the sol- 
 diers— M. Thiers' speech in the Assembly— Porte St. Denis— The Theatre of 
 the Porte St. Martin set on fire— Massacre of women and children— The 
 hostages transferred to La Eoquette— Massacre of the Archbishop and five 
 other persons— Monseigneur Darhoy—M. Dugiierry— President Bonjean— 
 Visit to the Archbishop— Progress on the right bank— Saint Eustache- The 
 Palais Royal in flames— Occupation of the Faubourg Saint Germain— The 
 Pantheon taken— Explosion of a powder magazine— Arrest and execution of 
 Eaoul Eigault— His character — His extravagance— Cannonade from Mont- 
 martre— Night of the 24th— Conflagration of the Palace of Justice— The pris- 
 oners of the Conciergerie. 
 
 ON" the morning of the 24th, the districts dehvered by 
 the army on the previous day had the appearance 
 usual on some grand fete. Tricolored flags floated from 
 almost every house, while the streets were filled with the 
 curious, anxious to see the results of the terrible struggle 
 which had kept them prisoners so long. 
 
 The Boulevards des Capucines and Malesherbes were 
 particularly frequented. The latter, from the church 
 Saint Augustin to the Madeleine, gave strong evidence of 
 the desperation with which the struggle had been here 
 conducted. The shops had particularly suffered. The 
 heavy iron shutters of one had been pushed up, and pro- 
 jected outward at least two feet by the force of a shell. 
 The windows of most of the houses were broken. The 
 pretty little newspaper Mosques that line, here and there, 
 the boulevard, had been broken to fragments; while 
 branches of trees strewed the ground, dipping and stain- 
 ing their bright green foliage in a dark liquid, recognized 
 with a shudder to be human blood. 
 
340 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The Bouleyard des Capucines presented a similar ap- 
 pearance ; but it was at the aspect of the Eue Eoyale that 
 a cry of horror burst from every lip. Here the fire still 
 smouldered sulkily, notwithstanding all the efforts made 
 to extinguish it, and now and then some blackened wall 
 would totter and fall with a dull thud to the ground. 
 The fire had, in many houses, shown straiige caprices. In 
 one, hanging on the inner wall, which alone remained 
 standing, in the fifth story, was a woman's dress and an 
 umbrella, not even scorched by the flames ; while on a 
 mantlepiece, high in the air, in another house, stood a 
 pretty little clock, firm on its resting-place, although the 
 surrounding walls had entirely disappeared. The mirror 
 above it also stood intact, covered with strips of paper 
 such as the Parisians had pasted on all their shop windows, 
 thinking to save their being broken by the concussion 
 caused in firing. The poor little mirror remained, but 
 the home was gone. 
 
 Several houses which were not burned had their fronts 
 entirely knocked away by shells, and presented very much 
 the appearance of a scene in a theatre when the stage is 
 divided into two compartments, a different representation 
 going on in each. 
 
 Of one house, the entresol alone remained, and that 
 stood entirely open, the front wall being knocked av/ay. 
 The furniture was intact; the bed, ornamented with 
 green curtains, trimmed with guipure and caught back by 
 bands of the same ; in the centre of the room stood a 
 chair placed as though some one had just risen from it, 
 while over the back a shawl was carelessly thrown. All 
 this was inexpressibly sad to look upon ; but horrible as it 
 was, it might have been worse. The city was everywhere 
 mined and ready to be blown up by the demons of the 
 Commune. But a merciful Providence spared the Prench 
 this crowning disaster, which, coming after a year of such 
 
PETROLEUSES. 341 
 
 utter misery and misfortune, might have proved a finish- 
 ing blow. 
 
 The burning of Paris had been long premeditated by 
 the Commune as a last resource, and every preparation 
 had been made to ensure its success. The incendiaries 
 were regularly enrolled, and were mostly women. These 
 infamous creatures had for mission, to throw petroleum 
 and matches through the gratings of the cellars into the 
 windows, particularly of public buildings ; and anywhere, 
 in fact, where a conflagration could be lighted. 
 
 They went mostly alone, modestly but not poorly dressed, 
 gliding along the sides of the houses, and looking very 
 much like housekeepers going to market. 
 
 Those who were furnished with incendiary matches 
 carried them in their hands, and without either stooping 
 or stopping, threw them quickly into any openings which 
 they passed. Those who carried petroleum, hid the bottle 
 which contained it in the folds of their skirts, and oper- 
 ated in the same manner. 
 
 Later, when the suspicions and vigilance of the inhab- 
 itants were strongly excited, the petroleum was carried in 
 a milk-can and in this way they were enabled to continue 
 their odious mission for some time undiscovered. 
 
 If detected, however, they expected and received no 
 mercy, and were mostly executed on the spot. On the 
 morning of the 24th, thirteen of these petroleuses, the 
 name given them by the population, who had been dis- 
 covered in the act, were shot on the Place Yenddme, now 
 occupied by the soldiers. 
 
 In the Eue du 4 Septembre, in the short distance com- 
 prised between the New Opera and the Bourse, ten petro- 
 leuses were arrested, some of them children betv/een ten 
 and fifteen years of age. 
 
 To add to these horrors, many of the water-pipes had 
 been cut, so that a fire, once ignited, was with difficulty 
 
343 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 extinguislied ; the inhabitants were obliged to form a 
 chain, and every passer-by was requisitioned and obliged 
 to work for two hours. 
 
 At the Place de la Concorde, a regiment of the line was 
 stationed ; many of them were sleeping under the shade of 
 the Tuileries terrace, which had been bought the night 
 before with the blood of their comrades. Their rest, how- 
 ever, did not remain undisturbed, for shells fell rapidly 
 on the Place, and often burst far up the Champs Elysees, 
 coming from the batteries at the Hotel de Yille. 
 
 This firing became more violent as the day advanced, 
 shells being sent also from the Federal batteries at the 
 Buttes Chaumont and Pere-Lachaise. 
 
 The following order was sent by General Eudes to the 
 commandant of the battery at Pere-Lachaise : 
 
 "EEPUBLIC OF PRAIirCE, 
 
 FEE 
 
 "Paeis, May— ,1871 
 
 ''■ Committee^ OP Public Safety, } 
 
 " Coinmune of Paris : 
 
 " Fire on the Bourse, the Bank, the Posts, the Place 
 des Victoires, the Place Vendome, the Garden of the 
 'Tuileries, and the Babylone Barracks. We leave the 
 Hotel de Ville under the command of Pindy. The Dele- 
 gate of "War, the Committee of Public Safety, and the 
 members of the Commune now present, will transport 
 themselves to the Mairie of the 11th Arrondissement, 
 where we shall establish ourselves. It is there that we 
 shall organize the defence of the popular quarters. 
 
 " We will send you the artillery and munitions of the 
 Park Basfroi. 
 
 " We shall hold to the end and quand meme. 
 
 «E. Eudes." 
 
THE CEKTEAL COMMITTEE. 343 
 
 The following incendiary order had also been given : 
 
 " Paeis, 3 Prairial, year 79. 
 
 " The Citizen Milliere, at the head of 150 men, with 
 fusees, will burn the suspected houses and public monu- 
 ments on the left bank. 
 
 " Citizen Dereure, with 100 men, is charged with the 
 1st and 2d Arrondissements. 
 
 " Citizen Billioray, with 100 men, is charged with the 
 9th, 10th, and 20th Arrondissements. 
 
 " Citizen Vesinier, with 50 men, is specially charged 
 with the boulevards from the Madeleine to the Bastille. 
 
 "These citizens will arrange with the chiefs of the 
 barricades in a manner to insure the execution of these 
 orders. 
 
 " Delescluze, Regere, Ranvier, Joliannard, 
 Vesinier, Brunei, DombrowskiJ" 
 
 A final attempt had been made to influence the soldiers 
 in their favor, and the following notice was pasted on the 
 walls of that part of the city still in possession of the 
 Commune. It was the last ever issued by that body : 
 
 "COMMUN"E OF PAEIS. 
 
 " Central Committee, 3 Prairial, year 79. 
 
 " Federation of the National Guard : 
 
 " Soldiers of the Aemt of Veesailles : — We are 
 fathers of families. 
 
 " We are fighting to prevent our children from being, 
 one day, like you, unde]" a military despotism. 
 
 " You will be one day fathers of families. If you draw 
 on the people to-day, your sons will curse you, as we curse 
 the soldiers who tore the entrails of the people in June, 
 1848, and in December, 1851. 
 
344 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " Two months ago, on the 18th of March, your brothers 
 of the army of Paris, their hearts infu-riated against the 
 cowards who had sold France, fraternized with the people ; 
 imitate them. 
 
 " Soldiers, our children and our brothers, listen well to 
 this, and let your consciences decide. 
 
 "When the watchword is infamous, disobedience is a 
 duty! 
 
 "The Centeal Committee." 
 
 This proclamation, it is needless to say, had not the 
 slightest effect on the minds of the soldiers, who were 
 becoming every hour more incensed against "their 
 brothers," and the atrocities they committed. 
 
 The Bourse had been occupied early in the morning by 
 the soldiers of the line. In the Place Venddme a body of 
 cavalry, and a large number of troops who had taken part 
 in the attack of the preceding night, were stationed, while 
 from the Ministry of Justice and on the pedestal of the 
 fallen column floated the tricolored flag. 
 
 The re-erection of the Column Vendome had already 
 been voted by the National Assembly during Monday's 
 sitting. 
 
 After voting unanimously the following proposition, 
 " The National Assembly declares that the land and sea 
 forces and the Head of the Executive Power have mer- 
 ited well of their country," the following bill was jore- 
 sented by M. Jules Simon : 
 
 " Art. 1. The Column of the Place Vend6me shall be 
 reconstructed. ( Loud ajjplause) 
 
 "Art. 2. It shall be surmounted with a statue of 
 France. 
 
 "Art. 3. An inscription shall mark the date of the 
 destruction and that of the re-erection. 
 
MORE ABOUT PETROLEUM. 345 
 
 " Art. 4. The expiatory monument raised to the mem- 
 ory of Louis XVI. shall be immediately repaired." {Loud 
 ajjplause on the Right.') 
 
 On the Place de I'Opera the damage done was consid- 
 erable, although the Opera itself had escaped almost unin- 
 jured, notwithstanding the numerous shells sent against 
 it from Pere Lachaise. These fell very thickly during the 
 afternoon, both in the Place and along the boulevards. 
 Several persons were killed in front of the Theatre des 
 Varietes and in the Eue de la Paix, and the crowds that 
 in the morning had filled the streets gradually diminished 
 and finally disappeared altogether. 
 
 The fears of explosions and petroleum had become uni- 
 versal. The inhabitants had stopped up every chink into 
 which anything could be thrown ; cellar-lights, ventila- 
 tors, and gratings, had all disappeared from view. Some 
 were covered with sand-bags, others were built up with 
 paving-stones like miniature barricades, while the major- 
 ity were plastered with sand and mortar. 
 
 Every woman walking in the streets was regarded with 
 suspicion by her neighbors, and many innocent persons 
 narrowly escaped becoming the victims of an angry mob 
 whose fury had been roused by some jealous individual 
 who had seen evidences of guilt where none existed. 
 
 As an excuse for the mob it may be said that the very 
 persons the least calculated to excite their suspicions were 
 invariably the ones who committed these atrocious crimes ; 
 and as discovery followed discovery their terror reached 
 such a height that they distrusted all mankind. In the 
 Eue Eoyale where the pompiers were energetically em- 
 ployed in extinguishing the fire, it was discovered that 
 several of them, instead of pumping water, were actually 
 throwing petroleum into the flames, and so adding to 
 their fury. The guilty firemen were immediately sur- 
 
 15* 
 
64:6 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 rounded by a body of cavalry, conducted into the Pare 
 Monceaux, and there shot. 
 
 About eleven o'clock in the morning, M. Thiers and M. 
 Jules Simon entered Paris escorted by a strong body of 
 cavalry. They proceeded at once to the Ministry of For- 
 eign Affairs, where Marshal de MacMahon had established 
 his headquarters. He gave them every information con- 
 cerning the situation. The headquarters of General Vinoy 
 were at the Corps Legislatif. 
 
 After a visit of two hours, the two members of the Gov- 
 ernment returned to Versailles to assist at the sitting of 
 the National Assembly. Here M. Thiers was interpellated 
 by M. Calmar de Lafayette, who, while expressing the 
 greatest confidence in the Head of the Government, 
 wished to inquire what measures he intended to take with 
 regard to the Prefecture of the Seine. 
 
 M. Thiers, Head of the Executive Power : — " I am quite 
 ready to give every explanation. I went to Paris this 
 morning, and saw much there, and had everything ex- 
 plained to me. I return quite inconsolable, and I do not 
 attempt to give you any comfort. {Agitation on all the 
 lenches.) The insurrection is certainly vanquished, and 
 the tri-colored flag floats from most of the public monu- 
 ments of Paris. But the last acts of the insurgents are 
 abominable — are, in fact, the reprisals of despair. Last 
 evening we succeeded in occupying the Place de I'Opera, 
 and all the neighborhood. After forty-eight hours of 
 combat a night's rest was evidently required by the troops, 
 and the generals were unanimous in thinking that such a 
 period of repose was indispensable. The insurgents took 
 advantage of the respite afforded them to set fire to the 
 Tuileries, the Court of Accounts, and the Conseil d'Etat. 
 It was utterly impossible to prevent them, as their en- 
 trenchments were imassailable owing to a numerous artil- 
 
THIERS REPOKTS PROGRESS. 347 
 
 lery, and they employed petroleum to ensure their frightful 
 conflagration. {Movement.) Early this morning we took 
 the Place de la Concorde, the Place Venddme, and the 
 Tuileries, but that palace was only a heap of ruins. {Ex- 
 plosion of horror.) Fortunately, owing to the energy of 
 General Douay, and the exertions of the men under him, 
 the flames were prevented from reaching the Louyre; 
 such, at least, is what I gather from a hurried despatch 
 just received from that brave officer, so that this addi- 
 tional severe trial will, I trust, be spared us. But that is 
 not all ; at the present moment the Hotel de Ville is on 
 fire. ( Great agitation.) However that may be, the Com- 
 munists are sm-rounded ; they are all endeavoring to with- 
 draw, so that this evening the rebellion will be completely 
 vanquished. Unfortunately it has remained, even after its 
 military defeat, in possession of our monuments, and has 
 not been satisfied with using petroleum for their destruc- 
 tion, but has sent shells prepared with that same substance 
 against our soldiers, fourteen of whom have been struck 
 by such missiles. {Loicd marhs of reprobation.) 
 
 " Our first duty in opposing this insurrection is to pre- 
 serve our coolness of judgment and remain united, as 
 otherwise we shall not be able to succeed. "We shall, 
 first of all, have to terminate our victory, which result 
 will be arrived at to-morrow; and next we must beware 
 of consenting to anything that could at this moment 
 weaken the army and the Government. (Applause.) 
 After what I have already done, no one can doubt of that 
 which I shall still accomplish. The criminals shall be 
 punished according to law, but implacably, as is called 
 for by public feeling. (Hear, hear.) As to the exercise 
 of the right of indulgence or pardon, I propose that that 
 privilege shall be vested in the hands of the National 
 Assembly. {Movement.) Therefore, as soon as the mili- 
 tary operations have terminated, justice will pursue her 
 
348 THE PARIS C0MMU2^E. 
 
 rigid course. {Hear, hear.) I now enter on the question 
 of the National Guard, which, according to public rumor, 
 is to be re-armed. The truth is, that during the last few 
 weeks we have been frequently told that the orderly por- 
 tion of that body were most anxious to take up arms 
 against the insurrection ', and when tlie 16th Arrondisse- 
 ment (Passy) was evacuated, officers entirely devoted to 
 the Assembly repaired at once to that district, and, with- 
 out authorization, proceeded to arm the battalions which 
 remained faithful to us. But, after my orders, that move- 
 ment has been at once arrested, as arms cannot be left in 
 the hands of any National Guards. {Applause.) As to 
 the Prefecture of the Seine, a misstatement has been 
 made in what concerns M. Ferry; the real facts being 
 these : When I arrived at power the said situation was 
 vacant, and I offered the post to several men, some of them 
 the most respected of our time ; but they all declined it. 
 It was then that M. Ferry, although he had resigned, con- 
 sented still to support the burden until some one was 
 named to succeed him. He is an active, determined man, 
 who from that moment has taken part in the councils of 
 the Government. At the present moment, when no 
 authority exists in Paris, Marshal de MacMahon urges us 
 to proceeed at once to the installation of an administra- 
 tive authority ; but I ask you to whom am I to address 
 myself. The mayors and the police are both wanting in 
 the capital, and M. Ferry is not Prefect of the Seine, but 
 simply a lociim tenens, who has consented to again collect 
 together in that city the various threads of the adminis- 
 tration so long suspended. But the first point of all is to 
 disarm Paris {loud clieers), and a resolution to that effect 
 will be immediately presented to you. {Repeated cheers.) 
 As to the mayors, we are anxious to name them, and shall, 
 in that case, make use of the right which the law confers 
 upon us. Before that is done, however, the insurrection 
 
THE POETE ST. MAETIK. 349 
 
 must be put down completely. At the present moment 
 I have more diflBculties before me than prior to the victory, 
 and I shall not now, or for some time to come, have the 
 slightest repose. Do not, therefore, add to the present 
 trouble, but leave us all our calm for action." {Applause 
 and agitation.) 
 
 The military operations, meanwhile, were being con- 
 ducted with the usual vigor. 
 
 The barricades in the Eues Lafayette and St. Vincent 
 de Paul were successively forced by the soldiers. The 
 barracks of the Faubourg Poissoni^re was the scene of a 
 most desperate struggle, as was also the barricade at ths 
 Porte St. Denis ; but both were finally carried. 
 
 A battery was then established on the Boulevard Mont- 
 martre, near the Eue Drouot, to bombard the barricades of 
 the Porte St. Martin. 
 
 The insurgents had begun to erect these barricades on 
 Monday morning, crossing the boulevard from the Eue de 
 Bondy to the Faubourg Saint Martin. They were not 
 finished until Tuesday, and even then free circulation 
 was allowed, as the attack was yet far distant. The bar- 
 ricades were guarded by the 143d and 131st regiments of 
 the Federals, who chiefly spent their time in eating and 
 drinking. They obtained their supplies from the wine- 
 shops in the neighborhood, kept open " au noni de la Com- 
 viicne," the owners being paid by ions on that body. 
 
 On Wednesday morning the bombardment of the barri- 
 cades began, and was conducted with great fury, the 
 Federals replying with their muskets and cannon through 
 the entire day. 
 
 In the eveniug the few inhabitants who were not yet 
 in their cellars, saw the first faint glimmers of the fire in 
 the theatre of the Porte Saint Martin, lighted by the in- 
 surgents. The flames were spreading fast, when M. An- 
 
350 THE PARIS COMMU]SrE. 
 
 doche, a manufacturer of fire-engines in the Eue de Bondy, 
 placed all his machines at the disposal of the inhabitants, 
 who rivalled each other in their endeavors to extinguish 
 the conflagration. 
 
 This was the more praiseworthy, as to the danger in- 
 curred from the fire were added those of shot and shell, 
 which fell almost without intermission in the Eue de 
 Bondy and the Boulevard Saint Martin. 
 
 The Federals also, by an ambush at the corner of the 
 Eue Bonchardon, fired on any one who entered or left 
 the building in endeavoring to save it. 
 
 Every effort was made to prevent the fire from catching 
 on the opposite side of the Eue de Bondy, but about two 
 in the morning this fear was realized, and the buildings 
 being of light construction, the flames made rapid pro- 
 
 An appeal was made to all the inhabitants, who hast- 
 ened — ^men, women, and children — to the pumps and 
 chain. A passing band of firemen were hailed as deliv- 
 erers, and entreated to aid in subduing the flames; they, 
 however, replied in the most brutal and abusive manner 
 to all such requests, and hastened onward to" continue a 
 very different task. These were the men, disguised as 
 firemen, who were employed by the Commune to pene- 
 trate everywhere, and set fire to the entire city. 
 
 Notwithstanding all efforts, the theatre of the Porte St. 
 Martin was entirely destroyed, while a great portion of the 
 Eue de Bondy became a prey to the flames. 
 
 The block of houses situated between the above men- 
 tioned theatre and that of the Ambigu-Comique was also 
 invaded by a band of insurgents. The Eestaurant Def- 
 fieux was first entered, and the cellars pillaged, when the 
 invaders announced their intention of occupying every 
 story, and firing from the windows on the Versailles troops. 
 The inhabitants of the house, mostly women and children. 
 
CRUEL MASSACRE. 351 
 
 begged them on their knees to abandon this intention. 
 The commanding officer seemed softened by their appeal, 
 and retired, saying that he would establish an ambulance 
 in the house. 
 
 A short time after, the same man returned, but with 
 an increased force, and then began a regular pillage. 
 Every article of furniture was thrown from the windows, 
 under pretence that it was needed for making barricades. 
 The tenants were loud in their complaints and indigna- 
 tion. One young man, unable to control his feelings, 
 struck an insurgent in the face. 
 
 That act was fatal to the unfortunate people, vrho were 
 pursued from room to room, and massacred by the Federals 
 without mercy. Men, women, and children all shared 
 the same fate. Fire was then set to the houses, and they 
 were entirely consumed. Meanwhile, in another part of 
 Paris a scene was enacted exceeding eyen this in horror. 
 
 This was the murder of the hostages. 
 
 The following order had been given by the Commune 
 on the 22d of May ; and we have already seen the manner 
 in which it was employed by Eaoul Erigault, with reference 
 to the unfortunate Chaudey : 
 
 "C0MMF2S"E OP PARIS. 
 
 "Direction or GEiraEAii Secueitt, 
 " Paeis, 2 Prairial, year 79. 
 
 " The Citizen Eaoul Eigault is charged, together with 
 the Citizen Kegere, with the execution of the decree of 
 the Commune of Paris relative to the hostages. 
 
 " Delescluze, Billioray^ 
 
 These hostages, mostly priests, had been arrested at 
 different periods during the reign of the Commune ; and 
 their execution, threatened at first as a means of intimida- 
 tion, was finally decided upon. 
 
353 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The chiefs of the Commune felt that they were in pos- 
 session of a magniiQcent prey, and that the assassination 
 of such eminent persons would be for them a triumph. 
 The writers of the Commune who had shown the most 
 fanaticism in pushing the orgies of the people were those 
 who first demanded the execution of the heads of the 
 Parisian clergy. Eochefort, in his Mot d'Ordre, and Ver- 
 mesch, in the Pere Duchesne, both called loudly for their 
 assassination. 
 
 As the checks experienced by the battalions of the 
 Commune became more frequent, these threats increased 
 in yiolence ; and on Monday, the day after the entry of 
 the troops into Paris, about forty of the hostages were 
 conveyed from the Mazas prison to that of the Eoquette. 
 Among these were Monseigneur Darboy, Archbishop of 
 Paris, and M. Bonjean, President of the Court of Cassation. 
 On Tuesday fifteen more were removed to the same place. 
 Out of the fifty-five persons transferred from one prison 
 to another during the two days, not more than ten 
 belonged to the laity. All the others belonged to the 
 regular or secular clergy — Jesuit Fathers, the Fathers of 
 Picpus, missionaries, vicars and cures of the parishes of 
 Paris, and functionaries of the archbishopric. 
 
 The transfer from one prison to another was effected in 
 the middle of the day, in an open wagon, which was 
 followed by an infuriated multitude, calling "A mort!" 
 "A mort!" These menaces produced little effect on 
 victims who were prepared for anything. 
 
 The fate reserved for them was only too evident from 
 thQ appearance of the cells into which they were thrust, 
 Neither tables nor chairs, mattresses, nor sheets, but a 
 simple bed of straw, with a blanket for covering- It was 
 quite sufficient, they were told, for the short stay they 
 would make there. 
 
 Forty-three of the prisoners were placed in the fourth 
 
THE DOOMED HOSTAGES. 353 
 
 division of the prison — division from henceforth cele- 
 brated ; for from here were taken the illustrious " victims 
 of a political furnace." 
 
 Here they passed two quiet days, allowed to take their 
 recreation — two hours daily — together, and treated with 
 every kindness possible by the jailers, who belonged 
 mostly to the old administration. 
 
 On "Wednesday morning, the 24th, the corridor of the 
 division was suddenly invaded by a strong detachment 
 of Federals ; many of them were boys hardly able to carry 
 their guns and equipments. One of them held a list of 
 names in his hands ; and, passing from cell to cell, called 
 out six of the hostages, exactly as in the revolution of '93. 
 They were the following : 
 
 The Archbishop of Paris. 
 
 M. Bonjean, President of the Court of Cassation. 
 
 Abbe Duguerry, Cure of the Madeleine. 
 
 Father Ducoudray, Superior of the College of Jesuits in 
 the Eue Des Postes. 
 
 Father Clercq, Professor in the same college. 
 
 Abbe AUard, Chaplain to the Ambulances. 
 
 As their names were pronounced, each of the prisoners 
 was led out into the gallery, and descended by a winding- 
 staircase, near the chapel, into the court which serves as a 
 promenade for the prisoners. On each side as they passed 
 stood the National Guards, who insulted them with every 
 epithet their coarse tongues could utter. In the court 
 was a platoon of execution. Monseigneur Darboy advanced 
 and addressed a few words of pardon to his assassins. 
 Two of these men approached, and, in presence of their 
 comrades,. knelt, and implored his forgiveness. The other 
 Federals immediately threw themselves upon them, kicked 
 them to one side with insulting language, while they 
 addressed new words of outrage to their victims. 
 
 Their conduct and language became finally so violent 
 
354 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 that tlieir commandant himself was scandalized, and 
 silenced them with a horrible oath, saying, "You are 
 here to shoot these men, not to insult them." 
 
 The arms were then charged, and the prisoners placed 
 against the wall. Father Allard was the first victim, 
 then Monseigneur Darboy fell, and each of the others 
 was shot in turn, all showing the greatest courage and 
 fortitude. 
 
 After this tragical execution, which was attended only 
 by a few bandits, the bodies of the unhappy victims were 
 placed, dressed as they were, in a carriage of the Com- 
 pany of Lyon, which had been requisitioned for the pur- 
 pose, and conveyed to the Cemetery of Pere-Lachaise. 
 Here they were placed in the common trench, one beside 
 the other, not even covered with earth, and here they re- 
 mained until the cemetery w^s captured by the Versailles 
 troops, when the bodies were ' removed to receive funeral 
 honors. 
 
 Monseigneur Darboy was fifty-eight years of age. He 
 was born in a village of the Upper Marne, at Eayl-Billot, 
 the 16th of January, 1813. 
 
 George Darboy was educated at the Seminary of Lan- 
 gres, where he passed most brilliant examinations. In 
 1836 he was ordained priest, and sent as Vicar to Saint- 
 Dizier, near Vassy. A little later he was recalled to the 
 Seminary of Langres, where he was given the Professor- 
 ship of Philosophy, and afterwards that of Dogmatic 
 Theology. In two years' time he came to Paris, where 
 the death of one of his predecessors, Monseigneur Affre — 
 victim, like himself, to revolutionary fury — caused him to 
 be named Almoner to the Lyceum Henri IV, and later, 
 Honorary Canon of the Metropohs. 
 
 He was called by Monseigneur Sibour to the direction 
 of the Moniteur Catliolique. He then became first al- 
 moner of the Lyceum and honorary Vicar General, with 
 
THE AECHBISHOP OF PAEIS. 355 
 
 mission for inspecting the religious instruction of the 
 lyceums of the diocese. 
 
 In 1854, during a voyage which he made to Eome with 
 the Archbishop, the Pope conferred on him the title of 
 Apostolic Prothonotary. Finally, after being named Titu- 
 lar Vicar-General of Paris, he became, in 1859, Bishop of 
 JSTancy. 
 
 A decree of the 10th of January, 1863, designed him 
 for the archi-episcopal seat of Paris, where he was pre- 
 cognized the 16th of March, and installed the 21st of 
 April of the same j^ear. 
 
 On January 8th, 1864, he became Grand Almoner of 
 the Emperor, and a decree of the following October called 
 him to the Senate. He was a member of the Council of 
 Public Instruction, and grand-officer of the Legion of 
 Honor in 1868. 
 
 The moderate and conciliatory political role which Mon- 
 seigneur Darboy endeavored to fill after his elevation to 
 the archi-episcopacy, did not always succeed. The per- 
 sistent refusal of the Pope to accord a cardinal's hat to 
 the Archbishop of Paris was for a long time considered 
 as a sign of a misunderstanding between them. Monseig- 
 neur Darboy, however, protested against the existence of 
 anything of the kind in a pastoral letter, written on the 
 fiftieth anniversary of the priesthood of Pius IX. 
 
 It is interesting to recall, a propos of the death of Mon- 
 seigneur Darboy, what has been the fate of his predeces- 
 sors who succeeded each other after the revolution of '89 
 to the Archi-episcopal Palace in Paris. 
 
 In 1793, Monseigneur de Juigue died on the scaffold. 
 
 In 1815, Cardinal Maury was obliged to take refuge in 
 Rome. 
 
 In 1830, Monseigneur de Quelen was hunted by the 
 populace, the Archi-episcopal Palace sacked, and after- 
 
356 THE PARIS comjm:une. 
 
 wards entirely destroyed. The ijersecution of this prelate 
 lasted several years. 
 
 His successor, Monseigneur Afire, fell on the barricade 
 of the Faubourg Saint- Antoine, June 24th, 1848. 
 
 Monseigneur Sibour, who succeeded him, was assassin- 
 ated by Verger in 1857. 
 
 Finally, after the untroubled episcopate of Cardinal 
 Morlot, Monseigneur Darboy was arrested as a hostage 
 and murdered by the insurrection. 
 
 Thus, in the same century, one single soyereign has 
 died on his regal bed, and only three out of all the arch- 
 bishops have died a natural death. 
 
 Monseigneur Duguerry, cure of the Madeleine, was 
 struck by two balls ; one entered the cheek under the 
 right eye, the other passed through the lungs and came 
 out behind the right shoulder. 
 
 The Abbe Duguerry was born in Lyons in 1797, and 
 was the son of a wood merchant. At his death he was 
 seventy-four years of age. 
 
 After having commenced his studies at the seminary 
 of his native city, he went to finish them at the College 
 of Villefranche, but he was not ordained priest by dispen- 
 sation until 1820. 
 
 During four years he was professor of philosophy, the- 
 ology, and eloquence, and finally became preacher. 
 
 In 1824 he preached at Lyons ; in 1825 and 1826 at 
 Paris. The following year he was named almoner of the 
 6th regiment of the Koyal Guard by Charles X. He fol- 
 lowed his regiment to Orleans, to Eouen, and Paris, until 
 1830. 
 
 In 1828, he pronounced at Orleans a discourse in eulogy 
 of Joan of Arc, which twenty-eight years later (1856) he 
 was called upon to repeat. 
 
 From 1830 to 1839 he continued exclusively his course 
 of predication. In 1840 he made a voyage to Eome. On 
 
MONSEIGNEUR DUGUERRY. 357 
 
 liis return, M. Duguerry became canon of Notre-Dame, 
 and in 1844, archpriest. The following year he was made 
 cure of Saint Eustache, and in 1849 cure of the Made- 
 leine. 
 
 In the month of June, 1861, he was called to the bish- 
 opric of Marseilles, but he declined with thanks, saying — 
 " Je suis a la 2fadeleine, fy r ester at, fy mourrai, et fy 
 serai enterre." 
 
 He was replaced by M. Cruice. 
 
 In 1868 he was charged with the religious instruction 
 of the Prince Imperial. 
 
 Decorated in May, 1846, he was made oflQcer of the 
 Legion of Honor in 1853, and commander 8th of May, 
 1868. M. Duguerry was the author of many religious 
 works. 
 
 The following anecdote was related some two years ago 
 by the Abbe Duguerry in person, and will show how the 
 faith of this good man in the Parisian people was later 
 rewarded. 
 
 Speaking of the month of June, 1848, he said : 
 
 " I shall always remember that month and that year, for 
 it is only since that time that I have known the worth of 
 the people of Paris, of whom so mucli eyil has been said. 
 
 " The insurrection was thundering throughout the capi- 
 tal. The Faubourg Saint- Antoine was covered with bar- 
 ricades, and the Faubourg du Temple was being fortified. 
 Even the centre of Paris was assuming a similar aspect, 
 and everything gave evidence of the near outbreak of a 
 popular storm. 
 
 "I was alone in the sacristy with my vicars, who, in the 
 fear of danger, had thought it necessary to close the doors 
 of the churcli (Saint Eustache). "We were anxious. We 
 waited and listened. 
 
 " Suddenly we heard a distant sound of musketry, fol- 
 
358 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 lowed by the rolling of carriages taking flight, and the 
 noise made in closing the shutters of the shops around 
 us. 
 
 " This tumult was succeeded by a profound and fearful 
 silence, which lasted only a few moments. In about ten 
 minutes a few cries were raised, succeeded by a frightful 
 clamor, which seemed entirely to surround the church. 
 
 " We still remained seated, without uttering a sound. 
 
 " The noise outside continued increasing, and I felt in- 
 stinctively that danger menaced us. I was not mistaken. 
 A stone, breaking through one of the windows, fell at our 
 feet ; while the noise made by the hammering of the butts 
 of muskets upon the door, echoed through the aisles of 
 the church. 
 
 "The rioters wished to enter Saint Eustache. They 
 intended to force the doors. 
 
 " A few priests could make no head against thousands 
 of madmen. It was evident that we were lost. Nothing 
 remained but to die worthily. 
 
 " By a common accord, and without saying a word to 
 each other, we put on our church vestments, determined 
 to deliver ourselves up, and save, if possible, the violation 
 of the sanctuary. 
 
 " The assault made by the rioters was already breaking 
 the doors, when I ordered that they should be opened. 
 
 " The last bolt had hardly been withdrawn when they 
 gave way with a frightful noise, and we perceived the 
 streets and steps of the church black with a compact and 
 armed crowd. 
 
 " I made the sign of the cross, and advanced with my 
 vicars. 
 
 " Then was accomplished a fact which I shall never for- 
 get during my life. This howling crowd, uttering cries 
 of death, became suddenly silent, and I saw faces which 
 
PRESIDENT BONJEAN'S LETTER. 359 
 
 a moment before had been disfigured with fury, now re- 
 garding us with stupefaction. 
 
 " We advanced several steps, and the front rank of in- 
 surgents stopped. I then said : ' What do you wish with 
 mc, my children ? ' 
 
 "Not one replied. A sort of retrograde movement 
 made itself manifest, and one of the deluded men who , 
 stood near to me said : ' It is well. Monsieur le Cure — it 
 is well ; we will defend your church.' 
 
 " Then the crowd retired peaceably, and seemingly 
 rather ashamed. Those who had entered the building 
 bowed to me and went out. The church was saved." 
 
 Unfortunately, in 1871 there were more free-thinkers 
 than in 1848, and consequently they understood better 
 how to go to work to kill an old man and a priest. 
 
 It would be impossible to give at length the history of 
 aU the worthy men murdered by the Commune. They 
 were mostly persons of eminence, well chosen, in view of 
 their exalted positions and the irreparable loss inflicted on 
 the country by their deaths, to satisfy amply the lust for 
 vengeance of which that body gave evidence throughout. 
 The following letter, written by President Bonjean from 
 the Mazas prison, is a touching example of the writer's 
 self-sacrifice in the path of duty: 
 
 "Mazas, April 30tli, 1871. 
 
 "Ton ask me, my dear Guasco, why twice, on the 8th 
 of September and 20th of March, I returned to Paris, 
 when dwelling in that city presented such serious dangers. 
 You are, above all, astonished that I did not profit by the 
 armistice of the 28tli of January to go to Bayeux and 
 embrace my wife and children, for whom you know my 
 extreme tenderness, and from whom I have been separated 
 so long. 
 
360 THE PAEIS COMMUITE. 
 
 " If, instead of fighting bravely at Villiers, and haying 
 yourself mutilated by a Prussian shell on the Plateau of 
 Avron, you had come to talk sometimes with your old 
 friend, you would haye known that, giyen the incontest- 
 able principle that aboye all in days of danger a function- 
 ary should be at his post, I could not act otherwise than I 
 haye done. I answer your three questions. 
 
 " 1st Question. — The Court of Appeal, oyer which I pre- 
 side, being in yacation from September 1 to Noyember 3, 
 I could haye, without doubt, yery regularly, and without 
 incurring any reproach, remained in JSTormandy with my 
 family, and awaited the end of a siege which nobody then 
 belieyed would last more than a few weeks. But, on the 
 other hand, as the result of the departure of M. Deyienne, 
 it was on me, being senior of the presidents of the cham- 
 ber, that the duties of first president devolyed, that is to 
 say, of the highest magistrature of the country. I thought 
 it therefore my duty to return to Paris when the siege 
 became imminent, and I entered on the 8th, leaving in 
 Normandy my wife and children in tears. 
 
 " My sentiment was shared by all my colleagues ; when, 
 a few days later, M. Cremieux, keeper of the seals, con- 
 sulted us on the expediency of transporting the Court of 
 Cassation to Poitiers, the twenty-four members in Paris 
 did not hesitate to reply by a large majority that this 
 removal was not necessary to the welfare of the service. 
 It was also unanimously decided that it was ' more worthy 
 for the highest judiciary body to associate itself with the 
 perils of the Parisian population.' (See the Officiel of Sep- 
 tember 18.) I continued, therefore, during the siege, to 
 exercise the functions of first president added to those of 
 president of appeals. I attempted to contribute even more 
 actively in the defence of Paris, and had myself inscribed 
 as a volunteer in the National Guard ; but this service was 
 beyond my strength, and I was obliged to renounce it. 
 
MAKLY DETEEMINATI02^. 361 
 
 " 2d Question. — Why, after the capitulation of January 
 28, did I not profit by the cessation of the investment to 
 rejoin, if only for a few days, my well-beloved family at 
 Bayeux ? This is the reason : 
 
 " The capitulation left unsettled a question full of peril 
 — ^that of the entry of the Prussians into Paris. Had they 
 persisted in traversing the city triumphantly, an attempt 
 against the life of the King of Prussia was to be foreseen. 
 This attempt might lead to a horrible massacre. I did 
 not think it was permissible for the highest representative 
 of French justice (and I was that par interim) to be 
 absent from his post on the eve of such terrible events, in 
 which his rank might furnish him an occasion of being 
 useful, and I resisted the legitimate longing which drew 
 me towards Bayeux. 
 
 '■' 3d Question. — Why did I return on the 20th of 
 March ? 
 
 " It was only when the question of the entry of the 
 Prussians into Paris had been more happily decided than 
 I had at first hoped, that the duties of my charge permitted 
 me to leave, and I started for Bayeux. I was obliged to 
 stop at Orgeville (Eure), to endeavor to organize the culti- 
 vation of our domain, which the farmer had abandoned at 
 the invasion of the Germans, leaving the ground uncul- 
 tivated. I did not become aware of this until February 
 18th. I was at Orgeville on the 14th of March, and having 
 arranged my affairs was about to continue my route to 
 Bayeux, when late on Sunday the 19th I learned the 
 events of the preceding day: the retreat of the Govern- 
 ment to Versailles, and the establishment at the Hotel de 
 Ville of a rival power; the whole with the exaggerations 
 common under such circumstances. 
 
 " It was no time for hesitation. I wrote to my dear and 
 worthy wife not to expect me for several days, and very 
 late on the night of the 19th I entered Paris. Monday 
 16 
 
362 THE PAEIS COMMUIS'E. 
 
 was consecrated to reading the papers, Avhich I had not 
 seen since the 13tli, in order to form an idea of the char- 
 acter, still very obscure, of the movement of the 18th of 
 March. On Tuesday, the 21st, I presided as usual at the 
 chambre des requetes. At half past three, as I returned to 
 my house, I was arrested, conducted to the Prefecture of 
 PoHce, then to the depot, and later to Mazas, without 
 being able to discover the motives which caused my arrest. 
 To-day even, after forty-one days of detention, thirty-seven 
 of them au secret, I know no more than on the first day, 
 except from the vague information that I am held as a 
 hostage. 
 
 " These, my dear Charles, in all their sijnplicity, are the 
 facts which you wished to know. I iibst^in from all 
 reflections which might be considered by my jailer as an 
 obstacle to the departure of this letter. 
 
 " Well, my dear child — your age and your almost filial 
 devotion authorize me to give you this title — what I have 
 done I would do again, no matter what may be the un- 
 happy results for my beloved family. In doing one's duty 
 there is an interior satisfaction that permits one to bear 
 , with patience, and even with a certain suavity, the most 
 bitter sufferings. It is the quotation of the Sermon on 
 the Mount, of which I never before so well understood the 
 sublime philosophy, 'Blessed are they which are perse- 
 cuted for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven.' 
 
 "It is the same thought expressed by Sydney under 
 another form, when beginning to laugh, while descending 
 the steps of the Tower on his way to the scaffold, he re- 
 plied to his friends, astonished at his gayety in such a 
 moment, 'that one must do his duty and remain gay on 
 the scaffold inclusively ! ' 
 
 " Far from discouraging you, let my example aid you 
 to do your duty, no matter what may follow ; for I can 
 
NOBLE FA THEE, GUERRIN. 363 
 
 aflPirm to yon, upon my honour, that, except the terrible 
 anxiety I feel for the health of my noble and holy com- 
 panion, never has my soul felt such calm and serenity as 
 since I have lost even my name to become No. 14 of the 
 6th division. But this JSTo. 14 loves you very dearly, and 
 blesses you as though you were one of his own children. 
 
 " I do not need to add, for your friend has most likely 
 told you, that in announcing my arrest to my bravo 
 George, I added a most energetic prohibition against his 
 coming to Paris to attempt anything in my favor. 
 
 " I told him that his post was by the side of his djdng 
 mother, near the two young brothers of whom he may 
 become one day the solitary protector. I added that his 
 presence in Paris would cause me a veritable despair, for 
 I should have to fear either that they would retain him 
 here also as hostage, or that he would be obliged to serve 
 in this horrible civil war ; and that either of these events 
 would certainly be a mortal blow to his poor mother. 
 
 '■' Thank God, my brave child had a heart sufficiently 
 elevated to understand this language, and I am proud as 
 well as grateful for the conquest which that generous 
 nature has made over itself to accomplish the duty im- 
 posed upon it by my paternal authority ; my heart blesses 
 him with the tenderest affection. 
 
 " BONJEAN." 
 
 Such were the men murdered by the Communists. 
 Among the hostages remaining in prison was Father 
 Guerrin, of the Foreign Missions, who occupied the cell 
 iSTo. 22. This cell communicated with ]N"o. 21, where one 
 of the hostages belonging to the laity was confined — a 
 married man and father of a family. 
 
 After having given every consolation and encourage- 
 ment to his companion which could be prompted by the 
 most loving charity, Father Guerrin, on the night of the 
 
364 THE PAEIS COMMUJSTE. 
 
 assassination of the Archbisliop and the five other vic- 
 tims, remarked to his neighbor that the call of the con- 
 demned had been made, and would probably be made 
 again, without any attempt to prove their identity; that 
 consequently a substitution of persons was an easy thing, 
 and that if they proceeded by squads, the last survivors 
 would have some chance of being rescued in time by the 
 deliverers whom it was still permitted to expect. 
 
 At the moment of his arrest. Father Guerrin had 
 chanced to be dressed in civilian's clothes ; since his en- 
 trance into prison he had allowed his beard and mustaches 
 to grow, and there was nothing in his exterior to indicate 
 a member of the clergy. Under these circumstances, 
 " lieureusement reunies," as he said with touching simpli- 
 city. Father Guerrin offered his neighbor to reply for 
 him and take his place, if, at the next call, the name of 
 this father of a family should be called before his own. 
 " You are married,'* he said ; " you have a wife, a child, 
 for whom you ought to save yourself, if possible. Those 
 are ties which it would be too painful to break, and our 
 sacrifice is much less diflicult than yours. For me, a 
 priest, a missionary, the martyrdom which I sought in 
 China without finding it, eh lien ! I shall find 'it here. It 
 little matters whether it is to-day instead of to-morrow ; 
 above all, if I can render my death useful, and make it 
 contribute in saving your life." 
 
 This heroic act of abnegation could not have been pro- 
 posed more simply or more as a matter of course, and it 
 was only after a -^dolent debate, and an absolute and 
 reiterated refusal to profit by any substitution, that the 
 companion of the holy father could induce him to abandon 
 his design. What commentaries can be made on such an 
 act ! "While no country is cursed with such a large body 
 of atheists and free-thinkers as France, in no other is to 
 be found a clergy excelling the French in their loving 
 
EFFORTS TO SAVE THE HOSTAGES. 365 
 
 charity and perfect performance of duty towards God and 
 mankind. 
 
 Happily the army arrived in time to prevent either 
 No. 21 or No. 22 from answering to the fatal call upon 
 which Father Guerrin had insisted with such generous 
 self-sacrifice. 
 
 During the incarceration of the hostages, every effort 
 was made by their friends to alleviate their sufferings. 
 The following account is given by M. Eousse, staff-man 
 of the order of advocates, and the same who attempted to 
 obtain the liberation of Chaudey, of tlie steps taken by 
 him in favor of the imprisoned priests : 
 
 " I directed myself, at hazard, towards the dependencies 
 of the Court of Assizes by the entrance of the advocates, 
 while a guard on duty allowed me to pass without opposi- 
 tion. Not an usher, not a servant, not a sound ; an aban- 
 doned house. I opened discreetly two doors ; no one. In 
 passing before the chamber of council I mechanically 
 turned the handle and pushed open the door. To my 
 great surprise I found myself in the presence of seven or 
 eight individuals sitting, without any order, round the 
 room, and discussing. One alone was standing before the 
 table ; he was a small man, about thirty years of age, dark, 
 wearing a full beard, with a very energetic air. His 
 button-hole was ornamented with a large red ribbon, 
 fringed with gold. I was about to withdraw when this 
 individual raised his head and called to me in a most 
 brutal tone : 
 
 " ' What do you want ? ' 
 
 " At this unusual reception, instead of leaving, I closed 
 the door, and made a step in advance, saying — 
 
 "'I was told that I should find here the Procurator 
 of the Commune.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! and so on vient comme Qa vous causer f ' 
 
3GG THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 "'^Oli! permit me,' I replied, coolly. 'If I entered 
 here it was because I found neither servant nor usher. I 
 am perfectly well acquainted with the usages of the Palace. 
 I am an advocate and staffmau of the order.' 
 
 "This reply instantly changed the situation. 
 
 "'What do you wish, citizen?' 
 
 " ' To speak to the Procurator of the Commune.' 
 
 " ' He is before you.' 
 
 "And excusing himself to his colleagues, the fierce Pro- 
 curator made me pass before him, and enter his cabinet. 
 He then seated himself, and said — 
 
 " ' I beg your pardon, citizen, for having received you in 
 this manner, but every day I am disturbed for the most 
 absolutely useless objects. Would you believe it, there are 
 people who come here to ask for passports ? ' 
 
 " I told him the object of my visit. He made not the 
 slightest objection, and immediately began to write the 
 permit I requested. While he wrote, I asked — 
 
 " ' Do you think that these affairs will soon be brought 
 before a jury? I have been told that the trials would 
 take place on Monday.' 
 
 " ' Oh, no ! I will bring them on later. I do not wish 
 them to be judged at present. Since we are alone, I will 
 tell you that we have commenced negotiations with the 
 Yersaillese for an exchange of prisoners, and I hope that 
 we shall succeed.' 
 
 "'But,' said I, 'this negotiation was attempted some 
 time ago, and failed.' 
 
 " ' Yes, because it was badly conducted ; but wc are now 
 upon another ground.' 
 
 " ' So much the better ; it would be the solution most to 
 be desired.' 
 
 " Profiting by the familiarity with which this high 
 functionary seemed inclined to treat me, I added — 
 
 " ' How many priests have you arrested ? ' 
 
RIGAULT AND THE PEIESTS. 367 
 
 *•' ' I don't know, but not enough,' lie replied, in shaking 
 his head. 'I wanted to arrest a great many more, hut I 
 was prevented/ 
 
 ^•' ' Ah ! then we will talk no more of that, for we should 
 not agree.' 
 
 " * Oh, I know that yery well,' he answered, with a smile 
 of benevolent pity. 
 
 " ' But,' I said, ' there is something that frightens me 
 more than your jury; it is the perspective of a popular 
 movement against the priests, and a massacre such as 
 took place in '92.' 
 
 " ' Oh, don't be afraid of that, we qxq perfectly the masters; 
 and at any rate you are acquainted with Mazas. People 
 cannot enter there as they choose. The prisoners are in 
 safety there ; and it is for that reason that I did not have 
 them transferred to Pelagic. Pelagic is an open house, 
 and would be less secure/ 
 
 " While we were talking, I was endeavoring to find a 
 means of making him add to the permission for seeing 
 the Archbishop and Abbe Duguerry, another for the Pere 
 Canbert, a Jesuit, admission to whom I had demanded 
 uselessly for the last fifteen days at the Prefecture of 
 Police. 
 
 " 'All ! I forgot ; I have here another letter from a pri- 
 soner who wishes to see me. I will be much obliged if 
 you will add his name to the other tvv^o — M. Canbert." 
 
 " ' Is it another priest ? ' 
 
 «'Yes.' 
 
 " The worthy citizen hesitated a moment, but added the 
 name, and hauded me the official paper almost as graci- 
 ously as a functionary of the reaction could have done. 
 
 " ' Then,' said I, as we left the cabinet, ' I can count 
 that these afiairs will not come on for several days ? ' 
 
 " * No, I am not in any hurry . . . unless the prisoners 
 demand a judgment.' 
 
368 THE PAEIS COMMUl^E. 
 
 " ' But/ I added, in leaving him, ' are you not afraid of 
 having your hand forced by an interpellation from your 
 colleague, Urbain, of the Commune ? ' 
 
 " Citizen Rigault smiled with the air of a man sure of his 
 superiority. 
 
 " ' Urbain,' he answered me with a gesture of disdain ; 
 ' I am not at all afraid of his interpellations ; I fear no in- 
 terpdlation. The affair shall only come on when you give 
 me the sign.' 
 
 "After this information, little academical, but entirely 
 Parisian, I took leave of my redoubtable interlocutor, and 
 I thanked him, promising not ' to give him a sign ' so 
 very soon. 
 
 "In leaving the palace, I entered my carriage and was 
 conducted immediately to Mazas. I asked to see the 
 Archbishop in his cell, and not in the parlor of the advo- 
 cates. My request was accorded "with a good grace. 
 
 " ' He is quite ill,' the chief guardian told me. 
 
 " On entering the cell of the poor Archbishop, I was 
 struck, in fact, by his air of suffering and depression. 
 Thanks to the doctor of the establishment, the regulation 
 hammock of the prisoners had been replaced by a bed. 
 On this he "was lying dressed, his beard and mustaches 
 long, and on his head a small black skull-cap. He was 
 dressed in a rather "worn cassock, from beneath which fell 
 the ends of a violet sash. His features were much 
 changed, and his face very pale. The noise I made in 
 entering caused him to turn his head. Without knowing 
 me, he imagined who I was, and extended his hand with 
 a sad and sweet smile, "which "was at the same time of pene- 
 trating finesse. 
 
 " ' You are ill, monseignenr, and I disturb you. Had I 
 not better come some other day ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh, no ; I thank you so much for coming. I am ill, 
 quite ill. I have suffered for some time from an affection of 
 
THE ARCHBISHOP'S CONDITION". 369 
 
 the heart, 'vvhich is aggravated by want of air and diet of 
 the prison. I wish in the first place that you could put off 
 my affair, since they wisli to judge me. I am utterly 
 unable to go before their tribunal. If they wish to shoot 
 me, let them shoot me here. I am not a hero, but it is 
 as well to die that way as another.' 
 
 " I hastened to interrupt him. 
 
 " ' Monseigneur,' I said, ' we have not reached that 
 point yet ; ' and I related, insisting on all the points that 
 could reassure him, the conversation which I had just 
 had with Eigault. By talking thus, Monseigneur Darboy 
 became animated and almost gay. He developed in a few 
 words the ideas which he judged most useful for his 
 defence. 
 
 " ' I do not know,' he said, ' what causes their animosity 
 against me. I have incurred, on account of my ideas on 
 certain subjects, the disfavor of the Court of Eome. 
 When, in 1863, I was called to the Archbishopric of Paris, 
 I explained to the Emperor my views regarding the sepa- 
 ration of Church and State. I begged him to occupy him- 
 self with the clergy as little as possible, and since, I have 
 always avoided speaking in my public acts of the Emperor 
 and his government. After my arrest I was subjected to 
 the most ridiculous interrogatories. This Eigault or 
 Ferre told me that I had taken possession of the people's 
 property.' 
 
 " ' What property ? ' I asked. 
 
 " ' Parbleu, the churches, the vases, the ornaments.' 
 
 "'But,' I replied, 'you don't know of what you are talk- 
 ing. The vases, the ornaments, everything which serve in 
 the religious worship, belong to persons called fahriques, 
 who have the right to possess them ; and if you had taken 
 them, you would expose yourself to penalties written in 
 the laws.' 
 
 " The Archbishop then spoke to me of the visits he had 
 16* 
 
370 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 received from Mr. "Wasliburne, Minister of the United 
 States, and of the negotiations which had been made for 
 the exchange of prisoners between the Government and 
 the Commune. I then recalled to him the allusion made 
 by Eaoul Eigault to new negotiations. He told me that 
 he knew about them, and that Mr. Wasliburne had been 
 conducting them with great zeal. 
 
 "He then returned to the subject of his defence, of the 
 necessity for delay, and of the composition of the jury. 
 He spoke with great sweetness, with perfect freedom of 
 mind, and sometimes with an irony without bitterness. 
 He told me that for some time they had allowed him to 
 walk in the yard, in company with either the Abbe Du- 
 guerry or President Bonjean. 
 
 " ' The President,' he added, ' proposed to defend me, 
 but I told him that he would have quite enough to do in 
 defending himself.' 
 
 "The Archbishop then spoke of his sister, Vfho had 
 been arrested with him and afterwards released. I asked 
 him if I could render him any service ; if he had any letters 
 to be transmitted ; if he had need of anything. 
 
 " ' Nothing,' he said ; ' I have need of nothing, unless it 
 is to be left here ; let them come here to shoot me if they 
 wish, but I could not go to the trial ; the doctor must 
 have told them so.' 
 
 " After half an hour's conversation, I offered him my 
 hand, and pressed his with emotion. More than once I 
 had felt the tears coming. He bade me good-by with 
 effusion, thanking me warmly for my charity. My visit, 
 the assurance I gave him that the judgment would not 
 take place immediately, the promise that I made to come 
 and see him often, had evidently raised his spirits. When 
 I rose, he threw off the rough woolen blanket that half 
 covered him, and, holding my hand in his, conducted me 
 to the door. 
 
ABBE DUGUERRY IK PRISOK. 371 
 
 " ' You will come again soon, will you not ? ' 
 
 " ' Tuesday, monseigneur.' 
 
 " And I went out. His cell was l^o. C2. 
 
 " A few doors further on was the cell of M. Duguerry. 
 When I entered he was seated between the bed and the 
 table on the only chair the room possessed. On the table 
 were several books, newspapers, and a small copper cruci- 
 fix, like those worn by the nuns. Without rising, the 
 poor cure held out his arms and gave me a long embrace. 
 He then forced me to take his chair. 
 
 " ' Ah ! I have plenty of time to be there,' he said, and 
 he seated himself near me on the foot of the bed. I did 
 not find him much changed, only thinner. His white 
 beard and mustaches displayed themselves against his 
 florid complexion and large features, which were framed 
 by the remains of a plentiful head of hair. The good 
 cure immediately began to repeat to me the burlesque 
 remarks made to him by Rigault and his secretary Da- 
 costa. 
 
 " ' What is this trade of yours ? ' 
 
 " ' It is not a trade, it is a vocation, a moral ministry, 
 which we undertake for the amelioration of souls.' 
 
 " ' Ah, that is all Magues. We want to know what 
 stories you tell the people.' 
 
 " ' We teach them the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 
 
 '•' ' There are no more Lords ; we don't know any Lords.' 
 
 " The director of the prison said to the good Abbe in a 
 moment of confidence: 'I, too, have religious ideas. I 
 wished to be a Moravian brother; afterwards I had an 
 idea of belonging to the Brotherhood of Ohartreux; but I 
 think I had sooner become a Mormon.' 
 
 " The Abbe Duguerry added that he had need of no- 
 thing ; that his domestic had everything passed to him for 
 which he asked. I saw, in fact, on the table several 
 oranges, chocolate, and some bottles. 
 
372 THE PAEIS COMMUIirE. 
 
 "'We receive the papers/ he said. 'Ah! I wish you 
 would bring me the Grandeur et la Decadence des Romains, 
 by Montesquieu.' 
 
 " ' Willingly, Monsieur le Cure ; I will bring it Tuesday 
 when I return to see you.' 
 
 " ' You can return ? ' 
 
 " 'Assuredly; as often as I wish. My permission is not 
 limited.' 
 
 " ' Ah ! I am very happy to hear it, very happy. How I 
 thank you ! ' and tears stood in his eyes. 
 
 " I had risen. In taking the few steps that separated us 
 from the door, he held my hand. Arrived at the end, he 
 said : 
 
 ^'^ Allans, dear friend, take my regards to your mother. 
 You will tell her that I cried/ and he embraced me, sob- 
 bing. 
 
 " He recovered himself in a moment, and said : 
 
 " 'Allons, allo7is, until Tuesday. Don't forget my book.'" 
 
 Notwithstanding the violences of which the insurrec- 
 tional government had XDroved itself capable, no one be- 
 lieved that they would go so far as to assassinate the hos- 
 tages. Assassination it must be called, for there is no 
 other name with which to qualify executions made with- 
 out any motive of accusation, without judgment, without 
 even an interrogatory. There is, however, a state of 
 furious exaltation which, passing a certain degree, be- 
 comes delirium, a bloody frenzy. When this exaltation, 
 mingled with emphatic phrases, with words of right, of 
 emancipation, and of social enfranchisement repeated far 
 beyond their true signification, gains an ignorant crowd, 
 spoiled by vanity and envy, then indeed the worst results 
 are to be anticipated ; then the conscience becomes mute, 
 all notions of equity are effaced, and the passions have full 
 sway without any curb to restrain them. 
 
ADVANCE OF THE TROOPS. 373 
 
 It would seem as though the army had a presentiment 
 of these catastrophes from the ardor with which they car- 
 ried the different positions, and the rapidity with which 
 they advanced as far as the security of the general plan 
 would allow. 
 
 During the day of Wednesday, the 24th, the troops 
 divided on the right bank into three principal columns, 
 advanced through the 1st, 2d, 3d, and 10th Arrondisse- 
 ments. In this last they had taken possession of the 
 church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, of the Northern and 
 Eastern Railway Stations, and commanded the Boulevard 
 Magenta ; in the centre they had invaded the old boule- 
 vards, and had carried the barricades of the Portes St. 
 Denis and St. Martin. In abandoning the latter the Fed- 
 erals had set fire to the Theatre of the Porte St. Martin, 
 and to all the block of buildings beyond as far as the 
 entrance of the Faubourg; towards the Seine, after a long 
 and furious combat, they had become masters of the 
 wheat-market, the central-market, of Saint-Eustache, and 
 the insurgents, everywhere driven back, retired precipi- 
 tately by the Eues Turbigo and Eambuteau to concen- 
 trate at the grand fortress of the Chateau-d'Eau and at 
 the Bastille. 
 
 The insurgents in withdrawing set fire to the Church 
 of Saint-Eustache, but the flames were fortunately extin- 
 guished before they could do much damage. The spire 
 was demolished during the bombardment. 
 
 Finally, the soldiers conquered, step by step, after a 
 series of fierce engagements, the Louvre, the Place Saint- 
 Germain-l'Auxerrois, and the streets Saint-Honore and 
 Rivoli as far as the Pont-Neuf. Most of the houses in 
 these large thoroughfares bear the traces of bullets and 
 shells ; many indeed were entirely destroyed. Arrived at the 
 Rue des Halles and the Pont-Neuf, the assailants were joined 
 in the Cite by one of the divisions of General de Cissey. 
 
374 THE PARIS COMMUITE. 
 
 At the attack of the barricade of the Theatre FraiKjais, 
 which was made by the Eue Montpensier, the Eue Eiche- 
 lien, and the Eue Saint-Honore, many of the National 
 Guards refused to surrender and were immediately shot. 
 
 In the afternoon, at about three, the Palais Eoyal was 
 set on fire by the insurgents. A merchant in the build- 
 ing, believing the fire to be an accident, hastened to ofier 
 his services, but was roughly received by a captain of the 
 National Guard, who threatened to fire upon him if he did 
 not immediately withdraw. He added that the quarter 
 was to be blown up, and that everything must burn. 
 Nevertheless, notwithstanding his menaces, two pumps 
 were placed in action by the inhabitants of the neighbor- 
 hood. It was then four o'clock. No water was to be 
 had in the Court des Fontaines, and it was necessary to 
 make a chain in the passage conducting to the Court of 
 Plonor. 
 
 A ladder was placed against the wall in order to reach 
 the terrace of the Eue de Valois, but the menaces of the 
 msurgents to fire were so precise that the attempt to save 
 the pavilion from that side was abandoned. 
 
 The fire and smoke poured forth from three windows 
 above the terrace No. 17, where the flames were success- 
 fully extinguished in the midst of shots fired from the 
 barricade of the Eue de Eivoli. 
 
 At five o'clock a pump was established in the Court of 
 Honor, and a large quantity of paintings, precious mar- 
 bles, furniture, etc., was saved. 
 
 The chains were formed, but unfortunately the most 
 difficult thing to obtain was water, the insurgents having 
 cut all the pipes to insure the destruction of the palace. 
 At seven o'clock several members of the Paris Fire Com- 
 pany arrived, but by that time pavilion No. 1 was entirely 
 consumed. 
 
 On the arrival of the firemen, they began immediately 
 
PALAIS EOYAL BUENING. 375 
 
 to combat the fire in pavilion No. 2, to prevent its gain- 
 ing the apartments of the Princess Clotilde. The furni- 
 ture of the chapel, and all the church ornaments were 
 saved. 
 
 Finally, at eight o'clock, the troops of the line arrived. 
 They were received with cries of " Vivo la ligne ! " " Vive 
 la France ! " 
 
 The work was then continued with more calm, and a 
 means was sought for attacking the fire from above — that 
 is, from the second story or from the roofs. The great 
 danger was from the theatre, which the flames were rapidly 
 approaching. If this was reached, it was to be feared that 
 the whole quarter would be destroyed. 
 
 The idea was then formed of attacking the fire from 
 the theatre itself, and of arresting the flames by means of 
 its pipes. M. Le Sache placed himself at the head of this 
 movement. Mounting on the roof with the head ma- 
 chinist, he was obliged to hide himself, to avoid the balls 
 fired by the Communists from the top of the Hotel du 
 Louvre. Braving the danger, the roof was mined; the 
 water finally arrived; and it was time. 
 
 At ten o'clock, a body of thirty firemen appeared, and 
 succeeded in rendering themselves masters of the flames. 
 An hour sooner, the whole could have been saved. 
 
 The resistance in the neighborhood of the Hotel de 
 Ville was most obstinate, and before the defences sur- 
 rounding the building had been entirely captured by the 
 troops, it was evacuated and set on fire by the insurgents. 
 
 Strategically a considerable advance had been made 
 during the day. The line of investment had been greatly 
 narrowed, thus enabling the different corps to render each 
 other more assistance ; while the Federals, on the contfary, 
 commenced to be discouraged, and were deprived of all 
 unity of commandment, and of almost all combined direc- 
 tion, dating from the 34th. They were isolated in two 
 
376 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 distinct combats on the right and left banks, where they 
 accumulated uselessly at certain preferred points. 
 
 As regarded the action, however, the most perilous por- 
 tion of their task was yet to be achieved by the troops. 
 They were approaching the traditional ground of the in- 
 surrection, where the remembrance of former popular 
 combats still heated the ardor of the insurgents, where 
 narrow and winding streets succeed each other rapidly, 
 still existing in great numbers beyond the Faubourg 
 Poissoniere, the Eue Montorgueil, and the Eue St. Denis, 
 notwithstanding the large avenues which have been mad'e 
 through these populous quarters to the Place de la Bas- 
 tille. 
 
 They were penetrating, in fact, upon the theatre of the 
 terrible days of June, 1848, which at that time seemed to 
 those who witnessed them the end of all attempts at in- 
 surrection in Paris, but whose scenes, reproduced with 
 even more violence in the last days of the insurrection of 
 1871, have seemed but slight episodes in this horrible 
 street battle. 
 
 The object of the army had been fully determined when 
 it began its march on the morning of the 24th. On the 
 right bank, their course has been already described ; their 
 advance on the Hotel de Yille, in order to gain the Bas- 
 tille by the Eue Saint Antoine ; the taking of the Central 
 Market and the Eue Turbigo, opening the way to the 
 Chateau d'Eau. In the centre, the march of General 
 Douay's corps along the old boulevards also approaching 
 the Chateau d'Eau, and in the north, the occupation of the 
 Eue Lafayette as far as the l^orthern Eiailway Station and 
 the Boulevard Magenta, in order to second either the at- 
 tacl»on the Chateau d'Eau and the Bastille or that of La 
 Villette and the Buttes Chaumont. 
 
 On the left bank it was necessary to gain possession of 
 the Pantheon before pushing on towards the Gobelins, 
 
A COWAKDLY INSURGENT. 377 
 
 and to reacli tlie Orleans Eailway Station by taking pos- 
 session of the quays, concurring on the way in the occu- 
 pation of the Cite and the Hotel de Ville. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 24th, the troops took pos- 
 session of the barricade at the Barriere d'Enfer, after a 
 violent combat. A large number of prisoners were taken. 
 Among them was a staff captain, his breast covered with 
 medals — the Crimean, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican, to- 
 gether with three medals of salvage. This man, with a 
 large face, full chest and bull neck, was dragged along 
 pale and trembling, begging for mercy, telling of his de- 
 votion to his fellow-creatures, of his wife and child who 
 were expecting him at Charenton, and swearing that he 
 had been taken by force to the barricades — which was suf- 
 ficiently disproved by the grade he bore. 
 
 The chasseur who had taken him prisoner, and torn 
 from his hand the flag of the Commune, had been twice 
 fired upon by this wretch. In direct contrast with this 
 cowardice Avas the attitude of an old sergeant, at least 
 sixty years of age, who stood firm and impassible amidst 
 the shouts and execrations of the populace. 
 
 The 24th, in. the morning, the occupation of the Fau- 
 bourg Saint Germain was assured ; and at about eleven 
 o'clock a portion of the troops of General de Cissey began, 
 the attack of the Pantheon, in combining a double move- 
 ment of approach by the Place Medicis and the Eue 
 SouiSot, and by the Rues Gay-Lussac, Eoyer-Collard, and 
 TJlm. At all these points the combat was exceedingly 
 violent. 
 
 A brigade, formed in three columns, opened the action 
 by rushing on the Luxembourg through the gates of the 
 garden, which open on the Eue d'Assas and the Eiie de 
 Vaugirard, while the column on the right carried the 
 Ecole des Mines, and extended its sharp-shooters the 
 length of the railing in the Eue de Medicis. 
 
378 THE PARIS COMMUTE. 
 
 At the satae time a battalion of chasseurs crossed the 
 garden at a quickstep, and arrived at the gate of the Eue 
 SouflQot, where, under a rain of bullets and shells thrown 
 from the Pantheon, from the Eue Soufflot and its barri- 
 cades, they broke down the gate, and carried the barricade 
 which stood opposite, gaining possession of two mitrail- 
 leuses. They then invaded the Boulevard Saint Michel, 
 and established their guns on the barricades of the Eues 
 Cujas and Mallebranche. 
 
 The insurgents who had taken refuge behind the barri- 
 cades of the Boulevard Saint Michel were able to com. 
 mand these positions, and rendered them very dangerous 
 for the troops who remained, during an hour, exposed to 
 a most terrible fire, which did not however succeed in 
 making them fall back. 
 
 At this moment, the General Paturel who directed the 
 attack was struck in the leg by a ball. He had remained 
 with the most remarkable sang-froid at the head of the 
 Boulevard Saint Michel, notwithstanding the terrible fire, 
 giving his orders with the greatest calm, causing the 
 points which seemed to him most important to be occu- 
 pied, and going from barricade to barricade encouraging 
 the troops by his presence. 
 
 At the same time, another column, under the orders of 
 General Bocher, carried, with equal intrepidity, the barri- 
 cades erected in the Eues Eoyer-CoUard and Gay-Lussac, 
 and advanced on the Pantheon by the Eues du Faubourg- 
 Saint-Jacques and d'Ulm. 
 
 The efforts on the side of the Place Saint-Michel were 
 then redoubled. The fire of the National Guards being 
 answered vigorously by the troops, gradually decreased in 
 intensity, when the soldiers, advancing by the Eues Souf- 
 flot, Cujas, and Mallebranche, attacked the barricades in 
 front, and finally carried them, rejoining the column 
 which issued from the Eue d'Ulm at the same moment. 
 
IKCENDIARY DESIGN'S. 379 
 
 After a last attack with the bayonet, the insurgents were 
 entirely routed, and fled towards the Gobelins and the 
 Barriere d'ltalie. The Pantheon was taken. It was time; 
 without the rapidity of the action, which had thrown 
 trouble and disorder among the Federals, this monument 
 would have been broken to fragments by a horrible ex- 
 plosion. The order had been given to blow up the Pan- 
 theon ; barrels of powder, and vats filled with petroleum, 
 placed in the cellars, only awaited the electric spark. 
 
 There, as in many other places, time had failed the insur- 
 gents, and prevented them from giving free course to their 
 terrible designs. 
 
 These designs were not due, as one would like to be- 
 lieve, to the sudden inspiration of madmen, drunk with 
 whiskey, poAvder and despair. No ! It is certain, unhap- 
 pily for the honor of human nature, that these projects 
 of destruction, dictated by a true sentiment of social 
 hatred, formed a part of the plan of resistance of the 
 Commune and the Central Committee, and were, above 
 all, entertained by the members of the Committee of Pub- 
 lic Safety. 
 
 The burning of so many public monuments, of so much 
 private property, is a sufficient proof of this design ; and 
 yet all these conflagrations were, thanks to the prompti- 
 tude of the military operations, but partial incidents in a 
 general system conceived for the ruin of Paris. 
 
 Discoveries have been made in most of the quarters of 
 quantities of powder and petroleum placed in the sewers, 
 in the depths of cellars, in the different stories of houses, 
 in the interior of public edifices, placed in such a manner 
 as to blow up or set on fire entire streets. 
 
 Finally, written orders have been found on the different 
 chiefs of the insurrection, denoting how carefully the hor- 
 rible combination had been carried out. 
 
 Tliose ordering the formation of four companies under 
 
380 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the orders of Milli^re, Dereure, Billioray, and Vesinier, 
 for the purpose of setting fire to the different quarters of 
 Paris, have been ah'eady given in this work. 
 
 On the 24th of May, at nine in the evening, the follow- 
 ing notice was placarded on the walls of the 11th Arron- 
 dissement : 
 
 "C0MMU2>rE OF PARIS. 
 
 " Order, 
 
 " 4 Prairial, year 79, 9 p. m. 
 
 " Any house from the windows of which a shot is fired 
 on the National Guards will he immediately destroyed ; 
 and all the inhabitants who do not deliver or themselves 
 execute the author of such a crime, will be immediately 
 shot. 
 
 "The CoMMissiois" of War." 
 
 The following order was found on an insurgent killed 
 at the barricade of the Croix Eouge : 
 
 " The bearer of this order is authorized to destroy by 
 fire or mine any public or private establishment prejudi- 
 cial to the defence of the Commune." 
 
 At the moment when the attack on the Pantheon was 
 in full progress, the fighting was suspended on both sides 
 for several moments by a terrible detonation which shook 
 the quarter of the Luxembourg to its very foundations. 
 
 A powder magazine situated in the back of the garden, 
 near the Eue de I'Ouest, had been exploded by the insur- 
 gents, who had communicated a spark to the powder by 
 means of an electric wire. The noise was frightful ; a 
 great number of houses in the Eue de I'Ouest, in the 
 Boulevard Saint-Michel near the Observatory, were much 
 injured ; also those in the Eues d'Enfer, D'Assas, De Yau- 
 girard, De Madame, De Fleurus, etc. In the Place de 
 Medicis, and the neighboring portion of the Boulevard 
 Saint-Michel, the fronts of the shops had been literally torn 
 
RAQUL RIGAULT 
 ComiTiune of Pans 
 
 1871 
 
RAOUL RIGAULT'S ARREST. 381 
 
 away. Throughout the whole quarter, all the windows 
 were broken into thousands of pieces. 
 
 This secondary injury was happily the only one sus- 
 tained by the Palace of the Luxembourg, so near the 
 scene of the explosion. 
 
 Clouds of dust obscured the light of the sun ; the in- 
 habitants everywhere rushed out into the courts and 
 streets, fearing every moment to be crushed beneath their 
 falling houses; remains of furniture, of glass, of timber, 
 of marble, were thrown far and wide, covering the ground. 
 in every direction. While the terror was at its height, 
 the battle recommenced; and it became all the more 
 difficult to escape disaster, as, fleeing from the rain of fall- 
 ing fragments, the unhappy inhabitants were often reached 
 by the balls of the combatants. It was during this same 
 day of the 24th that Eaoul Eigault, Procurator of the 
 Commune, was shot. 
 
 He came at about three in the afternoon, to give 
 instructions regarding the defence to the Federals of the 
 5th Arrondissement. He then went to the Eue -Gay- 
 Lussac, where he had hired a hotel under the name of 
 Varcla, which hotel was inhabited by an actress of one 
 of the smaller Parisian theatres. 
 
 As he placed his hand upon the door-bell, the soldiers 
 of the line made their appearance by the Eue des Feuil- 
 lantines. At the sight of Eaoul Eigault, who wore the 
 uniform of a chief, they fired without reaching him. 
 
 The door opened at the same instant, and Eigault 
 entered, closely followed by the soldiers. They first seized 
 upon the proprietor of the house, who was in shirt-sleeves, 
 taking him for the man they sought, on account of his 
 black beard, which resembled that worn by Eigault. A 
 surgeon who inhabited the house hastened to inform them 
 that they had seized a peaceful man, entirely stranger to 
 all political quarrels. 
 
382 THE PAEIS OOMMUKE. 
 
 The soldiers then began to search the house, and soon 
 laid their hands upon Eigault, who, having given his 
 name, followed them quietly. 
 
 They then descended the Rue Gay-Lussac, leading their 
 prisoner to the Luxembourg. When at the Eue Royer- 
 Collard they met a colonel of the staff, who asked his 
 name. Rigault replied with a shout of " Vive la Com- 
 mune ! a has les assassins ! " 
 
 He was forthwith placed against the wall and shot. 
 His body lay abandoned at the entrance of the street for 
 twenty-four hours, and presented a frightful spectacle. 
 His head, surrounded by hair and beard, glued with blood, 
 was horrible to see. The left side of the face was entirely 
 crushed, and formed an undistinguishable mass, while the 
 right eye, which alone remained, stood open, fixed and 
 haggard in its expression. 
 
 Early in life Eaoul Eigault had felt himself made for a 
 double vocation, that of forming conspiracies and Of doing 
 the police on a large scale. These two specialties would 
 seem at first sight to exclude each other, but he managed 
 to conciliate two things apparently so hostile. Friend 
 and disciple of L. A. Blanqui, he is believed to have 
 derived his strange tastes from the French Mazzini. In 
 his youth he had entered several schools, attempted a 
 little of everything without any success, particularly the 
 preparation for the Polytechnic School; and from these 
 different failures at his examinations he had drawn a feel- 
 ing of envy and hatred of others vfhicli prompted him to 
 destroy everything. One is tempted to believe that the 
 defeats which he had undergone counted for something in 
 the extravagance of his radicalism. 
 
 His old father — a most honorable man — and his brother, 
 a young man, sensible and well-bred, had both attempted 
 at different times to bring back this prodigal son to his 
 family, but always without success. He was entirely 
 
SKETCH or KIGAULT'S LIFE. 383 
 
 absorbed in politics and the police. In writing for dif- 
 ferent papers, he always had in view this double work. 
 In 1870, at the time of the process of Blois, when he had 
 to reply in regard to facts touching the conspiracy, he had 
 for an advocate M. Lachaud, to whom he confided the 
 vivacity of his instincts. 
 
 During the Commune this advocate had need of a per- 
 mit of circulation, of which the delegate to the police was 
 so avaricious. He asked and obtained it, remarking at 
 the same time to his former client that he must have 
 reached the height of his desires, since he was at the same 
 time member of the government and chief of the police. 
 " Without doubt," replied Eigault, " only it must last." 
 
 After the revolution of the 4th of September, he had 
 found means of introducing himself to M. Keratry, and 
 had placed his hands on all that was most mysterious or 
 most intricate in the Eue de Jerusalem. When M. 
 Keratry ceded his functions to M. Edmond Adam, the 
 young conspirator was obliged to retire also. In leaving 
 the Prefecture of Police, he carried with him a large 
 quantity of documents relative to the secret police ; and 
 afterwards published a list of the ex-democrats who had 
 been paid during the Empire to denounce the proceedings 
 of the party to which they had belonged. Fifteen or 
 twenty persons had thus their proceedings laid bare, but 
 they were for the most part illiterate men, drunkards, or 
 laborers without work, whom M. Ernest Picard calls with 
 reason the " low demagogy." 
 
 By constantly frequenting the clubs from the beginning 
 of the siege, Kaoul Eigault gained a certain popularity 
 which caused him to be named chief of one of the bat- 
 talions of the 5th Arrondissement. 
 
 This title, and the embroideries it enabled him to wear, 
 helped him to become initiated in the Eepublican Con- 
 federation, presided over by the ex-Count du Bisson, 
 
384 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 general under the Commune. At the revolution of the 
 18th of March, the monomaniac had only to present him- 
 self at the Prefecture of Police in order to take possession. 
 From that day he reigned there, not- as master, but as 
 tyrant. 
 
 Eigid in his attitude, hard and brief in his words, 
 listening only to the passion which dominated him, to 
 such an extent that he would hear neither his friends nor 
 his equals, he spread over Paris an immense web, entang- 
 ling in its threads all persons hostile to the Communal 
 movement ; and, as is well known, their number was not 
 few. 
 
 In the derisive elections made on the 26th of Marcli, he 
 was elected member of the Commune by a small majority, 
 and in the sittings of that body he supported with all his 
 power the necessity of imitating the movement of '92 in 
 every proceeding. To this was added the arrest of hos- 
 tages—a practice which had been renewed by the Prus- 
 sians. 
 
 Before him the priests first appeared after their arrest. 
 Monseigneur Darboy having been conducted to his ante- 
 room, entered, saying mildly to those present, " What do 
 you wish, my children ? " 
 
 "Citizen," replied Eaoul Eigault, roughly, "leave off 
 that wheedling and familiar manner of speaking. Do not 
 forget that you are in the presence of a magistrate," and 
 he showed his scarf of Prefecture of Police. 
 
 From the moment he became member of the Commune 
 he dreamed only of uniting his functions of Delegate of 
 Police with those of Procurator-General. He had thus 
 gained one quality more, and a new pretext for meddling 
 in public affairs. His ideal was to himself sue those 
 whom he had arrested; and twice during the sittings of 
 court-martial he demanded, without any hesitation, sen- 
 tences of death. 
 
RIGAULT'S PRIEND PILOTELL. 385 
 
 It is not to be wondered at that, from the beginning of 
 April, his very name caused a certain terror ; men ordi- 
 narily full of courage avoided going where they were in the 
 habit of meeting him; a single sign of his hand being 
 sufficient to cause any one's arrest, while no one knew 
 what might become of his prisoners. 
 
 From the day of his entrance into power, Rigault had 
 taken as associate a third-class artist called Pilotell, whom 
 he employed in seizing his victims. One of these, M. 
 Polo, director of the Eclipse, was imprisoned for having 
 sent copies of his paper to Versailles, and plundered at 
 the same time of 3,000 francs. His real offence consisted 
 in not having accepted for his satirical sheets all the car- 
 icatures presented by Pilotell. He was afterwards set at 
 liberty through the efforts of his friends, but his three 
 thousand francs were not returned. 
 
 Pilotell was later employed in making a domiciliary 
 visit at the house of Grustave Chaudey. Having taken 
 X)ossession of all the papers on which he could lay his 
 hands, he discovered in the bottom of a drawer 815 francs 
 in gold, which he pocketed, saying to Madame Chaudey, 
 who was present, " Who knows ? There is perhaps blood 
 oa this gold." 
 
 The following curious conversation, vrhicli was held 
 by Eaoul Eigault and M. Cochinat, who went to demand 
 the liberation of M. Balathier de Bragelone, editor of the 
 Petite Presse, arrested without any plausible motive, will 
 explain the object of many of his public acts : 
 
 Eigault having at first refused, without giving any 
 reason, to grant the demand of M. Cochinat, the latter 
 rdhiarked that he was making very free with the liberty 
 of tlie press. 
 
 " The liberty of the press ! " rephed Eigault ; "connais 
 pas !" 
 
 "What! you know nothing about it! Why, you de- 
 17 
 
386 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 manded it every day in the Marseillaise, of which you 
 were one of the editors ! " 
 
 "Ah ! not I ; the others ! At all events, that was in the 
 time of Badinguet. As for me, I always declared loudly 
 that we would not suffer hostile papers luJien loe loere the 
 strongest. As we are the strongest now, we can't have 
 any." 
 
 " But will you always be the strongest ? " 
 
 " Certainly ; Paris is impregnable, and Versailles must 
 finally yield." 
 
 " And the provinces ? " 
 
 "The provinces ! "he replied, laughingly ; "much we care 
 for the provinces ! " 
 
 To that there was no reply, but M. Cochinat used other 
 arguments, which finally induced Eigault to give an order 
 to Dacosta, his private secretary, for the liberation of M. 
 Balathier. 
 
 M. Cochinat then asked Eigault if he did not think it 
 ' . peurile and absurd to arrest journalists so moderate in 
 
 "Sieir language as M. Balathier and others ? to which 
 
 Eigault replied that he quite agreed with him ; above all, 
 as the arrests gave him a great deal of work. 
 
 ■ " Then why," said he, " do you do these things if you 
 yourself think them absurd ?" 
 
 " Ah," he replied, with a careless air, " because it keeps 
 up ' ^me petite terreur' in the city." 
 
 Such were the individuals for whom thousands of un- 
 happy creatures lost their lives or liberty. 
 
 Although the Commune ostensibly allowed but six 
 thousand francs a year to its highest functionaries, they 
 managed to lead la vie douce in it fullest significatidli. 
 The following bills of fare of two breakfasts taken at the 
 restaurant of the Fr^res-Proven9aux by Eaoul Eigault 
 and his secretary Dacosta, show at least that they were 
 connoisseurs in matters of the table : 
 
COMMUNIST FAEE. 387 
 
 Breakfast of May lOtli. 
 
 Frs. C. 
 
 Nuits 15 
 
 Clos-Vougeot 13 
 
 Bread 50 
 
 Hors-d'oeuvre 3 
 
 Sole 3 
 
 Chateaubriand aux truffes 8 
 
 Chicken 13 
 
 Salad 150 
 
 Cheese 75 
 
 Oranges 3 
 
 Coffee, liqueurs '• 4' 
 
 Cigars-Cazadores 13 50 
 
 Total •. 75 25 
 
 Breahfast of May 15th. 
 
 Frs. C. 
 
 Pomard. 5 
 
 Nuits 10 
 
 Clicquot 13 
 
 Bread 50 
 
 Hors-d'cEuvre 1 60 
 
 Mackerel 3 
 
 Cote provengale 3 75 
 
 Chicken 13 
 
 Salad ; . 1 50 
 
 Cheese 50 
 
 Ices 3 
 
 Coffee, liqueurs ., 3 
 
 Cigars 6 
 
 Total 63 85 
 
 At this restaurant Eigault was in tlie habit of taking 
 most of his repasts. 
 
 After his dinner, Eigault's evenings were mostly spent 
 in drinking and smoking in front of the cafes in the Bonle- 
 
388 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 yard Saint-Michel. One night, sitting before the cafe 
 Soufiiot, the man of pleasure becoming for an instant 
 effaced by the fanatic, he exclaimed, in striking his glass 
 against that of his neighbor, that he " should like to place 
 a bouquet of 300,000 decapitated heads around the feet of 
 the statue of Liberty." 
 
 During the day of the 24th, the service of artillery had 
 been reorganized at Montmartre, and about half past seven 
 in the evening a furious cannonade was begun. The bat- 
 teries of Montmartre thundered against La Chapelle, La 
 Villette, and the Buttes Chaumont, while those of the 
 Pantheon covered with shells the neighborhood of the 
 Place de la Bastille. 
 
 At ten o'clock the fire became most intense, and those 
 who heard those detonations will never forget the terrible 
 uproar. It was no longer roaring cannons exchanging 
 regularly their projectiles, but a continual rolling of shot 
 upon shot, coming from an army of batteries placed in 
 every direction. The Seine Itself took part in the strug- 
 gle, and the gunboats moored beneath the bridges poured 
 forth fire like so many volcanoes. The musketry fire was 
 so rapid that the sound resembled the whistling rush of 
 a mighty wind, now and then deadened by the sharp rattle 
 of the mitrailleuse. 
 
 The battle was everywhere going on : at La Villette, on 
 the boulevards, at the Hotel de Ville, the Luxembourg, 
 and the Pont ISTeuf. Paris was entirely lost in a cloud of 
 smoke, lighted now and then by the flashes of the cannon, 
 and reddened by the flames of burning buildings. From 
 La Villette and the Buttes Chaumont, shells were thrown 
 to every portion of the right bank. No quarter was 
 spared. Incendiary projectiles fell in quantities in the 
 Eue de la Monnaie, on the Place Saint-Germain-l'Auxer- 
 rois, in the Central Markets, the Eue Montmartre, Place 
 de la Bourse, the Eue Neuve des Petits-Champs, the Place 
 
THE KIGHT OF MAY 24. 389 
 
 Ventadour, the Marclic Saint-Honore, on the Bouleyard 
 des Italiens, Eiie de la Chaussee-d'Antin, Eue Blanche, 
 Eue Pigalle, and all the streets extending from there to 
 the Faubourg Saint-Martin. 
 
 Had Montniartre been able to add its fire to that of the 
 two formidable positions still held by the insurgents, half 
 of Paris would have been reduced to ashes. As it was, the 
 destruction was enormous ; and though most of the inhab- 
 itants had the precaution to take refuge in the cellars, the 
 number of victims to this bombardment was very great. 
 
 No ! Paris will never forget the night of the 24th of 
 May, to which history can find no parallel unless perhaps 
 the 24th of August, 1572 — all fanaticisms, whether reli- 
 gious or revolutionary, resembling each other in their 
 blind transports of fury. To find anything truly similar 
 to the burning of Paris we must remount to the celebrated 
 night on which Nero treated himself to the spectacle of 
 Home in flames. What was done by the Roman Emperor 
 from a mere whim of ferocious curiosity, the Commune 
 did not hesitate to do incited by a furious desire for re- 
 venge ; uniting thus in their hatred of the future, modern 
 demagogy with the most hateful of the tyrannies of ancient 
 Rome. 
 
 Nothing can express the cruel impression produced 
 during the night as each new fire broke forth, extending 
 along the line of the horizon from the Hotel de Ville to 
 the Place de la Concorde. As each new light appeared, 
 people questioned each other with anxiety as to what 
 building it might be on which the work of destruction 
 was being completed. 
 
 In the evening, a little before nightfall, thick clouds of 
 smoke had announced the points at which the fire had 
 declared itself; but the gravity of the situation was not 
 realized until darkness fell upon the city. Then the 
 flames became more distinct, reddening the sky in every 
 
390 THE PAKIS COMMUKE. 
 
 direction, and rendering it more easy to judge of the ex- 
 tent of the disaster. 
 
 The conflagration of the upper portions of the pavilions 
 of the Tuileries presented the most terrible spectacle that 
 can well be imagined. The flames could be plainly per- 
 ceived, and every instant immense columns of sparks rose 
 high in the air, falling like a volcanic eruption on the. 
 surrounding quarters. From the neighborhood of Mont- 
 martre the fire could be distinctly seen, extending and 
 reaching the gallery which connects the Pavilion Maison 
 with the Louvre ; and at that terrible moment it seemed 
 inevitable that the depot of such immense and wonderful 
 treasures, once lost never to be replaced, would also be- 
 come a prey to the flames. The conflagration of the 
 Palais-Eoyal confounded its light with that of the Tuile- 
 ries gallery. 
 
 Looking towards the right in the directio» of the 
 Place-de-la-Concorde, a long line of fire denoted the posi- 
 tion of the Ministry of Finance, which had continued 
 since Monday to pour forth columns of reddened smoke. 
 In the obscurity this immense furnace, from which gigan- 
 tic flames leaped forth, mingled with bright sparks from 
 the masses of burning paper, presented a terrible picture, 
 contrasting with the dark clouds that hung like a pall 
 over the doomed houses of the Eue Royale. On the left, 
 towards Saint-Grermain-l'Auxerrois, the Palace of Justice, 
 the Central Markets, and the Hotel de Ville, were all in 
 flames. 
 
 Soon this immense zone, from the Place-de-la-Concorde 
 to the Hotel de Ville, was veiled in smoke, from which 
 jets of flame shot forth here and there, indicating the 
 situation of the different conflagrations. 
 
 Beyond this first line, new columns of fire might be 
 seen rising from the left bank of the Seine, announcing 
 continually new disasters. The Conseil d'Etat, the Pal- 
 
IISTCENDIARY ORDERS. 391 
 
 ace of the Legion d'Honneur, and the Caisse des Depots et 
 Consignations, were also in flames. 
 
 This terrible spectacle, less frightful during the day, 
 gave to the nights of the 23d and 24tli an aspect of "vvhich 
 the horror cannot be described, but such as can never be 
 effaced from the memory of all who witnessed it. 
 
 As early as Monday morning the Palace of Justice had 
 been covered with petroleum by order of Eaoul Eigault. 
 In order that this infernal work should not be deranged, 
 a battalion of Federals was placed on guard around the 
 Palace, and two men were sent by the Commissary of Po- 
 lice to Wurtz (Eigault's substitute) with the following 
 recommendation : 
 
 " COMMISSAEIAT DE POLICE, DU PAIAIS DB JtJSTICB. 
 
 Citotek: — Prenez ces deux citoyens qui sont deux 
 bons bougres a poll. 
 
 *' Breuille." 
 
 These men accomplished their task conscientiously, 
 and the building was set on fire. 
 
 The Prefecture of Police had been taken possession of 
 on the 18th of March by Eaoul Eigault, who had imme- 
 diately installed himself as Prefect. The employes left 
 him and his band masters of the establishment, and took 
 their departure for Versailles. They were easily replaced, 
 however, by Eigault, who recruited among his friends and 
 acquaintances a collection of individuals who had never 
 before been guilty of holding a situation. 
 
 The new employes of the Prefecture passed their time 
 most delightfully, drinking innumerable jugs of beer, and 
 smoking endless pipes. The chest of the administration 
 paid for all these libations, and finally two of these indi- 
 viduals, Eiel and Leballeur, were imprisoned.for drawing 
 too liberally upon it. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 23d, Th. Ferre, who was Prefect at 
 
392 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the time of the entrance of the Government troops, or- 
 dered the walls of the building to be covered with petro- 
 leum. The concierge Charlet, wishing to oppose this 
 criminal act, was immediately imprisoned. 
 
 That same evening Ferre gave a grand banquet to 
 twenty-eight of his friends and accomplices. Their orgies 
 lasted until the following morning, when they fired the 
 building at eleven different points, and immediately took 
 their departure. 
 
 At the Conciergerie, meanwhile, the prisoners had been 
 set at liberty. At eleven on the morning of the 24th, 
 Eaoul Eigault made his appearance in the prison, and 
 gave the order for their liberation, and they were forth- 
 with released, one hundred and fifty in number. 
 
 Hardly had they left the prison when they found them- 
 selves everywhere surrounded by barricades, which they 
 were ordered by the Federals to defend under pain of 
 death. They all refused emphatically to make use of the 
 arms presented to them against the troops. A young girl 
 of fifteen, wearing a red sash across her shoulders, was 
 particularly violent in calling upon the prisoners to de- 
 fend the barricades. 
 
 The prisoners then took to flight amidst a rain of bul- 
 lets sent against them by the Federals, and, sooner than 
 draw upon the regular army, they took refuge in the Pre- 
 fecture, in the midst of a court which the fire had trans- 
 formed into a veritable furnace. 
 
 There they remained until five o'clock, when they were 
 rescued by Lieutenant Berger, at the head of a detach- 
 ment of the 79th of the line. 
 
 Among the prisoners who found themselves in this ter- 
 rible position were the Prince Galitzin and M. Andreoli, 
 director of the Ohservateur. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Govemmeiit circular— Capture of the Butte-aux-Cailles— The Gobelins taken, 
 but in flames — Fall of the forts Bicetre and Ivry— Massacre of Dominicans — 
 Death of Millidre— Of Valles— General de Gissey— His brilliant career— Cap- 
 ture of the Hotel de Ville— The building in ruins— Advance on the Place 
 do la Bastille— Attack on the Austerlitz bridge — The Mazas prisoners re- 
 leased — Their death— Citizen Vincent — The Grenier d'Abondance in flames — 
 Despatch of Ferre toDelescluze — The Chateau d'Eau — Artifices of the Com- 
 mune—The Boulevard Magenta— Capture of the Chateau d'Eau— Death of 
 Delescluze— Papers found on his person — Large number of prisoners taken 
 — Preparations for blowing up the neighborhood— Place du Trone— More 
 victims at La Roquette— The remaining prisoners erect barricades within 
 the building — Some of them leave the prison and are murdered— Announce- 
 ment made by the Minister of War in the National Assembly— Circular of M. 
 Jules Favre to French Representatives at Foreign Courts — Answer to the 
 Belgian and Spanish Governments— Protest of M. Victor Hugo- He is 
 ejected from Belgium— Conflagration of the docks of La Villette— Oflcrs of 
 firemen made by the English and Belgian Governments. 
 
 THE terrible cannonade kept np during the night 
 obliged the insurgents to evacuate the central por- 
 tion of the city, and take refuge in the northwestern 
 quarter, leaving onl}'- near the Halles and the Palais Eoyal 
 a few battalions sacrificed in advance. Protected by their 
 sharpshooters, and by the conflagrations they had lighted, 
 they hoped sufficiently to cover their retreat. 
 
 It is thought that they intended, under the protection 
 of the cannon of the Buttes Chaumont, to retake the ex- 
 terior boulevards, and thus cut off the Prench army ; but 
 they were then too utterly demoralized to attempt any- 
 thing of the sort. Pleeing in disorder, and thrown back 
 upon their last entrenchments, what could they do? 
 Sally out by the northeast and abandon the place ? It 
 
394 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 was not to be thouglit of > the Prussians were there, bar- 
 ring the passage to the people they had taken such plea- 
 sure in seeing at worh. 
 
 The Communists were caged ; nothing remained but to 
 sell their lives as dearly as possible, and to fight to the 
 last. " Better death than Cayenne " was on every tongue ; 
 all felt that no mercy could be accorded to such as they, 
 and nerved themselves with the energy of despair. 
 
 On Thursday, the 25th of May, at seven in the morn- 
 ing, the following despatch was sent by M. Thiers to the 
 different Prefects 
 
 "We are masters of Paris, with the exception of a small 
 portion, which will probably be occupied this morning. 
 The Tuileries is in ashes ; the Louvre is saved. The 
 portion of the Ministry of Finance which fronts on the 
 Eue de Eivoli has been destroyed. The palace of the Quai 
 d'Orsay, in which the Conseil-d'Etat and the Cour des 
 Comptes held their sittings, has also been burned. This 
 is the state in which Paris is delivered to us by the 
 wretches who oppressed and dishonored it. They 'have 
 left in our hands 12,000 prisoners, and we shall probably 
 have at the end from 18,000 to 20,000. The soil of Paris 
 is strewed with their dead bodies. This horrible spec- 
 tacle will serve, it is to be hoped, as a lesson to the insur- 
 gents who dared to declare themselves partisans of the 
 Commune. Justice, however, will soon satisfy the human 
 conscience, . outraged by the monstrous acts of which 
 Prance and the world have been the witness. 
 
 " The army has been admirable. "We are happy to be 
 able to announce in the midst of our misfortunes that, 
 owing to the wisdom of our generals, the loss among the 
 troops is very slight." 
 
 At nine o'clock fifty-five minutes. General de Cissey 
 sent the following despatch from the Luxembourg : 
 
THE EAG-PICKERS OF PARIS. 395 
 
 " The fort of Montronge and that of Hautes-Bruyeres 
 are ours. . . . We are masters of the Pantheon, of the 
 Halle aux Vins, and all the neighborhood. The Barriere- 
 dTtalie only remains for us to take. I shall close and 
 occupy all the gates as far as the Seine, Advance your 
 troops and occupy Choisy-le-Eoi, I'Hay, and neighbor- 
 hood. Strengthen the investment ; let no one leave the 
 city." 
 
 The soldiers had, in fact, after a few hours' repose, 
 necessitated by the terrible struggle of the previous day, 
 continued their advance at an early hour. 
 
 After the capture of the Barri^re d'Enfer and Mont- 
 rouge by the troops on the previous day, the insurgents 
 had established themselves in force (from 7,000 to 8,000) on 
 a height called the Butte-aux-Cailles. Their artillery com- 
 manded the quarter of Montrouge, which they covered 
 with shells, while their sharp-shooters, descending into 
 the valley, made an offensive demonstration against the 
 regular troops, who found themselves thus arrested in their 
 movement. They held good, however, during the evening 
 and throughout the night. On Thursday morning they 
 were reinforced, and a battery was established behind the 
 Sceaux Eailway, which covered the Butte-aux-Cailles with 
 its fire;, at the same time the soldiers advanced to the 
 attack in front, and, after a most deadly struggle, carried 
 the position. 
 
 The operations were then continued in the direction of 
 the Gobelins, the troops advancing through the streets of 
 the Faubourg Saint-Marceau. The resistance was pro- 
 longed during several hours, though without much energy 
 on the part of the insurrection. The population in this 
 quarter, composed in great part of rag-pickers, especially 
 in the Eue Mouffetard, had, forming a curious exception, 
 little sympathy witli Communist ideas, either from a sort 
 
396 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 of philosophical indiJBference often to be observed among 
 the followers of this trade, or rather perhaps from the 
 decline which the reign of the Commune had brought 
 upon this industry, not so wretched a one as is generally 
 imagined. It was, in fact, to be remarked during the first 
 siege of Paris, and after the 18th of March, that there was 
 quite a scarcity of rags on the Parisian payements, and the 
 rag-pickers, always enemies of chimeras and declamations, 
 had doubtless borne a grudge against the Commune. 
 
 Be that as it may, the barricades of the Rue Mouffetard 
 were feebly defended, and the Gobelins carried without too 
 vigorous an effort. But the insurgents, in abandoning 
 this magnificent establishment of so national a character, 
 delivered it as a prey to the flames. In a few moments 
 the tapestry and looms of the work-shops were destroyed, 
 and the saloon of designs and sculptures, and the precious 
 collection of the most remarkable tapestries executed from 
 the seventeenth century down to our time, were reduced 
 to ashes. This act, as well as the burning of the docks, 
 was a direct outrage on labor, whose intelligent workman- 
 ship had been so directly manifested in these magnificent 
 productions. 
 
 The regular forces advanced without interruption, push- 
 ing back the l!^ational Guards to the Barriere d'ltalie, 
 where they dispersed on all sides, leaving numerous pris- 
 oners. The troops then re-descended the boulevard to the 
 Austerlitz Bridge, rejoining the left wing of General dc 
 Cissey's corps, which had advanced along the quays of 
 the left bank of the Seine, and had, after a succession of 
 vigorous engagements, taken possession of the Bridges 
 des Saints-Peres, Pont ISTeuf, Saint-Michel, and Notre 
 Dame. They then established themselves at the Jardin 
 des Plantes and the Orleans Eailway Station, having left 
 sufficient force behind to secure their rear and to co-ope- 
 rate in ifche taking of the Hotel de Ville. 
 
MOEE ARRESTS. 397 
 
 The fall of the position of the insurgents at the Butte- 
 aus-Cailles had hastened that of the Forts Bicetre and 
 Ivry, both taken by an assault of the cavalry of General 
 du Barrail. A shell having fallen in the powder-maga- 
 zine of the latter fort caused a terrible explosion. Profit- 
 ing by the confusion which ensued, the dragoons rushed 
 to the assault, and gained possession of the fort, Wro- 
 bleski surrendering himself prisoner with 6,000 insur- 
 gents. 
 
 Meanwhile another horrible massacre of hostages had 
 taken place ; more victims to the insatiable revenge of the 
 Commune had been added to the lists of horrors with 
 which that body intended to startle the world. 
 
 On Friday, May 19th, two battalions of Federals, the 
 101st and 120th, appeared at Arcueil, led by Commandant 
 Quesnot and Citizen Milliere. Entering the College of 
 Dominican Friars, they carried off as hostages sis of the 
 Fathers who were in the college, together with several 
 professors and domestics, in all twenty-four persons, and 
 conducted them to the Fort Bicetre. 
 
 Twelve sisters of Saint-Marc, charged with the ambu- 
 lance of Arcueil, who had been employed during the whole 
 of the preceding night in picking up the wounded ISTa- 
 tional Guards, and giving them every care, were also torn 
 away from Arcueil and conducted to the prison of Saint- 
 Lazare. From that day they have not been heard of. 
 
 The Father Captier, Superior of the Dominican College, 
 and his twenty-three companions in captivity, were taken 
 to Bicetre. Here, having been robbed of their money, and 
 thoroughly searched, they were shut up in a casemate, 
 where they remained during eight days, their only bed 
 being a little straw, and their nourishment bread and 
 water, which the Federals neglected to give them during 
 the last two days. They were made to pass through a 
 semblance of an interrogatory, after which they were told 
 
398 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 that, tlioiigli recognized innocent, they would be retained 
 as hostages. 
 
 On Thursday, May 25th, the Federals evacuated Bicetre. 
 A Belgian and an Italian domestic belonging to the Col- 
 lege d'Arcueil were released while the others were led 
 away prisoners, the Federals telling them that as soon as 
 they arriyed at the Barriere Fontainebleau they should be 
 set free. 
 
 In leaving the fort, a few shots, fired through careless- 
 ness, caused a panic among the Federals, in consequence 
 of which one of the fathers, the Pere Eousselin, succeeded 
 in making his escape. 
 
 During the transfer the unhappy Dominicans were 
 continually outraged and insulted by the people in that 
 quarter. Arrived at the Mairie of the Eoute d'ltalie, they 
 were placed in a court where shells were perpetually fall- 
 ing ; they were then taken to the 9th section and again 
 interrogated. 
 
 At half-past two a man in a red shirt arrived, calling, 
 " "We Avant workmen for the barricades. What are these 
 cassocks doing here. Bring them along, it is just what 
 we want." 
 
 The prisoners were then conducted to a barricade where 
 the balls fell with such rapidity that the insurgents could 
 not retain possession, and they were led back again to the 
 section by order of Colonel Cerisier. 
 
 At four o'clock a new order arrived from the same per- 
 sonage brought by a red shirt; the Dominicans were 
 placed in file two by two, and told to go but, that they 
 were free. Understanding the sinister meaning of thoge 
 words, Father Captier advanced, saying, " Allans, mes amis, 
 pour le ion Dieu ! " 
 
 Hardly had he advanced a few steps when he was 
 struck by several balls, and instantly killed. Twenty-one 
 out of the twenty-four were successively shot; five 
 
MILLIERE AREESTED. 399 
 
 Dominicans, Fathers Captier, Cothereau, Bourard, Del- 
 liorme, Chiltaigncraic ; two civil professors, MM. Volant 
 and Gauquelin ; and several domestics, three of whom 
 were fathers of families, whose wives had been taken as 
 prisoners to Saint Lazare. 
 
 Having fired npon their victims, the Federals finished 
 the terrible work with their bayonets, or with blows from 
 the butts of their muskets ; the bodies were so terribly 
 mutilated that it was afterwards impossible to recognize 
 their identity. 
 
 On Thursday morning the insurgents had commenced 
 the pillage of the College of Arcueil, but were interrupted 
 by the arrival of the Versailles troops. In this college, 
 early in September, an ambulance had been established 
 which remained open during the siege, although situated at 
 the very outposts, and exposed to Prussian shells and balls. 
 This hospitable house was well known to the soldiers, 
 and the only one that remained open in the midst of the 
 abandoned and deserted villages. 
 
 There was no one who, more than Father Captier, 
 joined to the Christian faith an ardent feeling of patriot- 
 ism, together with all the qualities which make a great 
 citizen, too worthy, alas ! to draw down the hatred of those 
 who proved themselves enemies to all country, all liberty, 
 and all religion. 
 
 Eetribution, however, had overtaken during the day 
 several members of the Commune. 
 
 Milliere had taken refuge at the house of his father-in- 
 law, No. 38 Eue d'Ulm. On Thursday morning a ser- 
 geant of the line, breakfasting at a small cafe in the neigh- 
 borhood, overheard a woman who was speaking of the 
 Commune, say, " Ah ! there is a good capture to be made, 
 but the individual is in safety in the Eue d'Ulm." The 
 sergeant shortly after took his departure, and, joined 
 by several of his comrades, searched carefully the Eue 
 
400 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 d'Ulm. Arrived at No. 38, the apartment of M. Foiir^s, 
 father-in-law of Milliere, was searched with particular care. 
 'No one was discovered, but a soldier watching at the door 
 saw the ex-deputy in the act of escape. Seeing all hope 
 impossible, he drew his revolver and fired six times, but 
 without wounding any one. 
 
 He was immediately conducted before General de Cissey, 
 where he replied with firmness to the questions made to 
 him. He was then directed towards the Pantheon. As 
 he mounted the steps of the peristyle, an officer pointed 
 out to him the traces of balls. It was there that, two 
 days before, thirty National Guards Avere shot by his 
 orders for having refused to defend the barricades. 
 
 Arrived at the top of the steps he stood facing the sol- 
 diers, when an officer obliged him to turn his face towards 
 the door of the church, with his back to the troops ; but 
 by counter-order of a superior officer, he was again made 
 to resume his former position, at the same time being 
 forced to kneel. 
 
 Milliere uncovered his breast, and, lifting his right 
 arm, cried in a loud tone, " Vive la IlepuUique / . . . Vive 
 lo Peuple ! . . . Vive VHumanite ! . . . Vive ." A dis- 
 charge of chassepots interrupted his last words, and he 
 fell leaning towards his left side. 
 
 His shirt was pierced v/ith balls near the heart, over 
 which a large stain of blood appeared. One ball had 
 struck him in the right eye. An officer then approached, 
 and, placing his revolver at his ear, fired, giving him the 
 coup de grace. Milliere's wife had been killed on the pre- 
 vious day fighting at a barricade. 
 
 On the same day another of Milliere's associates met 
 the just reward of his crimes. This was Jules Valles, the 
 man who, in writing of defending Paris, said that the 
 Commune would defend it by every means, and added: 
 "If M. Thiers is a chemist, he will understand us." 
 
MILLIERE 
 Cammurie of Pans 
 1871 
 
EXECUTION" OP VALLES. 401 
 
 Valles "was led out from the theatre of the Chatelet at six 
 o'clock on Thtirsday eyening by the platoon charged "with 
 his execution. He was dressed in a black coat and liglit 
 trousers of a yellowish tinge. He wore no hat, and his 
 beard, which had been shaved off a short time before, was 
 yery short and turning gray. 
 
 In entering the street where his sentence was to be ex- 
 ecuted, a feeling of self-preservation restored to him the 
 energy which had previously abandoned him. He wished 
 to flee ; but being held by the soldiers, he became horri- 
 bly infuriated, calling, " A Vassassin ! " twisting himself, 
 seizing his executioners by the throat, biting them, in 
 fact opposing a despairing resistance. 
 
 The soldiers commenced to be embarrassed and some- 
 what moved by this terrible struggle for life, when one 
 of them passing behind him gave him a furious blow on 
 the back with his musket, and the wretched man fell with 
 a dull groan to the ground. 
 
 His spine was doubtless fractured ; several shots were 
 then fired upon him, and he received also two or three 
 bayonet thrusts. As he still breathed, one of the soldiers 
 advanced and discharged his chassepot in his ear. His 
 body was then abandoned until it should be carried away 
 by those charged, during those bloody days, with that 
 commission. 
 
 On Thursday night the left bank of the Seine was com- 
 pletely freed from every element of insurrection. GTen- 
 eral de Cissey, who conducted all the military operations 
 in that portion of Paris, and who has since been nomi- 
 nated Minister of "War, is one of the most brilliant of the 
 French ofiicers. Earely has any military career presented 
 a finer list of services rendered, all his grades having been 
 gained in campaign and on the field of battle. The 
 army whicli he has been called to reorganize, and to 
 
402 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 whom he will restore its former military glory, feels with 
 satisfaction that there is a soldier at its head. 
 
 Ernest-Louis-Octave Courtot de Cissey, born in Paris 
 December 23d, 1810, is now sixty-one years of age. He 
 belongs to a noble family of Burgundy ; his grandfather 
 was a lieutenant-colonel in the dragoons of Segur, and 
 chevalier of Saint-Louis. His father, also a chevalier of 
 Saint-Louis, served in the same regiment with the rank 
 of captain. 
 
 The first part of the career of General de Cissey was 
 passed exclusively in Africa. 
 
 Admitted to Saint-Oyr December 2d, 1830, he left a 
 member of the staff in 1832, and made his first campaign 
 in Africa from 1836 to 1838. Eemarkable from the first 
 for his intrepidity and presence of mind, he received his 
 first citation in the order of the army after the two expe- 
 ditions of Constantine. Captain on the 27th February, 1839, 
 serving in turn as aide-de-camp the Generals Dejean, Eu- 
 migny, and Tarle, he continued" to take part in different 
 expeditions, and his name is continually to be found in 
 the reports of the Governor-General and in the order of 
 the day of the army. 
 
 On the 28th of May, 1840, particularly, he distinguished 
 himself in the expedition of Medeah ; June 5th, at Teg- 
 dempt and Mascara ; May 3d, at Milianah, where he had 
 a horse killed under him, after having slain with his own 
 hand several Arabs. Captain de Cissey became major of 
 cavalry July 19th, 1845; lieutenant-colonel June 14th, 
 1850 ; colonel May 10th, 1853 ; employed at the head- 
 quarters of the staff at Algiers from 1840 to 1850 ; he was 
 successively aide-de-camp of General Pelissier, governor 
 par interim of Algeria, and then sous-chef of the staff of 
 the army of Africa. It was at this time that he married 
 in Algiers the daughter of Eear-Admiral Eigodit, cora- 
 mandingr the marine. 
 
GENERAL DE CISSET. 403 
 
 In this second period of ten years passed in Africa, M. 
 de Cissey signalized himself by new exploits. He took 
 part in the expeditions of 1843, and both at Dellys and at 
 Onarezedin charged in the first rank at the head of his 
 cavalry. He was also, on the 14tli of Augnst, at the bat- 
 tle of Isly, where he was cited by Marshal Bugeaud as one 
 of the officers who had behaved themselves most remark- 
 ably. In 1850 he took part in one of the first expeditions 
 of Kabylie, commanded by Colonel de Lourmel, and dis- 
 tinguished himself on May 21st in the combat with the 
 Beni-Ymel. 
 
 When the Crimean war broke out, Colonel de Cissey 
 was asked for by General Bosquet, as chief of the staff of 
 the 2d division of infantry in the army of the East. Gen- 
 eral of Brigade March 17th, 1854, after Inkermann, his 
 name is found in the order of the day of the army at the 
 taking of the redoubts before Sebastopol. 
 
 After leaving the Crimea he returned to Africa, where, 
 February 27th, 1856, he was made chief of the staff in the 
 southwestern divisions. 
 
 At the creation of^ ministry for Algeria and the colo- 
 nies, he was called to the direction of military and mari- 
 time affairs. Although, the ministry of Algeria was but 
 of short duration. General de Cissey found time to give 
 proof of great aptitude iji the direction of affairs, of a pro- 
 found knowledge of the different branches of military art, 
 of administrative details, and of a remarkable genius for 
 organization. The remembrance of this direction of a 
 few months has not been one of the least titles of the 
 General to his appointment as Minister of War. 
 
 In 1869, General de Cissey commanded the 1st division 
 of infantry at the camp of Chalons, and in 1870 he was 
 Inspector-General of the Military Schools. 
 
 When war was declared against Prussia, the General 
 was at Eennes, at the head of the 16th military division. 
 
404 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 It was expected that he would be placed at the head of 
 the staff of the Army of the Rhine, his ' rare military tal- 
 ents designing him for this difficult post ; but he received 
 the command of a division in the 4th corps of General 
 Ladmirault, and assisted at Borny, at Resonville, and at 
 the bloody battle of Saint-Privat. The 16th of August, 
 he succeeded in completely breaking the left wing of the 
 Prussians ; at Saint-Privat he had two horses killed under 
 him. 
 
 On the 22d of October, when Marshal Bazaine an- 
 nounced to the generals under his command his intention 
 to capitulate. General de Cissey proposed energetically that 
 the army should attempt to force a passage through the 
 Prussian lines. His plan consisted in reuniting hastily 
 all the resources of which the city and the army still dis- 
 posed, to give to each soldier one hundred and eighty car- 
 tridges and four days' provisions, to requisition in the city 
 and its surroundings all available horses, to harness them 
 to the guns, and to fall with a supreme and energetic effort 
 upon the investing army. 
 
 This plan was not adopted, and the French army 
 marched out from Metz as prisoners. 
 
 General de Cissey was sent to Hombourg. To the patri- 
 otic grief which filled his soul, another affliction was soon 
 added. Madame de Cissey was dying at Eennes, of a long 
 and painful malady which neither the aid of science nor 
 the tender care of her mother had been able to alleviate. 
 
 The General hoped that Prussia would at least allow 
 him the liberty of shutting the eyes of her who had been 
 the loving companion of his rude soldier's life, but this 
 satisfaction was refused him, and he was not able to re- 
 turn to Eennes until after the signature of the peace pre- 
 liminaries. 
 
 His name was j)ersistently called upon at Versailles for 
 
SERVICES OF GENERAL DE CISSEY, 405 
 
 some time before he could tear himself away from the 
 tomb so prematurely opened. 
 
 Charged with the command of the 2d army corps under 
 Paris, the active part he took in the operations of the 
 siege is already known, and also how much his care in re- 
 establishing discipline, his wise measures and his energy, 
 hastened the end of that painful and redoubtable enter- 
 prise. His campaign, opened at the forts of Issy and 
 Vanves, whose capture was owing to him, ended at his en- 
 trance into the Luxembourg, where his sudden apparition 
 surprised the insurrection preparing the conflagration of 
 all the monuments as well as private houses of the left 
 bank. 
 
 The Faubourg Saint Germain owes to him its preser- 
 vation. 
 
 The General de Cissey, who counts no less than forty 
 years of service, thirteen citations in the order of the 
 day — who has been successively in Africa, the Crimea, at 
 Metz and under Paris — has had the rare good fortune 
 never to receive a single wound. Chevalier of the Legion 
 d'Honneur in 1868, he has been made recently grand- 
 croix, April 20th, 1871. He is besides decorated with the 
 orders of Medjidie, of the Bath, and with the medal of 
 military valor of Sardinia. 
 
 The present Minister of War is of middle height, and 
 has a fine military deportment. On his face, with grave 
 and regular features, firmness and loyalty are easily read. 
 
 The General talks but little ; but when a service is to be 
 rendered, he is seen to act. He has an upright soul, work- 
 ing always for good. At the same time a man of action and 
 a studious man, his great integrity makes him anxious to 
 render an account of everything for himself; thus in his 
 different commands he was oftener to be found in the 
 neighborhood of the trenches than at his headquarters. 
 
 Public opinion has greatly applauded his elevation to 
 
406 THE PARIS COMMUlSrE. 
 
 the Ministry of War, believing with reason that with the 
 portfolio in such able hands, nothing will be neglected for 
 the reorganization of the noble army of France. 
 
 On the right bank of the Seine the military operations, 
 which had been interrupted by the approach of night, 
 were recommenced with vigor on the morning of the 25th, 
 and the Hotel de Ville was taken by an ingenious combi- 
 nation. While it was attacked on one side by the Eue de 
 Eivoli, and watched from the left bank by General de 
 Cissey, the column which marched along the boulevards to 
 the Porte Saint-Martin had been divided, and a strong 
 body had gained by a rapid turning movement the Place 
 des Vosges, penetrated into the Eue Saint- Antoine in the 
 rear of the Hotel de Ville, and thus gained possession of 
 the building, The Commune had already abandoned the 
 place, and taken refuge in the Mairie of the 11th Arron- 
 dissement, leaving behind only a heap of blackened ruins. 
 
 Nevertheless, the moral effect was considerable. Three- 
 fourths of Paris belonged henceforth to the regular army. 
 Montmartre and the Hotel de Yille were in the hands of 
 the troops, and from that time the Communal insurrection 
 could be considered as vanquished. All hope of success, 
 if the insurgents had ever entertained any, had entirely 
 vanished. There remained still facing the troops nothing 
 but a riot — formidable, no doubt, but without any chance 
 of an offensive return. The Federals, notwithstanding 
 the strong positions they occupied, were defending an ab- 
 solutely desperate cause, which good sense and patriotism 
 should have advised them to renounce. 
 
 The tricolored flag floated above nearly all the monu- 
 ments in the city, replacing the drapeau rouge. From the 
 Chdtelet Theatre to the Hotel de Ville the Communists 
 had left a smoking trail. The houses were nearly all 
 badly injured, and many entirely consumed. The Hotel 
 de Ville presented a most painful spectacle, its destruction 
 
THE MAZAS .P RI S IST E E S. 407 
 
 being more complete than that of any other building. As 
 a ruin, however, the beautiful but defaced remnants, still 
 standing, present an unusually touching and imposing 
 appearance. 
 
 Immediately after the capture of the Hotel de Ville, the 
 army of reserve, under General Vinoy, advanced upon the 
 Place de la Bastille. 
 
 Early in the morning the division Bruat, charged with 
 turning by the east the Faubourgs Saint-Antoine and 
 Belleville, had taken possession of the Jardin des Plantes 
 and the Orleans Eailway Station. 
 
 They then attacked vigorously the bridge of Austerlitz, 
 supported on the left bank by the brigade Derroja, and on 
 the right by the brigade De la Mariouse, both belonging 
 to the division Faron ; also on the Seine by the flotilla of 
 gunboats recently organized. 
 
 The defences of the bridge were formidable ; but towards 
 four in the afternoon the position was carried. This suc- 
 cess hastened the fall of the Lyons Eailway Station, the 
 Mazas prison, and the viaduct of the Vincennes Eailway. 
 
 In the Mazas prison, early on the morning of the 25th, 
 a bomb had fallen in the 2d division, shortly followed by 
 another, which had caused considerable injury. The 
 keepers were seized with terror ; and causing the prisoners 
 to leave their cells, they conducted them into the patrol 
 path between the outer and inner walls. At seven o'clock 
 a superior officer of the Federals arrived, and ordered the 
 prisoners — five hundred in number — to be set at liberty. 
 Only five ecclesiastics remained among this number. 
 
 Hardly outside the prison, they all found themselves 
 surrounded by barricades, where the insurgents endea- 
 vored to force them to take part in the struggle. Most 
 of them refused and were shot, while others succeeded in 
 escaping from the midst -of such terrible perils. 
 
 One of the prisoners, M. Bacon, foreseeing the fate 
 
408 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 reserved for those to whom Hberty was given in such a 
 moment, remained in the prison, where one of the keep- 
 ers, a compatriot, protected him. 
 
 On the morning after the departure of the prisoners, the 
 Citizen Gareau, director of Mazas, came to inform the 
 keepers that, by order of the Commune, the prison was to 
 to be set on fire, and that all the administration must im- 
 mediately withdraw. 
 
 M. Bacon then learned that the evening before the 
 keeper Collin had buried in the garden the barrels of 
 powder which had been placed in the sewers of the prison. 
 By his advice the brigadier keeper was prevailed on to 
 close the gates to prevent the director from leaving tlie 
 building, and to await events, confident as they were that 
 the prison could not be blown up. 
 
 The Director Gareau was, in fact, kept as hostage, and 
 notwithstanding the incessant shots directed by the in- 
 surgents from without, through the crenelated openings 
 in the walls, the place was held until nine in the morning, 
 when the 35th of the line, which had crossed the Seine at 
 Bercy, arrived and took possession of the prison. 
 
 The Director Gareau, creature of the Commune, was 
 placed in a cell by order of the commandant, and all the 
 buildings were occupied by the troops. 
 
 In the Eue de Bercy the troops had met with a most 
 obstinate resistance, but had conquered here as elsewhere, 
 and had then marched to the relief of Mazas. It was in 
 the Eue de Bercy that Vincent, delegate to the Committee 
 of the Eue d'Aligre, had been arrested. Vincent had for- 
 merly been concierge in the Hotel de la Dordogne, situ- 
 ated in the Eue de Bercy. Having been dismissed by the 
 proprietor, M. Conderc, he resolved to be revenged. 
 
 On Thursday morning M. Conderc was standing in the 
 midst of a group in the Avenue Millaud, when a ball 
 whistled by, and struck a National Guard a few feet off 
 
VIKCENT'S KEVENGE. 409 
 
 Vincent, who commanded the barricades, denounced M. 
 Conderc to a commissary of the Commune, who instantly 
 arrested the unhappy man accused of haying fired upon 
 the Federals. M. Cassie was also arrested. 
 
 They were both immediately conducted to the guards 
 house of the Marche Noir, and about to be shot, when a 
 spectator obtained a delay of the execution, and hasten- 
 ing to the Committee of the Kue d'Aligre, affirmed the 
 innocence of the prisoners, and demanded an order for 
 their release. 
 
 He was answered that "moments were precious, the 
 situation grave, and that they had no time to occupy 
 themselves with such an affair." 
 
 By force of persistence, however, he finally obtained an 
 order for the release of the two prisoners. 
 
 Vincent did not consider himself beaten. He remained 
 at the barricade of the Eue de Bercy, and, aided by his 
 wife, excited the insurgents, distributed cartridges, and 
 fired himself upon the troops from behind the barricade. 
 
 When the barricade was carried, he succeeded in mak- 
 ing his escape, ran to his home, dressed himself in civilian's 
 clothes, and descending into the street walked straight up 
 to an ofiicer of the line and denounced M. Conderc as hav- 
 ing fought until the last moment. 
 
 The officer imifiediately ordered the arrest of M. Con- 
 derc, and that of a poor young man about thirty-four 
 years of age, beside whom an insurgent in escaping had 
 thrown his gun, still hot from the last discharge. The 
 wretched man was shot without being able to prove his 
 innocence. 
 
 As for M. Conderc, he was about to sufier the same fate, 
 when his wife, throwing herself at the feet of the officer, 
 related the scene which had taken place that morning. 
 
 Vincent was instantly apprehended; a perquisition made 
 at his abode proved his identity as delegate and combatant. 
 18 
 
410 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 He was led immediately to the Rue de Bercy, in the court 
 of the municipal depot of paying stones, and shot forth- 
 with. 
 
 Before his execution he boasted of having caused thirty 
 refractory National Guards to be shot, and of having him- 
 self drowned the agent Vincentini in the previous month 
 of March. 
 
 While the Divisions Faron and Bruat were attacking 
 the Austerlitz Bridge, the Division Verge (3d of the army 
 of reserve) advanced by the Eues Saint- Paul, Charles V., 
 De la Cerisaie, and proceeding through the houses of the 
 Eue Saint Antoine, carried the barricade of the Rue Cas- 
 tex and debouched on the Place de la Bastille. There 
 they encountered a most violent resistance, rendered still 
 more serious by the conflagration of the Grenier d'Abon- 
 dance and of the houses situated around the Place. 
 
 The following concise document was afterwards found 
 in one of the mairies of Paris : 
 
 " Republique Feak^aise. 
 "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. 
 
 "VrLM! DB PaEIS, 
 
 " MAmrE or the XI Akkondissembnt. 
 
 *' Iliave set fire to tlie Grenier d'Aiondancc. 
 " Artillery magnificent. 
 " Resistance good. 
 
 «0. Uleic, 
 
 "Chief of the 13th Legion. 
 "Mat 25, 1871." 
 
 Beside this document we may place another of equal 
 chronological interest. It is the last despatch addressed 
 to the Citizen Delescluze by his colleague Ferre, of the 
 Prefecture of Police : 
 
PARIS A HUGE CAMP. 411 
 
 " Paeis, May 25, 1871—9.30 a.m. 
 
 " Secretary- General of War : 
 
 "A man belonging to the 1st regiment of Federals 
 informs me that since four o'clock this morning Mont- 
 martre is ours no longer. I have seen the Place de la 
 Bastille well defended, but the Versaillese are in the 
 church of the Rue Saint-Antoine, and are doing their 
 utmost to take the Place de la Bastille. I saw personally 
 four shells fall in the Eue de la Eoquette, one of which 
 entered No. 49 of said street. If Montmartre is still ours, 
 they must be ordered to regulate their aim." 
 
 Montmartre had been taken at twelve on Tuesday, and 
 there was nothing to rectify. 
 
 The troops engaged in the old boulevards had fought 
 throughout the day in the quarters of Saint-Denis, Saint- 
 Martin, the Boulevard Sebastopol, and the Rambuteau 
 quarter. 
 
 The army had gained possession of the Conservatoire 
 des Arts-et-Metiers, where several 'pieces of artillery were 
 established, and fired on the boulevards. 
 
 During the day the city was transformed into an im- 
 mense camp. The Eue de Grammont was filled with 
 artillery ; the Theatre of the Opera-Comique was turned 
 into an ambulance, and was surrounded by immense ma- 
 terial of war. The streets were everywhere filled with 
 soldiers, and, wherever the cessation of the battle would 
 allow, with civilians looking eagerly for the traces of the 
 struggle. Every few moments laige crowds would gather 
 to see the convoys of prisoners, sometimes amounting to 
 several hundred, which were led off to Versailles. Many 
 of these were women. Persons caught setting fire to the 
 houses were generally taken to the guard-houses, and the 
 proofs of their guilt being established, they were shot forth- 
 with. In many cases, however, the enraged population took 
 
412 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the punishment of such criminals into their hands and tore 
 them almost to pieces in their fury. Too much cannot be 
 said in praise of the demeanor of the soldiers, who showed 
 throughout extraordinary control over passions which the 
 insurgents had certainly done eyerything to excite. A 
 soldier falling a prisoner into the hands of the insurgents 
 could expect no mercy. Several were burned to death ; 
 among others, M. de Segoyer, commandant of the 26th 
 battalion of chasseurs a fied, was made prisoner by the 
 insurgents at the Place de la Bastille, and having been 
 covered with petroleum was burned alive. 
 
 The Federals now held but one strong position, but it 
 was more important than any that had yet been wrested 
 from them. This was the Chateau d'Eau, protected by 
 the Buttes Chaumont, Belleville, and Pere-Lachaise. It 
 is true that Chaumont and Belleville were under the fire 
 of Montmartre, but that did not prevent the Federal artil- 
 lery, installed there, from covering the quarters Saint- 
 Denis and Bonne-Nouvelle with shells. 
 
 Seven avenues or boulevards open on the Place du 
 Chateau-d'Eau : Eue de Turbigo, Boulevard Saint-Martin, 
 Boulevard Magenta, Eue du Faubourg-du-Temple, Boule- 
 vard des Amandiers, Boulevard du Prince-Eugene (now 
 Boulevard Yoltaire), and Boulevard du Temple. At the 
 entrance of each of these streets on the Place, a barricade 
 had been constructed. 
 
 General Clinchant advanced by the Boulevards Ma- 
 genta, Saint Denis and St. Martin ; General Douay, by the 
 Conservatoire des Arts-et-Metiers, the Rues de Turbigo 
 and Du Temple ; General Ladmirault by La Chapelle and 
 Villette ; and General Vinoy by the Bastille. 
 
 As may be seen, the difierent army corps continued to 
 follow their first strategy, the great merit of which was 
 its simplicity. Marshal de MacMahon was, doubtless, in- 
 spired by the geometrical axiom — a straight line is the 
 
THE LAST STEOKGHOLD. 413 
 
 shortest distance from one point to another — being sure 
 that his soldiers would know how to vanquish eyery ob- 
 stacle that rose in their path. 
 
 The troops who had taken possession of the Central Mar- 
 ket had advanced during the day through the Eue Turbigo, 
 sustaining at almost every step a violent combat, and had 
 commenced towards evening, in concert with the troops 
 who had taken the line of the boulevards, the attack on 
 the Chateau d'Eau. 
 
 The insurgents, established in the vast buildings of the 
 Magasins-Reunis and the barracks of the Prince Eugene, 
 defended with all the energy of despair the barricade which 
 covered their stronghold in the 11th Arrondissement, and 
 the access toBelleville and P6re Lachaise. JSTevertheless, 
 the troops had succeeded in reaching the Buttes Chaumont 
 by the u|)per quarters of La Villette, and had immediately 
 proceeded to their investment. 
 
 During the last hours of Thursday the 25th, the line of 
 battle extended, in making a large curve, from the Bastille 
 to the Buttes Chaumont, passing by the Boulevards Beau- 
 marchais, Des Filles-du-Calvaire, and Du Temple, by the 
 Chateau-d'Eau, the Rue de la Douane, the Entrepdt and 
 the canal, ending in turning round the hospital of Saint- 
 Louis at the foot of the Buttes. 
 
 The army of France, since the evening of the 21st of 
 May, the date at which it entered Paris, had accomplished 
 an enormous task, marching in advance without interrup- 
 tion, surmounting valiantly every obstacle, and marking 
 each day by important successes. 
 
 Paris, emerging from the terrified stupor into which it 
 had been plunged by the reign of the Commune, regained 
 the consciousness of its existence. The insurrection was 
 evidently vanquished, and yet three days were still occu- 
 pied by violent combats before the bloody struggle could 
 be entirely terminated. During Friday, Saturday and 
 
414 THE PAEIS COMMUJSTE. 
 
 Sunday, the Federals never ceased to oppose to the inde- 
 fatigable ardor of the soldiers the most furious zeal, "which 
 was sustained until the last hour, and which those -will un- 
 derstand who haye witnessed the great insurrections in 
 France during the last forty years, and who are acquainted 
 with the extreme tenacity of the Parisian workman, once he 
 has taken a gun and entered into revolt for an idea. How- 
 ever false this idea may be, he will defend it with passion, 
 without being even willing to reflect upon its worth. 
 
 For the last two months the word Commune had been 
 repeatedly dinned into the ears of the Parisian workmen; 
 they had adopted it, without examination, as the myste- 
 rious Sesame which would open a new era of universal 
 happiness, and they could not or would not believe in the 
 crumbling of their bright dreams, although everything, 
 from moment to moment, announced an irremediable 
 defeat. 
 
 Moreover, up to the last moment, the chiefs of the Com- 
 mune did everything in their ])ower to delude their adhe- 
 rents concerning the gravity of the situation. For this 
 they resorted to the most miserable subterfuges. Thus, 
 while the fighting was going on at the Chateau-d'Eau, tri- 
 colored flags were shown, with cries of victory, to the Na- 
 tional Guards assembled in the Mairie of the 11th Arron- 
 dissement. These the members of the Commune pre- 
 tended to have captured from the army of Versailles, and 
 marching in procession to the Place Voltaire, the trophies 
 were solemnly burned at the feet of that writer's statue. 
 These flags, some of which still bore the imperial eagle, 
 had been taken from the store-rooms of the Mairie, where 
 they were kept for public festivals. 
 
 On the following day they resorted to another artifice. 
 About a thousand soldiers of the line, who. had been im- 
 prisoned at La Eoquette since the 18th of March, were 
 taken from prison and led to the Mairie of the 20th Ar- 
 
SUKDAT, MAT 28TH. 415 
 
 rondissement as a detachment of the regular troops which 
 had deserted to the cause of the Commune. These sad 
 trickeries succeeded but partially, and instead of raising 
 the confidence of the National Guards, helped to weaken 
 it. 
 
 But the Federals at the same time drew the obstinacy 
 of a desperate resistance from the bitter knowledge of 
 their utter ruin, and from the perils which everywhere 
 surrounded them. In this they were encouraged by a 
 number of strangers — refuse of all the nations in Europe 
 — of whom the Communal cause had made shameful aux- 
 iliaries. These men, convicts and exiles, had nothing to fear, 
 because they had nothing to hope. They sought only to 
 drag down with them in a common ruin those whose con- 
 duct, guilty as it was, could yet find some excuse. 
 
 On his side. Marshal de MacMahon, assured as he was 
 of success, did not wish to hazard anything by hastening 
 his operations ; and he desired, at the same time, to save 
 the hlood of his soldiers by moderating their action. 
 
 Tliese different causes prolonged the struggle until the 
 afternoon of Sunday, the 28th, without, however, its being 
 interrupted for a moment ; the positions still to be carried 
 presenting so many difficulties. 
 
 The defences of the Boulevard Magenta have been al- 
 ready described, together with the capture of three out of 
 four of its barricades by the regular troops. The fourth, 
 which was the key of the position, was situated a few 
 yards back of No. 6, of which the insurgents retained pos- 
 session, and through which they communicated with the 
 Passage du Wauxhall, where they had their reserves, and 
 also with the Eue des Marais-Saint-Martin, which con- 
 ducts to the barracks, the Eues Magnan, Dieu, and De 
 I'Entrepot. 
 
 When the action was about commencing, the insur- 
 gents informed the inhabitants of this house of their in- 
 
416 THE PAEIS COMMUiq^E. 
 
 tentions, and of the necessity under which they might 
 find themselves of destroying everything for the execution 
 of their plans. The latter decided unanimously that they 
 •would remain in the house, notwithstanding the danger, 
 aud that they would live for the time together and watch 
 for the safety of all. 
 
 On Wednesday morning Citizen Gambon, member of 
 the Committee of Public" Safety, arrived at the house, 
 after having inspected the defences, and informed the in- 
 habitants that the commandant of the barricade had over 
 them the right of life and death ; that he would use this 
 right according to the necessities of the defence, and 
 that their furniture would be sacrificed if it was judged 
 useful. 
 
 The Versailles troops, having occupied the Boulevard 
 Ornano, opened at long range a quick and well-directed 
 artillery fire against the barricade, whose defenders were 
 decimated during two days and nights, but whose guns 
 never ceased for an instant to reply. 
 
 On the 25th, early in the morning, the troops advanced, 
 and continued during several hours to cover with their 
 fire the barricade and the insurgents who still defended it. 
 The ground around was covered with muskets, grape-shot, 
 and pieces of shell. 
 
 Finally, on Friday, the 26th, at noon, the soldiers left 
 Saint-Laurent, the Mairie of the 10th Arrondissement, 
 and, advancing in single file, gun in hand, along the 
 houses of the Rue du Chateau-d'Eau, they concentrated 
 in the Grand Cafe Parisien. At the end of a few mo- 
 ments they approached the barricade, opening a rapid 
 and efiicacious musketry fire on the insurgents. Two 
 hours later they carried the position, and hastened to 
 plant the tricolor in the centre of the fortification — a sight 
 which filled with joy the entire population. 
 
 The brave soldiers then attacked the Place du Chateau- 
 
DELESCLUZE 
 Commune of Pans 
 1871. 
 
DEATH OF DELESCLUZE. 41? 
 
 d'Eau with a courage, animation, and intelligence which 
 were admirable ; they entered the houses and fired from 
 the windows on the barracks of the Chateau-d'Eau, the 
 Magasins Eeunis, and the six barricades of the Place. 
 
 After fifteen hours effort, the barricade yielded before 
 the energetic attack of the troops ; the cannon ended by 
 opening a breach, and the soldiers rushing on the Barrack 
 Prince Eugene and the Magasins Eeunis, carried them at 
 the point of the bayonet. 
 
 Most of the houses of the Place du Chateau-d'Eau at- 
 test the violence of this rude engagement ; their fronts 
 are riddled with bullets and shells, while many are en- 
 tirely consumed by fire. 
 
 It was near the barricades of the Chateau-d'Eau that 
 the Delegate of War, Citizen Delescluze, faithful to his 
 promise, came to seek his death by the side of those whom 
 he had encouraged in this horrible revolt. 
 
 Judging the cause lost, Delescluze left, about noon, his 
 colleagues, who had taken refuge in the Mairie of the 
 11th Arrondissement, and directed himself with the calm, 
 appearance of an indifferent pedestrian towards the scene 
 of combat, passing through the Boulevard Yoltaire. On 
 the way he met several National Guards, soldiers and 
 officers, whose hands he silently pressed. As he advanced, 
 he was told of the dangers which menaced him in that 
 direction from the falling shells. Without any reply to 
 this warning he continued to advance, and a few moments 
 later he was struck by three balls and mortally wounded. 
 He paid with his life the ^Hrop coupaUe" agitation of 
 which he had been one of the most ardent promoters. 
 
 The body of Delescluze was found on Friday afternoon 
 surrounded by twenty-eight corpses. It was recognized 
 by the architect Lenormand. 
 
 Delescluze was in civil dress; black coat and gray 
 trousers, with a silk hat and patent-leather boots. By his 
 
 18* 
 
418 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 side lay a cane whicli he had carried for ten years, and 
 which first led to his recognition. 
 
 After the discovery of his body he was immediately 
 searched. He had with him his nomination as Delegate 
 of "War, his passport as member of the Commune, and 
 letters from La Cecilia, Lisbonne, and other chiefs of the 
 band. 
 
 Among the remaining papers there were several both 
 mysterious and interesting : 
 
 " Paeis, May 16, 1871, (Tuesday, T p. m). 
 
 " OiTiZEK Delesclijze *. — A citoyenne who is entirely 
 devoted to you, has a most serious communication to 
 make you ; only as she wishes to make it to you alone, 
 she begs you to keep absolutely secret the reception of 
 these few lines, and also to find yourself to-morrow (Wed- 
 nesday, 17th) in the Eue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, at 
 No. 48, under the entrance to the Yentadour Baths. You 
 must appear to be strolling, and no one will pay you any 
 attention ; be there at four o'clock ; you may have to wait 
 five or six minutes at the most. A carriage will stop be- 
 fore you, and you must enter. 
 
 " Be without fear ; the person who wishes to speak to 
 you will be alone. Put a flower of some kind in your left 
 button-hole, so that the coachman may distinguish you at 
 once. 
 
 " Above all, discretion. E'ot a word of this to those 
 surrounding you. 
 
 " Yours with all my heart, 
 
 "jEANIiTE LaCASSIEEE. 
 
 " P. S.— Burn this." 
 
 The second letter is still more interesting, and shows 
 with what confidence these people inspired each other : 
 
 " MoNSiEUE Delesclijze : — A vast conspiracy is being 
 
TWO TnousAJN:© piiisoisrEEs. 419 
 
 organized against you among your colleagues, and even 
 among those whom you think your friends. If steel can- 
 not act, poison will be employed. Above all, distrust 
 Vermorel. 
 
 "A Devoted Feiend." 
 
 Among the other letters were several orders for the 
 cervice, whicb prove the desperation of the situation of 
 the insurgents. 
 
 The following is a sample : 
 
 " Ministry of "War. 
 Cabinet of the Minister. 
 
 "Paeis, MaySl.lS-Jl. 
 
 "Citizen" Delescluze:— Send immediately, artillery- 
 men, wagons, and harness for the transport of munitions. 
 The ramparts are no longer tenable if I do not receive 
 artillerymen. It is impossible for me, with the National 
 Guards and free-shooters furnished by the volunteers, to 
 perform the service of the artillery. I cannot hold out 
 any longer. 
 
 " Colonel Lisbokh"e." 
 
 At the Magasins Eeunis more than two thousand in- 
 surgents were taken prisoners. 
 
 In the Eue du Temple, where a barricade had just been 
 carried by the troops, a large number of prisoners were also 
 taken, and led to the Eue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, opposite 
 the Cafe Dodar. Among them was a child about fifteen. 
 
 The contest had been violent, and the soldiers were in 
 all the exaltation which follows an action so important. 
 The prisoners had not capitulated ; they had been taken 
 with arms in their hands, and ought to die according to 
 the laws of war, especially the law accorded to insurgents. 
 
 The turn of the child arrived. 
 
 He was pushed against the wall to be quickly dis- 
 patched. He asked to speak to the captain, who advanced 
 and demanded what he wanted. 
 
420 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " I • should like/' said the child, drawing a watch from 
 his pocket, " to carry this to the concierge who lives op- 
 posite ; he would know to whom to give it." 
 
 The captain, who, even in the fever caused by powder, 
 sees but a child in the insurgent, divines the artless sub- 
 terfuge of the poor fellow. 
 
 " Well, go ! and hurry yourself ! " he said, roughly. 
 
 The platoon of execution understood also, when, sud- 
 denly, running as though for an urgent affair, the child 
 re-appeared, placed himself before the soldiers, with his 
 back to the wall, and said, " 3Ie voila ! " 
 
 The captain looked at his men, and the men at their 
 captain ; everybody was confounded. 
 
 But the captain had his own idea ; he advanced furi- 
 ously to the child, and, taking him by the shoulders, gave 
 him a violent kick, saying, " Get out of the way, you 
 wretched little imp." 
 
 Meanwhile the Generals Vinoy and Douay gained pos- 
 session, after a shorter but no less violent attack than 
 that of the Chateau-d'Eau, of the Place de la Bastille. 
 Here the houses suffered, as everywhere else in Paris, 
 as much from the flames spread by petroleum as from 
 artillery projectiles. Immense buildings recently con- 
 structed at the head of the Eue Saint-Antoine were 
 entirely consumed. 
 
 The troops next precipitated themselves into the Fau- 
 bourg Saint-Antoine, through which the principal retreat 
 of the Federals had been managed, and occupied it in a 
 few hours, notwithstanding the formidable defences with 
 which the Faubourg was covered as far as the Place du 
 Trone. The laboring population of this former birth- 
 place of all revolutionary agitations, had associated but 
 feebly in the resistance, which was due almost exclusively 
 to Federals from other quarters who had taken refuge in 
 the old faubourg. 
 
A FIENDISH PLAJST. 421 
 
 The streets surrounding the Place cle la Bastille were 
 all obstructed by barricades, which were successively car- 
 ried by the troops. At the corner of the Eues Eampon 
 and Valmy, where Canal Saint-Martin opens, a number 
 of insurgents were found drowned. 
 
 On the 34th, the Federals had conducted under the 
 vaults of the canal to the middle of the Boulevard Richard 
 Lenoir, almost opposite the Rues du Chemin-Vert and 
 Des Amandiers, several barges which had been moored at 
 the quay of the Boulevard Bourdon. One of these was 
 filled with barrels of powder and casks of petroleum ; the 
 others were filled with inflammable materials, planks, and 
 shavings, over which petroleum had been scattered. 
 
 All the gratings and air-openings communicating with 
 the canal had been stopped up. 
 
 The barges charged with powder and petroleum had 
 been first conducted to the spot where it was intended to 
 commit the crime. The boat which was to be used for 
 firing the others was taken last. It was set on fire under 
 the Place de la Bastille. From there the incendiaries evi- 
 dently intended to drag it towards the others ; but the 
 smoke occasioned by the fire was so thick that, being una- 
 ble to escape through the air-openings, it prevented the 
 flames from rising. The matter all burned away without 
 flaming, which rendered the smoke denser and denser, and 
 which ended by smothering the Federals — victims to the 
 very act which was intended to bring so much misery and 
 ruin upon others. 
 
 It is only too evident that the charming revolutionaries 
 of the Commune had the intention of destroying all the 
 public monuments of Paris. Time only failed them. 
 
 On the Place du Trone works had been commenced to 
 overthrow the stone columns which have decorated this 
 place since 1788, and which the devastators of '93 had 
 subsequently respected. 
 
422 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Ten or twelve bandits had first mounted on the pedestal 
 of the column which supports the statue of Philip- Augus- 
 tus, had broken with hammers the figures with which the 
 pedestal was ornamented, and then began to cut away a 
 portion of the base of the monument, thinking probably 
 that it would fall by its own weight. 
 
 But this mode of proceeding appearing either too long 
 or too dangerous, they soon renounced it and had recourse 
 to mining, after having cut an opening of ten centimetres 
 in one side. 
 
 They then dug on the opposite side several holes, which 
 were to receive enormous charges of powder, and had 
 almost reached the required depth, when the inhabitants 
 of the neighborhood, encouraged by the successes of the 
 regular troops, who had already occupied a portion of 
 Paris, informed these wretches that the fall of a column 
 could do their cause no good, and finally succeeded in 
 driving them away. 
 
 The Place du Trdne being occupied by the soldiers of 
 the line, a portion remained to watch the elements of dis- 
 order which might still exist in the upper streets of the 
 Faubourg between the Place and Bercy, while by the 
 remainder the insurgents were thrown back on Charonne 
 and Menilmontant. 
 
 By an almost simultaneous movement, the forces which 
 had so intrepidly gained the position of the Chateau-d'Eau, 
 having assured its possession, and that of the boulevards, 
 as far as the Bastille, divided into two columns. One 
 mounted the Boulevards Voltaire and Eichard-Lenoir, en- 
 veloping the prison of La Eoquette, of which the troops 
 gained possession on Saturday morning, and approaching 
 at the same time the cemetery of Pere-Lachaise ; the other 
 column, by the Rue de la Douane and the borders of the 
 canal, approached the Buttes Chaumont to complete their 
 investment. 
 
FEDERAL PRISONEES. 423 
 
 The circle had constantly and regularly narrowed ; it 
 compressed, indeed it strangled, this prodigious insurrec- 
 tion, thrown back in a definitive manner on to its last in- 
 trenchments. 
 
 In reality, it no longer existed ; there remained only a 
 few desperate bands, whose energy, however, never failed 
 for a moment as long as there was a gun left to be fired. 
 
 During this supreme effort, Paris, almost entirely re- 
 stored to law and order, was traversed by long files of 
 prisoners, wearing on their faces an expression of fierce 
 energy, and in many cases pride of their cause even in 
 disaster ; they marched bareheaded between two lines of 
 cavalry, who rode gun in hand. They were all divested 
 of their uniform of the National Guard, and were dressed 
 in blouses, working-jackets, or coats. 
 
 Among the prisoners were a large number of women, 
 who had taken an active part in the struggle, engaging, 
 if possible, with even more fury than the men. Many had 
 defended alone the barricades, firing resolutely upon the 
 troops, fighting with a kind of pitiless rage, and, when they 
 found themselves vanquished, throwing themselves reck- 
 lessly upon the bayonets. 
 
 Many had worked actively in the construction of barri- 
 cades, and a large number had aided in igniting the con- 
 flagrations, carrying everywhere, with inconceivable eager- 
 ness, explosive materials, petroleum, and incendiary bombs. 
 With dishevelled hair, garments in disorder, they retained, 
 amidst the soldiers who conducted them, a bearing of 
 furious passion, venting itself occasionally by violent im- 
 precations and wild cries. 
 
 Meanwhile, in the Prison de la Eoquette, more victims 
 were added to the insatiable rage of the Commune. On 
 Thursday but one execution took place, that of the banker 
 Jecker, who was called from his cell in the morning, and 
 who has never been heard of since. 
 
424 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 On Friday, 26th, the noise of the battle, which ap- 
 proached the quarter of La Eoquette, and the news which 
 reached them from without, gave the prisoners a little 
 hope, although all had resolutely offered the sacrifice of 
 their lives, and prepared themselves for death in a Chris- 
 tian manner, the laity being sustained and encouraged by 
 the clergy. 
 
 On account of the bad weather, the daily recreation had 
 been taken in the hall on which the cells opened, and had 
 been extended in the afternoon far beyond the usual hour. 
 It was about fiTe o'clock, when, in the midst of the recre- 
 ation, one of the keepers appeared, a list in hand, and the 
 sinister call began. Fifteen prisoners, among whom were 
 ten members of the clergy and five of the laity, were called, 
 ranged in order, counted, and led off just as they were 
 found, many of them bareheaded. They were led out of 
 the prison, and probably taken to Pere-Lachaise, or be- 
 hind some barricades, where they were shot. Not one has 
 reappeared. 
 
 Among the victims were the Pere Olivaint, superior of 
 the Jesuits of the Eue de Sevres, and former pupil of the 
 Ecole Normale. At La Roquette he met one of his school 
 companions, a hostage like himself, whom he had not seen 
 for thirty-four years. 
 
 Another prisoner was a young seminarist of Saint-Sul- 
 pice, about twenty years of age, named Seigneret, son of 
 the inspector of the Academy of the Jura. His truly 
 angelic face, and his extreme youth, had moved all his 
 companions of captivity, and no one believed that he could 
 be executed. His only crime was having demanded a 
 passport at the Prefecture of Police in order to return to 
 his family. Immediately arrested by the insurgents, he 
 was first thrown into the Conciergerie, transferred to 
 Mazas, and then to La Eoquette, where he fell a victim 
 to the common fate. 
 
CO]SrVICTS LIBERATED. 425 
 
 " My poor father ! my poor parents ! " said he to one of 
 his companions in misfortune ; " what despair for them ! 
 However, I pay for the position of my father, happy if 
 my death can save a fellow-creature, and give some re- 
 morse to my executioners." 
 
 All the condemned believed that their last hour had 
 come, and that their slow agony would that evening be 
 ended. The last farewells were exchanged and the last 
 prayers said, and each one took the necessary dispositions 
 to send to their parents and friends the sad relics or last 
 wishes which they left behind them. 
 
 IsTevertheless the evening, the night passed without any 
 new incident, in the midst of a horrible expectation, and 
 an anxiety a thousand times more cruel than death itself. 
 In the morning the noise of the firing approached sensibly 
 the neighborhood of the prison and the Mairie of the 11th 
 Arrondissement, where the last remnants of the Com- 
 mune were sitting. 
 
 The prisoners had mostly to fear the final crisis ; the 
 defeat of the insurrection might be the signal for a general 
 massacre. The bandits who surrounded and occupied the 
 prison were not likely to abandon their prey without at- 
 tempting to avenge themselves by butchering the re- 
 mainder of the hostages. This design they attempted, in 
 fact, to execute in the afternoon after the capture of the 
 Mairie, when they beat a retreat in the direction of Pere- 
 Lachaise. 
 
 Ferre, Delegate of General Safety and member of the 
 Commune, made his appearance at the prison, and calling 
 for all the criminals condemned to the galleys who were 
 detained in the prison until the time of their transporta- 
 tion arrived, restored them at once to liberty. Arms and 
 ammunition were given to these bandits, who imme- 
 diately commenced a massacre of a large number of 
 prisoners, among whom were sixty-eight gendarmes. 
 
436 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Eive gendarmes, who were then in the infirmary, alone 
 escaped. 
 
 The honorable resistance of most of the keepers, who, 
 aided by the prisoners themselves, barricaded the doors 
 and halls, saved the lives of the hostages. 
 
 Towards four o'clock the horde thns held in check had 
 a panic, and took to flight, crying that the Versailles 
 troops were upon them. In an instant the prison was 
 freed from its assailants, and the prisoners of every cate- 
 gory were at liberty to flee or to await the arrival of the 
 troops, which was near at hand. 
 
 Many of the hostages, fearing the return of some of 
 these madmen, drunk with wine and blood, or the execu- 
 tion of the horrible menaces of fire which had been made 
 for several days, resolved to make their escape and gain 
 the outposts of the army of Versailles. 
 
 Some of them had the good fortune to succeed, while 
 others, not knowing the quarter, betrayed rather than pro- 
 tected by incomplete disguises,, or failing in coolness and 
 presence of mind, were massacred in the neighborhood of 
 the prison by rioters who were prowling with arms around 
 La Eoquette, and who were truly fiendish in their chasing 
 of priests. 
 
 Four of the unhappy clergy perished thus at the corner 
 of the prison Des Jeunes-Detenus; their bodies, mutilated 
 in the most horrible manner, and hardly conserving the 
 human form, were thrust on the spot into the same hole, 
 where they remained until Sunday morning. 
 
 Among them, the only one who could be identified was 
 the cure of Bonne-Nouvelle, whose church, like that of 
 Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, was one of the most devastated. 
 Most of the objects employed in the exercise of divine 
 service had been carried off or destroyed. 
 
 A few days after the arrest of the unfortunate M. Be- 
 court, curate of Bonne-lSTouvelle, a band of Federals ar- 
 
THE POSITION OK FRIDAY, 26Tn MAT. 427 
 
 rived at his house with several furniture wagons which 
 they had requisitioned, and began to load them with 
 the furniture of the prisoner. At the same time, they 
 searched the domestic, and took from him a sum of 120 
 francs. 
 
 The indignant neighbors succeeded in obliging the rob- 
 bers to release a portion of the furniture, but nothing 
 would induce them to surrender the money, which they 
 regarded as only their rightful profit. 
 
 On Friday, the 26th, the following announcement was 
 made by the Minister of War in the National Assembly : 
 
 "Messieues: — The situation in Paris becomes better 
 and better. The troops meet with an energetic resistance, 
 but their courage and devotedness exceed the opposition 
 they encounter. They advance slowly but surely. We 
 are masters of all that portion of Paris situated on the 
 left bank. On the right bank, our attack has extended to 
 the Place de la Bastille, which is now in the possession of 
 the army. 
 
 " General Vinoy is manoeuvring at this moment for the 
 capture of the Barri^re du Trone. Nearly all tlie boule- 
 vards are in the power of the army. The Place du 
 Chateau-d'Eau, the barracks of the Prince Eugene, the 
 Magasins-Eeunis — all that portion of Paris is in our hands. 
 
 "All the forts on the left bank, Bicetre and Ivry in- 
 cluded, are in our power. Bic6tre and Ivry Avere carried 
 by the cavalry. 
 
 " There remain at this hour only the Buttes Chaumont, 
 and the portion which extends on that side — that is, Belle- 
 ville, La Villette, La Chapelle. But the troops advance 
 methodically and regularly on these last points. To-mor- 
 row, I hope, they will be able to conquer this last citadel 
 of the insurrection, and the great satisfaction will be 
 given to the Government of announcing to the Assembly, 
 
438 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 that the army, thanks to the devotedness of its soldiers 
 and the ability of its chiefs, has become completely mis- 
 tress of Paris." 
 
 On the same day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sent 
 by telegram the following note to the diplomatic repre- 
 sentatives of France in foreign countries : 
 
 " VEBSAII.I.ES, May 2Cth. 
 
 '• SiE : — The abominable work of the odious criminals 
 who are now perishing under the heroic efforts of our 
 army, cannot be confounded with a political act. It con- 
 stitutes a series of crimes, proyided for and punished by 
 the laws of every civilized country. Murder, robbery and 
 incendiarism, systematically ordered, and prepared with 
 an infernal skill, cannot permit to the persons engaged in 
 them any other refuge than that of expiation by the law. 
 
 " No nation can cover them with immunity, and their 
 presence on the soil of any would be a shame and a peril. 
 If, therefore, you learn that any individual, compromised 
 in the crimes at Paris, has crossed the frontier of the 
 country to which you are accredited, I request you at once 
 to solicit from the local authorities his immediate arrest, 
 and to inform me of what you have done, in order that I 
 may apply for his extradition. 
 
 "Keceive, etc., Jules Favee." 
 
 The French Government immediately learned, in an-. 
 swer, tliat the Belgian Cabinet would not consider as po- 
 litical refugees any of the men concerned in the crimes 
 of Paris, but would deliver them up at once; while the 
 Spanish Consul at Marseilles announced that he would 
 permit all vessels of his country in that port to be searched, 
 and that the authorities of Madrid had decided that all 
 French criminals who crossed the frontier would be seized 
 and given up. 
 
VICTOR HUGO'S PROTEST. 429 
 
 M. Victor Hugo, who had been called to Belgium by a 
 recent bereavement, where he prudently remained during 
 the reign of the Commune, addressed the following letter 
 to the editor of the Independence Beige of Brussels, ex- 
 pressing his disapproval of the conduct of the Belgian 
 Government : 
 
 " Beussels, May 2Gth, 1871. 
 
 " SiE : — I protest against the declaration of the Belgian 
 Government relative to the vanquished of Paris. 
 
 " Whatever may be said or done, these vanquished are 
 political men. 
 
 " I was not with them. 
 
 "I accept the principle of the Commune. I do not ac- 
 cept the men. 
 
 " I have protested against their acts : law of hostages, 
 reprisals, arbitrary arrests, violation of liberties, suppres- 
 sion of newspapers, spoliations, confiscations, demolitions, 
 destruction of the Column, attacks on the law, attacks on 
 the people. 
 
 " Their violences have rendered me indignant, as to-day 
 the violence of the opposite party will do the same. 
 
 " The destruction of the Column is an act of treason 
 against the nation. The destruction of the Louvre would 
 have been a crime — treason against civilization. 
 
 " But savage acts, done in ignorance, are not villainous 
 acts. Madness is a disease, not an offence. Ignorance is 
 not the crime of the ignorant. 
 
 "The Column destroyed was a sad hour for France. 
 The Louvre destroyed would have been for all people an 
 eternal mourning. 
 
 "But the Column will be raised, and the Louvre is 
 saved. 
 
 "To-day, Paris is retaken. The Assembly has van- 
 quished the Commune. Who made the 18th of March ? 
 
430 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Which is the true culprit, the Assembly or the Commune ? 
 History will tell, 
 
 '• The burning of Paris was a monstrous act ; but are 
 there not two incendiaries? Let us wait before judging. 
 
 " I never understood Billioray, and Rigault astonished 
 me to indignation ; but to shoot Billioray is a crime — to 
 shoot Eigault is a crime. 
 
 " Those of the Commune, Johannard and La Cecilia, 
 who cause a child of fifteen to be shot, are criminals; 
 those of the Assemblj^, who cause Jules Valles, Bosquet, 
 Parisel, Amouroux, Lefrangais, Brunet and Dombrowsld 
 to be shot, are criminals. 
 
 '*' Don't let us pour forth our indignation upon one side 
 only. Here the crime is as much in the Assembly as in 
 the Commune, and the crime is evident. 
 
 '' First, for all civilized men, the punishment of death is 
 abominable ; secondly, execution without judgment is in- 
 famous. One is no longer a part of the law, the other 
 never has been. 
 
 ''Judge first, then condemn, then execute. I could 
 blame, but I could not dishonor. 
 
 " You are under the law. 
 
 " If you kill without judgment, you assassinate. 
 
 " I return to the Belgian Government. 
 
 " It does wrong to refuse an asylum. 
 
 " The law permits this refusal, the right forbids it. 
 
 " I, who write you these lines, have a maxim : Pro jure 
 contra legem. 
 
 " The asylum is an ancient right. 
 
 " It is the sacred right of the unhappy. 
 
 '' In the middle ages the Church accorded this asylum 
 even to parricides. 
 
 " As for me, I declare that : 
 
 '' This asylum, which the Belgian Government refuses 
 to the vanquished, I ofier. 
 
UUGO'S VAIN" BOASTING. 431 
 
 " Where ? 
 
 " In Belgium. 
 
 " I do Belgium that honor. 
 
 " I offer an asylum in Brussels. 
 
 " I offer an asylum, Place des Barricades, Ko. 4. 
 
 " If a vanquished of Paris ; if a man of the reunion 
 called Commune, wliich was very little elected by Paris, 
 and which, for my part, I never approved — if one of these 
 men, were lie my personal enemy, above all if lie is my 
 personal enemy, knocks at my door, I open. He is in my 
 liouse. He is inviolable. 
 
 " Am I, perhaps, a stranger in Belgium ? I think not. 
 I feel myself the brother of all men and the guest of all 
 people. 
 
 " In any case, a fugitive of the Commune in my liouse 
 will be a vanquished at the home of a proscribed man ; 
 the vanquished of to-day with the proscribed of yesterday. 
 
 " I do not hesitate to say, two venerable things. 
 
 " One weakness protecting another. 
 
 " If a man is beyond the pale of the law, let him enter 
 my house. I defy any one to tear him away. 
 
 " I am speaking of political men. 
 
 " If any one comes to my house to take a fugitive of the 
 Commune, they will take me also. If he is given up, I 
 will follow him. I will share his seat. And for the de- 
 fence of right, by the side of the man of the Commune, 
 vanquished by the Assembly of Versailles, will be seen the 
 man of the Eepublic, proscribed by Bonaparte. 
 
 " I will do my duty. Above aU, principles. ' 
 
 " One word more. 
 
 " What can certainly be affirmed is, that England will 
 not deliver up the refugees of the Commune, 
 " Why place Belgium below England ? 
 " The glory of Belgium is to be an asylum. Do not 
 take from her that glory. 
 
432 THE PARIS COMMUJSTE. 
 
 " In defending France, I defend Belgium. 
 
 " The Belgian Government will be against me, but the 
 Belgian people will be with me. 
 
 " In any case, I will have my conscience. 
 
 " Keceive, sir, the assurance of my distinguished senti- 
 ments, Victor Hugo." 
 
 Although M. Victor Hugo was not mistaken in the first 
 portion of his declaration that "the Belgian Government 
 will be against me, but the Belgian people v/ill be with 
 me," he certainly was in the latter. 
 
 The night following the publication of his letter, a mob 
 gathered in front of his house and greeted him with any- 
 thing but friendly demonstrations. He was first wakened 
 by a ring at the door-bell, which, coming at about two in 
 the morning, rather surprised him. Putting his head out 
 of the window to ask who was there, he was answered, 
 " C'est DomlrowsM.^' Eather doubting the truth of this 
 assertion, as Dombrowski had been reported killed, he was 
 hesitating what to do, when a large stone crashed through 
 ;he window directly above his head, quickly followed by a 
 shower of others. At the same time, shouts were raised 
 of "A mort ! a mort !" Others facetiously informed him 
 that the Commune had come to ask an asylum. Many 
 called "A das Jean Valjean ! " showing at least an ac- 
 quaintance with his works. EjEforts were made to break 
 open the door, which, happily for the " friend of the peo- 
 ple," resisted these attempts. ISTot a window-pane in the 
 front of the house remained intact, the front rooms were 
 uninhabitable, and but for the timely break of day, M. 
 Hugo might not now be alive to tell the tale. 
 
 On the following day, Victor Hugo having been invited 
 by the Belgian Government to leave the country, and hav- 
 ing refused, an order was issued for his ejection. It was 
 to be supposed that this great genius, outraged by the ter- 
 
ENGLISH AND BELGIAN AID. 433 
 
 rible misfortunes which had been accumulated upon his 
 country by the men of the Commune, would have flashed 
 forth a superb denunciation, such as forms the power and 
 glory of a poet ; but no ! Paris destroyed, the conflagration 
 spreading with ardent flames from street to street, the 
 archbishop assassinated in a cowardly manner, could not 
 console the author of Les CMtime7its for the death of 
 Billioray, and of Eigault, the assassin of Chaudey. 
 
 The poet saw with an indifferent eye both victims and 
 ruins, and kept all his pity for the assassins and incen- 
 diaries. 
 
 Happily, the Belgian Government had different views 
 respecting tliem, and cordially responded to the appeal of 
 France. 
 
 At the very moment in which M. Hugo was writing in 
 exculpation of the odious Commune, another conflagra- 
 tion had been ignited, and the flames rose high to heaven 
 as witnesses against such criminals. This fire was at the 
 bonding warehouses of La Yillette and the magazines of 
 M. Trotrot, containing immense supplies of coal, Avood, 
 wine, provisions, and other articles of merchandise. Her 
 twenty millions worth of property had been wantonly de- 
 stroyed, no possibility existing of saving the smallest por- 
 tion. 
 
 Offers were made by both the English and Belgian 
 Governments to send their firemen, in order to aid in ex- 
 tinguishing the conflagration in Paris. These offers were 
 thankfully accepted, and were announced to the ]!S"ational 
 Assembly by General Le F16 ("War) in the following man- 
 ner : 
 
 " The losses of our troops are infinitely less consider- 
 able than might have been feared, and the wounded are 
 most carefully attended to in the various hospitals. Bodies 
 of firemen have hurried in from every part of France {hear, 
 19 
 
434 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 hear), and the Lord Mayor of London has asked us for 
 permission to send a number of those belonging to the 
 English capital to co-operate in the task of saving Paris. 
 {Loud applause.) The French Government at once re- 
 plied that it accepted that assistance, and at the present 
 moment a body of the London firemen are, with their 
 apparatus, on the way to Paris. {Eeneived marTcs of ap- 
 p)rol)ation.) Belgium, likewise, was unwilling to remain' 
 behindhand, and tlie Government of that country has 
 made us the same offers of aid. The steam fire-engines 
 of Antwerp have also left for France." {Long continued 
 cheers.) 
 
 The burning of the docks of La V"illette was the signal 
 for another defeat of the insurgents. 
 
 In fact, during this same day. General Ladmirault ex- 
 ecuted at La Villette a movement similar to that of Gen- 
 eral Vinoy on Charonne. The two army corps took their 
 positions simultaneously in the rear of Pere-Lachaise, and 
 in the rear of the Buttes Chaumont. 
 
 The troops advanced on the Place de la Rotonde, which 
 is the central position of La Villette by the Eue de La- 
 fayette and the Boulevard de la Chapelle. 
 
 In the Rue de Lafayette they encountered a vigorous 
 resistance at the Strasbourg Railway Station and in the 
 Boulevard de la Chapelle, at the barricades of the Rue 
 d'Aubervilliers. 
 
 These positions being taken, the barricades were at- 
 tacked vigorously, both in front and flank, and were un- 
 able to hold out, although their principal position, the 
 Douane-Centrale, was a veritable bastion. It was then 
 that the docks were set on fire. 
 
 The army was then allowed a few hours repose before 
 making a supreme effort, which was to crush entirely the 
 insurrection. \ 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The line of battle— Boulevard Kichard Lenoir— Capture of the Buttes Chaumont 
 —Resistance at Pere-Lachaise— Appearance of the cemetery— Taking of La 
 Villette -Government circular— Hostile attitude of Belleville —Rage of the 
 insurgents— Belleville conquered— Circular issued by M. Thiers- Proclama- 
 tions of Marshal de MacMahon— Vicar Lamazon's letter— Military decrees- 
 Arms taken from the insurgents— Paris divided into four military depart- 
 ments—Aspect of the city— The Louvre— The TuUeries— The Palais-Royal— 
 The Hotel de Ville— Escape of the Archives— The Bank of France— The 
 Palais de Justice— The Legion of Honor— The Conseil d'Etat and the Cour 
 des Comptes— Cost of the Commune to the city of Paris— Strangers of the 
 Commune. 
 
 ON Saturday, May 27th, the silence which had reigned 
 throughout the night was broken at an early hour. 
 The last desperate struggle began. 
 
 The Federals were being pushed upon Belleville, and 
 were confined in a semicircle, always narrowing, the two 
 extremities of which rested on the ramparts, the inter- 
 mediate part following the boulevards from the Bastille 
 to the Chateau-d'Eau, and skirting the canal from the 
 Faubourg du Temple to the Place de la Villette. Three- 
 quarters of the army Avere there massed, in order to finish 
 at a single blow. 
 
 The aspect of the line of battle was lugubrious ; the sky 
 was gray with clouds, and rain fell from time to time, set- 
 tling down in the afternoon to a steady pour. 
 
 On the left stood the Butte Chaumont ; on the summit, 
 at the foot of a tree which dominated the platform, were 
 the pieces of the insurgents, pointed from behind a wooden 
 balustrade in the direction of Montmartre ; the artillery- 
 
436 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 men, few in number, on account of the shells which rained 
 upon the Butte, were in their shirt-sleeves. Just below 
 the heights, on the declining ground, could be seen the 
 church of Belleville, with its high and pointed steeples. 
 Still further down is the quarter of Menilmontant, distin- 
 guished by the steeple of Saint Ambroise. From this 
 point the ground rises rapidly, and to the right appears a 
 vast line of verdure ; this is the cemetery of Pere-La- 
 chaise. The detonations of artillery sounded here fre- 
 quently, from the foot of a long obelisk, monumental 
 ornament of a tomb. 
 
 The line of the Federals bordered the canal by La Eo- 
 quette, the Boulevard Eichard-Lenoir, and the Boulevard 
 de la Villette, but they fell back incessantly as the attack 
 progressed. 
 
 General Douay, master of the barracks of the Chateau- 
 d'Eau, advanced by the Faubourg du Temple, which re- 
 sisted with fury. The barricade established beyond the 
 canal, at the corner of the Eue Fontaine-au-Eoi, fired 
 without interruption upon the barracks. But the troops 
 advanced on the left, and, carrying the barricade of the 
 Eue Grange-aux-Belles, occupied the hospital of Saint 
 Louis. 
 
 Towards the east, General Clinchant attacked by the 
 Boulevard Prince-Eugene, by the Eue d'AngouMme, and 
 by the extremity of the Boulevard Eichard-Lenoir, the 
 barricades which defended the approaches of the canal. 
 The resistance in the Eue des Trois-Bornes was particu- 
 larly vigorous, the fire from the barricade being aided by 
 that of insurgents in the surrounding houses, the win- 
 dows of which had been stuffed with mattresses for their 
 protection. 
 
 At the intersection of the Boulevard Eichard-Lenoir 
 and the Boulevard du Prince-Eugene, stood a barricade 
 sixty yards in length, with ditches and embrasures ; the ex- 
 
THE BUTTES-CHAUMONT. 437 
 
 terior parapet was made of bags of paper to deaden the force 
 of the shells. This obstacle was unapproachable in front ; 
 it was supported on the sides by barricades in all the 
 streets running down towards the canal. The troops, 
 however, advanced by the Bastille, attacking the secondary 
 obstacles, such as the barricade of the Chemin-Vert, and 
 succeeded in placing between two fires the great fortifica- 
 tion at the bifurcation of the two avenues. The Federals 
 were, forced to abandon it, leaving the neighborhood in 
 ruins. Clothes with large red stains ; corpses black with 
 powder ; horses horribly mutilated, and broken arms and 
 caissons, were lying everywhere upon the ground, which 
 seemed perfectly saturated with blood. 
 
 During the entire afternoon shells fell like rain upon 
 Belleville, the Buttes-Chaumont, and Pere-Lachaise, en- 
 veloping the horizon in enormous clouds of smoke, and 
 forced the musketry fire to descend gradually from the 
 heights and take refuge in the lower quarter of Belleville, 
 between the Chateau-d'Eau and the Buttes-Chaumont, 
 where it continued to roll Avitli diabolical rage. 
 
 The Buttes-Chaumont, bombarded for three days by 
 the battery established at Montmartre, surrounded and 
 strongly attacked on Friday night, was not definitively 
 taken until Saturday evening. Numerous traces of pro- 
 jectiles in the neighborhood of the Buttes attest the efii- 
 cacy of the artillery fire directed against them. A height 
 situated at the extremity of the park of which the Federals 
 had formed an advanced redoubt armed with cannon, was 
 first taken by the troops ; the assault was then given on 
 the interior hillocks, which were carried after a violent 
 combat. The insurgents resisted to the very last moment, 
 only a few shells remaining in their possession when the 
 soldiers penetrated into their entrenchments, where they 
 were surrounded and taken prisoners to the number of 
 7,000 or 8,000 men. 
 
438 THE PAEIS COMMUiTE. 
 
 .The investment of Pere-Laehaise was conducted at the 
 same time by the combined action of the troops under 
 General Vinoy, who, from the Place du Trone, had gained 
 the cemetery by the exterior boulevards and Charonne, 
 and of tlie column which advanced along the Boulevard 
 Eich ard- Lenoi r. 
 
 The Pere-Lachaise had been occupied for several days by 
 the Federals ; they had easily appreciated all the import- 
 ance of this commanding position. Consequently, with- 
 out respect for this place of eternal repose, without fear of 
 calling the tumult and trouble of battle amidst these 
 tombs — last testimonies of affection and regret, which con- 
 tain the remains of so many men illustrious in politics, in 
 letters, in the sciences, and in the arts — they had made of 
 the cemetery a sort of entrenched camp, all the better de- 
 fended as each of its narrow pathways, each of its funereal 
 monuments, offered from step to step a refuge to the 
 combatants. On the elevation surmounted by the well- 
 known pyramid consecrated to the family of Beausejour, 
 the insurgents had installed a battery of large calibre, 
 whose shells burst during three days over all the habitations 
 of the right bank. In the beginning, the Pere-Lachaise 
 had received a garrison of from 7,000 to 8,000 National 
 Guards, but as circumstances became more menacing, the 
 ranks gradually thinned ; the men profited by the night to 
 make their escape, and on Saturday morning the cemetery 
 contained only from 3,000 to 4,000 combatants. 
 
 In the evening, towards nine o'clock, the Federals were 
 seized with a general panic at the alarming news . of 
 the capture of the barricades at the Chateau-d'Eau and 
 the Boulevard Eichard-Lenoir, and of the approach, more 
 and more imminent, of the regular troops. The ISTa- 
 tional Guards withdrew in great haste, scaling the walls 
 of the cemetery, and commenced a retreat which greatly 
 resembled a disordered flight. The chiefs, however, sue- 
 
PERE-LACHAISE TAKEN. 439 
 
 cecded in rallying a portion of their forces, made them 
 retnrn to the cemetery and continue the service of the 
 batteries which they had abandoned so precipitately. ' 
 
 But this return of resistance was not of long duration. 
 The insurgents, seeing themselves attacked on three sides 
 at the same time, understood that soon all retreat would 
 be impossible, and most of them fled in great haste, after 
 having spiked their pieces. It was time ; three regiments 
 of the line crossed at the same moment the boundary of 
 Pere-Lachaise. The determined men who had persisted 
 in retaining this position, opened upon the soldiers a 
 violent fire of musketry, sheltering themselves behind the 
 tombs, among which they slowly retreated. It was a use- 
 less efibrt ; soon forced to yield before the firmness of the 
 attack, the troops were quickly in possession of the dis- 
 puted ground, making its defenders prisoners. 
 
 The cemetery, garnished with cannon, with loopholes 
 pierced in its walls, dug up in different parts for the estab- 
 lishment of entrenchments, presented a singular spectacle, 
 the disorder contrasting sadly with its solemn and peaceful 
 intention. 
 
 IsTear the tomb of the Duke de Morny were several pieces 
 of artillery, while in the vault itself the ammunition was 
 stored. On the left of the tomb were two guns, and a few 
 steps to the right five more. Near the chapel, which pro- 
 bably served as headquarters of the staff, were two more 
 pieces. This position was, in fact, well chosen for the end 
 the insurgents had in view. The eye from here embraces, 
 in their smallest details, the large avenues of the capital, 
 and the quarters which had suffered so terribly from the 
 conflagration. 
 
 Many of the tombs were badly injured, particularly in 
 the 37th division, Chemin du Bourget. In one a shell 
 pierced the outer wall of the tomb and lodged in the 
 bottom of the sepulchre without exploding. Others had 
 
440 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 their inscriptions entirely destroyed, or their mouumenta 
 much defaced. 
 
 Meanwhile, General Ladmirault had continued his 
 movement on La Villette, and taken possession of the 
 Abattoir and the Cattle Market. He then advanced 
 towards the Buttes Chaumont, attacking this position in 
 the rear, and aiding in its capture as already described. 
 
 The entire quarter of La Villette at the end of the 
 struggle bore strong evidence of the fury and violence 
 with which it had been conducted. The houses of the 
 boulevard were . riddled with bullets and shells from the 
 roof to the ground. The insurgents had not been con- 
 tented with firing from behind the barricades; it had 
 been necessary to dislodge them from the windows, and 
 nearly every house had become in turn the scene of a 
 violent struggle. 
 
 The benches were torn from the sides of the streets; 
 the trees, twisted, broken, and notched, literally covered 
 the ground with their fragments. Broken lamp-posts 
 were strewn around, and the wooden huts erected during 
 the siege to shelter the Mobiles were knocked down, 
 burned, pierced with bullets, or cut in pieces. Most of 
 these shelters were filled with the bodies of the insur- 
 gents killed in battle, lying one upon another. The 
 faces smeared with mud and blood, or gashed with horri- 
 ble wounds, were terrible to look upon. Behind the bar- 
 ricade of the Place de la Eotonde, although the dead had 
 been carried away, their number was proved by the quan- 
 tities of blood which ran in streams through the gutters. 
 Cannons with broken carriages, guns lying in heaps, and 
 stained with blood, horses stretched dead upon the ground 
 mingled with boxes of preserves and portions of bread — 
 such were the sights which might be seen behind every 
 barricade in the quarter. 
 
 In the Eue de Puebla sixty insurgents were killed 
 
C M M U ISM S T ORPHANS. 441 
 
 behind one barricade ; tliey felt their cause to be infalli- 
 bly lost, and thought only to sell their lives as dearly as 
 possible. 
 
 One of the insurgents taken during the combat had 
 with him his two children, one eight and the other ten 
 years of age. 
 
 After the death of their father, these two young orphans 
 remained in the midst of the soldiers, who treated them 
 with the greatest kindness. 
 
 A few days later, the colonel of the regiment, perceiving 
 these poor little creatures eating out of the same dish with 
 a squad of soldiers, asked their names and how they came 
 there. 
 
 A corporal replied that they were the sons of an insur- 
 gent condemned to death by court-martial ; he added that 
 the two orphans had neither family nor friends to charge 
 themselves with their fate. 
 
 Moved by this recital, the colonel proposed to the offi- 
 cers and soldiers to adopt these orphans, and to admit 
 them amongst the children of the troop. His proposition 
 was received with enthusiasm. The children were clothed 
 in military dress, and will be henceforth sons of the 29th 
 of the line. 
 
 The following circular was issued by M. Thiers relative 
 to Saturday's military proceedings : 
 
 " VEESArLTES, May 27—7 p.m. 
 
 " Our troops have not ceased to follow up the insurgents 
 step by step. They have carried daily the most important 
 positions, making 25,000 prisoners, besides the killed and 
 wounded. In this ably-calculated march, our generals and 
 their illustrious chief have been desirous of sparing as 
 much as possible our brave soldiers, who were only too 
 anxious to overcome rapidly the obstacles opposed to 
 them. 
 
 19* 
 
442 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " While General dii Barrail with his cavalry was cap- 
 turing Forts Montrouge, Bicetre, and Ivry, General de 
 Cissey was executing brilliant operations, which have had 
 the effect of procuring us the whole of the left bank of the 
 Seine. 
 
 " General Vinoy, following the course of the river, 
 marched towards the Bastille, which bristled with formid- 
 able entrenchments. He carried this position with Gene- 
 ral Verge's division ; and subsequently, with the aid of 
 divisions under Generals Bruat and Faron, he obtained 
 possession of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine as far as the 
 Place du Trone. 
 
 " Our flotilla has afforded General Vinoy brilliant and 
 efficacious assistance. The latter's troops carried to-day a 
 formidable barricade at the corner of the Avenue Philippe 
 Auguste, and one at Montreuil. They have thus taken 
 up a position to the east, at the foot of the heights of 
 Belleville, the last refuge of this insurrection, whose lead- 
 ers in their flight resort to incendiarism as the monstrous 
 revenge for their defeat. 
 
 " In the centre, General Douay has followed the lines of 
 the boulevards, resting his right on the Bastille and his 
 left on the Cirque Napoleon. 
 
 " General Clinchant, who joined General Ladmirault in 
 the west, has had to overcome a desperate resistance at 
 the Magasins-Reunis, which, however, he has valiantly 
 subdued. 
 
 " Lastly, General Ladmirault, after vigorously carrying 
 the Northern and Eastern Railways, has taken the direc- 
 tion of La Villette, and occupied a position at the foot of 
 the Buttes Chaumont. 
 
 " Thus two-thirds of the army, after having conquered 
 the whole of the ground on the right bank, are now ranged 
 at the foot of the Belleville heights, which they are to at- 
 tack to-morrow morning. 
 
RESULTS OF THE SIX DAYS. 4i3 
 
 " During six days there has been constant fighting, and 
 our energetic and indefatigable soldiers haye really achieved 
 wonders. The merit of those who have had to attack bar- 
 ricades is far different from that of those who have defended 
 them. The officers in command of troojDS have shown 
 themselves worthy of leading snch men, and have fully 
 justified the vote of thanks passed by the Assembly. 
 
 " After the few hours' repose which they are now enjoy- 
 ing, they will to-morrow morning bring to an end the 
 glorious campaign which they have undertaken against 
 the most odious demagogues and criminals the world has 
 ever seen. They will thereby deserve the eternal gratitude 
 of France and humanity. 
 
 '' Our troops have suffered painful losses. General Leroy 
 de Dais is dead. Commandant Segoyer was made prisoner 
 by the insurgents in the Place do la Bastille, and his cap- 
 tors, without resjoect for the laws of war, shot him at 
 once. This act is what we might have expected from men 
 who set fire to our cities, and who have even collected a 
 quantity of venomous liquid wherewith to poison the sol- 
 diers, and cause almost instantaneous death." 
 
 The Staff of the Army of Versailles issued the following 
 report : 
 
 " After having captured the slaughter-houses and cattle- 
 market of La Villette with the division of General Grenier, 
 and the large barricade armed with cannon at the Bond 
 Point of the Boulevard de la Villette with the aid of Gen- 
 eral Montaudon's division. General Ladmirault carried in 
 the evening the Buttes Chaumont and the heights of 
 Belleville, whence for three days the insurgent batteries 
 had been bombarding Paris. General Vinoy, whose troops 
 held in the morning the Eue and Faubourg Saint Antoine 
 and the Cours de Vincennes, obtained possession of the 
 Cemetery of Pere-Lachaise and the Mairie of the 20th 
 
44:4 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Arrondissement, ■wliicli were carried by battalions of Eusi- 
 liers and sailors. 
 
 " Generals Clinchant and Douay guard the line of the 
 St. Martin Canal, and the Boulevards from the Prince 
 Eugene Barracks to the Bastille. What remains of the 
 insurgent forces is surrounded on all sides, and all resist- 
 ance will have ceased to-day. 
 
 " There was a very vigorous cannonade and musketry 
 fire all last night in the direction of Belleville, where there 
 were also numerous conflagrations. The firing still con- 
 tinued this morning." 
 
 The insurrection was now completely crushed, and the 
 remaining fighting was but a struggle of despair, struggle 
 still more terrible as the insurgents now fought only for 
 the purpose of fighting. 
 
 In the Faubourgs of Belleville the barricades were num- 
 / berless; they rose in every street, defended by cannon, 
 ! and from the neighboring houses, which were also fortified. 
 The soldiers were obliged to conquer each of these impro- 
 vised citadels. Once taken, the houses were searched in 
 every story, the concierges being obliged to mount with 
 the troops, after having given the number and position of 
 the inhabitants. If their statement proved false they were 
 shot forthwith. 
 
 Here women approached the troops with smiles on their 
 lips, distributing bread and wine. These, however, were 
 soon discovered to be poisoned, and the soldiers were for- 
 bidden to receive anything from the hands of the inhab- 
 itants. Cigars dipped in corrosive liquids had been also 
 distributed, and several officers had been shot by women 
 who had approached them under different pretexts. 
 
 These acts, which prove the ferocity with which the 
 contest was conducted, together with the recital of the 
 massacre of the hostages, added to the fury of the soldiers, 
 
A FEMALE riE]srD. 445 
 
 who, in turn, gave no quarter. An insurgent general, 
 dressed in civilian's clothes, was made prisoner and about 
 to be shot, when he offered 1,000 francs to any man who 
 would save him. He was answered by a laugh, and fell 
 dead at the feet of his executioners. 
 
 In one of the houses in which a young officer entered 
 to make a perquisition, he was met at the door by a woman, 
 who, throwing herself at his feet, and winding her arms 
 around him, cried, at the same time drawing him within 
 the entrance : 
 
 " My son is in the house, but he was forced to fight ; do 
 not kill him ! " 
 
 " Bring him down ; we will see," replied the officer. 
 
 The woman hastily mounted the stairs, and the young 
 man, making a sign to his men, was about to follow, when 
 he felt a terrible pain, and saw himself surrounded by 
 flames. 
 
 While one woman had occupied him in conversation, 
 another, hidden in the alley, had thrown petroleum upon 
 his uniform, and set it on fire. The men threw themselves 
 upon their officer, and tore off his clothes as quickly as 
 possible ; but two hours later he succumbed to the horri- 
 ble burns which he had received. 
 
 On Saturday morning (27th), about eight hundred in- 
 surgents occupied the Place de la Fete. All the bandits 
 of the Commune, the desperadoes, had come, hunted on 
 every side, to seek here a last refuge, most of them to find 
 death ; a certain number had their heads surmounted by 
 the red liberty cap. 
 
 In the morning, a young boy who wished to pass, and 
 Avho was furnished with a safe-conduct perfectly in order, 
 fell into the hands of these madmen, and was with diffi- 
 culty rescued by their colonel, Du Bisson. 
 
 The formidable bombardment directed by Montmartre 
 against Belleville had driven the insurgents almost mad. 
 
- 446 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 In the trouble and confusion caused by the rain of shells 
 and grape-shot, they no longer recognized their chiefs, 
 against whom their rage, powerless to harm their assail- 
 ants, was now turned. They arrested Du Bisson, whom 
 they accused of having betrayed them; released him, and 
 arrested him again, when he was led away no one knows 
 where. A few moments later their fury, always on the 
 increase, turned upon one of their lieutenants, whom they 
 shot upon the spot as a traitor. 
 
 But the hour of punishment for them arrived. The 
 battery of Bellevuo had been taken ; twenty-three insur- 
 gents were shot on the spot ; and at six in the evening, 
 while a few sharpshooters called the attention of the 
 Federals towards the Eue de Crimee, the volunteers of 
 Seine-et-Oise and the soldiers of the 64th regiment ad- 
 vanced by the Rue Compans, turning and gaining posses- 
 sion of the barricades. The Federals still wishing to fight, 
 placed themselves v\^ith their backs against the houses of 
 the square. 
 
 "Fire on the commandant," cried their chief; and the 
 brave officer fell pierced with balls. 
 
 " In two ranks," then cried the Federal commandant, 
 losing all self-possession. The unhappy men obeyed, and 
 were decimated by a terrible discharge. The remainder 
 then beat a retreat, setting fire, on the way, to a large 
 building called the "Chateau." 
 
 A last and furious engagement continued until Sunday 
 afternoon at three o'clock, in Belleville and in the Eues 
 du Faubourg-du-Temple, De Saint-Maur, D'Oberkampf, 
 Folie-Mericourt, which extend at the foot of this height, 
 formerly solely renowned for its parties of pleasure. 
 
 During several hours the battle was horrible, and was 
 conducted in many cases hand to hand. The musketry 
 fire, sword fights, and charges with bayonet were multi- 
 plied at all points, with a fury equal on both sides. From 
 
FEDERALS SUERENDEEIZsTG. 447 
 
 the Kue de Charoiine to the Faubourg du Temple, and 
 in all the Popincourt quarter, the fight was general, ardent 
 and pitiless. The National Guards were killed behind 
 the barricades, refusing to yield, and tlie troops remained 
 intrepid and firm under a rain of balls sent from every 
 window. 
 
 At Belleville, where the capture of the barricades re- 
 quired the most energetic efforts, and inflicted sensible 
 losses on the regular army, the insurgents held out, as well 
 as in the lower quarters, until all their ammunition was 
 exhausted — until the last fortified work was completely 
 destroyed. 
 
 Finally, towards two o'clock, the fire slackened; shots 
 were only to be heard at intervals ; the cries ceased at the 
 different points of contest ; the battle of seven days, begun 
 on the 21st of May, was approaching its end. 
 
 At three o'clock, a body of about four hundred insur- 
 gents descended from the heights of Belleville ; they 
 came to surrender themselves prisoners. 
 
 At their head marched four members of the Commune, 
 preceded by a lieutenant of the staff bearing a red flag. 
 They all carried their guns reversed, in sign of mourning, 
 advancing silently ; and, criminal as was this revolt, this 
 sad procession could not be looked upon without emotion. 
 Arrived at the canal, when about to place themselves in 
 the hands of the troops, they all threw down their arms, 
 and were immediately surrounded and marched away. 
 
 A large number of the insurgents had escaped by the 
 side-streets, falling back towards Montreuil and Yincennes, 
 but they were met in their retreat by the Prussian lines, 
 where all passage was refused them. Any refuge was hence- 
 forth impossible. On the left bank, the southern forts of 
 Ivry, Bicetre and Montrouge, which had remained in 
 possession of the Commune until the occupation of Paris, 
 had belonged for two days to the legal Government. The 
 
448 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 fort of Vincennes, the only point yet untaken, was sur- 
 rendered on Monday morning, May 39tli, at the first dem- 
 onstration made against it by a brigade of the army of 
 General Vinoy. 
 
 The Chief of the Executiye Power issued the following 
 circulars, announcing the triumph of the Grovernment : 
 
 " May 28th, 1871—2:15 P. M. 
 
 "Our troops, charged v/ith the operations on the right 
 bank, were last evening drawn up in a circle round the 
 Buttes Ohaumont and the heights of Belleyille. During 
 the night they oyercame all obstacles. General Ladmi- 
 rault crossed the yalley of La Villette, proceeded beyond 
 the slaughter-houses, and ascended the Buttes Ohaumont 
 as well as the Belleville heights. 
 
 " The young Davoust, so worthy of the name he bears, 
 carried the barricades, and by daybreak General Ladmi- 
 rault's corps had reached the summit of the heights. 
 General Douay, starting from the Boulevard Eichard-Le- 
 noir, also attacked the insurgents' positions at Belleville. 
 During the same time. General Vinoy's men chmbed the 
 ascent of the Oemetery Pere-Lachaise, and carried the 
 Mairie of the 20tli Arrondissement and the prison of La 
 Roquette. The sailors have everywhere displayed their 
 usual bravery. 
 
 " In entering La Eoquette, we had the consolation of 
 saving the lives of one hundred and sixty-nine hostages, 
 who were about to be shot. But, alas ! the wretches from 
 whom we are obliged to tear Paris in flames and covered 
 with blood, had had time to shoot sixty-four, among whom, 
 we have the grief to announce, were the Archbishop of 
 Paris, the Abbe Duguerry (the best of men). President 
 Bonjean, and a number of other worthy men. After 
 having murdered, during these last days, the generous 
 Ohaudey, a heart full of goodness, and a sincere Eepubli- 
 can, whom could they spare ? 
 
PARIS DELIVERED. 449 
 
 "Now thrown back upon the ramparts, between the 
 French army and the Prussians, who have refused them 
 passage, they will expiate their crimes, and have either to 
 die or surrender. 
 
 " The too guilty Delescluze has been picked up dead 
 by the troops of General Clinchant. Milliere, not less 
 famous, has been shot for having fired three times from 
 his revolver on the corporal who arrested him. These 
 expiations do not console us for so many misfortunes, 
 above all, for so many crimes ; but they should prove to 
 these senseless men that civilization is not provoked and 
 defied in vain, and that justice soon raises its voice. 
 
 " The insurrection, compressed into the space of a fcAV 
 hundred yards, is vanquished — definitively vanquished. 
 Peace is about to be restored ; but it will not succeed in 
 relieving all honest and patriotic hearts of the profound 
 sorrow with which they are afflicted." 
 
 "Paeis, May29, 1871. 
 
 " To-day a brigade of the army of General Vinoy com- 
 menced the siege works against the fort of Vincennes. 
 As soon as the insurgents, who still occupied the position, 
 perceived these preparations, they surrendered at discre- 
 tion. One of the chiefs blew his brains out. Our troops 
 took immediate possession of the fort." 
 
 The social war was terminated ; the Communal insur- 
 rection had at last succumbed, and Paris was delivered. 
 
 This immense result was immediately announced to the 
 Parisian population by the following proclamation from 
 Marshal de MacMahon : 
 
 "■ Headquarters, May 28, 1871. 
 " I]<]"HABITANTS OE PaRIS : 
 
 " The army of France came to save you. 
 " Paris is delivered. 
 
iSO THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 " Our soldiers carried, at four o'clock, the last positions 
 occupied by the insurgents. 
 
 " To-day the struggle is finished ; order, labor, and 
 security will now revive. 
 
 " De MacMahon", Due de Magenta, 
 
 " Marshal of France, Commander-m-Chief." 
 
 On the same day the Marshal addressed to the troops 
 the following order of the day, thanking them for the 
 efforts which they had made with so much courage during 
 this difficult contest : 
 
 " SoLDiEES AND Sailors : — Your courage and devotion 
 have triumphed over all obstacles. After a siege of two 
 months, after a battle of eight days in the streets, Paris is 
 at last delivered. In tearing the city from the hands of 
 the wretches who had projected burning it to ashes, you 
 have preserved it from complete ruin ; you have given, it 
 back to France. 
 
 "Soldiers and Sailors: — The entire country ap- 
 plauds the success of your patriotic efforts ; and the !N"a- 
 tional Assembly, by which it is represented, has accorded 
 you the recompense most worthy of you. 
 
 " It has been declared by a unanimous vote that the 
 armies of sea and land have merited well of the country." 
 
 As early as the 22d of May — in fact, at the news of the 
 entrance of the troops into Paris — the Assembly had 
 unanimously given this noble testimony of gratitude and 
 encouragement to the soldiers. By a just and delicate 
 sentiment, they had associated the Chief of the Executive 
 Power in the thanks which they addressed to the army in 
 the name of France. M. Thiers and the army had equally 
 merited well of the country. Thanks to their patient and 
 resolute zeal, Paris and France were restored to each 
 
STORY OF A HOSTAGE. 451 
 
 other; the sovereignty of the nation had overcome the 
 most terrible of revolts; the civilization and national 
 unity of France were saved. 
 
 But alas ! at the price of what disasters, of what ruins 
 strewn over Paris, were these results obtained ! How 
 many unhappy men, misled certainly by the most detest- 
 able passions, but still fellow-citizens, were killed or 
 taken prisoners by thousands ! how many gallant soldiers 
 fell pierced by fratricidal balls ! 
 
 As soon as the combat was terminated, energetic meas- 
 ures were taken for restoring order in Paris : arms were 
 everywhere seized, and in each quarter a rigid investiga- 
 tion was made. During several days, each street, guarded 
 at its two extremities by sentinels, was searched from 
 house to house, from story to story, when every sus- 
 pected individual was immediately arrested, and all stores 
 of dangerous matters instantly seized. 
 
 A large number of insurgents were taken prisoners 
 during these domiciliary visits, many of them important 
 j)ersonages, while powder, cartridges, petroleum, and guns 
 were seized in quantities. On every point the barricades 
 were overthrown as quickly as possible, and the streets 
 restored to a condition which rendered circulation com- 
 paratively easy. 
 
 The public mind, filled with joy at its deliverance, was 
 at the same time troubled by the horrors of the last few 
 days, among which stood pre-eminent the frightful mas- 
 sacre of the hostages. On Sunday morning a letter was 
 written by M. Lamazou, Vicar of the Madeleine, describ- 
 ing the events which occurred at La Eoquette during the 
 last days of his imprisonment as hostage : 
 
 " Paris, May 28th, 1871. 
 
 " We left this morning the prison of La Eoquette, ten 
 ecclesiastics, forty sergents-de-vilh, and eighty-two sol- 
 
452 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 diers, after having escaped death only by a prodigy of 
 audacity and sang-froid. 
 
 "Prisoner of the Committee of Public Safety at the 
 Conciergerie, Mazas and La Eoquette, I will be to-day 
 sparing of details regarding the revolting and monstrous 
 acts of which the last-named prison has been the theatre, 
 and -which assure it hereafter a renown amongst the places 
 most sinisterly celebrated. To mention one out of a hun- 
 dred, a vicar of ISTotre-Dame-des-Victoires and myself 
 passed a half-an-hour on Thursday, May 25th, preparing 
 ourselves to be shot. It was only a false alarm, and the 
 agents of the Commune charged with these amiable in- 
 vitations consoled those who were the objects of them, 
 in assuring them that what didn't take place to-day 
 w^ould not fail to arrive on the morrow. For the time 
 they were only charged with bringing one of our neighbors 
 before a kind of court-martial, then sitting in the prison, 
 and which was composed of citizens principally remark- 
 able, some for their stupidity, the others for their fe- 
 rocity. 
 
 " Since the atrocious execution of Monseigneur the 
 Archbishop of Paris, of M. le Cure de la Madeleine, of 
 President Bonjean, of M. AUard, former missionary, and 
 of the Jesuit Fathers Clair and Du Coudray, which took 
 place on Wednesday, May 24th, in a corner of the e'xterior 
 court of the prison, without motive, without judgment, 
 without verbal process, in presence of a delegate of the 
 Commune, who had no other mandate than a revolver in 
 his hand, and of a crowd of National Guards, who could 
 manifest no sentiments but the most revolting outrages ; 
 without any respect for the bodies of these noble victims, 
 who were stripped of their clothes, piled on a common 
 wagon, and thrown into a corner of earth at Charonne, it 
 was evident that the burlesque acts of the Commune were 
 to be succeeded by others both destructive and sanguin- 
 
VICTIMS AT LA ROQUETTE. 453 
 
 ary, and that the hostages who had been conducted from 
 Mazas to La Eoquette on the morning of the entrance of 
 the Versailles troops into Paris, were destined to undergo 
 the same fote. 
 
 " On Friday, May 26th, thirty-eight gendarmes and 
 sixteen priests were conducted to Pere-Lachaise, and 
 there shot. On the following day, as the army of Ver- 
 sailles approached the heights of Pere-Lachaise — where 
 the infernal battery had been erected which was to reduce 
 to ashes the finest monuments of Paris — an order was 
 given to shoot all the priests, soldiers, and sergents-de- 
 ville who still remained in the prison. The members of 
 the Commune who persisted in their horrible designs had 
 installed themselves in the register oflfice of La Eoquette. 
 I was able, from my cell, to follow their deliberations, and 
 I afl&rm that there cannot be a public house of the worst 
 reputation where the behavior would not be more exem- 
 plary. 
 
 "At half-past three the purveyor of these executions 
 ordered the inhabitants of the second and third stories to 
 descend. One of the keepers of La Eoquette, whose name 
 ought to be known to the public, M. Pinet, yielding to a 
 generous inspiration of humanity, opened rapidly the 
 doors of all the cells, declaring that it was frightful to see 
 honest people shot by such ignoble bandits, and that he 
 would sacrifice his life for ours if we would aid in oppos- 
 ing them by an energetic resistance. 
 
 " This proposition was received with enthusiasm ; each 
 person improvised an arm in iron or in wood, and two 
 solid barricades were established at the entrance of the 
 doors on the third story ; an opening was made in the 
 floor to communicate our resolution to the lower story, 
 where the sergents-de-ville already meditated the same 
 design. Under the direction of the keeper, Pinet, and of 
 
454 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 an enterprising Zouave, the eastern pavilion became a 
 veritable fortress. 
 
 The Commune, which was to parody and even surpass 
 all that was most odious and grotesque in the revolution 
 of 1793, allowed that ignoble populace, seen in Paris only 
 on sinister days, to enter the court of the prison, in order 
 to regale them vidth the spectacle of another day of Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 " While the crowd without shouted and menaced, some 
 of the National Guards, charged with shooting us, mount- 
 ed to the third story, announcing that the prison was to 
 be mined and blown up, or else reduced to ashes by means 
 of their formidable artillery established at P^re Lachaise. 
 They then set fire to one of our barricades in order to 
 suffocate us, but this fire was soon extinguished. 
 
 " One detail I do not wish to omit. The individual who 
 waved his gun in the most cynical manner was a man 
 condemned to death by the Assize Court of the Seine, 
 and who was prisoner at La Eoquette. Many of the 
 same class had the doors of their prisons opened, and left 
 the building, shouting enthusiastically, " Vive la Com- 
 mune ! " 
 
 " Our energetic resistance caused great astonishment to 
 the members of the Commune, who soon retreated towards 
 Charonne and Belleville. The crowd, impressed by this 
 example, followed the Commune, and we were able to 
 close the doors of the prison. We were half saved, thanks 
 to the disorder which followed; it was then that the 
 populace remaining before La Eoquette, passing from 
 words of menace to those of seduction, began to cry 
 " Vive la Ligne ! " declaring that they simply wished to 
 restore all the prisoners to liberty. Four priests and 
 eighteen soldiers allowed themselves to be deceived by 
 these promises ; hardly had they left the prison before 
 they were placed against one of its walls and shot, and the 
 
DISARMING PARIS. 455 
 
 bodies of the four priests served to crown a neighboring 
 barricade. 
 
 " During the night a strict watch was established in 
 the two stories ; the menacing cries which rose outside 
 frightened no one ; at last, on Sunday, the 28th, at dawn 
 of day, the musketry fire of the Versailles troops, to which 
 we listened with an emotion more easily to be understood 
 than described, announced their approach ; at a quarter 
 past five the barricade opposite La Eoquette was carried 
 by a vigorous attack, and the soldiers of the Infantry of 
 Marine took possession of the prison. 
 
 " We were thus unexpectedly restored to life after four 
 days of the most cruel agony which can possibly be imag- 
 ined. 
 
 " Eeceive, sir, etc., 
 
 '•'L'Abbe Lamazou, 
 
 " Vicar of the Madeleine." 
 
 It was indispensable that the disarming of Paris should 
 be effected as rapidly as possible, and for that purpose the 
 Chief of the Executive Power caused the following decree 
 to be published : 
 
 "Versailles, May 29, 1871. 
 
 " The Chief of the Executive Power of the French Ee- 
 public, 
 
 " Considering that arms distributed throughout Paris 
 in profusion and without control, have fallen into the 
 hands of rioters and malefactors, and that a general dis- 
 arming can alone guarantee, at this moment, the public 
 security, 
 
 " DECREES : 
 
 " Art. I. Under the orders of the mihtary authorities, 
 all warlike weapons are to be carried to each Mairie, to be 
 afterwards placed in the arsenals of the State. 
 
 " Art. II. The National Guards of Paris and of the 
 Department of the Seine are dissolved. Until the Na- 
 
456 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 tional Assembly shall haye decided concerning their re-or- 
 ganization, the citizens who lent their aid to the army for 
 the re-establishment of order, may continue their services 
 under the orders and direction of the military authorities. 
 "Art. III. The Ministers of War and of the Interior, and 
 the Marshal commanding the Army of Paris, are charged 
 with the execution of the present decree." 
 
 The previous evening, the General commanding the 
 Second Corps had caused the following notice to be pla- 
 carded on the left bank : 
 
 " Headquaetees of the Luxemboukg, May ,2S, 1871. 
 
 " According to the orders of the Marshal, Commander- 
 in-Chief of the Army of Versailles, the disarming of the 
 city of Paris is general, and admits of no exception. 
 
 " While the General commanding in chief the Second 
 Corps of the left bank of the Seine causes this measure to 
 be rigorously executed, he wishes, at the same time, publicly 
 to express his satisfaction at the eager and patriotic assis- 
 tance given to the army by certain members of the ISTa- 
 tional Guard who fought for the cause of order and civili- 
 zation. These brave companions in arms have given a 
 noble example to their fellow-citizens, and have shown 
 what the Parisian population might have done against a 
 minority of adventurers and anarchists who oppressed it. 
 
 " In the name of France, in the name of a menaced 
 society, the General commanding the Second Corps thanks 
 them, and cordially presses their hands. 
 
 ^ "E. DE CiSSET," 
 
 " The General Commanding the Second Corps." 
 
 The approximative number of arms taken from, the in- 
 surgents, in virtue of these military orders, is as follows : 
 285,000 chassepots. 
 195,000 guns a tdbatiere. 
 68,000 " ainston. 
 
MACMAHON'S DECEEES. 457 
 
 That is, 548,000 guns of different models, with sabre- 
 bayonets, or bayonets with their corresponding shoulder- 
 belt. 
 
 56,000 cavalry sabres of all forms and for all ranks. 
 
 14,000 carbines, mostly Enfield. 
 
 39,000 revolvers. 
 
 Finall}'-, 10,000 arms of every kind, snch as daggers, 
 stilettoes, sword-canes, etc., giving a total of 667,000 wea- 
 pons of every kind taken from the hands of the Commun- 
 ists, independently of 1,700 pieces of cannon and mitrail- 
 leuses which they had torn away from the State, and of 
 which they had made such terrible use. 
 
 As for the armes de luxe, such as guns used in the 
 chase, pistols, sabres, etc., whose surrender was exacted in 
 consequence of the exceptional circumstances of the mo- 
 ment, their number was hardly over 15,000, which is 
 easily explained by the departure of the great portion of 
 the richer population at the first evidence of insurrectional 
 tendencies in the city. 
 
 In order to assure the prompt and absolute return of 
 order, and to attain the harmony indispensable for the 
 execution of the different public services. Marshal de 
 MacMahon issued on May 30th the following decree : 
 
 " At Headqttaetbks, May 30th, 1871. 
 
 "Until further order, the city of Paris will be divided 
 into four great military commanderies, namely: 
 
 « 1st. That of the East, comprising the XI, XII, XIX 
 and XX Arrondissements, under the orders of General 
 Vinoy, commanding the Army of Eeserve; headquarters 
 at the Convent of Picpus. 
 
 "2d. That of the North- West, comprising the YIII, 
 IX, X, XVI, XVII and XVIII Arrondissements, under 
 the orders of General Ladmirault, commanding the First 
 Army Corps ; headquarters at the Elysee. 
 20 
 
458 THE PAEIS COMMU]SrE. 
 
 " Sd. That of the South, comprising all the left bank, 
 that is, the V, VI, VII, XIII, XIV and XV Arrondisse- 
 ments, under the orders of General de Cissey, command- 
 ing the Second Army Corps ; headquarters at the Luxem- 
 bourg. 
 
 " 4th. That of the Centre, comprising the I, II, III and 
 IV Arrondissements, under the orders of General Douay, 
 commanding the Fourth Army Corps ; headquarters Place 
 Vend6me. 
 
 " According to Article 7 of the law of 1849, relatiye to 
 the state of siege, all the powers possessed by the civil au- 
 thorities for the maintenance of order and the police pass 
 entirely into the hands of the military authorities. 
 
 " De MacMahof, Due de Magenta, 
 
 " Marshal of France, Commander-in-Chief." 
 
 On the same day. May 30th, the commandery of the 
 North-West gave the first sign of life, in repressing ener- 
 getically attempts on the public security. General Lad- 
 mirault caused the following notice to be placed on the 
 walls : 
 
 "notice. 
 
 " Headquarters op the Eltsee, May SOtli, 18T1. 
 
 "Isolated shots are now and then fired from houses sit- 
 uated in different quarters on the right bank. 
 
 '• The General commanding in chief the First Army 
 Corps informs the inhabitants that any house from which 
 a shot is fired will be immediately the object of a military 
 execution. 
 
 '•' The military authority will not flinch from any rigor- 
 ous measure which will tend to establish security in the 
 streets of the capital, order and peace in the country. 
 It has a right to count on the concurrence of all good 
 citizens." 
 
 On the 30th, another law was passed, ordering all cafes, 
 restaurants and wine-shops to be closed at eleven o'clock. 
 
THE SALE OF PETE OLEUM. 459 
 
 Any proprietor disobeying this order, or any person found 
 in his establishment after that hour, was to be immedi- 
 ately arrested. 
 
 At the same time the theatres were obliged to be fur- 
 nished with a special authorization from the military au- 
 thorities before continuing their representations, and the 
 same was required from all newspapers — eyen from those 
 which had already reappeared. 
 
 The following notice was later placarded, and was read 
 with general approbation. 
 
 " Headquakteks, Pabis, June 2d, 1871. 
 
 " Until further order, all commerce in petroleum is for- 
 mally forbidden. 
 
 "Exceptions can only be made for pharmaceutical prepa- 
 rations. In such cases, the request must be addressed to the 
 military authorities, who will grant it only after having 
 received all the necessary guarantees." 
 
 Meanwhile, what aspect did Paris present, while the 
 Government and the army took the dispositions necessary 
 to restore its calm, to obtain the pacification of the public 
 mind, and to bring back order and security to its streets ? 
 
 The central quarters were gradually regaining their cus- 
 tomary appearance. The shops were opening, but as yet 
 very slowly. The suffering had been so great during the 
 last two months — the nightmare of the last eight days 
 had been so frightful — that the inhabitants could with 
 difficulty rouse themselves from the succeeding torpor, 
 and return seriously to their work. The barricades were 
 everywhere being destroyed. 
 
 Often, at certain points, the passers-by were required to 
 take down a stone — perhaps the very same which they had 
 been forced to raise during the time of the Commune. 
 
 From nearly all the houses, although still closed, floated 
 
460 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the tricolored flag. Eyerpi^liere the walls bore traces of 
 the recent struggle; bullet-holes, large pieces torn away 
 by the bursting of a shell, or the marks of a conflagration 
 which the Communists had endeavored to ignite in re- 
 treating. 
 
 The arrests still continued. Numerous denunciations 
 were hourly made against former Communists. These 
 denunciations were mostly made by women — a fact which 
 was also to be remarked under the Commune, in regard 
 to the Versaillese and suspected persons. The streets 
 were, consequently, here and there dotted with detach- 
 ments of three or four National Guards, who had just 
 captured a Communist, and were leading him away. "With 
 regard to incendiaries, no pity was shown. Any individ- 
 ual, man or woman, found carrying a bottle of petroleum, 
 was instantly shot. 
 
 The prisoners taken were directed on different points 
 of Paris, such as the theatre of the Chdtelet, and from 
 there, if not condemned by the Grand Provost, were con- 
 ducted to Versailles. 
 
 The number of insurgents slain in the contest was in- 
 calculable. During the first few days they were buried 
 anywhere and everywhere — on the banks of the Seine, in 
 the public squares, at the foot of the barricades — in order 
 to prevent a too rapid decomposition from their contact 
 with the air. 
 
 The aspect of Paris at night during this time was par- 
 ticularly mournful. 
 
 Usually, at this season of the year, night seems turned 
 into day ; the cafes and restaurants are brilliantly lighted 
 and crowded with loungers ; the little chairs and tables in 
 front of these establishments all have their occupants, and 
 threaten shortly, from their increasing number, to drive 
 the crowd of promenaders from the sidewalk into the 
 street. Night is the city's brightest and gayest time ; one 
 
PAEIS AT NIGHT. 461 
 
 walks in fairyland, cares fly away, thorns disappear, evil 
 is veiled in this terrestrial paradise. 
 
 No wonder the Parisians love their city; no wonder 
 they forget their misfortunes within its walls. What land 
 can boast another like it ? 
 
 But what a difference immediately succeeding the reign 
 of terror. The houses were all closed ; the gas in many 
 quarters unlighted. Here and there on the tables of some 
 of the cafes might be seen the flickering light of a solitary 
 candle. The streets were deserted, and after nine o'clock 
 nothing was heard but the echoing steps of the sen- 
 tinels who guarded the corners of the streets. ]S"ow and 
 then the cry of " Qui vive ! Passez au large ! " interrupted 
 the silence, as at rare intervals a passer-by was seen. 'So 
 passenger was allowed to walk at night along the pave- 
 ments ; all were obliged to take the middle of the street, lest 
 some evil-intentioned person should throw petroleum upon 
 the houses, and deliver them as prey to the flames. Often 
 the inhabitants, still uneasy, and not sufficiently reassured 
 by the precautions of the municipalities who had caused 
 all the gratings of the cellars to be stopped up, would sit 
 upon their door-steps until an advanced hour of the 
 night. 
 
 It was they who, in such cases, ordered passers-by to 
 take the middle of the street, and it was not prudent to 
 disobey their injunction ; any one doiug so was instantly 
 suspected, and the cries of the inhabitants soon brought 
 the National Guards from the nearest post, who arrested 
 him forthwith. 
 
 It was not until Saturday, June 3d, that trains with 
 passengers were allowed to enter Paris, or that the in- 
 habitants were allowed to leave without a laissez- passer. 
 Up to that time workmen were actively employed in 
 destroying the barricades and in clearing and cleaning 
 from the streets all traces of the horrible contests of wliich 
 
462 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 tbey had been the scene. When the eager and curious 
 crowd of sight-seers was finally allowed to enter, the dis- 
 appointment was general. The newspaper accounts had 
 been so horrible, that many expected to see but the black- 
 ened ruins of a once beautiful city. The bustle and activ- 
 ity in the streets were surprising to all, few being able to 
 understand that finest trait of the French character, 
 which enables the nation to rise superior to misfortune, 
 and thus the sooner to conquer it. 
 
 Ruins, however, there were in quantities; France's finest 
 palaces, the scenes of her oldest associations, had been 
 ruthlessly destroyed, and amidst their charred and black- 
 ened masses the fire still smouldered angrily. 
 
 Foremost among these stood the Louvre and Tuileries 
 — ^the former happily but little injured, if we except the 
 destruction of its magnificent library; but the latter 
 almost entirely destroyed. 
 
 These two piles of buildings were completed and har- 
 monized under the second Empire. With their inclosures, 
 they occupy an area of sixty acres, and may be said to 
 have formed a single palace of unequaled splendor and 
 magnitude. 
 
 The Louvre consists of the old and new Louvre. The 
 old Louvre is nearly square, being 576 feet long by 538 
 wide, and contains a vast collection of sculpture, paint- 
 ings, and other works of art. The eastern fa9ade is one 
 of the finest architectural works of any age or country ; it 
 is a colonnade of twenty-eight coupled Corinthian columns. 
 
 The new Louvre, inaugurated in 1857, consists of two 
 piles of buildings projecting from two galleries, which join 
 the old Louvre to the Tuileries, and forming the eastern 
 boundary of the Place du Carousel. The Louvre was 
 originally a hunting lodge, and was converted into a feudal 
 fortress, about the year 1200, by Philip Augustus. It was 
 enlarged by his successors, more paxticularly by Henry II 
 
THE LOUVRE AITD TUILEEIES. 463 
 
 and Catherine de Medicis ; and here, in 1572, took place 
 the wedding ceremony of Margaret of Valois and the King 
 of Navarre. Charles IX fired npon the Hugnenots from 
 one of its windows ; and here Henry IV lay in state after 
 ids assassination by Ravaillac. Bernini was brought from 
 Italy by Louis XIV in order to complete the palace ; but 
 the east front, with its beautiful colonnade, was the work 
 of a Frenchman, Claude Perrault. 
 
 The palace remained unfinished down to the time of 
 Napoleon I, who converted the building Into a national 
 museum, where he gathered all the art treasures of France 
 together, with the spoils of his numerous campaigns. Many 
 of these stores were carried away by the Allies at the Ees- 
 toration, but the remainder, with what has since been 
 added, make the collection of the Louvre one of the finest 
 in the world. 
 
 Under the late Emperor the v/hole collection was re- 
 arranged, and great additions made. In 1861 the entire 
 collections of the Marquis Campana, of Eome, were pur- 
 chased for 81,000,000 ; these form the greater portion of 
 the Musee Napoleon III. 
 
 The ground on which the Tuileries stands, or rather 
 stood, was once a tile-yard, and was bought by Francis -I 
 to please his mother, Louise de Savoie, who preferred the 
 position to that of the Palais des Tournelles. The new 
 edifice was begun by Catharine do Medicis, with Delorme 
 for her architect. 
 
 The Tuileries seldom served as a royal residence until 
 of late years. Neither Catharine de Medicis nor her sons 
 ever lived there ; it was occasionally visited by Henry IV, 
 was the scene of several banquets under Louis XIV, in- 
 habited by Louis XV when a minor, and by Louis XVI 
 as prisoner. During the great revolution the sittings 
 of the Assembly, and afterwards of the Convention, were 
 held in the Palace. The First Consul was afterwards in- 
 
464 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 stalled there, and from, his time the Palace has become 
 the home of the monarchs of France. 
 
 In the revolution of 1830 the building was sacked and 
 plundered ; restored to its former splendor under Louis 
 Philippe, it was again inyaded in 1848, and the throne, 
 carried away by the mob, was burned in the Place de la 
 Bastille. A band of ruffians took possession of the royal 
 apartments, where they remained for ten days. 
 
 The Tuileries was then, used for a hospital, afterwards 
 for an exhibition of pictures, and, in 1851, became the 
 home of E"apoleon III. 
 
 The flight of the Empress, when the Palace was again 
 iuYiided by the mob on the 4th of September, 1870, and 
 the concerts given for the benefit of the wounded during 
 the days of the Commune, are the last historical episodes 
 before the final catastrophe. 
 
 The centre, north and south wings of the Tuileries were 
 called respectively the Pavilion de I'Horloge, the Pavilion 
 de Plore, and the Pavilion de Marsan. Under the late 
 Empire the building was shown to visitors. 
 
 Napoleon Ill's theatre and chapel were built upon the 
 site of the old Salle des Machines, where Moliere's Psyche 
 and Comedie Franpaise were played, and where Voltaire 
 was publicly crowned. The state staircase led to a fine 
 ball-room, called the Salle de la Paix, which opened into 
 the Salle des Marechaiox. This room extended the whole 
 depth of the Palace and the height of two floors, and was 
 one of the most gorgeously decorated halls in Paris. The 
 busts of marshals and generals were ranged along the 
 walls, and the ceiling, exquisitely painted, was supported 
 by four caryatides, copied from those by Jean Goujon, in 
 the Louvre. Doors led on the right from Salle des Mare- 
 chaux to the private apartments of the Emperor and Em- 
 press, and on the left through the Salle du Premier Con- 
 sul and the Salle d'Apollon to the Salle du Trone, where a 
 
THE PALAIS EOYAL. 465 
 
 new throne occupied the place of the one burned by the 
 mob in 1848, and the Galerie do Diane, the Imperial din- 
 ing room. 
 
 The Palais Eoyal, another of the public buildings at- 
 tacked by the rage of the Commune, faces the Louvre, 
 and is built on the site of Cardinal Eichelieu's palace. It 
 was given to the Duke of Orleans by his brother, Louis 
 XIV, and passed from him to the Eegent Duke. Here 
 the Eegent and his daughter held their orgies, though not 
 in the present edifice. His grandson Egalite rebuilt the 
 Palace after a fire, and erected the ranges of shops to re- 
 lieve his embarrassments. 
 
 The Gardens of the Palais Eoyal were the favorite resort 
 of Camille Desmoulins, and other mob orators, and in 
 them the tricolored flag was unfurled July 13th, 1789. 
 Here were hatched the plots which ended in the execu- 
 tion of Egalite, when the Palace was sold by lottery. After 
 the Eestoration it was bought back, and repaired by the 
 Orleans family, by whom it was inhabited until they re- 
 moved to the Tuileries in 1830. 
 
 InA^aded and plundered by the mob in 1848, the build- 
 ing was turned into a barrack, but, during the second 
 Empire, it changed back again to a palace. 
 
 Given by the Emperor to his uncle Jerome, it de- 
 scended to Prince Napoleon, who fitted it up in the most 
 sumptuous style. 
 
 Nothing, however, can equal the loss to the city of the 
 Hotel de Ville, which dates in part from 1628. This was 
 a most magnificent structure, containing some of the 
 finest saloons in Paris, and perhaps in the world. The 
 additions made to this building in 1842 cost no less than 
 $3,200,000. The building contained some five hundred 
 statues of Erench celebrities, from the time of Charle- 
 magne to Louis XIV, and, as a specimen of modern 
 Erench magnificence, the decorations and furniture of 
 
 20* 
 
466 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the Hotel de Yille were unrivaled. Here, during the 
 late Empire, the Prefect of the Seine entertained 7,000 
 guests in the great gallery, ornamented with gilt Corin- 
 thian columns, and illuminated by three thousand wax- 
 lights. 
 
 The architecture of the building equalled, and, if pos- 
 sible, excelled in worth its interior decorations. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville was associated with many of the 
 most famous and infamous scenes of the history of Paris. 
 The first Commune held here its sittings, and here Eobes- 
 pierre was taken prisoner by the soldiers, haying sought, 
 with his partisans, a refuge in the building. 
 
 From one of the windows Louis Philippe, the " Citizen 
 King," was presented to the people by Lafayette. In 1848 
 the soldiers were quartered here, and in 1871 the building 
 became the stronghold of the Central Committee, and 
 afterwards of the Commune, who, determined that no 
 other power should possess what they had lost, set fire to 
 the magnificent pile and reduced it to ashes. 
 
 The Hotel de Ville was the one, of all the monuments 
 of Paris, which the Commune had the least right and the 
 least pretext to destroy, and it is precisely the Hotel de 
 Ville whose ruin is most complete, most irreparable. 
 Everywhere else, even where the fire has been most vio- 
 lent, something remains which, if required, renders repa- 
 ration not impossible. 
 
 Here, however, the destruction was implacable; it seems 
 as though a breath would overthrow what still remains 
 standing ; and yet, while this ruio is the most complete, it 
 is also the most beautiful which has been left by the van- 
 dals of 1871. 
 
 Recent as the ruins are, they have already the majesty 
 which is ordinarily given by time alone to the cruel work 
 of the hand of man. Here a few hours have produced the 
 slow effect of centuries. 
 
THE HOTEL DE VILLE. 46? 
 
 The skeleton of the immense palace alone remains. The 
 walls, which are corroded by the flames, irregularly muti- 
 lated, with their windows enlarged and disjoined, their 
 doors resembling breaches, and their summits capriciously 
 cut in points, give them the appearance of the battle- 
 ments of a dismantled fortress ; with the statues of the 
 great Parisians, who were the honor of their native city, 
 tottering on their bases, some still standing erect and 
 proud, others already overthrown and turned towards the 
 Palace, as though to contemplate its ruin, all this forms a 
 spectacle of imposing grandeur which moves, saddens, and 
 at the same time captivates and retains the beholder. 
 
 The losses to art in this terrible catastrophe were very 
 great. The Eenaissance lost the small central edifice, the 
 two marvelous mantel-pieces at the extremities of the 
 Salle du Trone, one from the chisel of Beard, pupil of 
 Michael Angelo, the other by Th. Bodin, and in the Salle 
 du Zodiaque, the decorative sculptures on wood of Jean 
 Goujon. 
 
 The epoch of Louis XIV. lost the statue of the great 
 king by Coysevox, which was a clief-cVmuvre, while the 
 present epoch has lost forty-six statues by the ablest 
 sculptors of modern times, which had been placed in 
 niches purposely designed to ornament the principal front 
 of the building. These statues are all either completely 
 destroyed or greatly damaged. ^ 
 
 The Hotel de Ville possessed also a fine municipal 
 library, which was situated in the third story of the north- 
 eastern pavilion, and which contained one hundred thou- 
 sand volumes, principally historical works. ISTot a book, 
 not a leaf remains. 
 
 On the first story, the walls and ceilings were covered 
 by works from the brushes of the greatest painters of 
 modern times, which, like all the marvels of this beauti- 
 ful building, were entirely destroyed. 
 
468 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 A collection of all the sovereigns of Europe who had 
 accepted an invitation to the Hotel de Yille, and who in 
 doing so, always engaged to send their busts in white mar- 
 ble to the Prefect of the Seine, was also lost. Their num- 
 ber was considerable. The busts of Queen Victoria and 
 Prince Albert, of the King and Queen of Portugal, of the 
 King of Belgium, the King of Italy, the Czar of Kussia, 
 the King of Prussia, the Sultan of Turkey, etc., etc., all 
 destroyed, mutilated, or lost in this formidable confla- 
 gration. 
 
 Most terrible of all was the loss of the prisoners who 
 had been left by a refinement of cruelty in the cellars 
 of the Hotel de Yille, and who were buried beneath the 
 flames. 
 
 The archives of the State had also been condemned to 
 perish. The Commune did not like history, probably be- 
 cause it foresaw the punishment which would be one day 
 inflicted on its memory by this avenger of outraged right. 
 The archives were therefore to be burned, with the thirty 
 million files of papers which they contained. These doc- 
 uments excited the hatred of one-half the Commune, and 
 the contempt of the remainder. A more particular griev- 
 ance, however, added to their desire for their destruction. 
 
 The honorable director of the archives, M. Maury, one 
 of the most learned men of the present day, under a 
 menace of death several times repeated, had always re- 
 fused to pull down the tricolor and replace it by the red 
 flag. Such a crime could not be left unpunished. On 
 Monday, May 22d, five men, of disreputable appearance, 
 presented themselves in the cabinet of M. Maury, declar- 
 ing that they came on the part of the Commune to 
 assume the direction of the archives. The Commune once 
 installed in the place, it may easily be imagined what 
 fate was reserved for the precious collections which it 
 contained. 
 
THE AECHIVES SAVED. 469 
 
 The order to set the building on fire was sent on Tues- 
 day, and would probably have been executed during the 
 following night, notwithstanding the efforts of the director 
 and of seven or eight devoted attendants whom he had 
 kept with him, when, obeying an idea whose motive is 
 easily imagined, but which had the happiest results. De- 
 bock, director of the Imprimerie Nationale, and Alavoine, 
 his associate, came to the director and delivered him the 
 following precious document : 
 
 "COMMU]SrE OF PAEIS. 
 
 " Ministry of Justice, 
 
 " National Printing- Office, 
 
 " Cabinet of the Director. 
 
 " PAias, May 24, 1871. 
 
 " This evening, at six o'clock, an order was given to the 
 Citizens Debock (Louis-Guillaume) and Alavoine (Andre) 
 to prevent, by every means in their power, any attempt 
 which might be made to burn the National Archives. 
 
 " This order was solicited by those citizens. 
 
 " Debock, 
 
 " Director of the National Printing-Office. 
 
 "A. Alavoine, 
 
 " The Delegate." 
 
 " P.S. — It should be remembered that any disobedience 
 to the orders of the Commune, or of the Committee of 
 Public Safety, is instantly followed by capital punish- 
 ment." 
 
 The archives were saved. 
 
 We have already mentioned the almost miraculous 
 escape of the Bank of France from the danger which sur- ' 
 rounded it, owing to the heroic resistance of a body of 
 National Guards, who remained day and night on watch 
 
470 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 at their post. The following interesting account was 
 published by the Gaulois concerning the proceedings at 
 the Bank during the days of the Commune : 
 
 " How many times has this question not been put : ' How 
 was it the insurgents did not pillage the Bank of France ? ' 
 In fact, that problem is a very interesting one to examine. 
 Those scoundrels were complete masters of Paris; they 
 lived surrounded by an atmosphere of theft. The Bank 
 was almost entirely in their hands ; nevertheless it has 
 escaped nearly intact. And yet it contained (official 
 figures) three milliards of securities : one consisting of 
 deposits of private individuals in gold, scrip, and dia- 
 monds ; a second in precious metals and bank-notes ; and 
 the third in paper-money, which required only one other 
 signature to become legal currency. But is a name so 
 difficult to write ? Once done, who could have distin- 
 guished between the notes thus completed by the Com- 
 mune and those previously in circulation ? l^o one, cer- 
 tainly. 
 
 " M. Eouland was Grovernor of the Bank when the storm 
 burst. His duty was to save it, but he preferred making 
 his escape. He withdrew, with regrettable precipitation, 
 on the 23d of March — the very day on which Admiral 
 Saisset came to Paris to rally round him the friends of 
 the Government, or the National Guards of order, solidly 
 established at the Saint- Lazare Station and at the Louvre, 
 covering with a vast buckler the Bank and its Governor. 
 Every one knows how the Admiral's attempt failed ; the 
 friends of order, losing courage, dispersed, and the 
 Federals had no difficulty in occupying the abandoned 
 positions. Of the administration, only the sub-Governor, 
 the Marquis de Ploeuc, remained, who devoted his atten- 
 tion to the difficult task of guarding the three milliards, 
 which represented the savings of France. He found in 
 
THE BANK OF FEANCE. 471 
 
 the persons under him, and in the I^ational Guards of the 
 quarter, the heartiest assistance, and a battalion was con- 
 stituted to watch over the estabhshment. It was fiye 
 hundred strong ; but the men had only twenty-five car- 
 tridges each, very little for purposes of defence if really 
 attacked, but enough to make a show, and to enable them 
 to reply haughtily, the insurgents being ignorant of their 
 penury of munitions. 
 
 " It is generally believed that the cellars of the building 
 can be inundated instantaneously ; but that is an error. 
 Immense reserves of sand enclosed in sacks are accumu- 
 lated below ; in case of danger they are piled on the notes 
 and ingots to so great a height that if the whole structure 
 fell in during a conflagration, not a single paper would 
 be burnt. That precaution was taken, and the future 
 awaited. 
 
 "One day Citizen Beslay, the oldest member of the 
 Commune, arrived. He seems to have been a good sort 
 of man, somewhat weak in the head, a great talker, easily 
 led by his . vanity, and who always spoke of conciliation. 
 He was of the same province as the Marquis, with whom 
 he was previously acquainted. He came to warn the sub- 
 Governor that the Bank was to be pillaged, and expressed 
 his regret. ' But" what is to be done ? ' he said ; ' how 
 can you expect starving men to remain tranquil in front 
 of a bakei''s shop ? ' The allusion was clear, and the met- 
 aphor, of which M. de Ploeuc felt the correctness, rendered 
 him very uneasy. He did not, however, let that feeling 
 be suspected, and declared, in a firm tone, that if the Bank 
 was attacked it was ready to defend itself; that it had arms 
 and would know how to use them. Beslay then softened 
 down, and dropped a hint that perhaps an understanding 
 might be come to with the Commune if a delegate were 
 accepted. The Marquis had enough sagacity to fathom 
 his man, and to see at the first glance all the advantage 
 
472 THE PARIS COMMUKE. 
 
 to be drawn from the proposal. ' A delegate ! ' said he ; 
 never ! never ! I could only accept one man, because I 
 believe him to be honest — because I know his intelligence 
 and integrity — because he will assist me in saving this 
 great establishment, on the fortune of which . . . etc. Is 
 it not true, my friend, that you will lend me a hand for 
 that patriotic duty ? ' The other, puffed up with vanity 
 and contentment, promised everything asked ; in fact, he 
 was cajoled. He made himself, in reality, extremely use- 
 ful in the incessant struggle sustained daily during two 
 months against all the men in authority, who were con- 
 stantly quarreling amongst themselves — the Commune, 
 the Central Committee, and the Committee of Public 
 Safety — but who were all agreed on one point — to appro- 
 priate the baker's bread. Therefore, a morsel was given 
 them from day to day — the smallest possible. The first 
 was six millions, which had been previously deposited by 
 the city. There were no means of resistance. Afterwards 
 M. Thiers authorized the payment, on account, of such 
 sums as might be necessary to save the situation, and they 
 were disputed inch by inch. 
 
 " Ultimately, the men of the Hotel de Ville were over- 
 come by their impatience, and one day Varlin and Jourde, 
 the two delegates to the Fiuance, presented themselves, 
 wearing their terrible red scarfs, and fully decided to exact 
 everything, and threatening, if they were refused, to get 
 up a riot in the faubourgs. The sub-Governor, who had 
 been informed of their arrival by Beslay, said : ' Do what 
 you like ; but understand, the day you lay your hands 
 upon the Bank of France, its notes will not be worth more 
 than the old assign ats. All your l^ational Guards have 
 their pockets full of twenty-franc notes, and you will ruin 
 them at one blow ; for, the security once destroyed by you, 
 no one will give five sous for the paper.' That argument, 
 so forcibly advanced, seemed to make an impression on 
 
HOW THE BAl^K WAS SAVED. 473 
 
 the delegates. Every day a new comedy was played. 
 Matters progressed, the Bank sometimes refusing, some- 
 times giving when the pressure was too great, but never 
 more than small sums. At last the struggle became more 
 continuous and more dangerous. One morning the Ven- 
 geurs de la Eepublique entered and seized the sub-Governor 
 in his bed, demanding the keys. ' I can only give them 
 to Beslay,' he repHed. The latter was sent for and arrived. 
 
 'My friends my good friends!' And phrases 
 
 and threats of resignation ! and diminution of demands ! 
 and finally the free-marksmen withdrew without a sou. 
 
 "Another time the young, gay and triumphant Le 
 Mossu presented himself, furnished with a search-warrant 
 signed by the Committee of Public Safety. He obtained 
 nothing ; Jourde arrived to his rescue, raved and stormed ; 
 arms, he said, were concealed in the Bank ; he had been 
 told so ; he knew it to be a fact. ' There are none,' re- 
 plied M. de Ploeuc, ' but you may satisfy yourself Come 
 with me alone, and if you find a single musket besides 
 those belonging to our garrison, I consent to be shot upon 
 the spot. Come ! ' 'I believe you,' said Jourde, to whom 
 the proposed search did not seem very inviting ; ' I believe 
 you,' and, turning to his men, he added : ' Let us go, gen- 
 tlemen ; no weapons are concealed here.' During all this 
 time the Board of Directors, reduced to four members, 
 met every day, but each time in a different place, having 
 been warned by Beslay that they were to be seized as hos- 
 tages. 
 
 " The last three days were the most terrible. The bat- 
 tahon of the 500 had not for a long time left the building 
 to which all the men had been summoned, and where they 
 were lodged with their wives and children. The Bank 
 was surrounded by the insurrection, like an island in the 
 midst of foaming waves. Fire was on every side ; great 
 unwillingness was felt in detaching men to combat it, but 
 
474 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 necessity required that tliat course should be adopted. 
 The humble employes of the Bank behaved like heroes ; 
 some struggling against the conflagration which threat- 
 ened to annihilate the quarter, while the others remained 
 at their post, awaiting the combat and death. 
 
 " What joy when, on Wednesday morning at half-past 
 seven, the first glimpse of the soldiers was seen. The red 
 flag had never sullied the Bank, and haste was made to 
 hoist the tricolor ; and to complete the good fortune, M. 
 Eouland returned — behind the soldiers — to resume his 
 post, and deigned to congratulate the various persons on 
 the premises. Marshal de MacMahon gave the National 
 Guards a more flattering recompense, as he permitted them 
 to retain their arms — an honorable exception of which the 
 men were truly worthy." 
 
 At the time when Paris was not Paris but LuUce — that 
 is to say, little more than a mud-village — the site of the 
 Palace of Justice was occupied by a castle or citadel, which 
 served as a residence for the governor of the province, and 
 sometimes for the Csesar who reigned over Gaul. 
 
 A little later, when the dominion of the Pranks had 
 succeeded that of the Csesars — when their barbarous domi- 
 nation had replaced a learned oppression — the long-haired 
 kings divided their time between the Palais des Thermos, 
 situated on the site of the Hotel Cluny, and then in open 
 country, and this other Palace which stood within their 
 fortifications, and which a long succession of modifications 
 and changes have made the Palais de Justice of the pre- 
 sent time. 
 
 The first who established himself perpetually in this 
 Palace was Eudes, Count of Paris, and afterwards King 
 of France. Eobert the Pions enlarged and embellished 
 it, and during a long succession of years, each king left 
 there some souvenir of his time. It was Saint Louis, 
 
THE PALACE OF JUSTICE. 475 
 
 however, who did most for the building. By his orders it 
 was almost entirely reconstructed and the Sainte-Chapelle 
 built. 
 
 This beautiful building, happily uninjured to-day, is an 
 admirable specimen of the religious architecture of the 
 thirteenth century — a model of grace, elegance, and at the 
 same time of majesty, which nothing since has surpassed, 
 or even equaled, and which will cause the name and 
 genius of its author, Eudes de Montreuil, to live as long 
 as there exist men, lovers of the beautiful and capable of 
 appreciating it. 
 
 Saint Louis had also caused an immense saloon to be 
 constructed for the fetes which he gave sometimes to his 
 great vassals ; here also were accomplished all the solemn 
 acts of his reign. This grandiose-type of the civil archi- 
 tecture of the thirteenth century occupied the site of the 
 more modern Salle des Pas Perdus, which was unhappily 
 entirely destroyed by the conflagration. 
 ' Philippe le Bel, Louis XI, Charles VIII and Louis XII 
 made new additions to the Palace, although it was no 
 longer the exclusive and habitual residence of royalty. 
 The monarchs began to prefer the Louvre or the Hotel 
 Saint-Paul, and Francis I was the last monarch who took 
 up his residence here, which he did, however, only tempo- 
 ro/rily. 
 
 From the time of Saint Louis, the Parliament had 
 divided the Palace with the king, and from Henry II they 
 occupied it alone. 
 
 Of the ancient Palace of the middle ages and the 
 Eenaissance, nothing now remains but the Sainte-Chapelle. 
 a part of the gallery, the kitchens, the Tour de I'Horloge, 
 and the two neighboring towers. 
 
 Forty years ago, works were begun after a new plan 
 which were to end in the definitive completion of the 
 Palace, and to realize the ameliorations which had been 
 
476 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 contemplated for so long a time. Under the Empire these 
 works were pushed with serious activity, and at the time 
 when the building was burned by the Commune it was 
 about to receive its last embellishments. 
 
 The saddest spectacle, perhaps, to be seen in Paris is on 
 the left bank of the Seine ; here, from the Eue du Bac to 
 the barracks of the Quai d'Orsay there is a long succession 
 of imposing ruins. 
 
 That of the Palace of the Legion of Honor is, perhaps, 
 the most saddening, because this beautiful monument, 
 which recalled to the mind ideas of grandeur and nobility, 
 while it at the same time offered to the eye a picture of 
 exquisite grace, gives rise, by the contrast of the past with 
 the present, to the most lugubrious impressions. 
 
 This Palace, a beautiful specimen of the ingenious art 
 of the eighteenth century, was built in 1786 for a rich 
 foreigner, the Prince of Salm-Kirburg. It was inhabited 
 for a time by Madame de Stael, under the Directory. The 
 Grande Ghancellerie of the Legion of Honor was estab- 
 lished here in 1803. 
 
 During the Commune it served for headquarters to the 
 Citizen Eudes, an assassin whom the revolution of the 4th 
 of September had found in prison and set at liberty. 
 Here were brought all the furniture and private effects 
 which were taken from the house of the Marquis de Gal- 
 lifet. The equipages of the Marquis were also brought 
 here, and, needless to say, everything was pillaged. The 
 silver of the Hotel of the Legion of Honor at St. Denis, 
 which had been brought to the Grande Chancellerie at the 
 commencement of the first siege to save it from the avid- 
 ity of the Prussians, was also stolen. 
 
 The building was set on fire at the four corners after 
 the walls had been smeared with petroleum, notwithstand- 
 ing the energetic resistance of the concierge, Hamel, who 
 was carried off and thrown into prison. The Archives of 
 
PALACE QUAI D'OKSAY. 477 
 
 the Grande Chancellerie, whicli stands opposite the Palace 
 in the Eue de Lille, was also set on fire and entirely de- 
 stroyed, together with the glorious annals it contained. 
 
 The Palace of the Quai d'Orsay, which was another vic- 
 tim to the yengeance of the Communists, was commenced 
 under the first Empire and finished under Louis Philippe. 
 It was first destined for the King of Eome, then for the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Under the Restoration it 
 was intended to be used for the expositions of the different 
 industries; and during the late Empire it lodged the Oon- 
 seil d'Etat and the Cour des Comptes. 
 
 With the exception of the Staircase of Honor, deco- 
 rated by the remarkable compositions of Theodore Chas- 
 seriaux, the entire interior of the Cour des Comptes has 
 been burned. The walls, which are thick, still remain 
 standing. 
 
 The ravages are most frightful in that portion of the 
 building adjudged to the use of the Conseil d'Etat. Its 
 large saloon, of a rich and imposing decoration, is entirely 
 destroyed, and with it have disappeared the beautiful his- 
 torical portraits of Sully, Colbert, Yauban, Eichelieu, 
 Turgot, Suger, Portalis and Cambaceres. In the Hall of 
 Legislation is to be regretted a beautiful painting by Paul 
 Delaroche, while in another room one of the finest pic- 
 tures by Eugene Delacroix, representing the Emperor Jus- 
 tinian, became also a prey to the flames. 
 
 Nowhere did the Federals show such a ferocity in their 
 rage for destruction. Whole bucketsful of petroleum 
 were drawn from the casks which had been for some time 
 stored in the court, and the walls, staircases and floors 
 were inundated. 
 
 After having sheltered for some time the Citizen Pey- 
 ronton, delegate of the Commune to the Conseil d'Etat, 
 and his secretary Pelletier, the Palace was occupied mili- 
 tarily, at the entrance of the Versailles troops, by the 
 
478 THE P A E I S COMMUNE. 
 
 assassins Eudes and Megy, who bad fallen back precipi- 
 tately witb tbeir men from tbe Palace of the Legion of 
 Honor, and wbo evacuated this in turn, after having ac- 
 complished their odious task. 
 
 Unhappily, to tbe losses of tbe State were added those 
 of many private individuals, members of tbe Cour des 
 Comptes and the Conseil d'Etat, wbo, fearing tbe pillage 
 of their private houses, bad brought here many precious 
 objects and valuable papers, thinking to secure them from 
 all barm. 
 
 ISTot satisfied with the destruction of public edifices, the 
 rage of the Communists expended itself on many private 
 buildings. Every manifestation of riches excited their 
 animosity, and they attempted thoroughly to carry out the 
 programme of tbe International society, recognized as 
 prime mover in this insurrection, which is : 
 
 The abolition of all religions. 
 The abolition of all property. 
 The abolition of all family. 
 The abolition of inheritance. 
 Tbe abolition of nationality. 
 
 The Eues de Lille, Du Bac, and Eoyale are those which 
 suffered perhaps the most from tbe terrible scourge which 
 afiiicted Paris. 
 
 Although the Communists bad such an objection to 
 capital, they showed that, once in their possession, they 
 could spend it freely. The following is tbe approximative 
 amount of what their eccentricities have cost the city of 
 Paris : 
 
 fr. 
 
 Expenses of tlie Commiine 52,000,000 
 
 Roads 2,500,000 
 
 Hotel de Ville and Municipalities of Arrondisse- 
 
 ments 36,000,000 
 
 Fonoard 90,500,000 
 
ESTIMATE OF DAMAGE. 479 
 
 Brought forward 90,500,000 
 
 Churclies 1,000,000 
 
 Barracks - 1,000,000 
 
 Theatres 7,000,000 
 
 Reparation of public buildings 1,000,000 
 
 Palaces and monuments burned 114,000,000 
 
 Reparation of palaces and monuments 1,000,000 
 
 War expenses 260,000,000 
 
 Houses burned 78,000,000 
 
 Houses balf burned or damaged 34,000,000 
 
 The villages in the environs of Paris 70,000,000 
 
 RaDroads 10,000,000 
 
 Commerce 200,000,000 
 
 Total 867,500,000 
 
 Among the men who supported the Communal insur- 
 rection might be counted a great number of foreigners. 
 Many of these belonged to the International Society, 
 fanatics who had volunteered for the cause of Socialism, 
 numbering perhaps 20,000, and who obeyed implicitly 
 eyery order of the Society received through the medium 
 of the Central Committee. 
 
 The war with Prussia had also drawn towards the un- 
 happy city of Paris a large number of adventurers of every 
 race and climate, who flock always towards any spot where 
 events are thrown out of their ordinary course by some 
 great excitement. 
 
 Among the thousands of prisoners' who defiled along 
 the boulevards might be seen Eussians, Italians, Greeks, 
 Wallachians, Belgians, Dutch, Irish, Spanish, and, above 
 all, Poles. 
 
 Among the chiefs, the number of foreigners was also 
 considerable, and seemed gathered from all quarters of the 
 globe. Every nation had one or more representatives, as 
 may be seen by the following list : 
 
 Anys-el-Biltar, director of manuscripts at the National 
 Library (Egyptian). 
 
480 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 Biondetti, surgeon-in-chief of the 233cl battalion 
 (Italian). 
 
 Babick, member of the Commune (Pole). 
 
 Becka, adjutant of the 207th battalion (Pole). 
 
 Cluseret, general. Delegate of War (Frenchman, natur- 
 alized an American). 
 
 Cernatesco, surgeon-major (Pole). 
 
 Crapulinski, colonel of the staff (Pole). 
 
 Capellaro, member of Military Bureau (Italian). 
 
 Carneiro de Cunha, surgeon-major of the 38th battalion 
 (Portuguese). 
 
 Charalanibo, surgeon-major of the Federal sharp- 
 shooters (Pole). 
 
 Dombrowski, general of the forces of the Commune 
 (Pole). 
 
 Dombrowski, his brother, colonel of the staff (Pole). 
 
 Durnoff, commandant of a legion (Pole). 
 
 Echenlaub, colonel of the 88th battalion (German). 
 
 Ferrara Gola, director-general of the ambulances (Por- 
 tuguese). 
 
 Frankel, member of the Commune (Prussian). 
 
 Giorok, commandant of Fort Issy (Wallachian). 
 
 Grejorok, commandant of the artillery at Montmartre 
 (Wallachian). 
 
 Kertzfeld, directpr-in-chief of the ambulances (Ger- 
 man). 
 
 Iziquerdo, surgeon-major of the 88th battalion (Pole). 
 
 Jalowski, surgeon-major of the Eepublican Zouaves 
 (Pole). 
 
 Kobosko, estafelte, placed in the order of the day of the 
 army of the Commune (Pole). 
 
 La Cecilia, general (Italian). 
 
 Landowski, aide-de-camp of General Dombrowski 
 (Pole). 
 
 Mizara, commandant of the 104th battalion (Italian). 
 
COMMUNIST FOREIGNERS. 481 
 
 » 
 
 Maratnck, aide-major of the 72d battalion (Huugariai]). 
 
 Moro, commandant of the 22d battalion (Italian.) 
 
 Okolowicz and his brothers^ general and staflF-officers 
 (Poles). 
 
 Ostjn, member of the Commnne (Belgian). 
 
 Olinski, chief of the 17th legion (Pole). 
 
 Pisani, aide-de-camp of Plourens (Italian). 
 
 Potampenki, aide-de-camp of General Dombrowski 
 (Pole). 
 
 Ploubinski, staif-officer (Pole). 
 
 Pazdzierswski, commandant of Fort Vanves (Pole). 
 
 Piazza, chief of legion, (Italian). 
 
 Pngno, musical director at the opera (Italian). 
 
 Eomanelli, director of war materials (Italian). 
 
 Eozyski, surgeon-major of the 144th battalion (Pole). 
 
 Eubinowicz, staff-officer (Pole). 
 
 Eubinowicz (P.), surgeon-major of the fusiliers of 
 marine (Pole). 
 
 Syneck, surgeon-major of 151st battalion (German). 
 
 Skalski, surgeon-major of the 240th battalion (Pole). 
 
 Soteriade, surgeon-major (Spaniard). 
 
 Thaller, sub-governor of Fort Bicetre (German). 
 
 Van Ostal, commandant of the 115th battalion (Dutch). 
 
 Vetzel, commandant of the southern forts (German). 
 
 Wrobleswski, general, commandant of the army of the 
 south (Pole). 
 
 Wilton, surgeon-major of the 72d battalion (American). 
 
 Zengerler, surgeon-major of the 74th battalion (Ger- 
 man). 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Projet de loi concerning the hostages — Funeral services of the Archbishop and 
 the other victims, celebrated at Notre-Dame — Immense number of prisoners 
 captured by the Government— Description of the camp at Satory— Audacity 
 of a Communist— Fate of the members of the Commune — Billioray — Gam- 
 bon— Eudes— Okolowitch— Mathieu— Varlin— Jourde — Johannard — La Ce- 
 cilia— TreUhard— Paschal Grousset— Eegdre—Vesinier— Verdure— Courhet— 
 Rossel— Vermorel— Cluseret— Dufll— Langelle— Kazoua— Eochefort— His in- 
 gratitude to his father— Letter of Henri V.— M. Ducatel made Knight of the 
 Legion of Honor — The American Minister in Paris— His letter concerning 
 the Archbishop— First condemnation of the Councils of War— Conclusion. 
 
 N Friday, June 2d, the Minister of Public Instruc- 
 tion addressed to the Assembly the following words : 
 
 " The insurrection of Paris commenced by an assassina- 
 tion, and ended by a massacre. 
 
 "Every one here, every one in France, every one in 
 Europe has present in his mind the details of the execu- 
 tion of the hostages. 
 
 " Their bodies have been recovered. The funeral obse- 
 quies are soon to take place. The Government will have 
 measures to propose which will tend to manifest the pub- 
 lic piety in a solemn manner, and attest at the same time 
 the regrets of the country and the indignation which fills 
 all hearts. 
 
 " I hope to be able to-morrow to give you an ofiicial 
 communication on this subject ; but, having received to- 
 day from the chapter of Notre Dame a deputation which 
 announced the day and hour of the obsequies of the 
 
JULES SIMON'S PRO JET BE LOI. 483 
 
 Archbishop and other hostages, I thought it my duty not 
 to defer the communication. 
 
 " The reunion for the ceremony will take place at the 
 Archbishopric on Wednesday morning (June 7th) at a 
 quarter past ten." 
 
 The National Assembly then decided that a deputa- 
 tion, chosen from among the members, should attend the 
 funeral. Although the number of persons composing a 
 deputation of this kind is ordinarily twenty-five, the As- 
 sembly saw fit, under the present circumstances, to dero- 
 gate from its custom, and appointed fifty to show this 
 mark of respect to the Archbishop, and other victims as- 
 sassinated by the Commune. 
 
 On the following day M. Jules Simon read the follow- 
 ing iwojct de hi : 
 
 " At the same time that the insurgents, to increase the 
 ranks of their army, took by force all citizens capable of 
 service, leaving them no alternative but to hide, so incur- 
 ring the greatest perils, or to march in their ranks under 
 their infamous flag against order, liberty, and their coun- 
 try, they laid their hands, without pretext, without a 
 shadow of judgment, on the most eminent and respect- 
 able men, announcing that they would keep them as 
 hostages until the end of the civil war. 
 
 "Nearly all the priests of Paris were arrested under 
 these conditions, and, at the head of the priests, their 
 Archbishop. 
 
 " Several times, by proclamations, by discourses pro- 
 nounced in the sittings of the Commune, it was declared 
 that if the insurgents taken with arms in their hands were 
 judged and executed at Versailles, the rebels would exe- 
 cute their reprisals on this flock of innocents, not even 
 following the law of retaliation, which did not suffice 
 
484 THE PAKIS COMMUNE. 
 
 them, but in assassinating three victims for eyery crim- 
 inal whom the law had condemned. 
 
 "We refused to believe in the realization of these savage 
 menaces ; but no one would have dared to imagine that, 
 in the last and supreme hour, the hostages would be mas- 
 sacred for no other motives than vengeance, hatred, and 
 love of murder ; sentiments worthy of bhe barbarians who, 
 in retiring before our soldiers, have destroyed so many 
 national riches, who attempted to burn our houses and 
 libraries, to their eternal shame and our eternal grief 
 
 " The bodies of these beloved and deplored victims have 
 been collected with the greatest care. 
 
 " Some, still bearing the trace of the inconceivable fury 
 of their butchers, present no longer the human form, and 
 are utterly unrecognizable. 
 
 " We are about to place them in the earth amidst uni- 
 versal respect and tears. 
 
 " The Assembly decided yesterday by a unanimous vote 
 that it would represent the country at the head of the 
 funeral procession. We ask it to-day to decree that the 
 obsequies be conducted at the expense of the Public 
 Treasure. 
 
 "PEOJET DE LOI. 
 
 " Art. 1. The burial of Monseigneur Darboy, Archbishop 
 of Paris, and of the hostages assassinated with him in 
 Paris, will be made at the expense of the State. 
 
 "Art. 2. For this object, an extraordinary credit of 
 30,000 francs is opened for the Minister of Public In- 
 struction and Worship." 
 
 This project was unanimously adopted on the succeed- 
 ing day by 547 voices, with the addition of the following 
 article : 
 
 "A commemorative tablet, erected in the Church of 
 Xotre Dame, will bear the names of all the hostages." 
 
FUNERAL OF THE VICTIMS. 485 
 
 During tlie week preceding the ceremony, every day 
 from ten to fonr, an immense crowd stood at the gates 
 of the Archbishopric, waiting their turn to see the re- 
 mains of the Archbishop, who lay embalmed within. 
 
 His face was ghastly ; his beard and mustache, which 
 had grown in the prison, were on one side discolored with 
 blood. He was laid out in state, and beside him, day and 
 night, nuns and priests were praying. 
 
 The body of Monseigneur Surat, placed in the same 
 room, was not uncovered, the face having been too much 
 disfigured to render embalming possible. This was also 
 the case with the Abbe Duguerry, whose corpse was 
 placed in a chapel of the Madeleine, and where, all day 
 long, a respectful and mourning crowd came to take a last 
 farewell of their beloved curate. 
 
 On Wednesday, June 7th, the obsequies of the Arch- 
 bishop, of Monseigneur Surat, Vicar-General, of the Abbe 
 Duguerry, Cure de la Madeleine, of the Abbe Becourt, 
 Cure de Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, of the Abbe 
 Sabattier, second vicar of l^otre-Dame-de-Lorette, and 
 other hostages, took place at IN'otre.Dame. 
 
 The interior of the cathedral church of Paris was en- 
 tirely hung in black, as was also the front of the church. 
 A shield bearing the arms of the Archbishop, with this 
 device : " Lahore jideque" was placed above the central 
 door. On each side were shields bearing the fatal dates 
 of the 24th, 2oth, 26th, and 27th of May. 
 
 In the interior of the church on other shields were en- 
 graved the names of the hostages assassinated by the 
 Commune. 
 
 Before the choir in the middle of the transept stood the 
 catafalque of the Archbishop ; on the right and left were 
 those of Mgr. Surat and Abbe Duguerry ; further down 
 were those of Abbe B6court and Abbe Sabattier. 
 
 The members of the National Assembly, the Ministers, 
 
486 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 the Diplomatic Corps, the Magistrates, Marshal de Mac- 
 Mahon Due de Magenta, Marshal Canrobert, several ad- 
 mirals, a large number of army and nayy officers, the In- 
 stitute and the University, all assisted at this imposing 
 ceremony. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the funeral procession, having left the 
 Eue de Grenelle at ten, arrived at Notre-Dame. M. Dar- 
 boy, brother of the venerable prelate, was chief mourner, 
 and was followed by the secretaries of the archbishops and 
 the hostages who had escaped the massacre ordained by 
 the Commune. 
 
 A large and mournful crowd filled the streets as the 
 procession passed. A hearse, drawn by six horses, con- 
 tained the remains of Mgr. Darboy ; another followed, 
 with those of Mgr. Surat. 
 
 The procession having reached the Place du Parvis- 
 IsTotre-Dame, the Canons of the Church of Paris, the Cu- 
 rates of the Diocese of Paris, preceded by the cross of the 
 Chapter, advanced to receive the corpse of the Archbishop. 
 Mgr. AUouvry, former bishop of Pamiers, then celebrated 
 the divine office. 
 
 At three o'clock, after the Vespers for the Dead, the 
 body of Monseigneur Darboy was deposited in the vault 
 of the Archbishops of Paris. 
 
 The Abbe Duguerry was buried at the Madeleine on the 
 following Friday. His body had been taken to Notre- 
 Dame, owing to a request of the National Assembly, whose 
 members wished to unite in one the funeral honors of all 
 tlie victims of the horrible massacre committed at La 
 Eoquette. 
 
 Happily retribution was not long in overtaking the ma- 
 jority of the authors of these terrible crimes. Every day 
 large convoys of prisoners succeeded each other on the 
 route to Versailles, their number finally amounting to 
 over 30,000 men and women ; they were first directed to 
 
THE PRISOKBES. 487 
 
 tlie camp of Satory, remaining there until they had been 
 examined, when they were sent off to other places of con- 
 finement, Cherbourg, Brest, etc. 
 
 On Sunday, May 28th, a large column of prisoners, 
 numbering 5,000 or 6,000, who had been captured at 
 Belleville, was directed towards the west of Paris. When 
 the head of the column reached the Arc-de-Triomphe, 
 prisoners were still defiling on the Place de la Concorde. 
 - There was every class of insurrectionists in this sad 
 procession. National Guards, men in blouses, women and 
 children, and, above all, a large proportion of deserters, 
 belonging to those regiments which on the 18th of March 
 had rendered the insurrection possible. It was they who, 
 in the last hour, fought with the greatest fury and despe- 
 ration. They marched sadly along, with their jackets 
 turned inside out, and tied together in couples. All were 
 bareheaded. 
 
 The column was guarded by chasseurs d'Afrique, who 
 made frequent halts, allowing the prisoners to sit down 
 and rest. At the Porte Dauphine, the procession was met 
 by the Marquis de G-allifet, followed by an aide-de-camp. 
 He passed through the crowd of prisoners, amongst whom 
 were women dressed as men, the vivandieres of the Com- 
 mune, and by his orders they were divided into three par- 
 ties before passing the ramparts. 
 
 Eighty pri'soners, principally soldiers of every arm, 
 linesmen, artillerymen, and Zouaves, were set apart and 
 afterwards led to the right of the rampart to be shot. 
 Twenty soldiers of the line were invited to return their 
 jackets, and were set at liberty amidst the applause of the 
 crowd, which had gathered while the remainder of the 
 prisoners continued their march to Versailles. 
 
 A noted journalist gives an interesting account of a 
 visit made by him to the camp at Satory : 
 
 "A prominent feature on the ground is a vast parallelo- 
 
488 THE PAKIS COMMUKE. 
 
 gram, inclosed by a stout wall, wliere artillery used to be 
 parked and a number of cayalry stables stand. It is here 
 that the Communist prisoners are lodged when they ar- 
 rive from Paris. When I say lodged, I mean that they are 
 crowded into the stables and grouped in the open, inclosed 
 by ropes and surrounded by sentries. Yesterday was a 
 pouring wet day, as the one before it had been, and the ^ 
 carriage wheels sank deep into the mud and holes of the 
 neglected road. On our right were the tents and huts of 
 a division there encamped. Opposite the entrance to the 
 inclosure guns were drawn up, their muzzles pointed at 
 the prisoners. Around the gateway stood gendarmes and 
 police, and officers in their cloaks, all muddy and un- 
 shaven The rain and the trampling of thousands 
 
 of men had converted the whole of the vast square into a 
 quagmire, into which one sank ankle-deep, intersected by 
 ditches over which one had to jump. The various stables 
 being inadequate to accommodate more than a portion of 
 the prisoners, the others were penned like sheep in the 
 corners of the inclosure. There they stood behind a rope, 
 watched by numerous gendarmes-sentries with loaded 
 chassepots, for the most part motionless, many of them 
 probably sick and suffering, some in rags, some barefooted, 
 many with dirty handkerchiefs as sole covering for their 
 heads. As some protection — a very slight one — against 
 the rain that poured steadily down, some had covered 
 their shoulders with wisps of the straw they had slept 
 upon. Most of them looked stolid and sullen. Our gen- 
 darme said they were generally very meek and volunteered 
 readily for fatigue duty. If those in the open were ex- 
 posed to the elements, they at any rate breathed a purer 
 atmosphere than was to be found in the stables. We en- 
 tered one of these, crowded with men of all ages, some 
 gray-headed, some boys of fourteen. Most of them were 
 standing ; but in the background, where the light was 
 
A VISIT TO TnE PKISOKERS. 489 
 
 dim, many recumbent forms could be distinguished as 
 soon as the eye got accustomed to the gloom. 
 
 " The appearance of four strangers, escorted by a gen- 
 darme, evidently caused a sensation, and probably awak- 
 ened hopes and fears. The Communists crowded round 
 us,' opening only a narrow avenue for our passage. The 
 atmosphere was unspeakably noisome. It was wonderful 
 to see such a number of ignoble faces, and with such a 
 vile expression, brought together. Among those in the 
 first stable we entered, it was almost in vain to seek a 
 countenance that would not have condemned its ov/ner in 
 the eyes of the most lenient physiognomist. Our guide 
 told us that numbers of them had arrived drunk, half 
 mad, or completely stupefied by the alcohol, with tobacco 
 steeped in it, which had been served out to them by their 
 leaders. It seems incredible that so nauseous a mixture 
 should have found consumers; but there appears to be no 
 doubt that it did, and that it was a stimulus copiously em- 
 ployed. 
 
 " An officer of gendarmes entered the stable and stood 
 near us. ' Answer to your names,' he called out in a loud 
 voice ; ' it is for your own interest to do so/ And he read 
 the names of four men, drivers of Paris cabs, whom some- 
 body had applied for. Among the crowd of prisoners 
 some innocent persons are inevitably to be found, and 
 when their friends claim them, and give proofs of their 
 respectability, they are frequently released. 
 
 "We passed into another stable allotted to insurgents 
 who had been soldiers, and who are therefore looked upon 
 as doubly culpable. All sorts of uniforms were there, 
 dirty and tattered for the most part. There were thirteen 
 artillerymen from one battery. A tall man with a pale 
 face and his head bound up, of smart soldierly figure, and 
 who walked briskly and confidently in spite of suffering 
 and degradation, was pointed out to us. He was an artil- 
 
 21* 
 
490 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 lerymaii of the 20tli regiment, which was formed during 
 the Prussian siege, and consisted entirely of Parisians. 
 It had never been a good corps, but always troublesome 
 and insubordinate. The enfants de Paris, it is well known 
 in the French army, take long to discipline. On the 18th 
 of March, this regiment was at Vincennes ; it seized Gen- 
 eral Guibour, who commanded there, and threatened to 
 shoot him. 
 
 " There was a pompier, or fireman, who had received a 
 sabre-cut over the head for insubordination after he had 
 been taken prisoner. The well-known corps of pompiers 
 is composed of picked men, generally soldiers who have 
 served in the artillery or engineers, and they receive large 
 pay. This man had commanded an insurgent battery on 
 the heights of Montmartre, which sent petroleum shells 
 into Paris. * Bon affaire est claire,' said our conductor, 
 thereby meaning that he was certainly to be shot. Indeed, 
 it is surprising he was not killed as soon as taken ; but 
 having once been brought to the Satory depot, he will go 
 through the usual formal examination and trial. 
 
 " Of the soldiers who had been captured among the 
 insurgents, many were insolent and defiant. Perhaps, 
 half drunk, they boasted of their deeds, and gasconaded 
 about their past exploits and military qualities. Not a 
 few of these heroes were shot after capture by their exas- 
 perated escorts. '^ Accidents^ happened to them on the 
 way from Paris to Satory. We observed a few of the 
 military prisoners, who, in clean uniforms, and with 
 washed faces, would have passed muster well enough as 
 smart, good-looking soldiers. Also there was a fair sprink- 
 ling of young men of gentle aspect, apparently recruits 
 
 who had been forced to serve by the insurgents 
 
 As a general rule, the prisoners at Satory cared not to 
 speak, even when accosted, but turned away or put on a 
 sullen, disheartened smile. The stench and filth in their 
 
PEOMPT PUNISHMEliTT. 491 
 
 places of confinement are revolting. The end of one of 
 the large stables through which we passed was made to 
 serve for every purpose. Those who, weary of standing, 
 lay upon the ground, were on damp straw or the bare 
 earth. Horrible faces scowled at us as we passed through 
 the unsavory throng. Probably our gendarme had a 
 revolver under his cloak ; but they might have closed in 
 upon our little group, and have strangled or torn us to 
 pieces in an instant had they been so minded. Of course 
 they would have paid dearly for the freak, probably a vol- 
 ley or two would have been sent among them. To pre- 
 vent outbreaks, and secure many thousand desperate char- 
 acters, who are neither handcuffed nor under bolts and 
 bars, great precautions and severity are necessary. In the 
 walls of the inclosure holes have been made, through some 
 of which the mouths of cannon grin, charged with grape 
 and canister, while at others sentries are stationed. The 
 night before last a prisoner approached one of these em- 
 brasures and persisted in looking through. The sentry 
 warned him to retire, once, twice, and thrice, and then he 
 blew his brains out. The top of his skull, we were told, 
 flew over the wall. The victim had evidently sought his 
 death. All round the inclosure outside there is a double 
 line of sentries, and gendarmes stand thick in front of the 
 stables. The slightest symptom of insubordination suf- 
 fices to provoke summary punishment, and the- only pun- 
 ishment known in such cases is death. The guard consists 
 of gendarmes, police agents, and a battalion detached from 
 the camp outside. 
 
 " Before leaving, we visited the women's prison, which 
 is a two-story house in a corner of the enclosure near the 
 entrance gate. There were about two hundred of them, 
 for most part such as are commonly found in the neigh- 
 borhood of soldiers' barracks, or in the lowest outskirts of 
 Paris, squalid and dangerous localities, of v/hich sketches 
 
492 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 are to be read in the pages of Sue and other romance 
 "writers, whose taste it is to dive into the lowest depths of 
 human depravity and degradation. There were some 
 gray-haired old women, and some rather pretty young 
 ones ; but the majority were hard-featured and middle- 
 aged, and of indescribably repulsive aspect. One gaunt 
 Amazon had a sort of uniform coat with a white band 
 and red cross upon the arm, and when she arrived, 
 we were told, she wore epaulets. Madame Milli^re had 
 been there, who did the honors of the Hotel de Yille, and 
 who came gayly attired ; but she had left before our visit. 
 One girl struck me particularly. She did not look above 
 eighteen, but may have been two or three years older. 
 She was slender and well formed, with a profusion of fair 
 hair, terribly dirty and tangled ; whereas many of the other 
 women, squalid and dirty as their clothes might be, had 
 evidently taken pains to comb and arrange their hair in 
 the most becoming manner their scanty resources per- 
 mitted. Her blue eyes were large and shifting, and with 
 the expression of a wild animal, of which she reminded 
 me as she roved restlessly up and dov/n one end of a room, 
 keeping close to the wall, brushing against it as a hyena 
 does against the bars in its monotonous, weary pacing of 
 its narrow prison. From time to time she shot a side- 
 glance at our gendarme, who was giving particulars about 
 the prisoners in a pretty loud voice, and in terms which 
 showed slight consideration for their feelings. They were 
 such glances as might fitly have accompanied a dagger- 
 stab. I know not what there was in the appearance of 
 one of my companions which made some of these unhappy 
 wretches fancy him an official person — a police commis- 
 sary apparently — but they came up to him and began 
 their tales, all pitched much in the same key. Could 
 they be believed, they were all lambs, innocent and heart- 
 broken ; some had the regular whine of the professional 
 
FEMALE PEISOZSTEES. 493 
 
 mendicant, as they implored ' Mon ton monsieur^ to pity 
 and release them. There were a few very young boys with 
 the women ; some rather older ones I saw going about the 
 enclosure with their fathers. It was the boys and women, 
 we were told, who had acted as incendiaries. Many of the 
 latter, however, had fought. In one of the recent convoys 
 of prisoners that passed through Versailles came a female 
 colonel, in a braided uniform, with straps for epaulets on 
 her shoulders, and lace bars upon her wrist, indicating her 
 rank. Another woman was being driven on by a gen- 
 darme, who goaded her with the point of his sabre till the 
 blood ran. ' Shame,' cried a spectator, ' to treat a woman 
 so ! ' ' Woman ! ' exclaimed the gendarme ; Hhat woman, 
 as you call her, killed my captain and lieutenant and a 
 sergeant with three shots from her revolver.' " 
 
 A most curious scene which also occurred at Satory 
 proves to what an extent many of the Communists car- 
 ried their audacity. 
 
 A quartermaster of artillery presented himself at the 
 camp, and asked from the chief of the guard permission 
 to see his son, who had been arrested by mistake, he said, 
 in one of the razzias of Paris. The chief of the guard 
 took off his hat, expressed his regret most humbly that 
 such a mistake should have been made, and ordered the 
 young man to be called. 
 
 Suddenly a gendarme on duty in the yard dashed his 
 gun upon the ground, and throv/ing himself upon the 
 quartermaster, seized him by the throat and endeavored 
 to strangle him, crying, " I recognize you ; you are a Com- 
 munist ; you ordered the execution of forty-five gendarmes. 
 I was the only one who succeeded in escaping. At last 
 I've got you, and will kill you." 
 
 Seeing this, the chief and several persons intervened, 
 and succeeded in disengaging the grasp of the gendarme. 
 
494 THE PAEIS C0MMU2^E. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " they cried ; " explain your- 
 self." 
 
 The gendarme then informed them that the pretended 
 quartermaster was no other than a chief of a battalion of 
 the National Guard, and that on Wednesday morning, 
 May 24th, he had ordered the execution of forty-five gen- 
 darmes and several other hostages. 
 
 "It is false ! " replied the individual ; " I am a member of 
 the regular army, and as such I assisted at the capture of 
 Montmartre. I a Communist! Allons done I " . 
 
 " I swear," replied the gendarme, " that you are an in- 
 surgent chief. I am not mistaken. I saw you under cir- 
 cumstances which I can never forget, and I demand your 
 immediate arrest." 
 
 "Very well," said the commander; "the gentleman 
 shall be conducted to the military bureau in the Eue de 
 Satory, and there he can establish his identity." 
 
 He was then placed in the hands of four men, escorted 
 by the gendarme. 
 
 Arrived in presence of the General, the individual ac- 
 knowledged that he had, in fact, served under the Com- 
 mune, and that he had been charged with the execution 
 of a portion of the hostages. " I could have saved my- 
 self," he added, "but my paternal sentiments were too 
 strong, and I wished also to dehver my son." 
 
 Needless to say that the quartermaster was forthwith 
 transferred to prison. 
 
 Besides the chiefs and members of the Commune who 
 perished fighting behind the barricades, or who were shot 
 by the soldiers immediately after arrest, many are now 
 in prison at Versailles ; others, however, such as Felix 
 Pyat and General Bergeret, have succeeded so far in elud- 
 ing the vigilance of the police, and have probably gained 
 the frontier. 
 
 The deaths of Dombrowski, Delescluze, Milliere, Rigault, 
 
GAM BON 
 
 Commune of Pans 
 
 187 1 
 
FATE OF THE LEADERS. 495 
 
 etc., as also the arrests of Eochefort, Mourot, and Assi, 
 have already been described. 
 
 Billioray Avas arrested on Saturday eyening in the Rue 
 des Canettes, 19, where he was hidden under the name of 
 Benedech. He was immediately conducted before the 
 Grand ProYOst, where he was made to pass through a 
 summary interrogatory. He denied for a long time 
 being Billioray of the Commune and Committee of Public 
 Safety, and it was only when confronted with a commis- 
 sary of police, whom he had caused to be arrested and 
 plundered on the 18th of March, that he ended by avow- 
 ing his identity. One thousand and fifteen francs were 
 found upon his person. He was then conducted to Ver- 
 sailles to await his trial. 
 
 Gambon and Lefrangais were shot in the Eue de la 
 Ban que. On Sunday morning, while the battle was still 
 going on in Belleville, Gambon, Geresme, the two Ferres, 
 Lacord, and several other members of the Commune, had 
 withdrawn to the Mairie of the 20th Arrondissement, es- 
 corted by a guard of honor, composed of forty JSTational 
 Guards, and of fifteen boys between fourteen and sixteen 
 years of age, almost unable to carry their guns. The in- 
 surgents had taken these boys from the foundling hospital 
 in the Rue d'Enfer, and had given them kepis, embroid- 
 ered with yellow, had placed guns and cartridges in their 
 hands, saying, "Fire upon whomsoever we tell you, and 
 when we tell you." They carried the last red flag which 
 still floated in Paris. 
 
 Gambon, whom report had killed on Thursday, was the 
 only one who wore in his button-hole the badge of the 
 Commune. He had even added to the ribbon, fringed 
 with gold, a head of Liberty framed in the Masonic tri- 
 angle of silver, on the three sides of which were inscribed 
 these words : " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Commune 
 of Paris." 
 
496 THE PARIS COMMUI^E. 
 
 At eleven o'clock, word was brought them that the last 
 partisans of their horrible cause were vanquished on every 
 side, and that the regular troops were advancing to occupy 
 the Mairie. They had barely time to save themselves, 
 carrying with them their flag. They descended towards 
 the exterior boulevard, which they crossed, stopping only 
 when they reached the Eue Fontaine-au-Eoi, at a restau- 
 rant, where they ordered a frugal breakfast to be served. 
 The foundlings were placed on guard at the door, while 
 the Guards were sent out as scouts, and a bugle was to 
 give the signal if the enemy approached. 
 
 While eating, the members of the Commune deliberated; 
 all were for resistance with the exception of Gambon, who 
 spoke for surrender. At two o'clock they descended into 
 the street. The majority had xjronounced for resistance ; 
 so the members of the Commune, aided by the foundlings, 
 by a few women, and some Communists of the quarter, 
 began the erection of a barricade. 
 
 After a few moments the bugle was sounded. The Na- 
 tional Guards were sought for, but they had prudently 
 hidden away. Then Gambon mounted on the barricade. 
 
 "I have passed thirty years of my life," said he, "in- 
 sacrificing myself for the Republic and Liberty. I have 
 given everything to the people, and to-day the people 
 abandon me. I have made the sacrifice of my life for 
 cowards who flee from danger when it meets them face to 
 face. I swear that, if I escape, I will never again give an 
 instant of my life, or one of my thoughts, to these men. 
 Citizens, the great cause is again lost ; the Commune is 
 killed by those who had sworn to make it triumph or to 
 die, and who have not even defended it." 
 
 His companions then tore from him his badge as mem- 
 ber of the Commune, and threw away his kepi, to prevent 
 his being recognized. The bugle sounded another signal; 
 the red flag was placed on the barricade but half con- 
 
SOME MORE LEADERS. 497 
 
 structed, arms were thrown in confusion on the ground, 
 and all j:ook to flig-ht. 
 
 The Commune had disappeared, but Gambon's good 
 resolutions came too late. 
 
 Eudes, another member of the Committee of Public 
 Safety, was shot at Vincennes. 
 
 Okolowitch, who was wounded at the time of the arrest 
 of Cluseret by the Commune, was placed in an ambulance 
 on the Champs Elysees. He had there a special tent, and 
 a sentinel mounted guard close by. Monday, the 22d, he 
 was suddenly awakened by an officer, who said to him: 
 
 " You are my prisoner." 
 
 "Ah!" cried he, "the Commune arrests me?" 
 
 Soon undeceiyed, he was transferred a prisoner to Ver- 
 sailles. 
 
 But the members of the Commune were not all arrested 
 or executed by regular troops. Many were taken and shot 
 by their own soldiers. 
 
 Mathieu, member of the Commune, was one of these. 
 Wednesday morning, the Federals led to the Pont Neuf an 
 individual dressed in civilian's clothes, no other than 
 Mathieu, who had been arrested in the morning, and upon 
 whom had been found a sum amounting to one million 
 five hundred thousand francs. 
 
 The insurgents accused him of having received this 
 sum from Versailles for opening one of the gates to the 
 regular troops. 
 
 The ex-member of the Commune, notwithstanding his 
 protestations of innocence, was placed with his back 
 against the pedestal of the statvie of Henry IV, one of the 
 Federals bound his eyes v/ith a handkerchief, and a few 
 seconds after six shots resounded. 
 
 Mathieu fell dead, his head crushed by the balls. His 
 body was then picked up by two or three insurgents, who, 
 
498 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 after balancing it three or four times over the parapet, 
 flung it into the Seine. ^ 
 
 Varlin, Delegate of Finances, accused of haying par- 
 ticipated in the burning of the Ministry of Finance, was 
 shot at Montmartre, in the Eue des Eosiers, at the same 
 place where the Generals Lecomte and Clement-Thomas 
 were assassinated. 
 
 Jourde, the successor of Varlin as Delegate to the Fi- 
 nances, was arrested May 31st on the Quai d'Orsay, by 
 two agents of the police. 
 
 The former minister had taken refuge in a house which 
 stood close by the still smoking ruins of the Caisse des 
 depots et conslgnatio7is. 
 
 When arrested by the two agents of police, who said, 
 "You are the Citizen Jourde ? " Jourde replied — " I ? neTcr 
 in the world ! My name is Eoux. I am known in my 
 quarter. Look here ! take me to the Marie of the 7th Ar- 
 rondissement to see the Adjoint M. Hortas ; he used to 
 be my schoolmaster, and will recognize me perfectly." 
 
 The agents conducted the individual pretending to be 
 Eoux to the Mairie in the Eue de Grenelle. They were 
 introduced into the cabinet of M. Hortus, whose honesty 
 and goodness are proverbial. 
 
 " Good morning, M. Hortus ; do you remember me ? I 
 am Eoux, your former pupil," said Jourde. 
 
 M. Hortus rose abruptly, turned very pale, and, as 
 though making a violent effort, replied : 
 
 " You are Jourde, and you were never my scholar." 
 
 " You are killing me," said Jourde, in a low tone ; " I 
 have my poor mother, my wife " 
 
 The Adjoint was inflexible ; the Delegate to the Finances 
 was imprisoned in the Mairie, and word was sent to Mar- 
 slial de MacMahon, who caused him to be brought to his 
 headquarters. 
 
EXPENSES OF THE COMMUKE. 499 
 
 When interrogated regarding the resources of the Com- 
 mune, he said that they consisted on the 18th of March 
 of four milHons found in the Treasury. 
 
 Two milHons taken from the railway companies. 
 
 Twenty-four millions obtained from the Bank of France. 
 
 And finally, the duties, contributions, and ordinary re- 
 sources of the city furnished the rest. 
 
 As for the expenses, they were obliged to pay daily for 
 the National Guards 350,000 francs, to the great regret of 
 Jourde, who declared that towards the end of the reign of 
 the Commune there were not more than 30,000 men who 
 really performed their service. Beyond this the other ex- 
 penses amounted to — 
 
 609,000 francs during the first week. 
 
 700,000 francs for the second week. 
 
 This amount continued to augment until it reached the 
 sum of 4,200,000 francs, which constitutes an average ex- . 
 pense of 600,000 francs a day. 
 
 Jourde denied being a member of the International, 
 and stated that the society had placed very little money 
 in the hands of the Commune, as according to his account 
 the committee in London, which governs the whole insti- 
 tution, had only 30,000 or 40,000 francs at its disposal. 
 
 He at the same time denied having received any pay- 
 ment from foreign countries, and added that he could 
 prove fi-om what sources he had drawn the sums which he 
 had expended. 
 
 Johannard, member of the Commune, attached as civil 
 delegate to the General La Cecilia, was judged by every 
 one incapable of doing harm. A fine-looking young man, 
 of striking attitudes, and much admired by the fair sex — 
 surnamed in fact the Key-of-Hearts — he was extremely 
 anxious to wear a uniform. He was finally named captain 
 in the 100th battalion, and member of the Commune. 
 Then, as always before, he showed himself to be good- 
 
500 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 hearted and intemperate. A woman was never refused 
 anything by the civil delegate. 
 
 In the last days, however, this citizen, considered so soft 
 and pliable, became truly ferocious. 
 
 At the barricade of the Kue du Petit-Carreau, he blew 
 out the brains of a volunteer of the 10th battalion, and 
 ran away after the first shot. 
 
 In the Eue des Amandiers, a young girl belonging to 
 the ambulances deplored the fate of the unfortunate vic- 
 tims of the civil war ; by order of the delegate she was in- 
 stantly shot. 
 
 At La Eoquette he caused eight convalescent soldiers 
 to be shot for refusing to march. 
 
 As victory became more and more impossible, he became, 
 under the impression of the fear which maddened him, a 
 very cannibal in delirium. Some time before the end of 
 the struggle, he withdrew as fast as his horse could carry 
 him to the stronghold of Vincennes. 
 
 " Kill every one as you fall back," was the order given 
 by this bandit to the " Avengers of the Eepublic." 
 
 At Vincennes, Johannard was not reassured ; even in 
 this citadel he dreamed of snares of every kind. By his 
 orders, the chapel was thoroughly searched, and the old 
 fortress explored with minute care, but neither Johannard 
 nor his associates had courage to descend into the vaults 
 below. 
 
 At the first cannon-shot, the delegate of the 3d Arron- 
 dissement disappeared, and it was only after a long search 
 that he was found behind the arsenal, hidden under a 
 heap of broken gun-carriages. 
 
 Two hours later he was shot in one of the ditches which 
 surround the fort. 
 
 General La Cecilia, his associate, was for some time re- 
 ported to have been shot in like manner at Vincennes. 
 This news has, however, since proved false, and was prob- 
 
ARREST OF LA CECILIA. 501 
 
 ably circulated, as has happened in many other cases, by 
 his friends, in order to cause the vigilance of the police to 
 slumber. 
 
 While colonel of the francs-iireurs of the Seine, La Ce- 
 cilia lived during a month in the Chateau de Banneville, 
 at Banneville -la-Campagne, a small town in the arron- 
 dissement of Caen. 
 
 Having succeeded in getting out of Paris, it was towards 
 this chateau that La Cecilia directed his flight. He 
 counted on the kindness formerly shown him by Madame 
 de Banneville during the war with Prussia, and believed 
 that she would consent to interest herself in his fate. 
 
 He was mistaken, however, in his calculations. Madame 
 de Banneville declared that for the defender of the Com- 
 mune she had only hatred and contempt, and that if he 
 did not immediately leave of his own free-will, she would 
 have him put out of the house by force or else arrested. 
 
 Seeing that all remarks would be superfluous. La Cecilia 
 decided to withdraw. Almost immediately after his de- 
 joarture, and while still overcome by the scene just enacted, 
 Madame de Banneville was informed tliat the house was 
 surrounded by gendarmes. A brigadier pi'esented himself 
 saying that they had been instructed of the presence in 
 her house of a dangerous man who had arrived that morn- 
 ing at the station of Moult- Argences, and that they had 
 come to arrest him. 
 
 The lady then related what had happened. 
 
 The gendarmes proceeded, without losing an instant, to 
 search the environs, and the ex-general of the Commune 
 was soon discovered in a small inn of Banneville-la-Cam- 
 pagne, accompanied by his former attendant in the francs- 
 tireurs, who, since the war, had taken service at the Cha- 
 teau de Banneville. He had left the chateau with his 
 former chief. A certain quantity of arms and ammuni- 
 tion was found in the inn, whose proprietor, together 
 
502 THE PARIS COMMUlfE. 
 
 with La Cecilia and his attendant, was directed immedi- 
 ately toward Versailles. 
 
 La Celicia is of Italian origin, and had received a yery 
 good education ; his exalted opinions had obliged him to 
 leave Italy, and in 1859 he was professor of mathematics 
 in the University of Ulm. He joined later the corps 
 formed by Garibaldi, since which time he has taken part 
 in every revolutionary plot or intrigue. 
 
 Treilhard, Director of Public Assistance, was shot May 
 26th, at the Place du Pantheon. A search made in his 
 house brought to light a casket in which he had hidden 
 40,000 francs. 
 
 The arrest of some of the Communist chiefs was not 
 effected until after long and patient search. 
 
 Paschal Grousset succeeded for many days in remaining 
 in security within the city, while various reports were 
 spread of his capture in Switzerland, his appearance in 
 Belgium, and his arrival in London, all calculated to 
 throw the authorities off the scent, and to enable him 
 finally to effect his escape in safety. 
 
 It was not until the 3d of June that he was captured, 
 although, for five or six days, there had been strong suspi- 
 cions entertained that the ex-Delegate of Foreign Eela- 
 tions was hidden in the Eue Condorcet. 
 
 These suspicions were soon changed into certainty. It 
 was said in the neighborhood that he came every morning 
 to breakfast with a Miss Hacard, with whom he had been 
 on intimate terms for many years, and who lives at 39 Eue 
 Condorcet. A commissary of police, accompanied by two 
 agents and a locksmith, presented himself at the entrance 
 to the fourth story of this house. 
 
 He had been informed that two women lived there, but 
 that one had just gone out. It was Miss Hacard, who had 
 gone to buy some newspapers. 
 
 Haying rung at the bell, and receiving no reply, M. 
 
PASCHAL GEOTJSSET. 503 
 
 Duret, the commissary, caused the door to be broken 
 open, and perceived a woman, whose back was turned 
 towards him. This woman, possessed of an abundance 
 of black hair, or rather with an enormous chignon attached 
 to the summit of her head, was dressed in a black skirt and 
 dressing-jacket. 
 
 " You are Paschal Grousset," cried the agent of police, 
 seizing the woman by the arm and forcing her to terms. 
 
 Grousset, for it was he, did not attempt either to deny 
 his identity or to make the slightest resistance ; he avowed 
 his name, declaring himself a journalist and member of the 
 Commune. 
 
 He then asked permission to resume his masculine gar- 
 ments, which was granted, and a search was immediately 
 commenced in the apartment. 
 
 Grousset remained perfectly impassible, flattering him- 
 self that no one had ever laid hands on his papers, and 
 that it would be the case always ; but when the order was 
 given to search the canopy of the bed, he grew pale. 
 
 " You've got the hiding-place," he cried. 
 
 An enormous quantity of documents was in fact found, 
 the study of which will probably be very interesting for 
 the history of the foreign relations of the Commune. 
 
 After a short interrogatory, Grousset was conducted to 
 the Mairie of the 9th Arrondissement. He asked permis- 
 sion to smoke a cigarette — a pleasure of which he had been 
 deprived for ten days during which he had been disguised 
 as a woman. 
 
 It was in fact from the 23d of May that all news of him 
 had ceased, and he had probably taken refuge as early as 
 that day with Miss Hacard. 
 
 Hardly had Grousset arrived at the Mairie Drouot when 
 he was recognized and immediately saluted with cries of 
 "A mort, V assassin! a mort, I'incendiare ! let him go on 
 foot!" etc 
 
504 THE PAEIS COMMUNE. 
 
 The caiTiage in which he was placed was escorted by a 
 body of soldiers, but they were insufficient to restrain the 
 fury of the assailants ; they pushed through the guard, 
 shaking their fists in his face, and endeavoring to 
 strike him. 
 
 Several times M. Duret was obliged to lean out of the 
 window and beg the crowd to respect his prisoner. 
 
 " Be patient," he said, " justice shall be done ; but my 
 honor as a magistrate is engaged to place Paschal Grous- 
 set alive in the hands of the authorities." 
 
 He was listened to for a moment with deference, but 
 almost immediately the clamor recommenced with greater 
 violence, and it is probable that justice would have been 
 done on the spot if the procession had not been met by 
 General Pradier, who inquired the cause of the tumult. 
 Informed of the danger incurred by the prisoner, he 
 requisitioned indifferently all the officers and soldiers 
 who iDassed, and thus formed an escort sufficient to im- 
 pose its will upon the crowd. 
 
 They then proceeded along the boulevards and Rue 
 Royale to the Palais de ITndustrie. 
 
 Arrived at the entrance of the Eaubourg Saint-Honore, 
 which was choked by the ruins of the surrounding houses, 
 the fury of the crowd redoubled in violence. 
 
 " Look, wretch, at what you have done ! Death to the 
 incendiary ! Let him be shot on the ruins of the houses 
 he has burned ! " 
 
 " This crowd is ferocious," said Paschal Grousset. 
 
 " One must be philosophical," replied M. Duret. " Fif- 
 teen days ago, if I had been seized, I might have been in 
 your place and you in mine, and who knows whether 
 you would have saved me then from the fury of all these 
 people." 
 
 The carriage, however, advanced slowly. Grousset re- 
 marked that he could not understand how he, a writer 
 
GllOUSSET IN PRISON". 505 
 
 and an artist, could be confounded with the iconoclasts of 
 the Louvre and Tuileries. 
 
 After a long and often-interrupted march, the proces- 
 sion finally made its entrance into the Palais de I'lndus- 
 trie, seat of the chief military provostship, whence he was 
 sent the same evening to Versailles. 
 
 He was conducted, immediately upon his arrival, to the 
 prison of the Kue Saint-Pierre, and placed in cell No. 8, 
 between Eochefort and his secretary, Mourot. 
 
 The ex-Delegate of Foreign Affairs was very depressed 
 in spirits, and seemed convinced that he was to be shot 
 on the spot without any form of trial. "When he arrived 
 at the prison and saw the guardians of the peace ranged 
 round his carriage,' he said, in a trembling voice : 
 
 " Soldiers, don't hurt me ! " words which he repeated 
 for the third time since his arrest. 
 
 When he saw that the peril was not as imminent as he 
 had feared, he regained a certain assurance, and, in enter- 
 ing his cell, remarked to the guardians who conducted 
 him: 
 
 " They did well to come .... Two hours later they 
 would not have found me." 
 
 This appearance of tranquillity was not of long dura- 
 tion ; invited to take something to eat, he refused, asking 
 only for some tobacco. He then added : 
 
 '^ When shall I be judged ? I hope I shall be judged. 
 It is my right ; I was not taken prisoner with arms in my 
 hands." 
 
 It was then explained to him that he must await the 
 orders of the military authorities, to whom he belonged, 
 for the future. During most of the night Grousset was 
 pacing his narrow cell. 
 
 On the morrow he was up at an early hour, having 
 thrown himself, towards morning, dressed, upon the bed, 
 expecting to be interrogated immediately. The day passed, 
 23 
 
506 THE PAEIS COMMUKE. 
 
 however, without any other formality than a short inter- 
 rogatory which established his identity. 
 
 Eegere, a member of the Commune, whose name is well 
 known from the decree of the Commune already men- 
 tioned, " The Citizen Eaoul Eigault is charged, together 
 with the Citizen Eegere, with the execution of the decree 
 of the Commune of Paris relative to the hostages,^' was 
 also arrested in Paris, but not until nearly the end of the 
 month of June. 
 
 For about eight days before his arrest he had been living 
 in the Hotel des Italiens. His arrival at the hotel was 
 preceded by that of two young men, serving doubtless as 
 scouts, who gave out that they were nephews of an old 
 man of sixty, who was about to rejoin them. 
 
 The venerable uncle arrived in time, but it was re- 
 marked that his hair and beard, cut very short, were of 
 reddish tinge. This, however, was supposed to be the re- 
 sult of vanity on the part of the old man — ^nothing more. 
 The day after his arrival he caused his whole body to be 
 covered with plasters, and took to his bed, where he re- 
 mained most obstinately. 
 
 M. Eegere had inscribed himself in the book of the 
 hotel as M. Teuquien, a singular name, somewhat Chi- 
 nese, and hardly calculated to divert suspicion ; however, 
 he might have remained for a long time undisturbed, had 
 it not been for the intervention of a lady, very nicely 
 dressed, who had undertaken to furnish passports to sev- 
 eral persons compromised in the insurrection. She had 
 already procured several papers of this kind at tlie Pre- 
 fecture, in virtue of what title it is not yet known, when 
 the snare was discovered. 
 
 From that moment the lady was furnished, in the kind- 
 est manner, with all the passports which she came to de- 
 mand, only — two zealous agents of the police were, at the 
 same time, attached to her person. 
 
DE]?fOU]SrCIl<^G EACU OTnER. 507 
 
 lu this manner Eegere was discovered, and his red 
 beard was unable to resist a serious examination. [One 
 of the nephews of Eegere was a staff-officer in the Federal 
 Guard, who, as early as the 22d of May, had taken off his 
 uniform in the quarter of the Elysee, and hidden in a cel- 
 lar, " to await the course of eyents."] 
 
 Vesinier, editor of the Officiel of the Commune, and, 
 when he fell from those high functions, of the Paris 
 Libre, was arrested at the Hospital of La Pitie. Here . he 
 had taken refuge under an assumed name on the 23d of 
 May. He was slightly wounded in the arm, but was 
 never heard to remark at what barricade he had fought. 
 
 Citizens Breslier and Grcffier,_^fe, both officers in the 
 battalion called the Avengers of Flourens, particularly 
 sought as the instigators of the conflagration of the 
 Palace of Justice, were finally recognized, and arrested 
 before the ruins of the monument they had destroyed. 
 
 Citizen Verdure, belonging to the Central Committee of 
 the Confederation of the National Guard, had disappeared 
 immediately after the entrance of the Versailles troops into 
 Paris, and all the searches made for him had proved vain. 
 
 Verdure, however, had been arrested. He had been 
 taken on one of the first days of the struggle in a group 
 of National Guards who had voluntarily surrendered. He 
 had assumed a false name, and hoped, thanks to this arti- 
 fice, to pass unperceived amidst a crowd of others. 
 
 Unfortunately he was recognized by one of his com- 
 panions of insurrection while on his way to the provost- 
 marshal, who, faithful to the principle of fraternity, hast- 
 ened to denounce him. 
 
 Verdure endeavored at first to deny his identity, but 
 having been confronted with several other Commun- 
 ists, and recognized by them, he was finally obliged to 
 drop the mask and appear in his true character. 
 
 The painter Courbet, to whom Paris and France are in- 
 
508 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 debted for the destruction of the Column Vend6me, was 
 arrested in the Eue Saint-Gilles, in the house of one of 
 his friends, a piano-manufacturer. 
 
 On the same day, Eossel, the ex-Delegate pf War, was 
 arrested at No. 54 Bouleyard Saint-Germain. He was 
 considered in the house, one of the employes of the 
 Northern Eailway, of which he wore the uniform cap. 
 He sought for some time to prove that there was a mis- 
 take, but finding all denial useless, he resigned himself, 
 saying, " Don't touch me, I am an ofl&cer of the army ; I 
 will follow you without resistance." 
 
 Vermorel, member of the Commune, was taken wounded 
 to Versailles, where he died from the effects of an opera- 
 ation necessitated by his wound. 
 
 J. Miot was shot May 39 th, at La Muette. 
 
 Of the famous Cluseret nothing positive is known. It 
 is generally believed, however^ that he made his escape 
 from Paris disguised as a cabman, and has landed safely 
 in the United States, and that he will probably remain 
 there until Satan " finds some work for idle hands." 
 
 Two of the assassins of Generals Lecomte and Clement- 
 Thomas have met the reward their crimes deserved. 
 
 One of these, Dufil, arrested May 27th, accused of hav- 
 ing commanded the fire on the unhappy Generals, and 
 of having boasted of his crime but a few moments before 
 his arrest, was conducted by a lieutenant and eight soldiers 
 to the Chatelet. On the route he endeavored to escape, 
 but was pursued by the lieutenant, who wounded him in 
 the head by a shot from his revolver, causing him to fall. 
 He then raised himself on his elbows, when four more 
 shots were fired, and he fell to rise no more. 
 
 Another of these assassins was Langelle, former ser- 
 geant of the line. 
 
 He had had some difficulty with the Commune, which 
 caused him to be thrown into prison, and he profited by 
 
RAZOUA ARRESTED. 509 
 
 this circumstance to pass himself as a victim of the men 
 of the 18th of March. 
 
 A few days after order was restored, as he was about to 
 return one evening to his home, he perceived two men 
 who seemed to be awaiting his approach. 
 
 With the instinct pecuhar to people of his kind, he 
 instantly recognized them as agents of the police, to 
 whom, in fact, mission had been given to capture him. 
 
 A battalion of the line was camped not far from the 
 spot Langelle ran to find an ofiBcer, and with his order 
 of arrest under the Commune in his hand, endeavored to 
 persuade him that two insurgents were waiting to avenge 
 themselves for his defection by doing him an evil turn. 
 
 The officer pretended to be convinced, and a platoon of 
 the line went immediately to arrest the two men; but 
 when Langelle wished to withdraw, he was politely re- 
 quested to accompany them. They went together to the 
 commissary of police, when the true state of things was 
 discovered. 
 
 There are at present imprisoned at Versailles but four- 
 teen members of the Commune. This is all that remain 
 of that odious government which counted no less that one 
 hundred and fifteen persons ; one hundred and one have 
 disappeared, and are either killed or have succeeded in 
 making their escape. 
 
 Those who remain are : Eegere, Ferre, Assi, Eastoul, 
 Courbet, Urbain, Paschal Grousset, Jourde, Trinquet, 
 Arnold, Billioray, Verdure, Ulysse Parent and Des- 
 camps. 
 
 This last had been also for some time imprisoned under 
 an assumed name ; not until six weeks after his capture 
 was the fraud discovered. 
 
 Eazoua, another member of the Commune, has just been 
 arrested in Geneva ; his extradition will probably be de- 
 manded by the French Government. 
 
510 THE PARIS COMMUl^E. 
 
 Eocliefort is now confined in the prison of the Eue 
 Saint-Pierre awaiting his trial; he occupies one of the 
 cells nsnally given to persons condemned to death ; it is 
 small, narrow, and very obscure, receiving light only from 
 the corridor outside, which is itself only dimly lighted. 
 Since his entrance into prison he has been anxious, pre- 
 occupied, and taciturn, showing at times a fear of the fate 
 which awaits him. He was shortly taken quite ill, owing, 
 as he said, to a recent affliction in his family. This be- 
 reavement, however, was no other than the death of his 
 father, which occurred on the 12th of April, and whose 
 funeral Eochefort had himself attended. The poor old 
 man died in a state of great misery, almost of starvation, 
 although, as Henri Eochefort himself stated, the publica- 
 tion of the Mot d'Ordre brought to his son the sum of 
 1200 daily. 
 
 At the time of his death, the Marquis de Eochefort was 
 living almost upon charity, at a house in the Faubourg 
 St. Antoine, which was filled with aged persons who 
 brought here what little furniture they had, and who paid, 
 some $240, others $160, yearly. M. Eochefort was one of 
 these last, but the poor old man's payments were very rare. 
 His furniture consisted of an old bureau ai\d four cane- 
 bottomed chairs, a broken and torn old arm-chair, a small 
 library containing about thirty volumes, and an iron 
 bedstead. This was all pressed into a room about six 
 yards, but it did not even belong to him. He owed it to 
 the charity of persons almost as poor as himself, who had 
 come to the aid of the old man whose children had aban- 
 doned liim. Two years ago M. Eochefort became pos- 
 sessed of 1240 by selling two entrances for life to the the- 
 atres Des Varietes and Vaudeville. 
 
 At this period, Henri Eochefort, for whom his father 
 had made every sacrifice in order to procure him a good 
 education, was forced by the outcries of the Paris journals. 
 
LETTER TO L I B B M A K K. 511 
 
 indignant at his nnlilial conduct, to remember that he 
 had a father dying of hunger in one of the Faubourgs of 
 Paris. He made him a pension of $20 a month ; although 
 the gains of the editor of the Marseillaise and Mot cVOrdrc 
 during the last two years are estimated at $60,000. The 
 old man, however, was so happy at the receipt of this sum 
 that he almost lost his head. 
 
 Henri Eochefort never but once entered the sad abode 
 of his father, and that was a few hours before his death, 
 when he came and embraced him. On the morrow he 
 returned with five or six persons, and followed the corpse 
 to the cemetery of Bercy. 
 
 Our readers will probably remember the part taken by 
 M. Libbmann under the Commune, and his success in sav- 
 ing from ruin the Chapelle Expiatoire of Louis XVI. 
 Immediately after the entrance of the troops, a subscrip- 
 tion was raised to repay M. Libbmann the sums he had 
 expended. The amount raised, however, far exceeded the 
 necessary sum, and the surplus was devoted to charitable 
 purposes. M. Libbmann has lately received the following- 
 letter of thanks and congratulation from Henry V, Comte 
 de Ohambord : 
 
 " CHAsrBORD, July 3d, 1871. 
 
 " I was much moved, Monsieur, by the feelings which 
 you expressed in your letter, and by the thought, so 
 Christian and so French, which inspired you. I already 
 knew of the admirable zeal and courage which you had 
 displayed in the crisis through which we have just passed. 
 I am happy to be able to express here, myself, all my grat- 
 itude to you. Thanks to you, France will not have had 
 the grief of seeing disappear in the revolutionary turmoil 
 the chapel consecrated to the memory of the martyr-king. 
 Saint Louis has, by his intercession, saved the Holy 
 Chapel, which stands alone to-day in the midst of the 
 
512 THE PARIS COMMUNE. 
 
 ruins surrounding it. The prayers of King Louis XVI 
 have obtained the preservation of the expiatory monu- 
 ment in the Eue d'Anjou. You were chosen to he the 
 instrument of this great work. Eejoice at the recompense 
 accorded to your patriotism and your faith. I entirely 
 approve of the destination given to the surplus of the 
 subscriptions which you have received, and I again repeat, 
 Monsieur, the assurance of my sincere gratitude and affec- 
 tion. "HEIfRI." 
 
 Tor the services rendered by M. Ducatel, by whose 
 means the troops were enabled to hasten their entry into 
 Paris, the Minister of Public Works has recommended 
 that M. Ducatel should be nominated a Knight of the 
 Legion of Honor. This recommendation was followed by 
 a decree of M. Thiers carrying out the proposal. 
 
 We cannot close this work without paying a tribute to 
 Mr. Washburne, the American Minister in France, who 
 has remained in Paris during the two terrible sieges which 
 the city has undergone, and who has done so much to 
 render our countrymen proud of their representative. 
 During the days of terror his courage and energy were 
 unequalled, while his efforts for the release of the unhappy 
 hostages were unceasing, and in many cases were crowned 
 with success. Everything in his power was done by him 
 to assuage the sufferings of the Archbishop ; and, thanks 
 to his intervention, several Sisters of Charity were re- 
 leased from confinement. 
 
 Mr. Washburne's letter, however, explains better than 
 we can do, his visit and his kindness to Mon seigneur Dar- 
 boy, at a time when it was so much needed. 
 
 " Pabis, AprU 23, 1871. 
 
 " You are aware that Monseigneur -Darboy, the Arch- 
 bishop of Paris, was seized some time since, by order of 
 
MINISTER WASHBURHE. 513 
 
 tlic Commune, and thrust into prison, to be held as a 
 hostage. Such treatment of that most devout and excel- 
 lent man could not but have created a great sensation, 
 particularly in the Catholic world. 
 
 " On Thursday night last I received a letter from Mon- 
 seigneur Chigi, Archbishop of Myre and Nuncio Apostolic 
 of the Saint-Siege, and also a communication from M. 
 Louvrier, chanoine of the Diocese of Paris. M. Lagard, 
 the Vicar-General of Paris, and Messrs. Bousset and Al- 
 lain, clianoines and members of the Metropolitan Chapter 
 of the Church of Paris, all making a strong appeal to me, 
 in the name of the right of nations, humanity, and sym- 
 pathy, to interpose my good offices in behalf of the impri- 
 soned Archbishop. I have thought that I should have 
 been only conforming to what I believed to be the policy 
 of our Government, and carrying out what I conceived to 
 be your wishes under the circumstances, by complying 
 with the request of the gentlemen who have addressed me. 
 I, therefore, early this morning, put myself in communica- 
 tion with General Cluseret, who seems at the present 
 time to be the directing man in affairs here. I told him 
 that I applied to him not in my diplomatic cajoacity, but 
 simply in the interest of good-feeling and humanity, to 
 see if it were not possible to have the Archbishop relieved 
 from arrest and confinement. He answered that it was 
 not a matter within his jurisdiction, and however much 
 he might like to see the Archbishop released, he thought, 
 in consideration of the state of affairs, it would be impos- 
 sible. He said that he was not arrested for crime, but 
 simply to be held as a hostage, as many others had been. 
 Under the existing circumstances, he thought it would be 
 useless to take any steps in that direction. I myself 
 thought that the Commune would not dare, in the present 
 excited state of public feeling in Paris, to release the Arch- 
 bishop. I told General Cluseret, however, that I must 
 
 22* 
 
514 THE PAEIS COMMUTE. 
 
 see him to ascertain liis real situation, the condition of his 
 health, and whether he was in want of anything. He 
 said there would be no objection to that, and he imme- 
 diately went with me in person to the Prefecture of Police, 
 and upon his application I receiyed from the Prefect a 
 permission to visit the Archbishop freely at any time. In 
 company with my private secretary, Mr. McKean, I then 
 went to the Mazas prison, where I was admitted without 
 difficulty, and being ushered into one of the vacant cells, 
 the Archbishop was very soon brought in. I must say I 
 was deeply touched at the appearance of this venerable 
 man. With his slender person, his form somewhat bent, 
 his long beard — for he has not been shaved apparently 
 since his imprisonment — ^his face haggard with ill-health, 
 all could not have failed to have moved the most indif- 
 ferent. I told him thab I had taken great pleasure, at the 
 instance of his friends, in intervening on his behalf, and 
 while I could not promise myself the satisfaction of seeing 
 him released, I was very glad to be able to visit him to 
 ascertain his wants, and to assuage the cruel position in 
 which he found himself. He thanked me most heartily 
 and cordially for the disposition I had manifested towards 
 him. I was charmed by his cheerful spirit and his inter- 
 esting conversation. He seemed to appreciate his critical 
 situation, and to be prepared for the worst. He had no 
 word of bitterness or reproach for his persecutors, but on 
 the other hand remarked that the world judged them to 
 be worse than they really were. He was patiently waiting 
 the l^gic of events, and praying that Providence might 
 find a solution to these terrible troubles without the fur- 
 ther shedding of human blood. He is confined in a cell 
 about six feet by ten, possibly a little larger, which has 
 the ordinary furniture of the Mazas prison — a wooden 
 chair, a small wooden table, and a prison bed. The cell is 
 lighted by one small vfindow. As a political prisoner, he 
 
WASHBUENE'S LETTEE. 515 
 
 is permitted to have his food brought to him from outside 
 the prison ; and in answer to my suggestion that I should 
 he glad to send him anything he might desire, or furnish 
 him with any money he might want, he said he was not 
 in need at present. I was the first man he had seen from 
 the outside since his imprisonment, and he had not been 
 permitted to see the newspapers, or to have any intelli- 
 gence of passing events. I shall make application to the 
 Prefect of Police to be allowed to send him newspapers 
 and other reading matter, and shall also avail myself of 
 the permission granted me to visit him, to the end that I 
 may afford him any proper assistance in my power. I 
 cannot conceal from myself, however, the great danger he 
 is in, and I sincerely hope that I may be instrumental in 
 saving him from the fate which seems to threaten. 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 
 " Very respectfully, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 "E. B. Washbuen"e." 
 
 The trial of the chiefs of the Commune has been several 
 times postponed ; but little doubt can exist of the fate 
 which awaits them, if we may judge by tliat of a subordi- 
 nate named Ferdinand Sencier, who has been condemned 
 to death by the First Council of Versailles. 
 
 This man was an artilleryman at the Porte Maillot, re- 
 nowned for his unerring aim, and "who boasted that he 
 never aimed a gun at the Versailles troops without killing 
 his man. His behavior at the tribunal was anything but 
 prepossessing ; accused of desertion in time of war, of 
 having formed a part of insurrectional bands, of massacre 
 and pillage, he aggravated his situation by fanfaronades 
 "which nearly caused his expulsion from court. A still 
 more horrible accusation, however, was brought against 
 him ; it was that, while he "was firing upon ISTeuilly in the 
 
516 TnE PAEIS COMMUIfE. 
 
 direction of a liouse inhabited by his mother, the poor 
 woman was killed by the bursting of a shell. He was 
 condemned to capital punishment. 
 
 If the instrument is thus condemned, the leaders will 
 not remain unpunished ; and the men who ruled over Paris 
 with a rod of iron, only at the last to deliver up the un- 
 happy city to fire and blood — the men who obliged the 
 poor soldiers, after five months' rude imprisonment in 
 hated Germany, to turn from the firesides waiting to re- 
 ceive them and take up arms against their fellow-country- 
 men — the men who brought desolation and mourning to 
 so many homes which had been filled with joy at the safe 
 return of their sons and brothers from the Prussian war — 
 these men will surely meet the reward of their crimes, and 
 give to the world a terrible example. 
 
 Colonel Rossel, whose career was both brief and san- 
 guinary, Captain of Engineers in the French Army, Col- 
 onel under Gambetta, Chief of Staff under Cluserct, 
 Delegate of War, President of the Military Court, and 
 Commander of the Commune Forces, was condemned to 
 military degradation and death by the Versailles Court- 
 Martial, September 7th. The savage and heartless Ferre 
 and would-be Dictator Lullier were sentenced to the same 
 fate. 
 
 Trinquet and Urbain were condemned to imprisonment 
 for life. Assi, Grousset, Billioray, Eegere, Verdure and Fer- 
 rat, to deportation and confinement in a fortress. Jourde 
 and Eastorel to transportation. 
 
 Courbet was condemned to six months' imprisonment, 
 Clement to three months ; Decamp and Parent were ac- 
 quitted. 
 
 Pams, Thursday, Sept. 21, ISTl. 
 
 M. Rocliefort's trial has concluded, and he has been 
 sentenced by the Court-Martial to transportation to a 
 penal colony for life. 
 
AMERICAN GUIDE TO EUROPE. 
 
 Harper's Ilnnd-Book for Travellers in Europe and the 
 East: being a Guide through Great Britain and Ireland, 
 France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Egypt, 
 Syria, Turkey, Greece, Switzerland, Tyrol, Spain, Rus- 
 sia, Denmark, and Sweden. By W. Pembroke Fet- 
 iiiDGE. With numerous Maps and Plans of Cities. 
 Tenth Year. Large 12mo, Leather, Tucks, §5 00. 
 
 This new, revised, and enlarged edition of Harper s Iland-Booh con- 
 tains the following Maps and Plans : 
 
 Railroad Map of Europe, 25 by 22 inches (in cover-pocket). — London, 
 35 by 27 inches (in cover-pocket). — Paris, 25 by 35 inches (in cov- 
 er-pocket). — Atlantic Routes. — Ireland. — Lakes of Killarney.— 
 Dublin. — Belfast. — Great Britain, North. — Edinburgh. — Glasgow. 
 —Environs of London. — Great Britain, South. — The Lake District. 
 — Wales. — Paris. — Versailles. — Marseilles. — Nice. — Metz. — ■ 
 Strasbourg. — Antwerp.— Berlin. — King's Garden, near Potsdam. — 
 Hamhurg. — Dresden. — Prague. — Vienna. — Pesth and Ofen. — 
 Trieste. — Venice. — Verona. — Milan. — Bologna. — Turin. — Genoa. 
 — Florence. — Plan of the Uffizi Gallery. — Pisa. — Rome. — Roman 
 Forum. — Ancient Rome. — Palace of the Vatican. — Naples.- — Museo 
 Nationale. — Pompeii. — Palermo. — Egypt and Northern Nubia. — 
 Cairo. — Thebes. — Palestine. — ^ Jei'usalem.^ — Church of the Holy 
 Sepulchre. — Turkey in Asia. — Greece and the Ionian Islands. — 
 Switzerland. — Munich. — Augsburg. — Nuremburg.— Carlsruhe. — 
 Frankfort. — Cologne. — St. Petersbui'g. — Stockholm. — The Alham- 
 bra. 
 
 It fiives the best routes of travel, names the places of interest, tells how much 
 money certain trips co;.-t, and fiu'iiishes the travellei" with all the necessary ad- 
 vice and full iufoi-matioii for a trip to any or all parts of the Old World. We do 
 not pee how a person crossing the Atlantic can afford to do without it. — Home 
 Journal. 
 
 From having travelled somewhat extensively in former years in Europe and 
 the East, I can say with entire truth that you have succeeded in combining more 
 that is instructive and valuable for the traveller than is contained in any one or 
 series of hand-books that I have ever met with.— T. B. Lawrence, U. H. Consul 
 General, Florence, February 15, 1S6G. 
 
 Every traveller who carries this guide-book and uses it faithfully will find it 
 not only an invaluable comp:mion on his journey, but a most useful book of ref- 
 erence on his return. — Congrcgationalist. 
 
 A volume that should be in every traveller's hands.— .V. 1". Standard. 
 
 To all tourists we recommend this guide-book.— X Y. Herald. 
 
 Ko European hand-book can be found that is equally comprehensive and sat- 
 isfactory. — Cincinnati Commercial. 
 
 It is concise, giving all necessary information to the traveller.— JV. F. World. 
 
 Harper's Haud-Book of Travel, always good, is now excellent — Philadelphia 
 Pre.ts. 
 
 There is scarcely any information which the tourist may require respecting 
 any part of Europe that will not be supplied by this han&-hoo]i.—3Ionireal Xews. 
 
 B;^" HAurEB & Beothkrs will send the above work by mail, postage prepaid, to 
 any part of the United States, on receijit of the 2mce. 
 
HARPER'S PHRASE-BOOI; 
 
 Or, Hand -Book of Travel Talk for Travellers and 
 Schools. Being a Guide to Conversations in English, 
 French, German, and Italian, on a New and Improved 
 , Method. Intended to accompany " Harper's Hand- 
 Book for Travellers." By W. Pembkoke Feteidge, 
 Author of " Harper's Hand-Book." Assisted by Pro- 
 fessors of Heidelberg University. With Concise and 
 Explicit Rules for the Pronunciation of the diiferent 
 Languages. Square 4to, Flexible Cloth, |1 50. 
 
 * * * We do not hesitate to pronounce this the best-prepared volume 
 of its class that has ever come under our eye. By experience Mr. Fet- 
 ridge has ascertained what is wanted, and he has made a volume to 
 meet the popular demand. — Boston Journal. 
 
 It has evidently been compiled with care and judgment, and seems to 
 be superior on the whole to most of the European manuals which abound 
 in the great European thoroughfares. — N. Y. Tribune. 
 
 The best, by far, we have yet seen, whether as regards general correct- 
 ness, variety, and utility of conversational subjects, or preliminaiy gram- 
 matical information. — Philadelphia Press. 
 
 The phrases are generally put in such a form that they can be answered 
 by Yes and No, which are understood in all languages. It is the best 
 work of the kind that we have ever seen, and it is up to the live times. 
 It would be well to introduce this work into our colleges and schools. 
 It commends itself to private students. — Pittsburg Gazette. 
 
 Mr. Fetridge has done his work capitally, and both travellers and stu- 
 dents will have excellent reasons gratefully to recollect his name. — Bos- 
 ton Traveller. 
 
 It is the most perfect work of the kind which has been issued. Great 
 pains have been taken in its production, and good judgment exercised. 
 Next to a good teacher, this manual is the most desirable for those who 
 intend a complete foreign tour. — Albany Journal, 
 
 The book is a valuable addition to any student's library. — Worcester 
 Spi/. 
 
 The stiff and useless expressions commonly given in works of this de- 
 scription are avoided, and only those used which serve the purpose for 
 which the work was compiled.'— Savannah Republican. 
 
 A most valuable work. — N. Y. World. 
 
 We think this a most excellent volume — just the thing for which it 
 was intended as expressed in its title. — Richmond Enquirer. 
 
 Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New Yokk. 
 
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 any part of the United States, on receipt of the price. 
 
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