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l.,vL,'.  -7,"       / J,            -
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.
ILL USTRA TED WITH A MAP OF PARIS AND PORTRAITS
FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS.
NEW   YORK:
IARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1 871.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by
W. PEMBIROiE FETRIDGE,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.




PREFACE.
A S accuracy is the principal merit in a work of this
description, the author, who remained in Paris
from March 6th 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 succeeding day corrections were made in the original reports, of
which readers in the United States could never be thoroughly 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




1V                  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
light; and this material, with what the author personally
saw, is now brought before the public. The record is
probably the saddest which has ever appeared on the
page of history.
PARIS, August, 1871.




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
Causes of the Insurrection-W-ar 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 PayPrussian Sentry killed by a National Guard-Arrest of
the latter-Arrest of two Germans by the MalcontentsTheir 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
removed to Belleville-Erection of Barricades-Occupation 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 88th Regiment of the Line fraternizes
with the Insurgents-Withdrawal of the Troops who
remain faithful -They are fired upon by the Insurgents............................................  15
CHAPTER II.
Elation of the National Guards-Erection of new BarricadesBattery surrendered by its Escort to the InsurgentsArrest of Generals Lecomte and Thomas-Their Assassination-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 Ville-All 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 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 possession of the Hotel de Ville-Arrest
of General Chanzy-Official Journal seized by the Insurgents-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 Government Officials summoned to Versailles-The Prussians
return to St. Denis-Their Despatch to M. Jules FavreHis 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 the National
Guards-The Law and Order Party endeavor to overcome
the Insurrection-Concessions obtained by Admiral 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-Mollin appointed Mayor of the
6th Arrondissement-M. Leroy takes possession of the
Mairie-Is ejected by Citizen Lullier-Warehouses broken
into by the Mob-Chassepots sold for ten francs-Deputation sent to Valerien-Second Procession of the Order
Party-Endeavor made to disperse the crowd-Shots
fired-Frightful Massacre-Ambulances collect the deadDifferences of Opinion with regard to which Party fired
the first Shot-Account given by the Official JournalGeneral Bergeret's view of the question-RequisitionsExecutions 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. Arnaud-Tribune assigned to the MayorsTheir Entrance-Their Observations resented by the
Right-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 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 SaissetProclamation of the Central Committee................. 55




viii                  CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE
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 de Ville
-Commissioners appointed by the Commune-Proclamations-Decrees-The Red Flag floats from the TuileriesAbsolute Power of the Commune-Sub-Committee of
eleven members-Garibaldi-Opinions of the Communist
Journals-Post-office Director appointed by the Commune
-Imprisonment of Lullier-Situation of Paris-Preparations of the Insurgents-Concentration of their TroopsPlan of Attack-Engagement at Meudon-ChatillonSortie by the Porte 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 Insurgents, 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.......................... 85
CHAPTER V.
Proclamation of the Marquis de Gallifet-Threat of the
Communists-Imprisonment of Assi-Grade of General
abolished-Dombrowski appointed Commandant of Paris
-Attack on Chatillon-Death of General Duval-Decree
rendering Military Service obligatory for all men between
the ages of nineteen and forty-Pretexts adopted for
escape from the City-Rochefort instigates 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's Letter-Cap



CONTENTS.                        ix
PAGE
ture of Courbevoie by the Versailles Troops-The Bridge
of Neuilly taken-Shells fall at the Arc de TriomphePersecution of the Clergy-Imprisonment of the Archbishop of Paris-Conflict of the Commune and Central
Committee-Bergeret Incarcerated-Despatch of Dombrowski-The fight at Courbevoie-Attack on the Insurgent Outposts at Issy-Account given by General
Cluseret-The Committee of Conciliation............... 105
CHAPTER VI.
Mh. 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 2Vot d'OrdreShells fall far into Paris-Report of General CluseretBattery at Trocadero-Marshal de McMahon appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Versailles-Formation of that Army-The Army of Reserve-Fighting on
the 15th-Elections of the 16th-Fighting at AsnieresThe Chateau de Becon 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-Atheism of
the Communists-The Executive Committee-Suppression
of Journals-Insurgent Batteries at Lavallois and ClichyAttack on the Park of Neuilly-Proclamation announcing
an Armistice at Neuilly-Expectation of a grand attackAttack on Levallois by the Troops-Repulsed by Dombrowski.........................................  131
1*




x                     CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII.
PAGE
The Armistice-Unhappy Condition of the Inhabitants of
Neuilly-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 Moulineaux captured
by the Troops-Attack on Neuilly-Reported Cruelty of a
Versailles Captain-Speech of M. Thiers in the AssemblyCombats on the Boulevard du Chateau-Proclamations 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 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-Pite...................... 169
CHAPTER 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 MoulinSaquet-False Reports given by the Official JournalRossel's Report-His Letter-His Imprisonment and
Escape-Delescluze appointed Delegate of War-Fort
Vanves evacuated-The Insurgents again take Possession




CONTENTS.                         xi
PAGE
-Differences of the Commune and Central CommitteeGovernment Despatch-Decree ordaining the Demolition
of M. Thiers' house-Camp in the Bois de Boulogne-Procession of Troops at Versailles-Sinking of an Insurgent
Gunboat-Capturj of Fort Vanves-Villas in the neighborhood of Paris plundered by the Insurgents-Threat of
the Communists with regard to Paris-Dissensions of the
Commune-Fall of the Column Vend6me-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 Rapp-The blame thrown upon the National
Assembly by the Commune-Sacrilege at Notre Dame des
Victoires-Cluseret tried and set at liberty by the Commune-Arrest of Rochefort at Meaux-His entrance into
Versailles................................. 223
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 Cissey-Arrest of AssiEntrance 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 l'Industrie and Ministry of the Interior-Fighting in
the Faubourg St. Honor —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




xii                   CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
PAGE
Attack on the Place Clichy-The Rue Lepic-Manner of Attack-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 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-Conflagration of the Tuileries-The Louvre
saved-Barricade of the Place de l'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-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.............................. 300
CHAPTER XI.
Paris on the Morning of the 24th-Incendiary Orders-Proclamation to the Soldiers-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 Roquette-Massacre of
the Archbishop and five other persons-Monseigneur Darboy-M. Duguerry-President Bonjean-Visit to the Arch



CONTE        TS.                 xiii
PAGE
bishop-Progress on the right bank-Saint EustacheThe Palais Royale in flames-Occupation of the Faubourg
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..... 339
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 Milliere-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 Austerlitz 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-Preparations for blowing up the neighborhood-Place du TroneMore victims at La Roquette-The remaining Prisoners
erect Barricades within the building-Some of them leave
the Prison and are murdered-Announcement made by
the Minister of WVar 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 Governm ents................................................  393




xiv                     CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE
The Line of Battle-Boulevard Richard-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-Proclamations of Marshal de MacMahon-Vicar
Lamazou's Letter-Military Decrees-Arms taken from
the Insurgents-Paris divided into four Military Departments-Aspect of the City-The Louvre-The TuileriesThe Palais-Royal-The Hotel de Ville-Escape of the
Archives-The Bank of France-The Palais de JusticeThe Legion of Honor-The Conseil d'Etat and the Cour
des Comptes-Cost of the Commune to the City of ParisStrangers of the Commune............................ 435
CHAPTER XIV.
Projet de loi concerning the Hostages-Funeral Services of the
Archbishop and the other victims, celebrated at NotreDame-Immense number of Prisoners captured by the
Government-Description of the Camp at Satory-Audacity
of a Communist-Fate of the Members of the CommuneBillioray-Gambon-Eudes-Okolowitch-Mathieu-Varlin-Jourde-Johannard-La Cecilia-Treilhard-Paschal
Grousset - Regere -Vesinier-Verdure-Courbet-Rossel
-Vermorel-Cluseret-Duifil-Langelle-Razoua-Rochefort-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 WarConclusion........................................... 482




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 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-Proclamation to the National
Guards-Determination of the Government to subdue the insurrectionAttempt made to secure the guns in the Place des Vosges-They are removed to Belleville-Erection of barricades-Occupation 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
to advance-The 88th regiment of the line fraternizes with the insurgentsWithdrawal of the troops who remain faithful-They are fired upon by the
insurgents.
T    HE    unfortunate war which France declared against
J     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 opposed 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 coup d'etat than that practiced by




16           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
the Emperor, the chiefs of that movement, many of whom
were leaders in the late insurrection, proclaimed to the
world that Napoleon III was the prime mover in the
declaration of war. Most people, residents of France,
knew to the contrary; the English Government 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 Republic 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 different European countries, who, getting the upper hand
of the more respectable portion of the Republicans in the
city, loosened the bagne 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 Republic,
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 following letter to Jules Favre, in which he accused that statesman with all the misery lately brought upon France. Its
publication will throw considerable light on the origin of
events proposed to be illustrated:
PRINCE NAPOLEON'S LETTER.
"LONDON, May, 1871.
"Peace is signed with the conqueror. Paris, the great
capital, burns-its finest edifices, which have existed for




PRINCE    NAPOLEON'S LETTER.            17
centuries, are reduced to ashes-blood flows in torrentsyour 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 Ferrikres-the defence of Paris-the preliminaries of Versailles-the 18th March-the peace of Frankfort-the
burning of the metropolis;-such are your ill-omened
dates. History will call you l'homme 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 Republic?  Still less.
Is it liberty? Certainly not. Look at the elections oppressed 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 H6tel de Ville against universal
suffrage.
"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 PARIS     COMMUNE.
mistake made by Prussia in 1806; to think too much 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 oppress 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 the 18th 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 dangerous 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 COMMUNE.
in exchange for your personal Republic. Why did you
give way? I will tell you-because the Foreign Minister
hinted at the possibility of assembling the former Legislative 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 accomplished. You went to
Frankfort, but what was done there? You signed an
aggravation of the preliminaries of peace, first, by shortening 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 departments 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, Nice, and Venetia.
"Did not Prussia in 1866 accept the liabilities of Hanover,
Electoral Hesse, and the Grand-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 Versailles, and still less the Assembly which ratified them; I
do not consider I have the right to do so. But you are




A NEW    FLAG NECESSARY.              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 having 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 fragments 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 France knows no longer, nor in a denial of
universal suffrage; 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 principle, 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.
" NAPOLEON (JEROME.)"




22           THE PARIS 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 territory 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 Vietor Noir, 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 Rochefort, 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 repetition of the past lamentable events; and should an attempt
again be made, the recollection of the'destruction of property 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 infancy. 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 Constitutionnel, a leading Paris journal, in alluding to this resolution, observed: "The majority of the Paris population
will applaud this resolution, and the provinces also, when




G ENERAL     VA L E N T IN.          23
better informed as to the scope of manifestations which
have caused too much alarm, will shortly admit that temporization was, after all, the best course to adopt.
On the same day a meeting was held, in the open air,
by the National Guards at Montmartre. The principal
business was the election of members of the Central Committee; Garibaldi was unanimously elected general-inchief 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 dismissed 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
French executive, who had shown such temper, promptitude 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 Revolutionary 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
own hands, felt the regular government was not sufficiently
strong to enforce their surrender, consequently refused to
break up, and held their own on the heights of Montmartre and in the quarters of Belleville 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-bed 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 which they had over four hundred pieces, with an endless stock of ammunition; but
they would not be coaxed-they maintained that they were
Paris, and that Paris was France, and that an ultra-social
republic was the only government possible in the- country.
The mutineers had thus organized a Republic within a
Republic, setting the authority of the National Government at defiance. It was argued by many of the 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 bloodless victory might be obtained, as they were 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




THIERS APPEALS        TO THE PEOPLE.        25
arrested, and conveyed 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 envoy
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 courtmartial, and, if found guilty, shot; whereas the National
Guards declared they only 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:
" INHABITANTS OF PARIS, —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




26           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
of a part of the city, have constructed fortifications on
which they keep guard, and on which they force you to
mount guard with them by order of au unknown committee. They pretend alone to command a part of the National Guard, and do not recognize the authority of General 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 departure 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 yourselves. Finally, they have compromised the Republic instead of defending it, because if it once becomes the
opinion of France that the Republic is necessarily accompanied by disorders, the Republic is lost. Do not believe 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 removed 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 wellbeing, by the well-being of all France, not to prolong indefinitely 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
Chef du Pouvoir Executif
c^ ^~ /i~p7Cii~l/^ ^ra7~U'e-<s.(








NATIONAL GOVERNMENT PROCLAMATION. 27
paralyzed; credit will not revive in capitals, the government 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 public opinion, that they will thus hasten to restore peace in
the city, and render a service to the Republic 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 return-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 preparation 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 indispensable 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
Communist doctrines, and would hand over Paris to pillage
and send France to her grave, if the National Guard and
the army did not rise to defend with one common accord
their country and the Republic."
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 terrorism, 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 Republican
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 Pere 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 officers,
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 rappel was heard in all the
streets, a sound indicative of barricades and murder. An
attack was to be simultaneonsly made, on Montmartre by




THE   SIGNAL OF INSURRECTION.              29
General Susbielle, 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 IIanrion, of the same corps, on the
cite. At 4 o'clock the Buttes of Montmartre were completely surrounded by the 88th, 137th and 122d regiments
of the line, a battalion of the 17th chasseurs a pied, and
a few guardians of the peace. Mitrailleuses were in battery in Rue Houdon, Rue Durantin, Rue des Martyrs,
and Rue 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 pedestrians from going towards the Buttes. The windows were
crowded with spectators, and groups of women and children 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 Rue Lepic, Chaussee Clignancourt, 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 surrendered, declaring, if they had been left in charge, the
canaille of Versailles would have met with some resist



30           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
ance. One immense virago 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 remove 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
ac crosse en'air (reversed), shouting " Vive la Ligne," and
" Vive la Garde Nationale," while others, who had captured
a lieutenant-colonel of the line, were shouting " a mort!
c mort!," 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 moving down toward the city by the Rue Lepic, but at the
corner of the Rue des Abbesses another crowd opposed
the passage of the guns.  Men, women and children
caught hold of the bridles of the horses, and the artillerymen, not wishing to run over them, desisted in their attempt 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 Belleville 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 numbers, fraternizing with troops of the line who had either
reversed their muskets or abandoned them altogether.




THE FIRST CONFLICT.                  31
The General gave the order to the troops of the line to
advance and open a passage for the guns; the soldiers refused to move, shouting "Vive la Garde Nationale!" The
Chasseurs d'Afrique 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 Republique!" 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.
"'En 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
pieces in the midst of the chasseurs and gendarmes, killing 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 Repzblique!"
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 Republique!"
The 88th regiment of the line, which was stationed at the
corner of Boulevard Ornano and Rochechouart, withdrew
their bayonets from  their muskets, shouting " Vive la
Garde Nationale!"  The officers endeavored to resist,




32           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 without firing another shot. At the same time the artillerymen 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 surrendered by its escort to the insurgents-Arrest of Generals Lecomte and
Thomas-Their assassination-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 MontrougeBarricades erected in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine-Gendarmes dismounted
and disarmed-Proclamation of the Government-Events at the Hotel de
Ville-All 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 1lth ArrondissementMeeting 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 insurgents-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 provincesThe Government 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.
P    LACE PIGALLE, the centre of the Montmartre
insurrection, had      now    commenced      to assume its
ordinary movement. The corpse of the brave but unfortunate 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
O*




34          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
line, were now swarming with National Guards flushed
with victory, swaggering round superintending the construction 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 insurgents were blockading them now with barricades and
batteries, in which were 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 with a battery to the Boulevard Rochechouart. General Lecomte sent to him in the morning
for two pieces to place them nearer to the Butte. The
guns were escorted by a company of the line to support 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 Rouge,
his only crime being that he refused to cry " Vive la
Republique!" 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 Rue Marie-Antoinette, 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 insurgent, grasping the old man by the collar. He was
immediately assisted by others, who helped to drag the
General in the direction of Rue des Rosiers, in No. 6 of
which street the Republican Central Committee of Montmartre 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 implored 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,




36           THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
according to military usage, they 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 "Ldches! ladhes!" (" 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 holding 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. IHe 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. IHe succeeded in saving the lives of
the two young officers.
Towards four o'clock, the National Guards of Montmartre, who had collected.since the forenoon, commenced
a descent on Paris. About three battalions took the Rue
des Martyrs, where the groups cried out, without much
enthusiasm, " Vive Garibaldi!" "Vive la Republique!" 
The first body of these men marched very well, the second
worse, and the third carried their weapons with a careless



TIHE INSURGENT       HEADQUARTERS.           37
ness and indifference which 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 Rue des Martyrs, at the
junction of that street with the Boulevards Rochechouart
and Clichy. Behind it was placed a cannon on its carriage. Other barricades were erected on Rue GermainPilon, 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 officers 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 their 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 Rue de Charonne,
near the fountain; it was defended by several cannon
from La Roquette, 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 surrender their horses and sabres. Barricades were erected
on Rue Piat with one piece of cannon, on Rue Delamarre,
Rue Godfrey, Rue de la Roquette, Rue de Flandres, Rue
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 proclamation, addressed to the National Guards of the Seine, was
posted up in Paris:
PARIS, 18th March 1871.
"The Government calls on you to defend your city,
your homes, your property, and your families. Some misguided 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? Will 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 Republic 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 resolutely to re-establish the regime of the law, and to save
the Republic from anarchy, which would be its ruin. Rally




DEPUTATIONS AT THE HOTEL DE VILLE, 39
round your chiefs, for it is the only means of escaping
ruin and the domination of the foreigner.
" ERNEST PICARD,
"Minister of the Interior.
"D'AURELLE,
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 the principal scene of disturbance. As early as nine o'clock A. 3M., groups were
formed in the square before the Hotel de Ville, 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 c l igne!" "Vive la Re ublique!" 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 persons were for throwing him into the river, but moderate
counsels prevailed and he was removed in custody.  Another well-dressed person, about sixty, took advantage of
a moment of silence to raise the cry of " Vive l'Empereur! "
"A bas la Republiqze! "  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 Rue Legendre, came
to protest against the " surprise" and " treason " of Montmartre.




40          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
At the junction of the Boulevards Voltaire (formerly
Prince Eugene) and Richard 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, Rue
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 Chaumont 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,
wvere 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 National Guards held various posts of importance. At 5
o'clock the 6th battalion guarded the Rue Drouot; the
10th and 227th the Place de la Bourse; the 149th the
Mairie of the Bank Quarter; the Ist and 5th the Place Vendome; the 13th on the Rue de la Paix, on the side of the Rue
Rivoli; the 12th the Rue 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 explained, 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 Rohan looking on the Palais Royal 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




11TH ARRONDISSSEMENT ABANDONED.               41
was the abominable act perpetrated in the afternoon at
Montmartre, and of which Generals Lecomte and ClementThomas were the victims.
Early in the evening a body of some three thousand
National Guards, composed of the 64th and 172d battalions, belonging to the Montmartre quarter, approached
the Place Vendome without having encountered the
slightest resistance in the way. Arriving at the Rue de
la Paix, they found themselves confronted by the 1st battalion, Commandant Barre, who ordered the Montmartre
men to halt; but as they manifested the intention of continuing 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 Vendome was abandoned to the others, who shortly after occupied 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
d'etat 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 arrondissement, if you do not yourselves offer provocations to disorder 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 lan



42           THE PARIS COMIMUSE.
guage the grave responsibility he was incurring. 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 assembly an unusual importance. After discussion, a deputation was sent to M. Picard to come to an understanding
with 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 colleagues. The deputation next waited on General De
Paladines, who declared that he could not apply any remedy 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 commander-in-chief of the National Guards; 2. M. Edmonct
Adam as Prefect of Police; 3. M. Dorian, Mayor of Paris;
4. M. Billot, member of the National Assembly, commander of the army of Paris. M. Jules Fav.e replied
that he would submit those propositions to the government. 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 official




HOTEL DE VILLE TAKEN.                43
journal of the government, 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 entered. 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 windows to be closed, and the troops disappeared. The mob
then tried to break open the gates, and seizing a sentrybox, 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 National Guards fled in every direction
amidst screams and cries. The gendarmes afterward entered 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-Rouge 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 PARIS 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 proclamation was posted on the walls of Paris, addressed to
the National Guards of the city, signed by all the members of the government present:
March 19, 1871.
"A body, assuming 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 Republic, for they are abandoning 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 Republic 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 Con



CENTRAL COMMITTEE PROCLAMATIONS.              45
mittee, holding its sittings at the Hotel de Ville, with the
following heading:
"Republican Federation of the National Guard.
Organ of the Central Committee."
IOTEL DE VILLE, March 19.
"CITIZENS:-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 generous courage and your admirable sang-froid, we have expelled 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 Republic. In the
meantime we retain, in the name of the people, the Hotel
de Ville.
"Assi, Bilhoray, Ferrat,  abra cc, B Edouard,
iMoreau, C. Dupont, Varlin, Boursier,
Martier, Gushier, Lavalette, Fr. Jourde,
Rousseau, Ch. Lullier, Blanchet, J.
Grollard, Barroud, II. Geresme, Fabre,
Pougerot."
The following proclamation was also posted on the walls
of the city, addressed to the people, and signed by the
same names as above:
" CITIZENS:-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 Republic.
" 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




4 6          TIIE PARIS COIMMUNE.
of a Republic, acclaimed with all its consequences the
only government that will forever close the era of invasions and civil wars.
"The state of siege is raised. The population of the
capital is convoked in its sections for its communal elections. The safety of the citizen is assured by the assistance of the National Guard."
At 10 o'clock in the morning the. last of the regular soldiers had quitted the capital, and were on the way to Versailles. 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 half millions
of francs, had been removed in the night to Versailles.
About the same hour the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Marine and Prefecture of Police were all occupied
by the insurgents, and the entire public service was in the
power of the Central Committee, who drew up the following explanation which was posted on the walls and appeared in the official journal:
" If the Central Committee of the National Guard were
a government, it might, out of respect for the dignity of
its electors, disdain 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 Republic, 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 NAMES.           47
responsibility, which was great. It was not unknown, for
it was the free expression of the suffrages of 215 battalions
of the National Guard. It has not provoked disorders;
for the National Guards, which have 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 Republic. 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 knowntoo 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 COMMUNE.
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 indignation-the sanguinary filth with which they attempt
to sully our honor is an ignoble infamy. No 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? The
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 sufficiently 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 finding at the bottom the grasp of the loyal and robust hand.'
"Ant. Arnaud, Assi, Billioray, Ferrat, Babickc,
Ed. JMoreau, C. Dupont, Varlin, Boursier, Miortier, Gouhier, Lavalette, Fr.
Jourde, Rousseau, Ch. Lullier, Ienri
Fortune, G. Arnold, Viard, Blanchet,
J. Grollard, Barroud, H. Geresme, Fabre,
Pougeret, Bouit- Les membres du Comiite
central."




DECREE OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE.               49
The following decree was also issued:
"The 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 be taken by ballot and by arrondissement, 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 discussed the state of affairs in front of their piled arms. All
the shops were shut at that part of the Rue Rivoli. Barricades were raised with paving stones in the Avenue
Victoria, Rue de Rivoli, 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 detach3




50          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
ments were posted on the Quais des Lunettes and De
l'Horloge, the Rue Sainte Chapelle, the Boulevard Sevastopol, and the Rue de Jerusalem. In the interior, sentinels 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 Vendome were occupied by the 91st battalion from  Montmartre 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 Sunday, the 20th, for Versailles. M. Thiers left about noon.
One of the first acts of the government installed at Versailles was 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 manifestation 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, advanced 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 presenoe of the events which have just taken place in




THE PRUSSIAN      THREATS,            51
Paris, and which appear no longer to ensure the execution of the conventions as regards the future, the commander-in-chief of the army before Paris interdicts all
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 circumstance would lead to an opening of the fire from the forts
in question.
" FABRICE."
To which Jules Favre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, returned the following answer:
" VESAILLES, 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 condemning 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 unwilling, 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    PARIS    COMMUNE.
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 present 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 FAVYE."
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 departments.
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 National 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 PRUSSIANS' ADDRESS.                53
General Trochu declared the bill was not one of aggression 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 executioners 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 Leconte,
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 Assembly 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 Republic which was
now compromised by nefarious insurgents.
In the meantime the Central Committee received the
following communication from the Prussian headquarters
at Compiegne:
"COIPIEGNE, 21st March.
"The undersigned, commanding-in-chief, takes the
liberty to inform you that the German troops which
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   PARIS 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.
"VON SCHLOTHEIM,
Major- General."
To which Pasqual Grousset, Delegate for Foreign Relations, 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 Bordeaux."




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 Admiral 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-Mollin appointed Mayor of the 6th Arrondissement-M. Leroy takes possession of the Mairie-Is ejected by citizen Lullier
-Warehouses broken into by the mob-Chassepots sold for ten francsDeputation sent to Valerien-Second procession of the Order Party-Endeavormade to disperse the crowd-Shots fired-Frightful massacre-Ambulances collect the dead-Differences of opinion with regard to which party
fired the first shot-Account given by the official 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-Address of M. ArnaudTribune assigned to the Mayors-Their entrance-Their observations resented by the Right-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 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.
HERE 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 announcement that Admiral Saisset had been named Commanderin-Chief of the National Guards of the Seine, a leader
who, the     government thought, would           rally the men of
order, published the following declaration:




56          THE PARIS COMMU         E.
"The Government wished to avoid bloodshed, even
when provoked to it by the unexpected resistance of the
Central Committee of the National Guard. That opposition, 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 manceuvres, 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 conjuncture the Government, not wishing to engage in a sanguinary 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 administering 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 published two proclamations-one, to announce its assumption 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 inexplicable?  The Prussians are at our gates, and we have




ADMIRAL SAISSET TO COMMAND.               57
treated with them. But if the Government which signed
the preliminaries 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 fruitless; but that is not all-with this lamentable disorder
credit is destroyed and labor suspended. France not being
able to meet her engagements will 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 time has
come to return to reason and to take courage. The Government and the Assembly do not despair. They appeal
to the country and lean on it, decided as they are on following 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 was thought that 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 Assembly, 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 PAR IS COMMUNE.
"PARIS, March 23, 1871.
"DEAR FELLOW-CITIZENS:-I hasten to inform you
that, in accord with the Deputies of the Seine and the
Mayors of Paris, we have obtained from the Government
of the National Assembly:
"1. The complete recognition of your municipal franchise;
"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
Republic.
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 were 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 forthcoming 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 necessary 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 them declares war against us.
"We will accept the struggle, and will crush all resistance, 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 26th.
" 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,
Andignoux, Bouit, J. Bergeret, Babick,
Boursier, Baron, Billioray, Blanchet,
Castioni, Chouteau, C. Dupont, Ferrat,
Hcenri Fortune, Fabre, Fleury, Pougeret,
C. Gaudier, Gouhier, Guiral, Geresme,
Grollard, Josselin, F Jourde, iMaaxime
Lisbonne, Lavalette, Ch. Lullier, Maljournal, Moreau, Mortier, Prudhomme,
Rousseau, Ranvier, Varlin, Viard-Le
Conzite Central de la Garde Nationale.
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 convocation 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 committee 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 consider the convocation announced for the 22d of March as
null and void, and request the electors to regard it in that
light.
(Signed)
"Journal des Debats, Constitutionnel, Electeur Libre, Petite Presse, Verite, Figaro,
Gaulois, Paris Journal, Petit National,
Rappel, Presse, France, Liberte, Pays,
National, Univers, Cloche, Patrie, Francais, Bien Public, Union, Opinion Nationale, Journal des Villes et Campagnes,
Journal de Paris, Moniteur Universel,
France Nouvelle, Gazette de France,
AMessagcr 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, we
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




UNION    OF THE MEN     OF "ORDER."       61
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 Versailles 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,
traversed the boulevards and descended the Rue 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 Riepiblique!"  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 Assembly, they turned out and presented arms. The manifestation, which became more important every instant, then
resumed its march, and passing by the Rue Montmartre
and the boulevard of that name, came to the Rue Drouot.
At the Mairie, in that street, the guard, which was composed of the 117th battalion (one of the insurgent battalions) attempted to prevent the procession from passing;
but its members held firm, and insisted on pursuing their
way to the Rue Lafayette. In the end the malcontents
gave way, and the others went on with the same cry of
"Vive l'Ordre!"  They afterward traversed another part
of the boulevard and went down the Rue 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 bas 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




62          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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, particularly at each cry of " Vive'Assemblee Nationale! "
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 Rue de la Paix, and two more the Rue Castiglione; the
circulation was also stopped, and piquets were placed at
the corners 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 France; also to occupy
the different posts by National Guards, strangers in the
districts; in consequence of which the men of order belonging 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 TonyMollin 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 his municipal cabinet, Tony-Mollin being at that moment absent. But this
success was of short duration; for shortly after, Citizen
Lullier, one of the chiefs of the insurgents, presented himself with three battalions of the National Guard and reinstated M. Tony-Mollin.
A large storehouse of arms, belonging to the Government, in the Rue St. Dominique, and another on the
Boulevard de Latour-Maubourg, was broken into by a mob
in sympathy with the insurgents, and completely plun



THE PARTY OF "ORDER."                 63
dered of all their contents. Several officers of the National 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 exhausted, 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 the 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 directions. 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 possession of the National Guards, they sent a deputation
of three thousand men to demand the delivery of Mount
Valerien, the greatest stronghold in the vicinity of Paris,
situated at the west, and dominating nearly the whole
city.  The regular troops in the fort were much irritated at the demand. The colonel in command having
consented to parley with three of the National Guard,
declined their advances, ushered them through the gates,
and the 3000 men returned to the city. Had the insurgents 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'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 Republique!" "Vive l'Ordre!    "Vive l'Assemble'
Nationale!"  Between one and two o'clock a picket of
insurrectionary National Guards advanced by the Rue de
de la Paix, with an order to disperse this peaceable multitude. At sight of the menacing attitude of these armed
men, the crowd commenced to shout: "Vive l'Ordre!"
" Vive l'Assemble Nationale!" 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' Ordre!" " Vive la Rdpublique!" " Vive l'AssembleS
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' Ordre!" "Vive l'Assemble Nationale!"  A group of
citizens, who had arrived by the way of Rue Neuve des
Capucines, carrying a tricolored flag, advanced to the
front, where the Guards barred the passage. As they
advanced, the cries of " Vive l'Ordre!" 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 denoziment of the affair. Vanquished
by this pacific and patriotic manifestation, some of the
guards raised the butt-end of their muskets, others peaceably 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 immediately followed by five others, which caused the multitude 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 Rue 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 Reepublique!" "Tirez done, tas
d'assassins." A rush was then made by the National
Guard, who arrested all who had not run away, and conveyed 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 Rue Rivoli, to prevent any one from passing.
Half-an-hour afterwards a strong body escorted the persons 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 Rue de la Paix and in the adjoining
streets. They were mostly carried inside the Place Vendome, and ranged in a row upon a long table in the build



66           THE   PARIS COMMUNE.
ing of the Credit Mobilier; others, that were at once recognized, were carried off on brancards in different directions. 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
l'Opera, they met a body of the National 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 assassins! Look at the blood of Place Vendome!" the soldiers 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
officer 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 National 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 Rue de la Paix, and who saw the 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        22D.        67
fired first on the crowd. The official journal of the Cominittee 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 Rue de la Paix. In the first ranks an excited group, amongst whom the National Guards 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 Rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin, the demonstrators surrounded, disarred, 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 Neuve-des-Petits-Clhamps.
"The first rank had received orders to raise the buttends 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 recommended 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 bas les Assassins!
A bas le Comite!' and the nationals were grossly in



68           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
suited.  They were called' Murderers!'Cowards!''Brigands!' Some furious individuals seized their muskets, 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 commencem.ent 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 comrades hesitated, and fired in the air. The agitators strove
to break the lines and disarm the National Guard. Some
shots were heard, and the crowd suddenly dispersed.
General Bergeret instantly ordered the firing to cease,
and his officers aided his efforts. However, other detonations 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 Franqois, belonging to the 7th and 215th
battalions; eight were wounded: namely, Maljournal,
Cochet, Miche, Ancelot, Legat, Reyer, Train, and Laborde.
"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-PetitsChamps, on the Place Vendome side, with his face to the
ground. The fact is clear that he was struck by his companions, 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.




GENERAL BERGERET'S REPORT.              69
"A large number of revolvers and sword-sticks were
picked up in the Rue de la Paix and taken to the EtatMajor.
"Doctor Rambow, formerly surgeon at the camp of
Toulouse, living 32 Rue de la Victoire, and a number
of other medical men, hastened to attend the wounded
and sign the official 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 Bergeret, who was able to restrain the just indignation of the
National Guards, more serious accidents were avoided."
Most of the men killed and wounded, 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 Rue 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 suffrage. This effected, the elections will approve 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 advantage 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
and showed a disposition to drive the National Guards
from their position.
" I wished to parley with them, but they refused, with
characteristic monarchical intolerance, and hissed and
shouted. They retired, threatening to return the following day. On Wednesday they again prepared a demonstration, and some were armed. I placed men in the
Rue 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 sufficient 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 comrades fall, fired at the crowd, and killed five and wounded
fifteen or twenty. The mob then dispersed in great confusion, 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."




REQUISITIONS.                   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 attacking the insurgents; but he, or the generals in command,
knew their duties better. It would have been sheer madness 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 shopkeepers 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, FRATERNITY.
"IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC.
" REQUISITIONS.
" MONEY-PROVISIONS.
"In case of refusal, Citizen Albert, charged with the
commission, may get himself assisted by the National
Guards of the quarter.   (Signed)   " LULLIEN,
" Member of the Federation."




72           THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
There were two stamps on this paper-one with the
words " Republique Fran aise," and the other "Federation
ReJpublicaine."  Thus had a revolution 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.
"Report from  20th to 21st. Nothing 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 28th battalion, was similarly
put to death."
Seeing the danger of allowing matters to proceed in the
above manner, the principal mayors of Paris, in conjunction with the deputies of the city, most of whom were
advanced Republicans, desired to make a compromise with
the Committee, and hold the elections at once; but the
Government of Versailles refused to sanction this compromise, 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 advantages of compromising with the insurgents; but their




DEBATE IN THE ASSEMBLY.                73
arrival was ill-timed-the Assembly was 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!''Five'Assemblee Nationale!' 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 protesting 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 himself 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 municipal functionaries. (Protests on the Right.) 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 commission, which he had fulfilled conscientiously. He wished
to observe, as they had all come together, and been jointly
delegatedOn the Right.-" By whom?"   (Great noise.)
4




74          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Several Voices.-" Was it by the existing executive?"
M. Flouquet.-" You desire, then, the continuation of
the civil war?"  (Renewed disturbance.)
M. Arnaud believed he had no occasion to give any explanations, 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 strengthened 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 simple than to
reconcile the rights, prerogatives, and interests of the Assembly, which must never be sacrificed, with the deference 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 municipal functionaries, that would receive full satisfaction.
A tribune should be placed at their disposal, and he believed 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 office. The whole Assembly
at once rose and welcomed them with loud applause, the
Left with cries of " Vive la France!" and " Vive la Republique!" and the Right with the former alone. The
mayors responded with some exclamations for France and
the Republic, when fifty or sixty members of the Right,
pointing to them, called out: "Order! order! They do




A STORMY SESSION.                 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! Respect your President!"
M. Floquet, to the Right.-" 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 frequent 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 National 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' residence.
A number of the mayors, immediately after their return
to Paris, without waiting for any action to be taken on




76          THE PARIS 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 Committee 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 appeared.
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 action 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 rejected the proposal by a large majority.
The official organ of the Central Committee continued
to publish daily decrees of more or less importance. Following 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 opposed by several battalions of that body and a portion of
the press, which stigmatized the movement of the Committee as the act of communists, pillagers, and insurgents; another implored the citizens of Paris to repair in
crowds to the voting places; another appointing com



GARIBALDI TO COMMAND.                 77
manders of their forces, which said: "Considering that the
situation exacts rapid measures; that on all sides the superior 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 constituted the sole legal power in Paris; the Committee decrees
that the military powers of the capital are placed in the
hands of the Delegates Brunel, 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 traitors will be foiled.' Vive la Republique!' The Committee 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 seizing 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, Ronen, &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 everywhere.'Vive la France!'Vive
la Republique!' "
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 insurrectionary movement now commenced in Lyons, which




78           THE PARIS 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 Jlarseillaise
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, but 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 following 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 National Guards who had at first supported them, decided
to retire, which they did after drawing up a paper declaring 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 PREFECT MURDERED.                  79
their powers. The next morning a battalion devoted to the
cause of order came to take possession of the municipal
edifice, and re-establish the tri-colored flag, in the midst
of cries, a thousand times repeated, of' Vive la Republique!" "Vive l'Assemnble 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 supposed to be over. The murderer, however, was immediately 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 fusion, 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 people. 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
fusionists. The committee, however, in publishing their
version, modified and changed the wording, without giving
any notice to the mayors, making it read:
"The Central Committee of the National Guard to
which the deputies, mayors, and adjoints of Paris have
rallied, being convinced that the only way to avoid civil
war, and also strengthen the Republic," 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 Republic, it
is necessary to proceed immediately to the elections, convoke the electors for Sunday in their respective colleges.
"Signed by the representatives of the Seine present in
Paris"'. Lockroy, Ch. Floquet, G. Clemenccau,
Tolain, and Greppo-also by some of the
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. Tiraud, 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 FOR A VOTE.                  81
"PARIS, March 25th, 1871.
cCITIZENS:-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 has 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 we
could for the ordinary law to be 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 convey the legitimate complaints of those who wish that
Paris should not be at the same time deprived of its situation as capital and of its municipal rights, which belong
to all the towns and communes of the Republic. Neither
your elected mayors nor your representatives in the Assembly 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 energetic Republicans, 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 JRepublique!
"Schelcher, Floquet, Lockroy, Clemenceau,
Tolain, Greppo-the Representatives of
tle Seine present in Paris."
4*




82           TIE   PARIS COMMUNE.
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 have 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 manceuvres, 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       OF COMMITTEE.          83
Central Committee attracted crowds of readers in the
streets:' PARIS, 26th March.
"At the moment we write the Central Committee will
have de jure, if not de facto, ceded its place to the Commune. 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 conquer 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 different, and perhaps its means also. Before everything it
will have to define its mandate and determine its attributes. 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 accomplished, it will have to consider the means of making
recognized and guaranteed by the central power, whatever 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           THE PARIS COMM0UNE.
"To a usurpation of power the new body will not have
to respond by a similar step. Federated with the communes 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 the fact is
clear that it will have to contain the guarantee of the
autonomy and sovereignty reconquered by the municipality. In the second place, it will have to assure the free
play of the relations between the Commune and the representatives 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 national unity, the destroyed social equilibrium, cannot be
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. Arnaud, G. Arnold,
Assi, 5Andignoux, Bouit, J. Bergeret,
Babick, Barou, Billioray, Blanchet,
Castioni, Chouteau, C. Dutpont, Ferrat,
Fabre, Fleury, Fougeret, C. Gaudier,
Gouhier, Guiral, Geresme, Grolard, Josselin, F. Jourde, Lavalette, Maljournal,
Ed. Moreau, Prudhomme, Rousseau,
Ranvier, Varin, 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 de VilleCommissioners appointed by the Commune-Proclamations-Decrees-The
red flag floats from the Tuileries-Absolute Power of the Commune-SubCommittee of eleven members-Garibaldi-Opinions of the Communist
Journals-Post-office 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 insurgents, 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 aidc-decamp taken prisoner.
T    HE   elections passed off quietly throughout the oity,
except in one or two quarters where the controversy between the adherents of the Commune, or insurgents, 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 candidates were returned by large majorities. The Conservative 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 arrondissements elected candidates representing the fusion between
the Committee and the Advanced Republicans; 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, who,
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 " TradesUnion." 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 Socialism 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 disinterestedness 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 supposed to withdraw   and leave the
Hotel de Ville to the newly constituted authorities. Such,
however, was not, it would seem, their intention, as everything remained on Monday morning guarded as before.








MIOT
Gommune of Par7 s
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 demissionnaires:
Adam, d6missionnairc; Amouroux; Arnauld (Antoine);
Arnould (Arthur); Alix, a Mazas; Andrieux; Arnold;
Assi; Avrial.
Babick; Barre, demissionnaire; Brelay, demissionnaire;
Blanchet, a Mazas; Beslay, d6missionnaire; Brunel; Billioray; Bouteiller (de), demissionnaire; Blanqui, detenu;
Briosne, a refuse; Bergeret.
Cheron, d6missionnaire; 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, demissionnaire; Frankel (Leo); Ferre; Flourens, mort.
Gerardin; Goupil, demissionnaire; Gambon; Geresme;
Gerardin (Charles), en fuite avec Rossel; Grousset (Paschal); Garibaldi (M.), a refuse.
Jourde; Johannard.
Loiseau, demissionnaire; Lefranqais; Ledroit; Leroy,
demissionnaire; Lef6vre, demissionnaire; Langevin; Lonclas; Longuet.
Meline, demissionnaire; Murat, demissionnaire; Mortier; Meillet (Leo); Martelet; Marmottan, demissionnaire; Malon; Miot (Jules).
Nast, demissionnaire.
Ostyn; Oudet.




88           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Protot; Puget; Pillot; Pyat (Felix); Philippe; Parent
(Ulysse), demissionnaire; Parisot; Pottier; Pindy.
Ranc, demissionnaire; Ranvier; Rogeard, a refuse; Rochard, demissionnaire; R$egre; Robinet, demissionnaire;
Rossel, en fuite; Rigault (Raoul); Rastoul.
Serrailler; Sicard.
Tirard, demissionnaire; Tridon; Theisz; Trinquet.
Urbin.
Vaillant; Verdure; Varlin; Valles (Jules); Vermorel;
Vesinier; Viard.
These individuals formed the Commune, which was
only a new name for the Central Committee, whose members, instead of retiring into private life, as was inferred
from their official announcement the day before the election, evidently intended to stay where they were. On the
Place Vendome the precautions taken were considerably
more minute and searching than previously, and an immense barricade was erected at the southern end, furnished
with pieces of cannon pointed against the Rue Castiglione,
and the Rue St. Ilonore, 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 lie 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




TIE VOTE POR THE COMMUNE.                  89
above was concealed with a crimson curtain. A   platform ornamented with a bust of a female figure representing the Republic, had been erected in front of the
building, and on it were placed arm-chairs for the accommodation of the Committee. Cannon were drawn up on
the square, which was also occupied by about 20,000 National 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 was now transferred to the Commune. He then read aloud the names
of the Councillors elected. Cries of " Vive cla Repzublique!"
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 present, 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 represented 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 occupants 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
special function. It abdicated the first, but retained the
second. What did that mean, and in what consisted that
attribution which escaped the Commune? The sequel
will illustrate.
The Communists were divided into the following committees, the record of which is taken from the first
number of the official Journal of the Commune, published 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,
R6gere.
COMMISSION MILITAIRE.
Les citoyens: Pindy, Eudes, Bergeret, Duval, Chardon,
Flourens, Ranvier.
COMMISSION DE LA JUSTICE.
Les citoyens: Ranc, Protot, Leo Meillet, Vermorel,
Ledroit, Babick.
COIMISSION DE SURETE GENERALE.
Les citoyens: Raoul Rigault, Ferre, Assi, Cournet,
Oudet, Chalain, Gerardin.
COMMISSION DES SUBSISTANCES.
Les citoyens: Dereure, Champy, Ostyn, Clement, Parizel, Emile Clement, Henry Fortune.
COMMISSION DU TRAVAIL.-INDUSTRIE ET ECHANGE.
Les citoyens: Malon, Frankel, Theisz, Dupont, Avrial,
Loiseau-Pinson, Eug. Gerardin, Puget.








M. EEl
MEGY
Commune of Paris
16 71




PROCLAMATION OF THE COMMUNE.               91
COMMISSION DES RELATIONS EXTERIEURES.
Les citoyens: Delescluze, Ranc, Paschal Grousset.
Ulysse Parent, Arthur Arnould, Ant. Arnauld, Ch.
Girardin.
COMMISSION DES SERVICES PUBLICS.
Les citoyens: Ostyn, Billoray, J. B. Clement, Mardelet, Mortier, Rastoul.
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. 29th Mar., 1871.
" CITOYENS:-Your Commune is constituted.
"The vote of the 26th of March has sanctioned the
victorious revolution.
" A cowardly aggressive power had taken you by the
throat. You have in your legitimate defence repulsed
from your walls this Government which wished to dishonor 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 institutions that will defy all attacks.
"You are masters of your destinies. Strong in your




92           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
support, the representatives whom you have 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 Republic.
They will be sure to do their duty.
" LA COMMUNE DE PARIS."
"' HOTEL DE VILLE, 29th Mar., 1871.
"THE COMMUNE OF PARIS DECREES" st. The Conscription is abolished.
" 2d. No military force other than the 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 YILE,, 29th 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,
(C 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. a. All notices to quit may be prorogued for three
months, at the pleasure of the tenant.
" LA COMMUNE DE PARIS."'
There were several other decrees issued the first day of
more or less importance: one prohibiting government
officials from receiving orders from the Versailles government; another prohibiting any proclamation emanating
from Versailles being posted on the walls; another appointing 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'AumAle 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 be warned and act!!! "
In reading the official organ of the Commune, one cannot 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 Frenchmen 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
meeting, club, or tendency, just on the morrow of a war
of invasion which ravaged her territory,-France was invited to pass from unity, the work of so many ages, to the
federation of medieval times! Strange indeed are the
surprises in the lives of nations, and above all, in the
movements of great cities I
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 assuredly 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 LoiseauPinson, sat side by side as members of the Central Committee, 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 spectacle 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 unityuniversal 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 himself and eleven other members, viz., Cluseret, Bergeret,
Henry, Gasnier, Babick, Avoine, Jr., Avrial, Maljournal,
Duval, Geresme, and General Garibaldi as honorary president.  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 maintenance of order in the city, and the payment of the civic
force. All accusations of treason against the Republic
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 Liberte, published the following, for which and other articles in opposition to the
Commune that journal was suppressed:
" The journal official of the Commune has confided the
military powers to three delegates,' in awaiting 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 occasions admired his resignation, his patriotism, his abnegation, 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 Rome, 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           TIHE PARIS COMMUNE.
General; he could with a gesture, with a single word,
have stirred up to rebellion Sicily, Naples, and Central
Italy; all this he could have done, but he scorned the
action; he surrendered himself and his voluuteers 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 Fort 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 terminated 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 Vengeur, on the ground that it was incomplete, in
consequence of the resignation of the deputies of Paristhat 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 recommended the "rurals" of Versailles to go and die in their
cow-houses. The Nouvelle IRpublique 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 Duchene 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 Postoffice, sent word to the director that, considering the disorder 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, chief 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 insurgents 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, commenced 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    COMMUNE.
the cause of order. They reorganized the franc-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 National 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 their 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 attacks appear to have been contemplated in the plan devised
by the Commune. The first commenced toward Sevres,
early in the morning; and 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 engagement 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 surprise 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,




BRAVERY     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 considerable 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, however, started too early and in too small numbers, and were
in a very short time completely disorganized. At 8 o'clock
reinforcements arrived and raised the number of the insurgents to 20,000 men, with thirty-six guns. They re-formed
ranks by degrees, and again assumed the offensive. Scattered bands concealed in the woods, in gardens, behind
walls, and in the old Prussian trenches, kept up a desultory fire on the regular troops, who continued to increase
in numbers as they advanced, and eventually became masters of the ground. But towards four o'clock new reinforcements 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 Versailles troops were in admirable order and admirably commanded, 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 battalions and fugitives entered the city pell-mell.
The column commanded by General Eudes (a liberated




100          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
murderer in the service of the Commune), numbering
some 35,000 men, passed by Fontenay-au-Roses and
Plessis-Piquet, and entered the road from Sceaux to Versailles. They arrived without difficulty at Le Petit Bicetre, where the road is joined by that of Choisy-le-Roi.
Iere 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 were 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 Chatillon 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, originator and stirrer-up of revolutions, second in command, left
Porte Maillot on the night of the 2d of April, intending
to pass through Neuilly, Nanterre and Rueil, 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 "I Versailles!" "  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 Navy,
and composed of two regiments of the line, some sailors,
mounted gendarmes, chasseurs d'Afrique, and two mitrailleuses, were sent in the middle of the night to AIont
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 the bridge of Courbevoie. Two of the insurgents 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 COMMIUNE.
columns of the Commune, which were effecting a movement toward Courbevoie. At the same time Mont Valerien sent at them a few shell and boite-d-mitraille (grapeshot). 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 confusion. 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: "Generals Bergeret and Flourens have 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 protected, 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 PRpublique!' 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 FLOURENS' 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 20,000
men who went out this way."
"Where did he get the men?"
"Oh, he has them!" and "General Bergeret fought
like a tiger. He had two horses killed under him."
" Before him you mean," shouted one of the crowd; "as
he went out in a victoria."
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 Rueil, 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 wineshops and private houses; the bread and provision shops
were requisitioned, the dealers receiving tickets of the Commune in payment for their wares. Barricades were constructed in the streets and across the wide avenue in the
direction of St. Germain; scouts were thrown out along the
Seine, and Flourens took up his headquarters near the railway 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 National Guards were conducted to Versailles as prisoners.
At 4 o'clock P. M. of this eventful day, as the mounted




104         THE PARIS COM MUNE.
gendarmes were searching the village of ChAtou for runaway or secreted insurgents, the celebrated Flourens was
tracked to his hiding-place by some soldiers. On entering the room where he had taken refuge, the first gendarme received a bullet in the shoulder, fired from a
revolver by Flourens. Before he could draw again, an
officer 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 Cypriani, 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 account 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 republicism, cosmopolitan revolutions, and misdirected intellect.




CH-APTER V.
Proclamation of the Marquis de Gallifet-Threat of the Communists —Imprisonment of Assi-Grade of General abolished-Dombrowski appointed Commandant of Paris-Attack on Chatillon-Death of General Duval-Decree
rendering military service obligatory for all men between the ages of nineteen and forty-Pretexts adopted for escape from the city-Rochefort instigates 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's Letter-Capture of Courbevoie by the Versailles troops-The bridge of Neuilly taken-Shells fall at the Arc de Triomphe-Persecution of the Clergy-Imprisonment of the Archbishop of
Paris-Conflict of the Commune and Central Committee-Bergeret incarcerated-Despatch of Dombrowski-The fight at Courbevoie-Attack on the
insurgent outposts at Issy-Account given by General Cluseret-The Committee of Conciliation.
T   HE    shooting 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.           Yesterday, 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 grotesque body at Paris which calls itself the Commune.
" GALLIFET,
"General of Brigade."
5*




106        THE    PARIS   COMMUNE.
This proclamation was made known to the inhabitants
of Chatou 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 Republic will render themselves subject to the laws of war.
" LAUBEUF,
" 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, instead of stopping this bloodshed at the beginning, stimulated 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:
" CITIZENS:-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 condemns to death all soldiers fighting against their flag.'
"That horrible avowal requires no commentary, and




CLUSERET DELEGATE OF 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 Republicans combat. The Republic must conquer!"
" The people of Versailles murder the Republican prisoners 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 reply. 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 Commune, in which he declared that that body was going beyond 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 with decrees emanating from
the War Department. He issued an address to the National 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         TIE PARItS COMMUNE.
concluded by announcing that any officer who added embellishments 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 garrison of Paris, in the place of Citizen Bergeret, summoned
to other functions."
On the 4th of April, the day following the combined
movement for the capture of Versailles, numerous fresh
battalions were sent out to reinforce those which had
been dispersed by the panic, and the struggle recommenced, but without being more fortunate.  Notwithstanding 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 upon the heights of Chatillon, and were answered 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 Vanves 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 Versailles 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 exception of those on the side of Clamart and Meudon.




RESULT OF THE      THREE DAYS.          109
The Versailles troops confined themselves to a defensive
attitude, having had no intention at this time to march
on Paris. They were satisfied at stopping the offensive
movement of the battalions of the Commune, which had
attempted in every direction to force a passage to Versailles.
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 up 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 Versailles, viz., Mont Valerien, the Chateau of Meudon, and
the plateau of Chatillon. Of the three columns of attack,
the first directed on Rueil by Mont Valerien, was dispersed 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 Versailles. 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 number of National Guards who are anxious, although married,
to share in the honor of defending their municipal inde



110          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
pendence, even at the price of their life, the decree of the
5th 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. CLUSERET,
"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 insurgents, 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.          ll
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 Rue Lhomond, and placed all the fathers under arrest.
They then searched the house from top to bottom, breaking the furniture and sacking the cupboards; and finally
descended to the cellars, where they gorged themselves
with wine destined for the use of the establishment.
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
the fathers of the Saint-Esprit and the Dominicans, who
were also taken to prison.
These and similar acts of plunder were the result of
Rochefort's articles in the Mot d'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 proprietors 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.




112         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 Commander 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 centralization 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.
H]e added, that if France had the good fortune to find a
Washington, she would speedily rise greater than ever.
The official organ of the insurgents published the following proclamation:
"Whereas the Government of Versailles is openly trampling 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 Commune 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 verdict 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 Commission:
"CITIzENs: 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 us 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 youngest 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 follows: 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 recommend the National Guards to direct all their attention to
the choice of their chiefs. At present, the respective positions of the two armies may be thus described: The
Prussians of Versailles occupy the positions of their con



114         TIIE PARIS COMMUNE.
geners from beyond the Rhine. 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 themselves. In concluding, Citizens, I believe that if our
troops preserve their coolness and husband their ammunition, the enemy will be tired out before we are. There
will then only remain, of this mad and criminal attempt,
the widows and the orphans, the recollection of an atrocious action, with the contempt which it involves.
GENERAL E. CLUSERET,
"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 Exterior Relations:
"PARIS, April 5, 1871.
"The undersigned Member of the Commune of Paris
and Delegate for Foreign Relations, has the honor to notify you officially of the constitution of the Communal
Government of Paris. He begs you to inform your Government of it, and takes this opportunity of expressing
the desire of the Commune to draw closer the ties of fraternity which unite the people of Paris to the
nation.
"Accept, &c., &c.,
"C PASCIAL GROUSSET."
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. Nevertheless, the struggle still continued, and the army of Versailles, remaining on the defensive, Paris, as every one
knew, could only subsist materially by commerce and
manufactures.  The city not producing any objects of




PAS C  -t. AL.. ('; t'Of TS'SST'} I"t
5 8t 7 1








RESOURCES OF PARIS.                115
consumption 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 commerce 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 partisans of the Commune could not contradict it when it
was affirmed, that the prolongation of the situation discarded absolutely all hope of a resumption of labor. Total 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 provisions.  The military impotence of the Commune reduced Paris to subsisting only at the good pleasure of
Versailles.
Early on the morning of the 7th of April, Mont Valerien 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 evident that no defeat was anticipated by the Commune in
that quarter, as, on the preceeding day, the General commanding the troops in Paris addressed the following letter
to the Executive Committee:




116          THE PARIS COM3MUNE.
"DEAR 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 beloved Paris is excellent; our forts are provided with ammunition, 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 adversaries, 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 our
strength, and leave to time-a few days only- the task of
showing to our enemies their weakness and our force.
JULES BERGERET."
It will be seen, however, that Bergeret was laboring
under a most erroneous idea of the strength of the position.
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 National 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 the insurgents.
The holders of the village were without cannon, and
had no serious defensive works, and, as usual, at the moment 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 the bridge,
but could not be used, as the road was encumbered with
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 with the Avenue Neuilly)
then commenced to shell the Avenue Neuilly, and for a
long time prevented the troops from reconstructing the
barricade. Gradually the insurgents abandoned the combat, 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 demilune, restored the barricade, and established themselves
behind it, though not without considerable loss.
At the close of the day, Neuilly was completely abandoned by the National Guards. Colonel Bourgoin, who
was intrusted with the defence of the barricade by Bergeret, died bravely fighting behind it.  This officer was
formerly an aide-de-camp to Flourens, when he was fighting the Turks in the Cretean insurrection.




118          THE   PARIS    COMMUNE.
During the afternoon, while the combat was taking
place at the bridge of Neuilly, all the space between the
Arc de Triomphe to within a short distance of the Maillot gate was filled with a crowd of men, women, and children, probably ten thousand people, all looking at the
fight with the greatest anxiety. Telescopes, field-glasses,
tables, chairs, and benches, 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 scattering 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, when
suddenly an immense obus 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 Triomphe. 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, public 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 lessened three-quarters by falling on the face as a shell arrives; but many forget until all danger is over, and then
it appears most ridiculous to see them drop. The experience 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




PERSECUTION      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 necessary 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 l'Imperatrice, 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 insurgents 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 southwest the forts of Vanves
and Issy continued to send shells on the plateau of Chatillon, 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 dislodged the insurgents from the slope nearest Issy.
A veritable persecution had now commenced against
the churches and clergy of Paris by order of the Commune. Monseigneur Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris;
M. Deguerry, cure of the Madeleine, the cure of NotreDame-des-Victoires, the cure of Saint Severin, the cur6
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 a loue"-" This shop to let."
Not only was the wealth of the different churches declared
the property of the Commune, but also the private property of the clergy was confiscated, and no ecclesiastic




120          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
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 Committee 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 Cluseret'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
hia 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 war, 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
Russian authorities. He had been transported to Siberia
and escaped, after having traversed all Russia at the peril
of his life, arriving in France in 1865.
A despatch from the new commandant, Dombrowski,




LOSSES AT THE NEUILLY         BRIDGE.    121
was received on the morning of the 10th of April, announcing 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 following announcement:
April 10.
"The troops have definitely installed themselves in
their positions at Asnieres. Iron-plated wagons are commencing their operations, and by their movement on the
lines of Versailles and Saint-Germain, 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 Neuilly, as far
as the Rond-point of the Boulevard du Roule, returning
by the gate of the Ternes. The situation at the PorteMaillot is much improved, in consequence of the diminution 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.
" DOMBROWSKI."
According to the Mfot d'Ordre, Rochefort'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




122          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Communists had met with a decided defeat, and the following correspondence from the Versailles army verifies
the view as seen from Paris:
" At none of the encounters between the Prussians and
the French around Paris did I see more severe fighting
than on Friday evening at the Courbevoie end of the
bridge of Neuilly. There was one barricade there and
another on the middle of the bridge; it had been resolved
to carry those barricades on Friday, with the view of
opening a way to Paris by the Avenue de Neuilly. The
division of General Montaudon was marched to Courbevoie for the purpose, and that General directed the movements. Generals Pechot and Besson were also on the
ground. I saw the action from the glacis of Val6rien.
At 3 o'clock the enemy opened fire, Valerien throwing 14
and 28 pound shells from 7 and 14 pound guns against
Porte Maillot and the insurgents' batteries on the ramparts close to that gate. At the same moment the fire
of eight 7-pounders and of four 12-pounders was directed
on the tete de pont at the right bank of the river from the
Courbevoie road and open space to the left, and the cannon and mitrailleuses of Montaudon's division enfiladed
the avenue leading down to the enceinte.
"The insurgents vigorously replied with heavy guns
from Porte Maillot and the ramparts, and with a mitrailleuse battery on the banks of the river close to the island.
The troops possessed themselves of the houses at the
angles of Puteaux and Courbevoie, and from these, at
half-past three, commenced a chassepot fire on the insurgents.  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 Courbevoie 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, but they got under
cover.
" Troops entered the wood and gave them chase; they
ran across towards the Porte Maillot.  The National
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 exploded and killed General Besson on the spot. The firing
of artillery was still very hot; but at four o'clock the fusillade 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 conclusion 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 Versailles to supply the place of the division of General




121-         THE   PARIS   COMMUNE.
Miontaudon, who had been wounded. By some bad
management, the insurgents were allowed to regain possession 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 the
ground from morning till night, but no attempt at storming the insurgent position was made. The artillery combat was renewed early and continued till dark, and the
troops succeeded in occupying the houses in the Avenue
de Neuilly as far as the church; but the infantry operations 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 spectators were out to witness the performance. I saw a large
body of National Guards prepare to march down from the
Are 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 Courbevoie 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 NIGHT     ATTACK.              125
pied by National Guards. To the south of Paris the Versailles 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 Bagneux and the left, whence the insurgents were seen retreating. 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
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 been expected 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 11th:
"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 disgrace. 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  DELEGATION      TO  VERSAILLES.       127
opinion that this grand demonstration is meant to cover
a surprise towards the Porte Maillot and Neuilly, 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 Vanves. The Versailles troops advanced 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 Versailles 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 composed of seven members-a president, two officers, two
sub-officers, and as many privates. A Council of Discipline 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 penalties en usage, subject to the ratification of a Court of
Revision.
The Chambers of Commerce of Paris, representing
nearly eight thousand merchants, manufacturers and traders, 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 maintainance and affirmation of the Republic.




128          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 themselves in communication with a committee of seven members of the Left, in
conjunction with whom they drew up the following outline 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 solution. 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 tie Committee cf Conciliation; recognition of the right of the Municipal Council
thus chosen to submit to the Assembly certain propositions 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 examination of the Municipal Council, and for the 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.
Barth6lemy Saint-Hilaire, who manifested the greatest




INTERVIEW     WITH TIIIERS.          129
sympathy with the object of our mission, and procured for
us an interview with MI. Thiers. The Chief of the Executive Power, to whom the terms of the powers we had
received from the Syndical Chambers had been communicated, replied very categorically to the two points mentioned above. With respect to the maintenance of the
Republic, he affirmed to us,' on his honor,' in the clearest
and most positive language, that never, he living and in
power, the Republic 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, notwithstanding the personal tendencies of certain individuals or
groups in the Chamber, 500 deputies at least would support him in that order of ideas; and that, in fine, the Republic, 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 Government than the application of the common law, as established by the municipal bill which the Chamber was
ahout 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 municipalist 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 ratified explicitly any of its dispositions, nor formally contested any of them; and the explanations exchanged
on various paragraphs, especially on that relative to the
6*




130          THE PARIS      COMMUNE.
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 possessing any authority to treat further, thought fit to return
to Paris and report progress.




CHAPTER 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-Formation 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 Government accused of procrastination-Deputations to VersaillesAddress 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 ClichyExplosion tf 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 the Park of
Neuilly-Proclamation announcing an armistice at Neuilly-Expectation of
a grand attack-Attack on Levallois by the troops-Repulsed by Dombrowski..M\      JULES FAVRE, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
passed the entire day of the 9th of April with
General Fabrice in the German headquarters at Rouen.
The object of his journey was to ascertain for the Government 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 headquarters 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         TTHE PARIS COMMUNE.
ernment of Versailles for the execution of the preliminaries of peace, and in case the latter should have effected
the payment of a sum of 500 millions of francs, the Communal delegate demands the evacuation 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 Government had paid any portion of the war debt, they wished
to take advantage of it.
M. Jules Favre, in communicating to the National Assembly the result of his mission, added that the German
authorities sent no reply; and the Minister then, referring to the attitude of Prussia relating to the events
then going on in Paris, declared that the Cabinet at
Berlin 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-etMarne, 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 consequently transferred entirely to German military commanders. The civil authority will, nevertheless, continue
to exercise those functions of which it has not been deprived by the military governors.
"Art. 3. The German military tribunals are competent to try crimes and offences against the safety of the
German troops, or against public order, whatever may




SACRILEGIOUS CONDUCT.                 133
be the position of the principal accused or their accomplices.
" Art. 4. The German military authority has the right1. To make perquisitions by day or by night in the dwellings of the inhabitants; 2. To remove released convicts
and individuals not having a residence in the localities subject 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 portion 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 requisitions 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, while that of Jesus was
clothed in the uniform of a Versailles soldier, a pipe 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 motives 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 dragging France under the heels of the scoundrels Bonaparte,




134          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
Favre, and Trochu, the delegate of Les Carrieres at the
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 exPrefecture of Police and brought before the citizen delegate, the notorious atheist, Raoul Rigault, who demanded
his name.
"My children," replied the venerable man, whose hair
was whitened with the frost of eighty winters.
"Citizen," interrupted the delegate Rigault, who was
not quite thirty years old, "you are not before children,
but in presence of a magistrate."  "What is your profession? "
" I am a servant of God."
" Where does he live?" interrogated Rigault.
"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 warrant for the arrest of his Master, one called God, 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 proclamations of these vandals:
" PARIS, April 12, 1871.
"THE COMMUNE OF PARI —Considering that the imperial column in the Place Vend6me is a monument of
barbarism, a symbol of brute force and false glory, an
affirmation of militarism, a negation of international law,




THE COLUMN VENDOME.                 135
a permanent insult cast by the victors on the vanquished,
a perpetual attack on one of the great principles of the
French Republic Fraternity, decrees the column of the
Place Vend6me 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 Emperor Napoleon I. gave orders for the erection of a triumphal monument in honor of the successes of the French
armies. The column was of the Tuscan order, and copied
after Trajan's Pillar at Rome. 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 winding 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 Russians and Austrians, 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 collossal bronze statue of Napoleon I, 11 fcct high, in a
Roman toga; this was erected by Napoleon III, in 1863,
replacing the old familiar statue with the cocked hat arid
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 $300,000.
The Commune did not decide the destruction of the national 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 discussion. Although monuments commemorative of victories 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 Vend6me 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, Regrets, Gloire, Victoire.
Without the sentinel who watched over this rubbish with
jealous care, one might have taken the place for the traditional shop always to be found next door to the marblemason'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 Rochefort, a supporter of the




SEIZURE    OF CHURCH      PROPERTY.       137
Commune and editor of the M2iot d'Ordre, for having denounced the treasures, and indicating where different
sacred vessels were hid away for safety. In his turn he
replied 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 lMot l' Ordre 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 NotreDame ought to possess is a truss of straw. As to the
sacred vases studded with emeralds, or the emeralds enriched with finely-chased vessels, we do not hesitate to declare 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 exchange 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. For that reason we infinitely prefer seeing
the Commune make requisitions on the churches rather
than on merchants and manufacturers."
The IMoniteur, of Versailles, made the following comment on the above article:
"Where did M. Rochefort 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
proudly named the Decorator of Notre-Dame, enriched
our temples with their voluntary offerings, or with standards taken from the enemy, was their conduct caused by
terror or cheating? And if those recollections do not
touch M. Rochefort, 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 selfcalled politicians; he transmits it to posterity in the masterpieces 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 inheritance, 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."




PROGRESS OF THE FIGHTING.              139
The advantage round the walls of Paris, for one or two
days, was not decidedly with the Versailles troops. Nearly
all their attacks on the southern forts of Issy, Vanves 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 Grande 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 Dombrowski was under the necessity of sending for reinforcements. The Avenue de la Grande Armee, and the neighborhood of the Arc de Triomphe, continued to receive its
share of projectiles from Mont Valerien and from the
bridge at Neuilly. One shell fell as far down the Champs
Elysees as the corner of the Rue 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 de
l'Etoile. The soldiers were on their way to Port Maillot,
beating drums and waving 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 Rond-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 extended to the left side of the Avenue de Neuilly, which
district was still occupied by the Versailles troops.




140          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
M. Rossel, 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 movements of the enemy seem to presage an attack. Reinforcements have been sent to the points already assailed. The
morale of the troops is excellent.
"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. Vanves 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
without much consistence. When the critical moment
arrives, I have every reason to believe that the resistance
of the Versaillaise will not be found superior to our efforts."
General Cluseret in his reports did not deem it necessary to be controlled in any measure by the facts in question. 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
Rues 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   PARIS COMMUXE.
McMahon commander-in-chief of the army of Versailles,
an appointment that gave the greatest amount of satisfaction 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, commandant 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 Riviere, commandant of engineers.
The third corps was composed of three divisions of
cavalry, commanded by Generals Halna du Fretay, De
Preuil and Ressayre. Its chief of staff was Colonel Ballaud. It had also a battery of artillery attached to each
division.
The Army of Reserve was under the immediate direction 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 Rene
commandant of artillery; General Dupouet, commandant




MICMAIHON 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, with six army corps, that Marshal de
McMahon commenced active operations for the suppression of the insurrection of Paris.
The morning of the 15th commenced with a sharp cannonade, 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 Courbevoie. In the meantime rapid musketry firing was kept up in the Bois de Boulogne and
and Levallois, where the combatants, posted at the windows 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 ovei 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 intended for the battery on the Trocadero frequently fell
there. The fighting was very obstinate during the afternoon 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 left the Batignolle'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 PARIS COMMUIE.
On the morning of the 16th the cannonade recommenced at four, and continued without intermission until
eight in the evening. The firing was chiefly from the insurgent batteries. An incident occurred during the morning
at the station of Colombes beyond the Seine. The insurgents had advanced up the line to see whether it was cut,
in order to manceuvre 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 announced 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 Ville,
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 Razona
is obliged to avow that with his 972 he had fewer electors
than soldiers.




.  8  7 1./\,~~ A0 /i
1&1i~~~~~~~~~i








NEWSPAPERS SUPPRESSED.               145
The comments of various journals on these elections,
produced the following decree from the Commune:
The Commune, which cannot possibly tolerate in besieged 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 Cloc7e, 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 advanced posts at Asnieres. During the morning the troops
from Versailles attacked the federal outposts on the railway, guarded by the 77th battalion, which at once retreated, abandoning the barricades and trenches. Four
other battalions on the farther bank of the Seine, seeing
their comrades fall back, and being attacked by mitrailleuses, 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 battery 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 swimming; others tried to climb up the slope of the railway
bridge, on which they were exposed to the fire of the
troops; whilst many were carried away by the stream and
drowned.
7




146          TIHE PA.tIS COMMUNE.
By noon the whole of Asnieres had 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 Gennevilliers. The insurgents stopped in their retreat before
arriving at the ramparts, and the officers 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 officer is a grandson of the celebrated
Marshal of the first Napoleon of the same name. M. Thiers
made the action the subject of the following despatch to
the Sub-Prefects:
" April 17th, 7.20 r.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 po
longer be able to disturb our tete de pont at Neuilly; 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 in vain, as they were again driven from Colombes
across the 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 procrastination made by country journals:
"We persist in our system of temporization for two
reasons, which we can avow; first of all, to collect forces
so imposing that resistance will be impossible, and therefore 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 Republic-a statement absolutely false; the
sole occupation of the Executive being to put 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 Government
pardons all who lay down their arms, as it has done with
the 2,000 prisoners it supports at Belle-Isle without exacting 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."




148          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
M. Thiers was also seriously embarrassed by the Cabinet
of Berlin. 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 provinces and the
Assembly. He asked them to wait and let him act, otherwise he preferred to resign. Neither the Federal Chancellor nor the Chamber 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 guarantee the debt due to Prussia. The process of re-establishing 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 Versailles, mostly emanating from the Union Republicaine, for
the purpose of inducing the Chief of the Executive Power
to treat with the Commune. A considerable movement
also took place in several large towns for the same purpose. The Lyons delegation had an interview with M.
Thiers; and, in the name of their fellow-citizens, presented
considerations in favor of the Communal 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 Commune; but the result
proved that the Commune wanted what Thiers would not
concede, viz., power.
The fighting 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 Neuilly, and from that point and the Chateau of Becon
kept up an incessant discharge on the village of Levallois




EFFECT OF BURSTING       SHELLS.       149
and the 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 breachloader, worked by five 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 Neuilly and
Rond Point. At No. 11 Rue Bayen a shell entered a rooni
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 l'Imperatrice 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 Republican League published
the following address:
"M. Thiers' statements to our delegates afforded us
guarantees neither for the maintenance of the Republic
nor the establishment of Communal liberty, in fact for
none of the things we demanded. That which we predicted has come true-civil war which it depended upon




150          TEII  PARIS COMMUNE.
the National Assembly to stop has broken out with fresh
fury. On the other hand, the Commune, by putting forward no programme, and by refusing to explain its views
with regard to ours, has deprived 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 movements, we hold to the conviction that the only possible
issue from the present conflict is to be found in a compromise, of which we have indicated the essential elements. In this position of affairs we have a duty to perform, 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 decided from the present moment to place ourselves in communication with the municipal councils of the principal
towns in France, and to make known to them the legitimate wishes 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 uphold
towards and against all, the Republican form of government, and to give it as an unshakable basis, Communal
liberties in their integrity."
The Commune finally issued its programme so frequently 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:




PROGRAMIXE OF THE COMMFUE.               151
"It is the duty of the Commune to confirm and ascertain the aspirations and wishes of the people of Paris.
The precise character of the movement of the 18th of
March is misunderstood and unknown, and is calumniated 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, administrative, and economic regeneration, glory, and prosperity. What does she demand?    The recognition and
consolidation of the Republic, 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 Commune are to vote the Communal budget of receipts and
expenses, the imposing and alteration of taxes, the direction of local services, the organization of the magistracy,
internal police, and education. The administration of the
property belonging to the Commune, the choice by election or competition with the responsibility and permanent
right of control and revocation of the communal magistrates 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 publicity; the organization of urban defence, and of the National Guard, which elects its chiefs and alone watches
over the maintenance of order in the city. Paris wishes




152          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 Communes, the realization and practice of those principles;
but 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 property 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 country, 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 established by the Revolution. The unity which has been imposed upon us up to the present by the Empire, the Monarchy, and the Parliamentary Government, is nothing but
centralization, despotic, unintelligent, arbitrary, and onerous. The political unity, as desired by Paris, is a voluntary association of all local initiative, the free and spontaneous 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




ABSURDITY OF ITS CLAIMS.               153
be ended by an illusory compromise-the issue should not
be doubtful. The victory fought for with such indomitable 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 enthusiasm, 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 manifestation 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 illuminated history. It is our duty to fight and conquer."
It might have been alleged that the title of the Commune 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 talking 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.
k'




154          THE PARIS COMMU U NE.
The fighting was commenced at five o'clock on the
morning of the 19th, with great obstinacy. From 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 Asniores, and all about the space between the Versailles railway 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 stationed 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 sandbags. The insurgents thus intrenched, and further protected 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 occupied 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 way, 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 succeeded in penetrating, unawares, as far as. the Rue des
Huissiers, within one hundred yards of the bridge of
Neuilly, built up a couple of barricades, and armed them
with six guns. They immediately opened fire on the Versailles 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 reinforcements 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 barricade 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         TIE   PARIS    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 adversaries are in considerable force.
" DOMBROWSKI."
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.
" DOMBROWSKI."
The Archbishop of Paris having written a letter from
his prison to M. Thiers on the subject of pretended cruelties to the Communist prisoners, the chief of the executive power replied through the Paris journals, indignantly
denying the charge. He said that the hospitals at Versailles 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 Communists; and concluded by reiterating his offers of pardon to any of the insurgents who should lay down their
arms, and by promising assistance to the necessitous until




ACCURACY     OF THE FIRING.           157
a revival of commerce should enable them to earn their
own living.
The firing was continued on the morning of the 20th
on every side, especially 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 sharp engagement took place during the
morning near the bridge of Clichy. A strong reconnaissance 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 attempt to seize the bridge of Asnieres, and open communi



158         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
cations with the right bank. They commenced by bombarding the village for an hour with extraordinary violence
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 batteries, 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 working 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 Vanves, 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 official 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 batteries at Courbevoie and Valerien. Our troops are fortify



SEARCHIrNG THE CONVENTS.              159
ing 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 National Guards is excellent. The
enemy does not fire much."
" NEULLY, 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 Mlontagne, one of the most rabid of the Socialists'
organs:
"In 1848, when Monseigneur Affre was shot, we believed 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




1GO         THE PARIS 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 sparkling 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. We 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-establishing 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 COMMUNE.           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-CLUSERET.
Finance-JoURDE.
Subsistence-VIAUD.
Exterior Relations-PASCHAL GROUSSET.
Labor and Exchange-FRANCKEL.
Justice-PROTOT.
Public Service-ANDRIEU.
Information-VALLIANT.
General Surety-R. RIGAULT.
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 suppressed by the Commune, twelve others were stopped,
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 Neuilly. The musketry, however, was




162         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
silent, on account of the distance of the barricades from
each other. A short engagement occurred in the direction 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 received
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 continuous 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




HEAVY    SLAUGH TE.               163
way over the drawbridge of St. Ouen, 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 completely disorganized, and the wounded would often lie in
the streets and die without receiving any surgical attendance. 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 eyewitness 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 Clichy, on their way to
the cemetery of Montmartre. The insurgents began to be
somewhat affected at the death of so many of their comrades, and complained that they were not sufficiently supported.
An immense shell entered, on this day, the window of the
house of Rev. Dr. Lamson, Pastor of the Episcopal Chapel,
and passing through a thick stone wall, dropped on the stairway 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 appeared in the official journal of the Commune:
"After having conferred with the Executive Commission, and in the strict end of humanity, I authorize a
suspension of arms at Neuilly, for the purpose of permitting the old men, women and children to enter Paris



164          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
in a word, all non-combatants surrounded at Neuilly, who
are the innocent victims of this struggle.
" General Dombrowski, in accord with Citizens Bonvallet
and Stupuy, of the Union Republicaine 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 response from Versailles is received, the
day and duration of the armistice will be arranged.
C 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 conveyed for the last few days to the ramparts were put in
position, and directed on Gennevilliers. The night, however, 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 soldiers 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 ARMISTICE YET.                  165
lected five 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 recross 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 insurgents' positions at Clichy, 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 moment 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 l'Imperatrice, Friedland, Wagram, and that of the Reine 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 Cluseret 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. Ouen and Gennevilliers.
Numerous battalions had been massed within the ramparts of Clichy and Batignolles, 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 venture 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 Ravageurs. 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 Asnieres, and keeping up a musketry fire; but the Federals
continued to advance to the island which was then occupied by a small body of soldiers. These latter, however,
were dislodged after a sharp engagement.
About one in the afternoon the army opened a fresh
battery, which had been put in position on the Courbevoie 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 behind 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 removed, 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        RESIGNS.          167
of the soldiers passing 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 following despatches on the events of the day:
"IssY, Headquarters, 24th April.
"The night has been tranquil. Our bombs have disquieted  the  enemy's workmen.   The Versaillese approached to within fifty metres; a discharge of mitrailleuses routed them."
"NEUILLY, 4 o'clock, morning.
An attack by the Versaillese repulsed the 27th battalion; we had two killed and seven wounded."
" Afternoon, 4 o'clock.
"The action continues, Versaillese in retreat."
" ASNIERES.
"The Versaillese give way; no losses on our side."
The official organ also announced that Citizen Raoul
Rigault, 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 Rigault, 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 persons 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 Rigault persisted, and his successor
was appointed at once.




168         THE PARIS 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 numbered 150,000 men, and that they would all be thoroughly
prepared by the 1st of May.




CHAPTER VII.
The armistice-Unhappy condition of the inhabitants of Neuilly-Sitting of
the Commune-Official circular from Versailles-Cannonade of Fort IssyReconnaissance on the Boulevard Bineau-Meeting of Freemasons at the
Chatelet-English journals-Les 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 ramparts-Deputation to VersaillesEvacuation 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 replyCommittee 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 successes of the troops-The Mont-de-Pidte.
O   N    the morning of the 25th April the suspension of
arms took place, in order to permit the inhabitants
of Neuilly to leave their houses where they had been hidden in the cellars for weeks. At nine in the morning, a
number of vehicles accompanied by some members of the
League of the Republican 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 destruction. 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.
8




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. Notwithstanding 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 members of the Republican League. Two were delegated by
the insurgents and two by the army of Versailles. The
first were M. Bonvalet, ex-mayor of the third arrondissement, and M. Stupuy, ihonrme cd lettres; the second were
M. Adam and M. Loiseau-Pinson, both former members
of the municipality. Their 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 commenced. 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 excitement. 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 insurgent 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 loopholes.
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




QUARRELS     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 line across the
Avenue de Neuilly, at the point which marked the portion 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 lateral 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 advancing 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 continued to fire during the day. A reconnaissance made
from Fort Vanves 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" R6gere had given the
"Citoyen" Vermorel the lie. The " Citoyen" J. B. Clement had demanded the arrest of Citoyen Felix Pyat, because the latter had threatened to resign. A sharp quarrel had also arisen between Pyat and Vermorel, and hard
names were not spared on either side; the epistles interchanged being alike remarkable for their bitterness and
diffuseness.  The Cri du Peuple gave a letter from the
last-named member accusing the former of cowardice, and
affirming that the failure of the'attack on the Hotel-deVille the 31st of October, arose solely from his being afraid




172      THE   PARIS COM MUNE.
to come forward and assert his 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 back-door by which to
escape prosecution, should Versailles have the superiority."
The letter terminated by declaring that the writer
would not abuse his advantage so far as to defy his adversary 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 official circular was addressed to the
Prefects of the various departments in France:
"' VERSAILLES, April 26, 2:50 P. x.
"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 Vanves and of Issy, sustained the loss of
some lives and some injury to embrasures, but its continuous 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 rendered 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 provocations 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 batteries-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 station of Clamart, from the Molineaux, and from several of
the bastions; the shells 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 Liberty, smaller than the rest, of a light draught of water,
and carrying an enormous cannon, advanced in the direction 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 PARIS     COMMUNE.
for a serious attack.  One important point which they
occupied was the Moulin-de-Pierre, where they had put
heavy guns in position, within 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 turning movement towards Argenteuil, and occupied the banks
of the Seine opposite the island of St. Ouen.
A most amusing incident occurred 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 company of insurgents. IIe was full of life and fun, and
as he marched would often turn somersets, still playing
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 prevent 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:




LONDON     JOURNALS ON      THE WAR. 175
" Eh! la-bas! mon clairon, s'il vous plait!"  (" Hollo,
down there!-my bugle, if you please!")
He had 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 financial 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 employ every means in its power to obtain them.
The 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 tile 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 difficult to
show more ignorance of facts, more incapacity to comprehend 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 PARIS     COMMUNE.
other people; but what we do not understand is the assurance with which the journalists 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
whole, watered with crocodile tears, forms a picture at the
same time melancholy and burlesque."
After some sharp 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 Versailles 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 praiseworthy activity; he shrinks from no fatigue, or even danger, to obtain information for the paper which he represents; 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 sympathy for the party
of order and for the Government of France, all having a
weakness for the Commune.
"All agree to cover AM. Thiers with contempt and ridicule for not having long ago put an end to the insurrection. 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. THIERS.          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 entire 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 discipline 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 necessary, 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
Tour-des-Anglais, Clamart, and Meudon. Fort Montrouge, although not yet reduced to silence, was very near
that extremity. It was already seriously damaged by the
Prussian bombardment, and the batteries of the regular
army were completing the ruin. The insurgents, however, continued to hold out, although the position was
scarcely tenable, as they knew that its fall would inevitably
lead to that of Vanves. and Issy.
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 100th and 110th Marine Fusiliers,
carried the station and village of Les Moulineaux in 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 considerable annoyance to the troops.
The insurgents made an abortive attempt during the
day on Choisy-le-Roi. They advanced under cover of a
fire from Fort Bicetre, but were received with mitrailleuses
and musketry front 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 considerably 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 approaches; and frequent attempts had been made on preceding days to drive the troops beyond the bridge. A still
more serious attack was attempted in the afternoon. Ten
battalions were 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, where 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 Portes 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




183          TIIE 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 within
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 went there accompanied by Citizen Raoul
Rigault, 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 25th 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 when a captain of chasseurs came
up and threw himself upon them, revolver in hand. IIe
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








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THIE'RS 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 departure 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 Vendome.
The pedestal, he thought, could be preserved, as the subject represented there concerned the first Republic. Citizen Clement insisted on the total destruction of the monument. Citizen Andrieu stated that the Executive Committee 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 Republic, 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 col.juncture, 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 complete 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 dutythe army especially-and'thus is foreshadowed a not distant termination of the crisis. (Applause.) Our first task




182         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
was to create a strongly-organized military force which
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 misfortune, 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 complete, 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
Regiment 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 extremely 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 attacking, 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




WHO   ARE THE REPUBLICANS?               183
on me; if only my pride or my personality was in question, what sacrifices would I not make to put an end to
this terrible war! (Here the voice of the speaker faltered
with emotion-Sensation.) But to those numerous envoys who come from Paris and other great towns, what
reply can we make but this: You wish for liberty; but
are we not defending it against an odious despotism, without 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 Republic; in the Assembly 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 established. 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 members are occupied with only one idea-to aid the Government 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 Republic. 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
M. THIERS.-" I am glad of this interruption, for it allows 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 opportunity 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 myself 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 my side. (Noise on the Right.) 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 which
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 who 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




TIHE 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 general-36,000 republics! This is the most absurd contradiction ever given to the French Revolution and national
unity, the work of ten centuries. Our object, on the contrary, 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 receive 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
28th 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 unfortunately entered the asylum and killed an old woman in her
bed. The fort of Vanves, which was less seriously damaged, 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 vast 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 musketry, and all the openings were filled up with mattresses
or bags of earth. The centre of combat was, however, at
the station.  The affair 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 difficult to ascertain, as the gates were closed so that no fugitives should spread the alarm to the city; the killed and
wounded 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 6f Clichy and St. Ouen,
continued their fire on Gennevillicrs with the object of
impeding the movement of the troops. An iron-clad locomotive 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 commandsone extending from St. Ouen to the Point-du-Jour, under




A MEETING OF F REEMASONS.               187
General Dombrowski, who had his headquarters at LaMuette; 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, Rue 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 Chatelet 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 manifestation 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 A'venir, expressing his surprise




188         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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, I, as guardian of the general regulations, protest against all resolutions taken independently
of the Grand Central Lodge of France; and I remind my
brothers that Masons are bound to fight only against a
foreign invader.
"Accept, etc.,
F. MALAPERT,
" 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 brotherhood, 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 morning 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




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RECEPTION      OF FREEMASONS.           189
music, led by five delegates of the Commune, left the
Hotel de Ville to be joined on their way by the Freemasons, who were to return with them to the seat of
government, which had been decorated for a solemn reception. 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 members of the Commune were placed at the top of the
Escalier d'honneur, before the statue of the Republic.
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-lMaionnerie! " "Vive la Commune! " " Vive la Ilepublique 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 universal 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          THIt  PARIS COM3MUNE.
"You go to protest thus against homicidal balls and
fratricidal bullets, in the name of right and of universal
peace.  (Unanimous bravos, and shouts of' Vive la Republique!''Vive la Commune!')
"You go to stretch out to the men of Versailles a disarmed hand-disarmed, but only for the moment-and
we, the mandataries of the people and the defenders of its
rights; we, the elected by vote-we wish to join ourselves
with you-the elected by ordeal in this fraternal act.
(New applause:' Vive la Commun!e'' lve la Republique!')
"The Commune had decided to choose five of its members 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!"
(Loud cries of " Vive la Commune!    " "Vive ia ]Republique!")
The Citizen Beslay, member of the Commune:-" Citizens, 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 beginning 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 Freemasonry of France, of which I have had the honor to be a
member during fifty-six years.




PRESENTATION       OF 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 placing your banner upon the ramparts 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!/" "'ive
la Republique! ")
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 federativerights, 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 homicidal balls of Versailles.
" When you bring them back, these banners of Freemasonry, 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 inseparable union." (Fresh applause.)




192          THE   PARIS 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 Vincennes, on which
are inscribed these words:' Let us love one another.'
(Bravos.)
"We will go and present first this banner to our enemies' 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 country, 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 bravossensation.)
"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-maponnerie!")
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 Marseillaise.
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 deputation 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 returned to the Porte Maillot, where a sort of an assembly was
held, after which the Freemasons decided on not return9




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 replied:
"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 Concorde, 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 was 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.batteries 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 confusion. 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 party advocating the
evacuation carried the day. There were about three hundred 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 with
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 battalions 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 Molineaux to a small wood on the right, while the light batteries 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




196          THE   PARIS   COMMUNE.
commenced, the guns bearing on the bastions sixty-eight
and seventy-two. The inhabitants of Vaugirard, in fearful 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 different Departments.
VERSAILLES, 2:20 P. M.
"The works of approach towards Fort Issy have continued. The Government has received the following despatches, 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 prisoners 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 Broissier, of the 71st. Details later.''Belair, 6:55 A. M.Cissy to the Chief of the Executive Power and to MacMahon at Versailles.-I have this moment received from
General Faron the following despatch:-Fleury, 6 A. n.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."




GENERAL CLUSERET ARRESTED.              197
The official journal of May 2d announced the astounding intelligence that General Cluseret had been arrested
by order of the Executive Committee, and approved by
the Commune. The following was the official announcement:
"PARIS, May 1, 1871.
" The negligence and want of precaution shown by the
Delegate of the War Department having very nearly compromised our possession of Fort Issy, the Executive Committee determined to propose to the Commune the arrest
of Citizen Cluseret. The arrest has been decreed.
" The Commune, in addition, has taken all the measures 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 Executive Committee and approved of by the Commune.
But there was still something more. The public was informed that steps had been taken to appoint some one
else in his place, and that measures of security had been
adopted. That word gave rise to the wildest suppositions.
Measures of security did not mean warlike preparations
against an assault, but simple precautions against treason.
Many supposed it was Cluseret's intention to betray the
Commune; but the real fact 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,
the commandant, was desirous of leaving the mass of
ruins to its fate; but General Wroblewski appeared upon
the scene in time to relieve Megy 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
flag of truce, and to defend himself till death.
It was General Cluseret, 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 Dombrowski and Wroblewski both sent in their resignations
on account of Cluseret's mismanagenrent, but on hearing
of his arrest withdrew them.
The arrest took place at the Ministry of War at 6 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 perplexity, 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
coup d'etat?  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, however, was in the natural order of things; first MI. Lullier,
then M. Bergeret, and after the latter M. Cluseret. One
more victim, and the list was full.




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CHARACTER      OF CLUSERET.            199
The following description of General Cluseret is decidedly 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 Dombrowski. 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 indefatigably active, and of insatiate ambition, greedy of power to
such excess that, as was said of Sir Robert 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 the momentthe 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          TiHE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 have
for some time been expecting a sort of coup d'etat on a
small scale from him, and to see him for a few days absolute Dictator of Paris, with all our lives 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 commenced, foreigners, or at any rate, Englishmen and Americans-about the members of other nations I know lesshave never gone about Paris with so little annoyance or
fear of arrest-except, indeed, from drunken National
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 Commune."
General Cluseret's vacant place was given to Colonel
Rossel, formerly a captain of engineers, afterwards a commandant in the army of the Loire. He was only twentyeight 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 intelligence.
He acted as President of the Court-Martial, and was
considered extremely severe.
The following letter, sending his resignation to the Min



ROSSEL NOT A DESE.RTER.               201
ister of War, only appeared in the Paris journals July 19th,
although written on the 19th of March. It throws a new
light on the character of the Generalissimo of the Commune, who, during the reign of that body, and long after
his capture by the Versailles Government, was considered
as a deserter.
" CAMP or NEVERS, March 19, 1871.
" A M. le General Ministre de la Guerre a Versailles:
" GENERAL:-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. Instructed by a despatch of Versailles, rendered public today, that there are two parties at war in the country, I
place myself without 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 Nevers, confided to me by the Government
of the 4th of September. I have placed this service, which
consists at present only of orders for expenses and remittances of accounts, in the hands of Mr. Finat, 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 5th 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,
R OSSEL."
General Rossel received notification of his appointment,
9*




202          THI   PARIS COMMUNE.
and responded to the Executive Committee in the following letter:
"PARIS, 30th April.
"CITIZENS:-I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 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,
"' ROSSEL."
The new functionary at once issued two orders, one directing 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 construction of a second line of barricades immediately inside the
fortifications, as well as a third at the Trocadero, Montmartre, 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 Rue Rivoli to be veritable
fortresses. Every one was put to work, and Rossel 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 Rossel, and posted on the
walls of Paris, May 1st:
"TRENCHES BEFORE FORT ISSY, 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     LETTER.             203
and the rest submit without any other condition- than to
have their lives spared, and to be allowed 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 negotiations. 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 declared that he would continue the resistance to the lastthat the Commune did not wish to treat with "assassins."  He also forwarded the subjoined mission from the
new Minister of War:
PARIs, May 1, 1871.
" To Citizen Leperche, Major of the Trenches before Fort
Issy:
" MY DEAR COMRADE:-The next time that you venture to send us so insolent a communication as your letter
of yesterday, I will have your messenger shot, in conformity with the usages of war.
"Your devoted comrade,
" ROSSEL,
" Delegate of the Commune of Paris."
Rossel and Leperche had served together at Metz. The




204          THIE PARIS COMMUNE.
official journal of the Commune announced on the 1st of
May that a Committee of Public Safety had been organized, composed of five members, who would possess the
most extended powers over all commissions, and all the
branches of the Government, and that the persons composing it could not be called before any other jurisdiction
than that of the Commune.
Citizens Antoine Arnaud, Leo Meillet, Ranvier, Felix
Pyat, and Charles Gerardin were appointed on this important 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 Rossel had asked the Commune for its most
absolute co-operation as the price of his inestimable services. 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 was now 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, however, 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 Vaugirard. The re-occupation 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 cannonading 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 Cluseret first entered it, accompanied by General
Cecilia and Colonels Robart 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 attempted to excite some corps against the Commune. The
General, who has always been friendly towards ime, 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 unfortunate 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 Colonel Leperche.
" No0.
"Well, it is an order to have you shot."
"How is that?" exclaimed the other.
"Read. According to Rossel, the bearer of an insolent
letter is to be shot, and if ever one merited that qualification, 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 COMMUNE.
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 be his punishment was continued for some
time. In the end, 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 Versailles 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 important 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. " The 22d battalion 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 station. 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 insurgents managed to repossess themselves of it. The
Communists defended themselves with the most determined bravery, and succeeded in making two hundred




A DEFEAT     OF INSURGENTS.           207
and fifty prisoners. They also prepared to attack a battery situated between the Chateau of Issy and the fort.
The insurgents, with a considerable number of guns, immediately 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
Chateau. 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 continued to push forward in the direction of Clamart, turning all the obstacles, and avoiding the mitrailleuses.
Reinforcements of the regular troops at length came up,
and the insurgents, finding themselves in danger, commenced 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 known at headquarters, a much more powerful force was directed towards
this point, where the resistance shown was truly remarkable, and of incomparable energy. The defenders
of the fort used mattresses made of seaweed to resist the
bullets which now had become more annoying than the




208          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
shells. On their side the troops of Versailles having
passed the Seine at SRvre, occupied the Isle of St. Germain,
and there established a battery 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 completing 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 insurgents 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 was already so near the forts and ramparts; next,
to wear out by an incessant struggle the insurgent battalions, 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 against 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 the gate of Vanves. 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 transpired, 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.
M1. Thiers. Unfortunately, and for reasons not yet fully
known, the National Guards of Passy and Auteuil, 38th
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 Lacretelle.
" Two hundred dead insurgents remained on the ground.
We have carried off three hundred prisoners, eight cannon,
and several fanions.
"Two of the enemy's cannon, overthrown in the foss6,
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 39tti Regiment de lMarche, supported 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 meeting the advanced posts of the 3d cavalry corps, they followed the route from  Choisy-le-Roi 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 importance to take and to hold; it was one of those redoubts
that, during the former siege, held head against the batteries of Hay and Thiasis, and was situated a little in
advance of Bicetre. Its new works had rendered it very




CAPTURE     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 conducted 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 belonged 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-Bruyere and Ivry had received the
alarm they commenced firing heavily, and the troops, finding 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 assembled around the Mairie, crying " Treason!"




212          THE PARIS 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 VYnves 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 Rossel, 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




COLONEL WETZEL REMOVED.               213
Europe the judge in a civil war, and in soliciting a European verdict, which could not but condemn Frenchmen.
It is necessary at any price to avoid foreign intervention,
and it would be peurile to demand the character of belligerent when the Commune de facto possesses it. The
verdict of Europe and the world has been given. No 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 cannot 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 Organization and Movements of the Ministry of War; and one
to Colonel Wetzel, at Issy, as follows:
"CITIZEN:-You have several times addressed applications for reinforcements, either to the military commandant 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,
" ROSSEL."




214          THE PARIS 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,
officials 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 appeared 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 Nvas 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 Iluissiers, but on the arrival of reinforcements of troops by the Avenue Sainte-Foy, they abandoned
the position, and took refuge in the houses. The guns
of Courbevoie 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 l'Industrie, and deaths were
numerous on that avenue. Notwithstanding this, it was




CURIOSITY OF THE FRENCH.               215
nearly always crowded. Curiosity is a prominent trait in
a Frenchman's character, and he would 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 Republicaine arrived
at Versailles 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:
" PARIS, May 5, 1871.
" The Mlembers 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 manceuvres 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 permanent 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   PARIS    COMMUNE.
interdicts in all parts of France the sale of any journal
which defends the principles of the revolution represented
by the Commune;
"Considering that the journals the Petit Moniteur,
the Bon Sens, the Petite Presse, the Petit Journal, the
France and the Temps, 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 Republic,
" IT IS DECREED,
"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 execution of the present decree.
" F. COURNET,
"The Member of the Commune, Delegate of Public Safety."
" PARIS, 16 Floreal, year 79.
" Committee of Public Safety:
"Considering that the House known under the name
of Chapelle Expiatoire of Louis XVI is a prominent insult to the first revolution, and a perpetual protestation
of the reaction against the justice of the people,
" IT IS DECREED,
" Art. 1. That the chapel called Expiatory shall be destroyed.
" 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, C7t. Gerardin, Leo Meillet,
"Felix Pyat, Ranvier-Tlie Committee
" of Public Safety."




ALLOTTING     THE COMMANDS.            217
Colonel Rossel, 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 following orders:
" General Dombrowski will go in person to 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 reserve brigade, and General Eudes the second. Each of
the above-named generals will retain headquarters in the
interior of the city: 1. Dombrowski at the Place Vend6me; 2. La Cecilia, Ecole Militaire; 3. Wrobleski, Elysee;
4. Eudes, Legion of Honor; and 5. General Bergeret, Legislative 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 persons 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 enemy does not occupy the spots indicated. On the other
hand, it is necessary that I should receive the contrary information 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 neutrality, but a sort of alliance.
" Salutation and fraternity,
10                            " ROSSEL."




218          THE PARIS COMMIUNE.
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 distance from that locality, and had barricaded the approach
to Montrouge, made a reconnaissance in advance. The
army had, however, considerable forces in the neighborhood, and some guns at Chatillon opened fire on the Communists, who were compelled to retreat to their trenches.
Issy continued to receive a convergent fire from the batteries 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 seaweed and heaps of stable manure, but the straw had become dried by the wind and sun, and was set on fire by
shells. The troops continued their works along the railway 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 official information from Versailles was
more than acceptable to the large majority of the Parisians, and occasionally an outside journal from Versailles
arrived with news which roused their drooping spirits.
The subjoined communication from M. Thiers, which was




SUCCESSES OF THE        NATIONALS.        219
telegraphed to the Prefects of the different departments in
France, was the first correct news the law and order party
received of this very important affair:
" VERSAILES, May 6, 7:30 P. x.
"Those who have followed the operations which our
army is executing with admirable devotion, in order to
preserve social order, which 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 Vanves and the
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 Vanves, 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 decisive coup de main.
" The Redan was immediately turned against the enemy, 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.




220          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 officers placed hors
de combat in these operations. Colonel Leperche, Lieutenants Panet and De Broglie have been severely but not
dangerously wounded. It is hoped that they will soon be
restored.
"A. THrERS.'
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 equipment, 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 explanation 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 Guards
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.




PANIC    AT FORT VANVES.              221
According to the insurgents, a party of marines, waving a
white flag, advanced up to a trench occupied by the insurgents in front of the fort, crying out "FVve la Commune!"
and then rushed on the Communists and bayoneted them.
It is, however, more probable that this was another wellplanned surprise, like that which succeeded at MoulinSaquet.  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 retreat might be cut off, fled in confusion.
The fugitives, pursued by the fire of the troops, first
endeavored to enter Paris by Porte Vanves, but were refused 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 sentinels, who had strict orders to allow no one to pass,
threatened to fire on them. They finally reached the
Porte d'Italie, where, after waiting an hour, they were able
to enter with the carts of the market-gardeners. The fort
was reoccupied early in 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 Delegate of War, Colonel Rossel, and subjected to the military
degradation of having the right sleeve of their overcoats
cut off.
The official 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




222         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
pledged at the Mont de Piete, 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 Committee'to generals and superior officers under his command, and repudiated all consequences which might
result from that course.




CHAPTER VIII.
Concert given at the Tuileries for the benefit of the wounded National GuardsAppeal of M. Thiers to the inhabitants of Paris-Battery of MontretoutEvacuation of Fort Issy-Occupation by the troops-Engagement at MoulinSaquet-False reports given by the Official Journal-Rossel's report-His
letter-His imprisonment and escape-Delescluze appointed Delegate of
WVar-Fort Vanves evacuated-The insurgents again take possession-Differences of the Commune and Central Committee-Government despatch —
Decree ordaining the demolition of M3. Thiers' house-Camp in the Bois de
Boulogne-Procession of troops at Versailles-Sinking of an insurgent gunboat-Capture of Fort Vanves-Villas in the neighborhood 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 AssemblyMarshal de MacMahon's order of the day-Explosion of the cartridge manufactory in the Avenue Rapp-The blame thrown upon the National Assembly by the Commune-Sacrilege at Notre Dame des Victoires-Cluseret tried
and set at liberty by the Commune-Arrest of Rochefort at Meaux-His entrance into Versailles.
O    N   the night of the 7th of May, a grand concert was
given at the Tuileries, for the benefit of the families of the insurgents killed or wounded.           It took place
in the Salle des Marechaux.          That is, it was announced
to take place there; but 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 was 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 engaged in advance.       The receipts amounted to over twelve




224          THE PARIS     COMIMUNE.
thousand francs.  A correspondent gives the following
amusing account of the affair:
"In consequence of a large placard posted 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 announced'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 useful 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 dissipation; 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 wallcoloring; 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 saddest 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




CONCERT T AT THE TUILERIES.             225
eyes at the National Guards on duty, lounging and carousing 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 M}arechaux beyond, where the concert 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 preparations 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 basreliefs of the Yend6me 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'*




226         THE PARIS COMMIUNE.
rather foolish proceeding, considering that the bee-spangled Imperial curtains still hang over the doors, and
festoons of the same drapery decorate the gallery above.
The brocaded panels of the Salle du Trone 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, naturally enough,'Where is it all gone to?' The same demand was made so ofte     n of an elderly bourgeois on duty
at the end of the Salle de Diane that he was fairly bewildered, 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 explanation.' 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




CONTRIASTS.                  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 flight, 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 ordre dzu C'oite dzu Salut Public,' 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 informed me;' are they not salopines, 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 beargarden 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   PARIS COMMUNE.
They behaved with the wondrous good nature which characterizes a French crowd, laughing over the absurdity of
their predicament and waving the tickets, which they
would never be able to present, jestingly at one another.
In course of time the whole of thejardin prive was full of
people, who looked up at the lights streaming from the windows, and sat about on chairs quietly smoking their cigars
and enjoying 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 embankments, with a wide ditch in advance, were raised at the
Rue Royale, Rue Rivoli, 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 Rue de Rivoli 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
Vend6me, Place Pereire, and Hotel de Ville. Similar
works 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




THIERS' 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'Italie. Those at Montmartre and Belleville 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:
"PARISIANS:-France, freely consulted, elected a Government 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
possessed by the other cities of the territory. It is the
government of the Commune-that is, of the minoritywhich 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 regine which
it proposes to inflict upon you; it violates the rights of
property, imprisons citizens to use them as hostages, converts your streets and public places into deserts, puts a
stop to u11 work in Paris, paralyzes it throughout all
France, arrests the 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
tions which have been sent to us, 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 without 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 conquer, 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 destruction 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. Uqite, then; open your gates,
which they have closed against law, order, your prosperity,




BATTERY OF MONTRETOUT.                 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 evacuate our territory, and the traces of our misfortunes will rapidly disappear. But if you do not act, the Government will be
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 few
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. TIERS."
It was on Sunday, the 7th 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 former 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 4th. 3I. 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




232         THE PARIS COMXMUNXE.
powder magazines, the abri, and the covered communications 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, viz., 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 supplied with 500 shells. Eight were called pieces of eighty,
on account of the weight of the projectile, eighty kilogrammes, 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 Fort Issy, the incessant bombardment 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
tirailleurs could arrest and destroy the convoys on the
route from Vanves to Clamart.
A decision had been come to in the morning to abandon 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, ofter making every preparation for blowing up the fort.




FORT ISSY     EVACUATED.             233
Towards ten o'clock in the morning, the fort being
dumb and having the appearance of being evacuated, the
chef de batallion, Barillon, wishing to know the cause of
this strange silence, followed by several sappers of cngineers, 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 Commandant Barillon.  Contrary to their expectations, the
soldiers found in the abandoned fort a considerable quantity 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 decoction bad the effect of exciting the courage and rendering
the men what would be called in slang terms "fig7hting
drunk," 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 Vaugirard.
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 detachment of Communists attempted to take. The combat lasted nearly an hour; the soldiers shot from the




234         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
windows and from the cellars through air-holes. Eventually the insurgents had to retire, having succeeded in capturing 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 Chlatillon,
but did not persist in it, and withdrew when reinforcements arrived to the insurgents. About five in the evening a more serious assault was made on the Haute-Bruyeres, 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 outside the walls was meagre in the extreme; but the Commune still wished to make it more so. A proposal was
consequently brought before that body by Citizen Mortier
to the effect that any journal venturing to touch on military matters should be suspended, and its proprietors and
printer prosecuted before the tribunals. The examples of
military news in the official and other Communal journals
were certainly most amusing for their brevity. The subjoined were published the morning after Fort Issy surrendered:
First.-" Night." "Tolerably calm."
Second.-" Day; entirely quiet."
Third.-" Bas-Fontenay attacked the Fort of Montrouge, which replied vigorously, and reduced the Versaillese to silence."
Fourth.-" Morning quiet."
Fifth.-" Night quite calm;" then, "Evening tranquil," etc.




BRIEF A NNOUN CEMENT.               235
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
dovn. 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 despatch direct to the journal, and the astonishment of the
Commune can be imagined, when, on the morning of the
10th of May, the following four despatches appeared officially, one under the other:
"' Montrouge, Bicetre.
" Respective positions maintained. Bas-Fontenay continually attacking."
"VANYES, Issy.
The I rurals' don't like to advance in this country."' 12:30 r. M.
"The tricolor flag floats on the Fort Issy, abandoned
yesterday evening by the garrison.
" IOSSEL,
"The Delegate of War."
" One o'clock.
" General Brunel, Commandant of the Village of Issy,
is charged to occupy the position of the Lycee, and to
connect it with Fort Vanves.
" POSSEL,
"The Delegate of War."
These were the last official announcements of Colonel




236          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Rossel, and it would 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 given directly by
the Committee of Public Safety, and complained bitterly
of the disastrous surprise of Moulin-Saquet, which he attributed 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 member of the Committee.
The next day, when Rossel'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 Commune, and the following proclamation appeared:
" PARIS, May 9, 1871.
"It is by a regrettable error that the announcement has
been made, that the Fort of Issy had been taken and occupied by the Versaillese. Nothing of the sort has occurred, 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 Commune. The official journal, however, never published the
contradiction.
"The following morning Colonel Rossel sent the subjoined letter, resigning his position as Delegate of War:
"PARIS, May 9th.
"Citizens, members of the Commune:-Being charged
by you with the provisional direction of the war-opera



ROSSEL'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
whole service of your cannons was still dependent on
the energy of a few volunteers, whose number is insufficient.
"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 Municipalities 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 administration 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 information 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 disposable.
" The garrison, badly commanded, was seized with
panic; and the officers, having debated, drove away Captain 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 PARIS     COMMUNE.
organization for the one I had adopted, in order to make
up for the improvidence of their authority, always uncertain 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 prevented 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 yesterday, while those officers were deliberating, the executioncompany awaited them in the court-yard. But I am unwilling to assume alone the initiative in an energetic
manner, to take on me the odium of the executions necessary 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 Commune 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 shall 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.
" ROSSEL."
Citizen Rossel, 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 confided to the safe-keeping of Citizen Gerardin, a member
of the Commune. At five in the afternoon, Citizen Avriel announced to the Commune that the prisoner had
fled, and, strange to say, in company with the citizen appointed 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. Rossel 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 VILLm, May 12, 1871.
"To the People of Paris:
" CITIZENS: The Commune and the Republic have escaped a mortal peril.
"Treason has glided into our ranks. The reaction,
despairing to triumph over Paris by force of arms, has
attempted to disorganize the defending body of the capital by corruption and gold. This has been flung about in
handfuls, and has found amongst us consciences to purchase.




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 insurrection 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 permanence, and justice will be done.
"CITIZENS-The Revolution 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 vigilance, 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 Revolution must group
together for a supreme effort. Then, and then only, will
triumph be assured.
"Ant. Arnaud, E. Eudes, F. Gambon,
G. Ranvier-The Committee of
Pzublic Safety."
There were only four names to this document, Delescluze having been appointed Delegate of War.
Delescluze issued a proclamation addressed to the National 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.            241
the dangerous functions; but that he counted on their
assistance to render his task more easy. The question
seemed to be no longer one of the municipal franchise of
Paris, but 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 Vend6me), without being the bearer of orders from
his hierarchical, will put himself in a position to be immediately 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
No. 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 bombard the Point-du-Jour.
Auteuil and Passy suffered considerably, and the inhabitants 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 themselves 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 PARIS COMMUTE.
Courbevoie, Neuilly 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 completely discouraged, 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 designated 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




PROGRESS 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 insurgent 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 Department, evidently directed against the Central Committee,




244          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
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 creationsand 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 presenting candidates.
The bearing of these two decisions, so indicative of
antagonism, was clear to every one; and the most superficial 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 measure 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 decree 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 issuing the following order:




AN   OFFICIAL REPORT.               245
PARIS, May 8.
"The Commission of War:
"Whereas the decree which gives to the Central Committee 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, but 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, Varlin."
The Government of Versailles addressed the following
despatch to the civil and military authorities throughout
France:
" May 9th, 1871, 7 P. M.
"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 ammunition was found there.   We can praise the successful
audacity with which our generals conducted the approaches 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 undertaken. Last night General Douai, after a vigorous cannonade from the formidable battery of Montretout, also
favored by a dark night, crossed the Seine and took up a
position before Boulogne, facing the bastions 67, 66, and
65, forming the Point-du-Jour. Fourteen hundred men




246          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
from the 18th foot-chasseurs, 26th line, 5th provisional
regiment (Gandil's brigade, division of General Berthaut),
26th foot-chasseurs, and 37th marching regiment (Daguerre'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 distance 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 capital 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 exposing themselves to the legal severities which await them if
they dare to carry any further their criminal and ridiculous 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 following most infamous decree published against the "Sieur
Thiers," declaring that his house, situated in Place Saint
George, should be razed to the ground:
"PARIS, 21 Floreal, An. 79.
"The Committee of Public Safety, considering the
posting-bill of Sieur Thiers calling himself 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, whilst each day women and children are victims of the fratricidal projectiles of the Versailles troops;
"That in it an appeal is made to treason in order to
obtain an 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 lie is concerned, with the immediate execution of
the present order.
"Arnaud. Eudes, Gambon, ]Ranvier, —iembers of the Committee 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 peurile and absurd eccentricities of 1793.
M. Thiers' house was situated on Place Saint George.
The only journal in Paris that supported the above decree
was Rochefort's paper, the Not 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 PARIS 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 appointment of Delescluze Delegate of War. The last named
citizen proposed to the Commune to place the 128th battalion 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 Sablonville 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.
C 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 FIGHTING        AT MONTROUGE. 249
under arrest, and I propose that an investigation be at
once opened.
" Receive, etc., etc.,
"COLONEL BRUNEL."
The bombardment of Vanves and Montrouge was exceedingly heavy during the 11th and 12th. About seven
on the morning of the 12th, an attack was made by a considerable 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 Chatillon, 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-Montrouge, 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 COMMUNE.
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
occupied 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 direction from two field batteries ranged on the bastions at the
end of the Avenue de l'Imperatrice. Mont Valerien replied, doing considerable damage to the drawbridge and
railway station.
A new battery, constructed under Fort Issy, and between 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 communication 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 magnificent 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 continual sound of mitrailleuses and chassepots, and dreadful
events were drawing near.
About the time at which the ex-Delegate of War disappeared from the scene, after having bade the Commune
adieu in such a singular manner, a patriotic fete 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 operations 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 General-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 Malleville, 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:




252          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
" HEADQUARTERS, 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, Rueil, Courbevoie, 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 government which oppresses it; and before long we shall plant
the national flag on the ramparts, and obtain the re-establishment of order, so imperatively called for by France
and the whole of Europe.
"Soldiers, you have deserved the gratitude of the country.
"DUKE DE MACMAHON,
" Commander-in-Chief."
The insurgent gunboats on the Seine had for several
days been causing considerable annoyance to the Government 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 battery of 7-inch guns on Fort Issy, which crosses its fire
with that of Montretout de Breteuil and Brimborion, in
cannonading the Point-du-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 SaintGermain, 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 barricade on the Quay de Passy, at the angle of the Rue
Guillon, mounted with guns to command the river.
On the morning of the 14th the Versailles troops
attacked simultaneously the insurgents entrenched between the forts of Issy and Vanves. 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
firing on the evening of the 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:
VIERSAILLES, May 13, 4:33.
"While our troops undertook, in the Bois-de-Boulogne,
to open trenches of great length, and the formidable artillery 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 strategical road meets that from  Chatillon to Mlontrouge.
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 Pont6coulant,
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 manner, 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 VANVES 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 Vanves, 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 the 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 entirely 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 Vanves had been captured at half-past
twelve. Since the morning the investment had been complete, but the operation had been attended with serious
loss. Amongst others, Captains Rosheim and Durand de
Villers 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
gates of VAnves and Vaugirard. Some of the 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 immense 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 afternoon, and at once opened trenches to cut off all communications 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 insurgents were compelled to abandon entirely the bastions,
at the ramparts, and they could only now await the assault. 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 pillaged 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 attempted to oppose their passage, but were driven back to
the ramparts by the fire from Becon 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




MORE JOURNALS PROHIBITED.               257
and surrounded 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 perchance he had forgotten his card, carry him away to
prison.
Another decree immolated a large number of journalsthe National, Siecle, Discussion, Corsaire, Avenir National, 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




258          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
ramparts may fall. Not a man will penetrate into the city.
If M. Tliers 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 containing 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 brigandage, but the only reply made was, the Commune wanted
money, and could not do better than take it from its adversaries. At one moment the delegates demanded all the
shares, inscriptions of 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 official organ an address to the great towns of France, assuring them that,
after two months' contest, Paris was neither wearied out nor
weakened, and calling on them to come to its assistance.
Hie 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 pleasure 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, Director-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 portion 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 confided.
"As for ourselves, we desire, like the majority, the accomplishment of the political and social renovation; but,
contrary to its idea, we claim, in the name of the suffrages




260          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
we represent, the right to answer ourselves to our electors
for our acts, without sheltering ourselves behind a supreme 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 dissensions which we all censure; for we are persuaded that,
majority or minority, notwithstanding our political divergences, we shall pursue the same object"Political liberty; and emancipation of the working
classes.
"  ive la Republique Sociale!  Vive la Commune!"
" Charles Beslay, Jourde, T1teisz, Lefranpais,
Eugene, Gerardin, Andrieux, Vermorel,
Clemence, Serrailler, Longuet, Arthur
Arnould, V. Clement, Avrial, Ostyn,
Franckel, Pindy, Arnold, Valles, Tridon,
Varlin, G. Courbet."
The day following the publication of the above manifesto there was a stormy sitting of the Commune, at
which sixty-six members were present, including the




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HOSTAGES TO      BE SHOT.           261
greater number 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 conduct pursued by the Versailles troops in shooting a vivandiere, five hostages should be at once shot in Paris. After
a long discussion, the following order of the day was proposed 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 insurgents 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 regular engineers at Issy. The college there was almost entirely 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 positions. 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 bombardment from the Versailles batteries.
In the interior of Paris, the Commune meanwhile was
preparing to amuse its adherents by an entirely new spectacle.
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 victory 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 complete; 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 falsehood of their lying doctrine-the column was condemned.
On Monday, May 15th, a large crowd assembled in the
lue de la Paix and Place de l'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 announced 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 Rue 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      ON   THE  COLUMN.      263
hood might be overthrown by the shock, that balconies
would fall, slates tumble from the roofs, or that the rushing mass would crash 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 Rue Neuve St. Augustin, leaving an empty space
along the Rue 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 great Emperor. Impossible to understand their occupation, 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 backwards 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, " 0 God, let their fall be as great and as complete," 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 ceremony 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
umn had always leant a little towards the Ministere des
Cultes, and many feared it would take the wrong direction, 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 spectacle. At half-past three General Bergeret arrived on horseback with his staff, and passing through the crowd, stationed 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 windlass began to move, and all eyes were anxiously turned towards 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 preparations were regarded with great contempt, and it was with
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 tottered and fell, breaking, as it reached the ground, into




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FALL OF THIE COMMUNE.                265
numberless fragments. A cloud of dust rose for a moment 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 mounted
on the ruins of the column. A company of marines,
drawn up across the Rue de la Paix, soon succeeded, however, in checking the mass.
Bergeret, meanwhile, decorated with his red scarf and
tassels, mounted on the pedestal, and thus addressed the
crowd:
"CITIZENS:-The 26th 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 necksit 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-culottes. The spot remained vacant until 1806, when Napoleon determined to consecrate it to the glories of the Austerlitz campaign. The first stone was laid on the 18th of
August. The foundations were the same that served for
Louis XIV'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 history of the campaign of 1805.
12




266          THE PARIS      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. Imp. Aug.
"'lfMonumentu     elli. Bei. Germanici.
"'Anno.       MDCCCV.
"'Trimestri. Spatio. Ductu. Suo. Profligati.
"'Ex. /Ere. Capto.' Glorice. Exercitzs. Maximzi. 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'le savant Denon' and the Prince of Wagram.
"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 Friedland, however, 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 represented standing on a heap of cannon-balls, dressed in his'costume de bataille.' 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 now-a-days we do not take cannon.' The
present figure succeeded M. Seurre's, and is one of Napoleon III's tributes to the memory of his uncle.




DESCRIPTION      OF THE COLUMNI.         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 Emperor. 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 French 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 conscription. The tableaux continue; the soldiers are still
on their road, crossing the Rhine 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 staff, on the 1st of
October, exactly one month after the breaking up of the
camp. The submissive Electors of Baden and Wiirtemberg, who were rewarded with crowns after Austerlitz,
receive their benefactor; and in the 15th tableau the
first blow is struck at Donowerth by the 4th corps, thirtysix days from Boulogne. Then we have Murat clearing
the road to Augsburg and Ulm by the combat at Wertingen, and the passage of the Danube at Neuburg by the 2d




268          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
and 3d corps. The plot thickens, Augsburg is entered,
and the Emperor harangues the troops,'after the manner
of the Roman Emperors,' upon the position of the enemy,
and the imminence of a great battle. The 24th tableau
depicts Soult's success at Menningen; a spirited relief and
a long inscription told how Ney forced the bridge of Elchingen, 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 superb
and ingenious allegory, dedicated to the glory of the Emperor 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 Schbnbrunn, the entry into Vienna,
and the surrender of the keys of the capital. A deputation from Paris arrive with felicitations, and then the
Emperor is seen quitting Vienna with many of his Generals for Braun. The great blow is impending; a reconnaissance 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




ANOTHER      FETE   AT VERSAILLES.         269
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 Austerlitz 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 Russians 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 bon 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 Napoleon the day
after Christmas-day. St. Mark's Lion and some richlydecorated 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 de 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 Vend6me
Column, another public f6te 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 Vend6me
Column:
"SOLDIERS:-The Vend6me Column has just fallen;
the foreigner had respected it. Persons who call themselves 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 military 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 being a Frenchman!" 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 Vend6me 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.




CARTRIDGE FACTORY          EXPLODES.       271
The cartridge factory, situated between the Champs-deMars and the Avenue Rapp, blew up. The concussion
was felt over nearly the whole of the city, but in the
immediate vicinity the effect was lamentable in the extreme. 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 towards the southwest. Its disappearance was, unfortunately, followed by another mass, which rose more rapidly, and
which, by its crimson reflections, showed that a conflagration 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 disorder 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. Nor 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 insurgents, 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 temporary 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 through the streets, many bleeding profusely,
principally from cuts received by fragments of glass,
almost every window 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-Caillou 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-desInvalides, 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 instead 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 Government. Numerous persons were arrested as being implicated in the matter. The general idea, however, prevailed that it was either caused by an accident or the fall
of a shell. 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:
"PAPIS, 27 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 Rapp, and produced a'frightful catastrophe.




NUMBER     OF THE    WOUNDED.          273
"The number of victims 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 Aventine, 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 Diogenes-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-trained men, and ambitious nullities,
12*




274          TIHE 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 Rapp to a judgment
on the insurgents for their sacrilegious violation of the
Church of Notre-Dame des Victoires. This church, situated in the Place des Petits Peres, was founded in 1629
by Louis XIII. It was used during the Revolution 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 (insurgents), belonging to the Belleville Quarter. The priests
were about finishing the service of the " fois 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 articles, which he conveyed to the Church of St. Roch. The
Citizen Le Moussu, after having arrested two vicars of the
parish, the Abbes du Courroy and Amodru, and two members 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 Aurelia, 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.








AO ~   ij~~~~i:~:::,::.:realistic!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i~~r:~:.~~~::j::: ~~...........~ ~ ~ ~ ~':::i~iiij~~~e::::j~:::' ~ 




A FRIGHTFUL ORGIE.                 275
At the same time the contribution boxes were robbed, the
church was despoiled of all its ornaments, without exception, 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 between these pillaging heroes, and served to pay the expense of a bacchanalian feast, at which the cantinieres 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 sacrament, 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 spectacle, 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 Commune, viz., Billioray, Cerisier, MIortier, 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 retreat 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 VAnves, one to take the village of Montrouge obliquely, the other to attack the gate of the ramparts leading 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 reinforce any point on which the attack might be made. No
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 returned to Paris apparently much dispirited. They attacked 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 Central Committee, stated that all inhabitants of Paris must
return to their homes within forty-eight hours, after that
time the claims in the Rentes 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 FOREBODINGS.               277
tried the Lieutenant-Colonel, Daviot, and Commandant
Vanostat of the 115th battalion of the National Guard,
for having, without any superior orders, abandoned their
posts at the Convent of Issy, thereby allowing the position 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 before 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, and 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 Committee 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 expressed the wish that they might be only opened for lecturing on Atheism and annihilating old prejudices.
Reports were spread throughout the city on the evening 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 threatened 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 PARIS     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 Rochefort has been arrested at Meaux!"
Rochefort arrested! the demagogue, the falsifier, and
coward arrested with the lie in his mouth! arrested escaping 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 before; I will meet you there on the 20th."
The Gaulois of Versailles published this letter, which
Rochefort repudiated in the most indignant manner; and
in his journal, the Mot d'Ordre, of date the 20th of May,
printed on the 19th, the last number published, he said:
"I would not have condescended to notice this contemptible 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 ipublication of this note gave me was that
my letter had fallen into the hands of the Prefect of Bordeaux, because it contained a check addressed to my
family to pay their expenses from Arcachon to Paris; and








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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i~~!i




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 Rochefort's denial in the Mot d'Ordre, he supposed with reason
that the ex-president of barricades would leave for Brussels the same day. The Minister immediately sent telegraphic despatches to all the departments, ordering the
surveillance to be doubled. At two o'clock in the morning he received a despatch from Meaux stating that
Rochefort had been arrested in the act of getting into the
railroad train. He had left Paris in a carriage accompanied 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 Rochefort
Luqay.
Previous to Rochefort's departure from Paris, and to
hide his flight, which must have been discovered the following day if his journal ceased to appear without notice,
the following letter was sent to the editor of the Politique:
" MONSIEUR LE REDACTEUR:-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."
Rochefort 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 off before leaving Paris.
When the cortege entered the Rue Reservoirs 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
monstration.  "A bas l'assassin; a pied le brigand; a
mort!"  The people were indignant that he was riding
in an omnibus, and it was with difficulty the cavalry prevented them from dragging him out and inflicting summary 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 AssiEntrance 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 l'Industrie 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 SeineBarricades constructed-Manifestation in favor of the Government.
O(   N  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 violent gesticulations, and shouting something which, owing
to the cannonade of Montretout and Breteuil, it was difficult 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




282         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
the drawbridge, of which only a small beam remained,
and joined his interlocutor, who said: "My name is Ducatel-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 commandant, to render an account of the situation to the Generalin-Chief. The following despatch was sent immediately
to the Generals Douay and Verge at Villeneuve l'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 ordered 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 Rue du Rempart. 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, continued along the ramparts, and surprised the insurgents
at the Porte de la Muette, where he took five or six hun







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ASSI IS ARRESTED.                 283
dred prisoners. Advancing along the Avenue de la
Grande Armee, he took possession of the barricades, driving the insurgents before him, and thus became master
of the Arc de Triomphe, where the tricolor was first displayed 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 movement had been so sudden that time was wanted to organize 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 undignified 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 generate in the occupied quarters, the entrance of the troops was not known throughout Paris until late on Monday. During the previous evening an im



284          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
mense crowd promenaded the boulevards, and filled the
caf6s until long after midnight. Delescluze himself, to
whom the news was brought at four in the morning, refused 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 the
entrance of the Versaillese; at least, nothing has been
seen which resembles it.
"The Commandant Renard, 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 movement 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 Gobelins and the Salpetriere, and on the right toward the




INVESTMENT OF         THE    CITY.      285
heights of Menilmontant, of Charonne, and the upper
end of the Faubourg St. Antoine.
This attack, directed and constantly overseen by Marshal 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 operation 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 insurgents, 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, vhere 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 beginning of the attack in the northern quarters (Batignolles and Montmartre), while the other two occupied the
Champs Elysees and its neighborhood. According to the
necessities of the action, they supported each other reciprocally.
This investment, by successive 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 circulate freely without meeting a single Federal uniform, and




286          THE PARIS     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 21st, to Sunday the 28th-there was not a
single offensive 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 operations by the occupation of Passy and La Muette. General Ladmirault then advanced towards the Arc de Triomphe, 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 overthrow 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, Levallois, Perret, and Clichy, and carrying 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 Boulevard 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



NUMBERLES S BARRICADES.                  287
borhood. These balls were 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 Neuilly and Malesherbes, 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 themselves 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 Trocad6ro, 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 individuals were pressed into the service, and obliged to worlk
for several hours, finally to have a rifle forced into their




288          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
hands, with orders to defend the barricade which they
had only helped to erect a contre-cceur. 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 Chausee-d'Antin, the Rue Richelieu, the
Rue Drouot, and the Porte St. Martin. The neighborhood of the Hotel de Ville was defended by immense constructions, 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 bank 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 trahis! " 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. The Committee of Public Safety
chiefly employed its time in issuing a variety of proclamations. The following appeal was made to the National
Guards:
"PAPIS, May 22, 1S71.
"Rise up, patriotic citizens!
"To the barricades! The enemy is within our walls!
No hesitation!
" Forward, for the Republic, the Commune, and Liberty!
"To arms!
"Ant. Arnaud, Billioray, Eudes, Gambon,
Janvier-Committee of Public Safety."
To the assailants, the following was addressed:
"PArnI, May 22.
"Soldiers of the Army of Versailles:
"The people of Paris can never 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 repeat 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,
]2anvier-Committee of Public Safety."
13




290          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
To the inhabitants of Paris it issued the following:
"L PAIs, May 22.
"The Porte de Saint Cloud, attacked from four sides at
the same time, by the fire of Mont Valerien, the ButteMortemart, Les Moulineaux and the fort of Issy, has been
forced by the Versailles troops, who have-now spread
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'93cannot lose in a single day the benefit arising from the
emancipation of March 18th.
" To arms, then!  Let Paris be covered with barricades,
and from behind those defences let it shout to the assailants 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, Billioray, Eudes, Gambon,
Ranvier-Committee of Public Safety."
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 melancholy. Everywhere the shops were closed, the caf6s 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








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PARISIAN     AMAZONS.              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. No vehicles were
to be seen, with the exception of ammunition and ambulance wagons, which clattered along making fearful echoes
in the vacant streets, and sending a thrill through the terrified 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 exaltees, 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 PalaisRoyal.  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 harnessed 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 followed, 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 Valles 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 instruction established by the Commune in place of the religious




292          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 have 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 Guards full permission to enter private apartments, 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 purport given by Delescluze:
" Commune of Paris:
" The Citizen Jacquet is authorized to requisition all
inhabitants, and all objects necessary to him, in the construction of the barricades in the Rue du Chateau-d'Eau
and of the Rue Alhouy.
"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 windows
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 are to be set on fire at the first signal.
" DELESCLUZE,
" Chief of the Legion of the X Arrondissement.
" BtRUNEL.
While the Commune was thus devoting all its energies
in exciting the people to a strenuous resistance, the Versailles troops were steadily advancing. Batteries were established at the Arc de Triomphe, which fired on the
Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, and Tuileries Gardens. Other batteries, placed on the terrace of the Tuileries by the insurgents, replied from time to time to this
fire.
The Palace of Industry, becoming untenable, was abandoned to the Government troops.
While the soldiers of General Douay were thus keeping
the insurgents at the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries in check, a portion of the troops under General Clinchant, advancing down the Faubourg 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 Rue d'Anjou.   One man, left on
guard at the corner of the Rue Duras, hastened at the
sound of the approaching chassepots to implore a civilian'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 PARIS COMMUNE.
boy, and presented to a lignard amidst the applause of the
crowd.
The fighting in the neighborhood was believed to be
ended. The inhabitants were professedly anti-Communists, but, unfortunately, 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 Rue d'Anjou,
and two in the Rue de Suresnes; one at the corner of
the Rue d'Anjou, and the other at the corner of the
Rue Boissy-d'Anglas; behind which they were now entrenched.
The soldiers, masters of the Elysee and the Rue 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 Rue Royale 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 Rue Aguesseau, separated from the Maine by a
slight partition, forced the wall, and thus gained possession 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 the
ambulance next door. At the same time the two barricades in the Rue 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




MONTMARTRE SURROUNDED.                 295
along the exterior boulevards, carried successively the defences of Batignolles, thus opening the way to the cemetery 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 attack 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 cannon; these, happily, could not do much to annoy the invaders, owing to the steepness of the hill, which prevented their being employed on assailants passing close
to the base.
While Montmartre was thus being surrounded preparatory 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 Rue de Rennes, at the corners of
the Rue du Vieux-Colombier and the Place St. Germaindes-Pres. These barricades were armed with cannon, to
reply to the fire from the dep6t, and to prevent the troops




296          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
from descending towards the Seine by the Rue 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 Rouge, protecting the streets of Grenelle, Sevres,
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 Rue Madame and the Rue
Bonaparte, and a third was established in the Rue Fleurus.
All these ramparts were defended by artillery. Less
important obstacles, accumulated in the side-streets, permitted the Federals to establish posts of observation,
and facilitated the communications between the different
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 Rue de Rennes; and bombs from cannon, established 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 Rue du Bac. At three
o'clock in the morning, the news of the entrance of the
Versaillese having reached this quarter, seven National
Guards of the 16th battalion, among whom were M.
Duronchoux, colonel of a legion, and two officers, 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 officer
tore down the red flag, and stamped it under foot. At
the same time the tricolor was planted at the corner of
the Rues du Bac and Varennes amidst shouts of " Vive la




ATTEMPT TO CATCH        BERGERET.        297
Republique!" Next penetrating into the Rue de Grenelle,
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 ligne!"  Many
Communists were taken prisoners, among others a commandant of artillery and a staff officer, who were 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, officer 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 officer 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 COMMUNE.
"himself," all search was vain. He had prudently decamped at the approach of the marines.
M. Hottot, chief surgeon of the ambulance of the Corps
Legislatif, lent his aid to the officer and soldiers in making the necessary perquisition.
Among the different papers discovered 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.
"FOItEIGN              "LIBERTY, EQUALITY,
AFFAIRS.                  FRATERNITY.
Delegation.               Commune of Paris.
C"MY DEAR BERGERET:-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 Germans 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 officer sent
en parlementaire, and followed at least by a large guard.
" Salut et Egalite.
"PASCHAL GROUSSET,
" Delegate of Foreign Affairs."
The other letter is from Raoul Rigault:
PREFECTURE OF POLICE.
Cabinet of the Prefect.
"PARIs, 23d March 1871.
"MY 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




FIGHTING AT DISADVANTAGE.               299
position exists, and while rendering you other services,
his title will permit him to execute any arrest or summons which might be useful to you.
"I press your hand.
" RAOUL RIGAULT."
Other letters were from Lullier, Lefrangais, and Bergeret 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 officers. Nevertheless, they enjoyed extraordinary
advantages over their opponents in the struggle, who
were obliged to attack without any protection, while they
fought behind solid barricades.
In the centre of the city shells fell without any intermission 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
Moulin-de-la-Galette-Volunteers of the Seine-Capture of MontmartreThe 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 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-Conflagration of the Tuileries-The Louvre saved-Barricade of the Place de
lOpera-Church of the Trinity-Chauss6e d'Antin-Place VendOme takenThe 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-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
A-X     9th Arrondissement were directed against the New
Opera, the Rue de la Chausee-d'Antin, the Place de la
Trinit6, 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 Parc
MIoriceaux and Montmartre, while the batteries placed in
front of the barricade defended the approach by the Place
de l'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 l'Europe, 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 detours stopped them on the way
and took many prisoners, while the others escaped into
the side-streets leading towards the cemetery of Montmartre.
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 skirting 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 barricades, 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
l'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




302          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Rue Blanche, the Rue Fontaine, and theRue do 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 insurrection, 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 manceuvres, 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 barricade 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  BARRICADE      SURPRISED.          303
very difficult to put many of them hors de combat. 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 obliged to leave unprotected.
The cannonade and musketry fire lasted from nine
o'clock till twelve, 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 Rue Blanche and the Rue 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 rbles were now changed. The troops entrenched
behind the barricade of the Rue 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 Rue Houdon, opposite the barricade, 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   PARIS COMMUNE.
hidden-suddenly drew a revolver, and shot him through
the head. The woman was immediately arrested, and
the body of the officer was carried to the cemetery of
Montmartre.
Meanwhile, after the capture of the Place Clichy, a
second column had penetrated into the Rue des Carrieres,
where another barricade had been raised. Here the insurgents held out until the troops, masters of Saint Ouen,
had turned the cemetery, and placed the Rue des Carrieres
between two fires.
A dozen National Guards remained alone on the barricade, 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 officers who had volunteered their services
to the Assembly at the 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 himself 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 immediately to assault the heights:
"Allons-y!" replied the captain, simply.




DEATH    OF A    BRAVE    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 Durrieu,
"but 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, suddenly, 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 Rue de Torcy."
The assault was commanded, and the height captured.
A barricade in the Rue Fontenelle was also carried. Durrieu 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 Rempart, 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 were abandoned by the Federals.
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 surrounding 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-Germain-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 cartridge-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 established 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 prestige, 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 the heights 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 rluins.
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 scruples 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 expected that the troops would be kept in check a long time
at the ramparts.
Montmartre taken, and the quarters below it occupied,
the barricades of the exterior boulevard retained little
power of resistance. That of the Place Blanche, attacked
by the Rue 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 insurgents, it was necessary first to take the Boulevard
Magenta, and next the Place du Chateau-d'Eau, a strategic position of first importance, commanding, as it




308         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
does, the Bastille, Belleville, the Faubourg Saint Antoine,
the Boulevard Prince-Eugene, and the Place du Tr6ne.
The Boulevard Magenta, about a mile and a quarter in
length, was defended by four formidable barricades established 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 Rue Rochechouart,
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 Rochechouart and the Avenue Trudaine, met
with a stubborn resistance at the College Rollin. After
gaining possession of this building, an attack was made
on the barricade of the Boulevard Ornano, which was carried 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 Rochechouart 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 applauded one day, imprisoned the next. Accused of treason 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




i:.::c -.,it l,;,,.................-:::::
Bi (li 13 IKBWSKI
CCnivuune of iAii'ts
18 7 1








DEATH    OF 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 Dombrowski, kissed him on the forehead and said, " General,
I will avenge you!"
He then withdrew, but, as he mounted his horse, a
ball struck him in the forehead, killing him on the spot.
The carriage left immediately for the Hotel de Ville.




310          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
In the 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 Commune in the confusion and terror of that time. On
Thursday morning, however, one of the members, accompanied by the Colonel, brother of the General, and several
officers, repaired to the cemetery.
The body was exposed on a litter, dressed in a Polish
jacket, with the limbs enveloped in linen. An oaken
coffin had been prepared; the blankets of two National
Guards present were folded in the bottom of the coffin,
and the body placed upon them wrapped in a red flag.
Commandant Brunereau then called in the artillerymen, 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 regular army, but against the horde of drunkards and cowards 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 Concorde had been the scene of a strange struggle. The
Versailles troops were in possession of the Palais de l'Industrie, and of the Palais Bourbon, seat of the Corps
Legislatif, which stands on the other side of the river, facing 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 Haussmann an attack was begun early
in the morning on the Expiatory Chapel, held by the insurgents, 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. Hlonore, the attack on the barricade of the Rue 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 Rue
Royale was thus taken in the rear.
In the Boulevard Malesherbes the contest was most violent, and lasted many hours. The troops, having gained
possession of the barricade in the Rue Ville l'Eveque, attacked from there the Rue de l'Arcade, where the insurgents were in great force, both behind the barricade and
in the houses. The traces left by the battle were numberless. Trees were cut down, and houses riddled with bullets and shells, while the columns and steps of the Madeleine were covered with many scars.




312         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Late in the afternoon the defences of the insurgents
were carried, and the terrace of the Tuileries succumbed,
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 Rue Royale, the houses were forcibly 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 Faubourg St. Honore to the church (on the left, looking toward the Madeleine), was a mass of ruins. In the Faubourg, several houses were totally destroyed, and others
greatly injured, while on the opposite side of the Rue
Royale, on the corner of the Rue St. Honore, two or three
houses were also made a prey to the flames.
Any attempt to extinguish the conflagration was punished 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 became the victims of death, and their bodies were afterwards 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 incessantly 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 Rue Royale, 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 overtook 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 Brunel,
who was lodged in the Ministry:
In a quarter of an hour the Tuileries will be on fire.
Remove the wounded from the Ministry and blow it up.
" I like that," said Brunel.
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 gunpowder and two large carboys of petroleum.
The barricades on the Place de la Concorde and the Rue
de Rivoli having been defended to the last extremity, the
Federals began their retreat and the Marine was evacuated.
14




314          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Orders were given to one of the men to empty, as soon
as all had gone, the vessels of petroleum near the ammunition. The man was fortunately somewhat the worse for
drink, and while seeking for some rope or tow to communicate 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 Rue St. Florentin, a cantiniere while requisitioning linen, sugar, and wine from the concierge of one of
the houses, said to him on leaving, " Take care of yourself, 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 insurgent killed fighting in the Rue Castiglione:
MINISTERE              Paris, le  18
de la Guerre.
CABINET    Cabinet du      1Iinistre
du ministre.      de la Guerre.
Au citoyen Lucas
Faites de suite flamber Finances et
venez nous retrouver.
Timbre:       4 Prairial, an. 79.
Ilinistere
DE LA GUERRE.             TH. FERRE.




THE TUILERIES 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 possibility 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 timber-work dry and inflammable, caused a most terrible
conflagration. Had a breath of air been stirring, the
whole of the beautiful Rue de Rivoli would have been
in flames.
Meanwhile every effort 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
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, where they were several times
on the point of being shot.
All day Tuesday, numerous carriages charged with powder 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 PARIS 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, notwithstanding 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 collections 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 Rue
Royale, a portion of the troops of General Douay advanced
along the Boulevard de la Madeleine, where they took possession of the barricade in the Rue Luxembourg after four
hours' hard fighting. The Maison Giroux 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 Haussmann and Malesherbes advanced to attack the strong
barricades on the Place de l'Opera and Chauss6e d'Antin,
preparatory to an assault on the Place Vendome.
The first of these barricades, which commanded the
Boulevard des Capucines, and the Rues Auber and Halevy,
was guarded by the 117th battalion of National Guards.
The attack was begun about noon, and conducted on both




PROGRESS OF THE FIGHTING.              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 valiantly, and during several 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 northern side soldiers were posted, who aided the attack in
the Rues Auber and Halevy, where it was chiefly conducted.
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 insurgents to surrender, under penalty of being instantly
shot.
He was answered by shouts of defiance; and an officer,
who appeared to be the chief of the band, instantly drew
his revolver and aimed it at his head. The lieutenant, however, 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 removed from the lyre, by no means an easy task, the figure
being thirty feet high, and within direct range of the insurgents below.




318          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 moment the pedestal of the statue, but leaving him untouched.
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 Rue
Drouot, and advanced in the direction of the Place de
l'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 battalion, 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.
Meanwhile 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 themselves 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 remarked, 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 contest ensued for the possession of the barricade at the end
of the Rue de la Chausee dAntin., Cannon were placed
on the porch of the church, which commanded the street,
and were fired during the entire afternoon without intermission. The insurgents replied with a cannon and mitrailleuses, considerably damaging the church and neighboring houses. One shell pierced the steeple; 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
While the combatants were thus cannonading each
other with violence, several companies of the Line, advancing along the roofs of the houses from the Rue St.
Lazare to the Rue de la Victoire, and from there to the
Rue de Provence, approached the barricade, and firing
down upon the insurgents, obliged them finally to retreat.
During the previous night an attempt had been made
to erect a barricade at the corner of the Rues de la Victoire and Taitbout, but this was not seriously defended,
and soon fell into the hands of the troops.
At six o'clock the fighting near the Chaussee d'Antin
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. Refreshments and wine in abundance were
pressed upon them, the inhabitants seeming unable sufficiently 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 l'Opera, which fired at regular intervals during the
night, doing considerable damage to the houses in the Rue
de la Paix. Towards morning, finding their fire unanswered, they dashed forward, and mounting the barricade, found the Place Vend6me almost entirely abandoned.
An advance was also made toward the Bourse, by the
Rue du 4 Septembre, in order to flank the Hotel de Ville
on the right. Artillery was brought to bear on the barricade 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 de la Bourse
ne craignez pas.
The Bank of France had also happily escaped its designed destruction.
About a month before the entrance of the troops, the
Bank was surrounded by National Guards, and MI. Beslay,
member of the Commune and delegate to the Bank, took
up his residence in the apartments of M. Rouland. The
latter, Governor of the Bank under the Assembly, had
14*
~. ^  \        V\
B f    b    a      p     s
signSe dt io




322         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
quitted Paris immediately after the nomination of this
delegate by the Commune.   Later, several amicable attempts 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 possession of the post at the corner of the Rues La Vrilliere
and Radzirvill, but they always failed before the energetic
attitude of those by whom it was occupied.
The defenders of the Bank were 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 were 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 Vendome, which was considered an impregnable fortress, being
taken with but little difficulty, the troops were able to
cross directly from the New Opera to the Bank.
The Federal battalions cantoned in the Rue 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 infamous 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 unmolested by the Government.
Meanwhile General Clinchant advanced his troops to




SAVAGE     CRUELTY.                323
attack the barricades in the Rues Chateaudun, NotreDame-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 Rue
Montmartre was carried the same night, as well as another
built at the intersection of the Rues d'Aboukir and PetitCarreau.  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 unfortunate 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 rendering 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 answered to await any reply. While on the
right bank of the river the troops were everywhere successful, the movements of General de Cissey were marked
by equal energy and success.
The night between Monday and Tuesday had been relatively calm, but at eight in the morning two furious
combats had begun    at different points, which lasted
throughout the entire day.




324          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
The first took place at the Dep6t Montparnasse. Tie
insurgents, repulsed the previous evening, profited by the
darkness to arm with cannon the barricade in the Rue de
Rennes at its intersection with the Rues Cassette and Du
Vieux-Colombier. From this position they bombarded,
at a distance of 860 yards, the dep6t which stood opposite.
Shot and shell rained upon the building, rendering it soon
a mass of ruins, while the surrounding houses were horribly maltreated.
While the battery of the barricade was thus bombarding the dep6t, 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 advanced, one to the right and one to the left of the Rue de
Rennes, 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 Rouge. This place is formed by
the intersection of six roads-Rues 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 Rue 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 Rue du Bac, while the other pushed
directly forward. They were received near the Rue des
Saints-Peres by a violent fire of musketry from the
Croix Rouge, and turned to shelter themselves in that
street; but hardly had they appeared, when they were




THIE   SOLDIERS WELCOMED.               325
again assailed by a fire from the barricade Saints-PeresTaranne.
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 Rue St.
Dominique was taken at the same time. Continuing the
same movement through the houses of the Rue du Dragon,
the soldiers gained possession of the Croix Rouge, while
the National Guards hastily retreated through the streets
Gozlin and Bonaparte.
The troops then advanced by the Rues Jacob, De l'Abbaye, and Gozlin to the Place de l'Abbaye, which they
found defended by a solidly-constructed barricade. IIere
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 passing 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 Rue 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




326          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 eighteen 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 neighborhood, and was immediately led a prisoner to Versailles.
The successive occupation of the barricades De Buci,
Saint-Andr6-des-Arts, and the Rue Christine, against
which it was necessary to employ cannon, led the troops
as far as the Boulevard Saint Michel. The Place SaintSulpice 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 boite."
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 SainteMarie, 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     SLAIVGHTER.              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 Rue Bonaparte, including the
Place Saint-Sulpice and the Rue de Rennes, 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-Royal, 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 Rue Br6zin. 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
the 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 PARIS 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 Rue 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 Rue Brezin, a soldier of the line,
calling to an insurgent who was aiming at him to surrender, 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 National 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 acclamations 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 inSurrection in the 14th Arrondissement was ended.




EVENTS OF       MAY    22.          329
The following despatch relating to the military events
of the day was forwardedl by M. Thiers to the Prefects of
the several Departments:' VEESATtLES, May 23, 2 P.r.
" The course which events are taking justify our expectations. We have now 90,000 men in Paris.
"General De Cissey has taken up his position from
the railway-station at Mon.tparnesse to the Ecole Militaire, and is proceeding along the left bank toward the
Tuileries.
"Generals Douay and Vinoy are enclosing the Tuileries,
the Louvre, and the Place Vend6me, in order subsequently
to advance on the Hotel de Ville.
General Clinchant having made himself master of the
Opera, the St. Lazare ERailway Station, and the Batignolles,
has carried the barricades at Clichy.
"General Ladmirault is approaching the foot of Montmartre with two divisions.
"General Montaudon, following the movement of General Ladmirault, has taken Neuilly, 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 declining, 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 impossible to fix the numbers, but they are considerable. The
army, on the contrary, has suffered but very slight loss.
"A. THIERS."
Later in the afternoon a second circular was issued:
"3:30 P.M.
"The tri-colored flag waves over the Buttes Montmartre




330          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
and the Northern Railway Station. These decisive points
were carried by the troops of Generals Ladmirault and
Clinchant, who captured between 2,000 and 3,000 prisoners.  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.
CA. THIERS."
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 achievements throughout the day.     Its arrival had saved,
among many other objects of value, the Chapelle Expiatoire.
This building, erected at the Restoration to the memory 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 Vend6me, and which was. peremptory, like all
the decrees of the Commune, was unaccountably postponed.
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 Commnune 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 service 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
"PARIS, May 18, 1871.
" Received from Citizen Libmann, 12 Rue 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)                                LABORDE.
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 negotiations:
CHAPELLE EXPIATOIRE OF LOUIS XVI.
Estimate of the Value of _Materials.
fr.   c.
Masonry....................................813,480 20
Granite....................................  39,702  00
M arble......................................  16,480  00
Metals (copper, lead)......................... 12,403 10
W oodwork................................  2,830  00
Iron..........................  32,900  00
Sculpture on the building................... 15,000 00
Artistic sculpture (2 groups, bas-relief)......... 150,000 00
Two stands for holy water.................... 1,000 00
Two altars................................. 1,500 00
Furniture of the church...................... 50,000 00
Chasublery.................................  15,000  00
Sacred vessels.............................. 50,000  00
1,200,295 30




332         THE PARIS 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, GayLussac, and the Boulevard Saint-Michel, gave orders for a
new disposition of barricades, and, following their indications, 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 perpetrated 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 Siecle,
had been arrested in the middle of April, at the instigation 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. Rousse, advocate, took the necessary steps to obtain
his release.
"No formal requisitions will be made against Gustave
Chaudey," said Citizen Protot; "only, what would you
have? Raoul Rigault is fort mnonte contre hIi, 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 Mlazas Prison, he was
later removed to Sainte-Pelagie, where, on Tuesday night,
May 23d, at eleven o'clock, his cell was brusquely entered
by Raoul Rigault, 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."
Raoul Rigault, however, interrupted him with imprecations, and Chaudey was dragged outside.
There, while awaiting a platoon of Federals, for whom
Rigault 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 between the butcher and his victim.   Chaudey remembered that he was both husband and a father.
"Rigault," said he, "I have a wife and child; you
know it."
These words producing no effect upon his enemy,
Chaudey had nothing to do but resign himself manfully
to his fate. I-Ie was then led out to a road near the




334          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
chapel, where, in a corner, by the light of a lantern fastened to the wall, and another carried by the overseer Berthier, the procession halted.
Either by design or hazard, the old employees of the
prison, who were regarded with suspicion, and themselves
destined to a near execution, were absent on that evening.
Rigault only had with him the trusty followers of the
Commune, the jailor Clement, Brigadier Gentil, and a
friend, Preau de Vedel, a volunteer 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 rendezvous.
The Federals seeming to hesitate, Rigault 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 Repu blique!"'
"I will give you enough of a Republic!" cried Gentil;
and rushing forward, he fired, breaking his jaw in fragments. Preau de Vedel then advanced and shot him
through the head.
Gustave Chaudey was an advocate of talent, and possessed 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
Coutrrier Franpais; 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 Rivarol, "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 eminent 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 4th of September, to whom M.
Chaudey was adjoint:
"MY DEAR CHAUDEY,-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 according 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 subsistence 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 affectionate devotedness.
"And yet you have succunibed-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 repression 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 COMM0UNE.
forget the force of examination which you brought to
bear upon our laws, nor your 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 believed to have been caused at the
instance of Delescluze, Delegate of War. The latter had
in his youth committed a theft on a IM. Denormandie,
which he had been obliged to avow. He knew that the
written proof of his fault was in the hands of M. Chaudey;
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 proclamations from the Commune to the provinces.
At two in the morning, the balloon was ready to leave.




AN   ATTEMPT AT FLIGHT.              337
Four carriages, filled with people, arrived at the gasworks.
The National Guards, who did not even 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 Guard 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 decisive. 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 unchangeable in all contacts with an insurrectional population. 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 penetrated withi 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 arteries which'penetrate to the heart of the capital; the
communications had been strongly established,annd 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
efficacious 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 generally regarded as very near-a matter, at most, of one or
two days.




CHAPTER XI.
Paris on the morning of the 24th-Incendiary orders-Proclamation to the soldiers-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 Roquette-Massacre of the Archbishop and five
other persons-Monseigneur Darboy-M. Duguerry-President BonjeanVisit 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
Raoul Rigault-His character-His extravagance-Cannonade from Montmartre-Night of the 24th-Conflagration of the Palace of Justice-The prisoners of the Conciergerie.
ON the morning of the 24th, the districts delivered by
the army on the previous day had the appearance
usual on some grand f6te.       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
particularry 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 projected outward at least two feet by the force of a shell.
The windows of most of the houses were broken. The
pretty little newspaper ciosques that line, here and there,
the boulevard, had      been  broken   to fragments; while
branches of trees strewed the ground, dipping and staining their bright green foliage in a dark liquid, recognized
with a shudder to be human blood.




340          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
The Boulevard des Capucines presented a similar appearance; but it was at the aspect of the Rue Royale 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 strange 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 away.
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 French
this crowning disaster, which, coming after a year of such




PETROLEUSES.                  341
utter misery and misfortune, might have proved a finishing 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 operated in the same manner.
Later, when the suspicions and vigilance of the inhabitants 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 discovered in the act, were shot on the Place Vendlome, now
occupied by the soldiers.
In the Rue du 4 Septembre, in the short distance comprised between the New Opera and the Bourse, ten pitroleuses were arrested, some of them children between 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




342         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
extinguished; 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, however, 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 Ville.
This firing became more violent as the day advanced,
shells being sent also from the Federal batteries at the
Buttes Chaumont and Pdre-Lachaise.
The following order was sent by General Eudes to the
commandant of the battery at P6re-Lachaise:
CREPUBLIC OF FRANCE.'; COMMITTEE or PUBLIC SAFETY, 
" PARIS, May -, 1871. 
" Commune of Paris 
"Fire on the Bourse, the Bank, the Posts, the Place
des Victoires, the Place Vend6me, the Garden of the
Tuileries, and the Babylone Barracks.  We leave the
Hotel de Ville under the command of Pindy. The Delegate 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 qucnd memoe.
"E. EUDES."




THE    CENTRAL      COMMITTEE.          343
The following incendiary order had also been given:' PAPIS, 3 Prairial, year 79.
"The Citizen Milli~re, at the head of 150 men, with
fusees, will burn the suspected houses and public monuments 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, Johannard,
Vesinier, Brunel, Dombrowsci."
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:
" COMMUNE OF PARIS.
" CENTRAL COMMITTEE, 3 Prairial, year 79.
"Federation of the National Guard:
" SOLDIERS OF THE ARMY Or VERSAILLES:-We are
fathers of families.
"We are fighting to prevent our children from being,
one day, like you, under 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 infuriated 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 CENTRAL 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 Vend6me 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 Vend6me 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 merited well of their country," the following bill was presented by M. Jules Simon:
"Art. 1. The Column of the Place Vend6me shall be
reconstructed. (Loud applause.)
dArt. 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 memory of Louis XVI. shall be immediately repaired." (Loud
applause on the Right.)
On the Place de'Opera the damage cone was considerable, although the Opera itself had escaped almost uninjured, 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 Rue 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 universal. The inhabitants had stopped up every chink into
which anything could be thrown; cellar-lights, ventilators, 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 majority 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
Rue Royale where the pompiers were energetically employed 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 sur15*




346          THE   PARIS- COMMUNE.
rounded by a body of cavalry, conducted into the Parc
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 Foreign Affairs, where Marshal de MacMahon had established
his headquarters. He gave them every information concerning the situation. The headquarters cf General Vinoy
were at the Corps Legislatif.
After a visit of two hours, the two members of the Government 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 explained to me. I return quite inconsolable, and I do not
attempt to give you any comfort. (Agitation on all the
benches.) The insurrection is certainly vanquished, and
the tri-colored flag floats from most of the public monuments 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 l'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 entrenchments were unassailable owing to a numerous artil



THIERS REPORTS 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 Vend6me, and the
Tuileries, but that palace was only a heap of ruins. (Explosion 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 Louvre;
such, at least, is what I gather from a hurried despatch
just received from that brave officer, so that this additional 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 Communists are surrounded; they are all endeavoring to withdraw, 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 destruction, but has sent shells prepared with that same substance
against our soldiers, fourteen of whom have been struck
by such missiles. (Loud marks of reprobation.)
"Our first duty in opposing this insurrection is to preserve 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 military operations have terminated, justice will pursue her




348          THE PARIS COMNMUXE.
rigid course. (Iear, 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 portion of that body were most anxious to take up arms
against the insurrection; and when the 16th Arrondissement (Passy) was evacuated, officers entirely devoted to
the Assembly repaired at once to that district, and, without authorization, proceeded to arm the battalions which
remained faithful to us. But, after my orders, that movement 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, consented 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 administrative 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 locumr tenens, who has consented to again collect
together in that city the various threads of the administration so long suspended. But the first point of all is to
disarm Paris (lozd cheers), 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    PORTE    ST. M AR T I N.       349
must be put down completely. At the present moment
I have more difficulties 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 conducted with the usual vigor.
The barricades in the Rues Lafayette and St. Vincent
de Paul were successively forced by the soldiers. The
barracks of the Faubourg Poissoniere was the scene of a
most desperate struggle, as was also the barricade at the
Porte St. Denis; but both were finally carried.
A battery was then established on the Boulevard Montmartre, near the Rue 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 Rue 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 barricades were guarded by the 143d and 131st regiments of
the Federals, who chiefly spent their time in eating and
drinking. lThey obtained their supplies'from the wineshops in the neighborhood, kept open " au nomr de la Commnzne," the owners being paid by bons on that body.
On Wednesday morning the bombardment of the barricades began, and was conducted with great fury, the
Federals replying with their muskets and cannon through
the entire day.
In the evening 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 insurgents. The flames were spreading fast, when M. An



350          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
doche, a manufacturer of fire-engines in the Rue 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 incurred from the fire.were added those of shot and shell,
which fell almost without intermission in the Rue de
Bondy and the Boulevard Saint Martin.
The Federals also, by an ambush.at the corner of the
Rue 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 Rue de Bondy, but about two
in the morning this fear was realized, and the buildings
being of light construction, the flames made rapid progress.
An appeal was made to all the inhabitants, who hastened-men, women, and children-to the pumps and
chain. A passing band of firemen were hailed as deliverers, 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 penetrate 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
Rue de Bondy became a prey to the flames.
The block of houses situated between the above mentioned theatre and that of the Ambigu-Comique was also
invaded by a band of insurgents. The Restaurant Deffieux 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,




CRUE L 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 indignation. One young man, unable to control his feelings,
struck an insurgent in the face.
That act was fatal to the unfortunate people, who 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 even 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 Raoul Rigault, with reference
to the unfortunate Chaudey:
" COMMUNE OF PARIS.
"DIRECTION OF GENERAL SECURITY,
"PARIS, 2 Prairial, year 79.
"The Citizen Raoul Rigault is charged, together with
the Citizen Regere, 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 intimidation, was finally decided upon.




352          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
The chiefs of the Commune felt that they were in possession of a magnificent 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. Rochefort, in his Mlot d'Ordre, and Vermesch, 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 violence; 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 Roquette.
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
Piepus, 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
the 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 DOO MED HIOSTAGES.                353
division of the prison-division from henceforth celebrated; 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 Rue Des Postes.
Father Clercq, Professor in the same college.
Abbe Allard, Chaplain to the Ambulances.
As their names were pronounced, each of the prisoners
was led out into the gallery, and descended by a windingstaircase, 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. MIonseigneur 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 their 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 Company of Lyon, which had been requisitioned for the purpose, 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 remained until the cemetery was 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 Fayl-Billot,
the 16th of January, 1813.
George Darboy was educated at the Seminary of Langres, where he passed most brilliant examinations. In
1836 he was ordained priest, and sent as Vicar to SaintDizier, near Vassy. A little later he was recalled to the
Seminary of Langres, where he was given the Professorship 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 Affrevictim, like himself, to revolutionary fury-caused him to
be named Almoner to the Lyceum Henri IV, and later,
Honorary Canon of the Metropolis.
He was called by Monseigneur Sibour to the direction
of the Moniteur Catholique. He then became first almoner of the Lyceum and honorary Vicar General, with




THE ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS.                 355
mission for inspecting the religious instruction of the
lyceums of the diocese.
In 1854, during a voyage which he made to Rome with
the Archbishop, the Pope conferred on him the title of
Apostolic Prothonotary. Finally, after being named Titular Vicar-General of Paris, he became, in 1859, Bishop of
Nancy.
A decree of the 10th of January, 1863, designed him
for the archi-episcopal seat of Paris, where he was precognized the 16th of March, and installed the 21st of
April of the same year.
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 Monseigneur Darboy endeavored to fill after his elevation to
the archi-episcopacy, did not always succeed.  The persistent 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. Monseigneur 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 Monseigneur Darboy, what has been the fate of his predecessors 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 COiMMUNE.
wards entirely destroyed. The persecution 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 assassinated 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 sovereign has
died on his regal bed, and only three out of all the archbishops 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 dispensation until 1820.
During four years he was professor of philosophy, theology, 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 Royal Guard by Charles X. He followed his regiment to Orleans, to Rouen, 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 Rome. On




MONSEIGNEUR       DUGUERRY.           357
his 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 cur6 of the Madeleine.
In the month of June, 1861, he was called to the bishopric of Marseilles, but he declined with thanks, saying"Je suis a la lMadeleine, j'y resterai, j'y mourrai, et j'y
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 officer 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 much evil has been said.' The insurrection was thundering throughout the capital. The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was covered with barricades, 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 church (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 fight, 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 instinctively 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 forget 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 regarding us with stupefaction.
"We advanced several steps, and the front rank of insurgents stopped. I then said:' What do you wish with
me, 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
all 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 30th, 1871.
"You 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 28th 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   PARIS    COM MU    E.
"If, instead of fighting bravely at Villiers, and having
yourself mutilated by a Prussian shell on the Plateau of
Avron, you had come to talk sometimes with your old
friend, you would have known that, given the incontestable principle that above all in days of danger a functionary should be at his post, I could not act otherwise than I
have done. I answer your three questions.
" 1st Question.-The Court of Appeal, over which I preside, being in vacation from September 1 to November 3,
I could have, without doubt, very regularly, and without
incurring any reproach, remained in Normandy with my
family, and awaited the end of a siege which nobody then
believed would last more than a few weeks. But, on the
other hand, as the result of the departure of M. Devienne,
it was on me, being senior of the presidents of the chamber, that the duties of first president devolved, 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, VI. Cremieux, keeper of the seals, consulted 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 Offciel of September 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.




MANLY DETERMINATION.                 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 cultivation of our domain, which the farmer had abandoned at
the invasion of the Germans, leaving the ground uncultivated. 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 Government 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
was consecrated to reading the papers, which I had not
seen since the 13th, in order to form an idea of the character, still very obscure, of the movement of the 18th of
March. On Tuesday, the 21st, I presided as usual at the
chamnre des requites. At half past three, as I returned to
my house, I was arrested, conducted to the Prefecture of
Police, then to the dep6t, 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 simplicity, are the
facts which you wished to know. I abstain 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 unhappy 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 persecuted 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 replied 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      ATIHER   G UER n  I.     363
affirm to you, upon my honour, that, except the terrible
anxiety I feel for the health of my noble and holy companion, 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 No. 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 brave
George, I added a most energetic prohibition against his
coming to Paris to attempt anything in my favor.
" Itold him that his post was by the side of his dying
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 imposed 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
No. 22. This cell communicated with No. 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 encouragement to his companion which could be prompted by the
most loving charity, Father Guerrin, on tlie night of the




364         THE   PARIS    COMMUNE.
assassination of the Archbishop and the five other victinms, remarked to his neighbor that the call of the condemned 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 entrance 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,
"heureusement reunies," as he said with touching simplicity. 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 difficult than yours.  For me, a
priest, a missionary, the martyrdom which I sought in
China without finding it, eL e bien! 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 proposed more simply or more as a matter of course, and it
was only after a violent 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. Rousse, staff-man
of the order of advocates, and the same who attempted to
obtain the liberation of Chaudey, of the 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 opposition. Not an usher, not a servant, not a sound; an abandoned 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 ca vous causer 




366         THE    PARIS COMMUNE.
"'Oh! 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 staffman of the order.'
"This reply instantly changed the situation.' What do you wish, citizen?'
"s To speak to the Procurator of the Commune.'
"' He is before you.'
" And excusing himself to his colleagues, the fierce Procurator 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
Versaillese 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 we 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)          PRIESTS.       367
"' I don't know, but not enouzgh,' he replied, in shaking
his head.'I wanted to arrest a great many more, but I
was prevented.'
"' Ah! then we will talk no more of that, for we should
not agree.'
" Oh, I know that very 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 are 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 P6lagie. Pelagie 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 Prre
Canbert, a Jesuit, admission to whom I had demanded
uselessly for the last fifteen days at the Prefecture of
Police.
"' Ah! I forgot; I have here another letter from a prisoner who wishes to see me. I will be much obliged if
you will add his name to the other two-M. Canbert."'
"' Is it another priest?'' Yes.'
c The worthy citizen hesitated a moment, but added the
name, and handed me the official paper almost as graciously as a functionary of the reaction could have done.
"'Then,' said I, as we left the cabinet,'I can count
that these affairs will not come on for several days?'
"'No, I am not in any hurry... unless the prisoners
demand a judgment.'




368          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
"'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.
"' Irbain,' he answered me with a gesture of disdain;'I am not at all afraid of his interpellations; I fear no interpellation. The affair shall only come on when you give
me the sign.'
"CAfter 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 advocates. My request was accorded with a good grace.
"' e 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 penetrating finesse.
"'You are ill, monseigneur, 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 CONDITIO N. 369
the heart, which 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 wish 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 Rigault. 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 Rome.
When, in 1863, I was called to the Archbishopric of Paris,
I explained to the Emperor my views regarding the separation of Church and State. I begged him to occupy himself 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 Rigault 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 talking. The vases, the ornaments, everything which serve in
the religious worship, belong to persons called fabriques,
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 PARIS COMMUNE.
received from Mr. Washburne, 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 Raoul Rigault to new negotiations. BHe told me that
he knew about them, and that Mr. Washburne 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 Duguerry 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, who 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       I N  PRISON.       371
"'You will come again soon, will you not?'
"' Tuesday, monseigneur.'
"And I went out. His cell was No. 62.
"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 crucifix, 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 Dacosta.
"' 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 blagues. 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.'
"T he 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 Chartreux; but I
think I had sooner become a Mormon.'
"The Abbe Duguerry added that he had need of nothing; 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
"'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:
"' Allons, dear friend, take my regards to your mother.
You will tell her that I cried,' and he embraced me, sobbing.
" He recovered himself in a moment, and said:
"'Allons, allons, until Tuesday. Don't forget my book."'
Notwithstanding the violences of which the insurrectional government had proved itself capable, no one believed that they would go so far as to assassinate the hostages. Assassination it must be called, for there is no
other name with which to qualify executions made without any motive of accusation, without judgment, without
even an interrogatory. There is, however, a state of
furious exaltation which, passing a certain degree, becomes 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 carried 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 Arrondissements. 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 boulevards, and had carried the barricades of the Portes St.
Denis and St. Martin. In abandoning the latter the Federals 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 precipitately by the Rues Turbigo and Rambuteau to concentrate 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 extinguished 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 SaintGermain-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 COMMUNE.
At the attack of the barricade of the Theatre Franqais,
which was made by the Rue Montpensier, the Rue Richelieu, and the Rue Saint-Honor6, many of the National
Guards refused to surrender and were immediately shot.
In the afternoon, at about three, the Palais Royal was
set on fire by the insurgents. A merchant in the building, believing the fire to be an accident, hastened to offer
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. IIe 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 neighborhood. 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
Honor.
A ladder was placed against the wall in order to reach
the terrace of the Rue de Valois, but the menaces of the
insurgents 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 successfully extinguished in the midst of shots fired from the
barricade of the Rue de Rivoli.
At five o'clock a pump was established in the Court of
Honor, and a large quantity of paintings, precious marbles, 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 Company arrived, but by that time pavilion No. 1 was entirely
consumed.
On the arrival of the firemen, they began immediately




PALAIS ROYAL BURNING.                 375
to combat the fire in pavilion No. 2, to prevent its gaining the apartments of the Princess Clotilde. The furniture 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 "Vive la ligne! " "Five
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 Sach6 placed himself at the head of this
movement. Mounting on the roof with the head machinist, 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 surrounding 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 contrary,
commenced to be discouraged, and were deprived of all
unity of commandment, and of almost all combined direction, dating from the 24th. They were isolated in two




376          THE  PARIS    COMMUTEE.
distinct combats on the right and left banks, where they
accumulated uselessly at certain preferred points.
As regarded the action, however, the most perilous portion of their task was yet to be achieved by the troops.
They were approaching the traditional ground of the insurrection, 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 Rue Montorgueil, and the Rue St. Denis,
notwithstanding the large avenues which have been made
through these populous quarters to the Place de la Bastille.
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 insurrection 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 Ville, in order to gain the Bastille by the Rue Saint Antoine; the taking of the Central
Market and the Rue 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
Rue Lafayette as far as the Northern Railway Station and
the Boulevard Magenta, in order to second either the attack 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  COWARDLY       INS UR G E.T.       377
and to reach the Orleans Railway Station by taking possession of the quays, concurring on the way in the occupation of the Cite and the Hotel de Ville.
Early on the morning of the 24th, the troops took possession of the barricade at the BarriQre d'Enfer, after a
violent combat. A large number of prisoners were taken.
Among them was a staff captain, his breast cyered with
medals-the Crimean, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican, together 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 devotion 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 sufficiently 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 was 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 Faubourg 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 movement of approach by the Place Medicis and the Rue
Soufflot, and by the Rues Gay-Lussac, Royer-Collard, and
Ulm. 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 Rue d'Assas and the Rae 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 Rue de Medicis.




378          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
At the same time a battalion of chasseurs crossed the
garden at a quickstep, and arrived at the gate of the Rue
Soufflot, where, under a rain of bullets and shells thrown
from the Pantheon, from the Rue Soufflot and its barricades, they broke down the gate, and carried the barricade
which stood opposite, gaining possession of two mitraillenses. They then invaded the Boulevard Saint Michel,
and established their guns on the barricades of the Rues
Cujas and Mallebranche.
The insurgents who had taken refuge behind the barricades of the Boulevard Saint Michel were able to corn.
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 occupied, 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 barricades erected in the Rues Royer-Collard and Gay-Lussac,
and advanced on the Pantheon by the Rues du FaubourgSaint-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 Rues Soufflot, Cujas, and Mallebranche, attacked the barricades in
front, and finally carried them, rejoining the column
which issued from the Rue d'Ulm at the same moment.




INCENDIARY       DESIGNS.           379
After a last attack with the bayonet, the insurgents were
entirely routed, and fled towards the Gobelins and the
Barriere d'Italie. 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 explosion. The order had been given to blow up the Pantheon; 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 insurgents, and prevented them from giving free course to their
terrible designs.
These designs were not due, as one would like to believe, to the -sudden inspiration of madmen, drunk with
whiskey, powder and despair. No! It is certain, unhappily 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 Public 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 promptitude 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 horrible combination had been carried out.
Those ordering the formation of four companies under




380          THE PARIS     COMMUNE.
the orders of Milliere, Dereure, Billioray, and Vesinier,
for the purpose of setting fire to the different quarters of
Paris, have been already given in this work.
On the 24th of May, at nine in the evening, the following notice was placarded on the walls of the 11th Arrondissement:
"COMMUNE OF PARIS.
" Order.
" 4 Prairial, year 79, 9 P. x.
"Any house from the windows of which a shot is fired
on the National Guards will be immediately destroyed;
and all the inhabitants who do not deliver or themselves
execute the author of such a crime, will be immediately
shot.
"THE COMMISSION OF WAR."
The following order was found on an insurgent killed
at the barricade of the Croix Rouge:
" The bearer of this order is authorized to destroy by
fire or mine any public or private establishment prejudicial 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 Rue de lOuest, had been exploded by the insurgents, 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 Rue de l'Ouest, in the
Boulevard Saint-Michel near the Observatory, were much
injured; also those in the Rues d'Enfer, D'Assas, De Vaugirard, De Madame, De Fleurus, etc.  In the Place de
Medicis, and the neighboring portion of the Boulevard
Sain t-Michel, the fronts of the shops had been literally torn




1(A:1     B I.: A tL [, T
t(Colnri\Ue of lkPansi1'16 7 








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 sustained by the Palace of the Luxembourg, so near the
scene of the explosion.
Clouds of dust obscured the light of the sun; the inhabitants 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 falling fragments, the unhappy inhabitants were often reached
by the balls of the combatants. It was during this same
day of the 24th that Raoul Iigault, 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 Rue GayLussac, 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 Rue des Feuillantines. At the sight of Raoul Rigault, who wore the
uniform of a chief, they fired without reaching him.
The door opened at the same instant, and Rigault
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 Rigault. A
surgeon who inhabited the house hastened to inform them
that they had seized a peaceful man, entirely stranger to
all political quarrels.




382          T HE PA   l S COMMtUNE.
The soldiers then began to search the house, and soon
laid their hands upon Rigault, who, having given his
name, followed them quietly.
They then descended the Rue Gay-Lussac, leading their
prisoner to the Luxembourg. When at the Rue RoyerCollard they met a colonel of the staff, who asked his
name. Iigault replied with a shout of " Vive la Uommune! a bas 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 Raoul Rigault 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 feeling of envy and hatred of others which 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    OF PIGAULT'S LIFE.           383
absorbed in politics and the police. In writing for different 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 permit of circulation, of which the delegate to the police was
so avaricious. Hie 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 Rigault, "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 oh all that was most mysterious or
most intricate in the Rue de Jerusalem. When MI.
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, Raoul Rigault gained a certain popularity
which caused him to be named chief of one of the battalions of the 5th Arrondissement.
This title, and the embroideries it enabled him to wear,
helped him to become initiated in the Republican Confederation, presided over by the ex-Count du Bisson,




384          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
general under the Commune. At the revolution of the
18th of March, the monomaniac had only to present himself at the Prefecture of Police in order to take possession.
From that day he reigned there, not as master, but as
tyrant.
Rigid 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, entangling 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 March, 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 hostages-a practice which had been renewed by the Prussians.
Before him the priests first appeared after their arrest.
Monseigneur Darboy having been conducted to his anteroom, entered, saying mildly to those present, " What do
you wish, my children?"
"Citizen," replied Raoul Rigault, 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, sentences of death.




RIGAULT'S FRIEND        PILOTELL.        385
It is not to be wondered at that, from the beginning of
April, his very name caused a certain terror; men ordinarily 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 caricatures presented by Pitotell. 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 Gustave Chaudey. Having taken
possession 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
on this gold."
The following curious conversation, which was held
by Raoul Rigault 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:
Rigault having at first refused, without giving any
reason, to grant the demand of M. Cochinat, the latter
remarked that he was making very free with the liberty
of the press.
"The liberty of the press!" replied Rigault; "connais
pas!"
"What! you know nothing about it! Why, you de17




386          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
manded it every day in the Jfarseillaise, of which you
were one of the editors 1"
"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 when we were 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 Rigallt to give an order
to Dacosta, his private secretary, for the liberation of M.
Balathier.
M. Cochinat then asked Rigault if he did not think it
peurile and absurd to arrest journalists so moderate in
their language as 3Mi. Balathier and others? to which
Rigault replied that he quite agreed with him; above all,
as the arrests gave him a great deal of work.
"c 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 C zcne petite terreur' in the city."
Such were the individuals for whom thousands of unhappy 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 signification.
The following bills of fare of two breakfasts taken at the
restaurant of the Freres-Provengaux by Raoul Rigault
and his secretary Dacosta, show at least that they were
connoisseurs in matters of the table:




COMMUNIST           FARE.                  387
Breakfast of May 10th.
Frs. C.
N uits..........................................  15
Clos-Vougeot................................... 12
Bread..........................................      50
Hors-d'ceuvre............................      3
Sole............................... 3
Chateaubriand aux truffes...........     8
Chicken.......................................  12
Salad...........................................   1  50
Cheese..............................    75
Oranges........................................   2
Coffee, liqueurs.................................  4
Cigars-Cazadores................................  13  50
Total...................................   75  25
Breakfcast of May 15th.
Frs. C.
Pom ard......................................       5
N uits...........................................  10
Clicquot.........................................  13
B read........................................    50
Hors-d'ceuvre.................................  1  60
Mackerel.............................. 3
Cote provenqale................................    3  75
Chicken........................................  12
Salad.......................................  1  50
Cheese.......................................     50
Ices....................................         3
Coffee, liqueurs...............................   3
Cigars........................................     6
Total.................................... 62 85
At this restaurant Rigault was in the habit of taking
most of his repasts.
After his dinner, Rigault's evenings were mostly spent
in drinking and smoking in front of the caf6s in the Boule



388         THE PARIS COMMUUNE.
yard Saint-Michel. One night, sitting before the caf6
Soufflot, 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 batteries 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, anid 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 struggle, 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 Neuf. 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
Rue de la Monnaie, on the Place Saint-Germain-'Auxer,
rois, in the Central Markets, the Rue Montmartre, Place
de la Bourse,;the Rue Neuve des Petits-Champs, the Place




THE    TIGHT- OF MAY 24.             389
Ventadour, the Marche Saint-Honore, on the Boulevard
des Italiens, Rue de la Chaussee-d'Antin, Rue Blanche,
Rue Pigalle, and all the streets extending from there to
the Faubourg Saint-Martin.
Had Montmartre 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 inhabitants 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 religious 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
Rome 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 revenge; 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   PARIS COMMUNE.
direction, and rendering it more easy to judge of the extent 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 perceived, 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 Montmartre 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 dep6t 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-Royal confounded its light with that of the Tuileries gallery.
Looking towards the right in the direction of the
Place-de-la-Concorde, a long line of fire denoted the position 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 gigantic 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 Rue Royale. On the left,
towards Saint-Germain-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



INCENDIARY        ORD ERS.           391
ace of the Legion d'Hfonneur, and the Caisse des Dep6ts et
Consignations, were also in flames.
This terrible spectacle, less frightful during the day,
gave to the nights of the 23d and 24th an aspect of which
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 Raoul Rigault.
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 Police to Wnrtz (Rigault's substitute) with the following
recommendation:
" COMZISSSAlIAT DE POLICE, DU PALAIS D D JUSTICE.
ITOYEN:-Prenez ces deux citoyens qui sont deux
bons bougres a poil.
C 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 Raoul Rigault, who had immediately installed himself as Prefect.  The employ6s left
him and his band masters of the establishment, and took
their departure for Versailles. They were easily replaced,
however, by Rigault, 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 individuals, Riel and Leballeur, were imprisoned for drawing
too liberally upon it.
On Tuesday, the 23d, Th. Ferr6, who was Prefect at




392          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
the time of the entrance of the Government troops, ordered the walls of the building to be covered with petroleum. 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,
Raoul Rigault made his appearance in the prison, and
gave the order for their liberation, and they were forthwith released, one hundred and fifty in number.
Hardly had they left the prison when they found themselves 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 defend the barricades.
The prisoners then took to flight amidst a rain of bullets sent against them by the Federals, and, sooner than
draw upon the regular army, they took refuge in the Prefecture, in the midst of a court which the fire had transformed into a veritable furnace.
There they remained until five o'clock, when they were
rescued by Lieutenant Berger, at the head of a detachment of the 79th of the line.
Among the prisoners who found themselves in this terrible position were the Prince Galitzin and M. Andreoli,
director of the Obscrvateur.




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 DominicansDeath of Milliere-Of Valles-Gencral 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 Austerlitz bridge-The Mazas prisoners released-Their death-Citizen Vincent-The Grenier d'Abondance in flamesDespatch of Ferr6 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
-Preparations for blowing up the neighborhood-Place du Tr6ne-More
victims at La Roquette-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 to the
Belgian and Spanish Governments-Protest of M. Victor Hugo-H-e is
ejected from Belgium-Conflagration of the docks of La Villette-Offers of
firemen made by the English and Belgian Governments.
T    HI E  terrible cannonade kept up        during    the  night
obliged the insurgents to evacuate the central portion  of the city, and     take refuge in the northwestern
quarter, leaving only near the Halles and the Palais Royal
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 exterior boulevards, and thus cut off the French army; but
they were then too utterly demoralized to attempt anything of the sort. Fleeing in disorder, and thrown back
upon their last entrenchments, what could they do?
Sally out by the northeast and abandon the place?               It
I7*




394          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
was not to be thought of; the Prussians were there, barring the passage to the people they had taken such pleasure in seeing at worc.
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 morning, 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
Rue de Rivoli 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 spectacle will serve, it is to be hoped, as a lesson to the insurgents who dared to declare themselves partisans of the
Commune. Justice, however, will soon satisfy the human
conscience, outraged by the monstrous acts of which
France 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 RAG-PICKERS OF PARIS.                395
" The fort of Montrouge and that of Hautes-Bruyeres
are ours.... We are masters of the Pantheon, of the
Halle aux Vins, and all the neighborhood. The Barriered'Italie 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-Roi, 1'Hay, and neighborhood. 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 Barriere d'Enfer and Montrouge 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 commanded 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 Railway, 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 prolonged 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 Rue Mouffetard, had, forming a curious exception,
little sympathy with Communist ideas, either from a sort




396           THE PARIS COMMUNE.
of philosophical indifference 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 pavements, 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 workmanship had been so directly manifested in these magnificent
productions.
The regular forces advanced without interruption, pushing back the National Guards to the Barriere d'Italie,
where they dispersed on all sides, leaving numerous prisoners. The troops then re-descended the boulevard to the
Austerlitz Bridge, rejoining the left wing of General de
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 Neuf, Saint-Michel, and Notre
Dame. They then established themselves at the Jardin
des Plantes and the Orleans Railway Station, having left
sufficient force behind to secure their rear and to co-operate in the taking of the Hotel de Ville.




MORE    ARRESTS.                 397
The fall of the position of the insurgents at the Butteaux-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-magazine of the latter fort caused a terrible explosion. Profiting by the confusion which ensued, the dragoons rushed
to the assault, and gained possession of the fort, Wrobleski surrendering himself prisoner with 6,000 insurgents.
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 six 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 Bic6tre.
Twelve sisters of Saint-Marc, charged with the ambulance of Arcueil, who had been employed during the whole
of the preceding night in picking up the wounded National Guards, and giving them every care, were also torn
away from Arcueil and conducted to the prison of SaintLazare. 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
that, though 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 College d'Arcueil were released while the others were led
away prisoners, the Federals telling them that as soon as
they arrived at the Barriere Fontainebleau they should be
set free.
In leaving the fort, a few shots, fired through carelessness, caused a panic among the Federals, in consequence
of which one of the fathers, the Pere Rousselin, 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 Route d'Italie, they
were placed in a court where shells were perpetually falling; they were then taken to the 9th section and again
interrogated.
At half-past two a man in a red shirt arrived, calling,
"We want 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 personage brought by a red shirt; the Dominicans were
placed in file two by two, and told to go out, that they
were free. Understanding the sinister meaning of those
words, Father Captier advanced, saying, "Allons, omes amis,
pour le bon 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




MILLIRE lARRESTED.                399
Dominicans, Fathers Captier, Cothereau, Bourard, Delhorme, Chataigneraie; 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 upon 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 patriotism, 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.
Retribution, however, had overtaken during the day
several members of the Commune.
Milliere had taken refuge at the house of his father-inlaw, No. 38 Rue d'Ulm. On Thursday morning a sergeant of the line, breakfasting at a small cafe in the neighborhood, 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 Rue d'Ulm."  The
sergeant shortly after took his departure, and, joined
by several of his comrades, searched carefully the Rue




400         THE    PARIS COMMUNE.
d'Ulm. Arrived at No. 38, the apartment of M. Foures,
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 were shot by his
orders for having refused to defend the barricades.
Arrived at the top of the steps he stood facing the soldiers, 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 Rpubliquze!... Vive
lo Peuple!... Vive l'Hunzanite!.. Vive." A discharge of chassepots interrupted his last words, and he
fell leaning towards his left side.
His shirt was pierced with 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 grdce. Milliere's wife had been killed on the previous 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 nI. Thiers is a chemist, he will understand us."




MILLIERE
Commune of Paris
1871








EXECUTION      OP VALLES.            401
Valles was led out from the theatre of the Chatelet at six
o'clock on Thursday evening by the platoon charged with
his execution. He was dressed in a black coat and light
trousers of a yellowish tinge. He wore no hat, and his
beard, which had been shaved off a short time before, was
very short and turning gray.
In entering the street where his sentence was to be executed, 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 horribly infuriated, calling, " A l'assssin! " twisting himself,
seizing his executioners by the throat, biting them, in
fact opposing a despairing resistance.
The soldiers commenced to be embarrassed and somewhat 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 completely freed from every element of insurrection. General de Cissey, who conducted all the military operations
in that portion of Paris, and who has since been nominated Minister of War, is one of the most brilliant of the
French officers. Rarely 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 which he has been called to reorganize, and to




402          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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-Cyr December 2d, 1830, he left a
member of the staff in 1832, and made his first campaign
in Africa from 1836 to 1838. Remarkable from the first
for his intrepidity and presence of mind, he received his
first citation in the order of the army after the two expeditions of Constantine. Captain on the 27th February, 1839,
serving in turn as aide-de-camp the Generals Dejean, Rumigny, 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 M6deah; June 5th, at Tegdempt 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 headquarters 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 Rear-Admiral Rigodit, commlanding the marine.




GENERAL DE CISSEY.                  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 14th of August, at the battie of Isly, where he was cited by Marshal Bugeaud as one
of the officers who had behaved themselves most remarkably. In 1850 he took part in one of the first expeditions
of Kabylie, commanded by Colonel de Lourmel, and distinguished 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. General 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 a ministry for Algeria and the colonies, he was called to the direction of military and maritime affairs. Although the ministry of Algeria was but
of short duration, General de Cissey found time to give
proof of great aptitude in the direction of affairs, of a profound 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 ewas
Inspector-General of the Military Schools.
When war was declared against Prussia, the General
was at iennes, at the head of the 16th military division.




404:         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
It was expected that he would be placed at the head of
the staff of the Army of the Rhine, his rare military talents 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 announced 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 disposed, to give to each soldier one hundred and eighty cartridges 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 patriotic grief which filled his soul, another affliction was soon
added. Madame de Cissey was dying at Rennes,.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 return to Rennes until after the signature of the peace preliminaries.
His name was persistently called upon at Versailles for




SEiRVICES 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 reestablishing discipline, his wise measures and his energy,
hastened the end of that painful and redoubtable enterprise. His campaign, opened at the forts of Issy and
Vanves, whose capture was owing to him, ended at his entrance 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 preservation.
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 grandcroix, 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, working 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 COMMUTE.
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.5th,
and the Hotel de Ville was taken by an ingenious combination. While it was attacked on one side by the Rue de
Rivoli, 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 Rue 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 Arrondissement, leaving behind only a heap of blackened ruins.
Nevertheless, the moral effect was considerable. Threefourths of Paris belonged henceforth to the regular army.
Montmartre and the Hotel de Ville 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 absolutely desperate cause, which good sense and patriotism
should have advised them to renounce.
The tricolored flag floated above nearly all the monuments in the city, replacing the drcapeau rouge. From the
ChAtelet 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 PRISONERS.                 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 Railway 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 success hastened the fall of the Lyons Railway Station, the
Mazas prison, and the viaduct of the Vincennes Railway.
In the Mazas prison, early on the morning of the 25tl,
a bomb had fallen in the 2d division, shortly followed by
another, whioh 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 endeavored 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    COMIMUNE.
reserved for those to whom: liberty was given in such a
moment, remained in the prison, where one of the keepers, 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 immediately 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 the
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 insurgents 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 Rue 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 Rue de Bercy that Vincent, delegate to the Committee
of the Rue d'Aligre, had been arrested. Vincent had formerly been concierge in the Hotel de la Dordogne, situated in the Rue de Bercy. Having been dismissed by the
proprietor, M. Conderc, he resolved to be revenged.
On Thursday morning M. Condere 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.




VINCENT'S REVENGE.                 409
Vincent, who commanded the barricades, denounced M.
Conderc to a commissary of the Commune, who instantly
arrested the unhappy man accused of having fired upon
the Federals. M. Cassie was also arrested.
They were both immediately conducted to the guardhouse of the Marche Noir, and about to be shot, when a
spectator obtained a delay of the execution, and hastening to the Committee of the Rue d'Aligre, affirmed the
innocence of the prisoners, and demanded an order for
their release.
IHe 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 Rue de Bercy, and, aided byhis
wife, excited the insurgents, distributed cartridges, and
fired himself upon the troops from behind the barricade.
When the barricade was carried, he succeeded in making his escape, ran to his home, dressed himself in civilian's
clothes, and descending into the street walked straight up
to an officer of the line and denounced M. Conderc as having fought until the last moment.
The officer immediately ordered the arrest of M. Conderc, 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 suffer 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 PARIS COMMUlNE.
He was led immediately to the Rue de Bercy, in the court
of the municipal dep6t of paving stones, and shot forthwith.
Before his execution he boasted of having caused thirty
refractory National Guards to be shot, and of having himself 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 Rues Saint-Paul, Charles V.,
De la Cerisaie, and proceeding through the houses of the
Rue Saint Antoine, carried the barricade of the Rue Castex and debouched on the Place de Ia Bastille. There
they encountered a most violent resistance, rendered still
more serious by the conflagration of the Grenier d'Abondance and of the houses situated around the Place.
The following concise document was afterwards found
in one of the mairies of Paris:
"REPUBLIQUE FiANSAISE.
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.
" VILLE DE PARIS,
"MAIRIE OF THE XI ARRONDISSEMENT.
" I have set fire to the Grenier d'Abondance.
"Artillery magnificent.
Resistance good.
"0 C.  LRIIc,
"Chief of the 13th Legion.
"MAY 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
" PAIS, 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 Montmartre is ours no longer. I have seen the Place de laJ
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 Rue de la Roquette, 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, SaintMartin, 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 immense camp.    The Rue de Grammont was filled with
artillery; the Theatre of the Opera-Comique was turned
into an ambulance, and was surrounded by immense material 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 large 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 forthwith. 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 everything 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 chasseuzbs a pied, 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 tlan 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 artillery, installed there, from covering the quarters SaintDenis and Bonne-Nouvelle with shells.
Seven avenues or boulevards open on the Place du
Chateau-d'Eau: Ruede dTurbigo, Boulevard Saint-Martin,
Boulevard Magenta, Rue du Faubourg-du-Temple, Boulevard des Amandiers, Boulevard du Prince-Eug6ne (now
Boulevard Voltaire), 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 Magenta, 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 different army corps continued to
follow their first strategy, the great merit of which was
its simplicity. Marshal de MacMahon was, doubtless, inspired by the geometrical axiom-a straight line is the




THE LAST     STRONGHOLD.             413
shortest distance from one point to another-being sure
that his soldiers would know how to vanquish every obstacle that rose in their path.
The troops who had taken possession of the Central Market had advanced during the day through the Rue 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 Pere Lachaise.  Nevertheless,
the troops had succeeded in reaching the Buttes Chaumont
by the upper 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 Beaumarchais, Des Filles-du-Calvaire, and Du Temple, by the
Chateau-d'Eau, the Rue de la Douane, the Entrep6t and
the canal, ending in turning round the hospital of SaintLouis 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 interruption, 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 occupied by violent combats before the bloody struggle could
be entirely terminated. During Friday, Saturday and




414          THE PARIs coMMUN E.
Sunday, the Federals never ceased to oppose to the indefatigable ardor of the soldiers the most furious zeal, which
was sustained until the last hour, and which those will understand who have 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. However 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 mysterious 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 Commune did everything in their power to delude their adherents 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, tricolored flags were shown, with cries of victory, to the National Guards assembled in the Mairie of the lth Arrondissement. These the members of the Commune pretended 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 writei'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 imprisoned at La Roquette since the 18th of March, were
taken from prison and led to the Mairie of the 20th Ar



SUNDAY, MAY 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 auxiliaries. 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 conduct, 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 blood of his soldiers by moderating their action.
These 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 already 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 possession, and through which they communicated with the
Passage du Wauxhall, where they had their reserves, and
also with the Rue des Marais-Saint-Martin, which conducts to the barracks, the Rues Magnan, Dieu, and De
l'Entrepot.
When the action was about commencing, the insurgents informed the inhabitants of this house of their in



416          THE   PARIS COMMUNE.
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 inhabitants 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 Caf6 Parisien. At the end of a few moments they approached the barricade, opening a rapid
and efficacious 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







E 1...... L  8  I. ~tJ  Z':.i
~oin'iut1 0e  1 V Par'is
1mvm




DEATH    OF DELESCLUZE.              417
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 Reunis, 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 Reunis, carried them at
the point of the bayonet.
Most of the houses of the Place du Chateau-d'Eau attest the violence of this rude engagement; their fronts
are riddled with bullets and shells, while many are entirely 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 Voltaire. On
the way he met several National Guards soldiers and
officers, whose hands he silently pressed. Ai- ae 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 "trop coupable" 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
side lay a cane which 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:' PARIS, May 16, 1871, (Tuesday, 7 P. M).
"CITIZEN DELESOLUZE:-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 (Wednesday, 17th) in the -Rue Neuve-des-Petits-Champs, at
No. 48, under the entrance to the Ventadour 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 before you, and you must enter.
"Be withoiut fear; the person who wishes to speak to
you will be-.pne. Put a flower of some kind in your left
button-hole, so that the coachman may distinguish you at
once.
"Above all, discretion. Not a word of this to those
surrounding you.
"Yours with all my heart,
JEANNE LACASSIERE.
C P. S.-Burn this."
The second letter is still more interesting, and shows
with what confidence these people inspired each other:
"' MONSIEnR DELESCLUZE:-A vast conspiracy is being




TWO   THOUSAND      PRISONERS.         419
organized against you among your colleagues, and even
among those whom you think your friends. If steel cannot act, poison will be employed. Above all, distrust
Vermorel.
"A DEVOTED FRIEND."
Among the other letters were several orders for the
service, which prove the desperation of the situation of
the insurgents.
The following is a sample:
" MINISTRY OF WAR.
Cabinet of the Minister.
"PARIS, May 21, 1871.
"CITIZEN DELESCLUZE:-Send immediately, artillerymen, 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 LISBONNE."
At the Magasins Reunis more than two thousand insurgents were taken prisoners.
In the Rue du Temple, where a barricade had just been
carried by the troops, a large number of prisoners were also
taken, and led to the Rue 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 dispatched. He asked to speak to the captain, who advanced
and demanded what he wanted.




420          THE PAtIS COMMIUNE.
"I should like," said the child, drawing a watch from
his pocket, "to carry this to the concierge who lives opposite; 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 subterfuge of the poor fellow.
"Well, go! and hurry yourself! " he said, roughly.
The platoon of execution understood also, when, suddenly, running as though for an urgent affair, the child
re-appeared, placed himself before the soldiers, with his
back to the wall, and said, " Me 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 furiously 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 possession, after a shorter but no less violent attack than
that of the Chateau-d'Eau, of the Place de la Bastille.
IHere the houses suffered, as everywhere else in Paris,
as much from the flames spread by petroleum as from
artillery projectiles. Immense buildings recently constructed at the head of the. Rue Saint-Antoine were
entirely consumed.
The troops next precipitated themselves into the Faubourg 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
Tr6ne.  The laboring population of this former birthplace 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      PLAN.             421
The streets surrounding the Place de la Bastille were
all obstructed by barricades, which were successively carried by the troops. At the corner of the Rues Rampon
and Valmy, where Canal Saint-AMartin opens, a number
of insurgents were found drowned.
On the 24th, 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 evidently intended to drag it towards the others; but the
smoke occasioned by the fire was so thick that, being unable 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 Tr6ne 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
Ten or twelve bandits had first mounted on the pedestal
of the column which supports the statue of Philip-Augustus, 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 Tr6ne being occupied by the soldiers of
the line, a portion remained to watch the elements of disorder 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 Richard-Lenoir, enveloping the prison of La Roquette, 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.




FED-ERAL PRISONERS.                  423
The circle had constantly and regularly narrowed; it
compressed, indeed it strangled, this prodigious insurrection, thrown back in a definitive manner on to its last intrenchments.
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 restored 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 recklessly upon the bayonets.
Many had worked actively in the construction of barricades, and a large number had aided in igniting the conflagrations, carrying everywhere, with inconceivable eagerness, 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 imprecations and wild cries.
Meanwhile, in the Prison de la Roquette, 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    COMMU NE.
On Friday, 26th, the noise of the battle, which approached the quarter of La Roquette, 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 Christian 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 five o'clock, when, in the midst of the recreation, 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 behind some barricades, where they were shot. Not one has
reappeared.
Among the victims were the Pere Olivaint, superior of
the Jesuits of the Rue 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-Sulpice, 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 Roquette, where he fell a victim
to the common fate.




CONVICTS 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 remorse 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.
Nevertheless 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 mornin'g the noise of the firing approached sensibly
the neighborhood ofthe prison and the Mairie of the 11th
Arrondissement, where the last remnants of the Commune 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 attempting to avenge themselves by butchering the remainder 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 PereLachaise.
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 transportation arrived, restored them at once to liberty. Arms and
ammunition were given to these bandits, who immediately commenced a massacre of a large number of
prisoners, among whom   were sixty-eight gendarmes.




426          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Five 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 thus 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 category 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 execution 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 protected 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 Roquette, 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. Becourt, curate of Bonne-Nouvelle, a band of Federals ar



THE POSITION      ON FRIDAY, 26TH MAY. 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 robbers 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:
"MEssIEuRs:-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 Barriere du Tr6ne. Nearly all the boulevards are in the power of the army.   The Place du
Chateau-d'Eau, the barracks of the Prince Eugene, the
Magasins-R6unis-all that portion of Paris is in our hands.
"All the forts on the left bank, Bicetre and Ivry included, are in our power. Bicgtre and Ivry were carried
by the cavalry.
" There remain at this hour only the Buttes Chaumont,
and the portion which extends on that side-that is, Belleville, La Villette, La Chapelle. But the troops advance
methodically and regularly on these last points. To-morrow, 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,




428          THE PARIS COMIMUNE.
that the army, thanks to the devotedness of its soldiers
and the ability of its chiefs, has become completely mistress of Paris."
On the same day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs sent
by telegram the following note to the diplomatic representatives of France in foreign countries:
" VRSAILLES, May 26th.
" SIR:-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 constitutes a series of crimes, provided 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.
" Receive, etc.,               JULES FAVRE."
The French Government immediately learned, in answer, that the Belgian Cabinet would not consider as political 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 Indepeenence Belge of Brussels, expressing his disapproval of the conduct of the Belgian
Government:
"BRUSSELS, May 26th, 1871.
"SIR:-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 accept the men.
"I have protested against their acts: law of hostages,
reprisals, arbitrary arrests, violation of liberties, suppression 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 vanquished 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 Rigault 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 Assembly, who cause Jules Valles, Bosquet,
Parisel, Amouroux, Lefrangais, Brunet and Dombrowski
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 infamous. 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 offer.




HUGO'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, No. 4.
"If a vanquished of Paris; if a man of the reunion
called Commune, which was very little elected by Paris,
and which, for my part, I never approved-if one of these
men, were he my personal enemy, above all if he is my
personal enemy, knocks at my door, I open. He is in my
house. 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 house
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 defence of right, by the side of the man of the Commune,
vanquished by the Assembly of Versailles, will be seen the
man of the Republic, proscribed by Bonaparte.
"I will do my duty. Above all, 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     COMMUNE.
"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.
"Receive, sir, the assurance of my distinguished sentiments,                             VICTOR IHUGo."
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 will 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 anything 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 Dombrowsci."  Rather doubting the truth of this
assertion, as Dombrowski had been reported killed, he was
hesitating what to do, when a large stone crashed through
the window directly above his head, quickly followed by a
shower of others. At the same time,, shouts were raised
of "A mort! a mnort!"  Others facetiously informed him
that the Commune had come to ask an asylum. Many
called "A bas Jean Vaijean!" showing at least an acquaintance with his works. Efforts were made to break
open the door, which, happily for the "friend of the people," resisted these attempts. Not 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 having 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 Chdtiments for the death of
Billioray, and of Rigault, the assassin of Chaudey.
The poet saw with an indifferent eye both victims and
ruins, and kept all his pity for the assassins and incendiaries.
Happily, the Belgian Government had different views
respecting them, 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 conflagration had been ignited, and the flames rose high to heaven
as witnesses against such criminals. This fire was at the
bonding warehouses of La Villette and the magazines of
M. Trotrot, containing immense supplies of coal, wood,
wine, provisions, and other articles of merchandise. Here
twenty millions worth of property had been wantonly destroyed, no possibility existing of saving the smallest portion.
Offers were made by both the English and Belgian
Governments to send their firemen, in order to aid in extinguishing the conflagration in Paris. These offers were
thankfully accepted, and were announced to the National
Assembly by General Le F16 (War) in the following manner:
"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 COMMIUE.
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 replied 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. (Renewed marks of approbation.)  Belgium, likewise, was unwilling to remain
behindhand, and the 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 Villette was the signal
for another defeat of the insurgents.
En fact, during this same day, General Ladmirault executed at La Villette a movement similar to that of General 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 Rue de Lafayette 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 attacked vigorously, both in front and flank, and were unable 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 Richard 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 Ml. Thiers-Proclamations of Marshal de MacMahon-Vicar Lamazon's letter-Military decreesArms taken from the insurgents-Paris divided into four military departments-Aspect of the city-The Louvre-The Tuileries-The Palais-RoyalThe 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.
O     N 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 intermediate 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.        Threequarters of the army were 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, settling 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   COMNMUE.
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, distinguished 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-Lachaise. The detonations of artillery sounded here frequently, from the foot of a long obelisk, monumental
ornament of a tomb.
The line of the Federals bordered the canal by La Roquette, the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, and the Boulevard
de la Villette, but they fell back incessantly as the attack
progressed.
General Douay, master of the barracks of the Chateaud'Eau, advanced by the Faubourg du Temple, which resisted with fury. The barricade established beyond the
canal, at the corner of the Rue Fontaine-au-Roi, fired
Without interruption upon the barracks. But the troops
advanced on the left, and, carrying the barricade of the
Rue Grange-aux-Belles, occupied the hospital of Saint
Louis.
Towards the east, General Clinchant attacked by the
Boulevard Prince-Eugene, by the Rue d'Angouleme, and
by the extremity of the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, the
barricades which defended the approaches of the canal.
The resistance in the Rue des Trois-Bornes was particularly vigorous, the fire from the barricade being aided by
that of insurgents in the surrounding houses, the windows of which had been stuffed with mattresses for their
protection.
At the intersection of the Boulevard Richard-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 fortification 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, enveloping 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 with 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 projectiles in the neighborhood of the Buttes attest the efficacy 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 PARIS COMI]MUNE.
The investment of Pere-Lachaise was conducted at the
same time by the combined action of the troops under
General Vinoy, who, from the Place du Tr6ne, had gained
the cemetery by the exterior boulevards and Charonne,
and of the column which advanced along the Boulevard
Richard-Lenoir.
The Pere-Lachaise had been occupied for several days by
the Federals; they had easily appreciated all the importance of this commanding position. Consequently, without 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 contain 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 defended 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 wellknown 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 Richard-Lenoir, and of the approach, more
and more imminent, of the regular troops.  The National Guards withdrew in great haste, scaling the walls
of the cemetery, and commenced a retreat which greatly
resembled a disordered flight. The chiefs, however, suc



PERE-LA CHAISE TAKE-N.                 439
ceeded in rallying a portion of their forces, made them
return 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
Plre-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 useless effort; soon forced to yield before the firmness of the
attack, the troops were quickly in possession of the disputed ground, making its defenders prisoners.
The cemetery, garnished with cannon, with loopholes
pierced in its walls, dug up in different parts for the establishment of entrenchments, presented a singular spectacle,
the disorder contrasting sadly with its solemn and peaceful
intention.
Near 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 probably 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
their inscriptions entirely destroyed, or their monuments
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 contented 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 insurgents killed in battle, lying one upon another.  The
faces smeared with mud and blood, or gashed with horrible wounds, were terrible to look upon. Behind the barricade of the Place de la Rotonde, although the dead had
been carried away, their number was proved by the quantities 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 breadsuch were the sights which might be seen behind every
barricade in the quarter.
In the Rue de Puebla sixty insurgents were killed




CO 1MMUNIST 0 u r    H I   S.         441
behind one barricade; they felt their cause to be infallibly 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 insurgent 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 officers 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:' VERSAILLES, May 27-7 r.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 COM rMUNE.
"While General du Barrail with his cavalry was capturing 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 formidable entrenchments. He carried this position with General 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 leaders 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-R6unis, which, however, he has valiantly
subdued.
"Lastly, General Ladmirault, after vigorously carrying
the Northern and Eastern Railways, has taken the direction 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 attack to-morrow morning.




RESULTS OF THE SIX DAYS.                443
" During six days there has been constant fighting, and
our energetic and indefatigable soldiers have really achieved
wonders. The merit of those who have had to attack barricades is far different from that of those who have defended
them. The officers in command of troops have shown
themselves worthy of leading such men, and have fully
justified the vote of thanks passed by the Assembly.
"After the few hours' repose which they are now enjoying, 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 de la Bastille, and his captors, without respect 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 solcliers, and. cause almost instantaneous death."
The Staff of the Army of Versailles issued the following
report:
"After having captured the slaughter-houses and cattlemarket of La Villette with the division of General Grenier,
and the large barricade armed with cannon at the Rond
Point of the Boulevard de la Villette with the aid of General 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 Rue and Faubourg Saint Antoine
and the Cours de Vincennes, obtained possession of the
Cemetery of Pere-Lachaise and the Mairie of the 20th




444          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
Arrondissement, which were carried by battalions of Fusiliers 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 resistance 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 continued 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 numberless; 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 improvised 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 forbidden to receive anything from the hands of the inhabitants. 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,




t FEMALE FIEND.                  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 horrible burns which he had received.
On Saturday morning (27th), about eight hundred insurgents 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
who was furnished with a safe-conduct perfectly in order,
fell into the hands of these madmen, and was with difficulty rescued by their colonel, Du Bisson.
The formidable bombardment directed by Montmartre
against Belleville had driven the insurgents almost mad.




446          THE PARIS COMIMUNE.
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 assailants, 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 Bellevue had been taken; twenty-three insurgents were shot on the spot; and at six in the evening,
while a few sharpshooters called the attention of the
Federals towards the Rue de Crimee, the volunteers of
Seine-et-Oise and the soldiers of the 64th regiment advanced by the Rue Compans, turning and gaining possession of the barricades. The Federals still wishing to fight,
placed themselves with 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 Rues
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 multiplied at all points, with a fury equal on both sides. From




FEDERALS S URR E ND E RING.            447
the Rue de Charonne 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 the troops remained
intrepid and firm under a rain of balls sent from every
window.
At Belleville, where the capture of the barricades required 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 insurgents 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 Vincennes,
but they were met in their retreat by the Prussian lines,
where all passage was refused them. Any refuge was henceforth impossible. On the left bank, the southern forts of
Ivry, Bicttre 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




4-18        THE PARIS      COMMUNE.
fort of Vincennes, the only point yet untaken, was surrendered on Monday morning, May 29th, at the first demonstration made against it by a brigade of the army of
General Vinoy.
The Chief of the Executive Power issued the following
circulars, announcing the triumph of the Government:
" May 28th, 1871-2:15 P. t.
"Our troops, charged with the operations on the right
bank, were last evening drawn up in a circle round the
Buttes Chaumont and the heights of Belleville. During
the night they overcame all obstacles. General Ladmirault crossed the valley of La Villette, proceeded beyond
the slaughter-houses, and ascended the Buttes Chaumont
as well as the Belleville heights.
"The young Davoust, so worthy of the name he bears,
carried the barricades, and by daybreak General Ladmirault's corps had reached the summit of the heights.
General Douay, starting from the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, also attacked the insurgents' positions at Belleville.
During the same time, General Vinoy's men climbed the
ascent of the Cemetery Pere-Lachaise, and carried the
Mairie of the 20th Arrondissement and the prison of La
Roquette.  The sailors have everywhere displayed their
usual bravery.
"In entering La Roquette, 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
Chaudey, a heart full of goodness, and a sincere Republican, 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 few
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."
PARIS, May 29, 1871.
"To-day a brigade of the army of General Vinoy commenced the siege works against the fort of Vincennes.
As soon as the insurgents, who still occupied the position,
perceived these preparations, they surrendered at discretion. One of the chiefs blew his brains out. Our troops
took immediate possession of the fort."
The social war was terminated; the Communal insurrection 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.
" INHABITANTS OF PARIS:
"The army of France came to save you.
"Paris is delivered.




150          THE   PARIS   COMIMUNE.
" 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 iMACMIAHON, Due de Magenta,
"Marshal of France, Commander-in-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:
"SOLDIERS 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 applauds the success of your patriotic efforts; and the National 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 detestable 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 measures were taken for restoring order in Paris: arms were
everywhere seized, and in each quarter a rigid investigation 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 suspected individual wns 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
personages, 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 comparatively easy.
The public mind, filled with joy at its deliverance, was
at the same time troubled by the horrors of the last few
days, amongwhich stood pre-eminent the frightful massacre of the hostages. On Sunday morning a letter was
written by M. Lamazou, Vicar of the Madeleine, describing the events which occurred at La Roquette during the
last days of his imprisonment as hostage:
"PARIS, May 28th, 1871.
"We left this morning the prison of La Roquette, ten
ecclesiastics, forty sergents-cde-ville, and eighty-two sol



452         THE PARIS COMIMUNE.
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 Roquette, 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 hundred, a vicar of Notre-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 invitations consoled those who were the objects of them,
in assuring them that what didn't take place to-day
would 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 remarkable, some for their stupidity, the others for their ferocity.
"Since the atrocious execution of Monseigneur the
Archbishop of Paris, of IM. le Cure de la Madeleine, of
President Bonjean, of M. Allard, former missionary, and
of the Jesuit Fathers Clair and Du Coudray, which took
place on Wednesday, May 24th, in a corner of the exterior
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 Roquette on the morning of the entrance of
the Versailles troops into Paris, were destined to undergo
the same fate.
"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 Versailles 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-deville who still remained in the prison. The members of
the Commune who persisted in their horrible designs had
installed themselves in the register office of La Roquette.
I was able, from my cell, to follow their deliberations, and
I affirm that there cannot be a public house of the worst
reputation where the behavior would not be more exemplary.
"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 Roquette, 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 opposing 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 COMM UNE.
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 inl Paris only
on sinister days, to enter the court of the prison, in order
to regale them with the spectacle of another day of September.
" While the crowd without shouted and menaced, some
of the National Guards, charged with shooting us, mounted 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 Pore 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 Roquette. Many of the
same class had the doors of their prisons opened, and left
the building, shouting enthusiastically, " Vive la Commune!'
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 Roquette, 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




DISARM ING     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 Roquette 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 imagined.
"Receive, sir, etc.,
"L'ABBmE LAMAZOTU,
" 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 Republic,
"Considering that arms distributed throughout Paris
in profusion and without control, have fallen into the
hands of rioters and malefactors, and that a general disarming can alone guarantee, at this moment, the public
security,
" DECREES:
"Art. I. Under the orders of the military 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 COMMIU NE.
tional Assembly shall have decided concerning their re-organization, 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 placarded on the left balnk:' EHEADQUARTERS OF THE LuiXEmBOUIG, May 28, 1871.
"According to the orders of the Marshal, Commanderin-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 assistance given to the army by certain members of the National Guard who fought for the cause of order and civilization. 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 CISSEY,"
"The General Commanding the Second Corps."
The approximative number of arms taken from. the insurgents, in virtue of these military orders, is as follows:
285,000 chassepots.
195,000 guns a tabatiere.
68,000  "  & piston.




MACMIAHON'S DECREES.                 457
That is, 548,000 guns of different models, with sabrebayonets, or bayonets with their corresponding shoulderbelt.
56,000 cavalry sabres of all forms and for all ranks.
14,000 carbines, mostly Enfield.
39,000 revolvers.
Finally, 10,000 arms of every kind, such as daggers,
stilettoes, sword-canes, etc., giving a total of 667,000 weapons of every kind taken from the hands of the Communists, independently of 1,700 pieces of cannon and mitrailleuses 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 moment, their number was hardly over 15,000, which is
easily explained by tlhe 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 HEADQUARTERS, May 30th, 1871.
"Until further order, the city of Paris will be divided
into four great military commanderies, namely:
" st. That of the East, comprising the XI, XII, XIX
and XX Arrondissements, under the orders of General
Vinoy, commanding the Army of Reserve; headquarters
at the Convent of Picpus.
"2d. That of the North-West, comprising the VIII,
IX, X, XVI, XVII and XVIII Arrondissements, under
the orders of General Ladmirault, commanding the First
Army Corps; headquarterl at the Elysee.
20




458           TIHE  PARIS    COMMUNE.
"3d. That of the South, comprising all the left bank,
that is, the V, VI, VII, XIII, XIV and XV Arrondissements, under the orders of General de Cissey, commanding the Second Army Corps; headquarters at the Luxembourg.
"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, relative to
the state of siege, all the powers possessed by the civil authorities for the maintenance of order and the police pass
entirely into the hands of the military authorities.
" DE MIACMAHON, Due de Magenta,
"Marshal of France, Commancler-in-Chief."
On the same day, May 30th, the commandery of the
North-West gave the first sign of life, in repressing energetically. attempts on the public security. General Ladmirault caused the following notice to be placed on the
walls:
CNOTICE.
" HIBADQTARTEBS OF THE ELYSEE, May 30th, 1871.
"Isolated shots are now and then fired from houses situated 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 rigorous 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 PETROLEUM.               459
Any proprietor disobeying this order, or any person found
in his establishment after that hour, was to be immediately arrested.
At the same time the theatres were obliged to be furnished with a special authorization from the military authorities before continuing their representations, and the
same was required from all newspapers-even from those
which had already reappeared.
The following notice was later placarded, and was read
with general approbation.
"IHEADQUARTERS, PARIS, June 2d, 1871.
" Until further order, all commerce in petroleum is formally forbidden.
" Exceptions can only be made for pharmaceutical preparations. 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 customary 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,
land 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
the tricolored flag. Everywhere 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 retreating.
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 detachments 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 individual, 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 Chatelet, and from
there, if not condemned by the Grand Provost, were conducted to Versailles.
The number of insurgents slain in the contest was incalculable. 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 particularly mournful.
Usually, at this season of the year, night seems turned
into day; the caf6s 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




PARIS AT      INIGHT.              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 sentinels who guarded the corners of the streets. Now and
then the cry of " Qui vive! Passez au large! " interrupted
the silence, as at rare intervals a passer-by was seen. No
passenger was allowed to walk at night along the pavements; 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 doing 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 inhabitants were allowed to leave without a laissez-passer.
UTp 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 which




462         THE   PARIS COMMU N E.
they had been the scene. When the eager and curious
crowd of sight-seers was finally allowed to enter, the disappointment was general. The newspaper accounts had
been so horrible, that many expected to see but the blackened ruins of a once beautiful city. The bustle and activity 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 blackened 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 harmonized under the second Empire. YWith 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, paintings, and other works of art. The eastern fagade 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 particularly by Henry II




THE LOUVRE AND         TUILERIES.        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 upon the Huguenots from
one of its windows; and here Henry IV lay in state after
his 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 Restoration, 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 whole collection was rearranged, and great additions made. In 1861 the entire
collections of the Marquis Campana, of Rome, were purchased for $1,000,000; these form the greater portion of
the Mus6e 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 de 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, inhabited 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 COMIMUNE.
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 invaded 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 Napoleon II.
The flight of the Empress, when the Palace was again
invaded 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 l'Horloge, the Pavilion
de Flore, and the Pavilion de Marsan. Under the late
Empire the building was shown to visitors.
Napoleon III's theatre and chapel were built upon the
site of the old Salle des Machines, where Moliere's Psyche
and Conedie Francaise were played, and where Voltaire
was publicly crowned. The state staircase led to a fine
ball-room, called the Sacle, de la Paix, which opened into
the Salle des Mcarechaux.,' 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 Marechaux to the private apartments of the Emperor and Empress, and on the left through the Salle di. Premier Consul and the Salle d'Apollon to the Salle du Trone, where a




THIE PALAIS ROYAL.                465
new throne occupied the place of the one burned by the
mob in 1848, and the Galerie de Diacne, the Imperial dining room.
The Palais Royal, another of the public buildings attacked by the rage of the Commune, faces the Louvre,
and is built on the site of Cardinal Richelieu's palace. It
was given to the Duke of Orleans by his brother, Louis
XIV, and passed from him to the Regent Duke. Here
the Regent 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 relieve his embarrassments.
The Gardens of the Palais Royal 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 execution of Egalite, when the Palace was sold by lottery. After
the Restoration it was bought back, and repaired by the
Orleans family, by whom it was inhabited until they removed to the Tuileries in 1830.
Invaded and plundered by the mob in 1848, the building 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 descended 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 m      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 French celebrities, from the time of Charlemagne to Louis XIV, and, as a specimen of modern
French magnificence, the decorations' and furniture of
20*




466         THE    PARIS    COMMUNE.
the Hotel de Ville were unrivaled.  Here, during the
late Empire, the Prefect of the Seine entertained 7,000
guests in the great gallery, ornamented with gilt Corinthian columns, and illuminated by three thousand waxlights.
The architecture of the building equalled, and, if possible, 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 Robespierre was taken prisoner by the soldiers, having 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 violent, something remains which, if required, renders reparation not impossible.
Here, however, the destruction was implacable; it seems
as though a breath would overthrow what still remains
standing; and yet, while this ruin is the most complete, it
is also the most beautiful which has been left-by the vandals 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.            467
The skeleton of the immense palace alone remains. The
walls, which are corroded by the flames, irregularly mutilated, with their windows enlarged and disjoined, their
doors resembling breaches, and their summits capriciously
cut in points, give them the appearance of the battlements 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 Renaissance 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 chef-d'cuvre, 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 northeastern pavilion, and which contained one hundred thousand volumes, principally historical works. Not 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 beautiful building, were entirely destroyed.




468          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
A collection of all the sovereigns of Europe who had
accepted an invitation to the Hotel de Ville, and who in
doing so, always engaged to send:their busts in white marble to the Prefect of the Seine; was also lost. Their number 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 Russia,
the King of Prussia, the Sultan of Turkey, etc., etc., all
destroyed, mutilated, or lost in this formidable conflagration.
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 Ville, 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 because 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 documents excited the hatred of one-half the Commune, and
the contempt of the remainder. A more particular grievance, 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 refused to pull down the tricolor and replace it by the red
flag. Such a crime could not be left unpunished. On
Mionday, May 22d, five men, of disreputable appearance,
presented themselves in the cabinet of M. Maury, declaring 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 ARCHIVES SAVED.                 469
The order to set the building on fire was sent on Tuesday, 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, Debock, director of the Imprimerie Nationale, and Alavoine,
his associate, came to the director and delivered him the
following precious document:
COMMUNE OF PARIS.
"Ministry of Justice,
"National Printing- Office,
"Cabinet of the Director.
"PAP.IS, 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 punishment."
The archives were saved.
We have already mentioned the almost miraculous
escape of the Bank of France from the danger which surrounded it, owing to the heroic resistance of a body of
National Guards, who remained day and night on watch




470          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 diamonds; 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 distinguished between the notes thus completed by the Commune and those previously in circulation? No one, certainly.
"M. Rouland was Governor 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 Pleuc, remained, who devoted his attention to the difficult task of guarding the three milliards,
which represented the savings of France. He found in




THE BANK OF FRANCE.                  471
the persons under him, and in the National Guards of the
quarter, the heartiest assistance, and a battalion was constituted to watch over the establishment.  It was five
hundred strong; but the men had only twenty-five cartridges 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 accumulated 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 subGovernor 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 baker's shop?' The allusion was clear, and the metaphor, of which M. de Plceuc 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 PATRIS COM MUNE.
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 useful in the incessant struggle sustained daily during two
months against all the men in authority, who were constantly quarreling amongst themselves-the Commune,
the Central Committee, and the Committee of Public
Safety-but who were all agreed on one point-to appropriate 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 overcome by their impatience, and one day Varlin and Jourde,
the two delegates to the Finance, 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 assignats. All your National 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 BANK WAS SAVED.               473
the delegates. Every day a new comedy was played.
Matters progressed, the Bank sometimes refusing, sometimes 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 Vengeurs de la Republique entered and seized the sub-Governor
in his bed, demanding the keys.' I can only give them
to Beslay,' he replied. 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,' replied M. de Plceuc,'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, gentlemen; 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 hostages.
"The last three days were the most terrible. The battalion 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 PARIS      COMMUNE.
necessity required that that course should be adopted.
The humble employes of the Bank behaved like heroes;
some struggling against the conflagration which threatened 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.
Rouland 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 Lultce-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 Caesar who reigned over Gaul.
A little later, when the dominion of the Franks had
succeeded that of the Caesars-when their barbarous domination had replaced a learned oppression-the long-haired
kings divided their time between the Palais des Thermes,
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 present time.
The first who established himself perpetually in this
Palace was Eudes, Count of Paris, and afterwards King
of France. Robert the Pious 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 MIontreuil, 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 architecture of the thirteenth century occupied the site of the
more modern Salle des Pas Perdius, 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 temporarily.
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
Renaissance, nothing now remains but the Sainte-Chapelle.
a part of the gallery, the kitchens, the Tour de l'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 Rue 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 Chancellerie of the Legion of Honor was established 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 Gallifet.  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 avidity of the Prussians, was also stolen.
The building was set on fire at the four corners after
the walls had been smeared with petroleum, notwithstanding the energetic resistance of the concierge, Hamel, who
was carried off and thrown into prison. The Archives of




PALACE     QUAI D'ORSAY.              477
the Grande Chancellerie, which stands opposite the Palace
in the Rue de Lille, was also set on fire and entirely destroyed, together with the glorious annals it contained.
The Palace of the Quai d'Orsay, which was another victim to the vengeance of the Communists, was commenced
under the first Empire and finished under Louis Philippe.
It was first destined for the King of Rome, 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 Conseil d'Etat and the Cour des Comptes.
With the exception of the Staircase of Honor, decorated by the remarkable compositions of Theodore Chasseriaux, 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 historical portraits of Sully, Colbert, Vauban, Richelieu,
Turgot, Suger, Portalis and Cambace6rs. In the Hall of
Legislation is to be regretted a beautiful painting by Paul
Delaroche, while in another room one of the finest pictures by Eugene Delacroix, representing the Emperor Justinian, 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 Peyronton, delegate of the Commune to the Conseil d'Etat,
and his secretary Pelletier, the Palace was occupied militarily, at the entrance of the Versailles troops, by the




478           TII E PARIS COMMU NE.
assassins Eudes and Megy, who had fallen back precipitately with their men from the Palace of the Legion of
Honor, and who evacuated this in turn, after having accomplished their odious task.
Unhappily, to the losses of the State were added those
of many private individuals, members of the Cour des
Comptes and the Conseil d'Etat, who, fearing the pillage
of their private houses, had brought here many precious
objects and valuable papers, thinking to secure them from
all harm.
Not 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 the 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.
The abolition of nationality.
The Rues de Lille, Du Bac, and Royale are those which
suffered perhaps the most from the terrible scourge which
afflicted Paris.
Although the Communists had such an objection to
capital, they showed that, once in their possession, they
could spend it freely. The following is the approximative
amount of what their eccentricities have cost the city of
Paris:
fr.
Expenses of the Commune................... 52,000,000
Roads......................................  2,500,000
Hotel de Ville and Municipalities of Arrondissements................................   36,000,000
Forward...... 90,500,000




ESTIMATE       OF  DAMAGE.               479
Brought forward...... 90,500,000
Churches..................................  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 half burned or damaged..............  34,000,000
The villages in the environs of Paris.......... 70,000,000
Railroads..................................  10,00,0 00
Commerce..................2............... 00,000,000
Total.......................867,500,000
Among the men who supported the Communal insurrection 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
every order of the Society received through the medium
of the Central Committee.
The war with Prussia had also drawn towards the unhappy 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 Russians, 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      COMiMUNE.
Biondetti, surgeon-in-chief of the   233d battalion
(Italian).
Babick, member of the Commune (Pole).
Becka, adjutant of the 207th battalion (Pole).
Cluseret, general, Delegate of War (Frenchman, naturalized 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).
Charalambo, surgeon-major of the Federal sharpshooters (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 (Portuguese).
Frankel, member of the Commune (Prussian).
Giorok, commandant of Fort Issy (Wallachian).
Grejorok, commandant of the artillery at Montmartre
(Wallachian).
Kertzfeld, director-in-chief of the ambulances (German).
Iziquerdo, surgeon-major of the 88th battalion (Pole).
Jalowski, surgeon-major of the Republican 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
Maratuck, aide-major of the 72d battalion (Hungarian).
Moro, commandant of the 22d battalion (Italian.)
Okolowicz and his brothers, general and staff-officers
(Poles).
Ostyn, member of the Commune (Belgian).
Olinski, chief of the 17th legion (Pole).
Pisani, aide-de-camp of Flourens (Italian).
Potampenki, aide-de-camp   of General Dombrowski
(Pole).
Ploubinski, staff-officer (Pole).
Pazdzierswski, commandant of Fort Vanves (Pole).
Piazza, chief of legion, (Italian).
Pugno, musical director at the opera (Italian).
Romanelli, director of war materials (Italian).
Rozyski, surgeon-major of the 144th battalion (Pole).
Rubinowicz, staff-officer (Pole).
Rubinowicz (P.), surgeon-major of the fusiliers of
marine (Pole).
Syneck, surgeon-major of 151st battalion (German).
Skalski, surgeonl-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 (German).
21




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-Gambon-Eudes-Okolowitch-Mathieu-Varlin-Jourde - Johannard- La Cecilia-Treilhard-Paschal Grousset —R6gre —Vsinier-Verdure —CourbetRossel-Vermorel-Cluseret-Dufil-Langelle-Razoua-Rochefort-His ingratitude to hisfather-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.
O   N   Friday, June 2d, the Minister of Public Instruction addressed to the Assembly the following words:
"The insurrection of Paris commenced by an assassination, 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 execution of the hostages.
"Their bodies have been recovered.       The funeral obsequies are soon to take place.    The Government will have
measures to propose which will tend to manifest the public 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 official
communication on this subject; but, having received today from the chapter of Notre Dame a deputation which
announced the day and hour of the obsequies of the




JULES    SIMON'S PRO JET DE        LO.    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 deputation, 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 Assembly saw fit, under the present circumstances, to derogate from its custom, and appointed fifty to show this
mark of respect to the Archbishop, and other victims assassinated by the Commune.
On the following day Ml. Jules Simon read the following projet de loi:
"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 incurring the greatest perils, or to march in their ranks under
their infamous flag against order, liberty, and their country, they laid their hands, without pretext, without a
shadow of judgment, on the most eminent and respectable 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 pronounced 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 execute their reprisals on this flock of innocents, not even
following the law of retaliation, which did not suffice




484          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
them, but in assassinating three victims for every criminal 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 massacred for no other motives than vengeance, hatred, and
love of murder; sentiments worthy of the 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 universal 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.
" PROJET 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 Instruction and Worship."
This project was unanimously adopted on the succeeding day by 547 voices, with the addition of the following
article:
"A commemorative tablet, erected in the Church of
Notre Dame, will bear the names of all the hostages."




PUBERAL OF THE VICTIMS.                485
During the week preceding the ceremony, every day
from ten to four, an immense crowd stood at the gates
of the Archbishopric, waiting their turn to see the remains 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 Mlonseigneur 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 Archbishop, of Monseigneur Surat, Vicar-General, of the Abbe
Duguerry, Cure de la Madeleine, of the Abbe Becourt,
Cur6 de Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, of the Abb6
Sabattier, second vicar of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, and
other hostages, took place at Notre Dame.
The interior of the cathedral church of Paris was entirely hung in black, as was also the front of the church.
A shield bearing the arms of the Archbishop, with this
device: "Labore fideque," was placed above the central
door. On each side were shields bearing the fatal dates
of the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th of May.
In the interior of the church on other shields were engraved 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 Becourt and Abbe Sabattier.
The members of the National Assembly, the Ministers,




486          THE PARIS COMIMUNE.
the Diplomatic Corps, the Magistrates, Marshal de MacMahon Duc de Magenta, Marshal Canrobert, several admirals, a large number of army and navy officers, the Institute and the University, all assisted at this imposing
ceremony.
At eleven o'clock the funeral procession, having left the
Rue de Grenelle at ten, arrived at Notre-Dame. M. Darboy, 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, contained the remains of Mgr. Darboy; another followed,
with those of Mgr. Surat.
The procession having reached the Place du ParvisNotre-Dame, the Canons of the Church of Paris, the Curates of the Diocese of Paris, preceded by the cross of the
Chapter, advanced to receive the corpse of the Archbishop.
Mgr. Allouvry, 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 NotreDame, owing to a request of the National Assembly, whose
members wished to unite in one the funeral honors of all
the victims of the horrible massacre committed at La
Roquette.
Happily retribution was not long in overtaking the majority 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    PRISONERS.                 487
the camp of Satory, remaining there until they had been
examined, when they were sent off to other places of confinement, 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 desperation. -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 Gallifet, followed by an aide-de-camp.
He passed through the crowd of prisoners, amongst whom
were women dressed as men, the vivandieres of the Commune, and by his orders they were divided into three parties before passing the ramparts.
Eighty prisoners, 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 PARIS COMMUNE.
gram, inclosed by a stout wall, where artillery used to be
parked and a number of cavalry stables stand. It is here
that the Communist prisoners are lodged when they arrive 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 unshaven.... 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 gendarme said they were generally very meek and volunteered
readily for fatigue duty. If those in the open were exposed to the elements, they at any rate breathed a purer
atmosphere than was to be found in the stables. We entered 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 THE P         ISON ER S.      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 gendarme, evidently caused a sensation, and probably awakened 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 owner 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 employed.' An officer of gendarmes entered the stable and stood
near us.'Answer to your names,' he called out in a loud
voice; 6 it is for your own interest to do so.' And he read
the names of four men, drivers of Paris cabs, whom somebody 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 artil21*




490          THE PARIS     CO3MMUNE.
leryman of the 20th 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 do 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 General 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.' Son 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 exasperated 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 sprinkling 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




PROMPT     PUNISHME         T.      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 volley or two would have been sent among them. To prevent outbreaks, and secure many thousand desperate characters, 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 embrasures 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 suffices to provoke summary punishment, and the only punishment 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 neighborhood of soldiers' barracks, or in the lowest outskirts of
Paris, squalid and dangerous localities, of which sketches




492          THE PARIS 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 middleaged, 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 Milliere had
been there, who did the honors of the Hotel de Ville, 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 permitted. 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 down 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 sideglance 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 daggerstab. 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 commissary 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 heartbroken; some had the regular whine of the professional




FEMALE     PRIS ONERS.             493
mendicant, as they implored' Mon bon 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 gendarme, 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;' that 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 carried 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 throwing himself upon the
quartermaster, seized him by the throat and endeavored
to strangle him, crying, " I recognize you; you are a Communist; 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 PAhIS COMMUNE.
"What is the matter? " they cried; "explain yourself."
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 gendarmes 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 swear," replied the gendarme, "that you are an insurgent chief. I am not mistaken. I saw you under circumstances 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 Rue 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 acknowledged that he had, in fact, served under the Commune, and that lie had been charged with the execution
of a portion of the hostages. "I could have saved myself," he added, " but my paternal sentiments were too
strong, and I wished also to deliver 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 eluding the vigilance of the police, and have probably gained
the frontier.
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FATE OF TIH E LEADERS.               495
etc., as also the arrests of Rochefort, Mourot, and Assi,
have already been described.
Billiordy was arrested on Saturday evening in the Rue
des Canettes, 19, where he was hidden under the name of
Benedech. He was immediately conducted before the
Grand Provost, 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 commissary of police, whom he had caused to be arrested and
plundered on the 18th of March, that he ended by avowing his identity. One thousand and fifteen francs were
found upon his person. He was then conducted to Versailles to await his trial.
Gambon and Lefran9ais were shot in the Rue do la
Banque. 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, escorted by a guard of honor, composed of forty National
Guards, and of fifteen boys between fourteen and sixteen
years of age, almost unable to carry their guns. The insurgents had taken these boys from the foundling hospital
in the Rue d'Enfer, and had given them kepis, embroidered 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 triangle of silver, on the three sides of which were inscribed
these words: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Commune
of Paris."




496          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
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 Rue Fontaine-au-Roi, at a restaurant, 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 pronounced 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 National 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 member 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 IMORE     LEADERS.            497
structed, arms were thrown in confusion on the ground,
and all took to flight.
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 undeceived, he was transferred a prisoner to Versailles.
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 statue of Henry IV, one of the
Federals bound his eyes with 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          TiHE PARIS COIMMUNE.
after balancing it three or four times over the parapet,
flung it into the Seine.
Varlin, Delegate of Finances, accused of having participated in the burning of the Ministry of Finance, was
shot at Montmartre, in the Rue des Rosiers, at the same
place where the Generals Lecomte and Clement-Thomas
were assassinated.
Jourde, the successor of Yarlin as Delegate to the Finances, 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
tepots et consignations.
When arrested by the two agents of police, who said,
"You are the Citizen Jourde?" Jourde replied-" I? never
in the world! My name is Roux. I am known in my
quarter. Look here! take me to the Marie of the 7th Arrondissement to see the Adjoint M. Hortus; he used to
be my schoolmaster, and will recognize me perfectly."
The agents conducted the individual pretending to be
Roux to the Mairie in the Rue 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 Roux, 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...... "
Th6 Adjoint was inflexible; the Delegate to the Finances
was imprisoned in the Mairie, and word was sent to Marshal de MacMahon, who caused him to be brought to his
headquarters.




EXPENSES     OF THE COMM UNE.          499
When interrogated regarding the resources of the Commune, he said that they consisted on the 18th of March
of four millions found in the Treasury.
Two millions taken from the railway companies.
Twenty-four millions obtained from the Bank of France.
And finally, the duties, contributions, and ordinary resources 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 expenses amounted to609,000 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 expense 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 institution, had only 30,000 or 40,000 francs at its disposal.
He at the same time denied having received any payment from foreign countries, and added that he could
prove from 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 sexsurnamed 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   PARIS COMMUNE.
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 Rue du Petit-Carreau, he blew
out the brains of a volunteer of the 10th battalion, and
ran away after the first shot.
In the Rue des Amandiers, a young girl belonging to
the ambulances deplored the fate of the unfortunate victims of the civil war; by order of the delegate she was instantly shot.
At La Roquette 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 Republic."
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 2d Arrondissement 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 reported 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-tireurs of the Seine, La Cecilia lived during a month in the Chateau de Banneville,
at Banneville-la-Campagne, a small town in the arrondissement 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.
Hle was mistaken, however, in his calculations. Madame
de Banneville declared that for the defender of the Commune 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 departure, and while still overcome by the scene just enacted,
Madame de Banneville was informed that the house was
surrounded by gendarmes. A brigadier presented himself
saying that they had been instructed of the presence in
her house of a dangerous man who had arrived that morning 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-Campagne, accompanied by his former attendant in the francstireurs, who, since the war, had taken service at the Chateau de Banneville. He had left the chateau with his
former chief. A certain quantity of arms and ammunition was found in the inn, whose proprietor, together




502         THE PA RIS COMMUNE.
with La Cecilia and his attendant, was directed immediately toward Versailles.
La Celicia is of Italian origin, and had received a very
good education; his exalted opinions had obliged him to
leave Italy, and in 1859 he was professor of mathematics
in the University of TTlm. 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 suspicions entertained that the ex-Delegate of Foreign Relations was hidden in the Rue 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 Rue
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.
Having rung at the bell, and receiving no reply, M.




PASCHAL      GROUSSET.              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 garments, which was granted, and a search was immediately
commenced in the apartment.
Grousset remained perfectly impassible, flattering himself 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 permission 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, l'assassinf! & mort, I'incendiare! let him go on
foot!" etc.




504          THE PARIS COMMUNE.
The carriage 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 Grousset 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 passed, and thus formed an escort sufficient to impose its will upon the crowd.
They then proceeded along the boulevards and Rue
Royale to the Palais de l'Industrie.
Arrived at the entrance of the Faubourg Saint-Honore,
which was chpked 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     e    ust be philosophical," replied M. Duret. "Fifteen 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 remarked that he could not understand how he, a writer




GROUSSET      IN  PRIso   N.         505
and an artist, could be confounded with the iconoclasts of
the Louvre and Tuileries.
After a long and often-interrupted march, the procession finally made its entrance into the Palais de l'Industrie, 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 Rue Saint-Pierre, and placed in cell No. 8,
between Rochefort 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 le 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 entering 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 duration; 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,
22




506         THE PARIS COMMU.NE.
however, without any other formality than a short interrogatory which established his identity.
R6gBre, a member of the Commune, whose name is well
known from   the decree of the Commune already mentioned, "The Citizen Raoul Rigault is charged, together
with the Citizen R6egre, 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 clays 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
Iman of sixty, who was about to rejoin them.
The venerable uncle arrived in time, but it was remarked that his hair and beard, cut very short, were of
reddish tinge. This, however, was supposed to be the result 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 remained most obstinately.
3M. RTegre had inscribed himself in the book of the
hotel as M. Teuquien, a singular name, somewhat Chinese, 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 several persons compromised in the insurrection. She had
already procured several papers of this kind at the Prefecture, in virtue of what title it is not yet known, when
the snare was discovered.
From that moment the lady was furnished, in the kindest manner, with all the passports which she came to demand, only-two zealous agents of the police were, at the
same time, attached to her person.




DENOUNCING       EACH    OTHER.         507
In this manner Regere was discovered, and his red
beard was unable to resist a serious examination.  [One
of the nephews of eRgere 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 cellar, "to await the course of events."]
Vesinier, editor of the Oficiel 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 Greffierfils, 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 artifice, to pass unperceived amidst a crowd of others.
Unfortunately he was recognized by one of his companions of insurrection while on his way to the provostmarshal, who, faithful to the principle of fraternity, hastened to denounce him.
Verdure endeavored at first to deny his identity, but
having been confronted with several other Communists, 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 Rue Saint-Gilles, in the house of one of
his friends, a piano-manufacturer.
On the same day, Rossel, the ex-Delegate of War, was
arrested at No. 54 Boulevard Saint-Germain.   He was
considered in the house, one of the employes of the
Northern Railway, of which he wore the uniform cap.
He sought for some time to prove that there was a mistake, but finding all denial useless, he resigned himself,
saying, " Don't touch me, I am an officer 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 operaation necessitated by his wound.
J. Miot was shot May 29th, 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 ClementThomas have met the reward their crimes deserved.
One of these, Dufil, arrested May 27th, accused of having 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 sergeant 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 peculiar 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 officer, 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 requested 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 fourteen 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: Regere, Ferr6, Assi, Rastoul,
Courbet, lUrbain, Paschal Grousset, Jourde, Trinquet,
Arnold, Billioray, Verdure, Ulysse Parent and Descamps.
This last had been also for some time imprisoned under
an assumed name; not until six weeks after his capture
was the fraud discovered.
Razona, another member of the Commune, has just been
arrested in Geneva; his extradition will probably be demanded by the French Government.




510          THE   PARIS COMMUNE.
Rochefort is now confined in the prison of the Rlue
Saint-Pierre awaiting his trial; he occupies one of the
cells usually 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, preoccupied, 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 bereavement, however, was no other than the death of his
father, which occurred on the 12th of April, and whose
funeral Rochefort had himself attended. The poor old
man died in a state of great misery, almost of starvation,
although, as Henri Rochefort himself stated, the publication of the Mfot d'Ordre brought to his son the sum of
$200 daily.
At the time of his death, the Marquis de Rochefort 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. Rochefort was one of
these last, but the poor old man's payments were very rare.
His furniture consisted of an old bureau and four canebottomed 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 abandoned him. Two years ago M. Rochefort became possessed of $240 by selling two entrances for life to the theatres Des Vari6tes and Vaudeville.
At this period, Henri Rochefort, 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 LIBBMAINN.             511
indignant at his unfilial 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 d' Ordre
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 Rochefort 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 saving from ruin the Chapelle Expiatoire of Louis XVI.
Immediately after the entrance of the troops, a subscription 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 Chambord:
" CHABORD, 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 gratitude 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 monument in the Rue d'Anjou. You were chosen to' be the
instrument of this great work. Rejoice 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 affection.                                    "HENRI."
For the services rendered by NM. 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 released from confinement.
Mr. Washburne's letter, however, explains better than
we can do, his visit and his kindness to Mlonseigneur Darboy, at a time when it was so much needed.
"PAHIS, April 23, 1871.
"You are aware that Monseigneur Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris, was seized some time since, by order of




MINISTER      VASHIIBURNE.           513
the Commune, and thrust into prison, to be held as a
hostage. Such treatment of that most devout and excellent man could not but have created a great sensation,
particularly in the Catholic world.
" On Thursday night last I received a letter from Monseigneur Chigi, Archbishop of Myre and Nuncio Apostolic
of the Saint-Siege, and also a communication from M.
Louvrier, clianoine of the Diocese of Paris. M. Lagard,
the Vicar-General of Paris, and Messrs. Bousset and Allain, chanoines 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 sympathy, to interpose my good offices in behalf of the imprisoned 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 communication 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 capacity, 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 impossible. 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 Archbishop. I told General Cluseret, however, that I must
22*




514          THE PARIS COMMIUE.
see him to ascertain his 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 immediately went with me in person to the Prefecture of Police,
and upon his application I received from the Prefect a
permission to visit the Archbishop freely at any time. In
company with my private secretary, Mr. McKean, I then
wrent 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 indifferent. I told him that 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 interesting 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 logic of events, and praying that Providence might
find a solution to these terrible troubles without the further 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 window. As a political prisoner, he




WASHBURNE'S LETTER.                 515
is permitted to have his food brought to him from outside
the prison; and in answer to my suggestion that I should
be 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 intelligence 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. WASHBURNE."
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 that of a subordinate named Ferdinand Sencier, who has been condemned
to death by the First Council of Versailles.
This man was an artilleryman at the Porte Maillot, renowned 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 Neuilly in the




516         THE PARIS COMMUNE.
direction of a house 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 unhappy 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 receive them and take up arms against their fellow-countrymen-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 warthese 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 sanguinary, Captain of Engineers in the French Army, Colonel under Gambetta, Chief of Staff under Cluseret,
Delegate of War, President of the Military Court, and
Commander of the Commune Forces, was condemned to
military degradation and death by the Versailles CourtMartial, 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, Regere, Verdure and Ferrat, to deportation and confinement in a fortress. Jourde
and Rastorel to transportation.
Courbet was condemned to six months' imprisonment,
Clement to three months; Decamp and Parent were acquitted.
PARIS, Thursday, Sept. 21, 18T1.
MI. Rochefort's trial has concluded, and he has been
sentenced by the Court-MIartial to transportation to a
penal colony for life.




AMERICAN GUIDE TO EUROPE.
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