“I tell you, you shall not go!”—“But I will.”—“Well, you may, but not
your furniture.”—“And who shall prevent my carrying off my furniture if
I choose?”—“I will.”—“I defy you!”—“Thief!”—“Robber!”
This animated discussion was being carried on at the door of a house,
in front of which a cart filled with furniture was standing; a crowd of
street boys was fast assembling, and the heads of curious neighbours
appeared grinning in all the windows.
A partizan of the Commune had determined to profit by the decree.
Matters at first had seemed to go on quietly. The concierge, taken
aback by the sudden apparition of the van, had not summoned up courage
to prevent the furniture from being stowed away in it. The landlord,
however, had got scent of the affair, and had hastened to this spot.
Now, the tenant was a determined character, and as the van-men refused
to mix themselves up in the fray, he himself shouldered his last
article of furniture and carried it to the van. He was about to place
it within cover of the awning, when the landlord, like a miser deprived
of his treasure, seized it and deposited it on the pavement. The tenant
re-grasped his spoil and thrust it again into the cart, from whence it
was instantly drawn forth again by the enraged landlord. This game was
carried on for some time, each as determined as the other, grasping;
snatching, and pulling this unfortunate piece of furniture until one
wrench, stronger than the former, entirely dislocated its component
parts, and laid it in a ruined heap upon the ground. This was the
moment for the tenant to show himself a man of spirit. Taking advantage
of the surprise of the landlord, he swept the broken remains of his
property deftly into the van, bounded on to the driver’s seat, shook
the reins, cracked his whip, and started off at a thundering gallop,
pursued by the huzzas of the crowd, the cries of the van-men, and the
oaths of the disappointed landlord. The van and its team of lean cattle
were soon lost to view, and the landlord was left alone on his
doorstep, shaking his fist and muttering “Brigand!”