The march against Versailles did not take place on the first of April,
although the Communists had every reason to believe that they would meet
with no opposition, as on the previous night two regiments of the army,
forming the advanced guard between Versailles and Paris, came in,
together with a battery of artillery, and declared for the Commune. The
next morning Cuthbert went up at nine o'clock, as he had arranged to
take Mary out early, and to work in the afternoon. Just as he reached
the house he heard a cannon-shot.
"Hurry on your things," he said as he met her, "a gun has just fired; it
is the first in the Civil War; perhaps the National Guard are starting
against Versailles; at any rate it will be worth seeing."
The girl was ready in two or three minutes, and they walked briskly to
the Arc de Triomphe. As they did so they could hear not only the boom of
cannon, but the distant firing of musketry. Around the Arch a number of
people were gathered, looking down the long broad avenue running from it
through the Porte Maillot, and then over the Bridge of Neuilly to the
column of Courbeil. Heavy firing was going on near the bridge, upon the
banks of the river, and away beyond it to the right.
"That firing means that France is saved from the horrors of another red
Revolution, Mary," Cuthbert said. "It shows that some of the troops at
least are loyal, and in these matters example is everything. There was
a report that Charrette's Zouaves and the gendarmes have been placed at
the outposts, and if the report is true, it was a wise step, indeed, for
McMahon to take, for both could be relied upon; and now fighting has
begun, there is hope that the troops behind will stand firm."
"Why should they, Cuthbert?"
"Some of the shots from this side are sure to fall among them, and if a
few are killed and wounded the rest will get angry, and all idea of
fraternizing with the men who are firing on them will be at an end. I
should like to see how that crowd of National Guards are behaving."
"Shall we go down and look, Cuthbert. See, there is an omnibus going
down the hill, so I don't suppose there can be much danger."
"I don't think that there is any danger at present, Mary; the balls will
hardly come so far, but if the troops open fire with cannon, they will
send shell right up this avenue."
"Would you go by yourself if I were not here, Cuthbert?"
"Well, I certainly should, but that is no reason why I should go with
you."
"I can see women looking out of the windows," she said, "so we will go
down together, Cuthbert. We had the German shell falling near us while
the siege was going on, and things went on just as usual."
"Come on then, dear; at any rate it will be only field-guns and not
heavy siege artillery, and I dare say we can get into one of the houses
and look out from them; a twelve-pounder would scarcely do much harm to
one of these solid stone buildings."
They went quietly down the road. No whiz of bullet or crash of shell was
heard, and without interruption they continued their course until they
arrived near the gate. Near it were two battalions of the National
Guard, who were in a state of utter disorder. Some of the men were
quietly walking away with their rifles slung behind them, in spite of a
line of sentries placed across the road and the efforts of their
officers. Cuthbert questioned some of the men, as they came along, as to
what had happened, but the most contradictory answers were given. They
had been fired upon from Fort Valerien; they had been attacked from
Courbevoie; they had been betrayed; they had been sent out without any
cannon: ammunition was short; they were not going to stay to be shot
down; they were going to the Hôtel de Ville to turn out the traitors who
had sent them out without a proper supply of ammunition. That they had
some ammunition was evident from the fact that several muskets went off
accidentally, the result of nervousness on the part of those that held
them.
"We won't stay here to risk being shot by these cowardly fools,"
Cuthbert said, "let us get into one of the houses."
They went back a short distance, and Cuthbert spoke to a man standing at
his door. "This lady and myself are English," he said, "would you allow
us to go up and stand at one of the windows to see what is going on?"
The request was at once acceded to, and they were soon posted at a
window on the fifth floor.
"Look at them," Cuthbert said in disgust, "these are the heroes who
clamored to go out and destroy the Germans."
The scene below was certainly singular--the bugles and drums sounded the
assembly and beat the rappel alternately, but the men paid not the
slightest attention to the call, but continued to slink away until the
drummers and buglers remained alone. Of the two battalions, some fifty
men posted at the loop-holes of the crenelated wall by the gate
remained; the rest had melted away. From the balcony at the window a
fine view was obtained across the country. A heavy musket-fire was still
maintained along the river-side, and there was a continuous roll of
musketry at Courbevoie, where, as one of the National Guard had told
them, a battalion which occupied the barracks there had been cut off by
the advance of the troops. Artillery and musketry were both at work
there, but elsewhere there was no artillery fire.
Close to the bridge at Neuilly the struggle was maintained for a time,
and presently a column of troops were seen advancing against the bridge.
As it did so the firing there ceased at once, and it was soon evident
that the troops had gained the position. Numbers of National Guards soon
came trooping in at the gate. A very few remained there; the rest,
without waiting for orders, hurried on into Paris. A dark group now
appeared on the road leading up to Courbeil; there was a white puff of
smoke and a shell exploded a hundred yards on the other side of the
gate. A steady fire was now kept up by two guns, the greater part of the
shells exploded beyond the outer works; but several came up the avenue,
two of them striking houses, and others exploding in the roadway. Each
time when the whistle of a shell was heard approaching, Cuthbert drew
Mary back from the balcony into the room.
"I fancy," he said, "the troops have an idea that there are masses of
the Communists assembled near the gates in readiness for a sortie, and
they are firing to prevent their coming out, until they have fortified
the bridge and the other points they have occupied."
The firing continued for some time. At other windows the inhabitants
were watching the conflict, and Cuthbert pointed out, to Mary's great
amusement, the precautions that some of them were taking to ensure their
personal safety. One woman had drawn down the Venetian blinds, and was
looking between them, another was peering out with a pillow held over
her head. The few National Guards who remained at their post were men of
courage, for they showed no signs of flinching even when shells exploded
within a few yards of the position they occupied. Presently there was a
sound of wheels, and two four-pounder guns were brought up and placed
one on each side of the gate to sweep the approaches.
Between one and two o'clock several battalions of National Guards came
leisurely up, piled their arms and sat down under shelter of the wall.
It was evident they had no idea of making a sortie, but had been brought
up to defend the gate in case it was attacked. Soon after their arrival,
a party that had remained near the river returned and it was clear that
at least a portion of the troops had proved faithless, for with them
were forty or fifty soldiers, who had come over during the fight. They
were disarmed and then escorted into the town, where, as Cuthbert
afterwards learned, they were received with enthusiasm by the mob.
"It is evident that there is no idea of any attempt being made to
recapture the bridge at present, Mary; I don't know how you feel but I
am getting desperately hungry, so I think we may as well be going back.
I should like to see what is going on in the city. Will you come with
me? I have no doubt we shall be able to get a voiture up at the arch,
and we can have lunch there."
Mary was as anxious to see what is going on as he was, and in a quarter
of an hour they alighted in the Rue Rivoli. As yet the population had
heard but vague reports that fighting was going on, and matters were
comparatively quiet, for so many rumors had pervaded the town during the
last few days, that they were not generally believed. Accordingly, after
lunch, Cuthbert took Mary home in a fiacre.
"I have been quite alarmed about you, my dear, where have you been?"
Madame Michaud said as they entered.
"We have been seeing the fighting, madame, and the Reds have been
beaten."
"I have heard all sorts of stories about it, but most of them say that
the Versailles people got the worst of it."
"Then the stories were not true," Mary said, "most of the National Guard
wouldn't fight at all, and the regiments all broke away and went into
Paris without firing a shot, the troops have taken the bridge of
Neuilly."
"The good God be thanked," Madame Michaud said piously, "my husband was
afraid the troops would not fight, and that we were going to have
terrible times; but there is a hope now, that the Commune will be put
down."
"Every hope, madame," Cuthbert said. "I was sure this scum of Paris
would not fight if the troops would do so. They have too much regard for
their worthless skins. It may be some time before McMahon can get a
force together sufficient to take Paris, but sooner or later he will do
so, though it will be a serious business with the forts all in the hands
of the Communists. If they had but handed over one or two of the forts
to the gendarmes, or kept a company or two of sailors there, there would
have been a line by which the troops could have approached the town, as
it is they will have to bring up siege-guns and silence Issy and Vanves
before much can be done."
An hour later Monsieur Michaud arrived; he too had been in the city and
was in ignorance of what had taken place during the morning.
"That accounts for it," he said, "we are all ordered to be under arms at
eight o'clock this evening."
"But you will not go?" his wife exclaimed anxiously.
"But I must go, my dear. I have no desire to be shot, and I think there
is much more fear of my being shot, if I don't answer to the call of my
name than there will be if I do. In the first place, we may not go out
beyond the wall, in the second place, if there is I may see a chance of
running away, for mind you, though I hope I should have fought as
bravely as others if the Germans had come, I do not feel myself called
upon to fight against Frenchmen and in a cause I hate."
"You will find yourself in good company anyhow, Monsieur Michaud,"
Cuthbert laughed. "We have seen nineteen hundred and fifty men out of
two thousand march off without firing a shot to-day."
"So much the better, monsieur, four out of five of the National Guards
hate it all as much as I do. Will you dine with us to-day, monsieur, and
then we can go down together afterwards."
Cuthbert accepted the invitation willingly. "Yes, you can come down with
us, Mary," he went on, in answer to a look of appeal from her. "I will
bring her back safely, Madame Michaud, the sight will be well worth
seeing. Before I go I will have a look round and see if I can get a bed
for the night, it is a long way out from my lodgings and I should like
to be out here by daylight, for if they mean to march on Versailles they
are sure to start as soon as it is light."
"We have a spare room," Madame Michaud said, "and it is quite at your
disposal. It will be doing us a kindness if you will accept it, for when
my husband is away I always feel nervous without a man in the house, and
as it is but ten minutes' walk from here to the Arc de Triomphe, you
will be on the spot, and indeed from the roof of this house you can
obtain a view all over the country."
A great change had taken place in the appearance of Paris when they went
down in the evening, the town was in a state of the wildest excitement,
everywhere drums were beating and trumpets sounding, everywhere National
Guards mustering. The streets were crowded, the most violent language
uttered by the lower classes, and threats of all kinds poured out
against the 'butchers of Versailles.' On the walls were red placards
issued by the Commune and headed "Men of Paris. The butchers of
Versailles are slaughtering your brethren!!!"
"As a rule the brethren decline to be slaughtered, Mary," Cuthbert said
as they read the proclamation. "You see, if the troops fire they are
butchers, if the National Guards fire they are heroes. Considering that
Paris has ten armed men to every one McMahon has got, even if all the
troops could be relied upon, the Parisians must indeed be of a mild
temper if they submit to be butchered."
Monsieur Michaud now left them to take his place in the ranks of his
battalion. It was not long before the National Guards were in motion,
and for hours columns of troops moved up the Champs Elysées. The Rue
Rivoli was actually choked with the men; the mob shouted "Vive la
Commune" until they were hoarse, and the battalions from the working
quarters lustily sang the chorus of the Marseillaise.
At ten o'clock Cuthbert and Mary arrived at the Arc de Triomphe on their
way back. Along the whole line from the Tuileries the National Guard
were bivouacked. The arms were piled down the centre of the road, and
many of the men had already wrapped themselves in their blankets and
lain down to sleep with their heads on their knapsacks. The wine-shops
in the neighborhood were all crowded, and it was evident that many of
the men had determined to keep it up all night.
Madame Michaud had coffee ready for them on their return, and after
drinking it they went to their rooms, Mary being completely tired out
with the fatigue and excitement of the day. At five o'clock Cuthbert was
up; he had told Mary the night before that he would return for her at
eight. On arriving at the Arc de Triomphe he found the National Guards
pouring down the avenue to the Fort Maillot. Three heavy columns were
marching along the roads which converged at the Bridge of Neuilly. Here
Cuthbert expected a desperate struggle, but a few shots only were fired,
and then a small body of troops covered by a party of skirmishers,
retired up the hill, and then turning off made their way towards Fort
Valerien.
The force was evidently insufficient to hold the bridge against the
masses of revolutionists advancing against it, and the real resistance
to the forces of the Commune would commence further back. Crossing the
bridge the National Guard spread out to the right and left and mounted
the hill, as they did so some eighteen-pounder guns which had been the
day before mounted on the Fort, opened fire on the bridge, and for a
time the forward movement ceased, and the regiment on their way down
towards the gate were halted. Cuthbert chatted for some time with one of
the officers and learnt from him that this was not the real point of
attack.
"It is from the other side of the river that the great stroke against
the Versaillaise will be struck," he said, "a hundred and fifty thousand
National Guards advanced on that side; they will cross the heights of
Meudon, and move straight to Versailles. We have but some twenty-five
thousand here, and shall advance as soon as the others have attacked
Meudon."
In an hour the forward movement had again commenced, a heavy column
poured across the bridge, the firing from Valerien having now ceased.
Cuthbert watched the black mass advancing up the slope towards Courbeil.
It was not until they reached the top of the slope that Valerien
suddenly opened fire. Puff after puff of white smoke darted out from its
crest in quick succession, the shells bursting in and around the heavy
column. In a moment its character changed; it had been literally cut in
half by the iron shower. Those in front of the point where the storm had
struck it, broke off and fled to the village of Nanterre on the left,
where they took shelter among the houses. The other portion of the
column broke up as suddenly, and became at once a disorganized mob, who
at the top of their speed rushed down to the slope again to the bridge
at Neuilly. Across this they poured in wild confusion and made no halt
until they had passed the Fort Maillot. There the officers attempted to
rally them, but in vain; many had thrown their muskets away in their
flight, the rest slung them behind them, and continued their way to
Paris, all vowing that they had been betrayed, and that they would have
vengeance on the Commune. Seeing that there was no more probability of
fighting on his side, Cuthbert returned to Madame Michaud's.
"Madame is on the roof," Margot said as he entered; "everyone is up
there: she said I was to give you breakfast when you came in; the coffee
is ready, and I have an omelette prepared, it will be cooked in three
minutes; Madame said that you would be sure to be hungry after being out
so long." In a quarter of an hour he ascended to the roof. The resident
on the ground-floor had an astronomical telescope with which he was in
the habit of reconnoitring the skies from the garden. This he had taken
up to the roof, where some twenty persons were gathered. A magnificent
view was obtained here of the circle of hills from Valerien round by
Meudon, and the whole of the left bank of the river. It needed but a
glance to see that the army of the Commune had made but little progress.
Although the fighting began soon after two o'clock in the morning, and
it was now nearly mid-day, the heights of Meudon were still in the hands
of the troops.
From among the trees by the chateau white puffs of smoke shot out, many
of the shells bursting in and around the fort of Issy, which replied
briskly. The guns of Vanves joined in the combat, their fire being
directed towards the plateau of Chatillon, which was held by the troops.
Round Issy a force of the National Guard was assembled, but the main
body was in the deep valley between the forts and Meudon, and on the
slopes nearly up to the chateau; the rattle of musketry here was
continuous, a light smoke drifting up through the trees. After a time it
was evident that the line of musketry fire was lower down the hill,
descending, showing that the troops were pressing the Communists
backwards, and presently one of the batteries near the chateau shifted
its position, and took ground some distance down the hill, and this and
a battery near the end of the viaduct by the chateau, opened a heavy
fire on the forts.
A look through the telescope showed that the Communists were crouching
behind walls and houses, occasionally, when the fire of the guns was
silent, a few of them would get up and advance into the open, but only
to scamper back into shelter as soon as they reopened fire.
"That settles it, monsieur," Cuthbert said, to the owner of the
telescope, after taking a long look through it, "hitherto, the
Communists have believed that Versailles was at their mercy, and they
had but to march out to capture it. They have failed, and failure means
their final defeat. They say that the prisoners of war are arriving in
Versailles at the rate of two or three thousand a day, and in another
fortnight, Thiers will have a force sufficient to take the offensive,
and by that time, will doubtless have siege-guns in position. I don't
say that Paris may not hold out for a considerable time, but it must
fall in the long run, and I fear, that all who have got anything to lose
will have a very bad time of it."
"I fear so, monsieur; as these wretches become more desperate, they will
proceed to greater lengths. You see they have already insisted that all
the National Guard--whatever their opinions--shall join in the defence
of the city. They have declared the confiscation of the goods of any
member of the Guard who shall leave the town. I hear a decree is likely
to be published to-morrow or next day confiscating all Church property;
already they have taken possession of the churches, and turned them into
clubs. If they do such things now, there is no saying to what lengths
they may go as they see their chances of success diminishing daily."
Although the artillery fire was maintained for some time longer, it was
by three o'clock evident that the battle was virtually over. The party
therefore descended from the roof, and Cuthbert strolled back to the
centre of Paris. The streets, that evening, presented a very strong
contrast to the scene of excitement that had reigned twenty-four hours
before. There was no shouting and singing; no marching of great bodies
of troops. An air of gloom pervaded the lower classes, while the
bourgeois remained for the most part in their houses, afraid that the
deep satisfaction the events of the day had caused them, might betray
itself in their faces.
For the next few days Cuthbert worked steadily, going up late in the
afternoon to Passy. The Commune had, on the day after the failure
against Versailles, issued a decree that all unmarried men from
seventeen to thirty-five, should join the ranks, and a house-to-house
visitation was ordered to see that none escaped the operation of the
decree. One of these parties visited Cuthbert: it consisted of a man
with a red sash, and two others in the uniform of the National Guard. As
soon as they were satisfied of Cuthbert's nationality, they left, having
been much more civil than he had expected. He thought it advisable,
however, to go at once to the Hôtel de Ville, where, on producing his
passport, he was furnished with a document bearing the seal of the
Commune, certifying that being a British subject, Cuthbert Hartington
was exempt from service, and was allowed to pass anywhere without
molestation.
Equal good luck did not attend the other students, all of whom were, to
their intense indignation, enrolled upon the list of the National Guard
of their quarter. Cuthbert had difficulty in retaining a perfectly
serious countenance, as René, Pierre, and two or three others came in to
tell him what had occurred.
"And there is no getting away from it," René said. "If we had thought
that it would come to this, of course we would have left Paris directly
this affair began, but now it is impossible: no tickets are issued by
the railways except to old men, women and children, no one is allowed to
pass through the gates without a permit from the Commune, and even if
one could manage to get on to the wall and drop down by a rope one
might be taken and shot by the Communist troops outside, or, if one got
through them, by the sentries of the army of Versailles. What would you
advise us to do, Cuthbert?"
"I am afraid I can't give you any advice whatever, René, it is certainly
horribly unpleasant being obliged to fight in a cause you detest, but I
don't think there will be a very great deal of fighting till an assault
is made on the city, and when that begins, I should say the Communists
will be too busy to look for absentees from the ranks."
"We shall be in double danger then," Pierre Leroux put in. "We run the
risk of being shot by the Communists for not fighting at the barricades,
and if we escape that, we have a chance of being shot by the Versaillais
as Communists. It is a horrible position to be placed in."
"Well, I should say, Pierre, keep your eyes open and escape if you
possibly can before the assault takes place. I should think some might
manage to get out as women, but, of course you would have to sacrifice
your mustaches. But if you did that, and borrowed the papers of some
young woman or other, you might manage it. No doubt it would be awkward
if you were found out, but it might be worth trying. If I cannot leave
before the assault takes place I mean to go to one of the English hotels
here, Meurice's or the Dover, and establish myself there. During such
fighting as there may be in the streets, there will be very few
questions asked, and one might be shot before one could explain one was
a foreigner, but the hotels are not likely to be disturbed. Seriously I
should say that the best thing you can all do when the fighting begins
in the streets, is to keep out of the way until your battalion is
engaged, then burn anything in the way of uniform, get rid of your rifle
somehow, and gather at Goudé's. He could vouch for you all as being his
pupils, and as being wholly opposed to the Commune. His name should be
sufficiently well known, if not to the first officer who may arrive, at
least, to many officers, for his testimony to be accepted. Still, I do
think that the best plan of all will be to get out of the place when you
get a chance."
Some of the students did succeed in getting out. Pierre and two others
made their way down through the drains, came out on the river at night,
and swam across. One of the youngest went out by train dressed as a
woman, but the rest were forced to don the uniform and take their places
in the ranks of the National Guard. The question of leaving Paris was
frequently discussed by Cuthbert and Mary Brander, but they finally
determined to stay. It was morally certain that the troops would enter
Paris either at the Port Maillot or at the gate of Pont du Jour; or at
any rate, somewhere on that side of Paris. Once inside the walls they
would meet with no resistance there--the fighting would only commence
when they entered the city itself. Passy was to a large extent inhabited
by well-to-do people, and it was not here that the search for Communists
would begin. The troops would here be greeted as benefactors.
"I do not think there is the smallest risk, Mary; if there were, I
should say at once that we had better be off, and I would escort you
down to Cornwall, but as there seems to me no danger whatever, I should
say let us stick to our original plan. I own I should like to see the
end of it all. You might amuse yourself at present by making a
good-sized Union Jack, which you can hang out of your window when the
troops enter. When I see the time approaching, I intend to make an
arrangement with the Michauds to establish myself here, so as to
undertake the task of explaining, if necessary, but I don't think any
explanation will be asked. It is likely enough that as soon as the
troops enter they will establish themselves in this quarter before
making any further advance; they will know that they have hard fighting
before them, and until they have overcome all opposition, will have
plenty to think about, and will have no time to spare in making
domiciliary visits."