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THE INSURRECTION IN PARIS
RELATED
BY
AN ENGLISHMAN
_An eye-witness of that frightful war and of the terrible evils which
accompanied it_
PRICE: 2 fr. 50 c.
PARIS
A. LEMOIGNE, EDITOR
26, PLACE VENDÔME
1871
Imprimerie de F. Le Blanc-Hardel, rue Froide, 2 et 4, à Caen.
_Paris, June the 25th 1871._
DEAR EDWARD,
To you who have been pleased to take some interest in what I wrote about
Paris, I inscribe this small volume which, according to your suggestion,
I publish under the form of a nearly day per day correspondence.
_Yours truly_,
DAVY.
RECOLLECTIONS
OF THE
PARISIAN INSURRECTION.
The desire of appreciating _de visu_ the results of a five month's siege
in a town of two million inhabitants, unexampled in the annals of
humanity, made me leave London on the twentieth of March.
Hardly landed in the Capital of France which I thought of finding
tranquil and occupied in exercising its genius in repairing the
disasters caused by the enemy, I heard with stupefaction that Paris, a
prey to civil war, was under the blow of a fresh siege.
Sad change! the German helmets had given place to the French kepys;
citizens of the same nation were going to cut one another's throats.
My first thought was to withdraw from this mournful and dangerous
spectacle. Of what importance to me, a simple citizen of Great Britain,
were the disorders and furies of that people, in turn our most cruel
enemy or our friend according to circumstances, as European politics or
the interests of sovereigns make of them our adversary or our ally?--Why
expose myself voluntarily to the heart-rending and often dangerous
trials of a war that had none of my sympathies either on the one side or
on the other of the enclosure? Was I going to see a great people
breaking its irons and fighting to death in order to recover its rights
and liberty?--No--the French people had at last the government of their
choice,--the Republic. There was, then, question of an impious war,
undertaken by a blind multitude for the profit of a few hidden
ambitions: that is to say, a war without grandeur and without interest
for a simple spectator.
However, after due reflection, I overcame my repugnance. I had, in my
excursions, remarked, among the armed bands, so many heterogeneous
elements; that is to say, thousands of individuals of all social
positions and of so many nationalities, that I began to think it would
perhaps be useful to my compatriots to hear by and by a sincere recital,
written by a disinterested pen, of the events about to take place.
I did not conceal from myself the dangers to which my curiosity would
expose me; but had I not, and that too without any advantage, incurred
as great dangers in escalading Mont-Blanc and in going up along the
borders of the Nile? Besides, as is generally the case, the certainty of
an imminent peril only served to strengthen my resolution. Moreover, not
wishing to run any useless risk, I thought good to take a few
precautions: I went to see Monsieur ***, an old French refugee that I
had known at London, by the interposition of M. Causidiere. I asked him
if he could not procure me a permission, a pass, some paper or other.
«Are you quite decided on staying?»
Asked that gentleman, whom I do not name for a reason that will be
appreciated by the reader.
«Perfectly decided.»
«Could nothing, not even good advice, make you renounce your intention?»
«Nothing.»
«Then come with me to the Town-hall.»
I followed him; and, half an hour afterwards, I was in possession of a
pass signed by two members of the Commune.
This precaution was not to be useless. A few days afterwards, going to
see the fort of Vanves, strongly menaced, I was arrested and taken
before the commander of the Fort.
This officer examined my pass; and, hesitating without doubt as to my
identity, he put several questions to me in English. My answers
certainly satisfied him, for he took me by the hand and said to me in a
tone not without emotion:
«Go, Sir, I will give you some one to accompany you; I like the English;
I have seen them under fire; I was at Inkermann.»
The next day, having advanced too near Courbevoie, I was arrested by a
patrol, and taken before a Commander of the army of Versailles. There I
exhibited a letter from the ambassador's.
«Ah!» said the Commander, «I knew in the Crimea two brave officers of
your name.»
«John and Lewis--Captains--they were cousins of mine.»
«That is it exactly--what has become of them?»
«Lewis is in the Indies--John is dead.»
«He is very happy», said the commander sorrowfully, in bowing to me.»
I went back, not without thinking of those two men--of those two
brothers-in-arms, who perhaps were going to fire upon each other, after
having mingled their blood before the enemy for the defence of their
country. Alas! I was destined to see greater crimes.
Certain, henceforth, of being able to get safely out of all scrapes,
thanks to my pass of the commune and my papers from the ambassador's, I
persevered in following step by step the events I am about to relate.
Not having the pretention to write the history of the French revolution,
with an appreciation of its consequences, as was done by our illustrious
compatriot Carlisle for the revolution of 93, I will content myself with
a simple and daily account of what I have seen and heard, and nothing
more.
The events offer of themselves sufficient interest and need not be
augmented.
In default of merit to which this book, so rapidly got up, cannot
pretend, I dare hope that its sincerity will gain for it the reader's
sympathy and esteem.
Paris.
A certain calm reigned in the city in consequence of the hope that was
entertained of seeing the commune come to an understanding with the
government of Versailles. Several battalions even marched only because
they were forced to do so. This hesitation was caused by the convocation
of all the freemasons for bringing about a reconciliation between the
two parties. It was, in fact, on this very day, that all the freemasons
of Paris went to the Town-hall to hear pronounced, by several members of
the commune, speeches of a fiery character and leading to civil war.
All efforts of reconciliation have failed. Dombrowski, then, has ordered
the inhabitants of Neuilly to leave in 24 hours, having the intention to
reduce the village to ashes. The day ended by the arrest of general
Cluseret.
MAY 1rst.
This day is signalized by the capture of the railway-station of Clamart,
where the insurgents lost, in addition to 60 prisoners, about 300 killed
by the bayonet. The soldiers of Versailles gave no quarter, excited as
they were at the sight of the deserters of the Line who served in the
ranks of the commune.
It was also on this day that general Mariouze retook the castle of Issy,
having captured 250 insurgents. This number was increased by others,
made prisoners during the day, and they arrived at Versailles 400 in
number.
MAY 2nd.
The scaffolding for the destruction of the Vendôme Column is arranged,
and the eighth of this month is the day fixed for its fall.
The fighting around Paris continues violent and the troops of Versailles
press steadily forward.
The railway-companies are taxed to the amount of 2,000,000 fr.
Let us terminate this day by the recital of the pillage of Notre-Dame.
* * * * *
NOTRE-DAME PLUNDERED.
People were astonished that the commune should have restored the
treasure of Notre-Dame after having had it taken away. To day the
astonishment will cease: the furniture and vases had been brought back
only to be re-taken.
On monday, april 26th., in the afternoon, a certain number of national
guards, accompanied by the self-styled delegates of the commune, loaded,
for the second time, in two carriages, the treasure of Notre-Dame. Then,
having doubtless met with some difficulties, they had the horses taken
away and left the two carriages loaded.
The next day, at 1 o'clock, a pompous bill was stuck up at the town-hall
and at the mayory of the 4th. arrondissement, announcing that the
treasure of Notre-Dame had all just been restored. But, at about 3
o'clock, fifty national guards arrived at Notre-Dame, the horses were
again put to, and the two vehicles were taken no body knows where.
These gentlemen are to return, for they have only done half their work;
time has not permitted them to take all.
Such then is the end of the promises and protestations of gentlemen,
members of the commune, who declare aloud that probity is their ruling
virtue.
These gentlemen propose, moreover, it is said, to rake up, so to speak,
the very ground; that is to say, to upset every thing in the church,
cellars and calorifères. They insist on finding there arms and
ammunition.
It is true that, during the siege, the gunners of the national guard,
who occupied the park of artillery established round the basilic,
demanded of the chapter's steward the authorisation to put in the
cellars and calorifères their ammunition which was exposed to the shells
of the Prussians, and that this authorisation was granted them without
the least difficulty.
After the Armistice, they took away all these arms; but could they have
had the indelicacy to leave some behind in order to be able to justify
the impious and sacrilegious robbery they were meditating. This would be
odious but not impossible in such times as these.
A few days before two men employed in guarding the church were arrested.
They were kept 3 or 4 days, and, before being set at liberty, the keys
of the church were taken from them. What took place is however unknown,
for the poor fellows are afraid to utter a word.
A commissary came, in the name of the commune, to sequester the objects
belonging to the church Sainte-Marguerite, in the little borough of St.
Antoine. A picket of 10 national guards is in permanence in the church
to keep sight of the clergy.
The church Saint-Merry has also been ransacked by the sicaires of the
Commune.
The vicar, fortunately, had stolen away from their _fraternal_ visit.
The church Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs is transformed into a club-house.
The parishioners are robbed, plundered, driven from their temples, and
the preaching of the Gospel is replaced in the pulpit by the
declamations of epileptic tribunes.
At Plaisance they have sequestered a chalice and a sum of 175 franks,
the personal property of M. l'abbé Orse, first vicar.
The curate, M. Blondeau, is in the prisons of the Commune.
MAY 3d.
A manifestation, provoked by the Freemasons, took place in the
afternoon. A body of several thousands of people crossed the
Champs-Élysées, carrying green branches and white flags. Arrived at the
gate Maillot, the firing ceased, but the manifestation was warned not to
approach and that only two parliamentarians would be received. They
accordingly presented themselves and will be this evening at Versailles.
It is reported that yesterday 200 soldiers, wearing the uniform of
troops of the Line, went down the Champs-Élysées. It was said they were
deserters from Versailles. We can positively state as a certain fact,
that from the first week of april no deserter has been counted in the
army of Versailles.
MAY 4th.
Two brigades carried off last night the park, the castle and cemetery of
Issy, taking 8 guns, ammunition and a hundred prisoners. They had a few
dead and 20 wounded. The cemetery is about 210 yards from the fort. The
capture of this fort appears imminent.
Yesterday, Mr. Thiers received two parliamentarians, freemasons, who
declared, however, they had no mandate. Mr. Thiers gave them an answer
similar to those already known; that he desired more than any body the
end of the civil war, but that France could not capitulate before a few
insurgents; that they must apply for peace to the commune who had
troubled it.
Yesterday evening, a parliamentarian summoned the fort of Issy to
capitulate.
The insurgents answered that they were going to deliberate about it,
that they would give a reply in half an hour; then they asked for a
prolongation of the delay.--The parliamentarian returned.
The negociations for the capitulation, resumed in the morning, will
probably succeed.
The coup de main on the farm of Bonamy, in front of Châtillon, was
executed by a company of the 70th. and by that of the scouts of 71st.
Two officers of the insurgents were killed, and 30 insurgents killed or
wounded. They made 75 prisoners and among them 4 officers.
The last military facts of the day took place in the quarries and park
of Issy which were vigorously carried by the battalions of the brigades
Derocha, Paturel and Berthe, with the assistance of the marine
musketeers.
The insurgents, in very large numbers, retired precipitately, leaving
numerous dead and wounded, as well as a hundred prisoners, 8 pieces of
artillery, much ammunition and 8 horses.
Nothing particular this afternoon. The insurgents are busy about mining
Paris, and the Versailles troops have silenced the firing of the fort of
Issy which is now completely invested.
The fort of Issy is summoned to surrender, but Rossel, previously
colonel, who has replaced General Cluseret, gives the parliamentarian a
most arrogant answer of refusal threatening to have shot any other
messenger of the army of Versailles, the bearer of such a demand.
MAY 5, 6th.
Such was the remark I heard made yesterday by a poor and very old
peasant woman as she stopped work for a moment in a field above
Montretout to look at the Fort firing. She followed up this admirable
summary of recent military operations by asking me whether it was not
amazing that somebody could not "invent" a means to put a stop to this
Civil War. I think the whole world must concur with this poor old
woman. It is always the same repetition that is certain, and it is so
to even a greater degree than she was aware of. Not only is the
cannonading the same repetition, but the game of taking positions,
giving them up and retaking them, to lose or abandon them once more, has
been the night work of the last week. Except it may be by treason, or by
the Commune falling to pieces, they are not nearer a march on Paris than
they were three weeks ago. I won't say a month ago, because then the
work could have been done by a few thousand good troops. A non-official
organ of the Government now tells us to be confident, because "unless in
the case of such accidents as one cannot suppose, or of unforeseen
surprises, _some weeks_ will be sufficient to bring to an end the
necessary but sad entreprise of the attack on Paris!" The same paper is
of opinion that only "some months" will have elapsed before order is
restored in the capital. It thinks the _Journal Officiel_ ridiculously
sanguine, because the latter says, "our works of approach advance with a
rapidity which elicits the admiration of all men of art, and which
promises to France a speedy end of its trials, and to Paris a
deliverance from the horrible tyrants who oppress it." Perhaps it is
because the artillerists and other military men whom I meet are not
"men of art," but certainly I cannot find that any of them take so
bright a view of the position. I have just spoken with a very
distinguished foreign officer who has seen the position here and who has
been every where to look at the Insurgent side. He tells me that at the
batteries outside the city he saw some very good men, but that, taken as
a whole, the National Guards within the city are the most miserable lot
he ever saw under arms. All the barricades are admirably made as to
workmanship, but there is not one of them that could not be taken by
troops approaching from streets at angles with the points at which those
obstructions are placed. The Place Vendôme is "a rat-trap," and the
Insurgent chiefs take good care not to make it their own Head-Quarters.
The gallant gentleman to whom I refer believes that if the troops once
got inside the _enceinte_, the insurrection would utterly collapse; but
if the military confine themselves to the operations in which they are
now engaged it will be a considerable time before Paris gives in. Such
is the report of a competent and impartial authority. Rumours of the
most contradictory character are rife from morning till night in the
open air lobby of the Assembly--the Rue des Réservoirs. Deputies who
"ought to know better" circulate very absurd _canards_; but, as remarks
a local print, "_Que voulez-vous? On s'ennuie, il faut bien passer le
temps!_" In my last letter of Thursday night I stated that the affair at
Moulin Saquet was a repetition of that at the Clamart Station. I find
to-day a contradiction of the statement that insurgents were butchered
at Moulin Saquet. It is true, nevertheless. The Commune, wishing, no
doubt, to keep the whole truth from their followers fearing its
disheartening effect, state enough for their purpose, which is to
represent the Versailles Government as assassins. It says that 15 of the
National Guards were killed with knives. The fact is as I stated it. The
redoubt was taken by surprise, and the soldiers gave no quarter. The
number I gave as that of the wretched men killed by the bayonet was 450.
I was under the mark. In his report of the affair General Cissey
says,--"Two hundred insurgents were left dead on the spot. We have taken
many insurgent officers and 300 prisoners and cannon." The Commune
alleges that the redoubt fell into the hands of the Versailles troops by
means of treason. In this instance I dare say the cry of "_Nous sommes
trahis!_" is not far from the truth. The unfortunate garrison were
asleep when the troops entered, the sentinels having, as is alleged,
fled, when they found the enemy was upon them. There were 800 men in the
redoubt, and before they could prepare any effective resistance the
massacre was effected. Now, after all this slaughter and capture of
prisoners and guns, Moulin Saquet is again in the hands of the
Insurgents. The Commune boasts that the National Guards attacked it with
much dash, and re-took it from the troops of Versailles. The fact is
these troops found the place too hot for them, and were obliged to
abandon it. It is exposed to the fire of Bicêtre, Ivry, and Hautes
Bruyères. Was it worth while for the sake of eight cannon to commit such
a terrific slaughter? Most of the prisoners taken on the occasion declare
that they had been forced to serve, and that they had been sent to
Moulin Saquet as a punishment for their having refused to march on
Neuilly. Among the captives is an interesting looking young woman, in
the uniform of a _cantinière_. Poor thing, she is wounded and in
hospital. Her story is that some months ago she became the wife of a
young man, who after the breaking out of the Civil War was forced to
serve in the ranks of the Insurgents. For eight days she was without any
tidings of him, and in her despair she adopted the uniform in which she
was wounded and captured, in order that she might visit all the outposts
in search of her husband. She had not succeeded in finding him, and she
does not know whether he is living. Had she been successful she would
have died by his side rather than have been separated from him again. I
am happy to say that the wound of this heroine is only slight, and that
everything is being done to promote her recovery.
If the Insurgents have not actually re-taken the Clamart Station, the
scene of the other slaughter, they have established themselves very
close to it, in a cutting which forms a communication between the
Station and a barricade on the line of railway. As the Station is under
fire from Fort Vanves I have no doubt that the military found it
impossible to hold it, and that if not now in it the Insurgents may
re-occupy it whenever they like. Again, there was much boasting about
the taking of the Château of Issy. We were told that it was an admirable
position, completely screened from the insurgent fire, and affording an
excellent vantage ground for riflemen. I saw it on fire yesterday. The
Insurgents succeeded in making their shells reach it and making it very
much too hot for the Chasseurs. The truth is the Insurgents have been
doing the Versaillais quite as much damage as the latter have been
inflicting on them. The fire from the batteries at and about the Point
du Jour has been excellent. There must be artillerists there quite as
good as any on this side. The manner in which the ruins of Fort Issy
have been defended is surprising. There is not a roof or a window frame
in one of its barracks, but from the embrasures in the earthworks the
fire is still kept up from one or two points. To take it by assault
would be a matter of no difficulty, but General Faron believes that it
is mined, and even in its crippled position he won't venture to attack
it at close quarters. With the exception of bayoneting some 500 poor
wretches who could not defend themselves, taking a few hundred prisoners
who are rather an embarrassment to them, and capturing a few cannon
which they don't themselves want and which the Insurgents can easily
replace, the Government has done nothing this week. In the words of the
old peasant woman, _C'est toujours la même répétition_.
MAY 7th.
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 thick 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 wall-colouring; there were
flaunting ladies in bonnets of the latest fashion and marvellous
petticoats, who criticized 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 a 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 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
picturesque groups 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 Maréchaux 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 Maréchaux" exists no
more except in name, for men on ladders were employed covering up the
portraits which decorate the hall with screens of red silk--I suppose
lest the past glory of French heroes should pale the brilliancy of the
National Guard, just as the bas-reliefs of the Vendôme 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 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 Trône 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 often 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 endeavouring 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 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 du Comité du
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. "Those are the Empress's favourite
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 bear-garden the Imperial Palace presented. Members of the
Commune flitted about in red draperies and tried to find room on the
already crowded benches for the struggling mob, who rubbed their hot
faces with their unaccustomed white gloves, and used such language to
each other as, it is to be hoped, those august walls have seldom heard.
Meanwhile, the crowd increased in numbers, and by 8 o'clock the
reception rooms were full, and some 2,000 people still stood in a long
string in the garden outside. 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 enabled to
present, jestingly at one another. In course of time the whole of the
_jardin privé_ 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-lit chandeliers and feeble attempts at revelry that were going on
above our heads.
The reigning scandal of the day is the affair of the Convent of Picpus.
So highly roused has public indignation been by the supposed discovery
of atrocities committed within those jealous walls that the people have
been peremptorily excluded until the investigations of justice shall be
complete. I managed, however, to penetrate within the precincts by
attaching myself to the _cortège_ of an English friend, who was
journeying thither under special official orders, to investigate the
case of an English Sister named Garret. In the Rue de Picpus, near Mazas
prison, stand two large buildings, each surrounded by high walls, above
which may be seen green trees at intervals. The one is an establishment
of the Jesuites; the other the Convent of the White Nuns. The Jesuites
Brothers escaped at the first sign of approaching danger, but the
Sisters held their own until forced into cabs and conveyed to the cells
of St. Lazare, there to await the results of a judicial inquiry into
certain matters that are deemed suspicious. Arrived at the gate of the
Convent, we were obliged to force our way through a crowd of angry
people who demanded instant permission to enter, and who were as
persistently swept back by a group of National Guards--we, however,
being admitted inside the door under cover of the official pass and
signatures. In the court-yard, under the shade of some fine trees, a few
Guards were playing bowls in the Jesuit's alley, and making up to one of
them, whose cap displayed tokens of authority, we mentioned our
business, and begged permission to see what was to be seen. Our friend
was very civil, accepted a cigar, and marched us off to go the rounds.
He pointed out to us the fact, of which there certainly could exist no
kind of doubt, that the two buildings communicated one with the other,
by means of an old door which still exists at the back of a stable, as
well as by other apertures in the garden wall, which show signs of
having been recently closed up. The Jesuit's garden is a most beautiful
one, occupying a space of some 12 acres, laid out with care and
furnished with fruit trees of every description, pruned and trained
after the latest horticultural designs. There are wondrously ingenious
plans, too, for irrigating the beds, forcing pits and hothouses, and
long alleys with vines trained over them. Through the old door above
mentioned we passed into the Sister's garden, equally large and
beautiful, though not kept with the same care. In the centre stands a
gymnasium, I suppose for the use of the children brought up under the
Sisters' care, and further is their cemetery, a lovely spot, where,
under the heavy shade of ancient cypresses, lie bearers of some of the
most ancient names in France--"Prince of Salm-Kyrbourg, immolated under
the Terror, aged 49;" "Rochefoucauld," "De Noailles," "Montmorency,"
"the great Lafayette," the whole family of the Talleyrand-Périgords, and
legions of Princes and Princesses. Some of the vaults have been opened,
and many lead coffins, half-covered with rotting velvet and gold lace,
lie exposed to the light of day, awaiting an examination at the hands of
the Minister of Justice. At the extreme end of the garden, however, are
the three little conical huts, side by side, resembling white ants'
nests, which have been the prime cause of so much excitement and
judicial inquiry. When the Convent was occupied by the National Guards
these little huts were tenanted each by an old woman, enclosed in a
wooden cage, like a chickens' pen, the three buildings being similar in
size and construction, six feet square by seven in height, with a slate
roof, through which daylight was visible, while the three old women
were all of them hopeless idiots. The Lady Superior has kept her lips
resolutely closed up to the present time, but admitted, when first
questioned, that the three sufferers had lived in their hideous prison
for nine years, in an atmosphere of stifling heat throughout the summer
and half frozen with cold throughout the winter; "but," she added, "they
were idiots when they came." The conductor of the inquiry replied that,
if such were the case, it was illegal to have admitted them to the
Convent at all, and that even supposing them to have been admitted, the
place where they were found was not a fit dwelling-place for a dog. A
key was discovered among her papers, labelled "key of the great vault;"
but where this great vault may be has not yet been found out. The
Superior and her nuns keep a uniform and persistent silence upon the
point; excavations have been made at different points in the garden, and
under the high altar of the chapel, but hitherto without effect. At one
end of the nuns' garden stands an isolated building, in which were found
mattresses furnished with straps and buckles, also two iron corsets, an
iron skull-cap, and a species of rack turned by a cog-wheel, evidently
intended for bending back the body with force. The Superior explained
that these were orthopædic instruments--a superficial falsehood. The
mattresses and straps struck me as being easily accounted for; I have
seen such things used in French midwifery, and in cases of violent
delirium; but the rack and its adjuncts are justly objects of grave
suspicion, for they imply a use of brutal force which no disease at
present known would justify. On our way back through the gardens our
guide made a _détour_ in order to show us a great subterranean
warehouse, where an enormous quantity of potatoes was stored, as well as
barrels full of salt pork, while in a yard hard by lay grunting a fat
pig. "Look at this!" cried our National Guard indignantly. "Look at
these stores, which might have helped to feed the starving poor of the
arrondissement during our six months' siege, and think that these people
were begging from door to door the whole time for money to buy broken
victuals for their pensioners!" Arrived at the entrance gate our guide
nudged me, telling me in whispers to look at the old woman who was
wandering about, followed by a younger one, stooping from time to time
to pick up a leaf or rub her hands with sand and gravel. "That is Soeur
Bernadine," he said, "one of the three prisoners of the wooden cages.
She is the most sane in mind of the three, and we keep her here under
the care of one of our wives to cheer her up. She is only 50, though she
looks past 70. The other two have been removed, as they were rendered
violent by the crowd and change of scene." I passed close to her and she
looked up--a soft, pale face, with sunken eyes shaded by the frills of a
great cap. She looked at me dazedly, without taking any notice, and
stooping again, filled her hands with refuse coffee grounds, which she
put into her mouth until prevented by her companion. Without showing the
least prejudice in the matter, I think I can safely say that the ladies
now shut up at St. Lazare will find it no easy matter to clear
themselves of blame; for, though there are doubtless many suspicious
circumstances that maybe explained away, there are also hard facts which
will remain hard facts in spite of the most elaborate attempts at
refutation.
MAY 8th.
In consequence of the bombardment daily expected from the Montretout
batteries people have been hurriedly leaving Paris in great numbers.
Fort Vanves took fire last night, and had to be evacuated. It was found
impossible to extinguish the fire. It is still burning.
The explosion at Issy arose from a torpedo, not a powder magazine. The
Fort is evacuated.
There has been a general heavy firing to-day, and the Point du Jour has
suffered severely.
Father Hogan, the _curé_ of St. Sulpice, a British subject, was again
arrested yesterday. Mr. Malet has with difficulty procured his release
on condition that he leaves Paris.
The Government troops were compelled to evacuate the railway station at
Clamart in consequence of the effluvia arising from the great number of
unburied corpses in and about the station, which was then occupied by
the Federalists, subsequently again evacuated by them upon the approach
of the Versailles troops.
The Government have sent away to the Departments all the young soldiers
who have parents or relations domiciled in Paris.
The statement that M. Schneider intented to remove his iron foundries
from Creuzot to Stockton-on-Tees is incorrect. A large number of models
and designs have been sent from Creuzot to foundries at
Stockton-on-Tees, where it is intended to instruct a staff of workmen in
the production of steel before commencing that branch of manufacture at
the French establishment.
Fort Issy was captured and occupied by the Government troops this
morning.
MAY 9th.--AND 10th.
Forts Montrouge and Vanves have been reduced to silence by a battery of
mitrailleuses established on a parapet of Issy, which picks off Federal
artillerymen when they show themselves. Seven guns on bastions 72, 73,
and 74 have been dismounted by the new battery of Montretout and the
bastions silenced. Many prisoners are said to have been taken at Issy
yesterday.
The National Guards of Vaugirard and the Panthéon decline to march,
barely a third of their numbers having answered the call.
The Vendôme Column is definitively to fall on Friday.
The Lycée, on the high ground behind Issy, is being hurriedly formed
into a fortress mounted with guns, earthworks connecting it with Vanves.
Three shells per second are said to have fallen on Auteuil this morning.
Nineteen battalions were reviewed yesterday by Colonel Rossel in the
Place de la Concorde. Rossel continues to command in spite of his
resignation yesterday, which is attributed to a quarrel with the Central
Committee. The Committee of Public Safety is still sitting. It is
rumoured that should he decline to withdraw his resignation, the
functions of the Ministry of War would be absorbed by the Committee of
Public Safety, who would attach to themselves an Assistant Military
Commission, headed by Dombrowski.
MAY 10th.
The Committee of Public Safety, in consequence of the proclamation of M.
Thiers, which was placarded in Paris, has issued a decree ordering the
furniture and property of M. Thiers to be seized, and his house in the
Place St. Georges to be immediately demolished.
The Commune, in its sitting of yesterday, decided to bring Colonel
Rossel before a court-martial.
Delescluze has been appointed Delegate of War.
Colonel Rossel was arrested yesterday and handed over to the custody of
Citizen Gerardin. At 5 p.m. an announcement was made to the Commune that
Rossel had left with Gerardin. The Commune accepted the offer of General
Bergeret to re-arrest Rossel. Nevertheless, at 2 o'clock this morning
this had not been effected.
Félix Pyat, in the _Vengeur_, accuses Rossel of treason.
MAY 11th.
There is increasing discouragement among the National Guards, in spite
of the retaking of Vanves. The _Vengeur_ hints at a plot headed by
Gerardin, and states that 400 National Guards, who exhibited no numbers
of their battalions, were assembled for an unknown purpose at the
Luxembourg; that at the same time officers who were making a domiciliary
visit at Gerardin's house were attacked, and that in another quarter an
attempt was made to assassinate Dombrowski.
A considerable portion of masonry from the Auteuil Viaduct has fallen
into the water.
A search has been made at the Bank of France under the excuse of looking
for arms. It is said that the _employés_ of the Bank are armed and
victualled, and will stand a siege rather than surrender the gold under
their care.
In consequence of pressure from Delescluze the Central Committee abandon
the direction of the War Administration, and Moreau resigns his office
of Civil Delegate.
The furniture and pictures are being carted from M. Thiers' house, and
sounds of hammering within suggest the commencement of its demolition.
Six newspapers have been suppressed--viz., the _Univers_, _Spectateur_,
_Moniteur_, _Étoile_, _Anonyme_, and _Observateur_.
The batteries at Montretout continue a vigorous firing. Throughout last
night they received only six shells from the Insurgents.
The shells thrown from the floating battery bridge at the Point du Jour
and from the land batteries near that point generally drop short of the
mark and fall either into the Seine or on the slopes of the railway by
the right bank.
This afternoon I saw many projectiles from Montretout and Meudon explode
among the houses at the Point du Jour and the _enceinte_ near it. The
wall screening the Ceinture Railway between Auteuil and Vaugirard has
been dreadfully battered in various places.
The Bois de Boulogne, in a semicircle from about the Villa Rothschild to
Bagatelle, following the race course at Longchamps, is one vast camp,
and from this camp to the village of Boulogne the work of constructing
trenches parallel with the _enceinte_ is being pushed rapidly forward. I
saw hundreds of men working at them to-day.
The Fort of Vanves is still occupied by the Insurgents, but Moulin de
Pierres and Châtillon cover it with shells.
By means of cannon shots the troops of Versailles have demolished the
houses in the village of Vanves, as they concealed and covered the
postern of the Fort. The military had succeeded in occupying the
village, but were obliged to abandon it because the houses were exposed
to the fire of the Insurgents.
There has been a sharp musketry fire to-day in the plantations to the
north-east of Issy, and just over the Vaugirard road.
There has been fighting of the same kind in the direction of the St.
Ouen station at the other end of the lines. The sphere of attack is
again being extended, and in consequence of this the Insurgents are
obliged to defend themselves at, perhaps, three or four points
simultaneously.
MAY 12th.--13th.
There was a considerable movement in the city yesterday consequent on
desperate attempts to enlist refractory citizens in marching battalions.
Pressgangs paraded the streets all day, and many men within the ages of
19 and 40 were, it is said, temporarily incarcerated in the Church of
Notre Dame de Lorette.
An extraordinary meeting was held at the Hôtel de Ville in consequence
of a supposed discovery of a reactionary plot. Forty-seven Gendarmes,
says the _Mot d'Ordre_, were found in the Marine Barracks disguised as
National Guards, besides a great quantity of tricoloured _brassards_.
M. Beslay, surnamed the Father of the Commune, has retired, because he
disapproves the confiscation of M. Thiers' goods.
The new batteries on Montmartre opened fire last night, but ceased this
morning.
The 46th battalion Montrouge were relieved from duty two hours before
their time last night because they talked of opening the Gates. This
battalion consists for the most part of shopkeepers.
The new battalion called the "Vengeurs du Père Duchesne" were shut up in
the Luxembourg Gardens, all points of egress being guarded, because they
declined to march outside the city.
Difficulties have arisen in the Quartier Val de Grace, consequent upon
the heavy tax recently levied on meat.
The Versaillais gunboats at the Asnières Bridge forced the Federal
troops to recoil several hundred yards towards the city walls.
Félix Pyat announces his opinion publicly that the fall of the Commune
is imminent.
Mortars are being placed on the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
The demolition of the house of M. Thiers has commenced.
The Central Committee have ordered that all the quarters of Paris shall
be searched for arms and refractory National Guards. All the young men
in Paris are to be armed.
MAY 14th.
A large crowd has been waiting in the Rue de la Paix since 4 o'clock to
see the fall of the Vendôme Column. Its fall had been officially
promised at that hour, but up to half-past 6 it was still standing. It
will probably fall to-day. The tricolour flag has just been attached to
the statue, amid faint cheers from the crowd.
An Armistice has been arranged for next Wednesday, to enable the
inhabitants of Vanves and the neighbourhood to remove.
Cluseret, Megy, and Schoelcher have been released.
The 8th and 11th Battalions have been disarmed on suspicion of being
reactionary.
Paschal Grousset has sent a circular to the principal towns of France,
inviting them to join the Communal movement.
The approaches are now within 150 metres of the _enceinte_, and a
breaching battery is being constructed. The Montretout batteries have
already made a considerable breach in the _enceinte_ by the side of the
Auteuil Gate, which has been demolished.
There was a very lively fusillade this afternoon between troops in the
Bois de Boulogne and the Insurgents, who fired from houses and other
shelter behind the _enceinte_ between Passy and Auteuil. Mortars were
also used by the military.
The Insurgents have shot a captain of Engineers who imprudently advanced
beyond the Versailles lines.
In the Fort of Vanves a soldier of the Line has been found; his feet
were tied together, and there are numbers of bayonet wounds in different
parts of his body. The Insurgents had made him prisoner.
Of the 60 pieces of cannon left in the Fort, the greater number had been
rendered useless by the fire of the troops.
It is believed that the garrison escaped by a subterranean passage
communicating between Forts Vanves and Montrouge.
Every commander of an Army Corps will henceforward have the command of
an Arrondissement, and will be answerable for the defensive measures
undertaken in his zone.
All persons in the possession of sulphur and phosphorus must declare to
the Commune the amount of each within three days.
La Cecilia has again undertaken the command at Petit Vanves.
Torpedoes are to be laid down at exposed parts.
The night has passed off quietly, and nothing of any importance has
transpired.
The Versailles troops are under the walls of Paris, and are exchanging
shots with the Insurgents on the ramparts from the Muette Gate to the
Issy Gate.
The Federalists have been driven out of their entrenchments between
Forts Vanves and Issy.
A battery is being erected in the garden of the Tuileries, from which
the Communists will be able to keep up a flank fire upon the Champs
Elysées.
There is no doubt of the existence of a serious conspiracy, possessing
wide ramifications, in Paris to effect the overthrow of the Commune.
The Garden of the Luxembourg has been closed, and is occupied by four
battalions of National Guards, as a precaution against the rising which
is apprehended.
MAY 15th.