Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-04-10

| nQlSnlum NV letteI may hONOupullN IL hul flO-
| ment upward, to return, like the country in
| which fall, broken and dismembered. We are
| now living and expecting to die under our third
republic since the first Of September-not to
spend time in finding out whether 90 Or 83 since
1892. On the 4th of September the volcano
threw up the provisional Favre Gambetta re-
public, and in February up came Monsieur
Theirs Co. Now we are an anonymous re-
public or an impersonal monarchy-as you
please.
On Friday night last at about twelve o'clock,
Gen. Vinoy undertook the capture of the guns
that had been gathered upon MOntmartre. No
body expected collision; everybody antici-
pated an easy triumph of the government and
during the small hours of Saturday morning
things went on favorably and smoothly for the
| side of order. Several cannon were removed by
| the gendarmerie and several hundred OF the in
surgents were made prisoners. So things went
on till about eight O'Clock on Saturday morning,
when the excitement rose rapidly on all sides,
and the hopes of the rebels rose with it, for
large force of the red nationals and red legged
liners appeared on the field, and in few minutes
all the prisoners were released, without any Sc
rious collision. Every moment confusion in
creased, and the bewiderment spread. Vinoy's
troops were stationed entirely around the hill,
and had in their possession several mitrailleuses
These handsome pieces Of admonitory eloquence
gave great offense TO the crowd of men, women
and children wao swarmed around them, asking
if they were to be fired on the people.
Irresolution reigned among the government
| commanders and perpleXity among their troops.
| Little by little the insurgent troops gained in
number, as deserters from he government ranks
multiplied. Then there seemed to be general
determination of troops, and thousands OF mus
kets were turned butt end up to signaize their
| fraternity of feeling. The civilians and civil
ianesses cried to those who were slow at this TO
be quicker about it, or they would regret their
| hesitation. Many of the soldiers looked as if
they were going distracted with terror and NOR
| tihcation.
Suddenly report of firearms is heard, and
collision occurs in the Place Pigalle. Some
chasseurs show a disposition to defend the can
non against the mob. Their horses are grabbed.
They are completely surrounded by a compact
IN lss of maniacs, armed and unarmed, yelling
and swearing, and threatening. lieutenant
of the chasseurs, as fiery as his horse, which
reared and plunged, drew his sabre and struck
the man who was Juggling at his bride, when
pmg-ping went a half dozen bullets, and the
chasseur pitched headlong and fell into the
street dead.
fearful scene followed. Bullets few, and
the people flew in every direction; the chasseurs
| retired. Several men fell dead and wounded.
Immediately the troops of the government
| thereabouts either quilted the fell or deserted
to the insurgents, and in a very short time there
| was not gendlrme to be seen in that vicinity.
| have always spoken of these fellows IN the
| highest terms, and now am not prepared to
| censure them. They were few in number COM
pared to their enemy, and to have resisted would
| have been useless sacrifice OF loyal soldiers,
| who are only too few.
| At another point there was another collision.
| General Lupic, followed by some troops of the
| line and chasseurS, was returning with some OF
the artillery taken from Montmartre, when an
| attack was made by body OF nationals. The
| general cried TO his men, fire" The word was
| no sooner spoken than the general tumbled from
| his horse under blow from the butt of a chase
| pot. Some of the chaSseurs fell pierced with
| balls. Then the firing ceased, and the two ar
mics affectionately embraced and diabollcally
danced among the dead and wounded of the bril-
| liant battle.
General Lecomte commanded another section
| of the troops which were sent to carry the
| heights of Montmartre. His followers also de
serted, and he was dragged from his horse and
carried off TO a back yard where it is said he had
a trial, but whether he had trial or not, it is
now certain that he was deliberately assassina-
ted, where few minutes before General Glenn
ent Thomas had met the same fate. Thomas
was in citizens clothes, and was recognized by
some of the Belleville assassins whom he had
called to account for cowardiee last December,
when he was in command of the national guard.
He, too, ii is said, had sort of mock trial by
secret red tribunal. His last word was "cow-
ards!"
The murder of these two brave generals is
only to be classed with the death OF the English
man at the hands of the brigands, and in hide
| Gus and internal cruelty is second only to the as
sassination of President Lincoln. And the anal
ogy is further shown in the fact that the muir
| deraTs in both instances were actuated by the
sentiment of SIC Senper tyrdpnltS. Both parties
acted in behalf of "liberty," and remind us OF
the last words of Madame Roland: 80 liberty,
what crimes are committed in thy nameP May
our own country take note OF every event that
goes on here.
The Soir may well say with reference to the
death of Thomas: "By what horrible mockcry
of fate was it reserved to this republican patriot
| 10 fall under the bullets of madmen, who pre-
tended to serve the republic by this murder. No
| pain was spared him-not even the sharpest in
| that hour of anguish, the pain of feeling that
| after having slain him his assassins would say
the republic"
Poor Thomas! | have often seen him. He
was fine-looking, sturdy, brave and honest. he
never failed IN his duty during the siege
He was one of the faithful "leaders so often
clamored for by those very demons who have
acted as cowardly toward him when he was in
their power as they did when under his orders
| in the face of the enemy. The poltroonS wanted
"leaders" and when they get an opportunity
| they shoot their leaders for being leaders.
Thomas had been a lifelong, consistent repub-
lican. In 1884, when he was mere boy and a
non-commiSsioned officer, he was imprisoned
| for his republcanism, and for the same cause
has been in exile for the last eighteen years.
| Immediately upon hearing of the restoration of
the republic he fastened to offer ii his services /;
and, as have said before, the besieged capital
had no more earnest or faithful soldier.
Lecomte too, was a good officer and good
republican, and one of the Headers who were
| first clamored for and then murdered by their
| followers.
In the murder of these officers the republicans
| of Paris have committed the browning crime of
| the war.
To return to the eruption of which this crime
was part, wherever the troops of the govern
| ment and those of the insurgents met there was
a determination. There was hugging and kiss
| ing. Tears of joy fell upon the bleeding dead
| and writhing wounded. Women lifted up their
voices and wept, as they said, to sec the affec
ton of Frenchmen for one another. No, no,
cried one old savage bag; they will not fire up
| on their own countrymen. Frenchmen will not
kill Frenchmen. Oh, no (boo-hoo) Parsians
| love Parisians, and will obey no mans order to
massacre one another. Oh, no (boo-hoo.) How
| old Theirs will feel, aye, jacques when he hears
| of this, and that cavalier, Favre, ha, ha; how
they will all feel when they see their wicked Or
ders have been disobeyed. Oh, no, no. You
can't get Frenchmen to kill Frenchmen. Oh, no
| (boo-hoo).
Nationals have said As we ran away from the
Prussians, youcould hardly expect us to fire on
| ParisianSl
BY noon of Saturday the reds had the field to
themselves. The lava poured along the boule-
| wards. Bellevile was triumphant. Vinoy re-
tired with the kendarmerie and such fragments
of regiments as would follow him over the Seine
leaving the main portion of the city to insur-
| gents, who appear TO be ruled by body calling
itself the central committee, whose names are,
to everybody's establishment, new to everybody.
| Even the third rate eminents, such as Flourens
and Pyat, do not appear in the tragedy. The
| insurgents must be as much astounded as the
rest OF us at their success. They were cowed
and terrified, and in complete rout, at the first
show of force by the government-now they are
masters of the capital, occupants of the Hotel
de Vile, and keeping guard over the govern
| ment archives and printing press the barracks,
tue Maries and the newspapers, barricading the
streets, and rushing into the forts. The tr-color
| is down, and the red flag autters everywhere.
| The new government publishes an official paper
1t is a most startling and extraordinary spec
| tacle, even for Paris. The national guard,
which we all supposed such precious conserva-
| tive Oreanists and devoted to order, for fear of
their shops, seemed to have gone over, two out
of three, to the red demons of anarchy and
| assassination.
The worst feature Of the situation is that
amid all the pretcnsiOns of indignation of 999
out of every thousand of these people, there is
sneaking friendliness toward the murderers on
the part of large portion of the respectable
rrl,r Il.