Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-13

| hAthAAiSu W q llOolVuiau'
The Fall of Paris.
The following dispatches from Mr.. Wash
burne, lately received by the state department.
tell the story of the entry of the Versailles troops
into Paris, and the scenes which followed, in a
very interesting manner, and afford new evil
dence of the faithfnlness and success of our
minister under circumstances of singular diff
Guilty and Danger;
| PARIS Monday Evening, May %, 1871.
Sir:-The day of the 22d of May will become
an important era in the history of Paris and of
| France. 1t was nine weeks on Saturday last
| since the instruction broke out, and those weeks
have run YEARLY on in the expectation that
| every week would be the last. | returned to my
lodgings last night about eleven o'clock, and had
heard nothing, and could see nothing that
| showed any change in the situation. But it
| now appears that at halfpast three O'Clock yes
| terday afternoon the first division of the army
of the reserve commanded by Gen. Verge, en-
| tered the gate of Saint Cloud, which is on what
is called the "Toute of Versailles" The breach
had been made at that point, but am informed
that it was not the expectation of the regular
troops that they could enter at that time; but
they pressed forward, and finding but little op-
position, they were soon within the walls. The
national guard retired very slowly, and such
was the state of things existing, and so loose
was the military organization of the commune
that it was not known until into the night that
the Versailles troops had passed the encente.
The commune was reposng in fancied security,
and it was not until after midnight that they
were advised as to the full extent of what had
happened. Then was there "hurrying to and
fro, the tocsin was sounded all over the city,
the genOrdLe was beaten; orderlies dashed furi-
ously in every direction but all to no purpose;
the national guard becoming demoralized began
to retreat hastily before the advancing force
The entrance into the city having been made at
the Porte de Saint Cloud" the consequence
was that the commune troops that had been
guarding the enceinte and all the gates, from
that of Saint Cloud clear round to the Porte DIES
Tenes, found themselves taken in the reverse,
and by four O'Clock this morning they had aban-
doned all their positions and fled to the interior
of the city. The gates of Auteuil PasSy and La
Muette being thus left undefended the troops of
the line began pouring in through all of them
1t was not until six O'Clock this morning that
heard of what had taken place. My servant
came to tell me that the troops were in, and
that the tri-colored flag foated upon the top
of the Arc de Triomphe. l hurried into the
street, and saw for myself the flag flying from
the scatiolding supporting the machinery which
had enabled the insurgents to draw up and
plant upon the top of the Arc five pieces of can
non. By this time the head of the column adj
yancing into the city and passing along
the right bank of the Seine by the
Cours la Refine, was vigorously attack
ing the Place de la Concorde At the same
time another column, crossing the Champs
| Elysees near the arch, was marching
in by the Avenue de Friedland and down the
| Rue Faubourg St. Honore. AT about nine
O'Clock the inSurgent batteries at Montmartre
| began shelling the Place de PEtoie, and soon
many shells fell in the immediate neighborhood
of the legation but fortunately we received no
| damage. The fighting has continued all day
| by the Place de la Concorde, and it does not
seem that the Versailles troops have gained
much ground. At three O'Clock this afternoon,
| accompanied by a friend, took a ride in all
those portions of the ramparts which have been
| bombarded by Mont Valerien, the great battery
| of M0ntretout, and the several preaching bat
teries. We passed around from the Porte de
Dauphine, which is so near my residence, to the
| Porte of st. Cloud. | was at my house for the
first time for two weeks, and found it but very
little injured. Two pieces of shell had entered,
| and besides the breaking of considerable glass
| there was no material damage. Some houses
in the vicinity received many Shells and several
| of them have been pillaged. My servants, who
lived in the cellar, were enabled to keep out
the brigand national guards, although they
made one or two serious demonstrations. In
going from the Porte de Dauphine, which had
not been very seriously bombarded, to the Porte
de la ST. Cloud (more generally known as the
Point du Jour-, we passed the gates of La Mu-
cite, Passy and Auteuil. Breaches had been
made at all of them, and the destruction of
property inside the encente has been immense.
Nothing could have lived under the terrible fire
| of Mont Valerien and MOntretOut, An English
military man told me that the battery of Mon
tretout was the most powerful battery the world
had ever seen. Never had seen such "wreck
of matter'-guns dismounted, their carriages
torn to pieces, barrcades levelled and buildings
entirely demolished. We saw along the line of
the ramparts many dead bodies of the national
guard, several of them in a state of decomposi-
ton. The firing had been so dreadful that it
had been impossible to get them away. Re
turning from ''Point du Jour- into the city, we
saw additional troops coming in and the streets of
Passy were crowded with them. 1t is estimated
that from eighty to one hundred thousand troops
of the line will be in the city by tomorrow
morning. In all our part of the city they have
been received with unbounded joy by the few
people remaining. The citizens are congratn-
lating each other that they are at last delivered
from the oppression and terror of the last two
months.
As write, at ten o'clock tonight, the fight
seems to be going on as furiousy as ever at the
race de la Conc0rde. shall continue this dis
patch tomorrow, and shall hope to be able to
send it on to London tomorrow night.
PARIS, May "a, 1871.
Shiny mention of the prodigious events
| which have been transacted in Paris since Sum
day last closed at noon of yesterday. AS it was
impossible to reach those posts of the city in
which the fighting was going on, | only knew
| that the contest was raging with unparalleled
| fury in the central portion of it. AT half-paSt
| i've Ut SIX U ClOCk OI Yesterday, IL was evident
| that an immense fire had broken out at the
| Chanceillerie of the Legation OF Honor. Soon we
saw the smoke arising in other parts of the city,
showing but too plainly that the terrible threats
Of the commune of general conhagration had
| commenced to he carried out. was at the head
quarters of Marshal Mcmahon at Passy at about
nine O'Clock in the morning, for the purpose of
soliciting the sending of troops at the earliest
moment for the release of the archbishop of Paris
and other hostages, in the prisons of Mazas, and
htro, nft no %, tIatt
palace of the Tuileries was on fire. On my re-
turn | could discover nothing and hoped that he
had been mistaken. At one o'clock this morn
ing was awakened by friend who told me
that Paris was all in flames. | hurried to q
position from which / had q full and complete
view of the fire. 1t was starlight night, calm
and beautiful. An insurgent battery which had
been for twenty-four hours shelng our part OF
the town, was still sending its bombs into the
| immediate neighborhood of the legation every
fifteen minutes. The roar OF their cannon, the
cret5pement Of the mitralleuses, and the sharp
rafting of chassepots fell upon the still of the
night. The lurid flames rising from the burn
ing palace lighted up half the heavens, and the
whole scene was the most terrible | had even
witnessed. To the fire of the Tuileries was adj
ded other conhagrations,-the ministry Of
finance, the buildings of the Rue Royale and
other fires which seemed Just started. AT one
time it appeared 10 those of us who were watch
: ing the progress of the condagration that thu
! Hospital DIES Invalides was certainly on fire. bu
as the night wore on, daylight disclosed its gild
J ed dome intact, and we discovered TO our grea
e qualification that the fire was a short distance
0 beyond in the same direction.
> AT five O'Clock this morning / sent a mes
+ senger to Versailles with telegraphic dispatcl
&c Tor you in regard to what had taken place
coming to the legation at nine o'clock, heart
+ that the Versailles troops had captured tn
strong positions at Place de la Concorde an,
oi the Place Vendome. / at once took my carriag
ana proceeded in that direction, passing dow
Is the Boulevard Haussmann 10 the Place 81