Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-06-15
THE COMMUNE.
Day I'm Paris-HOrrible
Dissertation of the CBurches-Fhe
Bread OF the Altar Scattered ON
the Streets.

Dissertation OIL the tBurcues-Ihe
bread OF the Altar Scattered ON
the streets.
From the Paris correspondence of the
London Daily Telegraph, May %, we
clip the following. Other outrages and
indecencies are recorded, which are too
horrid for recital among Christians. We
confne our selections, therefore, to the
simpler incidents Of the Communist
war on religion
HUNTING FOR FRESH C0RPsEs.
The occupation of the Churc. of No
tire Dame des Victories was accompanied
by peculiar atrocities. The guards ap-
peared there at four o'clock on Thurs
day afternoon. Their first act was to
expel, with various insults and foul
abuse, the number of people who were
saying their prayers; then they arrested
the clergy and some of the neigh
boring Inhabitants who came in to pro-
test. The doors were shut, and the
prisoners we're informed by an officer
in pompous speech, that the object of
the visit was ito seek for corpses, in
the name of high morality" The stone
pavement was pulled up the treasure
of the church, which was very con-
siderable including gifts of precious
objects and votive offerings worth more
than 10000, was soon discovered in
cellar; but the search for the corpses
was less productive. 1t was not till late
in the evening, when the diggers got
down deep in the old battle-ground, that
skeletons were found; during the night
the guards, of course, got drunk; in the
intervals of their work they put on the
vestments of the clergy, and executed
dances and sang obscene songs before
their prisoners, telling them that they
had Just dug up " fresh bodies Of women
slaughtered by the priests" but refused
to allow doctor, who was incaI cerated
with the others, to verify the accusation.
Citizen lie Moussu, Chief Commissaire
de Police, presided over the proceeding;
he was joined at nine next morning by
Potter, a member of the Commune, who,
on his arrival, violently attackd the i'm
prisoned priests, screaming to them:
F" Miserables, combien avez vouz tue de
femmes?" but who finally softened down,
and said that everybody should be re-
leased if no charge could be substan-
tiated, Htl...
At the same moment a priest arrived
from the Church of St. Augustin, which
had been seized and closed two hours be-
fore, to ask permission from Citizen lie
Moussu to perform the burial service in
the crypt Of his church, urging that sew
eral funerals were awaiting his return.
In reply, he was instantly arrested, with
the organist of st. Augustin, who had
accompanied him, and the funerals were
left to themselves. All day the prisoners
were kept, great orgie going on round
them. They saw the church polluted in
ways which cannot be described; they
saw the cash box emptied, the boxes for
voluntary gifts forced open and their
contents seized; they saw the National
Guards receive their pay out of the
money thus obtained, and become
drunker and drunken; they saw the lus-
ters, the lamps, the bronze ornaments
and everything else of value pulled down
and packed into cases, which, with the
treasure, were carried off in four large
cans. Then the obscene insults recon-
menced, cdntiHiere being remarkable
even amongst those drunken brutes in
the incredible foulness of her magma
ton and her language. At last, at six
O'Clock on Thursday evening, after de-
tention of twenty-six hours, the prison
ers, save one priest, were told they might
90 home Such is the account given to
me by one of the released. have heard
many other odious details, but do not
mention them because they were not in
cluded in the statements Of my eye WIT
nesses, and may be exaggeratiOns.
SCATTERING THE HOLY BREAD TO GAMlNs.
Ascension Day, l need hardly say, is
one of the great religious festivals in this
city; and so, early on Thursday, large
number of women of all classes, dressed
in the deepest mourning, appeared at
the gates Of this church and demanded
admittance. They were told that there
we're no longer religion, or churches, or
"Our Ladies" so they had better go
home quietly. Then ensued regular
row, and one lady struck National in
the eye. The more serious, however, re-
tired to the corner of the Rue des Vic
tories, and knelt by the side rails in the
street. No sooner was this seen than
more than usually rullianly National
called from the mob ten Of the dirtiest
boys he could find, and caused them to
knoel in front of the great entrance; then
he entered the sacred edilice, and re-
turning in few seconds, told them lit
orally TO shut their eyes, open
their mouths, and see what Our
LADY" would send them. A per
feet thrill of horror ran through the
square, peopled though it was by the
worst class in Paris, when they saw the
ruflian put into each gaping mouth the
consecrated wafer. His brother officers
and men roared with indecent laughter,
and the gGmins grinned; but the crowd
was silent, and the kneeling women
wept. Not content with this, the Ma
tionals then rushed in, got some hun
dreds of these waters, and threw them
among the mob as for a scramble. The
pious worshippers tried to buy them up
for all the "sous they had with them;
in an instant 800 gaminS were round
them irving to sell the Host" while
the officers and gentlemen of the One
Hundred and Thirty-sixth battalion
stood by, highly amused at this disgust
ing and disgraceful scene, which L have
in no one point, or by no one word, ex-
aggerated. As we came away we heard
that the iconoclasts had commenced
their wretohed work at the Chapelle Ex-
platoire. Surely within few days Yer
sailles must conquer, and some very
strong, even-handed justice must compel
the poisoned chalice to the lips of these
rampant rufiians.
Why They Fought.
1t has been difficult to understand why