The Portland daily press., 1873-11-25
TRANSLATED from the French, ty Miss NJ. J.l
The InSurgent,

Prisoner" said the President of the Coult
Martial, "have you anything to add in youi
defense?"
"ies, my Colonel" replied the prisoner,
'you gave me lawyer, who has defended
me in his way,-I wish to defend myself in
my own way
"My name is Martin Louis-Josepb. I am
fitty-five years old. My father was q locl7
smith-he had shop in the upper end d
the suburb Of st. Martin, did poor business,
but made enough to get on with. I haQ
learned to read in the radical paper, the No
tiOnal, which was, believe, NJ. Theirs, pa
per.
1.-The 9th of July, 1880, my father went
out early in the morning; at ten o'clock in
the evening, they brought him to us, upon q
stletcher, dying. He had received ball id
was his gun. Take it, said he to me. and
when, there is an insurrection, use it against
the government, always, always, always. An
hour after he was dead. I welt out in thu
dark. At the first barrlcade / was stopped
aud volunteered myself. A man examined
me, by the light OF a lantern. "a child n
cried he-I was not fifteen years old; was
very small, very thin. replied ga child, that
may be SO. but my father was killed two
hours ago. He gave me this gun, teach me
how to use it."
From that moment became, what 1 have
always been since, for forty years-an insur-
gent. If fought during the Commune, it
was not by force. by compulsion, for the thirty
cents allowance-t was by choice, for pleas
ure, by custom, by routine.
In 1880, behaved bravely in the attack
upon the Louvre; that urchin who was the
first to scale the gate, under the very guns OF
the Swiss, was myself have the medal giv-
en- in July; bnt the Bourgeois gave us king,
All had to be begun over again. l entered !
secret society, and learned to melt balls and
make powder. Finally, my education was
completed, and bided my time
bad to wait nearly two years. At noon
the 9th of June, 1882, was the FIST to
unyoke one OF the horses from the hearse OF
General Lamarque. l spent the day in
shouting Long live Lafayettep' and the
night in making barricades. The morning Of
the day following. we were attacked by the
regular troops. At four IN the afternoon we
were blockaded, cam n,naded, riddled with
shot, and crushed into st. Mary's church.
had received ball and three blows OF the
ba one, when was picked up by the SOL
diers. upon the fagstones of the little chapel
of st. John, at the left. l often go to TINS
little Chapel, not to pray-I was not brought
nm with such ideas-but to see the trace OF
NV blood, which is still plain upon the
stone.
On account of my youth, was only inn
prisoned ten years. l had been sent TO st.
Michel Mount 1t was for this reason did
not take part in the nsurrecton OF 1884.
Had 1 been free, SHOULD have fought in
the street, against the government, always! all
ways! always! 1t was the last word of my
father, it was my gospel, my religion. |
called il my catechism in six words.
came out OF prison in 1912, and again 'bided
my time"
The revolution of AS came without warn
ing. The Bourgeoisie we've stupid snd cow
ardly. They would neither fight with us OF
against us. The municipal guards alone de-
| Tended themselves. The evening of the Oath
of February waited three or four hours in
City Hall Square. The members of the pro-
visional government, one after the other,
made speeches to us, and called us heroes,
great citizens, the foremost people in the
world, said that we had helped to shake of
the yoke Of tyranny. After having regaled
us with these charming words they gave us
| republic, which was no better than the
| monarchy we had thrown down.
In June l took my gun again, but this
time without success. l was arrested. cen,
cemned, sent to Cayenne. behaved myself
we'll while there. l saved o,e day from
drowning captain of the Marines. iney
thought this very heroic. Let Tu,a;,, n,e
mark that / should have shot this Saps",a ,a
had he been on one side OF a barricaoe' anu