Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-02-11
A Tale OF the Commune.

The famous Napoleon Column ia the
Place VendOme, Paris, was constructed
by order of the great soldier from can
non captured III his wars, AM was de-
signed to Illustrate in bronze the won
derful career of the COTSican boy. 1t
was modelled after the Trajan Column,
and is to-day one of the conspicuous
and notable landmarks of the French
capital. But it has had curious his
tory. In 1871, when Paris was heidi by
the Commune, 1t was resolved To pull
down the pillar, and steps were immedi-
ately taken to undermine its base, the
idea being to cause it to fall with one
grand crash, symbolical of that national
fall which the Communists hoped to
see take place as result of their mis-
guided efforts.
A bed of sand, faggots and manure
was prepared for the huge mass 10 fall
upon, that the conclusion to the sur
rounding buildings might be lessened.
The Official Journal, on the morning of
May 10, announced that the column
would positively fall that day at ,
O'Clock. AT the hour named a large
crowd of spectators assembled The
members of the commune and their
staff, amounting to 200, attended Oh
horseback. Bands played and every
thing was done to give the occasion d
| festive character. Colonel Mayer, com
manding in the Place VendOme, ascend
ed TO the top of the column and waved
small tricolor flag. He then tore the
| flag, cried 'Long live the Commune ~
tied the fiaghead to the rails at the sum
NIT of the pillar and descended. When
the ropes were frightened the band
struck up the "Marseillaise, " and all
eyes were fixed on the doomed mOnu
ment. ''It falls - exclaimed the on
lockers, and the great mass bowed
slowly toward the Rue de Ia Paix. As
| it fell 1t broke into pieces i'll the air and
struck the ground in four portions. \
loud yet dull report followed. and the
clouds of dust rose into the sky, but the
conclusion was nothing like 50 bad as
most people had expected. The column
forced itself some way into the ground,
but no windows were broken, nor was
the square IN any way injured.
AS soon as the huge fragments had
settled themselves Colonel Mayer
mounted them and waved red flag,
the populace cheering and shouting,
"Long live the Commune. At nearly
| the same moment there was posted at
versailles, the headquarters Of the
Government troops, a brief yet siguii-
cant dispatch, dated Mont Nalerlen:
The top OF the VendOme Column has
disappeared from view"
Tho axrifaH Inunnnni af = iununAti4 s1Iy
set about making the indignity To the
memory of Napoleon even greater than
it had already been, by further breaking
the bronze pieces of the column and
throwing them into the Seine and car
rying them into hiding in distant parts
of the city, 50 that by nightfall of the
| following day not piece weighing 50
much as twenty pounds of the once
| magnificent monument which lowered
into the air los feet remained in the
Place Vendome, or was anywhere 10 be
| found.
But the fortunes of war changed.
The Communists were driven from the
city, and order once more reigned.
! Immediately an effort was made to Te-
store the many ruined public and prl-
vate portions Of Paris, the Napoleon
Column among them. Rewards were
offered for the finding OF the missing
pieces, under the stimulus of which the
Seine was dragged and thousands of
out of the way places explored. Strange
to say, every piece Of the great mOnu-
ment was found. 1t was once again
raised, and to day the heroic figure of
the great Emperor stands rs proudly on
the summit of the magnificent pile in
the Place VendOme as though IT had
never been plunged piecemeal into the
Seine by an angry pOpulace.