The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1885-03-26
A Tale OF the Commune.

the famous Napoleon cnlnmn in the
Place Eendome. Paris. was construct
ed by order of the great soldier from
caaitons captured in his wars, and was
designed to illustrate in bronze the
wonderful career OF the Corsican boy.
1t was modelled after the Trojan column.
and is to-day one of the conspicuous
and mol able landmarks of the French
capital. But it has had a curious his
tory. In 1871. when Paris was held by
the commune, it was resolved to pull
down the pillar. and steps were imme-
diately taken to undermine its base, the
idea being to cause it to fall with one
grand crash, symbolical of that nation
al fall which the communists hoped to
see take place as a result of their mis-
guided efforts.
A bed of sand, fagots, and manure
was prepared for the huge mass to fall
upon, that the conclusion to the sur
rounding buildings might be iessened.
The Official Journal. on the morning of
MAY IL, announced that the column
would positively fall that day at ,
O'Clock. At the hour named q large
crowd of spectators assembled. The
members of the commune and their
staff, amounting to two hundred, at
tended on horseback. Bands played
and everything was done to give the
occasion a festive character. Colonel
Mayer, commanding in the Place Ven
dome, sscended to the top of the col
umn and waved q small tricolor flag.
He then tore the flag, cried Long live
the eommune!' tied the flaghead to the
rails at the summit of the pillar. and
descended. When the ropes were
tightened the band struck up the Mar
seillaise," and all eyes were fixed Oh
the doomed monument ut falls!'
exclaimed the onlookers. and the great
mass bowed slowly toward the Rue lie
la Paix. AS it fell it broke into pieces
in the air and struck the ground in four
portions. A loud yet dull report fol-
lowed. and clouds of dust rose into the
sky. but the conclusion was nothin"
like SO bad as most people had expect
ed. The column forced itself some
way into the ground, but no window s
were broken. nor was the square in any
way injured.
As soon as the huge fragments had
settled themselves. Col. MAYER mount
eli them and waved red flag. the pop
ulace cheering and shouting. Long.
live the cOmmuner At nearly the
same moment there was posted at Ver-
sailles, the headquarters of the govern
ment troops, brief yet significant dis
! patch, dated Mount Ealerian: The
| top of the Fendome column has disap-
| peared from view.
! The excited communists immediately
SET about making the indignitv 10 tie
memory of Napoleon even greater than
I il had been. bV hreakinD the bronze.
| pieces of the column and throwing
thsm into the Seine and carrying Them
! into hiding in distant parts nf the city.
SO 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
1ej feet remained in the Place Ven
! dome, or was anywhere 10 be found
But the fortunes of war changed.
The communists were driven from the
city, and order once more reigned. I'm
metkately an effort was made to restore
the ma9y ruined public and private
portions OF Paris. the NapnIeon column
among them, Rewards were offered
for the finding OF rils missing pieces.
under the stimulus Of which The Seine
was dragged and thousands of out-of
the-way places explored. Strange IL
say. every piece of the great monument
was found. 1t was once again raised
and to-day the heroic figure of the
great emperor stands as proudly on the
summit OF the magnificent pile in the
Place hendome as though it had NO
been plunged piecemeal into the SEINE
by an angry populace. rs Ndgd
| zine