Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-01-22
EMO or rAe COMMUNE.
A Thrilling "Reminiscences OF Paris In the
Year of 1881.


Year of 1881.
Next day MAY %, 1879 it was gener-
ally known that the "Versaillais," az
they were called, had entered the capt.
tai. Then opened the gloomiest page
in the history of France. One one side
We're the vandals of the commune, do
ing their best to burn Paris to the
ground, numbering innocent hostages,
enchanting all the horrors of civil war;
exhibiting all the heroism, every act OF
ferocity and cowardice, into which hui
man nature when unrestrained will
rush. On the other side were the
troops, irritated by the struggle, humil.
lated by the duty that had fallen upon
them, exasperated by SO many hor-
rors. Torrents of fratricidal blood
deluged the pavement of the
great French city. While the
struggle was going on, there could
be seen arriving at Versailles, escorted
by the soldiers, gangs of prisoners, the
savage rabble who had plundered and
spread confagration, and who, in blind
obedience to their leaders, had COM
mitted unparalleled acts of barbarism
They arrived on the great Place d Armes,
under a bright and broiling sun. The
perspiration ran from their faces, black
ened with gunpowder and dust. Their
clothes were in tatters, smelling of
smoke and petroleum. There were
women, with features distorted by
hatred and anger; precocious children,
casting a stealthy look around them;
and old men, crushed by defeat,
with patches of clotted blood on
their white hair and boards, mark
ing them out as apostles Of
revolution. Some, who had been
jolted amidst the lumber heaped on the
carts, We're taken out and put fiat on
the ground. They lay, stiff and mo-
tiOnless, with their eyes wide open and
staring, as if, after a long fit of mad
ness, they had lost all consciousness of
an outer world. The captives were sep
arated into groups and sent to impro-
vised prisons, where an attempt was
made to shelter this army of disorder.
They had added shame to defeat, who
had with fire and sword ravaged Paris.
They had done what no foreign enemy
had dared to do, inscribed "Delenda
est Carthage" on its walls. A few
years only have passed, and yet
these things are already forgotten
The authors, the instigators, the men
who took part in these most horrible of
crimes, raise their heads, and claim the
inner side of the pavement. They make
n boast of the patriotism of which they
dare to assume the monopoly. But those
who lived in the midst of these horrors,
those who saw into their depths and
witnessed the widespread misery and
agony they caused, have preserved
fresh and never-to-be-effaced remem-
brance of the feelings they aroused in
every healthy and honest mind. 1t
will be for the historian to tell
with calm serenity what occurred
on those momentous days of grief
and encouragement. 1t has been n
great source of regret to me that cir
cumstances retained me at Versailles,
and that could not from day to day
watch close at hand the execrable mis-
deeds, the infamous enterprises of these
ignorant reformers, who, for the enjoy
ment of a temporary triumph, gave the
reins to human passion without ex-
amining the problems they raised, and
without even making an attempt to
solve them.-Mr. De Blowitz. in Har-
per's Magazine.