Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-12-22

tricity. That bitter defeat, that day of
humiliation yonder on the Belgian frontier,
seemed to him the justice Of the gods the
salvation Of France. The Man of December
and Sedan-it was thus BlanqUsts and In-
ternationals spoke OF the late Emperor-waS
dethroncd. That Empire OF eIinqIdnt and
do,.erle had crumbled into dust, y Infdme
f,tt ecraSe, and France was free TO acEiev
her glorious Destiny, as the lberator Of The
world, and to establish the millennium of
Communism, the peaceful reign Of blouses,
blue and white, the apotheosis Of Belleyille
and Menilmontant.
In many fervid speech CASTOR depicted
the glorles of that coming age, yonder at the
club Of the Folies Bergeres, at two step
from the Boulevard Montmartre, where the
talk ranged ever from grave 10 CAV, from
the passionate oratory of the fanatic TO the
lowest deep OF plague and bufToonery.
There, and in the Sale Favre, and in many
other such places CASTOR preached his gos-
pei Of free labor, every man his own MASTER
every workman his own capitalist, no con.
centration Of profits, no man permitted to
grow rich by the sweat If another mans
brow.
"rhe civlised world has outlived black
slavery" he cried, but so long as we still
have white slavery-the slavery Of the
journeyman under the heel of the capitalist
there is no meaning in the word civilisa
ton; there is no such thing on earth as
Justice"
He paced the ramparts, chassep0t in hand
full Of such thoughts, ready To repulse the
PruSslans, who had not the least idea Of at
lacking blstion or curtain while the gradua!
work OF exhaustion was going on within the
charmed circle; and it was only question
Of so many months, so many weeks, SO
many days, when starving Paris must sur
render. Already there had been talk of an
armisticc, and already that heroic cry of
jules Favre, hurled like gauntlet in the
teeth Of the enemy, ''Not IN inch Of our ter
ritOry, not stone of our fOrtTesses," sound.
ed bitterest mOckeTy.
GastOn'S belief in the power OF France
against Germany was growing feebler every
day; but his faith in the great French pe0-
pie, as represented by the blouses Of Paris,
and in the Commune, as the perfection of
government, grew day by day. Were not
the people showing every hour of what
noble stuff they We're made? See how
steadily they faced the terrors Of n belea.
guered city, the deprivatiOns of state OF
siege. Behold their courage their patience,
their gay good temper Drunk occasionally,
perhaps; but what of that? QuarresOhe
now and again, but in mere eXuberance OF
an enthusiastic temperament. See how lit.
tie the knife had been used in these occa-
sonal brawls-a coup dc SdUGtC, n nose
tweaked here and there, sufired. The peO-
PIE showed themselves nation of heroes
1t did not occur 10 Castor Mortemar that
Belc,il,e and Mcnilmontant, CliCnancourt
81
that it was rs il Berm0ndsey and Dathnal
Green, Whitechape and Cerkenwell, were
having n universal holiday, while every
man got tiftecn-pcnce day. and an allow.
ance for his family, for doing nothing At
every Street-cornrr there was cluster of
! the Nat on2l Guard, drinking, laughing,
Grating, playing the game Of b2tchon, an
| innocent little game of chance with the
corks Of their Wine-bottles; everywhere,
even on the bouleyards, dim with the half
| light Of alternate lamps, there were sound:
Of laughter ard gaiety; while day by day
came tidings Of some skirmiSh outside the
walls, which had ended disaStrously for
! those poor Mo5lot', who had Il Rnack OF
| running away he.ter-SketCr when they
found themselves the focus Of circle OF
! artillery.
1t was carly in October, and rs yet there
was no ac,ual scarcity of food. HardsEip
and famine, the bitter cold of winter were
| yet in the future. LuXuries were things to
/ be remembered in the dreams Of the epicure
or the senSullist; but frugal Spartan fare
| was within reach # cll who had q little
n.nty In the Stocking, who had Kept theiI
p0irc pour III Soft The little children were
not Yet pining, sickening, fading off the
earth for lack of a cup of milk, and the
cremeric in the street round the corner was
in full swing
u GnN-rIN-r-nn