Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-11-16

} OF the past had been exhausted by thu
/ evil days of the siege, and he foun{
, himself pannileSs.
He wls not altogether d.Sheartened
; He sat himself down to write satirica
ballads. which We're printed. secretly
) at the old office. and sold by hawkers
! in the streets; and in these days OF
; fever-heat and perpetual agitation. The
pubic pence flowed freely for the pur
. chase of SQu:bS, which hit right OF
, left. Versailles or Paris, Republic OF
Commune The little household in the
Rue, Git le Occur, a fragile bark to be
: tossed on such Il tempestuous sen. man
aged thus TO breast the waves gallant.
" for a little while longer, and Dur.
and's kindly offer of hep was refused,
as not yet needed.
Soon after hearing of the arrest of
the Archbishop and the other priests,
Castor made Il pilgrimage little way
out of Paris. He went to visit his old
friends the Dominican monks. at the
school Of Albert the Great and 10 as
certain for himself whether any storm
Cloud was darkening over those de
those in power might look for their
next victims? Priests and sergents de
vile were the betes noires of the Com
munards
All was tranquil at the Dominican
School. The house had been turned into
an ambulance by the fathers during
the siegd; and it was still used for the
same purpose under the Commune.
The Dominicans could have no affection
for Il government which turned
churches into clubs, forbade public
worship, and imprisoned priests; but
they were ready to give shelter to the
wounded Federals, and to attend them
with that divine charity which asks
no questions as to the creed of the
sufferer. They had Il right to suppose
that tho Geneva Cross would protect
their homes.
Out of doors they did not pass with
out insults The house had the reputa-
ton of being rich, and the COmmunards
began to talk Of hidden treasures, and
of a rehctionary spirit among the
fathers. The Dominicans let them say
brious epithetS appeared in public as
little as possible. and confded them
selves to the mercy of God. CASTOR
saw Father Captier, the good prior,
offered to serve him in any way within
his power, which, unhappily was of the
smallest, thanked him for all his good
ness in the past, and talked with him
of the future, which was not full of
promise. And so they parted, each try
ing to cheer the other with hopeful
speech, each oppressed by the dread
of impending troubles.
Serizier, the colonel of the 18th le-
giOn. had established his headquarters
in a nObleman'S chateau adjoining the
Dominican School, and Looked with no
garden lay within sight of his drawing
room windows. The seizure Of the fort
friendly eyd upon the fathers, whose
at Issy aggravated the already dan
gerous position of the monks. The
Fd1erals. forced to evacuate their posi-
ton. fell back upon Arcue1 and
Cachan, and the 18th legion encamped
in the envirOns Of the Dominican School.
The fathers began to fear that the
Geneva Cross would not protect them
forever.
On May 18th a fire broke out in the
roof of the chateau occupied by Serizier.
The DOminicans hurried to the rescue,
tucked up their robes, and succeeded
in eXtinguishing the flames. SeriZier
sent for them, and they appeared be
fore him, expecting to be thanked and
praised.
To their surprise, they were treated
as spies, sergents de vile in disguise;
! they were accused of having themselves
set fire to the roof, which was to serve
as a signal to the Versailles. They pro-
tested, but in vain.
1--WE shall make quick finish of the
shaven- polls,' said SeriZidr.
On the 10Th Of May, Leo Meillet, COM
mander of the fort at Bicetre, was
ordered to arrest the Dominicans, with
this perilous expedition he required
no less than two battalions of Federals,
one of which was the notorious 1O1st,
commanded by Serizier.
Castor Mortemar heard of the in
! tended arrest on the evening Of the
18th. He spent the greater part Of the
night going from place to place, inter
viewing those delegates of whom he
knew something, and from whose in
fiuence he might hope something. He
urged each of these to strike a blow
in defence of those guiltless monks,
to interfere to prevent an arrest which
might end in murder. But in vain.
The chiefs Of the Commune had grand
er schemes in hand than the rescue of
a handful of harmless monks.
CASTOR was at the school early on the
10Th. If he could do nothing to help
his old friends, he could at least be
near them in their day of peril. He
was with them when the 1O1St battal-
ion invested their house, and he shared
their peril. SeriZier recognized him as
the orator of the Folies Bergeres, the
editor of the suppressed Red Flag
a paper which had published some hard
things about the colonel Of the 101st.
with the monks.
so on are a pupil of the Domini-
cans" he exclaimed-"a worthy pupil
of such masters. We know now wher
you learnt to spit venom at honest
patriots. You shall stew together III
the same saucer
: The capture was made after but lit
tie resistance Father Captier, feeling
the responsibility of his office as prior.