The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-17
OF EMPIRE.
nv ROBERT W.
,o,,yrt,,t. 1928. BY Robert ". oas-sz,1
CHAPTER XIII.
AEurs OF paprRE.

AsHrs OF RarPTRE.
nam the 1st Of November the situation In
-, became more alarming day by day. Dur
=, be boCtnning OF the siege the fear OF bonn
Lament had driven people to hang out am
kn,spce days or hoist the colors OF neutral ma
vu n. oypr their houses. hoping that the Ger
uons cannon might spare buildings 30 pro-
3D. over the dismal freezing streets thou
~. NJ dingy, tattered flags. mere rags for
- r,ost part, still fluttered In the November
Ia although the inhabitants Of the wretched
hooan 10 regard the Prussian siege runs as
IN. In all the weeks OF fighting that
"a Jagged since the first Uhlans cantered into
T.r,,Iles, not a single cannon shot from the
c-,.sIan lines had been fred against the city.
g. Tho people no longer believed In the Prus-
dan cannon.
w., With the opening days OF November there
"a into the streets Of Paris something new,
SsnS,hIng mysterious, intangible. vaguely
s.oodhl 1t was reflected in the thin, pinched
go ~ the people: It lurked in the hollow eyes
=, the soldlers-it was everywhere. In the cold
s-av waters OF the Seine. In the sad twilight OF
she lampless streets. in the brooding November
slouds. II was not fear; It was not despair. II
"a, the fear OF despair.
Tbe boulevards we're no longer freuuented;
Nhn nateg. Int VIAL bpuAh VI iAO w
snd street, we're now closed at 10 o'clock. With
,hs closing Of the cafes the last sign OF anima-
nstion left the streets. and at 10 O'Clock the
s,tv inv in darkness. save for the dark figures
~ the lev ramparts. clustered to watch the
: o,sb Of some great gun. the far flare Of the
,bsll. the monotonous rockets climbing to the
,rnith from the forts Of the south.
But the sickly light Of dawn now fell on
crowded streets instead Of empty ones, for
everywhere at the doors of butcher stalls in
rrmlnable lines Of women stood. card in hand,
waiting to draw their ratlons OF horsefesh.
There we're few cabs, and fewer ~omnibuses.
LIFT in the city the Government needed horses
Tor artillery and cavalry; the people needed
food Factories had closed everywhere. saw
where the Gail steel works famed. turning out
cannon. Most OF the railroad stations stood
hlent and empty; the Orleans station. however.
keryed for balloon manufacture.
One by one the last gas Jets were cut of and
vrbllc buildings lighted with candles and petro-
f.um. until even these gave out. The police
existed no longer. the National Guard was sup
bosed to perform police duties.
There was no communication with the out
Sde world except when q rare spy evaded the
pnlssian lines-or by balloons and pigeons.
Once or twice spies. sent from the provinces.
eept into Paris. q few pigeons found their way
into the city. but no balloons ever returned.
The balloons left Paris at night to avoid the
! fire OF the German outposts. Some were never
again heard from, some were lost at sea, some
fell in Belgium. A number, however, descend
ed in the southern provinces, where Gambetta
was performing prodigies-to his own satisfac-
ton-and occasionally deluding Paris with fool.
hh announcements Of success for the French
arms in the south, and the imminent arrival o.
H. III NJ
The army OF the Loire! What heights o.
hope, what depths of despair marked its brie
eareerl Or the ramparts the starving soldiers
looked out into the south for the army tina
never came in the filthy streets starving wo
men and sick children listened for the sounC
oft cannon. Rumors grew to certainties: tn,
army Of the Loire had hailed Issy; its n
had been heard in the west-in the south IT.
rockets signalled victory and rescue from tn,
eastl Then the freezing streets echoed will
din of g~alloping batteries: sudden columns o
cavalry filled the outer boulevards, trampin(
past in eager silence; endless masses of in
fantry swung through the icy streets with tn,
startling out-crash OF drums echoing md re
echoing from window to pavement, while tn
great guns doomed on the Point du Jour. an,
the forts took up the burden from Vanves t.
St. Denis, and from Romainville to the batter
of the Double Crown.
Then, after the sortie came the ambulances
Gle after file, treading the frozen roads to tn
battle ground. And the return Tho creakinl
wagon loads Of dying, the stencil of must
blood-soaked straw, the spectral regiment
| !ramping through the gates, the ragged crow,
n looking on, freezing. starving. dumb witt
misery. yet ready for another -sortie when tn
\ dull. Governor OF Paris could stir from tn
~ shadow Of his shadow haunted chamber.
Little by little the ~rations OF horse meat wer
reduced to the miserable scrap of 80 Rramme
for adults and Is Rrammes for children
White, bread had disappeared; there was n
Hour left. A hard dry morsel Of black brea
was rationed daily to the people. scarcel
enough to sustain life until the dawn OF anothe
day brought another crust.
The newspapers published schedules OF price
Prom week to week: the pool, shivering in tn
bitter November dawn, stood hour after houl
tagged, sick, ankle deep in slush. patientl
awaiting their rations of lean horse1esh, an
reading the weekly schedules to pass the time