Evening star., 1898-05-14
CHAPTER yI-Continu ued.

IlUtISan, tlrnS was trlttereQ away In mu-
tual recriminations, and before the cham
Der could agree on any plan of action, the
storm hurst. AT IL O'Clock in the morning
vast masses of National Guards, Mobiles.
Franc-tireurs. accompanied by citizens
equipped with all sorts of weapons, began
to gather at the Place de la Concorde. At
3 o'clock the human wave broke against
the Palais Bourbon with a roar: viva Ia
republique La decheancev That was the
golden moment for the members of the
extreme left, and they knew their oppor-
Il nifty Like a company OF comic opera
bandits they dissemb,ed and left tire cnam-
Der by various exits, only to reunite out
side. Acclaimed by the mob they hastily
transported then selves to the Hotel de
Vile. There they Immediately made them
selves into a government. the members of
which were exclusively composed of the
deputies of Paris. excepting Gen. Trochu,
who was to secure the presidency. at The
same time reserving for himself The title
and roe Of governor OF Paris. Jules Favre
was designed for vice president.
During this comic opera proceeding, the
senate, holding solemn seance across the
river, retired about 3 O'Clock, after few
pUerile pTOtes,ations of fidelity TO the cap
tive emperor.
But even after the invasion of the cham
her, the Corps LeSislatif refused to con-
S-aer ltS.lt WOrSteti. jules FaEre and Jules
simon were sent TO WOO the prGdlgalS at
the Hottl Ge Vile ana were snubbed for
tier pains. Then that willy little revOiu-
ton mOuger. Theirs. coCEse.cd modera-
tiGn and patience and went away to sit in
corners and think. As yet. even he coCii
not tOrtSeC the red Spectcr of the 18th Of
March. but they who rise hy violence snail
fal agtin hy violence as Iong as the drelry
Old groVerb lasts.
So. cH the 5.h Of September. 1870. the
walls cf Paris were covered with procia-
nations to the people and tc the army. set
ting fcrth IN soEoroUs phrases that gov
efEG-egt had been ''cCnstitutec' and '-iatl-
hed rs popular acc!dHIatiJn.'
COISti- ute. was word as audacioGS as
it was DANCE. Gus. Seyea months later the
ccn-nune prof,ed Ey the abuse OF it. AS
for the ratification that was. perhaps.
tue, aEd thdt was the sole excuse for the
E1en WEO 50 impudenuy invt tsted hem
se.veS with pcNer-a power the burden OF
winch was ues .ned TO crush them.
However. the people liked the gov
eriinI- Mt; Bci9eVille hOw,cd joyoCsly and
urags-d RCckefort from Sainte-PclagIc
p.iSan md the government dared not re-
fuse 10 swallow its medicine nor deny this
sop Il Lei-eNi.iG-
Jules awe shrugged his shoulders and
said ted rather have RochefOrt in the gov
erE.--vat than Cutside-an Cplgram which
plC&SCO everybody. A few conservative peO-
pie. LOweveI, cOoIed little when the form
er tarce writer, AraGo, vas made mayor of
far!s- Then. on the 9th Of September,
Il
committed the first official idiOcy OF his
new career by publishing ii diplomatic
circular note the following phrase: We
viii Te,irquIsh neither one inch of our
territory nor CHe stone Of our fort
resses. well knowing that few days la
ter ne should go to erriercs on that heart
breaking mission which all the world has
heard OF.
The proclamation of the republic stirred
the masses to sucn al eT1eTVescence of joy
that nobody thought any longer of the
r F4,s ts-
der tie magic name republic To pop
uiation alternately stunned and stung to
fury 10y dispatches wnlcn for six weeks past
had announced one unbrcken series of dis
asterS. the situation seemed already less
deSpeI ate TOui. Belfort. Strasbourg and
Metz still held out. the provinces it was
believed. weIe rising en masse, there We're
serious rumo:s afioat concerning the disaf-
feCtICn OF the Saxon and BaVarian troops
particularly the latter, and the more saE-
RCine Of the ParisianS looked confidently
to the United States, now a sister republic,
as a probable ally. Some even thanked
God that there would be more disas-
trCuS runners concerning the army of Cha
lCrs. because the army of Chalops had
ceased TO exist except as an army of pris-
oners.
As for the new government no sooner
had il been installed than energetic meas
ures for the defense Of Paris were pushed
forward on every side. One of the most
in portant questions of defense concerned
the provisioning OF the city and the forts
and had Monsieur Magnin. who succeeded
Monsieur Clement DuVernois as minister of
commerce, displayed the good judgment
and activity of his predecessor, the history
Of the siege of Paris might have been writ
ten differently. Flour, grain. hay. straw,
cattle. sheep-nOthing was forgotten by
Monsieur DuverEois-not even a supply of
m!listones for grinding cereals. AS for his
successor-his mania was economy, and il is
a pity that he alone was not obliged 10 en-
dCre the consequences. OF all guilty fools
responsible for their nations liar
the economical fool is the most deserving
of perdition. Under the new military re-
organization, the government hastened to
equip the sixteen forts and the various
redoUbts and batteries that surrounded
Paris and st. Denis in oval measuring
sixty kilometers in circumference. Not only
was it necessary to construct emplace-
n-ents, gun platforms, casemates, maga-
Zines, bomb-proofs and store houses
but 1t was also imperative that the
water supply should be assured mines
Installed, and electric lights placed. Tele-
graphic communication with Paris, sig
mailing by semaphores. intrenchments and
redoub,s connecting the forts, all these
could be definitely established whole
series OF suburban villages were barricaded
and loopholed. Inside the first barrier of
defense lay the fortifications of the city
proper. divided into ninety-four bastions
and nine secteurs, each of the latter COM
manded by an admiral or a general.
The city therefore, was divided like pie
into nine sections. each section having its
commander. whose role was not only mill
tary but also civil, and who, in concert
with the municipal authorities included in
his district. was responsible for the main
tenance of order, the policing Of the ram
parts and streets and the organization of
The National Guard. This scheme was ad-
N .rable, and. had IL been maintained after
the end OF the seige until the city resumed
Its normal condition. the Commune might
have been impossible The city. then, was
surrounded by double line of defense, the
forts outside the walls and the fortifica-
tions proper. But this not all. Belle
Vile. that rabbit warren of the ragtag and
bobtaH. that ever sfnmering caidron of
anarchy. lifted up its voice and ba wIed for
barrtcades To keep the vivacious denizens
OF that quarter In good humor the gov
ernment permitted them to surround the
outer bcCIeyards with a third line of de-
Tense in the form of barricades. This they
did with an enthusiasm and ability that
was none the less suspicious because
superintended by Henri Rochefort For
the defense of the forts and the ramparts
2,1O cannon were mounted and 300 held
IN reserve. These cannon were served by
13,OOU artllerymen, including marine gum
Ders and engineers The garrison itself
consisted of: