Milford chronicle., 1901-02-15
| The BlIIGdPG re-I0-ClliSG
; A STORY OF THB
? PARIS COMMUNE.
By AlphOnse Daudet.

%-@-@-@-~-@-@@-@-9-a-A-A-!
A battle here? But there never wa,
any battle. It's an invention of the
newspapers.
Here's all that actually did hammer
On the evening of the ODD, which was
sunday we saw some 80 federal ar.
tillerymen come up with a battery OF
Z Founders and a miltrailleuse of the
new kind
They took position right above the
cemetery, and as that part was in nv
beat it was | who had to meet them.
Their mitrailleuse was there at that
corner of the path near my box. their
guns little lower on the level.
As soon as they came they made me
open several chapels. l thought they
were going to smash and plumber ey-
erything down there, bur the officer
Kept good order and. putting himself
right in the middle. made them a little
speech: The first hog that touches
anything I'll smash his jaw for him!
Break ranks!"
He was an old man. all gray. with
the Crimean and Italian medals. and
didn't have an easy going way about
him. The men took it as settled, and
Will do them the justice to say that
they did not take a thing from the
monuments, not even the Duke of Nor
ny's crucifiX. which they say is worth
/ 1000 francs by itself.
For all that, they were lot of ras.
Gals, these gunners of the commune.
Second rate artillerymen. they did not
dream of anything except to swallow
down their big pay, three francs fifty.
You ought to have seen the life they
led here in the cemetery. They slept
in heaps in the vaults in Mornys. in
Favronne's, that beautiful tomb of
Favronne, where the emperors nurse
is buried.
They put their wine to cool down in
the ChampeauX vault, where there is
spring Then they had their women
come. The whole night they drank
and boozed. All, you'd have thought
the dead people would have heard their
jokes!
All the same. in spite of their clumsi-
ness, these robbers did Paris great
deal of damage. Their position was SO
fine. From time to time would come
an order: Fire at the Louvre! Fire at
the Palais ROyal~ Then the old sol
der would aim the guns, and the metro.
leum shells would fall into the CITY at
every discharge
what was going on down below no.
body knew exactly. We heard the fir
ing coming nearer little by little, but
the communists did not disturb them
selves about that. 1t did not seem nos
sible that the Versailles troops could
advance under the cross fires from
ChaumOnt, Montmartre and Pere-la-
Chaise. What brought them 10 their
senses was the first shell the sailors
sent us when they reached the Mont
martre hill. They expected it so littlel
AS for me, | was right in the middle
OF them all, leaning against the Mornv
monument. busy smoking nv ninc
When heard the shells coming. l lust
mad time to throw myself flat on the
ground. At first our artillerymen be-
Heved that it was a mistake in aim or
some comrade on a spree.
But that was just the beginningl At /
the end Of five minutes there was
Montmartre blazing out again and an /
Olhef big bOmbshell coming down upon |
us just as straight as the first. This
time my DULLES let their guns and mi.
trallieuse lie where they were and
stretched their legs to save themselves.
Inc cemetery wasn't big enough for
tnem. They kept crying out: eve are
betrayed! We are betrayedw
The old fellow, left there alone unda,
the shells, stood like brave devil in
the middle of his battery and cried
with rage TO see his gunners had de-
serted him.
All the same, toward evening, at paw
time some Of them came back 70 him
Hold on, sir; look at my proofs. There
are still the names Of those who camo
TO draw their pay that evening. The
old man called out their names and
wrote them down as they came along;
Sidalne, present; Chomleyras, pres
emit; BillOt, Vollon."
AS you see, they were not moro tban
tour or five, but they brought their wo.
men with them. All, shall never for.
get that pay night Down there Paris
was blazing, the Hotel de Vile. the ar
ienal, the warehouses, full of goods.
In Pere-le-Chaise you could see as in
broad daylight. The Federals tried to
settle down to their guns again. but
hey were not enough, and then Mont
naltre made them afraid. Then thcv
vent down into a vault and set to
Thinking and singing with their wencb-
s. The old man had seated himself
letWeen these two big stone figures at
ne door of the Favronne tomb and
vas staring at burning Paris with
errlble look. You might have said
hat he suspected it was his last night
from this time on ! do not kno,y
cry well what happened. I had gene
D our place-that little hut YOU see
own there hid in the branches. was
cry tired. | lay down. all dressed. on
~ Ded' Keeping my lamp lighted as IL
were a stormy night. All of SUD
en- there was rough knocking at the
'or. My wife, all in a tremble. went
open it. We believed we were going
see more Federals. 1t was the navy
a captain, ensigns, a surgeon. They
I'D to me: Get up! Make us some
flee" ---0
got up. l made the coffee for them.
ou could hear in the cemetery MUIR
ur, confused movement. as If all
e dead people were roIsing them
Ives for the last judgment The Off