davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22

made as much ado over her return a.
the same intransigeants' had over the
coming of Henri Rochefort a few
months before Rooms were engaged
for her I'D on the Boulevard Rarbes,
right in the workingmen.s quarter of
the capital She was permitted 10 make
all the speeches she pleased so long as
she did not resort TO violence or lead
hungry mobs against the bakeskops-
The object OF her existence was in
later life to help Others She might have
beer possessed with derils, as was
charged against hr, but If she was. the
special one that haunted her most was
charity Louise AIicheI,s charity meant
Hberality TO the poor, acts OF kindness,
the charities that soothe AID neal and
bless, as Wadsworth wrote
Cleneneeeu said OF her: She IS a
Christian OF the early days; one OF those
who had Christ not on the Ips. but IN
the heart She is of those who voy;id
have descended smiling in the arena and
lost in an ecStaSy-WCuid have AWAITED
the wild beasts singing
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Peasant and Noble United in Her.

The RED Nuns" father was a noble
man Her mother was scullion in his
kitchen There was no marriage be-
tween the two. In Louise there ran a
strain of the best blood in the land.
But though this strain showed itself III
her character, IL was the baser blood
:he blood of the peasant whose ances-
tors had been ground under the heal of
the rich for centuries. that spoke loud
est in her life Born in her fathers
castle. Vroncourt, in the department Of
the Hauts-Marne, she was brought up
in refined surroundings Her education
was remarkably good. one reason why
she later became a school teacher.
When her father died he left her about
So. coo. She and her mother had 10 leave
Castle Vroncourt TO the legitimate heirs.
They went TO Paris. Up 10 this time
Louis had been a devout Roman Catho-
lie and loyalist.
Her revolutionary opinions, however
grew stronger and stronger after her
settlement IN Paris. She mixed with the
men and women who were dissatisfied
with the reigning monarch. and theiI
cuiet work famed the flame which
spread over Paris in the late COS and
early los. She took part in many OF
the revolutionary meetings. and the lee,
lures she attended and gave became hot
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Key to Her Life Work.

The doings Of the Red Nun in the
commune days give the key to her life
work The commune was an easy task
for the seditionists, for civic and ma
tional authority had been paraIyzed by
the disastrous termination of the great
Franco-Prussian war. But it was not
long before the revolutionary party was
brought to book by the government.
Then La Michel came with thousands of
others to the judgment seat y military
commission sat at Versailles and con-
demned her to deportation to New Gale
donia for life
The evidence showed that she had
been one of the most active of the COM
munists, that she had worn a uniform
and had been present at all the places
where tie excitement and death-dealing
strokes had been thickest- The gamin
that Victor Hugo described dramatically
in his Les Miserab Ies'' as one Of the
cverpowering picturesque features of the
French revolution OF 1873, WAS repro
duced in 1871 by Michel, the daring, who
courted every danger and stood always
at the front, flag in hand, at the top
most crest of the barricades, absolutely
fearless.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Housed Waits and Tramps.

Another time Montegut went to see
her at Levallois, where she lived in a
little frame shanty, amid stray dogs
and cats that she had brought home
out of pity. There he found her, but
beard was cooking a dish of onions and
potatoes at her fire He was very much
st home. in his shirt sleeves ana stock
ing feet.
who is hep whispered Montegut-
Really, I don't know replied Louise
candidly, "he was outside in the cold,
doubtless without a home; he saw my
door half-open; he came in And here he
is. e : Oh, he is not troublesome
He cooks his soup and eats it and goes
30 sleep in the corner without address
ing a word to me-
But 1 want to speak to you about q
matter of Importance Send him out for
a quarter of an hour.
Il wouldn't like to do that hesitated
Louise 1T might hurt his feelings. Let
us go out. l ought not TO derange him
any more than he deranges met
In Paris her home was the poorest
She and her mother lived with heI
nephew and his wife in the garnet of a
large apartment house outside the for
tifications of Paris. Her room was i
saualid den, with two desks heaped
high with papers, n table Uttered with
odds and ends, a stove, parrot ano
a dirty dog. The owner, Mile Michel
was about the only clean thing 10 be
found in the place.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Louise in New Caledonia.

The part played by Louise Michel in
the siege of Paris is too well known to
warrant comment at this time The in
cident of her pasting republican mani
festo on the back of a gendarme some
time prior TO the Commune IS matter
of popular history. During the siege
when the government sought to arrest
her. and she eluded her captors, her
mother was taken in her stead. Louise
Immediately gave herself up. Com
demned by the court-martial at Yer
sailles to penal servitude for life she
spent the first two years of her sentence
at Auberiye, and on August 10, 1873. she
set out in the sailing ship Virginia for
Numea. the western part of New Gale
donia- The voyage lasted 120 days
During her banishment she spent most
of her time nursing the sick among her
fellow prisoners. She also resumed her
occupation as a teacher, and taught the
little children of the natives At that
/ time cannibalism was still practiced by
the wild people of New Caledonia. The
declaration of amnesty brought her re-
lease, and on November 10. 1880. she
returned to Paris AS with Rochefort.
her return from exile was celebrated
by great demonstrations on the part of
the working people of Paris It was
while an exile in New Caledonia that
she came TO be known as "Sainte
Louise" the Good Louise In the pris-
ons through which she passed al different
times she gave away all she had Al
st. Lazare she won the Sisters of Chart
" in spite of her atheism. for "Sainte
Louise" as she was called, worked for
the good she believed in, and for the
comfort Of suffering men, not for a fu-
ture heaven
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Her Hut a Hospital.

The good she believed in was heaven
to her, and the pressure of the present
was enough inspiration. Henri Roche
fort says he knew her in NouveIle Gale
donie-in the penal colony Her hut
was opposite to mine. During the voyage
thither she did not cease for an instant
TO devote herself to her companions;
she gave them her rations, her clothes
On the Peninsula Ducos she continued
this ministry. She slept on the ground,
went without shoes, lived on nothing
and transformed her hut into Il hospital
for the unfortunate"
Early in the eighties came her last
arrest and Imprisonment 1t was an
nounced that Louise Michel had been
sent 10 prison for highway robbery,
Highway robbery That was too much
for belief Yet it was true in a way.
A procession of unemployed and hungry
men was passing through the streets.
Louise joined them. Presently they
came to a bakery, and Louise saw the
piles of loaves. These men were starry
ing. She had no money to buy, so she
took the loaves and distributed them
This was her highway robbery Togeth-
er with another PougeD She was
sentenced to nine years imprisonment.
Prince Kropotkii was at this time a
political prisoner at ClairVaux-
In 1885 most of the political prisoners
were set at liberty through decree
Of President Grevy, but Kropotkin and
Louise Michel were still held Alexan-
der III of Russia objected to the release
of the former, and one day the French
prime minister IN. Freycinet), answer
ing a query in the chamber. said that
diplomatic difficulties stood in thu: way
or KropotlSin's release But in 1SSf
Kropctkin and Pouget and Louise Mi
cheI were released on condition 'fat
they leave France-Louise Mich'i ToI
a period of fourteen years 1t w2s then
she went to England and began the
peaceful epoch which made her latter
years comparable TO her girlhood days
She did not often appear in public
When she did it was in behalf of suffer
I ing men somewhere.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Her Voice Soft.

The voice was soft, almost tendecly
sweet, her bearing modest, her regard
one Of pity Though rude in appearance
and by no means beautiful, her eyes
beamed clearly, she had a nice smile.
an expression that was tender as well as
ironical, and a sparkling intelligence,
even if II was malicious now and then
Her face. when she spoke or when she
smiled, became mobile and had the per
fume of honest worth in every line.
The @-Misere." which appeared in parts
after her return from New Caledonia
ard the ''Meprisees. which was not so
we'll received by the anarchists. were
the TWO most important books written
by Louise Michel In both il was a
question OF socialism, always posed.
always hrandished like a menace with
out ever discussing the hypothesis of a
pacific solution or reasonable appeal
to impartial minds. In her "A Travers
Ia Vie" a volume of poems illustrated
by the author. are verses of intense SEN
tiuent and of a rustic melancholy.
Her Memoirs are found at the same
time to be a daily chronicle of revo-
lutionar>- action and interesting details
of events and manifestations in which
| the personality of the writer had its
share. In all her books was the same
| idea under different aspects The So
eiaIistic thesis dominated the story
! without cessation. and turned the moral
| effects 10 its own profit But this thesis
/ is often formulated in robust language
which, however. smells of petroleum
and rattles of the repertoire of social
ism.
| Socialists of all ranks welcomed Louise
Aiiesel back 10 Paris from London and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Play Laid in Caledonia.

When Louise was a convict in New
Caledonia, she exchanged lessons IN
French, in reading, in drawing. even in
music with the natives, for lessons in
their language and their traditions. az
from the information thus secured she
wrote a drama. which was produced at
a theater called the Bouffes du Nord,
at the corner OF the Faubourg ST. Denis
and the Boulevard de Ia Chapelle, in
1882
The vulgar citizens and sans culottes''
of the faubourg refused to listen to the
play, and hooted and yelled until the
curtain was sent down. The Kisses,
cries. whistling and cat calls in front
could be heard easily in the green room
The poor creatures behind the curtain
We're frightened half to death
At the far end OF the room, near a
window through which she was staring
into dark alley, stood a tall, thin,
dried-up woman, dressed from head to
foot in black She held yarn. knitting
needle and haIf-hnished stocking in
one hand; the other was wiping her
weeping eyes 1T is not on my own
account that am frightened excIaim-
ed Louise Michel: Il have passed
through too many dangers to be afraid.
but 1 fear for these unfortunate crea-
lures trying to earn an honest living.
and who Just now would prefer being
anywhere else than here Yonder pub
he"-she looked toward the front
ARE cutraging, notifying these artists
without good cause. I know very well
that my price doesn't amount 10 much,
but why should they who pretend to be
CONNIE il faut, and who are not obliged
to be here nav their money
merely to be able to howl and hurl.'
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22

ing figure, his strong. clear-cut face
turned to the multitude, his long, tous-
eled hair blown back of his ears as he
leaned to the wind. 1 remember how
the crowd strained to catch his words,
and how earnestly they listened and fol-
lowed his argument Adolphe Smith.
that veteran journalist who went to
Paris in 20 for the Times" and there
made himself famous. was there. His
long beard and monocle worn as natur-
ally as pince-nez set him off apart from
the others. Green was another speak
er. But above them all. more striking
than any. stood out the thin, pale frame
of Louise Michel
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Fine Tastes and Instincts.

Her paternal ancestors We're OF noble
birth, and her tastes and instincts were
fine by heredity. In the romantic atn1os-
phere of the ancient chateau she delved
in books that produced in her an insat-
liable love for the pure, the beautiful and
all the concomitants of culture The
rich cultivation that she enjoyed during
these years marked her entire life, and
always at times of greatest conflict an /.
dpheaval Louise would, as by instinct,
do something redoient with beauty.
When the Commune was at its height
she was ever in the midst of thickest
battling. She fought on the oarricades
like a veritable tigress When all the
tered upon gaining the republic, Louise
was in the van, leading oftener than
led. She was one of the little band who
made an historic stand in the Cemetery
of Montmartre- They were a mere
handful of men and women, yet they
threw UP redoubts and converted the
burial ground into a midget stronghold.
BY pulling down tombstones they erect
ed battlement wall. Shells from the
Versailles troops showered them at in
tervals.
The roar of cannon stimulated Louise
Michel to superhuman courage Periodi-
cally one of the little band was sent
| to reconnoiter. Some returned Many
| did not Louise went oftene&t, always
getting safely back. Her friends at
| tempted TO keep her from exposing her
self to the fire But she was confident
that charm shielded her life At last
tearing shell burst in a tree above her
head, throwing her to the ground and
covering her with branches of bloom.
Quietly gathering up the fragment
branches she went to the tombs OF her
dead friends, Mile. Poulin and the poet
| Murger, and there scattered them.
Through much of her life shells were
| bursting above and about her
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
MR. RARRE,s ANSWER.

Not long ago one Orlando Day. a
fourth-rate actor in London, who had
never been able TO secure a part much
beyond the range of a mere super
nuInerary, was called, in a sudden emer-
gency, to supply the place CT Allen Aims
worth at the Criterion Theater for
single night. The call filed him with
joy Here was a chance TO show the
public how great histrionic genius
had remained unknown for lack OF an
opportunity But his JOY was suddenly
dampened by the dreadful thought that,
as the play was already in the midst OF
it's run none of the dramatic critics
might be there 10 watch his triumph a
bright thought struck hlTa- He would
announce the event Rushing TO q tele-
graph off1ee. he eonpesed re 1olloM,n lls
telegram frugally coHnninS the message
within the regulation ten words
Orlando Day presents Allen Aims
worth's part tonight at the Criterion
leading critics. Then II occurred 10
him. .sXhy not tell them a1I?'' And 50,
as kilograms are cheap in England, he
repeated the message 10 a dozen or
more important persons At a late hour
of the same day, in the Garrick Club.
a lounginS gentlemen produced one OF
the kilograms. ard read II TO a group
of friends A chorus of explanations
followed the reading Why got pre-
cisely the same message And so did
Day?'' what beastly cheekr' Did
the ass fancy that one would pay any
atten tion 10 his wire2
J. NJ. Barrie. who was present, was
the only one who said nothing
Did he wire you, too?" asked one OF
the group
.-Oh. yes
But, of course, you didn't answer
| .'Oh, but it was only polite 70 send an
answer after he had taken the trouble
i 70 wire me SO, of course, L answered
him.
You did. What did you say?''
'Oh, I Just telegraphed him. Thanks
t for timely warning The Bookman.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22

OUISE MICHEL, the Red Nun"
of the Commune, is dead. Thous
ands of the poor in France
mourn her today.
In land whose people have been ia
NOUS for high-s.rung temperament
since Caesar first invaded the country,
Louise Michel was a frebrand- Her
every breath was flame to destroy
class and caste. Her only desire was to
take from the rich and give to the poor
She preached reign Of blood to the
Reds in Paris and stripped the clothes
from her own back to cover the shiver-
ing form of a beggar. She lived not
for herself but for others Animated
by single purpose she thought not of
the manner OF its accomplishment In
her mind the end justified the means.
and whatever the means the poor of this
earth must be fed and clothed She
knew what she wanted but she never
proposed a plan whereby the status of
society should conform with her desire.
She was an iconoclast, socialist, and
an anarchist rolled in one. THE Red
Virgin" ia Petroleuse,' ia Hys-
terique" are among the names given
her by the people.
Some one has said that anarchists
are students who will not study. work
men who will not work, and women
whom no one will marry. Louise Michel
was one of the latter. There was never
question of love in her life. She was
not made for it. She was as ugly as
misery as fleshless as starvation, as
sexless as grief or pain
But If Louise Michel was not made
for the love of man and maid she
was made with a great heart in which
she had a generous corner for all op-
pressed and unfortunate beings in the
world. All France recognized her kind
ness and unselfishness and in the last
few years OF her life her sobriquet has
been 1.-The Good Nun instead of the
gruesome Red Nun" AS she lived
working for others SO she died. While
touring the south of France delivering
lectures the proceeds of which went to
the poor she contracted case Of double
pneumonia. Seventy-odd years old, worn
with sickness and toll, she could not
rally She died in Marseilles.
She has been Iikened to Joan of Arc
in her ability to arouse and lead men, to
Charlotte Corday for ruthlessness. II
is curious thing. however, that 1t was
not until she was forty years Of age
that she came into prominence Many
years were spent in preparation for the
part she was to play in the stormy 70's
Both Joan of Arc and Charlotte Corday
died young. died violent deaths. But
Louise Michel lived through the awful
seige of Paris. through the short hard
life of the Commune when she dressed
IN mans clothes and fought side by side
with the brayest of them, through i'm
prisonment and exile from her deal
France, through constant daily hard
ship that would have wrecked men fal
stronger physically than she; lived L
become an cid woman, and died in hel
bed.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22

learning. sc had great power of
speech. And from thai day on she
never ceased TO wrest bread, clothes,
money and medicines from those who
had them-never mind who-to hand
them over TO those who needed them
no matter whoi
This begging and giving fas been
her real life work The more pictur-
esque of her acts. such as getting her
self condemned to life transportation
after the commune and getting sent to
CIairvaux penitentiary for leading the
bread riots of 1888, are mere episodes
And begging francs and sous at a time
instead Of large sums like swell phi
lanthropist, she has nevertheless. in
the long run, distanced more millions
than the greatest Of them
How far she would GO in her mania
for distributing will be shown by
two anecdotes One evening Alphonse
Montegut and George Meuzy, two news
paper men, met her on the street, shiv-
erirg in mid-winter in a worn black cot
ton gown so wretchedly thin that they
dragged her, resisting. to one OF the
hand me-down shops of the Rue Mont
ulatre and fitted her out in good WOODEN
garments, shoes and gloves
Louise let them fit her out She only
asked that the storekeeper send her old
clothes to her address
.eTo give away, doubtless said
Montegut to Meuzy.
But they were not to give away, as
they found out the next day Because
they found her again shivering in the
Old thin cotton dress. without her new
coat, hat. shoes. or gloves. Louise had
given the new things away!
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Compelled Crowd to Kill.

There was one moment OF this short
terrible reign of blood when two French
loyalist generals. Clement and Thomas.
were about to be shot. The crowd
showed some signs of relenting, but
Michel, daring when all others faltered,
cried out: Don't let them go" This
turned the wavering crowd. and death
followed for the two generals. Then
Michel came down, and, looking with
out a tremor upon the dead men, folded
her arms dramatically and exclaimed:
1t is well donet'
She favored the execution of the hos
tages, the burning of the city by the
petroleJses, and every other atrocity
that was committed.
A sample of her style in address.
showing what she could say TO the
Boulevard St. Antoine when warmed up,
was once given by a correspondent:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
Most Striking of All Anarchists.

Her name was often mentioned in rad
zeal circles. always with reverence and
affection When the news of one of the
nGassacres of the Russian students
reached England there was wild indig-
nation. A great mass meeting-a dem
onstration they called il there-was
a representative gathering. Labcy- was
held in Trafalgar Square. The Tfafal-
gar Square demonstrations form a chap
ter In the history OF London. This one
was typical in every sense. 1t was
representative gathering. Labor was
there. Ben Tillett with his vociferous
and passionate oratory worked the
crowd into a state Of tense excitement
charrington was there. His was d strik-
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1905-01-22
MARK TWAIN ON JOAN OF ARC.

In '.Harper's Magazine Cor December
Mark Twain, who has recently made a
thorough study of the original docu-
ments bearing on the life OF Joan of
Arc, pays a wonderful tribute to this
slight girl whom he calls by far the
raost extraordinary person the human
race has ever produced
-A1 the rules fail in this girls case.
In the worlds history she stands alone
quite alone Others have been great in
their first public exhibitions of general
ship. yalor, legal talent. diplomacy, for
utude; but always their previous years
and aSSocla tionS had been IN a larger
and smaller degree Il preparation for
these things. There have been no eN-
ceptions To the rule But Joan WAS
without ever having seen law book
or a court house before she had no
training in SoldierShIp and no dSSoclS1-
lions with it, Yet she was q competent
general in her first campaign; she Was
brave in her first battle, Yet her courage
had had no education-not even the
educ2 ton which boy 5 courage gets
from never-ceaSinS reminders tn1tL II Is
not permissible in Il hoy 70 be I coward,
but only in a girl; friendleSS, alone, IS-
norant. in the bosom OF her youth. she
sat week q ter week q p Is n@r IN Grains,
before her assemblage of judges, enc
mics hunting her 10 her death, the
ablest minds in France, ana answered
them out of an untauSht wisdom Which
overmatched their learning, bafEied their
| tricks and treackerieS with native
/ saga city which compelled their wonder.
and scored every day q victory against
! these incredible odds and c2=2ped I'M
| challenged on the field In che history
| OF the human intellect, unframed, in
! experienced. and using only its birth
/ right equipment of untried capacity,
| there is nothing which approaches this.
| Joan of Arc stands alone. and must con
1 tinue TO stand alone, by reason of the
| p<afPIlowPd faCL that In the things
! wherein she was great she was SO with
! cut shade or Suggestion of help from
preparatory teaching. practice. environ
ment or exrer'eTrca-