Book: The Insurrection in Paris

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The reigning scandal of the day is the affair of the Convent of Picpus.
So highly roused has public indignation been by the supposed discovery
of atrocities committed within those jealous walls that the people have
been peremptorily excluded until the investigations of justice shall be
complete. I managed, however, to penetrate within the precincts by
attaching myself to the _cortege_ of an English friend, who was
journeying thither under special official orders, to investigate the
case of an English Sister named Garret. In the Rue de Picpus, near Mazas
prison, stand two large buildings, each surrounded by high walls, above
which may be seen green trees at intervals. The one is an establishment
of the Jesuites; the other the Convent of the White Nuns. The Jesuites
Brothers escaped at the first sign of approaching danger, but the
Sisters held their own until forced into cabs and conveyed to the cells
of St. Lazare, there to await the results of a judicial inquiry into
certain matters that are deemed suspicious. Arrived at the gate of the
Convent, we were obliged to force our way through a crowd of angry
people who demanded instant permission to enter, and who were as
persistently swept back by a group of National Guards--we, however,
being admitted inside the door under cover of the official pass and
signatures. In the court-yard, under the shade of some fine trees, a few
Guards were playing bowls in the Jesuit's alley, and making up to one of
them, whose cap displayed tokens of authority, we mentioned our
business, and begged permission to see what was to be seen. Our friend
was very civil, accepted a cigar, and marched us off to go the rounds.
He pointed out to us the fact, of which there certainly could exist no
kind of doubt, that the two buildings communicated one with the other,
by means of an old door which still exists at the back of a stable, as
well as by other apertures in the garden wall, which show signs of
having been recently closed up. The Jesuit's garden is a most beautiful
one, occupying a space of some 12 acres, laid out with care and
furnished with fruit trees of every description, pruned and trained
after the latest horticultural designs. There are wondrously ingenious
plans, too, for irrigating the beds, forcing pits and hothouses, and
long alleys with vines trained over them. Through the old door above
mentioned we passed into the Sister's garden, equally large and
beautiful, though not kept with the same care. In the centre stands a
gymnasium, I suppose for the use of the children brought up under the
Sisters' care, and further is their cemetery, a lovely spot, where,
under the heavy shade of ancient cypresses, lie bearers of some of the
most ancient names in France--"Prince of Salm-Kyrbourg, immolated under
the Terror, aged 49;" "Rochefoucauld," "De Noailles," "Montmorency,"
"the great Lafayette," the whole family of the Talleyrand-Perigords, and
legions of Princes and Princesses. Some of the vaults have been opened,
and many lead coffins, half-covered with rotting velvet and gold lace,
lie exposed to the light of day, awaiting an examination at the hands of
the Minister of Justice. At the extreme end of the garden, however, are
the three little conical huts, side by side, resembling white ants'
nests, which have been the prime cause of so much excitement and
judicial inquiry. When the Convent was occupied by the National Guards
these little huts were tenanted each by an old woman, enclosed in a
wooden cage, like a chickens' pen, the three buildings being similar in
size and construction, six feet square by seven in height, with a slate
roof, through which daylight was visible, while the three old women
were all of them hopeless idiots. The Lady Superior has kept her lips
resolutely closed up to the present time, but admitted, when first
questioned, that the three sufferers had lived in their hideous prison
for nine years, in an atmosphere of stifling heat throughout the summer
and half frozen with cold throughout the winter; "but," she added, "they
were idiots when they came." The conductor of the inquiry replied that,
if such were the case, it was illegal to have admitted them to the
Convent at all, and that even supposing them to have been admitted, the
place where they were found was not a fit dwelling-place for a dog. A
key was discovered among her papers, labelled "key of the great vault;"
but where this great vault may be has not yet been found out. The
Superior and her nuns keep a uniform and persistent silence upon the
point; excavations have been made at different points in the garden, and
under the high altar of the chapel, but hitherto without effect. At one
end of the nuns' garden stands an isolated building, in which were found
mattresses furnished with straps and buckles, also two iron corsets, an
iron skull-cap, and a species of rack turned by a cog-wheel, evidently
intended for bending back the body with force. The Superior explained
that these were orthopaedic instruments--a superficial falsehood. The
mattresses and straps struck me as being easily accounted for; I have
seen such things used in French midwifery, and in cases of violent
delirium; but the rack and its adjuncts are justly objects of grave
suspicion, for they imply a use of brutal force which no disease at
present known would justify. On our way back through the gardens our
guide made a _detour_ in order to show us a great subterranean
warehouse, where an enormous quantity of potatoes was stored, as well as
barrels full of salt pork, while in a yard hard by lay grunting a fat
pig. "Look at this!" cried our National Guard indignantly. "Look at
these stores, which might have helped to feed the starving poor of the
arrondissement during our six months' siege, and think that these people
were begging from door to door the whole time for money to buy broken
victuals for their pensioners!" Arrived at the entrance gate our guide
nudged me, telling me in whispers to look at the old woman who was
wandering about, followed by a younger one, stooping from time to time
to pick up a leaf or rub her hands with sand and gravel. "That is Soeur
Bernadine," he said, "one of the three prisoners of the wooden cages.
She is the most sane in mind of the three, and we keep her here under
the care of one of our wives to cheer her up. She is only 50, though she
looks past 70. The other two have been removed, as they were rendered
violent by the crowd and change of scene." I passed close to her and she
looked up--a soft, pale face, with sunken eyes shaded by the frills of a
great cap. She looked at me dazedly, without taking any notice, and
stooping again, filled her hands with refuse coffee grounds, which she
put into her mouth until prevented by her companion. Without showing the
least prejudice in the matter, I think I can safely say that the ladies
now shut up at St. Lazare will find it no easy matter to clear
themselves of blame; for, though there are doubtless many suspicious
circumstances that maybe explained away, there are also hard facts which
will remain hard facts in spite of the most elaborate attempts at
refutation.


MAY 8th.

In consequence of the bombardment daily expected from the Montretout
batteries people have been hurriedly leaving Paris in great numbers.

Fort Vanves took fire last night, and had to be evacuated. It was found
impossible to extinguish the fire. It is still burning.

The explosion at Issy arose from a torpedo, not a powder magazine. The
Fort is evacuated.

There has been a general heavy firing to-day, and the Point du Jour has
suffered severely.

Father Hogan, the _cure_ of St. Sulpice, a British subject, was again
arrested yesterday. Mr. Malet has with difficulty procured his release
on condition that he leaves Paris.

The Government troops were compelled to evacuate the railway station at
Clamart in consequence of the effluvia arising from the great number of
unburied corpses in and about the station, which was then occupied by
the Federalists, subsequently again evacuated by them upon the approach
of the Versailles troops.

The Government have sent away to the Departments all the young soldiers
who have parents or relations domiciled in Paris.

The statement that M. Schneider intented to remove his iron foundries
from Creuzot to Stockton-on-Tees is incorrect. A large number of models
and designs have been sent from Creuzot to foundries at
Stockton-on-Tees, where it is intended to instruct a staff of workmen in
the production of steel before commencing that branch of manufacture at
the French establishment.

Fort Issy was captured and occupied by the Government troops this
morning.


MAY 9th.--AND 10th.

Forts Montrouge and Vanves have been reduced to silence by a battery of
mitrailleuses established on a parapet of Issy, which picks off Federal
artillerymen when they show themselves. Seven guns on bastions 72, 73,
and 74 have been dismounted by the new battery of Montretout and the
bastions silenced. Many prisoners are said to have been taken at Issy
yesterday.

The National Guards of Vaugirard and the Pantheon decline to march,
barely a third of their numbers having answered the call.

The Vendome Column is definitively to fall on Friday.

The Lycee, on the high ground behind Issy, is being hurriedly formed
into a fortress mounted with guns, earthworks connecting it with Vanves.

Three shells per second are said to have fallen on Auteuil this morning.

Nineteen battalions were reviewed yesterday by Colonel Rossel in the
Place de la Concorde. Rossel continues to command in spite of his
resignation yesterday, which is attributed to a quarrel with the Central
Committee. The Committee of Public Safety is still sitting. It is
rumoured that should he decline to withdraw his resignation, the
functions of the Ministry of War would be absorbed by the Committee of
Public Safety, who would attach to themselves an Assistant Military
Commission, headed by Dombrowski.


MAY 10th.

The Committee of Public Safety, in consequence of the proclamation of M.
Thiers, which was placarded in Paris, has issued a decree ordering the
furniture and property of M. Thiers to be seized, and his house in the
Place St. Georges to be immediately demolished.

The Commune, in its sitting of yesterday, decided to bring Colonel
Rossel before a court-martial.

Delescluze has been appointed Delegate of War.

Colonel Rossel was arrested yesterday and handed over to the custody of
Citizen Gerardin. At 5 p.m. an announcement was made to the Commune that
Rossel had left with Gerardin. The Commune accepted the offer of General
Bergeret to re-arrest Rossel. Nevertheless, at 2 o'clock this morning
this had not been effected.

Felix Pyat, in the _Vengeur_, accuses Rossel of treason.


MAY 11th.

There is increasing discouragement among the National Guards, in spite
of the retaking of Vanves. The _Vengeur_ hints at a plot headed by
Gerardin, and states that 400 National Guards, who exhibited no numbers
of their battalions, were assembled for an unknown purpose at the
Luxembourg; that at the same time officers who were making a domiciliary
visit at Gerardin's house were attacked, and that in another quarter an
attempt was made to assassinate Dombrowski.

A considerable portion of masonry from the Auteuil Viaduct has fallen
into the water.

A search has been made at the Bank of France under the excuse of looking
for arms. It is said that the _employes_ of the Bank are armed and
victualled, and will stand a siege rather than surrender the gold under
their care.

In consequence of pressure from Delescluze the Central Committee abandon
the direction of the War Administration, and Moreau resigns his office
of Civil Delegate.

The furniture and pictures are being carted from M. Thiers' house, and
sounds of hammering within suggest the commencement of its demolition.

Six newspapers have been suppressed--viz., the _Univers_, _Spectateur_,
_Moniteur_, _Etoile_, _Anonyme_, and _Observateur_.

The batteries at Montretout continue a vigorous firing. Throughout last
night they received only six shells from the Insurgents.

The shells thrown from the floating battery bridge at the Point du Jour
and from the land batteries near that point generally drop short of the
mark and fall either into the Seine or on the slopes of the railway by
the right bank.

This afternoon I saw many projectiles from Montretout and Meudon explode
among the houses at the Point du Jour and the _enceinte_ near it. The
wall screening the Ceinture Railway between Auteuil and Vaugirard has
been dreadfully battered in various places.

The Bois de Boulogne, in a semicircle from about the Villa Rothschild to
Bagatelle, following the race course at Longchamps, is one vast camp,
and from this camp to the village of Boulogne the work of constructing
trenches parallel with the _enceinte_ is being pushed rapidly forward. I
saw hundreds of men working at them to-day.

The Fort of Vanves is still occupied by the Insurgents, but Moulin de
Pierres and Chatillon cover it with shells.

By means of cannon shots the troops of Versailles have demolished the
houses in the village of Vanves, as they concealed and covered the
postern of the Fort. The military had succeeded in occupying the
village, but were obliged to abandon it because the houses were exposed
to the fire of the Insurgents.

There has been a sharp musketry fire to-day in the plantations to the
north-east of Issy, and just over the Vaugirard road.

There has been fighting of the same kind in the direction of the St.
Ouen station at the other end of the lines. The sphere of attack is
again being extended, and in consequence of this the Insurgents are
obliged to defend themselves at, perhaps, three or four points
simultaneously.


MAY 12th.--13th.

There was a considerable movement in the city yesterday consequent on
desperate attempts to enlist refractory citizens in marching battalions.
Pressgangs paraded the streets all day, and many men within the ages of
19 and 40 were, it is said, temporarily incarcerated in the Church of
Notre Dame de Lorette.

An extraordinary meeting was held at the Hotel de Ville in consequence
of a supposed discovery of a reactionary plot. Forty-seven Gendarmes,
says the _Mot d'Ordre_, were found in the Marine Barracks disguised as
National Guards, besides a great quantity of tricoloured _brassards_.

M. Beslay, surnamed the Father of the Commune, has retired, because he
disapproves the confiscation of M. Thiers' goods.

The new batteries on Montmartre opened fire last night, but ceased this
morning.

The 46th battalion Montrouge were relieved from duty two hours before
their time last night because they talked of opening the Gates. This
battalion consists for the most part of shopkeepers.

The new battalion called the "Vengeurs du Pere Duchesne" were shut up in
the Luxembourg Gardens, all points of egress being guarded, because they
declined to march outside the city.

Difficulties have arisen in the Quartier Val de Grace, consequent upon
the heavy tax recently levied on meat.

The Versaillais gunboats at the Asnieres Bridge forced the Federal
troops to recoil several hundred yards towards the city walls.

Felix Pyat announces his opinion publicly that the fall of the Commune
is imminent.

Mortars are being placed on the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

The demolition of the house of M. Thiers has commenced.

The Central Committee have ordered that all the quarters of Paris shall
be searched for arms and refractory National Guards. All the young men
in Paris are to be armed.


MAY 14th.

A large crowd has been waiting in the Rue de la Paix since 4 o'clock to
see the fall of the Vendome Column. Its fall had been officially
promised at that hour, but up to half-past 6 it was still standing. It
will probably fall to-day. The tricolour flag has just been attached to
the statue, amid faint cheers from the crowd.

An Armistice has been arranged for next Wednesday, to enable the
inhabitants of Vanves and the neighbourhood to remove.

Cluseret, Megy, and Schoelcher have been released.

The 8th and 11th Battalions have been disarmed on suspicion of being
reactionary.

Paschal Grousset has sent a circular to the principal towns of France,
inviting them to join the Communal movement.

The approaches are now within 150 metres of the _enceinte_, and a
breaching battery is being constructed. The Montretout batteries have
already made a considerable breach in the _enceinte_ by the side of the
Auteuil Gate, which has been demolished.

There was a very lively fusillade this afternoon between troops in the
Bois de Boulogne and the Insurgents, who fired from houses and other
shelter behind the _enceinte_ between Passy and Auteuil. Mortars were
also used by the military.

The Insurgents have shot a captain of Engineers who imprudently advanced
beyond the Versailles lines.

In the Fort of Vanves a soldier of the Line has been found; his feet
were tied together, and there are numbers of bayonet wounds in different
parts of his body. The Insurgents had made him prisoner.

Of the 60 pieces of cannon left in the Fort, the greater number had been
rendered useless by the fire of the troops.

It is believed that the garrison escaped by a subterranean passage
communicating between Forts Vanves and Montrouge.

Every commander of an Army Corps will henceforward have the command of
an Arrondissement, and will be answerable for the defensive measures
undertaken in his zone.

All persons in the possession of sulphur and phosphorus must declare to
the Commune the amount of each within three days.

La Cecilia has again undertaken the command at Petit Vanves.

Torpedoes are to be laid down at exposed parts.

The night has passed off quietly, and nothing of any importance has
transpired.

The Versailles troops are under the walls of Paris, and are exchanging
shots with the Insurgents on the ramparts from the Muette Gate to the
Issy Gate.

The Federalists have been driven out of their entrenchments between
Forts Vanves and Issy.

A battery is being erected in the garden of the Tuileries, from which
the Communists will be able to keep up a flank fire upon the Champs
Elysees.

There is no doubt of the existence of a serious conspiracy, possessing
wide ramifications, in Paris to effect the overthrow of the Commune.

The Garden of the Luxembourg has been closed, and is occupied by four
battalions of National Guards, as a precaution against the rising which
is apprehended.

MAY 15th.

The _Journal Officiel_ announced that the Column would positively fall
to-day at 2. A great concourse assembled. Bands played. The Commune and
their Staff, amounting to 200, attended on horseback. At 3.45 p.m. an
attempt was made, which failed owing to the breaking of a snatchblock.
The ropes slackened suddenly, injuring two men. Another attempt was
made, fresh ropes having been added, and the Column fell at about 10
minutes to 6. It broke up in the air as it fell. The concussion was
nothing like what had been expected. No glass was broken or injury done
to the Square, excepting that the Column forced itself into the ground.
The excitement was intense. The crowd rushed with loud cheers to
scramble for fragments, while speeches were made by members of the
Commune, mounted on fallen masses, and red flags were hoisted on the
pedestal. Immense crowds assembled in the streets outside, making it
almost impossible to leave the Place Vendome. It was forbidden to take
away any fragments, and people were searched before leaving the Square.


MAY THE 16th.

Two hundred National Guards entered the Grand Hotel last night. After
having searched every room, under the pretence of looking for arms,
they retired with a good deal of plunder.

This is on that subject a letter forwarded by Mister van Henbeck to the
_Figaro Journal_.

It has been spoken in different ways of the frequent searches made in
the Grand Hotel, since the occupation by the admiral Saisset and his
Staff, which had rendered the Hotel suspected by the "Commune" and the
"Comite Central."

The last visit of these _Gentlemen_, has been marked by many strange
proceedings:

In the night of may 15th a band of about 300 armed men, pseudo-sailors
of the "Commune" and Belgian volunteers of both sex, rushed into the
Hotel. During five hours these mad men, several of them being
intoxicated, had to make in every part of the Hotel fantastic searches,
they went breaking the doors and menacing the administrator, the clerks
and servants.

They had no mandamus to do that, but the pretext was the arrestation of
a battalion of "Gendarmes" and the discovery of a subterranean vault
leading to Versailles.

The search for "Gendarmes" was not long to make, but the one for the
vault was stopped only when they had found the wine cellar. The door was
knocked out:

The great attention they paid to those investigations can be evaluated
by a consummation of 1764 francs of wine.

That operation began at 4 a.m. and was out at 6.

The whistles of those supposed sailors and the trumpets of the "Federes"
ordered the end of that small festival. The cellar was left a-side, and
the servants of the Hotel were obliged to bring up in the court-yard
those of the band who could not walk any more; at last, the troop went
out carrying away a good supply of provisions as wine, cigars, watches,
jewels and purses stolen in the servants' rooms, and also clocks and
about a hundred table-plates belonging to the Hotel.

They went with empty hands, but the pockets were full. Two of the
servants were obliged to go with them, and they said they would come
back the next day to arrest many others.

These wicked orgies having no political character, I will address myself
to the "Code penal" for a repression, and I deliver into the hands of
the "Procureur de la Republique" a complaint justified by the deposings
of all my servants, and indicating the names of the chiefs of that
curious performance.

Be good enough, Sir, to believe me yours most respectfully: V.....

_Administrator of the Grand Hotel_.


The Insurgents have evacuated all their positions between Fort Vanves
and the _enceinte_.

The only gunboats now beneath the Viaduct at the Point du Jour are mere
wrecks, and their guns have completely disappeared.

The Insurgents' battery on a bastion between Vaugirard and Montrouge has
been firing frequently to-day. One of its shells came as far as Bas
Meudon.

Fort Issy has been directing its fire upon the Point du Jour. About noon
there were two conflagrations at the Point du Jour and one at Auteuil.

The soldiers working at the parallels and the breaching batteries are
suffering from the musketry of Insurgents behind the _enceinte_. As many
as 30 of them have been killed during one night, but the sap has been
carried to within less than 400 metres of the ramparts.

The Insurgents are raising additional barricades in the Rue de
Vaugirard, and also at Passy and Auteuil. Pontoon bridges and fascines
in great numbers are being sent forward to the military foreposts.

The Committee of Public Safety has appointed a military Commission to
replace the existing Commission; it is composed of Arnold, Avrial,
Johannard, Tridon, and Varein.

Henri has been appointed Chief of the Staff of the War Ministry, and
Mathieu commander of the troops posted between the Point du Jour and the
Wagram Gate.

All mechanics over 40 years of age have been called out to work at the
city defences. They will receive 3f. 75c. as daily pay.

Important resolutions are expected to be taken at the sitting of the
Commune to-day, and the serious division will be terminated by the
dissolution of the Central Committee, or by the absorption of the
Committee of Public Safety in the Central Committee.

The Commune announces that the Versailles troops were repulsed in
several attacks made by them last night upon the barricades at
Chatillon, Moulin de Pierre, and Moulin Saquet.

There was a vigorous engagement yesterday evening at the Dauphine and
Maillot Gates, and the Versailles troops were driven back with
considerable loss.

It is rumoured that Fort Montrouge has been evacuated.

The Commune declares that it has a reserve force of 20,000 men.

Of M. Thiers' house little more, it is feared, than the outer walls
remain standing.


MAY 17th

The "Majority of the Commune"--as the Commune is now spoken of in
consequence of the secession of 22 of its members--has resolved to form
a Central Club like that of the Jacobins, composed of delegates from
various clubs of Paris, in order to keep itself _en rapport_ with public
opinion.

The 12th Legion has formed a battalion of women, who in addition to
their other military duties are to disarm publicly all runaways.

The Communal Delegation of the 2d Arrondissement, considering that
slavery was considered immoral even before the American War, and that a
standing army has been suppressed by the Commune, decrees that all
houses of ill fame in their quarter shall be immediately closed, as
involving traffic in human beings.

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