Paris under the Commune - John Leighton
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XIII.
Never have I seen the dawn break with greater pleasure. Almost everyone
has some time in his life passed such sleepless nights, when it seems to
him that the darkness will never disappear, and the desire for light and
day becomes a fearful longing. Never was dawn more grateful than after
that wretched night. And yet the fear of a disastrous collision did not
disappear with the night. It was even likely that the Federals might
have waited for the morning to begin their attack, just when fatigue is
greatest, sleep most difficult to fight against, and therefore
discipline necessarily slackened. Anyhow, the light seemed to reassure
us; we could scarcely believe that the crime of civil war could be
perpetrated in the day-time. The night had been full of fears, the
morning found us bright and happy. Not all of us, however. I smile as I
remember an incident which occurred a little before daylight. One of our
comrades, who had been lying near me, got up, went out into the street,
and paced up and down some time, as if to shake off cramp or cold. My
eyes followed him mechanically; he was walking in front of the houses,
the backs of which look out upon the Passage des Panoramas, and as he
did so he cast furtive glances through the open doorways. He went into
one, and came out with a disappointed expression on his face. Having
repeated this strange manoeuvre several times, he reached a
_porte-cochere_ that was down by the side of the Restaurant Catelain. He
remained a few minutes, then reappeared with a beaming countenance, and
made straight for where I was standing, rubbing his hands gleefully.
"Monsieur," said he, in a low voice, so as not to be overheard, "do you
approve of this plan of action, which consists, in case of attack, of
shooting from the windows on the assailants?"--"A necessity of street
fighting," said I. "Let us hope we shall not have to try it."--"Oh! of
course; but I should have preferred it if they had taken other
measures."--"Why?" I asked.--"Why, you see, when we are in the houses
the insurgents will try to force their way in."--I could not see what he
was driving at, so I said, "Most probably."--"But if they do get in?" he
insisted:--"I will trust to our being reinforced from the Place de la
Bourse before they can effect an entrance."--"Doubtless! doubtless!" he
answered; but I saw he was anything but convinced.--"But you know
reinforcements often arrive too late, and if the Federals should get in,
we shall be shot down like dogs in those rooms overhead!"--I
acknowledged that this would be, to say the least, disagreeable, but
argued that in time of war one must take one's chance.--"Do you think,
then, monsieur," he continued, "that, if in the event of the insurgents
entering we were to look out for a back door to escape by, we should be
acting the part of cowards?"--"Of cowards? no; but of excessively
prudent individuals? yes.":--"Well, monsieur, I am prudent, and there is
an end of it!" exclaimed my comrade, with an air of triumph, "and I
think I have found----"--"The back door in question?"--"Just go; look
down that passage in front of us; at the end there is a door which
leads--where do you think?"--"Into the Passage des Panoramas, does it
not?"--"Yes, monsieur, and now you see what I mean."--I told him I did
not think I did.--"Why, you see," he explained, "when the enemy comes we
must rush into that passage, shut the lower door, and make for our post
at the windows, where we will do our duty bravely to our last cartridge.
But suppose, in the meantime, that those devils, succeed in breaking
open the lower door with the butt end of their muskets--and it is not
very strong--what shall we do then?"--"Why, of course," I said, "we must
plant ourselves at the top of the staircase and receive them at the
point of our bayonets."--"By no means;" he expostulated.--"But we must;
it is our duty."--"Oh! I fancied we might have gained the door that
leads into the passage," he went on, looking rather shame-faced.--"What,
run away!"--"No, not exactly; only find some place of safety!"--"Well,
if it comes to that," I replied, "you may do just as you like; only I
warn you that the passage is occupied by a hundred of our men, and that
all the outlets are barricaded."--"No, not all," he said with
conviction, "and that is why I appeal to you. You are a journalist, are
you not?"--"Sometimes."--"Yes, but you are; and you know actors and all
those sort of people, and you go behind the scenes, I dare say, and know
where the actors dress themselves, and all that."--I looked at my brave
comrade in some surprise, but he continued without noticing me, "And,
you know all the ins and outs of the theatre, the corridors, the
trapdoors."--"Suppose I do, what good can that do you?"--"All the good
in the world, monsieur; it will be the saving of me. Why we shall only
have to find the actors' entrance of the _Varietes_, which is in the
passage, then ring, at the bell; the porter knows you, and will admit
us. You can guide us both up the staircase and behind the scenes, and we
can easily hunt out some hole or corner in which to hide until the fight
is over."--"Then," said I, feeling rather disgusted with my companion,
"we can bravely walk out of the front door on the boulevards, and go and
eat a comfortable breakfast, while the others are busy carrying away our
dead comrades from the staircase we ought to have helped to defend!"
The poor man looked at me aghast, and then went off. I saw that I had
hurt his feelings, and I thought perhaps I had been wrong in making him
feel the cowardice of his proposition. I had known him for some months;
he lived in the same street as I did, and I remembered that he had a
wife and children. Perhaps he was right in wishing to protect his life
at any price. I thought it over for a minute or two, and then it went
out of my mind altogether.
At four in the morning we had another alarm; in an instant every one was
on foot and rushing to the windows. The house to which I was ordered was
the very one that had inspired my ingenious friend with his novel plan
of evasion. I found him already installed in the room from whence we
were to fire into the street.--"You do not know what I have done," said
he, coming up to me.--"No."--"Well, you know the door which opens on to
the passage; you remember it?"--"Of course I do."--"I found there was a
key; so what do you think I did? I double-locked the door, and went and
slipped the key down the nearest drain! Ha! ha! The fellow who tries to
escape that way will be finely caught!"
I seized him cordially by the hand and shook it many times. He was
beaming, and I was pleased also. I could not help feeling that however
low France may have fallen, one must never despair of a country in which
cowards even can be brave.
XIV.
On Friday, the 24th of March, at nine in the morning, we are still in
the quarter of the Bourse. Some of the men have not slept for
forty-eight hours. We are tired but still resolved. Our numbers are
increasing every hour. I have just seen three battalions, with
trumpeters and all complete, come up and join us. They will now be able
to let the men who have been so long on duty get a little rest. As to
what is going on, we are but very incompletely informed. The Federals
are fortifying themselves more strongly than ever at the Place de
l'Hotel de Ville and the Place Vendome. They are very numerous, and have
lots of artillery. Why do they not act on the offensive? Or do they
want, as we do, to avoid a conflict? Certainly our hand shall not be the
first to spill French blood. These hours of hesitation on both sides
calm men's minds. The deputies and mayors of Paris are trying to obtain
from the National Assembly the recognition of the municipal franchise.
If the Government has the good sense to make these concessions, which
are both legitimate and urgent, rather than remain doggedly on the
defensive, with the conviction that it has right on its ride; if, in a
word, it remembers the well-known maxim, "_Summum jus, summa injuria_,"
the horrors of civil war may be averted. We are told, and I fancy
correctly, that the Federal Guards are not without fear concerning the
issue of the events into which they have hurried. The chiefs must also
be uneasy. Even those who have declared themselves irreconcileable in
the hour of triumph would not perhaps be sorry now if a little
condescension on the part of the Assembly furnished them with a pretext
of not continuing the rebellion. Just now, several Guards of the 117th
Battalion, a part of which has declared for the Central Committee, who
happened to be passing, stopped to chat with our outposts. Civil war to
the knife did not at all appear to be their most ardent desire. One of
them said: "We were called to arms, what could we do but obey? They give
us our pay, and so here we are." Were they sincere in this? Did they
come with the hope of joining us, or to spy into what we were doing?
Others, however, either more frank or less clever at deception, declared
that they wanted the Commune, and would have, it at any price. This,
however, was by far the smaller number; the majority of the insurgents
are of the opinion of these men who joined in conversation with us. It
is quite possible to believe that some understanding might be brought
about. A fact has just been related to me which confirms me in my
opinion.
The Comptoir d'Escompte was occupied by a post of Federals. A company of
Government Guards from the 9th Arrondissement marched up to take
possession. "You have been here for two whole days; go home and rest,"
said the officer in command of the latter. But the Federals obstinately
refused to be sent away. The officer insisted.--"We are in our own
quarter, you are from Belleville; it is our place to guard the Comptoir
d'Escompte."--It was all of no avail until the officer said: "Go away
directly, and we will give you a hundred francs."--They did not wait for
the offer to be repeated, but accepted the money and marched off. Now
men who are willing to sell their consciences at two francs a head--for
there were fifty of them--cannot have any very formidable political
opinions. I forgot to say that this post of Federals was commanded by
the Italian Tibaldi, the same who had been arrested in one of the
passages of the Hotel de Ville during the riots of the 31st October.
XV.
The news is excellent, in a few hours perhaps it will be better. We
rejoice beforehand at the almost certain prospect of pacification. The
sun shines, the boulevards are crowded with people, the faces of the
women especially are beaming. What is the cause of all this joy? A
placard has just been posted up on all the walls in the city. I copy it
with pleasure.
"DEAR FELLOW CITIZENS,--I hasten to announce to you that together
with the Deputies of the Seine and the Mayors of Paris, we have
obtained from the Government of the National Assembly: 1st. The
complete recognition of your municipal franchises; 2nd. The right of
electing all the officers of the National Guard, as well as the
general-in-chief; 3rd. Modifications of the law on bills; 4th. A
project for a law on rents, favourable to tenants paying 1,200
francs a year, or less than that sum. Until you have confirmed my
nomination, or until you name some one else in my stead, I shall
continue to remain at my post to watch over the execution of these
conciliatory measures that we have succeeded in obtaining, and to
contribute to the well-being of the Republic!
"The Vice-Admiral and
Provisional Commander,
SAISSET
Paris, 23rd March."
Well! this is opportune and to the purpose. The National Assembly has
understood that, in a town like Paris, a revolution in which a third of
the population is engaged, cannot be alone actuated by motives of
robbery and murder;[20] and that if some of the demands of the people
are illegitimate or premature, there are at least others, which it is
but right should obtain justice. Paris is never entirely in the wrong.
Certainly among the authors and leaders of the 18th March, there are
many who are very guilty. The murderers of General Lecomte and General
Clement Thomas should be sought out and punished. All honest men must
demand and expect that a minute inquiry be instituted concerning the
massacres in the Place Vendome. It must be acknowledged that all the
Federals, officers and soldiers, are not devils or drunkards. A few
hundred men getting drunk in the cabarets--(I have perhaps been wrong to
lay so much stress here upon the prevalence of this vice among the
insurrectionists)--a few tipsy brutes, ought not to be sufficient to
authorise us to condemn a hundred thousand men, among whom are certainly
to be found some right-minded persons who are convinced of the justice
of their cause. These unknown and suddenly elevated chiefs, whom the
revolution has singled out, are they all unworthy of our esteem, and
devoid of capacity? They possess, perhaps, a new and vital force that it
would be right and perhaps necessary to utilise somehow. The ideas which
they represent ought to be studied, and if they prove useful, put into
practice. This is what the Assembly has understood and what it has done.
By concessions which enlarge rather than diminish its influence, it puts
all right-minded men, soldiers and officers, under the obligation of
returning to their allegiance. Those who, having read the proclamation
of Admiral Saisset, still refuse to recognise the Government, are no
longer men acting for the sake of Paris and the Republic, but rioters
guilty of pursuing the most criminal paths, for the gratification of
their own bad passions. Thus the tares will be separated from the wheat,
and torn up without mercy. Yesterday and the day before, at the Place de
la Bourse, at the Place des Victoires and the Bank, we were resolved on
resistance--resistance, nothing more, for none of us, I am sure, would
have fired a shot without sufficient provocation--and even this
resolution cost us much pain and some hesitation. We felt that in the
event of our being attacked, our shots might strike many an innocent
breast--and perhaps at the last moment our hearts would have failed us.
Now, no thoughts of that kind can hinder us. In recognising our demand,
the Assembly has got right entirely on its side, we shall now consider
all rebellion against the authority of which it makes so able a use, as
an act entailing immediate punishment. Until now, fearing to be
abandoned or misunderstood by the Government, we had determined to obey
the mayors and deputies elected by the people, but the Assembly, by its
judicious conduct, has shown itself worthy confidence. Let them command,
we are ready to obey.
Truly this change in the attitude of the Government is at once strange
and delightful. No later than yesterday their language was quite
different. The manner in which the majority received the mayors did not
lead us to expect a termination so favourable to the wishes of all
concerned. But this is all past, let us not recriminate. Let us rather
rejoice in our present good fortune, and try and forget the dangers
which seemed but now so imminent. I hear from all sides that the
Deputies of the Seine and the mayors, fully empowered, are busy
concluding the last arrangements. Municipal elections are talked of, for
the 2nd April; thus every cause for discontent is about to disappear.
Capital! Paris is satisfied. Shops re-open. The promenades are crowded
with people; the Place Vendome alone does not brighten with the rest,
but it soon will. The weather is lovely, people accost each other in the
streets with a smile; one almost wonders they do not embrace. Is to-day
Friday? No, it is Sunday. Bravo! Assembly.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 20: At the same time that the proclamation of Admiral Saisset
encouraged the partizans of the Assembly, proofs were not wanting of the
poverty of the Commune in money, as well as men: a new loan obtained
from the Bank of France, which had already advanced half a million of
francs, and the military nominations which raised Brunel, Eudes, and
Duval from absolute obscurity to the rank of general. These were
indications decidedly favourable to the party of order.]
XVI.
On the ground-floor of the house of my neighbour there is an
upholsterer's workshop. The day before yesterday the master went out to
fetch some work, and this morning he had not yet returned. In an agony
of apprehension his wife went everywhere in search of him. His body has
just been found at the Morgue with a bullet through its head. Some say
he was walking across the Rue de la Paix on his way home, and was shot
by accident; but the _Journal Officiel_ announces that this poor man,
Wahlin, was a national guard, assassinated by the revolvers of the
manifestation. Whom are we to believe? Anyhow, the man is to be buried
tomorrow, and his poor wife is a widow.
XVII.
What is the meaning of all this! Are we deceiving ourselves, or being
deceived? We await in vain the consummation of Admiral Saisset's
promises. In officially announcing that the Assembly had acceded to the
just demands of the mayors and deputies, did he take upon himself to
pass delusive hopes as accomplished facts? It seems pretty certain now
that the Government will make no concessions, that the proclamation is
only waste paper, and that the Provisional Commander of the National
Guard has been leading us into error--with a laudable intention
doubtless--or else has himself been deceived likewise. The united
efforts of the Deputies of the Seine and the Mayors of Paris have been
unequal to rouse the apathy of the Assembly.[21] In vain did Louis Blanc
entreat the representatives of France to approve the conciliatory
conduct of the representatives of Paris. "May the responsibility of what
may happen be on your own heads!" cried M. Clemenceau. He was right; a
little condescension might have saved all; such obstinacy is fatal.
Deprived of the countenance of the Assembly, and left to themselves, the
Deputies and Mayors of Paris, desirous above all of avoiding civil war,
have been obliged to accede to the wishes of the Central Committee, and
insist upon the municipal elections being proceeded with immediately.
They could not have acted otherwise, and yet it is humiliating for them
to have to bow before superior force, and their authority is compromised
by so doing. What the Assembly, representing the whole of France, could
have done with no loss of dignity, and even with honour to itself, the
former accomplish only at the risk of losing their influence; what to
the Assembly would have been an honourable concession is to them
dangerous although necessary submission. The Committee would have been
annulled if the Government had consented to the municipal elections, but
thanks to a tardy consent, rung from the Deputies and Mayors of Paris,
it triumphs. The result of the humiliation to which the representatives
of Paris have been forced to submit to prevent the effusion of blood,
will be the entire abdication of their authority, which will remain
vested in the Central Committee until the members of the Commune are
elected. Abandoned by the Government since the departure of the chief of
the executive power and the ministers, we rallied round the
representatives, who, unsustained by the Government, are obliged to
submit to the revolutionists. We must now choose between the Commune and
anarchy.
Therefore, to-day, Sunday, the 26th March, the male population of Paris
is hurrying to the poll. It is in vain that the journals have begged the
people not to vote; the elections were only announced yesterday, and the
electors have had no time to reconsider the choice they have to make,
and yet they insist on voting. Those who decline to obey the suggestions
of the Central Committee, will re-elect the late mayors or choose among
the deputies, but vote they will. The present attitude of the regular
Government has done much towards furthering the revolution. The mistakes
of the Assembly have diminished in the eyes of the public the crime of
revolt. Everywhere the murder of Generals Clement Thomas and Lecomte is
openly regretted; but those who repeat that the Central Committee
declares having had nothing to do with it, are listened to with
patience. The rumour that they were shot by soldiers gains ground, and
seems less incredulously received. As to the massacres of the Rue de la
Paix, we are told that this event is enveloped in mystery, that the
evidence is most contradictory, etc., etc.[22] There is evidently a
decided reactionary movement in favour of the partizans of the Commune.
Without approving their acts their activity is incontestable. They have
done much in a short time. People exclaim, "There are men for you!"
This state of things is very alarming to all those who have remained
faithful to the Assembly, which in spite of its errors has not ceased to
be the legal representative of the country. It is a cruel position for
the Parisians who are obliged to choose between a regular Government
which they would desire to obey, but which by its faults renders such
obedience impossible, and an illegitimate power, that, although guilty
in its acts, and stained with crime, still represents the opinions of
the republican majority. By to-night, therefore, the Commune will have
been called into existence; an illegal existence it may be argued,
doubtless, by the partizans of constitutional legality, who would
consider as null and void elections carried on without the consent of
the nation, as represented by the Assembly. Legal or not, however, the
elections have taken place, and the fact alone is of some importance. In
a few hours the Executive Power of the Republic will have to treat,
whether it will or no, with a force which has constituted itself with as
much legality as it had in its power to assume under the circumstances.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 21: The news of the check which the Maires of Paris had
suffered in the Assembly suddenly loosened the bond which for two days
had united the friends of order, and profound discouragement seized upon
the public mind. It was at this moment that the deputies from the
Committee presented themselves at the Mairie of the first
arrondissement, preceded by three pieces of artillery, a very warlike
accompaniment to a deputation. It was arranged that the Communal
election should be managed by the existing Maires, and that the
battalions of each quarter of the city, whether federal or not, should
occupy the voting places of their sections; but this did not prevent the
Committee on the following morning occupying the Mairie of
Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, in spite of the arrangement, by their most
devoted battalions.]
[Footnote 22: The following are the terms in which the Commune spoke of
the events of the 18th March, and excused the murder of the two
generals:
"CITIZENS,--The day of the 18th of March, which for interested reasons
has been travestied in the most odious manner, will be called in
history, The Day of the People's Justice!
The Government, now subverted--always maladroit--rushed into a conflict
without considering either its own unpopularity, or the fraternal
feeling that animates the armies; the entire army, when ordered to
commit fratricide, replied with cries of "Vive la Republique!" "Vive la
Garde Nationale!"
Two men alone, who had rendered themselves unpopular by acts which we
now pronounce as iniquitous, were struck down in a moment of popular
indignation.
The Committee of the Federation of the National Guard, in order to
render homage to truth, declare it was a stranger to these two
executions.
At the present moment the ministries are constituted, the prefect of
police has assumed his duties, the public offices are again active, and
we invite all citizens to maintain the utmost calmness and order."]
XVIII.
Crowds in the streets and promenades. This evening all the theatres will
be re-opened. In the meantime the voting is going on. The weather is
delightful, so I take a stroll along the promenades. Under the colonnade
of the Chatelet there is a long line of electors awaiting their turn. I
fancy that in this quarter the candidates of the Central Committee will
be surely elected. Women, in bright-coloured dresses and fresh spring
bonnets, are walking to and fro. I hear some one say that there are a
great many cannon at the Hotel de Ville. Two friends meet together in
the square of the Arts et Metiers.--"Are you alone, madame?" says one
lady to another.--"Yes, madame; I am waiting for my husband, who is gone
to vote."
A child, who is skipping, cries out, "Mama, mama, what is the Commune?"
The fiacre drivers make the revolution an excuse for asking extravagant
fares; this does not prevent their having very decided political
opinions. One who, drove one would scarcely have been approved of by the
Central Committee.--"_Cocher_, what is the fare?" I ask.--"Five francs,
monsieur."--"All right; take me to the mairie Place Saint-Sulpice."
--"Beg pardon, monsieur, but if you are going to vote, it will be
ten francs!"