to the hands of the Communists. When we speak of Communists we do not refer to the question of division of property and its consequences; we simply mean that kind of government which some men wish to galvanise and resuscitate by a violent effort, but which is now nothing but an anachronism. These centralists, these unitarians, aim at nothing but federation. They have the pretension to concentrate France within a club or room in the Hôtel de Ville of Paris, and they do not perceive that France may abandon them in their cellular prison; and that the provinces, finding that the Commune of Paris offers them nothing but insolence, will content themselves with their own defence, and will remain at home." possible. The object of this diatribe was of course to advance the interests of the party to which the journal belonged; but it is impossible to deny that the account of the state of France was truthful and exact. The Débats reported the proceedings of a club, of which M. Blanqui, a violent Red Republican, was president; and from this report it is evident that a species of socialist despotism was contemplated by the ultra-demagogues. The account stated that "The food question was discussed, and naturally excited much interest, for the Parisians have no longer milk for their morning's coffee; eggs are 1d. to 24d. a-piece, salt butter is very dear, and fresh is no longer to be had. The butchers can only supply half or a third the quantity of meat ordered by their customers; and charcoal is 6d. a bushel; while a host of working men have no other earnings than the 3d. a day paid certain shopkeepers for concealing or raising the price of their goods, and it appears that a coal-dealer at Montmartre was visited by a vigilance committee, for the purpose of measuring his stores, and obliging him to dispose of them. The club unanimously resolved that the whole population ought, like an army, to be restricted to certain rations. One of the speakers procensus, which would have the incidental advantage of posed that, as part of this measure, there should be a disclosing the names and addresses of the enemies of the Republic and of the Prussian agents. Another proposed an inventory of fowls and eggs, which should be reserved for the wounded. The club next discussed the municipal elections, the postponement of which was generally approved. One speaker argued that only enlightened patriots and good Republicans had a right to vote." them as National Guards. The club found fault with Another attempt was made by the Lyons Red Republicans on the 12th to get possession of the Prefecture, and to constitute a local government of their own. It was at once put down, however, by the National Guards; but these repeated machinations of the party of disorder filled the more respectable classes with apprehension. Delegates from Lyons, about the same time, caused a good deal of trouble at St. Étienne. At a public meeting there the delegates denounced the local authorities for not having adopted more energetic measures; and especially condemned General Moarret for having refused arms to the Francs-tireurs. On the breaking up of the meeting a great crowd proceeded to the Place d'Armes, and, after a scene of disorder, forced the general to resign. They afterwards threatened another of the military authorities, whom they charged with having called out the troops; but the disorder was at length suppressed by the National Guards. Scenes of this nature were of frequent occurrence. General Mazure had been similarly treated at Lyons; and both there and in other large towns of the south, placards were fixed on the walls denouncing the officers as tyrants, and, in the name of the sovereignty of the people, telling the soldiers that they had a right to cashier them, and elect others. The Union, an organ of the Ultramontanists, drew a very dark picture of the condition of the country towards the end of October. Every day France was sinking deeper into the abyss. Resistance to the enemy was weak. The Prussian flood was still rising, and anarchy was extending its ravages more and more. There were two Governments-one at Paris, the other at Tours. The investment of the capital rendered concert impossible, and contradictory decisions were arrived at. A self-constituted revolutionary power oppressed Marseilles; Lyons was a prey to demagogic ardour; and in almost all the departments the Prefects were manifesting a tendency to obey both Paris and Tours as little as mitrailleuses. In the prevalent excitement of the public mind, any absurdity that appealed to enthusiasm and the sense of nationality found a certain number of followers. At Tours, a little temporary interest was created by the appearance of a young girl, clad in a fantastic garb, calling herself a successor of Joan of Arc, and carrying a flag with the Madonna on it. The more religious of the soldiers, and many of the women, were impressed and awe-struck for a little while; but the nineteenth century has no appropriate background for displays of this nature, and probably the real Joan herself, had she appeared at the present day, would not have produced the effect which attended her proceedings in the fifteenth century. The successor to the Maid of Orleans soon ceased to be talked about, and the war went on after the prosaic fashion of the age of chassepôts and CHAPTER XXIII. The Investment of Paris-Balloon Service-Voyage of M. Luitz-Preparations in the Capital against the Siege-Voyage of M. Tissandier-A Balloon Duel-The Prussian Officers and the Ursuline Nuns-Voyage of the "Bretagne "-The Aeronauts seized by the Prussians-Adventures and Perils of M. Manceau-The Military Situation in October-Four New French Armies Their Composition, Character, and Disposition-Efforts of the National Defence-Mistakes of the GermansTheir Position one of Danger-Immense Range of the German Operations-State of Affairs before Paris-Liability of the Prussians to Sorties - Despondent Spirit of General Trochu-His Statement before the National Assembly in June, 1871-General Trochu's Plan for the Relief of Paris - The Scheme upset by Gambetta - Trochu's Charges against Gambetta - Ultra-Revolutionary Measures-Divided Counsels in the Provisional Government-Letter of General Trochu to the Mayor of Paris-German Accusation against General Ducrot-Turbulence in Paris-Disgraceful Conduct of the Gardes Mobiles of Macon-Want of Arms--Projects for the Use of Chemical Explosives-The Krupp Gun - Trochu on the Paris Fortifications-State of the Armies being formed in the Provinces-The Misfortunes of France not to be retrieved - Ultra-Republican Criticism on the Provisional Government-Revolutionary Absurdities-M. Jules Favre and the English Working Classes-The Francs-tireurs and the People-The Capture of Private Property.at Sea. ALTHOUGH the investment of Paris was substantially effected on the 19th of September, as already related, it seems not to have been formally completed until the 25th of that month, when King William made known the fact to the world. There was now no other way of communicating with the provinces than by balloons or carrier-pigeons; but both these methods were so vigorously worked that the Governments at Paris and Tours contrived for the most part to keep each other aware of what was being designed or accomplished. On the very day when the Prussian monarch announced the formal completion of the great investment, M. Luitz, who had been appointed Commissioner for this purpose, left the capital in a balloon, accompanied by a professional aeronaut, and succeeded in passing over the Prussian lines. Unlike his predecessor, M. Durnof, whose adventures are related at the conclusion of Chapter XII., he was not fired at by the Germans. On his way he made some observations of a military nature, which were of course valuable to the Government. He found that there were no Prussians at Le Pecq, St. Germain, or Carrière-sousBois. Over the plain of Creil he remained becalmed for about three quarters of an hour. He threw out ten sacks of ballast and the seats of the car, but could not rise. He was now unpleasantly close to the Seine, and, moreover, saw on the opposite side, not far from Vernouillet, what he judged to be signs of the Prussians. In order still further to lighten the balloon he cast out three bundles of letters, and a sack filled with the reports of M. Jules Favre. The balloon thereupon rose and crossed the Seine, and M. Luitz effected his descent near Vernouillet. The peasantry of the neighbourhood, having observed the fall of the sacks, and picked them up, afterwards restored them to the voyager. The letters were despatched to the nearest post, and M. Luitz went to the residence of the curé, where he disguised himself as a cowherd. Thence he proceeded by carriage to Tours, passing through several towns, at one of which (Mantes) the Commissary of Police made great difficulty in aiding him, from fear of compromising himself with the Prussians. M. Luitz addressed a report on this voyage to the Prefect of the Eure, to whom he represented the state of Paris at the period of his leaving as highly satisfactory. All the inhabitants, he said, had made a pact with death, if not with victory. "They are determined," he continued, "to bury themselves under the ruins of their beloved city rather than surrender. The women, the children, the old people, the men-in a word, all—will do their duty. The Minister of Public Works, the man of the situation-Dorian-has the true feeling of what is necessary. He speaks little and decrees nothing; but he does many things which will help us very much. He has converted the tobacco factory into a cartridge factory, which turns out 1,500,000 cartridges a day. He has created mitrailleuse workshops; and Botier, who has been ap pointed to-or rather who has placed himself at the head of these workshops, seconds him with vigour and intelligence." Two mitrailleuses a week were being turned out from the workshops. The windows of the museums had been protected by sacks of earth. Barricades had been commenced at the extremities of the principal streets, and were composed of heaps of earth, the digging out of which left trenches of considerable breadth and depth. M. Luitz wrote in high spirits, and prophesied the speedy chastisement of the investing army. A few days later, M. Tissandier started from Paris, and arrived at Tours on October 1st. The solitary and deserted appearance of the country about the metropolis struck him very forcibly. When passing over Versailles he observed a camp of Prussians, and dropped among them great numbers of Government proclamations, which had been printed in German for that purpose. The Prussians opened fire on the balloon, but it was beyond the reach of damage. Near Dreux, M. Tissandier began to descend, and, seeing some peasants, called out to them, "Have you any Prussians in your parts?" They replied that they had not. At that moment, a gust of wind, blowing downwards, beat the balloon towards the earth with great violence, and almost threw M. Tissandier out of the car. He was furiously dragged along for some time, until at length, with the assistance of the country people, he effected a landing at the very moment that the balloon was split from top to bottom. No fewer than 25,000 letters were taken out by this aeronaut, who gave as sanguine an account of the state and prospects of Paris as M. Luitz had done. The Prussians, he stated, were attacked with shot and shell wherever they appeared, or wherever they tried to erect a battery. They were said to be discouraged and hesitating. Paris, on the contrary, was resolute, and aware of its own strength. A large number of shops remained open, and the promenades were covered with troops at drill. In the outer Boulevards, and in the Champ de Mars, barracks had been erected for the Mobiles. The cafés closed at half-past ten at night, and at eleven the city seemed asleep, though it was really observant of the enemy. Watchmen were on the look-out for fires; 40,000 National Guards manned the ramparts; while the forts sent afar the rays of the electric light, to hinder attack or surprise. Neither of these balloon voyages, however, could compare, for exciting and perilous incidents, with one which was performed at the same period by the well-known M. Nadar. That gentleman left Tours for Paris, with Government despatches, at six in the morning. At eleven he was within view of the capital, and, while floating about three thousand mètres above Fort Charenton, a second balloon was observed on the horizon. M. Nadar at once displayed the French flag, and the other balloon responded by exhibiting the same colours. Gradually the two balloons approached one another, being drawn in the same direction by the same current of air. When they were separated by only a short distance, several explosions were heard. The strange aeronaut continued to fire shots at M. Nadar's balloon, the "Intrépide," which began to descend rapidly. The French flag had by this time been taken in by the other balloon, and the Prussian colours were exhibited instead. Those who were watching the affair from the French fort below, and who now saw the character and object of the pursuer, cried out that Nadar was lost. But they were mistaken. He had scrambled from the car up the network of the balloon, on the first shot from the enemy, apparently to stop a hole made in the tissue; and he now descended as the balloon righted itself, and, on a quantity of ballast being thrown out, again rose high into the air. were then fired in rapid succession from the Intrépide" into the Prussian balloon, which suddenly sank to the earth with headlong rapidity. On reaching the ground, a detachment of Uhlans, who had watched the combat from the plain, picked up the aeronaut, and rode off to the Prussian outposts. M. Nadar then descended in safety at Charenton. Shots Hardly a day passed without at least one balloon, and sometimes more, being despatched from Paris. On a certain occasion, two, tied together, sailed out of Paris, and, when directly over St. Germain, dropped a heavy packet into the town. It fell into the Ursuline convent; but the sisters, when visited by some Prussian officers, declared that no such packet was there. "Very well," said the chief officer, "I shall quarter twenty Hussars here to-night, if the packet be not found; twenty more to-morrow; and so on until the letters are delivered to me." One night of this quartering sufficed to produce the desired effect, for on the following morning the packet was given up. For the most part the shots aimed at the balloons failed to reach them; but one day, at Argenteuil, a balloon was struck by three bullets, and rapidly came to earth. Two French officers and about 3,000 letters thus fell into the hands of the Prussians. Equally unfortunate were the navigators of "La Bretagne," a balloon launched by Messrs. Darton and Yon, and designed to proceed to London. The gas-works at La Villette were quitted at a little past two P.M., on October 27th, and at that time so strong a breeze was blowing that the travellers were carried along at the tremendous rate of seventy or eighty leagues an hour. They seemed to clear the fortifications at a bound, and in a few minutes were engulfed in a mass of vapour. The balloon first took a north-easterly direction; but the wind suddenly veered due west, which carried them straight towards the Prussians. A few minutes afterwards, while they were still in the fog, and still driving through the air at the same frantic pace, they heard a hum of human voices, then the sound of a railway train, and presently the clash of military music. As they did not recognise any French air, they inferred that the band must be German. They were then at a height of 1,200 |