Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/411

 to combat the fire in pavilion No. 2, to prevent its gaining the apartments of the Princess Clotilde. The furniture of the chapel, and all the church ornaments were saved.

Finally, at eight o'clock, the troops of the line arrived. They were received with cries of "Vive la ligne!" "Vive la France!"

The work was then continued with more calm, and a means was sought for attacking the fire from above—that is, from the second story or from the roofs. The great danger was from the theatre, which the flames were rapidly approaching. If this was reached, it was to be feared that the whole quarter would be destroyed.

The idea was then formed of attacking the fire from the theatre itself, and of arresting the flames by means of its pipes. M. Le Saché placed himself at the head of this movement. Mounting on the roof with the head machinist, he was obliged to hide himself, to avoid the balls fired by the Communists from the top of the Hotel du Louvre. Braving the danger, the roof was mined; the water finally arrived; and it was time.

At ten o'clock, a body of thirty firemen appeared, and succeeded in rendering themselves masters of the flames. An hour sooner, the whole could have been saved.

The resistance in the neighborhood of the Hotel de Ville was most obstinate, and before the defences surrounding the building had been entirely captured by the troops, it was evacuated and set on fire by the insurgents.

Strategically a considerable advance had been made during the day. The line of investment had been greatly narrowed, thus enabling the different corps to render each other more assistance; while the Federals, on the contrary, commenced to be discouraged, and were deprived of all unity of commandment, and of almost all combined direction, dating from the 24th. They were isolated in two