Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/451



", May 25, 1871—9.30

"Secretary-General of War: "A man belonging to the 1st regiment of Federals informs me that since four o'clock this morning Montmartre is ours no longer. I have seen the Place de la Bastille well defended, but the Versaillese are in the church of the Rue Saint-Antoine, and are doing their utmost to take the Place de la Bastille. I saw personally four shells fall in the Rue de la Roquette, one of which entered No. 49 of said street. If Montmartre is still ours, they must be ordered to regulate their aim."

Montmartre had been taken at twelve on Tuesday, and there was nothing to rectify.

The troops engaged in the old boulevards had fought throughout the day in the quarters of Saint-Denis, Saint-Martin, the Boulevard Sebastopol, and the Rambuteau quarter.

The army had gained possession of the Conservatoire des Arts-et-Metiers, where several pieces of artillery were established, and fired on the boulevards.

During the day the city was transformed into an immense camp. The Rue de Grammont was filled with artillery; the Theatre of the Opéra-Comique was turned into an ambulance, and was surrounded by immense material of war. The streets were everywhere filled with soldiers, and, wherever the cessation of the battle would allow, with civilians looking eagerly for the traces of the struggle. Every few moments large crowds would gather to see the convoys of prisoners, sometimes amounting to several hundred, which were led off to Versailles. Many of these were women. Persons caught setting fire to the houses were generally taken to the guard-houses, and the proofs of their guilt being established, they were shot forthwith. In many cases, however, the enraged population took