Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/477



The line of battle—Boulevard Richard Lenoir—Capture of the Buttes Chaumont—Resistance at Père-Lachaise—Appearance of the cemetery—Taking of La Villette—Government circular—Hostile attitude of Belleville—Rage of the insurgents—Belleville conquered—Circular issued by M. Thiers—Proclamations of Marshal de MacMahon—Vicar Lamazon's letter—Military decrees—Arms taken from the insurgents—Paris divided into four military departments—Aspect of the city—The Louvre—The Tuileries—The Palais-Royal—The Hotel de Ville—Escape of the Archives—The Bank of France—The Palais de Justice—The Legion of Honor—The Conseil d'Etat and the Cour des Comptes—Cost of the Commune to the city of Paris—Strangers of the Commune.

On Saturday, May 27th, the silence which had reigned throughout the night was broken at an early hour. The last desperate struggle began.

The Federals were being pushed upon Belleville, and were confined in a semicircle, always narrowing, the two extremities of which rested on the ramparts, the intermediate part following the boulevards from the Bastille to the Chateau-d'Eau, and skirting the canal from the Faubourg du Temple to the Place de la Villette. Three-quarters of the army were there massed, in order to finish at a single blow.

The aspect of the line of battle was lugubrious; the sky was gray with clouds, and rain fell from time to time, settling down in the afternoon to a steady pour.

On the left stood the Butte Chaumont; on the summit, at the foot of a tree which dominated the platform, were the pieces of the insurgents, pointed from behind a wooden balustrade in the direction of Montmartre; the artillery