Page:The Rise and Fall on the Paris Commune in 1871.djvu/531

 dim, many recumbent forms could be distinguished as soon as the eye got accustomed to the gloom.

"The appearance of four strangers, escorted by a gendarme, evidently caused a sensation, and probably awakened hopes and fears. The Communists crowded round us, opening only a narrow avenue for our passage. The atmosphere was unspeakably noisome. It was wonderful to see such a number of ignoble faces, and with such a vile expression, brought together. Among those in the first stable we entered, it was almost in vain to seek a countenance that would not have condemned its owner in the eyes of the most lenient physiognomist. Our guide told us that numbers of them had arrived drunk, half mad, or completely stupefied by the alcohol, with tobacco steeped in it, which had been served out to them by their leaders. It seems incredible that so nauseous a mixture should have found consumers; but there appears to be no doubt that it did, and that it was a stimulus copiously employed.

"An officer of gendarmes entered the stable and stood near us. 'Answer to your names,' he called out in a loud voice; 'it is for your own interest to do so.' And he read the names of four men, drivers of Paris cabs, whom somebody had applied for. Among the crowd of prisoners some innocent persons are inevitably to be found, and when their friends claim them, and give proofs of their respectability, they are frequently released.

"We passed into another stable allotted to insurgents who had been soldiers, and who are therefore looked upon as doubly culpable. All sorts of uniforms were there, dirty and tattered for the most part. There were thirteen artillerymen from one battery. A tall man with a pale face and his head bound up, of smart soldierly figure, and who walked briskly and confidently in spite of suffering and degradation, was pointed out to us. He was an artil