On the 1st April he officially announced war. "The Assembly," he telegraphed to the prefects, "is sitting at Versailles, where the organisation of one of the finest armies that France has ever possessed is being completed. Good citizens may then take heart and hope for the end of a struggle which will be sad but short." A cynical boast of that same bourgeoisie which had refused to organise armies against the Prussians. "One of the finest armies," was as yet only the rabble of the 18th March, strengthened by five or six regiments; about 35,000 men, with 3,000 horses, and 5,000 gendarmes or sergents-de-ville, the only corps that had any solidity. Paris would not believe in the existence even of this army. The popular papers demanded a sortie, speaking of the journey to Versailles as a promenade. The most impetuous was the _Vengeur_, in which Felix Pyat furiously shook his cap and bells. He exhorted the Commune "to press Versailles. Poor Versailles! it no longer remembers the 5th and 6th October, 1789, when the women of the Commune alone sufficed to catch its king." On the morning of Sunday the 2nd April the same member of the Executive Commission announced to Paris: "Yesterday at Versailles the soldiers, requested to vote by _aye_ or _no_ if they were to march on Paris, answered No!" FOOTNOTES: [107] Ad. Adam, Meline, Rochard, Barre (1st arrondissement, Louvre); Brelay, Loiseau-Pinson, Tirard, Cheron (2nd, Bourse); Ch. Murat (3rd, Temple); A. Le Roy, Robinet (6th, Luxembourg); Desmarets, E. Ferry, Nast (9th, Opera); Marmottan, De Bouteillier (16th, Passy). [108] Goupil (6th, Luxembourg); E. Lefevre (7th, Palais-Bourbon); A. Ranc, U. Parent (9th, Opera). [109] Demay, A. Arnaud, Pindy, C. Dupont (3rd, Temple); A. Arnould, Lefrancais, Clemence, E. Gerardin (4th, Hotel-de-Ville); Regere, Jourde, Tridon, Blanchet, Ledroit (5th, Pantheon); Beslay, Varlin (6th, Luxembourg); Parizel, Urbain, Brunel (7th, Palais-Bourbon); Raoul Rigault, Vaillant, A. Arnould, Alix (8th, Champs-Elysees); Gambon, Felix, Pyat, H. Fortune, Champy, Babick, Rastoul (10th, Enclos St. Laurent); Mortier, Delescluze, Assi, Protot, Eudes, Avrial, Verdure (11th, Popincourt); Varlin, Geresme, Theisz, Fruneau (12th, Reuilly); Leo Meillet, Duval, Chardon, Frankel (13th, Gobelins); Billioray, Martelet, Decamp (14th, Observatoire); V. Clement, J. Valles, Langevin (15th, Vaugirard); Varlin, E. Clement, Ch. Gerardin, Chalain, Malon (17th, Batignolles); Blanqui, Theisz, Dereure, J. B. Clement, Ferre, Vermorel, P. Grousset (18th, Montmartre); Oudet, Puget, Delescluze, J. Miot, Ostyn, Flourens (19th, Buttes-Chaumont); Bergeret, Ranvier, Flourens, Blanqui (20th, Menilmontant). Blanqui had been arrested in the South of France, where he had gone for the sake of his health. [110] See Appendix III. CHAPTER XII. SORTIE OF THE THIRD APRIL--THE PARISIANS ARE REPULSED EVERYWHERE--FLOURENS AND DUVAL ARE KILLED--THE VERSAILLESE MASSACRE SOME PRISONERS.