Paris under the Commune: The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs)Leighton, John
History
Paris under the Commune: The Seventy-Three Days of the Second Siege; with Numerous Illustrations, Sketches Taken on the Spot, and Portraits (from the Original Photographs)
Leighton, John
Paris (France) -- History -- Commune, 1871
At the same moment an attempt was made to set fire to the MINISTRY OF
MARINE, in obedience to an order given to Commandant Brunel, which was
thus worded:—“In a quarter of an hour the Tuileries will be in flames;
as soon as our wounded are removed, you will cause the explosion of the
Ministry.” It was Admiral Pothuau, the minister himself, who, at the
head of a handful of sailors, set the incendiaries to flight, Brunel
along with them. They also arrived in time to prevent any damage being
done to the BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE.
The struggle was terrific during the night; the insurgents, who had
sought refuge in the Ministry of Finance, after the taking of the
barricade in the Rue Saint-Florentin, increased the fury of the flames
by firing from the windows, and discharging jets of petroleum at the
soldiers.
On Wednesday morning the battle had become fearful. Towards ten o’clock
columns of smoke rose above Paris, forming a thick cloud, which the
sun’s rays could not penetrate. Then, simultaneously, all the fires
burst forth: at the CONSEIL D’ETAT, at the LEGION OF HONOUR, at the
CAISSE DES DÉPÔTS ET CONSIGNATIONS. at the HÔTEL DE VILLE, at the
PALAIS ROYAL, at the MINISTRY OF FINANCE, at the PREFECTURE DE POLICE,
at the PALAIS DE JUSTICE, at the THÉÂTRE LYRIQUE, in the Rue du Bac,
the Rue de Lille, the Rue de la Croix-Rouge, Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs,
in a great number of houses in the Faubourgs Saint-Germain and
Saint-Honoré, in the Rue Royale, and in the Rue Boissy d’Anglas. Not
many hours later, flames were seen to arise from the Avenue Victoria,
Boulevard Sébastopol, Rue Saint-Martin, at the Château d’Eau, in the
Rue Saint-Antoine, and the Rue de Rivoli.
During the night of Friday, the docks of LA VILLETTE, and the
warehouses of the DOUANE, the GRENIER D’ABONDANCE and the GOBELINS were
all burning! So great was the glare that small print could be read as
far off as Versailles, even on that side of the town towards Meudon and
Ville d’Avray.
THE DOME OF THE INVALIDES.—This was placed in imminent danger. Mines
were laid on all sides, but their positions were discovered, and the
electric wires out which were to have communicated the spark.
THE PLACE DE LA CONCORDE.—When the noise of the fusillade and
cannonading ceased, the Place de la Concorde was a scene of absolute
desolation. On all sides lay broken pieces of candelabra, balustrades,
paving-stones, asphalte, and heaps of earth. The water-nymphs and
Tritons of the fountains were much mutilated, and the statue of the
town of Lille—one of the eight gigantic, seated figures of the
principal towns of France, which form a prominent ornament to the
Place, the work of Pradier, and a likeness of one of the Orleans
princesses-lay shivered on the ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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