The History of a Crime: The Testimony of an Eye-WitnessHugo, Victor
History
The History of a Crime: The Testimony of an Eye-Witness
Hugo, Victor
France -- History -- 1789-1900
Piétri had answered,--
"Then there will be 50,000 francs."
This communication, accompanied by urgent prayers, had been made to me
by Yvan in the Rue de Monthabor, while we were still at Dupont White's.
This said, I continue my story.
The massacre of the 4th did not produce the whole of its effect until
the next day, the 5th. The impulse given by us to the resistance still
lasted for some hours, and at nightfall, in the labyrinth of houses
ranging from the Rue du Petit Carreau to the Rue du Temple, there was
fighting. The Pagevin, Neuve Saint Eustache, Montorgueil, Rambuteau,
Beaubourg, and Transnonain barricades were gallantly defended. There,
there was an impenetrable network of streets and crossways barricaded by
the People, surrounded by the Army.
The assault was merciless and furious.
The barricade of the Rue Montorgueil was one of those which held out the
longest. A battalion and artillery was needed to carry it. At the last
moment it was only defended by three men, two shop-clerks and a
lemonade-seller of an adjoining street. When the assault began the night
was densely dark, and the three combatants escaped. But they were
surrounded. No outlets. Not one door was open. They climbed the grated
gateway of the Passage Verdeau as Jeanty Sarre and Charpentier had
scaled the Passage du Saumon, had jumped over, and had fled down the
Passage. But the other grated gateway was closed, and like Jeanty Sarre
and Charpentier they had no time to climb it. Besides, they heard the
soldiers corning on both sides. In a corner at the entrance of the
Passage there were a few planks which had served to close a stall, and
which the stall-keeper was in the habit of putting there. They hid
themselves beneath these planks.
The soldiers who had taken the barricade, after having searched the
streets, bethought themselves of searching the Passage. They also
climbed over the grated gateway, looked about everywhere with lanterns,
and found nothing They were going away, when one of them perceived the
foot of one of these three unfortunate men which was projecting from
beneath the planks.
They killed all three of them on the spot with bayonet-thrusts. They
cried out, "Kill us at once! Shoot us! Do not prolong our misery."
The neighboring shop-keepers heard these cries, but dared not open their
doors or their windows, for fear, as one of them said the next day,
"that they should do the same to them."
The execution at an end, the executioners left the three victims lying
in a pool of blood on the pavement of the Passage. One of those
unfortunate men did not die until eight o'clock next morning.
No one had dared to ask for mercy; no one had dared to bring any help.
They left them to die there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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