Chapter XIII: The Bitter End (11)

"Yes, _mon general_," I answered, saluting. "You gave me permission through, I think, Monsieur le Commandant de Boisdeffre."

He nodded pleasantly as we withdrew, then lapsed into a thoughtful attitude.

Out we went, down through old Laval and towards the new town, my father carrying the safe-conduct in his hand. The Gendarmes must have already told people that we were "all right," for we now encountered only pleasant faces. Nevertheless, we handed the safe-conduct to one party of National Guards for their inspection, in order that their minds might be quite at rest. That occurred outside the hospital, where at that moment I little imagined that a young Englishman--a volunteer in the Sixth Battalion of the Cotes-du-Nord Mobile Guards (21st Army Corps)--was lying invalided by a chill, which he had caught during an ascent in our army balloon with Gaston Tissandier. Since then that young Englishman has become famous as Field-Marshal Viscount Kitchener of Khartoum.

But the National Guards insisted on carrying my father and myself to the chief cafe of Laval. They would take no refusal. In genuine French fashion, they were all anxiety to offer some amends for their misplaced patriotic impulsiveness that afternoon, when they had threatened, first, to shoot, and, next, to drown us. In lieu thereof they now deluged us with punch _a la francaise_, and as the cafe soon became crowded with other folk who all joined our party, there ensued a scene which almost suggested that some glorious victory had been gained at last by invaded and unfortunate France.

XIII

THE BITTER END

Battues for Deserters--End of the Operations against Chanzy--Faidherbe's Battles--Bourbaki's alleged Victories and Retreat--The Position in Paris-- The terrible Death Rate--State of the Paris Army--The Sanguinary Buzenval Sortie--Towards Capitulation--The German Conditions--The Armistice Provisions--Bourbaki's Disaster--Could the War have been prolonged?--The Resources of France--The general Weariness--I return to Paris--The Elections for a National Assembly--The Negotiations--The State of Paris-- The Preliminaries of Peace--The Triumphal Entry of the Germans--The War's Aftermath.

We remained for a few days longer at Laval, and were not again interfered with there. A painful interest attached to one sight which we witnessed more than once. It was that of the many processions of deserters whom the horse Gendarmerie of the headquarters staff frequently brought into the town. The whole region was scoured for runaways, many of whom were found in the villages and at lonely farms. They had generally cast off their uniform and put on blouses, but the peasantry frequently betrayed them, particularly as they seldom, if ever, had any money to spend in bribes. Apart from those _battues_ and the measures of all kinds which Chanzy took to reorganise his army, little of immediate import occurred at Laval. Gambetta had been there, and had then departed for Lille in order to ascertain the condition of Faidherbe's Army of the North. The German pursuit of Chanzy's forces ceased virtually at Saint Jean-sur-Erve. There was just another little skirmish at Sainte Melaine, but that was all. [I should add that on January 17 the Germans under Mecklenburg secured possession of Alengon (Chanty's original objective) alter an ineffectual resistance offered by the troops under Commandant Lipowski, who was seconded in his endeavours by young M. Antonin Dubost, then Prefect of the Orne, and recently President of the French Senate.] Accordingly my father and I returned to Saint Servan, and, having conjointly prepared some articles on Chanzy's retreat and present circumstances, forwarded them to London for the _Pall Mall Gazette_.

The war was now fast drawing to an end. I have hitherto left several important occurrences unmentioned, being unwilling to interrupt my narrative of the fighting at Le Mans and the subsequent retreat. I feel, however, that I now ought to glance at the state of affairs in other parts of France. I have just mentioned that after visiting Chanzy at Laval (January 19), Gambetta repaired to Lille to confer with Faidherbe. Let us see, then, what the latter general had been doing. He was no longer opposed by Manteuffel, who had been sent to the east of France in the hope that he would deal more effectually than Werder with Bourbaki's army, which was still in the field there. Manteuffel's successor in the north was General von Goeben, with whom, on January 18, Faidherbe fought an engagement at Vermand, followed on the morrow by the battle of Saint Quentin, which was waged for seven hours amidst thaw and fog. Though it was claimed as a French victory, it was not one. The Germans, it is true, lost 2500 men, but the French killed and wounded amounted to 3500, and there were thousands of men missing, the Germans taking some 5000 prisoners, whilst other troops disbanded much as Chanzy's men disbanded during his retreat. From a strategical point of view the action at Saint Quentin was indecisive.

Turning to eastern France, Bourbaki fought two indecisive engagements near Villersexel, south-east of Vesoul, on January 9 and 10, and claimed the victory on these occasions. On January 13 came another engagement at Arcey, which he also claimed as a success, being congratulated upon it by Gambetta. The weather was most severe in the region of his operations, and the sufferings of his men were quite as great as--if not greater than-- those of Chanzy's troops. There were nights when men lay down to sleep, and never awoke again. On January 15,16, and 17 there was a succession of engagements on the Lisaine, known collectively as the battle of Hericourt. These actions resulted in Bourbaki's retreat southward towards Besancon, where for the moment we will leave him, in order to consider the position of Paris at this juncture.

Since the beginning of the year, the day of the capital's surrender had been fast approaching. Paris actually fell because its supply of food was virtually exhausted. On January 18 it became necessary to ration the bread, now a dark, sticky compound, which included such ingredients as bran, starch, rice, barley, vermicelli, and pea-flour. About ten ounces was allotted per diem to each adult, children under five years of age receiving half that quantity. But the health-bill of the city was also a contributory cause of the capitulation. In November there were 7444 deaths among the non-combatant population, against 3863 in November, 1869. The death-roll of December rose to 10,665, against 4214 in December the previous year. In January, between sixty and seventy persons died from small-pox every day. Bronchitis and pneumonia made an ever-increasing number of victims. From January 14 to January 21 the mortality rose to no less than 4465; from the latter date until January 28, the day of the capitulation, the figures were 4671, whereas in normal times they had never been more than 1000 in any week.

Among the troops the position was going from bad to worse. Thousands of men were in the hospitals, and thousands contrived to desert and hide themselves in the city. Out of 100,705 linesmen, there were, on January 1, no fewer than 23,938 absentees; while 23,565 units were absent from the Mobile Guard, which, on paper, numbered 111,999. Briefly, one man out of every five was either a patient or a deserter. As for the German bombardment, this had some moral but very little material effect. Apart from the damage done to buildings, it killed (as I previously said) about one hundred and wounded about two hundred persons.

The Government now had little if any confidence in the utility of any further sorties. Nevertheless, as the extremist newspapers still clamoured for one, it was eventually decided to attack the German positions across the Seine, on the west of the city. This sortie, commonly called that of Buzenval, took place on January 10, the day after King William of Prussia had been proclaimed German Emperor in Louis XIV's "Hall of Mirrors" at Versailles. [The decision to raise the King to the imperial dignity had been arrived at on January 1.] Without doubt, the Buzenval sortie was devised chiefly in order to give the National Guard the constantly demanded opportunity and satisfaction of being led against the Germans. Trochu, who assumed chief command, establishing himself at the fort of Mont Valerien, divided his forces into three columns, led by Generals Vinoy, Bellemare, and Ducrot. The first (the left wing) comprised 22,000 men, including 8000 National Guards; the second (the central column) 34,500 men, including 16,000 Guards; and the third (the right wing) 33,500 men, among whom were no fewer than 18,000 Guards. Thus the total force was about 90,000, the National Guards representing about a third of that number. Each column had with it ten batteries, representing for the entire force 180 guns. The French front, however, extended over a distance of nearly four miles, and the army's real strength was thereby diminished. There was some fairly desperate fighting at Saint Cloud, Montretout, and Longboyau, but the French were driven back after losing 4000 men, mostly National Guards, whereas the German losses were only about six hundred.

The affair caused consternation in Paris, particularly as several prominent men had fallen in the ranks of the National Guard. On the night of January 21, some extremists forced their way into the prison of Mazas and delivered some of their friends who had been shut up there since the rising of October 31. On the morrow, January 22, there was a demonstration and an affray on the Place de l'Hotel de Ville, shots being exchanged with the result that people were killed and wounded. The Government gained the day, however, and retaliated by closing the revolutionary clubs and suppressing some extremist newspapers. But four hours later Trochu resigned his position as Military Governor of Paris (in which he was replaced by General Vinoy), only retaining the Presidency of the Government. Another important incident had occurred on the very evening after the insurrection: Jules Favre, the Foreign Minister, had then forwarded a letter to Prince Bismarck.

The Government's first idea had been merely to surrender--that is to open the city-gates and let the Germans enter at their peril. It did not wish to negotiate or sign any capitulation. Jules Favre indicated as much when, writing to Bismarck, and certainly the proposed course might have placed the Germans--with the eyes of the world fixed upon them--in a difficult position. But Favre was no match for the great Prussian statesman. Formal negotiations were soon opened, and Bismarck so contrived affairs that, as Gambetta subsequently and rightly complained, the convention which Favre signed applied far more to France as a whole than to Paris itself. In regard to the city, the chief conditions were that a war indemnity of L8,000,000 should be paid; that the forts round the city should be occupied by the Germans; that the garrison--Line, Mobile Guard, and Naval Contingent (altogether about 180,000 men)--should become prisoners of war; and that the armament (1500 fortress guns and 400 field pieces) should be surrendered, as well as the large stores of ammunition. On the other hand, a force of 12,000 men was left to the French Government for "police duty" in the city, and the National Guards were, at Favre's urgent but foolish request, allowed to retain their arms. Further, the city was to be provisioned. In regard to France generally, arrangements were made for an armistice of twenty-one days' duration, in order to allow of the election of a National Assembly to treat for peace. In these arrangements Favre and Vinoy (the new Governor of Paris) were out-jockeyed by Bismarck and Moltke. They were largely ignorant of the real position in the provinces, and consented to very disadvantageous terms in regard to the lines which the Germans and the French should respectively occupy during the armistice period. Moreover, although it was agreed that hostilities should cease on most points, no such stipulation was made respecting the east of France, where both Bourbaki and Garibaldi were in the field.

The latter had achieved some slight successes near Dijon on January 21 and 23, but on February 1--that is, two days after the signing of the armistice--the Garibaldians were once more driven out of the Burgundian capital. That, however, was as nothing in comparison with what befell Bourbaki's unfortunate army. Manteuffel having compelled it to retreat from Besancon to Pontarlier, it was next forced to withdraw into Switzerland [Before this happened, Bourbaki attempted his life.] (neutral territory, where it was necessarily disarmed by the Swiss authorities) in order to escape either capture or annihilation by the Germans. The latter took some 6000 prisoners, before the other men (about 80,000 in number) succeeded in crossing the Swiss frontier. A portion of the army was saved, however, by General Billot. With regard to the position elsewhere, Longwy, I should mention, surrendered three days before the capitulation of Paris; but Belfort prolonged its resistance until February 13, when all other hostilities had ceased. Its garrison, so gallantly commanded by Colonel Denfert-Bochereau, was accorded the honours of war.

As I wrote in my book, "Republican France," the country generally was weary of the long struggle; and only Gambetta, Freycinet, and a few military men, such as Chanzy and Faidherbe, were in favour of prolonging it. From the declaration of war on July 15 to the capitulation of Paris and the armistice on January 28, the contest had lasted twenty-eight weeks. Seven of those weeks had sufficed to overthrow the Second Empire; but only after another one-and-twenty weeks had the Third Republic laid down her arms. Whatever may have been the blunders of the National Defence, it at least saved the honour of France,

It may well be doubted whether the position could have been retrieved had the war been prolonged, though undoubtedly the country was still possessed of many resources. In "Republican France," I gave a number of figures which showed that over 600,000 men could have been brought into action almost immediately, and that another 260,000 could afterwards have been provided. On February 8, when Chanzy had largely reorganized his army, he, alone, had under his orders 4952 officers and 227,361 men, with 430 guns. That careful and distinguished French military historian, M. Pierre Lehautcourt, places, however, the other resources of France at even a higher figure than I did. He also points out, rightly enough, that although so large a part of France was invaded, the uninvaded territory was of greater extent, and inhabited by twenty-five millions of people. He estimates the total available artillery on the French side at 1232 guns, each with an average allowance of 242 projectiles. In addition, there were 443 guns awaiting projectiles. He tells us that the French ordnance factories were at this period turning out on an average 25,000 chassepots every month, and delivering two million cartridges every day; whilst other large supplies of weapons and ammunition were constantly arriving from abroad. On the other hand, there was certainly a scarcity of horses, the mortality of which in this war, as in all others, was very great. Chanzy only disposed of 20,000, and the remount service could only supply another 12,000. However, additional animals might doubtless have been found in various parts of France, or procured from abroad.

But material resources, however great they may be, are of little avail when a nation has practically lost heart. In spite, moreover, of all the efforts of commanding officers, insubordination was rampant among the troops in the field. There had been so many defeats, so many retreats, that they had lost all confidence in their generals. During the period of the armistice, desertions were still numerous. I may add, that if at the expiration of the armistice the struggle had been renewed, Chanzy's plan-- which received approval at a secret military and Government council held in Paris, whither he repaired early in February--was to place General de Colomb at the head of a strong force for the defence of Brittany, whilst he, Chanzy, would, with his own army, cross the Loire and defend southern France.

Directly news arrived that an armistice had been signed, and that Paris was once more open, my father arranged to return there, accompanied by myself and my younger brother, Arthur Vizetelly. We took with us, I remember, a plentiful supply of poultry and other edibles for distribution among the friends who had been suffering from the scarcity of provisions during the latter days of the siege. The elections for the new National Assembly were just over, nearly all of the forty-three deputies returned for Paris being Republicans, though throughout the rest of France Legitimist and Orleanist candidates were generally successful. I remember that just before I left Saint Servan one of our tradesmen, an enthusiastic Royalist, said to me, "We shall have a King on the throne by the time you come back to see us in the summer." At that moment it certainly seemed as if such would be the case. As for the Empire, one could only regard it as dead. There were, I think, merely five recognized Bonapartist members in the whole of the new National Assembly, and most of them came from Corsica. Thus, it was by an almost unanimous vote that the Assembly declared Napoleon III and his dynasty to be responsible for the "invasion, ruin, and dismemberment of France."

The Assembly having called Thiers to the position of "Chief of the Executive Power," peace negotiations ensued between him and Bismarck. They began on February 22, Thiers being assisted by Jules Favre, who retained the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, mainly because nobody else would take it and append his signature to a treaty which was bound to be disastrous for the country. The chief conditions of that treaty will be remembered. Germany was to annex Alsace-Lorraine, to receive a war indemnity of two hundred million pounds sterling (with interest in addition), and secure commercially "most favoured nation" treatment from France. The preliminaries were signed on February 26, and accepted by the National Assembly on March 1, but the actual treaty of Frankfort was not signed and ratified until the ensuing month of May.

Paris presented a sorry spectacle during the weeks which followed the armistice. There was no work for the thousands of artisans who had become National Guards during the siege. Their allowance as such was prolonged in order that they might at least have some means of subsistence. But the unrest was general. By the side of the universal hatred of the Germans, which was displayed on all sides, even finding vent in the notices set up in the shop-windows to the effect that no Germans need apply there, one observed a very bitter feeling towards the new Government. Thiers had been an Orleanist all his life, and among the Paris working-classes there was a general feeling that the National Assembly would give France a king. This feeling tended to bring about the subsequent bloody Insurrection of the Commune; but, as I wrote in "Republican France," it was precisely the Commune which gave the French Royalists a chance. It placed a weapon in their hands and enabled them to say, "You see, by that insurrection, by all those terrible excesses, what a Republic implies. Order, quietude, fruitful work, are only possible under a monarchy." As we know, however, the efforts of the Royalists were defeated, in part by the obstinacy of their candidate, the Comte de Chambord, and in part by the good behaviour of the Republicans generally, as counselled both by Thiers and by Gambetta.

On March 1, the very day when the National Assembly ratified the preliminaries of peace at Bordeaux, the Germans made their triumphal entry into Paris. Four or five days previously my father had sent me on a special mission to Bordeaux, and it was then that after long years I again set eyes on Garibaldi, who had been elected as a French deputy, but who resigned his seat in consequence of the onerous terms of peace. Others, notably Gambetta, did precisely the same, by way of protesting against the so-called "Devil's Treaty." However, I was back in Paris in time to witness the German entry into the city. My father, my brother Arthur, and myself were together in the Champs Elysees on that historical occasion. I have related elsewhere [In "Republican France."] how a number of women of the Paris Boulevards were whipped in the Champs Elysees shrubberies by young roughs, who, not unnaturally, resented the shameless overtures made by these women to the German soldiery. There were, however, some unfortunate mistakes that day, as, for instance, when an attempt was made to ill-treat an elderly lady who merely spoke to the Germans in the hope of obtaining some information respecting her son, then still a prisoner of war. I remember also that Archibald Forbes was knocked down and kicked for returning the salute of the Crown Prince of Saxony. Some of the English correspondents who hurried to the scene removed Forbes to a little hotel in the Faubourg St. Honore, for he had really been hurt by that savage assault, though it did not prevent him from penning a graphic account of what he witnessed on that momentous day.

The German entry was, on the whole, fairly imposing as a military display; but the stage-management was very bad, and one could not imagine that Napoleon's entry into Berlin had in any way resembled it. Nor could it be said to have equalled the entry of the Allied Sovereigns into Paris in 1814. German princelings in basket-carriages drawn by ponies did not add to the dignity of the spectacle. Moreover, both the Crown Prince of Saxony and the Crown Prince of Germany (Emperor Frederick) attended it in virtually an _incognito_ manner. As for the Emperor William, his councillors dissuaded him from entering the city for fear lest there should be trouble there. I believe also that neither Bismarck nor Moltke attended, though, like the Emperor, they both witnessed the preliminary review of troops in the Bois de Boulogne. The German occupation was limited to the Champs Elysees quarter, and on the first day the Parisians generally abstained from going there; but on the morrow--when news that the preliminaries of peace had been accepted at Bordeaux had reached the capital--they flocked to gaze upon _nos amis les ennemis_, and greatly enjoyed, I believe, the lively music played by the German regimental bands. "Music hath charms," as we are all aware. The departure of the German troops on the ensuing evening was of a much more spectacular character than their entry had been. As with their bands playing, whilst they themselves sang the "Wacht am Rhein" in chorus, they marched up the Champs Elysees on their way back to Versailles, those of their comrades who were still billeted in the houses came to the balconies with as many lighted candles as they could carry. Bivouac fires, moreover, were burning brightly here and there, and the whole animated scene, with its play of light and shade under the dark March sky, was one to be long remembered.

The Franco-German War was over, and a new era had begun for Europe. The balance of power was largely transferred. France had again ceased to be the predominant continental state. She had attained to that position for a time under Louis XIV, and later, more conspicuously, under Napoleon I. But in both of those instances vaulting ambition had o'er-leapt itself. The purposes of Napoleon III were less far-reaching. Such ideas of aggrandisement as he entertained were largely subordinated to his desire to consolidate the _regime_ he had revived, and to ensure the continuity of his dynasty. But the very principle of nationality which he more than once expounded, and which he championed in the case of Italy, brought about his ruin. He gave Italy Venetia, but refused her Rome, and thereby alienated her. Further, the consolidation of Germany--from his own nationalist point of view--became a threat to French interests. Thus he was hoist chiefly by his own _petard_, and France paid the penalty for his errors.

The Franco-German War was over, I have said, but there came a terrible aftermath--that is, the rising of the Commune, some of the introductory features of which were described by me in "Republican France." There is only one fairly good history of that formidable insurrection in the English language--one written some years ago by Mr. Thomas March. It is, however, a history from the official standpoint, and is consequently one-sided as well as inaccurate in certain respects. Again, the English version of the History of the Commune put together by one of its partisans, Lissagaray, sins in the other direction. An impartial account of the rising remains to be written. If I am spared I may, perhaps, be privileged to contribute to it by preparing a work on much the same lines as those of this present volume. Not only do I possess the greater part of the literature on the subject, including many of the newspapers of the time, but throughout the insurrection I was in Paris or its suburbs.

I sketched the dead bodies of Generals Clement Thomas and Lecomte only a few hours after their assassination. I saw the Vendome column fall while American visitors to Paris were singing, "Hail, Columbia!" in the hotels of the Rue de la Paix. I was under fire in the same street when a demonstration was made there. Provided with passports by both sides, I went in and out of the city and witnessed the fighting at Asnieres and elsewhere. I attended the clubs held in the churches, when women often perorated from the pulpits. I saw Thiers's house being demolished; and when the end came and the Versailles troops made their entry into the city, I was repeatedly in the street-fighting with my good friend, Captain Bingham. I recollect sketching the attack on the Elysee Palace from a balcony of our house, and finding that balcony on the pavement a few hours later when it had been carried away by a shell from a Communard battery at Montmartre. Finally, I saw Paris burning. I gazed on the sheaves of flames rising above the Tuileries. I saw the whole front of the Ministry of Finances fall into the Rue de Rivoli. I saw the now vanished Carrefour de la Croix Rouge one blaze of fire. I helped to carry water to put out the conflagration at the Palais de Justice. I was prodded with a bayonet when, after working in that manner for some hours, I attempted to shirk duty at another fire which I came upon in the course of my expeditions. All that period of my life flashes on my mind as vividly as Paris herself flashed under the wondering stars of those balmy nights in May.

My father and my brother Arthur also had some remarkable adventures. There was one occasion when they persuaded a venturesome Paris cabman to drive them from conflagration to conflagration, and this whilst the street-fighting was still in progress. Every now and then, as they drove on, men and women ran eagerly out of houses into which wounded combatants had been taken, imagining that they must belong to the medical profession, as nobody else was likely to go about Paris in such a fashion at such a moment. Those good folk forgot the journalists. The service of the Press carries with it obligations which must not be shirked. Journalism has become, not merely the chronicle of the day, but the foundation of history. And now I know not if I should say farewell or _au revoir_ to my readers. Whether I ever attempt a detailed account of the Commune of Paris must depend on a variety of circumstances. After three-and-forty years "at the mill," I am inclined to feel tired, and with me health is not what it has been. Nevertheless, my plans must depend chiefly on the reception given to this present volume.

INDEX

Adam, Edmond
Adare, Lord
Albert, Archduke
Albert, Prince (the elder), of Prussia
Alencon taken
Alexander II of Russia
Alexandra, Queen
Allix, Jules
Amazons of Paris
Ambert, General
Ambulances, Anglo-American
at Conlie
at Le Mans
author's impression of
Amiens
Arabs with Chanzy
Arago, Emmanuel
Etienne
Ardenay,
Armistice, conditions for an
concluded
Army, French, under the Empire
of Paris, _see also_ Paris
of Brittany
at the outset of National Defence
of the Vosges, _see also_ Garibaldi
of the East, _see also_ Bourbaki
of the Loire, _see also_ D'Aurelle, Goulmiers,
Chanzy, Le Mans, etc.
of the North, _see_ Faidheibe
at the end of war
_for German army see_ German _and names of commanders_
Arnim, Count von
Artists, French newspaper
Assembly, _see_ National
Aurelle, _see_ D'Aurelle
Auvours plateau (Le Mans)

Balloon service from Paris
Bapauine, battle of
Barry, General
Battues for deserters
Bazaine, Marshal
Beauce country
Beaumont, fight at
Beaune-la-Rolande, battle of
Belfort, siege of
Bellemare, General Carre de
Bellenger, Marguerite
Belly, Felix
Beraud, Colonel
Bernard, Colonel
Berezowski
Beuvron, Abbe de
Billot, General
Bingham, Captain Hon. D.A.
Bismarck, Prince
Blano, Louis
Blanchard, P.
Blanqui, Augusta,
Blewitt, Dr. Byron
Boisdeffre, Captain, later General de
Bonaparte, Lycee, _see_ Lycee
Bonaparte, Prince Pierre, _See also_ Napoleon
Bonnemains, General de
Boots, army
Bordone, General
Borel, General
Boulanger, General, his mistress
Bourbaki, General Charles
Bourbon, Palais, _see_ Legislative Body
Bourdillon, General
Bourges,
Bourget, Le,
Bower, Mr.,
Bowles, T. Gibson,
Brie-Comte-Robert,
Brownings, the,
Bulwer, Sir E.,

Caillaux, E. and J.,
Cambriels, General,
Canrobert, Marshal,
Capitulations, see Amiens, Belfort, Longwy, Metz, Paris, Sedan,
Strasbourg, Toul, etc.
Capoul, Victor,
Caricatures of the period,
Casimir-Perler, J.P.,
Cathelineau, Colonel,
Chabaud-Latour, General,
Challemel-Lacour,
Cham (M. de Noe),
Chambord, Comte de,
Champagne, fighting at,
Champigny, sortie of,
Change, fighting at,
Chanzy, General Alfred,
his early career and appearance,
his orders and operations with the Loire forces,
Charette, General Baron,
Chartres,
"Chartreuse de Parme, La",
Chassille, fight at,
Chateaubriand, Count and Countess de
Chateaudun, fight at,
Chatillon, fight at,
Chemin des Boeufs (Le Mans),
"Claque," the,
Claremont, Colonel,
Clocks, German love of,
Clubs, Paris,
social
revolutionary
Colin, General,
Collins, Mortimer,
Colomb, General de,
Colomb, General von,
Commune of Paris,
attempts to set up a
rising of the
Conde, Prince de,
Conlie, camp of,
Connerre,
Corbeil, Germans at,
Correspondents, English, in Paris,
Coulmiers, battle of,
Couriers from Paris,
Cousin-Montauban, see Palikao.
Cowardice and panic, cases of,
Crane, Stephen,
Cremer, General,
Cremieux, Adolphe,
Crouzat, General,
Crown Prince of Prussia (Emperor Frederick),
Curten, General,

Daily News,
Daily Telegraph,
Daumier, Honore,
D'Aurelle de Paladines, General,
Davenport brothers,
"Debacle, La," Zola's,
Dejean, General,
Delescluze, Charles,
Denfert-Rochereau, Colonel,
Des Pallieres, General Martin,
Devonshire, late Duke of,
Dieppe, Germans reach,
Dijon, fighting at,
Dore, Gustave,
Dorian, Frederic,
D'Orsay, Count,
Douay,
General Abel;
General Felix,
"Downfall, the," see Debacle.
Droue, fight at,
Dubost, Antonin,
Ducrot, General,
Duff, Brigadier-General (U.S.A.),
Dumas, Alexandre,
Dunraven, Lord, see Adare.
Duvernois, Clement,

"Echoes of the Clubs"
Edwardes, Mrs. Annie
Elgar, Dr. Francis
Elysee Palace
Emotions in war
Empress, _see_ Eugenie.
English attempts to leave Paris
exodus from
Eugenie, Empress

Faidherbe, General
Failly, General de
Fashions, Paris
Favre, Jules
Feilding, Major-General
Fennell family
Ferry, Jules
Fitz-James, Duc de
Flourens, Gustave
Forbach, battle of
Forbes, Archibald
Forge, Anatole de la
Fourichon, Admiral
Franco-German War
cause and origin of
preparations for
outbreak of
first French armies
departure of Napoleon III for
Germans enter France
first engagements
news of Sedan
troops gathered in Paris
German advance on Paris
Chatillon affair
investment of Paris
French provincial armies
the fighting near Le Mans
the retreat to Laval
armistice and peace negotiations
_See also Paris, and names of battles and commanders_.
Frederick, Emperor, _see_ Crown Prince,
Frederick Charles, Prince, of Prussia
Freyoinet, Charles de Saulces de,
Frossard, General

Galliffet, Mme. de
Gambetta, Leon
Garde, _see_ Imperial, Mobile, _and_ National.
Garibaldi, General
Garibaldi, Riciotti
Garnier-Pages
Germans
early victories
alleged overthrow at Jaumont
Sedan
advance on Paris
expelled from Paris
love of clocks
Princes
strategy
exactions at Le Mans
officers' manners
entry into Paris
Glais-Bizoin
Godard brothers
Goeben, General von
Gougeard, General
Gramont, Duc Agenor de
Gramont-Caderousse, Duc de
Greenwood, Frederick
Guard, _see_ Imperial, Mobile, National.

Halliday, Andrew
Hazen, General W. B. (U.S.A.)
Heiduck, General von
Hericourt, battle of
Home, David Dunglass
Horses in the War
Hozier, Captain, later Colonel, Sir H.
Hugo, Victor

_Illustrated London News_
_Illustrated Times_
Imperial Guard
Imperial Prince

Jarras, General
Jaumont quarries
Jauregulberry, Admiral
Jaures, Admiral
Jerrold, Blanchard
Johnson, Captain
Jouffroy, General
Jung, Captain

Kanitz, Colonel von
Kean, Edmund
Keratry, Comte de
Kitchener, Lord
Kraatz-Koschlau, General von

Laboughere, Henry,
Ladmirault, General de
La Ferte-Bernard
Lalande, General
La Malmaison sortie
La Motte-Rouge, General de
Landells
Langres
Laon, capitulation of
Laval, retreat on
adventure at
Leboeuf, Marshal
Lebouedec, General
Lebrun, General
Lecomte, General
Ledru-Rollin
Le Flo, General
Lefort, General
Legislative Body, French (Palais Bourbon)
Le Mans
Chanzy at
town described
country around
fighting near
decisive fighting begins
retreat from
battle losses at
street fighting at
Germans at
their exactions
Chanzy's statue at
Lermina, Jules
Lewal, Colonel
Lipowski, Commandant
Lobbia, Colonel
Loigny-Poupry, battle
Longwy, capitulation
Lycee Bonaparte, now Condorcet
Lyons, Lord

MacMahon, Marshal
Mme. de
Magnin, M.
Maine country
Malmaison, _see_ La Malmaison
Mans, _see_ Le Mans
Mantes, Germans at
Manteuffel, General von
Marchenoir forest
Mario, Jessie White
Marseillaise, the
Mayhew, brothers
Mazure, General
Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick Francis, Grand Duke of
Metz
Michel, General
Millaud, A., his verses
Middleton, Robert
Mobile Guard,
in Paris
Moltke, Marshal von
Monson, Sir Edmund
Montbard, artist
Mora, Colonel
Morny, Duc de
Motte Rouge, _see_ La Motte-Rouge
Moulin, artist

Nadar, Jules Tournachon, called
Napoleon I
Napoleon III,
Napoleon (Jerome), Prince
National Assembly elected
National Defence Government
confirmed by a plebiscitum
in the provinces
National Guard (Paris)
of Chateaudun
of Laval
_New York Times_
Niel, Marshal
Noe, Vicomte de, _see_ Cham.
Nogent-le-Rotrou
Noir, Victor, assassinated
Nuits, fighting at

Ollivier, Emile;
Madame
Orleans;
battle of

Paladines, see D'Aurelle
Palikao, General de
_Pall Mall Gazette_
Parigne l'Eveque
Paris,
cafes in;
riots in;
elections in;
early in the war;
defensive preparations;
fugitives and refugees;
wounded soldiers in;
Anglo-American ambulance in;
army and armament of;
Hugo's return to;
German advance on;
last day of liberty in;
live-stock in;
customary meat supply of;
clubs in;
defence of Chatillon;
siege begins;
attempts to leave;
first couriers from;
balloon and pigeon post;
siege jests;
spyophobia and signal craze in;
amazons of;
reconnaissances and sorties from;
news of Metz in;
demonstrations and riots in;
plebiscitum in;
food and rations in;
English people leave;
state of environs of;
steps to relieve;
bombardment of;
health of;
deserters in;
affray in;
capitulation of;
author returns to;
aspect after the armistice;
Germans enter;
rising of the Commune, _See also_ Revolution.
Paris, General
"Partant pour la Syrie"
Peace conditions
"Pekin, Siege of"
Pelcoq, Jules, artist
Pelletan, Eugene
Picard, Ernest
Pietri, Prefect
Pigeon-Post
Piquet, M.
Pius IX
Pollard family
Pontifical Zouaves
Pontlieue (Le Mans)
Pont-Noyelles, battle of
Postal-services, _see_ Balloon, Courier, Pigeon.
Prim, General
Prussians, not Germans
Pyat, Felix

Quatrefages de Breau
Quinet, Edgar

Rampont, Dr.
"Red Badge of Courage"
Red Cross Society, French
Reed, Sir E. J.
Rennes
Retreat, Chanzy's, on Marchenoir forest;
on Le Mans;
on Laval;
Revolution of September 4.
Reyau, General
Richard, Mayor of Le Mans
Robinson, Sir John
Rochefort, Henri
Rochers, Chateau des
Rodellee du Ponzic, Lieutenant
Roquebrune, General de
Rothschild, Baron Alphonse de
Rouen, Germans reach
Rouher, Eugene
Rousseau, General
Russell, Sir William Howard
Ryan, Dr. C. E.

Saint Agil
Saint Calais
Saint Cloud chateau destroyed
Saint Jean-sur-Erve
Saint Malo
Saint Quentin,
defence of;
battle of
Saint Servan
Sainte Suzanne
Sala, G.A.
Sardou, Victorien
Sass, Marie
Saxe-Meiningen, Prince of
Saxony, Crown Prince of
Schmidt, General von
Sedan, news of
Napoleon at
Senate, Imperial
Shackle
Sieges, _see_ Paris _and other places_
Signal craze in Paris
Sille-le-Guillaume
Simon, Jules
Skinner, Hilary
Sologne region
Songs, some Victorian
Sophia, Queen of Holland
Spuller, Eugene
Spyophobia in Paris
at Laval
Stendhal
Stoffel, Colonel
Strasbourg, siege of
Susbielle, General

Tann, General von der
Tertre Rouge position (Le Mans)
Thackeray, W.M.
Thiers, Adolphe
Thomas, General Clement
Tibaldi
_Times_, the
Tissandier brothers
Toul capitulates
Treaty, _see_ Peace
Trochu, General
Troppmann
Tuilerie position (Le Mans)
Tuileries palace

Uhrich, General

Vaillant, Marshal
Valentin, Edmond
Vendome column
Versailles during Paris siege
Villemessant, H. de
Villersexel, battle of
Villorceau, fighting at
Vimercati, Count
Vinoy, General
Vizetelly family
Vizetelly, Adrian
------, Arthur
------, Edward Henry
------, Elizabeth Anne
------, Ellen Elizabeth
------, Ernest Alfred, parentage
men he saw in childhood
his passionate temper
at school at Eastbourne
at London sights
sees Garibaldi
and Nadar
goes to France
at the Lycee Bonaparte
his tutor Brassard
sees an attempt on Alexander H.
assists his father
his first article
sees famous Frenchmen
visits the Tuileries
goes to Compiegne
is addressed by Napoleon III
sees Paris riots
visits Prince Pierre's house
is befriended by Captain Bingham
dreams of seeing a war
has a glimpse of its seamy side
sees Napoleon III set out for the war
hears Capoul sing the "Marseillaise"
sees a demonstration
meets English newspaper correspondents
is called a little spy by Gambetta
with the Anglo-American ambulance
witnesses the Revolution
takes a letter to Trochu
sees Victor Hugo's return to Paris
witnesses a great review
describes Parish last day of liberty
sees Captain Johnson arrive
visits balloon factories
ascends in Nadar's captive balloon
sees Gambetta leave in a balloon
learns fencing
goes to a women's club
interviews the Paris Amazons
witnesses the demonstration of October 21
and that of October 31
food arrangements of his father and himself
leaves Paris
at Brie Comte-Robert
at Corbeil
at Champlan
at Versailles
visits Colonel Walker with his father
leaves Versailles
at Mantes
reaches Saint Servan
visits the Camp of Conlie
accompanies Gougeard's division to the front
in the retreat on Le Mans
receives the baptism of fire
has an amusing experience at Rennes
returns to Le Mans
sees and sketches Chanzy
witnesses part of the battle of Le Mans
sees the stampede from the tile-works
and the confusion at Le Mans
his views on German officers
on a soldier's emotions
on ambulances
escapes from Le Mans
at Sille-le-Guillaume
at the fight of Saint Jean-sur-Erve
follows the retreat
returns to Laval
has a dramatic adventure there
returns to Paris
sees the Germans enter Paris
some of his experiences during the Commune
Vizetelly, Frank
----, Francis (Frank) Horace
----, Frederick Whitehead
----, Henry
----, Henry Richard (author's father)
----, James Thomas George
----, James Henry
----, Montague
Voigts Rhetz, General von
Vosges, _see_ Army of the
Voules, Horace

Walker, Colonel Beauchamp
War, emotions in
war-news in 1870
_See also_ Franco-German War
Washburne, Mr.
Werder, General von
Whitehurst, Felix
William, King of Prussia, later Emperor
Wimpfen, General de
Wittich, General von
Wodehouse, Hon. Mr.
Wolseley, Field-Marshal Lord

Yvre-l'Eveque

Zola, Emile, his "La Debacle"

THE END

End of Project Gutenberg's My Days of Adventure, by Ernest Alfred Vizetelly