ELM AVENUE AND FORTIETH
East of the Main Exposition Building
WM. KNABE & CO.
GRAND. SQUARE AND UPRIGHT
PIANOS.
J AS. BELLA K, 271279 & 281S. 5th St.
These Instruments have been before the publie for nearly forty
years, aud upon their excellence alone
have attained an
UNPURCHASED PRE-EMINENCE,
WHICH ESTABLISH ES THEM AS
Unequaled for- their Tone, Touch, Workmanship
and Durability.
They have received Sbvp.nT\'»-Fivr Gold and Silver Medals over all other
competitors.
WM. KNABE <fc CO.,
WAREROOMS :
NEW YORK: BALTIMORE:
No. 112 FIFTH AVENUE, No. 350 W. BALTIMORE STREET,
Above 16th Street. Nos. i, 3, 5 & 7 N. Eutaw St.
PHILADELPHIA AGENCY:
SIEGE OF PARIS BUILDING,
(FAIRMOUNT PARK GROUNDS,)
Elm Avenue and 40th Street, East of the Main Exposition Building,
J. F. ZIMMERMAN, - - - Manager.
The Great
SIEGE OF PARIS:
1870-71.
ALSO, THE ASSASSINATION OF THE
ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS,
AT THE HANDS OF
THE COMMUNE OF 1871.
OXT lE^XXIIBXTXOXT DAILY,
From 8 A. M. to 10 P. M.
THE
KNABE PIANO
Has received the most unqualified endorsement from all
leading artists who have tested it. Extracts from a few of the
numerous testimonials in possession of Messrs. Knabe & Co.
S. THALBERG.—I find them equal, if not superior, to any in
this country. Among the great qualities which distinguish
them is the evenness of tone, the easy and agreeable touch and
volume of tone.
L. M. GOTTSCHALK.—The bass is powerful without harsh¬
ness, and the upper notes sweet, clear, and harmoniously
mellow, (crystaline,) and I do not hesitate to express in regard to
these instruments my entire satisfaction, and to declare that
they are equal, if not superior, to the best manufactured in
Europe or this country by the most celebrated makers.
M. STRAKOSCH.—Your pianos, in my opinion, rank among
the very best in the country.
MARMONTEL, (Professor at the Conservatory at Paris.)—
« The quality of tone is remarkable for its prolongation, singing
quality, combining both sweetness and great power. The
action, very easy, and at the same time elastic, enables the
artist to vary the tone from the greatest softness to the loudest
fortissimo by the touch alone. Allow me, gentlemen, to con¬
gratulate you on the perfection which you have attained in your
instruments. I regret you were not represented at the Exposi¬
tion Universelle, as your name would certainly have added ad¬
ditional honor and success to American industry and skill.
Accept my cordial regards.
E. MUZIO, (Director of theStrakosch Italian Opera Troupe.)—
X consider them as unsurpassed in brilliancy and excel¬
lence, and pre-eminent, without a rival in this country or
Europe. Their superior quality of tone, combining great depth
and powerful volume, with a rich and peculiarly clear and even
treble, together with magic elasticity of touch and action, render
them superior to the other instruments, which rarely, if ever,
combine these most essential requisites.
MAX MARETZEK, (Director of Italian Opera.)—In my entire
artistic experience I have found no piano which has given me
so much satisfaction, and which combines all essential qualities
of a really first class instrument, to such a degree as those which
you so kindly furnished for the Lucca and Kellogg opera combi¬
nation during this season.
T T"I "P"!
KNABE PIANO
» » » . _
CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG.—It commands my admira-
; tion for beauty of tone, touch and action. I have not seen its equal,
and am happy to add my testimony to that of so many others.
PAULINE LUCCA.—(Extract from her letter ordering a
. Knabe Grand for her home in Switzerland.) Frequent com¬
parisons of them with the pianos of the other leading makes- of
America, have only confirmed my conviction that your pianos have
no rival, but surpass all other makes I have tested, either in this
country or in Europe. They combine all the essentials of a really
perfect piano, immense'-power with exquisite sweetness, and per¬
fect blending with the voice, wonderful endurance with a most de¬
lightful, easy, and at the same time elastic touch; and, what is also |
of great importance, extraordinary firmness in keeping in tune.
! After the experience I had with other pianos, I really did not think
j it was possible to construct instruments requiring so little tuning as
I found in those which I used of your make. I have really become
so attached to your pianos, that in parting from this country I do
not wish to part from them, and concluded, therefore, to have one
of your Grands to accompany me to Europe.
ILMA D1 MURSKA.—Its brilliancy and equality of tone,
I and its rare singing power, make it a source of delight to any lyric
artist, and a faithful interpreter of the great work of the operatic
stage. As such I have found it, and cannot leave the city without
expressing my admiration for the skill and experienced taste so
eminently combined in all the qualities of the Knabe Piano.
BALTIMORE PIANOS FOR EUROPE.—Among the
freight of the steamer Nurnberg, which left this port yesterday, there
were four pianos from the manufactory of Wm. Knabe & Co., and ,
which were ordered from this well-known establishment by parties
in Germany and Switzerland. Three of these pianos were concert
grands. The American pianos are said to excel in every point of
excellence those manufactured in Europe, and the demand in that
country for pianos manufactured by Knabe & Co. is steadily in¬
creasing, as shown by the numerous orders they are constantly re¬
ceiving from all parts of Europe.—Baltimore American, Dec. 3,'75.
1#=?—-fr-frO? 7-^,/
r_JJ _ (L^
<Turchased withjiwdsjrom the-1
CHARLES DE ERING
McCORMICK
ENDOWMENT"
THE GIFTOF HIS WIFE
UNorthweftern University library,
^ 1995 ^
_lpv
S A-KIg, .
THE
^AQpi I F I C E V*"* "
/•Vt/^OT inaptly has Paris been denominated " one
of the Monuments of the world." No city of
modern times has rivaled her magnificence.
Her splendors have been the theme of the
poets for centuries, and about her have long clustered
the external graces of civilization ; from her have
radiated the polite arts which govern and exalt
society.
There is about her the glamour of a greatness that
no adversity can dispel ; the glow of a splendor that
gleams untarnished through every vicissitude of
glory or disaster. Paris is and will remain the Im¬
perial City of the world.
Splendid in prosperity, and rendered dramatically
pathetic by the pressure of adversity, Paris is, under
all possible conditions, an interesting study ; and
nothing which serves to illustrate either her glory
or her distress ever fails to command attention.
4
As a people the Americans—native and adopted—
are perhaps more familiar with Parisian life, man¬
ners and ideas than almost any other, and are, there¬
fore, more alertly interested in all that pertains to
the Imperial City. Hence the writer of these
modest pages feels that he has no need of excep¬
tional skill or literary excellence in presenting what
he desires to say respecting a very thrilling event in
the history of Paris.
We address men and women of culture in every
walk of life. To the lover of art ; the military adept;
the student of history ; the traveler ; the enthusiast,
who longs to know more of famous scenes from the
sight of which he is debarred by circumstances be¬
yond his control ; the busy man of science ; the
overtasked merchant and lawyer ; in short, to the
American people, we present a very entertaining
and valuable artistic and educational enterprise, one
which, originally undertaken for the benefit of the
Centennial Exposition of 1876, has developed its per¬
manent value as a contribution to the domain of in¬
structive and recreative art.
To see Paris in the holiday garb of her civic mag¬
nificence, and apparently absorbed in the pursuit of
the graces of a butterfly existence, is nqt to see all
there is of her many-phased civilization. In the
career of a great and volatile people there is, as in
Nature and in Art, a beauty of the sunshine and a
glory of the storm ; and he who seeks to familiarize
himself with Paris in all her picturesque and kaleido-
5
scopic aspects, does well to study her story by the
contrasted lights of Peace and War, of Prosperity
and Calamity. Tears, not less than smiles, are the
heritage of nations.
Parts Besieged.
It is to the Imperial city in her hour of supreme
disaster that the attention of the reader is here
called.
Beleaguered Paris ! Well may the theme fire the
brain of the artist who finds in it the story of an ia-
vaded home—the vividness and awful grandeur of a
history at once personal to himself and full of gloomy
portent to the city of his birth and his love ! Well
may it nerve his hand with a subtler cunning—-for to
his ear the boom of the cannon at her gates is the
knell of universal peace, and in the blaze of her
palaces he pictures the wreck of the world.
With the moral aspects of the momentous Franco-
Prussian war of 1870-71, and with the merits of that
sudden and epochal struggle we have here -nothing
to do. It scarcely seems necessary, at this briefinter-
val of years, to even recur to the physical features of
the conflict. How the French Emperor led his
valiant men of arms forth against united and im¬
pregnable Prussia ; how he encountered disaster after
disaster, and personally fell into the hands of his
antagonist ; and how his baffled armies, summoning
a new leader, retired to their stronghold in the Capital
city—these things are too fresh in the memory of all
to need reiteration.
I
6
There, amid all the horrors of that cruel art which
the General of our own armies has called "a barbarity
that cannot be refined "—rent with internal strife and
bleeding from her wounds at every pore, sat belea¬
guered Paris ; the glory and the citadel of France. A
magnificent spectacle of surpassing woe : ah incom¬
parable exhibition of the fatuity and weakness of
a monarch hitherto deemed invincible—of the relent¬
less energy and strength of Teuton purpose.
A military pageant so dramatic, so intense, so full
of marvelous consequence, so astounding to the
on-looking nations, so filled with unsuspected revela¬
tions of the relative strength of the States in conflict,
had never been seen before. It will forever rank
among the wondrous surprises of the art of War, and
stand out permanently in history as a text for the
military student and a theme for the historian.
The Siege of Paris is, in all its phases, pre-eminent
among the thrilling and momentous events of the
nineteenth century.
The Great Painting.
The Artist who painted this picture—himself an artist
of celebrity and a'participant in this Siege—seeing the
importance of memorializing the startling scenes of
the memorable event, not only for its historic lesson,
but because of its possibilities for the composition
of a magnificent and enduring work of art, took early
occasion to study and sketch the scene, with the pur-
7
pose of reproducing it upon a scale of commensurate
grandeur on canvas.
His original plan contemplated a series of large
battle-pieces in the usual form. But mature consid¬
eration convinced him that the continuity and
realism of the work would by that method be seriously
impaired, if not totally destroyed, and he decided to
secure the desired effect in a single gigantic picture
covering the entire field of action. The proposition
was stupendous, but the skill and enthusiasm of its
projector were fully equal to the task.
The Artist was peculiarly fitted for the enterprise.
Combining in his own person the accomplishments
and facilities of the soldier, tne painter, the engineer,
the sculptor, the anatomist and the scholar, he had
the further pre-eminent advantage of be-mg an eye¬
witness of the Great Siege, and an active participant
in it. He knew every inch of the battle-ground and
- the exact positions of the contending forces, lie
saw those thrilling sights with the soldier's and the
artist's eye combined. Who so thoroughly well
equipped as he to transfer the superb, ensanguined
pageant to immortal canvas ?
He undertook the work, with,all the verve which
characterizes him, and proceeded with it uninter¬
ruptedly until its final completion—which was de¬
layed through an accident, elsewhere referred to,
but was triumphantly accomplished about the 20th
of September, 1875.
8
HOW THE PICTURE WAS PAINTED.
In executing this gigantic work—an oil painting
360 feet long and 50 feet high—the Artist met with and
overcame many difficulties.
An immense temporary building was erected as a
painting room, and there the work progressed, in
the hands of more than thirty Parisian artists of
excellent repute, for many months. When it was
almost finished a great tornado, which passed over
Paris one day, riddled the building to atoms and
destroyed all that had been done—the canvas and
the accompanying paraphernalia being torn and
crushed beyond the possibility of restoration.
This discouraging and expensive disaster retarded
the work, but did not cause its abandonment.
Another building was immediately made ready and
the models, photographs, and plans were transferred
to it. Here the artists renewed their labors, and a
new picture, even superior to the wrecked one, -
was speedily under tyay.
In order to render some points of the picture
more startlingly realistic. The Artist places in front of
it a sériés of earth-works, stone forts and life-like figures
representing men, horses, and the accoutrements of
battle.
These figures—modeled from life, of full stature,
and costumed in the actual uniforms, helmets, etc.,
used during the siege, procured at great trouble and
expense, and guaranteed authentic—are placed upon
plateaus of real earth in the foreground, producing
9
an effect so realistic and startling that it becomes
well nigh impossible for the spectator to determine
where the illusion begins.
the soldier-artist's assistants.
Among the distinguished artists who executed
this colossal work maybe mentioned MM. Betsellier,
author of the famous equestrian portrait of Marshal
McMahon, for which the French Government paid
30,000 francs ; Bernard, winner of le prix de Rome,
last year; Henry, Lehnert, Bouton, Le Prince, and
Risler, figurantes ; Grandchamps, cheveaux ; Bracconi,
Desbrosses, and Plonsey, landscapes ; Greux, war
armament ; with other well-known names in the
profession and attached to pieces exhibited at
the Salon Exposition of Paris in 1875.
No other artistic conception of the same vast pro¬
portions and masterly character has ever been con¬
tributed to by so many men of acknowledged emi¬
nence and skill.
the faithfulness ok the work.
The reader will kindly bear in mind the fact that
the "Siege of Paris" is not in any sense a fancy
sketch-1-tricked out with multitudes of unreal or
automatic soldiers, borne into impossible conflict
by ideal horses, and representing scenes that could
only occur to an imagination absurdly lost to prob¬
ability, and totally unconscious of the stern realities
of war. It is an actual and most faithfully vivid
realization, upon canvas, of places that exist—of
IO
scenes that occurred ; a portrayal of the men and
incidents that made those scenes and occurrences
historic.
The artist has, of course, permitted something of
scope and freedom in the details of his work ; but in
accuracy of presentation the picture is photographi¬
cally correct and truthful. The central and inform¬
ing thought of the entire work was to place before the
spectator the Great Siege as it actually was—not as
the Frenchman desires to portray it—not as the
victorious German imagines it—not as poetic fancy
tints it—but truthfully and graphically, just as the
eye-witness saw it, and as the ensanguined partici¬
pants knew it to be.
HOW THE PAINTING IS SHOWN.
The picture is exhibited in cycloramic or circular
form. It is not a panorama according to the arbitrary
English acceptation of that term. It is stationary,
and covers, from a commanding given point near the
beleaguered capital and in the very center of the
siege operations, a perfect view of the scene, from
the point of observation to the furthest verge of the
horizon in every direction.
The whole field of action is simultaneously pre¬
sented to the eye, with all the- precision and accuracy
of detail and perspective that an actual view of the
living scene would afford—and with no limitations
other than the limitation of human vision.
The fidelity and perfect correctness of the per¬
spective are such as to startle while they entrance
II
and make the beholder the subject of an illusion. The
picture is simply and exactly a reflex of Nature itself The
illusion of spreading landscape and outreaching vista is as
perfect as if the spectator were standing in Trinity
steeple, gazing out upon the undulating scenery of
New Jersey and the mosaic glories of Long Island
and the Sound, or contemplating from the top of
Independence Hall the interlaced and opulent
beauties of the environs of Philadelphia.
The merging ofearth and sky at the horizon's verge
is a wonderful triumph of the painter's art. To realize
that this magnificent pageant is, after all, only an
illusion, requires a stronger mental effort than to
accept it for reality.
THE ARTIST'S HISTORICAL FIDELITY.
It will be noticed that the author of this chef-
d"œuvre has not permitted in his work the outcrop-
_ ping of any national or personal prejudice. Absolute
historical fidelity has been aimed at and achieved
and those who view the picture without the feelings
which are awakened by a patriotic preference for
either of the contending forces will not be slow to
appreciate the advantages to the historical student
of this conscientious method, over the ebullition of a
mere partisan spirit in the execution of the great
work.
The Importance of the Enterprise.
The production, importation and preparation ot
this colossal painting for exhibition here, have in-
12
Volved an important outlay of capital, time, patience
and assiduous labor ; rendering its introduction to
the American public an enterprise of unusual mag¬
nitude.
It is, however, believed by the gentlemen who
have made the investment, that an exhibition of such
historical and artistic value will be appreciated by our
people, and will meet with satisfactory recognition.
Particular care has been taken to exclude from the
enterprise even the appearance of empericism. This
characteristic will be particularly obvious to those
who enjoy some previous personal acquaintance with
the scenes depicted in the painting.
The picture offers no ideal or fanciful view of the
environs of Paris, but presents with entire and graphic
fidelity an exact portraiture of what exists there ;
or rather, of what did exist there at the time of the
Great Siege. The manager respectfully begs leave
to impress this important feature of the exhibition
upon intending patrons.
In placing before them, at a merely nominal and
comparatively trivial cost, a masterwork of art
which has occasioned the investment of a more than
moderate fortune, it is confidently hoped that those
who visit the "Siege of Paris" will find themselves remu¬
nerated by an exhibition worthy of their intelligent criti¬
cism and acceptation.
WHY THE WORK WAS UNDERTAKEN.
It may perhaps be proper to say, as a matter of
personal explanation, that the inauguration of this
13
wortf-was originally due to a cordially entertained
enthusiasm evoked by a painting of similar character,
but, as we believe, of greatly inferior interest and
attractiveness.
One of a party of American gentlemen, making
a pleasure tour of Europe, in 1874, attended, while in
Paris, an exhibition of what was there called a
'* Panorama of the Prussian Siege of Paris in 1871."
So very vivid was the impression produced upon
him by the work that he determined, if possible,
to bring it to America upon his return, and negoti¬
ations were had with the proprietors of the pic¬
ture with that purpose. The great popularity of
the exhibition in Paris (it being thronged with
visitors constantly) rendered the proposition un¬
feasible, the most liberal offers being promptly de¬
clined.
He had, however, become so fixed in his determina¬
tion to afford his countrymen the advantage of the
artistic pleasure he had personally experienced, that
as soon as the negotiation with Le Compagnie General
des Panoramas was declined, he sought out the Artist,
and proposed to him to reproduce the great paint¬
ing. The Artist was at once heartily in accord with
the idea, and declared that his experience would en¬
able him to avoid some historical and topographical
defects apparent in the old picture, by securing a
more advantageous point of observation—to wit : the
heights of Chatillon. Further, that with the added
material recently rendered available, he would • be
14
able to produce a more accurate and imposing pageant '
than the other, in every way.
A bargain was effected and, as before stated, the
present majestic work was immediately proceeded
with.
It is believed to stand wholly unrivaled for gran¬
deur, interest, fidelity and symmetrical historic value
in the beautiful domain of Art.
ACTION OF THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.
We have only to add that the present French Gov¬
ernment cordially approved of this great work, and
afforded him every desired facility for its unem¬
barrassed and faithful execution ; placing at his dis¬
posal numerous important data, inaccessible except
through the national archives, and generously remit¬
ting one-half of the burdensome freight and export
charges when the painting was finally ready for
transmission to America. Hither the Artist accom¬
panied the work, and had personal supervision of
the scarcely less artistic task of mounting and
preparing it for exhibition at this Building —the
only building in the United States in which it can be
advantageously and properly shown.
The stupendous picture is now confidently sub¬
mitted for the inspection and criticism of the Ameri¬
can people.
*
THE DEFENCE OF PARIS.
Paris is surrounded by an uninterrupted enclosure of about 21
miles, comprehending 94 bastions and 15 detached forts—some of
which may be called fortifications. A vast entrenched camp is thus
formed which not only protects the City, but permits the armies to
retire in case of necessity for reinforcements or other succor.
At the very beginning of the war of 1870-71, these magnificent
defences were put in perfect order.
The recent improvements in projectiles, rendered necessary a
line of defences at a greater distance from the city. In August, 1870,
redoubts were established at Gennevilliers to secure the occupation
of the Peninsula ; at Montretout and Chatillon for the protection
of Mont Valerien, Issy, Vanves and Montrouge ; at Hautes-Bru-
yeres to cover Bicetre and Ivry ; at Port-a-l'Anglais, Moulin-
Saquet, Moulin-de-Pierre, Chateau de Meudon and Brimborion, to
guard against surprises in those directions.
The inundatory defences were also put in order ; powder maga¬
zines, barracks and breast-works were overhauled ; sheltering quar¬
ries were filled up ; bridges were undermined ; the woods of
Boulogne and Vincennes were partially razed; and the beautiful
suburbs generally were sacrificed to the stern exigencies of the occa¬
sion, and put upon a war footing. The 9 railways and 59 gates
leading from the Capital were protected by a series of interminable
forts, earth-works and redoubts.
About 2,200,000 pounds of powder were stored in the 40 maga¬
zines which supplied the fortifications. The Seine above and be¬
low the city was stockaded, and torpedoes were placed in the prin¬
cipal avenues of the oity. The public parks, places, gardens and
monuments were converted into temporary forts and magazines,
and preparations for barricading the streets were carried forward.
The city officials, merchants, promoters of public institutions of
i6
all kinds, and, in short, all the inhabitants of Paris, entered heartily
and patriotically into the preparations which wer^made more signi¬
ficantly imperative by the anxiety-compelling news from the armies
in the field. More than 20,000 workmen by day and night were em¬
ployed in the work of preparation.
By the middle of September the defences were so far completed
as to be considered well nigh invulnerable.
The Artillery department had by this time placed upon the forts
and walls of Paris 1,824 pieces ; and in addition to these a reserve
of 800 cannon, 600 movable guns, 180,000 chassepots and 360,000
guns of various models for the arming of the troops.
A fleet of S floating batteries, 9 gun-boats and 6 sloops of 4 guns
each, some of them very formidable, lay in the Seine.
The troops hastily called together for defensive purposes included
the 13th and 14th Corps, under General Ducrot, 19 battalions of
mobiles, 7,000 marines, the reserves of a great number of
Infantry regiments operating in the field, the gendarmerie, the fire¬
men, the forest guards and more than 40 free. Corps—forming an
effective force of 240,000 men ; to which must be added 250,000
soldiers of the National Guard, charged with the defence of the
walls.
The providing of subsistence for the more than 2,000,000 persons
within the walls of Paris was a work of great magnitude, encum¬
bered as the railways were by the transportation of war material.
By the middle of September, 30,000 oxen, 200,000 sheep, 80,000
quintals of corn, 210,000 quintals of flour, 5,000 quintals of salted
and preserved meats, 100,000 horses and a great many mules had
been accumulated in addition to the private supplies of the in¬
habitants.
THE PRUSSIAN FORCES.
On the 15th of September, 1870, two Prussian armies invested
Paris ; the "third" commanded by the Prince Royal of Prussia, and
the " fourth " by the Prince Royal of Saxony. The third advanced
from Sedan to the Marne, and thence to the left bank of the Marne
and Seine south of Paris, where a brief struggle was had for po¬
sition. The fourth marched by Creil, Compiegne and Dammar-
17
tin, establishing itself in an admirable position on the North, with¬
out striking a blow.
After many disastrous sorties and skirmishes the defenders of
Paris abandoned their advanced positions, blew up a great number
of bridges and retired to the forts. Thus the Prussians were ena¬
bled to establish themselves in strong positions and environ Paris
in a cordon of intfenchments, embattled walls and strong batteries.
At the end of September the two German armies had invested
the Capital with 202,031 infantry, 33,806 cavalry and 898 cannon,
forming a complete line from Chelles to a point of observation
near Orleans.
■ ' \
THE GREAT SIEGE.
Now commenced the enormous siege operations which resulted
so disastrously for the beleaguered city.
During October the defensive works upon the forts and walls
were completed, and the forts were connected by lines of intrench-
ments ; troops were organized to operate outside the walls ; and at
Villejuif, in the peninsula of Gennevilliers, about St. Denis and
in the valley of the Marne, intrenched camps to the extent of more
than 50 miles were formed. Batteries in great number were put in
position ; redoubts were constructed at Charlebourg, Moulin-des-
Gibets, Bois-Colombes, and Petit-Parc in the bend of the Marne.
Reconnoitring parties were set on foot, resulting in the indecisive
battles of Chevilly, Bagneux and Malmaison.
One of the most brilliant and sanguinary of these desperate
sorties was made the immediate theme of the truthful and thrilling
picture, described elsewhere in this pamphlet.
On the 28th of October a considerable engagement took place
at Bourget, resulting unfavorably for the French. This occurred
simultaneously with the evacuation of Metz, and when it was
known that M. Thiers was negotiating an armistice, an interior
revolt broke out in Paris, which was subdued after stern resistance.
Towards the close of November, Gen. Ducrot ordered an offen¬
sive movement of the troops towards Rosny, near the junction of
the Marne and Seine. The expedition was delayed by the failure
of some bridge engineering operations, and was not well under
way until the 30th, when Ducrot with 60,000 men drove back the
Prussians from Villiers to Champigny. But the right wing advanc¬
ing from Charenton after occupying Montmelsey, was furiously
attacked and repulsed with heavy loss by Gen. Obernitz of the
Wurtemburg division, and the French fell back to Cretiel.
On the 2d of December the Germans, heavily reinforced,
returned the offensive fighting. Gen. Ducrot had also been rein¬
forced and a terrible conflict, waged on both sides with varying
success, continued until dark. The French lost 6,000 men and the
Prussians, perhaps, as rnar\y more. On the 3d, Gen. Ducrot
retired across the Marne, without further assault.
December 21st—an exceedingly cold day—the same corps
attempted to reoccupy Bourget but failed. Six hundred men were
frozen to death during the night.
The German armies now began to chafe for decisive battle. On
the 27th of December, their terrible Siege armament began a most
devastating fire from the Raincy, Gagny, and Noisy-le-Grand—
throwing over 9,000 wicked projectiles upon the flat of Avron ; and
on the 5th of January, intensifying the tremendous attack from
their Southern batteries they threw into the forts of Montrouge,
Vanves, and Issy more than 5,000 projectiles.
The next day, January 6th, 1871, the Prussians occupying
Breteuil, Meudon, Chalets, Moulin-de-Pierre, Platriere, Chatillon,
Clamart, Tour-des-Anglais, Tour-de-Crouy, Fontenoy, and
Bagneux, with 123 great guns began to bombard Paris. From
l'Hay and Chevilly the besiegers also cannonaded Hautes-Bruyeres,
Moulin-Saquet, and Villejuif. For many days a pitiless rain of
iron fell upon Paris, injuring the prisons, warehouses, ambulances,
hospitals, and cemeteries. The prison de la Sante, in which the
Prussian prisoners were confined, alone escaped.
Paris now suffered terribly from hunger ; the people supporting
with heroic fortitude alPthe horrors of starvation.
On the 19th of January the defence made one supreme and
almost superhuman effort to escape the toils of the besieger ;
attacking without success the great walls of the park of Buzenval.
It was in vain. The enemy, powerfully entrenched upon all the
19
salient and governing points, poured their terrible projectiles
remorselessly upon the unconquered forts, the Cathedral, and all
the monuments of Paris. The unburied dead lay thick in the
streets; starvation stretched forth its gaunt hand to terrify and
destroy ; the awful fires of insurrectional discontent were burning.
A scene of devastation without and civil war within. There was
no longer any hope for Paris. On the 26th of January, at mid¬
night, resistance ceased, and the victorious Saxon unfurled his
standard over the smoking Tuileries.
Thus after a beleaguerment of 123 days, during the last 30 of
which more than 200,000 cannon shots were firedinto her very vitals,
fell Paris the Magnificent, the glory and the citadel of France.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PICTURE
% OF THE
SIEGE OIF ZP.A. IR/1 S.
The artist—using the term in its radical, and perhaps, most
correct meaning—calls this great painting a Panorama, it being
"a picture presenting from a central point a view of objects in
every direction," but the word is so thoroughly associated in the
English tongue with a moving or unfolding of painted canvas
'hat it does not correctly describe the present work to our people.
The spectator is supposed to stand upon the heights of Chatillon,
one of the highest points overlooking Paris, and distant from the
heart of the city about six miles. Directly in front is the head¬
quarters of the Prussian army. On the balcony may be seen
Emperor William and Marshal Von Moltke.
20
To the right of the Prussian headquarters are the Prussian
batteries, which are engaged in firing on Fort Mont Valerien and
the City of Paris. In the foreground may be seen the sortie of
the French which was met with most determined an " successful
resistance on the part of the Prussian Landwchr.
In the background that prominent elevation of ground is Fort
Mont Valerien, a stronghold which commanded the entire City
of Paris. At its foot are the villages of St. Cloud and Surenne.
Further to the right is the Fort d'Issy. Behind it appears the
Seine, and on it two gunboats. Further to the right is seen the
magnificent bridge of Auteil.
Moving around to the right may be seen the Place de Troca-
dero, below which appear the narrow Seine and the bridge of Jena.
Near the Trocadero rises the noble Arc de Triomphe; to the
right the Invalides with its gilded dome is seen flashing against
the horizon.
To the left of the Invalides the Champs Elysees, with the
Palace of Industry. On the right are the famous Church of the
Madeleine, the Place de la Concorde, the Obelisk of Luxor, the
Column Vendôme, Trinity Church, and the Buttes Montmartre.
Further on appear the Tuilleries, the Church of St. Gervais, the
Markets and the Pantheon. Still further, upon Mount St. Gene¬
vieve, are situated the Bastile, the Luxembourg Palace, and all
the historic monuments visible from this point of view.
Further to the right two field-pieces direct their fire upon the
village of Chatillon, in front of which are seen columns of troops.
To the right of the cannon are two lines of sharpshooters belong¬
ing to the Prussian infantry, who, from their position in the
garden, are firing into the houses of Chatillon and Bagneu.
On the road which leads to the plain are two artillery wagons
drawn by six horses, and rendered frantic and unmanageable by
an explosion of powder on the plain hard by. Another horse
has thrown its rider and is fleeing in the same direction.
21
The large house which now appears directly in front has
already felt the cruel tooth of war and is partially destroyed.
The surrounding trees are sadly mutilated; a passing ball
having cut from one in the garden the large branch which is seen
on the ground in' front, with a quantity of other debris of all
sorts.
In the foreground to the right is seen a picture of camp-life ;
men preparing their food. In the distance are seen ambulances
going to bring the wounded to that large grey house, now used
by the Prussians as a hospital.
The swords, guns and helmets, ruined walls, the smoke from
the burning houses and from the batteries, appear the vivid
realism in every direction from fort to fort ; and ruin rules the
plain, and the scenes that surround it.
ALSO, 'X' H-Jr-J ^.SSASSrtTX-TIOlT
OF THK
ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS,
At the hands of the Commune of 1S71»
One of the saddest memories of Paris is an incident in the
terrible Seventy-Three Days, during which the Commune
controlled the city, after the German occupation of 1871. We
refer to the shooting of Monseigneur Darboy, the venerable
Archbishop of Paris, and his companions.
The circumstances of this painful historical event were briefly
as follows: On the 4th of April, 1871, when the Commune
held entire possession of the city, the insurgents, seeking host¬
ages for the Communists who had fallen into the hands of the
22
Nationals, arrested and imprisoned Mgr. Darboy, the Arch¬
bishop, Abbe Duguerry, cure of the Madeleine, the Reverend
. cure Pere Allard, Pere Dacoudray, Pere Clerc, M. le Senator
Bonjean, president of one of the high courts of Justice, who had
bravely declined to surrender his office, and several other eccle¬
siastics and prominent citizens.
On the evening of the 24th of May, just when the insurgents
were suffering defeats which led them to devastate the city, a file
of soldiers of the Commune, under orders from Delescluze, pro¬
ceeded to the prison of La Roquette, where the hostages were
confined. "We miss six of ours," said Th. Ferre, the revolution¬
ary leader, "and we must have six !" The reverend fathers
above named and President Bonjean were summoned from their
cells and told that they must die. The venerable Archbishop
only bowed his head, and said : "The justice of tyrants is hard
to understand!"
It was eight o'clock at night. The condemned filed out of
their cells and, headed by Pere Allard, marched, amid the jeers
of the soldier mob, to the dreary court yard of the prison. A
lantern, suspended by ropes, grimly illumined the scene, and a
cart stood conveniently at hand to bear off the bodies of the
victims after execution.
The prisoners were ranged in line against the wall, and the
firing party, urged on by a lean and wiry man, wearing a blouse,
and named Raoul Rigault, made themselves ready. The Arch¬
bishop attempted to speak, but his words were lost amid the cries
and shouts of the crowd. "Silence !" said the commander of
the cruel expedition to his soldiers ;. "you are here to shoot these
men, not to insult them !" He then ordered two volleys, under
which the martyrs fell dead, meeting their doom with calm and
* brave resignation. Before leaving, the leader of the party him¬
self gave a parting shot to the corpse of the Archbishop.
23
The bodies of the slaughtered men were conveyed during the
same night to the cemetery of Pere la Chaise, and thrown, un-
coffined, into a common trench.
Before morning the advancing National forces captured and
shot Raoul Rigault, He died shouting "Vive la Commune !"
and the order authorizing the shooting of the Archbishop and
his companions was found upon his person. -
When the bodies of the victims were taken from their ignomi¬
nious sepulchre, on the next Sunday, by the then victorious
National forces, it was found that the Archbishop's episcopal
ring and pectoral cross had been stolen, his purple cassock torn
and his person covered with wounds. The bodies of the others
were horribly mangled. The remains of these unfortunate men
were reverently cared for, and, after lying in state for a time,
were buried with great pomp and solemnity from Notre Dame.
This thrilling episode in the tribulation of the Imperial City
is faithfully portrayed in the fine picture of M. Désbrosses at
Paris.
♦A. *** ^
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