one now acknowledges. But how could I tell? By this time she began to be overcome with circumstances, as might happen naturally to a child but two years old, after long exposure without any food or management. Scared, and strange, and tired out, she fell down anyhow in the boat, and lay like a log, and frightened me. Many men would have cared no more, but, taking the baby for dead, have dropped her into the grave of the waters. I, however, have always been of a very different stamp from these; and all the wars, and discipline, and doctrine I have encountered, never could imbue me with the cruelty of my betters. Therefore I was shocked at thinking that the little dear was dead. AN interesting contribution to modern travels | been told himself. He also proves learnedly is furnished by a little work by Abdurrahman that witchcraft is wicked and contrary to the Effendi called a "Journey to Brazil," and writ-laws of Islam; but the inhabitants of those reten in Arabic. A few years ago, before the ex-gions are, in spite of all his efforts, yet very istence of the Suez Canal, the Turkish Govern- much given to that practice, as well as to ment had occasion to despatch a man-of-war to prophecy. The number of these black MussulBassra, which thus had to make the long jour-mans at Rio he estimates at no less than ney through the Mediterranean and the Atlan- 19,000; but we fear, in anything approaching tic, round the Cape, through the Indian Ocean to numbers or exact scientific information, our and the Persian Gulf. The vessel was forced author is not exactly the best guide imaginby stress of weather to run in for shelter at Rio able. de Janeiro. There, to the intense surprise of the author, a number of Mohammedans were found among the black population of the eapital. Their Islamism had indeed suffered greatly by the length of time and the distance from THE Augsburg Gazette publishes the translatheir co-religionists. Thus, they no longer tion of a number of the Pekin Gazette, the fasted in the Ramadhan, but in the month sole representative up to this time of the Chinese Shaban; they knew nothing as to the times of press. This reproduction is accompanied by prayer; none of them knew Arabic; their mar- notes and explanations occupying nearly as riages and their funerals were consecrated by much space as the text, a necessary precaution Catholic priests, by whom also their child- for European readers. The Chinese journal is ren were baptized. Strangely enough these interesting in so far as it initiates us into the priests did not seem to care for anything fur-customs and usages of the Celestial Empire. ther. Thus, in their place of worship they had Thus we find repeated mention in this number & Jew from Tangiers who wore a high turban, of employés who have been officially declared in and therefore called himself an Imaum, to offi- mourning. In the province of Chiang-Ksi, disciate for them. This ruan also served as inter-trict of Chung-Jou, one named Yang-Ksi Yüan preter between his flock and Abdurraham, to whom he told without any ceremony that, from what he had seen in his youth at Morocco, he felt fully competent to serve as Imaum. Nor was the astonishment all on the side of the new comers. The black Mohammedans were not a little surprised to see any faithful of a white complexion. According to their experience, all the white people were Christians, while all the Mohammedans were black. With the permission of his authorities Sheik Abdurrahman now left his vessel and sojourned for some years at Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Pernambuco, in order to instruct his co-religionists there in the elements of their common faith, and to educate some of them sufficiently to enable them to read the Koran in the original and to serve as teachers and Imaums to their black countryHe further made them give up pork and wine, and their wives had to veil themselves before strangers. There is a good deal of curious information also of the Munchausen type to be found in the volume written by the missionary at his return, but he only tells what he has men. A docu is declared in mourning; so of Sun-Keng, pro- From Macmillan's Magazine. A VICTIM OF PARIS AND VERSAILLES. [THE author of the following paper is a young English gentleman of good family and position. His name, though suppressed for good reasons, is known to the Editor, who has satisfied himself of the trustworthiness of the writer.] PART I. PARIS. our wives aud children, who are all là-bas, what will become of them? Oh, quel malheur ! quel malheur !. And to think that it is between Frenchmen, between brothers that they are going to fight! Oh, malheur, malheur ! It was indeed a grievous malheur, but there they were; and whether they got out or were forced to remain in Paris, I never heard. The following day, Saturday, April 1st, I LEFT England very hurriedly on the I found myself, about two o'clock in the 29th of March, 1871, for France, on pri- afternoon, opposite the Hôtel de Ville. vate business. Through carelessness I The crowd was great; barricades aboundomitted to provide yself with a passport ed; sentries were placed in every direcbefore starting, and had, in fact, no papers tion, and the whole place had a most marto prove my identity, except a few letters tial appearance. I got into conversation addreesed to me in my own name, which with an officer of the Guides de Garibaldi were about as useful to me as a sovereign who told me that the reason of the excitewould be to a dead man. I went via ment was a belief that Garibaldi himself Southampton, Havre, and Rouen. During had arrived; but that the report was the whole journey I was never once asked without foundation, as the General was for a passport, and travelled quite quietly too ill to leave home. On returning, I and without trouble. Just outside Paris heard the people saying, “Oh, il est bien we were twice stopped, the first time by the Prussians, the second by the National Guard; no papers were demanded of us, nor did they even look into the carriages. In my compartment were two men, who I often afterwards saw among the leaders of the Commune. là, le général Garibaldi, il est à l'Hôtel de Ville; nous l'avons même vû, il est arrivé toute à l'heure; so I was left in a pleasing state of doubt as to the exact truth till I read the paper next morning, when the report was officially contradicted. It was, however, the next day that the exThe first thing that struck me on my ar-citement reached its height, for it was the rival was the extreme tranquillity of the Sunday, April 2nd, on which the hostilistreets. Where were the flâneurs of the ties commenced, and no one knew what to Boulevards? Where were the well-dressed expect. A young foreigner whom I met ladies; the pères de familles with their the next day, told me that he had been in wives and children; the crowded cafés; the morning at the Hôtel de Ville for his in fact, all that one remembered of the final reception into the Guides de GariParis of some months ago? There were baldi, when the news arrived; that the the houses and the well-known places of captain of the troop to which he was to resort, it is true, but the life was wanting; belong had told him to be there at five here and there a few groups were to be o'clock in the evening, at which time he seen reading the last affiche or the even- presented himself, and was informed by ing paper; but except at the Porte St. the sentry that no one would be admitted Denis, the great thoroughfares were al- without a laissez-passer, to be obtained at most deserted. There, however, was no the Elysée. On his applying at the lastlack of vitality; numerous crowds were named place, he was told that the laissezdiscussing the events of the day, and the passer were given at the Hôtel de Ville itnoise and confusion were such as French-self, which turned out to be correct. The men only can make with success. excitement outside the Hôtel de Ville The next day (Friday, March 31st), I was great, for no one knew what had hapwent to the Porte Maillot in the afternoon. pened. The whole Place was cleared, The hostilities had not yet commenced, from the Rue du Renard as far as the Rue but there was evidently something in the St. Antoine; cannon were placed at the wind, for the gates were shut, and num- barricades, and every preparation was bers of peasants who had come in with made for receiving an enemy. The Rue their vegetables and other supplies were de la Verrerie became impassable, and all standing about and gesticulating wildly. the streets which commanded a view of I asked one man what was the matter, either the Place de 'Hôtel de Ville, Place and he shrieked out, "Oh, quel malheur! Lobau, or Place de la Mairie, were quel malheur! Think, monsieur, they thronged with spectators. The générale have shut the gates, and we poor wretches was beaten throughout the whole arronwill be obliged to remain in Paris. And dissement, and everything seemed to be token the near approach of the troops of Versailles. Towards eight o'clock, however, things quieted down, the public were once more permitted to circulate freely along the whole of the Rue de Rivoli, though entrance to any one of the Places was denied to them, strong cordons of National Guard: being placed to keep order. About eleven all was quiet, as if nothing had happened. evidence of my nationality, it was useless applying at the Embassy, so that I must make up my mind to serve the Commune. One thing I resolved-to keep myself as much in the background as possible. In about three or four hours I was summoned, and conducted before the members of the Commune for the arrondissement. They received me most civilly, and requested me to give my name, age, During the whole of the next week, be- profession, &c. This business concluded, ing entirely occupied with my own affairs, one of them took up a paper, and before I saw absolutely nothing; but on the fol- filling it up, said, "You will be placed in lowing Sunday, Easter-day, I went up to the th battalion, compagnies de guerre, the Arc de Triomphe to see the bombard- as you are under forty years of age." ment. The scene was more like that on "Messieurs" I replied, "your political afa race-course than any other I ever saw. fairs are no matter to me; and it is my Carriages with elegantly-dressed ladies, misfortune to be placed in this unpleasant gentlemen and officers on horseback and predicament; but I tell you that you may on foot, gamins with telescopes at so much shoot me if you will, but I absolutely rean hour, had come to see the destruction fuse to leave Paris to face the Versaillais, of their capital. "Chacun à son goût," who are no enemies of mine in particular, but at last two or three shells bursting and I therefore demand to be set at liberrather near them did not seem so well to ty." Upon this they all laughed, and told me their taste as those at a distance, and they to leave the room, and they would consult began to move off pretty quickly. The as to what should be done with me. After confusion of getting away was a wonder- some little time I was recalled, and inful sight. Everybody shouted "Par ici' formed that I was to be placed in the to everybody else; and when the firing same battalion, which would form part of became pretty hot, what with the shrieks a compagnie sédentaire. I again remonof the ladies, the oaths of the gentle-strated at this proceeding, and demanded men, and the crying of the children, it to be set at liberty; upon which they said was a chaos worse confounded" than usual. On Monday, April 10th, began my own particular part in this business, a part which was forced upon me, and in no pleasant manner. It was about half-past one, as I was returning from breakfast, that I met a sergeant and four men of the -th battalion, just opposite the Tour St. Jacques. On seeing me, they marched up to me, and the sergeant said, “Pardon, citoyen, but what is your battalion? " I answered that, being an Englishman, I did not belong to any battalion. "And your passport, citoyen?" Upon my replying that I had none, he requested me to go with him to the Mairie of the th Arrondissement, which was close by, and I was accordingly escorted thither by the four guards. On my arrival, I was shown into a cell, which, I must confess, was comfortable enough, though it might have been cleaner. I was locked in, and left to my own reflections, which, as may well be imagined, were not of the pleasantest kind. I had no passport, I had no one to whom I could apply, as the one friend I had in Paris, to whom I was well known, had left on Saturday the 8th, being above the required age; having no I must be drunk, and ordered me to be locked up till the next morning, when I was to be transferred to my battalion. Accordingly I was taken back to my cell, where I was deposited, and again locked in. The National Guards who were my gaolers were very kind, and bought me (with my own money, bien entendu) all I needed for dinner, giving me some of their own excellent coffee after it. As I had a mattress, bolster, and rug, I managed to pass a very good night. About nine o'clock next morning, I was taken before an official who did the duties of the Maire, where my name, &c. was inscribed on a card after which I was conducted to my company, which was on duty at the Timbre, Rue de la Banque. Here I was presented to my captain, a remarkably pleasant man, as indeed were all my comrades, and I can never forget the kindness I met with from them; the only regret have is my utter ignorance of their fate. I can scarcely hope that they all escaped the miserable lot that befel so many, but I should rejoice to hear that some at least were spared. On entering the captain's office and taking off my hat, I was told to put it on again, "as we are all equal here, citoyen;" and after the captain had said a few words to me, I was regaled with bread, sardines, and wine, the rations for the day. The captain was a young man of six-and-twenty, very fair, and with a particularly quiet, gentleman-like manner (he was, I believe, a carpet-weaver); he had been a soldier, and had served in Africa with distinction. The post which we occupied was not of the most comfortable description. A long corridor dimly lighted, with a large stove in the centre, and recesses on either side with a little straw in them for sleeping on, was all the accommodation; but as nearly all had rugs and great-coats, there was not much to complain of. I had neither rifle nor uniform, nor could I be provided with my equipment till the guard was dismounted, so that I was forced to make the best of things till that time, and remain as I was, for escape was out of the question. The next day, I was told off for the corvée des vivres; that is, the fatigue duty for the rations, and fatigue duty it certainly was; however, I do not regret it, as it gave me an opportunity of seeing what was absolutely impossible for any outsider to witness. From the Rue de la Banque we marched to the Place Vendôme, the head-quarters of the staff and centre of the troops in Paris. Though actually on duty, and escorted by a lieutenant of the National Guard, I was denied admission for some time, owing to my being in plain clothes. Having at last got in, we had plenty of time to look about us, for the of ficer had to wait more than two hours to get his order signed and stamped. The whole of the large Place was filled with National Guards, some in brown capotes, some in gray, some in light blue, and some in dark blue; some preparing to march, some cooking, some sleeping on their rugs on the pavement, and a great many drinking at the stalls. Talking with the cantiniéres was also a very popular occupation. Very trim and neat they looked in their pretty costume; a black jacket trimmed with red, fitting tightly to the figure, black trousers with a broad red stripe, covered to the knees with a petticoat of the same stuff, and a broad red band running round it, — all this, together with a Tyrolese hat and feathers, and the little barrel slung across the left shoulder, made up one of the prettiest costumes I ever saw. Ladies, I recommend it to your notice for the next fancy ball. Some prisoners were brought into the yard of the Etat Major, and taken away to be locked up, which naturally occa sioned great excitement, and numerous were the speculations as to their ultimate fate. The general impression seemed to be that they would be sent to Mazas or some other prison. At length we were summoned, with the other corvées of the battalion, to place ourselves in the ranks, in order to be told off for the different articles. My lot fell to go for the meat, and a long hot march we had as far as the Manutention, Quai de Billy, which is about three miles from the Place Vendôme. On arriving there, we learnt that we should have about three hours to wait, as the order was not en régle, and we therefore sat down on the parapet; and while watching the boats on the Seine, and listening to the distant firing, I reflected that red tape forms were to be found elsewhere than in the War Department of dear old England. After about two hours and a half the lieutenant returned, and told us we must go back, to the Place Vendôme, which we accordingly did, and on our arrival there were straightway sent back again to the Manutention. The same difficulty was made there as to my entrance, but I was at length allowed to pass, and the scene that presented itself was beyond description: large waggons filled with bread, bacon, coffee, barrels of wine and brandy, waiting to be discharged; other vehicles of every description, omnibuses, military train waggons, cabs, carts, and small hand trucks, heavily loaded, and with the addition of men of the corvée on the top, waiting to be off; National Guards of every battalion, artillerymen, cavalry, military train, Vengeurs de Paris, Defenseurs de Paris, Chasseurs Fédérés, Enfants Perdus, every hue and shade of colour; everybody shouting at the top of his voice, barrels piled in all directions with men standing or sitting on them, other barrels being rolled about to the imminent risk of one's toes, distracted officials rushing wildly about with papers in their hands; in fact, the whole made up a scene of unutterable confusion quite à la Balaclava, but if possible worse. Passing under an archway, where we were nearly crushed to death by an omnibus as full as it could hold, we at last arrived at the yard where the meat was distributed. Here the state of things was somewhat better, and after considerable pushing, squeezing, and swearing, we got to our destination. Hundreds of barrels of preserved pork were ranged in the most picturesque disorder, and as fast as one was emptied another was rapidly opened (an operation which involved a bath of greasy brine for those who were near), ately doubled, and every preparation and distributed according to weight, for made to receive them; but after remaining each order. The pools of brine were ankle-deep, and it was necessary to pass through them to carry away the meat. Our portion was given to us in two barrels, which we rolled through the yard to the omnibus we had engaged, stopping on our way to drink a glass of wine and eat a handful of biscuit, which were distributed to us in consideration of our long delay. Back again to the Place Vendôme, where the distribution of the ration3 (with the exception of the wine) was made for all the companies of the battalion, in the yard of the Intendance, and then back again to the Timbre, where the same ceremony was gone through. Each man received about a pound and a half of bread, and five hundred grammes of meat; the coffee, sugar, and brandy being put aside to be cooked together. For the wine we had to trudge to the new Grand Opéra, where we were served in a passage so dark that I wonder how the men could see to measure it. From the Grand Opéra we were obliged to go to the headquarters of the battalion for the distribution, and away we marched right past the Hôtel de Ville, and then back again to the Grand Opéra to return the hand-truck we had borrowed to carry the barrels on. It was eleven at night before I sat down to my dinner, and as I had been on foot since eight in the morning, and had eaten nothing but a handful of biscuit all that time, I was hungry enough. I slept that night on straw as I had never slept before in my life. under arms till six o'clock, we were re- The next day it was the same thing, with the exception of the journey to the During my stay in the battalion, I was Grand Opéra, as the wine was distributed on duty at the Bureau de Police, Quai at the Place Vendôme, so that, to our Napoléon, where I witnessed the finding great satisfaction, we had finished by four of the stores of ammunition in the caves o'clock in the afternoon. There was such of Notre Dame, the reason alleged for the a want of organization that one never murder of the Archbishop of Paris, as they knew where to go for the rations; one day said that he had no right, as a non-comit was to the Place Vendóme, another to batant, to connive at the secretion of the Manutention, a third to the mairie of stores; and a still greater reason, that the arrondissement to which the battalion they wished to deal a decisive blow at the belonged, and a fourth to the Grand Opéra; Church (for the hatred of the cures was one day the orders were to be signed at something beyond belief). The perquisithe Ministry of War, another at the Place tion at the cathedral was made on the 19th Vendôme, and another at the Mairie, so of April, and the Archbishop was not asthat more time was lost in waiting and sassinated till the very last week of the running about than would have sufficed to Commune, so that I think that this can supply the whole of Paris. only have been made an excuse for so We stayed at the Timbre five days in all, and most uncomfortable it was. On the day that we were relieved, Saturday, April 15th, cruel and wicked an act. I was also on duty at the Mont de Piété, Rue des Blancs Manteaux, and at the Mairie of the th an alarm was raised, at three Arrondissement. During all this time, o'clock in the morning, that the enemy about eighteen days, I can find nothing to were in Paris. The sentries were immedi- record that has not been already published LIVING AGE. VOL. XXIII. 1057 |