porter.

"'Yes; why not? Of course I approved it. I went at once to La Roquette,
to be present at the execution. We were one hundred and fifty men,
but one hundred and twenty of them slunk away, and only thirty
remained for the work we came for.'

"'And what did you do?'

"'_Ma foi!_ I don't particularly care to say what I did; it might
injure me here where I have got work. We called out the men we
came to shoot, and we shot them as that kind of thing is generally
done. We took them down into a courtyard, put them against a wall,
and gave the order to fire; that was all.'

"After a minute's silence, Megy added: 'It was all M. Thiers' fault.
We offered to give him up the hostages if he would give us Blanqui;
but he refused, and so we shot them. After the execution I fought to
the last. I escaped from Paris in a coal-cart, and went to Geneva.
I have had work in London and in Birmingham, and now I have got
work in New York.'"

He went on to affirm that there was a large colony of Communists in
that city; that America needed revolutionizing as much as France;
that Cardinal McCloskey might find himself in the same position
as Monseigneur Darboy; and so on.

I have quoted this interview with Megy at some length, because it
shows the Communists painted by one of their own number. Before
the reporter left him, he chanced to pronounce the name of Mr.
Washburne. "Washburne is a liar and a cur," cried Megy, angrily.
"Before the Commune ended, some of our people asked him what the
Versailles Government would do with us if we surrendered or were
conquered. 'I assure you,' he said, 'you would be shot.' During
the siege of Paris, Washburne was a German spy. He is a villanous
old rascal."

In studying the history of the Commune, it is desirable to remember
dates. The whole affair lasted seventy-three days. On March 18 the
guns on Montmartre were taken by the populace, Generals Lecomte
and Thomas were shot, and the Commune was proclaimed. Military
operations were begun April 4. On April 9 Fort Valerien began to
throw shells into Paris. From that day forward, the Versailles
troops continued to advance, taking possession one by one of the
forts and the positions of the Federals. On Sunday, May 21, the
Versailles troops began to enter Paris, and fought their way steadily
from street to street till Sunday, May 27, when all was over. The
hostages were not hostages in the true sense of the word; they had
not been given up in pledge