t, to the ground. One old _cure_,
with long hair white as snow, had the whole of one side of his head
shot away, and still remained standing. After I had seen this, I
could bear it no longer, but, reckless of consequences, moved away
and left the ground, feeling very sick. As I was in the act of
leaving, I observed a lad, a mere boy of fourteen or fifteen, draw
a heavy horseman's pistol from his belt and fire in the direction
of the dead and dying. He was immediately applauded by the mob, and
embraced by those who stood near as 'a good patriot.' And here let
me remark that those who have thought it cruel and inhuman on the
part of the conquerors to arrest and detain as prisoners _gamins_
of from twelve to sixteen, are quite mistaken. Those who remained
at the barricades to the last, and were most obstinate in their
defence, were the boys of Paris. They were fierce and uncontrollable,
and appeared to be veritably possessed of devils. The difference
between the irregular corps and the National Guard was that the
latter had, with very few exceptions, been forced to serve, like
myself, under compulsion, or by the stern necessity of providing
bread for their wives and children, while the Irregulars were all
volunteers, and had few married men in their ranks."

Later in the day two mounted officers in plain clothes, one of
them a captain, whom our friend had served as orderly, called him
and an artilleryman out of the ranks, and ordered them to accompany
them. After a devious course through obscure streets of Paris, the
officers gave them some money, and ordered them to go into the
next street and see if they could procure plain clothes. Having
done so, they returned to the place where their officers had promised
to wait for them; but they had disappeared. This was, in truth, a
good-natured _ruse_ to save the lives of the two privates, though
at the time it was not so understood. Not knowing what to do, they
attempted to return to their regiments, but at the first outpost
they were challenged by the sentry. They had been away five hours,
and the countersign had been changed. They were arrested, and carried
to the nearest _mairie_. They were led upstairs and taken before
a member of the Commune who was sitting at a table covered with
papers, busily writing, surrounded by men of all ranks and uniforms.
On hearing their story, he turned round, and said, in excellent
English, "What are you doing here, an Englishman and in plain