les. Oh, the misery and wretchedness of
that weary march! The sun poured fiercely down on our uncovered
heads, our throats were parched with thirst, our blistered feet
and tired legs could hardly support our aching bodies. Now and
again a man utterly worn out would drop by the wayside. One of our
guard would then dismount, and try by kicks and blows to make him
resume his place in the line. In all cases those measures proved
unavailing, and a shot in the rear told us that one of our number
had ceased to exist. The executioner would then fall into his place,
laughing and chatting gayly with his comrades.

"Towards eight o'clock in the evening we entered Versailles. If
the curses we had endured in Paris were frightful and numerous,
here they were multiplied tenfold. We toiled up the hill leading to
Satory, through mud ankle deep. 'There stand the _mitrailleuses_,
ready for us,' said one of my companions. Then, indeed, for the
first time I felt afraid, and wished I had been among those who had
been executed in the daytime, rather than be horribly wounded and
linger in my misery; for no sure aim is taken by a _mitrailleuse_.

"The order came to halt, and I waited for the whirring sound; but,
thank God! I waited in vain. We set ourselves in motion once more,
and soon were in an immense courtyard surrounded by walls, having
on one side large sheds in which we were to pass the night. With
what eagerness did we throw ourselves on our faces in the mud, and
lap up the filthy water in the pools! There was another Englishman,
as well as several Americans, among our number, also some Dutch,
Belgians, and Italians. The Englishman had arrived in Paris from
Brest on May 14 to 'better himself,' and had been immediately arrested
and put in prison by the Commune. Being released on the 21st of
May, he was captured the next day by the Versaillais. I remained
all the time with him till my release.

"On Wednesday, May 31, we were despatched to Versailles to be examined
at the _orangerie_. The _orangerie_ is about seven hundred feet long
and forty broad, including two wings at either end. It is flagged
with stone, on which the dust accumulates in great quantities.
According to my experience, it is bitterly cold at night, and very hot
in the daytime. Within its walls, instead of fragrant orange-trees,
were four to five thousand human beings, now herded together in a
condition too miserable to imagine, a prey to vermin, disease,
and starvati