ce."

Where is the necessity, since you have the indomitable energy of the
National Guard?".

"Convinced that Paris under arms possesses as much calmness as
bravery ..."

You will find that a very difficult thing to persuade France to believe.

"... That it maintains order with equal energy and enthusiasm ..."

Order? No doubt, that which reigned at Warsaw; the order that reigned on
the day after the 2nd of December.

"... That it sacrifices itself with as much judgment as heroism ..."

Yes; the judgment of a man who throws himself out of a fourth-floor
window to prove that his head is harder than the paving-stones.

"... That it is only armed through devotion for the glory and
liberty of all--let France cause this bloody conflict to cease!"

She'll cause it to cease, never fear, but not in the way you understand
it.

"It is for France to disarm Versailles ..."

Up to the present time she has certainly done precisely the contrary.

"... by the manifestations of her irresistible will. As she will be
partaker in our conquests, let her take part in our efforts, let her
be our ally in this conflict, which can only finish by the triumph
of the Communal idea, or the ruin of Paris."

The ruin of Paris! That is only, I suppose, a figurative expression.

"For ourselves, citizens of Paris, it is our mission to accomplish
the modern revolution, the grandest and most fruitful of all those
that have illuminated history.

"Our duty is to struggle and to conquer!

"THE COMMUNE OF PARIS."

Such is this long, emphatic, but often obscure declaration. It is not
wanting, however, in a certain eloquence; and, although frequently
disfigured by glaring exaggerations, it contains here and there some
just ideas, or at least, such as conform to the views of the great
majority. Will it destroy the bad effect produced by the successive
defeats of the Federals at Neuilly and at Asnieres? Will it produce any
good feeling towards the Commune in the minds of those who are daily
drawing farther and farther from the men of the Commune? No; it is too
late. Had this proclamation been placarded fifteen or twenty days
sooner, some parts of it might have been approved and the rest
discussed. Today we pass it by with a smile. Ah! many things have
happened during the last three days. The acts of the Commune of Paris no
longer allow us to take its declarations seriously, and we