The studies had to be made within hearing of
the besieging guns; and I could sometimes go to a window and see
flashes of artillery from one of the fortifications to the south.
Nearly every day I took a walk through the town, occasionally as
far as the Arc de Triomphe. The story of the Commune has been so
often written that I cannot hope to add anything to it, so far as the
main course of events is concerned. Looking back on a sojourn at so
interesting a period, one cannot but feel that a golden opportunity
to make observations of historic value was lost. The fact is,
however, that I was prevented from making such observations not only
by my complete absorption in my work, but by the consideration that,
being in what might be described as a semi-official capacity, I did
not want to get into any difficulty that would have compromised
the position of an official visitor. I should not deem what we
saw worthy of special mention, were it not that it materially
modifies the impressions commonly given by writers on the history
of the Commune. What an historian says may be quite true, so far
as it goes, and yet may be so far from the whole truth as to give
the reader an incorrect impression of the actual course of events.
The violence and disease which prevail in the most civilized country
in the world may be described in such terms as to give the impression
of a barbarous community. The murder of the Archbishop of Paris and
of the hostages show how desperate were the men who had seized power,
yet the acts of these men constitute but a small part of the history
of Paris during that critical period.

What one writes at the time is free from the suspicion that may
attach to statements not recorded till many years after the events
to which they relate. The following extract from a letter which I
wrote to a friend, the day after my arrival, may therefore be taken
to show how things actually looked to a spectator:--

Dear Charlie,--Here we are, on this slumbering volcano.
Perhaps you will hear of the burst-up long before you get
this. We have seen historic objects which fall not to the
lot of every generation, the barricades of the Paris streets.
As we were walking out this morning, the pavement along one
side of the street was torn up for some distance, and used
to build a temporary fort. Said fort would be quite strong
against musketry or the bayonet; but with heavy shot against
it, I should think it would be