“My name is Ducatel, and I belong to the service of the Engineers of Roads and Bridges, and I have been a soldier.  I declare that your entrance into Paris is easy, and as a guarantee of the truth of what I say, I am about to give myself up;” so saying, he passed over the fosse by means of one of the supports of the drawbridge, in spite of several shots fired at him by Federals hidden in the houses at Auteuil, but none of which reached him.

A few resolute men now passed over the fosse, and arrived without accident on the other side.  A few insurgents, who were still there, made off without loss of time, leaving the invaders to establish themselves, and wait for reinforcements.

A short time after a white flag was exhibited in the neighbouring bastion, which bore the number 62, and the fire from Montretout and Mont Valerien was stopped, the infantry of the Marine took possession of the gate, out the telegraphic wires which were supposed to be in communication with torpedoes, while information was immediately despatched to Versailles of these important events.

The division of General Verge, placed for the time under the orders of General Douay, entered the gate at half-past three in the afternoon, and took possession of Point du Jour, after having taken several barricades; at one of these, Ducatel was sent with a flag of trace towards the insurgents, who offered to surrender, but he received a bayonet wound, was carried off to the Ecole Militaire, tried by court-martial and condemned to death, from which he was fortunately snatched by the arrival of the Versailles troops at the Trocadero at two o’clock in the morning.

At the same time, the first corps d’armee (that of General L’Admirault), made its way into the city by the Portes d’Auteuil and Passy, and took up a strong position in the streets of Passy.]

[Footnote 99:  At ten o’clock at night, the army had taken possession of the region comprised between the ceinture, or circular railway, and the fortifications, the streets of Auteuil to the viaduct, and the bridge of Grenelle.

At midnight, the movement which had been suspended for a time to rest the troops, was recommenced all along the line.

At two o’clock in the morning, General Douay occupied the Trocadero; and at about four o’clock his soldiers, after a short struggle, captured the chateau of La Muette, making about six hundred prisoners, and then, advancing in the direction of Porte Maillot, they joined the troops of General Clinchant, who had got within the ramparts on that side.

At the break of day, the tricolour floated over the Arc de Triomphe, without the Versailles forces having sustained sensible loss.  All this passed on the right bank of the Seine.]

[Footnote 100:  The insurrectionists followed a decided and pre-conceived plan.  The barricades, which intersected the streets of Paris in every direction, were arranged on a general system which showed considerable skill.  Was this ensemble a conception of Cluseret? or a plan of Gaillard, or Eudes, or Rossel?  No one now could say which, but at any rate we are able to deduce the plan from the facts and set it out as follows:—­