as soon as the news of the capture had spread in the quarter, the drums beat to arms, and in a short time the troops were found fraternising with the National Guards of Belleville, who got possession again of the Buttes Chaumont, and not only retook their own guns, but also those which the artillery had brought up to support the manoeuvre of the infantry of the line.  At the same time, the 120th shamefully allowed themselves to be disarmed by the people, and the insurgents became masters of the barracks of the Prince Eugene.

At about four o’clock in the afternoon, two columns of National Guards, each composed of three battalions, made their way towards the Hotel de Ville, where they were joined by a dozen other battalions from the left bank of the river; at the same hour, the insurgent guards of Belleville took and occupied the Imprimerie Nationale, the Napoleon Barracks, the staff-quarters of the Place Vendome, and the railway stations; the arrest of General Chanzy completed the work of the day, which had been put to profitable account by the insurgents.—­“Guerre de Comunneux de Paris.”

III. (Page 77.)

THE PRUSSIANS AND THE COMMUNE.

The enemies of yesterday, the Prussians, did not disdain to enter into communication with the Central Committee on the 22nd of March.  This was an additional reason for the new masters of Paris to regard their position as established, and the Official Journal took care to make known to the public the following despatch received from Prussian head-quarters:—­

“To the actual Commandant of Paris, the Commander-in-Chief of the third corps d’armee.

“Head-quarters, Compiegne,

“21st March, 1871.

“The undersigned Commander-in-Chief takes the liberty of informing you that the German troops that occupy the forts on the north and east of Paris, as well as the neighbourhood of the right bank of the Seine, have received orders to maintain a pacific and friendly attitude, so long as the events of which the interior of Paris is the theatre, do not assume towards the German forces a hostile character, or such as to endanger them, but keep within the terms settled by the treaty of peace.

“But should these events assume a hostile character, the city of Paris will be treated as an enemy.

“For the Commandant of the third corps of the Imperial armies,

“(Signed) Chief of the Staff, VON SCHLOSHEIM,

“Major-General.”

Paschal Grousset, the delegate of the Central Committee for Foreign Affairs, who had succeeded Monsieur Jules Favre, but who instead of minister was called delegate, which was much more democratic, replied as follows:—­

“Paris, 22nd March, 1871.

“To the Commandant-in-Chief of the Imperial Prussian Armies.

“The undersigned, delegate of the Central Committee for Foreign Affairs, in reply to your despatch dated from Compiegne the 21st instant, informs you that the revolution, accomplished in Paris by the Central Committee, having an essentially municipal character, has no aggressive views whatever against the German armies.