“Messieurs Thiers, Favre, Picard, Dufaure, Simon and Pothuan are
    impeached; their property will be seized and sequestrated until they
    deliver themselves up to public justice.”

This impeachment and sequestration, will it bring back husbands to the widows and fathers to the orphans?

    “The Commune of Paris adopts the families of citizens who have
    fallen or may fall in opposing the criminal aggression of the
    Royalists, directed against Paris and against the French republic.”

Infinitely better than adopting the orphans would be to save the fathers from death.  Oh, these absurd decrees!  You separate the Church from the State; you suppress the budget of public worship; you confiscate the property of the clergy.  A pretty time to think about such acts!  What is necessary, what is indispensable, is to restore quiet, to avoid massacres, and to stifle hatred.  That you will not decree.  No! no!  That which is now happening you have desired, and you still desire it; you have profited by the provocations you have received to bring about the most frightful conflict which the history of unfortunate France records; and you will persevere, and in order to revive the fainting courage of those whom you have devoted to inevitable defeat and death, you bring into action all the hypocrisy with which you have charged your enemies!

    “Bergeret and Flourens have joined their forces; they are marching
    on Versailles.  Success is certain!”

You cause this announcement to be placarded in the street—­false news, is it not?  But men can only be led to their ruin by being deceived.  You add: 

    “The fire of the army of Versailles has not occasioned us any
    appreciable loss.”

Ah!  As to this let us ask the women who await at the gates of the city the return of your soldiers, and crowd sobbing round the bloody litters!

FOOTNOTES: 

[Footnote 34:  The combined plan of the three generals of the Commune consisted, like the famous plan of General Boum, in proceeding by three different roads:  the first column, under the orders of Bergeret, seconded by Flourens, went by Rueil; the second, commanded by Duval, marched upon Versailles by lower Meudon, Chaville, and Viroflay; covered by the fire of Fort Issy, and the redoubt of Moulineaux; and lastly, the third, with General Eudes at its head, took the Clamart road, protected by the fort of Vanves.]

[Footnote 35:  Though no fort covered Bergeret’s eight battalions with its fire, yet Bergeret was so sure that the artillerymen of Mont Valerien would do as the line did on the 18th of March, i.e., refuse to fire, that he advanced boldly as far as the bridge of Neuilly, and had made a halt at the Rond-Point des Bergeres, when a heavy cannonading from Mont Valerien separated a part of the column from its main body.]