Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 May 1887 — The Mob In the Tuilcries. [ARTICLE]

The Mob In the Tuilcries.

A most curious event occurred at the Palace of the Tu leries on Sunday afternoon, May 10, IH7I. There was a grand concert given there at that time under the direction of the Communard authorities. The proposed “Concours” was widely advertised in the city, and every effort was made to have it a grand success. As its avowed purpose was a beneficent one, the appeal made to the Communard population of Paris was a very strong one. The attendance was large, and a great amount of money was taken in. The concert was advertised for Sunday evening, but there was an immense affair in the garden of the Tuileries in the afternoon. There were not less, than ten thousand persons present. There was “music with its voluptuous swellthe bands of a great many regiments, and no less than one thousand musicians, playing and singing the soul-stirring Marseillaise. But it was in the evening that there was the greatest interest. The Palace of the Tuileries was thrown open to the public, and the great horde of men, women, and children went through the gardens, and defiled through the gorgeous and magnificent apartments of the palace. Though I knew all about the concert, I did not deem it a fitting occasion to be present myself on a Sabbath day, but I sent one of my secretaries to see what was to be seen and to report to me. He stated that what he there beheld was a most remarkable and interesting sight. Ten thousand people filled ali the apartments, wandering everywhere at their ease, and examining into every nook and corner of the vast palace. The comments of the rabble were most amusing. Mv secretary kept along with the crowd everywhere, seeing all that was to be seen, and' listening to all that was said. Great interest centered in the private apartments of the Empress. The gorgeous belongings were everywhere commented upon by the mob. The bath-room of the Empress attracted great attention. It was represented as very handsome, and as a marvel of luxury, beauty, and taste. It was surrounded by heavy plate mirrors. The bath was cut out of solid marble. The ceilings were covered with’rich blue silk-velvet. The faucets in the bath were of solid silver. All that was seen was described by the Communards as evidence of the profligacy and the lux-* ury of the Court, in the vast increase of the taxes levied upon them. Not one man in the crowd, it is safe to' say, had ever paid a cent of taxes in his life.— E. B. Wasshburnr, in S ribner’s Magazine.