This proclamation was made known to the inhabitants of Châtou by the public crier, who, after each beat of the drum, added:
"The President of the Municipal Committee of Châtou
warns the inhabitants in the interest of their own safety,
that those who offer an asylum to the enemies of the Republic
will render themselves subject to the laws of war.
"Laubeuf
"President."
None of the three columns had been successful. The
sortie en masse had failed; a few thousand insurgents had
reached Versailles, but in a character totally different from
that in which they had hoped to arrive. Compared with
the number of troops engaged, the losses in killed and
wounded were small; but it was the commencement of
a furious strife, and one of the most inauspicious and
saddest days in the history of France—the beginning of
fearful civil war, brother literally fighting against brother;
and well might the poor old lady of Neuilly say, "Thank
God my poor boy was killed by the Prussians; this
would have been too dreadful." Still the Commune, instead
of stopping this bloodshed at the beginning, stimulated
its adherents by reports of success or of deeds of
murder and retaliation supposed to have been committed
by the Versaillists.
The official journal of the Commune, published the 7th of April, contains the following:
"Citizens:—The Journal Officiel of Versailles contains the following: 'Some men recognized as belonging to the army and seized with arms in their hands, have been shot, in accordance with the rigor of military law which condemns to death all soldiers fighting against their flag.'
"That horrible avowal requires no commentary, and
