THE FALL OF THE VENDOME COLUMN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1200, 27 February 1885, Page 3

THE FALL OF THE VENDOME COLUMN.

The destruction or injury of beautiful and historically inteiestiuj structures were among the chief pleasun s of tbe men of the Commune. Their greatest exploit in this resoect was the demolition of the famous Napoleon column in the Place Veudome It was resolved, on the 13th April, io null down the pillar erected in memory of the Grand Armv and its achievements. After several delays and postponements, owbrn chhfly to the engineering d :ffi mlties attending ou the de.d e to make the vast moon merit fall instantaneously, the act of detr. ruction was effected ou the 16ch May. The column had been partly undermined at she hasc, and a number of ropes, works * by machinery on the Place, were wound about it. A bed of sand, fagots and manure was prepare ! for the huge mass to fall upon, that the concussion to the surrounding buildings might be lessened. The motives which determined the Commune to shatter he column at one stroke were probably twofold. It was donbt'esa perceived by the revolutionary leaders that their p >wer had not ihe faintest chance of lastin long enough ;o admit of the slow proe- sa of a gradual demo’.itio , and there was some* rhing theatrical and impressive in causing this toweiing monument to disappear at a word of command. Accordingly, the o'dicial journal, on the morning of the 10th announced that the column would p. siUvely fall that day at two’clock in the afternoon. At the hour named, a large crowd of spectator assembled. The members of the Commune and their staff, amounting to 200, attended on horseback. B nds played, and everything was done to give the occasion a festive character. At a quarter past three the first attempt was made to pull the column down; but it failed owing to the breaking of a snatch bock The topes slackened suddenly, and two men were injured Some time was lost iu repairing the machinery ; fresh roj.-s were a .tied, and Colonel >layer, c-omiu.inning in the Place Vt-ndome, asce ided to the top of th- column, and waved a small tricolour flag. He. then tore the flag, cried “ Long live the Commune !” i ied the flaghead’ to the rails at the summit of the pillar, and descended. When the ropes wore tightened for the «;• ond time the band struck up the “ Marseillais",” and all eyes were fixed on the ■ cornel monument. This time the attorn ‘t was successful. “It falls i” exclaimed the onlookers, and, a little before s x o’clock, the great, mass bowed slowly towards Rue de la Paix. As it fell it broke up it.to pieces in the air. and struck the ground in about four pot lions. A loud yet dull report followed, and clouds of ust rose into the sky ; but the concussion was noth ing bke so ba las most people ha! expected. The column forced itself s mo way into the ground ; but no windows were broken, nor was t.be square in any way injured. As soon as the huge fragmen’s bad settled I themselves, Colonel Mayer mounted tbe pedestal and frantically waved a red fl;g Another member of the Commune delivered an oration appropriate to the occasion, which consisted of a trenchant attack on the character and arts of the first Napoleon. A Versailles despatch, issued shortly afterwards, announced, with a brevity which had something impressive about it, that, according to a telegram received from Mont Valdriean “the top of the Vend- me column had disappeared from the hj iriz-m.” —From Cas-nlTs illustrated History of the FrancoGerman War.