France had raised an army for the relief of Paris, and that it was
in motion under an old general with the romantic name of Aurelles des
Paladines, that it had driven the Prussians out of Orleans, and was
coming on with all speed to the capital. The Parisians were eager
to make a sortie and to join this relieving army. General Trochu was
not so eager, having no great confidence in his _francs-tireurs_, his
National Guard, and his Mobiles. They numbered in all four hundred
thousand men; but eighty thousand serviceable soldiers would have
been worth far more.

On November 28, however, the sortie was made; and had the expected
army been at hand, it might have been successful. The Parisians
crossed the Marne, and fought the Prussians so desperately that in
two days they had lost more men than in the battles at Gravelotte.
But on the third day an order was given to return to Paris; the
Government had received reliable information that the Army of the
Loire (under Aurelles des Paladines) had met with a reverse, and
would form no junction with the Parisian forces.

By the end of November cannon had been cast in the beleaguered city,
paid for, not by the Government, but by individual subscription.
These guns were subsequently to playa tragic part in the history
of the city. Some carried farther than the Prussian guns. All of
them had names. The favorite was called Josephine, and was a great
pet with the people.

Christmas Day of that sad year arrived at last, and New Year's
Day, the great and joyful fête-day in all French families. A few
confectioners kept their stores open, and a few boxes of bonbons
were sold; but presents of potatoes, or small packages of coffee,