THE DEATH OF A GREAT ARTIST.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume X, Issue 572, 28 August 1880, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE DEATH OF A GREAT ARTIST.

Regnault was killed in the performance of his duty at Bougival, on the 19th of of January, struck down by almost the 1 : .st shot fired under the walls of Paris. The mobilised battalions of the National Guard had received an order to attach the Prussians intrenched behind the walls of the Park of Bougival. The French soldiers fought heroically all day, but to' no effect. When evening came the com- : mand to retire was given. Among those whose fate was uncertain was Henri llegnault. His c«nirades had seen hiinlingering behind, and implored him to", c >me on with them. ' I only wantto. fireoff my last cartridges, and will j->in^you immediately,' answered the brave young - voice through the smoke and twilight, ft' was the last ever seen or heard of him. The news of his disappearance was known that night. in Paris. All, however, were" unwilling to believe he was killed. At d.iwn next day, his friend, George Clairin, sot out to seek his friend on the field of b ittle, but in vain, and it was only on thp 22nd of January that the body was recogr nised among the dead brought to the cemetery of Pere-la-Chaise for Vurial. The effect the confirmation of his sad fate cuised in Paris was most remarkable*Although suffering under the humiliation of a vast national disaster, there were tears left to shed for the loss, of hiixv who had died so bravely fighting in her" cause. The funeral service was read on the eve of the capitulation of the c ipit&l, the solemn silence being only, broken at rare intervals by the boom of the cannon on the distant ramparts.Henri's family were absent, ignorant even of his sad-fate; but a wreath of white' lilac that lay on his coffin testified therewas one who mourned more deeply and. hopelessly than even father, brother, or sisters. All the artistic and literary world were present also to do their young, comrade honour ; for in those cultivated circles, where it reigns supreme and is a portion of the national life and pride, they felt a ray of brightness had departed and that the angel of death had indeed dealt thim a cruel blow. Although he had only exhibited a few works, all had felt, with the appreciative sensibility of their race, that there was the promise of a great artist in the brave, bright spirit that had been snatched from among them'. And so. during the cruel, sad months that followed, the great city shed many a tear en his grave, chanted many a poem in his howour, and enshrined his memory for ever, in her groat beating heart, among those\.of her bust-loved and most gifted children.—' Temple Bar.'