Diary of a Frenchman: A Soldiers Story, Part Deux

From the diary of Pierre Maugin, Corporal, 119th Regiment of the French Army, we gain insight into the life of a soldier in 1871. To recap; the Prussian army has surrounded Paris and captured Napoleon III. In the heart of Paris is civil unrest, "La Commune", the grandmother of the socialist movement. The army must defend the government from both factions, meanwhile Paris is starving. Dated January 2nd, 1871: "Crossing Neuilly at 4:00 in the afternoon we were called to Paris to take over the Hotel de Ville. (occupied by "La Commune") We had to stay the whole night in the street. We went to seek shelter in the stables of the police. All we had to eat was the horses. From outside of Paris we could hear bombs from the Prussians and we felt the fighting spirit of revolt. January 23rd: "We have moved into the barracks of Quai d'Orsay between Invalides and Champs de Mars. The price of butter has reached 50 francs a pound. Eggs are 1 franc each." February 3rd: "We have moved to Goeblins and Rue Moufftard. There is no bread to be bought. People would queue two hours for bread and only 300 grams of bread was available for the day. We had a ration card from the baker. Everyone was eating cats and dogs, and rats cost 1 franc each!" Next week the story takes a turn, while Paris continues its foray into creative cuisine. Note: To put things into perspective, the approximate value by todays standards, (in U.S. currency) for a pound of butter would be $12.50. One dozen eggs would be $3.00, and a delicious rat; 25 cents!