The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-05 00:00:00

A NICHT OF HORROR.

The following ban extract from a letter, dated the 27th inst.,
received from Mr. Herbert IV. Page, one of the assistant-sur-
geons at the International Field Hospital at Bingen-on-the
Rhine Last night, amid a storm unparalleled for its vio-
lence, and such as I never shMI forget, which rose as sud-
denly as it departed, after 45 minutes' duration, the whole
hospital was swept oil the face of the earth. Never was such
scene; liver such agony ! lilt was awful for wounded
men, without shoes or stockinga, with nothing but their
blanket., which lea second were drenched, to tom out and
be exposed to the elements, it was even worse for the sick.
Imagines typhoid fever patient, for whom it is almost fatal
to move in bed, having to take up his bed and walk. The
storm began at b 15 p as., and not till one this morning did
we succeed in housing the unfortunate creatures In the
operation-room, In the porter's lodge, and in the hotel.
The wonder is that they all lived through it. Today, what
a wreck ! Nearly every roof Is stripped, and the people
declare they never remember such a storm. The red I leave
to your Imagination."

A CI I) DAT FOR GENERAL CHAFIGARNISR !
A German officer, writing from helot° Metz, thus relate.
the opening if the negotiations for a surrender :—"tin
the evening of the 2ith a letter arrived at ilead-huarters
from Reissue, requesting an interview for General Chan-
gander on the morrow. Paine.° Frederick Charles granted
this, and arranged that the General should be met by two
orderlies near the outposta at eleven a in. They, however, did
not find him. The ground, 2,4100 paces in breadth, between
our outposts and the enemy wan thronged with unarmed
French people, who had come within 100 steps of our lines in
order to hunt for potatoes, grapes, and forage ; this went
on all the morning. The French took oil their hats to
our outposts, pointed to their stomachs, and made ges-
tures indicative of hunger, our soldiers then winked,
the French began their task and turned back when they
had filled their sacks. The soldiers bad through this be-
come so audacious that we were yesterday 25tti) forced to
drive them with sticks out of • village which they had neon.
pied and would not vacate. As the General did not come
our orderlies took a ilag of truce and went, surrounded by
hundreds of unarmed enemies, up to the French trenches,
where the guard received them. On their saying they ex-
pected the General, an approaching carriage was pointed oat
to them. Changarnier, a venerable man of about SO, but
tolerably active, begged that he might ride as far as possible
as he could not walk far. Our officers sent for the carriage,
and it came no close up that the General had only to climb
over •small trench. Changarnier is • Republican, but offered
his services to the Emperor after the battle of Woerth, and
since the Stir of August had been in Metz, where he was at-
tached to liagaine, without having any separate command.
He was blindfolded and on his arrival here was received by
General Stiehle, and conducted to the Prince. The interview
lasted an hour and a half, and he was accompanied as far as
the carriage. The General was heartbroken, and hi, last
words were, •We shall fall, but with honour I wish, gentle-
men, that neither of you nor any brave soldier may ever ex-
perience this.' Thereupon a flood of tears is:reamed from hie
eves. its wasted back blindfolded past the outpost.. There
the handkerchief being removed, he observed the potato-
seekers, and delivered an eulogium on our soldiers. Ile added
that he hoped the negotiations in the evening would lead to
some result. The rendezvous arranged with the Prince was
hell at the Chateau Frescaly. A French General of Division
and General Stiehl° med. We fixed our conditions on the
basis of the capitulations of Sedan and Strasburg. The
French General was at first very angry, but ultimately Cock
them back with him to Metz."

S.I;II3TITCTING BLACK, RED AND GOLD BANNERS Edit
BLACK, KID AND WRITE!
Dr. Strauss, in an article in the Allgemeine Zeitang, re.
marks that In South Germany, on the announoement of
every fresh victory, the number of black, red, and gold
banners which are displayed decreases in proportion to the
black, red, and white. The latter have been the colours of
Prussia since I[:,;q, when on the formation of the North
German Confederation it added red to Its old black and
white. The Back, red, and gold combination only dates
from 1815-19, when it was chosen by the German youths. It
was suppressed by the Princes and the Diets, but was revived
in 1348 by the Democrats, nod in 1366 by the South German
Princes who were opp ,sed to Prussia. It never, however,
was the symbol of the old German Empire, whose colours
were black and gold. Dr. Strauss contends that the black,
red, and gold should be abandoned, as indicative of the
dreamy or childish stage of German unity, and that the
Prussian colours shoul I be adopted as the national ones.
As to the question whether the crowned head of Germany
should be called King or Emperor, he admits that the latter
title never brought any good to Germany ; that in France,
in spite of the late Emperor's well-known declaration, It
signified wars of conquest, and that the kingly title would,
therefore, give foreigners the most confidence in German
love of peace. Am, h , Germany Is still to have kings,
its head most be called emperor. "God, indeed, is called
the King of Kings, and He knows how, in spite of similar
titles, to point out their master to these mortal colleagues ;
but the man occupying that position must be in human
fashion, raised above them by title and rank."