The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-08-13 00:00:00

IN MET!, A SHORT TIME AFTER THE BATTLE OP
WEISEENBUEG.

" On entering a cafe I heard everyone discussing the same
subject and learnt that the 20,0 0 prisoners had rben to
40,000. Your readtrs may think that lam joking, but I ani
stating the simple fact. I was told during an hour or so, and
In the most serious manner, not by one person only but by
twenty or thirty people, that 'the Prussians had been de-
feated by Marshal Nlacllahnn, who bad captured 40,000 pri-
soners.' "—Daily :Vexes' Correspondent.

LIKING IT,

Tht Tintei Paris Correspondent in writing of the ef-
fect of the news of the battle of Weireenburg, says :
During the most fortunate campaign occasional revered,
most be expected, but it we• quite painful—and, I may a,
to. thoughtful observer, lit a little disquieting—to see that
expression of anger and niortitied surprise painted on every
countenance as each reader In turn, having secured, not
without difficulty, an evening paper, took in at a i lance the
sari meaning of the official note. There was no necessity to
read it twice—no misunderstanding it ; we had suffered ae-
feat—a General had been killed, antl one gun taken I wit-
nessed the distribution of the evening papers at a railway
terrain. where I was going to embark on a dinner expedt-
tb.ii to a country house at some distance (coin Paris. In
general, such places, at those hours, are a scene of noisy,
chattering merriment, but yesterday there wa, a gloomy
silence. Both at the terminus and In the train every man
hail his newspaper, and when he had read it he nut nothing
to his neighbour. Now and then there would be • character-
tic exception to this rule, when some one with Into French
Lmpatience wbuld strike the odious official communication
with the back if his hand, muttering, •. And they don't say
what they are going to do next They are not going to leave
the Prussians there. I suppose ,"

"UNEASY LIE 4 THE HEAD."

At eight o'clock on Saturday night, the Ministers limed a
proclamation, aimed by one and all, declaring that the
trickster who had deceived the city had been arrested, and
exhoi:.:ng the citizens of the Capital to remember that " dis-
turbance. at Paris wou'd e a victory for the Prussians."
Every one can understand In what mood of hungry dial,
',ointment and exasperation Perk went to lied On maturday
night. It was fortunate, p-rhap., for Paris that Mot
brought shep with It. The Emoeror, away at Metz, had no
such blessing 1 hrough the weary hours of the night he
war despatching telegram upon telegram to Paris, giving bit
by bit the dismal news of repeated defeats. The rest, no
needful for him, he could not take; ills possible that even if
the opportunity of repose had been allowed, sleep would
have refused to come.—Leader lu Times.

BITCHING TO ITil

" But there is a double current very perceptible in the
••üblic mind In Paris. While there is an evident desire to
repudiate and even deny the Secret Treaty, making M.
Benedetti a scapegoat, there is also a tendency, every day
more marked, to defend and adopt the substance of that
treaty. I would call your attention, for instance, to an
article on this subject from the pan of M. John Lemoinne lv
the Journal des Dsbata, of the ..?nd of August. You will
notice how very different is the tone of that article from
anything that could have been published two months sg...
When a writer of the weight of M. Lemoinne, Ins paper as
prui:ent as the LP ats, can write with such coolness of a
treaty involving a whole scheme of spoilation, and say that
the • only important point ' is to know whether the vogue
projects of 18.16 and 1b67 have been cli,cussed ane in 1870,
you may be sure that public opinion has made great prt.gress
in the theory of &limitations Our only comfort, it would
seem, while suffering from the cost of war is to think of
What the fruits out may be. We are Unity connthig up our
°arable gain.. The adopted phrase is now that we are
making • a war of equilibrium,' and that Prussia has bruught
it upon herself by reining ne • legitimate compensation' for
her aggrandizement. "—Times' Paris Correspondent.

MOST ADMIRABLZ MODESTY

'Ha the retum of the Emperor from the Battle of Saar-
Wick, he sent for the Mayor of Metz, and after an inter-
view of A few moments' duration the Mayor stated publ cly
to his Bleeds and acquaintancee on the Plum Napoleon that
the French troops had taken the town of ssarbruck, that the
town was on tire, and the Prussians running away. The to-
habitans immediately gave themselves up to the most ex-
aaaaa gant expressions of p.p. In some parts 01 the town
music, singing. and dancing were kept up all night. Some
of the oldest inhahitants reminded the Mayor that the
custom of Metz was to ring a merry peal from the bells of the
cathedral at every victory of France over her enemies, and
regretted that he did not order it to be rung imme-
diately. They also suggested that an official notice of the vic-
tory might be very c4mveniently posteEl spas the Prefecture
ann also at the Hotel de Ville The Mayor, upon this, re-
turned to His StaPaly to ask parmitsion both to Mgt the
hells and to post upthe bulletin of the entrance if the French
army Into Samtutlek. hut be came hock considerably ills-
appointed: the Emperor had said in answer to his Pia ap-
plication, 'Never mtnEl about the bell., nor the official notice
either.' This was considered by the masses as an example
of the most admirable moElesty and abnegation in which an
Imperial Sovereign could possibly displEy his haute tiny,
and when at last people El bi betake themselves to bet, it was
only In rf penth.g the woidE sage, prudent, motlente, et grdnd
homute r— Time's' Metz Correspondent.

RUBINO THE WAR CRY!

The Ltherll states that the Prussians tongtt with 40.000
against 10,000 F. ench at Weistenburg. It raises the warcry
thus: "Awake, crime ! All France is anxious, ills rr sly for
all sacrifices. Lot them be ached for, but act. Let there be
no vain tears or ridlcul,ms boasting. We may Judge by the
French despatches from Saarbitlck what will be the Prmeian
despatches fr. m Welasenburg Exaggeration or tfiun.ph
produce• exaegeration of defeat. We are at the 10,411,111 g
of a war which will he followed by bloody battle,. Let us
utilise all oar strength, we have need gilt all."

• SLIME AT • RAILWAY STATION.

" The moment we got out of Hanover, a scene commenced
which I shall Lever forg-t. The Westphalian peasants
flocked to the small stations along the route, and as the
train moved slowly by threw bread awl provisions in to the
soldiers, and running along with the carriages they handed
out coffee from large CAL II they had prepared. The light
was still ore interesting when we got into the IthlLe
Province.. The can. of coffee gave way to buckets full of the
purest white and red wines of the country, which were dealt
out like water. These wines are of the best years, generally
of 11,68. Among the amusing scenes was one which °courted
at Itacharach, where, as the train wan slowly moving by, a
solder, fancying be had time to get a wine more to his taste
than thatin his canteen, poured its contents out upon tie
ground, and handed it to a smiling buxom lass to be re-
plenisted. but his hopes were bitterly disappointed, for
with the best exertions of the girl she was not able to kcap
up with the train, which had increased in speed. She eat
panting and laughing on the ground, and the soldier, who
had lost all hie wine and his canteen, was obliged to bear
the good-humoured jests of his comrades, who, too remote
from him to he reached by his avenging arm, wetted the rud
of a cork with wine and reached it towards him in. tanta-
lizing way for him to smell."-7 Imes' Correspondent.

BEING HUNGRY FOR NRWS !

The T 'nes' Paris Correspondent, writing on Saturday,
says:—' • There were unusual cdiectione of persons in the
Rue Vivienne awl on the Boulevards. There was great
animation and hunger for bewe. If the Government had
none it ought to make them At three o'clock M. de
Voury, the Director-General o' Telegraphs, left his office in
the Rue de Grenelle to go to his owe house, but on appear-
ing in the atreet he was immediately mobbed by a multitude
demandit g news. He was the man who kept the wires, and
news he was bound to give. Ile had the greatest difficulty
In persuading them that tha wires were mute, and that,
like the knifegrinder, he had no story to tell. I did not
hear It myself, but I am assurred there have been cries of
"To Cayenne with ()Wrier I" Thisi. particularly reasonable,
seeing that °dicier hoe nothing to do either with the War
Department or the telegraph. A usually sensible man Just
now gravely told me that if the Covernment had no news it
should invent some, or there would be disturbances. I do
not anticipate anything very bad in this way, but there may
be some slight disorders, and I dare say that now (nine
o'clock when I go out on the Boulevards I shall find grea
agitation."