The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-08-27 00:00:00

M. EDMUND ABOUT ON THE WAR.

WI)
Swiss,

The following intereating letters are from the graphic
pen of M. About, and were puniahed in the Sore :
Ls Schlittenbath, Saturday, Aug. 11, Daybreak
"The execrable invasion has thrown me into a coodition
that I cannot endure for two days lot gee: the air which I
breathe eniong conquering enemies is no longer wholesome
air. Ido not see the Prussian. I feel them There Is
no
need to tell me that they returned yesterday in great num-
bers and strong force. I had divined it. I was sure of it. I
know also. although I have received no letter or newspaper
fee a week past, that the deliverance of the country hes not
yet hegira. The ene my is gaining ground; he Is advancing
prudently, slowly, but surely. If we were to believe the re-
ports which the Prussians themselves put into circulation.
Strasburg would be in their possession and Prince Frederick
Charles marching by easy gages upon Paris. Falsehood
is • weapon for these worldly conquerors, who do
not disdain to avail thentheives of the smallest means.
They calumniate our poor Turcos by ascribing to them an.
surd cruelties, and thus they provoke the fury of their
own soldiers seratost them. toy. refinement of policy they
calumniate themselves and propagate reports which the nine-
nil. although dtscreditable, to themselves. While King
William swears to us that he Snot the enemy of Frenchmen,
he has agents who infest our villages calling out, 'Make your
escape The Prusalans are seizing by force upon all young
men between eighteen and thirty 3 ears of age.' Our youth
fall into the trap; they flee Into the forests, and when the
Chlsns arrive they find none to lace them but women,
children, and old men. Is is a very ingenious method of
driving away the able-bodied portion of the population.
They take advantage of the panic to establish themthithe,
and when that has been acne they say to the heads of
families, 'Call hack your tones For what do you take us?
We are a civilised people, utterly incapable of violating
the law of nations or of enlisting &vanquished people against
their wishes ' task my self with deep anguish, what can Europe
think of us? What does Bath of that proud Alsatian race which
surrenders, without striking a blow, to four of the enemy's
seats? Where are the tradttions of 1752,01 1814, and 1815? Not
&single peasant has taken unarms No. lam wrong. On the day
when we were conquered at Seventh by flee l'hians one poor
fellow placed hiniself with a pistol under his blouse behind
the Prussian Lieutenant, lam going to kill one of them,'
said he, 'and then they may do what they like with Inc.' A
neighbour arrested his arm Do you want to cause the
town to be burnt t' That was the only attempt at indivi-
dual resistance which history will be able to record. What
must we think of the apathy on the part of • people formerly
so energetic? Ia It that 20 years or despotism have degraded
the whole mass of Frenchmen? Bea the Government of the
last Bonaparte succeeded beyond its wishes and caused all
citizens to forget all methods of resistance? As it took 20
years to make us forget the Marseillaise, has it also caused
an to lose that civic spirit which is the mainspring of all
natural defence? A nation cannot with impunity be dithrmed,
enervated, smoothed down, and taught to believe that
soldiers In uniform alone have a right to handle the musket.
That mean prejudice, which for • time assumes the
necessity of • despotism, produces as an ultimate
effect the moral debasement which I have just refereed
to France will boon recover herself; the people are hut
asleep ; the cannon will awaken them: men will again be-
come citizens in theold and sublime acceptation of that world,.
This revolution will come the more speedily as our sufferings
become greater. Blessed be the blow which has brought
the blood to our head. Let the invasion be welcomed, since
it wth required to recall us to ourselves and to rermitthe the
great French people. There is in some drama of the Bar.
tires which I have seen a horrible little man, an empty
swaggerer, such as we so often see in Paris, who In the
fourth not rises to the dignity of a hero because his mother
has been insulted The poet was an unconscious prophet. Ills
fourth act hallow being played upon the great stage of the
world, and the little twaddler of yesterday, the hero of to-
morrow, is the French people in their own persons. In the
meantime we are for • few days longer to be the protrp,s of
the mmy. Out of the army there to no safety, no national
defence. .. •
"The rout of Saturday last not only horrified me, but It
humiliated me. All the description of Standhal came hack to
my memory, and I, who had hitherto charged the great
romancer with too highly colouring his picture, began to an-
gelic., now that I have seen with
cline him of excessive indul
my own eyes what the reverse of a victory is like Since 1
have Out myself up at Severna, and have been engaged in
collecting statement+ from eyeewitnewe. I correct my esti-
mic e of the men who last Saturday lied from their own
shadows. In the human torrents which the mi. Ortunes of
war disperse at random over all roads, there are elements of
all kinds, great and small, agreeable and dtspleasitig, good
sod bad ; but, all thingsconsidered, the sublime predominates.
At the first glance we only perceive the moral disorder and
confusion, the disregard of discipline, the depression of the
leaders, mutual distrust, universal doubt, and the rush to
obtain a shelter more or less secure. But when the mind be-
comes calmer and the eyes more clear we call to mind a cer-
tain number of sad but firm and intrepid faces, which loom
shove the crowd, snit Which seem to tower above misfortune
_

- -- --
itself.
"Among the thousands of men who return unwounded
from a murderous conlitct there are unfortunately too many
who have lied to avoid death; but there are also others who
have made death liee from them by boldly regarding it face
to face It is pot many of such that are needed to save an
army and to resuscitate • nation. Our little Saverne is full
of well proved anecdotes which now fall within the province
g !ire
mtoruysi If
etS Is
solz miserableiroi
sw. c rhtu 1 es
nhav
anTtuhrrcoo win% awe,ly
wounded obstinately clutching its weapon,. taking It with
him upon the litter, and dying without relaxing hie grasp of
it A young Kabyle, beautiful as the night, was sobbing at
the ambulance if the Castle. ' Does your wound rause
you much pain, poor Turco ?" No; I weep that I
have aot died with my four brothers. We were
live sons tel the Lane Whir, in the same conk
Patti'. awl I mutt return borne alone.' A soloier of
tha nCth stopped a citiAan and said to him, 'Do you see
that man who in anafil g a great coat like ours? That (soar '
C lone' Ile hoe been citing the mueltet with no all the day,
arid he lila killed mote Prussians titan any of us hsee done.'
The Cuirassiers relate that in one of those unfortunate
charged when three of their regiments were almost com-
pletely destroyed they had to gallop over the bodies of
wounded Frenctunen. The poor fellows half reared them-
selves between the horses' legs and cried ' nee fa France !'
Colonel Parmentior, of the Engineers, had two horses killed
under him. A captain of Cuirassiers had four killed. At
last he had no longer strength to remount, having been 26
' hours on horseback. A quartermaster took him by the seat
, of bin trousers and placed him like • child in the saddle,

after which—en route At four o'clock on Sunday mernteC,
when the cold was very severe, an officer arrived at a walk-
ing pace upon a half-deal horse The icelcer had his left
arm broken between the wrist and the elbow, but with the
upper portion of his arm he bravely pressed a nag to if.
aide. Net a single nag bad remained is the hands of (he
ee,my. This is the preat point with soldiers, and thel,
supreme consolation. A lady perceived on the canal bridg
a fair posing man, with blue eyes, who appeared to be at
lose where to go. She spoke to him, and he told her that he
and three comrades were the last of the 18th of the Line,
and he did not know where to find them. • You have no
neer. of your regiment?' • Oh, yea, Madame, we know that
the flag wee not taken.' Two othagre were disctuning with
muds animation the merita of their rePpective regiment.,
which of them had done the best service, which of them
had lost the fewest men, and which would be the soonest
reconstituted for service. As we listen CD them we
perceive that one has been wounded In the neck and in
the back by splinters of shell. The other has been run
through the arm, and his chest ripped open Ps whole
width. When the controversy ceased they went elf to ,
have their wounds attended to. lam wrong, though—chop
went, in the first instance, to report their woueds. It is not
enough to hate been wounded, tut the sabre cut or bullet
wound mint he duly recorded. The anxiety for promrdiliii
revived Well, notwithstanding this was natural, the illlcers
lamented most sincerely the loss of comrades to whose
1.1-.ees they succeeded. There were two of thou bob ngieg
Co the same regiment before the Hotel Soleil d'Or. They had
not met since the commencement of the engagement. They
recognized each other, cried out, embraced. •Is it you, old
fellow? Whet happiness ! I thought you were lest And
so and no 1' 'A initrailleuse ball In the chest.' • And such
an one ?" His arm was taken off by a cannon ball while he
was lifting up the commandant.' • The commander also !
What a misfortune!'

- -
" 11*. easy to perceive on these occasions how rinse lathe
Intimacy of the rtgiment, and how much it resembles the
union In families. You would think them brave fellows
were askir g 1/ellll of their relatives after an epidemic.
Another feature of our manners to be noted ii the quite re-
cent familiarity that has sprung op between the army and
the population, and between the different classes of cittzens.
That fashionable cold ue which kept persons apart until the
foimality of presentation had been gone through has disap-
pear, d some days since. The public misfortune has removed
all shy Hess, and leve, led all harrters. A Frenchman, whoever
he may he, can accost and question a Frenchman. Pieri e
and Paul are on longer strangers, nor even Indifferent to each
other; they have been introduced to each other by the Comte
de Blsmark. . .

"Chance or Providence led me to sleep on Sunday night
In the room which Marshel MacMahon had occupied the
previous night, and which General Baron de Gerdsdorf was
to occupy two days later. 1 there found • packet of tele-
sraphic despatches which bad been forgotten by the Marshal.
These papers did not belong to me, and no I gave them up.
They did belong to history, and so I made a copy of them.
From these authentic documents it appears that the plan of
Marshal Macklahon was submitted to the Emperor Ina des•
patch dated August 3. On tl,eith of August M. Letuat wrote
frem Metz to NI arrilaal 1146.:1141.11 that Liao Lillie roe apprueed
be arrangements, and Mimed( informed M. de Frilly. It ap-
pears, therefore, in the higlie4 degree unjust to throw upon M.
de Ferny any portion, however small, of the responsibility.
The disaster is wholly owing to the Incapacity of the su-
preme chief and his lieutenant, M. Lei rut. The main cause
of the defeat consist In the division of Ws army into corp.
Independent of each other, cimmanded by chiefs of equal
aw 'patty, the Generalissimo being at Metz, for too dimwit
from the centre of operations. This is what France ph. u,d
know, and what I declare at my own rbk and peril, without
factor and without prejudice, az an Irate...eau and a
journalist, the newspaper of to-day being but the 'mall
change of history.

" 9 o'clock, Morbing —The Prussians are svearming into the
town. It becomes more than ever Impossible to obtain or to
forward news. I suffer cruelly train the idea that my family
may consider me to be lost, and that toy letters should use-
lessly accumulate at the post-oili.g under the guardianship
of a Pruscan ciiicrr, who forbids their being torn aided.
There remains but one method of reassuring my wife and
children, end that is rejoining them in Paris I shall set out
at any risk today. It will be necessary to traverse the
enemy'. Hoes, which Is more daegetous than easy. They do
allow a man dressed as • civilian to pass, only he is searched
if he is caught, and we are in • state or siege. lie who con-
vey• information to the enemy—and I have a pocket full.—
so much the worse, hut we shall see. I shall eieleevour to
reach Epinal. or some other station set untouched by the
enemy. t will do • bit of the jouiney on foot if mces•ary,
and, thank God, • good foot is yet left me While musing
through :taverna, where the leather helmets era swarmtug in
the streets. I met our worthy Maire Osterman, lie related
to me the misadventures of two inhabitants of Severna who
were walking between that town and Phalsbourg. Ooe of
them, a young man, was searched by 100 soldiers, who passed
hint over from one to another. They fount on him an old piper
written of tut 3ear—an invitation to some Votunteer•hooting
Me. tie was Bent away without damage, but he might have
been regarded as a brigand and treated accordingly. The otter
was • timber merchant who began to feel uncomfortable at
finding that the trees he hal bougbt were being cut
down by both friends and enemies. Ile therefore determined
to ascertain by personal observation the extent of his loss.
Ile was ace mpanied by one of his servants, 1 hey were
stopped by the PrUldSl3lll sod searched. It, a bag carried by
the clerk they found a pocket revolver and some cartridges
A revolver inapt or of crime. The two culprits were strip-
ed, and tied up nuked to two trees while reparations were
made to shoot them. happily, a bomb trent Phalsbourg burst
am, 1,, the undergrowth without causing Injury Ii any oue.
The Prussians thereupon cut the cords which fastened their
two prisoners and marched off. This anecdote hardly re-
ensures me, but never mini; the die is cast. En route for
Waase tonne."

"Schermeck (Vosges , Saturday, Aug. 13, Evening.
I have met eome Prussians on toot, on horseback, and In
Carriages, but I have mnnaged to reach the country without
being questioned or searched, or even shot. The road from
Saverne to Wassetonne is long and mountainous. Fourteen
kilometres of plain, and • Vain almost a desert now no
waggons, no foot passengers, not even one of th de pilgrims
whom in ordinary times we used to meet, chaplet of beads in
hand, with their eyes tuned towards Mons wilier, where a
specialist Madonna effect, miraculous cures upon pig. There
are a few workers scattered about the open country. A
peasant ploughing in haute, sect with 111 xtous glance directed
to the horizon in fear lest the should come to
• purchase ' his horses from hint A woman pulls up a few
potatoes, turning her head on all side.. She is fesrMl that
a soldier of King William's may buy her crt.p at the war
price—that is to say, for an illegible bond pas able by an In-
visible treasury. Happy Fenny of the fields where art
thou? I imitate the pr udence of the good woman and the nea-
ten& and I also scrutinize my road. A little before timm I
entered the little town of Wasselonne. The Mundane have
been there and promised to return immediately, hut for
the moment thy were not there, and it Is posoible to
breakfast very quietly at the Golden Apple Hotel. Already
sight young nice had seated themselves, and were bravely
recruiting their strength. They wore the armlets of the in-
ternational 3 .dery, and came from the hattle.fleld of Woerth.
They were eiolaavourii,g to eel 'in the French wanly without
exactly knowing where it wale toile found. Like myself, they
hoped that thereat by the Vmges would ho open for a day
or two longer, so that they might reach E2inal across the
mountains, and thence proceed to Paris or (bale-die by the
railroad. We soon made acquintance, and I found that the
party was formed at Mulhouse, and comprises a Bavarian, a
Awls., and a Belgian, • surgeon, a dentist, sculptor, and
merchants. M. De 10309, the chief, was so kind an to furnish
me with some notes he had made whi,e traverolng the heal,.
field at Woerth. They are eloquent in their Gravity, and
they afford more numerous and more varied deacri..tions than
• more formal recitaL Here are sonic of the sketche s I
found :—'(to Sunday • pell-mell of French soldiers , nearly
2.000) nuking to seek refuge at Strasburg. Heroes yester.
day, fugitives to-day; heroes tomorrow when they shall
slain see their One, and have had their soup Bodes°
Human at Brumath quarters of the lindeee general at
Radiomen. Safe conduct: courtesy. Silty country carts pa
under requisition to thoo.Vo the wounded front the field of
battle At Bruckmuld many Prussian corpses and several
eltholic priests anti Protestant (maims. In the valley of
Woerth all the dead are Prussian& .

"Before the heights of Freichowiller there is a hecatomb
of Frenchmen of all arms The heaps of men, of horses,
Arai of knapsacks, seen from • short distance, present the
appearance of flocks of sheep resting on the slope if a hill.
All the knapsacks have been cut open in the same manner
with a single stroke. The marauders could not have had
time to open them all in • different mariner. At Morobronn
saw Prince Frederick Charles and the Duke of Saxe Coburg
Gotha. Full of reipect for the International Society, the
French and Prussian wrunded are treated to exactly toe
so me manner. A oensible difference between the moral con-
dition of the victors and the vanquished. The P.usetan
officers &Imola their men by announcing to them the cap-
ture of Strasburg, which is not taken. Froelich wilier. —The
Chateau de Durckheim converted into an hospital. Traces
of a fierce etruggle. Our soldiers have been badly beaten.
Every thir g I burnt or in Mina. The Pressburg tell us that
they shot 15 peasants caught marauding. The church of
Froetchwiller burnt. Found the body of • French surgeon
upon • litter, his kepi placed upon his chest. Twenty-five
others are prisoners, becarpe they ribilabeed to ad pt the
badge of the Intereational Society. They appear to be weary
and Gillen rather than cast down, hut their services are
called in to succour the wounded. The wounded removed
to liagenae, Bi.hiriller, and Soule. Met the artillery of
the Bth Pelisse.° C.!rps and a Polish regiment from Poses.
The road to Niederbronn almost impassable. Niederbroun
almost starving.
"Leaving the Prussian tines on the ltth of August, we ar-
rived at Biteche ; and, In prop .rtlon to the good reception
hich we had received from our enemies, was the wrong we
underwent from our own couotrymen. A captain of Militia,
aimed 'entire, with carpet slippers, kepi, sabre, and um.
biretta, was unable to comprehend who we were. At tin
o'clock at night, in a driving rain, he compelled us to carry
one lumpiest., and to march to the fort. Two hours to wait.
I sleep on my feet, while they open • hundred doors, raise a
hundred portcullises, and lower as many drawbridges, to
awaken the commandant of the place The commandant,
who is an letellment man, wishes us gooddright, and begs
that he may not be awakened again unnecesoarily. . . . •
M. Delman and his companions invite me to travel with them.
They took at Strasburg an omnibus and two horses. The
vehicle is a little overladen with medical stores. linen, and
provisions of all kinds, and the &ululate had travelled without
curia*fl for eight days. To ease these poor beasts we are
to walk up the hills—that is ender... Mod. At the moment we
were quitting Wartgelonne, the Bedews were investing Stem-
burg They advanced to the south-east in the direction of
Moishelm. Isle even said that their touts impooed a heavy
contribution on this little town. It is necessary that
we should arrive b.fore them at Schniirmeck, no that we may
avail ourselves of the telegraph and enninaunicate with our
families. Besides, I attach importance to the papers whkh,
in my pocket, represent eight days' work, while in their eyes
they would constitute& proof of crime. Yesterday an Imbe-
cile of a German non-commissioned officer surprised lour
schoolboys in uniform and made them primmer' of war.
There was an single ill/011 their buttons!
" We pass several villages of the Vosges where the popula-
tion, which expects to see the Prussians, and which does
not recognise the badge of the international Society, takes
re for the advance guard of the enemy. Everywhere the
lehalitants surrorind us with a curiosity that is equivocal.
A peasant does riot say all that he thinks In the first few sen-
tences. These men are French and brave. 7 hey descend in
a direct line from those modest heroes who defended our
mountains in 1792, in 1814, and in 1815 Supported or simply
encouraged by the presence of some troops, they would
carry ens good campaign. I will answer for it, in a country
that Is wooded, uneven, and eminently favourable for sur-
prises. For the moment—and my patriotism groans at the
thought—lt would seem as if the Chiefs of the Army forget
that the Vane. are a natural fortification. There is not a
kepi in these defiles where a hundred men might shoot
down 2,000. Not • road out up, not • tree thrown down.
The pennant feels himself, or thinks himself abandoned,
given Up; and, right or wrong, he declares that, by himself,
he can do nothing. Be has err arms, arid, if he had, it is
doubtful whether he would know how to u!e theai. The
companies of Volunteer riflemen which showed so noble
a spirit in 1867 have been discouraged, if not dissolved
by the instructions of the Mlnieter for War. The peasant
is not discouraged, God he thanked; but he knows not
what to do. The mayors do not counsel him to resist, but
to be prudent. One must show • good face to the enemy,
in order that he may not burn our houses. Such is the spirit
of the French authorities in 1870. 'Cut up the roads!
Would you think of ouch a thing? What would the Ad-
ministration of roads aad bridges say Cut down the trees!
Why the Commission of Forests would send us a proc's
verbol 1' I have heard these fine excuses, and I have
quivered with anger. I have spoken, declaimed, cried. The
women wept, the old men hung their heeds, some young
men clinched their fist' sod asked whether the Government
had hidden the gains; but the great majority held their
tongues and exhibited that ambiguous, mysterious 'mile by
which I was struck in the first instance. The enemy must
not rely on this. These mountains would cot hint many lives
if iie wars to pass through them defeated. But this thought
did not solace nie, for it is but sembstiorlown I should wish
the Vanes placed In a state of defence adequate to resist
the entrance of the foe, without prejudice to the return
journey. Thar° is Mill time. Five thousand men of the
regular army and twenty thousand muskets would suffice to
guard all the passages The pick and spade would cut the
roue in two days. What are the organizers ot the national
defence thinking oft They are making war on a large scale,
curd I hope they will make it euccess'ully ; but that is no
reason why they should disdain smaller operation.. For four
or five days the drowsier's, masters of Saverne, turned their
eyes towards the route—short, undulating, and weedy—
which would lead thorn to Phalsbourg, but a very hams
feeling restrained thorn. The road must evidently be
guarded, and would be defended ; it was idle to supple,
that such a position would be abandoned gratis to the
enemy. Some skirmishers were sent forward, who reported
that the road was free. Others were despatched, who swore
that they had not seen a single soldier. A thus' recomudoe
mance confirmed the two former ones, and still General do

Gender? lu quitting Saverne -was but hat-convinced. • II
cannot think,' he sail, that they would leave us a road
when a few noun:v.l.es would be sufficient to stop an army
As to us, we shell know how to defend such positions when
once we have token them.' They have taken more than one,
arid some of the very strongest, without strikii.g a blow.
But, God be thanked, there still remains a g.mdly number
to take. Let us baste to occupy thee mountams, to cut
the roads, aid go trd the defiles. Let us re-awaken the
patriotism of the Vosges peasants, which Is but dormant,
and let us give them contldence by assuming the respon.i-
bility of the defence with one or two regiments of the army,
Some trifling prepsrations for the defence of the Vosges re-
quire to be completed, but these measures, taken in time.
May save us 100,000 men.
- - - -

" Schirmeck, 7 o'clock,

"We are at the foot of the Donon, In. country which the
romances of Erckmann and Chatatin have endowed with a
well-earnt reputation. May It renew its glory In 18'0 We
ohp rye the passage of three English tourles, as i hey call
themselves. whom the ?ware would not take nolo Idnisrlf to
arrest They came from Nancy, where they left the Prus-
sians, and want to reach this evening Malshelm, where the
Prussians have just installed themselves. They have E”glish
passports without vice. The ',mire allowed them to proceed,
hut the populace gave vent to murmurs.

.• Epinal, 2 a m.

"We have got In one day from Schlrmeck to Senones and
from thence, by Runbervilliers, to this place. All along the
road ae fell In with numbers of energetic men who were
calling out for leaders and for mmketa. At Semmes, upon
the public place, the moire, the inspector of Forests, the
inhabitants generally taloned me how little was needed to
place these brave people In a proper condition. I harangued
them Its sfe.ll ; I recommended soli-help to them.
" "

;;;-.7,7;i;fz- - Into their 0.-rim heilZ,
withont waiting for the orders (ft Government bewildered, r
absorbed by other all Arr. They sec to work at once to break
up the roads and to cut down tie trees. There Is one spot
where a couple of trees across the rued. a few e robes of a
pickaxe, and a pound of got powder will keep back a wln le
olvision fur twelve tomes. 'Pie Vosges will not be abandoned
without defence Vine la France ! This war WI I te the
end of ninny things. I swear that It will not be the end of
our country."
In Saturday's Soir M. About writes :
_

''On Tuesday morning I brought to Paris a specimen of
the provinces, or rather, I may say, a tattered and bloody
rag of the invaded provinces. The general muss of the
public took a certain amount of intermt In that spectacle.
Delicate and fastidious minds found It something strong,
and l have bett, told that It is not well to speak the truth
at all times. I replied, like Gemral Trochu. by coy motto.
mere dieende. To-day it is Paris that I wlih to
exhibit to the prov.cem, such as it presents itself to me
after a month's abience—Parts transformed by a flash of
lightning, and profoundly disturbed In its sentiments.
Ideas, and manners. Paris Eikes no heed of the change
which has occurred In Itself ; it is am the eye which
soot not innlf. I found It on fuesd..y morning in a state
of great anxiety, but firm and resolute in all Its seeinela It
had a prinentlment of the great b it•le fought betwei n
Metz and Verdun ; it could not rely upon a success which
experience had shown to be difficult and costly hut it did
rely up n its Own courage, and made energetic preparation.
for Its own deleece. I ttud it to-day modest cud re.erve I in
the moment of victory. It is not misled hy any allusions ;
it does not attempt to persuade t self that all lias
accomplished by a single stroke, and it wasted tio time io
decorating its houses with flags It thankini and Ideesed
the army in pelto without desieting front its own work,
re My to rapport and reinforce it at the first signal Youths
and men alike were extr‘elsiog theinselves in the use of arms.

I met yesterday a member of the luetitute, a house porter,
and a gay liver of the Moulin Rouge, siti had been to-
gether I...tying a lesson to the ruanageinent of the
Chaseepot. Bodily exercises have revived in fays ur. The
Paz Gymnasium is always crowded. A pepuladon whidi
had only nerves desire, hence( deli to acquire mmcie.
Tne children who wilt be born next. year will ceine
into the world under better condition.. than V igr seniors,
rind will become eu'istantial men. Paris has xi di immense
pregnant in politics ; it no longer troubles itself with poli-
tics. The discussion of Internal affairs is put it!; all parties
have signed as armistice in the presence of the enemy. The
state ot siege Is accepted without discussion ; the excel-
lence of el. Duvernois is pot disputed. Paris allows the
Governmeut to do anything so long as the Prussians are kept
outside. Ganthetta fraternizing with the Comte de Peleeio
gives a strove, strange, hut accurate repre,entetion of the
Parisian feeling The provinces, and eapeci illy these which
are invaded, have not come to this state of mind. They have
two maledictioos in their months one directed agaltiet the
Prussians and the other against the authors of the war. In
making myself the echo of e d:scoutent which political and
philosophic it Paris has thought fit to postpone. I have
acted as a true provincial. here are names which Paris no
longer mentions then If they dated from the 12:h century
Let us attend to the Pretests. first. When the invasion
ha• been repelled It will consult, it will imke up its RC-
counts, and will dispose of Merle Novel and admirehle
wisdom •meng us. If it could ooly e mthine it would
simplify affairs, and would greatly abridge the great
Pleasures which formerly constituted the great
Moieties of life In Paris are so no longer. Drilling
working, meditating, there is no longer time or incli-
nation for amusement. The capital of European good
living, whither hI. Hausman attracted all the cetera, the
drinkers, the If itterers of the wol LI, his witnie a few days
assumed a Spartan aspect. The theatres are cloned, except
four or dye, which ploy to empty 'Jericho.. lire., hes become
plainer and more subdued ; a pay toilet would be as di.
cordant as a false note. Tit complete the picture of tide
proud mid happy metamorph. els I will tell you that Parte,
hut lately too rich, has auddetily become poor. All these
documents represeutiug shares 4149.1 stocks—the pieces of
paper, blue, pink, or green, which M. Rouher pompously
estimated en bloc at 40 milliards—become rolueed to their
real worth. Tee bank-note has undergone the logical
depreciation entailed by a forced currency, gold aud
eliver are scarce, and each keeps by him the little that he
may possess in case of possible contirgenclec An entire
population which hitherto had the foolish habit of Beteg
upon its capital, discounting the future, and making extra•
vagina abuse of credit has returned to habits of fore-
sight, of saving, and of that worldly simplicity which
constituted the streegth of our forefathers, and %stitch un-
happily now constitute, that of our enemies. For 20 years
we have been, or we fancied we were too rich; luxuriee had
been forced Ul9Oll the moat modest taste, end fortunes'.
po reeling being permitted to set the feel:doe It was almost
discreditable not to spend 100,00 a year. War has restored
the credit of poverty. We may now venture to walk, and
we no longer fear to ask four friends o dine off beef
and imtatoes. When I think that only last winter, scarcely
six months ago, the humblest be, rjeois of Paris would have
lost melte had he failed to offer his guests sham Chembertiu
us,ddlsgu,lied Chateau Violent with a pheasa it stuffed with
WOOLV halls. C. re la inisere if it makes us more *Mee at the
same time that it makes us more manly. Paris Is le ginning
to romprehmid that it Can dine eulliciently well without
tie flies, and that a woman nmy look as petty in a 50'. dress
lia S geuzy wave which cost 0 louts. We shall emerge
from this crisis better than we began it, aid France e ill
gain in elevation without any dimmution of her surface."