The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-12-17 00:00:00

INSIDE PARIS,

The following are extracts from the Mary of the "Besieged
Resident " of the Deify News :

For the last two days the public within the walls of
Perim has been kept in profound ignorance of what has
been passing outside. General 'rrochu has once or
twice each day published a despatch saying that every-
thing is happening as be anticipated, and the majority
of those who read these oracular utterances religiously
believe in them as though they had never been de-
ceived. On the Boulevards there are crowds who ques-
tion any soldier who is seen passing. "Tout va Men"
Is the only answer which they get ; but they seem to be
under the impression that the siege is already
over, and that the Prussian lines have been
forced. Along the road inside the ramparts, and
at the gates, there are dense masses listening to the
cannon, and on every mound from which a dis-
tant view of the smoke can be obtained men,
I women, and children are congregated. I managed to
get both yesterday and to-day into the horse-shoe at
the mouth of which the fighting was going on, and
I yesterday afternoon,when there) was a semi-suspension
of arms to bury the dead, I went with the ambulances
on the debateable land between the two armies. The
whole horse-shoe is full of artillery. The bombs and
shells from the forts and batteries page over them, and
explode within the Prussian lines. A little behind
every house is filled with wourideel, who are taken, as
moon as their wounds are dreesed, inside the town.
One or two batteries occasionally open fire, and occa-
sionally those of the Prussians respond. Trochu and
Ducrot ride about, and, as far as I can see, the letter
commands while the former makes speeches. Yester-
day afternoon we had lost ground at Champigny, and
I we had gained ground at Villiers. Before our lines a
very large number of Prussian dead were lying. There
were burying parties out on both Bides, but they were
getting on very slowly with the work, and were per-
petually fired on.
At 4 cm. the Prussians had made a rush at our
lines from Champigny to Brie, and the Mobiles and
line, taken by surprise, hastily fell back. One or two
regiments of Mobiles were literally charged by
squadrons of gendarmerie, to force them beck. Re-
inforcements came up, and by nine o'clock the
positions had been regained—the Prussians being
unable to withstand the fire of our forts, redoubts,
and siege-guns. The battle then went on till about
three o'clock, when it died out. Towards Villiers, I
should say we had gained about threequartere of A
mile, and at Champigny we had last about a third of
the village. At about five o'clock I got back to my
hotel, which is the headquarters of the Ambulance In-
ternationale. Until eleven o'clock wounded were
being brought in. It is quite full now. About 460
French, and 30 Germans—almost all. Saxons. Many
died during the night. In the room next to mine,
Franchetti, the commander of the Eclaireurs of
the Seine, is lying—a portion of his hip has
been blown away by a shell, and the dcctor has
just told me, that he fears that he will not recover, as
the, wound is too high up for an operation. In the
room beyond him is • young lieutenant of Mobile',
who has had his leg amputated, his right arm cut open
to extract a portion of the bone, and who still has a
ball in his shoulder. Most of the soldiers in here are
wounded either in the leg or in the form. There is •
great dearth of doctors,, and many wounded who were
brought here last night had to wait until this morning
before their turn came to be examined. The American
Ambulance and several others are also, I hear, full. I
go in occasionally to see the Germane, as I can talk
their language, and it cheers them to hear it. I see in
the newspapers that wounded Bavarians and Saxons
are perpetually crying "Vise la France !" I can only
say that those here do nothing of the kind. They do
not seem to be particularly downcast at finding them.
pelves in the bade of their enemies, They are treated

precisely as the French are, and they are grateful for
this.
This afternoon, when I got into the horre-shoe, I
found the troops returning into Paris, and I was not
able to get to the front, Some say that we have left
23,000 men at Villiers and Uhenipigny ; othi rs that
Champigny was lost last night. I hea:, too, that early
this morning the hussians attempted a eurprise, but
were driven back. The general idea seems to be that
to-morrow we are to try to getout either by Chatillon or
Malmaison. A pigeon cams in this morning from
Bourbaki, ifh a despatch dated Nov. 39, stating that
he is advancing, and among the soldiers thin de-
spatch bag kilreatly bscoute au official notice that
he is at Meaux. All I know for certain is that the
ambulances are ordered out for eight o'clock
to morrow morning, and that I am now going
to bed, co as to be ready to start with them. I
hear that there has been fighting both yesterday and
to-day near Bondy, but not being able to be in two
places at once, I cannot tell what really occurred. To
my civilian judgment it appeare that an our object
was to force the 'ins of heights on the south-east of
Pal.* which constitute the Prussian lines of invest-
ment in that direc.ion, and as we have not done so,
we can hardly be said to be in a better position than
we were last Minclay. At a heavy coot of life we
have purchased the knowledge that our new artillery
le better than was expected, and that Line and
Mobilea will stand under fire with toleral.!e

steadiness. There was a large reservu yea:. May
of war battalions of the National kluard drawn
up in the rear of the action, but they were not en-
gaged. An officer asaured me th,t a betv'ton. ,•"-f
occupying one of the bridgee over the Marne, wl,en a
stray cannon ball took off the legs of az,f the men,
which so terrified the ou -4 that the,;,- all Sal, away.
While the newspapers exalt be merits of ths itlzcn
battalion., and celebrate heir retie, less valour, the
military, justly or unjustly, I do not v'etend to say,
hold them exceedingly cheap. The Jew bat, ,lion,,
however, who have been in sell. 'I have behaved well.
Food is becoming more scarce e v day. Yesterday
all our sausages were requisitione We have Aill
got the cow, to fall back on, but they are kept to the
last for the sake of their milk. They are fed en oats,
as hay is scarce. So you see the mother of a calf has
many advantages over its uncle. All the animals in
the Zoological gardens have been killed except the
monkey.; these are kept alive from a vague and Dar-
winian notion that they are our relatives. In the
cellar of the English Embassy there are three
sheep. Never did the rich man bud more after
the poor man', ewe lamb than I lust after these
sheep. I go and look at them frequently, much
as a London Arab goes to have a smell at a cook-
shop. Some one has discovered that an excellent jelly
can be made out of oid bones, and we are called upon
by the mayors to give up all our bonee, in order that
they may be submitted to the process. Mr. Powell is,
I believe, a contractor in London. I do not know
but yesterday I dined with a friend who produced
from a tin some Australian mutton, which he had
. . .

hoeght of Mr. Powell before the commencement of the
siege. Better I never tasted, and out of gratitude I
give the worthy Powell the benefit of a gratis adver-
tisement. If we only had • stock of his meat here, we
could defy the Prussians. As it is, I am very much
afraid that in a very few weeks William will date his
telegrams to Augusta from the Tuileries.

"While, however, the military men differ among them.
selves, they are all agreed in abusing the National Guards,
whom they irreverently call 'Les Charcutters'—the pork
butchers. When La Gaze aux Binds was carried by Admiral
Polhuan and his Bettors, two battalions of these heroes
followed in the roar. The Admiral and the sailor. were some-
what astonished to find that in the order of the day hardly
an thtng was said of those who really did all the tlghtlng,but
that the ' perk butcher.' were lauded to the skies. General
Trochu on this wrote a letter to the Admiral, informing him
that it was neceasary for political reasons to encourage the
National Guard. Whilst the battle was going on at %Tiers
and Champigny, the marching battalions of the National
Guard were drawn up almost out of shot. An order came to
form them Into line. Their Commander, General Clement
Thomas, replied that this would be Impossible, uthey would
Imagine that they were about to be taken Into action. Not-
withbtanding this, General Trochu congratulates them upon
the moral support' which they afforded him. Is It
not surprising that the real soldiers should feel hurt
at this system of humbug. They declare that at the next
sortie they will force the Partstans to fight by putting them
in front, and firing on them if they attempt to run away. It
must be remembered that these fighting battalions consist of
young unmarried men, and if Parts is to be defended, there
is no reason why they should not be exposed to dancer.
The inhabitants of this city seem to consider themselves
a sacred race; they clamour for sorties, vow to die
for their country, and then wish to do it by procuration.
I ROI utterly disgusted with the difference between their
words and their deeds. the Mobiles and the Line have as
yet done all the fighting, and yet, to read the Paris news.
papers, one would suppose that the National Guards, who
have kept well but of all danger, have covered themselves
with glory.' Since the siege commenced they have done
nothing but swagger about in uniforms, and go In turns on
the ramparts They have learnt to knock a penny oft a cork
ate distance of ten yards, and they have carried on a very
successful campaign against the sparrows."

" When knights charged each other with lances there was
a certain chivalry in war; but there is nothing either noble
or inspiritiog In watching a quantity of unfortunate Breton
peasants, who cannot even speak French, and an equal num-
ber of Berlin grocers, who probably ask for nothmg better
than to be back in their shops, destroying each other at a dis-
tance of two or three miles with balls ci lead and Iron, many
of them filled with explosive materials. I confess that
I pity the hones almost as much as the men. It seems
• monstrous thing that in order that the Aleaciani
should be forced into becoming subjects of King Willism of
Prussia, an omnibus hone, who has honestly done hie swot k
in the streets of Paris. should be taken outside the walls of
the town to have his head blown off or to stump about on
three legs until he dies of cold Rod hunger. Horses have a
way when they are wounded of making desperate efforts to
get up, and then letting their heads fall with • bang on the
Soil which livery horrible to witness.',

"I am by no means certain that I should be a hero at the
Equator, but I am folly convinced that I should be an abject
coward at the North Pole. Three mornings ago I stood for
two hours by the AmbnianCes de la Freese, and my teeth hate
not ceased to chatter ever since. I pity the unfortunate fellows
who had to keep watch ail night on the plateau of Villiers
more than those who were put out of their misery the day
before When it is warm weather, one views with a corn-
parative resignation the Prussian batteries, and one has a
sort of fanatic belief that the bombs will not buret within
striking distance; when the thermometer is below Zero, one
Imagines that every cannon within four miles in pointed at
one's head. Ido not know how It may be with others, but
ou me cold has a most unheroic effect. My legs become al
wilful as those of Mrs Dombey's titled relative, and it is only
by the strougest effort of mind over matter that I can prm
vent them carrying me beyond the reach of cannon-balla
bullets, and shells. I have • horrible vision of myself
lying all night with a broken leg in a ditch, gradually
freezing. On a warm summer's day I do not Doh it
very much of the courage of those who fight well; out
a cold winter's day, however, any man who does not run
away and take shelter by a lire deserves well of his
country. . . . A friend of mine, who is an authority
with the ambulance de Is Presse, and who owns • carriage,
has promised to call for me when nert the ambulances are
sent for; bat, as I have aireaar said, all my energy oozes
out of me when the thermometer is below zero ; and mikes the
next battle is fought on a warm day, I shall not witness it."