The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-10-29 00:00:00

A Corrempondnnt of the. Daily Telro,ph. in an
article entitled "At Sedan with the Invaders," re-
marks :

Personally, I cannot speak too highly regarding the
extreme civility of all the German soldiers with whom I
came into contact. The officers happened to mess in our
hetel, in • private room ; and although we were absolute
strangers, unprovided with intreducuons of any kind, we
were invited to Join them, and treated to such ass Improvised
concert as Germane only can give. Songs, duets, and
quartets by the classical masters, were eung, if not always
In fine voices, always with admirable taste and true
musical feeling. When the notes were wanting some
one wrote them down, and the parts were sung at
sight by the assembled warriors ; and they fight no
leas bravely, I wren, UT taking delight in Schubert
and .Mendelesohn. To the lady of our party their elaborate
politeness was chivalresque in the extreme. We asked, of
course, for the " Wacht am Rhein," and I shall never forget
the deep impression produced by this noble hymn, sung in a
little room twenty feet by eight, by warriors who had lately
been looking death In the face, and whose enthusiastic
faith in the inviolability of their holy river had enabled them
to sing its praises in the very heart of • hostile land. There
is something at once grand and terrible in the quiet deter-
mination of the. peaceful men. Our two mill. German
companions had come from Canal on purpose to preserve the
resting-place of a captain who had fallen at Fining—
brother of the one, brother-in-law of the other ; but althosigh
they had other near relatives n danger before Metz there was
no faltering in their language. They expected soon to be
called to serve their turn of duty, but they would not enter-
tain the idea of peace being concluded, except on the firmest
beats for the eafety of Germany. Many of the officers pre-
sent, belonging to the Landwehr, had left their ordinai7
occupation at home. One was a doctor, another an archi-
tect, a third • manufacturer ; but all were well content
that the war should go on until France came to
terms. While they were all laughing in their quiet
genial way, • companion entered to say that two
of their number had been brought in wounded from the
neighbourhood of Mat.; but this shade, thrown for the mo-
ment over the aneembly room, passed away, and when the
Commandant entered he remarked, with &quiet smile, that
while they were amusing themselves warm work was afoot
not far away. It was suppoeed that he referred to tifaieres ;
but no question was asked, and we are here in complete igno-
range of what is going on in our Immediate neighbourhood
At midnight, three hours after the doors had been
closed upon the French inhabitants, the party broke up,
and as I looked out of my bed-room window upon the
deserted square I could hear in the distance the voinee of my
late companions again intoning the " Wacht am Rhein."
Strange indeed was it to listen to the grand German song
thus freely committed to the midnight air of • foreign town,
the cowed denizene of which must fain mutter In the solitude
of their chambers their curses, not loud hut deep, on the
blonde, mild-looking, blue-eyed invaders whose jut resent-
ment they have rashly provoked.

THE FRENCH PRIRONERS DI GERMANY.

Those of the French prisoners In Germany who belong to
Meath and German Lorraine are to be separated from the
rest, formed into companies, and employed In agricultural
occupations, where they the to be treated with all possible
consideration. This la another indication of the determi-
nation of Prussia to Insist on the cession of these province..
Some of the prl•oners are beginning to be troublesome to
their keepers. 500 Turcos and Zonaves have been removed
from the Wahn Heath, near Cologne, to the C.ltsdel at
Wesel, on account of insubordination. It being inspected
that they possessed many weapons, • search was instituted,
and 84 revolvers and 1,000 dagger. were discovered. On the
search being begun with the left wing, the Turcos on the right
wing hastily burled their weapons at the bottom of their
tenth At Restage there are among the primates boys of
10 to 15 years of the, with who were captured wi their When.
Fifty civilians have just been received, including a priest,
boys and old men, and a woman, who is accused of firing
repeatedly on the Germans at Neu Breisach. Her corn-
panlobs attacked the troop. In the rear while the garrison
of the place were making • sortie. At Ingolstadt 20 officen
who were liberated at Nedra on parole have lately given them-
solve. up, having left France In order to avoid importunities
to break their engagement, sad reenter the army. Ills
understood that many other officers preferred captivity from
the drat through fear of being thus pressed to disregard their
word of honour.