The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-10-01 00:00:00

LOOKING INTO METZ.

The following interesting letter ist from One Of the
Correspondents of the Daily Telegraph
The allCer in command at this point very kindly
coeducted me to a bird's-nest look-cut Cu &garret in a tinned
chateau standing on high ground. Thenoe we looked Into
Metz, and commanded a widely.extendieg view of the French
entrenchments uni outworks in front of it. lithe Prilatinns
Mean to Ilaht their way Leto aletz they will have a heavy
place of work cut out for them, and before they even reach
the walls of glue they must break through a settles of field-
works, so skilfully constructed and Po heavily armed that
they may well shrink from the sacrifices which at will entail.
rimy kuow well, howerer, what is before them, and how
determieed and well prepared a defence they must expect.
The K ordera n •t to sacralco life have been interpreted
to mean that the) must leave the French alone at present,
kv.el accordingly we could an, them hard at work, at,eugthen.
Mg their massive earthworks. A thousand of busy anus
wielding the spade in all the quiet assuranet which
• habit of eecurity gives The F.ench lines swarm
with soldiers, anti bury life was wen in all the streets of
Islets Tall chunnies were snicking almost Si If the fac-
tor leS were at work It was a bright sunny day ; the spire
of the cathedral reseed itself proudly in the air, wee my
Prlialifin friend declared that he could see a little observa-
tory high up on the steeple, Irons which sane 000 was
spying sat our lines I confess that I entertained doubts, In
tee streets see could eee the citizens peaceably going their
way we saw no cattle grazing, but "dusty of horses. The
holds In hod bare enough. Some horses that were captured
the other day looked as lean and miserable as the
deserters who c into over, arid were brought in while I
was there. Terre were live of the poor sieves, and they
had of course a pitiful tale to telt of starvation and
disease. Accordiug to their account Metz in • pest house,
and so badly off for proviso's, and even for water, that
the people are murmuring, and the place canuot hold
out much longer. it, them the French can defend them-
eelvee as I believe they cut, and as most of the Pelagian
officers acknowlsdge, to whom I have spites with every
chance of success, from tie most determined attack, they
may not be so well able to keep at Is iy the internal foes that
thee sten their very existeece. Starvation in very hard to
endure, sun the most heroic resolution csenot Ike carried
beyond certain limits. It ta not likely Una they will Institute
the ex:curettes cf hunger and drought without makieg some
dseperate efforts to oOLliii provisious. The Pniardau atones
of proviiions are Within a very tempting proximity. The
FrenCh know their way to them, aid have trled to get there
twice. It will Ile along the roads which 1 bare been travers-
ing, end must be checked by the troops who lie around me.
l'mstaht vigilance prevails by day, and oceesionally inter-
ludes of alarm give variety to the Lune The Prussians are
pested In great strength, soil with considerable skill.
As I look back through the woods and fields behind me.
I know well that there are 10,000 men lying immediatety
around Me, furl sow since I came there a Sudden alarm, the
ram seemed to spring frcen the earth, as if It siert sown
with dragon's teeth. The roads were covered with hurry Mg
smadrein, the eiftapit a and the trenches swarmed. From
every leafy cone:. that seemed silent and deserted arnied
nzures sprang, while more remained behind. li, less than
a wiener of en hour 10,G0a men ivere under onus, anal so
stationed as to he abie to bar toe way for at least tea times
their number for a sufficiently long time to LIM s
an overwhelniieg force to be collected. The officer
who came to me, after having summoned his orderlies
and drawn up his men, assured one that at least 100,000
Men could be cellecte el in an hour. A sharp canuenadiug of
half au hour, and the advance of some strong reconnoitring
, Who fired hotly upon our posts, was the end of the
sit sir, whelk probsbly was only intended to develop (hi
extent of the force wields mans this part, of the Garman
Imes. and perhaps to inspirit their moo. liowevsr, Obey
certainly caueot afford to draw any c:itain conclusioua her
the morrow filen what they see to-day. Fr the Germane
not only cover their positions with remarkable skill, but
hat.ge the Apposition of their troops from day to day, so
that ea man-knows chat wilt be to-morrow's array.
It lea I avourite game here to puts hat open • stick in the
Prtusise advimeesi post., and presently it Is apt to attract a
shower of bullets. I think this a good opportunity to say
how greatly the few Euglishase who have been able to dad
yearns in camp are indebted to the courtesy of office: s of
ths German army. AA whom I have met agree in highly
append ,ting their iiitelligence and generally obliging polite-
ness. Of course there ale exceptions--there was an decep-
tion, the other day, when a young officer grout), instilled
three Englishmen who bad done nothing which should have
excited his ire. A cautious tepresettatiou was made of the
circumstances, and teat officer is not Intel) I trust to forget
the lemon that, even in time of war, strict diaclpline is con-
sistent with thorough p diteness, and that to insult, foreign
gentlemen whese presence in the camp is duly recogulsed is
eat • courts welch Is likely to fled favour In these days, or
to advance any °tan in the eyes of his Ileighbour. We saw
yesterday a very different scene. A small party of lettish
tonriste, not, I should say, of the highest clue, had a ith great
determination found their way from Saarbruck to Courceliee,
and from Courcelles had come tramping along the road
for several miles to a very forward position in the
Prussian Linea. The party consisted of three gentlemen
an I two ladies, but they must have possessed comidei -
able pedestrian porters ahml no Mall share of aseurauce
or of coure-e, whichevcr you may please to call It. 'like
ladies had determined to see the camp. imagining I any-
pose, that it most be as &cousins as Wimbledon, and as well
eeceiee the visits of errant c

Itiephseal to receive tia;"—vuoM of .
damsels. With the calmness and impunity which abso-
lute Ignorance of rules and reentations sometimes given,
they had passel, unquestloned, the sentinels, who seemed ta
have supposed that Vey had ri pass to the commandant,
since they held themselves so bravely. How ever it may be,
they presented themselves before the Officer In chem., as we
were sittlog with Mn. in his eanctum lie was moreamneed
then angry, and too well bred to chow more than a strong
dub of astonishment. They were, however, too much for the
gallant captain. lie was too civil, to send them away, and
too conrteons to Moe them "a good view." Ito up they
elimhed to the garret, mounting ladders with a reel:y
creditable agility, sod they may really boast of Mashie
had a better view of the siege of Siefa than soy of their
countrywomen, with the solitary exception of Mrs. Talbot.
Captain Talbot is an officer of toe Prussian Dragoons woo
has courageously wan his way from the rink of • private
soldier, to that which he now holds on the adjutant's start
here. Captain Talbot holds a aood position in every °lea's
esteem, and has behaved to AU who are in camp in the most
friendly manner, and ehown many little kind attentions
which have emoothed our sometimes rather :horny psth.
lint I have gone clear Jamey frow the French, except that
while we were looking at the French from one of our beet
points of observation. Ciptatri Talbot's young Wife was with
'an. There was nothing to Maim any lady its the quiet look-
ing landscape before is, &ululated and thronged though i;
was when caretully inspected with 651dg:tweet taut live
minutes might have suthaed to mate the spot on which
we Wood the centre of a desperate tght, from which we
should have teen but poorly sheltered. Altogether, I do
sot advise ladies, or gentlemen either, unicas pro.
petty provide:l with a commandant's paw, and &mom.
paaied by an a dicer, tovestutewithlA the lines at Metz Even
our high:, succeesfui tourist irieuils met with some copies
sant incidents on their way boot; end intenoltig to find their
way home to Ittarbruck, eventually landed in two deta2h-
ments at he:nifty In ant:l4)o,lde direction, and were indebted
to • rare chance and to the courtesy of strangers for •
shelter. All is well that ends well, but last now the French
are an leitiess and uneasy in their intrenchmects that un-
wary visitors and tourists may not end well.

'a`mt.