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

A TOUCHING SCENE!

A letter In the Suobiin Mercury gives a teething aeVtint
of the victims of the r,rtie on the 34th ult. The wester
i&)! :—Lest nicht the surgeons at Lawry received lefor-
mation that 200 Or :TO of the wountict were coming there,
and everything was done to prepare for them The first
who arrived tumid the houses Miltilled and the tbeds ready.
The helpiesa were with palidol e. It Tinkle lifted from the
the waggons ; others were assisted in walking, and the
slightly wounded were supplied with soup or coffee. Our
brave men, on the whole, exhibit a wonderful fortitude in
bearing pain. No cry or groan Is audible when they reach
the hospital, after e three hours' journey in the cold night,
and are taken up and carried in, though every movement,
In spite of the utmost case, most cause the greatest pain.
The young lieutenant, smiling, take a cigar, the nest since
15 hours ego he received the fatal shot In the shinbone, and
on being carried tO he only notate to the shot-off foot.
" Grenade splinter betted the left ear," lesuee from a
cloak which conceals a head and face which have hardly
anything human loft but the uninjured right eye.
"There is no longer an entire house at Villiers,"
said a Wurtemberg officer who hail had a chaasepot bullet
through ha thigh, but, happily, without any boue.breakiug
or splintering. Ile is pretty well right. The streets are
white with the remain, of the exploded grenades, and there
are houses which are riddled like a sieve. Outside, at the
corner of the park, behind the battery, which, with its last
ammunition, shot at and repulsed the Freak at 300 pacing,
without the gunner. forsaking the place, there is • broad
trench, 71S. long and 311, wide, which only a 36-pounder
could have made Against the railway dam the dead are
still being picks d up. New .d then one is brought in, end
right hot cud, almost u a level wPh m, and hastily PO paces
off, the French are doled the same thirst, and with much
030•3 nieces. Obey got into a line crossfire in three farms
In their eagerness. That they avail themselves of the leave
here under our cannon to pick up their dead, to dig up
potatoes Iminstrionsly Is a circumstance that needs no com-
ment. With melancholy feelings we bade farewell to the
long row of fallen brothers who lie beside one another Under
the due trees before the castle beneath the dewy grass.

AFTER TIIE MARCH 01 AN ARMY!

Herr Wachenhusen, writing to the Cologne Gazette, from
leanville, on the lat test, describes the lamentable appear-
ance of the district traversed by the German Army of the
Loire. "The war," he ears, " seems to me to have reached
a point at which everybody on both sides desire peace.
Whole Departments have their provisions completely ex-
hausted ; town. formerly prosperous see their whole p irri-
tation beggars, and In a condition In which they do not
know how to get tomorrow's bread. The lower classes
walk or stand, hungering, in the streets, and look gloomily
on the groups of soldiers when these receive their
rations, while they themselves, poor creatures, cannot
find a morsel of dry bread for their crying and famish-
ing children. In them desolate town the ruin caused
by fire present a melancholy aspect amid this deadly still-
ness. Yesterday I passed through maby burnt places—
for Instance, the village of Vlabon, where every shot from
a window was punished by the destruction of the house
Bonneval looked sad, where, two days ago, a cuirassier
trumpeter was shot on his horse. The bullet struck the un-
fortunate man from one of the homes In the rear, and his
saddle and bridle still lay in the alarm-house The whole
place was as 11 dead, and so uninviting was the weird silence
of the streets, from the houses of which only here and there
were angry faces vielble, that, though on my arrival the
night had set In, I preferred going further, though I had
selected the closed and deserted hotel as my quarters. Busi-
ness had ceased In the towns to such a degree that nobody
works any longer, and even one's boots, which the water
has long horn getting into, cannot be mended. Everything
wants repairing, aed this being a resting day, the artisans
in the army were stormed by the people wanting help, who
could not all be petaled. There is no privation, I repeat,
for our army always knows how to help itself, and, under
the wont circumstances, remains in its wonted readiness to
fight. N.whing, moreover, can be altered, for nobody
would gladly c tmmence a retreat unless he could say
that the full price had been paid for all our sacrifices.
But the thought of peace, nevertheless, Is present every-
where, with friend and foe, for both will be beeefited by
it" Referring to the wintry weather which had set in,
the writer remarks that the abandoned positions of the
Francs-Tirears and Mobiles show that they are little fitted
for the cold bivouac or fatiguing field service. " The 150
French prisoners from Valise, who parsed us the day before
yesterday, belonged to the better clause ; their gray and
green costumes betrayed affluence, prosperity, and even
wealth. They came from the Gironde, Charente, and Dor-
dogne, and had only taken up arms, with more goodwill than
bravery, in order to shoot down a couple of Bavarians and
then to undertake a Journey to Germany, They have to
thank the good humour of the Bavarians for taking the
trouble to capture them, for many among our troops give no
quarter to these enemies, as I have particularly observed
among the Mdcklenburgers." Ile adds that the beet Christ.
nine prevents for the troops would be woollen garment., for
nothing can he bought in the devastated, or, for a punish-
meut., plundered streets, and the deserted shops are often
rummaged for such artleles, as also for boots, which have
here and there to be taken from the natives' feet, though
there are large stores at Meaux and Chartres. Four hundred
waggons of provisions from Germany have been sent for, bat
theee will not arrive for two month.. The famous flock of
sheep at Rambotullet, the rams of which fetch enormous
prices, were, he believes, originally Intended to be sert to
Germany, but they are now to be consumed by the troops.

A SIEGE DINER.

Some members of the Perla Juukty Club determined • few
days since to have a diner de bieile, comprising all the re
cently adopted elements of food. The iambus epicure
Baron Brims was intrusted with the preparation of the menu,
which coniiisted of the following Items i—liors d'auvre,
radishes, herring marin,, onions, it he Provenealt, slightly
salt butter, gherkins, and olives. First course —Soup of
slightly mited horse, with vegetables; ass flesh cutlets with
carrots; mule's liver saute our ehanlynntone ; horse's lights,
with white sauce; carp a to matelotte ; fried gudgeons ;
celery heads, with seasoning. Second course—Quarter of
dog trained ; leg of dog coasted; rata cooked upon the
ashes ; rat pie, with mushrooms; Eel a la Oroehe ; salad of
celery and small salad. Dessert—Dutch cheesv, apples,
peace, marmalade net Kirsch, gateau dilalie au/rootage de
Chester. The banquet, which was served in one of the
principal establishments of the Chenille d'Antin, is stated to
hare hoes • complete success.