The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-01-07 00:00:00

INSIDE PARIS.

The following are extracts from Iho letter of "The
Besieged Resident "in the Daily News
Real Chrletmas weather—that is to say, the earth is as
hard as a brickbat, and the wind Ire, Zen one to .he very
marrow. To the rich man, with a good coal tire in his grate,
turkey, roast beef, plum pudding, and mince pies on his
table, and his family gorging themselves on there solid
eatables, a frost at chriattoaa is very pleasant. Poor people
cowering in their rags before the door of a union, cold,
buttery, and forlorn, or munching tereir dry bread in some
eheelleas garret, may not perhaps so fully apprectate
its advantage. ; but then we all know that poor peo-
ple never are contented, and seldom understand the
iitlleElt of thirgs. Here in Paris, the numbed soldiers out in
the open Pelee, and the women and children, who have no
fires and hardly any food, bitterly complain of the " seaeon-
able " weather. With plenty of money, with warm ctothes,
and a good house, a hard frost has its charms, without them
it is not quite so agreeable. For ray part I confess that I'
never hay., men a pate:famillas with his coat tails raised,
barking himself before his fire, arid printing about the
deltghts of winter, and the healthy glow winch is caused bye
sharp frost, without feelb g an irres,stible destre to strip him
stara naked on the highest peak of blunt Claire, in order to
enable him to Marti by experience what winter means to
theusauda of his fellow creatures. We are rot having a
"merry Credal MP," and we are not likely to have a happy
new year. Chriirmas le not here the great holiday of the
year, as it is in England. Still, everyone in ordinary times
tries to have a better dinner than moat, and usually where
there are children tastefully some attempt Is made to annex
them. Among the bourgeoisie they are told to put their
shoes in the grate on thristenareeve, and the neat morbleg
some present iii ,und in them, whldh is supposed to have
bee° left during the night by the Infant Jesus. Silica tile
Empire lutroduved English way shere, pluumpudding and even
rraiirzoiriee have been eateu, awa even Christmas-trees have
flourished. i hie year these, as an invention of the deteated
toe, have been rigidly tabooed. Peurn-puddings and mince-
pies will appear on few tahles, ln order to comfort use
children, the girls are to be given seep tickets to distribute
to beggars, avid the boys are to have their choice between
Frau= ani German wcoden soldiers. The tormrr will be
treasured rip, the latter will be sublicted to banal tort=es
Even the ntidr,igb.t =Lea, whidh is 4.uaily celebrated en
Chrlatinaseeve, Sceok plane in vary few churches last
night. We have, indeed, too much on our hands to
attend Maher to fasts or feativals, although, in the
rp.siou of the L'Hi,e :Ili, the last sortie would have
been far more successful hid it taken place on the 7th of
the an orb, the aptilventtry of the 1 romulgation of the
Immaeulate Cerception. Among fine people New yecr'e
Dy is more of a fete than Chtittmas. 10 aoroech is
regarded wiele earl; tuiragivic,gs by map.,,, etiory genit,.nnan
is e-apecied iczetMe aall vd.r...1 all the ladies of his isequaint-
' aene, and to leave them a box of sugarplums. This
is a heavy tex upon those who have In re fiends
than mousy-3001. is not considered an extraordinary
sum to spend upon these honbounteres. A bleed
of mine, indeed, insured me that he yearly rent I,ooef ,
but thee he was a notorious liar, so very possibly he was not
telling the truth, "Thank Heaven," my tit;el.., loast
we shell ,ift cii tltn; toga:plum ca,:, 1i45 yvar. ,nut ttlti
, are net to aa done oat of tear petrel :eve right; in thia w Hy,
. I era they throw out very eel...mg Uinta that if sugerpluats are
out of season, anything sell-I is very much in season. A
dam'y who is known to have a stock of sausages, is over-
whelmed with complimeuts by his fair (mein. A
good leg of mutton would, I am sore, win the heart
VERY PLEASANT TO LIVE THERE! of the pp rodent beauty, and by the gilt of half-a-
done,, dozen potatoes you might make a Diced for life. Tire
'the C,.:!carte Gq?..t,e commends the following letter from English here are making feeble attempts to neldhratg Chrttt-
kiete to the considentiou of Est a a who wislit u anoe7 re,,117
au au eeci psa real-4441;a t 5 r, tiarkeyielt it
Freecti territory afternoon (elfh), in the vtcre,y!bne eyea,red hp fag the important ininatien, but unfelt.
of the Routine barrack', a member of the atah Laud wahr
tnnatety a few clays ago they aniline ated time late, and
regiment h.d his head spilt open with an one I her ffrod.tr,
most 111-naturedly Insisted up dymg. One fortunate
the son of the French quartermaster, sad the lather of eta Briton has got 10 Hrs. of camel, avid km Med ed about
children, is *rented, as also his father, mother, slid brother. , twenty of hie coutitty.n to aid him in derOUrins
'lwo other Land wehr men hate met with their death in a this bhp-Oar substitute fr turkey. Ar °time gives
aim!ar way, and the sentries are shut at by du as well as by
himself ales hocsese be has tome potte I turkey,
&alit almost lady. Ihe Gov, Tlilll,ot, A.. .teed, have issued whieh is solemnly to he Whim,: stl to.dny sitre:d
stringent regulation:, hat theti, trom herovs easel,* will net
'•
on 1.-road. I 51,t My tent ,;otet„• to doe a qtelp aeheitt
step until the azters are hung up ad vetoing. rt''Y" of dim a your aouteraptyarh e the some boor as hint-
circumstau ea it is no !aster raie in the street even with , self lien a fondly who left Paris b-fore the commencement
arms, for what avails a rerdiver It one is assailed from hehind of the sle Necescity kin, Ws no lane: no the other day he
or tetrad In the above-named manner ? Among us official.
opeeed their door with a certain am mint of gentle violetice,
nobody goes out al ne, and ass body living a little &stance and attar a diligent stanch, dim ..vered In the larder two
from the town is escorted up to his dwelling." turbine, sorue rotating, MO a 11-m. 1 rw.e, with a fowl,
which I believe Ills heeu procured honest'', ale iocansOtet
our Christmas dinner,
it iv aery steal go wl at opposite oph i.. is ono k 0 r 5 at.lat
tli coAttum of the poor Sr vie next lir say that there ti no
distrees, others that it csinot he gteater. The fact is, the
men were net er better cif, the women and children never so
badly off. Evrry mat, cnn 114 VD enoneh to eat fold too
much to eaten by daweilleg about with a gun. As Ids home
is cold and cheerless, *hen he Is not on duty he lives at a
pot-hoesa. He trings no money to his wife and children,
who Cr usequeetly only fast keep body and sail together
by going to the national cintims, where they get
soup, and to the Meal., where they occasion illy get an
order tor bread. Almost all their clothes are ill patio, an,
how it is they do not pa:aunty die of card I a armor, under
stand. 10 for ftiel, the wealtny had it difficult to procure
it The Government talks of cutting down all the trees acid
of giving up all the clothes in pawn; but, wirh it. utual
procrastination, it puts off both these measures from day to
day. This mornirg all the firewood was requisitioned. At
a meeting of the Mayors ul Paris two days ego, it was stated
that above 400 persons are In receipt of parish reliel—nat
Oil, but 40,000, it °nil; t.;

The followirl proclatut! ion wan maned in Patio cal
the 1/th ult. :
- • • •

". The extraoreinaly and lasting severity of this wittier
sei,onn has mooed us great &mitering for the last eight days.
At the present ttmo the en'u ts our cruellest oniony. Tee
whole ponalsce in this new trial 0h,.,' the persistence of
the punitc spirit and the indefatigable efforts of that voltm.
tsry di cloline welch vow for nearly four m nths has
hot zured the peop'e of Paris in the eyes of France and of
history. On its 'nut the Administration has done every-
thi ,g that the situation demanded—that is to say, every-
thing pta,ible. Since the cold has set in the Mayors of
pails have ordered that large quantities of fnel aluuld
he can it 113 woods of the city—v z, in the Bole tie how
loupe and the his tie V :twenties—which have been set apart
for that purpose. Tuts plautatto te which line the. na-
tional and departmental roads are gaol-Mud without deism-
tion; the large tr.es ot our boulevards have also beep cut and
sold. This work has placed at our disposal iatmense stores,
and it Is being accomplished with all the celerity c .naisteet
With so great a work oud i:h the necessary transport. At
tho manse &helm, ;lithe timber ysr ts where the wood was pre-
pared for use have been viscid at o'ar dhposal and. despite
the enormous expense, we do not LuaicaL, to deti,-or for
consumption sawn plinks usually reserved for building
purposes. Th. 3 Mayors of Paris are recelvlott assistance
from all parts. All the syndioates, all thi cdnunistrations,
and the corporation are sup; orting its with a mo,t praise-
worthy zeal—an assistance as precious no ill. disinterested.
Each has done his duty, und, thanks to their united efforts,
we shall thus come to the end of this terrible winter. But
the populace, on their part, must come to our aid. Tney
runes supp 4, icy thsirgootb will, by their honesty,And by their
voluntary ossletaneg; those u;G:....rea fo. Le ;4cl-4;-.:atio4' of
etch r which are Irking. If the tinitter yards where the
woad for distribution by the municipality is stored are, as
has been the case, broken Into and pillaged, if our coppices
at Vincennes nicti Boulogne are nightly robbed by bonds of
marauders., whom it would be impossible to e&se without
tint asststanee of the National Guard and of honest men; if
publ;c not pri;st prostrty are not retnacted, it is rot pos-
sible eituer 0 41pp:y posvichms i 4 tgem
equally. We denounce these sx.randera and pjlagers to
the Notional Guard and the population They um the ac-
complices of the enemy, nod the Administration le rewired
to punish them with the greatest energy."

roRMEo, CIEGE Of PARIS.

The reduction of Paris Fy famine, remarks a hierinftn paper
will be no new phenomenon In history. De Thtu says of
llod, when Henry IV. lay before Parts, " the consternation
this city hod indeed become extreme. The want of pro-
visions i/14.1 so rek 'nee! not only the Inhabitants but also
the troops which had viro t 4 their Felp, that they ware to
longer In a position to defend tbennialves People in Paria
forgot what meat was, and the army could only subsist on
leaves or roots which they dug up between the stones.
Saucepans stood in tile public qaare and at the corners of
streets, In which the out. kind of nourishment, oatmeal
gruel, wan pra,,ared. The most terrible diseases broke out.
In three montha more than 12 000 persons diet. The btreets
resound, d with the rattle of the Otug and the groans of 'ho
wounded. Bread no longer existed. All the dogs were
captured and eaten. especially by the Germans, who were
commenly kept as doorkeepers, a people toturally savage
waoi-mturelletnent f ma). Parents deotured their
children, and hitimatoly, on the advice of the Spanish am.
ha•sador, bread was made th.t o: the ground hones and
skulls of the dead, hut this had soon to he al oath:wed, as the
people who hied eaten of it died miserably."

• •
The usual stalls wf tell appear at this season of the year
have been erected on the boulevards They are filled with
W yr and New Vest's gte. Bat a woolly sheep Is but a
bitter mockery, and a complete farm gear In green and
blue wool only reminds one painfully of what one would
pref -r to ace in the flesh. The customers are few
and -I ir between. I was looking to-day at a fine aut..%
In chalk a ith real wiedoed, price r/r., and was Vitali-
ing thai one must be a Mark Tapley to bay it, and
walk borne with it bed-r use', arm under present circum-
stances. Many of the stall I.erepers have In despair done out
it the toy business and gone in for comforters, kepi', and
bat soles.
- - - - - • • • •

THE SINKING OF BRITISH SHIPS BY
THE PRUS:AANS.
The selnore and .cuttli,4 of ;even Beitish ships in I
the Seine by the Proud no has, as might he supposed,
creats d a profound e-nsation amongst seafaring men
thron4hout Great Britain. Thirly-nine of the crews
of the vessels stink arrived at the S,-dloral Home in
Wellclose-square, London, where they were ordered
to remain by the Boar I of Trade vending official
proceedings, and they are the centre of much interest
amongst the mazit:lne communily of the Port of
London.
Dlr. William Mingay, mate of the Siil,„;h, and the
mate of the Alice, both of Sunderland, have made
statements detailing the ci, chine, ances attending the
seizure of tin ir vessels. From thee-sit as-spears that a
French gunboat going up the Seine sighted a Prussian
detachment advancing along the banks, and fired into
them, kihing 150. This ...used a certain commotion
amongst the Prussians, and it was. WI doubt, with a
view to pot a Etop to the movements of the gunboat in
the river that the Pruesians resolved to sacrifice the
British ships. The manner in which the Prussians
trek p0M1.1411011 of the Sylph is described by Mr.
Blingay no f Mows :
The Sylph wee at Rouen on Saturday week in the river,
when a detachment of abate. 30 or 40 Pruaslan soldiers,
headed by on officer, boarded her from a gram-tug. The
Sylph had discharged her cargo of coals, and was taking in
ballast. The men had, unfortunately for themselves as It
ultimately tuned out, been paid. The Prussian efficer ad.
dressed Captain Rarnsdale, the owner of the vessel, and the
mate, In a mixture of French and English. Striking his
band on the companion ladder, he said, "Me must have
your 'hip!" Crptain Ramsdale, polling to the flag, said,
"You shall not have my ship—it is an English ship." The
Penglan officer, whose men had at once proceeded to meth°
ropes that tied her to her anchor, roared out, 4. We don't
care if she is English, or French, or Dutch, or Norwegian,
me want her to cozier In the river." Ile repeated the
French word couler Ito sink) several timer, anti announced
hie intention to seize the lorigantire, whether its c,ptain
would pennit him or not. During this altercation tho utmost
confusion prevailed on board, the soldiern proceeding to knock
holes In the bottom of the venel. the captain cried not
to the officer, "It you want my ship, pay me the .0,000
she's worth." "Yes;" said the cfficer, '1 will." Ile thon
produced a printed form, and calling for pen and 104,
pointed to a vacant place , n it, and directed the captain to
fill i 11,,, which he did. The form seemed to he an order co
the Prusvian Government. During the time this pups r was
being filled no, the sailors were tryine to save what they
could of clothes and money, lout without much mincers, for
In less than ten minutes from tool hoarding of the vessel, the
sailors were Murton over the Idt:10 1140 a lb lit, which was
cut adrift. A good deal of theft clothing was trot on board
The officers stepped on to the tug, leaving some sal diues in
charee of the Sylph ; these men hauled down the British
nag (they had previously ordered the captain to du so but
he had refused), and they trampled on it, abd wiped their
feet on it, making remarks a they did so in German
They then floated her down she river. They did not sink
her immediately, in fact, rot tin the nest moron g, but,
getting drunk on the ship's gores, set her partially on
nee. 'though the captain had received a paper promising
him £2,010 for his the sailors received no compen-
sation for their looses. When boy got on shore at Rouen
tiny reported themselves to the British Conan], who went
to the Pruasian authorities mid remonetrated Throngh
Mr exertions two omnihrisos were procured, and the men
were desnatched en resole for Dieppe. When they got to
Colbec, between twelve and one at night, they wera stomped
In the hitter cold, the snow lying thick on the ground,
by a body of Prussian withers, who ordered them to getolown.
Presenting the points of their bayonets, and rudely vociferat-
ing ,they eirected the sailors to undo their bundles. The mate
distinctly affirm. that the Pellagra took not only the men's
tobacco, but part of their clotlitog and even their money; he
himself war robbed of several pounds' worth of clothes, as well
as tits moues The other men were likewise pillaged. Oae unfor-
tunate satlor,who being compiled to lower down acme tu 'gage
from the tr p of the vehicle for the Prtralans to overhaul,
ginned, and failing to the ground, gut conclusion oil the
brain. Ile had to be 10f behind at Collier. Intimately
they were allowed to resume their journey. When they
arrived at Dieppe the Consul and the English chaplain
received tin no very kindly and gave tam a shilling each
to hay their (Healers at Newhaven Having been tie.
priced by the PIIMinOII of nearly evo rything they pos-
sessed, the poor men had nothing to eat from the ttine
they arrived at Newhaven until their arrival in London
The mate of the Alice, which is one of the six ships
sunk on the 21iit of December states that the vessele
were seized in the most peremptory mariner, and the
crews put ashore, where they had to remain, xposed
to the cold and to the rain which wetted them through
for eleven or twelve hours. Those ve soda were bunk
at once, but as they were not sufficient to block the
passage of the river entirely to the satisfaction of the
Prtue.lane, the Sylph was subsequently seized, and after
her the Paragon.

Until the weather set in no bitterly cold, elderly sports-
men, who did tint care to stalk the human game outside,
were to be seen from morning to night punning the
exciting sport of gudgeon haling along the banks
of the Rehm Each one was alcif s aurrrouinled by
a crowd deeply hiterested hi the chase. Whenever a
fish was hot ked there was as much exc tement as when
a whale Is harpooned In more northern latitudes.
The fisherman would play it for some five minutes
and then in the midst of the solemn silence of the lookers-
on the precious capture would be lauded. Oahe safe on
the bank, the happy possessor would be patted on the back,
and there would be onset 'Bravo" The thins being out
of joint fur ibildng In the Seine, the db.:pies e,t Intim Walton
have fallen hack on the sewers. Tlc Pat is Journal gives them
the following directions how to partite their new game :
" fake a long, strong line, awl a large hook, bait with
tallow, and gently ranee the rod. In a few minutes a rat
will come and smell the savoury morsel. It will be some
Vine before he decides to swillaw it, for his natwe Is con-
ning. When he does, leave bum live [Outdo to meditate
over it, then pull strongly aod steadily. Ha will make con-
vulsive jumps, but be c dm, and do not let his Quiteraent
gain on you, draw him up et voile) votre diver..