The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-19 00:00:00

THE PRICES RISING.

The Paine, In Its Paris edition of November 3, gives some
particulus of the state of the provision market at that date.
Bread, wine, and meat—the latter being distributed only in
small and regulated quantl ties—have not materially ad van ced
in price. On the other hand, delicacies and vegetables tad
reached a fabulous value. Horseflesh, which hitherto, in Its
avowed form, had not been a favourite viand, hes become in
great request, and on the 3rd of November the market price
was 21 francs per kilogramme. Mule and ass meat was worth
ii francs, and the demand was in excess of the supply. In
ordinary times a goose of good quality would cost Cf. or 71.,
and at the date in question the price had risen to 25 and
30 franca A chicken had advanced in value from 3or 31
francs to 14 or 15 francs, and a couple of pigeons had been
sold for 12 francs. Turkeys were scarcely to be seen, and
one which in ordinary times" would have sold well at 10
francs recently found a purchaser at 55 Rabbits are more
attainable, but even they cost about 30 francs per couple.
Salt and smoked meats are very scarce, ham being difficult
to procure at 16 francs per kilogramme. Lyons sausages
had advanced from S francs per kilogramme to 32. Aus-
tralian preserved meats had disappeared from the shop
windows. In respect of fish, the supply from the coast of
coarse had disappeared, and that from the Seine was very
Insignificant, but a carp, of which the normal price would be
about 2 or 3 francs, was sold on the 4th of November for 21.

" HOME•SICKNES4 OP THE GERMAN SOLDIEIW

A letter from Versailles In the ,d figenseine Zellung,
written during M. Theira's negotiations, mention, the home-
sickness of the German soldiers, who would gladly celebrate
New Year's Diy with their families. They are Camilla on
war, not as hirelings for the sake of war, but because they
are conscious It was a necessity for their country, though in
Itself an evil. Though here and there lamentable excesses
have occurred, they are Isolated cases and after peace is
concluded, not only the world but even candid Frenchmen,
must admit that never was a war conducted with so much
forbearance and humanity towards the vanquished, never
did an army In an enemy's country display such an exem-
plary and disciplined attitude. Their entnusiasm and
bravery have not diminished ILdeed, their eerie. of splendid
vb.torles has created a confidence in themselves and their
officers which they could not possess to aucti a degree early
In the campaign. Were they no, led into a sanguinary
battle they would manifest, if possible, greater b p;
but on that account they are the more Justified in rejoicing
at the prospect of peace.

"THE BILL OF FARE" flf PARIS!

Balloon letters bring us curious details of the Ingenious
devices by which the Parisians vary and improve their daily
fare. The lake. and ponds in the woods of Boulogne anti
Vincennes, some of which are likely soon to get low, owing
to the supply of water being cut off, are dragged for the fish
that abounds in them. Tne produce I, sold every morning
by auction, fine carp and pike averaging barely a franc a
pound, although the shops retail them at four or five time,
that price From the 4th to the 10.11 of NAtember the price
of butchers' meat was tined by the authorities at
from 13.1. to 3s, 6,1. per kilogramme, according to
the part sad matt tn at lid, to la 64. These moderate prices,
of course, do not imply abundance. There 1,0 an immense
number of owner loss dogs in lan., a'andoned by emigrants,
which find It difficult T 3 ant a living. Some of them visit the
camps and outposts outside the wills, begging the suldier,.
hospitality, and may be heard howling plteonnly at night wheu
they return t 3 town ant Had the gates closed. one letter
says that some people begin to eat dog, which Is not impro-
bable, since French 4.1 hers causta.gning have been koown
to eat rats. Roast dog and fried goldfish we uid be curious
items in is bill of fare.

A BALLOON "LOG."

The balloon Gironde, which left Parts at &20 On Nov. 9,
dropped at analrevdle, near Conches, In the Eure, at 330.
The lollowing lathe log of the aerial Journey :—Calm weather
at stet tiro; ; rose to the height of mei res ;II sated for an
hour in a thick fog ; at halt-t oat nine crossed tie Prussian
lines at Ver.allas ; rose to I 200 metres; • heavy fire at us
which did no r arm ; went up to 2,500 met,s, and then
et:tied to la ar the whisi ling of the balls; temperature
got very law, from Int ti three It was below zero;
all this time we were °cloying splendid sunshine above the
clouds; the ahadowof the balloon is seen on the white fleecy
clouds the shadow surrounded with a prismatic halo fol-
lowed the balloon constantly; at three o'clock descended to
the level of 000 metres seeking a spot to descend, lees by •
peasant, who shouted to us loud enough to be heard, that
we were near Conches. Went down very rapidly, bumped
the ground over • meadow, rebounded to the height of
100 metres, mune down again, and ropes laid hold of by
Peasants, who held them till we got out in safety.

Somehow or other there is an awful presentiment growing
Wen me Mut I eni going to be—l believe its vernacular to
say so—for some time in Versailles. Mr. Murray call. it
"a drill and uninteresting town" hid he ever see it in the
Ineffable lethargy id hostile occupation ? The thing is not to
he conceived by those who have not seen the like You read
of crowds lu the street when U. Tillers came or went, or
General Boyer was sent with his alguilettei as first Aide-le-
Camp to pour General Bs. due, who will riot, I presume, he
called the gallant defender of Metz," though
No
he
Is and has been. He not belles, • word of It No crowd Is
ever seen, except it has a spiked helmet on Its orderly head,
smil, moving " Lairs" better than Mr. Beaten' ancient
trained bands. A little story which has made quite &sense.
Mon In a circle at Versatile. Is an illustration on both sides
of peculiar national feeling. There are via artillery officers
billeted In the house of a certain French baron, whose
mother, nigh eighty years of sire, lives Me house close hy. The
other day the French baron's birthday anniversary came
round, 46113 the Prusiutn r !beers became illaena of it. So
they got together and wrote a very pretty note, In Indifferent
French, expressinx their sympathy with the misfortunes of
the country which had brought on her such a mournful
celebration of her son's birthday, but not lathe least degree
compromising themselves as good Germans, and then in a
body repaired tot. room of the old baroness with a magni-
ficent bouquet. Would these men be likely to kill the son
and burn the mother out of mere brutal wantounen ?
Times' Correspondent.

A noR Limy. not:HAMM.
The vortical programme or the Red Republicans in Paris
Is thus am:Ached by M. Llawful% organ the l'alrer en
Danger .—" All the Churches should be closed against
religious services, and 'honk be converted Into granaries,
meeting places for clubs, and other revolutionary PUrPcsc.
AU the heeldtat should be Mimi et piteete. They should

be arrested, armed, sod placed under fire in front of the
patienta in the most perilous positions. We would ,confer
upon them their noblest mission—that of becoming martyrs.
They twin go to Heaven, and that will be their reward. We,
who do not believe in it, desire that they should die before
us. Let them serve as breastworks to fathers of families,
and that will be the only time when they have been good
for anything. The first thing to be considered is the bar-
ricades. There is in existence a Barricade Commission,
with a president and a credit of 600,0001., but nothing
...IS to be doing, and the P•ussians are still advancing No
citizen should appear abroad without arms, revolvers
poniard, bayonet—all are useful—and they should arrest all
the Bonapartist agents who are still to be ttund in Paris
Newspapers, clubs, and the constituted commune should
demand that all articles of sustenance should be common
property, and everyone should receive equal rations. Every
one who is cognizant of any concealment or removal of gold
or silver coin, or of valuable articles, must make an im-
mediate declaration of the facts at the liable. At the door
of every house should be placed a written statement of the
names, ages, and calling of the inmates. The name of the
proprietor and his real and actual address should be inscribed
in large letterset the head of the list. The concierge should
be held responsible for this statement These are a few of
the measures which alone can save us."

A CHAPLAIN SHOT WHILSTOHNISTERING TO THE MING.
It has very rarely happened In modern warfare that an
army chaplain has figured upon the list of losses In action
Many • war vacancy has been made by the death of • zealous
minister overtasking his powers In the hospital, but to die
before • barricade had been hitherto reserved, as far as the
clerical cloth was concerned, for the noble old Archbishop
of Paris, who gave his life vainly In 184 S, a sacrifice to his
dedre to persuade the Reda to accept terms of surrender.
rola war, however, Includes among Its other strange events
the death of Pastor Schwabe, lately chaplain to the Etind
Prussian division, who, in attendance on the dying, was
stench through the head by the Millet of • mobile or franc-
Hreur. In the streets of Chilteaudim, when that place was
stormed by Wittich on the ISth of October. Possibly, this
unhappy circumstance may in some degree account for the
severity with which the erusslans, on carrying the barricades,
behaved towards the mobiles, whose survivors declared their
comrades had been shot wholesale after surrendering.

STARVING THEM BETTER THAN SHOOTING THEM !

The Telegraph's correspondent at Versailles asserts that
the army is apparently, and to sonie extent really, so in-
active about the reduction of Part*, because the King will
not hear of a single man's life being wast“l, knowing that
the capital ninst fall;through exhaustion, and preferring to
lose time rather than soldiers. "We expect, however," he
says, "to be giving aud taking bard knocks within the next
two or three days, for Trochu hs,s been showing his teeth
every monang since Saturday last, though nothing more.
Fifty or sixty battalions have been marched out and exercised
daily under Va!Crien, and have kept Us on the alert, to the
great tribulation of the advanced vets and supports. Last
night was a lovely night for a sortie—thick fog and bitter
cold; lithe French knew their business, which they do not,
they never would have missed such a chance—the Russians
never did in the good old Crimean dags.