The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-14 00:00:00

BEFORE BRAGG'S RETREAT.

The Southern public have long since given up the tradi-
tional attitude of standing on tip-toe in expectation of a
great battle. It rather plants itself firmly on its feet and
sets its teeth closely, the better to receive the shock. We
have proved our prowess on too many fields to require the
encouragement of one victory more ; we have met with too
many disasters to have our balance disturbed by a single
defeat ; and by this time we have attained to a sad philo-
sophy, which embraces both victory and defeat in one
category—lose. Our loss seems always to outweigh the
immediate positive gain; and, to parody the famous line of
Filicaja, the South appears to be doomed " always ' to lose'
or conquering, or conquered." Our adversaries see this
clearly, and have based their calculations on it. They design
to wear us away piecemeal—to reduce our army by battle and
by capture, and then to break the back-bone of the rebellion,
vertebra by vertebra,and extract the marrow at their leisure.
Of course, we regard this Yankee plan as an utter mistake ;
as a false application of mathematical principles, to the
working of organic structures. It is not a question of sub-
traction ; it is a question of vitality. One man loses both
legs and both arms, and lives; another dies from the ex-
traction of a tooth. But, mistaken as the Yankees are in
thinking that the whole matter resolves itself into two
diminishing series, of which the series is to become infini-
tesimal, yet they are not mistaken when they gloat over
the sufferings which our losses in battle occasion us. These
losses have been great—have been sufficient to glut the
appetite of any being but a New England ghoul ; and these
are the losses which, whenever a battle is imminent, the
public anticipates, even before the skirmishers are deployed,
and the pickets driven in. As we look forward, then, to
the struggle in the West, we cannot indulge in any feeling
of exultation at the prospect. We hope fur victory; we
may have some reason to expect it ; but we know it to
be possible that somebody will be a few hours too late;
that some point of the enemy's line will not be pressed,
in spite of the explicit orders of the command-
ing General ; that the ammunition will be exhausted just
10 minutes before the Federals receive reinforcements ; that
some stupid courier will lose his way; that some heedless
aide-de camp will forget to deliver his message, and that the
Yankees will retire in good order, hotly pursued, at a re-
spectful distance, by our cavalry ; and fall beckon a stronger
position, which they will make impregnable in 21 hours,
This has been the history of every victory of magnitude on
the Southern side, and it may be the history of other victo-
ries. And then, the fight over, in come first as single spies,
and then in full battalions, the casualties. It is said the war
has hardened us to the horrors of death. It is Nitll that we
have become thus hardened, for otherwise nature could not
bear the anguish, and we should be too much unmanned to
carry on our great work. But we venture to say that the
first thought of the majority of the people who have any
claims to thought at all turns to the lists of killed and
‘brounded. Fortune, like the chary alms-giver in Homer,
but
puts the cup of joy to our mouths, and "wets the lips,
:tthtt_oes not wet the palate ;" the chalice of sorrow we think
See L'edrregs. Georgia may be saved, but will East Terines-
tale
our ea
gueso„fadineed ? On one thing we may count, a fearful ca-
use t
had almost said
Our army has
that battle meansni
and they do not r
of Job's war horse,
h:tththaerd suffering, It is, on the whole, well for
higher, purer, and more
wrise:pin,ltetit:::::arge entertain such sober, we
losombre, views on the subject of the war.
guuetuittertained them. The soldiers know
disfigurement, pain, and death,
t‘::tathfig.bt with the mad impetuosity
courage is ot a far nobler,
enduring type than the swagger so