The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-25 00:00:00

THE ARMY OF NORMANDY.

From Havre, January 23, the special correspondent
of the Standard sends the following :—Things here are
beginning to wear a more ship-shape and military appear-
ance than they have done since Havre became the head-
quarters of the Army of Normandy. The new General
continues hard at work organising and brigading
his forces, and making them amenable to discipline.
As soon as he has got them into working order, so as
to feel some sort of certainty that they will not be found
utterly wanting when the time comes for their being made
useful, a general advance is to take place. That time, I
am assured, is very nearly at hand. It is wonderful what
can be done by energy, order, and method, and the new
commander's organisation of his field artillery and his
cavalry chews him to be a man who understands his
business. The general belief here is, that the advance
will be in the direction of Rouen, but nothing is known
on the subject, as General Loysel very wisely keeps his
plans to himself. On the left bank of the Seine matters
are far less satisfactory. The railway from Honfleur has
ceased to run, and Havre now communicates with
the rest of the country via Caen. The cause of this in-
terruption is that several Uhlans are reputed to have
been seen near Lisieux. There has been a great turn out
of National Guards, and the citizen soldiers of Bernay are
reported to have successfully repulsed a Prussian attack.
Nevertheless, at Honfleur, and even at Caen I am told,
inroads of the enemy are apprehended. A number
of French merchant vessels, which had beeu sent
early in December from Havre to Honfleur " for safety
sake," have now been brought back from Honfleur to
Havre, and though the Prussian armies are a long way
off, the whole of Normandy appears to be de facto in a state
of blockade. One of the local papers this evening, in notic-
ing the sortie from Paris, mentions a report of General
Trochu's being wounded. His being disabled would be a more
severe blow for France than the loss of another great
battle. The five hundred Prussians who have been making
a promenade milttaire with two guns up to the very gates
of Havre, have left our neighbourhood for the present.
The French outposts have now been pushed out as far as
St. Romain.

CHURCH IMPROVEMENT IN THE METROPOLIS.—
Those who are anxious to contribute something to the
good work of church improvement in the metropolis, have
now an opportunity of assisting in a much needed work in
a very poor, but populous, parish. St. Philip's, Granville
Square, Clerkenwell, though outwardly a very picturesque
little building, standing in its own grounds, is sadly
deficient in the interior. The walls are not only
whitewashed, but patched, the stone mullions over
the windows create some uneasiness by their rioketty
condition, and the general effect is quite unworthy of
sacred services and of the energy and self-devotion with
which the clergy of the parish apply themselves to the
duties of their calling. The seats are all free, the plan of
the weekly offertory being adopted ; but though the con-
gregation value the services very highly they are, for the
most part, too poor to be able to do much to adorn the
Church. For a sum of £5OO it is calculated the interior of
the building can be done up, the walls coloured,
the vestry built, the chancel enlarged, and other
improvements carried out. The sum of £lOO
has been offered to the incumbent on the 25th of March
1871, provided he can get the other £4OO. He has already
a large proportion of this, but wants something to make
up the amount. Persons of limited means who sympa-
thise with so worthy an object may here find an opportu-
nity to assist, as from the great demands on the charity
of the better classes of the parish, it is being mostly con-
tributed in small sums.