The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-26 00:00:00

was the cause of more useless bloodshed than anybody
else ; and these views were heartily supported by all the

other soldiers in the carriage.

The Propagateur de Lille announces that the Repub-
lican committees of Arras, Roubaix, Calais, Douai,
Valenciennes, and Lille have drawn up an address
thanking the people of England for their sympathy with
France.

A correspondent writing from Honfleur, says : " I
have conversed with many military men, but I have not
met with one who believes that France has a shadow of
a chance of success in continuing the struggle. Yet the
general feeling seems to be, We must fight on, for we
cannot give up French territory.'"
M. Lemaire, editor of the Etoile Beige, secretary of the
bread committee of Brussels, has been sent by that com-
mittee to Lille in charge of numerous articles for the
wounded from the battle of St. Quentin. He has dis-
tributed sheets, woollen coverlets, flannel shirts, cotton
shirts, and other articles of clothing ; as well as coffee,
rice, sugar, chocolate, flour, potatoes, wine, and other
comforts for the sufferers.
" The " Besieged Resident " who contributes to the
Dail?) News, says the Paris National Guard behaved very
fairly under fire at the last sortie. Many of them had
not been above a few days in uniform. " Their officers
were in many cases as inexperienced as the men. During
the fight companies were wandering about looking for
their battalions, and men for their companies. As citizen
soldiers they did their best, and individually they were
made of good stuff ; but the moral is—do not employ
citizen soldiers for offensive operations."
Count Bismarck's note to M. Jules Favre is commented
upon unfavourably by the German Liberal Press. The
Zukunft, the organ of Dr. Jacoby and the advanced Demo-
crats, is particularly severe. " There is no necessity," it
says, "to prick the vanquished with pins. The note may
encourage another sortie, and if that should cost the lives
of but a dozen German soldiers, it would be too expen-
sive a fee for the production of the classical despatch of
the 16th inst.
An amusing story is told from Longwy. Two travellers
from Brussels and from Bruges were ambitious to have a
near view of a bombardment. Accordingly they went to
the borders of the wood of Musson to survey the bombard-
ment of Longwy; but finding the firing too hot for them,
they bargained with some countrymen to bring them a
ladder into the heart of the wood. When they got it they
climbed up a high oak, but were scarcely installed when
their attendants demanded a fresh douceur, having received
one at the outset. On its being refused they carried off
the ladder, leaving the two curious travellers swearing
they would never be entrapped again into such a view of a
bombardment, especially as the shells hissed unpleasantly
near. They had to remain there two hours.
How THE FRENCH FIGHT.--It is true that upon
all occasions, whether it be the case of a commander-in-
chief and an entire army, or a lieutenant and 20 men be-
hind a hedge, they always manage to get outfl6Aked, and
instead of turning to bay in desperation, they either inn
away or surrender the moment an enemy appears from an
unlooked for quarter. Again, it is supposed they must
have an objection to getting wet. In the skirmish-
ing fighting of the last few days the Germans
lie down flat on the snow, and can take un-
erring aim over its smooth white surface at the
dark objects who seem to dislike this attitude, and to
prefer to stand up and be shot at. But the one thing
the French soldier, as he is at present constituted, cannot
stand is' the bayonet. The principle of German tactics is
comprised in the one word vorwarts," and against the
chassepot it combines safetywith success. The nearer you
get to a chassepot the safer you are, for the French soldier
almost invariably fires high. " Visez haut," I perceive by
the French papers, is one of their words of command. By
these means they can hit old women in villages a mile off
and miss the German soldiers 300 yards distant, who are
advancing at a run, with bent bodies and heads kept
as near the ground as consistent with speedy loco-
motion. Suddenly, out bursts the Hurrah !"
the storming party straightens itself, and fires a volley at
close quarters, and the Moblots shew their heels and are
tumbled over like rabbits into the snow as they scramble
away, or pursue the safer course of throwing down their
arms and crying for mercy. They easily get it, poor
fellows. The Germans are so accustomed to make large
masses of men prisoners that at the first symptom the
firing stops, and the column, escorted by 20 or 30 men,
marches to the rear, and occupies the time in getting
there in an active process of fraternisation with their
captors ; and these are the men M. Gambetta thinks
are to save France, and that General Chanzy hopes to
end to victory !—Times Correspondent at Le Mans.