The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-03 00:00:00

THE SITUATION ON THE LOIRE.

The military correspondent of the Silesian Gazette has
given a description of the armies who are face to face on
the banks of the Loire. After what has been said it ap-
pears that the Army of ,the Loire is stationed between
Chateaudun and Orleans. In the event of a retreat this
army could either cross the Loire and retire
to the South, or else remain on the right bank of the river
and reach Brittany. This strategic position Is threatened
by two or three corps of Prince Frederick Charles, in front,
or the right flank and in the rear, while the limy of the
Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, which has already reached
Mans, seems likely to watch its left wing, or to cut off
the enemy's retreat to the West. By reason of these con-
jectures, some have been tempted to predict another day
like that of Sedan. We are not so simple as to indulge
in such dreams, however plausible they may seem
Sedan will not repeat itself in the course of many centu-
ries, and still less in the space of three months. The
despatches from Tours are sufficient proof that the march
of Prince Frederick Charles was well known, and that a
surprise was therefore impossible. The crossing of the
Loire by the Army of General Aurelles might have been
called a clever manoeuvre so long as the General
hoped to effect a junction with the Mobiles
arriving from Brittany and the north before the
arrival of Prince Frederick Charles, and thus to carry
out the offensive movement contained in the strategic
plan, against the besieging army of Paris, a movement
which was to have been the signal far the sortie en -masse
of General Trochu and his forces. This plan failed, how-

ever, when the Duke of Mecklenburg hastened from Toury
to Dreux, and defeated the Mobiles who were massed there.
This flank movement of the Grand Duke's was carried out
because the right wing of Prince Frederick Charles's army
had entered on the line to cover the great road from Or-
leans to Paris. Had the fall of Metz taken place a week
later the situation would have assumed a critical turn.
It is evident that General Aurelles relinquished the idea
of going forward by Chartres and Dreux as soon as he
learned the mcvements of the Grand Duke. After some
further remarks, the correspondent says it is evi-
dent that the march of the French on
Paris to relieve the capital has signally failed.
Even If they were to gain a battle they could never reach
Paris. Even after a defeat, the united armies of the
Grand Duke and the Prince could stop their progress.
Not only do the Germans possess the advantage of num-
bers, but they have also those military qualities which
ensure victory even when opposing forces are more
numerous. The only thing to fear would be that
the Army of the Loire escaped to the south before it met
with a decisive defeat, and the last hope of France was
thus effectually crushed. If there really existed an Army
of the South as capable as the Army of the Loire,
General Trochu would slecide upon cutting a passage
through the enemy in the direction of the South so soon
as he had given up the hope of defending Paris. The belief
in these intentions has gained ground for many reasons,
among which are the well known character of Trochu and
the severe censure which the whole of France have
passed upon the conduct of Bazaine. All this forbids one
to expect that Paris will be surrendered without a struggle
being made by its army. Should the Army of the Loire
sustain a signal defeat the population of Paris will, no
doubt, demand peace, and the chiefs will yield to the
fatality that is against them. Should that army escape,
however,, the conclusion of the war will be indefinitely
postponed, even after the fall of Paris.

Balloon letters are all the rage at present in the German
camp, and a nice little trade is being done in them, enter-
prising newsmongers having taken to supplying imitation
letters, which it is difficult to distinguish from the genuine
article.

The statues of Napoleon 111. in the different towns of
France have all been destroyed. The equestrian statue
at Bordeaux, which was placed in front of the gates of the
first Exhibition, was thrown into the Garonne last Sep-
tember, At Lyons the people first destroyed the statue
of Napoleon 1., and then that of the ex-Emperor.
The Union of the 26th of November states that the red
flag still waves over the Hotel de Ville and the fortifica-
tions of Lyons. The revolutionary agitation as Marseilles
is unabated, and the clubs are continually engaged in dis-
cussing questions respecting the clergy, the enrolment in
the army of clerical students, the suppression of religious
orders, and kindred measures.
"An Englishman " residing in Baden indignantly
contradicts the malicious reports circulated with refer-
ence to the refusal of the Duchess of Hamilton to aid the
wounded. On the contrary, he says wounded officers
have been residing for months in the palace of the Duchess
at Baden, and her Grace is unwearied in her efforts to
relieve the sufferings caused by the war.

A great number of the young French troops on the
Loire, are unable to contend with the hardships of the
winter campaign. The hospitals of the South are
filled with the victims of this battle with the elements,

A news boy in Berlin the other day made a good deal
of money by crying out " Defeat of Prince Frederick
Charles." The Berliners were so astonished at this
information that they bought up the papers in great
numbers.

A sign of the times is to be seen in the streets of Paris.
A small cart drawn by one horse conveys a quantity of
meat. On the sides of the cart are painted the following
words :—" Resistance h outrance. Grand canine and feline
butcher's shop."

It is said that the suggestion for France to give up half
her iron-clad fleet came from St. Petersburg. Russia
hoped by this scheme to lessen the value of the French
alliance for England, and sow seeds of dissension between
England and Prussia.
About two hundred of the Prussian prisoners taken by
Ricciotti Garbibaldi at Chatillon.have arrived at Lyons.
Among them were nine officers, who went to the different
hotels ; the soldiers were imprisoned at the Fort of
Charpennes. Some Garibaldian freeshooters escorted the
captives.

The Path; Government has ordered an extensive manu-
facture of charcoal for the use of the city, and on all the
open spaces around, and notably in the Bois de Boulogne,
are to be seen numerous hillocks of earth beneath which
are heaps of wood slowly burning and in process of con-
version into charcoal.

A graduate of a Pomeranian university, who is sergeant
in a regiment of that province, reports that the fire from
the French forts around Paris has been unpleasantly keen;
" the hail of shells poured upon us, at least close to our
position, being steady and continuous." Food is some-
times scarce, but in general the victualling is good.

A regular hunt takes place for the rats which are sold
at the Paris market. The idlers about the barriers have
made a business of the matter, and discovered an in-
genious method for catching these little animals. They
put a kind of glutinous syrup in the holes of the sewers,
and the rats rush to the places and fall into the holes,
which they cannot leave owing to the sticky nature of the
food. They are thus easily caught and taken to the stalls,
where they are sold at prices under sixpence a piece.
A French sergeant, fighting the other day at Chevilly,
had just discharged his piece, when he felt a violent kick
from it, and found that he could not load again. When
the musket was examined, it was discovered that a Prus-
sian bullet had entered, clear and clean, at the muzzle,
and had gone right down the barrel At the siege of
Rome, in 1849, a cannon ball from the ramparts went
into the mouth of a French gun in the same manner ; but
no previous case of a rifle bullet playing such a freak is
recorded.

Among the last prisoners brought to Tours was a young
officer of Hussars who was taken at his own request to
the prefecture. When there he asked in the most
haughty manner what part he was to be sent to. The
secretary replied that no Prussian authority would expect
to be treated in such a manner by a French prisoner, and
informed him that his destination was X. At these words
the prisoner gave way to violent passion, and declared
that he would not go there because some Bavarian officers
had been sent there before him, adding, "I am a
Prussian, a true Prussian, and I will not mix with
Bavarians."

An innocent little surprise was practised on the Ver-
saillese by the Prussian Iron Brigade on its arrival at
headquarters. The regiments marched into the town, the
bands—who rank among the best in the army—playing
the Marseillaise, to the infinite delight of the townspeople,
who crowded into the streets to welcome and cheer the
new arrivals and join in the tune. Suddenly the strain
was changed, and the well known Prussian National
Anthem struck up instead. The Versaillese saw the joke
and relished
_it ; "Vive le roi Guillaume !" rang from
hundreds of throats—so a German paper says.

The new portion of the Tuileries has lately been occu-
pied by provincial Gardes Mobiles. Their presence has
effected little change in the external appearance of the
building, and the fact that the Pavilion de la Tremoille
had been converted into a barrack would hardly be sus-
pected but for the shirts, handkerchiefs, and stockings
which hang out from all the windows, the soldiers being
their own laundresses, and preferring to carry on their
drying operations under their own eyes.
A correspondent of the Cologne Gazette, describing the
advance of General Manteuffel's army, says :—" In this
industrial district (Chauny) the. people are throughout Re-
publicans, or at least decidedly against personal govern-
ment. Placards in all the streets announce the unani-
mously modified programme of the International Peace
League, renunciation of absolutist wars, concord of peoples
and in the present case the conclusion of pease with slight
territorial concessions."
Two French soldiers have just arrived in safety at
Stavelot. They escaped from prison at Coblentz in the
disguise of workmen carrying carpenter's tools. At the
risk of being shot, they contrived by nightfall to pass
through the Prussian lines. They were provided with
the copy of a geographical map, and travelled night and
day, hiding in woods at the appearance of danger. By
means of chemical matches they read the words on the
sign-posts by the way. They left Coblentz with a 21b-
loaf of bread and piece of sausage, which they shared
between them during the four days' journey.
The British, Medical Journal says that of the French
prisoners in Germany many are ill, many suffer from
wounds, and most of them are quite destitute. The
almoner of the French prisoners in Ulm writes that in
that place there are 1,000 sick and wounded, and that the
means of aiding them are absolutely wanting. Typhus
makes great devastation among these unhappy French-
men ; the average number of deaths is ten daily. At
Minden there are 500 prisoners ill with dysentery, typhus,
and small-pox, and the number is daily increasing. There
is the greatest difficulty in relieving them, even in obtain-
ing what is strictly necessary. The Basle charitable
agency has received similar distressing reports from
Marienberg, Coblentz, and other places, on the truly
terrible destitution which prevails among the prisoners.