The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-10 00:00:00

THE FRENCH RETREAT ON HAVRE.

In a private letter from Honfleur of December 7 we
read :—" On Monday unpleasant rumours with regard to
Rouen found their way. into the town, and people looked
grave and anxious. It was said that the Pruesiaoss veers
close to Rouen—perhaps in it.. In the event's!? some oft)►
eers from the army at Rouen, arrived in &este, See '
brought the Istelligeace that Rosen 444% etilTele
dared, and that the army gee* ft tl retrea
on Honfleur. On Tuesday awning 4,be; tower
presented a sad appearance. From ea) e:
hour in the morning to the evening, and all 'th
the night, soldiers of the line, Cavalry, Artillery, Mobilee,
and Francs-tireurs were continually arriving. The poor
fellows had marched fifty miles on insufficient food, ani
with heavy knapsacks and rifles, weighing together pro,
bably about sixty pounds. Foot-sore, knocked up, and
disheartened. a more pitiable sight it would be difficult to
imagine-I,mbulancee, carts of baggage, tired soldiers,
artillery, and horses; all in disorder, and apparently with-
out any attempt at organisation. Honfleur received the
troops hospitably, and the poor fellows behaved admi-
rably, and were most thankful for what was done for them.
Onepoor woman, alaundress, told me she had entertained
seven at her own house for the night. What the number
of the troops really was it is impossible to say—probably
it might be about twenty thousand. There were about
twenty or thirty cannon and field-pieces. During the
whole of Tuesday and to-day, when the tide served, the
troops were passed over to Havre in steamboats and
lighters drawn by tugs. General Briand was, lam told,
among the officers who arrived here. To-day the troops
appear to be in better spirits. It is said that the Prue-
sians are in pursuit, and are at Pont-Audemer ; but
whether this is true or not it is quite impossible to ascer-
tain. All I know is that I have seen an avant-garde going
out this morning in that direction, with the view, asj
hear, of defending the barricades at Figuefleur, in order to
give time for the rest of the troops to embark for Havra.
The Prussians on the other side of the river are said to be
at Yvetot, or nearer to Havre than that. Havre appears
likely to offer serious opposition, and the battle in that
neighbourhood will probably take place at Harileur,
which is just opposite to Honfleur. I have only to add
that the Mobiles here are a fine set of men, have im-
proved much in their drill, and would, I have no doubt,
in time make first-rate soldiers—but the difficulty is the
time."

(ONSTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.)
GREAT FLOODS AT TYNEDOCK.
Yesterday morning, a little after nine o'clock,, an
alarming flood took place at Tynedock, similar to that
which occurred about a month ago, but more serious in
its effect. The heavy rain and snow of the last few days
having accumulated, the drainage from the high land
forming the North-Eastern Railway was proved insuffi-
cient to carry off the extra influx of water into the river
Don. As a consequence the c,alvert, which was
under repairs, burst open ,again. Great
volumes of water rushed out, quickly flooding
the houses, shops, and warehouses, to the depth
of four or five feet. Police were soon at work
rescuing, the inmates of the house, many of whom had to
take refuge on their roofs. Large quantities of furniture
were swept into the flood. Pigs and domestic animals
were floating about dead. A bed was discovered in the
midst of the water with the dead body of a man, who
sunk under a colliery accident, by which both hislegs were
broken. The goods in shops were entirely destroyed. The
Post Office was flooded, and telegraphic communication
stopped. The travelling mail for South Shields was much
impeded, the horse at some points having to swim. Great
indignation is felt against the authorities of the Great
Eastern Railway Company, the time being ample to
repair the recent damage. No lives are reported lost.

TREAT FAILURE AT BRADFORD.
The failure of Churton, Bankart, and Hurst, with lia•
bilities estimated at £60,000 is announced.