The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-22 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 1870.

EXACTLY thirty years ago, in the August of 1840,
the Emperor NAPOLEON 111., then known as the
Prince Louis NAPOLEON, was conveyed in a little
yellow bathing-machine omnibus from the beach
to the high town of Boulogne-sur-bier. Six
years of imprisonment in the fortress of Ham,
two years of exile afterwards here in England,
two-and-twenty-years of power in France (the
later eighteen of these with imperial authority)
elapse, and again, in the August of 1870,
NAPOLEON HI. is conveyed over French soil
in a very ordinary public conveyance. A day or two
ago he takes his seat in a third-class railway car-
riage, in which accompanied by the PRINCE
IMPERIAL, he is conveyed from Verdun to
Mourmelon. Upon asking that a train might
be prepared for his departure, " Sire," said the
stationmaster, " I have here only a third-class car-
riage." To which his MAJESTY replied, " I shall
content myself with that "—as thirty years before he
had heen content with the little yellow bathing ma-
chine omnibus at Boulogne. It is early in the morning
when the EMPEROR enters the airy, wooden, third-
class carriage. Exhausted he asks for a glass of
wine. The railway official has just been
breakfasting. He gives a hasty rinse to

the glass he has been using and, filling
it, hands it as a stirrup cup or cup of adieu to the
EMPEROR. The little PRINCE IMPERIAL, who is
just now prematurely learning what war is in real
earnest, that is otherwise than by a mere military
promenade and a show fight (is it only of three
weeks since ? it seems in its way an age) at Saar-
bruck, poor little NAPOLEON IV. who was intended
to be, but is apparently not to be, is nearly
worn out, poor child, with hard night travelling,
for it is yet dark, and asks to be enabled
to wash his face and hands before starting. What
is there for his impromptu ablutions ?—this—the
very wine glass out of which his father the
EMPEROR has just been drinking. Rinsed out
again—it is with this, and with the aid of a pocket
handkerchief, that the boy prince makes his toilette.
And so en avant from Verdun, through Mourmelon on
to thecamp at Chalons, the EMPEROR and his son and
theirsuite proceed in their third-class railway carriage,
reaching their destination on the 17th inst. about
daybreak. In one sense it must have been a more
melancholy journey than the one made by his
MAJESTY thirty years previously in that little
yellow bathing-machine omnibus at Boulogne-
sur-Mer. Then power bad not once, even
for a moment, been tasted by him. Now
it has been quaffed—down to the very dregs.
Then the future seemed hopeless. Now the present
and the past alike have an aspect to him of despair..
His deadliest enemy, one might fancy, would
have some momentary sense of commiseration
on witnessing the almost unbroken series of
disasters that have flooded around him since the
present war commenced. Prussia, not invaded
—France invaded instead. The cries "To Berlin !"
drowned in the cries "To Paris !" MAcMAHoN, the
ablest of his marshals, defeated at the final collision—
his forces routed, portions of them annihilated, the
rest decimated. His soldiers by thousands taken
prisoners, eagles captured, cannon, even mitrailleuses
carried off as trophies from the field of slaughter.
The opening disaster of Weissenburg, followed the
very next day by the double disaster of Forbach and
Reichshoffen. Marshal LEBCEUF disgraced and de-
graded—Marshal BAZAINE cut off in his attempted
retreat from Metz through Verdun to Chalons. Wit-
nessing the accumulation of these overwhelming
disasters upon the devoted head of NAPOLEON
it is scarcely possible to wonder at the rumours
flying about in his regard that he is at intervals
delirious, and that in one of his paroxysms of de-
lirium he has destroyed himself. Listening to those
rumours, we cannot help thinking of his words of the
other day or rather night, when urged to return to
Paris—" Dead or Victorious !"

CONSIDERING that so little is known of the opera-

tions in the present war until long after they have
taken place, it might appear difficult to pronounce
anything like an early judgment on the movements
of the belligerents. In most cases it would be so.
No war was ever more imperfectly known. The
official bulletins are wretchedly meagre ; in
most cases they directly contradict each
other ; and the jealousy of independent nar-
rators is so great that in very few cases are
they able to supply pertinent facts. Unfortunately
for the French, the blunders of their commanders,
and the incapacity of their administration, have
been sc glaring, that the very smallest possible quan-
tum of facts is sufficient to indicate the direction in
which the fortunes ofwar are tending. Bazaine's "great
victory" of Tuesday was soon interpreted in Eng-
land to mean that, in attempting to retreat, the French
Marshal had met a Prussian army, had fought a
battle without a defeat, but at the same time
had not succeeded in freeing his line of march
from the enemy) or in advancing to the
slightest degree in the direction he desired
to take. Our news of Thursday's battle was at first
confined to the most meagre telegram. But it
sufficed to shew that the cause of France was finally
lost, unless a miracle should intervene. French
blundering has again reduced the fighting to
the simplest character. _

It was obvious that after the defeats of
Woerth and Forbach it was needful for the

main army under BAZAINE to retreat. The
two wings were beaten in, and hence the main body
must fall back. In this case the need of
withdrawal was all the greater, as the French
were clearly outnumbered, and required re-
inforcements to enable them to fight with a reason-
able hope of success. For the first few days after
'Voerth divided authority prevented their retreat—
a space which was most advantageously used by the
Germans in making ready. At length BAZAINE was
declared Commander-in-Chief, and announced his
intention of retiring upon Chalons, where
with renewed strength he would fight the decisive
action of the war. Yet he did not start at once.
his retreat commenced only upon Sunday, and then
it was too late. The Germans had made fearful ad-
vances. To the south the CnowN PRINCE was rushing
forward by Nancy, Toul, and Commercy, towards
Chalons, being on a parallel line with BAZAINE, and in
advance of him. More to the north, a large portion of
Prince FREDERICK CHARLES'S army was crossing the
Moselle, with the view of winding round to the roads
on which the retreat of BAZAINE'S army must be
made. Lastly, a large force was directly opposite
Metz, and fought a battle with the French rearguard
on Sunday. Both parties claim the victory on that
day, but for the Prussians the fight had at least the
advantage of delaying the retreat. By Tuesday
their main body had zot so far in front of the French
that a great battle was necessary in order to
secure BAZAINE'S withdrawal. It was fought;
but the French Marshal, even if he drove

back the Germans, did not so decisively

repulse them as to succeed in getting through. Wed-
nesday was spent in rest. On Thursday the fight
was resumed, the Germans taking the initiative.
They had been reinforced, and were in a position

to attack, whilst the French had no fresh
soldiers to relieve their exhausted forces. After
a nine hours' battle, says King WILLum, the French
were completely defeated and driven into Metz, and
the Germans encamped on the hostile position.

What infatuation could lead:the French Marsha

to engage in these terrible adventures ? To wait
at Metz until a victorious and stronger foe had cut off
the track of retreat was simply madness. At first

the road to Chalons was clear. If BAZAINE had to
retire, he should have retired at once. Why wait
until the Germans came up to harass him? The
explanation is that BAZAINE for the first few days
was not master of his actions; but, no matter what
may have been the attendant circumstances,

the blundering was so gross, the delay so
long, that the commander cannot escape great blame.
The French have suffered a fearful disaster.
Under no ordinary circumstances can such a
position be retrieved. Instead of all meeting
with undivided front at Chalons, the Imperial
troops are now cut in two, the best portion
locked up in a fortress, and the remainder, con-
sisting of miscellaneous forces at Chalons, must soon
confront a powerful army under the CROWN PRINCE.

BAZAINE'S army must fight again or surrender. It can.
not remain in Metz, because there is no food for it

If it fights, the battle must be waged without any
reasonable hope of success, for the Germans have been
victorious once, and as their reserves will come up,
whilst the French can get no aid, the next combat
will commence under circumstances still more
favourable to the former. The collapse is astounding.
Practically the war seems at an end. It may be
prolonged further, but with our present light no
gleam of hope for the future can be seen. The

'rench regular troops are destroyed, and behind
iem is a mob.

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

THE RESIDENCE OF THE QUEEN.

The absence of her Majesty from the neighbour.

hood of her capital at so momentous a crisis in Euro-
pean politics has been admitted to be inopportune by
her most loyal subjects, and more than one opulart
organ has already been a little severe on the supbjec.
The Econontist,after reciting some of the many advan-
tages to be found in a constitutional monarchy, hints

that the Queen has of late years occasionally com-
pelled her subjects to reflect upon the price which
they pay for them. "The best of constitutionalists, the
most forbearing of sovereigns," she sometimes presses
etiquette to an extreme oppressive to her immediate
advisers. She flies from one extremity of her king-
dom to the other in the midst of a great Continental
war, though business of the last importance is astir
at the Foreign Office and the War Office, and
nothing can be done without her signature. She
requires her Minister's attendance at a place further
from London than Nice is from Paris. Every
despatch is delayed three days, and the Premier is
compelled, when time and strength are alike over-
burdened, to spend forty-eight hours at a stretch in
railway travelling to and from a place which is
twenty miles beyond railway communication. No
offi3er of State, not sheltered by the etiquette
of monarchy, would be permitted so to interrupt the
progress of affairs. The etiquette which- demands

the signature of the Queen demands also the atten-
dance of the Minister, and thus the telegraph is no
help, nor is there any resource in correspondence.
The Minister must go himself, though he could go to
Paris in half the time and with half the fatigue
and effort. Thif Economist sug.;ests as a remedy
the establishment of another constitutional fiction.
Let the Sovereign be presumed to be always in Lon-
don or Windsor, and when she is absent let the
Prime Minister sign documents in her name. As the
wearer of the Crown can always be present if she
chooses, there could be no ground for complaint
while even the appearance of Republicanism would
be avoided. Otherwise the existing etiquette will
certainly sooner or later break down.