The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-09 00:00:00

A RIDE 'ROUND THE FORTRESS.

Wilting frcm the: 'llea,d-quarters of. the First Army,
iinder date :November 3, tie.. correspondent of the Tele-
graph says :—This morning, at an early hour; I .deter-
mined to see as much • as possible of the French
positions outside the town ; accordingly riding over
the bridge of Ara-sur-Moselle, I took the road to
.Moulins-legit-Metz, the point, chosen • by the belli-
gerents, at which flags of truce were to have been
:received. Like. the suburb of • Montigny,
ii`Jets is nothing more than a straggling, ill-built village,
rendered still more. repulSive by the havoc which the
French around it, have committed.. All the gardens,
vinuyards, and pleatinre grounds are now but a sea, of
mud, plentifully- interspersed with deDA horses. 43. the

long, straggling street leading to Longeville-les-Metz,
dead carcrses are found lying in every direction.
Riding through the little hamlet of Ban St. Martin',
which nestles at the foot of St. Quentin on its south-west
face, I took the path leading to St. Quentin and
To right and left of the road
lay the same desolate scene the air simply laden
with putrefaction from dead horses and half-buried car:
cases. As I ascended the road which leads to the fort,
I stopped to gaze upon a spectacle too shocking
to be passed by unnoticed. To the left of the road were
the remains of an orchard, which had been turned into
a slaughter-house. In little heaps . everywhere lay the
legs and heads of slaughtered horses ;* hanging to the
branch of a tree was the carcase of a horSe, evidently,
placed there for the purpose of being cut up into
rations. The ground, trampled and gory, was
strewed with entrails and offal ; while, attached to
several trees, and lying where they' had been tied, were
he bodiesof seven dead horses. A French soldier pass-
Mg afforded the opportunity of asking for an explanation.
" !fa ja!" • `.` that was our ;butcher's shop ; and pretty
dear the meat was latterly, I can assure you.'
Entering Fort St. Quentin, I found the work
vevy much smaller than I had anticipated; but
Lein its commanding position, the whole road of the
sil ter works was encumbered. with chassepots, sword
bayonets, belts, pouches, swords, and drums. Here had
been deposited the arms and ammunition of the French
divi,ion that Jay, upon the slopes under St. Quentin.
Rifles lay in piles ; cartridges were scattered in every direc-
tion; splendid musical instruments of brass were kicking
about
.in every corner ; ,the, music belonging :to the bands
also lay scattered about. The huge brass 74-pounders
that had sent their tremendous shells 8,000 yards into
the Prussian position stood grimly in their places,
Muzzle in air, by reason. of the great elevation they were
compelled. to use. I did not see more than a dozen
guns altogether, and one small mortar ; they were
all muzzle-loaders.. Riding across the Pont des
Alerts, I entered the:fortress of Metz. There is a great
number of French officers still in the town, who stroll
about the streets, dine at the tables d'h4te, andirequent
the cafiis, in a manner which does not do them much
credit. It would be far better if they sat in their rooms',
and lived upsn bread and water, until it was time for
them to leave the scene of their ditrace, than to Swag 7.
ger about as if the world belonged to them. To-
day Marshal Canrobert, with General. Cofliniere, quitt:sl
Metz ; but General Ladmirault distinctly refused to leave
with them in the same train. He requested the officer
in command at the railway station to deipatch him by
any other train, inasmuch as to travel with such
people- would be a still greater disgrace. • Strange words
these, but full of meaning ! His Majesty Marshal
Bazaine seems to have had a mauvais quart d'heure on
his way to Wilhelnasholie. At Pont-a-Mousson he was
received with yells, and was compelled to go to the
German Comenandant to obtain quarters. At Nancy
he was pelted with stones ; in Metz his name is
execrated.
DEMORALISATION OF THE FRENCH ARMY.

I was positively informed by the man in whose father's
house Leboeuf lived (hiring the siege that he had a dairy
and a potiltry yard to the very end, and that he, Bazaine,
and the superior officers lived in luxury to the last. They
raid exorbitant prices for the delicacies 'of the table; but
always succeeded in procuring theM, and I was indig-
nantly assured by a veracious citizen that only a week be-
fore the capitulation a friend of his had sold Bazaine 4
paM de ibis gnu for 500 f. The total amount spent by
the army .in the city was estimated at one :hundred
and twenty million of francs. The debauchery and ex-
travagrnce ofthe officers were much dwelt upon by the
townspeople, :who, :though not- more particularly strait,
laced in certain respects than French- people are generalli7
were utterly scandalized by the flagrant
.immorality of
their.defenders, who seem to have preferred cafds and the
society of the derci,monile to duty in the trenches, and
who to the last denied theinselves no enjoyment or luxury
which. -money could Purchase or the town afford.
Hitherto public indignation in France has been
almost exclusively 'directed to a fow generals:who
are supposed to-have 'been the Emperor's tools, and to
have fattened upon the appointments of their posithois, to
the neglect of their military duties ; but to listen to the
bourgeoisie of Metz, who had the best'opportunity of judg-
ing, this demoialization was by-no • means- confined to the
higher ranks. Doubtless 'it began there ; but the taint
soon extended beyond the marshals, and the vices which
had become fashionable in the Court were soon
imitated in the camp. It is possible that Bazaine may
be traitor he is accused of being; but it seems to me
more likely that he and all his officers, as soon as they
began to run short of truffles, and found that their
female friends got boretl'with the monotony of the siege
determined to bring it to a close. It is impossible to sup-
peso that the army could not have cut its way
out had it been in earnest, or .that Bazaine
could have induced fifty generals and 6,000 officers
to become parties to the most unparalleled
military humiliation of all time, if those officers
and that army had not become dead to the sense
4,f lionoutand patriotic feeling, which would. have ren-
d red such a capitulation intolerable,. and completely de-
.l,aucheitand enervated•by the vices with which for the
la:t half century Paris, the " Mecca of Civilisation," has
b en drenching Europe. Judged by these, last results, the
downfzdl. of the:Bmpire.. and the collapse of
,its, military
glory are no longer a mystery.--Tintes Correspondent.

Metz is intensely Republican. Bazaine himself is any-
thing,--nobody knows exactly what—excejt a Republican,
and' he therefore refused to allow the Republic to be pro-
claimed in the city.- But his officers by no means shared
his sentiments. • Most of them are animated by intense
hatred of the fallen dynasty.

'rho. Daily News ,correspondent inspected the pro-
visions and stores in Fort St. Quentin, and found them
capable of maintaining a garrison adequate for the defence
of the fort for months at least.

'rneliberty of the press was not much, respected by
the milittiry'commanders •in Metz. General.Coffinieres,
the'befuniandant; exercised a most rigid censorship over
'the `lffesl;' and cut out uniformly for a month before. the
capitulation every article' calculayted..to.give offence to the
Prussians, or. of wtener W fan the flame of resistance. '

Frenchmen who are recovering from illness at Metz are
possessed with an extraordinary craving for hcrseflesh.
The taste has grown upon them, and they refuse good
rations of mutton. The doctors oppose their eating horse-
flesh, because they think that the entire change of diet
will operate as much as anything in effecting a cure.

The news respecting Metz was received with the utmost
astonishment and disgust at St. Petersburg. The people
made no secret of their partiality for :France, and their
regret that she should have fallen so low.

The evidence becomes more and more conclusive that
no severe scarcity of food prevailed in Metz before the
'surrender. Strict inquiries have resulted in the almost
invariable answer that though the people were deprived of
many luxuries, they had as much as they wanted of the
actual' necessaries of life.

Five men, says the Cologne Gazette, refused to capitu-
late at Metz. This large force resolved to cut its way
throfigh.. "'hey belonged to different divisions of the
French army—one to the chasseurs d cheval, two to the
infantry of the line, and one to the dragoons. Under
command of an officer of artillery, they- used every
endeavolir to cut a way through our lines, and
were skirMishing th'e whole night• through with our out-
posts and sentries. At last they were taken, The officer
was invited to breakfast with General von Zastrow, and
then sent to the fortress to be . forwarded with the others
as prisoners of war. . These bravo fellows have at least
had the satisfaction of knowing . that they. have not
capitulated, but have been taken with arms hi their,
hands."

. M. TIIIERS ON THE WAR.

The German pipers publish. the substance of a conver-
sation which M. There held with the commander of the
German outposts before Versailles. The French states-
man said the Emperor desired 'the war, but at bottom
he only followed the Empress's impulse. Both.were in
the highest sense incompetent to guide the destinies of the
eodutry, and my fellow-oountrSTMen must' to-day pay a
,heavy price for having.so long plit-up with the rule of such a
charlatan as Napoleon ILL M. Thiera knew of the fall ,of
Metz, but was far from condemning Bazaine. He deemed
him, on the war, the ablest French general, and in in his
enthusiasm went so far as to describe hill private characte
and reputation in France as thoroughly spotless. He did;
not., indeed, place Bazaine as a man on the same level as
MacMahon, whom he styled a perfect gentleman, a«
modern igteedier sans pette; et sans reprocke. He (Thiers)f
was from the first opposed to the hazardous movement;
which ended with the disaster of Sedan. He warned,l
but in vain. He had been indeed alniosi a Cassandra,l
but hoped people would now be more disposed;
to listen to him. ' He now , sincerely desiredi
peace. To save France from its present desperate posi-
tion It was necessary above all things to extricate it from
the provisorittin in which it was sticking fast. A COnsti-
tuent Assembly, chosen by universal suffrage, was, there

fore, necessary. He did lAA, hoviever, conceal that it
Would be 'very difficult to handle' such questions with
flo, Paris. 6overnment, which was' not free from illu-
sions, .and to convince it of the unavoidableness of

ti: !:;111,* sacrifices.. Thrideg to the German troops, he.
teruwd. Cotiut Moltk iudisputaly the greatest otrat e t

gist of the age, and expressed respect for the Pill?
slaw officers. He, however, by no means likes sne
Prussian system, of the people in arms. _ The French
army, he thought, became first thoroughly disorgan6,_
through the half measures of Napoleon 111., whom he
throughout judged very harshly. His ideal is still aPi
army with five years' service. On seeing Paris before _
his eyes become moist, a nervous tremour came over hit
and quickly turning away he exclaimed, "0 que je suw
navr6 de revoir ainsi la capitale."

At Toulon, on the 27th ult., an explosion took place 1°
the Ecole Polytechnique, used as a cartridge manufactory:
One,Person was killed and ten wounded, four of whom die
not expected to.recover.
ost
The Suabian Mercury says the enemy made a but
vigorons and energetic resistance in front of Dijon,
they were soon defeated and 'driven back. They 1011
made a stand within the town, so that our artillery 11
to shell the town; setting fire as a matter of course ta
number of houses, and causing the deaths of many inn °
cant persons, until at last a deputation bearing a f13g,,.,
truce appeared from the town and sued for mercy, begg'°"
that the place might be spared, and the French troel*
composed mostly of Mobiles and Franc-tireurs, best
hasty retreat. 1
Colonel Besington, commander .of the Herefort
Militia Regiment, was arrested and marched as a Prie°ller
through Amiens. He was on service for the relief of the
sick and wounded, and had under his care four lade
fourgons, laden. with numerous bales of clothing, 3°,,,,t
tines, medical comforts, wine, and other comforts. 3 -a-
stupid French.mob conceived that Colonel Besingtoll.t,
,companions were Prussions, and that they were tam
gunpowder and arms to the enemy. They were se'
jetted to an infinity of trouble before they could proceed. ,
The Berlin semi-official Horddeutsche Zeituruj saisr;,
" The French Government and that portion of the PeePL
who voluntarily or involuntarily allow themselves tol.
guided by them having refused to listen to reason
cannon will beresorted.to for giving them a lesson.
hove done all in our power to spare the unfortunate caPl.
of France this last catastrophe. • Those who, hairl°°
usurped 'the government 'of Prince, lack the courage °
recognise facts and accept the consequences of the situ:,
ation will be responsible for the .blood of the thousse'
who will suffer from the impending disasters."
A besieged resident of Paris, writing to the Daily !fel!
on the 28th ult., says :—I see at a meeting of -the'maYet.„l'
the population of Paris is put down at 2,036,000.
does not include the regular army, or the gorier"'
arid
.Mobiles outside and within the lines. The coot
'sumption of meat, consequently, at the rate ~
100 grauniieS per diem, must amount to between
400,000 and 500,0001 b. per diem. 'Although mutter,
according to the tariff, is cheaper than beef, I rarely see
any at the restaurants. ' This tells its own tale, and t
imagine that in three weeks from now at the very lates
fresh meat will have come to an end.
'lnterference of a Government in judicial deCiSlOll5 14
usually accounted a sign of social and political degrodati°ll;
Here is a leetter.which Conti, the principal secretarY
Napoleon 111., wrote in a matter of fact way to Preside°
Benoit Chanapy, a judge whose position is analogues°
that of the Lord Chief
.Justice of the Queen's Bench:
Palace of the Tuileries, April 30, 1865. Monsieer, ,„°
Pre,sident,—The Emperor has noticed with regret t"'"
family suit between Madame de Magnoncour and her tiy°
sons, one of whom is an officer in the Imperial Gesll"
His Majesty is desirous that you should effect a cam_ ,Pr;
mise.between the parties, and thus prevent the scancialf.
a public trial. Receive, Monsieur le President, • the
assurance of my most distinguished consideration.---000.1'