The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-07 00:00:00

THE SIEGE OF CHATEAUDUN.

The special correspondent of the Telegraph, in his letter
dated Paris October 30, gives the following account of that
affair :—" The accounts that have reached us of the Cha-
teaudun affair are very meagre ; but sufficient is known to
shew that the little town has deserved well of the country.
According to what we hear, the inhabitants, 6,000 in all,
made a most heroic resistance for upwards of nine
hours, and, insufficiently armed as they were, inflicted
terrible losses on the enemy. This is not the first
time that the town has been entirely destroyed. In 1723
it was reduced to a heap of ruins. It appears that the
inhabitants have lost none of their ancestors' bravery
We hear from Tours that 100,000 f. has been appropriated
to the relief of the distressed residents ; and a sub-
scription to rebuild the town, which is almost entirely
destroyed, has been opened here, headed by I,ooofr.
from the former Prefet of Chateaudun. In its
honour also, the Rue Cardinal Fesch, one of the finest
streets in Paris, has been re-christened Rue des Chateau-
dun. As the admiration of the Parisians has been
excited by the conduct of the inhabitants of Chateaudun,
so has their indignation been raised by accounts which
reach us from Reuil, a little town near Paris, which
has been the scene of several combats. The towns-
people, it appears, fraternise with the Prussians
in a most unpatriotic manner ; and as Chateaudun
is surnamed " the glorious," so Reuil is called " the
traitorous." A striking example of the way in which
life and liberty are lightly risked for trifles is afforded
by the following incident :—During the early days of
the siege a well-to-do maitre blanchisseur, a native
of Thiais, a village some miles distant from
Paris, took refuge with his wife and children
in the capital. Having, however, deferred so doing
until the last moment, they were unable to bring
more than a few small articles of value with them, con-
tenting themselves with placing what was left under lock
and key. For some time they were too thankful at find-
ing themselves in safe quarters to feel anxiety about their
belongings at Thiais ; but latterly an increasing desire
was manifested by the head of the family to re-
visit his household goods, and transport them to
Paris. Vainly did wife and children endeavour
to dissuade him from the dangerous enterprise—
to Thiais he must go, and to Thiais he went. After con'
siderable difficulty he obtained permission to pass the
French lines, but he was not a quarter of a mile beyond
them when he ran neatly into the midst of a little group
of Prussian soldiers. All efforts at explanation were ren-
dered fruitless by their inability to understand each
other ; but, by signs too terribly significant, the prisoner
comprehended that he would be shot as a spy before
the stroke of twelve—and already it was half-past
eleven. With the comfortable reflection that in less than
thirty minutes he would perform the office of target for
Prussian bullets, he was conducted into the presence of
the officer, who, luckily for our friend, under-
stood a little French; and, half- convinced of
the truth of the prisoner's account of himself, he
consented to put his veracity to the following
test : "If the key which you have in your hand
opens without difficulty the house door, you shall be
allowed to return to Paris ; if not, you will be shot as a
spy." Escorted by four soldiers, the prisoner set out for
'Phials with an easy mind ; hut, arrived before the well-
known door, his heart misgave- him. The weather had
been continuously bad,' the lock was rusty, and the
key might refuse its office. Well might the poor
wretch tremble, for his life hung upon the turn of a key.
The denouement is not tragical, but the blame does not
rest with your correspondent, for I am writing fact, and
not fiction. The key did turn ; and our hero returned in
safety to Paris, and since that time he repeats incessantly
his determination not to stir beyond the walls whilst there
is the shadow of a Prussian remaining.