The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-26 00:00:00

113 E SUN, LONDON, MOND A , DECEMBER 26, 1870.

THE BESIEGERS ALARMED.

The special correspondent of the Daily IV ews, writing
from the Headquarters of the Crown Prince of Saxony,
Champs, December 9th, says :—" What a glorious thing it
would be for the newspapers if their war correspondents
were endowed with the gift of übiquity," was th(
quaint remark made to me yesterday afternoon
by a young subaltern of the German Guards
who stood beside me in the lee of the white

house on the summit of the height overhanging Stains
and Villetaneuse. I suppose the multiplicity of objects
of interest in the prospect before him prompted him to
the reflection. The long chimneys of the St. Denis facto-
ries were smoking as vigorously as if they had been Black
Country chimneys when a batch of urgent orders are in
hand. What did they smoke for ? Was it machinery
below them grinding corn for the two million beleagured
one ? Were several brawny men",a,t work in the forges
below pouring molten iron into moulds, hammering the out-
side of cannon barrels, rifling the bores, filling the breeches.
casting the projectiles which these cannon were designed
to pitch among the ranks 'of the enemy ? Do they indi-
cate powder manufacturers? Perilous juxtaposition
must not be studied in such a pinch as Paris is in now.
Are they the chimneys of batteries, or of huge sausage-
machines for chopping up horseflesh? Whatever they
represent, they are smoking away with a curious
air of manufacturing prosperity that seems utterly
incompatible either with a bloody siege, a close
blockade, or threatened starvation. Were his
companion übiquitous, thought the Guardsman, the
Puzzle—for to me, as to most, these factories are a stand-
ing puzzle—would cease to be, nay, never would have
existed. Then there are those waspish-looking, low, black

little gunboats every now and then showing their sharp
snouts out from behind the crown work of La
Briche. What are they doing ? Have they
any intention of another reconnaissance ? Are
they acting as ferry-boats, or have they parties
of ladies on board, to whom these curious grass-
hopper like motions afford pleasure? First, there comes
out one—puffing as if she were flapping her chest with her
arms to raise her courage. Out she comes bodily with a
dash, and a big gun from where I stand might cover even
her stern. Then she seems to lose heart again. You
almost think you hear the skipper crying " Ease her,"

" Stop her," and then the word is " Turn astern." She goes
back in a droll pirouetting fashion, feeling, as it were,
from side to side with that huge antenna on her deck,
I take it she came out to see whether she could not find
an eligible object at which to discharge her gun. No
reliefs are crossing the plain, the officers in Epinay are
at dinner, men have learned to lie close in Deuil, Mont-
magny, and Stains. A few minutes after two come out
abreast, and, so far as we can make out with the glass,
there are groups on the deck that seem officers. Was
yesterday's reconnaissance, then, not enough ? Is
there still a craving for an attack upon Epinay,
notwithstanding yesterday's lesson from Mont d'Orge-
mont ? Perhaps Trochu is himself aboard, with Ducrot
and Vinoy in the other, craft, so that the destinies of
Paris might not be entrusted to one fragile
concern of tin-plates and maple'rpannelling. Were
one übiquitous, he might dispense with these
speculations—does any cynical reader say he might
dispense with them in any case? In the green
foreground of Gennevilliers we could dimly see
masses of men, now to all appearance swelling into
densely packed bodies, anon elongating into columns.
What was their purpose, or had they one ? Were they
listening to a speech from Trochu, were they collecting
there to be ferried over by the gunboats from Epinay, in
case these should make a rapid voyage in that direction?
or were they being marched away in the direction of
Besons, in view of a renewal of the attempt to bridge the
Seine at that point ? Again the lieutenant's remark
as to übiquity comes home to me. Boom, and boom
again, one gun from Du Nord, one from La Briche in
momentary succession. With a far-off sough we heard
the whistle of the shells through the air—that is a sound
that carries far; but we heard not the dull clash that is
the signal of the impact, nor the sharper
crack that the explosion produces. Was the fire against
Stains, or Le Bourget, or Epinay, or into miscellaneous
space ? Non-übiquitous, we could not tell ; but' it
was some consolation to know in this case that
übiquity of presence might be accompanied with übiquity
of danger. Ten minutes more, and the same double
salute ; still another ten minutes, and the repetition with
such clockwork regularity, that shewed a mutual under-
standing by signal, telegraph, or otherwise, between
the gunners of the two forts. A fourth double
discharge, this time almost simultaneous and an-
ticipatory of the expiry of the statutory ten
minutes. That far - off sough comes nearer,
nearer, nearer—cuts the air, as it seems, so close to our
ears that I, at all events, swerve involuntarily. There is
no mistake about the crash of the explosion this time—
far too near to be pleasant. It is clear that we, and none
other, were the marks for these two shells, at least. What
keen dogs they must be behind these grim embrasures
Good afternoon, Herr Lieutenant, my winsome
youngster, smiling there from ear to ear, as if
gunpowder had been an amalgam of your mother's milk,
and as if shells had been the bons-bons of your boyhood.
I am not sufficiently acquainted with your domestic
affairs to know if you have anybody whose livelihood de-
, pends on your existence otherwise than in little pieces—
L I have, and so adieu to you, with all decent precipitation.

THE CAPTIVE MARSHALS IN GERMANY.
In a communication from Stuttgart, under date Decem•
ber 3, a correspondent of the Daily News remarks :
Stuttgart just now contains two celebrated French gene-
rals—Marshal Canrobert, of Crimean fame, and General
de Wimpffen, who signed the capitulation of Sedan
The former is installed in the second floor of a mode-
rately good house, where he lives with his family in the
most unostentatious manner. He seems to feel his
captivity acutely, and whatever his personal sen-
timents towards the Emperor may be, I am
certain that were he at liberty to do so, he would
at once accept service under the Republic. Madame
Canrobert occupies herself in assisting the wounded and
visiting the poor prisoners, and her charitable exertions do
much to keep up her husband's popularity among them.
At one time this had suffered somewhat, for although the
Marshal had not the responsibility of surrendering
Metz, it was considered that, being Bazaine's
senior in rank, he might have exercised considerable
influence in delaying the capitulation, which
has, in truth, been a much more severe blow to
France, in a military point of view, than the disaster at
Sedan. lam told that when the Marshal arrived here
the inhabitants behaved very badly, receiving him with
hisses and groans, and, indeed, assuming so threatening
an attitude that some hussars who happened to be at the
railway station had to use considerable force to get him
through the crowd. At the present time, the French
officers who wear plain clothes without any distinctive mark
can go where they please without being molested, and have
won the good opinion of all by their conduct. In the
various towns of Germany I have passed through, I have
met many French officers. They are all very unhappy,
and very poor, but do a great deal to assist one another.
I may mention too that the majority, if not all, are totally
opposed to the principles of M. de Cassagnac's journal,
which to their disgust is forwarded to them daily ; and
in spite of what may be said to the contary, I can
assert that not even liberty and promotion would induce
them to assist in restoring Napoleon 111. The discon-
tent caused by the privileges granted to Bavaria will soon
be forgotten in the lust for glory, but the Wurtemburgers
are paying dearly for it. Their contingent originally
consisted of 25,000 men, with a reserve of 10,000,
and it is estimated here that in the recent sor-
ties from Paris some 4,000 men were killed and wounded,
while in the previous battles of the campaign their
losses have exceeded this number, so that one-fourth of
their army must be hors de combat. When I arrived here
a few days, I found the town in a great of agitation, for
the first batch of wounded had just come in. -Since then
there have been several other trains-full, which is a pretty
sure proof of the severe nature of the fighting. From
what I hear on all sides, there seems to be
a very intense desire for peace, .coupled with
the very irreconcilable but unanimous wish for
the cession of Alsace and Lorraine, a complete disdain for
the powers of resistance of France, and an utter asto-
nishment at the earnest manner in which she con-
tinues the struggle. By the Germans lam assured
that Count Bismarck does not return to Ger-
many until these provinces are ceded ; by the
captive French officers and soldiers I am told that
France will never consent to surrender them. The
Germans, meanwhile, have very great cofidence in their
ultimate success ; but it is based upon the assumption that
France is well-nigh exhausted, and at present this can
hardly be said to be the case. I have just met a friend who
has arrived from Saarbruck, and regret to learn from him
that the English Society for Aid to the Wounded
is about to wind up its affairs through want of funds.
This will be a great misfortune, for the good that these
societies have done is incalculable. Meanwhile the staff
is being distharged, and the "Well and wounded" are
practically requested to get on or before De-
cember 3l.

CRYSTAL PALACE.—BOXING DAY.—The Christ-
mas Entertainments at the Palace will be unusually
attractive. Amusements from 12 till 6, including the
Grand Pantomime, " Gulliver," Skating, Curling, and
outdoor games. The Palace will be brilliantly illuminated
till 9 o'clock.

STARVATION OR SURRENDER.

The following is an extract from a journal of the Siege
Paris from the special correspondent of the Standard :

Yet another proclamation stares from the walls and
informs us that there is no need to be frightened
about bread—there is enough and to spare, only
housewives must not be running to the baker's

in panic, and buying up other person's shares with
their own. Assuredly if more sacrifices were necessary,
Paris is prepared to make them for honour and country ;
but the only privation her rulers see fit to impose for the
present is a lowering in the quality, not the quantity, of her
daily bread. As soon as the existing stock of white loaves
is exhausted the wholesome, agreeable brown cake univer-
sally eaten by the peasants, and none other, will be per-
mitted to be offered for sale. Meat, we are assured, is
not wanting either, and will continue to be distributed as
heretofore—that is to say, at the liberal rate of one-tenth
of a pound per stomach per diem. Bread and meat
(" the double base of alimentation," as the Govern-
ment avers, 0 ye vegetarians !) being thus assured,
the situation is satisfactory ; indeed, one might say
unexpectedly so after three months of siege. In this
wise the placard perorates, " We have all sworn that no
effort will be spared on our part to save our country, and
we shall succeed by force of calmness, vigilance, and
courage." Why does the Government change the bread
from white to brown ? Ay, there's the hitch ; and the
excuse is not reassuring because "it is in
the highest interests of the defence to pro-
long the resistance of Paris as far as pos.
Bible." General Trochu could not afford to give in as long
as he had a single division with quarter rations fora week
under his orders, even if there were no jabbering Gam
betta outside the ring to accuse him of having sold the
fight afterwards; but Governor Trochu has other con-
siderations to regard than military vanity ; he has the
lives of over a million and a half of non combatants

in his hands, and if he protracts a hopeless defence
till starvation overtakes them he incurs an awful respon-
sibility before God and man. As he is very conscientious,
the presumption is he is sure that an army of relief will
arrive, or that he will tire out the Prussians. If not, the
prolongation of the resistance of Paris is a mere cruel
lengthening of a death-agony. The city, granting that
500 horses are slaughtered daily, can hold out for
ten weeks yet, if pushed to it, but to what good if
the Prussians are to enter in the end ? The money
that will be spent in the interval comes out of the eco-
nomies of the State, and unless the wonderful plan is
practicable and realised, Paris will gain nothing by its
stubborness but. barren reputation, and a too substantial
national debt. But General Trochu does not see it in

this light ; his honour as a soldier is engaged ; he is bound
to deliver the city or die in the attempt, and as a soldier
nobody can refuse to admire him ; but the glory of the
general may be the shame of the governor—a pretty fair
proof that pluralism is a blunder.