The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-24 00:00:00

FRANCE AROUSED.

The banks of the, Moselle no longer demand our first
attention; the interest of Europe centres on the banks of
the Seine. All France is in uproar, and Paris is revolu-
tionary. A French levy en masse is a terrible and a den-
gerous thing. Men now from one end of France to the
other are rushing together, clamouring for arms and
leaders, chanting the Marseillaise, and shouting,
"A ban la Prusse / A real enthusiasm for war has seized
upon the whole nation. There is no doubt that
the Government, if it had means of transportation
and subsistence, may to-day throw upon the Prussian lines
almost every Frenchman capable of bearing arms, and
these men would fight to the death to drive back the
hated invader. But a populace in arms is not an army!
A large proportion of the new levies are doubtless men who
have served already in the army or the national guard,
and could soon be made effective soldiers. We are told,
also, that the French are a people of military tastes,
which is quite true ; yet the average French peasant,
before he has been made over by drilling and discipline, is
one of the most unmartial creatures in the world. A long
-stay in camp or barracks is necessary to fit him for the
fi ld. So if the full strength of the Empire is now called
forth, only a small part of it will be immediately
available at the front. On the other hand, a levy of
this kind, if not immediately formidable to the enemy,
is very apt to be formidable to its own com-
manders. The patriotic enthusiasm kindled by disaster
does not readily brook delay, and the French populace,
in their present temper, if not led at once against the
Prussians, will be apt to turn their arms against the
Government that has got them into trouble. They are
not satisfied to enlist quietly and go where the general*
want to have them. They insist upon taking the reins,
into their own hands, and declare that in a crisis like this,
every citizen must be " armed and ready." It is easy
to see what this means. If another victory should be
won by the Prussians, those arms would never again
be under the command of Napoleon. The soldiers would
overturn the throne for the sake of saving the country,
The events of last week have shaken the dynasty almost
to its fall, and we see little probability that Napoleon
will recover the prestige he has lost. His inefficiency as
a c,ornmander, which military men knew well enoh
ug
before, has new been manifested to everybody. If his
fortunes should beretrieved by a victory at Metz, the credit
will not belong to him and will not be given him. Perhaps
in the course of the campaign some great military genius
may arise among the French host, as a great military
genius arose in the last century among the hosts of revo-
lutionary France, and the people, after marching to
victory under him, may place him at the head of the
nation. But the sick man who lies suffering and beaten
at Chalons, will never again enkindle their ardour.
It is not for him that France has arisen.
It may soon prove, indeed, that it is against
him France has arisen. The French Chamber votes a
want of confidence in his Ministry. The Ministry,
in turn, does what it can to allay the rising storm,
by ignoring alike Emperor and Regent. Ap-
peals to Paris are officially promulgated, which
implore that there be no rising, on the avowed
ground that it would place the French army
between two fires. And all this we learn over
wires guarded with the most jealous surveil-
lance, by what is left of the French Government
When the official censorship permits so much to be known,
as the best face it can put on affairs, what must be the-
worst ? That Napoleon is not expected ever to enter
Paris again comes to us in a despatch from one of our
correspondents there ; and the prediction seems an easy
one. That the Empress is preparing for flight is a rumour
no longer hard to believe. Paris seems trembling on the
verge of revolution.—New York 2 ribune, August 10.