The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-10 00:00:00

FfIE SUN, LONDON, THURSIMA, NOVEMBER 10, 1870.

THE WAR.

THE SIEGE OF PARIS.

DAILY-LIFE AT VERSAILLES.

The following interesting particulars about the daily
life of the King and Count Bismarck at Versailles are
given in a letter from that town, dated Oct. 25 :
" The King of Prussia has taken the Prefecture for his
residence. Generally on Thursdays and Saturdays the
King goes out hunting, taking his departure in an open
carriage with ilbur horses, preceded by a platoon of dra-
goons galloping two hundred metres in advance as scouts.
In the evening the game which has been killed is distri-
buted among thetroops of the Guard, with the exception
of what is • reserved for the King's table. Many of the
soldiers sell what comes to their share, so that we,
are well supplied with hares and venison. Meat and
butter are both at an exhorbitant price; poultry is abun-
dant, and the consumption much larger than that of but-
cher's meat, which is often requisitioned for the army,
and seized at the butchers' shops. Count Bismarck resides
at the Impasse Montheauron. I have only once seen him—
in the park on an occasion when the band was playing.
He never abandons his cuirassier's uniform except when
he is in his working room, installed in the office of the
Secretary-General of the Prefecture. From five a.m. a
light, which may be seen from a long distance, indi-
cates ,that the Minister is at work ; it is also about
this time that shadows may be seen gliding along
the walls, and ringing the bell discreetly after a
fashion peculiar to the Minister's hotel. These are the
spies arriving from Paris with the reports and the news-
papers. At ten a.m. the Minister has terminated his
work, dispatlhed his couriers, and marked out the pro-
gramme of the day. Relieved from all work, M. de Bis-
marck can assume throughout the day the unconcern and
indifference that are depicted in his countenance. Gene.
rally, in the afternoon, he makes an excursion towards
the advanced posts, sometimes venturing farther than
prudence would recommend. The band continually plays
in the park, and, no matter what may be said of the
superiority of the Prussians in artillery, in matters of
music it would be difficult to find their masters.
The audience is composed mostly of officers and
ladies of the demi-monde, who entered the town
in the wake of the army; and the officers of the
Guard are full of attention to them. Besides this por-
tion of the public, there may be seen many parasites of
both sexes arrived from Berlin under the pretext of
nursing some imaginary wounded relation, but who in
reality have come as spectators to witness the bombard-
ment of Paris.. These persons crowd the hotels, and
obstruct the streets and squares. Nothing is more exas-
perating than the presence of these idlers, who make a
party of pleasure of this disastrous war. During the
week there were at least a dozen persons of eminence—
Kings, Princes, and German Grand Dukes—who have met
to decide when King William shall be crowned Emperor of
Germany. A grand review was held in their honour on the
evening of Oct. 20, on which occasion the old King gave a
dinner which lasted till midnight. The whole facade of
the Prefecture was brilliantly illuminated. Four cuiras-
siers of the Guard, giants in size, guarded the entrance.
We heard the cannon roaring on the side of Paris, as if to
protest, in its deep sonorous voice against this foreign
saturnalia on the soil of a country in mourning."

Jules Favre appears to have behaved with great firm-
ness during the recent Onzeute in Paris. He was twice
deliberately shot at ; and with a view to force him to re-
sign, the roughs tied him down on his chair, and kept him
there for hours !

There have been deaths from starvation in Versailles.
Most respectable persons are in great distress, selling plate
and valuables for the means of buying mere necessaries of
life. Families accustomed to every comfort are in the
depths of indigence.'

A'Correspondent of the Augsburg Gazette, writing from
Versailles on the 31st ult., says that General von Moltke
was ill, owing to the fatigues of the campaign, but that
his illness was not such as to occasion any alarm to the
physicians.

The sentry engagements around Paris are -extremely
numerous. Both sides are at it day and night. The- chas-
sepots have a great advantage in this kind of work, but
the sxill of the Prussians redresses the balance.

The necessities of the defence of Paris have compelled
the conversion of the Pantheon into a central powder
magazine. The gunpowder is stored only in the extensive
vaults beneath. Great precautions are observed, and a
detachment 'of troops is on constant guard.
During the enzeute of the 31st ult. M. Milliere, one of
the editors of the Marseillaise, presented himself at the
Ministry of Finance, and demanded, upon the authority
of a requisition, signed Bla,nqui, the immediate transfer-
ence into his hands of the modest sum of fifteen millions
in Government securities. He was most politely received,
invited by M. Picard himself to walk into an inner room,
where he was left to his own reflections, on the wrong side
of the door, with the key turned upon him.
All sorts of speculations about the supply of food in Paris
prevail in the German camp. There are two different parties
who favour different views. One side who, from motives
of humanity, desire to avert the horrors of a bombard-
ment from the besieged city, represent that it must
yield from hunger. The military men, on the other
hand, represent that Paris will not be reduced by famine
before several months have elapsed. This party desires
an immediate attack.
Under the title of the Lettre Journal de Paris, a small
octavo sheet has been started in the French capital, two
pages of which are filled with a summary of the day's
news in very small type, while on the third a letter may
be written, and the fourth bears the address. It is thus,
without an envelope, within the weight allowed for letters
transmitted by balloon post, and, as only one copy of each
newspaper is allowed to be forwarded daily, the besieged
are able by this means, always provided the balloons are
not intercepted, to supply their friends at a distance with
Paris news.

The balloon Ferdinand Flocon, which brought the last
news from Paris to Tours, had a rather disturbed and
perilous voyage. It was manned by M. Lemercier, de
Janvelle, a functionary of the Telegraph Aministration,
and M. Vidal (better known as M. Loysoet), an aeronaut.
Passing over Montretout and Versailles, they were re-
ceived with a sharp musketry fire from the Prussian lines.
Three balls struck the car. As they passed over Chartres
they became the object of several smart platoon volleys,
which, however, were harmleas. About two o'clock they
attempted to descend in the vicinity of the sub-prefecture
of Segr6, but could not succeed. Their descent was
effected at 37 minutes past three o'clock at Ncrt, nine
leagues from Nantes.
The Paris Journal says that what Rochefort saw and
underwent at the Hotel de Ville on the 31st ultimo power
fully affected him, and inspired him with a profound con-
tempt for those in whose cause he had laboured, only to
recdive unmerited insult. At the Hotel de Ville he was
charged .with being an aristocrat and a hanger-on of
General Trochu. He is said to have exclaimed to a friend
in his bitterness, "They are a canaille, after all." The
rioting, the revolutionary madness, the drunkenness, that
day, he says, he shall never forget. He has withdrawn in
disgust both from the Government and his Belleville
friends. His present residence is unknown.
Dr. Jules Guerin recently laid before the Academy of
Sciences o.t„Paris two schemes for maintaining telegraphic
communication between Paris and the provinces by means
by balloons. The first consists in sending up a captive
balloon and paying out a telegraph wire from it by means
of a free balloon, until the latter reaches the ground. The
intermediate portions of the wire would be kept in the air
at the desired height by a series of small balloons attached
to it at a distance from each other. The second plan is a
wire enclosed in a tube. The latter, having a series of in-
tersections filled with gas, would constitute a kind of tubu-
lar balloon, which would, as in the former case, be paid out
by a Captive balloon, and would follow the free balloon
until the latter reached the desired destination.

A correspondent of the Pall "1 Gazette says that the
proposal to establish stores of provisions in the neighbour-
hood of Paris, for the benefit of the unfortunate
inhabitants when the place capitulates, is favourably
received by the Germans. " I have heard many of them
high in rank affirm that they themselves would be glad to
do something similar in the neighbourhood of Paris ; and
they point to the accumulation of stores at Courcelles for
the inhabitants of Metz by Prince Ftederick Charles as a
proof of their willingness to succour a fallen enemy when
possible. I ought to add, however, that they somewhat
jesuitically suggest that the French ought themselves to
establish depots of 'food in some o the large towns in the
north held by Bourbaki's army well as at Tours. I
wonder how long it. would oe before a German corps
d'armee would be in full march on one of these depots, if
they were ever made 1 "

THE ARMY OF THE LOIRE.
The correspondent a the Daily News at Blois .31, writing
on the 4th instant, says :—We did not go to-day to Mar-
chenoir as we anticipated. I told you in my last that
the general headquarters of the army had fallen .back
a, few leagues this way. The 16th Corps has also
fallen back, its headquarters are to-day at Pontijeau
or Pontijou. It is probable that in a day or two the

headquarters of the Loire will be here. I went over
the chateau this morning, it has been turned into an
ambulance. It is curious to see those, magnificent halls
and rooms,,wbiph have been recently restored, and are
gorgeous and ]admirable niodels of the gnilding, moulding,
and colouring or the Renaissance, filled with rows of beds
from the military stores. The beautiful mosaic. pavements
have been boarded over, and the walls: wainscoting, and
pillars have also been clothed up to a certain
height with deal boards. From the outer gallery,
which runs along the magnificent facade of Francis
1., on the upper storey one discerns the surrounding flat
country to an immense distance. I had here another
instance of the discouragement, or rather, I might say,
the indifference which reigns among the officers of the
regular army, and if among the• officers "is plus forte
raison " among the men. As we were standing looking
at the distant horizon, which we could command
on three sides of us, a man who was shewing us
over the place said, pointing towards the left bank of the
river in the direction of Beaugency, "If the Prussians
come here, they will come in that direction. . ." "If
they come !" interrupted a young officer of Lancers, who
had ridden over from Pontijou, " they'll come as sure as
fate. Why," he continued, "we are not in sufficient
force to oppose them ft minute. They will attack us with
about 200,000 men come from Metz, and we are only
about 50,000 at Marchenoir and Pontijou." I was speak-
ing to an officer this morning, who has just been appointed
" officier d'ordonnance " to his father General Lussac, a
descendant of the famous savant Gay-Luss.ac. This,
general is to take the command of the 16th Corps instead
of General Pourcet, who is " destitu6." Why " destitu6
nobody knows, Generals are " destitu&l" now-a-days as
easily as they are made. Nevertheless, in the present
instance, it was a pity General Pourcet was ever appointed
to the command. He is too old ; I can remember him an
old man ten years ago. Now he is' obliged to put on his
spectacles fumblingly, whenever an orderly brings him any
paper to cast his eyes over, and in short he ought to have been
superannuated long ago. As for General d'Aurel, it
would seem he has been overdoing the discipline business,
judging from the feeling that exists towards, him in the
army. - I wrote to you when I was at Salbris, that there
were military executions almost every day. An officer
assured me that in one month he 'had had 113 men
shot, and that he firmly believed in the first battle
some of his men would shoot him if they got a chance.
There it is. The army certainly did want disciplining,
but the chastisements which have been inflicted have
called out a new vice among the men, that of a revengeful
spirit against their chiefs ! One thing is certain, and I
ventured to remark upon it in a former letter, although it
is more plainly visible every day, and that is that the
officers 'of the army, one and all, dislike and despise
the Republic" exceedingly. As for the general
officers, it was an omission on the part of the people in
power to-day not to change every officer from a general of
division upwards inclusively, that is, if they wanted to be
well served. Ido not mean to say that these officers will
not fight, or that they would leave their country to perish
because it is governed by a Republic ; but their posi-
tion and their feelings are certainly not in harmony.
Here is a Government prosecuting a war whioh, from a
military point of view, it is impossible to bring to a suc-
cessful issue. They put Generals at the head of an army
of raw conscripts and of disheartened or demoralised
soldiers ; they tell them they must gain battles with these
soldiers. If they don't, they will be " destituo "
and perhaps called traitors. Moreover, these Generals
know that if this Government were to remain in power
all military men would be put on the shelf for good
as soon as the war is over. What •heart can these men
have in this work ? Or what hope can they have of suc-
ceeding?

ANARCHY AT MARSEILLES.

MARSEILLES, November 2.

:The Marseilles papers have not during the last few days
given a very accurate account of the state of affairs,
which has been altogether exceptional. There has been
an actual administrative and municipal revolution, which
has driven off the mayor and the properly elected coun-
cillors, , replacing •them by a revolutionary commune.
Some of the papers attempt to justify this movement
and demanded the reinstallation of M. Esquiros, the
governor, and M. Delpeche, the prefect, who have both
resigned in consequence of differences with the authorities
at Tours ; other journals Merely record , the events
and quote the documents without comment, while only
one, the Peuple, has openly declared against the
disturbances, and sided with the new Prefect, M,
Alphonse Gent, just appointed from Tours. There have,
in the opinion of impartial judges, been faults on both
sides, though the balance is much heavier against the
civil than against the National Guard. The revolu-
tionists have played their part most energetically, while
the defenders of order have not done their duty. There
has happily been no bloodshed as yet, but morally the
self-respect of the town and the interests of the public
have been very seriously wounded.
Marseilles is the third town in Fra-nce, and the first
commercial port in in the Mediterranean, and yet Mar-
seilles has been surrendered to something very like anarchy.
It is three weeks since M. Esquires gave in his resigna-
tion, in consequence of M. Gambetta's disavowal of his
proceedings, but he afterwards withdrew it in obedience
to the wishes of the club that wished to separate itself
altogether from the Tours Government. Marseilles among
other advantages was blessed with• two prefects, and M.
Delpeche, one of these, issued a proclamation, annauncing
that in consequence of the disaster at Metz he abandoned
his office and. would take up arms. The day after M.
Gent, who was prefect of Vaucluse in. 1848, was
sent - from Tours to replace him at Marseilles.
The revolutionary clubs determined not to • re-
ceive him, and laid their plans. A considerable
force assembled, and marched tothe Hotel de Ville where
the National Guards were stationed. As the latter had
neither orders nor cartridges, they allowed the invaders
to enter without opposition. The Civil Guard, whom
Esquiros had allowed to act as sergents de ville,
and who were wholly in favour of the Red party, were
well supplied with arms and munitions, and under their
protection thirty-five chosen members of the Alhambra
Clubwere installed as the revolutionary commune. A
proclamation was speedily issued announcing . the
change to the people, and declaring that the now
authorities were appointed by the people to give a more
vigorous impulse to the National Defence. General
Itoze, the commander of the 9th division was
restrained from acting because the commander
of the National Guard had been endued
with the chief civil and military power. The
latter ordered the rappel to be beaten, and convoked the
National Guard, but he did nothing else. He gave no
orders for the removal of the intruders from the Hotel de
Ville, and, as the mayor took no steps either,
the National Guard dispersed at the usual
hour for retiring and the revolutionary commune
were left masters of the field. ,On the next morning, All
Saints Day, a hurricane blew from the Mediterranean,
but the new authorities were not to be deterred by trifles.
The Civil Guard, the International Societies, and some hun-
dreds of the National Guard who had joined them. took
possession of the environs of the Prefecture, the telegraph
office, and the railway, forbidding anyone to leave the
town unless furnished with a special passport. They
excused this extraordinary measure on the ground
that . all iable,bodied men would be required for
an immediate levde en masse, and it is even
said they gave orders that no vehicles were to be allowed-
to pass the octroi posts, and no vessel whatever was to
leave the harbour. Marseilles became a grand prison, and
the hurricane took great care the prisoners should
not even have the chance of escape in a balloon.
The general of the National Guard, who had been com-
missioned by the Tours Government to declare Marseilles
in a state of siege, apparently found his task too heavy,
for he disappeared no one knew where, and the four colo-
nels under him were left without orders, and did not like
to take the initiative. Presently the Civil Guard sur-
prised the head-quarters of the National Guard, who had
taken refuge at the old Prefecture, and drove out their
rivals, taking possession of some of their arms. Soon after
General Cluseret reappeared on the scene. He, had
been expelled from Paris by General Trochu, from Lyons
by the prefect, and was now in his element at Marseilles.
Of late he has been staying in the neighbour-
hood under the orders of the League of the
south, and no sooner was their manifesto published
by Esquiros and the revolutionary commune installed than
the mischief-making general, summoned by telegraph, at
once reappeared on the scene. He straightway assumed
the position abandoned by General Marie, proclairned
himself military commander of the South as well, and•
began to discharge his self-appointed duties with'
vigour. Three proclamation's were issued within a few
houra, and the Commune, meanwhile, proclaimed that all
the old officials were distui,sed, that a forced 'tax would
be leyied, and illustrated its authority by taking posses-
sion of the, municipal coffers, and putting sentinels at the
Bank of France:

When M. Gent, the new prefect, who was threatened
with death if he dared to enter 3ilarsailles, arrived at the
railway station, ho was met by some 10,000 National
Guards, who wished to testify their support to the
legally constituted authorities. They had, however,no arms.
Some 300 or 400 of the Civil Guard who came up were, on
the contrary, all fully armed. M. Gent traversed the

J

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town in an open carriage and drove to the Prefecture.
Meanwhile, after two months of uncertainty and inertion
on the part of the authorities, Marseilles rejoices in two
prefects,, two mayors, two municpal councils, two depart-
mental councils, two generals, two public guards !

_ _
NOVEMBER 4.
All is over:and Marseilles is not, after all, to be the
scene of a civil war. The Civil Guard has, after
reflection, within the Prefecture, which was their
last stronghold, agreed to dissolve and be -
come incorporated with the National Guard.
They defiled between two battalions, shouting, " Vive la
Republique ! Vive l'Union 1" to which the Nationas
Guard replied with more energy than politeness, "A bal
Cluseret !" The illustrious American, however, after
enjoying his sovereignty of the Militia for two
days, has disappeared As suddenly as his predecessor.
The revolutionary commune has done the same, •after
having the effrontery to recommend the judicial authori-
ties to do justice to the reactionary manceuvres to which
they attributed the attempted assassination of M. Gent.
Happily he is likely to be speedily restored, and will, it is
said, elect a fresh Municipal Council, so that order and
unity may once more reign in Marseilles.

It is certain that General Bourbaki consents to retain
his command in the north.

Whatever may be the defects of the Loire army, it does
not fail to keep a sharp look-out. The vedette and outpost
service is perfectly well done.
The announcement that the Helicon, two-gun steamer,
had been ordered to Havre to protect British interests was
denied. It is, however, quite correct.'
. . .
A German paPer declares that should Garibaldi fall into
German hands, he will be shot without further trial or
inquiry as a foreign adventurer in no way entitled to
fight for France.
M. Votel, of Brittany, has set a noble example of
patriotism. He has lent ten millions of francs without
interest for the organisation of a commissariat for the
army of M. K4ratry.
Amongst other neat things done by the Marseilles de-
mocras, was the arrest of Mgr. Dubar, missionary bishop
in China. The prelate, his secretary, and all the members
of his community, were seized.
The Berlin correspondent of the Manchester Examiner
telegraphs that the Gernaan Reichstag will be summoned
to meet at Strasburg, 'where Count Bismarck intends
presiding at the opening.
4. regular pigeon post has been arranged by M.
Steenakers between Tours and Paris. It was to begin on
the Bth, and far a hundred sous twenty words will be sent
by it. It is said that nine such messages out of ten reach
their destination.

General Punier, who fell into such deserved discredit
from his conduct at Orleans, has at last given in his resig-
nMion. It was not too soon, for it had been loudly
called for. The general accounts for his resignation to
his troops by saying he has an affection of the eyes.
On a recent market-day at ChAteau-Neuf, six hundred
Prussians suddenly appeared among the crowd, but their
presence caused no disturbance. They walked about for
an hour among the people, and. having eaten' and drank
took their departure from the place, and set off in a new
direction.

The German forces occupying Dijon are 20,000 strong,
and possess sixty guns. Detailed accounts of the capture
of the place fully confirm the previous reports of the
gallant resistance made by the defenders. The disaster is
solely attributable to the hesitation of the authorities,
their slowness in preparation, and the want of unity in
command.

The French army of the West; commanded by Count
Keratry, is increasing rapidly in numbers. It is formed,
too, of very good materials, being in this respect far
superior to the Loire army. In the latter, lack of confi-
dence among the men and indifference amongst the officers
prevail generally.'
A Swiss paper states that several trucks, containing
articles of furniture, chaises, &c., have been despatched by
train to Arenenberg, which is the property of the Empress
Eugenie. They were forwarded by General Fleury from
St. PetersbUrg. This apparently indicates that the
Empress contemplates settling there. .
It is positively asserted at Tours that, but for M.
Thiers' prohibition of aggressive operations while he
essayed the power of his diplomacy, the Army of the
Loire would before now have attempted to retake Orleans
and with good prospect of success. The numbers of this
army are stated to be 120,000, with 200 guns. -
The London correspondent of the Manchester guardian,
says :—lt is now denied that the Empress was offered
territorial terms of peace, as good as had been repre-
sented ; but nobody any longer donbts that Bazaine had
negotiated conditions for the restoration of the old empire
and the conclusion of the war, the responsibility of which
would neither be accepted at Chislehurst nor at Wil-
hemshohe ; and that in a fit of ill-temper and despair he
agreed to capitulate unconditionally.
To every army corps in the German army there are at-
tached three heavy hospital trains, each of these con-
sisting of eleven waggons, sixty-nine horses, fourteen sur-
geons, and a hundred and fourteen men. Besides these
there are three light divisional trains, containing ten
waggons and fifty-six horses, and having a personnel of
thirteen surgeons and seventy-four men. The beds, in-
struments, materials, and medicines carried by each suffice
for 200 sick and wounded. This organization is quite
distinct from that which is charged with the duty of
bearing the sick off the field.
The Cologne Gazette states that an unfriendly feeling has
arisen between Austria and Prussia out of the recent pro-
posals for an armistice. Count Bismarck has written an
unfriendly reply to Count Beust, and since its arrival in
Vienna a great coldnesS has 'arisen between the two
Counts, which in well-informed circles is considered to be
matter for grave apprehension.

The &We declares that the lowered tone of the French
mind is one great cause of tho national disasters. "We
were no longer a warlike nor a far-seeing people. Courage
and patriotism were regarded as chauvinisme and stupidity
the country an empty phrase. It was the reign of dandies,
male and female, both of whom had recourse to false
or dyed hair. Such things constituted the sole national
questions. The public mind of France was degraded to
such 'a point as to occupy itself only with frivolities
worthy of the minions of the time of Henry III." The
Parisians, adds the Siecle, are worse than the Greeks of
the Lower Empire. Thes2„latter discussed theological
phrases, which at least evinced some consideration of
serious matters, whilst Paris witty journals deal with
liothing but the ignominies of Parisian vice.
The Augsburg Gazette contrives to thoroughly mistify
its readers respecting the doings of the Freeshooters. One
contributor says the efforts of these bodies have ended in
miserable failure. Another writer in the same paper
gives quite a different picture of the situation. He states
that guerilla warfare is still being organised in the upper
Vosges and further in the interior; that, though the
garrisons are constantly making marches into the valleys,
and now and then repulse small bands of Francs-
Tireurs and Mobiles, the latter reappear as soon as
the Germans retire, and as the winter advances these
disorders are likely to increase. They are at present so
rampant in the upper Meurthe and valley of the Meuse
that the field past recently could not pass and had to
turn back with its escort, even the itappe stations being
endangered.

A. correspondent of the Cologne Gazette says :—" Stras-
-I?Urg andirett, Mord partictlarly the latter, were the two
great arsenals and arms and ammunition stores for a
whole French army. Now that we , have captured both
these places, and their immense stores have fallen into
our hands, the military power of France has been
destroyed for years and years to come, and for the moment
no army, not even one of 100,000 men, can be
equipped. Out of 67 cavalry regiments which France
possessed on the Ist of August of this year there only
remain at this moment four regiments of Spahis in Algeria,
and five regiments of the line in the south of France ; all
the rest have been either destroyed by us or taken pri-
soners. Close upon 40,000 cavalry horses, and about as
many belonging to the artillery and military train of the
French army have also been destroyed during this fearful
campaign."
' The Independance Beige has been publishing portions
of a long essay on the capitulation of Metz by an
officer of high rank, who escaped from the Prussians. He
takes a most unfavourable view of the conduct of Bazaine
from the outset, though he appears to blame him for in-
capacity rather than for absolute treason. The rations of
bread were, he said, reduced after the governor of the
town had obtained'a separation of the stores, saying his
responsibility was distinct from that of the commander-
in-chief. The sufferings of the soldiers were terrible, and
many of them went into the town to beg crumbs. Some of them
fell down in the streets with weakness. No bread was
given them during five days. The officer, who severely
ondemns the 'generals, 'says they yielded to numberless
panics and unaccountable blindness. He has studied
military history extensively, but can find no case in which
so numerous an army allowed themselves to be enclosed,
starved, and surrendered without an effort to hreak
through the investing forces. General Zastrom is re-
ported to have said, "If Marshal Bazaine had not
lacked determination, the army of Metz might have
left."

Marshal Bazaine, according to the Echo du -11Thrcl'
placarded Metz with the following order before the
capitulation. "The greatest anarchy reigns through'
out all parts of France. The Army of Lyons
was defeated at Orleans, and the municipality Off
Rouen has been.—obliged. to seek the assistance °I
the Prussian army to re-establish order. Prussia will treat
with the fallen Government alone ; Marshal Bazaine is ap-
pointed Regent ; General Boyer is sent to the Empress to
obtain her assent, From this day the army will not be 07
longer supplied with bread ; wine and
_horseflesh will be
given. Three days hence probably the army under Met
will take its departure with the consent of Prussia and
with Marshal Bazaine at its head, and will proceed to
restore order in France.—Done at the Headquarters of
Metz.

THE FRANCS-TIREURS.— A Dane serving in a
corps of Francs-tireurs near Paris gives some interesting
particulars of the mode of campaigning practised by these
free corps. He says that the army investing Paris is OW
itself invested, as it is surrounded on all sides by Franca'
tireurs and Mobiles. Formerly the Prussians used to
send only three or four Uhlans on their foraging expel'
tions; now a whole squadron is not sufficient. Wherever
there is a bridge or a road through a wood, they may
depend on finding irregulars in greater or less numbers.
In many places- deep ditches, full of palisades, are cut
across the roads ;-'sometimes these ditches are defended hi
barricades: The Franc-tireurs never take, any prisonears.
When they see a cavalry soldier they shoot at the man nd
spare the horse, who will at least give au equivalent for
his food. The Uhlans now generally avoid the more nu'
frequented roads and advance in sufficient strength to be
able to resist an an.buscade. Often a Franc-tireur he°
all night, from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., on the damp ground,
under strict orders not to stir or talk to his comrades-4
great sacrifice, observes the writer, for a Frenchman to
make. The strongest and best commanded of the Fran?'
tireur bands,is that known as the " IVLocquards." Thl6
band, which numbers 1,200 men, is divided into two bat-
talions, and consists chiefly of the remains of the rev•
ments which capitulated at Sedan. They are very ragged'
but all are armed with Chassepots, and they do a great
deal of harm to the enemy.

THE GERMANS AND THE FREE-SHOOTERS.—The
German papers aee constantly relating the attacks of free'
shooters on townspeople or the soldiers, and the retaliation
that takes place. At Corteil, where six soldiers and an
officer of the Uhlans had been killed by the free-shooters,
and the inhabitants refused to give up the assailants, the
village was burned. At Saintillon, near Or
leans a Prussian column, which was lev9;
ing requisitions, was attacked by free-shooters, assisted
by the villagers. The Germans cut to pieces all those
who resisted, and burned the village, which made the
fifth hamlet destroyed in twelve days for this reason.
A German correspondent says that every day the vra,_
becomes more cite'. The fanaticism of the Frenea
excites ' the rage of the Germans ; the officers
and soldiers complain of the present phase of
the war, but the military laws exact certain rules for the
safety of the army. On some occasions the troops believe
they.have been fired upon or other outrages committed,
when in reality nothing has occurred. A short time ago
some Saxon soldiers drank the contents of a bottle wide,'
they found in a cellar, and which they thought containe",
some liqueur. Two of them died, and the rest were save‘'
with great difficulty. It was thought that the liqueur
was poisoned, until, on examination, it was found that
they had been drinking oil of bitter almonds.
THE INVESTMENT OF BELFORT. The in'
vestment of Belfort has been confirmed ; and the
statement is added, that communication has been estab-
lished with General von Werder—indicating that the
French in the Doubs region have abandonedtheir intention
to push northwards upon the German lines of supply,
and-are fain to limit their efforts to the defence
of Lyons. Whether the commnuication between
the two invading columns advancing on either slope of the
Vosges has been formed in front or in rear of Besancon,
we are not told ; but probably the first is the case, since
the last would have involved the masking of Besancon,
and it is tolerably certain that the Germans would not
have kept secret a proceeding so important. About the
blockade of Belfort we have some information which
throws a little light on the condition of matters in that city'.
The Lyonnese who serve with the troops in garrison speak,
with' anxiety of going home to defend their own city, anci
quit their ranks with much' alacrity—their officers only
with difficulty restraining them from departure. Fran
other sources we hear bad accounts of the behaviour of
Garibaldi's troops ; and the veteran guerilla has
not as yet even attempted to justify the hir
hopes that were entertained of him when first die
came to Tours, and rushed thence to throw himself into
the breach for the 'defence of bleeding France. To the
north-east of Belfort the Francs-Tireurs and the Mobiles
have sustained some petty but 'sharp encounters, nei
to their own advantage, with the Germans ; an
also from the " Army of the Loire " we have
vague accounts of a slight engagement between 4,000 Ger-
mans and a body of French, who drove the enemy hit?,
retreat, capturing three-score prisoners, and killing and
wounding about 40 officers and men. This victory, how-
ever, is too trivial to affect the course of the war ; and,
indeed, it might also appear as though there had been 9,
tacit joint understanding that no real operations should
be taken in hand outside the capital until the opening
of the bombardment—the only great work now left for
the Germans to lo.—Correspondent of the Telegraph.

COMIC, PAPERS.
•(From Punch)

THE MOST USEFUL "FREE LANCER."—Ambulances.

THE ODDS (In the Great International Match).—UPS'
v. Elan!

THOUGHT IN NOVEMBER (By a Londoner).—Perhaps
England's best defence against invasion will always be her
Fogs. No foreigner would like such a climate.
Another Ballooning statesman reports, from the French
capital :3-" General Harmony is Cemented by the life
shared in common by all." If this cement is only plaster
of Paris, we fear for it. But General Harmony is the
best officer Paris could have just now. Much better than
General Melody, singing the " Marseillaise," and doing
nothing else.

" Nous SOMMES TRAMS ! "
"We are betrayed !" Even so, but by whom ?
Not by your Generals alone, or worst,
By all that should have stood 'twixt you and doom :
Most by yourselves, with wilful blindness curst.
Your Emperor betrayed you, when he sowed
Battle-seed broadcast, and laid at your door
Red swathes of fields the scythe of death had mowed,
And husks of War's steel flail and bloody floor.
Your Ministers betrayed you, when they said
That all was readiness to face the foe,
Though foul corruption on your strength had fed,
As white ants eat great boles that seem to grow.

Your Journalists betrayed you, when they dressed
The falsest fancies in the fairest show ;
With new-forged lie confronting lie contest,
And calling you, that should have cried, to crow.
Your Officers betrayed you, Guard and Line,
Swagg'ring with outside show of men of war,
But lingering o'er the absinthe and the wine,
With talk of battles, from the battle far.

•
And You betray Yourselves, when still you shut
Your wilful eyes, and will see the truth,
With your own hands your stoutest sinews cut,
Despise your age, and sacrifice your youth ;
Striving and shouting, " Vire this ! " and " Vive that ! "
While she, whose life you live, France, bleeds to death
And while fierce factions on her blood wax fat,
In struggle waste your strength, in shrieks your breath :

Ere for the realm of France and her soiled'flag,
Disaster can be checked, and suffering stay'd,
She must learn to face truth, bate boast and brag,
And, beaten, say, " We're beat," not," We're betrayed."

(From Fun.)
FOR THIS OCCASION ONLY.—The course of true love
must run smooth. The fortunate suitor for the hand of
Princess Louise having been found on this side of the Ger-
man Ocean, it can never be said of him that he's "crossed"
in love.