The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-27 00:00:00

CIE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, A UGUT 27, 18 70.

writer does not say from what place, from a desire to keep
secrecy :—Yesterday at two o'clock the Prince Imperial
was brought from Courcelles to the station, accompanied
by a regiment of guides, to be directed to . . . while
the Emperor pushed on to . . Immediately the service
which, during three days, has been extraordinarily active
along this line, was temporarily suspended. Orders were
forwarded to the trains on before to look out and allow the
Imperial train to pass at full speed. Whom did these
trains which were thus delayed in their progress by
superior order contain? Some of the sol-
diers told me that they had been on the rail=
way for 36 hours, and had not eaten for 24. The
additional delay which they suffered in consequence of
the passage of the imperial train was three hours. That
is a good deal. In the evening at the station'there were
some serious disturbances.

Towards evening the report spread in Rheims that the
Uhlans had made their entry into Chalons in the after-
noon, and that they had been received there as at Nancy
without even a show of resistance. This news struck
terror to the people, and for two or three hours after
scared individuals hurried to the station to take the
first train to Paris. It was added that the Uhlans had
pushed their reconnaissances as far as the camp at
Chalons, which I doubt. In any case it is likely they
did not find what they wanted. Before leaving
the camp everything which could not be re-
moved was burned. The fire is said to be not yet
extinct. It was resolved that the mistake of Nancy
should not be repeated, for there immense stores were
left and served for the supply of the Crown Prince's army.
Will Rheims defend itself if the Prussians make their
appearance? In 1815 twelve hundred inhabitants
contended for two days against a body of 14,000 men, and
displayed the greatest courage and patriotism. But at
Rheims, as everywhere else, arms have been refused to the
young men who eagerly demanded them. The municipal
council declared that it had not guns to distribute, and
it is even said that they advised the hot-headed
applicants to calm themslves in the interest of
the town, for if it defended• itself it would have
more to fear from the anger of the conqueror. I know
that these counsels, which were perhaps paternal, but
certainly pusillanimous and unpatriotic, were ill received
by the more vigorous part of the population, who are re-
solved on resistance even should they have no other weapons
than the guns they use for the chase. I heard one woman,
indignant at the attitude of the municipal magistrates,
say to her husband and her two sons, "It would be a
disgrace if the enemy entered Rheims without fighting."
The Minister of the Interior thinks proper to recom-
mend journalists to be circumspect regarding the move-
ments of MacMahon's troops. I shall take good care not
to mention anything which may serve to enlighten the
enemy, but let me tell you that such recommen-
dations are absolutely puerile. It is not the
journals, but the spies, that give information
to the Prussian army, which is perfectly au fait
in regard to all our movements. All the informa-
tion we could give would be worth nothing in comparison
with the reports of the numberless employes of Bismarck.
Let us not say too much ; well and good ; but do not let
us persuade ourselves that our revelations can be a source
of danger. As for myself, I carry the circumspection
recommended by the Minister further than anyone, since,
According to a suggestion made to me in the camp, I send
you by express this letter, without saying where
I write it. It is thought that a letter bearing
the mark of this or that town or village might
give rise to serious inconvenience. I yield without
opposition, so you must be satisfied that I write to you
no matter where, no matter how. It is fully believed that
Friday will not pass over without a great battle. It is
even thought that it may take- place to-morrow. It is
time we emerged from uncertainty. We no longer live—
we languish between hope and fear. The days
seem to have more than four-and-twenty hours.
As for me, bewildered by the -noise of arms,
by the avalanche of cannons, of cases which
upset the pavement of the roads, and by the coming and
going of men and horses, I alternate ten times a day between
the joyful certainty of victory and the terror of disaster.
It seems to me that I am walking in the middle of a
nightmare. In the marches of the army a good deal is
said about General de Failly, the subject of the soldier's
songs. It is stated that General Failly when he
commanded the sth Corps lost half his cavalry not on
the battle-field but on the roads. Giving no orders,
troubling himself very little with the details of his pro-
fession, he did not see that he was daily losing his
cavaliers, who diminished at every stage. The soldiers
mock him in their songs, which are not always fit for
ears polite. They make oirnilnr conga about othor per-
sonages.

THE PRUSSIAN ENTRY INTO CHALONS,
The. Progres de la Marne, of the 23rd, gives the following
account of the popular feeling in Chalons. "At the
moment of going to press the whole population of Chalons,
composed and self-restrained as is fitting on the eve of a
great misfortune, awaits with mournful anxiety the arrival
of the enemy, who at the last accounts were at
St. Mennvie, that is to say, two kilometres from the
town, The Prussians number about a hundred cavaliers.
In groups about the street men remark, with some anima-
tion, on the strategic necessity which comi,els our generals
to surrender to the enemy a town like Chalons. The
tardiness of the Goverment in organising and arming the
National Guard, who might have 'assisted so usefully in
the defence of the capital, is very generally blamed.
HALF-PAST FOUR.
Five Prussian cavaliers, pistol in hand, enter
Chalons by the Porte Saint Jean, and take posses-
sion of the town. One of the five was an officer and
one of the soldiers was gravely smoking his pipe without
heeding the curious spectators. The riders went to the
Hotel de Ville and asked for the Mayor. He
was not there, but soon arrived, and presented
himself to the head of the detachment. Some
hours before the entry of the Prussians, several inhabi-
tants had given notice of the enemy's approach to the
Brabant division, which was encamped in the cavalry
quarter. The only reply of the general was to
raise the camp immediately. We did not approve of this
departure. At the moment the Prussians were leaving
the Hotel de Ville the crowd assembled outside was very
large, and shouts of rage and indignation against those
who thus delivered them over to the enemy's mercy were
heard. A Prussian soldier took offence at this, and
without waiting for the orders of his officer he threatened
the crowd with his weapon.
In face of this great misfortune which has befallen us,
we may be suffered to be silent with our sorrow. We will
be silent until the day or the hour of justice arrives. The
following notice has been affixed :
"The Mayor of Chalons to his fellow-citizens.
" The Prussian troops may at any moment be at our
gates. We have not at Chalons any means of arresting
or even delaying their march. We conjure our fellow-
citizens to restrain their sad and patriotic sentiments, and
to avoid all kinds of hostile acts. Not only such acts
would have no useful result, but they might bring disaster
on the monuments of our town, on our hearths, and our
families.

" The Mayor of Chalons, EUG. PERIER."

POSITION AND FORCE OF THE TWO

ARMIES.

When we consider the importance of the position
of MacMahon, and the probable consequences of aban-
doning it, we can assign no other reason for the Marshal's
resolution than the consciousness of his inability to make
a stand against his adversary. It may be doubted
whether the Crown Prince, when he first set out from
Woerth after the battle, could have had more troops
than MacMahon had assembled at Chalons. But, in
the first place, it was by no means unlikely that, after the
three great battles at Metz, he received large reinforce-
ments from the victorious armies of the King and of
Prince Frederick Charles ; and, evenin a case of numerical
equality, it was natural that MacMahon should consider
his old troops not sufficiently recovered from their
late disasters, and his new levies act suffi-
ciently welded together or disciplined to meet the
Germans, flushed with victory, and full of confi-
dence in themselves and in their leader. At any
rate, MacMahon did not feel strong eneugh to give battle
outside the camp—not strong enough even to await the
enemy within the camp ; not strong enough, even after
forsaking the camp, to take up a position in the woods
and hills to the north and west of Rheims. The avowed
aim of MacMahon, if his words have been faithfully
reported, was to effect a junction with Bazaine and re-
lease the army beleaguered at Metz. But Marshal
Bazaine and his escape from Metz have become almost
mythical. It will be a week this evening since his
alleged disappearance from the battle-field of Gravelotte.
Expectations were entertained at Chalons and at Rheims
that he might appear at either place coming from Grand-
pre and Vouziers. He had, it was suggested, been hin-
dered in his retreat on the road to Verdun, but had
turned off that road at Etain, and was marching round by
Spincourt and Damvillers, without having passed through
Montm€dy. All these ingenious theories broke down
against the stubborn fact that he who was described as
being everywhere seemed in reality to be nowhere. Mac-
Mahon grew weary of waiting. He fell back from
Chalons to Rheims, from Rheims to some other point
further north ; but we deem it extremely unlikely that he
will now move eastwards for the rescue of Bazaine and of

the Army of Metz—if, indeed, he ever entertained such a
purpose. So far as we can judge from appearances,
MacMahon's sole immediate object was to shun all
present encounter with the Prussians. He may,
perhaps, contemplate hovering on their right and in their
rear, with a view, if possible, either to retard their
advance upon the capital, or to disturb their operations
under its walls. Meanwhile, the day for a final trial of
strength seems nearly to have come, and the Prussians
cannot be said to have lost time in bringing it on.—
Times.

All the Prussian troops not needed to keep the rem,
nants of Bazaine's corps within the walls of Metz have
been moved up to the support of the Crown Prince, who
had suspended his march until the " Army of the Rhine "
had been disposed of. It is probable that these new
arrivals on the Marne will be charged With
the task of observing—and, if need be, fight-
ing—the army of MacMahon, while the Crown
Prince pushes "resolutely" on to the capital. What does
this all signify fur the French armies ? We have to-day
no authentic tidings of MacMahon ; but on most trust-
worthy authority, we are assured that his whole 'army
quitted Rheims on Monday night. It is perfectly clear that
with whatever prospect or whatever plan the Second
French Army is refusing the combat. If it had counter:
marched from Rheims to Chalons on Monday night, it
would have been ere now aux prises with the Prussian
outposts about the Camp of Monrmelon ; but evidently
its direction is westwards, not 'eastwards. MacMahon's
plan, possibly, is to post his army somewhere to the
north-east of the capital, in the quadrangle between
Soissons, Compiegne, Senlis, and Villers Coterets, keep-
ing up a close communication with the city, and threat-
ening the flank of tne invaders coming from the
eastward—while at the same time he is prepared to
receive what troops Bazaine can bring to him by the
railway through Mezieres. Or his retreat from Rheims
may have been directed, not on the Aisne, but on the
Lower Marne, with the design of occupying the passages
at Chateau-Thierry, La Fertd, and Meaux, and thus
retaining the power of passing the river at will, to fall
on the Prussian flank. No doubt, for the second
plan, no march on Rheims was requisite—as it

would have been for the first—since it was sufficient to
move from Chalons by the road along the north bank of
the Marne; but the French s hemes seem strangely
liable to change from hour to hour, and, wherever
MacMahon has marched from Rheims, his present plan is
said to have been " suddenly adopted." It is not abso-
lutely possible that the intention of the French com-
manders is, after all, to throw their army across the
Marne by Epernay or Chateau-Thierry, and thus regain
the advantageous central defensive position which they had
wantonly sacrificed. It would certainly be much less dan-
gerous for them to fight, 150,000 or 200,000 strong, with
the fortifications of the capital to fall back upon, than
to hold a menacing position on the right of Paris, exposed
to the attack of the First and Second German Armies
advancing westward between the Marne and the Aisne—
and unable, consequently, to prevent the Third Army
from insulting, or bombarding, at least the outer defences
of the capital.—Telegraph.

THE LAST BATTLE BEFORE ➢IETZ.

In the Is ew Prussian (Cross) Gazette is to be found a
fuller German account of th e last great battle before Metz—
that which goes under the diverse names of Rezonville and
Gravelotte :
" The Farm of Sainte Marie aux Barraques, Aug. 19.
" Victory, and again victory ! A double victory—on the
16th, under the command of Prince Frederick Charles,
and yesterday, on the 18th, under the command-in-chief
of King William. Now, for the first time in this tenant-
forsaken and frightfully devastated homestead—whose
owne, by the way, was shot by order of court-martial for
betraying to the French by signals the positiOn of the Ger-
man troops—where all the wells have been choked, and
where neither the wounded nor our mortally wearied
troops can find the least nourishment, in this place
I snatch a moment to send you a description
of the glorious but yet painful results of the last
two battles. General it must be, for amidst this huge
concourse of troops, the transport of many wounded, tiltp
bringing up of Prussians and munitions, and the hasten-
ing past of the sanitary corps and voluntary tenders
of the wounded, it is impossible either to find
a moment of rest or a place where one can write
down his experiences. Let me begin with the result. The
enemy has been thrown back from this point on the
west into Metz, except a small force, respecting which
intelligence is yet wanting because it seems to have made
its escape to the north-west; and thus the enemy
have been ent off from Paris by the whole three great
German armies of the west, and in any case can
now escape on:y into Belgium, unless, after six
lost battles and combats, he finds himself capable
of attacking the rear of the whole united army
in a seventh battle, and then, according to all probability,
to be completely crushed. As in the year 1814, the
French army, which could have defended Paris as well in
its various positions as before and in Paris itself, has been,
through the skilful manoeuvres of the Prussian generals,
cut off from the capital. Three German armies, with six-
teen army corps, have pushed themselves between,
and it is utterly impossible for the French to re-
cover their disadvantage. On the afternoon of the 14th
was Bazaine on the east of Metz, and then on the right
bank of the Moselle, so thoroughly beaten that he was
thrown back into the fortress itself, and our troops
reached the very glacis of the works. After this combat,
all the corps of the two armies of Steinmetz and Prince
Frederick Charles crossed the Moselle to the south of
Metz upon pontoon bridges, • and threw back the French
corps which had been hurried up to repulse them. On
the 18th ensued the decisive battle. The army of the
Crown Prince from Nancy made an oblique march, and
pressed forward westward to the highway from Metz
to Verdun, by way of Vigneulles. Meanwhile, both
the other armies, with the exception of the First Army
Corps, which was left in position to the east of Metz upon
the battle-field of the 14th, in order to prevent any possible
diversion on the part of the enemy, threw themselves
from south to north upon the enemy, who in the mean-
time had collected all his forces, and now stood upon the
highway to Paris, thus facing westward. But by our
iapidly-advancing troops he was cut off from the road,
and thrown back into the fortress in such a way that a
repeated attempt to make his way out of it may be re-
pelled with less difficulty than it took to drive him into
it. His Majesty the King, after having ridden over
the whole battle-field of the 16th, and informed him-
self of the positions already attained, left his quarters
at four in the morning, and was on horseback the whole
day. When the French in the course of the battle first
observed the object for which we peculiarly strove, their
resistance was truly desperate. The able manoeuvre of
forcing them away from Paris seems not even remotely to
have entered their minds, otherwise they would have
taken stronger possession of the roads to the capital, or
they would already have begun, or at least attempted, the
retreat towards Verdun. The conviction at last forced
upon them that they would be paralysed for the remainder
of the war, seems to have produced upon them a terrible
impression ; so that the last moments of the conflict
bore on their side a character of desperation, and in ours
of the most determined sacrifice and devotion. The firing
continued till dark, so it was too late for the King to
return to Pont-a-Mousson from the battle-field, a distance
of four miles (16 English). A bivouac was, therefore,
ordered. Moreover, the King apparently did not leave the
field, tor the further reason that he was desirous to ascer-
tain by the break of day on the 19th whether the French
had actually yielded to the terrific shock and withdrawn
into the fortress. Everything was at once got ready for
the King and his attendants to bivouac on the field. As,
however, in the distance a solitary farm-house was dis-
covered standing, though terribly devasted, near Rezon-
vine, his Majesty yielded to the advice of his staff, who
insisted on the necessity of his having a night's rest, in
view of the possible renewal of the fight the next day, and
withdrew for a few hours to a small room of the farmstead,
while the generals put up with such accommodation as
they could find in the stables, and the rest of the atten-
dants spent the night in the middle of the conquered,
bloodstained battle-field. One can gather from the tes-
timony of the oldest and most experienced of our soldiers
the extraordinary severity of the battle, in which the
French, for the first time since the campaign began,
seemed to have recovered their old energy, and the sight
of the countless dead and the long train of wounded con-
firms their statement.

The losses, alas ! are fully in proportion to the magnitude
of the result ; but this heavy sacrifice has not been offered
in vain to the Fatherland and to the peace of mil-
lions; it has not been lightly demanded by Germany, but
has been wantonly forced upon her by the French. The
names will arrive home but too soon. In the meantime,
let the whole Fatherland rejoice in the brilliant result.
The last attack of the third division (General von Hart-
mann's) of the Second Corps d'Armee, under the personal
leadership of General von Fransecky, on the heights of
Gravelotte, must have been the most terrible known in

the war history of modern times since the improvement
of firearms. On the slopes the French had entrenched
themselves in three stages of rifle pits, dug one above the

other, and the road over the heights behind was occupied
by heavy artillery. The attack was, however, victorious ;
so that, at present, Metz, with its fortified camp, is fully
surrounded. On the east, German, or right bank, of the
Moselle are stationed the whole of the First Corps (Von
Manteuffel); on the west, or left bank, of the Moselle, the

Twelfth Corps (the Royal Saxon troops), whose cavalry
has already destrOyed the line of rails between Metz and
Thionville in two places, thus breaking off here means of
flight. Towards the south are the Guards; next to them
the 9th ; and, quite in the south, on the actual
battle-field, the 18th, the Bth, and the 7th Corps. In
reserve on the Paris roads are the 3rd and 10th Corps,
and in special positions of honour next to the enemy on
the heights taken from them are stationed the 2nd Corps.
The 4th Corps appears to be ordered off for some special
purpose, and most certainly it will be heard of shortly.
The more plain the conquered position becomes, the
greater appears the result of the bold manoeuvre. Again,
on this occasion his Majesty the King was in personal
danger, more especially during the attacks made by the
7th, Bth, and at last the 2nd Corps, on Gravelotte. The
War Minister, Von Boon, can therefore not be sufficiently
thanked for having implored the King to quit these dan-
gerous posts. On the 19th instant the King remained all
the morning on the conquered battle-field, receiving de-
spatches from all directions.

The troops are now closing up and hemming the French
in, so that soon a line of earthworks will be drawn round
the fortress. It was not until after midday, when his
Majesty had ascertained the final result of the desperate
battle, that he returned back to Pont-a-Mousson by way
of Gorce and Pragny. Some days' rest have been ordered
for the troops. In the course of a few days it is expected
that the King will visit Nancy, or that the Crown Prince
will arrive here.

says :—'

>y an officer on board the Magnanimie, which is anchored
off Heligoland. On the 18th a Prussian vessel, bearing
a white flag, and having on board a Vice-Admiral and the
Prince of Hesse, accompanied by several officers approached
the Magnanime, which is the flagship. Admiral
Fourichon remained in his cabin and the party were
received by Baron Roussin, the captain of the ship,
and chief staff officer of the squadron. The following
conversation then took place :—The Prince of Hesse :
Monsieur, I am Prince of Hesse.—Baron Roussin : Mon-
sieur, lam delighted to receive you.—The Prince : You
cannot be ignorant of the incontestable success of our
arms on shore. For the rest it is not my place to tell
you, but I only come to say that if you continue the
blockade, your Government must prepare to pay
his Majesty the King of Prussia a very heavy
indemnity, for you are ruining our commerce.—
Baron Roussin : France, M. le Prince, is not so
much compromised as you represent and until fresh order:,
are received I am certain the admiral will maintain the
blockade with rigour," The Gaulois, after telling the
story, observes that the visit was nothing but a disguised
espionage with the object of ascertaining the state of the
French naval forces and learning whether the Prussian
fleet, which is daily augmenting, can venture to meet it.
The Prussian fleet, however, remains in the bay of Jande.
The French cruisers have made several good prizes, and
are especially gratified at the capture of several vessels
'aden with coal, which are of great value to them.
THE EMPRESS AND THE COLONEL.—The Empress
visited the military hospital of Val de Grace on Tuesday
afternoon, and passed by the bedsides of the wounded
soldiers who were brought to Paris after the unhappy
affairs of Weissenburg and Woerth. She stopped several
minutes in conversation with Lieutenant-Colonel
Colonieu, of the 2d Turcos, whose regiment was
so dreadfully cut up. The brave old soldier
forgot his suffering in the presence of her
Majesty, expressed the hope that he would soon
be on his legs again, and declared that the
dearest wish of his heart was to collect the wreck
of his former command, and, at their head, avenge
the death of his comrades. As the august lady was
leaving, the colonel asked the favour to be allowed to
touch her hand. "It is you do me the favour," said the
Empress, cordially grasping the brown hand of the old
soldier, and pressing it long between her own. The
colonel's eyes moistened, and as large tears glistened on
his cheeks lie half rose from his pillow and cried, " Your
Majesty, if I could take it on me to speak for the army, I
could say to you they will never come to Paris ; they will
never get here. I swear it." " Colonel, said the Empress
calmly but firmly, " I am of your opinion ; but if it pleases
God to send us that trial, and they do come, they will find
me here." The word Prussians was never spoken. The
soldier was not the only one who wept.—Paris Correspon-
dent of the Standard.
ENGLISH RESIDENTS IN FARTS —I bave been re-
quested to bring under the notice of the public the critical
position of the poorer classes of our countrymen in Paris,
many of whom are utterly dependent for the means of re
turning to England, and the bare necessaries of life
until they can be forwarded, on the British Charitable
Fund. This excellent institution has made the greatest
exertions to meet the run upon it occasioned by
the sudden outbreak of the war, but its resources
have been well-nigh exhausted by the present emergency.
In ordinary times the contributions of wealthy English
residents and visitors afford a resource which is now cut
off, and an application has been made through Lord
Lyons to her Majesty's Government to come forward and
give material aid to this most deserving charity. Applica-
tions of this kind to Governments are, however, but seldom
attended with success; but an appeal to the public under
such circumstances can hardly fail to be responded to. Bear
in mind that, among the destitute British in Paris, there
are a large number of governesses, female servants, nurses,
&c., of a most respectable character, who, for want of
means to get home, are exposed to All the awful tempta-
tions to which destitution exposes women in all large
cities, especially Paris. I need hardly dwell upon this
part of the subject, and will merely add that subscriptions,
however modest, in postage stamps, &c., will be thank-
fully received by the Hon. Alan Percy Herbert, M.D.,
honorary secretary and treasurer, 235, Faubourg,, St.
Honore, Paris.—Paris Correspondent of Standard.
No THOROUGHFARE.—The refusal of the French
to allow the wounded in the battles before Metz to be
transmitted to the hospitals of Aix-la-Chapelle involves a
difference of three days, as against three hours' transit ;
that is to say, it signs the death-warrant of some thou-
sands of their own countrymen prisoners in Prussia, as
well as of their wounded enemies. It is true that iome
problematical advantage may be derived from the terrible
aggravation of mortality and suffering involved in the re-
fusal to allow the combatant army to relieve themselves
of this load; but it must be remembered that precisely
similar advantages are accorded by the conditions of the
Treaty of Geneva, which allow the combatants on either
side to leave their wounded within the enemy's territory.
under the protection of the red-cross flag, and which neu-
tralise alike the wounded, the ambulances, and the
medical officers on either side, and relieve the retreating
combatants of their encumbrances. In the rout of
MacMahon's army 112 members of the French medical
staff were cut off, comprising 75 surgeons and 37 assis-
tants. All have been sent back, via Cologne and Belgium,
over this neutral territory. No objection has been
made, nor is likely to be made, to their travelling by
this route. The wounded are now expressed neutra-
lised, and we cannot help feeling deep regret that they
are not allowed to be sent to hospital by the shortest
route over neutral territory.—British, Medical Journal.
THE FRENCH LOAN.—The new French loan is a
curiosity, and the lenders a study. Not the moneyed
people, or those with credit on the Bourse. They belong
to a type you may see at home. It is the small lenders,
the saving souls who have francs to invest, not Napoleons,
who form the queue in the Rue de Rivoli outside the de-
partment of the Minister of Finance. Who are they ?
What do they do ? How come they possessed of two-
pence ? Many of them are in rags, many more are on the
border-line between abject and decent poverty, and many
more again remind you of poor relations and make you
button your pocket and assume a virtuous frown instinc-

tively. The whole thing is farcical and puzzling. On
the 23rd of August a loan for seven hundred and
fifty millions is announced on great posters, exactly
as if it were a new comic drama, and at once recals
Mr. Buckstone in "Lend me Five Shillings." These

posters cover the colonnade reaching from Rue St.
Honore to the Rue de Rivoli, and divide attention with

the soldiers on duty round the department's walls. It is
only when you turn the corner, and are in the Rue de
Rivoli itself, that you come upon the crowd. Such faces,
such costumes, such playful badinage with the police-
men ! The lame, the halt, and the blind are here. Babies
in arms are admitted: Youth and beauty find their re-
ward in the attentions of the police, and many a pretty
flirtation is carried on, I promise you, between the men
who guard and the damsels who wait. The older women
look on vicariously skittish, and this branch of the busi-
ness of filling the national exchequer is broadly comic.
The people wait to buy their small shares as patiently as
they do to draw out their money from the Bank of
France; there are wooden barriers between every fffty
or so to prevent over-crowding ; and the sergents-de-ville
arrange and sort the applicants with a businesslike, albeit
martial gallantry, which reminds one of the gentlemen in
uniform at Astley's who used to hold the hoops to, and
chalk the feet of, the fair equestrians in the ring.—Paris
Correspondent of Daily News.
FRENCH ACCOUNT OF THE BUMANITY OF THE
PRUSSIANS.—Count Melchior de Vogue, a delegate of the
the Paris committee for help to the wounded, who was
present at Strasburg, Haguenau, and Weissenburg, has
written to the president of the committee a letter,
wherein he speaks very highly of the treatment the
French wounded experienced at the hand; of the
Prussians. He and some of his companions were sur-

rounded by Baden troops at Haguenau, but they imme-
diately obtained a pass for Strasburg. The French

surgeons, busy in the hospitals at Haguenau, were left
quite free and unmolested. The Prussians visited the

wards to remove, as prisoners, the men who might feign
wounds or disease, but did their duty with the utmost

courtesy and consideration. Medical men, who had left
Strasburg to tend the wounded after the battle of Weis-

semborg, were granted passes by the Crown Prince,
though they had no official mission. The Prince had them

conducted to the French outposts, and observed to them

that the French wounded were attended to in the Prussian

ambulances.—Lancet.

THE SIEGE OF STRASBURG.—A letter in the
Carlsruhe Gazette, from Obersehaffolsheim, dated the 18th,

" Between eight and nine o'clock we left

Lampertheim, and, passing through Mundolsheim,

Oberhausbergen, and Wolfisheim, we arrived here.

We made a circuit at some little distance from

Strasburg, aud as we approached the cathedral of that

town we could ourselves plainly see that it .a 7;
Schittigheim which was on fire ; in fact, even now
smoke is rising from that place. We passed endless
numbers of troops of all kinds from Baden and Prussia,
some encamped along the roads, others marching, others
in quarters, and others bivouacked. At some little dis-
.

tance off we perceived a column of horse artillery advanc-
ing. We also remarked how, as an earnest of our inten-
tions, that each day had -added to the progress of our

earthworks and batteries, and that each night . the
trenches, extending in long oblique lines towards
Strasburg, had increased in length. All the roads
were barricaded, and preparations are made to barricade
at a moment's notice even those necessarily open for the
circulation and movement of the troops. Open spots were
closed by dung carts, and the houses around the village
market-place were loopholed so as to command these
open spaces. It does not appear as if any fighting had
yet taken place towards the south ; the firing that was
heard yesterday and last night came from the citadel of
Strasburg and from skirmishers. This day at 1.30 a
heavy cannonading was openend on Strasburg. No cre-
dence is given to the rumoured approach of troops from
the south to support the garrison. Yesterday was a
somewhat eventful day, we having taken up advanced
pasitions south and westwards, as also in the valley of
Bruche, so as to protect the line of railway leading to
Barr. Last evening four houses in Kehl were on fire, as
also the citadel of Strasburg ; and it is stated that fourteen
more have been burned to-day. The bombardment of
Strasburg still continue,."

FAVOURABLE FRENCH PROSPECTS. —Turning noW
to Macllialion's army, I believe it will' be found that, in-
stead of a confused and heterogeneous rabble of firemen,
police-sergeants, moblots, forestiers, and sailors, he is at
the head of as fine and homogeneous a force as ever yet
fought for France. The strength of MacMahon's army can-
not be less than 150,000 men; and by some, who have closely
watched the number of soldiers forwarded to the front during
the last fortnight, it is asserted that he will be followed
into the field by close on 200,000 soldiers. Your readers
who contemplate the map, and observe how close the
army of Bazaine—if stationed, as I believe it to be, near
Montmedy—is to the Prussian railroad base of St.
Avoid, will have little difficulty in conjecturing what,
if the rumours of to-night are entitled to credit, the
next combined move of Bazaine and MacMahon
is likely to be. We were told, after the Austro-
Prussian war of 1866, that the present conditions
of war, which presupposes enormous forces, rapid move-
ments, and armes le precision, would render fortified cities
obsolete and useless. I conversed to-day with one of the
ablest and most experienced soldiers in this town, and
he said to me; " You will see that, before the next
ten days have passed, Thionville and Metz will be
pronounced to have saved France." But be
the fortunes of the immediate movements of
Bazaine and MacMahon what they may, it is
difficult to watch the enormous activity and
to be cognisant of the resources of France,
without being convinced that every Frenchman may to-
night say with reason; " Nous en sortons." Prussia has
made a noble and gallant dash at victory ; but, if the
reports which reach us are true, two nights of heavy rain
during the week which followed Forbach and Woerth.
have given more employment to the ferankentragen or
stretcher-carriers, than even the two sanguinary battles of
the 6th of August. I confine myself to speaking to-night
of the military situation, which is, I am convinced, re-
garded here as being favourable to France. —Paris Corres-
pondent of the Telegraph.

THE PRUSSIANS AT LUNEVILLE.—To-day at
Luneville I saw shops with large quantities of valuable
property in the windows. There was a jeweller's, with a
stock of watches, pins, rings, brooches, &c., recklessly
displayed ; silk merchants, drapers, booksellers, confec-
tioners—in fact, a large proportion of the usual trading
establishments were open. But the requisitions are
heavy, and there is a complaint that when they have been
complied with unauthorised demands come in to supple-
ment them till nothing is left. The bakers cannot keep a
loaf, all the tobacco has been cleared off, and the butchers
and winesellers are obliged to surrender at discretion.
There is no noise or tumult in the streets, no riot, not a
drunken man, but the anger of the people is intense, and
is kept np by stories, often apocryphal, of acts of severity
elsewhere. To the Prussians this state of feeling is almost
comical. They avow that they act on a system which has
no exceptions, and that they live on the enemy who
declared war against them, and whom the fortune of war
has for the time delivered into their hands. The
French reply that they are prepared for all this,
but that they are exposed to three distinct exac-
tions and to the evils of an utter want of order and of
discipline in the conduct of the troops. First, they are
"frappes" by the direct demands of the Intendance for
supplies for the troops in the town ; secondly, by the
seizure of those supplies as they are being brought into
the town, and by their appropriation to the uses of other
corps further away ; thirdly, by the individual exactions
of the soldiery, who take what they please, and seize on
the bread, meat, and provisions which are got
together to meet the Intendant-General's demands.
As far as I can see, the work is methodically done.
First, the military authorities make their wants known
to the Maire, and that functionary sends round a requi-
sition (a printed form), with the order attached. Let us
suppose it is for a carriage :—REQUISITION.—" The Maire
of thetown of Luneville requires M. Quidam, proprietor,
to furnish a two horse carriage. The vehicle must be
before L'hotel des Vosges to - morrow morn-
ing (Wednesday), at half - past seven. —Le
Maire Sancerotte. Nota.— The gravest consequences
will attend a refusal to the present 'requisition."
This comes on the top, so to speak, of a dragonnade made
on the property to-day by a trooper, who carried off a
carriage, two horses, and a driver for the service of the
army in the case of the particular person on whom the
above has just been served. This is, of course, anything
but agreeable—above all to a Frenchman in his own
country, where the rights of property are so very jealously
guarded. They are almost dazed by it. " Stupefaction "
was the word used by one whom I asked as to the effect
produced by the Prussian occupation.—Times Corresponw
dent in the Prussian Army.