The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-11 00:00:00

ALTERATION OF GOVERNMENT ARMS.

A few days ago the War Office decided to convert all
muzzle-loaders in stock into breech-loaders. Orders were
yesterday given out to the Government factory at Enfield
and to the small arms factories at Birmingham and Lon-
don to effect this alteration with all speed.

Two boys, named Crook and Gameson, quarrelling in
Birmingham last night over some corn, the latter was
stabbed by the former with a pocket-knife, and lies in a
dangerous condition. The boys are the sons of respectable
tradesmen.

By a large majority the Newcastle Chamber of Com-
merce yesterday refused to pass a neutrality resolution
similar to that adopted by the Liverpool Chamber.
At the meeting of the British Medical Association at
Newcastle yesterday it was decided that the meeting
next year should be held at Plymouth, and that Dr.
Whipple, of that town, should be president.

HEALTH OF MR. BRIGHT.—We are glad to learn
that, except a certain degree of nervous depression, no
trace remains of the malady which for six months has
withdrawn Mr. Bright from public life. So far from
apprehending permanent or even prolonged disability, the
right hon. gentleman's medical advisers anticipate that in
a few weeks he will be restored to his usual health.—
Daily News.
FRANCE AND AUSTRIA.—We are requested to give
a positive denial, as far as Austria is concerned, to the
Paris telegram of the Manchester Examiner, copied in some
London papers yesterday, to the effect that Italy
will fulfil her secret league with France by sending
100,000 men to the assistance of France, and that
Austria also is preparing to do the same." In
answer to inquiries made in authentic quarters
this afternoon it was stated that nothing has occurred
during the last few days to induce the Austro. Hungarian
Government to deviate from its resolution of 'observing a
strict but watchful neutrality. The position of the
Austro-Hungarian Government is that which was defined
in Count Beust's circular despatch 'of the 20th elt. to the
Imperial-Royal representatives abroad.—Post.

THE BATTLE OF SAARBRUCK.
(From the Times' Special Correspondent.)
Forbach lies at the end of a valley which runs for

about eight or nine miles in a north-easterly direction—a
fertile, very level valley, varying from one and a half or

two to four miles in width, and bounded un either side
by densely wooded slopes and heights, which are, how-
ever,. of no great altitude, in the neighbourhood of
the plain. At the other extremity of this valley, and on
its left hand side looking from Forbach, lies Saarbruck,
but the two towns are not visible from each other, the
latter being buried in a hollow of the hills. Sarregue-

mines (within the French frontier) lies at a some
what greater distance from Forbach in a south-
easterly direction,:--that is to say, on the right-hand
side of the valley and at the extremity opposite to
that in which Saarbruck is situated. In plain terms if you
looked straight up the vale from Fotbach you would have
Saarbruck on your left front, while Sarreguemines, also
hidden from view by the heights, would.be on-your right,
perhaps slightly to your right rear. Proceeding along the
roadin the direction of Saarbruck, we began to pick up some
information as to the actual state of things, and I found to my

great surprise that the French divi-lon which had occu-
pied the heights overlooking Saarbruck, on the Forbach
side, had voluntarily abandoned that position on the
previous evening, and retired within their own frontier,
being at this time disposed about Forbach, but how
and where I could not then precisely ascertain. At
about two kilometres from the town, in the
direction of Saarbruck, the long valley narrows

itself slightly. Here the road turns at a sharp
angle to the left, and with the trees which are planted
beside it and the village of Styren-Wendel (consisting
mainly of the buildings connected with a large factory)
divides the valley, as it were, into two sections. In
front of this quasi-barrier—that is to say, in the outer

section of this valley —we came upon a regi-
ment of infantry and a battery of artillery, which
were the furthest advanced troops we could see at this time.
The arms of the infantry regiment were piled, the men

were lounging about in easy deshabille, some of them
lying in their tentes debris, some cooking, some cleaning
their accoutrements ; the same symptoms were observable
among the gunners ; nothing betokened any expectation
of trouble or disturbance from the enemy. We had
scarcely made these observations when of a sudden the
roar of a cannon was heard, sounding quite close to us,
and, on looking through my field glass] I saw that a Prus-
sian battery, posted on the external slope of the heights,
which the
_French had abandoned the night before, and in

- -
front of a large farm-house (to which, for convenience and
because of its red roof, we gave during the day the name
of the " Maison Rouge,)" had opened fire on some French
troops at the farther extremity of the valley which were
then invisible to us, but which afterwards represented in
the battle of the French Right. Immediatelyall was hurry,
and bustle. Orderlies and aides-de-camp began to tear
back and forward alongtheroadtoForbach. The battery of
artillery was got into position facing up the valleys, the
arms of the infantry were unpiled, their tents were struck,
and, as quick as lightning, a working party were hard at
work throwing up an intrenchment in front of their posi-
tion. At this time we were ordered back, and we turned

off the road and clambered up the wooded heights on the
right of the valley, in the hope of seeing to advantage all
that passed. Nor were we unfortunate :of course, we
had constantly to shift our ground in deference to
sundry projectiles, which came unpleasantly near us; and
in-shiftingabout among the woods and hollows we were
obliged, every now and then, to lose sight of the battle for
a time, and thus to drop, as it were, the thread of the
argument ; but on the whole we did very well. When
we first reached the summit we found ourselves behind
the French Right Centre ; on their right their artillery

was replying with considerable vigour to the Prussian
guns which were firing at them across the valley from a
plateau in front of the " Maison Rouge." The

Prussians seemed to be very strong in artillery, and every
now and then a new battery was brought into action,
moving for the most part (at this time) along their own
left, and thus forcing the French to extend their right in
a way which, considering the manifest inferiority of their
numbers, must have made their position, I should imagine,

a very critical one at this part of the day. A little later
fresh Prussian batteries began to descend straight
into the plain from the direction of the " Maison
Rouge," and the French Right and Right-Centre ap-
peared to me to begin to fall back. Regiment after
regiment, indeed, descended in skirmishing order into
the plain, and, fighting like heroes, did their best to
check the forward movement of the Prussians, but
they were always obliged to recoil before the superior
numbers of the latter, and to withdraw up the
heights on their own side of the valley. At this time
we, the spectators, began to find our position rather
a hot one, and beat a retreat in the direction
of the French Left, working our way through the
dense woods, always in search of some coign of vantage
whence some part of the action might be visible, and kept
on the qui rive by occasional stray bullets from the Prus-
sians, which rattled through the branches over our heads.
At this time also—that is to say, some two hours after
the commencement of the action, or about 1 30 p.m.—
I believe the French Right must have been rein-
forced, and particularly in artillery, for oue could see
by the line of smoke from the French guns that the
backward movement was not continued. On taking
up our position behind the French Left we found that the
woods on the opposite side of the plain were by this time
filled with Prussian infantry, who were keeping up a
murderous fire on the French infantry in the open, and
n some artillery which was replying to certain Prussian
guns now in position on the plain below the " Maison
Rouge," and firing up the valley in the direction of For-
bath. It was here where the heaviest losses of the
French must have been sustained. Obviously they fought
at a tremendous disadvantage ; and the effect produced by
the fire of their tirailleurs upon the enemy, who kept
themselves carefully concealed, must have been infinitely
less than of that which was directed against them from
the dense cover of the woods. It would be impossible
to overrate the dash and valour of the French infantry
at this point, or to pay too high a tribute to their en-
durance under such trying circumstances. A hundred
times they advanced close up to the wood with a
desperate impetuosity, but, although they did all
that could be expected of mortal men, they were
always obliged to refire, and from our position we
could see them dropping in scores at each successive ad-
vance or retreat—a truly lamentable sight. This sort of
fighting appeared to me to go on steadily for a couple of
hours, the artillery being engaged incessantly on the right
and the contest between the French in the open and the
Prussians in the wood never flagging for an instant. At
about the end of this time, a contest which had been
going on at intervals between the Prussian battery
firing up the plain from below the " Maison Rouge "
and the French battery or its successor) which I
mentioned as beingrin position at the end of the plain at
the beginning of the day, was suspended for a time by
the explosion of a caisson in the rear of the French bat-
tery. The effect was tremendous. The battery was put
entirely hors de combat ; everything was a wreck ; remark-
ably enough, all that remained of the battery was one
poor horse, which by some singular chance, remained alive
and erect, standing pathetically motionless among the
debris. Another french battery was brought up,
I think, but the Prussians did not seem to push their
advantage. Their tirailleurs in the wood, however,
seemed to redouble their efforts, and for the first time in
the day ventured out of cover, threatening to advance
from the corner of the wood and effect a lodgment about
the factory buildings in Styren-Wendel. A battalion of
Chasseurs de Vincennes, who occupied this position, very
effectually checked. the proposed movement, dashing
out across the open with immense elan, with fixed
bayonets, it is -said, charging the enemy, who at
once gave way before the vigorous onslaught, and
made a hasty and undignified retreat to their
friendly woods. I am told that on this occasion the
mitrailleuse was also used, but no part of the day was I
able to see the effect produced by it. lam told the French
are disappointed with the new weapon, which was relied
upon with an almost superstitious faith; but, after all,
if it was only tested upon troops protected by thick
cover it is scarcely fair to condemn it upon this one
trial. From this time, which was, I should say, about
five o'clock, the battle languished all along the line, and,
in fact, died out altogether for a little, so much so that
we considered the affair at an end, and began slowly to
return through the woods towards the town. By the time
we had reached a height just overhanging, the town,
and. from which we had an open though distant view
of the field, a tremendous cannonade had recommenced,
principally in the Saarbruck direction, and large rein-
forcements—four or five regiments of Chasseurs and
Dragoons, and several regiments of infantry—
arrived about the same time for the French, from the
Sarreguemines direction. The cavalry pused rapidly up the
inner section of the valley, and I lost sight of them for a
time behind the road and the trees, in the direction of
Styren-Wendel, but I believe they took up their position
somewhere thereabout, and were not advanced into the
outer plain. The infantry, on the other hand, were
thrown at once into the woods on the right, through
which we had just passed, and were, I presume, ad-
vanced to reinforce the French line all along its extent. The
battle now raged with redoubled vigour, but the effort of the

Prussians were apparently directed for the time chiefly
against the French right. The Prussians were, also at
this time strongly reinforced, and I saw an immense
column of their infantry descending had the plain, in the
distance, from the Saarbruck direction, Their
cannonade then became more and more vigor,.
ous, and I could see by the line of the smoke
that the whole French line was gradually giving
way. At this critical juncture we were startled by a
sudden cannonade in a totally new direction, and quite
close to us. The Prussians had Suddenly descended from
the heights, and shevin themselves in force opposite the
French left, which their fire, directed across the railway
and high road, was threatening to turn and cut off
from their communication with Metz. The Frenoh reply
was as feeble as possible, and already along the road
ominous symptoms of retreat began to be visible. The
Prussians had evidently been strongly reinforced simul-
taneously at either extremity of their line, whereas the
French reinforcements must have been sent away to their
right and right centre, and there was nothing to meet the
Prussian atfack When it fell thus unexpected on their left.
The battle was clearly lost: