The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-07 00:00:00

CONSCRIPTION IN RUSSIA.

The alteration of the conscription law in Russia
has given the greatest satisfaction to the people.
There has long been a demand for a change in the
law, which exempted the nobility (a very numerous
class in Russia) from the necessity of serving in the
army; but like many other reforms, it was desired
rather than anticipated, The sudden concession on
the part of the Government has created general
enthusiasm, even the privileged classes themselves
showing great readiness to forego their exemption.
A. company of volunteer riflemen has been formed
at Moscow so as to be ready trained
when called upon to serve, and other parts of the
country are likely to follow the example. The prin-
cipal features of the new law are as follows :—Every
Russian on attaining the age of 21 is liable to serve
far three years either in the militia or the regular
troops. 'Service in the troops is not compulsory,
though the number wanted will be balloted for among
those who have completed their term in the militia;
but in war time the discharged militia men will be
called out as reserves, and, if necessary, for active
service. After the recruits have served their required
term in the militia and line, suppoeng them -to be
balloted for the six years' service, they are
incorporated for three years in the first
reserve, and then are placed in the second. So
rapidly are the arrangements being pushed forward
that it is expected the change can be introduced in
the course of next year. . •

t .
tly4e
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HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Doe. 6

Her Majesty the Queen held a private investiture of
the Most Noble Order of the Garter this afternoon, at a
quarter before 3 o'clock.
The Marquis of Westminster, Viscount Sydney, and
Sir Albert W. Woods, Garter King of Arms, arrived at
the Castle shortly before 2 o'clock.
The Marquis of Westminster was introduced to the
Queen's presence by Viscount Sydney, Lord Chamber-
lain, attended by Sir Albert Woods, Garter, carrying the
ensigns of the Order of the Garter.
Her Majesty was pleased to confer upon his Lordship
the honour of Knighthood, and afterwards to deliver to
him the Garter, and to invest him with the Riband and
Badge of that Most Noble Order.

The Hon. John L. Motley, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary for the United States of Ame-
rica, and Earl Granville, Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, also arrived at the Castle.
Earl Granville had an audience of the Queen.
Mr. Motley was introduced to her Majesty's presence
by Earl Granville, and presented his letters cf recall.
The Countess of Gainsborough, Lord Methuen, the
Hon. A. F. Greville, and the Earl of Mount-Charles were
in attendance.
Prince and Princess Christian, the Duchess of Rox-'
burgh e, M. Van de Weyer, and Viscount and Viscountess
Sydney, dined with the Queen yesterday.

Viscount and Viscountess Sydney arrived at Frogmore
on Saturday, on a visit to Prince and Princess Christian,
and left yesterday morning.

TENNYSON'S NEW POEMS.
" The Window, or, the Loves of thcWrens," the new.
volume written by the Poet Laureate, at the request of
Mr. Sullivan, the composer, will be issued to the Public
on the 15th inst. Meanwhile, proof sheets of the work
have been printed, and we have been enabled to judge of
the beauty and completeness of the latest songs of Mr•
Tennyson. The poems are written in twelve lyrics.
all
soliloquies, with one exception, and the origin of Mr.
Tennyson's title for the volume is found in the first of
these. At a window the mistress of a lover, who is

waiting upon the slope of a hill for her appearance, is
discerned. The scene of the country round and the
Falling of the shades of night are depicted in a few lines
"The lights and shadows fly !
Yonder it brightens and darkens down on the plain
A jewel, a jewel dear to a lover's eye !
Oh, is it the brook, or a pool, or her window-pane,
When the winds are up in the morning ?"
There are gardens of flowers round the girl's house, and
the lover as he approaches makes some sweet addresses to
the vine, the clematis, and the rose. These speeches
occupy the second song, in which the poet makes a notice-
able use of the word " flower."
" Cannot a flower, a flower be mine?
Rose, rose, and clematis,
Drop me a flower, a flower to kiss.
Kiss, kiss—and out of her bower
All of flowers, a flower, a flower
Dropt, a flower."
The third song, where the lover enters the house, is deci-
dedly mystical ; but there is a delicacy and beauty about
the lines which make them charming. The lady has
appeared ," flitted away," and left " a cloud ' the
lover's heart and "a storm in the air." Winter conies,
and the fourth lyric represents the hero complaining to the
frost which " bites far into the heart of the earth," but not
into his. He is strong and can wait in faith the return of
his ladylove. The "Loves of the Wrens," the secona
title of Mr. Tennyson's poem, can be traced from the
prettiest stanza in the fifth book. Here the Laureate
pictures the lover consoling himself by watching the wrens
as they flit through the hoary trees, and hide snugly
in their nests :
" Men's love and birds' love,
And women's love and men's !
And you, my wren, with a crown of gold,
You, my Queen of the wrens !
You, the Queen of the wrens !
We'll be birds of a feather.
I'll be the King of the Queen of the Wrens,
And we'll have a nest together."
We hear again of his return to sad thoughts in the sixth
song—the most naturally told poem in the volume.
" The wind and the wet, the wind and the wet,
Wet west wind, how you blow, you blow I
And never a line from my lady yet.
Is it ay or no ? is it ay or no ?
Blow, then blow, and when I am gone,
The wet west wind and the world may go on."
The lover, who is thoroughly a lover all through, and vlll°
is represented as feeding rather than starving his passion'
unlike the manner of ordinary men, is despondent for along,
time. At last a letter arrives, and probably the Ines'
beautiful lines Tennyson has ever written are those in.
which he illustrates the man's feelings as he bursts open
the missive sent to him.
" Two little hands that meet
Clasped, on her seal, my sweet
Must I take you and break you,
Two little hands that meet ?
I must take you and break you,
And loving hands must part
Take, take—break, break,
Break ! you may break my heart.
Faint heart never won—
Break, break, and all's done."
There is all that his heart can desire in the
letter, and several fanciful stanzas - are occuplea
by the faithful swain's apostrophes to the trees 90
the birds. He calls upon all nature to rejoice with him'
and almost every bird in the firmament—sparrow and
throstle, lark and linnet and dove—all must share 10'
happiness and mirth. His return to his station, in front
of his mistress's window, takes place in the last book, an
here the hitherto uncertain state of the hero's mind Ow'
place to a noble determination that all his life shall 11
devoted to making her he loves gratified for the gren"
honour she has paid him. Melancholy at his ow",'
trials, and his bold resolution, are deliciously commingle'
in each line, and the concluding questionings to his biner
self as he hastens to clasp his mistress in his argil
reveal word painting, and rational touches of pathos an"
tender sentiment that positively enchant the reader. As the
man nears the domicile, his fidelity and intense passicei
only find vent in his noble determination. Before the fob
a
desires of his heart are gratified, before he hears the girL
of his love breathe from her own lips the affection he I°s
won, he asks himself one last question and answers it in
the following charming stanzas :
" Heart, are you great enough •
For a love that never tires ?
0 heart, are you great enough for love ?
I have heard of thorns and briers.
" Over the thorns and briers,
Over the meadows and stiles,
Over the world to the end of it,
Flash for a million miles,,"
The Messrs. Strahan are the publishers of Mr. Tennyson
exquisite work.

THE FARMERS' CLUB AND THE ENGLISO

FARM SYSTEM.
The last discussion meeting of this club during they
the Rresent year was held on Monday evening A,
Salisbury Hotel, London. Mr. H. Trethewy presiding
f;
the unavoidable absence of the chairman of t"
year, Mr. James Howard, M.P., from indispositiqi
As is usual in the great Cattle Show week,
was numerously attended. The subject fixed for di
cussion was one of a strictly agricultural character;
viz., viz., "The size of farms," the introducer being At;
J. Trask, of Highleaze, Yeovil, who treated t°-
question in a very comprehensive manner and took ~
very decided view in opposition to small farms
this country, which he considers injurious alike to afir.l,l
culture as an industry, and to those who are engagea!",„
what is termed on the Continent " petite culture." -r-4/`"
in Westmoreland and Cumberland, where many of el
small farmers are proprietors, corresponding to the slinA
cultivators of Belgium, he contended the small fall,
:
system had failed. The children of such persons Wet'
as was amply shewn by evidence, worse off than
the children of labourers in receipt of tll
average amount of wages. In .the large fa 4;
districts there had within the last few years been
general and considerable rise in the rate of wages, w°s,o
being
.plentiful, and the wives too well off to engst,
in agricultural labour. He did not deny that tllel
was an exception to the rule—namely, the letting °
small plots of land sufficient to enable a labourer
keep a cow or two—a system which had in many ci‘g
answered well, adding that those who held aller
plots, if thrifty, were in many cases in a far bettet
position than the occupiers of small farms. The gre%
bulk of tenant farmers even in this country were
the occupation of small farms, 60 acres being the average'
With industry. and zeal many of them farmed succeed
fully ; but, owing to the great competition far land 51:11
other causes, the position of such persons was a diffict4
one, and it might in time become similar to that of t__„",r
small holders in Ireland. There were thirty or foil
applicants for every. small farm, and the effect of th.a,,
was the extortion of immoderate rents. In Somersetslc
there was cropping up a loathsome system of bribing of
order to obtain farms. He (Mr. Trask) had hear(' e
a recent case in which the rent of-five farms, after havii;
been raised not long ago 15 per cent, was again sudden
raised 7i per cent., solely, as was confessed, on account d,
the necessities of the owner. Conduct like that wolo:,
he believed, necessitate for England legislation similar vf*,
that which had been applied to the case of Ireland.
long and interesting discussion followed, in which the P 5;
ponderance of opinion was clearly in favour of moderate 5
large farms as a rule, except in the case of dairy farms Alio •
small holdings in the immediate vicinity of large towile,,;
while at the same time it was admitted by all, that 1;j1
various reasons there should be some small farms in to
districts, to afford openings and opportunities of rising
~c)
persons of small capital and of special industry A'
energy.

Counts 11. \Vilcjek and G. Wurmbrand have Nell
engaged, according to Nature, at the instance of til;
Viennese Anthropological Society, in an exaininatioo.°lo
the Austrian lakes, and have found- remains of Ple
dwellings in the Attersee. One of them belongs to v"
Stone period. or
F C z i.city

SCARCITY OF AT ,ATTLE.—tI he
Christmas beef appears inevitable ; or should there be
usual shows, a good price will be commanded. In Cerd
wall, for instance, the butchers are said to be reiltbe
puzzled to obtain a supply of fat cattle to meet iie
requirements of their customers. The insufficiency of t
supply of good fat animals is attributable to the gene to
scarcity of keep. Most of the cattle have been brought 0
market in a miserable condition, and more fitting WO
month or two's feeding in the stall than for the butche
block. If the farmers have some fine animals in resel
they will reap a rich harvest, for beef is selling at
much as 70s. to 735. per cwt., when in anything rae
average condition.
THE MARRIED WOMAN'S PROPERTY BILL.A "'

eV
the monthly meeting of the Victoria Discussion Seci-oi
on Monday evening, Sir Erskine Perry, the chairrao,-
the evening, said the law affecting the property of r"-to
ried women was a question of the greatest importance to
every householder in the kingdom, since it applied
the children as well as to the heads of a family. Our l!p)
regulating the property of married women were wrellea•
principle, and it was high time they should be chaqo
This had been abundantly proved during the discoesiecA
which had taken place of late years upon the stV2heo
The objectionable law had not, however, been abeicrei
in its entirety ; but as the opponents to reform had
way, there was much encouragement to those who NiT,te43
to have a thorough change. Still it must be sell:0'1,0
there were many difficulties in the way of those who rige
deal with the question, and to the removal of those cai,3'
culties all ardent reformers must apply themselves. A iii
cussion took place in which Miss Emily Faithful i've
others joined ; and letters of apology for non-attendiktp
were read from Lord Shaftesbury, Sir C. Dilkel
Shaw Lefevre, M.P., Mr. Hobhouse, M.P., Mr. 0„Inoco
M.P., and MrCecil Rakes, M.P. Amongst the aualeio,
was Mrs. Bulland, of New York, editor of the Revolut
who has come to this country to inquire into the pregro,
of various movements affecting the position of wOO
0p
The general feeling of the meeting was in favour of
,sgsed
Russell Gurney's Bill in preference to the measure 1.3'"
last session.

LATEST- INTELLIGENCE•

SUN OFFICE, 8 A.M.

TIE WAR.

OCCUPATION OF ORLEANS BY

HE GERMANS.

COMPLETE DEFEAT OF THE
ARMY OF THE LOIRE.

VERSAILLES, December 6. 1
• Prince Frederick Charles has forwar 'ed the
following telegram to the King :
"The French Army of the Loire is utterly de-
feated, and Orleans has been occupied.
"Up to last night more than 10,000 unwounded
Prisoners, 77 guns, several mitrailleuses, and four
gunboats on the Loire, have fallen into our hands."
The following telegram has been received by
Queen Augusta from the King of Prussia :
" Orleans was occupied by our troops last night,
without being stormed. God be thanked."
Prince Frederick Charles has forwarded the fol-
lowing telegram :
" Orleans was occupied last night. Nine cannon
and one mitrailleuse were taken by the 3rd Corps."
ROYAL HEAD-QUARTERS,
VERSAILLES, December 5, Evening.

The Germans occupied Orleans last night.
An officer has been sent into Paris with a letter to
state that Orleans had been taken, and the Army of
the Loire routed, with the loss of 30 guns and
several thousand prisoners.
General Ducrot is supposed to have been killed
in the sortie.

Another telegram relative to the great victory, is
as follows:
" BERLIN, December 6.

"Orleans has been reoccupied by the Germans;
oeveral thousand prisoners have been taken, and a
peat many guns. The Prussians cut the railway
between Orleans and Tours.
"The Bth Army Corps is victoriously advancing
011114 men.
"King William has accepted the title of Emperor
of Germany."

HEADQUARTERS OF THE CROWN PRINCE OF
PRUSSIA, VERSAILLES, December 5.
A. decisive battle was fought yesterday at Orleans.
The city is now in the hands of the Germans, who
have taken more than thirty guns and several
thousand prisoneis.
The French army has retreated behind the
Loire, and is closely pursued. All quiet to-day
before Paris, save for a few stray shots from the
forts.

The King of Prussia has sent a telegram to the
Grand Duchess of Mecklenburgh acquainting her
with great victories won by her son. His Majesty
tells the Duchess that in three days no less than
three victoriss were sscured—on the 2nd
tear Bazoches, capturing 12 guns ; on the
3rd, near Chevilly, capturing three guns,
and on the 4th, north and west of Orleans, where
General von Treskow carried three villages
at the point of the bayonet, taking- 22 guns and
5,000 prisoners. On the 3rd and 4th the armies of
the Grand Duke and of Prince Frederick Charles
likewise fought around and in the forest of Orleans.
General Manstein last night stormed the suburb of
St. Jean, and occupied the town during the night.
Our losses were not excessive. Here we have had
three sanguinary fights in front of Vincennes,
alternately taking and losing several villages, until
the enemy yesterday entirely withdrew without
beingattacked. Our losses are heavy, especially those
of the 2nd Army Coips and of the Wurtembergers,
Who fought heroically ; the losses of the Saxons
• Were less severe. The intention of the enemy,
tamely, to break through our lines in the direction of
Orleans, was entirely frustrated."
The Grand Duke himself telegraphs to the
buchess informing her that he entered Orleans on
the night of the 4tn, and that 4,000 prisoners and 18
guns were taken. •

ENGAGEMENT NEAR ROUEN.
A telegram from Versailles says that on the 4th
the Bth Army Corps of the First Army was engaged
in several successful fighting to the north-east of
Rouen. Four hundred prisoners and a cannon were
taken. The Germtm loss is put down at one killed,
and 10 wounded.

THE WAR NEWS FROM TOURS.
Yesterday (Tuesday)despetches were received from
D'Aurelles de Paladine, stating that the Army of
the Loire had effected its retreat intact and in good
order.
The Minister of War and Interior has appointed
commission of three members to inquire into the
events which led to the evacuation of Orleans, and
without any other sacrifice than the heavy naval
guns of the intrenched camp, which were left
Spiked. No portion of the field artillery or military
train was abandoned.
M. Gambetta has addressed a communication to
the Prefects directing them to deny the
false rumours prevalent with respect to the
Army of the Loire. He tells them they will
be strictly within the bounds of truth in affirming
that the Army now occupies excellent positions, that
its war material is intact, or that the losses therein
are repaired, and that it is preparing to resume the
struggle with the invader. Let each one, he says,
be firm and resolved; let us all make together a
great and supreme effort, and France will be
saved.
One of the latest arrivals here is M. de
XiSratry.
The provisions intended for the relief of Parishave
not been captured by the Prussians.

BALLOON NEWS FROM PARIS.
PARIS, December 4.
The whole of Saturday was occupied in burying
the dead and attending to the wounded.
The Prussian losses in the engagements of Wed-
nesday and Friday were estimated in Paris at 15,000
to 20,000 men.
On Saturday the French, in their passage across
the Marne, were not interfered with by the
enemy.
General Renault, whose foot had been amputated,
was progressing favourably.
General La Charriere was killed, and Generals
Paturel and Boissonet wounded.
In the engagement on Friday the German forces
were composed of fresh troops, exceeding 100,000
men, the greater portion belonging to the Saxon and
Wurtemberg contingents.
General -,..!;chmitz issued the following official report
of the engagement of December 2
The army which is outside Paris is without the
reach of any attack, and is gathering new strength
from the short repose to which it was entitled after
such severe fighting."
It is stated in letters from Havre, that Rouen has
been called upon by the Germans to pay an in-
demnity of 17,000,000 francs, of which 7,000,000
francs are to be paid at once.

L"
th THE GERMAN EMPIRE.
ca
BERLIN, December 0, (4.2 G p.m.)
00, yll e following letter has been addressed by the
o 'King of Bavaria to the King of Prussia :
[l'
d "Alter the adhesion of Southern Germany to the
German Constitutional Alliance the Presidential