The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-30 00:00:00

A DOCTOR'S STORY.

Dr. J. Marion Sims, who has resided eight years in
France and recently returned to the United States, has
narrated his experience of the war. Some of his state-
ments are highly important. He says : " Thewounds
made by modern implements of war are truly terrific.
Yet I have seen extraordinary cases of recovery
of men shot through and through the breast and
abdomen. There is not so much bleeding ; the bullet in
its passage seems to lacerate the parts so as to close the
bleeding vessels. We saw wounds of every form and
variety, made by the bursting of bombs and by the needle-
guns, the chassepots, and the mitrailleuse. This is a
dreadful weapon, and must become an essential arm of
the service. Its effects are terrific, and the noise it makes
is something fearful ; that of musketry and cannon is
' music compared with it.. I could not describe
the effect produced by it. In regard to the
killed and wounded at Sedan I must observe
that it was not so bloody as the battle of Gravelotte.
Of the French there were less than 15,000 killed and
wounded at Sedan, while the Germans suffered much more
severely. The Germans do not state falsehoods in their
I bulletins, but they cover up their own losses ; and without
mentioning the names of German doctors I may state I
learnt from medical men who had a perfect knowledge of
' the facts that the Bavarian and Wurtemberg legions oc-
cupying the centre of the Prussian lines went into battle
60,000 strong, and lost 129 officers and upwards of 2,000
men killed, the wounded making up 15,000, or one-fourth
of the whole amount hors de combat. A great number
of French batteries of artillery—l cannot state the
exact number, but they covered quite an acre of ground
—came in from the battle of the let of September to the
hospital yards so eaely as one o'clock in the day, and on
inquiring why they left the field of battle they told us
they were out of ammunition, and were only in the way.
I can state that the Marines fought unflinchingly, also
the Zoua,ves and Turcos, 'but I am sorry to say that the
men of the Line—l do not know how many regiments,
but a great many—were demoralised, and retreated
after firing once or twice, in spite of the im-
precations and commands of their officers. A great
many of these retired within the walls and around the
hospital. It was impossible for the French to do other-
wise than surrender. The Emperor was not to be
blamed ; it was simply an act of humanity to surrender.
The Krupp cannon fires with wonderful accuracy. It
will shoot a mile further than the French cannon, and
the Prussian bombs are exploded by percussion, and do
not burst until they strike some object ; hut the French
bombs were fired by fuses, burst sometimes in the
air, and often fell short of their aim. But of the great
number of the Prussian bomb-shells that fell in the
yard and around the hospital at Sedan we found only
two that had not exploded. As an arm, the chasse-
pot is superior to the needle-gun. It will carry
further ; but I do not think that is such an enor-
mous advantage, for great masses of men do not fire at
each other under 600 yards, and the needle-gun is as
effective as the other at that distance. The Prussian artil-
l&y fired with wonderful accu-acy. Theirofficers are gentle-
men and educated. The physique of the Germans is superior
to that of the French. I could not help making the com-
parison as the 80,000 French prisoners passed along the
Prussian lines. Tmay add here a fact that may interest
some ; every French and German s Adler smokes tobacco,
and it was ludicrous to see a whole German regiment
moving along smoking. French and Germans smoke to a
man, and, contrary to some theories, with the most perfect
impunity. It is worthy of note that subsequent to the
surrender typhus was very prevalent among the Germans,
while there was none among the French. I do not account
for it. Among the French wounded in the hospital at
Sedan were 26 officers, r.nd they all said all they lacked was a
general ; that it was want of generalship which demoralized
the soldiers, because they had no confidence in their
leaders. The French officers were all burning with a desire
for revenge. My own belief is that if they changed
generals they would change the issue of the contest. I
do not think the Emperor ever looked better in health
than on the day of his surrender, 'Tis a great mistake to
suppose he is a decrepit old man. His intellect was
never more vigorous, and his physical health is perfect,
with the exception of some mere infirmities. He is
occasionally subject to sciatica, but to no disease that
threatens life." Being asked about reports of in-
humanity to French prisoners, Dr. Sims said :—" The
newspaper reports were not in the least exaggerated.
The particulars are not fit for publication of what
the prisoners suffered. Some 80,000 French marched ,
from Sedan, before the Prussian lines, to the little penin-
sula formed by the river, where they were halted after
the capitulation. I was there and saw the peasants come
in and sell bread to the pool. fellows at 25 cents a slice.
It was the saddest day in my life when I followed the
poor French prisoners, and if I lived a hundred years I
could never forget what I saw them endure. They were
several days there on that piece of land, absolutely I
dying of sickness anti starvation."

The Bourse at Lyons is tho only one iii France now
receiving foreign orders, and especially German orders.
A Lyonsiraper triumphantly records a kind of financial
panic among the speculators of Frankfort, Hamburg,
and Berlin, who have sent their Lyonese correspendelits
orders to make considerable sales of all securities in which
Germans are shareholders, especially Austrian railways
and American dollars.

A regular market for rats is open daily in the Place
de l'Hotel de Ville. The animals are sold alive, and the
prices vary from 30 to 35 centimes. In the Rue Roche-
chouart a marchand de comestibles hangs out dogs, cats,
and rats in rows, with the prices attached. Provisions
are abundant.

The Paris Gaulois says that the accustomed visitors to
the Jardin des Plantes do not like to witness the diminu-
tion which is going on among those beasts whose flesh is