The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-16 00:00:00

'NOVEMBER 161 187 .

THE CAPITULATION OF VERDUN.

The correspondent of the Telegraph at the head-quar-
ters of the Eighth Army Corps, in a communication from
Fresnes, dated November Bthi, says :—Another French
fortress has capitulated. This afternoon, when I rode
into General Manteuffel's head-quarters at Etairi with
Count Eilenburg,' I received the official intelligence. The
first commandant of Verdun is General Guerin d
Walspath ; the sub-commandant whose name
France should never forget if her history ,ever
relates the ipcidents of the peesent campaign—

eneral Manlier. Verdun has been bombarded, it is

true, by two strong batteries, the one situated due north,
the other east, of . the plade. On the 13th and 14th of
Octobers perfect hurricane of shells was poured upon the

devoted town ; but with no effect, at least so far as the
ardour of the garrison was concerned. Then General
Marnier, putting,:• himself at the head of some
three thousand men, made a sortie in a north-
easterly direction. 'At, the point of the bayonet,
without firing a shot, he drove back the German advanced

posts. He then attacked the batteries, and carried
them by assault,. destroying the works, dismounting
and spiking the guns ; returning safe to Verdun, where
his small but brave force of £7,000 men has held out
ever since. The German Generals, intent upon the
capture of Metz, could spare but an inadequate force
for the siege of Verdun. General Marnier, no doubt,
received excellent intelligence about the • German
forces around Verdun ; and, profiting by this informa-
tion, he made the vigorous sortie I have described. The
German troops acknowledge the bravery of Marnier and
his garrison, and take off their forage caps to him with
respect; for none 'can value and respect a brave and
determined enemy more than the officers and
.soldiers of the invading army. . The officers be-
longing to the garrison 'of Verdun have refused to
give their parole,, and will consequently be made pri-
soners of war; the men will share the same fate; but the
.garrisOn marches out With all the honours of war,
'colours flying and bands playing. The immediate canse
of the surrender is not precisely known. In a conver-
sation with the Prussian officer sent to treat
with him, Marnier expressed himself as follows :
" Since the capitulation of Metz and Sedan, and the
destruction of the French army, I do not see what good it
would do my country to hold out any longer, exposing
my men to sickness and the heavy fire which no doubt
you will shortly open upon us. Political affairs also
induce me to surrender Verdun, although I know that I
can hold out for many days longer against all
your efforts. I have saved my honour and that
of my officers and men ; more I cannot do,
especially when I do not know for whom or for what I am
fighting." Some fragments of the Sedan army are said
to be in Verdun. .The artillery fire was especially good
and well directed. - Our loss in the sortie made by the
French was severe—Officers, as usual, suffering most ; in
the artillery alone two were killed and seven wounded.
Beyond this, the news at the head-quarters. of the First
Army was very scanty.

ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH REFUGEES
AT , VERSAILLES.

Writing from Versailles on the 10th instant, the corre-
spondent of the Daily Nobs at Versailles thus describes
the arrival of the English refugees from Paris :—" The
English refugees have reached Versailles, and we gather
many interesting particulars of their journey through the
lines. The. column, when it started from Paris—at seven
o'clock on the morning of the Bth instant—consisted
of two carriages belonging to the Embassy, and of about
130 persons in all, most of whom walked. There were
some Swiss and Austrians along with the English on the
first day, but these went eastward, from Brie-Comte-
Robert, whilst the English came on in a body to this
litace. It was uo time for carrying luggage with one, as
the distance to be marched was considerable. Many
of the travellers had little or nothing to bring, and those
who had something to bring brought it for the most
Part on their shoulders. From Paris by the Charenton
Gate and so to the. French outposts at Craeil, the column
moved slowly forward under French escort. Then it was
handed over to the Prussians, and escorted by Mecklen-.
burg Dragoons until about half-way between Boissy-St.-
Leger and Brie-Gorate,Robert, where the dragoons
halted. Having been brought through the lines
and given a fair start well to rear of the siege
works, our countrymen had nothing to do but tramp
round to Versailles, a disttince of about thirty-five miles
liy the route which they followed. Men who escape from
a besieged city must not complain of small hardships ; but
they may well have thought it a' weary round to go on
foot when they remembered how near was their destina-
tion to the west end of Paris. Engineering reasons are
however, supreme in sieges, and thoSe who came from the
city were expected to come by Charenton.. The English
refugees once arrived at Brie-Comte-Robert were able to
secure three carts, which carried some of them upon the

next day's march, and most of their effects. They rested
there one night and found very poor accommodation.
But last night, at Corbiel, +hey were better off,
and set forth to-day in good spirits for a long. march
through the snow and shish to Versailles. After stopping
Longjumeau . for dinner, where refreshments were
somewhat scarce, . they completed their journey in the
vilest of November weather, getting heie an hour. ;
two later on the 10th than we had expected them on
the Bth inst. Mr. Wodehouse, the secretary of
our Embassy at . Paris, with his family, and the
personnel of the Embassy, remained at the head of the
column to see it safely to headquarters. It was he who
secured' the carts at Brie-Comte-Robert, and the chief
complaint that I have heard about his arrangements
is that there were not greater means of transport.
Some of our ' countryin' en who have come out were
in great distress when they started. Many of them
received • the hundred francs donation of the
English Charitable Tuhd before setting off, and none
seem to have felt able to charter means of conveyance on
their own account. There are, it seems, a number of
English still in Paris—four or five hundred at, least—Who
are too old, or too timid, too hopeless perhaps of anything
better elsewhere, to come away. They. suffer much, and
are glad of the relief which Mr. Wallace so generously ex-
tends to all who apply."

THE CONDUCT OF THE SIEGE.—The correspon-
d4rit of the Daily News writes from Versailles under date
Nevember 18th :—There has only been just firing enough
during the last twenty-four hours to confirm our impres-
sion that the siege is being actively pressed on some parts
of the line. An occasional discharge of heavy guns has
rumbled among the woods of Meudon, or come more
sharply down upon the breeze from Mont Valerien. The
Prussians are strengtheniug their works here and
there, and are bringing up ammunition in a steady stream.
They are not quite prepared to begin the bombardment of
the forts, but they are getting to be terribly strong for
the repulse of a sortie. First and' foremost they have
more men.in hand to mass upon any threatened point—
this is a simple result of reinforcement. Then there
are sundry finishing touches which the Prussian
positions have received, a levelling of walls in
one place, a cutting down of bushes in another,
that would help the'defen4rs of the siege works. View-
ing what has been done since we rode along
the dusty chaussee, from Chatillon to Versailles,
on the Alma anniversary, and remembering how many
more chances there were of breaking out of Paris
that evening than there are at present, I fancy that
the attack has developed' its strength quite in
proportion to the defence. Whilst General Trochu
has been raising regiments and casting guns
within her was, King William has been bringing up
guilts and regiments, ready made, without the walls.
Vhilst 'the forts have been strengthened, the
bdt•terie,s on this side have sprung into existence.,
"`General November" has arrived upon the' scene,
and makes trench work sufficiently dismal, but
the snjiply of food in Paris is 'so much the • less by
all that the two million of prisoners in Moltke's
cage have eaten during these seven weeks. Large soft
snow flakes are falling as I write. The streets of Ver-
sailles are very• cheerless for strangers coming
into them from a damp journey, and our countrymen
who are expected to arrive this afternoon will he dis-
appointed, I fear, with the first stag,e,of their escape from
Paris.

LONDON SCHOOL BOARD. MARYLETIONE. A
crowded and enthusiastic) meeting of the ratepayers of St.
Pancras was held last evening at the Milton Hall, to hear
Mr. Hepworth Dixon. Mr. Rahles, churchwarden, pre-
sided, and the platform was occupied by the best known
ratepayers of the district. The chairman said he need not
describe Mr. Dixon as a great traveller and writer, since his
name was known and honoured wherever the English
laii,guage was spoken. As a Churchman and a Church-
warden lie .was particularly sensible to Mr. Dixon's
services in the cause of Biblical literature and Biblical
illustration. The candidate was received with
enthusiastic . cheering, which was renewed again
during • the continuance of his address. A number
of questions were put to the candidate, all of which were
.satisfactorily answered. Mr. Churchwarden Parson
proposed, Mr. Clutterbuck (a working man) seconded,
and Messrs. Andrew Halliday, Endean, Read, and
others supported a resolution approving of Mr. Hep-
worth Dixon's candidature, and pledigng the.meeting to
secure his return. The motion was carried unanimously
and amidst loud cheering. -