The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-18 00:00:00

'rHE SUN, LONDON, THURSDNY EVENING, AUGUST 18, 870.

afternoon that the Emperor had left Chalons for
Reims.
Within three days hence Paris will be covered by
a line of defence mounting 1,000 guns.

Tins MORNING'S NEWS.

(CENTRAL PRESS TELEGRAMS.)
THE QUEEN AT READING.

At half-past eight last evening her Majesty the Queen
arrived at the Reading Station en route to Scotland. She
was accompanied by the Princess Louise. Prince Leo-
pold arrived from Osborne about a quarter of an hour
before her Majesty. Immediately the Mayor of Reading
heard of the arrival of his Royal Highness he proceeded
to the station, accompanied by the ex-mayor and some
other gentlemen. The Queen did not get out of the car-
riage. The cheering of the crowd inside the station was
of so enthusiastic a character that the station-master
was compelled to ask them to moderate it. The royal
train proceeded on its way at nine o'clock.

THE BATTLE OF WOERTH.

A fatal picture of the battle of Woerth is given in the
IF iirtembergisehe Staatsanzeiger by a superior officer who
took part in the action. The French, he says, had been
reconnoitring at Woerth, and at the eastern side of that
place, and this gave rise to the fight, which began at
nine in the morning and ended with nightfagl.
They were represented by five or six divisions,
under the command of MaoMahon ; un the side
of the Germans, the Third Army, with all its corps,
except that of Baden, took part in this trial of strength.
The fight in the centre, where the sth and 11th German
corps were attacking, was terrific ; and here the duel
betweed the needle gun and the Chassepot claimed
many victims. The guns, large and small, together
with the mitrailleuses, did, in fact, more havoc
than Ives experienced at Sadowa. At two p.m., when
the village of Freschweiller was in flames, the pres-
sure of the Prussians became more palpable. At
Reichshofen two German cavalry regiments over-
took the enemy in his disordered retreat, and captured
important trains and some artillery. One squadron alone
seized no fewer than 200 waggons. The French at length
retreated in irregular flight ; and, after receiving a
farewell salvo of thirty grenades, they turned partly
towards Niederbronn and Bitsch, and partly towards
Saverne. Our losses are very considerable ; 'but, on
the other hand, we nave gained the certainty
that MacMahon's troops will for a long time be
hors de combat. Our army took 6,000 prisoners, and
carried off thirty pieces of artillery and other trophies.
The second brigade, who suffered fearfully whilst
assailing the enemy, could barely be restrained by
the officers. The prisoners are Chasseurs-a-Pied,
Turcos, and Zouaves—who are most disgusting-looking
creatures. On the Bth, bivouacking at Ingweiler,
the same officer describes his experience at the now
fainons battle of Woerth, whilst leading a brigade
from Gunstadt towards Elsasshausen, which was then
in flames. At fuur o'clock numberless wounded men
covered the battle-field, and large convoys of prisoners
were met. From Elsasshausen an attack was made upon
the right wing of the French column, who aimed badly
and fired hastily. Whilst the Germans were marching
against the enemy's front with extraordinary rapidity,
a mitrailleuse battery of six guns was unmasked,
and inflicted frightful losses upon the advancing party.
Numerous Prussian tirailleurs followed the Wurtembur-
gers, hurrying onward without stoppage across the plain,
1,500 paces wide. The writer had a horse killed under him
by the discharge of a mitrailleuse. The French on being ap-
proached within 80 paces fled into the woods. The Ger-
man brigade, marching towards the burning village of
Freschweiler, stormed several houses and broke the doors
open with the butt-ends of their guns. Here five or six
hundred prisoners were taken, amongst them no fewer
than thirty officers. In a barn where the writer ascended
a ladder and summoned the Turcos to surrender, they
responded by discharging at him five to six useless shots.
He then caused the captain to speak to the men, and
they at once yielded.

get yourself captured. The Prussians will e there in
two hours." "I have my wife and children there."
" God preserve you, then! i)o not fail to say
that the morale of the troops is excellent."
We shake hands; exchange a few pleasant
words with M. d'Abzac, and I search vainly, in
the ranks of the staff as it moves, for the laughing and
sympathetic face of M. de Vogue, ordnance officer.
This lnr young man, full of promise, was killed
by a bullet through the forehead, and General
Colson, with a bullet through the heart ; both of them
by the side of the Mars; ; who was reckless of his life.
Then comes a regiment of Turcos, the most com-
plete and the firmest of the three. Those fellows
have not thrown away their knapsacks nor their
arms. One of the first comes out of the ranks, and
springs to my neck. It is Albert Duruy, a fellow
journalist. And the excellent fellow begins by telling
me I have been to your house : it is empty. All
your people are safe." " But you—you?" "I ?
—as you see. Firm as a poet. All, my
poor friend, what a disaster.' We will repair it,
though." He runs off, and disappears Tin the motley
crowd of his comrades. 4 little further on I meet a
civilian, dressed in a short coat of grey velvet, who marches
like an officer, between two companies of the line. It is
M. Gaildran, the artist of the Illustration, an old
friend of the day before yesterday. He carries his
portfolio across his back, and to-morrow morrfing,
at Phalsburg, he will no doubt make a sketch of this
shameful retreat. At the gates of Saverne, the panic-
stricken are fiSing along the railway, or are hiding
in the gardens ; but some good regiments of the line
arc tramping in step through the streets. Their pas-
sage, calm and courageous, is not over before eleven
o'clock at night. These last belong to the sth
Corps ; they reached Reichshoffen too late to give
battle. I find the little town a prey to a panic really
fabulous. Marshal MacMahon arrived there on Satur-
thy night, at seven o'clock, followed by the remains
of his army, and proceeded by a swarm of breath-
less fugitives. In the twinkling of an eye Saverne
saw itself filled with the Ist Corps, which the
foe, very luckily, believed to have retired upon
Bitsche.' , They massed themselves together where they
could ; these most fortunate in the houses of the towns-
men ; those who had brought away their knapsacks and
camp equipage, under their tents ; many upon the pave-
ment, in the fields, under Heaven's canopy. The night
was passed in terror. If the enemy had known how to
profit by the opportunity, he might have made 10,000
or 15,000 prisoners at one blow. The population was
only half reassured by the presence of troops broken
down, starved, and discomfited. Some families got off
by the mail train at midday, the last that went from
Strasburg to Paris. Some others regained confidence
in waiting for the officers, who said, " You have
nothing to be afraid of so long as we are
here." But yesterday (Sunday), at six o'clock upon I
know not what false alarm—perhaps only because
three or four scouts of the enemy were announced
on the side of Steinburg—the Duke de Magenta caused
the generale to be beaten. and Saverne thought itself lost.
Whilst officers and soldiers threw themselves pell-mell
upon the Phalsburg-road, three-fourths of the people went
off wildly towards the neighbouring forests. The
example—a sad example—was set by the gendarmes
and the sergents de vine. The townsfolk closed the
shops, piled up the furniture upon carts; some farmers
drove their cattle before them as in the time of
Abraham ; there were incredible accumulations formed
both of men and animals in the houses of the
foresters and in the ruins of old castles. This morning all
is calm in the town, or, to speak more accurately,
all is dead there. The invasion is expected from
one moment to another, and no one dreams of defence
k;ainst the 150,000 men of the Prince Royal. The
Mayor invites the bakers and butchers to re-open
their shops. A few devoted men and some brave
women divide themselves between two ambulances, of
which one is at the hospital and the other at the
Asile Imperial. There remain only sixty wounded or so ;
160 have been sent on to Sarrebourg. Almost all the
Zounves and Turcos made their escape last night, fearing
to be murdered by the Prussians. How they have been
able to drag themselves as far as Phalsburg, being in such
a state as they were in, I scarcely know. They must
have stolen horses and carriages. Mine was recovered
this morning, at six o'clock, from half-a-dozen stragglers
--perfectly sound—who had replaced their traces with
turbans unrolled.