The Sun.
London, England, 1870-12-15 00:00:00

THE INVADED FRENCH PROVINCES.

A letter written from the department of the Meuse
gives a melancholy account of the condition of the in-
vaded provinces of France. The writer says :—" Besides
the requisitions made by the enemy, there are the enor-
mous expenses of supporting them, which have to
be borne either by the commune or by indi-
viduals. Thus 150 Cuirassiers lodged here for
six days, and consumed the greater part of our forages
without any redress. What is not seized to-day will be
taken to-morrow. There will soon be neither sheep nor
poultry, and as for cattle typhus is disposing of them rapidly.
They are sold with difficulty. Within the last few days there
have been fresh levies of horses all through the district.
It would be a great mistake to suppose the invaded pro-
vinces as governed. There is no longer police, justice, or
law. On every side are violence and threats. Only the
mayors retain their position, which is pain-
ful enough. Immense fines and fusillades are
the only things talked of to take place whenever
the least resistance is possible. Even now the people are
threatened with sabre and pistol for the merest trifle.
Thus, the curl of ll was carried off to A— with
orders to shoot him immediately if there was any firing in
the woods, whence some shots had been fired at
the Prussians the previous day. Under this system
the most peaceable man may be at any moment punished
for other people's acts. The greater part of the officers
are uncultivated boors. One of them, a prince, broke
open the cupboards the other day to look
for brandy. To complete the picture, the mor-
tality of the country is enormous ; smallpox and
typhus prevail. The miserable peasantry, having no moral
support, full of despair for the present and apprehensions
for the future, have no strength to resist disease. At Metz
the deaths of the civil population are from 20 to 30 a day.
The writer of this letter, in conclusion, says the levee en
masse is a terrible thing, but it must be, and, above all,
there must be no peace. If I were a Prussian, he adds,
I should not be without uneasiness as to the final result.

The Wurtemburg losses in the late sortie at Paris
amounted to one in seven of their contingent.
Mr. Richard Wallace, heir of the Marquis of Hertford,
who is now in Paris, has given £B,OOO towards supplying
the inhabitants with fuel. He had previously given
£12,000 for an ambulance.
The lyceums and colleges in Paris now present a singu-
lar appearance, the professors wearing the National Guard
uniform instead of the classical toga.

The last eggs wore sold in Paris at 528 francs the thou-
sand, or 52 francs 80 cents the 100. Fresh new laid eggs
cost one franc each.

In order to prevent disturbances the Prussian prisoners
are not taken to Paris during the day, and the gates of
Vincennes are left open from midnight till two in the
morning, to allow of the entrance of the prisoners.
Lyons is suffering from an epidemic attack of smallpox
in its worst form, which is called black smallpox. In this
form of the disease the blood undergoes a change which
makes it escape by the nose and month, and even by the eyes,
prodUcing also extravasations under the skin, which have
the effect of terrible bruises, and give the name to the
disease. Great alarm is occasioned by the visitation. Dr.
Barbier recommends the employment of tincture of bella-
donna as a preventive. This was discovered in 1854 by
the Germans. Wholesale va,ccinati3n is advised by
the press.

General Trochu, according to the correspondent of the
,Cologne Gazette, told the parlementaire who carried him
the news of the defeat of the army of the Loire that he
believed the information. He treated the Job's messenger
very hospitably, but declined conversation,' and when the
latter touched on the capitulation of Paris, replied that
Paris was in the same position after the defeat of
D'Aurelles as before it.

In many quarters of Paris, especially in the Rue
Choiseul, the heads of commercial and financial establish-
ments have taken their word of honotir net to employ
Germans again for their business, This engagement

which is binding for ten years, will be posted in the
bureaux and warehouses of all those who have signed it,
and the greatest possible publicity will be given to it.
The arrangement is supposed to be popular.
Fifty-two officers, 1,839 men, and 63 guns were captured
in Phalsburg,
The Globe in a leader adduces some evidence to props
that General d'Aurelles de Paladine was, after all, the Due
de Nemours.

The Electeur Libre says that during the night of the
29th ult. no less than 2,000 cannon shots were fired on
the
enemy's works by the forts of Paris.
The Democratic press in France complain loudly of the
apathy displayed by the superior officers, of the armY f
or
the Republic.
The Indp6ndance Beige quotes and confirms a state-
ment of the Echo du Luxemburg that some Franc-tireurs
seized some Prussian post-carts on Luxemburg territory
The post was from Sedan to Libramont.

It is amusing, and at the same time significant, to
observe the enormous number of notices in Paris off er-
ing rewards for , " lost " dogs and cats, the greater
part of which have no doubt been long since eaten mid
digested.
The. Prussian officers, who were recently insulted 10 a
Paris cafe, were young men, and behaved with great is'
discretion. Instead of eating their dinner quietly, theY
indulged in a good deal of loud, and by no means wise con-
versation, and their remarks were calculated to offend
those Frenchmen who heard them.
The tremendous cannonade from the Paris forts during
the sorties had the important effect of preventing the
Germans from easily learning where the real danger /AY-
The Duke of Saxe Coburg says he counted 107 shots in
five minutes. The shower of shells and rockets was like
display of fireworks.
Ham, which has been taken by the Germans andretakeo
by the French, is the place where Napoleon 111. spent
four years of captivity. Changarnier, Leflo, and others
were confined there for some time after the coup d'etat•
The small force of Germans who occupied it were veil
greatly out-numbered ; they nevertheless shewed some
fight.
The Patrie'gives an explanation of the , circumstances
under which General D'Aurelles ceased to command the
Army of the Loire. He thought that, pending the inquili
ordered by the Government into the evacuation of
Orleans, he ought not to retain the command. The
Government offered him another appointment, but he
declined it, preferring to await the result of the inquiry
His health, moreover, is bad.

A tragic comic incident is told from St. Cloud. Some
Prussians went into a chemist's shop where one young
assistant, who could speak no German, was left in charge:
and seeing some medicnl biscuits on a shelf, seized and ate
them, despite the protestations of tne young shopnaan, of
which they did not understand a word. The men very
soon felt ill in consequence of the biscuits, and at ono
concluded they were poisoned, so they shot the young
chemist on the spot, and fired the house. The fire spreal
to some distance.
The administration of justice is again suspended 10
Alsace. The President of the Court of Appeal at Colmar
intimated to the German authorities on the 7th that, 10
consequence of directions from his Government at Tours,
he and the rest of his court must suspend proceedings-
The other Alsatian judicial functionaries have followed
the example. This is regarded as proof that the secret
post office, which has been previously referred to, has
extensive ramifications in the conquered province.
Boulogne and the neighbouring villages are still filled
with Mobiles, very few of whom are armed with breech-
loaders ; the portion carrying muzzle-loaders are given to
understand that they will receive American breech-
loaders, improvements on Remington's rifles, ere they
are again sent on active service, and those who are with-
out any arms are to be drilled with the muzzle-loaders of
their more accomplished brethren. Order and discipline
prevail to a satisfactory extent, and drilling twice a day
keeps the men employed.
It is said that among the carriages and waggons which
the French have lately taken from the Prussians at
Orleans and elsewhere, there were some which were sur-
mounted by the red cross of the ambulance. These
vehicles, however, did not contain provisions, munitions,
nor medicaments, but clocks, linen, cups, hearthrugs,
household goods, and dolls' and children's clothes. Thus,
by an ingenious arrangement, they put their spoils under
the care of the International Society for the Protection
of the Wounded.

THE JEWELS AND THE RICHES OF FRANCE.--*
Travellers from Southampton to the Isle of Wight cannot
fail to observe two large paddle-wheel steamers lying
safely moored within about one mile of Southampton pier;
and a nautical observer would instantly recognise that
they are not of English build. The names of them are
the Europe and the Emperor. Alongside of these vessels
lies quietly but watchfully a British man-of-war, with
her ports open and her guns ominously peeping out. Few
are aware that these vessels contain a considerable
amount of the rich and valuable property of the Parisian
shopkeepers and the rich classes of France. It is said
that the jewellery and other valuables, consisting of arti-
cles of vertu, are there deposited for safety. It is also re-
ported that the Crown jewels and some of the moneY
belonging to rich individuals are deposited in these vessels
for security. The vessels look particularly clean and
smart, and have been selected for this especial purpose s 5
being the superior in the mercantile navy of France.--
Morning Advertiser,