The Sun.
London, England, 1870-08-25 00:00:00

MOVEMENTS OF MACMAHON'S ARMY.

M. Texier, one of the ablest correspondents of the
French papers, has the following letter in the Siecle. It
is dated Monday from Rheims :—There is no
longer a soldier at Chalons ; the camp is broken
up since the evening before last. MacMahon's
army has made a movement which was probably
agreed upon between the commanders-in-chief of the
army of the Rhine and of the army of Chalons. The
soldiers are full of spirit. They are still quite in the
dark as to where they are being led, but they declare before
hand, that they are quite satisfied so long as the
road leads them to the battle-field. When I watch
closely this soldier so indifferent to fatigue, to
rain, to dust, swallowing his rations without
complaint, and always hoping for victory, notwithstand-
ing all disasters, I am fillet with admiration for this
great family of unknown men, who obey so cheerfully the
law of self-abnegation and sacrifice. With a leader worthy
of them such men could not be beaten. The inhabitants of
the towns which I pass through are less patient than the
army. They complain, not without reason, that two
things are altogether wanting to them—news and arms.
Here is a town which is full of soldiers to-day, but
to-morrow they will decamp, and the town will
be left to shift for itself should the enemy
present himself. Not a gun, not a means of
defence is at hand. There would be no alterna-
tive but submitting to the will of the conqueror
paying the contributions of war, and in a word yielding to
demands made at the point of the bayonet. Four Uhlans
were enough to take possession of a town of 60,000 souls,
and to obtain from the Municpality money, provisions,
forage and cigars. The Prussians are terrible smokers.
They exact from the inhabitants of each town they
occupy a supply of six cigars daily for each of their
soldiers—the best are of course the best liked. Nowhere
have the citizens shown their displeasure more energetically
than at Epernay. The residents of that little town, which
is rich and prosperous cherished, no pleasant memories of
the Prussians. Some could remember, others could repeat
the exactions of Blucher's soldiers in 1815, when houses
were pillaged, and cellars devastated. If the
Prussian is choice of his cigars, which in any
case are infinitely preferable to those he smokes in
Prussia, he is not less particular in regard to
his wines. The discontent is general, and shews
itself openly in the streets. The most furious are
naturally those who voted " Oui " on the Bth of May,
in the belief that the triumph of the plebiscite
would be the confirmation of peace. Nothing else is
talked of but the disasters suffered by our arms, and
the causes which have produced them. All that
is told of the incapacity, the indifference, the
total ignorance of the commanders is listened
to - eagerly. All sorts of extraordinary statements
are mentioned in support of these stories, and the most
improbable acts are reported, to which we cannot give
credence. It is not until we have settled our accounts
with Prussia that we can look back to the fatal
days of Wissembourg, of Forbach, of Froschwiller,
and calmly examine the origin of those disastrous results.
The news arrived this morning is better. Intelligence
has been received from Bazaine which proves his position
is improved. When I told you he was blocked
in Metz I was not mistaken, but it seems
he has succeeded in conquering the enemy in some strong
positions which will enable him, with the help of the
army of Chalons, to take the offensive with vigour.

•
Berlin is in deep mourning in the midst of her joy.
Salvos of artillery were fired, and flags were waved from
every house in honour of the victories of the 16th andlBth
but these triumphs have cost very dear, and thousands of
families have lost relatives in the strife. Count
Reuss, Count von Kleist, the son of the chief
physician of the army, -Count Westarp, and a multitude
of other notabilities hgve fallen. The journals are full of
long lists of the killed and wounded. The sacrifice of life
has been enormous—almost reckless.

Mme. Abel Douay has returned to Besancon from
Strasburg. The remains of the General, her husband, have
not been discovered, notwithstanding all the efforts that
have been made by his eldest son. It is affirmed that at
the first news of the approach of the Prussians, General
Donay rushed out from Wissenbourg to inspect their
forces, after having given some orders to his divisor. His
staff officers followed him, and came up as he was struck
by a shell on the breast. He was thrown down, and
another shot killed him. He was carried into a neigh-
bouring farm house, but the Prussians were on the ad-