The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-10-28
FIRST EDITION N
WI Z ! z!
The Impregnable City.
Its Final Fall.
Progress Of the Siege.
The Great Fortress.
IT'S Character and History.
The Great Siege of 1862.
IMPROBABLE METZ.

IMPROBABLE METZ.
The City that Never Surrendered surrend ders
ut Last-Situati0n, History, and Oefenses of
the Captured Fortress-The Siege aud Its
Progress-The Battles in the NeiShborhood.
Yesterday morning Marshal Bazaine surren-
dered his army of 10000 men and the fortress
of Metz into the hands of Prince Frederick
Charles, the commander of the German army
which has besieged the city since the great
battle of Gravelotte, fought on August Is. This
event marks the third great epoch in the history
of the war; and is of equal significance and i'm
portance with the capitulation of MacMahon
and Napoleon at Sedan, and the surrender of
Strasburg. France, especially so-called Re-
publican France, will denounce the action
of Marshal BaZaine as the contamination
of treachery, but these denunciations will not
affect the fact that the Germans have at last
entered the city whose walls we're never before
passed by hostile army The reports which
have reached us at the time we write concern
ing the preiminaries of the surrender are
somewhat confiicting but it would appear from
them that Metz had not yet been reduced to
such desperate straits rs led to the fall of
Strasburg, and that there has been some sort of
an understanding entered into between Marshal
Bazaine and Prince Frederick Charles, which
will affect materially the question of peace. The
of Paris and withdraw their armies within the
boundaries of Alsace and Lorraine, of which they
hold undisputed possession at present, the small
fortress of Bitche, just on the former border
being the only place still held by the French.
From the beginning, the remuneration of Alsace
and Lorraine to Germany has been the ultima
tum of King William, and now that his armies
are in possession of these ancient German pro-
vinces, there is practically no reason for the
further sacrifice Of human life.
The Situation and Character of the City.
Metz is situated on the left or west bank of
the river Moselle, just above its confluence with
the See and is distant ITO miles due east of Paris
and about 25 miles southw from the nearest
point of the border line at the opening of the
war. The natural features of the city and its
environs are of rare beauty. Bordering the
Nosee on the north, the banks of the river and
the city quays are of considerable height above
the river. The horn work, built by Vauban, is
nearly one hundred feet above the river level,
and the banks here are quite precipitous. In
mediately in the rear of this work is the old
citadel, built to keep the turbulent burghers of
the day in order. Much of this work has since
been levelled, to form that indispensable addi-
tion to every French town, the public prone
made. Near this is the principal railroad sta
tion of the present day.
The surface OF the city is undulating, and the
streets are narrow and crooked being laid out
without any regard to the convenience of the
pedestrian, or any effort to spare the strength
of beasts of burden. Some of the streets, in
deed, on tie banks of the Moselle are very steep,
and absolutely impossible for carriages and
other vehicles. The city authorities have
been accustomed to rely almost entirely upon
the rain as a means of keeping the streets clean.
This. even, is usually of little avail
in the Jews quarter which is generally in a
filthy condition, the streets aud alleyways being
filled with garbage. Previous to 1928 the city
was in a far more deplorable condition than in
later days. 1t was under the active administra-
tion of the Marshal of Belle-Isle .that it began
to be rejuvenated and ornamented. This i'm
pulse once given was not arrested; perhaps, in
deed, il went too far. More than one souvenir
of the ancient ages has been destroyed, which
might have given some precious relics, fol
which people search now in vain. The trans
formation, however has given the city many
beautiful streets and courts, good wharves
well-built and delightful promenades. The
houses are constructed solidly of stone, are
generally of very simple architecture, and
have rarely four floors. A great number. have
gardens attached. Confined at present within
narrower limits than formerly, the city of Net
beholds a part of its monuments its abbeys
and its churches replaced by immense fortif
cations
Metz has population of about 10000 souls
independently of the garrison of 10000 mel
which is always maintained within its walls
and, aside from its importance in a militar.
and strategic point, was place of considerably
consequence before the war. 1t has a tribuna
of commerce, national college, school of en-
gineering, primary normal school, botanica
garden, Academic UniUersitdir
for the Departments of Ardenne
and Moselle, and a public library con
tanning $4,000 volumes. There is also an ar
senal one of the largest in France, with can
non foundry attached; an armory in whic
$4,000 stand of arms are stored in time of peace
and military hospital which has accommoda
tions for 1900 patients. In the foundry lies a
interesting memento of past wars with German
in the shape of long cannon, called Vog,
Greif taken by the French in 1893 from tn
formidable and lofty fortress OF Ehrenbreitstei
on the Rhine. The principal architectural fes
ture, however, is the fine old gothic catht
dral. Itwas commenced in 1882 and was finishe