The New York herald., 1870-08-30

clergy throughout the world or what the city OF Lon.
don--the business parts OF that modern Babylon
are TO your true born British merchant or banker.
WIN french military man what IN done In Africa
IL right; what Is not done there Ia wrong. Talk TO
them as have done Of sadOwa, OF any oil your great
American battles, OF any Of our AngloIndan cam
paigns they VIII listen, but even their pOlteness
hardly dlsguises the fact that they look upon you
and your experiences much the same as grown
man regards child playing at solder; For them
there Is but one army in this world-the French;
Dut one military school-Algeria. All that IS not
comprised IN these two categores has, In their es
umaton, hardly right to be called soldier at all.
So long as their men keep their arms In order,
march up to time and make their soup at the end OF
the day. the rest re- what they despise 50 thor-
oughiy-mere matters OF detail.
Here, thcn is, AZ believe. the radical cause OF
their many failures IN the Held. Numbers may 40
much, but not everything. by degrees the French
army has changed INTO i0rce admirably adapted
for lighting Tue Arabs OF Algeria but utterly
annt % to meet European army IN the drS open
field, unless under circumstances where bravery,
and tnat alone could carry the day. II there could
be another siege OF ebastopol and had TO capture
second Malakofr: or # the great American war
had to be fought over again, and Richmond had
once more to be taken, | would select French
ZOuaves sooner than any other troops IN the world
to lead against those places. But In the open field,
and more particularly against generals who nave
brains and know no to manGuvre armies, would
only take them as sharpslOoters. African warfare
Is one thing, European another.
HOW ABOUT THE AUsrRIANs AND IrALIANsf
But, you Will say, did not these same troOps-the
French-meet the Austrians III Italy and drive them
before them like sheeps Granted But. IN the first
place tnat s was ten years ago aud the rencn army
Its troops have only by degrees en brought to Its
present state OF Africanizaton, II Imay coin word.
Moreover, the Austrian army in 1859 was . very
different force to this immense Prussian-or
rather German-union OF national armies In 1870.
The Austrans had not the same kind Of men at their
hand as the Prussans have In numbers they were
little, If at all, superior to the French. Bessdes
which the generation in Europe that had witnessed
the siege or SebastOpOl was not only alive, but the
history OF those days then only four years DID,
ana the French army still bore with them much OF
the prestige OF the Crimca.
Again, the Ausrlans that met the French in Italy
In 1859 were not flushed with comparatively recent
victory. The Prussians OF 1870 are not only 80 lush
ed, but they are (and the most ignorant man In
Germany s Iully aware OF the fac ten times stronger
as one huge nation than they were when they last
took the field in 1868. believe when the history OF
this campaign is written by our grandchildren IL
will be received as an undoubted TACT that Prussia
was not only iar more ready than France Tor tne
struggle which she knew must come, but that Sne
really provoked the war, making it appear as II
France had done SO.
sTRAsBOURG.
You may recollect that shortly before leaving
Strasbourg for the front mentioned in one OF my
letters that the French cOmmissariat had failed It's
master In the hour Of need and that the ten or
twelve days fatal delay or MacMahOn's corps In
tnat city was caused Dy the supplies not being
ready for the troops. Humanity speaking that delay
has lost the French the campaign. don't say that
the latter would have won the day even nad they
crossed the Rhine ten days ago. But their advance
would at any rate have reached Mayence, ana for
an army constituted az the French army Is
mat is, FOR an army greatly wanting IN discipline
been encouraged by getting footing In the enemy's
country. The very fact OF the Prussians coming
into Francs instead OF the French gong into
Prussia was moral loss to tho French army equal
TO O,000 having deserted them. The French reg-
mental ofcers-and, after oil, they form the back
bone Of every army-telt this most keenly the day
they heard that Wissembourg was taken. and far
more after MaCMahOns defeat.
l can also bear witness that at Strasb0urg the
haste with which they had been brought from even
the far interior OF Algeria only TO be left to pass an
Idle fortnight ut StrasbOurg.
FRENCH RESIGNATION.
Before closing this letter would like also to add
my testimony to that OF Others and 10 make known
as much as possible the brave resignation with
which the French officers, who are prisoners
wounded and Others have borne their fate. Brave
men always command respect, and no men could
De more respected by those who have captured Them
than the French are by their Prussian captors- But
u Is pitirul and mean IN the extreme to hear
lew cowardly hounds OF civilians taunt their prison.
ers with the faults OF their masters and blame them,
abuse them for what their The French troops, would
Dr. could or might have done had they got into
germany scene OF this sort occurred to-day at the
eadng tdble d'h0te In Carisruhe, In which the pre-
sent writer was nsulted by an idiOtIc German be-
cause ne ventured to express pity for batch OF
poor d0wncast Frenchnen who passed through the
town Oh their way to some fortress IN the far In
terror OF Prussia. He was called "E'n stopkeeper
American" and when that was not found to hit the
mark, ''Etn ShOpkeeper E1lgiGader,' aud taunted
with the fact that during the Indian mutny Sepoys
that he KepI his temper which only exasperated his
enemy all the more.
But or a truth, the people, not the army, In these
parts, are showing their love for 'Fatherandn in the
most childish manner. They spit and sputter and
gable about .'die Schtaoht" .'der Sturm," 'der
Saeg," "le1' F7un,Ose' ana all the rest OF it. but
more than question whether they would ever draw
trigger or mount horse IN the cause for which they
are SO pOt-valant.
THE CHAsSEPOT.
have still somewhat TO say respecting the Chas-
sepot and the part 1t played IN the late light have
also some remarks make respecting the artillery
OF the two armies. Both these subjects must re-
serve for my next letter, which will be from before
StrasD0urg. But before close the present commu-
nicatiOn let me record my deliberate opinion upon
a question which is-here at a1y rate-very often
asked me. l am again and again questioned
whether IL ts possible, Judging from what saw at
Woerth and from what know of the french army.
that the present triumph Of the Prusslans can ever
be turned. am Of oplnlOn that II cannot, at least
not during this campaign.
believe. as said before that MacMahOns dereat
and rout was the beginning OF the end OF the en-
pire. l believe the French army to be, SO far as
lighting Is concerned, utterly and entirely demor-
aIzed There may possibly besOme light checks In
the Prince K )yas advance upcl Paris but they can
only be mOmenJarily. The cause OF France, and
that France fought for, Is lost without chance OF
recovery, and the great German nation Will hence
forth tie the leading military Power OF Europe.
AS AT WATERLOO
the French Official dispatches may hold out what
hopes they like l firmly believe that the French
army Is virtually as perfectly routed as 1t was at
Waterloo, and that 1t VIII show front again.
And IN writing this | do so entirely upon my own
opinion, for wehave here no later news from Paris
than that Of Monday last, the 8th inst, and that
only In scraps through Belgium. or the effects OF
the battle at Woerth upon the French people nave