Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-11-18

II
the 2Bth confirmed n IN al It's aetails
Cofiniere's aids spread the news Of TIL
want of provisions to all who chose Z
take it from them, and Bazsine's messen'
ger was soon discovered In the person Of
| Gen. ChangaTnier, who rode out of Net
| In bis carriage toward Corney, the head.
| quarters of the Prussian chief. In about
three hours the old man came back, cry
ing like child, his carriage surrounded
BY crowd of men AID women, who had
caught the contagion of his tears, and
who filed the air with one loud, dismal
wall The old man made no secret of his
mission, for it was too late for that, and
he treated bis strange escort with true rep
ublican equality, sobbing out answers to
questions from his carnage window to
any who chose to address them to him.
ssOh my children, poor, unhappy Francel"
"rhat terrible princei" (Charlee.) sMuis,
mon Djeu, General, charge or lead; fight
them with our teeth; we could bite well
enough" and the like.
Chsngarnier had brought back no satis-
factory answer. The Prince received
him dastardly, almost haughtily, though
not without the respect due to his age.
He had merely bowed In reply to the cid
mans compliments on the gallantry of
the attack, had not vouchsafed the ex-
pected and indeed deserved compliment
in return, and when it came TO the ques-
ton of conditions had simply put his foot
down on absolute surrender, and never
moved from that. These iolorous It'd
ings had scarcely reached the commander
in-chief in The seclusiou of his quarters
when emisssrles started anew from the
French camp for Frescati, little village
to the south of Metz, where three Ger
man officers were waiting to receive them.
Here the offer of cspitulation was de-
bated anew, the French offering to give
up the fortress and all its stores, with
one-half of the army, if the other half,
with Bazaine at its head, were al
lowed TO march whittier it pleased, an
when this was rejected, offering the
whole army, on condition that permission
were first given 10 remove the wounded
and blow up the forts go that nothing but
the actual ground on which they stood
might fall into German hands. This, too.
was declined, and then fresh sortle was
threatened, but the German officer, in
reply, beckoned to an orderly, and in
another moment he had huge plan of
his own works unrolled upon the floor, 4
and was demonstrating to his French
hearers, with all the caimness of lectur-
ers on Notifications at q military college,
that they could not send so much as
dog out of the city at any point of the
compass, without exposing him to cross
fire, from at least Q hundred guns. The
Frenchmen grew heated, the Germans
more provokingly calm, and N this un-
satisfactory manner the second interview
came to an end.
THE SURRENDER.
The Germans played the waiting game,
and they knew they must win. On the
Goth the commissioners met again. and |
the fact of the absolute capitulation was,
after long and rather heated debate, deci-
ded on, but there still remained the va
rious questions of detail. These in their |
turn gave rise to the most wearisome de- |
bate and correspondence, which contin-
ued, with occasional intermissions, /
throughout the night, the chief matter in |
dispute being whether the officers should |
be allowed to retain their side arms after
the alleged treachery of Ducrot. This
question was referred to the King him
self at Versailles.
On the 9th the conference was again
the Kings answer, to the effect
hat the officers might march out withthe
usual honors, having in the meanwhile
been received, and at length, to cut long
tory short, the famous equalization, with
he terms of which the telegraph. has al
'eady acquainted you, was signed and
Iealed, and the Gibraltar of France
passed into the German hands.