The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-11-10
st. Quentin by the Germans is taken from the

St. Quentin by the Germans is taken from the
EChO du Nord.-
the period necessary 70 collect the war contrbu-
ton. They came on Friday by noon, and asked the
sum OF two million francs under penalty OF the
town being pillaged. The members of the
Municipal ComWittee were declared prisoners
OF war. 1t may be recoected that after their
entrance into Laon they required one million, but
were satisfied with the 100000 francs that were Of
fered TO them The ST. Quentin Municipality tried to
obtain some similar reduction but less fortunate than
that Of Laon 1t was obliged to pay within "a hours
sum Of 100000 francs, and to contribute fifty
horses. The horses which were presented not hav-
ing been considered good enough, the contribution
in cash increased to eco francs. The officers
ard soldiers were lodged with the inhabitants. The
conditions imposed were that each soldier was to
be fed by the inhabitant who gave him lodging. He
was to be comfortably and substantially fed and to
receive one bottle OF wine every day. The follow
ing day. that Is on Saturday morning half the garri
son left ST. quentin to go and reinforce the corps
slams remained at St Quentin, five hundred more
Watched the road between this town and La Fere.
with so feeble. a garrison, the Prussans
trusted, as they always do, to the
terror they inspire by the menaces OF death, and
aso to the fact that the population was dlsarmed
for on the entrance Of the Prussans into the town
Of death that arms of all kinds should be delivered
up to them. On awaking on Sunday morning the
population was quite surprised to discover that not
one Prussian was to be seen, and everybody asked
What had become OF them? Whatever may be the
cause OF the hurried departure OF the Prussians,
certain 1t is that on sunday morning the corps occu
pying ST. Qnentin, and the small army which had
been laying siege to La Fere precipitatey pro-
ceeding for an unknown destination.
Terrible accounts come from Bazeilles, which
was destroyed by the Prussians. cOrrespon-
dent of a contemporary writes:-On the 25th
instant visited it for the fifth time, and ran
serious risk of being killed by the fearful ava
lanches of walls, which fall with q crash never
to be forgotten, first to left, then to right,
then in front of me- while was endeavoring to
persuade the people, estimated at 400 by the
cure, who still sleep there to leave their cellars,
pigsties, ETC., and sleep anywhere rather than
an opg the ruins. Ten days ago l visited Ba-
zeiles by night, and found six or seven families
one of ten, one offiye, another of nine, another
of four, another of eight persons, another OF two
or three-all ranged in a row in their cellars,
like bottles of wine-men, women, and chill
dren mixed. At that time the cellars were not
yet damp. Now they are saturated with rain,
which pours in freely. May God help the poor
people; il is almost beyond the help of man. At
this moment Bazeilles is exactly like Pompeii.
month hence it will be q heap of stones, for
the very ruins are falling in with dreadful
crashes and choking up the entrances to the
cellars, where few poor wretches are still
sleeping.