The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-10-06

9After this point, Of which We could
not safely form an opinion from the
letter of Yesterday from the Emperor
10 your Majesty, had been cleared up,
/ recognized, and / did not conceal
the fact from the Emperor, that stu
alton to-day, as yesterday, presented
no iOther practical bearing but the
military one; and drew attention
to the paramount necessity 10 US OF
having in our hands, through the
capitulatiOn Of Sedan, before all
things, a material pledge OF the coll
firmation to Us OF the military advan-
tages we bad gained. had already,
on the previous evening, with Gener-
al Won MOltke, discussed on every
side the question whether it would be
possible, without injury TO the inter
ests Of Germany, to offer conditions
more favorable TO the sense OF honor
Of an army which had fought 50 well
than those aleady insisted upon AT
ter due deliberatiOn, we were both
compelled to adhere deeisively to q
negative answer to this question:
When, therefore, General Won
MOltke, who meantime had come
out of the town, went TO your Majes-
ty to lay before you the wishes of the
Emperor, it was not, as your Majesty
knows, to speak in their favor. The
Emperor went out into the open air
and invited me to sit beside him
before the door of the house. His
Majesty asked me if it was not prae-
tieabie to let the French army cross
the Belgian frontier, that it might
there be disarmed and interned. /
had already discussed this contingent
ey also with General Won MOltke on
the previous evening, and, for reasons
already alluded TO, / would not enter
into a promise Of this compromise.
In reference TO the political situation
|, ON my part, took no initiative, nor
the Emperor either-Only in 50 far as
he Iamented the TlisfOrtunes of the
war, and declared that he himself had
been compelled to make il by the
pressure Of French public opinion.
tsBy inquiries in the town, and in
particular through reeOnnoiterings by
officers Of the general staff, it was
made known, somewhere between 3
and 10 O'Clock, that the Chateau
Bellevue at FrenOis was given up for
the reception Of the Emperor, and
was unOeeupied by the wounded. j
announced this to His Majesty in this
form-I mentioned FrenOls as the
place which l would propose to your
Majesty as the place of meeting and
/, therefore, suggested to the Empe-
rOr whether he ought not to go there
Immediately, as a delay inside the
small labOreris house was unsuitable
to him, and he, perhaps, was In want
of some repOse. His Majesty readily
agreed to the suggestion, and 1 con-
dncted the Emperor, preceded by a
guard of honor Of your Majesty's reg
iment ofbody guards, to the Chateau
Bellevue, where meantime the re-
mainder of the suite and the equipage
of the Emperor, whose arrival there
out of the town ought to be consider
ed uncertain, had come from Sedan.
General Wimpffen had also arrived,
and with him, while waiting for the
return of Gen. Won MOltke, General
Podbielski resumed the conversation
in reference to the negotiations for
caDituIation. which had been broken
of on the previous day in the pres
ence of Lieutenant Won Verdy and
the chief of General Wimpfen's staff.
l was just taking part in the introduce
tiOn Of these negotiations by laying
before them the political and moral
aspect of the situation, as affected by
what the Emperor said to me when /
received from Rittmeister, Count of
Noslitz. on the order of General Won
MOltke, the information that your
Majesty would not see the Emperor
until after the completion Of the cap
itulatiOn of the army. This announce
ment eXtingUished on both sides the
hope that any other conditions than
those already offered, would be agreed
to.
I rode after this to Chenery to see
your majesty, that might announce
to you the position Of affairs. I met
on the way General Won MOltke,
with the text of the caPitulatiOn as
approved by your majesty, which, af-
ter we entered Grenois, was, without
controversy, accepted and assigned.
The conduct of General Wimpffen,
like that of the other French generals
ON the preceding night, was very dig
nified, and this brave officer cOulC
not refrain from expressing 10 me his
pain at being called upon fOrty-eight
hours after his arrival from Africa,
and half day after receiving the
command, to sign his name to a cap
itulation so fatal TO the French army.
But the want of provisions and am
munitiOn, and the absolute impOssi-
bility of any further defense, had, he
said laid upon him, as a General, the
duty of sinking his personal feeling,
since further blOOdshed could not
make any change in the situation.
Our agreement to let the officers de-
part on parole was received with live
ly gratitude, as an expression Of the
intention of your Majesty to spare the
feelings of an army which had fought
brayely, as far a. the demands of our
military and political interests would
allow. TO this feeling General
Wimpffen has given emphatic ex-
preston i'm a letter in which he has
returned General Won MOltke his
thanks for the considerate manner i'm
which the negotiations ON his side
we're conducted.
COUNT BISMARCK