The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-12-07

that are really excellent, your crack
infantry is remarkably good; your
cavalry bold and enterprising. Your
is admirable, and has done
us much harm, too much harm, but
the greatest part of your infantry Is
demoralized; we have made to-day
more than twenty thousand UNI
wounded prisoners. Not more than
eighty thousand men now remain to
you. 1t is not, under such circum-
stances, that you can pierce our lines;
for YOU know that | have at present
you two hundred and forty
thousand men and five hundred
of fire, of which three hun
dred are already in position to open
on Sedan. The other two hundred
will be there by to-morrow's dawn.
If YOU wish to convince yourself, l
can have one ofyour officers conduct
ed around the different positions
which are occupied by my troops,
and he will be able to testify to the
correctness of what / have said. AS
for defending yourself in Sedan, that
is quite impossible; you have not for
ty-eight hours rati0ns, and you have
no more ammunition"
Gen. Wimptlen replied: 81 think il
is your interest, even from q pollti"a.
standpoint, to grant the honorabie
surrender to which our army i9 enti-
tied. You are going TO make peace,
and, no doubt, you desire to make il
soon. The French nation, more than
any other, is generous and chivaIrou-,
and, consequently, appreclatlye Of
the generosity with which she H.
treated. Ifyou grant us the town
which would tlatter the pride OF the
army it would please the country and
diminish the bitterness OF defeat in
the eyes of the nation. y peace con
cludcd under such auA)ices would
have a chance of being durable, and
your generous act would open lhc
door to renewal Of friendly lcelln"'
such as ought to exist between Two
great nations that arc neighbors, and
such as you desire to exist. If, ON
the contrary, you persist IN using
harsh measures toward us, you viii,
surely excite anger and hatred in INC
hearts of our soldiers. The nation
would be likewise wounded in her
pride, and share the same feelings.
You would thus awaken all the bai
instincts lain dormant through thc
progress OfcivililatiOn, aud you would
risk to inflamc an intermiuabIe war
between France and Prussia"
Count Bismarck here replied;
A ~, It,nnrnl 4 g.aUl tII
first thought, to be scrious, but VIII
not really bear discussion. | hay"
little belief in gratitude in general,
and none at all in the gratitude o. "
people. One might believe In the
gratitude of u sovereign, and some
times in that of ones family; on,
might even in some circumStam""s
place perfect faith in it; but, | repeat
there is nothing to expect from thl
gratitude Of Il nation. If the French
were people like any other, II they
had solid institutions as our people, II
they had veneration for their traai.
tions, or if they had a sovereign finn
ly established upon the throne, W,
might believe in the gratitude Of Tn,
Emperor and his son, and attach
some Importance to that gratitude
but for the last eighty years the GOV
crpmcnt of France have changed viii
such singular rapidity, so much ou
Of the ordinary course of events aul
beyond all foresight, thai uo.A
ing could be relied upon in YOU
country, and that to found hopes o.
the friendship of n French monar"'
would, on the part OF q Nclg'Ibo
| nation, be simply insanity; IT WouI,
be like attempting to build castles II
the air. Besides, what folly to imag
inc that France could forgive on
successes! You are an Irritable peo
pie, you are cnvious, jealous, and cE
ccssivcly proud. Since two centurie
France has thirty times declared wa
with prussia-that is, war with Ger
maryland this time You have dC
clnrcd it as usual, from Jealousy
because YOU could not forgive Ia OF
victory of Sadowa; and yet ~aGOw
did not cost you anything or in In
least tarnish your glory; but yo
thought that victory was monop0l
which was solely reserved for yor
You could not bear to see near you
nation equally strong as you. 20
could mol forgive us SadoWa, Whcr
neither your interest nor your cIor
we're in the least compromised; an
will YOU forgive us the disaSter G
I