Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-03-19
Iron Our Regular Correspondent
Our European Letter.
LoSpoy. Eng Feb. IS,

iuihNh1 piiuct auN ~ - '
" Some one had Numbered" To elongale
u whole regiment in one attenuated Hue rs
"A convoy and gusr,l Of u provision and
munition train. extending over distance
of several miles. in country swarming
with hostile savageS. is most hazardous.
not 10 say reckless. mannuvre. The re-
suit was, rs might have been expected.
that the long Gle OF thousand men were
banked and butchered by twenty thousand
half naked but well-armed Zuus, whose
only knowledge Of war is contained in
their only word of command, " Death 10
the enemyw Sixty officers and five hun
dred English soldiers were slaughtered,
and is many native soldiers. That these
victims of military indiscretion fought
brayely may be gathered from the fact
that they piled five thousand dead savages
on the bloody field; but over one hundred
wagons, filed with arms, munitions and
provisions fell into the hands Of the enc
my, greatly strengthening them for future
conflicts. This unexpected bow has pro-
duced Il profound sensation in England.
There has been nothing so narrowing t
the heart of the nation since the insurrec-
ion of the Sepoys. Reinforcements are
rapidly going forward on a gigantic scale,
some twenty large ships having been al,
ready chartered for the purpose, including
four Of the national steamship line, and
four of tie Cunard, the latter company htv.
ing contracted with the government to sup
ply tell thousand tons Of shipping at days
notice. This makes business lively in tile
Liverpool docks, and in all tile camps and
arsenals Of the United Kingdom. at i,
an i'll wind, etc. 1t is 10 be hoped tha'
these achievements may reach the Cape
in time-the average voyage is thirty days
Ito save The feeble colony Of Natal from
destruction. Flushed and frenzed will
their victory, the Zulu army Of forty thou
sand warriors will natural y attempt 10
annihilae every vestigc of the Eugli>l,
settlements in South Africa OF the uli
mate r, suit of this war between civiliz tlim
| md bIrbmism there can he no doubt; bui
the Struggle will be u long and IL cost,
one, like that of the Indian war in lh
United States, after which we shall prob
ally hear less OF English military crit
cism on the manner in which American,
'lally with their barbTous foes in the Jun
Savage foes are much harder to fight than
civilized and disciplined troops. They
never know when they are conquered: H.
fact, they are never conquered, 50 long Il,
! single brave remains in the field. Oh
rather hides in the ambush. While al,
England is aroused and eager 10 rush 10
Zululand, to iniict swift revenge for
their slaughtered countrSmen, the opposi.
ton in parliament is using this humlliat
ng calamity rs an argument against the
ministry, These foreign wars, how evel
,uccessful, are inAictng heavy burthen
On the nation. Weights f,rlhest from the
centre are the hardest 10 carry. II WAS it
Africa that the Empire of the Caesar.
found its fale, after conquering Gtul
Britain, and all the world. Is the Brlli,h
Empire repeating the ambition of tlr
ancient Roman? In Punch'S great car
Don, a few weeks since, representing tie
british bull staggering under his numerous
Observation-Disclosures, etc.
he Zulu appears in the net of jumping OF
lie vacant space near the tail. saying,
Derr's es room for me-"
What have not cruel parents 10 answer
for, from the time of Sappho's mother.
who could not abide Mr. Phaon, down to
Wilkins md his faithful Dinah! 1t is moi
ufen that the attached couple ride away
into eternity in pairs. Sometimes it i,
rather prosaic sort of business, as H.
| Pyrannus and Thisbe and Romeo and
Juliet. The French have . decided dis
like TO such one-horsc sensation. When
Jules and Marie find their parents obdu
rate, or for any other cause, they take Il
stroll along the banks of the Seine, and
after carefully dcpositing hats and bonnels
on the grass lest they should get wet, leap
arm-in-arm into the deepest hole they can
find, Sometimes they prefer a warmer
and drier death, and, after n carouse, shuj
themselves up in Il garnet, stop all the
openings and asphyxiate themselves with
the fumes OF burning charcoal In Eng
land they are not much addicted to thi,
partnership in suicide; their unsociabilty
Of character, their spirit, shows tsel
strong even in death. Mr.. Charles Gift
ford and Miss Blanche Crossfeld havr
probably been reading French romances.
and, being prevented from marrying, de.
termined to spite their parents and drown
am informed that some years ago Mr..
Clifford saved the young lady from drown.
ing, and, as Il natural consequence, they
grew attached to each other, md weIt
engaged, but the course Of true love never
did run smooth, and Mr.. Cros>feld, the
father, suddenly objected that young
Giff ,rd was II Roman Catholic No COM
promise with Belial; the daughter mus
give up her father or her lover. They
chose middle course, and agreed thai
neither would marry any other. and each
would be welded to the church whatever
that may mean-un,il papl Withdrew hi
objection. The young man travelled, and
was abroad several years. when he recev-
ed letter from Crosstield pere informing
him that his daughter was dyng-which
was not true -that he (GiffJrD was The
cause, adding: If you wed my daughter
my curse shall follow you both. l have
already disinherited her." The father
then did II very sensible thing-he was
killed by q carriage accident. The letter
brought the lover home ms fast as steam
could drag him. They met near Graves
end, and when they were seen next, they
were floating in mid-Thamcs. their arms