The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1898-11-11
THE SIEGE OF PARIS.
HOW LONDON FIRST LEARNED THAT
II HAD ENDED.

IT TAU ENOGO.
Story OF the Reporter Who Got the
s.Sc0Op" and who Then Induced
Bismarck to Allow Him to Send Gut
the News Over His Private Wire.
During the Franco German war, from
Oct. IS, 1870, to March /, 1871, was
attached TO the Headquarters Of the
crown prince, who occupied an unas-
summing little villa called Les Ombragos,
i'll an outskirt of Versailles, his august
father residing throughout the invest
mont and siege of Paris i'll the prefecture
OF the whilum royal burgh," and
Count Bismarck, with his staff of coun-
cilurs and secretaries, in detached
house of the Rue dc Provence. | often
met the chancellor out Of doors, walk
ing or riding, during that long and bit
ter winter, but sedulously refrained
from soliciting audiences, being well
aware that the visits of a war CORE
spondent, who had everything to ask
and nothing to tell, could not possibly
be welcome to so desperately overwork
ed statesman as Bismarck.
By what means | need not explain in
this place, | had been made acquainted
with the precise terms Of the capitula-
ton Of Paris at an early hour OF the
morning after the conclusion of the
armistice. and had, moreover, good rea-
son to believe that the conditions of the
surrender had not been communicated
to any other correspondent OF an Eng
lish or even a German newspaper at
Headquarters. Having obtained the SD
premely important item of news, what
was [ to do with it? Unless it could lie
forthwith transmitted to The Daily Tel
egraph office by telegraph, my chances
Of forcstalling my fellow correspondents
| would be ainihilated, and there was no
wire az my disposal-or, for that mat
ter, at that Of any foreign journalist
within the vast radius of tho lines of
investment.
The situation appeared an utterly
hopeless one. until suddenly the hap
piest of happy thoughts flashed
through my mind. Perhaps the all pow
erful chancellor, newly created prince
of the young German empire, would
dulBDIlLt tilt lItiIlSllIlsF4pil w I@tli'A''A4
Of my dispatch over his own official
wire, by means of which he was "er
| rapport" with every European capital
except beleaguered Paris. There was no
time to lose. Before s a. IN. had taken
down the articles Of capitulation from
the lips OF my informant, within half
| an hour | had copied them ont, large,
| bold and handsome" on two pages Of
| fGolscap and had made myself presenta-
| BILE.
At 9o'ciock l presented myself at the
street door Of the house i'll the Rue de
Provence and sent up my card to Coun-
| cilor Luthar Butcher, with penciled
request that he would allow me 70 speak
| to him i'll private. Almost Immediately
| he came down to the waiting room on
| the ground floor, into which l had been
shown, and asked He what he could do
for he. Can you procure me five
minutes audience Of the primer re
piled. 4 don't know" was the rejoin-
der, "but III try. The chancellor is eX-
t1emely busy, but perhaps he'll see you
if Won can assure me that tie matter is
really urgent | declared that for me
it could not possibly be more SO. where
upon Butcher left mel confess. III il
fever Of anXi2ty-and was absent fer
| about quarter of Al hour, at the eN-
pigatiOn Of which he rCappcarcd and
beckoned tn lne 10 follow him up stairs.
IL an eX- boudoir on the first floor
| converted into Il sort Of Office l found
| the chancellor awaiting me, After the
| briefest Of greetings he said, Pray, tell
| me what YOU want in the fewest posi-.
| Bile words, for l have not moment to
| lose" produced MY dispatch, handed
| it to him and asked him if it was sub
| stantially correct.
After looking through it he answered:
YES, it is. dent know how you got
| your information and don't intend to
| ask, but these are the terms on which
| Paris su1renders. What them" When
| l besought his permission to forward
| the message over his Wire he laughed
! rather grimly, saying, You must be
| mad to ask such thisgi'
| urged upon him that the tension of
! public feeling III England with respect
/ to the fate CT Paris was very painful
many peoples sympathy being tempo
| rarily aveTted from Germany by harrow
| ing accounts of the sufferings undergone
| by the population of the French CAPT
| tai. "That tension would be considera-
bly, relieved, sir" replied, "by the
| knowledge that the siege of Paris is
| come to an end and that the victors
l have accorded merciful terms to the
vanquished. Prince Bismarck held out
against my importantly for about a
| couple of minutes, but he yielded at
| last, only STIMULATING that l should
efface my name at the end of the dis
! patch.
"On no account can l allow you to
| sign message sent over my wire. If
your people in London do not believe it
/ to be authentic when it reaches them,
| that is their affair. But it must so IN
| signed or not AT all. - 1t did go unsign-
ed it was accepted as authentic, and
] its publication that very afternoon in a
| special edition Of The Daily Telegraph
1 proved to be one of the greatest journal
1 istic coups effected by any London
newspaper during the Franco German
| war.-London Telegraph.