The Aberdare Times

A SIEGE DINNER. Some members of the Paris Jockey Club determined a few days since to have a dtner de siége. comprising all the re centlv adopted elements of food. The famious epicure Baron Brisse was intrusted with the preparation of the menu, which consisted of the following items :—Hors d'eeuvre, radishes, herring marini, onions, d la Provencale, slightly ailt butter, gherkins, and olives. First courae,-Soup of aUghtly salted horse, with vegetables; ass flesh cutlets, with carrots; mule's liver sauti atla: champignons; horse » lights, with white sauce; carp d la matelotte fried gudgeons, celery heads, with seasoning. Second course.-Quarter of Ana hraiied ■ leg of dog roasted; rats cooked upon the • rat pie, with mushrooms; Eel d la broche salad of celery'and small salad. Dessert.-DuAch cheese, apples pears marmalade au Kirsch, gateau d Itahe au/romagede Chatter The banquet, whloh was served m one of the principal establishments of the Chausi* d'An tin, is stated to have beea ft complete success.

13 GENERAL DUCROT ABSOLVED? The Paris Gaulois of the 29th refers to a Court of Honour, presided over by General Trochu, to which General Ducrot submitted the question whether he was justified in escaping from imprisonment. He represented that he had refused to sign the capitulation at Sedan, and was, therefore, considered a prisoner. He then gave his word of honour to repair to Pont-a-Mousson, in order to report himself to the military authorities there as a prisoner. This he did, but was told that the first train was full, and he must wait for the next. On this he deemed himself freed from any obligation, as he could not be responsible for the Germans not having secured his person. General Trochu and the other members, with the exception of a brigadier and a lieutenant-colonel, who remained neutral, decided In his favour. General Dacrot apparently appealed to this tribunal on the eve of the rec, nt sortie, In order that if he fell or became a prisoner his repu- tation might be absolved from any reproach.

GAMBETTA'S FALSE NEWS. The darkest hour Is immediately before braakof day (writes an occasional correspondent in the Times, Basses Pyrenees, under date December 2 ) That hour has been a long one for France, but the news brought here this morning by telegraph of the sortie from Paris under General Ducrot, who had solemnly sworn to return victorious or die in the attempt, and of the success on several points of this desperate < nort, has, I need hardly say, filled all with joy and with hope that the long night is over, and that daylight Is at last breaking. There was a rumour last evening that the expected battle had begun, that it had been raging for two days round the walls of the beleaguered capital, and that no reverse had been sustained by the French army. Gambetta's despatch, sent from Tours at 8 p.m., was received at Bayonne during the night, and confirmed the truth of the rumour. The despatch was at once sent to be printed before it was posted up at the Hotel de Ville. At an early hour this morning dozens of newsvendora paraded the streets loadiy shouting out the news. Numerous groups gathered round them, and in a few minutes the whole stock of copies was exhausted. The vendors could not supply the demand. The despatches were torn from them, and in self-defence they had to take position with their backs to pillars or walls, and make their distribution. Their pockets were soon filled with sous. Not one fourth were supplied, and the fortunate possessor of one despatch bad to place himself in the centre of a crowd, mount a doorstop, a chair or a bench, or a man's shoulders, and read as loud as he could the precious tidings. There was then a rush at the printing office: its passages and staircase were in an instant filled with people, who nearly tore each other's coats off with eagerness to get first served. The presses were hard at work, and as the copies were struck off they were thrown among the Ofowd from above, who eagerly sci ambled for them. In an hour or so the demand ceased, as the despatch was posted at the Mairie. Gam- betta's proclamation addressed to the Prefects, Sub-Pre- fects, Governor-General of Algeria, and Generals commanding Divisions and Sub-DWislons," ends with Vive la Ripublique une et indivisible," and one or two of the groups who were tearing the paper from each other, or trying to get near the reader of it, echoed the cry with more or less energy. I need not say with that intense anxiety the sequel is awaited. If the conclusion of this attempt of Troohu succeeds, I verily believe that the women and children will rise against their dete&ted enemy.

PAYING THEM IN THEIR OWN COIN1. A letter from Bale in the Frankfort 1 ourn al says" The railway between Colmar and Mulhauseu was to have been opened on the 28th. A military train started with two engines, and the troops dismounted at Dornack, near Mill. hausen. On proceediug to the station at the laster place the train went off the rails and the engine fell over the embank- ment. An engine-driver had a bone broken, and several persons were injured. An investigation showed that three sleepers had been loosened and again put in their places. The Governor of Alsace has now directed that inhabitants of Dornach shall accompany every train between Mulhausen and Bellevlller. They have also been fined £ 1,000."

HOW HE GOT INTO PARIS The Main Zeitung of December 10 gives the following extract from a field-post lstter recelveJ from a Wiesbadener, dated Virofiay, November 28 An officer of hussars pro- posed to get into Paris, and managed to do so In the follow- ing wise. He dressed himself in the ordinary garb of a peasant, and by the aid of a moustache d la Napol on, coupled wilh a perfect knowledge of the French tongue, managed to slip through our outposts. When he had patsed the outermost lines, eur forepost lest no time in having a shot at him, but of course in the air. The French, on the other hand, naturally concluded ihat he was a countryman. By the aid of a plausible tale he soon found himself within the walls of Paris. Out he came in the greatest alee that he had succeeded in evading the vigilance of the French out- posts. He was the bearer of interesting tidings from Paris, not the least Important of which was that iu the labora- tories there was no more salpetre with which to make gun- powder."

INSIDE PARIS. From the Diary of the Besieged Resident" of the Daily News, under date Dec. 3 :— For the last two days the public within the walls of Paris has been kept in profound ignorance of what has been passing outside. General Trochu has once or twice each day published a despatch saying that every- thing is happening as he anticipated, and the majority of those who read these oracular utterances religiously believe in them as though they had never been de- ceived. On the Boulevards there are crowds who ques- tion any soldier who is seen passing. Tout va bien is the only answer which they get; but they seem to be under the impression that the siege is already over, and that the Prussian lines have been forced. Along the road inside the ramparts, and at the gates, there are dense masses listening to the cannon, and on every mound from which a dis- tant view of the smoke can be obtained men, women, and children are congregated. I managed to get both yesterday and to-day into the horse-shoe at the mouth of which the fighting was going on, and yesterday afternoon, when there] was a semi-suspension of arms to bury the dead, I went with the ambulances on the debateable land between the two armies. The whole horse-shoe is full of artillery. The bombs and shells from the forts and batteries pass over them, and explode within the Prussian lines. A little behind every bouse is filled with wounded, who are taken, as soon as their wounds are dressed, inside the town. One or two batteries occasionally open fire, and occa- sionally those of the Prussians respond. Tiochu and Ducrot ride about, and, as far as I can see, the litter commands while the former makes speeches. Yester- day afternoon we had lost ground at Champigny, and we had gained ground at V illiers. Before our lines a very large number of Prussian dead were lyinsr. There were burying parties out on both sides, but they were getting on very slowly with the work, and were per- petually fired on. At 4 a.m. the Prussians had made a rush at our lines from Champigny to Brie, and the Mobiles and line, taken by surprise, hastily fell back. One or two regiments of Mobiles were literally charged by squadrons of gendarmerie, to force them back. Re- inforcements came up, and by nine o'clock the positions had been regained-the Prussians being unable to withstand the fire of our forts, redoubts, and siege-guns. The battle then went on till about three o'clock, when it died out. Towards Villiers, I should say we had gained about three-quarters of a mile, and at Champigny we had lost about a third of the village. At about five o'clock I got back to my hotel, which is the headquarters of the Ambulance In- ternationale. Until eleven o'clock wounded were being brought in. It is quite full now. About 460 French, and 30 Germans—almost alljSaxons. Many died during the night. In the room next to mine, Franchetti, the commander of the Eclaireurs of the Seine, is lying—a portion of his hip has been blown away by a shell, and the doctor has just told me, that he fears that he will not recover, as the wound is too high up for an operation. In the room beyond him is a young lieutenant of Mobiles, who has had his leg amputated, his right arm cut open to extract a portion of the bone, and who still has a ball in his shoulder. Most of the soldiers in here are wounded either in the leg or in the arm. There is a great dearth of doctors, and many wounded who were brought here last night had to wait until this morning before their turn came to be examined. The American Ambulance and several others are also, I hear, full. I go in occasionally to see the Germans, as I can talk their language, and it cheers them to hear it. I see in the newspapers that wounded Bavarians and Saxons are perpetually crying Vive la France I can only ray that those here do nothing of the kind. They do not seem to be particularly downcast at finding them- selves in the hands of their enemies. They are treated precisely as the French are, and they are grateful for this. This afternoon, when I got into the horpe-shoe, I found the troops returning into Paris, and I was not able to get to the front. Some say that we have left 2.1,000 men at Villiers and Champigny; others that Cnampigny was lost last night. I hear, too, that early this morning the Piussians attempted a surprise, but were driven back. The general idea seems to be that to-morrow we are to try to get out either by Chatillonor Malmaison. A pigeon came in this morning from Bourbaki, with a despatch dated Nov. 30, stating that he is advancing, and among the soldiers this de- spatch has already become an official notice that he is at Meaux. All I know for certain is that the ambulances are ordered out for eight o'clock to morrow morning, and that I am now going to bed, so as to be ready to start with them. I hear that there has been fighting both yesterday and to-day near Bondy, but not being able to be in two places at once, I cannot tell what really occurred. To my civilian judgment it appears that all our object was to force the line of heights on the south-east of Paris, which constitute the Prussian lines of invest- ment in that direction, and as we have not done eo, we can hardly be said to be in a better position than we were last Monday. At a heavy cost of life we have purchased the knowledge that our new artillery is better than was expected, and that Line and Mobiles will stand under fire with tolerable steadiness. There was a large reserve .yesterday of war battalions of the National Guard drawn up in the rear of the action, but they were not en- gaged. An officer assured me that a battalion was occupying one of the bridges over the Marne, when a stray cannon ball took off the legs of one of the men, which so terrified the others that they all ran away. While the newspapers exalt the merits of the citizen battalions, and celebrate their reckless valour, the military, justly or unjustly, I do not pretend to say, hold them exceedingly cheap. The few battalions, however, who have been in action have behaved well. Food is becoming more scarce every day. Yesterday all our sausages were requisitioned. We have still got the cows to fall back on, but they are kept to the last for the sake of their milk. They are fed on oats, as hay is scarce. So you see the mother of a calf has many advantages over its uncle. All the animals in the Zoological gardens have been killed except the monkeys these are kept alive from a vague and Dar- winian notion that they are our relatives. In the cellar of the English Embassy there are three sheep. Never did the rich man lust more after the poor man's ewe lamb than I lust after these sheep. I go and look at them frequently, much as a London Arab goes to have a smell at a cook- shop. Some one has discovered that an excellent jelly can be made out of old bones, and we are called upon by the mayors to give up all our bones, in order that they may be submitted to the process. Mr. Powell is, I believe, a contractor in London. I do not know him, but yesterday I dined with a friend who produced from a tin some Australian mutton, which he had bought of Mr. Powell before the commencement of the siege. Better I never tasted, and out of gratitude I give the worthy Powell the benefit of a gratis adver- tisement. If we only had a stock of his meat here, we could defy the Prussians. As it is, I am very much afraid that in a very few weeks William will date his telegrams to Augusta from the Tuileries.

M. FONVIELLE ON THE PRESENT CRISIS IN FRANCE. In London, on Sunday evening, M. de Fonviel!e, editor of La Liberti, delivered an address on the pre- sent state of France, in the Wellington Music Hall, Brook-street, Hoi born. M. de Fonvielle contended that the last sorties from Paris were not a failure; they were successful. He admitted that the Army of the Loire bad suffered a temporary defeat, but the mass of that army, most of whom had been under fire for the first time, had proved what citizen soldiers could do, and he believed that in the end the invader would bi driven from France. The vast majority of the people of France were determined to fight to the last. The King of Prussia claimed credit for humanity in not having bombarded Paris, but he was quite willing to let her people perish from starvation. This was a strange sort of humanity. Again, he relied upon revolution and riot in Paris, but neither would arise so long as all attempts at an armistice were avoided. The Republicans in Paris would not allow any Government to accept an armistice. As to the convocation of the National Assembly, such a course being desired by Bismarck was a sufficient reason why the Government of France should not acquiesce in it. There were provisions enough in Paris to enable it to hold out for three or four months longer, and before that time the citizen soldiers of France would have driven the Prussian hordes across the Rhine. At the close of M. de Fonvielle's address a resolution was adopted, recommending that a great demonstration should be held in Trafalgar-square "for the purpose of proclaiming to the world that the English people cordially recognise the Republican Government of France, and as strongly condemn the conduct of the English Government in their utter disregard of the resolutions passed at large public meetings throughout England, expressive of sympathy with France and the French Republic."

KARL BLIND ON THE REPUBLIC AND THE WAR. In an article on The Situation of France, which appeared in the German press, Karl Blind says "After all these terrible defeats, still the same Infatua- tion A Government of National Defence,' which cannot defend, and which has not yet the clearness of percep- tion to see that it ought to conclude peace with all speed, in orde -,at least to save the Republic. Outside the gates of Paris peace should be concluded now as quickly as pos- sible, in order to get rid of the foe pressing from without. Thus only a bare possibility can be obtained for overcoming the numerous foes within. If peace has to be concluded in Paris, the Third Republic will have lived the longest time of Ita existence. The door will then be opened to every kind of reactionary monaichlcal intrigue. France will once more fall under a military dictatorship or a princely restoration. Alas! for the strange chort-sfghtedness of the men now in power! or is their conduct, perhaps, to be traced to a lack of moral courage. Are they, perchance, deficient in the strength of heart which would be necessary for stepping forward and telling the misguided multitude which has so long been fed upon untruths, in simple unvarnished language, that resistance is no longer possible that a sacri- fice must be made and that, if the integrity of the soil cannot be maintained, the Republic at any rate might, by a timely concession, be preserved ? After a description of the chaotic state of the politi- cal parties at Parts, Lyons, Tours, Marseilles, and elsewhere, the Garman writer continues :— Under those clrcumstances, the first thought of every Rs- publicjn ought to be to end this war, which Friica his no power to carry on siicc^ssiuiy. and thsn to effect a political purifaction, strengthening the Democratic insttlunions by giving them a really solid basis. Instead of this, these men act in a manner which will make them lose all. As though France could not live and be a republic even without Alsace and Lurralne-terrjtorieø which, even in 1792, were yet officially styled, In the Paris Monitcur, 'those provinces which have been dismembered from the German Empire (ces ci-dcvant provinces dgmembrfas de t'EftJpire de Alle- magnei)." Karl Blind then shows by historical references that the very possession of Alsace and Lorraine by France has given an impetus to that military Chauvinism which longs for the conquest of the whole left bank of the Rhine. The Chauvinism has continually come athwart a sound Democratic development, and has now twice been the cause of the deepest humiliation of France. "Were it possible," he concludes, that the French nation at last turned her eyes away from the Rhine-were it possible that the Republican party of that country, after this fresh and terrible lesaon, cf-a-ed to walk in the path of the policy of Louis XIV., and devoted itself to the establishment of liberty in France proper-the Democratic cause could only profit thereby, and the friendship between two aspir- ing neighbour nations would be lastingly secured.

SHALL JOHN BRIGHT BE OUR MEDIATOR ? The Daily News remarks A speculation has beeu Interchanged between some English and American journals and orators which Is more creditable to the feelings than to the judgment of its promoters. Mr. Bright, it has been suggested, would be a very proper person to send upon a special mission to Washington, for the purpose of settling the Alabama claims and the fisheries dispute. This well-meant proposal is an exceedingly unwise one. Mr. Bright Is justly honoured In the United Sates; and no doubt his reception In that country would be cordial and even enthusiastic. He has earned theadmiration, and in some degree the gratitude of the American people. Bat busi- ness Is one thing, and sentiment is another; and neither the American Government nor the English Government is likely to let them exchange places. Mr. Bright himself is the last man in the world to do so. As Lord Granville said some time since In the House of Lords, there is no public man who has more of the true John Bull temper in him than the President of the Board of Trade. It is a mistake to suppese that Mr. Bright takes a more American view of the American claims and pretensions than the rest of his colleagues. He was formerly in advance of them but they have come up to his original position, which the Clarendon-Johnson Treaty embodied, and he has not gone beyond it. Mr. Bright has, we hope, many years of public service before him, but he will be more useful as a politician in England than he could be as a diplomatist in the United States.

The proposal that Mr. Bright should be sent to America to negotiate the Alabama question has at- tracted some attention in the States. The New York Tribune highly approves the suggestion. In an article on the subject it says — If Mr. Bright Is well disposed to listen to our side of the story, we are equally ready to hear his. The American people have the lullestconfidence in his just and kindly dis- position, and would pay more regard to reasoning from him than from any other man in England. We do not know that there Is any particular ground to believe that the British Government will act upon the suggestion of the London newspaper, but we should rejoice in 'such an appointment, and we are confident that good would result from it. Still, however the question may be reopened, we trust the English people will understand that we have no disposition to take advantage of their foreign embarrassments to force a settle- ment. General Grant's policy has the cordial approval of the country, and that policy looks to a settlement of the con- troversy on such terms and in such a manner that the ties of friendship which ought to unite the two countries will be permanently strengthened.

INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. The following interesting extracts are from Dr. Russell's letters in The Timcs LOOKING AFTER THE DEAD HORSES. A little Incident which I heard yesterday much affected ma. When the Frensh field batteries advanced in front of Cretell-and I see an erroneous opinion has been expressed in England that the columns did not advance beyond the cover of the guns of the forts, whereas some of the places named as positions occupied by the French are out of ftre- they were exposed to galling returns from guns inside the Prussian field works, under which the battery horses dropped on all sides. The French held their own gallantly and from time to time when a horse went down a group of men would gather round him, regardless of shell and bullet, and then disperse or return to their pieces. No one could make out what they did, but the officers and men inside the Prussian villages saw this happen over and over again. When they pushed out their skirmishers to feel the way towards the enemy on the retreat of the French inside the walls the mystery was cleared up. The skeletons only of the horses were left; the heads even in some cases were gone. The carcasses were disembowelled, and all the flesh carried away. They could not afford to lose an ounce of that precious food, and some, no doubt, were killed In obtaining it."

THE GENEVA CONVENTION DOOMED. The last sortie brought with it an increase of the odium which has fallen on the Geneva Convention by breaches of Its rules and abuses of its privileges. I am bound to say that the belligerents recriminate strongly, and as I am with the German armies I only hear one side, but on that side there is a settled determination to make a sweeping change in the whole system. I am obliged to hear, then, that when the attack on the posts near L'Hay and Caevllly on the 29th of November had been made, ambulances were sent out on both sides to pick up the wounded. A German waggon was thus employed in undiscrimlnatlng charity, relieving French and Germans alike. The officers and men in charge of the party observed a large white flllg with a red cross, the Geneva Con- vention standard, flying outside an earthwork, one of the redoubt angles of Villejuif, where the French had planted it. They approached, gleaning as they went ¡,fter the death harvest. Suddenly the fort opened on them, and the French lining the parapets poured musketry fire upon them, and obliged the whole ambulance to fly, not without causing loss. Again, there can be no doubt that the French took all the Bavarian and Prussian sick and wounded in the hospitals of Orleans, and treated them as prisoners of war. Among these was the son of General Von Gotsch, of the Ober Etappen Commando of the Prince Royal's Army at Corhell-a most courteous, amiable gentleman and excellent officer, who has been exceedingly kind to all English who needed assistance at his hands. The young officer in question is in the 95th Regiment of Infantry, and he was dangerously ill of fever and could not be moved when Von der Tann evacuated the place He was, never- theless. treated as if he were taken in the field, and has been sent to the Iale of Oleron, or to Pau, apparently; but his father, who is naturally in great distress about the lad, cannot obtain any precise information of the locality. rep Perhaps some of your readers in France might relieve Of Y. his anxiety. The French, on the other hand, allege breaches and abuses of the Convention against the Germans, and I must say that once I, and more than I saw what was, under the circumstances, a suspicious display of the Red Cross on their tide. The temptations to stratagem are sometimes too strong for honour. The French cannot understand why Krankenti tigers should carry arms, and declare they have seen officers reconnoitring with the badge on their arms, and aJ a particular instance of the early disregard of the rules of the Convention they aver that all the French sick in the Palace hospital at Versailles were made prisoners and sent to Germany, although some of them were actually In hospital before the war broke out. This Is a thorny path I am treading but I give due warning to all concerned, the Convention as it now stands is doomed. Pity that it should be so, for under its flag has been fought and won many a glorious battle, in which victory has brought no tear save that of gratitude to human eyes. Sometimes the necessities of war are beyond all the rules. But what have charity and love to do with battle, murder, and sudden death? At Chenevieres an hospital was established for the wounded of December 2nd during the fight. The French shelled the village, which was a Prussian military post. The houses were in flames. The hospitals caught, and the miserable wounded men had to undergo a horrible ordeal before they could be transported to safer quarters In the rear, which should have been done at first to Urmesson and Laon."

THE CAGED LION. A calm after the storm. The snow falling softly. Not a sound in the broad avenues of the city of Versailles. The waggons and carts of many convoys passing along the paved streets make no noise on the stones. The forts are silent. Like some wild beast encaged, poor Paris has her fits of fury and of dejected, moody silence-perchance repose which cannot bring her comfort or strength-the sleep of a wounded man who is tortured in his dreams. The change from an attitude of savage energy, such as she assumed in the last days of November and the beginning of this month, to th.s profound lethargy, is most striking. You have all seen how the lion rouses him up, gaunt, hungry, and furious, from his torpor, rushes at the iron bars of his prison and strives to tear them down and get free and now, with sullen growl and baffled purpose he retires to the corner of his den and lies down, with glaring eyes fixed on you, motionless but for the heaving of his wearied flanks. So Is Paris now."

HOW AND WHERE TO FIND DEATH. General Trochu has promised he will defend Paris to the last and die in its defence. But the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Paris Is the last man likely to die of hunger In the city, and there is no other enemy to be feared. The only way of meeting death now is to come out and seek it, for the Germans are not apparently going to try either bombardment or assault, nor are they, more properly speaking, going to. prepare for an assault by any attempt at bombarding. Tne guns aro still in the Siege Train Parks. It is not possible to determine on what principle the Government of Paris is acting. While there was a re- lieving army in the field it was their duty to hold out. Unless they are satisfied that army can be reconstructed or another put In its place, they are acting like men who defend a fortress which is untenable. The letter which General Count von Moltke wrote and sent in by Count Nostltz recapitulated the facts known at Head-Quarters re- specting the battle before Orleans and invited General Trochu to satisfy himself, if he pleased, that the results wero correctly stated by the despatch of an officer of his Staff who would receive every facility to repair to the German armies and ascertain the truth. General Trochu replied in a short letter thanking Count Moltke for the offer, but refusing to avail himself as it was not necessary to do so.' That may have meant he was quite sure the reports were correct; or that it would make no difference in his resolve to defend Paris whether the Army of the Loire were beaten or not. Count Moltke's letter, In fact, was a summons to surrender. I You are a soldier, and you know the laws of war. Unless you are as- sured of help, or of being able to raise the blockade without it, you have no right to sacrifice the lives of men, women, and children to a point of military honour. In fact, honour Is more than satisfied now, and you are committing a grave military error if you persist in a defence which cannot avert the capitulation. I will prove to you that all reason- able basis of your hope of help from without has vanished. You have tried to raise the blockade from within, and you have failed.' The only interpretation of the reply is that General Trochu is resolved to act as If there were still a chance of success from without or from within. He affects, it is thought, to be the mere General, subservient to the orders of the Government, but if he t jld M. Favre and his colleagues that there was no object to be gained In firing guns at the German positions, and In holding walls within which there was an enemy increasing in power every day, would they indeed force him to continue the cruel work which must end In snbmilslon t"

HOW A FRENCH BATTERY WAS CAPTURED. "The French here [Versailles], who were last night elated with the most extravagant reports, are to-day downcast, but it is in the power of any mendacious peasant from outside to raise them to the highest pitch of expectancy and good snirits In an hour. When the French battery was brought in to the P aced'Armes, in front of the Palace, yesterday, I am told a whisper went through the crowd,—' Voila! six canons; et les Prussiens ont dit qu'ils ont pris soixante-et dix-sept! Comme Us sont tons I regret to say I was absent !rom Versailles when the guns were brought In and presented to the King. who had that day received the news of the death of his sister, and was in grief for her loss. Still his Majesty came up to the Place d'Armea and viewed the battery so gallantly taken, II I am told it was, near Arthenay. The French bad unlimbered and were pounding away toward. their front, paying no heed to the movements of a squadron of Silesian (the 4th) Hussara on their flank. Count Wartensleben, their Rittmeister, so manoeuvred his men that they came within j charging distance and then close up to the rear of the battery. The Hussars were among the guns before the drivers could mount, and then, making every officer and man of the battery take hij place, the Sileslans escorted It off. the fteld-guna, horses, gunners, and all—as If they were pro- tecting a battery of their own, a feat I have net read or heard the like of before. There are many very interesting anecdotes about these actions before Orleans, but the scenes are out of my sphere, and will be much better detailed by those who were on the spot."

CRUEL WAR! It is to be noted that the losses of the German armies In these last encounters have very much exceeded, pro ratd, what they lost in the battles in which they overthrew the French Empire and captured its armies. It is felt that a great uprising of the people would be a very serious thing for these armies, strong and deservedly confident as they are. Hence the new orders which will prevent any enrolment of able-bodied men In the occupied districts, and a strict watch will be kept on all Frenchmen who could swell the ranks of the enemy. Re- venge and Immortal hate will be potent recruiting officers. In remoto villages, from the Baltic to the Bavarian Alps, from the Weser and Vistula to the Rhine, the cries of sor- rowing mothers and fathers, and fatherless homes, must still be heard before weary and b'.eedlng France cries, Hold, euough Postal arrangements uninterrupted, and traffic largely developed, tell their own tile of the Impo- tence of guerrilla war against grand regular organiz itlons. But the German if he does not love the Frenchman more de- spises him less. This fight Is worthy of their name and their race. The Germans are now obliged to hang together. Tney stand in face of a popular insurrection" in some districts. Not a soul was there to give them warning at Chatillon when the eaemy was stealing to surprise and murder them. And It is a hard saying, but It is to be accepted by all people, that they In some sense-a military one-deserved their fate. A great personaae lost In Alvensleben a very esteemed friend, but it said that he repudiated any sorrow for that loss, because he had allowed himself and his men to be sur- prised. And "the Prussian soldier," you know, "should be always en vedette." The country between Orleans and Toury, and all in front of it, Is described as beyond con- ception terrible to contemplate. Four times now the storm of war and battle has passed over it. The villages and farm- homes are burnt, the towns gutted. They are, nevertheless, full of wounded men. Every house, almost, Is crammed with them—Prussians, Hessians. Bavarians, Hanaeatics, Mecklenburgers, and French. The fields and roads are covered with dead horses and deadmen, frozen and stiffened in hideous multiplication of fantastic contortions."

UNPLEASANT CHRISTMAS PROSPECTS. The armies investing Paris are in the midst of a winter campaign. The air is so cold that we shiver at night in rooms where wood fires have been blazing all day. Not one green Ppot is to be seen in this most fertile land, wheie the vine grows everywhere in luxuriant abundance. The leafiou trees are like giant spectres-every branch Is stiff and hoary; a thick snow covers every field, and road, and housetop, and flakes are descending with a steady determination that dis- countenances all h )pe of milder weather. Are we to spend our Christmas here ? I don't find any one bold enough to say "No." A fortnight ago the idea would have been scouted in anyaesembly of German officers but there is a change, and a great one. It set in with the beginning of last week. Like your Special Correspondent at Versailles, l am not able to account for it, but I recognise the fact. I hear no more of the immediate storing of provisions to carry into Paris, and though not German doubts that Paris will be re- duced, the possibility of yet another great sortie and a resist- ance still prolonged is reluctantly admitted."

QUITE INCOMPREHENSIBLE Why did not the French attempt to follow up their ad- vantage last week, when 12,000 or 13.000 of them having crossed the Marne, bringing fourteenfield batteries with them, possessed themselves, for the time, of three important posts ontiielineof the enemy's investment, and when 60,000 of them at least were beneath the forts on the other side of the river ready to pass over if their comrades in advance should succeed in fairly breaking through the circle of iron f It is simply Incomprehensible. Had they done so we should have had a great battle In the open field somewhere in the neighbourhood of Champs. The Germans say that is what they wished for. One would have supposed when the French, with six days' rations, had come out in such force that they also desired tuch an encounter.

THE GERMANS AT DIEPPE. An English Resident writing from Dieppe, Dec. 10, has sent the following te The Times, forpub ication:— For the last week Dieppe has been in a state of disquietude, fearing the arrival of the much-dreaded Prustiaro, who yesterday took possession of the town. About 9 a.m. a few Uhlans galloped in, pistol in hand. Some spread themselves over the place; others rode direct to the Hotel de Yiile; others, again, seized the telegraph; others installed them- selves in the Post-office. All was done methodically, quickly, and quietly, and half an hour after their arrival they had picketed their horses, having fully satisfied them- selves that they might calmly wait the arrival of the main body of their comrades. Naturally, all was excitement. Flags of every nation under the sun flopt ed from the windows. People seemed to think that eveiy nationality but that of France would be exempt from billets, but people were grievously disap- pointed. All tlvse on whom the lot fell had to receive their soldier guests. The houses of the English were, apparently, at a premium-perhaps a delicate compliment to the pro- verbial hospitality of our country. At midday the detachment marched In. First came a battalion of the Line, small but compact men, apparently hardened into such working order as to be able to go any- where or do anything They came along with an easy, steady swing, headed by their baud. Their band discoursed music which it must be confessed, was not the most eloquent; perhaps the discord of war had Infected even the sweet strains of Fatherland. After them came a squadron of Cuirassiers, then the officer in command, and finally some hundred Uhlans. An hour after their entry the town was quiet, the men lounging about as if they were perfectly at home. The Inhabitants of the place were at first In great fear-a dread in which the English participated. Not content with the English flag, some houses had notices in German to say that they were English dwellings or English property. One of our worthy chaplains (we have three resident here) had inscribed over his portal that he was Capellan" of tke Eng- lish at Dieppe, and he is reported to have taken his stand at his gate clad in full academicals to overawe the advanc- ing Teutons. All such precautions were needless. A more quiet or better behaved set of men never entered a town. No requi- sitions were made nothing was required at the hands of the officials but a little wine, brandy, and tobacco. No damage was done but an overhauling of the castle and the breaking of some 1,500 old flint guns-a needless trouble, for they could have damaged no one but the men who might be rash enough to fire them. A little before eight on Saturday morning the troops marched out, taking the road for Paris, and so ended the much dreaded but innocuous accupation of Dieppe.

LIFE IN PARIS. The following is the translation of a. private letter, dated the 5th instant, from a French lady in Paris "What a long and ttrrlble trial this is, and how much I suffer from the want ot news of my absent children. We are neverthelt ss getting on well, and the chances of success are restoring courage. During two days and two nights this week the cannon did not cease. It was a sinister and disheart- ening sound. Sleep was impessiMe. The image ef that field of battle is impressed upon me. Every fibre trembles. I mourn all my loved ones without knowing anything of them. Hew my son, who was at Metz with Bazatne, must have suffered, it his general was really a traitor. But you must know better than we what has happened for we scarcely dare believe anything, so many falsehoods have been uttered. There is now contentment, because there is hope. But at what a cost shall we obtain the mastery How I regret that I did not lay in a supply of provisions. We can obtain nothing now, even with money. We live almost entirely on soup made from extract of meat. Every four days they give us, for five persons one pound and a quarter of meat (-a)t beef or horse) There is no lack of bread, and that is the essential; but this cannot last long. Peopie are calm; the poor are the best attended to, and that is right. It must not be supposed that Paris is a prey to anarchy, as the foreign papers say. There is a patriotic ardour which is general. Nevertheless, this must not last too long. We live in the midst of emotion and expectancy, and I fear to know the truth."

SKETCHES BY HERR WACHEN. HUSEN. Herr Wachenhusen, of the Cologne Gazette, rtfer- ring to the obstinate defence by the French of Atenay on the 3rd inst., states that almost all the prisoners, comprising Zouaves, infantry, and Mobiles, were of a better stamp than those previously taken. The Mobiles were partly armed with elegant American revolvers. He is more and more convinced that the French Army of the Loire under a skilful General would do a good deal. Their military temper and their equipment (with Chassepots especially) are faultless, and had they been formed a month earlier they might have been a dangerous foe. Yesterday's fight (that of the 2nd) was conducted at many points with the bayonet, and the Mecklenburgers, as also the Hanse men, distinguished themselves with this, though the French always boasted of being masters with the arme blanche. It is cer- tain that the Army of the Loire includes many elements from the better classes. Their uniform answers to the theatrical taste of the French, and it is difficult to distinguish the dress of these various patriotic legions, but they are all practised in shooting. I am ready to admit, to the honour of General Aurelles de Paladine, that he knows nothing of the peculiarity of the ammunition chosen by many of his soldiers It has been proved by the surgeons that explosive bullets have been fired by the French, probably those invented by M. Pertuiset, the great lion hunter, and offered to all the European Governments, Russia being at first inclined to adopt them. I will not argue whether it is more humane to riddle a man like a sieve with a mitrailleuse, to make roast beef of him by a cartridge, or to explode him, for humanity will shake its head at all of them; I only mention this bullet. M. Pertuiset, who in 1868 gave invitations to a lion hunt in Algeria on payment of 4,000f., has perhaps begun a trade with bullets which he sells to the Free-Shooters." Herr Wachenhusen mentions that in trying to find his way to the scene of the previous day's fighting near Loigny he met with nobody who knew the names of the villages where it was carried on. He was directed to "the village that is burning," "the village next the one burning," or the village which is not burn- ing." This was the whole geography of the battle. He passed the night of the 2nd in a stable, surrounded by half a dozen wounded French cflicerp, to whose wanta he attended. The women from the burning Loigny poured by dozens into the warm and capacious stable, with their children in their arms weeping, yet suppressing their tears for fear of being scolded. It is time, he thinks, to put an end to the bloodshed, of course as far as the price for which Germany has to ask admits. Every life now lost is a sin. as the French cause is a lost one. In the church of Janville he saw 1,300 French prisoners. On their being marched off to Chartres one of them handed an open letter to the field postmaster for his parents at Bar-le.Duc. We have been again defeated," it said it is always and always the accursed 2nd of December "-an allusion of course, to the Emperor's coup d'itat.

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE CASE. An Italian," writing in The Times, criticizes Mr. Gladstone s answer to the inhabitants of Stradbally with some severity. It is fortunate (he says) that Italy is yet a weak state, or here would be a good cause for a quarreL Mr. Gladstone, as Prime Minister of a Protestant State, which has never re- 0 griaed the Pope (either in his spiritual or in his tem- poral capacity, has as much right to trouble himself about the dignity and independence of the Pope as Signor Lanza would have to inquire into the appoint- ment and revenue of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Italians may consent to keep a Pope for their own use and for that of the other Catholics, but they cannot be compelled to keep him according to the views of other Catholics, and in contradiction to their own views. All that other Catholics can pretend is that if the Italians will only keep the com- mon Pope aa it eeeuii good to themaelvsB and not to their co-reiigionaries, they, the other Catholics, wil take away the Pope from the Italians. And if tbe English Catholics wish to have the Pope, and to keep him as they think proper, and if Mr. Gladstone has no objection, and if the Pops himself is willing to leave Rome, the writer believes the Italians will be reason- able enough to part with the Pope, and to give him up to the English Catholics to do with him as they plea e. The English Catholics take it for granted that the Italians are Catholics, and so they certainly are. But they are Catholics in their own way, and they claim to be Catholics in their own way. In England itself, among Dr. Manning's congregation, there are Catholics who aduait the Pope's Infallibility and Catholics who dtiiy it; there are Catholics who accept the temporal power as a dogma, and Catholics who took on that power as the bane of the Papacy. In Italy, in the same manner, there are Catholics and there are Papists. There are those who believe all that the Pope teaches, and there are those who allow themselves the free use of their reason and discretion. But there are none who think that the Pope, by the ex- ercise of his temporal power i-hould possess the means of enforcing his spiritual rule agaiust all reason and discretion. If Mr. Gladstone will only allow the Italians their freedom, he will have little occasion to ex> rt himself in behalf of the Pope's dignity and inde- pendence.

GENERAL FAIDHERBE. Louis Leon Ceaar Faidherbe, now Commander-in- Cliief of the French Army of the North, was born at Lille on the 3rd < f June, 1818. He was educated at the college in that place, entered the Polytechnio School in 1838, then went on to the military school at Metz, which he left in 1?42 with a lieutenant's com- mission in the 1st Regiment of Engineers. He served first in Algeria, where he remained throughout 1844 and 1845. Having obtained the rank of captain he sailed in 1848 for La Guadeloupe, where he acquired much colonial experiece and became inured to life in the tropics. Having failed in obtaining an appointment at Senegal, he returned to Algeria in 1850, where he con- structed the out-lying fort of Bou-Saada, took part in the campaign of Kabylia under General Saint-Arnaud, and also in the expedition of General Bocquet to the Algerian highlands. The services he performed at the time of the disaster which then occurred were rewarded by the Cross of the Legion of Honour. At the end of that vear (18521 he was. at his reiterated request, sent to Senega). Here he soon gave proofs of rtmarkable administrative ability, and, after two years'residence, showed such knowledge of the needs, the dangers, the economy, and the practical policy of the colony that in 1854 he was made governor of the French possessions in Senegal. M. Faidherbe now devoted himself to the fulfilment of the task he had so long wished to take in hand, the thorough renovation of the colony. He carried on a successful warfare with the Moors of Furza, but his principal warlike achievement was the struggle he carried on for some time and over a great extent of territory with the prophet El-Had ji-Omar, who had con- ceived the idea of founding a vast Mussulman Empire in central Africa, and driving out all foreign intruders. He compelled this apostle of Islam to submit in 1860, and left Senegal to command the liubdivision of Sidi- bel-Abbes, having been made lieutenant-colonel of Engineers in 1855 and colonel in 1858. But his absence was soon felt in the colony, his policy was not maintained, his instructions were neglected, and everything retrograded. On the 20th of May, 1863, M. Faidherbe, raised to to the rank of brigadier- general, aseumed the reins of government in Senegal. Two years after, his health requiring his return to a less murderous climate, he took the highest command in the subdivision of B6ne. M. Faidherbe has written much on the manners, language, and history of the African nations, as well as on the topography, geology, and archaeology of the districts they inhabit. He is a member of the Geo- graphical Societies of Paris, London, and Berlin. -¡,

FESTIVITIES AT BLENHEIM PALACE, OXON. The visit of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales to Blenheim Palace terminated on Saturdiy. On the previous evening the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough gave a grand ball in their honour, to which the elite of the neighbourhood and members of the University, with their wives and daughters, and several of the fellow-commoners and under-graduates, were invited. Large parties came from the adjacent country houses, and by about half- past eleven, thq company having by this time nearly all arrived, the ball-room presented a brilliant ap- pearance. The Palace party consisted, besides their Royal Highnesses, of the following ladies and gentlemen The Marquis and Marchioness of Blandford, the Ladies Churchill, the Marchioness of Bath and the Hon. Miss Vesey, the Earl and Countess Vane, the Earl and Countess Listowel, the Earl and Countess of Cork, the Earl of llchester, the Earl of Ranfurly, Lord Garlies, the Hon. Francis and Mrs. Stonor, Sir Ivor and Lady Cornelia Guest, Mr. Christopher Sykes, M.P., Mr. Montague Guest, M.P.. Mr. Dun- combe, Mr. Bertie, and Mr. CockerelL The Hon. Mrs. Gray and VuL Ellis in waiting. The ball was opened with a quadrille, "La Perichole," which the Prince and Princess of Wales danced with their noble host and hostess. Her Royal Highness also danced during the evening with the Marquis of Blanford, Earl vane, Earl of Cork, Sir Ivor Guest, and other gentlemen, and was looking remarkably well. His Royal Highness took part in the evening's proceedings with apparent zest and en- joy ment, selecting several of the ladies for his partners. A splendid supper was served at half-past twelve, the Lord-Lieutenant of the County conducting the Princess of Wales, and his Royal Highness the Duchees of Marlborough. Dancing was kept up till after four. Messrs. Coote and Tinney's band was in attendance, and played the following music. Quadrilles "La Périchole," Barbe Bitue," "Le Petit Faust," "Chilperic," "Grande Duchesse, "Lancers," "French," Coote's "Fa- vourite," "Burlesque," "Royal." Valaes: "Con- sortien, "Guards," "Am scbönen Rhein," Fairy Visions," "An dem schonen blauen Donau "Casino Tanze," Wein WeibundGesang," Freudensgriisse," "Wiener Kinder." Galops: "OrphtSe" and "En- core." Amongst the ladies' drepses, were especially re- marked those worn by the Marchioness of Blandford, the Ladies Churchill, Countess Vane, Lady Cornelia Guest, and Lady Rendlesham.

AN UNENVIABLE NOTORIETY! Camden Place, the present residence of the ex- Empress of the French, was the scene of a terrible tragedy nearly sixty years ago. The story is told on a tombstone in the churchyard on Chislehu-st-common, which bears the following extraordinary inscription :— Sacred to the memory of Thomas Bonar, of Camden Place, in this parish, esquire aged 70, and of Ann, daughter ol Andrew Thompson, of Roehampton, esquire, his wife, aged 59, murdered In their bedroom on the 31st of May, 1813. Let not this mournful proof of the insufficiency of virtues even such as theirs—eo great, so winning, and so mild—to shield them at the midnight hour against atrocities so monstrous Induce the belief that virtue is not the care of Providence below. Katber let it be remembered that surely none could have been better prepared for an event so awful-that from them were not alone averted the many sufferings attendant on a dissolution in the common course of nature, but that full of honour and of years, loaded with the blessings and the veneration of all who ever knew them, and each uncon- scious of the other's fate, they only slept to wake in Heaven Nor be it omitted here to record their constant prayer, their fervent wish (so frequently expressed and so mysteriously fulfilled !) that they might leave this world together. Hor- rible indeed for the survivors has been the mode of its accomplishment. Still, may they be allowed to think that it WM permitted in mercy to those whom they deplore, and, perhaps, as a signal reward for such virtues as have been rarely seen united I

In the recent fighting around Paris the German. and the or' French suffered tqually; the casualties In killed and wounded are now Mid, to bt 17.OW in the roe$ itlone,

THE WAR. DEATH AFTER TORTURE. "If any 'happy home' had a door left or a table or chair In the wrecked villages, it has gone now In the flames of many watch fires and camp kitchens. An amateur told me that nothing burnt so well as 'piano wood,' and that he had no idea of its value, having never had an opportunity of testing the property before. I hear the army before Orleans suffered greatly from cold in spite of the warmth afforded by burning villages and farmhouses, and what must it have been for the wounded out in the fields ? Death after torture The con- dition France will be in next year promises to be, if possible, worse than her present state. Here we are eating all the cews, so there will be no calves in 1871, and every one is so busy killing and eating and eating and killing that there Is no thought for the morrow. Sucking pigs, lambs, sheep, calves, chickens, ducklings, goslings, all die almost as soon as they show signs of life.Corrcspondent ol The Times at Versailles.

BURYING THE DEAD "The next morning (Thursday, December 1) the din of battle was hushed as by mutual consent. General Ducrot told us that he was not dissatisfied with his day's work, but nothing more. The French losses were severe, and his satis- faction must have been confined to the conviction that he had inflicted still heavier losses on the enemy. At nightfall we went with a flag of truce and a trumpeter to ask for per- mission to bury our dead. The request was not very courteously acceded to, but the permission was granted, and a more harrowing scene than that charnel house could only be imagined by the readers of Mrs. Radcliffe's ghost studded romances. People who could botanise on their mothers graves might have found something picturesque In that long array of black-robed, sombrero-hatted f rlres, each armed with his pickaxe and shovel; but there was something In- describably horrible in the scene. Th«r dug a trench close by the embankment of the Mulhouse Railway, and they laid In gently legs, arms, heads, bodies, all smashed to pulp. Some of the dead had a placid expression on their brows especially those who had been killed by gunshot wounds, but the few who had died from bayonet thrusts bora an expres- sion of ftEguish on their brows which can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. I sat quietly on horseback super- Intending those hideous Pompes Funebre.'s, and then trotted about in search of more mangled victims. One trench was filled, even to overflowing a thin layer of earth was then laid over the bodies, and we returned to another spot, more thickly strewed, and another bateh of maimed men were burled with the same maimed rites."—Correspondent of Observer.

LOOKING AFTER THEIR OWN INTERESTS Some of the German manufacturers view with considerable apprehension the competition to which they will be exposed from Alsace and Lorraine In the event of those provinces being admitted into the Zillvereln. About 160 of them, from all parts of the country, assembled at Manheim on the 5th, the cotton spinners and weavers being most strongly repre- sented. Resolutions were adopted antrmmc; that the annexa- tion might inflict serious injury on several branches of Indus- try especially the cotton manufacture that those inter- ested should make representations and proposals in the proper quarter to avert such a blow and that the treaty of peace with France should stipulate for a reasonable reci- procity on the basis of the Zollverein tariff and the principle of specified duties, and for a reduction of the French import duties on woollen, cotton, and linen yarns. It seems to be feared that without such precautions Alsatian products will be shut out from France by a high tariff, and will, conse- quently Inundate Germany, to the detriment of the other provinC81.

AFTER THE MARCH OF AN ARIIY Herr Wachenhusen, writing to the Cologne Gazette, from Jeanvllle, on the 1st Inst, describes the lamentable appear- ance of the district traversed by the German Army of the Loire. The war," he says, seems to me to have reached a point at which everybody on both sides desire peace. Whole Departments have their provisions completely ex- hausted towns formerly prosperous see their whole popu- lation beggars, and in a condition in which they do not know how to get to-morrow's bread. The lower classes walk or stand, hungering, In the streets, and look gloomily on the groups of soldiers when these receive their rations, while they themselves, poor creatures, cannot find a morsel of dry bread for their crying and famish- ing children. In these desolate towns the ruin caused by fire present a melancholy aspect amid this deadly still- ness Yesterday I passed through many burnt places- for instance, the village of Viabon, where every shot from a window was punished by the destruction of the house. Bonneval looked sad, where, two days ago, a cuirassier trumpeter was shot on his horse. The bullet struck the un- fortunate man from one of the hou»es in the rear, and his ■addle and bridle still lay in the alarm-home The whole place was as if dead, and so uninviting was the weird silence of the streets, from the houses of which only here and there were angry faces visible, that, though on my arrival the night had set In, I preferred going further, though I had ■elected the closed and deserted hotel as my quarters. Busi- ness had ceased in the towns to such a degree that nobody works any longer, and even one's boots, which the watar has long been getting into, cannot be mended. Everything wants repairing, and this being a resting day, the artisans in the army were stormed by the people wanting help, who could not all be gratified. There is no privatioii, I repeat, for our army always knows how to help itself, and, under the worst circumstances, remains in its wonted readiness to fight Nothing, moreover, can be altered, for nobody TPbnld gladly commence a retreat unless he could say that the full price had been paid for all our sacrifices. But the thought ef peace, nevertheless, is present every- where, with friend and foe, for both will be benefited by It." Referring to the wintry weather which had set in, the writer remarks that the abandoned positions of the Francs-Tlreurs and Mobiles show that they are little fitted for the cold bivouac or fatiguing field seivice. "The 150 French prisoners from Varize, who passed us the day before yesterday, belonged to the better classes their gray and green costumes betrayed affluence, prosperity, and even wealth. They came from the Gironde, Charente, and Dor- dogne and had only taken up arms, with more goodwill than bravery, In order to shoot down a couple of Bavarians and then to undertake a journey to Germany, They have to thank the good humour of the Bavarians for taking the trouble to capture them, for many among our troops give no quarter to these enemies, as I have particularly observed among the Mecklenburgers." He adds that the best Christ- mas presents for the troops would be woollen garments, for nothing can be bought In the devastated, or, for a punisn- ment, plundered streets, and the deserted shops are often rummaged for such articles, as also for boots, which have here and there to be taken from the natives feet, though KM, large stores at Meaux and Chartres. Four hundred the.e MB largo {rom Germany have been sent for, but these ^l not arrive for two months. The famous flock of these wm tha rams of whloh fetch enormous prices 4e?e,^ believes, originally intended to be sent to Germany but they are now to be consumed by the troops.

mE GARIBALDIANS AT DIJON. A letter in a Hamburg paper, describing the night attack of the Garibaldtans on Dijon, says: They advanced with auite theatrical effect. The beating of drums and ringing of bells formed the chief music, and Garibaldi s Hymn was also lung. The well-aimed round a of the Badeners soon silenced them and they retired with considerable loss on finding that we were well prepared to reeeive them. Night favoured their retreat, and next morning showed that they had suffered much more than we had supposed. The road was strewn for miles with knapsacks and weapons. The finest weapons of precision were lying about, of almost the new system-Sniders, Remingtons, Peabodles, Ac. At the beiln- ning of the fight they showed signal bravery, and made several attacks but they were badly conducted, and the assailant? were exposed to the destructive fire of our artillery. The corpses were thickly scattered up to Dijon. Garibaldi's cavalry, about 80 men, in fantastic dress, with red shirts and white burnous, ventured on a feeble attack, but were well received by our Infantry. To-day some of the pri- soners were brought in. Garibaldians and Mobiles among the latter I saw wild and defiant men. According to a cap- tured officer, a Ninard, Garibaldi commanded in person, and In spite of his gout was an hour on horseback; but «hen the affair began to go wrong tha Staff and the went off" Another account In the Carlsruhe finZtfr states that the Garibaldians were 8,00) or i Aflft ■ or and bad 400 killed and wounded, besides 200 prisoners. These represent Garibaldi as having w.i?nrp*ent in a carriage, the horse attached to which J JtnaA bv an exploding grenade, so that had not his men was killed by an » J; e wonld £ ave ^en captured. The drawn away jhe inhabitants of Dijon, while the German loss w • t»wn, plundered some waggons, fight was gotag: on near Qf £ 8;coo_ 3ix riaribalriianswho and were discovered in a muddy canal in the town whe^e they hTd passed the whole day. Amid great merrl- men they were drawn out.

ANOTHER FRENCH HEROINE. Some of the French give a 1hming accoqnt of a heroine from Colmar, who Is said to command a corps of man, she lost her mother early, lived 'ri?m ffiminine worked In the field and with horses, and 8p ^noUsweil^ and tasks. She was taught by some nuns at Rappoltsweuer, ana was to have become a novice, but became governe.s Polish count's family, and on the breaking out of the last Polish Revolution, being then nineteen, acted, In mans dress, as lieutenant at the head of some hussars, Being wounded, she was admitted into a convent at Warsaw, and protected by Bishop Felinskl. On returning to Franca she became cashier In a shop, and managed the foreign corre- gpondence, but owing to a complaint in the chest again assumed male attire, and was appointed post-office clerk at Xamotte. There she collected a band of volunteers, and is carrying on guerilla warfare. This is the French account, bUt as similar stories have turned out to be apocryphal, it must be received with caution, though a GermaflAetter from Juace quote* It without any expression of Incredulity.

A PBOTEST AGAINST THE BONAPARTES. AAJUvtlvt, protest against a Bonapartist restoration has A the Inddpendance Beige, signed by a very been addrwsea sv offlcerg) prisoners of war. The docu- large numberotwe ,j0 our country is making a vigorous ment runs thus.— ™l £ mer the Bonapartist to seeking te effort to repulse the ot an Imperial restoration, future time, in any enterprise of that kind against the will of the nation." The protest Is signed by General the Comte de Chanalellles, General de Courcy and Pichot, Colonel Lewal, and by upwards of 130 other officers, principally of the ranks of captain and lieutenant. The Independence promises to continue the list of signatures in future publica- tions.

A PRESENT TO COUNT MUNSTEB. The Cologne Gazette says An English lady, whose name is to remain unknown, having offered a costly memento, consisting of a large gold cross and necklace to the wife, mother, or other connexion of the Prussian officer who should capture the first hostile gun, has sent It to Count Munster, it having been shown that Lieutenant Brandenburg, of the 46th Lower Silesian Grenadiers, cap- tured the first gun at Worth. The Count will hand it over to the Crown Princess, aud beg her present it to the mother of the still unmarried lieutenant, who lives at KUdeshelm. The cross bears an English inscription, stating the circum- stances under which it was presented.

"WE WILL DRINK TO BEING SOON BACK TO OUR MOTHERS!" A German military musician, writing from Virofiay, says To-day we have returned from Versailles, where we spent five days in the barracks. We played there at the King's table on the Crown Princess's birthday, and last Sunday at Count Bismarck's. After the overture he sent us some capital cognac and afterwards wine, came himself to us, and, seizing a glass, said, I We will drink to being soon back to our mothers On this the leader of the band asked him how long It would be before that happened, whereupon Biimarck replied, Well, we shall not celebrate Christmas at home. The reserves may, perhaps, then be dismissed, but we of the Line shall ttill be in France, for our customers have got deeply into our debt; but we shall bring them to book shortly,' added he, laughing. After conversing with us in the most affable wfy, he handed us three cigars onleavlng us. We have now beer at Virofiay. The Bavarians, who are always careful about creature comforts, have discovered a brewery. The beer is still new Indeed, but it has a good flavour, and beer is now tapped everywhere."

THE HOPELESSNESS OF PROLONGED RESISTANCE. Herr WIckede, of the Cologne Gazette, commenting on the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the French, which might protract the war for months but would only entail the greatest misery on the country, says* —" The house from which our troops are fired on is burnt down, the village whose inhabitants take part In the struggle Is totally destroyed, and the prisoners In arms without uniforms and not belonging to regular troops usually snffer death. During the last few months in which these Franc-Tireur bands have cropped up many hundreds of houses have been burnt, and very many men have been thot, whereas this never happened in the first period of the war, when we carried on a regular tight against regular troops. Fven the capture ol provision transports by Francs- Tireurs does France, as a zule, far more harm than good. If the troops receive no provisions they requisition thtm with- out more ado, and it it is necessary forcibly to make requisi- tIons, plundering and devastation, even with the strictest discipline, but too easily follow. Many things now oecur which did not happen at the beginning of the war, and that this is the case 18 chiefly the fault of the French. If one speaks with any particular French- man he almost always deplores the war, curses Gambetta and the whole Republic, and yearns for peace at any price; yet, if a dozen come together and any lying vic- torious report of their Provisional Government has appeared, the entire impossibility of which Is evident to anybody with a shred of military, statistical, political, and geogrsphical knowledge, they are immediately fire and fury, deceive and excite each other with all kinds of sentences, and believe that France is still the most powerful country in the world, and that we, 'Prussian barbarians,' cannot be or con- tinue victors. The single Frenchman is usually amiable, polite, open to any opinion clearly put before him; and even now, amid an embittered war, and in an enemy's countiy, I would far rather as a rule, have intercourse with the French than with the many German cigar vendors, horse dealers, adventurers hoping for appoint- ments-in short, with the only too great number of Germans who, under the guise of patriotism, seek only their personal advantage, frequently in very repulsive ways. When, however, n a dozen Frenchmen come together, they Indulge in political speeches and get intoxicated with re- ported victorias, so that they can only be regardtd as lunatics." He believes, nevertheless, that the end of the war la approaching, and that on being convinced that the Germans occupy Rouen and Orleans, the French will abandon further resistance. 11 faut enfinir, monsieur,' said my hattess to me just now, the wife of a celebrated French surgeon who manoces an hospital at Tours, when I had read to her our last official despatches from Orleans, and she turned away weeping. Yes, it must end France must sub- mit to stern necessity and recognise us as victors, or it Is for decades to come a completely ruined country."

ARRESTING A STATION MASTER. M. Bacchus, the station master at Tours, was airested this morning under the following circumstances :-M. de Freyclnet, the Under Sbcretary of War, sent to say he wanted to see him immediately; whereupon M. Bacchus (who was esteemed a considerable personage) replied that he was at breakfast, and that it M. de Freyclnet was In a hurty he must come to him. Somewhat to tne station master's surprise M. de Freycinet did come, and he said he wanted to have a temporary station made Immediately near the Gram- mont Camp, so that troops might start tor the theatre of war without marching through the town, a proceeding which had the double igconvenience of facilitating Prussian agents in communicating their num- bers to the enemy, and exposing the men to long waiting in inclement weather on the bleak boulevards In the neighbour- hood of the Tours station. M. Bacchus pooh-poohed "Ithe idea of the new station, and said at any rate he could not get it ready for three or four days. M. de Freyclnet said he mnst have it In an hour. After an altercation Bacchus was taken off to prison, and it is now given out that he has been all along a Prussian spy, and has continually thrown all the impediments he could in the way 81 the movements of troops."

THE PRINCE'S VISIT BETTER THAN PHYSIC While the doctor and myself were having a gossip before making a tour of the Lizarette, the Prince of Saxe-Weimar came ta visit the wounded Wurtembergtrs. He is married to a daughter of the King of Wurtemberg, and has been commissioned by his parents'-ln-law to this kindly duty. The Prince Is a big man. All the Saxe-Weimars run large. Prince Edward-our Guardsman-loomed almost gigantically through the fog on the morning of Inker- mann. The Prince has a heart certainly big in pro- portion to his corporal bulk. Sad as were the sights the wards presented, It was a pleasant peregrina- tion which I made round them in his company. The Prince went round with a box of cigars under his arm. With each mau In turn he had a little conversation, which always ended in the question, 11 Can you smoke ?" The affirmative response was all but universal. One or two poor fellows there were who seemed past caring for the cigars-past the power of speech, indeed. All that they could do was to look grateful for the Prince's kindly words. Oae bright-eyed young fellow replied so warmly, Ach, Ja, euere Hoheit!" The doctor shook his head, the boy was in the fever, and a cigar might not be the best thing In the world for him. Bat he pleaded so hard, that the good doc- tor relented and let him have the grateful weed. Another ohap would have the Prince see the piece of shell that bad made a, hole in him. "In the cupboard" he directed the orderly. The cupboard was searched, but it could not be found, and the doctor would have the Prince pass on But he would not, and by-and-bye the bit of shell turned up in the wounded man's waistcoat pocket. There were two men who had each lost a leg, with whom the Prince had specially interesting conversations. One was a stalwart, hairy under- officer. He was one of three brothers, and now all were wounded in this war. And was he married ? No, but there was an old woman In some street or other in Stuttgart, and now that all her sons were down It might be bad times with her. The other "amputated" was a mere boy handeome as a statue I don't know whether it has struck others as it has me, that there are a great number of classic- ally beautiful men among the Wurtembergers. This lad was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. In both cases the Prince's band went into his pocket, and came out with a gold piece. "Here, my man, send that to the mother, and let her know it comes from the Queen." In one ward were two amputation cases-one was a Frenchman, the other a Wurtemberger. Both had burst out bleeding, and the orderlies were busy around them, pressing femoral arteries, picking up viens, and applying ice. The French- man was shrieking and yelling; the German lay silent, the drops of cold sweat on his forehead, and the muscles I of his faee working, but never a cry came from him. The spectacle illustrated one of the differences between the two nationalities. As he quitted each room, the Prince said a few simple words to the effect that he was commissioned by the King and Queen of Wortemburg to visit the wounded, I and to thank them for their exertion* on behalf of their sountry. The words, I fancy, and the visit did more good than any physic Dr. Blbersteln could exhibit. All the occu- pants of this Lazarette are wounded men; there have been a few cases of typhus, but they have been sent to the rear. To quote the dry professional remark of Dr. Blbersteln, 'We have no time for typhus here.' "-Daily News' Corre- spondent with the Crown Prince of Saxony.

ITEMS OF THE WAR. According to the Daily New,' correspondent at Berlin the project of an Orleans restoration ia viewed by the Prussian Government with much disfavour, A letter from Ghent says that 188 French prisoners have arrived in that town from BeverIon, to be interned in the ci'adeL Their appearance is described as wretched in the extreme. There are now about 400 military prisoners interned at Ghent. One of General Trochu's aidei-Je-camp, who left Paris in a balloon, has arrived at Lille. His object is said to be to communicate to the commander3 of the East, the West, the North, and the Loire, the new plans adopted in rarts. fr An official report from Versailles states that the last sorties om Paris vrere undortakon by the depot troops of the line with some Mobiles, in all about 90,000 strong. Before retreat- ing they killed the woti-ide-I horses and took with them a portion of the flesh. They had no cavalry, but a numerous artillery. It is not considered absolutely improbable that the Conseils Giniravx—which represent for local matters the departments of France—may assemble, and, perhaps, by their consentaneous votes, overthrow the exlstlBg temporary Government of France. A colonel who came out of Paris en bourgeois to look for a dead comrade, and actually got inside the German outposts, and was far in rear of the outlying sentries when arrested, stated that it was known up to the time of his leaving on the 4th of December that more than 16 000 had fallen in the east and south-east alone. Many valuable officers have been lost to their country. The Siicle says that the balloon which took such an extra- ordinary fight to Norway was, as it happened, that which contained tirategic information sent from Paris. A delay of three or four days thus occurred, while at the same time numerous carrier pigeons were sent to Paris from Tours. The result of this crossing of despatches was that the Army of Paris had to adopt Gambetta's plan, the Army of the Loire not having had time to receive Trochu's. M. Gambetta left Tours on the 3rd Inst, by a special train for Orleans. On arriving near the village of La Chapelle, about ton miles from Orleans, his train ran into a barricade which had been hastily thrown across the line by the enemy. At the same time some Uhlans lying In ambush fired upon him He eicaped almost by a miracle. He was very severely shaken by the shock of the collision with the barricade, and his private secretary, M. Spullec, was still more hurt. The Prussian authorities have given orders to send all the Mobile Guards belonging to Alsace back to their homes. All the Alsatian prisoners have met with exceptional kindness fiom the first, because from the first the Germans meant to annex Alsace. The Germanizatlon of ThlonvMle is also being paooeeded with. The common people of and around Thion- ville speak not pure German, but the Luxemburg or Letza- burg dialect (a Luxemburger would say "language"); and the ancient name of Diedenhofen," by which the city has always been known to the peasantry, has now been officially restored to it. The King of Prussia was deeply affected by the news of his sister's death. The Crown Prince, who broke the news, had taken precautions that the telegram announcing the Royal lady's decease, which bad been expected for several days, should not reach the King by any other hands than his own. Tke interview between the King and the Crown Prince took place on the morning of the 7th at eight o'clock. No one was present besides the father and son. The Times believes that no step whatever was taken by M. Gambetta to put himself in communication with the German head-quarters at Versailles. The French Minister of War simply signified to her Majesty's Ambassador at Tours that France could not be duly represented at the London Conference unless a regular Government was Insti- tuted by a Constituent Assembly; and that, therefore, it was the duty of the English Government to negotiate an Armistice with a view to allow the elections to be held. Ad the revictualliiig of Paris was included among the conditions Tours that France could not ba duly represented at the London Conference unless a regular Government was Insti- tuted by a Constituent Assembly; and that, therefore, It was the duty of the English Government to negotiate an Armistice with a view to allow the elections to be held. A& the revictualliiig of Paris was included among the conditions of the armistice, it was, ol course, impossible that AL Gam- hftt.t.ft.'a nrnnonftl could be entertained. Ut;1 "a. Q }I.l.UI:IUIQQI.. ,V.a. The Daily News makes the following statement relative to its recent announcement that M. Gambetta had asked for an armistice The statement which we published on Friday with respect to M. Gambetta's application for an armistice was based upon a telegram from a member of the Provisional Government to a French gentleman In London. A mbae- quent telegram from the same quarter states that M. Gam- betta, finding the spirit and temper of the Army of the Loire much better than he had supposed, and being eepecially en- couraged by the success of General Caai: zy, had for the pre- sent abandoned the design of asking for an armistice, He will remain at the headqurters of the Army of the Loire. This cold will bring misery unutterable on the Parisians, among whom there was no great store of wood, as they had not laid in their winter provisions of fuel. If complaints were heard a month ago, what will they be now ? The plagues which desolate armies and are nursed by famine have every scope in beleagured cities. Smallpox, typhus, hunger—a fearful sisterhood to be dwellers within your walls-and an enemy relentless at your gates. For me, I confess, the sight of L'aris now is heartbreaking. Will no one force her will, and make her pale lips breathe forth the word which can save her. 'Peace?'"—Correspondent of l'ht Times. A Correspondent with the Army of the Crown Prince of Saxony, writing from Champ on the 7th, sa)s that a strong impression prevails there that the events which have re- cently taken place outside Paris have led to a change of policy on the part of the German commanders, and that a bombardment of the city may b3 expected as soon as matters can be got in train. Had a bombardment taken plsce in the early days of the siege," adds our Correspondent, that siege long ere now would have terminated." A telegram from Berlin states that the postponement of the bombardment is not due, as supposed, to special influences," but solely to military reasone. Some further particulars are given of Herr Krupp's bal- loon gun. It has a carriage and wheels like any other field gun, and can be sewed by a single man with the greatest et S9, as it weighs only about 1501b. It can be rapidly aimed in any direction, whether horizontal or vertical. The charge consists ef a grenade weighing about 31b., the object of which is to make the balloon, filled with gas, explode on its bursting. It is positively affirmed that a balloon can be struck at a height of 2,000 feet, and that the horizontal range of the gun is about five miles. Htrr Krupp intends to present 20 of the field-pieces to the army. One has been already despatched, and six are about to lollow. The rest will be sent as they are completed, if their services are n^ceasarv. -01 On the subject of horses a curious dispute has arisen in P"ris. Forage is so scarce that a great many valuable animals are now being fed upon bread, and this, when made known, was precounced scandalous. But if you day your horses at once you destroy your chances of fresh meat for the future. A horse, on the other hand, eats about as much bread in a day as would support ten citizens, and therefore it is asked whether It is worth while to keep him a month in order to enjoy a few hundred kilos, of fresh meat at the end of that period ? There has been a good deal of arithmetic done upon this question, and citizens, horses, and bread have been multiplied, divided, subtracted, and added up till the Ministry are quite perplexed, and we believe no decision has yet been taken.

ADDRESS TO THE KING OF PRUSSIA. The following is the text of the address which is to be presented by a deputation of the North German Parliament to King William, at Versailles. It was adopted by 191 ayes against 6 noes (Social Demo. crats) Most illustrious and most mighty King Most gracious King and master !-At the can of your M#j»sty, the people has rallied round its leader, and heroically defends on foreign soil the Fatherland which had been wantonly challenged. The war demands immeasurable sacrifices, but the deep grief at the loss of her brave sons does not shake the determined resolution of the nation, who will not lay aside her arms till peace is assured by secure and better protected frontiers against the recurring attacks of her jealous neighbour. Thanks to the victories to which your Majesty has led the armies of Germany in faith- ful companionship of arms, the nation looks forward to an enduring unity. The North German Parliament, in unison with the Princes of Germany, approaches with the prayer that your Majesty will deign to consecrate the work of uniii- cation by accepting the Imperial Crown of Germany. The Teutonic Crown cn the head of your Majesty will inaugurate, for the re-established Empire of the German nation, an era of power, of peace, of well-being, and of liberty, secured under the protection of the laws. The Fatherland thanks its leader and the glorious army, at the head of which your Majesty still dwells on victorious battle- fields. The devotion and the deeds of Its sons will be remembered for ever. May it soon be vouchsafed that the Emperer, crowned with glory, shall restore peace to the nation. United Germany has proved itself mighty and victo- rious In war, under the leadership of lt3 supreme commander. The United German Empire will be mighty and peace-loving under its Emperor—Your Royal Majesty's most humble and moct faithfully obedient,—THE REICHSTAG OF THE NORTH GERMAN BUND."

UNDER FIRE WITH GARIBALDI. The following Is from the letter of the Special Correspond- ent of the Daily News, under date Autun, Dec. 2 Yesterday I went out to see if there was any possi- bility of posting my letters, and learnt that the last train, together with all the carriages, waggons, and locomotives that were at the Autun railway station had left for Lyons at four o'clock in the morning. On my return to the hotel I saw the General pass by in his carriage accompanied by Colonel Canzio and his secretary, and having nothing better to do I jumped on my horee, and followed with the aides-de-camp. We went up the hill to the ruins of an old tower—on the right hand side of the town-from which one gets a splendid view of the whole of the country in the di- rection of Arnay-le Due. On reaching the ruins the General left his carriage. Field glasses and telescopes were produced, and everyone set about examining the country before us. The position was by no means agree- able .The north wind which came whistling about our ears was bitterly cold- -so cold, in fact, that I decided on desoending into the town. I had hardly reached the Place de Champs when I saw the shopkeepers putting up their shutters in the greatest haste, and crowds of men, women, and children running towards me, like frightened poultry, shouting, "Les PruSBiens lies Prussiens les Prnssiens Impossible," I said, en- deavouring to reassure them. I was up on the hill a few minutes ago and there was not a Prussian to be seen anywhere." I might just as well have spoken to the poultry to which I have compared them, for with- out heeding my presence they continued their flight towards the hills. Fancying that there must have been something to have caused such a panic in the town, I returned to where I had left the General, and found him gone. Before reaching the ruins I had heard the cannon, and from the high ground I dis- tinctly saw the cannon-balls falling on our battery at the Petit Seoiinaire. It was now, I should think, a little after 2 p.m. The Prussian battery was at St. Martin, four kilometres from here. Shortly after their battery opened fire they began to throw a few shells, without, however, doing much damage, probably because they were small. I returned to the lower part of the town at about a quarter to 3 p.m., and found our battery at the Petit Seminairo working in fine style. A great many men had been killed and wounded, one or two ammunition waggons had been dismounted, but the cannons had not suffered. At about a.30 the Prussian battery was almost completely silenced, but they continued to throw a few shells, which knocked the roofs of the houses about a little. Our battery con- tinued firing until dark, without obtaining any response from the enemy. At 6 p.m. we dined after a deal of trouble, for there was little food in the place. After dinner a few shells fell near our hotel. At eight o'clock I went to bed, or rather lay down, for it would have been ridiculous to think of undressing. Our horses remained saddled and bridled all night. It is now pa3t 7 a.m., and we have neither seen nor heard anything more of the enemy. The manner in which we allowed ourselves to be surprised yesterday is almost incomprehensible the more so as wo knew that the Germans were between Arnay and here. When the enemy began firing the soldiers were dispersed all over the town, the officers wero in the cafes, and only one or two men guarded the artillery. It appears that while the General was examining the country through his telescope just after I had left he suddenly saw the Germans planting two cannons against the town, only four kilometres distant. He of course immediately left his position and returned to the Sous-Prefecture, but before he arrived the enemy had begun firing.

THEN AS NOW! A Correspondent of The Times writes The publication of the private correspondence and other papers found in the Palace of the Tulleries Is an imitation of what was done on the overthrow of the Orleans dynasty. Some of the present Government were also mem bars of the Provisional Government in 1848. The Revue Retrospective is probably out of print, and perhaps forgotten, but the publicity given to confidential letters was Intended to rouse the popular hatred against King Louis Philippe, described by Lamartine as a tyrant who had left behind him a track of blood which would for ever prevent him or his family re- turning to France. Among these documents, if I remember right, was a letter said to be from ons of the King's sons to a brother, ascribing all the calamities thit would fall on France to the personal government" of the King—precisely the reproach which has been so often addressed with more reason to the Emperor Napoleon. Another letter was from a person well-known at the time as bsing in the secret ser- vices and who reported to his principals an alleged conversa- tion between one of the Princes and certain officers in a northern garrison, In which language of a curious kind was attributed to his Royal Highness. There was also a letter from the daughter of the same agent to the Minister of the day, reporting, in behalf of her father, certain serious com ments made by M. Thiers, predicting the speedy downfall of the dynasty, from the bad system of government then pre- vailing There was, moreover, a long list of names of per- sons who had been in the receipt of sums from the secret service money, but among the last any ingenious person would suspect of being so. When those papers, thus ob- tained, were given to the world by the Government, of which M. Garnier Pagfis was a prominent member, as he Is of the present, they were pronounced In England to be an immoral publication." Immoral, no doubt, because they were written in strict confidence, and were never meant to see the light. I do not know how the papers of the same sort under the Imperial Government, and similarly obtained, are characterized; but I believe there are very few, even the best, who, If their confidential correspondence with their intimate friends were treated in this manner, would not pre- sent a very curious figure.

OLD SUPERSTITIONS! It seems that in Worcestershire it is believed that if the hand of a drowned man be drawn over a wen the disfigurement will be removed. The superstition in question is very old. In 1777, after Dr. Dodd had hung about ten minutes, a very decently-dressed young woman, with a wen in her face, went up to the gallows, and the executioner having untied the doctor's hand, stroked therewith the affected part several times." In The Times of August the 26th, 1819, we read how after Abraham Abrahams was hung on Penenden Heath "several persons applied for permis- sion to rub the hand of the deceased over their wens." A similiar scene occurred at Warwick in 1845 after the execution of the murderer Crowley. But those who will consult the Observer for January 16,1831, will find a yet stranger superstition recorded. On the night of the 3rd instant some Irish theives attempted to commit a robbery on the estate of Mr. Napper, of Loughecrew, county Meath. They entered the house armed with a dead marts hand, with a lighted candle in it, believing that a candle so held will not be seen by any but those by whom it is used, and also that if it be introduced into a house it will prevent those who may be asleep from waking." Our burglars in the present day are sceptical as to the efficiency of the hand of gl.)ry," and prefer noiseless matches and a dark lantern. Should they, however, again have recourse to its use, it is some cotafort to know that we can counteract the charm by smearing our threshold with an unguent composed of the gall of a black cat, the fat of a white hen, and the blood of a screech-owl."

GARROTTERS UNDER THE LASH. Last week eleven garrotters were thrashed by four warders, who took alternate turns in the infliction of the punishment, at Armley Gaol, Leeds. The first man who was attached to the halberds was Edward Higgins, convicted o! a robbery with violence at Leeds, and who was ordered to undergo twelve months' imprisonment, and, further, to receive twenty strokes with the cat-o'-nine tails. He cried out on the reception of the third stroke, and continued pleading for mercy until his sentence had been administered. Patrick Ellis, con- victed of a very bad case of assault and robbery at Huddersfield, and who was sentenced to seven yeara, underwent his punishment very badly, complaining as soon all the third stroke reached his shoulders. William Walker, who, along with a woman, had been convicted of robbing Mr. Costellow with violence, and who was sentenced to twelve months' imprison- ment and twenty lashes, appeared as if he waa about to faint at the fourth stroke, but afterwards called out vigorously for mercy. His back was badly discoloured by the operation of the cat. Martin Hughes, sentenced to 18 months and 20 lashes, cried out Murder at the second stroke of the cat and at every succeeding stroke. Thomas Leysham, sentenced to five years' penal servitude and 20 lashes, also ap- peared to be heavily punished. There were also several other convicts-the whole number being eleven—simi- larly treated, and if one could judge by their cries and appt als for mercy, and the weals upon-their shoulders^ their punishment must have been a wholesome cor- rective of their predatory and murderous habits. One fellow struggled exceedingly to free himself from the triangle, and another seemed to faint away, and had to be assisted to his cell. The governor and the surgeon of the prison, in addition to several public officials, weri present during the flogging.