THE WAR IN EUROPE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 752, 12 November 1870, Page 2

THE WAR IN EUROPE.

NOTES AND INCIDENTS. The Telegraph says that during the stirring days of the past month many people have been asking what is the " Crown Prince " of Prussia like ? Now, a man is best studied when he i 3 not posted for his picture ; and it happens that an enemy of his has just delineated the heir of the Prussian Throne, catching him hot from the battle, and therefore very much ait naturel. M. Clwvbrillab, of the Figaro, was taken prisoner at Woerth, and came near to being shot ; but he was saved by the Duke of Coburg, and had an interview afterwards with Prince Fritz, of which he brought away a remarkable sketch. A hundred anecdotes might be cited by those who know the homely English manners and customs at Potsdam, to prove that the future German king is, in truth, what his conversation with the French correspondent proves him— -one who, thoroughly desiring quiet, intellectual, domestic joys, would, as Shakspeare writes, "beware of entrance to a quarrel, but, being in, bear it that the opposer should beware of him." Wherever and whenever in this terrible war the clouds of battle have parted, so that we could see his placid Prussian face, it has invariably been stamped, by the consent of all, with sorrow at the stern necessities of his task, with loyal admiration for his opponents, with infinite compassion for the victims of Ihe conflict on either side, and with this charming simplicity and courtesy of manner which keep the memory of peace alive in the turmoil of war, and make enemies themselves praise them. Such characteristics go far to reconcile mankind to signal and marvellous good fortunes, which would be otherwise bitterly grudged. Tf we are right in thinking — and it is Frenchmen themselves who paint the picture— that in "Fritz" Europe beholds a gentleman as well as a prince, a scholar, a thinker, a man of peace as well aa a gallant warrior, then the future which these mighty victories portend could hot be entrusted to better hands ; and Destiny has, perhaps, judged more impartially than the Emperor, when she decided that the interests of " civilisation and liberty" lay with the battalions of " Fritz." A correspondent of the Times narrates .a visit he paid to the biirial grounds in the neighbourhood of Saarbrucken : — " JELier ruhen in Gotfc," says one inscription, "28Preussen, 69 Franzosen. Grab No. 4." "Here rest friends and foes together," says another inscription, "6 Prussians, 11 Frenchmen." I observed that the words " and foes " had by some charitable or philosophical person been marked out. The French, even on their own Spicheren heights, were as if in a foreign land ; and the ground where they lay was strewed with letters addressed to such a one, Camp of Chalons, or such another at Metz, "to be forwarded a la suite de son regiment" I read several of these letters, which were natural. and therefore, under the circumstances, touching. All reproached the French soldier, who apparently thinks less of his relations than hi 3 relations think of him, with not answering letters ; and all were full of assurances cf affection. Some notified the enclosure of money, and there was not one in which a sister or a mother expressed the least satisfaction at the prospect of her brother or her son dying for his country. "Your friend Louis Barbari," says a letter from the mother of a private soldier to her son, "has proposed for Modeste. Let us know as soon as possible whether you accept Mai for your brother-in-law." The Daily News says that let th« Prince Imperial be where he will, his fate and his future must surely claim the interest of every human creature. No one would willingly seek out evil omens for him. Nor, should the worst befall, is it necessary that he should suffer any greater trials than the loss of a crown. Everything seems to point to the fact that the Emperor of the French, prudent at least in some things, and trained in the school of misfortune, as he himself declared in one of his proudest Imperial manifestoes, has taken care to provide a well-stocked retreat for a possible exile. It would be well if we could think that, should the Prince Imperial yet be borne safely over all dangers, and accede one clay to the Imperial throne, he would come there tutored into wisdom, moderation, and political virtue by any perils and trials which hi 3 youth may have had to bear. But this is, unfortunately, just the one lesson which the history of Princes shows that they are least apt to learn. Indeed, the exhibition of the young Prince ou the' battle-field was in itself the worst of omens for the future alike of the possible Sovereign and the possible subjects. Wherever the Prince Imperial now is, we are glad to think that he is not with the army, although we cannot doiibt that a little turn of success to the arms of Napoleon would soon bring him to the front again. It would be far kinder to him and to France to wish for him a peaceful exile at Sevenoaks or anywhere else, aince dungeons and tortures are hardly to be more dreaded than the glory of a new career of Napoleonic conquest and the perilous pride of a military throne. The Times observes that all the country is now crying out that while Europe is in a blaze we, a great European Power, with European duties now confessed, are utterly unprepared for those contests into which we may any day be drawn. Nevertheless, it is no exaggeration, but the simple truth, to say that for nearly a quarter of a century we have been bu ded without intermission on those very profanations which are still supposed to be wanting. In the year 1845, just before our preparations began, England possessed for service in India, in the celonies, and at home, about 120,000 troops, all told. At this moment we possess close upon 500,000. How then can we be said to be unprepared 1 The answer is that, if we have got the men, and, indeed, the material of war, we have got nothing else. Of that machinery which makes au effective army out of a multitude of men we have hardly a trace. Our militia is nearly 120,000 strong, not merely on paper, b\it on parade. Our volunteers, with the impulse which this new alarm will give to the movement, may be reckoned at 200,000. Onr militia is not half-officered, and of its few officers not half are trained. Our volunteer officers have no knowledge but what, in spite of difficulties, they have contrived to pick \ip themselves. For neither force is there anything like staff, administration, commissariat, or other supports. The only branch of our la,nd forces with any

semblance of organisation is the" regular army, and so when the emergency arrives we augment that army as rapidly as possible. The militia, or real army of reserve, is only regarded as a nursery for the Line, and as for our volunteers, no military man can tell how to employ them. Yet this unutilised, and therefore half -useless force represents nothing less than 200,000 British soldiers the very pith and marrow of the nation, as well educated, as courageous, and as .apt for duty as the best Germans who crossed the Rhine the other day. This is the true state of our condition and our resources. We have got the men, of excellent quality and in abundant numbers, but we have never provided ourselves with the means of turning them into that engine of war called an army. General Frangois, killed at the battle of Forbach, was the first general officer of the German armies that has fallen in this war, and was also the junior on the Prussian Army List, having only been breveted from the rank of colonel one week before his fall. He had served for some time on the staff, and was considered for- , tunate above the- average in his promo- ' tion, which made him a general at about fifty-four. Hence it may be concluded that the range of age in the higher staff runs from fifty-five to over seventy, at which age Steinmetz takes the field. Such is the status in this respect of the regularly promoted Prussian officer ; but there are numerous exceptions to the rule in the princes of the Royal houses and of smaller German sovereignties who have pressed into the service. Prince Fredk. Charles, the Crown Prince, Prince Albert of jPrnssia, the Dukes of Mecklenburg and of Holstein, and Prince Augustus of Wurtemburg, are all names well known in the last war, and all men in the prime of life. The advantage gained to the State in reserving these exceptions to the general rule of seniority i 3 so obvious — readers of the " Tactical Retrospect" will recollect how hard the pamphleteer is upon the advanced years of the higher officers of the service— that one? cannot wonder that a strong Government clings to the principle of putting the sprigs of royalty above the usual run of promotion, and so even in times of peace securing a small reserve of young generals. The following letter has been addresse^^ to the Maire of the sth Arrondisement mQ Paris by the well-known preacher, Father Hyacinthe : — "Monsieur Ie Maire, —The spirit and the law of the Church forbid the priest from taking up arms except in moments of extreme danger to the country. That danger — Tf France should not be spared from it — will certainly find all those who are not bound by the obligations of the sacred office faithful to their duty as citizens upon the ramparts. In the meantime there is no reason why we should not assist in the national defence by use of the pick and shovel. Please to direct me to what place I must go, in order to take part in the earthworks and fortifications now proceeding for the defence of Paris. From to-morrow, after mass, I hold myself at your ordera. — Receive, &c, L'Abbe Jules Th. Loyson, Professor of Sacred Eloquence inParis: — Vive la France V There can be no two opinions as to the personal courage and military capacity of Marshal M'Mahon, who must be thoroughly pained at the wondrous tales of his prowess related by the Paris journals. This morning Figaro, as a token of admiration for the conquered of the 6th of August, proposes a national subscription for the purchase of a sabre of honor to be presented to the Marshal, Nothing in ancient or modern history, says Figaro, is to be compared to the bravery of the Duke of Magenta, charging for whole hours at the head of his regiments, a sword in his hand and a Chassepot on his shoulder. The other day we had the Marshal, after the cuirassiers had charged seventeen times, "standing up in his stirrups, lighting a cigar, and organising a marvellous retreat." The presentation, of a sword under the present circumstances reminds one of the English captain who was knighted for the exceedingly gallant but unsuccessful defence of his vessel against a Yankee frigate. Paul Jones, when he heard of the honors conferred on his late antagonist, declared the next time he met him he would make a peer of him. An anecdote is told con« cerning the losses at Woerth which reflects little credit on French organisation. When counting up the killed, wounded, and missing, Marshal M'Mahon came to the 79th Regiment, not an officer or man was left, nor had even a kepi been saved from the general wreck. The commander of the Ist corps d'armee was bewailing tile total destruction of the regiment when much to his relief he was told that it wa3 at Bastia, where it had been waiting for transports for several days to take it to France. I may add that the talenied military correspondent pf the TemjJS, Mt . Jeannerod, relates that M'Mahon wasaiot surprised at Woerth ; that he knew he was going to be attacked by superior forces, and telegraphed the information to head-quarters. The answer he received was— "Attack." He telegraphed again insisting on the disproportion of forces, and the answer was still "Attack." The similarity between the French Garde Mobile and the English Volunteer is, indeed, very considerable. The former only looks a little more soldier-like because of his uniform, and is a little more witty because of the capacity which Allah bestowed upon him of making fun. But in all other respects the French mohh and the English volunteer are twin brothers. Both are equally fond of getting tipsy sometimes, although they absorb different liquids. Both have equally little notion of their duties ; both have absolutely no idea of discipline ; and both understand the management of arms only as much as it suits them, and by no means as much as it is desirable they should understand. The only serious difference I have, noticed yet between them is that every English volunteer has a guv, while the majority of the Garde Mobile have none. As far as I know there are only eighteen battalions armed and assembled at the camp of Chalons. All of them belong to the department de la Seine ; as to the great bulk of the provincial battalions, they are only iv course of formation, and will hardly be ready before a couple of weeks. How long it will then take to drill and arm them, that I am unable "to say. With regard to their gons, it must be remarked that they have no Chassepots, but old gnns transformed into fusils a tabatiere. This kind of arm is generally reported to be almost as good, as the Chassepot in all respects but one — that of the abatiere not opening itself quickly

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enough after a number of shots have been made. Some of the Mobiles themselves told me that they were forced to use the butt-end of their neighbor's gnn to open this tabatiere ; and that they anticipate that on the battle-field this simple, easy -way of managing one's arm will not always be practicable. On the other hand, their costume is sensible, plain, and appropriate. It is much better fit for the field than that of the regular French troops, and certainly not to be compared with the ugly fancy dresses which a certain insular nation has invented for the purpose of martyrising its army, A plain black great coat with a red collar, copper buttons, blue trousers, a kepi, a black belt, with bayonet hanging on it, and the usual knapsack, form the whole costume, destitute of any sort of ornament. A little red lace for the men and of gold twist for the officer is all that makes the uniform distinct from plain clothes. It gives you the impression that a tired man might sleep perfectly well in it without having need to unfasten a single button, tinhappily, however, " l'habit ne fait pas le moine," and the Garde Mobile, well dressed as it is, is not a force yet, and •will hardly be so unless he is incorporated into the line regiments — a measure quite unlawful, very likely to provoke great discontent in the family, but not opposed by the young warriors themselves. Once enlisted they prefer to play their part to the end, seeing, as they do, that in their present condition they run the risk of being slaughtered like sheep without rendering any kind of service. The want of discipline and drill is not their only defect. They have no regular officers, j all their commanders having been appointed by way of election, chiefly from among the richest citizens, who know nothing about military affairs. The only hope they have rests upon the few retired officers who entered the Mobile as a second service. But then these also are as a rule old men, and have no idea of the reforms which bad been introduced in tactics. A despatch from Cologne says that, in consequence of the great numbers of Germans expelled from France, the North German Bund has issued orders to provide those in need with the money required to defray their travelling expenses. The servants left in charge of the hotel of the North German Embassy in Paris have been expelled, and the United States Minister, who is charged to represent the " interests of Germans in Paris has placed the house in care of some Americans. There is a report that before leaving Metz the Emperor ordered General Frossard under arrest. According to Captain Jeannerod, of the Temps, Frossard, while his troops were engaged from ten o'clock in the morning, appeared among them only at half-past five. It was only at nightfall, when the retreat being sounded, that the artillery of reserve fired for the first time, and then galloped off with a full supply of ammunition. Meanwhile the division on the heights of Spikeren, daving exhausted their amunition, had only their bayonets to trust to in the face of the needle-gun. One of the chief objections ur^ed against the introduction of a breechloading rifle was (says the Globe) . that the soldier would fire away all his ammunition in an exceedingly short space of time, and that the difficulty of keeping up the supply in the field was very great. The world has had little experience as yet on this point, but as far as the campaign of 1866 goes this particular objection appears to be groundless. We must remember, however, that the Prussian formation, or line of battle, did not permit a regiment to fully develop its fire, whereas, fighting inline, we should use every rifle. Our expenditure must therefore be put down as at least double that of the Prussians. Lieutenant-Colonel Reilly, C.8., Royal Horse Artillery, has, in his memorandum on the Prussian] army, given some interesting details of the expenditure of small-arm ammunition. It appears that in the Second Army, under the Crown Prince, the regimental reserve was never called upon. The greatest number of rounds fired during the war, in tho Second Army, was by the 43rd Regiment at Trantenau, 43 rounds per man. At Koniggratz, the first battalion of the Guards, 915 strong, fired 12,694 rounds, or 13.8 rounds per man ; the third battalion of the same regiment, 901 strong, fired 12,250 rounds, or 13.3 rounds per man. The expenditure of the Fifth Corps, about 20,000 strong, in the actions prior to Koniggratz, where it did not fire a shot, was 617,000 rounds, or about 26 rounds per man. In the First Army, the 27th Regiment, 2550 men, at the battle of Koniggraatz, expended 30,000 rounds, or under 12 rounds per man. In some cases the First Array drew upon the regimental reserves. Thus the three battalions of the 71 regiments, at the battle of Koniggratz, expended 184,000 rounds, or about 72 rounds per man. It must, however, be borne in mind that the First Army was in action four hours longer than the Second. There was a total of about 110,000,000 cartridges prepared on the Prussian side for the war of 1866, and the materials for 70,000,000 more were ready. The total expenditure during tie war of all the armies, of about 400,000 men, was only 1,854,000 rounds, or between four and five rounds per man. The Prussian infantry soldier carries 60 rounds of ball cartridge — 40 in his pouch, and 20 in his knapsack. It is quite true that every bullet has its billet, but that billet is, generally speaking, the ground. In other words, there are hundreds of shots fired for one man killed. We constantly hear now-a-days that war will be fleeting — one great battle and all will be over. Some people appear to jump to the conclusion that the engines of destruction — the Chassepots, needle-guns, and mitrailleuses— are so deadly that the loss of life will be so feaTful that a few battles would suffice to depopulate a country. This certainly does not follow when one side is better armed than the other, as was the case during khe war of 1866. The needle-gun told fearfully for the short time it was brought to bear ; yet the losses of the campaign throughout were small as compared with that of 1859, or the bloody battles between the Federals and Confederates. The loss at Borodino amounted to onethird of the men engaged ; at Marengo to one-fourth ; Waterloo, one-fourth ; Talavero, one-eighth ; Magenta and Solferino one-eleventh ; and Koniggratz, one twenty-third. The English lost one thin 1 at Inkerman, yet there was not a rifled cannon or a breech-loader on the field. Losses in battle have rarely influenced contending nations. During the campaign of 1866, the ar tilleryl reserves were never called upon.

The greatest expenditure was by an Bpounder battery at Konijgrtoz, which fired about 480 rounds. In geueral, the artillery engaged fired about 12 rounds per gun on an average. The total consumption of all the armies was 22,550 8-pounder projectiles, 8660 14-pounder, and 5000 12-pounder smooth bore. The great majority of these projectiles were common shell, with percussion fuzes— a comparatively speaking inefficient projectile. This accounts for the small relative effect of the Prussian artillery throughout the war. The common shell from these light field guns is by no means a formidable projectile. When fitted with a percussion fuze, it is liable to bury itself in the ground unless the latter be favorable for ricochet, and at best it only breaks up into comparatively few pieces, as compared with either segment or shrapnel shell. The No'-th-Eastern Correspondence says that M. Stourdza, the diplomatic agent of Roumania at Constantinople, has made an important com municafciou to the Turkish Government on the war. He stated that Prince Charles has reason to believe that the Russian Government will attempt, as a consequence of the present complications, to occupy the Danubian Principalities. The prince, he added, finds he would be unable to resist such an attempt, and he therefore, in conformity with the treaty of Paris, appeals to his Sureiain to assist him. He places at the disposal of Turkey from 30,000 to 40,000 men, and asks that an army of from 40,000 to 50,000 Turks should cross the Danube in order to defend the Principalilities, which, form au intergal part of the Ottoman Empire. In making this demand he is influenced solely by interests of the country he governs, and as a proof of his sincerity he will at once put his army into a fit state to take the field. General Trochu has written a letter to the Temps, explaining a passage in his proclamation, in which he recommended the people to take justice into their own hands, as applicable only to plunderers, who in the event of siege would take advantage of the absence of the public force on the ramparts. French householders seem fully alive to the claims of the wounded soldiers on their hospitality and generosity. Every day persons of all tanks and of every gradation of income offer to take in one, two, three, up to some hundreds. The Chateau of Chambord, which its noble owner has placed at the disposal of .France as a place of reception for the wounded, is well suited for the purpose. It contains no less than 440 rooms ; 300 of these are unfurnished, but they all have fire-places, and can contain a thousand beds. Chambord is surrounded by vast forests and situated in an immense park, salubrious, airy, and quiet. That would be the best and finest hospital in France. Are German soldiers made of tougher stuff than their English brothers in arms, or have the latter only degeneratfid of quite late years? Before the battle of Weissenbourg, some of the German troops had only a three hours' rest after a seven hours' march before going into action. Before the battle of Woerth, when the alarm came at midnight, they had to march until 11 a.m. At this time, without pause, they joined the fight. No friendly conveyance eased them of a single onnce weight of the load they had to bear. But "comparisons are odious." The placing Prussian and Bavarian regiments side by side at the storming of Weissenbourg evoked a rivalry in daring most honorable to the latter. The Bavarians are armed with the Werder rifle, which is said to surpass the needle-gun in precision. The Prussian artillery was splendidly served, chiefly heavy guns, fired with 13-pound grenade and 15-pound shrapnel shell, the latter containing from 88 to 92 carbine bullets. The Chassepot, though pronounced equal in many respects to the needle-gun, is described as not keeping up the intensity of its fire for any length of time. A good deal of speculation prevails as to the actual amount of the losses of the French during the late battles. The information to hand does not enable us to determine with any degree of certainty the extent of these losses, inasmuch as no details have yet reached, us regarding most of the engagements. !From the particulars published, however, we are able to form a fair estimate of the French losses in the battles of Forbach, Weissenbourg and Woerth ; and we think we shall not be materially wrong when we set down the number of killed and wounded in these battles at about 10,000, besides 6000 prisoners. In the battles before Metz we learn that the total French loss was estimated at about 50,000, of whom some 4000 may be set down as prisoners. We have no details, however, of the battles at Pont-a-Mous-son, Buzancy, and Sedan, but we may put down the French loss in killed and wounded at 30,000 ; it is impossible to say if prisoners were taken in sufficient number to render them worth counting separately. Accordingly, taking into account also the 90,000 prisoners who capitulated at Sedan, we find the total French loss to be, according to this estimate, as follows : — Killed and wounded^ 86,000; prisoners, 100,000; total, 186,000. That this is not very far from the mark will be seen from the following calculation : — The French Army of the Rhine numbered at the beginning of the war 250,000; M'Mahon was afterwards reinforced by 50,000 men from Paris, making the total French force in the field 300,000. The balance, after the J 86,000 above accounted for are deducted, is 104,000, which is a little more than the estimated strength of the only French army at last accounts in the field— Bazaine's at Metz. The discrepancy, however, is to be accounted for by the fact that some 12,000 men were withdrawn by M'Mahon from the garrison of Strasbourg. We give the foregoing for what it is worth, as purely an estimate, but we think it will be found to be pretty near the mark. The correspondent of the Standard at Mannheim, speaking of the news of the battle of Woerth, says :— The first incident of which we received was the capture of 1000 French soldiers in a railway train. Similar circumstances occurred in the great American struggle ; but this ip the first of its kind in European warfare. The train was proceeding apparently from Haguenau to Bitsche, in total ignorance of the advance of the Prussians beyond Wissenbourg. The surprise must have been complete, as not a shot was, I believe, fired. The astonishment and horror of the French when, upon the train having come to a standstill, they looked out and found themi selves covered by the rifles of the Pru-

ssian infantry, must have been ludicrous in the extreme ; and it is fortunate for them that no resistance was attempted, or the slaughter, pent up as they were in railway carriages, must have been terrible. The incident, although of no great importance in itself, shows a want of arrangement And an absence of any system of mutual intelligence between the various divisions of the French army, which is certainly significant of bad generalship, and is in strong contrast to the perfection of the arrangements of the Prussian army." A correspondent of a French paper wonders that no accident happens on the railway line to the Eastern frontier. The number of trains alone is sufficiently dangerous, but the conduct oi the soldiers is also imprudent in tho extreme. They seldom stay long in. the carriages, but climb upon them and stand on the roof, singing vociferously. When a bridge or tunnel appears they lie flat down, but only to riao again. To all remonstrannes they make the convincing answer, "Vive la France!" "A basla Prusse!" The Presse gives an account of an episode which occurred at the Eastern Railway Station on the departure of the 3rd Regiment of Voltigeurs. Just as they reached the station a private carriage drove up, from which came an elderly gentleman, wearing a decoration, who immediately commenced taking from a huge sack parcels of tobacco, which he handed in succession to the soldiers, amid the cheers of the assembled crowd. At length, having exhausted his sack, and many of the men yet remaining unserved, he went up to the colonel and told him that he had exhausted the stocks of all the tobacco shops in the quarter to fill his bag, but had not been able to procure enough for the whole regiment ; finally he begged him to accept 200 louis in order to purchase tobacco for them, and handeti. him 4000 francs in gold, which the colonel after some hesitation accepted, and thanked him on behalf of the men. When the news of Prussian victories and French disasters reached Paris, and all Frenchmen seemed determined to make a bold effort to stem the tide of military adversity, one name was in everybody's lips. '' Where is General Trochn 1 How comes it that he has no high command ?" The reasons for his being passed over were two — first, because he is not a strong Imperialist : second, he had written a book on the French army, in which he dared to tell his comrades that for all their dash and gallantry they had faults of so grave a character as might not improbably some day compromise the success of their arms and the honour of France. He wrote in the best spirit, but he criticised, and at that time (1867) tho heads of the army refused to submit to criticism either upon themselves or their subordinates. This determination to keep their eyes closed to their faults — this exaggerated military conversation has at last borne bitter fruits. It is not only too manifest at present that, while the men have fought splendidly against overwhelmning odds, neither the Generals nor the Staff nor the mounted officers generally knew how to perform their duties with intelligence. The cavalry has not fulfilled its chief function, that of being the eyes and ears of the army. Jt has sacrificed itself most gloriously, mais cc rfetait pas la guerre. The infantry has been led close up to the enemy sheltered in woods. Do not we now for ever hear that old despairing cry of Benedek's foot soldiers, "We can't get at the Prussians ; they are always concealed ? The artillery are thrown away by being brought close under infantry fire. And now at last men exclaim, "Give us Generals who have tried to correct onr faults instead of flattering us. Let those lead us who know wherein we have erred." The Vienna correspondent of the Times writes : — Every one who is not already drawn into the vortex of war wants to be neutral — England in the first place, and Austria wants it no less than England. The three years which have passed have, in spite of all exertions, not been sufficient to cure the wounds caused by 20 years of maladministration, topped by a catastrophe. We were only just recovering from these blows when this crisis came upon us. All is as yet in a state of transition. There are political questions pending, our finances only just beginning to recover, our army in a state of transformation from one system to another. A war would destroy all that has been done, and throw us back for years. Of course, were any one directly to attack us we feel strong enough to make a fight for it, but we must do all in our power to avoid such a calamity. The people and Government of Italy are equally anxions to keep out of it. All is unsettled there likewise, and any participation with France would be the signal for renewed and more powerful action of the Republican party, supported, as it would be, by Prussia. Even Russia wants to keep out. She wants at least two years to complete her railways, and arm and reorganise her army. She has just now given orders in America for 1,000,000 breach-loaders, of which she has not more than 140,000 as yet. Krupp was busy making guns for them, and they have no end of trouble with their new levies, who since the abolition of serfdom have become tainted with democratic and Socialist ideas, and are not so easily amenable to discipline. The Telegraph avers it is the working class has to pay with blood, with tears, with suffering and household agonies, which find no separate record, though their mass is terrible, for the sin and insanity of international war. Most obviously must this be the case on the Prussian side in the impending contest ; for there the carrying of arms is not a special profession. All fatherland obeys a lanr which makes her sons soldiers of the first, second, or third line of defence ; and when the mandate summons them, it turns the entire land into a barrack, and puts an absolute end to the arts of peace in favor of those of war. Happy is the poor family which, at a distauce from the cruel scene, has as yet no worse tribute to pay than a pinched meal and the sight of hungry little faces atuthe breakfast-table. •In Germany or in France, the trumpet of war fills all the land with the misery of farewells, sad, but stern and resolute ; the fathers, the boys, and brothers, lovers and husbands are called away, many to be mangled by the needle-gun or the Chassepot, many to die miserably ; the survivors even all to return poorer by the cost and damage of the conflict. War has been often described ; but «vho has described the face of a busy land suddenly smitten by this King's evil of glory and the " balance of power " — the workshops silent, the tools rusting, and fields vn g

ploughed, the homes unguarded, the lonely wives, the weeping, frightened children, the stinted meals, and the dreadful expectation of battle news, which is all the talk by day, aU the dream by night ? This is what lies in the rear of war— more mournful, more pitiful almost than the frightful storm of death raging in its van. .