ADVANCE OF THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

West Coast Times, Issue 309, 19 September 1866, Page 2 (Supplement)

ADVANCE OF THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

Writing on the sth from Przelautsch the Prussian correspondent of the " Times" describes the crossing of the -Elbe by the pursuing Prussians :—: — " To-day they crossed the river, the first army, under Prince Frederick Charles, at Przelautsch, the second, under the Crown Prince; at Pardubitz. The march was begun last evening. After going a short way the troops halted for the night, and slept by the side of the road. Early this morning they again set forward and reached the Elbe late in the afternoon. The villages along the road had been mostly deserted, for the inhabitants had fled south with the retreating Austrian army. The houses looked desolate, with their doors and windows wide open, and shutters flapping mournfully in the wind, while there still remained in the street in front vestiges of the hasty packing up of such articles as could be carried away. A stray dog or two were seen here and there, which still stood on the threshold and barked at the soldiers as they marched by ; but even these were rare, and often the poultry had invaded the dwelling-rooms, ami were roosting among the furniture. For twenty-five miles the army marched . through a luxuriantly fertile country, but almost entirely deserted ; sometimes one or two peasants stood by the side of the road staring at the passing troops, or a few women might be found in a village who, half frightened by the sight of the soldiers, supplied them with the driuking water which they everywhere requested. But the people had no cause to 'fear ; they would have done better to remain, for some of the troops had to "be billeted in the houses along the road, and when the inhabitants were not present, the soldiers took what they required, and there was no one to receive payment for what they consumed. The children did not seem so timid ; they were present along the Toad in large numbers, for the cherries are just ripening, and the}' took advantage of the panic among their elders ' to make a raid on trees which grew in long strips by the side of the way. With them the soldiers soon became great friends. The boys ran along the battalions with their caps full of 'the fruit, and got coppers in exchange for handfuls of it ; the sellers, exulting in the pocketsful of coin they soon collected, seemed to have no scruples as to whose property it rightfully was, but laughed with delight at this unexpected result of the war. But ■ for the most part the country in front of the army was still and silent. No church clocks sounded, for their guardians had fled. There was no one to wind them up, and the hands stood motionless on the dial. No horses neighed, for they had all been taken to carry away the flying inhabitants, or perhaps to aid in dragging off the retreating Austrian guns. The flowers before the wayside shrines of the Madonna were dried up and withered, for the votaries who were wont to renew them had fled, fearful of the invading army. The cattle had been driven away, and the pastures were vacant. ' Broad bolts of corn trodden flat to th round, showed the lines alon? which tho Austrian battalions had hurried, and here and there lay a knapsack or ammunition pouch which some fatigued fugitive had cast away as an impediment to his flight. But where the army marched all was bustle and noise ; ,the infantry tramped monotonously along the roads, while the cavalry spread iv bending lines through the fields, and behind the combatants toiled long trains of ■w aggons, which carried the stores of this large army. Along every road and every lane foot soldiers marched, and cavalry occupied the intervals between the heads of the columns — all pointing southwards, towards the Elbe. For miles on either side could be 6een the clouds of dustraised by the inarching troops; in some places it rose from trees and woods, in others from houses, or from the bard straicht road leading through the wide corn land, where the July sun poured its rays straight down upon the soldiers heads and made them suffer much from heat and thirst. As the

foremost troops neared the little Elbe all eaTs listened eagerly for the sound of cannon, for it was thought that if the Austrians could bring their troops under fire again they would oppose the passage of the river, and whether they, did so or not would be accepted as a criterion of how much they had suffered by Tuesday's defeat. The heads of the columns steadily advanced nearer and nearer to the line of willows which marked the course of the stream and no cannon sounded, no rifle even was discharged, and it seemed that the advanced guard must have passed unopposed. At last the news en me back that the passage was secured, and that there was no sign of the enemy on the opposite bank, and soon the troops closed down to the riyer and filed across the wooden bridge, which, with four arches, spans the muddy stream ; and the black and yellow stripes on its parapets were, the only visible signs, that we were in Austria." A Habenmauth telegram of Wednesday states that " the Prussians will shortly take possession of . Prague, the occupation of that city being) however, only a secondary object. The day before yesterday an encounter took place near Zwittaur resulting in favor of the Prussians, who cut off a large Austrian provision train. Numerous prisoners continue to be brought in. The Grand Duke of , Mecklenburg-Schwerin, commander of the Second Reserve Corps in course of formation at Leipsic, has been appointed aid-de-camp. Herr von Schweinitz has left Pardubitz for St. Petersburg. The next advance of the Prussians will be in the direction of Brunn. There are no Austrian troops on the frontiers .of Southern Silesia.''

It is stated that the Prussian Government have already given an order for 40,000 of the newly invented American gun, which, it is said, allows twelve shots to be fired in a minute. •

The magistrates of Schleswig have drawn up a congratulatory address' to King William upon the recent success of the Prussian Arms, which says; — "The inhabitants of Schleswig, though proud to call themselves the youngest citizens of the Prussian State, regret that their sons have not been summoned as Prussian soldiers to the field of battle.''

An JEisenach despatch of Wednesdayjays :—" The Prussians, under the command of General Falkenstein, are marching towards Frankfort-on-the-Maiiie." The official " Staatsanzeiger" of Berlin says : — " We are authorised to declare that during the recent fighting in Bohemia not a single Prussian gun has been captured \by the enemy. If, therefore, a piece of Prussian artillery has recently been drawn through the streets of Vienna, it can only be the field-piece presented to the Emperor by the King of Prussia at the time of their alliance."

The Governments of Saxe- Weimar and Schaumburg-Lippe nave notified to Prussia that their troops, which, in accordance with the decision of «the Diet ot the 6th June last, formed a portion of the garrison ,of the neutralised Federal fortress of Mentz, have been forcibly compelled to march to Ulm and Rastadt. These Governments protested against this breach of international law on the part of a few States belonging to the old Confederation, and have aunonnced the fact to the Cabinet of Berlin.